Guardian 24846 / Rufus

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A fun and quite quick puzzle to start the week. 12d and 25a were the troublesome ones for me.

Across
1. COMPASS CO = “firm” + M = “a thousand” + PASS = “spend”
5. BIG-HEAD Cryptic definition
9. RADII A nice cryptic definition
10. RECONVENE (ONCE NEVER)*
11. WITHOUT STRINGS Double definition
13. ECHO Cryptic definition
14. BASTILLE TILL = “Safe” in BASE = “sordid”
17. KEEP IT UP Double definition
18. KRIS (RISK)*
21. UNPROFESSIONAL (PLAINNESS OF OUR)*
23. INELEGANT (GET IN LANE)*
24. LEGAL EG = “for example” in (ALL)*
25. SESAMES SEES = “Understands” around MA’S reversed
26. EMPRESS EM = “Printer’s measure” + PRESS = “newspapers”
Down
1. CARD Double definition
2. MIDNIGHT EXPRESS MIDNIGHT = “An everyday conclusion” + EXPRESS = “say”
3. ALIGHT A LIGHT
4. SPROUT Double definition
5. BACK SEAT Cryptic definition
6. GENERATE (TEENAGER)*
7. ETERNAL TRIANGLE Cryptic definition? I can guess at the allusion, but it’s not a familiar expression to me
8. DRESS SENSE Cryptic definition
12. DECK QUOITS DECK = “Pack” + O = “no score” in QUITS = “even” (as in “call it quits / call it even”)
15. LINOLEUM (LION MULE)*
16. FUNERALS (NUR ASLEF)*
19. TSETSE TEST = “trial” reversed + SE = “bearing”
20. DOLLOP DOLL = “something with which one may play” + OP = “work”
22. ALPS L = “Lake” in SPA = “resort” reversed

17 comments on “Guardian 24846 / Rufus”

  2. Very easy today, but enjoyable (14 mins). 12d I got but couldn’t quite see the explanation, so thanks mhl.

    I quite liked 9a

  3. Many thanks, mhl, at first glance I thought that I would zip through this in record time but then I visualised DECK TENNIS for 12d. This and 25a SESAMES threw me for a while but I got there after 19 minutes.

    This experience confirms my belief that Rufus is getting trickier. Maybe he’s been talking to Paul?

  4. Also found this pleasantly easy apart from 12d and 25a; gave up on the latter thinking it must be an obscure shrub (SUSSMAS, anyone ?).
    Can’t agree about 9a being cryptic – if you substitute ‘circle’ for ‘ring’ in the clue, it becomes a dictionary definition of RADII.

  5. PS – I’d have thought ‘eternal triangle’ = man + wife + mistress (or other permutations) was a fairly common expression ?

  6. Thought I’d finished, looked at blog and realised I just hadn’t seen 18!!!! Not only is that a crazy oversight, it is seriously ironic in that the pet name of my third whippet was KRIS. Like I wasn’t going to get that one! Sigh.

  8. PS – I’d have thought ‘eternal triangle’ = man + wife + mistress (or other permutations) was a fairly common expression?

    Many Indian films are based on this theme and the reviewers would invariably use the expresion ‘eternal triangle’.

  9. Reminds me of Tom Lehrer’s Lobachevsky song where Metro-Goldwyn-Moskva buy the movie rights for his book, rename it “The Eternal Triangle”, and have Ingrid Bergman playing the part of the hypotenuse.

  10. The phrase “Eternal Triangle” seems to be in most disctionaries – Chambers and Collins both have it.

    Thanks Jake for your post!

  11. To Mr. Beaver, “they meet in the centre of the ring” surface has connotations of boxing / wrestling, no?

    I didn’t get 21A – what’s the anagram indicator, if any?

    Also, could someone kindly explain 8D for me?

    Finally, in 20D, work = OP because? Operate?

  12. Rufus: I’m sure it is – I’m afraid I’ve been travelling and had to do the last couple of posts without any of my dictionaries. 🙁 Thanks for the excellent puzzle, as ever.

    Andrew: in 21 across, the anagram indicator is “production”. In 8d, the surface reading is meant to make you think of someone changing gear in a car, whereas in the cryptic reading, “gear” means clothes. “work” = OP from “opus”, a commonly used abbreviation for referring to musical works.

  13. @the other Andrew:

    21a:
    amateur: definition
    (plainness of our): anagrammed letters
    production: the anagram indicator

    8d:
    cryptic definition; the surface reading first had me thinking about SHIFT SPEED

    20d:
    Yes, OP = operate/operation = work

    A nice crossword; thanks, Rufus.

  15. Andrew and Andrew: there’s also an Andrew who blogs here, so it would be helpful if you could add some disambiguation to your names when commenting! 🙂

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