Guardian Quiptic 1298 / Anto

48 comments on “Guardian Quiptic 1298 / Anto”

1. I only managed to parse YARDSTICK, NOOSE,SIGMA and PEPPERS.Literally had a brain fog😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 and couldn’t continue,just simply to tough for my level of solving puzzles.

2. A *lot* of misdirection in this one which made for a very slow start, but it got quicker in the middle before slowing to a crawl again. Overall I enjoyed it. 26a as last one in made me kick myself, I stared at it for ages before the penny dropped.
   I didn’t have a problem with ‘hoodies’ – to my mind, the hoods are wearing the i.e. rather than the other way around although both ways round make sense. Depends how one’s mind works, I suppose…

3. Agreed that this is at the harder end of the Quiptic range. The cheap hotel is a FLEAPIT for me, but the wordplay says otherwise. Thanks for parsing ENEMIES: I couldn’t, and SORORAL was new. I’d have taken longer to get NAIROBI if we hadn’t had it in another crossword very recently.

   But I liked BILLINGS-GATE, POTTY TRAINED, SIGMA, HOODIES, IMPERIOUS and IN ERROR.

4. Thanks Anto and Duncan.

   Pleasant Sunday morning fare.

   @braun – have you tried Quick Cryptic, along with Shanne’s excellent blog it is a great starter. You will be finishing Quiptic in no time once you have got a good introduction

5. I enjoyed this but a Quiptic it was not, taking me twice as long as the Everyman and my usual Cryptic sort of time.

   I like Anto, but I wish the Guardian would stop putting him in the Quiptic slot when they advertise the Quiptic as an easy puzzle. I laughed at POTTY TRAINED too, but the clues I thought were fair for beginners were few and far.

   If someone is looking for a fair Quiptic look back over the last couple of weeks at the Picaroon and Pasquale puzzles

   Thank you to Duncan and Anto.

6. Thanks Anto and duncan!
   It will certainly be debated whether this qualifies as a Quiptic.
   An enjoyable one, nonetheless.
   Great blog (quite descriptive as a duncan blog always is).

   PRESS PASS
   A minor slip
   PASS (get through)

   HOODIES
   I agree with duncan’s comment. What is worn should be on the outside
   (and what wears it, on the inside). Liked the clue despite this quibble.
   Liked ENEMIES and SHELVED as well.

   LIFE AND DEATH
   Dictionaries have LIFE-AND-DEATH as an adjectival phrase. It’s used without
   hyphens in expressions like It’s a matter of LIFE AND DEATH.
   Please correct me if I am wrong.

7. I got it out but couldn’t parse half of it – it was a bit difficult for a quiptic. Like Gladys@3, I always thought a dodgy hotel was a fleapit, and a dog of doubtful parentage and cleanliness was a fleabag. Favourites were potty trained and Billingsgate. Thanks Anto and duncanshiell.

8. SIGMA
   The clue reads like an extended def
   Initially seen=S, Character S in Greece (or) Character S in AthenS.

9. KVa @ 6

   I’ve updated the wordplay for PASS at 15 down. Thanks for spotting the error. I’ve also corrected the spelling error in the title of the blog.

10. I’m never on Anto’s wavelength and, while I completed the puzzle, I failed to parse ‘enemies’. I agree that several of the clues were way above beginner level.

11. I agree with Greyhound@7 and Gladys@3 regarding fleapit & FLEABAG – and only knew the latter word from the TV series – but I bunged it in with crossed fingers anyway.
    I also guessed ENEMIES from the crossers: the parsing was beyond me.
    The crossword was fun but it didn’t feel much like a Quiptic to me, then again few in this slot do, these days.
    SMETANA and EMBARGO were my faves, and POTTY TRAINED made me smile.
    Thanks to Anto for the entertainment and duncanshiell for all the explanations.

12. This is not a Quiptic aka a “cryptic puzzle for beginners and those in a hurry”. There is something seriously wrong with the Quiptic category and I think that the person at fault is the Crosswords Editor at the Guardian. If these puzzles are not vetted, just call it a Cryptic and forget the Quiptic category which is increasingly turning beginners off.

    I’ve been doing cryptic puzzles for more than ten years and I find this puzzle difficult. I totally agree with duncanshiell’s comments in the intro above.

    I could not parse 11ac, 12ac, 23ac.

13. Thanks Anto and Duncan,

    Honestly I thought this was going to be much worse than it was, having spent the past few weeks sifting through older quiptics the name Anto generally fills me with a little fear. In this instance, however, I was clearly on the right wavelength. I managed to solve the majority of the puzzle on my first few passes and then ended up stuck on the last couple of clues.

    I haven’t braved the cryptic section of the guardian yet so I cannot comment on how much of a quiptic this puzzle is, but I have definitely found other quiptics harder in the past.

14. Quiptics have become a hit-and-miss affair for me lately(used to enjoy doing them).Reading older posts I’m aware that some participants have dropped out.I agree with Matthew@4,I’ll give Quick cryptics a shot.Thank you for your suggestion.

15. The description, “cryptic puzzle for beginners and those in a hurry”, has not changed since the arrival of the Quick Cryptic on Saturday, which is a puzzle for beginners, and the moving of the Quiptic to Sunday morning when it is fair to speculate that fewer prospective solvers are likely to be in a hurry than on Monday. I think, therefore, that the Quiptic has the opportunity to re-present itself as a transitional puzzle between its Quicker offshoot and the full cryptic. In that context, those who have protested at this crossword and at a couple of other recent occupants of the slot could adjust their expectations. Not being in a hurry, nor a beginner, the presence of two-novice-level puzzles on a Sunday does seem to me redundant.

16. I thought this was at the chewier end of Quiptics, but still within that category. Having said that, ENEMIES and a couple of others were cryptic clues, and unparsed til I arrived here (thanks for such a detailed breakdown of the clues).

    Enjoyable, and perhaps I was more on the wavelength than those who have reported more difficulty.

17. I at first thought SIGMA would be ALPHA, as it is the first letter of the Greek alphabet (“Character initially seen in Greece,” and also the first letter of Αθήνα (“maybe Athens”). But that’s a little loose, even for Anto.

18. Can’t quibble with any of the clues but I agree with those who’ve said that this was too tough for a Quiptic. It’s good for those of us on the learning curve to have a sprinkling of “pure cryptic” clues to challenge us, but for me this one had too many.

19. A tad harder than a Quiptic ought to be but much easier than some Quiptics of late.

    Having worked in London for many years, I ran through the various London markets until it was clear that Billingsgate was the answer for 26a. Nice clue.

    Billingsgate reminded me of the comedian Micky Flanagan whose first job was a porter (I think) at the market.

20. Balfour @18, as discussed on the General Discussion, with links*, when Alan Connor announced the movement of the Quiptic to a Sunday in April this year he said the Quiptic and Everyman would remain beginner crosswords because the other Sunday offering of the Azed is difficult (and by implication the Saturday Prize). So there is a more challenging crossword for more experienced solvers to tackle. What there is a dearth of us easier puzzles for beginners to move onto.

    And if the Guardian continues to advertise this as an easy crossword and fails to fulfil that promise, I’ll keep pointing it out. Especially as the previous two weeks of Picaroon and Pasquale fitted the Quiptic description.

    * Links aren’t happening on a phone here.

21. For HOODIES (I have several so consider myself an expert) I had no objection. Under “worn” as the past participle of “wear” Chambers says “to be dressed in.”
    On the other hand, I totally agree that the parsing of enemies is way above cryptic level.

22. Knocked it in fairly quick, but I had a good few unparsed. ENEMIES still makes little sense to me.

23. LOi – it took a while to parse – 11a ENEMIES: FORCES minus Roman Catholic = FOES (and I’m an ex-RC altar boy, now a devout atheist.)
    Liked the puzzle and that clue especially, but agree it isn’t Quiptic. Thanks A&DS
    [9a FLEABAG – also a very funny comedy with a “hot” (RC?) priest – all episodes available on the BBC iPlayer]

24. Like Duncan, it took me a while to get started with SIGMA. NHO: SMETANA, GAVOTTE. Didn’t like FLEABAG, even though it’s in the dictionary as a grotty US hotel. Was ENEMIES fair? FOES was obvious and ENEMIES fit nicely…. I’m okay with that. It took me about half as long as the Everyman so no complaints. Thanks to setter and blogger.

25. Once again an Anto “quiptic” which is cerainly not a quiptic – maybe “a cryptic puzzle for beginners and those in a hurry” should be reported to the Advertising Standards Authority.
    We did get it all, but several answers went in unparsed, and we weren’t in any hurry. Quite a bit to like, though, including ARIZONA, BILLINGSGATE and GAVOTTE.
    Thanks, Duncan and qualified thanks to Anto.

26. I found this one very tricky but not impossible. TBH guessed quite a few mostly due to general knowledge and crossers; and part parsed and guessed others because I couldn’t quite fathom all the wordplay. Like many have said Anto’s clueing is at the higher end of things especially for an improving beginner like myself, and last weeks Quiptic was a lot more in line with my expectations of this class of puzzle.
    Thanks Duncan for the illuminating explanations, and Anto for the challenge.

27. I got pretty much nowhere with this. Managed to guess a couple without really understanding them but for the most part I didn’t know where to start. After revealing there were still a bunch I didn’t understand so I needed to come here to check. That said there were also a bunch that I should have got.

    NHO: SORORAL, BILLINGSGATE, SMETANA & GAVOTTE. Broadcast as a anagrind is also new to be, I was looking for a homophone. And I thought that the definition was meant to appear at either the start or the end of a clue, how are you meant to know to ignore the first two words of 14? Or is the definition “being this arrogant”?

    I’ve struggled with Anto before so maybe I’m just not on their wavelength.

    Thanks both.

28. I’m a beginner – started with the first Quick Cryptic – but I don’t mind the Quiptics being much harder. I’ve got used to breezing through the QCs on a Saturday and fighting for every solution on Sunday. Although I totally agree the Quiptic would be better labelled for Improvers, not beginners. I am going to carp about 14A: the way it’s written, shouldn’t the answer be impervious, since the clue points to ‘unfeeling’ as the meaning of the solution? It’s a very nice clue, but shouldn’t it be written differently if you want Imperious as the solution?

29. Thanks Anto and duncanshiell
    Another FLEAPIT here – I’m not convinced that Anto hasn’t made a mistake on this one.
    The parsing of ENEMIES isn’t appropriate for a Quiptic.

30. I found this as tough as most weekly cryptic. Fleabag I guessed, but it is in Collins as a cheap dirty hotel, North American.
    Thought shelved was a bit of a stretch for suspended.
    And who uses sororal for sisterly..it is almost unpronounceable!
    Otherwise kept me busy on a wet Sunday…thanks to all.

31. Thanks for an excellent blog, Duncan, I agree with all your opening remarks!
    I’ve got on much better with Anto now I’ve stopped expecting his puzzles to be Quiptic level – I just treat them as an everyday Cryptic and enjoy them. I loved potty trained (that’s my type of humour) and the well spotted Smetana. Billingsgate was another smile, thank you Anto.

32. Me @29
    OK, with some difficulty I have found the US usage (having to fight through pages referring to the UK TV series). It does refer to an inferior hotel, but as in the UK we would always use “fleapit”, a US indication is needed.

33. Phoebe wakes up in fine meadow land? (7)

34. Ricardo@33 That’s much better.

35. I started out thinking this was at Quiptic level but revised my opinion as I pressed on. For me, 9 is a dog or cat with an infestation problem and certainly nothing to do with hotels. I’d be more likely to call a bad cheap hotel a hovel.

36. As a beginner/improver I’m glad I didn’t see this “beginner friendly” puzzle earlier in my cruciverbalist career.

    How is a clue like ENEMIES fair? Surely the wordplay needs to give you the word, not another synonym?

    Finding a five-letter word with RR in seems pretty weak cluing as well, although I suppose I’ve enjoyed other clues where the wordplay is more of a joke than anything that would help you solve it.

    I enjoyed DONTASKME, ALASKA and PEPPERS.

37. Deebster @36 it’s not fair (ENEMIES). There are various comments above about it being inappropriate for a quiptic. In fact it’s not appropriate for any level of puzzle, and the higher the standard, the more inappropriate it would be. It’s a clue to a clue, generally considered a no-no. What makes this one worse is that the clue that you get when you solve the clue to a clue is the same as the clue you already have – i.e. foes is basically the same as opposition, so finding it is no help. ‘Opposition foes’ would be a crap clue, so this is a crap clue tied up in a ribbon.

38. Found this quptic difficult. Sororal, Smetana and Gavotte were new for me. Like many here struggled to the end relying on available letters to finnish the job. Speaking as a beginner this was in all honesty too difficult for me. But hey ho, onto the next one. Many thanks for the explainations and insights.

39. I agree with James @37. 11a is on a par with the indirect anagram in the unfairness stakes. Unless it’s a prize crossword with special instructions, the wordplay should always lead to the entry itself, not a synonym.

40. As an experienced solver, I did solve this one fairly quickly, and it’s definitely not hard like the real tough puzzles that use obscure vocabulary and misleading literals. I alternated between using the literals and the cryptics to get some crossers, and finished off with the evident answers. If you’ve got E_E_I_S, what could it be but enemies? I biffed shelved, Smetana, and gavotte, and parsed them later.

    So it is a Quiptic if you’re a good solver, but maybe not so much for a beginner. I certainly wouldn’t use this one for a tutoring session.

41. I also found this tough, and felt I wasn’t on Anto’s wavelength throughout – though I’m more at the “target audience” end of the spectrum I suspect than most commenters!

    Same issues as others with ENEMIES and IN ERROR – biffed from the literal and wondered what I’d missed.

    SORORAL I will give a tick – the use of “said to be” not indicating a homophone was a nice misdirect. Longer clues almost all turned out to be my favourites looking back.

    Thanks Anto for the puzzle and Duncan for the blog.

42. Late to the party but Florrie@28 for me it’s the “this” which implies reference to the solution.

    “Arrogant about victory is unfeeling” would clearly be IMPERVIOUS; the “this” and the “might be” hint at “arrogant” being the literal, but completely agree it’s certainly more open to interpretation than you might like.

    (For full disclosure, I had these thoughts because I immediately tried to squash IMPERVIOUS into the space, thinking I was adding a V to IMPERIOUS!)

43. This is the same level as the daily cryptic. Hard! Also, it’s not fleabag (that’s a person), it’s fleapit.

44. I’m with VInyl1@40–as an experienced solver I was able to do this in a hurry, but maybe it’s not as good for beginners. I do agree with Florrie@28 that the wordplay more suggests IMPERVIOUS than IMPERIOUS (and like CJ tried to squash it), and with the general sentiment that it isn’t really fair for the wordplay for ENEMIES to give another synonym (that was a bung-and-check-the-blog for me). Also though I got IN ERROR, the reverse clue for a hidden word of an abbreviation seems too loose–unlike with things like “Keen as a torn ACL? (3, 4)” for BAD KNEE, the wordplay leaves a lot of the answer indeterminate, though it was pretty clear from the enumeration and definition. And reverse clues seem a bit much for a Quiptic. Also “region” seems like it’s doing double duty in ARIZONA.

    However! There were a lot of clues with particularly elegant wordplay and/or surfaces to me, like YARDSTICK, SHELVED, DON’T ASK ME, EMBARGO, and ADAPTER which was LOI and raised a smile when I saw how it worked. Thanks to Anto for those! And to duncanshiel for the blog of course!

    [Also today I learned that “fleabag” is primarily American–I’ve certainly heard it often for awful motels. Thought the Waller-Bridge series meant it was a UK term as well, but guess not.]

45. I’m an experienced solver and I think I may need to return to my policy of not bothering when I see Anto’s name. Some of his clues are good fun but only about 50% and that’s not an acceptable hit rate.

46. I have been working my way through Quiptic back numbers for several years learning solving skills.
    I have never really felt qualified to blog before, but I now feel compelled to write………..I have just completed an Anto.
    Onwards and upwards.

47. Brian G @ 46

    It is always good to hear from solvers whose skills are improving. This Anto puzzle wouldn’t have looked out of place as a standard Guardian weekday offering so congratulations for completing it!

    Hopefully fifteensquared has been a help to you along the way.

48. Utterly insoluble. Especially for a quiptic.
    Anto should just set prize grids and forget about the quiptic slot.

    Thanks

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