Guardian Quick Cryptic 77 by Dice

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This week’s 11 x 11 crossword from the Guardian, intended to teach cryptic crosswords, found here

This week we have the 5th Quick Cryptic by Dice (6th if the paper only special is counted), who only sets Quick Cryptic puzzles in the Guardian. Today we have anagrams and hidden clues with all the letters given, the other clues are soundalikes and the 6th appearance of decapitations. This crossword definitely has a Nina – which made me laugh when I spotted it. These sticklebrick grids lend themselves to Ninas.

The whole point of these crosswords is support and encouragement of new solvers, so special rules for these crosswords apply – see here – those rules include not posting solving times.

This blog continues to develop in response to suggestions. We hide the answers and the wordplay descriptions (parsing) too.   To find the solution click on “Answer” and to find how the word play works, click on “Parsing” which will reveal the hidden information. You can choose to reveal everything using the “Expand All” button. If you have partially revealed the page, refreshing it will clear that, and allow you to expand all. The definition is in bold and underlined, the indicator is in red.

For additional help click here

There is a summary of the tricks used in the first six months here and a Guardian Crossword blog called the ultimate beginner’s guide has tips which may be useful for some solvers

 

For abbreviations and clue tips click here

Fifteen Squared uses several abbreviations and jargon tricks, there’s a full list here, of which I’ve used the following in this blog:

  • underlining the definition in the clue – this is either at the beginning or end of the clue
  • indicators are in red.
  • CAPITALS to indicate which bits are part of the answer, e.g. Get A Good joke for the example.
  • anagram – letters being used shown in brackets (SENATOR)* for the clue below to give TREASON.
  • anagrind – anagram indicator – in the case below it is “arranged”
  • soundalikes – from the clue Oscar “Wilde” sounds like WILD.
  • CAD or clue as definition– where the whole clue gives the definition, sometimes called an &lit. These are rare.
  • DBE or definition by example – e.g. where a dog might be clued as a setter – often using a question mark, maybe, possibly or e.g. to show that this is an example rather than a definition.
  • surface – the meaning from reading the clue – so often cryptic clues use an English that could only be found in a cryptic crossword, but a smooth surface is a clue that has a meaning in English, which can be pointed or misleading.

TODAY’S TRICKS – from the crossword site – because the clues have moved on from the clue descriptions below, I am now adding more to the descriptions hidden above. Clues begin or end with a definition of the answer. The rest is one of these:

  1. Anagram An anagram of the answer and a hint that there’s an anagram
    ‘Senator arranged crime (7)’ gives TREASON
  2. Hidden word Answer is hidden in the clue’s words
    ‘Some haVE ALtered meat (4)’ gives VEAL
  3. Soundalike Something that sounds like the answer
    ‘Excited as Oscar’s announced (4)’ gives WILD
  4. Decapitation Answer is another word without first letter
    ‘Beer in story without intro (3)’ gives ALE (from tALE (story))

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ACROSS Click on “Answer” to see the solutions
6
Make money when location of Ashes is announced? (4)
Answer

EARN
Parsing

Soundalike (is announced) of “urn” (location of Ashes – as in the cricket urn containing the burnt remains of some bails.
7
Rascals forgetting initial mistakes (6)
Answer

ERRORS
Parsing

decapitation (forgetting initial) of tERRORS (rascals)
8
By the sound of it, Mark got visibly old (6)
Answer

GREYED
Parsing

soundalike (by the sound of it) “grade” (mark) sounds like GREYED (visibly old)

9
Extract from powerful Narwhal bone (4)
Answer

ULNA
Parsing

hidden word (extract from) powerfUL NArwhal for one of the bones of the forearm.
10
Saw a ship partially flooded (5)
Answer

AWASH
Parsing

hidden word (partially) in sAW A SHip

12
Get to give a sermon after leader’s kicked out (5)
Answer

REACH
Parsing

decapitation (after leader’s kicked out) of pREACH (give a sermon)

15
Taking tip off racecourse character from Edinburgh? (4)
Answer

SCOT
Parsing

decapitation (taking tip off) from aSCOT (racecourse) and a character from Edinburgh is just one example of a SCOT, so there’s a question mark to show a definition by example (DBE)
17
Group inside proposes a far international hunt for wild animals (6)
Answer

SAFARI
Parsing

hidden word (group inside) of proposeS A FAR International

19
Claims no Ozempic suppresses sleep (6)
Answer

SNOOZE
Parsing

hidden word (suppresses) in claimS NO OZEmpic
20
Regretted being rude – out of order (4)
Answer

RUED
Parsing

anagram of (RUDE)* with an anagrind of “out of order”

DOWN
1
Bigoted row ran amok (6)
Answer

NARROW
Parsing

anagram of (ROW RAN)* with an anagrind of “amok”

2
Black (from a leaky pen?) covering tip of little finger (4)
Answer

INKY
Parsing

decapitation (covering tip) of pINKY (little finger) with two indications of the definition as both “black” and “from a leaky pen” indicate INKY
3
Requires massages orally (5)
Answer

NEEDS
Parsing

soundalike (orally) of “kneads” (massages – as a masseur would)
4
Wake up and have a loud drinking session topless (6)
Answer

AROUSE
Parsing

decapitation (topless – in a down clue this works) of cAROUSE (have a loud drinking session)
5
Country rain storms (4)
Answer

IRAN
Parsing

anagram of (RAIN)* with an anagrind of “storm”
11
Funny show nails it completely when some characters cancelled (6)
Answer

SITCOM
Parsing

hidden (when some characters cancelled – what’s left when some letters are removed) of nailS IT COMpletely

13
Carried red cat all over the place (6)
Answer

CARTED
Parsing

anagram of (RED CAT)* with anagrind of “all over the place”.
14
Sense corrupted city in Germany (5)
Answer

ESSEN
Parsing

anagram of (SENSE)* with an anagrind of “corrupted” for this city in Germany

16
Hear murderer, get stick! (4)
Answer

CANE
Parsing

soundalike (hear) “Cain” (for this character, known as the first murderer)
18
Ticket price is reasonable for the audience (4)
Answer

FARE
Parsing

soundalike (for the audience) “fair” (is reasonable)

 

Reading clockwise around the edge on the pink letters gives the message “NINA IS A HIDDEN MESSAGE”

 

27 comments on “Guardian Quick Cryptic 77 by Dice”

  1. Shanne – great spot on the NINA. Thought that was a good little puzzle from Dice – some gimmes with RUED and IRAN yet I think that’s exactly what true beginners need. At the other end of the scale, GREYED and REACH need a little more thought.

    Disappointed by the attitude of The Guardian moderators that they’ve deleted your link to the blog given the time and effort you put in to support their endeavour. I commented there last week to that effect and they deleted my comment!!

    Anyway my live solve of the puzzle is available at … https://youtu.be/KzZgsBqVyew … some tips and tactics on how to get going.

  2. HG @1 – technically it’s against the community rules to post links without discussion on the Guardian blog – and it got picked up when this site was crunchy last week, as someone posted below my first comment that the site was down. But I can’t post without being pre-moderated now, so shrug.

  3. Got completely misdirected on 11D with the word ‘cancelled’. I was trying to remove letters for ages.
    I got the answer in the end but not a scoobie why!

    Really helpful having this blog to explain. Great part of the learning process. Thanks Shanne

  4. Thanks Shanne. I always feel regret when I’ve reached the end of a QC. I feel they should be fifteen squared! It’s nice to be able to write in clues and feel as though I’m getting somewhere particularly after this rather brutal week the Graundiad has offered us.

    “When some characters cancelled” and “suppresses” are unusual hidden-word indicators aren’t they?

  5. James @4 – I’ve seen “suppresses” before for removing letters, but SITCOM was my last one in (LOI) and the indicator wasn’t the most straightforward.

    I did wonder about flagging unusual indicators, but there’s also a Nina

  8. (btw I read the article on the source of the term NINA, and checked the site with the Hirschfeld artwork – the first one I checked, called “self portrait with mes amis”, I spotted it almost immediately. Which is more than I can say for the one in this crossword!)

  9. I am still a bit baffled by 2d covering tip = take away / remove but I guess here it means cover and hide?

    I didn’t see the nina, never thought to look!

  11. 16D I needed the crossings as I’d totally forgotten the common trick of murderer=Cain.

    11D took me a moment to spot it was a hidden.

    12A I think the definition is “Get to”

  12. A bit tricky in places. I was confused with ‘covering tip’ being a decapitation indicator but got there eventually; it was my LOI so the crossers helped me. Thanks Shanne for the blog and Dice for the puzzle today.

  14. Mrs Santander @10 – sorry, added 18D now – 17A was already there (I was really struggling to stay awake last night doing this – you can see the time it went up).

    Pobulose @11 – I’ve added “to” into “get to”.

  16. I dont know how anyone can get from Cain to. CANE unless they have biblical knoledge, but I have learned this from cryptics. One to store away for future reference.

  18. Loved the crossword Dice
    I’m soo pleased to have found your blog again Shanne- it makes all the difference to me, as I’ll often get an answer but I’m not quite sure how. Your explanations are an integral part of the whole experience for me. Problem is I tried so many different ways to find you that I can’t remember which one worked!

  19. Similar to Michelle@9, I had trouble seeing “covering tips” as a deletion indicator. Along with the unusual twin definitions it made INKY my LOI.

    I agree with HG@1 and liked the mix of easy and more challenging clues. REACHED was my favourite given its nice surface

    Thanks Dice and Shanne

  20. paddymelon @16 – it’s not just the Bible – Cain is known as the first murderer; he killed his brother Abel. They are the sons of Adam and Eve, in Genesis, so a very early story of the sins of man. Literature has riffed on this theme and idea for centuries – lots of ways you could know this – it’s referenced in Beowulf, mediaeval art, Shakespeare, Steinbeck’s East of Eden, a Stephen King story …

    (When I ran the toddler church locally, I followed on from someone who ran it as an evangelising service with a strong specific Christian message, but we were a free toddler group for families, and I wanted to be welcoming, to all the churches in town as well as non-Christians, so I aimed to be ecumenical. It had a structure of some songs/choruses, with shakers and actions, a Bible story without editorialising (that’s the bit I changed most), a very open prayer followed by craft with coffee and chat. I didn’t have a bad conscience about offering this because these stories are repeatedly referenced in literature. It’s just adding to a vocabulary of general knowledge. I also avoided all the stories that were followed by genocide – Joshua and the Walls of Jericho, David and Goliath, Noah’s Ark – there’s a lot of genocide in the Old Testament.)

  22. Shanne @20 – not to mention Far From the Madding Crowd where there is a character called Cain Ball:

    “How did Cain come by such a name?” asked Bathsheba.

    “Oh you see, mem, his pore mother, not being a Scripture-read woman, made a mistake at his christening, thinking ’twas Abel killed Cain, and called en Cain, meaning Abel all the time. The parson put it right, but ’twas too late, for the name could never be got rid of in the parish. ’Tis very unfortunate for the boy.”

  23. Thanks Shanne (and Dice too of course) – have just plonked a link hither on the Guardian comments. Hopefully it won’t be modded out…

  24. I managed all but three of these: 8a, 2d and 16d. Understood the first two after revealing but had to come here to get the explanation for the third.

    Not sure what the word “group” is doing in 17a. Instructing us to group the letters?

    Thanks Dice and Shanne. Good spot on the NINA by the way!

  25. Very enjoyable again, thank you Dice and Shanne. I keep forgetting that a ? denotes a definition by example so I was looking for someone from Edinburgh and thought of Walter Scott then realised it was the first letter I was to subtract and not the last! Luckily it fitted anyway – I never thought of Ascot.

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