Guardian Cryptic N° 25,401 by Rufus

by

A gentle outing, even by the standards of Rufus, despite a couple of definitions that were new to me.

Across
7. It’s legal to develop rough site (9)
RIGHTEOUS Anagram (‘to develop’) of ‘rough site’.
8. Perhaps Welsh wizard cheated, Rugby Union accepted (5)
DRUID Envelope (‘accepted’) of RU (‘Rugby Union’) in DID (‘cheated’).
9. Mechanical failure calls for detailed analysis (9)
BREAKDOWN Double definition, with ‘calls for’ as connective tissue.
10. They are driven to join things (5)
NAILS A cryptic definition, not I think one of the best.
12. It’s frivolous having a tax about it (6)
LEVITY Envelope (‘about’) of ‘it’ in LEVY (‘tax’).
13. Where patients do little to make treatment effective? (4,4)
REST HOME Cryptic definition.
14. Left to resign in chaos, hangs around in hope (7)
LINGERS Charade of L (‘left’) + anagram (‘in chaos’) of ‘resign’.
17. Equipment in what must be a warship (7)
FRIGATE Envelope (‘in’) of RIG (‘equipment’) in FATE (‘what must be’).
20. Being in favour of making an attack (5,3)
GOING FOR Double definition.
22. Make things fast with a cogwheel (6)
PINION Double definition.
24. Chaplain making home for soldiers (5)
PADRE Charade of PAD (‘home’) + RE (Royal Engineers, ‘soldiers’).
25. Go round in pain, walking slowly (9)
STROLLING Envelope (‘in’) of ROLL (‘go round’) in STING (‘pain’).
26. Admit a learner to school (3,2)
LET ON Charade of L (‘learner’) + ETON (‘school’).
27. Breaker’s vehicle? (9)
SURFBOARD Cryptic definition; a breaker is a breaking wave.
Down
1. Intense fire damaged church (6)
FIERCE Charade of FIER, an anagram (‘damaged’) of ‘fire’ + CE (‘church’).
2. What a change it may make to one’s winnings! (8)
CHEATING Anagram (‘may make’) of ‘change it’ &lit.
3. Fatal delay, perhaps, involves a number (6)
DEADLY Envelope (‘involves’) of D (500, Roman numeral, ‘number’) in DEALY, an anagram (‘fatal’ ‘perhaps’) of ‘delay’.
4. It’s forbidden to charge public (7)
OUTWARD Charade of OUT (‘forbidden’) + WARD (‘charge’ e.g. ward of court).
5. Introduce curve in sail after Beachy Head (6)
BROACH Charade of B (‘Beachy Head’) + ROACH (‘curve in sail’; one of Rufus’ trademark nautical references).
6. Award given to the top negotiator (8)
DIPLOMAT Charade of DIPLOMA (‘award’) + T (‘The top’). Where have I seen that word before?
11. A good man rises to king and emperor (4)
TSAR Charade of TSA, a reversal (‘rising’ in a down clue) of ‘a’ + ST (‘good man’); + R (Rex, ‘king’).
15. Divorced ladies to be treated differently (8)
ISOLATED Anagram (‘be treated differently’) of ‘ladies to’.
16. It floats right at the back (4)
RAFT Charade of R (‘right’) + AFT (‘at the back’).
18. Criminal group left one working a bundle of nerves! (8)
GANGLION Charade of GANG (‘criminal group’) + L (‘left’) + I (‘one’) + ON (‘working’).
19. Dissatisfied with rum truffle (7)
FRETFUL Anagram (‘rum’) of ‘truffle’.
21. Raced up to the line with not much room to spare (6)
NARROW Charade of NAR, a reversal (‘up’ in a down clue) of RAN (‘raced’) + ROW (‘line’).
22. First impressions may be convincing (6)
PROOFS Double definition.
23. They have news or distribute it (6)
OWNERS Anagram (‘distribute it’) of ‘news or’. Definition: ‘they have’.

23 comments on “Guardian Cryptic N° 25,401 by Rufus”

  2. Thanks, Peter.

    I don’t agree – I thought this was trickier than usual for Rufus – although that doesn’t mean it was difficult. Perhaps I’m just being a bit slow today though.

    ROACH was new to me too!

  3. An enjoyable way to watch the snow falling. Apart from a new meaning for ROACH, this was a gentle workout. For some reason I had trouble with 4d and it as the last one I entered. Forgot a WARD was someone handed to someone else to look after.

    I did like DIPLOMAT and PROOFS. So thanks for the blog PeterO and the impeccable setting, Rufus.

  4. Many thanks PeterO & Rufus. I do agree with the previous commenters.

    I should also like to thank The Grauniad staff for their …

    Special instructions: The solution to prize puzzle No 25,394 contains an error as the solution to 20 down (EROICA) does not fit with 22 across (SPINACH). Entries with either correct answer have been accepted.

    This was very timely – for them – considering that entries had to be received by the first post last Friday.

  5. Thanks Peter … 22a seems to work in a number of ways. ‘Make things fast’ could mean STOP (PINION, restrain) or GO (PINION, a bird’s flight feathers would) or indeed PIN ON (secure)… add the ‘with a’ (for which read ‘with one’) part of the clue gets us to PIN(I)ON … (a cogwheel, of course).

    At 23d, presumably the OWNERS of news also distribute it !

  6. To be fair to the Grauniad they did point out the error in ‘Corrections and clarifications’ last Tuesday. I was a beneficiary as I’m a winner this week.

  7. Thanks Peter.

    Like Roger, I too wondered about PIN I ON; I think it works either way. There were some unusually tricky clues here from Rufus among the usual accessible ones.

  8. Thanks, Peter.

    I’m another who took a bit longer than usual – not helping myself by first entering REST CURE at 13ac. [I know, the clue did say ‘where’. 🙁 ]

    In 3dn, Peter, I’m sure you really meant to say that the anagram indicator was ‘perhaps’, rather than ‘deadly’.

    I liked 15 and 18dn – thanks, Rufus.

  9. Another Monday, another Rufus. Quite good, although I took a while to get started properly.

    Thanks, PeterO for a good blog. Perhaps someone can give me the context for OUTWARD=public as I struggled with this. Last one in was SURFBOARD, which I thought had a nice clue. ROACH was new to me, not being a sailor, although I have been a windsurfer, so I suppose I ought to have known it, and should have twigged SURFBOARD earlier.

  10. Congratulations greyfox @6: you must be KPB Ward of Quorn? or possibly T Richards, Wolfcastle.

    As usual with Rufus, the last few had me struggling (27a, 22d, 4d, 12a). I liked the CD at 27a.

    Thanks, Peter.

  12. Robi @9

    For example, to quote the Catholic Encyclopedia, “Sacraments are outward signs of inward grace …”

    Eileen @8

    Yes, of course, the anagrind is ‘perhaps’, not (to correct your correction) ‘fatal’, which is busy being the definition.

  14. Thanks PeterO and Rufus

    4 nautical bits (roach – new to me, aft, frigate, surfboard). Enjoyable as usual. Some clues puzzled me a bit at first (e.g. 5d, 19d I found this anagram hard to see), but eminently solvable. Some very smooth surfaces and CDs (e.g. 27a) as expected.

  17. Thanks all
    Very easy except I had to go out and do some gardening before I could complete 7ac and 4d. ‘Righteous’did not leap to mind as ‘legal’ and each of the three parts in 4d were sufficiently vague to hold me up…not a complaint, just the opposite.

  18. Thanks PeterO.

    I thought this was quite tricky for a Monday – certainly much harder than last week’s Rufus, but just as enjoyable.

    I was held up for some time by 13ac, but my (lame) excuse is that a rest home is not somewhere in which ‘a patient does little to make treatment effective’. Residents of rest homes I know would take exception to being referred to as ‘patients’ since they are not there for medical treatment, or in order to recover from treatment. I wonder if Rufus was thinking of a convalescent home, or nursing home perhaps?

  19. Thanks, Peter. I’m another who couldn’t quite explain OUTWARD and BROACH.

    Mystogre@3 – what a coincidence! Immediately before I read your comment, my husband had come to tell me that there has been rather a lot of snow in NZ – it had been announced on the BBC UK weather forecast! I assume you are out there?

  20. Wolfie @18

    I also looked askance at REST HOME, but Chambers defines it as :

    an establishment for those who need special care and attention e.g. invalids, elderly people etc.

    which just about lets Rufus off the hook. I agree with RCWhiting that ‘legal’ is more of a stretch for RIGHTEOUS.

    Jan @18 – I noted Mystogre’s reference to snow, but I have an advantage over you – I am passed his email address, which indeed has a .nz domain.

  21. Bryan
    greyfox
    To be even fairer to the dear old Grauniad, the following was added to the online display of Paul’s prize puzzle of last week:

    Special instructions: This note was added on 7 August 2011. There is an error in the grid where the solutions to 22 across and 20 down intersect. Entries will be accepted which show either one of these solutions correctly.

    and it was mentioned on fifteensquared on the very Saturday, with the suggestion that Paul’s recent nuptuals might have skewed his spelling!

  22. Finally caught up on the rest of the comments. Yes, I am in NZ (little place called Picton) but my part only had a very gentle fall which didn’t stay round long. Same thing this afternoon too. Just finished today’s offering fom Puck.

  23. Smooth sailing here, and very enjoyable even for a relatively easy puzzle. Didn’t parse the ROACH part but I had BROACH in ink, likewise wasn’t certain of part of the wordplay (there was none, I guess!) for PINION, I was thinking PIN “one” ON though.

    I nice relief before I go back to the Rev’s Prize of 13 Aug, which thus far has a grand four answers written in and a horrific roadmap of referrals drawn all over it. Bravo, that is, to me, how the Saturday and Monday puzzles should work.

    Thanks for doing your job perfectly, Rufus, and for the blog, PeterO!

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