Guardian 25,198 / Rufus

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Another Christmas cracker from Rufus.

Practically every clue and / or solution has a seasonal reference. [I particularly liked the way Rufus included four different meanings of ‘present’ in 10ac and 2, and 14dn.] Enjoyable but not too taxing – just what we need at the beginning of a busy week when so many of us are beset by 14dns! Many thanks, Rufus, for this and all the other puzzles – and a very Happy Christmas to you and all our readers!

Across

1   PAPER HATS: cryptic definition [capital decorations] and anagram of PERHAPS AT
6   WIFE: anagram of IF WE [nice – but cheeky – surface!]
8   ANGELICA: ANGELIC [very good] + A
9   RESORT: anagram of ROSTER
10 COHERE: CO [Commanding Officer] + HERE [present]
11  DIAMANTÉ: anagram of ANIMATED
12  SKATES: double definition
15  NEEDLESS: NEEDLES [things on the tree] + [christma]S – except that, at the end of Christmas, so many of them are off the tree!
16  BALLOONS: ALL in BOONS [benefits]
19  STAYED: homophone of ‘staid’
21  ESPOUSES: [sw]E[et] + SPOUSES [wives]
22 CUCKOO: cryptic definition
24  OCTAVO: O [nothing] + reversal of VAT [tax] in CO [firm]
25  EPICURES: CURE [preserve] in anagram of PIES
26  USED: hidden in hoUSE Decorations
27  MISTLETOE: anagram of SOME LET IT

Down

1   PANTO: PAN [swivel camera] + TO [towards]
2   PRESENT: double definition
3   RHINE: double definition
4   ALADDIN: LAD [boy] in A DIN [a row]
5   STREAMERS: R[ight] in STEAMERS [packets once]
6   WASSAIL: WAIL [moan] around ASS [fool]
7   FORETASTE: anagram of SET FOR TEA
13 KNAPSACKS: KNACKS [gifts] around PS [second thought] – a particularly nice surface Edit: I meant, of course,  to write ‘KNACKS around A PS – thanks, MikeC and tupu
14  SNOWSTORM: S[mall] + NOW [present] + TO in reversal of MRS [wife]
17  LEONARD: reversal of NOEL [Christmas] + A RoaD [a way]
18  SISTERS: cryptic definition
20  ACCOUNT: double definition
22 CHILL: CH [central heating] + ILL [off]
23  OBESE: O.B.E.S [decorations] + E [point]

21 comments on “Guardian 25,198 / Rufus”

  1. Thanks Eileen. Yes, this was a bit of fun to start off the Xmas week. Nothing too taxing, but some nice clues nonetheless. I liked NEEDLESS, KNAPSACKS and SNOWSTORM today.

    I suspect this will be my only bit of fun today, though. Kathryn’s brother’s trying to get back from Oslo to Heathrow today. Oslo’s working … If I don’t resurface on the blog in the next 72 hours, send for help, please.

  2. Thanks Eileen for the usual good blog and Rufus for a nice seasonal piece.

    I enjoyed paper hats, angelica, skates, octavo, and especially knapsacks.

    I was least taken with 9a for what it’s worth.

    One tiny point of no real consequence – I think 6a is ‘if’ with ‘we’ go without (outside).

  3. Thanks Eileen

    The parsing of SNOWSTORM escaped me.

    One of those tricky grids where there are few cross-letters linking the top and bottom halves, but no great problems. Nicely themed, but not up to the greatness of Brendan’s “tea-party” of last week.

    My only quibble is that the “flower of german wine” should surely be the mosel; the river and its wine are as good as synonymous.

    Many thanks to those who have blogged during the year, especially for the time when I was lurking – I now consider myself unlurked.

    My assignment for the christmas break is to clue “unlurked”…

  4. tupu@2

    I originally read 6a as Eileen did, but on reflection I think you’re right.

    On a similarly small point, surely 13d is KNACKS around A PS.

    A fun puzzle and splendid blog – thanks.

  6. Thanks, MikeC – I really did mean to write ‘KNACKS around A PS’. [I thought I’d checked really carefully today! 🙁

    I’m going to hold out for my interpretation of 6ac, though: ‘out’ is a very common anagram indicator and the clue does not say, ”outside’ or without’. [But, as you say, tupu, it’s a tiny point and certainly not worth falling out over!]

    PS: and thanks for your endorsement re KNAPSACKS – I’ll amend that now.

  7. A bizarre grid, whiuch damn near cut my prospects in half. If you know what I mean.

    6ac (not that tying women by their apron strings to the kitchen sink is at all sexist), seems to me to work just as well either way: for the anagram you would need to regard the fodder as plural (I, F, W & E or IF + WE) to get your cryptic-grammatical ducks in a row, while for the container WE needs to be subjected to the ‘string of letters’ policy for correctness. ‘Go out’ (very popular with Shed, as I recall) would be okay, as a quick glance at Collins confirms.

  8. Sorry – should’ve put my Paul B hat on for that last one. I also neglected to say how enjoyable the puzzle is. Cheers, Rufus.

  10. Very nicely themed crossword. Much better than today’s Independent crossword – am I the only one that gets fed up by the ubiquity of American States (and particularly their abbreviations) in crosswords? A whole crossword of them was a bit much!

    I’m glad I wasn’t the only one to think that 3d here should have been “Mosel” – that was the first answer I put in, which then gave me some early trouble.

  11. Thanks Eileen and Happy Christmas to you,

    This was gentle and fun.

    Ramasamy at 9, I agree the clue works without those words but I assume they were added in to support the theme.

  12. A few over-padded surfaces and a couple of weak clues at 2 and 9, but overall an enjoyable puzzle with some very nice clues at 8, 13, 17, 24.

    Thanks Rufus – Merry Christmas.

  13. Thanks for the blog, Eileen, and for all your comments on the site. Happy Christmas!

    And Happy Christmas to Rufus. This was very enjoyable. I particularly liked 27ac.

  14. Thanks Rufus and Eileen for a good blog. I found this a bit trickier than usual, perhaps because I just couldn’t get the ‘capital’ in 1a for a long time. Thanks for the parsing of SNOWSTORM as I didn’t see the MRS in it! Maybe shovelling snow has addled my brain or maybe it was the torture of completing the Christmas puzzle at the weekend!

  15. Thanks Eileen and Rufus for some seasonal fare.
    Having “BUTTONS” at 4d held me up for a while! Otherwise a gentle start to the week.

  16. Thanks Rufus for a gentle seasonal puzzle – much easier than the prize monster!
    23dn OBESE also appeared as 22ac in the QX – coincidence or what?
    Greetings, one and all

  17. Seasonal felicitations to Rufus.

    Much easier than the Prize Muck (@16)? That was a doddle compared to Azed. Azed has beaten me I think.

  18. Late on parade as usual, but many thanks Rufus (and Auntie E.) for your various delights.

    I think this is the first crossword I`ve ever completed without pause for breath. I now know how Lightning, (a.k.a. Rightback) feels when he cracks a Paul or Araucaria in the time it takes me to read the clues. Not my preferred method of solving, because the adrenalin-rush to get the last two clues could kill me.

    The season`s tidings to one and all. I`ve just scratched away at Araucaria`s Xmas Prize offering so far, but I intend to savour it rather than demolish it…even though Rightback will have already nailed it to the Grauniad offices` doors by now.

  19. If anyone’s still replying, I don’t understand who Leonard is in 17d. I see the parsing but what does the whole clue mean?

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