Guardian Quick Cryptic 83 by Chandler

by

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

The puzzle for this week is the 10th Quick Cryptic by Chandler mostly sets Quick Cryptic and Quiptic puzzles in the Guardian. Today we have anagrams, hidden and acrostic clues with all the letters given, the other clue type is deletions, with helpful hints for the letter to be removed, but otherwise that require finding the word.

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”
  • 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(s)Answer hidden in clue’s words
    ‘Some haVE ALtered meat (4)’ gives VEAL
  3. Acrostic First letters of answer
    ‘Initially Get A Good joke (3)’ gives GAG
  4. Deletion Remove letters from another word for answer
    ‘Car trip with no parking, bad thing (3)’ gives SIN (from SpIN (car ride))

ACROSS Click on “Answer” to see the solutions
1
Smooth plates only left in six hampers principally (6)
Answer

POLISH
Parsing

acrostic (principally) from Plates Only Left In Six Hampers.
4
Closed part of this hutch (4)
Answer

SHUT
Parsing

hidden (part of) thiS HUTch.
8
One departing dropping a crowbar (5)
Answer

LEVER
Parsing

deletion (dropping A) – LEaVER (one departing) with the A removed. The trick here is reading every word as maybe having a meaning, rather than skimming over the “a” as an indefinite article.
9
Small farm in Oregon? Not entirely (5)
Answer

MINOR
Parsing

hidden (not entirely) in farM IN ORegon – and this use of “small farm” makes it difficult to split the two words to see that the definition is small, not small farm.
10
Twin, yeah, at work is being obstructive? (2,3,3)
Answer

IN THE WAY
Parsing

anagram of (TWIN YEAH)^ with an anagrind of “at work” – there’s a question mark that would usually indicate a definition by example (DBE) as IN THE WAY is one way of being obstructive.

13
Desire for food? Peep at it excitedly (8)
Answer

APPETITE
Parsing

anagram of (PEEP AT IT)* with an anagrind of “excitedly”.

16
Leads in diverse repertory are making another staged work (5)
Answer

DRAMA
Parsing

acrostic (leads in) of Diverse Repertory Are Making Another.
17
Robber at sea losing power is furious (5)
Answer

IRATE
Parsing

deletion (losing power) from pIRATE (robber at sea) – losing power is using the abbreviation of P for power – from scientific formulae.
18
Accept post with no end of complications (4)
Answer

TAKE
Parsing

deletion (losing end of complicationS – so losing S) from sTAKE (post) – to accept/take someone’s point
19
Patron is Celt in ground (6)
Answer

CLIENT
Parsing

anagram of (IN CELT)* with an anagrind of “ground” – as in ground up. The patron/client of a shop or trader …
DOWN
1 Section in camp all identified as lacking in colour (6)
Answer

PALLID
Parsing

hidden (section in) in camP ALL IDentified.
2
Heads of large enterprise view inauspiciously this youth showing flippancy (6)
Answer

LEVITY
Parsing

acrostic (heads of) Large Enterprise View Inquspiciously This Youth.
3
Spec nearly prepared for film script (10)
Answer

SCREENPLAY
Parsing

anagram of (SPEC NEARLY)* with an anagrind of “prepared for”.
5
Refine push on extra housing (4)
Answer

HONE
Parsing

hidden (housing) in pusH ON Extra – housing is a new containment indicator.

6
Seabird in rear of boat lacking sun (4)
Answer

TERN
Parsing

deletion (lacking sun – so removing S) from sTERN (rear of boat) for this seabird. S for sun is one of the abbreviations listed in Chambers.

7
I emit alarm when disturbed? It’s not important (10)
Answer

IMMATERIAL
Parsing

anagram of (I EMIT ALARM)* with an anagrind of “when disturbed”
11
A germ I suspect is illusory thing (6)
Answer

MIRAGE
Parsing

anagram of (A GERM I)* with an anagrind of “suspect” for this phenomenon
12
Failing different exams, friends engage college tutor at first (6)
Answer

DEFECT
Parsing

acrostic (at first) of Different Exams Friends Engage College Tutor – a fault or defect (noun)
14
Correct element in proposed itinerary (4)
Answer

EDIT
Parsing

hidden (element in) in proposED IT
15
Cistern gave off an odour without top (4)
Answer

TANK
Parsing

deletion (without top – first letter gone in a down clue) from sTANK (gave off an odour)

 

 

16 comments on “Guardian Quick Cryptic 83 by Chandler”

  1. Thanks Shanne. I liked the intersecting TANK and TAKE. Both had the initial S removed, but indicated in different ways.

  2. Thanks Chandler and Shanne

    Back in Rome, a patron and a client were opposite things – interesting how the words change their meaning…

  3. For me, this was the most approachable Quick Cryptic for a while. So saying, it took me a while to understand the parsing of TAKE.

    I had the same favourites as pm@1. On the other hand, I thought a couple of the anagram indicators were a bit iffy.

    Thanks Chandler for a nice puzzle and Shanne for another top-notch blog.

  5. Thanks Chandler and Shanne.

    Well pitched, I think. That said, I didn’t parse 18A until coming here, largely as I wasn’t expecting that in this sort of puzzle. Totally fair, but more of a Quiptic/cryptic clue? I would expect “Accept post with no end. (4)” for a QC…

  8. Nice little puzzle from Chandler today – as ever the deletions a bit harder but having acrostics/hiddens/anagrams helps put letters on the board. Thanks to Shanne for the detailed blog as always.

    I’ve done a live talkthrough of the puzzle, available from … https://youtu.be/THd5JQ3txGw … helpful for tips and tactics on how to solve.

  9. I struggled with the deletions this week, partly because I’ve only just understood the example (spin with p for parking removed!).

  11. A really great puzzle for someone who wants to cut their teeth in cryptic crosswords.Thanks to Shanne and Chandler.

  12. Does anyone have any idea why sun is abbreviated to S? Arbitrary abbreviations like those can be very unsatisfying for learners as it seems like solving cryptics is about learning meaningless facts like which words can be abbreviated to their first letter. Happy to be shown wrong if there is a good reason for it which I am unaware of.

  14. Enjoyable puzzle. I also wondered about s meaning sun. 18a my LOI, but also one of my favourites. Thanks, Chandler and Shanne

  15. Eddie@12 and DutchGirl@14.

    As Shanne said in her blog above: S for sun is one of the abbreviations listed in Chambers.
    Chambers is the ”authority”, whether we agree or not (and sometimes we don’t).

  16. DutchGirl @14 and Eddie @12 – I went down various rabbit holes trying to find out where S = sun. I had looked it up before to check and knew it was in Chambers, with the vague impression that it came from astronomy, where E can be earth (E is also earth on electrical plug wiring) under the planetary symbols and the IAU. But S is for Saturn under that system.

    I found a few things. Firstly, but it’s indirect, is that s for sol does come up in some of the lists I found, and sun and sol are equivalents, but I’m not happy with an indirect link in the Quick Cryptics. However, I recently blogged a puzzle with V for see (which I had seen before and not understood). Not liking blogging things I don’t understand, I dug to find that V is the IVR code for Vatican City, which is a Catholic See.

    Secondly, S for sun appears in some abbreviations, none particularly familiar:
    SM for the Pokemon Sun Moon seventh generation franchise,
    SEC – Sun-Earth Connection Program,
    SBC – Sun Belt Conference (US Sports College),
    SOLIS – Synoptic Optical Long-Distance Investigations of the Sun,

    Thirdly, apparently, according to a Google AI search, in heraldry, where a sun is featured on a coat of arms, S is sometimes used to indicate that, but I couldn’t confirm that in the heraldic lists of abbreviations (lots of s for son and genealogical links).

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.