Thank you to Chandler. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Portion of money from large farm in borders of Tennessee (7)
TRANCHE : RANCH(a large farm where cattle and other animals are bred) contained in(in) 1st and last letters of(borders of) “Tennessee“.
5 Diver at sea going round lake with Yankee showing mischief (7)
DEVILRY : Anagram of(… at sea) DIVER containing(going round) L(abbrev. for “lake”) plus(with) Y(letter represented by “Yankee” in the phonetic alphabet).
10 Rabbit’s tail is cutesy? Not entirely (4)
SCUT : Hidden in(…? Not entirely) “is cutesy“.
11 Efficient person that’s paid by channel I have contracted (10)
PRODUCTIVE : PRO(short for “professional”, one is paid for performing in, say, sports) + DUCT(a channel/a passageway) + I’VE(contraction of “I have”).
12 Younger relative recalled figure in short poem (6)
SONNET : SON(one’s relative who is younger than one) + reversal of(recalled) TEN(figure/a number).
13 Counterpart in awful need getting in a tangle? (8)
ENTWINED : TWIN(a counterpart/an equal) contained in(in) anagram of(awful) NEED.
14 Egg on new firm in multinational group with fancy gear (9)
ENCOURAGE : [ N(abbrev. for “new”) + CO(abbrev. for “company”, a firm doing business) ] contained in(in) EU(abbrev. for the European Community, a multinational group) plus(with) anagram of(fancy) GEAR.
16 People hail this US gangster in intriguing faction (5)
CABAL : CAB(a taxi, something which people wanting transportation hail) + AL(Capone, US gangster).
Defn: A group/faction involved in secret activities/intrigue.
17 Ill-feeling produced by dirty venue in the Kent area (5)
SPITE : PIT(a dirty venue/a place with dirt in it, such as a gravel pit) contained in(in) SE(abbrev. for the South East of England, the area in which the county of Kent is).
19 Having a complaint, a guy is uncomfortable (3,2,4)
ILL AT EASE : ILL(having a complaint/sick) + A + TEASE(to guy/to rag).
23 Salutation in Greek assembly after missing start (8)
GREETING : GR(abbrev. for “Greek”) + “meeting”(an assembly/a conference) minus its 1st letter(after missing start).
24 Motive concerning a disciple (6)
REASON : RE(with reference to/concerning) + A + SON(what one may call a disciple/a follower, as in “son of the church”).
26 Senator is upset facing first of such claims (10)
ASSERTIONS : Anagram of(… upset) SENATOR IS plus(facing) 1st letter of(first of) “such“.
27 Miserable bishop going off to make unauthorised disclosure (4)
LEAK : “bleak”(miserable/dreary) minus(… going off) “b”(abbrev. for “bishop”, the chess piece).
28 One working slowly in place of more peculiar character (7)
PLODDER : PL(abbrev. for “place”) + ODDER(of more peculiar character/of a stranger nature).
29 Bunch caught by unexpected result (7)
CLUSTER : C(abbrev. for “caught” in cricket scores) plus(by) anagram of(unexpected) RESULT.
Down
2 Furry creature hurried around cricket club and pool essentially (7)
RACCOON : RAN(hurried/moved fast) containing(around) [ CC(abbrev. for “cricket club”) plus(and) 2 inner letters of(… essentially) “pool” ].
3 Impractical time in middle of day (3,2)
NOT ON : T(abbrev. for “time”) contained in(in) NOON(the middle of the day).
4 Trendy sort in joint getting sun on terrace (7)
HIPSTER : HIP(joint connecting torso and leg) plus(getting) S(abbrev. for the sun) placed above(on, in a down clue) TER(abbrev. for “terrace”).
6 Liken opening of enquiry with question at issue lately (6)
EQUATE : 1st letter of(opening of) “enquiry” plus(with) QU(abbrev. for “question”) + AT + last letter of(… lately) “issue“.
7 Complicated act in rite when reviewed (9)
INTRICATE : Anagram of(… when reviewed) ACT IN RITE.
8 Four on island in unusually rare coastal region (7)
RIVIERA : [ IV(Roman numeral for “four”) placed above(on, in a down clue) I(abbrev. for “island”) ] contained in(in) anagram of(unusually) RARE.
Defn: … with a subtropical climate and vegetation.
9 Ongoing relief devised for corps recruiting volunteers (7,6)
FOREIGN LEGION : Anagram of(… devised) ONGOING RELIEF.
Defn: … who are foreign citizens into the military services of a state.
15 Article probing performing chaps given day in recovery? (2,3,4)
ON THE MEND : THE(an article in English grammar) contained in(probing) [ ON(performing/in operation) + MEN(chaps/blokes) ] plus(given) D(abbrev. for “day”).
18 Standard note found in a large thing supplying shade (7)
PARASOL : PAR(standard/the expected level, as in “his performance was below par”) + { SO(a note in the tonic sol-fa scale) contained in(found in) [A + L(abbrev. for “large”) ] }.
20 A loser sadly pocketing nothing for spray can (7)
AEROSOL : Anagram of(… sadly) A LOSER containing(pocketing) O(letter representing 0/nothing).
21 Safekeeping adopted by artist or agent (7)
STORAGE : Hidden in(adopted by) “artist or agent“.
22 Link including instruction to reader to walk quietly (6)
TIPTOE : TIE(a link/a bond) containing(including) PTO(abbrev. for “please turn over”, an instruction to a reader to turn the page over).
25 Book of maps finally reduced (5)
ATLAS : “at last”(finally/in the end) minus its last letter(reduced).
Thank you scchua for your excellent, illustrated blog, as always.
I read the ”pit” in SPITE as a dirty venue, like a ‘dive’, or an unkempt house, but either way it works.
I liked the hiddens SCUT and STORAGE, and the surface in NOT ON, CLUSTER, and ENCOURAGE.
The clue for AEROSOL is sad as Chandler seems to be alluding to the unfortunate abuse of inhaling aerosols in spray cans.
.
Delightful 😊
great crossword and blog, thank you.
love the pics too
SPITE was my favourite today and pit was definitely one of the dreadful bars we used to hang out in as kids.
SPITE
Had the same parse as paddymelon@1. I think PIT as mentioned in the blog doesn’t quite work.
ENTWINED
Should the def be ‘in a tangle’ considering the ‘getting’ as a link word?
PRODUCTIVE
Steffen! If you are reading this:
Last week I said ‘I have’ in a clue could become I’VE in the solution even if there was no specific indicator for the contraction. This clue has an explicit indicator. So there is no hard and fast rule.
Liked NOT ON, CLUSTER and TIPTOE.
Thanks Chandler and scchua (Amazing how much effort you put into each blog! Liked the HIP-STER pic and the PARASOL pic (listening to a note?)).
Yep took ages to remember that pit could be like sty for 17a spite. Nice quiptic, merci [et heureux Bastille Day à tout].
Excellent Quiptic that I would recommend to beginners.
Favourite: TIPTOE.
Thanks, both.
Not convinced by son=disciple and have never seen TERrace (a street abbreviation in addresses like AVEnue I suppose). Liked the splendid anagram for FOREIGN LEGION and the neatly hidden STORAGE which took me an unreasonably long time to spot – also TIPTOE and CLUSTER.
PIT reminded me of the squalid cinemas of my youth – fleaPITs.
Note for beginners: just as singer is always CHER and film is ET, gangster is usually AL (Capone).
(I forgot to say: thanks Chandler for a nicely pitched Quiptic and scchua for the pictures).
Liked this a lot.
The only one I don‘t get really after reading this is 19a, to guy = tease. Never heard this ever before
gladys @7: son = disciple is in Chambers. Wiki throws up a few examples such as Sons of Liberty in the US and Sons of Ben who were disciples of the writer, Ben Jonson.
Nath @9: Chambers defines ‘guy’ as
transitive verb (slang)
To turn to ridicule, make fun of
It’s worth remembering as it crops up in puzzles quite often.
KVa @ 4: I agree with you re ENTWINED and also parsed ‘getting’ as a link word. If ‘getting in a tangle’ was the def, the solution would surely need to be ENTWINING?
Lovely neat quiptic. Perfect for a Sunday morning. FOREIGN LEGION – COTD
Thanks Chandler and scchua
Nath @9, I only know it from previous crossword clues, I think I’ve seen it a couple of times before. I didn’t fully remember it this time round but something in the back of my mind clicked and I went with it.
The anagram for FOREIGN LEGION is a great spot, nicely pitched Quiptic from Chandler. Although I hesitated to enter ENTWINED until I had all the crossers.
Thank you to scchua and Chandler.
Many thanks to Chandler. A really fine Quiptic which I’ve recommended to my pal who is getting better as a solver. Thanks also to scchua for a great and beautifully illustrated blog. My COTD is also FOREIGN LEGION.
I didn’t know that a rabbit’s tail was a SCUT, so I learned something today. (This is, I believe, what old hands around here call a “jorum.”)
I think that GUY meaning “tease” is somewhat archaic. I have a feeling I’ve seen it in 19th-century novels (perhaps Jane Austen?), but I can’t be specific right now. The citations in the OED for this meaning are all from the 19th century.
I don’t think of a sonnet as a particularly short poem, but I suppose it all depends on whether you’re comparing it to the Iliad or to a limerick. I guess I’ve revealed my literary bent, then.
I found this to be an excellent Quiptic. Lilke Pauline in Brum, I’d definitely recommend it to beginners (i.e., to the target Quiptic audience).
I agree that this made a very good Quiptic, with some very nice charades to guy out. Not quite as easy as today’s Everyman, I thought.
Thanks Chandler and scchua!
And just wanted to say thanks to this community too!
I’ve been learning cryptics for a little while now. My Taid started teaching me when I was young but I never really got into them and I’ve finally taken the plunge. Now I do one every eve whilst waiting for my kids to fall asleep. ( l’ve worked back to quiptic 1216 so far.) And I read 15^2 and all your comments every time.
I finished this one (with only a couple of checks) just as kid #2 stopped wiggling, so a triumph for me.
This is such a useful resource and I love the community, so just wanted to show my appreciation. 🙂
what paddymelon@1 wrote.
Enjoyable puzzle and blog. Thanks Chandler and scchua
My first Quiptic in a while and a little beaut, accompanied by a beaut blog so tvm both.
SCUT echoed vaguely – in my younger days (most of modern history nowadays) we used to ‘SCUT’ on the back of lorries, milk vans, horse-drawn coal wagons, basically anything that moved. Great fun. Very very dangerous.
E@16: Good for you – welcome if that’s your first offer. You’ll have to excuse my wondering if you meant ‘Taid’…. your Dad perhaps? (Funny how crosswords back in the day were quite the male preserve.)
Alphalpha @18 thanks! My grandfather, it’s Welsh. Yes very much so, he used to sit solemnly at the dining table with a row of fat dictionaries, the paper and a special fountain pen, and it all looked very serious. I could see the joy behind it though so it’s lovely to share it now.
Ted@14: A ‘Thing I Leant Today’ is generally called a ‘TILT’. A ‘jorum’ is when a word we have never encountered emerges as the only possible answer and turns out to be an actual word – this happened in a blog of a crossword including ‘jorum’ as an answer and the meaning was assigned by one of the online contibutors. This link sheds some light…..
E@19: Ah I see. I hope you will always enjoy crosswords as your Taid (TILT for me) did.
A lovely Monday puzzle. We used to call a coal mine the pit so that was the dirty place for me but the new word for today was guy for tease. Thanks Chandler and scchua.
Well I don’t know if it’s a result of drinking too much during the football on Sunday or if my brain just isn’t working this week, but I’ve been banging my head against this for a couple of days now and have gotten almost nowhere with it. Managed a measly 6 clues, and one of them I didn’t understand. Normally I get at least half of a quiptic so this is a little disappointing.
Cheers sschua and Chandler.
By far my worst attempt in quite a while on the Quiptic – managed a bit of the NE corner (1A, 10A, 12A, 2D and 3D) a bit of the SE corner (24A, 27A, 20D, 22D and 25D) with a massive series of unanswered (and frankly impenetrable) clues in-between.
Going to work through the answers and try and learn from those where it went wrong but it felt pretty gnarly this week.