Guardian Quiptic 1,292 by Pasquale

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A fine Quiptic from the ever-reliable Pasquale.

I’m standing in for Shanne today while she does other fun things. Due to a slight cock-up on the calendar front, I’ve ended up volunteering myself for double blogging duty today but since it’s a wet bank holiday weekend and I don’t have other fun things to do, I’m not complaining.

Pasquale has been in this game a long time and has a well-earned reputation for precise wordplay. He’s also very good at adjusting his difficulty level as required and I found this nicely pitched for less experienced solvers or “those in a hurry”.

Thanks, Pasquale!

Definitions in clues are underlined, link words (which form no part of the wordplay or definition) are in italics.

Completed crossword grid containing the solutions listed in the blog below.

ACROSS
1 SEDATE
Teased terribly for being staid (6)
TEASED = letters in anagram
terribly = anagram indicator
4 NAPALM
Fellow about to protect chum from inflammatory liquid (6)
Fellow = MAN
about = reversed
to protect = containing
chum = PAL
9 DEFINITE ARTICLE
The thing – no doubt about it! (8,7)
Thing = ARTICLE
no doubt about it = DEFINITE
10 MAKE-UP
Pancake’s composition? (4-2)
Two definitions

In the theatre, pancake is face powder used as a foundation make-up to stop the actor’s face looking shiny under stage lights. Also used colloquially to mean any make-up thickly applied.
11 ABETTING
Helping adult having a flutter? (8)
Adult = A (used in film classification in the UK until 1982)
having a flutter = BETTING
12 CENSURED
Reprimanded Conservative gets protected (8)
Conservative = C
gets
protected = ENSURED
14 SETTEE
Place item of golf equipment in chair (6)
Place = SET
item of golf equipment = TEE
15 CHAMPS
Fellows embracing male team coming first (6)
Fellows = CHAPS
embracing = containing
male = M
18 COLLECTS
Gathers for prayers (8)
Two definitions

A collect is a short prayer in a church service.
21 BLOCKADE
Security device getting ordered outside – it creates obstruction (8)
Security device = LOCK
getting
ordered = BADE
outside = containment indicator
22 NOGGIN
No good having drink in small cup (6)
No = NO
good = G (common abbreviation)
drink = GIN
24 BOWL A MAIDEN OVER
Achieve something as cricketer and win lass’s heart (4,1,6,4)
Two definitions

A maiden over in cricket is one in which the batters score no runs.
25 SENTRY
Guard second gate? (6)
Second = S (as in hours, minutes and seconds)
gate = ENTRY
26 STANCE
Position taken by remotest ancestors (6)
The solution is contained in (“taken by”) remoteST ANCEstors
DOWN
1 SEEPAGE
Notice servant making gradual escape (7)
Notice = SEE
servant = PAGE
2 DRIVE
Take car through flooded river? (5)
The solution is to be found running “through” floodeD RIVEr
3 TRIPPER
Holidaymaker is one having minor accident maybe (7)
Two definitions, the second a whimsical way of saying someone who trips
5 AIRLESS
Eastender’s bald and stuffy (7)
Eastender’s = indication to drop the H as in Cockney speech
bald = hAIRLESS
6 ARISTOTLE
Philosopher ill-disposed to realist (9)
Ill-disposed = anagram indicator
TO REALIST = letters in anagram
7 MELANGE
Collection of English language held by this writer (7)
English = E
language = LANG
held by = contained in
this writer = ME
8 DEMAND
Require theologian to conceal flipping identity! (6)
Thelologian = DD (Doctor of Divinity, an academical degree)
to conceal = containing
flipping = reversed
identity = NAME
13 SEMICOLON
Mark 50% of body passage (9)
50% of = SEMI (ie a prefix meaning half)
body passage = COLON
16 HALLOWS
Blesses everyone in new show (7)
Everyone = ALL
in = inserted in
new = anagram indicator
SHOW = letters in anagram
17 SLAMMER
One making a hit in prison? (7)
Two definitions, the first a whimsical way of saying someone who slams
18 CREDIT
Acclaim King Charles starting change (6)
King Charles = CR (abbreviation for Carolus Rex, Latin for King Charles)
starting = coming before
change = EDIT
19 LENIENT
Nine roughly occupying accommodation – not strict (7)
NINE = letters in anagram
roughly = anagram indicator
occupying = inserted in
accommodation = LET
20 TRIREME
Retire, relaxing with a thousand in ship (7)
RETIRE = letters in anagram
relaxing = anagram indicator
with a
thousand = M (Roman numeral)

An ancient Greek warship with three banks of oars.
23 GROAN
Unhappy sound got bigger, as heard (5)
Got bigger = GROWN
as heard = at least, that’s what it sounds like

 

28 comments on “Guardian Quiptic 1,292 by Pasquale”

  1. Very enjoyable puzzle. I would recommend it to beginners.

    Favourite: BOWL A MAIDEN OVER.

    New for me: NOGGIN = a small quantity of alcoholic drink.
    I was brought up C of E but COLLECTS = prayers is new for me – or have I forgotten about these prayers?

    Thanks, both.

  2. Thanks Pasquale and Widdersbel
    Very nice surface for the hidden STANCE.
    Michelle – I was familiar with COLLECTS from my CofE upbringing, so I’m afraid you must have forgotten!

  3. I spent far too long trying to parse Blockage not Blockade. Other than that it was a joy to complete.

    Pasquale really has Quiptic setting down to a fine art.

    Thanks Pasquale and Widdersbel

    Btw Rainy? In SW1 there isn’t a cloud in the sky . Solving whilst sitting in the sun with the Abbey tolling in the background

  4. I really struggled with this, especially the bottom half, but I can’t see why – everything is straightforward enough. Think it’s my brain – haven’t been sleeping well. I hope things improve over the week! I’d forgotten about DD for theologian so that didn’t help. Thanks to both.

  5. Fascinated that here, and in Guardian comments, people found this straightforward – I really struggled with much of it! I think some is lack of (specialist?) knowledge on my part – stage make-up, prayer services, Roman ships – but perhaps just not on setter’s wavelength. Good learning experience though!

    Thanks Widdersbel and Pasquale!

  6. Another almost perfect Quiptic from Pasquale with maybe TRIREME and COLLECTS being a bit of a stretch for beginners. Liked BOWL A MAIDEN OVER and SEMICOLON amongst others. There seemed to be a lot of double letter answers such as SEEPAGE, TRIPPER, SETTEE, ABETTING and the rest.

    Ta Pasquale & WiDDersbel.

  7. A lovely quiptic, well pitched. I liked DEFINITE ARTICLE and SEMICOLON. And BOWL A MAIDEN OVER, an old joke but nicely clued. I remember seeing TRIREME before, in a crossword perhaps.
    Thanks to Pasquale and to Widdersbel for the blog and for standing in.

  8. I was brought up RC, so COLLECTS were a dim memory that surfaced fortuitously.
    I thought this a very fair Quiptic, not too easy, but my GK was possibly better suited for this than some others.
    Thanks both.

  10. I used to read the books provided when bored in church (i.e. nearly all the time!) I think I remember that there was a “collect of the day” for every day in the calendar.

  12. Thank you for the blog. A very enjoyable quiptic although first time I’d heard of TRIREME, only got it from a few checks and crossers. Was also nice to see a few hidden words (more than usual in this category?).

  13. Another one who struggled a bit with some of this, but I realise I made harder work of some clues than was necessary. I’ll also allow for the fact that Bank Holiday shenanigans mean I’m not quite as sharp today as I might otherwise have been…

  14. Thank you for standing in Widdersbel (I did both when I covered for you, too.). I have been out doing interesting things, am stopping for a brew.

    The COLLECT of the day in the CofE is the prayer that collects the congregation in prayer and collects the themes of the day. That’s a specific prayer that changes depending on season or theme of the service and they are found in the various Common Worship references (or Book of Common Prayer or ASB). (I worked as a church administrator for a bit). Collects are also formal prayers generally.

    TRIREME always makes me think of Masefield’s Cargoes –
    “Quinquereme of Nineveh from distant Ophir,
    Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine”
    lots of useful crossword vocabulary there.

    Thank you for the blog, Widdersbel, and to Pasquale for the crossword.

  15. I had only a dim recollection of COLLECT as a prayer–I was raised Catholic, and I don’t think we use the word, so I’m not sure where I picked it up. But TRIREME I did know well; in the computer game Civilization, it’s the first class of ship that becomes available to you to build. As we often say around here, general knowledge is either known or obscure only from the point of view of the knower.

    For BLOCKADE, I first tried BLOCKAGE but couldn’t make the wordplay work. Wonder if I was alone in that.

  17. Thanks to Widdersbel for the blog and to Pasquale for the setting. As a relative newcomer I struggled with parts of this but I enjoyed the overall experience. My limited sports knowledge allowed me to get “Bowl A” with no idea how to finish 24A, but that’s all part of the experience. My favourite was definitely semicolon, had a little chuckle when I got it from the crossers.

    I only started doing quiptics a few weeks ago and have been ravenously consuming the backlog for a while now. Thanks to all the fifteensquared gang for my continuous education on how to parse things. I don’t know if I would find it as enjoyable a hobby if not for the group of pros who help me understand and improve (and that includes the other commenting!).

  19. Nice relaxing solve except for 21ac where we entered ‘blockage’ and (obviously) couldn’t parse it. And even I, as a nonconformist, knew about collects!
    Thanks, Pasquale and Widdersbel.

  20. Well done Widdersbel – another example of the excellent use of double duty.

    And thanks Pasquale for another satisfying Sunday stroll. No BLOCKA(G)E or SEEPAGE in my NOGGIN today, so this was the DEFINITE ARTICLE.

  21. That was an enjoyable Quiptic. Started this morning straight after the Everyman, and then left for a few hours while, like Shanne, I went out and did interesting things.

    I liked SEMICOLON, never heard of COLLECTS in the prayer sense, and almost put NAGGIN in for NOGGIN (a naggin being an Irishism for a small bottle of spirits). TRIREME was the answer to a clue in the very first cryptic crossword I remember doing in my teens, and has resurfaced a few times over the years.

    Thanks Pasquale for the excellent puzzle and Widdersbel for the informative blog.

  22. Just started doing Quiptics and now I’m hooked! This was the first one I felt I was beginning to get the measure of the parsing rather than wild guessing. Fifteen squared has taught me a lot as, like Grumpy Bear, I’ve been going through past Quiptics. Pasquale is my favourite.

  23. I enjoyed the variety of clues. I must admit it a bit more challenging than I expected. Thanks Pasquale and Widdersbel

  24. Having taken several weeks break from the crosswords, it was nice to get back into the flow with a neatly constructed offering from Pasquale. DEFINITE ARTICLE was my last one in; I was a little confused by the word order which seems to indicate (the nonsensical) ‘article definite’. Favourites were TRIREME for the misdirection (started looking for some letters inside SS) and STANCE for the smooth surface. COLLECTS was new to me (RC upbringing not CE) but a reasonable guess that it could mean prayers once the crossers were in place. Thanks Pasquale and Widdersbel.

  25. Had a look at this yesterday and got nowhere, so I thought I’d sleep on it and have another crack today, but it’s no better (only managed 3 clues). I don’t know if I’m fully ready to admit defeat just yet but it’s not looking good.

  26. Started on Sunday and had to chip away at it until completed today. Enjoyable challenge and have to say I did a 23d when I realised what 23d was 😄
    Feel like I’m definitely progressing on doing these Quiptics after the education of the Quick Cryptics.
    Thanks Pasquale and Widdersbel.

  27. Eventually managed to chip away at this one. DD for theologian is new to me, despite frequent visits to a theological college when my mum was training.

    I really hope that there’s some other reason to abbreviate Adult to A, as I’m hardly young, but would have been a toddler when the film rating disappeared.

  28. Feel Wheels – the film classification is the only example of A standing for adult that is given in the OED but there may be others. I was surprised that it was as long ago as 1982 that it changed.

    Being very convenient devices in the setter’s box of tricks, these abbreviations have a habit of persisting in crosswordland long after they have fallen out of wider use. You’ll still see “model” for T, though the Ford Model T ceased production in 1927, and “upper class” for U, which was popularised in an essay by Nancy Mitford in 1954.

    Well done to all those less experienced solvers who persevered with this – it may have been less tricky than Pasquale at his most fearsome but that doesn’t mean it was easy. Hopefully it was an enjoyable challenge.

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