Guardian 26,391 by Nutmeg

by

Enjoyed this – a few trickier bits, and a lot of fun. Favourites 21ac and 4dn.

5 and 26 were last in, new to me but gettable with crossers.

Across
1 SLOVAKIA
In play Viola’s stopped by a knight in the country (8)
=”country”. (Viola’s)* around A plus K[night]
5 MANGEL
Cattle food from trough changing hands (6)
A variety of beet cultivated as “Cattle food”. MANGE[r]=”trough”, changing its r[ight] hand for a L[eft]
9 APPETITE
Father takes turn with little inclination (8)
=”inclination”. PA=”Father” reversed (“takes turn”), plus PETITE=”little”
10 BOGART
Hollywood star, one of 12 drinking G&T (6)
=”Hollywood star”. (BOAR G T)*
12 BOARS
Fastens covers over farm animals (5)
=”farm animals”, male pigs. BARS=”Fastens”, around O[ver]
13 RECONCILE
One circle converted to square (9)
=”square”. (One circle)*
14 TRAITORS GATE
Characteristic step heard after troops’ second entry into the Tower (8,4)
=”entry into the Tower” of London [wiki]. TRAIT=”Characteristic”, plus GATE which sounds like ‘gait’=”step heard”, after O[rdinary] R[egiments’] = “troops'” plus S[econd]
18 AS TIME GOES BY
10 asked for it in due course (2,4,4,2)
=”in due course”. Humphrey Bogart asks Sam to play the song As Time Goes By in Casablanca.
21 OFF CAMERA
Summary of artist’s stage exit is not recorded (3,6)
=”not recorded”. OFF CAME R[oyal] A[cademician]=”Summary of artist’s stage exit”
23 RIOJA
Little woman in song knocked back wine (5)
=”wine”. JO=”Little woman”=character from Little Women, inside AIR=”song”, all reversed (“knocked back”)
24 TRIAGE
Urgency ranking, say, overturned after short hearing (6)
=”Urgency ranking”. E.G.=”say”, reversed (“overturned”), after TRIA[l]=”short hearing”
25 WINDFALL
Snake’s come a cropper, an unexpected bonus (8)
=”an unexpected bonus”. WIND=”Snake”=writhe, plus FALL=”cropper”
26 DOG-LEG
Player of course could find it tricky to follow on (3-3)
=a golf course with a bent fairway => a “Player of [a golf] course could find it tricky”. DOG=”follow”, plus LEG side=”on” side in cricket
27 IN SPADES
Definitely trendy equipment for use in bed (2,6)
=”Definitely”, extremely. IN=”trendy” plus SPADES=”equipment for use in [a garden] bed”
Down
1 SHABBY
Cast getting hold of adult books in poor condition (6)
=”in poor condition”. SHY=”Cast”=throw, around A[dult] plus two B[ook]s
2 ORPHAN
Solitary individual old pub’s managed without (6)
=”Solitary individual”. O[ld], plus P[ublic] H[ouse] inside RAN=”managed”
3 ANTISERUM
I’m nature’s fluid remedy for disease (9)
=”remedy for disease”. (I’m nature’s)*
4 INTERMINGLED
Confused in calling the French “Dutch” (12)
=”Confused”. IN, plus TERMING=”calling” plus LE=”the [in] French” plus D[utch]
6 ACORN
Unpalatable fruit or a cereal? (5)
=”Unpalatable fruit”. A plus CORN=”cereal”
7 GRAVITAS
Dignity — informer briefly clutches Bible with it (8)
=”Dignity”. GRAS[s]=”informer briefly”, around A[uthorised] V[ersion]=”Bible” plus IT
8 LITTERED
Production of Cats, say, editor covered haphazardly (8)
=”covered haphazardly”. LITTER=”Production of Cats, say”, plus ED[itor]
11 OCTOGENARIAN
Go into care managed by an oldie (12)
=”oldie”. (Go into care)* plus AN
15 SOBERED UP
Nasty smells on the rise until most of mug dried out (7,2)
=”dried out”. B[ody] O[dour]S=”Nasty smells”, reversed (“on the rise”), plus ERE=”until”, plus DUP[e]=”most of mug”
16 CAVORTED
Frisked about and drove cat wild (8)
=”Frisked about”. (drove cat)*
17 STUFFING
What choirs do about sound of violent shoving? (8)
=”shoving”. SING=”What choirs do”, around TUFF which sounds like ‘tough’=”violent”
19 COWARD
Officer giving orders to tie up chicken (6)
=”chicken”. C[ommanding] O[fficer] =”Officer giving orders”, plus WARD=”tie up”=guard/enclose
20 DALLAS
US city depressed everyone coming in from the south (6)
=”US city”. SAD=”depressed”, with ALL=”everyone” inside, all reversed (“from the south”)
22 ANGLE
Wife leaves deviously to get fish (5)
=”fish”. [w]ANGLE=to get deviously, minus W[ife]

55 comments on “Guardian 26,391 by Nutmeg”

  1. Thanks, manehi. I agree this was fun but seemed quite easy for Nutmeg: perhaps because of the number of signposted anagrams?

    I parsed BOGART a little differently as an envelope (drinking) of BOAR around G followed by T.

  3. Thanks manehi, including for explaining 12A. My only quibble is 22D: deviously=wangle. Otherwise full marks to Nutmeg.

  6. I messed up since I put “SHANTY” for 1 down, with NT for the books. I guess shanty (as in shanty town) doesn’t quite mean in poor condition but it wasn’t wrong enough to make me rethink it when I went over the checking letters (where only TOADS seemed to fit, which aren’t animals anyway). So DNF

  7. A lot of elegant clueing from Nutmeg today. 14ac was the only slightly clunky clue, and of the others, I would single out 11d, 3d and 13ac for their excellent ingenuity. This was easier than some of her offerings but none the worse for that.

    Missed the ninas, of course!

    Thx both.

  8. Thanks, manehi, for the blog, and Nutmeg for another very enjoyable puzzle.

    I concur with almw3’s favourites.

    In 19dn, I think ‘tie up’ is a reversal of DRAW.

  9. Thanks to manehi for the blog and to Nutmeg for another challenging and enjoyable puzzle. I was another one to put SHANTY at 1d, with the same reasoning as paul. Toads are definitely animals though!

  10. thanks to Nutmeg and to manehi for the blog. Another Nina fail here, if anyone is keeping score.
    When I solved 17d, I had a question about tough=violent so looked it up. It is not listed in my 1990 Chambers but it is in the 2011 edition. Just like D=Dutch, in fact, which I still don’t understand, either.
    Funny old game, this evolution of language.

  11. Thanks Nutmeg and manehi

    Liked GRAVITAS and CAVORTED, IN SPADES had me confused!

    baerchen @10 my COD of 1982 and OECD 1995 give it as colloquial, tough = violent (tough guys), I wonder if Chambers gives it as colloquial?

  16. Thanks, manehi.

    Surprisingly straightforward for Nutmeg – though I failed to spot the Ninas, as per usual.

    I agree with NeilW @1 that the puzzle is facilitated by quite a lot of clearly signalled anagrams, though with clever fodder and surfaces, as almw3 and Eileen have noted. However, I demur slightly at 11a, despite its ingenuity, as ‘(managed) by’ suggests to me that ‘an’ is either adjacent to or encloses a shuffled set of letters, and not that it forms part of the anagrist. – ‘managed with…’ would be more accurate, though the surface would be less glossy.

  17. Having finally seen the Ninas, can I just say that I now appreciate how much effort must have gone into actually constructing this puzzle – both Ninas intersect parts of the linked BOARS/BOGART/AS TIME GOES BY triplet of clues, and the latter is intersected by both! Trust Nutmeg to make all the pieces fit together, and still have a puzzle that’s fun and accessible.

  19. Well OCTOGENARIAN is GOINTOCARE managed (shuffled) by (next to) AN. Not the greatest clue, and one of the very many, probably too many anagrams, but I can’t see any real problem with it. Gervase?

    10 is BO(G)AR/ T as far as I can see.

    This puzzle is carefully written, does not contain any mistakes, and I have found it a pleasure to solve.

  20. Thanks to manehi for the blog.

    I did not see any NINAs when I was working on the puzzle.
    Since coming here I have seen the NINA in column 4.
    I have not seen a diagonal NINA 🙁 – can somebody please tell me where it starts

  21. I was very curious why MANGEL got chosen in a puzzle otherwise populated with fairly gentle vocabulary, particularly since there are plenty of other possibilities to fit that 5a/8d corner. Now I know! I don’t think I’ve ever managed to spot a nina in my life.

  22. Being a cat-owner I would like to point out that “litter” is what cats put their productions into, rather than the production itself. Maybe the “say” is meant to cover that. A lovely puzzle!

  28. Either I’m more on Nutmeg’s wavelength these days or this was one of her gentler ones – but I still found plenty to enjoy such as OFF CAMERA and ACORN. As luck would have it BOGART was the first actor that came to mind, which made the linked answers easier than they would otherwise have been. Last in was SLOVAKIA after INTERMINGLED. I did miss the well disguised Ninas – well spotted Trovatore and Muffyword.

    Thanks to manehi and Nutmeg

  29. Ninas apart-which,of course, I didn’t get-I enjoyed this.I can’t say I cared for the TUFF in STUFFING though and this was the last one in. I liked INTERMINGLED and MANGEL.
    Thanks Nutmeg.

  30. Thanks for the crossword and the blog.

    A minor point, at 14, OR is an acronym for ‘Other Ranks’ not ‘Ordinary Regiments’

  31. I really enjoyed this, even though I was one of the many with shanty for 1d. I still don’t know who or what Nina is but I thought the hidden “vertical” and “diagonal” in the correct orientation was wonderful.

    I also had 17d from the clue but didn’t put it in as stuffing doesn’t equate to shoving in my vocabulary.

    Overall though, terrific.

  32. Cyborg 21, is there another meaning that misses me for mangel = beet, in full mangel-wurzel, or are you confusing it with mangle = v. beat or n. a machine to squeeze water out of the washing.`

  34. Simon S @27 – thanks, but you’re mixing your Limeys with your Limenis! 🙂

    Clever Nina, and some fun clues – I thought RECONCILED was lovely.

  35. Cookie @24 thanks for that.

    I might possibly have spotted the vertical NINA (but I missed it) but I am staggered that anybody spotted that diagonal one. As it is I started at the top LH corner and found nothing then tried top RH corner then gave up!

  36. Chas @35, I didn’t find it, Muffyword @4 did, but did not give the game away, then Cyborg @21 posted a subtle hint to you which I had not noticed.

  37. Another enjoyable Nutmeg puzzle IMHO, although as others have already pointed out it wasn’t her hardest. I completely missed both ninas, but no surprise there. COWARD was my LOI.

  38. Yep got caught by shabby / shanty, whether this was deliberate I don’t know but if it was the editor should have sent it back.
    Otherwise a good piece of fun. Thanks nutmeg and manehi.

  39. flashling et al. I don’t understand at all. What has shanty to do with 1d? I’m a babe in the woods here, and can’t see the connection. Had no problem at all. Perhaps you oldies are stuck on NT (New Testament). Can someone enlighten me, please?

  41. I don’t suppose anyone will bother to reply, but is crossword solving going to become fossilised like the French language is by the Académie francaise?

  42. I made some uncomplimentary remarks about a Nutmeg puzzle a couple of weeks ago, based probably on ignorance and inexperience.

    Today I am in awe of the ingenuity that has gone into the construction of this puzzle. The Ninas – which of course I didn’t spot – are mind-boggling.

    I didn’t manage 12ac and 1dn – seemingly not alone – but solved the rest, which really surprised me for a Nutmeg cryptic. The setter clearly has the gift of being able to set puzzles at all sorts of levels.

  43. Thanks to Nutmeg and manehi for the great puzzle and blog. Didn’t spot the Ninas but nothing new there. TRAITOR’S GATE was a new term for me. I could be misremembering but wasn’t it
    Bergman not Bogart who requested 18A. My recollection is that Sam had been told not to play that song. A very minor quibble about an otherwise outstanding puzzle.

    Cheers…

  44. Possibly, but just to the purists who like to scrutinise every word of every clue. Some people obviously enjoy doing that and winkle out the discrepancies. Others just take the puzzles more at face value and assess the overall picture on a more general level. I guess you takes your pleasure in your own way. There’s room for everyone. But probably very few puzzles would be incapable of being improved in some way or other, or have no room for quibbles of one sort or another.

    Having done so many puzzles over so many years, one gets a feel for the attitude expressed by the setter in writing the clues and sometimes that feeling is that he/she has just not thought carefully about his clues, but just knocked the puzzle up very easily. At other times it is obvious that the setter has really tried to write clever clues with ingenious wordplay which makes graceful surface reading.

    What’s important Is the enjoyment gained by the solver and that is what I use as my yardstick when assessing my opinion on a puzzle. Did I enjoy the process or not? It’s interesting, though, to read others’ thoughts, especially those who like to look more closely at the setters’ art. They always see things which I have missed or skipped over. Sometimes I fill a clue in just from the definition without bothering to parse properly – red hot needle and burnt thread comes to mind – in my haste to get on to the next clue. Not that I am one of those who like to finish in record times, particularly. Indeed, the puzzles I enjoy most are those like The Tyrus on Monday when the answers come slowly but steadily and each one has to be nitpicked thoroughly to find the answer.

    (I am just answering because you said nobody would.)

  45. almw3 @44. I am not sure if you are answering me, if you are, thank you. My quibble with flashling @38 is why should ‘books’ always signify NT (New Testament), it seems quite irrelevant to 1d; he says that if this confusion of SHANTY/SHABBY was deliberately done by Nutmeg, then the editor should have sent it back.

    Oh well, thanks again Nutmeg for a super puzzle.

  46. I don’t understand their quibble either! ‘Shanty’ doesn’t equate to ‘in poor condition’ in my book. And ‘books’ can be OT, NT or BB not to mention things like ‘novels’ etc.

  47. Grandpuzzler @ 43

    Similarly working from a fading menory, I think the song was played initially for Bergman, bur later Bogart asks Sam to play it. When Sam demurs, Bogart’s line is “you played it for her, you can play it for me” (or something like that).

    hth

  48. I’m with almw3 and Cookie on SHANTY, but fortunately I had BOARS before I looked at it. I have been caught out by similar things before – I have some sympathy for all parties (setter, editor and solver) because any one of them could have seen the right answer without considering parseable alternatives (my favourite was from a Rufus – “pretty shiny thing” .A.B.E for which the solution was BAUBLE but I had BARBIE).

    I must admit to being more of an impressionist solver than an analyst, and for me the essential ingredient is humour (or at least mischief), but since my main solving time on weekdays is the office lunch break, appreciating the polish and craftsmanship can be difficult due to time limitations, and I admire the grammarian pedants for the depth of their knowledge (I often wish I’d been taught more grammar, but that was out of fashion when I was at school).

    now then 1 + one – could be tricky…

  50. manehi – Is it not a good idea to make corrections to your blog? (as pointed out by various commenters). This would be helpful for future referrers. They are:
    1.) 10ac: BOGART is G in BOAR (“drinking G”) then T (“&T”)
    2.) 14ac: OR is abbreviation for ‘Other Ranks’
    3.) 19dn: WARD is DRAW reversed (“tie up”)
    Wouldn’t usually mention, but three errors in one blog surely justifies a quick edit – else, where will it all end?! Having said that, I do acknowledge and appreciate the generosity of all bloggers in giving their time (and reliability). So many thanks, manehi, but I trust you’ll take my point.

  51. As for the puzzle itself. Well, it’s a Nutmeg – so of course it’s wonderful!! Ninas brilliant! Big thanks….

  52. Thanks Nutmeg and manehi

    Late to this and everything has basically been said …

    My last in was ORPHAN but did have to change 17d to STUFFING after not being able to fully parse ‘stiffing’ .

    Another who missed the ninas.

    Don’t understand the kerfuffle with 1d – BOARS is the only plausible answer after solving BOGART at 10a – then 1d can only be SHABBY, surely!

  53. Very late to the party so apologies for re-activating this but could someone explain, more thoroughly, where the diagonal nina is? I just don’t see it, despite Cookie @24’s hint.

    Too late for comment, I know, but surely it’s hugely important that 10 didn’t ask for 18? Ilsa did (“Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By.”), but Rick immediately came marching out to tell him to stop because he’d told him not to play it any more.

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