Guardian 24,166 – Rufus
Posted by loonapick on August 27th, 2007
Sorry for the late post. Don’t have a lot to say about this puzzle. Mostly fair, some good surfaces, the usual smattering of cryptic definitions that Rufus likes to use.
I’m not convinced by 20ac, and I don’t think I’ve come across 22ac in a dictionary.
ACROSS
1 OMNIBUS – does anyone still use this word in the sense of “vehicle”?
5 HUSSAR – (<=RASH) about US
9 CHAIN SAW
12 WORKING CLASS
15 ANTISEPTIC – a very good cryptic definition
20 QUADRANGLE – homophone of QUOD WRANGLE – as QUOD is short for, or derived from QUADRANGLE, I don;t think this clue is cryptic enough.
22 OPEN TRANSFER – I can’t find this phrase in Chambers or on onelook.com
27 CARO(USE)L
DOWN
1 (p)OUCH
3 BAN-JOIST
4 S((coa)L)ACK
6 US(AN)CE
7 SEA PASSAGE
8 REIN-STATES
11 UNWIND
13 BALLOONIST – good cryptic definition
14 STUTTERING – liked this one, too
16 PLURAL
18 MAKE GOOD – double definition, put something right and be a success
25 CLIP – as in “go at a fair clip”
August 27th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Usual rubbish.
12A No, you wouldn’t say.
15A CD? At a stretch.
22A Non-existent.
14D Oh dear lord, make it stop.
16D I think I’ve lost the will to live…
August 27th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Bit harsh, isn’t it? What’s wrong with 12ac? And 14dn?
I agree 20ac is a bit weak but the big problem was 22ac; if it exists I’ve never heard of it in football. Held me up for a while because although I thought BALLOONIST for 13dn, that didn’t fit with FREE TRANSFER.
August 27th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Nothing wrong with 12a in my opinion — though would it have raised fewer hackles as: “On form wage earners?”. I think the point is the earning wages isn’t confined to the (Brit) “working class”.
Except for QUADRANGLE, I thought this was a strong puzzle with good cryptic definitions. I’m sure that I’ve seen OPEN TRANSFER plenty of times on the sports pages…
August 28th, 2007 at 8:59 am
20Ac Quad is an old slang word for a prison hence “Quad” = prison; “wrangle” = dispute, and the whole thing takes place in a “quadrangle” = yard.
August 28th, 2007 at 9:44 am
My understanding is …
An open transfer would take place in the two transfer windows allowed by FIFA. A closed transfer might be negotiated outside these windows but with the player only allowed to switch clubs when the window re-opens.
Rufus might be fairly accessible but I enjoy his use of unusual words – banjoist, chain saw, balloonist, usance, etc – not normal crossword fodder.
August 28th, 2007 at 10:36 am
PeeJay is entitled to his opinion but it would be more helpful if he explained why he was upset. To cover most of his points
12A I am indebted to Chambers for providing the definition of “working-class” as “wage-earners”, so, even if PJ wouldn’t, some might say that.
15A and 14D I am indebted to loonapick for saying these were acceptable CDs.
22A I am indebted to Berny for the full explanation of “open transfer”. It is certainly a term I have heard used in my days of playing, and being a qualified FA Coach and referee.
20a I am indebted to Shirley for explaining Quadrangle. (Quod, incidentally, as a slang name for prison is not believed to come from quadrangle – Chambers says it is of unknown origin).
August 28th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Thanks for the extra explanation.
I did not know that ‘quod’ was an old term for prison. Knowing this, the homophone of quod and wrangle does indeed make this a very good clue.
However, while I accept that a transfer window can be open or closed, I still can’t find any reference to a transfer during the open/closed window as an open/closed transfer; at least not in same way that free can be used to qualify transfer. Given that my footballing experience has never extended much beyond the Hammersmith and Fulham Lunchtime 5-a-side league or the stands of Griffin Park it is quite possible for me to have missed it though…
August 28th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
About time we had some obscure soccer terminology after decades of cricket trivia.