Something of a surprise – but I’m not complaining! – to see Brendan’s name again so soon, on an interesting puzzle with cleverly interlinking clues, which all fell out without too much difficulty and very satisfyingly. Many thanks, Brendan, for the entertainment, and a happy Bank Holiday to those who have one.
Across
9,26 RECORDING ANGEL: cryptic definition – the angel who keeps a record of everyone’s good and bad deeds – and an introduction to the theme of right and wrong
10 RECTO: the RIGHT [answer to 17] hand page of a book and a RECTO[r] [unfinished] is a university official
11 ARSON: [p]ARSON [minister] minus initial p [powerless]
12 UNTIDIEST: anagram [reorganised] of STUDENT I I [I repeatedly]
13 GENUINE: INGENUE with IN moved forward
14 TALLEST: TEST [cricket match] with ALL in – ie ‘none out’!
17,19,20 RIGHT AND WRONG: examples of ANTONYMS {19dn] CORRECT 22ac] and TORT [a civil wrong, 8dn]
21 HOOFROT: anagram [different] of FOOT [mout]H and OR
22 CORRECT: R [referee’s first letter] in CORE [centre] + CT [court] – an excellent surface
24 CONTAINER: CON [study] + T[r]AINER [coach minus first R – run]
28 LAPSE: moral failure + two unequivocal homophones [repeatedly reported]: laps [parts of race] and Lapps [some Europeans]
29 MISBEHAVE: anagram [drunk] of BEVIES HAM – another fine surface, which made me smile
Down
1 ORCA: hidden in majOR CAse
2 ACTS ON: ACTS [of the Apostles – the book which follows the four gospels in the New Testament] + ON [occupying stage]
3 TRANSISTOR: anagram [broadcast] of ARTISTS ON R[adio] – another clever surface
4 MISUSE: MUSE [reflect] round I’S [one’s]
5 AGITATED: A GI [American soldier – belligerent] + TATE [art patron] + D [Democrat]
6 BRAD: BAD [WRONG, 20] round R [RIGHT, 17]
7 ACCEDE TO: anagram [corruptly] of CEO ACTED
8 TORT: hidden in courT OR Tribunal
13 GIRTH: anagram [revised] of RIGHT [17]
15 LAWBREAKER: BREAKER [wave] with L [left] A W [wife] to begin with – yet another clever surface
16 TIGHT: I [one] G [good] H [hospital] T [time] after T [time]
18 GROWN-UPS: anagram [revised] of WRONG [nicely balancing 13dn] + U [you heard] + PS [postscript – added message]
19 ANTONYMS: ANTONY [Mark, Roman general] + MS [manuscript, writing]: AGITATED [5dn] and CALM [24dn] are antonyms
22 CORPSE: COPS [police] round [framing] R [ringleader] + E [drug] – and another great surface
23 ENGRAM: anagram [re-collected] of GERMAN: a new word for me – ‘a permanent impression made by a stimulus or experience … a memory trace’ – and it’s a German word [from the Greek] so another neat clue
24 CALM: L [learner] in CAM [Cambridge’s river – ‘academic stream’]
25 APEX: APE [primate] + X [cross] – I really liked this surface, too
27 LIEN: LIE [try to deceive] + N [new]
I always think a blogger is very lucky if they get to blog one of Mr Greer’s puzzles (I have that joy for two Sunday puzzles each month). This was a particularly fine example of one of his best puzzles. It didn’t take me that long to solve but I did smile while solving it. Great themed clues, lovely trademark hidden words, it had the lot. Thanks to Brendan and Eileen too.
Thanks, Eileen.
You can usually assume that you’ll get a theme of some sort from Brendan, and I thought this one was woven nicely throughout the grid. Got RIGHT AND WRONG about half way through, which was of help in completing the rest of the puzzle. Some fine surfaces this morning too. I always like cricket-related clues anyway, but TALLEST was particularly good.
Thanks Eileen and Brendan
Fairly gentle fare with a nicely interwoven theme. I particularly liked 19d and 27d. Last in was ‘engram’ which should have been a ‘write in’ ( :)) but I had to guess and check it.
Thanks, Eileen and Brendan – very enjoyable, as usual.
I got 17 etc after I saw the G from TIGHT at 16d, in conjunction with TORT at 8d, so the theme was revealed quite early for me.
Couldn’t explain 4d MISUSE – I was trying USE for “application” and IS but couldn’t see the M,of course.
Thanks Eileen, and to Brendan for a pleasant Bank Holiday morning diversion.
I felt that the def bit of TALLEST was a bit weak but that’s my only gripe. One thing led to another in a smooth flow, and the theme was useful as a support to the solver rather than a crutch. I particularly liked 3, which misdirected me into looking for a homophone, and the clueing of ANTONYMS, not with reference to 17/19/20 but two of the other clues.
Solved over a cup of coffee this morning. Enjoyed the puzzle – SE corner was the trickiest part and we had to look up ENGRAM – no trace of it in our memory!
Thanks Eileen and Brendan.
Thanks, Eileen
Very pleasant surprise to find a Brendan this morning – I left tackling the crossword until relatively late, not expecting anything to my taste on a Monday.
Got the theme very quickly (first in were GENUINE, GIRTH, RIGHT…) but, as Trailman said, this didn’t detract from a well constructed and well clued puzzle. Having guessed RIGHT AND WRONG from the enumeration I forgot the cross-references in the rest of the 17,19,20 clue, which meant 22ac and 19dn didn’t go in until near the end. My last in were ANGEL (though I had RECORDING) and ENGRAM, the G being rather crucial to determining the latter (as a first perusal didn’t flag up any familiar anagrams of ‘German’).
Favourite clues, for their combination of construction and surface were 22ac, 7dn, 22dn. I also liked the ‘belligerent American’: a little of Brendan’s political views seeping in here?
Thanks to Eileen for the blog. I needed you to explain LAWBREAKER: I had L[eft] A W[ife] but failed to spot wave=BREAKER 🙁
As a separate matter I’m still struggling over Saturday’s offering. I have solved 5,17 but I’m not a fan of his so I do not know any of his works. This makes it very difficult.
We found this relatively easy for a Brendan (ie finished it by lunchtime instead of bedtime!). No complaints, mind – it shows a crossword can be fun without being fiendish (re the usual Monday debate – I say no more ;))
Chas @9: Wikipedia is your friend….
Nice change for a Monday and a bit more difficult than Rufus, I thought. Re previous comments about editing words, there is a common answer in this and the Quiptic today.
Thanks Eileen; inexplicably I failed to notice the anagram in TRANSISTOR. My sparse knowledge of religion did not include RECORDING ANGEL, although it couldn’t be much else. I’m not sure what ‘ie’ is doing in the clue for MISBEHAVE; presumably just to make the surface a bit cleaner.
I liked the simple CALM and LAPSE.
Thanks, Eileen.
The Guardian has been good to us this Bank Holiday weekend.
I took a little while to get the theme. TORT was my way in.
I remembered ENGRAM in the context of dianetics, a pseudo-science concocted by L Ron Hubbard before he realised there was more money in inventing a religion. Didn’t know it was used by proper scientists too.
Hurrah for uncontroversial homophones!
Robi @11
It was the ‘ie’ that I particularly liked, pointing up the play on the two senses of ‘act badly’: ‘ham’ and ‘misbehave’.
What Eileen, just said, a very good clue.
Sorry for erroneous comma,
Hello chas @ 9
Saturday was what I had in mind when I referred to a support and not a crutch. The Rev’s bank holiday specials are a class of their own of course, and I love them dearly, but for me this weekend’s offering was a closed book without reference works to hand (O level English granting a way in but no more). No such issue with Brendan today.
Eileen @13; thanks, I get it now!
Asking for the description of a curate’s egg but wasn’t, a very nice brain tester, got the theme quickly even if finishing took a while, cheers Eileen and Brendan
After the recent grind, I found this bright and fresh.
I fell for “recurring angel” at first. Apparently it’s part of spiritualist numerological mumbo-jumbo for repeating figures.
Pleasant one-pint solve now OH’s away to work again. She’d have enjoyed it too and she’s missed 🙂
An enjoyable but unusually easy Brendan made even better by being on a Monday.
Does anybody else wake up on a Monday and think “Oh God not another Rufus?”. From some of the comments they obviously do!
I now see that there is also a Brendan (not that one) on the board. Welcome, for a relatively uncommon name there are beginning to be a lot of us!
A relatively straightforward puzzle, finished by lunchtime which is better going than usual for us with the namesake.