It is Hectence who graces the Quiptic slot today.
She has provided us with an enjoyable start to the cryptic week with a puzzle pitched at just the right level and containing a good variety of clue types.
There is one clue I can’t fully parse (6d), and there is an error, I think, in 24d, probably arising from the traumatic events at the Etihad Stadium yesterday 🙂
| Across | ||
| 1 | PATIENT | Invalid has tube, initially that is, inserted to breathe (7) |
| An insertion (inserted) of T (tube intially) and IE (that is) into PANT (to breathe) | ||
| 5 | BEHAVED | Acted to deceive in plot (7) |
| HAVE (to deceive) contained in (in) BED (plot) | ||
| 9 | UPSET | Furore raised by Gogglebox? (5) |
| UP (raised) next to (by) SET (Gogglebox) | ||
| 10 | TOUR GUIDE | Holiday rep arranged ride out around the middle of August (4,5) |
| An anagram (arranged) of RIDE OUT containing (around) GU (the middle of August) | ||
| 11 | MOMENTOUS | Doctor, doctor! One must be serious! (9) |
| MO (doctor) and an anagram (doctor) of ONE MUST | ||
| 12 | MAGMA | Mum’s eating good hot stuff! (5) |
| MAMA (mum) containing (eating) G (good) | ||
| 13 | TUTOR | Teach to prepare trout (5) |
| An anagram (to prepare) of TROUT | ||
| 15 | INFIRMARY | Popular company has top grade lines in place to get better (9) |
| IN (popular) FIRM (company) next to (has) A (top grade) RY (lines, i.e. railway) | ||
| 18 | UPHOLSTER | Cover chair with high armrest (9) |
| UP (high) HOLSTER (armrest, a place where you put your arms, i.e. guns). Does upholster mean cover chair, or just cover? | ||
| 19 | SITAR | Model in sari playing Indian instrument (5) |
| An insertion of T (model) into an anagram (playing) of SARI | ||
| 21 | DOING | Hound about home-making (5) |
| DOG (hound) containing (about) IN (home) | ||
| 23 | AUBERGINE | Vegetable from Aube region cooked with nothing removed (9) |
| An anagram (cooked) of AUBE REGION minus the letter O (with nothing removed) | ||
| 25 | TRATTORIA | Man races to catch rodent before old atmosphere returns in restaurant (9) |
| TT (Man races, i.e. the motorbike races on the Isle of Man) containing (to catch) RAT (rodent) in front of (before) O (old) and a reversal (returns) of AIR (atmosphere) | ||
| 26 | GAUZE | Dressing for matador’s wounds reportedly? (5) |
| A homophone (reportedly) of GORES (matador’s wounds) | ||
| 27 | DREADED | Feared becoming red and dead! (7) |
| An anagram (becoming) of RED and DEAD | ||
| 28 | DESCENT | Drop of French perfume (7) |
| DE (of French) SCENT (perfume) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | PLUMMET | Satisfied after fruit drop (7) |
| Another outing for ‘drop’ as a definition. MET (satisfied) following (after) PLUM (fruit) | ||
| 2 | TEST MATCH | Try on suit for sporting event (4,5) |
| TEST (try) above (on) MATCH (suit) | ||
| 3 | EATEN | Had dinner with some bloke at Enzo’s (5) |
| An answer hidden in (some) blokE AT ENzo’s | ||
| 4 | TATTOOIST | One draws on people from Edinburgh Festival event and its organisation (9) |
| TATTOO (Edinburgh Festival event) plus (and) an anagram (organisation) of ITS | ||
| 5 | BLUES | Sad son squanders money (5) |
| BLUE (sad) S (son). Does blue mean squander money, or just squander? | ||
| 6 | HIGH MARKS | Good exam results for senior boys? (4,5) |
| I’m missing something here. I can see ‘good exam results’ = HIGH MARKS but I don’t get the ‘senior boys’ bit
Edit As Andrew @ 1 suggests, this seems to be HIGH (senior) and MARKS (boys, i.e. two boys called Mark) |
||
| 7 | VYING | Very unknown at home, German’s competing (5) |
| V (very) Y (unknown) IN (at home) G (German) | ||
| 8 | DIETARY | Journal contains time after note about what one eats (7) |
| DIARY (journal) containing (contains) T (time) following (after) E (note) | ||
| 14 | RELEGATED | Get leader redeployed and demoted (9) |
| An anagram (redeployed) of GET LEADER | ||
| 16 | FIREBRAND | Inspire Jo to be a rebel (9) |
| FIRE (inspire) BRAND (Jo, a reference to comedian Jo Brand) | ||
| 17 | ATTRIBUTE | Random treat but I get credit (9) |
| An anagram (random) of TREAT GET I | ||
| 18 | UPDATED | Modernised university has personal digital assistant initially taking notes (7) |
| U (university) followed by (has) PDA (the initial letters of personal digital assistant) followed by (taking) TE and D (notes) | ||
| 20 | RE-ELECT | Give seat once more to dance partner at court (2-5) |
| REEL (dance) E (partner, i.e. at the bridge table) next to (at) CT (court) | ||
| 22 | INANE | Often an incident arising’s a bit absurd (5) |
| An answer hidden in reverse (arising’s a bit) in oftEN AN Incident | ||
| 23 | ACRID | Getting help to acquire credit is bitter (5) |
| AID (help) containing (to acquire) CR (credit) | ||
| 24 | RAGES | Agrees, even, to support artist’s violent rages (5) |
| I imagine the solution appearing in the clue is a mistake. The parsing is GES (the even letters of agrees) below (to support) RA (artist) | ||
Thanks nms – I think 6d is just HIGH = senior + MARKS = boys called Mark
Agree that 24d is a mistake
I also could not parse 6D, and 24d seemed strange even though I parsed it the same way as nms.
Thank you Hectence and nms.
Thanks Hectence and nms
Not the best Quiptic. Lots of “notes”. I agree with Andrew @1 about the other points.
Something seems to have gone wrong with the HTML in your answer to DREADED, nms.
Thanks Andrew @ 1. Blog amended.
And thanks muffin @ 3. HTML now sorted out.
Thanks both. I thought this ok for a Quiptic. Shame about 24d. Also the anagram for AUBERGINE is about the easiest I have ever seen!
Thank you Hectence and newmarketsausage.
An enjoyable solve. I had to laugh at TRATTORIA, nms got so involved with the parsing that he forgot to underline the definition!
Perhaps a little tricky in places for a Quiptic, but still a nice puzzle other than the unfortunate 24d.
Thanks, Hectence and nms.
Thanks Cookie @ 6. Omission now rectified.
PS Don’t tell Gaufrid. He might make me stay behind after school 🙂
The clue to 24d has been changed on the website, and now reads: “Agrees, even, to support artist’s violent passions (5)”