Guardian Quiptic 1151 Matilda

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Thank you to Matilda. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1. A slice of chorizo needed, as far as one can see (7)

HORIZON : Hidden in(A slice of) “chorizo needed“.

5. Baseball player‘s pet singer? (7)

CATCHER : CAT(an example/? of a pet) + CHER(American singer and actress).

10. Middleman’s oddly abandoned notion (4)

IDEA : “Middleman” minus its 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th letters(…’s oddly abandoned).

11. Top actress playing for them, say (10)

SPECTATORS : Anagram of(… playing) TOP ACTRESS.

Defn: …, ie. those who might be watching an actress playing.

12. The Lord has one for each letting in light (6)

PRAYER : PER(each/per person, say) containing(letting in) RAY(light, specifically, a narrow beam of light).

Defn: …, viz. the one called the Lord’s.

13. Came to a vigil in the graveyard at last (8)

AWAKENED : A + WAKE(a vigil for a deceased one) + last letters, respectively, of(… at last) “in the graveyard“.

14. [Extremely stormy night here: movement’s not natural] (9)

SYNTHETIC : 1st and last letters, respectively, of(Extremely) “stormy night here” + TIC(an uncontrollable muscle movement).

Defn: …/artificial.

[I assume the square brackets are typos].

16. Setter values cross (5)

IRATE : [ I RATE ](“setter values”, with our setter using the self-referential pronoun).

17. Devon and Cornwall listener’s vow (5)

SWEAR : SW(abbrev. for “South West”, specifically of England, the area where Devon and Cornwall are situated) + EAR(listener/the organ for listening).

19. Emphasise policy must follow European articles (9)

UNDERLINE : LINE(policy/a prescribed course of action or thinking, as in “to toe the line”) placed after(must follow) UN,DER(two European articles in grammar, one French and one German).

23. Look again for academic work (8)

RESEARCH : RE-(prefix indicating some action is performed again) + SEARCH(to look for).

24. Like shoulders of beef or lamb, they can be smoked (6)

JOINTS : Examples of which/like are shoulders of beef or lamb cooked and served.

Defn: Slang for cannabis cigarettes.

26. Pope endlessly fiddling with his holy principles (10)

PHILOSOPHY : “Pope” minus its last letter(endlessly) + anagram of(fiddling with) HIS HOLY.

27. Almost nobody here at midday (4)

NOON : “no one”(nobody/not a soul) minus its last letter(Almost …).

28. Wrongfully arrest the first of dodgy dealers (7)

TRADERS : Anagram of(Wrongfully) [ARREST + 1st letter of(the first of) “dodgy“],

29. Location of a debutante’s first gown (7)

ADDRESS : A + 1st letter of(…’s first) “debutante” + DRESS(an example of which is a gown).

Down

2. Neat hospital worker (7)

ORDERLY : Double defn.

3. Originally introduced the aphorism ‘love your country‘ (5)

ITALY : 1st letters, respectively, of(Originally) “introduced the aphorism ‘love your“.

4. Make a comment that’s awfully verbose (7)

OBSERVE : Anagram of(awfully) VERBOSE.

6. Real and current (6)

ACTUAL : Double defn: 2nd: …/existing now, as opposed to what might be in the future, as in “actual gains in the market is no indication of future performance”.

7. Elaborate charade about time left for city feature (9)

CATHEDRAL : [ Anagram of(Elaborate) CHARADE containing(about) T(abbrev. for “time”) ] + L(abbrev. for “left”).

Cologne Dom Cathedral - Free photo on Pixabay

8. Sounds like Hemingway is serious (7)

EARNEST : Homophone of(Sounds like) “Ernest”(Hemingway, American author).

9. Ties rocking horse’s tail with pin (13)

RELATIONSHIPS : Anagram of(rocking) [HORSE’S TAIL plus(with) PIN].

15. West End composer went ahead and took a trip (9)

TRAVELLED : Last letter of(… End) “West” + RAVEL(Maurice, French composer) + LED(went ahead/at the head of a group).

18. If reporting rain or sunny spells, for example (7)

WHETHER : Homophone of(reporting) “weather”(examples of which/for example, are “rain or sunny spells”).

20. Appreciated conclusion about job yet unfinished (7)

ENJOYED : END(conclusion/finish) containing(about) “job yet” minus its last letters, respectively(unfinished).

21. Sonatina played endlessly in many a country (7)

NATIONS : Anagram of(… played) [ “Sonatina” minus its last letter(… endlessly) ].

22. Her Majesty not disguising herself in rubber (6)

ERASER : ER(abbrev. for “Elizabeth Regina”, Her Majesty) + [ AS ER ](as herself/not disguising herself).

A non-rubber rubber:

25. Intimate meal with no starter (5)

INNER : “dinner”(the evening meal) minus its 1st letter(with no starter).

Defn: …/private and personal.

27 comments on “Guardian Quiptic 1151 Matilda”

  1. Thanks Matilda and scchua. Nice start to Monday morning. And a nice pic of Cologne(?) cathedral – you weren’t tempted to use a pic of Ely?

    Square brackets like that suggest to me something to be checked or changed by an editor/sub, but the clue looked fine to me. Probably just left in by mistake.

  4. What an excellent Quiptic!

    I liked so many: UNDERLINE, PHILOSOPHY, RELATIONSHIPS, TRAVELLED, RESEARCH, TRADERS, WHETHER, AWAKENED. I think my top favourite was ERASER.

    Thanks, both.

  5. Agree – a good start to the week.

    I too liked a lot including: SWEAR, WHETHER , UNDERLINE, SYNTHETIC, NOON – and ERASER was very neat.

    Thanks Matilda and scchua

  8. From the outside it feels like there’s a real skill in setting a crossword that’s at this level but with the same concision and sideways thinking you see in harder cryptics. I won’t name names, but many setters seem to get stuck in a rut of “do this and this and this” and it doesn’t have that “aha!” moment, whereas this was littered with them.

    Favourite surface was the pope, and I notice that Matilda’s tic of doing the same thing twice in a Quiptic continues (this time “endlessly” is used twice – I’m convinced it’s a deliberate device used to give new solvers a second chance at a clue type), but ER AS ER is the standout.

  9. A pleasant puzzle, which I got through surprisingly quickly. I was slightly uneasy about ACTUAL for “current”, and not quite convinced by sschua’s very clear explanation.

  10. Top notch puzzle from Matilda and the usual captivating blog from sschua. I thought RELATIONSHIPS was very well wrought. Seems to be an increasing amount of drug references in puzzles these days: Oh tempore….

  12. Lovely Quiptic though it took me a long time to solve 13a for some reason. I started the NW corner rapidly but slowed down by the time I reached the NE (having worked anticlockwise). But all the answers were satisfying when I reached them. Thanks Matilda and scchua .

  13. Thanks Matilda and scchua.

    Very good quality clues. Interesting enough for regulars, and accessible to beginners. It ain’t no, Just add mac-n-cheese and call it kid’s menu attitude. Kid’s menu items good enough for adults desiring small portions.

    [ @pdp11 Posted a follow up in 28586 and cross posted it to general discussions. ]

  14. I really enjoyed this one, but my pet favourite was ERASER.

    @10 Alphalpha – drugs are awfully ‘mores-ish’ #illgetmecoat

  17. I’m always pleased to find Matilda has the Quiptic slot: sound clues and smooth, witty surfaces (like the one for PHILOSOPHY for instance), and I think she also tries to introduce newbies to some of the crossword chestnuts like CHER and PER. And yes, ERASER was a lulu.

  18. Good Quiptic with some fine clues.

    I liked UNDERLINE, PHILOSOPHY and SYNTHETIC, as well as ERASER. [Images of a rather attractive female friend, saying to a class in Canada: “Has anyone got a rubber”, which caused a lot of mirth.]

    Thanks Matilda and scchua.

  19. This was enjoyable. Michelle @4 and Fiona Anne @5 summed it up well.

    Thanks Matilda for a fine puzzle and scchua for your colourful blog.

  21. More Matilda please. Just enough “oh… of course!” to be interesting but not so easy as to be trivial.

    I actually got all of these for once, and only couldn’t parse TRAVELLED because I’ve never heard of RAVEL. I know, uncultured millennial. Give me a clue with TRAVIS in it then! 😛

  23. I’m getting better at these cryptics- thanks to fifteen squared and Paul’s Zooms. Usually I’m too focused on solving the thing to appreciate the skill that has gone into writing it. But with this one, the elegance of the clueing was obvious from the start. Thanks Matilda!
    And thanks Scchua for the blog.

  24. I absolutely shouldn’t complain given that this was for me what a proper quiptic should be but..
    for me 18 is more a clue for weather, which held me up on RESEARCH although that clue is an obvious one. And I think 28 is missing something since it’s awkwardly including D in the anagram. Something like ‘Wrongful arrest involving the first of dodgy dealers’ may have been better. But minor quibbles for a great puzzle I actually managed to solve in one evening for a change. Thanks Matilda and Scchua

  26. I do not really like clues like 18dn but I think – unlike the previous two speakers – it does point more in the direction of the intended WHETHER.
    As to 28ac, I am OK with this kind of what some see as an indirect anagram.
    In another place respected (and Ximenean) setters like Alberich/Klingsor and Serpent do it all the time.
    But, Andy a newbie @24, this was indeed ‘what a proper quiptic should be’.
    At this level (and one step higher, too), she’s one of the best in the Guardian’s stable.

    Years ago, I often commented on a thing that today happened in 21dn (NATIONS).
    ‘Sonatina played endlessly’, for me, means (SONATINA)* minus the last letter (which doesn’t have to be the A).
    However, Matilda means ‘Sonatina endlessly played’ but that isn’t what the clue tells me.
    Apart from that, a great Quiptic for which thanks to Matilda.
    And, of course, many thanks to Scchua for the blog.

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