A nicely constructed Quiptic from Moley this morning. There are one or two where I can’t quite get the cryptic grammar to work, but other folk will be able to assist if I’ve just missed something, no doubt. If you need any further explanations, just ask: either they or I will be happy to help.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) missing
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Walk out on sailor and no looking back!
ABANDON
A charade of AB for able-bodied ‘seaman’, AND and NO reversed. The reversal indicator is ‘looking back’.
5 Looked at good land around the church
GLANCED
An insertion of CE in G and LAND.
9 Wine from China — it’s dreadful …
CHIANTI
(CHINA IT)*
10 … bland, but I’d sip in cooking!
INSIPID
(ID SIP IN)* As usual, you can ignore the ellipses between the clues: they are just there to make a bit more sense of the surface readings.
11 It’s not inevitable for a matador to try to do this, they say
AVOIDABLE
If you like homophone clues, you’ll like this. A matador might try to AVOID A BULL. If you don’t like homophone clues, move on.
12 Moonlit, Hermia appears sylphlike
LITHE
Hidden in moonLIT HErmia, though I’m not sure where the inclusion indicator is. Given recent form, a Grauniad misprint is a strong possibility.
13 End case about Spain
CEASE
An insertion of E for Espana in CASE.
15 Perhaps halt intro for an athletic event
TRIATHLON
(HALT INTRO)*
17 Nude composition over altar said to be in its original form
UNALTERED
An insertion of ALTER, a homophone of ‘altar’ in (NUDE)* The anagrind is ‘composition’; the insertion indicator is ‘over’; the homophone indicator is ‘said’.
19 Deals in special beers
SALES
A charade of S and ALES.
22 Spicy Latin dance music?
SALSA
A kind of dd, hinting at the fact that SALSA is a spicy dressing.
23 Annoy worker on the railway showing spirit
GALLANTRY
A charade of GALL, ANT and RY as a (now rather dated) abbreviation for ‘railway’.
25 Middle and inner organ pain are each different
EARACHE
(ARE EACH)*
26 Dr Johnson’s friend holding back cry, successfully
BOSWELL
A charade of SOB reversed and WELL gives you the great lexicographer’s biographer and friend, and the name of my friend Tim’s dog.
27 Locks clothes with new top
TRESSES
Moley is asking you to replaced the D of DRESSES with T.
28 Sees man running in a group
EN MASSE
(SEES MAN)*
Down
1 Cunning answer, I see, is out of date
ARCHAIC
A charade of ARCH, A, I and C. I’m not fond of ‘see’ for C, but I’d better get over myself because it’s in dictionaries.
2 Literally loth to leave a horizontal arrangement in this state
ARIZONA
A[HO]RIZON[T]A[L] ‘Arrangement’ looks like an anagrind, but we don’t really need one, do we? The letters appear in the correct order anyway.
3 Stand-in editor apparently had supper
DINED
Hidden in stanD IN EDitor, but I’m not sure how ‘apparently’ is the inclusion indicator, since ‘had supper’ is needed for the definition.
4 Could trial be in jeopardy? It’s a tense situation
NAIL-BITER
(TRIAL BE IN)*
5 Take the lead when little Edward turns up after guys under instruction, initially
GUIDE
A charade of GUI for the first letters of ‘guys under instruction’ and ED reversed. ‘Turns up’ is the reversal indicator, since it’s a down clue.
6 Saul bet so wildly for things beyond human control
ABSOLUTES
(SAUL BET SO)*
7 For Maldivians, here male is initially writ large
CAPITAL
M for ‘male’ is a CAPITAL letter in ‘Maldivians’.
8 When high, this causes intense indignation
DUDGEON
Referring to the phrase IN HIGH DUDGEON for ‘indignation’. A word only really used with ‘high’. I didn’t know its origin, so looked it up. Seems like no-one is really sure: it’s an etymological mystery.
14 Delights of theatrical appearances
ENTRANCES
A dd, relying on the fact that many English words can have different meanings depending on where the stress falls.
16 Kind of ink that Omar Khayyám’s Moving Finger writes in?
INDELIBLE
A cd, referring to the poem:
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
In other words, what’s done is done; hence INDELIBLE.
17 At university, sobbed with such a hairstyle
UPSWEPT
I can’t make this work either, since ‘at university’ and ‘sobbed’ would give us UPWEPT, so where the S comes from, I know not. Some kind soul will explain, I’m sure.
18 Tear lag shed, having escaped
AT LARGE
(TEAR LAG)* with ‘shed’ as the anagrind. Shed = shaken off, I suppose.
20 Landlords‘ correspondence
LETTERS
A dd.
21 Heavens above! Miserable colour!
SKY BLUE
A charade of SKY and BLUE. Manchester City fans won’t be miserable this morning.
23 Suppose great Utopian era seemed stable at first
GUESS
The first letters of the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth words of the clue.
24 The morning after fool seen here in north-east India
ASSAM
AM following ASS.
Many thanks to Moley. She set her first Quiptic in 2000, you know.
Thanks, Pierre.
Hmmm – I share all your reservations: I suppose ‘appears’ [12ac] and ‘apparently’ [3d] could just about be inclusion indicators but it’s rather unfortunate to have both in one puzzle. I can’t make UPSWEPT work at all.
I wasn’t too keen on the clue for CAPITAL but I did like the surface in ABANDON.
Thanks to Moley for the puzzle.
Thanks Moley and Pierre
I was going to ask where the S in UPSWEPT came from too. I didn’t understand ABSOLUTES as “things beyond human control” TRESSES would work better as a down clue, so that “dresses” had a “top”. I wasn’t keen on the clue for CAPITAL either.
However I’ll forgive all these for AVOIDABLE!
Oh, and is GALLANTRY the same as “spirit”?
I thought the S in upswept was just annoyingly clued as the first letter in ‘such’?
My husband had a different idea for 7 down: rewrite ‘male’ with a capital M and it becomes the capital of the Maldives, Malé.
Thanks Moley and Pierre
7d Male is the capital (city)of the Maldives. But why do we need the word “here”?
Sorry Kristi, we crossed
Malé certainly makes more sense for CAPITAL than my explanation, but as kevin says, why do we need ‘here’? Perhaps not Moley’s clearest clue ever.
Pierre @8 I can now answer my own question, In the city of Male, they would write the name of their city with a capital letter.
To give credit where it may be due, that’s not Omar Khayyam’s poem – it’s Fitzgerald’s rewrite of it. Very nice it is too, but for a more accurate translation, I suggest the one by Robert Graves and a Persian man. I can’t see where the S in UPSWEPT comes from either.