This week’s 11 x 11 crossword from the Guardian intended to teach cryptic crosswords, found here
The puzzle for this week is the debut Quick Cryptic by Serenos. Serenos is relatively new to the Guardian, setting two Cryptic puzzles, one in September, one in November 2025. Today we have anagrams, last letters and hidden reversals with all the letters present in the clue, plus soundalikes which need the letters finding by the solver.
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. haVE ALtered 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”
- soundalike – is indicated by “Wilde” – so in the example, Oscar “Wilde”, the playwright and author, is indicating the soundalike WILD.
- charades – the description below only gives the example of words being added together, but charades can be more complicated, adding abbreviations or single letters to another word. Examples previously used in this series are: Son ridicules loose overgarments (6) S (son) + MOCKS (ridicules), Get rid of dead pine (5) D(dead) + ITCH (pine) – D ITCH, and early on DR (doctor) + IVE (I have) to give DRIVE.
- reversals – the reversal element of a clue is indicated by < – so in the example clue below, VieTNAm <.
- 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:
- Anagram Anagram of answer and hint that there’s an anagram
‘Senator arranged crime (7)’ gives TREASON - Soundalike Something that sounds like answer
‘Excited, Oscar’s announced (4)’ gives WILD – from Oscar “Wilde”. - Last letters Final letters give answer
‘Finally pulL thE ruG showing limb (3)’ gives LEG - Hidden reversal Answer defined and hidden backwards
‘Insect returns in VieTNAm (3)’ gives ANT
| ACROSS | Click on “Answer” to see the solutions | |
| 1 |
Propane exploded (theoretically) (2,5)
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AnswerON PAPER |
Parsinganagram of (PROPANE)* with an anagrind of “to exploded” for one of the many synonyms for theoretical. This one probably comes from designs and planning where what actually happens may not match the original plan for various practical meanings. |
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| 5 |
Regressive argument involves bird (3)
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AnswerEMU |
Parsinghidden reversal (regressive … involves) in argUMEnt <. Hidden reversals need two parts to the indicator – one that indicates reversal, “regressive” here, and the second indicating hidden, “involves” here. Sometimes the parts are found split in the clue, as here, sometimes together. |
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| 7 |
Rooms with chair tactfully withdrawn inside (5)
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AnswerATRIA |
Parsinghidden reversal (withdrawn inside) of chAIR TActfully < – for a word I am not sure we’ve come across before in these crosswords. ATRIUM has a very specific meaning in architecture, a hallway that rises through several levels of a building – but it also means chamber in anatomy – we have two ATRIA in the heart. |
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| 8 |
Award rejected in Marylebone (5)
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AnswerNOBEL |
Parsingreverse hidden (rejected in) in MaryLEBONe for a prize currently in the news after President Trump has been handed a Peace Prize from this committee by the person awarded it somewhat contentiously. The surface of the clue – the meaning that the clue suggests without decoding refers to one of my favourite London stations, and the area around, which is still very traditional in feel as it’s a smaller station with lots of period details still in place. |
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| 9 |
Static discharged in storage spaces? (6)
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AnswerATTICS |
Parsinganagram of (STATIC)* with an anagrind of “discharged” – with a question mark to suggest a DBE (definition by example) – storage space is one possible use of these rooms, so it is an example. |
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| 10 |
Portion of patna rice sent back with diatribe (4)
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AnswerRANT |
Parsinghidden reversal (portion of … sent back) of paTNA Rice with another split hidden reversal indicator, which do appear in full fat cryptics too, adding to the decoding solvers are required to do – to pick out both parts of the indicator from the clue. The surface conjures up an image of an irritated diner sending back their rice for some reason. |
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| 13 |
Oars, did you say? An iconic one is red (4)
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AnswerROSE |
Parsingsoundalike (did you say?) of “rows” (oars) – using the verb form, which is allowed in Chambers (the BRB – big red book). The definition is allusive – a definition by example, but phrased in such a way that a question mark isn’t necessary. |
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| 14 |
Part of corset repaired (6)
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AnswerSECTOR |
Parsinganagram of (CORSET) with an anagrind of “repaired”. |
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| 17 |
Alert showing quantity of terawatts when backfiring (5)
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AnswerAWARE |
Parsinghidden reversal (quantity of … when backfiring) of tERAWAtts <. |
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| 19 |
In the auditorium, studies grasses (5)
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AnswerREEDS |
Parsingsoundalike (in the auditorium) of “reads” (studies) as in someone reading English at university. |
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| 20 |
Drunkard elects to shout, ultimately (3)
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AnswerSOT |
Parsinglast letters (ultimately) of electS tO shouT – just when the solvers had forgotten this clue type was one of the options, a very short version is snuck in. Short words are better hidden than longer words for acrostic/last letter type clues. This clue surface gives the image of one of those drunks in the street shouting the odds, with everyone steering as wide a circle around them as they can. |
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| 21 |
We’re told crossword setter noticed blot on landscape (7)
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AnswerEYESORE |
Parsingsoundalike (we’re told) of “I saw” (crossword setter + noticed) – I have enough rhoticity in my idiolect to say these differently enough for this to take me a minute to work out, but rhotic accents are in a minority in the UK, majority rule and all that jazz, so I am afraid it counts. |
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DOWN
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| 1 |
President to grab a rum baba at last (5)
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AnswerOBAMA |
Parsinglast letters (at last) of tO graB A ruM babA and a reminder of a different president (POTUS). |
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| 2 |
Buccaneers traipse around (7)
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AnswerPIRATES |
Parsinganagram of (TRAIPSE)* with an anagrind of “around” and a reminder for many of us of the setter Picaroon, who was one of the setters who alternated setting these puzzles originally. |
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| 3 |
Fish’s location announced (6)
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AnswerPLAICE |
Parsingsoundalike (announced) of “place” (location) – and for those who were reading the comments on last week’s puzzle in the Guardian, this example was given to explain soundalikes. The apostrophe s (‘s) is using the same trick we saw last week – in the clue surface it suggests the possessive – the location “of the fish” – but in the cryptic grammar it is saying “fish is” a soundalike of a word meaning location. |
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| 4 |
Four of honeymooners returning to see Nevada city (4)
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AnswerRENO |
Parsinghidden reversal (four of … returning [to see]) of honeymoONERs < for this Nevada city. The hidden reversal indicator is “four of” [honeymooners] meaning four letters of honeymooners “returning” are reversed “to see” to give … and that very specific letter count of a hidden clue came up in the full fat cryptics this week and caused a certain amount of confusion as the enumeration is given in brackets too. [Guardian Cryptic 29,904 by Paul on Thursday if anyone wants to check]. |
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| 5 |
Go out with the dumb yob in the end (3)
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AnswerEBB |
Parsinglast letters (in the end) of thE dumB yoB with another clue surface that conjures up an image. |
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| 6 |
You can reveal safari suit, finally: it’s not bright (5)
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AnswerUNLIT |
Parsinglast letters (finally) of yoU caN reveaL safarI suiT. |
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| 11 |
Red coat tailored in 20s style (3,4)
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AnswerART DECO |
Parsinganagram of (RED COAT)* with an anagrind of “tailored” for this 20s style. |
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| 12 |
Remade? Remade? Gosh! (4,2)
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AnswerDEAR ME |
Parsinganagram of (REMADE)* with an anagrind of “remade” and this could be a full fat cryptic clue, although a more mischievous setter might miss one of the two “remade”s. It is playing with a word that can both provide the anagram fodder and work as an anagrind. |
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| 13 |
Thoroughfares in Greek Island spoken of (5)
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AnswerROADS |
Parsingsoundalike (spoken of) of “Rhodes” (Greek island) – this soundalike is one that comes up enough for it to be a quick link in what passes for my brain. And because I haven’t written about the cryptic grammar for soundalikes this puzzle – here we’re told the definition (thoroughfares) (is the answer, from the position in the clue) and Greek Island (soundalike) spoken about (soundalike indicator) sounds like the thoroughfares. |
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| 15 |
Girl taking last drops of cider to repress ennui, Laurie (5)
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AnswerROSIE |
Parsingfinal letters (last drops of – “a drop of” in cryptic crosswords often means one letter) of cideR tO represS ennuI LauriE – and the surface is referring to the Laurie Lee book. |
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| 16 |
Give up, Pip escaping from trap (4)
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AnswerCEDE |
Parsingsoundalike (escaping from trap) of “seed” (pip). The “escaping from trap” is a recent soundalike indicator, and refers to the fairly aggressive “shut your trap” usage, meaning “be quiet”. |
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| 18 |
Seeing what’s behind FA cup theft? Spot on! (3)
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AnswerAPT |
Parsingfinal letters (seeing what’s behind) FA cuP thefT with an interesting indicator for last letters. |
Sadly the latest update means this is completely non functional on Android, can’t even see the first two clues.
bobkin @1 – click on a clue on the grid and then use the arrows to scroll back to the top. I swore at it too when I was solving, but figured out how to work around it.
Liked the surface for 15d (ROSIE). Reminded me of my O-level English days!
Bobkin@1 – I use a web browser on Android which seems to work ok.
Many thanks Shanne and Serenos
Didn’t like 16D at all until your explanation. Shows the purpose of these: always teaching new tricks and approaches. Thanks as always.
Very enjoyable QC from Serenos with some clever little twists along the way to keep it challenging with some different indicators thrown in. The ‘trap’ bit as a soundalike held me up at the end, and then twigging pip==seed, even though I’d decided it had to be one since it didn’t fit any other clue type! I initially had READ ME for 12d even though I didn’t think it worked so that threw me off for 19a. Had a wife assist to sort that out 🙂. Thanks Shanne for your explanations and to Serenos for the puzzle. Hopefully Serenos will return for more QCs.
I think this is at least the third time that ART DECO has turned up as a solution in the last few days!
Enjoyable Quick Cryptic which had sufficient challenge to be interesting. I pondered 21a EYESORE for ages; once I saw it, I thought it a great clue. Thanks for your usual clear explanations, Shanne.
Very enjoyable. Thanks Serenos and as always Shanne.
Welcome to Serenos with their first QC. Nice little puzzle which was generally easygoing with its choice of anagrams, reverse hiddens and last letters. The ROSE and CEDE soundalikes were the sticking point; the former not a very nice QC clue to use “oars” as a verb and the latter because the soundalike indicator seems to have tripped up a few people.
As ever I’ve done a talkthrough for the puzzle available over at … https://youtu.be/AEbb2JiKOP8 … which should provide some tips and tactics on how to approach solving. Best of luck all!
Thanks as always to Shanne for the comprehensive blog
EYESORE as I SAW was too much of a stretch for me. Who talks like that?
Peter @10 – as I mention in the blog, the majority of British English speakers are non-rhotic, so I SAW and EYESORE are soundalikes for the majority of Brits (not the Scots, or Irish, or those like me who grew up in the West Country). In America there are more rhotic speakers, but we have mainly non-rhotic crossword setters from the usual irritation when this happens.
My eye was drawn to the crossword setter’s name printed above the puzzle when I came to 21 across (I had not looked before) and my mind took SORE from the letters in their name and automatically added EYE. Only then did I read the clue properly! A nice puzzle. I had the same thoughts on CEDE as thecronester @5. 12 down was my favourite. Many thanks Shanne and Serenos
I was held up in the SW for a bit, as I thought 17a may be “alarm”. But then I saw the hidden reversal. I got all the soundalikes, though, living in Scotland, I would not pronounce eyesore as I saw. Thanks Serenos (new setter for me) and Shanne for an always excellent blog
LOI was eyesore and I have hearing the equivalence, non-rhotic Bostonian living in Canada: “saw” is pronounced as /sɔ/ and rhymes with law and caw which isn’t far from old-boston “car”. Sore is pronounced /sôr/ in standard American, but in Bostonian might be /sô/, but I think when the r is dropped the ô gets a bit higher and further away from the sound in “saw”.
I guess there are dialects you can get away with this, in French of course, even minor deviations in prononciation of vowels makes communication difficult, where English seems to be OK so long as the consonants are hit.
There can be an r sound in SAW in some cases, like in the famous joke about “tyrannosaurus, doyouthinkhesawus” (not sure if that joke works for everyone though)…
Really enjoying these crosswords. As a newcomer to cryptics, I find this blog and the explanations really useful.
Many thanks for your time and efforts to help people like me
Eyesore was a stretch too much for me, but let’s not forget “cede”. I didn’t see the soundalike indicator coming *at all*.
For those struggling with EYESORE: it helps to think of the “soundalike” clues as puns, not strict homophones. In other words, if it doesn’t work in your dialect, just imagine your annoying uncle trying to turn it into a bad joke, and groan and shake your head like you would for him.
Just couldn’t wrap my head around cede and I saw. However, thank you Shanne for prompting me to delve more into the difference between rhotic and non-rhotic accents. I never knew there was a formal word for this way of speech.
Doing this one a day late. I really enjoyed it and found that I am much better at the task than I was 93 puzzles away!! I didn’t get 13A right – used an anagram of oars instead of a soundalike. It did have the word ‘say’ so I should have realised. Doh! 21A fine, even though I come from Brrristol- because it happens a lot in puzzles where rhymes occur so I am resigned to it. Thanks both, very enjoyable.
Shanne @2 and others, thanks for the tips. A little annoying that they’re necessary but at least I can make progress.
Although I completed this your explanations have really helped me Shanne – especially for 4 – I hadn’t seen the hidden reversal indicator at all. Thank you. Thanks Serenos- was great fun.
A day late and really just here to say thanks to Shanne for the blog and Serenos for the puzzle. Same difficulty as many on CEDE, which I only got from the definition and from the crossers, and I couldn’t reverse engineer it. Anyway, banking “trap” in my clue brain!
I realise I’m ages late to finish this one but I wanted to say I really enjoyed it. One question though: I didn’t understand 12D and why the Remade was needed (or preferable) twice.
Hi Rosy @25 – one “remade” is the anagram fodder, the other is the anagram indicator (anagrind) and “gosh!” is the definition, so the clue has the full wordplay here. In full fat crosswords, the second remade may be missed out and a question mark added to suggest the clue isn’t quite playing by the rules, but here in the Quick Cryptic, the setters are trying to teach the rules, so all parts are usually present.