An engaging offering from Nutmeg to start us on the cryptic week.
I’m not sure it’s the easiest Quiptic ride I’ve ever had, a certain amount of head scratching being required (at least for this solver). But a good rummage through the setter’s bag of tricks and some excellent surface readings. Very enjoyable.
| Across | ||
| 8 | LIFE RAFT |
Means of escape found by long-term convict at the back (4,4)
LIFER (long-term convict) AFT (at the back) |
| 9 | LENTIL |
Pulse fast? Lie back, briefly (6)
LENT (fast) and a reversal (back) of LIE, minus its last letter (briefly) |
| 10 | MONK |
Second name associated with king’s brother (4)
MO (second) N (name) next to (associated with) K (king) |
| 11 | BRONCHITIS |
Tube problem? Wielding birch is not the answer (10)
An anagram (wielding) of BIRCH IS NOT |
| 12 | WARMED |
Wife, prepared for a fight, became more passionate (6)
W (wife) ARMED (prepared for a fight) |
| 14 | IN CHARGE |
Leading pub reduced price (2,6)
IN (pub reduced, i.e. INN with its last letter removed) CHARGE (price) |
| 15 | PROTECT |
Harry Potter adopting magic ultimately to keep safe (7)
An anagram (harry) of POTTER containing (adopting) C (magic ultimately) |
| 17 | APRICOT |
Most of tapioca mixed with last of sour fruit (7)
An anagram (mixed) of TAPIOCA minus its last letter (most of) and R (last letter of sour) |
| 20 | IMBECILE |
Lice back in heart of timber — result, nit! (8)
An insertion (in) of a reversal (back) of LICE in IMBE (heart = middle letters of timber) |
| 22 | PINTER |
Quietly bury dramatist (6)
P (quietly) INTER (bury) |
| 23 | FALLING OUT |
Collapse with painful condition in conflict (7,3)
FALL IN (collapse) plus (with) GOUT (painful condition) |
| 24 | BARBEDWIRE |
See 3
|
| 25 | MERSEY |
Setter’s crossing Irish river (6)
MY (setter’s) around (crossing) ERSE (Irish) |
| 26 | MENTALLY |
Chaps score, using brainpower (8)
MEN (chaps) TALLY (score) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | DINOSAUR |
Report of restaurant customer regarded a real old fogey (8)
Two homophones (report of). First DINO (diner = restaurant customer), then SAUR (saw = regarded) |
| 2 | JERK |
Jack, Queen, King — not a regular progression (4)
J (Jack) ER (Queen) K (King) |
| 3,24across | BARBED WIRE |
Critical message often delivered to fencers? (6,4)
A cryptic definition |
| 4 | STOOD IN |
Took over, as locum also departs in error (5,2)
It took me a little while to see this. It’s an insertion (in) of TOO (also) and D (departs) in SIN (error) |
| 5 | BLACKCAP |
Bird of ill omen once for those on trial? (8)
A cryptic definition, referring to the judge’s donning of a black cap before passing a sentence of death |
| 6 | INDICATION |
Sign, one police put up in country (10)
I (one) followed by a reversal (put up) of CID (police) in NATION (country) |
| 7 | RISING |
Rebellion is confined to band (6)
An insertion (confined to) of IS (is) in RING (band) |
| 13 | MOTHERLESS |
Orphaned horse smelt dreadful (10)
An anagram (dreadful) of HORSE SMELT |
| 16 | CHIMNEYS |
Habitual smokers seldom seen in flats (8)
A cryptic definition, referring to the expression ‘smoke like a chimney’ |
| 18 | OVERRULE |
Invalidate one of the laws of cricket, apparently (8)
A cryptic cum double definition |
| 19 | REFORMS |
Gives new structure to scripture classes (7)
RE (scripture) FORMS (classes) |
| 21 | MEANER |
Less honourable plan to join engineers rejected (6)
MEAN (plan) plus (to join) a reversal (rejected) of RE (engineers) |
| 22 | POTENT |
Effective work erected temporary home (6)
A reversal (erected) of OP (work) TENT (temporary home) |
| 24 | WEAR |
Put up with last clothing (4)
I was going to say that I couldn’t parse this but I wonder if it’s a triple definition: ‘put up with’, ‘last’ and ‘clothing’ all being synonyms of WEAR? |
Thanks for the blog, NS. I agree entirely with your assessment – and with your parsing of 24dn.
Thanks to Nutmeg for a pleasant start to the week.
Thanks NMS and Nutmeg
Quite tricky, I thought – the NW took me longer than the entire Rufus!
I liked PROTECT, but thought that DINOSAUR wasn’t all that close as a homophone of “diner saw”.
Thanks, nms.
Indeed, a bit tricky in places, but a good puzzle all the same. I too liked the Harry Potter clue. And I agree with your triple definition of WEAR. Pity Nutmeg couldn’t make it a quadruple with the river that flows through Sunderland. Oh, hang on, the original nms and I probably don’t want to be mentioning Sunderland at the minute …
Thanks Nutmeg, good puzzle but a bit tricky for a Quiptic.
Thanks nms, I took 3,24 as a d/cd but it makes little difference.
Two dinosaurs for the price of one today. I liked Harry Potter.
I agree that this was a little trickier than some Quiptics but I thought it was a very good puzzle. Count me in the triple definition camp for WEAR.
I tried BEAR for WEAR, and was surprised when checking showed the first letter was wrong. I then tried GEAR!
Thanks Nutmeg and nms.
It has taken me a time to get here, IMBECILE was appropriate. I did like BARBED WIRE and BRONCHITIS.
I think 5dn has to be parsed as a double / cryptic definition. A blackcap is a type of bird (I didn’t know this, but Chambers did). Then the rest of it refers to the cap the judge wears as you said. The first word of the clue has to refer to the bird, to make the enumeration (8 as opposed to 5,3) correct, if for no other reason.
I also found this considerably harder than other Quiptics.