A delightful Quiptic from Carpathian this morning, with crystal-clear cluing and a nice variety of devices for the less-experienced solver to wrestle with.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Read pitch badly, when going for a song
DIRT CHEAP
A simple anagram to get us going. (READ PITCH)* with ‘badly’ as the anagrind.
6 Correct flow returns
EDIT
A reversal (‘returns’) of TIDE.
10 Plant in woods is a legume
SISAL
Hidden in woodS IS A Legume.
11 Sheds unpopular families
OUTHOUSES
A charade of OUT and HOUSES. The second particle is most often heard in reference to royal families.
12 Middle Eastern serial about head of intelligence
ISRAELI
A charade of (SERIAL)* and I for the first letter of ‘intelligence’. The anagrind is ‘about’.
13 Make a pig of oneself from beans regularly found next to valley
ENGORGE
A charade of EN for the even letters of ‘beans’ and GORGE.
14 Piece of wood going around table
SKIRTING BOARD
A charade of SKIRTING and BOARD.
17 One after a good deal of profit in treatment of heartburn
BARGAIN HUNTER
An insertion of GAIN in (HEARTBURN)* The insertion indicator is ‘in’ and the anagrind is ‘treatment of’.
21 Substantial contents
FILLING
A dd.
22 Fern‘s underwear caught by Barbie’s partner
BRACKEN
Barbie will be devastated. Her two outstanding characteristics were her unfeasibly large boobs and her undying love for Ken. A charade of BRA, C and said KEN.
24 Conservative German, taking drug repeatedly, left fish
CONGER EEL
A charade of CON, GER, EE for two lots of ecstasy, and L.
25 Beast rejected beer following fine
OKAPI
A charade of OK and IPA reversed (‘rejected’). For overseas solvers, IPA stands for Indian Pale Ale and is a type of bitter.
26 Squad heard to swarm
TEEM
A homophone of TEAM. I am the only person who cares any more, but this clue is ambiguous, since the homophone indicator is smack bang in the middle of the two possible answers, and you therefore need a crossing letter before you can decide.
27 Toy torpedo boat initially circling whirlpool getting attention
TEDDY BEAR
An insertion of EDDY in TB for the first letters of ‘torpedo’ and ‘boat’, followed by EAR.
Down
1 Most attractive detective starts before end of August
DISHIEST
A charade of DI for Detective Inspector, SHIES for ‘starts’ (think a frightened horse) and T for the last letter of ‘August’.
2 One getting up part of staircase
RISER
A dd.
3 Electric looms weaving over time producing something desirable
COLLECTORS ITEM
An insertion of T in (ELECTRIC LOOMS)* The insertion indicator is ‘over’ and the anagrind is ‘weaving’.
4 Passion of English proposal
EMOTION
A charade of E and MOTION.
5 Plant is different when covered in lead
POT HERB
An insertion of OTHER in PB for the chemical symbol for lead. The insertion indicator is ‘when covered in’.
7 Rubbish record embarrassed Italian
DISCREDIT
A charade of DISC, RED and IT.
8 Cast kicked around first bits of shoddy scenery
TOSSED
An insertion of SS for the initial letters of the last two words of the clue in TOED. ‘The striker toed/kicked the ball over the line.’
9 Complimentary trout garçon lays out, taking seconds
CONGRATULATORY
(TROUT GARÇON LAY[S])* The anagrind is ‘out’ and the removal indicator is ‘taking’.
15 One male graduate with weapon shows lack of equilibrium
IMBALANCE
A charade of I, M, BA and LANCE.
16 Border of France about level
FRONTIER
A charade of FR, ON and TIER.
18 Increase dispersal of mutagen
AUGMENT
(MUTAGEN)* with ‘dispersal of’ as the anagrind.
19 Bit of pen point leaked
NIBBLED
A charade of NIB and BLED.
20 Scrap rotten bit of meat
OFFCUT
A charade of OFF and CUT.
23 Jack drove van kilometres partly in reverse
KNAVE
Hidden reversed in drovE VAN Kilometres.
The Knave of hearts, he stole those tarts, and took them clean away …
Many thanks to Carpathian for this morning’s Quiptic. If you liked this and are still an improving solver, look out for and try a puzzle by her alter ego Vigo in the Guardian Independent cryptic series.
Very pleasant.
You are not alone, Pierre. I happily put in TEAM for 26a, then had to amend it when I did the down crosser
Took one look at the cryptic – it’s Paul and looks like it’s based on getting one clue first – and went straight to the quiptic which I enjoyed very much.
Especially liked: TEDDY BEAR, CONGER EEL, POT HERB, DISHIEST. Took way too long to see the hidden KNAVE and SISAL
Thanks to Carpathian and Pierre
Fun puzzle, well-placed as a Quiptic.
Liked DISCREDIT, TEDDY BEAR, BARGAIN HUNTER.
New IPA = beer.
Thanks, both.
* I did the same with TEAM/TEEM.
I thought delightful as well, Pierre and thanks for explaining Shies in DISHIEST. Carpathian never disappoints.
Ta both.
A really nice Quiptic, despite the ambiguous TEEM. Not sure that ENGORGE means to overeat, either, but I enjoyed this.
Thanks Carpathian and Pierre
Only hiccough was a tentative KOALA at 25a, but the anagram at 9d resolved that. Favourites was OUTHOUSES, for the misleading definition.
[Some time ago I read an interesting (for beer-lovers) book called Hops and Glory. It’s partly a history of India Pale Ale, and partly yhe author’s attempt to duplicate the brweing and transporting history that gave it its unique flavour.]
Thanks, Pierre – I share your reservations about 26a, but at least the crossing letters do resolve the ambiguity (not always the case!).
And thanks Carpathian – I’m always appreciative of a good surface, and there are several very good ones here (eg 22a).
I wondered about ENGORGE too, but my dictionary has overeat as an archaic definition. I, too, enjoyed this.
13 put me in mind of the agrarian pigs of the British Agricultural Revolution, or Lord Emsworth’s prized Empress of Blandings – engorged to the point of barely being able to support themselves.
Another enjoyable quiptic from Carpathian, thank you.
Pierre, in your recommendation to seek out crosswords from Carpathian’s alter-ego, I believe you meant to say Vigo can be found in the Independent cryptic series (not Guardian).
Solvers may be interested in an interview with Carpathian in the Guardian’s Meet the Setter series.
Not sure why the link above did not work -hopefully this one will:
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2021/jun/07/crossword-blog-meet-the-setter-carpathian-victoria-godfrey
This was nice. Way better for a Monday than Paul’s cryptic, which I solved with liberal use of the cheat button–which means that I didn’t solve it. But I won’t pile on, especially since we’re supposed to be talking about this one, not that one. I agree that if you’re new to this game, this is exactly the sort of puzzle you should be handed early on.
I hadn’t heard the term “skirting board,” which we here call a baseboard. After over a decade of doing the Guardian most weekdays, I’m still learning new Britishisms, it seems.
A minor point, but I think it is India Pale Ale, not Indian.
Very nice! I particularly enjoyed the misleading definition of NIBBLED in 19dn.
By the way, IPAs have become extremely well-known in the US. I routinely find myself out at a new pub or restaurant which has a wide variety of beers on draught, 80% of which are IPAs.
That’s exactly what I meant to say, Larry – thank you for the correction. Vigo sets in the Indy (often on a Monday, which tends to be an easy-end puzzle to start the week).
Good one to get back on the horse after being thrown by my name-sake. Thanks Pierre & Carpathian.
The most enjoyable Quiptic in several weeks – also because as a new solver I was able to crack all clues except skirting board.
Overseas solvers (like me) are quite familiar with IPA thanks to the rise of craft brewers.
Thanks, Pierre and Carpathian
Must have been an easy one, as I managed to complete it. It felt like most of the charades were of actual words, which made it simpler, but after the ritual humiliation I normally endure, I’ll take it!
Thanks, Carpathian and Pierre, for an excellent Quiptic and great blog. I also very much enjoyed the Meet The Setter link.