I can’t say my heart flutters with joy when I see Anto’s name on a Quiptic puzzle. What matters more, perhaps, is what the intended audience thought of this one.
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 Rogue I phone back to get car
CADILLAC
A charade of CAD, I and CALL reversed.
5 Open aid distributed through peace group
CANDID
The ‘peace group’ is CND, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (a worthy, if less than prominent group these days). The setter is asking you to ‘distribute’ the letters AID in a random way ‘through’ the letters C, N and D. This type of clue is one of the reasons that many solvers don’t appreciate Anto’s efforts at compiling a Quiptic puzzle.
9 Run-down property due proper reconstruction
DOER UPPER
(DUE PROPER)* with ‘reconstruction’ as the anagrind. Not a phrase I’m familiar with, but it couldn’t be much else with some crossing letters.
11 Aggressive, but the opposite when backup goes missing
PUSHY
Anto is indicating that if you ‘back’ UP – in other words, reverse it – and it ‘goes missing’ from [PU]SHY, then you’re left with SHY, which is an antonym of PUSHY. Clever, but perhaps not for Quiptic territory.
12 Move some services out of Barking and Leicester?—
DECENTRALISE
(AND LEICESTER)* with ‘Barking’ as the anagrind. Just to add to the lack of care, there is a random em dash at the end of the clue. Listen, this is the Grauniad.
15 Newly elected American Republican starts being mean
NEAR
The initial letters of the first four letters of the clue. NEAR is a little used synonym for ‘mean’ or ‘stingy’ and often comes up in cryptics.
16 TV drama production showing discomforts around home?
MINI-SERIES
An insertion of IN in MISERIES. The insertion indicator is ‘around’.
18 Poet who gives value for the text
WORDSWORTH
A cd.
19 Chopped up hake when gutted
HEWN
H[AK]E W[HE]N
21 Gain wisdom breaking naval red line
LIVE AND LEARN
(NAVAL RED LINE)* with ‘breaking’ as the anagrind.
24 Songbird going back over a village in Africa
KRAAL
An insertion of A in LARK reversed. The insertion indicator is ”over’.
25 Money earned available immediately
READY-MADE
A charade of READY and MADE.
26 Quiet and young? This drink’s allowed perhaps
SHANDY
A charade of SH, AND and Y, with an extended definition.
27 Class profile every word here displays
TYPEFACE
A charade of TYPE and FACE.
Down
1 Principles require writing off half of core debt
CODE
CO[RE] DE[BT]
2 Colours for duke getting approval
DYES
A charade of D and YES.
3 In the middle of slow etudes, Berg provided added volume
LOUDER
The central letters of sLOw, etUDes and bERg. LOUDER and ‘added volume’ fail the ‘can you substitute one for the other in a sentence’ criterion, I think.
4 Perfect request for dessert
APPLE PIE ORDER
A dd.
6 Top-ranking wager covers everything used here
ALPHABET
A charade of ALPHA and BET. A very vague definition wouldn’t have helped a beginner here.
7 Passed over hard liquor when depressed
DISPIRITED
An insertion of SPIRIT in DIED. The insertion indicator is ‘over’.
8 Wild sandy shores lose initial hydration when it doesn’t rain
DRY SEASONS
(SANDY S[H]ORES)* with ‘wild’ as the anagrind.
10 Shopping around for a cure?
RETAIL THERAPY
A cd.
13 Sensitive types some say but they are all unique
SNOWFLAKES
A dd.
14 Opera is a vital art with a twist
LA TRAVIATA
(A VITAL ART A)* with ‘twist’ as the anagrind.
17 Troubled after Charlie gets attacked
ASSAILED
A charade of ASS and AILED.
20 Promoted piece of exquisitely graceful diamond-based design
ARGYLE
Hidden reversed in exquisitELY GRAceful.
22 Highest recommendation by a California wine area
NAPA
A charade of NAP and A. NAP is a horse racing tipster’s term for the best bet of the day.
23 Charge recruiting tenor for fundraiser
FÊTE
An insertion of T in FEE. The insertion indicator is ‘recruiting’.
Many thanks to Anto for this week’s Quiptic.
Like you, Pierre, my heart sinks when I see Anto is the setter, but I plough on regardless. As a more experienced solver, I completed this. I think the comments you make here are valid for the less experienced. Napa defeated me. I’d forgotten about the Californian valley, and couldn’t see how to parse it without coming here.
By the way, a Doer-Upper is a property that requires work, or, estate agent speak, “has potential”.
Thanks Anto and Pierre.
Not too bad for an Anto, I thought. I liked “MINI-SERIES”, and 23d reminded me of being taken to what were described as “a fete worse than death” as a child.
I solved this, and a lot quicker than the Jack Cryptic, but I’ve solved a lot of Anto crosswords and I like his style, although I also question his suitability as a Quiptic setter.
I’d agree with the quibble about ALPHABET as that was the last in that corner, only solved by crossers. NAPA I didn’t know NAP as the bet, so that was my LOI.
Thank you Anto and Pierre.
Didn’t finish nor enjoy either of the Guardian’s offerings today. I had a bit of a whinge about Jack’s, so I’ll refrain here. Apart from near/mean. Huh?
I’m settling into Moo’s in the FT and finding it a much more satisfying experience.
Thanks both.
I quite enjoyed this puzzle. Some quite clever touches to it.
I’ve only been doing crosswords seriously (as in daily) for about a year or so, and so still consider myself at the beginning of my solving journey. And because of that, I do often comment on the suitability or otherwise of the Quiptic when a Monday comes round. And this one definitely fell into the ‘not a Quiptic’ category for me. It’s the kind of puzzle that, if I’d have encountered it a year ago, might even have put me off persevering with the hobby. Why the G can’t properly calibrate its Monday offerings is quite beyond me.
I think you’re being a bit hard on Anto!
I liked it and there were only a couple I didn’t get / or got , but didn’t know why (Napa) even though I’m a relative beginner / pretty useless at these crosswords.
I find Anto a lot easier than Hectence – last Monday’s wasn’t fun at all.
It must be a wavelength thing.
Anyway, thanks to both of you.
Gettingthere @7 – I don’t know whether we’re being hard on Anto, or the crossword editor 🙂 … does anyone know how the Quiptic submission/selection thing works? Does a setter work to the Qupitic brief upfront, or does the editor look at a puzzle and decide it’s suitable for Quiptic?
(and of course, the wavelength thing still comes into it – I just think that there could be more consistent criteria applied around what is described as appropriate “for beginners and those in a hurry”)
I find the key to enjoying an Anti Quiptic is to forget that it’s supposed to be easier, which made this fun. The clues for ALPHABET and TYPEFACE had me looking for a non-existent theme.
Anto Quiptic, but an appropriate autocorrect.
I’m with @getting there on people being harsh on Anto. If “newbies” are to learn, then of course they need to be exposed to all sorts of cluing. If a Quiptic setter only used anagrams or whatever style you choose, how is a learner to understand the intricacies of this pastime? Yes, they will have to come here for full explanations, and we will always direct them here. If they can’t find the time to work out what explainers like Pierre are telling them, then I fear it is their loss, but so be it.
Thus, in Anto’s defence, he has used, as Pierre clearly explains: charades; a distribution; various anagrinds; a separation (“backup”); a “starts” (but no “finally” yet); an insertion; a removal; cryptic definitions; double definitions; a reversal and a hidden reversal in a down clue; a “remove the outside letters” or “use the internal letters only”. Any learner coming here for instruction would be trained in so many skills in one simple crossword.
Thank you, as ever, to Anto (and all other setters) for the care and attention, and to Pierre for the careful explanations.
I enjoyed this more than the Cryptic, and I’m getting quite fond of Anto’s style, but it’s a bit on the tough side for a Quiptic. Didn’t like the vague definitions for TYPEFACE and ALPHABET: it did look like a theme was being suggested, and if you did want to teach newbies how to spot a theme, you shouldn’t hint at one that isn’t there. I dont enjoy distribution clues like CANDID, but that’s just me. Like others, I failed on NAPA and don’t think LOUDER works grammatically.
Anto does do a nice DD: APPLE PIE ORDER and SNOWFLAKES made me smile. Also liked DECENTRALISE (the typo isn’t his fault and it’s a nice clue), SHANDY and PUSHY.
A tough Quiptic for beginners. Looks like the editor put this puzzle in the wrong slot. I don’t think it is the fault of Anto but rather the fault of the editor. Maybe they should get some testers to assist with categorisation?
I could not parse 5ac, 11ac, 22d.
New: EPONYM, ASPARTAME.
Thanks, both.
“I can’t say my heart flutters with joy” is how I feel when I see Paul’s name on any puzzle!
I can totally relate to Rob T @6:
“It’s the kind of puzzle that, if I’d have encountered it a year ago, might even have put me off persevering with the hobby. Why the G can’t properly calibrate its Monday offerings is quite beyond me.”
The editor should realise that his mistakes in wrongly categorising puzzles can turn off beginners.
Personally, I think that the Guardian should give up on the description of the Quiptic as being “A web-only, cryptic puzzle for beginners and those in a hurry.”
Don’t understand 17D. Never heard of 4D or 24A, otherwise not too bad. I’m a beginner and I often find Anto a bit tricky but this was fine for me. Recall a monologue on Just a Minute relating to 10D along the lines of Manx cats…
Michelle @13, I think you’re mixing up today’s Quiptic and Cryptic puzzles (but thanks for the two cryptic solutions as I haven’t started that one yet!).
Agree the quiptic was on the tough side – ASSAILED had me stumped for a long time – but I enjoyed it. Thanks to both.
I’m in the camp that thinks this was quite a nice puzzle, although granted that’s mostly based on the metric of ‘could I solve it in a reasonable amount of time?’. Not sure how to classify myself as a solver – I’ve been doing cryptics for quite a while, so not a beginner, but I’m not very good at them, so… aspiring intermediate? Anyway, it seems like the Quiptic should be at my level and this one felt like it was.
Apart from the vagueness in some of the definitions (alphabet, typeface) and a couple of words I’d never heard of (nap=top recommendation, near=mean) I didn’t have too much trouble as there was enough in there to point towards the answers (e.g. wager was likely to be bet, which made alphabet gettable). I also don’t mind ‘hard’ clues like 11a when the crossers make it gettable. It’s very satisfying for me as a quasi-beginner to reverse-engineer the wordplay, especially when it’s a technique I’ve not seen much before. Thanks Anto & Pierre
For 9a DOER-UPPER we generally say “fixer-upper” in the US, so this took some thinking.
As a former Californian, I thought of NAPA right away, but didn’t put it in because I couldn’t see why. Never heard of the racing NAP.
Thanks to Anto and Pierre (no birds today)!
I need to know because it wasn’t explained above: in 17D, why is “Charlie” ASS?
Chris @18. In the UK, if somebody’s a Charlie, he’s an ass.
LOL @Crispy: I’ve been British for forty years and would never have got ASS from “Charlie” in a million.
I found quite a lot of the references in this one very obscure for a quiptic.
Tough, and I fell down on ARGYLE because I was insistent on diamond as a material, not a pattern, so serves me right. Otherwise I agree it was tough for a Quiptic, but not unfair.
Like Gladys @12, I’ve grown to like Anto’s quirky style, so I enjoyed this – it had plenty to make me smile, even if it also had a few bits to make me frown. Thanks, Anto and Pierre.
Chris @18 – Charlie and ass are both synonyms for a foolish person.
Strangely not too bad for as someone still quite new to cryptics. Most of it was gettable but a few grumbles.
The one I didn’t get (apart from Napa, which is new to me but I think fair) is DECENTRALISE which I think is out of place. Not only did the error put me off and have me thinking it had something to do with the region or sport, but I think the anagrid barking is very difficult to spot when you have ‘move’, ‘some’ and ‘out’ in the same clue. I assume the ? here is to indicate barking is a loose anagrid but maybe I’m wrong.
Also, even though ASSAILED was obvious with crossers I don’t like charlie for ass. Actually it really annoys me whenever a setter subs one insult for another as if they are all the same.
I think ‘everything used here’ may have worked better if it was a pangram. I’ve never heard NEAR = mean but obvious from the cluing.
Chris @18 I always thought Charlie was cockney rhyming slang for Charlie Brown – Clown but I just googled it and someone suggests it’s Charlie Hunt. So maybe it is a synonym for ass after all.
This puzzle, and today’s Cryptic too for that matter, make me wish that the editor and setters read these comments – how else are they to know whether their objectives are being achieved? I know some setters do regularly look and even drop in – like Tramp today – but I fear not every one does.
I enjoyed this, even though I had to reveal Decentralise and make some checks on other clues. I especially liked Mini-series and Apple pie order. Didn’t have a problem with Candid as CND was the first thing I thought of and fitting in ‘aid’ seemed straightforward. I do think it was hard for a Quiptic though.
It’s Wednesday and I gave up. Honestly, there are some I would have got, but I was a bit DISPIRITED by the complexity of the clues.
Of all the things, CANDID was not one I had a complaint about: I knew I needed to distribute AID through a 3-letter peace organisation, but I didn’t know any peace organisations offhand and didn’t fancy going through a Wikipedia list to find an appropriate one.
Likewise I have never heard of KRAAL or an APPLE PIE ORDER, nor LA TRAVIATA (nor any opera, really), nor this meaning of NEAR, which I got immediately but didn’t put in because it didn’t make sense to me.
What do you mean it’s not Wednesday yet?
Wild sandy shores lose initial hydration when it doesn’t rain (3, 7)
“Initial hydration” does not indicate H. “Initially hydration” or “hydration initially”, yes.
Also, the wordplay requires “loses” rather than “lose”
As a beginner I managed about half of this (which is further than I usually get) but found the half I couldn’t do impossible, even after revealing.
Have learned about Charlie meaning ass, near meaning mean, ready meaning money and nap meaning best bet. Had also never heard the term “apple pie order” before either.
Still chasing my first finish, I’ll get there one day….
16a – where does IN come from?
4d – does APPLE PIE ORDER also mean “perfect”?
20d – how do you know it’s a reversal, and what makes it a hidden clue?
Hi Steffen. If you see this. IN comes from home. If you are ‘home ‘ you are ‘in’.
Apple pie order does mean perfect.
The phrase ‘piece of’ is the clue you need to pick letters from the other words in clue. ‘Promoted’ is the (vague) indicator you need to pick letters backwards!
Talking of helping beginners, is there somewhere there is a glossary of all the terms and abbreviations you use to explain clues on this excellent site?
Thanks