Guardian 24502/Orlando

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I think I’m fortunate to have been allocated a reasonable puzzle for my first blog – straightforward and fair without being too easy to be interesting. A couple of old crossword favourites, 12ac and 24dn, but no words I hadn’t met before. There were some ingenious anagrinds, too.

Across:

1   MATISSE: IS< in MASS [service] + E:  Henri Matisse, artist [1869-1954]

5   CARPEL: R in [place]*

9   MARINADE: DAN< in MARIE: cow-pie eating Desperate Dan appeared in the first edition of the Dandy in 1937. [I’d always thought one marinated food in a marinade but I find that marinade is an alternative form of the verb.]

10  FAR-OFF: OR< in FAFF

12  APPREHENSION: An old favourite double definition

15  PARTICULAR: cryptic / double definition

17  ETA:  ET [extremes of eloquent] + A: Greek letter E for Ephesians, which is rather neat.

19  OBI: initial letters of Osaka being inscrutable: an obi is a Japanese sash.

20  ARCHDEACON: [once had car]*

22  INCONSOLABLE: [nice balloons]*

26  IRISES: I + RISES [and no mention of girls or flags!]

27  IN CHARGE: [reaching]*

28  NODDED: NO + DD + ED

29  WOMBATS: WOM[an] + BATS

Down

1   MAME: = “maim”. ‘Mame’ is a musical and film.

2   TARN: TAR [salt] + N [end of Mormon]: a tarn is a mountain lake, e.g. the lovely Tarn Hows in Cumbria.

3   SYNOPSIS: IS PONY [£25 in bookmaking] < in SS

4   ELDER: double definition

6   AVAUNT: archaic ‘Begone!: A + V + AUNT [short for auntie?]

7   PROVIDENCE: PRO + eVIDENCE: capital of Rhode Island

8   LA FONTAINE: [a final note]*: La Fontaine [1621-1695] a French poet who wrote fables, hence ‘fabulous’

11  THRASH: double definition

13  OPPOSITION: O.P + POSITION

14  BRAINCHILD: BRAIN + CHILD

16  UPROOT: [our top]*

18  SEALYHAM: EA[r]LY inside SHAM

21  ANNEXE: ANNE + X + E

23  AS NEW: A + S + N + E + W

24  ORCA: O + RCA

25  SEES: palindrome

20 comments on “Guardian 24502/Orlando”

  1. Welcome to the Dark Side, Eileen 🙂

    In 6dn I thought the “small” referred to “very” rather than “relative”.

    I had the same thought as you about marinade vs marinate – maybe it’s another case of noun-verbing…

  2. Of course it does, Andrew. Thank you. Put it down to first-day nerves.

    [I think it’s time to draw a line under the noun / verb thing. ;-)]

  5. Yes congratulations Eileen. You’ll be a real asset. And good to have a treat from Orlando to kick off with.

    PS At least you won’t be first with the comments when you are blogging. :-))

  8. 18D ‘… Pretended to go out with’.

    Surely ‘outwith’ = ‘outside’ is one word not two?

    15A It had to be ‘particular’, but please could you explain ‘nice point’?

  9. Don, I think in 15 across the two meanings are “nice” in the old sense of “precise” (as in “The Nice and Accurate Prophesies of Agnes Nutter, Witch” :)) and “point” as in a particle (which is particular).

    Trench Adviser, Chambers has “thrash” as a noun meaning “a party (inf)”. I’ve never heard that in real life ever, I think…

  11. Sorry, of course it’s “point” for the noun sense of “particular”, which I suppose you mostly hear as a plural…

  13. Well done Eileen, it’s great to see keen commentors coming through as bloggers.

    And well done Orlando I say, not a hugely difficult puzzle but an enjoyable one. I have noticed that I’ve been enjoying Orlando’s offerings more of late.

    The only area I had trouble with was due to putting APPREHENDING in for 12A which troubled my 8D till I saw the problem.

    Thrash: I am familiar with thrash in the sense of party, but I suspect it is more 60s or 70s slang, e.g. “Curly’s having a thrash over at his place next saturday”. In my experience, a thrash is guaranteed to involve loud music, sufficient quantities of largely dubious alcohol, and many people you have never met before, though a fight is optional.

  14. According to Partridge, the slang use of “thrash” (meaning a party with drinks, supper and dancing) dates to the 30s, originating with servicemen (poss. RN?)

  15. Well done Eileen.
    Isn’t Auntie a “diminutive” of Aunt rather than the other way round? Like “shortening” John to Johnny?
    Interesting that 11 dn could also clue a four letter answer, i.e. “bash”. I’ll look out for it.

  16. I had exactly the same thought myself, John, as I wrote it. I knew it wasn’t right but couldn’t see the wood for the trees until helped out by Andrew. See comments 1 and 2.

    Thanks for all the nice comments – and especially to Orlando for a very enjoyable initiation.

  17. I haven’t even got round to today’s crossword yet, but I logged to find the missing answers to yesterday’s Gordius , then got swept up in the comments, re gerunds etc. Poor Geoff, did he get dissed? I was worried for him. But back to today, Eileen, I always read your comments, and so it was nice to see you in the top spot. When I get round to today’s puzzle I’ll be back. ps, are you an English teacher by any chance?

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