Guardian 24,166 – Rufus

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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”
 

8 comments on “Guardian 24,166 – Rufus”

  1. 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…

  2. 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.

  3. 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…

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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).

  7. 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…

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