X4 by Phibs
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.
As I said to Mr CS at our Saturday lunchtime, Phibs sets some of the best crosswords around and this one was even better than usual, as it proved to be an amazing quadruple pangram
Across
1a Fine loose textile material (4)
FLAX: The abbreviation for fine and an adjective meaning loose
3a Wilde finally failing to supply witty remark (4)
QUIP: The final letter of Wilde failing or going from a verb meaning to supply
6a Cry of duck all but caught by European quail (5)
QUAKE: The noise made by a duck apart from (all but) the cricket abbreviation for caught, followed by the abbreviation for European
10a Bored by golf, Gazza is spending afternoon wrestling snakes (7)
ZIGZAGS: One of those surface readings that conjures up a wonderful image of how my fellow blogger might spend his afternoons. An anagram (wrestling) of GAZZa IS (spending or removing one of the abbreviations for afternoon, the letter in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet represented by Golf then being inserted (bored)
11a Largely pen nursing books beginning to explore piddling complaint (7)
QUIBBLE: Most of a type of pen into which is inserted (nursing) two abbreviations for book, the result followed by the beginning of Explore
12a Britain emerging from depressing year bursting with embarrassing revelations? (5)
LEAKY: Remove the abbreviation for Britain from a synonym for depressing and follow what’s left with the abbreviation for year
13a A puzzle intended to deliver a shock (9)
AMAZEMENT: A (from the clue), a type of puzzle and a synonym for intended without (to deliver) the A
14a Steep section beside wood (4)
SOAK: The abbreviation for section and a type of wood
15a Succeeding by entering 10 backwards? (4)
NEXT: The letter used to mean by in multiplication sums inserted into (entering) a reversal (backwards) of the word 10
16a Sky TV here is relaxing with volume turned down (5)
ETHER: An anagram (relaxing) of Tv HERE without (turned down) the abbreviation for volume
19a Question English about what they recently left in train (5)
QUEUE: An abbreviated question and the abbreviation for English go about the abbreviated union we ‘recently left’
20a In truth, Vera’s missing Newcastle? (4)
CITY: Remove VERA from truthfulness
22a Judges embodying socially acceptable face of underwear fetish (4)
JUJU: Two abbreviations for Judge between which is inserted (embodying) the letter used to indicate something is socially acceptable, the ‘face’ of Underwear being added at the end
24a Curt setter first to imply a fellow’s drunk as a newt (9)
AMPHIBIAN: Truncate the name of our setter, add the first letter of Imply, and insert both between A (from the clue) and a fellow
26a Very wide bearing that is recurring feature of Swiss watches (5)
VIEWS: The abbreviations for Very and Wide ‘bearing’ or holding the Latin abbreviation meaning that is, and one of the recurring letters in SwiSS
27a Hop leaves regularly getting confused with fig leaves (7)
FOLIAGE: An anagram (confused) of the regular letters of hOp LeAvEs and FIG
28a Become disheartened by what one’s busy setting? (7)
BEEHIVE: Brilliant definition! The outside (disheartened) letters of BecomE, an interjection of slight surprise (what) and another way of saying one’s
29a Small number inspired by yen to fool around (5)
DINKY: The abbreviation for number inspired by or inserted into a reversal (around) of Y (yen) and an informal verb meaning to fool
30a Tip gym slips into a box, covering up sweaty smell (4)
APEX: The abbreviation for school games (gym) inserted into A boX, without (covering up) a sweaty smell
31a Jack taking the role of bishop in outstanding play (4)
JEST: The abbreviation for Jack in a pack of cards replaces the part played by the chess abbreviation for Bishop in a synonym for outstanding
Down
1d In columns, zero plus zero comes to nought (7)
FIZZLES: Insert two abbreviations for Zero into some columns or lines (eg of soldiers)
2d Incense V&A stored in silver jar (9)
AGGRAVATE: V and A (stored) or inserted between the chemical symbol for silver and a verb meaning to jar or irritate
4d Gal upset about missing start of lunar eclipse (7)
UPSTAGE: An anagram (upset of GAl UPSET (without – missing – the letter at the start of Lunar
5d Biting insect developed 3 heads (7)
PIQUANT: An anagram (developed) of the solution to 3a ‘heads’ or goes before an insect
6d Pound penning poetry denied penultimate piece pulsated (8)
QUIVERED: An informal term for a Pound Sterling ‘penning’ or going round some poetry without the next to last letter
7d A factor in lamb learning to walk (5)
AMBLE: A factor in lAMB LEarning
8d One throws out voter demanding justice for left (7)
EJECTOR: Replace the abbreviation for Left in a voter with that for Justice
9d Get bigger end of wonky pasty (4)
WAXY: To get bigger followed by the ‘end’ of wonkY
17d Homemaker Sue, who demolished one case of Fleurie (9)
HOUSEWIFE: An anagram (demolished) of SUE WHO followed by the letter representing one and the ‘case’ of FleuriE, although Phibs can’t possibly be referring to me as red wine and I don’t get on at all well together so I have to completely avoid it
18d Trotter, perhaps, about to be put into cold culinary treat (8)
DELICACY: The head of the Trotter family and the abbreviation for about, the latter inserted into a synonym for very cold
19d Female in further education boarding where students walk around drunk (7)
QUAFFED: The abbreviation for female inserted into that for further education and then inserted (boarding) a place where students walk around
20d Toll road with only odd bits being used? That’s monstrous! (7)
CHIMERA: A verb meaning to toll and the odd ‘bits’ of RoAd
21d Clear up Bass beer bottles holding water (7)
TENABLE: A reversal (up) of an adjective meaning clear (of all charges) followed by the abbreviation for Bass ‘bottled’ by some beer
23d Rising past pews, pulpit keeps curving skywards (7)
UPSWEPT: Hidden in reverse in pasT PEWS PUlpit
25d Support for current supplier faltering only under pressure (5)
PYLON: An anagram (faltering) of ONLY goes under the abbreviation for Pressure
26d Drunk abandoned by Bev struggled (4)
VIED: BEV abandons an informal adjective meaning drunk
Phanks Phibs for an interesting and entertaining challenge which needed caffeine assistance.
On first seeing the grid, I thought that ‘X4’ was referring to it being arranged in quadrants but, with the early solving of 3a, 6a, 10a, and 11a, that thought was replaced by one of quadruple pangram. I haven’t completed a full letter ‘roll call’, just the Js, Ks, Qs, Vs, Xs, and Zs, but I assume that is what we have.
Smiles for 6a, 14a, 18a, 20a, and 6d.
Thanks again and thanks in advance to the indefatigable CS.
I struggled with a few clues but got there in the end and finding the relevance of X4 was a nice penny-drop too
Thanks for the challenge Phibs, all the best
Wow – that’s amazing, especially to achieve the X4 without obscurities and with smooth surfaces throughout. Many thanks to Phibs.
I’ve too many ticks to list them all – 3a, 6a, 19a, 20d and 21d. My favourite of course has to be 10a.
My initial suppostion regarding the meaning of X4 was soon reinforced after the first five clues I solved resulting in 3Zs, 2Qs and an X.
Phibs’ puzzles are always very clever and great fun, and this one, at the easier end of his spectrum, was no exception.
Many thanks to Phibs for the entertainment and in advance to CS.
Very impressive & a joy to solve from start to finish – thank you Phibs. May I wish everybody a happy & prosperous new year & a hope that BD is back among us soon.
I thought this quite tricky with some devilishly cunning wordplay in which there was a bit of a pattern I thought.
10a made me smile,15a was neat as was 30a but I’ll choose 19a (but how recent is recent?) plus 8&18d as my podium with top spot going to the super smart 21d.
Thanks and HNY to Phibs and in advance to Cryptic Sue.
I remember well the last time we had a quadruple pangram, a quite brilliant Moeraki Toughie.
Gazza’s first sentence sums this up and is well worth repeating, “Wow – that’s amazing, especially to achieve the X4 without obscurities and with smooth surfaces throughout.”
With a title like X4 and with 3 ‘z’s, 3 ‘x’s and ‘qvwy’ in the first few answers in the NW, it was clear where this was heading. I set up a count and savoured each discovery of a letter required to complete the X4. Along the way there were some cracking clues with my favourites being the ones I thought had the very best surfaces: the image-conjuring 10a, the apropos 12a, the self-describing 13a plus 26a, 27a, 28a, 30a, 2d, 5d and 19d.
Thank you, Phibs, for kicking off our New Year’s Eve with such splendid entertainment.
We made very heavy work of our first puzzle for 2023. In the latter stages we made a list of the high scoring Scrabble letters that were still missing and worked with those.
We’re in awe of Phibs’s skill in putting it all together so beautifully.
Thanks very much Phibs.
My thanks to CS for the lovely review, and also to those who have commented on the puzzle.
There is certainly satisfaction to be had from getting the grid filled for a multiple pangram, but then one is faced with the job of writing clues for entries positively overflowing with Js, Qs, Zs and the like. It’ll probably be a while before I tackle another one :phew:
A very happy New Year to one and all.