Today’s Quiptic is set by Dice, who also set the Quick Cryptic this weekend and is found here
Dice set a Quiptic puzzle in January and has set eight or nine Quick Cryptic puzzles so far, including yesterday, so she’s on double duty this weekend.
As all Dice’s Quick Cryptics have had a theme, nina or pangram so far, I went looking for a theme and although I can see Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Yellow Submarine, Help, Ringo and the oboe which Paul is carrying on the cover, I’m not sure enough of some of the other Beatle’s references to highlight them.
Hopefully, newer solvers will find this tractable. I really enjoyed it.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | LONELY |
One in fifties, ultimately unhappy, wanting company (6)
|
| insertion of ONE (from the clue) into (in) LL (fifties – Roman numerals) + Y (ultimately unhappY). Ultimately tells me to take the last letter. | ||
| 4 | SABOTAGE |
Deliberately damage bog at sea, recklessly (8)
|
| anagram (recklessly) of (BOG AT SEA)* | ||
| 9 | RINGO |
Drummer’s jingle bell ball (5)
|
| charade of RING (jingle bell) + O (ball) to give this drummer | ||
| 10 | SUBMARINE |
Transport provider in deep water! (9)
|
| cryptic definition – with an exclamation mark to say that the clue is slightly eyebrow-raising | ||
| 11 | CLUB |
Hint endlessly and start to badger association (4)
|
| charade of CLUe (hint endlessly) + B (start to Badger) | ||
| 12 | FAME |
Note setter’s renown (4)
|
| charade of FA (note from the sol-fa scale) + ME (setter) | ||
| 13 | LATTE |
Not finishing most recent coffee (5)
|
| deletion (not finishing) LATTEr (most recent) – so the not finishing instruction is telling me to remove the final letter | ||
| 15 | SEASIDE |
We heard spy let out a long breath at the beach (7)
|
| soundalike (we heard) of “C” (the code-name of the head of MI6) or “see” (to spy) + “sighed” (let out a long breath)
adding later the other homonym for sea – C / see both work – see the comments |
||
| 16 | IDOL |
God’s lazy, by the sounds of it (4)
|
| soundalike (by the sounds of it) of “idle” (lazy) – with a misleading capital letter G hidden at the beginning of the clue | ||
| 19 | HELP |
Give me a hand – the record’s skipping intro (4)
|
| deletion (skipping intro) from tHE LP (the record) – a record in cryptic crosswords is either an LP or EP referring to vinyl records | ||
| 20 | TORNADO |
Violent storm split academy party (7)
|
| charade of TORN (split) + A (academy abbreviation) + DO (party) | ||
| 23 | ENEMY |
Opponent at first escaped, nevertheless eventually must yield (5)
|
| acrostic (at first) Escaped Nevertheless Eventually Must Yield | ||
| 24 | ANON |
Name at the end, A N Other, concisely? (4)
|
| first letters from A N O(ther) + N (name at the end) – and a slightly cryptic clue, hence the question mark at the end | ||
| 25 | BAND |
Group broadcasting prohibited (4)
|
| soundalike (broadcasting) of “banned” (prohibited) | ||
| 27 | REPAIRERS |
Fixers, they get couples back together again? (9)
|
| cryptic definition – they put PAIRERS (couples) back together – with RE at the front indicating again – and another question mark to indicate the cryptic definition | ||
| 28 | BELCH |
Rebel chorister conceals burp (5)
|
| hidden word(s) (conceals) in reBEL CHorister | ||
| 29 | SERGEANT |
Doctor gets near police officer (8)
|
| anagram (doctor) of (GETS NEAR)* | ||
| 30 | YELLOW |
Cowardly, shout ‘that hurts!’ (6)
|
| charade of YELL (shout) + OW (‘that hurts’) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | LYRICIST |
Crazy tenor Cyril is songwriter (8)
|
| anagram (crazy) of (T CYRIL IS)* where T is tenor (from SATB choir notation) | ||
| 2 | NON-HUMAN |
No grandmother accepts bad smell – it’s alien?! (3-5)
|
| insertion (accepts) of HUM (bad smell) in NO (from the clue) + NAN (grandmother) – and I suspect the interrobang is because NON-HUMAN could mean a lot more than alien, so a DBE (definition by example), plus a slightly cryptic definition. | ||
| 3 | LOOT |
Raid implement turned up (4)
|
| reversal (turned up – in a down clue) of TOOL < (implement) | ||
| 5 | ABBREVIATIONS |
Short forms of Abba’s no 1 rivet Brahms and Liszt (13)
|
| anagram (Brahms and Liszt) of (ABBA’S NO I RIVET) – Brahms and Liszt is Cockney Rhyming Slang for drunk (pissed) and as someone who has worked with people who used CRS, it’s one that’s used for real | ||
| 6 | ON ALL FOURS |
Falls over our Doberman’s tail, crashing down at floor level? (2,3,5)
|
| anagram (crashing) of (FALLS O + OUR N) where O is Over (from cricket) and N is the last letter of dobermaN (Doberman’s tail) | ||
| 7 | AVIATE |
Fly from America, passing through borders of Timor-Leste (6)
|
| charade of A (America) + VIA (passing through) + TE (borders of Timor-lestE) where “borders of” is an instruction to take the first and last letters of a word or phrase | ||
| 8 | ELEVEN |
Time for a snack, perhaps bite of Kissabel Eve nicked (6)
|
| hidden word(s) (bite of) kissabEL EVE Nicked – for the surface, because Dice’s surfaces always make sense, a Kissabel is an apple variety – so it’s referring to the Bible story in the Garden of Eden. And the time for a snack refers to elevenses, one of the traditional snacks, before grazing continuously became a thing. | ||
| 10 | SHAKESPEAREAN |
Are snake-shape bananas something to do with the Bard? (13)
|
| anagram (bananas) of (ARE SNAKE-SHAPE)* | ||
| 14 | NINETY-NINE |
Ice cream, almost a ton! (6-4)
|
| double definition – ish for this ice cream – and the cryptic alternative is clued as almost 100 (a ton in UK slang) | ||
| 17 | PARALLEL |
Spar all-electric ferries running alongside (8)
|
| hidden word(s) (ferries) in sPAR ALL ELectric – as a hidden word indicator “ferries” is saying that the clue words carry the hidden word | ||
| 18 | ROADSHOW |
Spooner’s displayed fish eggs for mobile exhibition? (8)
|
| Spoonerism of “showed” (displayed) + “roe” (fish eggs) | ||
| 21 | HEARTS |
Hot ear, left at last, small signs of love? (6)
|
| charade of H (hot – from taps) + EAR (from the clue) + T (lefT at last) + S (small – clothing sizes) to give H EAR T S – I suspect the question mark is indicating a DBE (definition by example) – a heart is one sign of love. | ||
| 22 | PEPPER |
Energy for every season (6)
|
| charade of PEP (energy) + PER (for every) | ||
| 26 | OBOE |
Instrument to plumb loo pipe ends (4)
|
| last letters (ends) from tO plumB loO pipE – like an acrostic but using the last letters of the words in the clue |
15a, I didn’t know C as head of MI5, but see as a synonym of spy also works.
I didn’t see the theme until I had finished and looked at the btl comments at the Guardian where they mentioned there is a theme.
New for me: NINETY-NINE = ice cream (thanks, google).
I was not sure how to parse 24ac ANON although I was sure of my answer!
15ac I was thinking of a homonym of see = spy.
Lovely crossword. Very doable and enjoyable for a beginner/improver. Unfortunately didn’t notice the Nina until I read the blog. Thank you Shanne & Dice. I’m now doing to read the blog for a deeper understanding.
Fun puzzle and well worked theme. Can’t say I’ve ever noticed that Paul carried an oboe. I did wonder if (Georgie) Fame and (Billy) Idol were included as 60s artists.
@Michelle#2
99s were very common in Scotland in the 60’s & 70’s where I grew up – ice-cream vans would regularly tour housing estates at weekends & summer evenings. Their chimes would trigger an overwhelming hankering for an ice-cream treat: slider; double nougat; oyster, single/double cone and of course the 99 or even a double 99 with 2 Cadburys Flakes. We were only allowed a weekly treat despite much pleading.
Thanks Shanne. The theme didn’t matter. Solvable without it, which is a good mark of setting.
I didn’t know the icecream but I do now, although known to me differently. Why the exclamation mark? Is ton in UK slang in general or just in cricket?
I have questions/quibbles about the punctuation today. Perhaps Dice was trying to be helpful, but I felt it was confusing.
Why the interrobang at the end of the clue for NON-HUMAN? It doesn’t seem to me it qualifies as a clue as definition/&lit?
Why the question mark in the clue for HEARTS? Is small doing double duty, ie in social media, the little icon.
PEPPER my pick today.
Hadn’t tackled a Dice before but clocked and referenced on the G site last night that there was a theme, which was most enjoyable. My favourite ice cream was a NINETY NINE but from the early comments, I realised it was very UKGK. I was looking for a hidden nine as a multiple of ELEVEN to make 99, without success. My favourites were SEASIDE and REPAIRERS. I will look out for the setter in future.
Ta Dice & Shanne.
Excellent Quiptic, I thought, following an equally good Quick Cryptic yesterday. I didn’t parse FAME or HELP – the musical notes and EP/LP for record didn’t come to mind – but otherwise all good and very enjoyable.
Almost zero resistance and maybe my quickest this year. It fitted my day perfectly. I didn’t look for a theme and it never crossed my mind. Anon didn’t seem cryptic at all. Liked NON HUMAN.
Thanks Dice and Shanne.
Amma @9 , I once had to teach a class of young adults, and I used an analogy with record players, but they didn’t know what they were. I still have some scratchy EPs and LPs
Corrections and queries added.
Sorry paddymelon – I properly deleted your deleted duplicate comment – and I did check for numbers! Going through your post @6
NON-HUMAN is not necessarily alien – a dog is non-human, so is a rock – so it’s a definition by example, possibly, which is why I suspect the interrobang.
NINETY-NINE – ton is general UK slang for 100, slightly old-fashioned slang – I dropped a ton on that (paid £100), he was doing a ton up the motorway (driving at 100mph), he scored a ton at cricket
HEARTS – definition by example I guess – hearts are one sign of love, not the only one.
OBOE – I spent some time looking for other links to the theme and an oboe was mentioned when I dug.
paddymelon@10 – I still have a healthy collection of LPs thanks to my parents’ loft. Nice to see LPs back in press.
That was fun and at the easier end of the scale, although I failed to spot the theme. Thanks for the excellent blog Shanne.
paddymelon@10 I have a large box of LPs though currently nothing to play them on and I remember the excitement when my father bought a Rolling Stones EP in the 60s. So I don’t know why I don’t make the connection with ‘record’ in cryptics! Maybe I will in future.
I am afraid I didn’t understand what’s cryptic about SUBMARINE. Anyway, a nice quiptic, and a nice Beatles (mini-?)theme. Thanks Dice and Shanne!
Are ninety-nines not a thing any more? Well, there’s another slice of my youth fading into oblivion. Like Jen@5, I remember the forbidden-fruit desirability of the the double version.
All good straightforward stuff, and very pleasant. I missed the theme of course : I nearly always do.
Lots to like, but a special tick for the nice surface and anagram of SHAKESPEAREAN.
Thanks, Dice and Shanne.
Jen@5 – thanks for the info! In Australia, where I grew up, we had Mr Whippy ice cream vans with a familiar tune playing.
paddymelon and Amma – I too have old LPS which I bought in the early and mid-1970s onwards. I think the first records I bought were two of the Beatles – Abbey Road and Let it Be (which were from a few years ago at the time) and also John Lennon’s Imagine. I was a teenager in the 1970s and was lucky to see the Rolling Stones concert in Melbourne in 1973 🙂
“Fame” is a song written by David Bowie and John Lennon, featured on Bowie’s Young Americans LP with guitar and backing vocals by Lennon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fame_(David_Bowie_song)
I don’t think I’ve encountered Dice before, and it was an enjoyable introduction. ABBREVIATIONS was my fave, with PARALLEL and the burping chorister as runners-up.
I rarely notice themes – though, on reflection, I really should have spotted this one…
Thank you Dice and Shanne.
Thanks Shanne @11. My questions were intended to go out into the ether but I’m happy to have another think in light of your comments. Can go to bed now. Been up since 3am my time following Artemis II on NASA.
Thanks Dice and Shanne.
Layman@15
We often come across ‘the deep’ in puzzles to mean ‘ocean’.
I think ‘in (the) deep water’ means ‘in the ocean water’ (as opposed to ‘on the ocean water’).
SEASIDE
I parsed it as michelle@2.
As an ex pom I too grew up with the ice cream van hoping to sell us 99’s in the summer
One of the great excitements of my childhood
And like Pdm et al, I too am the proud owner of many LPs, though currently without the means to play them
Layman@15 – “in deep water” means in trouble, but in this case the meaning is literal not metaphorical.
Practically a write-in, but I missed the theme. Thanks Dice and Shanne.
me@21 contd…
In addition to what I said…
Of course, as Lin@23 says, the surface is misleading (which is usually the case).
Upon reflection re my comment @7, maybe the first four letters of the clue gives the NINE, so that multiplied by 11 = 99 or maybe I should just go for a long walk!
Lovely Quiptic and great blog, thanks Dice and Shanne. I really loved OBOE: I know it’s not very tricky but I just thought it was so neat and apposite.
Shed53@4: I don’t think they meant Billy Idol – he was only 12 in 1967 when Sgt Pepper was released 😊.
I’m kicking myself at missing the theme, I was a huge fan back then (still am really)
Tamarix @28 – there is a Hindu IDOL on the cover of Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – but nothing that went with FAME. The words I’d wondered about including were: LYRICIST (for any of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison or Starr), FAME and FOUR from ON ALL FOURS, but no fab to go with that.
Also having dug further – it’s a cor anglais in Paul’s hands, not an OBOE>
And of course the Fab Four themselves were/are idols
KVa, Lin – thanks!
Fun Quiptic and theme which I did spot along the way. That’s not usually the case but I did find it helpful to the solve although it was all doable anyway I feel. I agree with PhilC#18 as taking FAME to be in theme for the Bowie/Lennon song. I was convinced that 29a was some kind of loose soundalike cryptic thingy with surgeon (for Doctor gets near plus something I couldn’t work out for the end T) which was my idiot moment of the day for failing to see doctor as an anagrind! 😂
Thanks Dice for your second grid of the weekend, and Shanne for the great explanations as usual.
In my Dorset youth double 99s were called Bunny Ears.
I confess I’m still not quite sure I understand the parsing of 24ac (ANON), although I guessed the answer.
Is “jingle bell” slang for RING? In what context? Maybe someone would say, “Give me a jingle bell” if they wanted you to phone them? I’ve never heard this, but I have heard both “jingle” and “bell” used separately in this way, so I guess it’s plausible.
10ac (SUBMARINE) didn’t work for me, for the reason that often comes up with cryptic definitions: I don’t really see the misleading cryptic reading, so it looks like a straightforward definition to me. But that’s OK.
A number of years ago, any time the word LATTE was defined as “coffee” someone here would complain that it actually means “milk”. I have some inexplicable nostalgia for that bit of silliness, and I always hope in vain to see it when the word comes up.
(For the record, it’s silliness because, while the Italian word LATTE does indeed mean “milk”, the English word unambiguously means a coffee drink, and the English meaning rather than the Italian meaning is the one that’s relevant in an English-language crossword.)
My favourites: SEASIDE, REPAIRERS, ROADSHOW, and SUBMARINE.
Couldn’t quite parse LATTE, do find those remove the last / first letter ones tricky.
But all clues led to a satisfying answer I felt. Alien does have a ? after it so I think the definition, being ambigious, can be forgiven. Quite a lot of hidden word ones for a Quiptic, but just an observation not a complaint.
Thank you DICE and SHANNE.
Interested to see that OVER is apparently O in a cricket context, as not sure I’ve ever seen it abbreviated like that?