There were those complaining that Matilda’s last puzzle was ‘too hard’ (whatever that is) for a Quiptic. I don’t think you could lay that criticism at the door of this morning’s puzzle. All straightforward and clearly clued, in my opinion. But that’s only me.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Primarily grand, imposing, regal — a fine, furry East African native
GIRAFFE
The first letters (‘primarily’) of Grand, Imposing, Regal, A, Fine, Furry, East. I suppose A, since it only has one letter, is ‘primarily’ A. You could also call this an ‘extended definition’, since apart from the first word of the clue, it describes the answer: a GIRAFFE is all those things.
5 Conflict-free ocean
PACIFIC
A dd.
9 Wireless plug in port
RADIO
An insertion of AD in RIO.
10 Love and Bermuda?
TRIANGLES
A kind of dd, since both are examples of TRIANGLES, the former sounding more enticing than the latter.
11 Weirdly a NYC psycho is licking boots
SYCOPHANCY
(A NYC PSYCHO)*
12 Cable car opens a bit
ROPE
Hidden in caR OPEns.
14 Dine out, sitting next to writer with depression — that’s unconnected
INDEPENDENT
A charade of (DINE)*, PEN and DENT.
18 Breathtaking act clears up mess
SPECTACULAR
(ACT CLEARS UP)*
21 Compiler satisfied about detail
ITEM
A charade of I for Matilda, the ‘compiler’ and MET reversed.
22 Moving crates, also moving steps
ESCALATOR
Nice surface reading and nice misdirection with the two uses of ‘moving’: the first is the anagrind, the second part of the definition. (CRATES ALSO)*
25 A paper (or none) misrepresented PM
AFTERNOON
A charade of A, FT for the pink’un (Financial Times for overseas solvers) and (OR NONE)* The compiler has kindly put the anagram fodder in brackets for me already.
26 Portrait of him ageing
IMAGE
Hidden in hIM AGEing.
27 The musician honoured Rossini in playing his finales
ENDINGS
The last letters of the first seven words of the clue. ‘Finales’ is doing double duty, since it’s the last letter indicator and the definition.
28 Part of pants (eg gusset) turns intimate
SUGGEST
Hidden reversed in panTS EG GUSset.
Down
1 Loud fish, not loud fish
GARISH
Another cleverly written surface. A charade of GAR, one type of fish, and [F]ISH. Matilda is telling you to remove F for the musical ‘loud’ from the poisson.
2 Edit socialist legislation
REDACT
A charade of RED and ACT.
3 Profits, not false impressions
FOOTPRINTS
(PROFITS NOT)*
4 Another actor
EXTRA
A dd.
5 Head teacher announced rule
PRINCIPAL
A homophone of PRINCIPLE for ‘rule’. The homophone indicator is ‘announced’ and since it’s in the middle of the clue you have no way of knowing whether the solution is PRINCIPAL or PRINCIPLE until you’ve solved SPECTACULAR. I keep telling setters to stop doing this but they take no notice so I’m henceforth going to desist and find something else to chunter about.
6 Hasn’t the ability for hypocrisy
CANT
A dd, with one of the options obviously needing an apostrophe in the real world.
7 Went after food well cooked
FOLLOWED
(FOOD WELL)*
8 Class about television tape
CASSETTE
An insertion of SET in CASTE.
13 In credit briefly and relaxing on the way up
INCREASING
A charade of IN, CR for an abbreviation for ‘credit’ and EASING.
15 Noises interfering with CID verdicts
DECISIONS
(NOISES CID)*
16 Friend chasing building site quotation
ESTIMATE
A charade of (SITE)* and MATE with ‘building’ as the anagrind.
17 Beaten by achievement in contract
DEFEATED
An insertion of FEAT in DEED.
19 See Ms Blanchett’s spot
LOCATE
A charade of LO! and CATE. Ms Blanchett’s first name, to setters’ advantage, is thus spelt.
20 Look what you may get, if you bend down in an American henhouse, say!
ASPECT
If you bent down in a henhouse on the other side of the pond, you might well get your ASS PECKED. ‘American’ is in there because on this side of the pond we say ARSE, and you’d have to be terribly posh to pronounce the word like ARSE PECKED.
23 Relatives value notes being regularly sent off
AUNTS
If you regularly remove the letters of the second and third words of the clue, you’re left with vAlUeNoTeS.
24 Architect‘s bird
WREN
Excellent. A dd, referencing the architect responsible for St Paul’s Cathedral and Britain’s commonest bird. Here’s the obligatory Pierre bird link to finish. In the Linnaean system, the wren family is Troglodytidae, and troglodytes are folk who are secretive and live in caves. So I’m guessing that the wren’s secretive behaviour is the reason for that nomenclature.
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Many thanks to Matilda for this morning’s Quiptic. Have fun using the whizzy new comment box.
I was tempted to say that this was a perfect Quiptic but I failed to solve 20d so it was clearly too difficult for this beginner!
My favourites were GARISH and AFTERNOON.
Thanks Pierre and Matilda
Nicely judged Quiptic, I reckon.
(One trivial point, Pierre – there’s no double duty in ENDINGS. “His” provides the “s”).
Thanks, Matilda and Pierre.
20D raised a chuckle. I don’t expect that sort of clue in a Quiptic so it was a double treat.
Chris @2, ‘finales’ is the “last letter indicator” in that it indicates the solution is to be composed from the last letter of each word.
Ahh! My mistake.
Thanks, swatty @ 4 and apologies to Pierre.
Good Quiptic with, generally, remarkably concise clues.
Like michelle @1 I failed on (understanding) 20d, even though I did enter ASPECT.
I agree with Pierre about 5d, I had the same experience (and used the same strategy).
1ac is fine but I think the similar 27ac is spoiled by its ‘double duty’.
1d, a favourite to some (with surely a nice surface), was one I wasn’t too keen on.
Strictly speaking, the clue tells you ISH (fish, not loud) + SOMETHING (fish).
One can, of course, read the clue as intended but I am not jumping for joy.
Many thanks to Matilda & Pierre.
Love 20 d
Thanks Matilda and Pierre with his bird link.
I thought this was about the right level for a Quiptic, for a change.
I liked the moving steps and some others.
A very satisfying quiptic. I enjoyed garish and suggest – and adored aspect! Thanks, Matilda
I found this fairly easy and very satisfying, with the exception of 27a, which is, in my opinion, spoiled by the double duty. I loved the elegant construction of 1d. I failed to parse 20d, despite being American, but upon seeing the explanation I think it’s a great clue.
After several attempts at archived Quiptics I finally finished one without the use of the ‘check’ or ‘reveal’ buttons! By George I think she’s (finally) got it! Many thanks to all the bloggers on this site who have thought me the tips and tricks of the game. I am thoroughly enjoying the sport and the unique way all your personalities shine through. Reading the blog is almost as fun as doing the puzzle. You all make it so enjoyable to learn and accessible for a new generation of solvers. Many thanks to setters and bloggers and a Merry Christmas to all x
Well done, AussieNovice. The first completed one without help is a good feeling, isn’t it? Keep checking in and telling us how you’re getting on.
I enjoyed this very much, and laughed out loud at aspect. I got it quite easily but perhaps that’s because that several commenters had remarked that it was a great clue, so I was looking for something out of the ordinary. I failed to parse 27 and 8 – completely missed the ‘caste’ in the second one.
Thanks Matilda and Pierre
Lovely puzzle with lots of chuckles. 20d belongs in the good clue guide. Brava Matilda and thanks Pierre.
Thanks Matilda and Pierre
Very nice, with AFTERNOON, SUGGEST, CANT, FOLLOWED and (of course) ASPECT favourites.
Only quibble – I was caught out by PRINCIPAL, having convinced myself that the homophone was indicated the other way round. This led to a partly parsed CHANTICLEER for 18a for some time!