Guardian 24428/Rufus

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Pretty good offering from Rufus: quite a few clues with a surprising twist in the surface. And not a cryptic definition in sight (OK, not many).

Across

1 LUCIFER – two meanings: a well-known match company thus “striking example”.
9 P,RESERVE – I liked the way “specially for game” defines RESERVE, however, didn’t know that P could abbreviate “perhaps”. Rufus himself points out that perhaps is part of the definition — and that as well as game reserves there are game preserves.  Same difference.
12 CHARTERHOUSE – HOURS* in TEACHER*. It’s a school I didn’t go to.
15 COPENHAGEN – OPEN in change*; interestingly “round” is the anagrind not “change”.  
19 OWN – two meanings: my last clue (probably because I associate OWN up with concede rather than just OWN).
22 LANDED GENTRY – an amusing cryptic definition.
26 A,LB,I,ON
27 IM(MODE)ST – MODE in mist*
29 DETROIT=(tried to)* – another clever definition: “huge carport”.

Down

1 LAPS=”lapse”
2 CH[i]EF  
3 FREE HAND – a fine surface
4 [d]RIVER – ref. RIVER Tees
6 CRECHE – a surprisingly clever clue that is sort of a double cryptic definition playing on the two meanings of “mind” (it’s a Brit kindergarten).
7 CO,RNUCOPIA=(our panic)*
13 SCHOOLDAYS – I fear I’m missing an allusion (e.g. Tom Brown’s SCHOOLDAYS — were they happy?)
14 OPENING BAT – requisite cricket cryptic definition
16 AVENGE – I think this is another (non-obvious) cryptic definition.
18 STAR,TOUT
21 RECOIL – definition is “kick” and I guess rewind and recoil are synonyms as well.
24 HE,[i]RO]n
25 STET – printing term (thus “impressive”) to reinstate something.

9 comments on “Guardian 24428/Rufus”

  1. 13dn – refers to the saying that your schooldays are “the happiest days of your life”.

    16dn – this seems to be almost a straight definition to me, except for the slight misdirection of “payment” and “account”.

  2. Quick note to clarify 9 across: “p” is not being used for “perhaps” – the clue is a double definition. In Chambers, under GAME, it gives “Game preserve” defined as “A tract of land stocked with game preserved for sport or with protected wild animals”.

  5. 25dn – being a sub-editor by trade, I got STET from the definition but I didn’t get the significance of “impressive”. Thanks for the explanation. I feel silly.

    Ursula – re 8dn, the definition part of the clue is “youngster”, if that helps – but think teenager rather than young child. It’s a 4-letter word meaning “unemployment benefit” inside a word meaning “rise”.

  7. 9 across

    The term “game preserve” is in constant use and “preserve” was a “gimme”. Clearly, the term “reserve’ is frequently used to refer to a park or even a National Park where game are protected but I have never seen or heard the term “game reserve”.

  8. Not that it’s definitive proof but google reports 1,900,000 hits for “game reserve” and “only” 198,000 for “game preserve” 🙂

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