Guardian no. 25862 by Rufus

by

Pretty typical Rufus I felt this morning, shed loads of double definitions which aren’t really my favourite clue type.

Andrew is away, so I’m standing in, AMP and BROAD appear twice in the acrosses but I can’t see any reason for this.

 

Thanks to PeeDee for his blogging software.

 

Across

1 Time for expansion (7)
STRETCH
Double Definition

5 Further progress (7)
ADVANCE
Double Def

10 Current assertion of private secretary status (4)
AMPS
(I) AM P(rivate) S(ecretary)

11 Youngster’s grants in a foreign currency (10)
ADOLESCENT
DOLES in A CENT

12 Rises for many members (6)
CLIMBS
C (many) LIMBS

13 Anonymous travelling salesmen (8)
NAMELESS
SALESMAN* nothing to do with reps this time

14 Wide variety of actors giving a sound performance (9)
BROADCAST
BROAD (wide) CAST

16 Thought leading lady to be perfect (5)
IDEAL
IDEA L(ady)

17 Join in a very loud number (5)
AFFIX
A FF IX (nine)

19 Bombardment damaged sideboard (9)
BROADSIDE
SIDEBOARD*

23 Pain and gain makes a great violinist (8)
PAGANINI
[PAIN GAIN]*

24 Sunlit cheek? (6)
INSULT
SUNLIT* unusual clue anagrind appears to be “?”

26 Incomplete description of a Schubert composition (10)
UNFINISHED
Double def.

27 Improvise with a 5-amp fuse (4)
VAMP
V (five) AMP

28 All-inclusive cover for retirement (7)
BLANKET
Double Def

29 Flight departure (7)
RETREAT
Double Def

Down

2 Part of a lock that holds water (7)
TUMBLER
Double def

3 Course in translated poems (5)
EPSOM
POEMS*

4 Top quality work produced by pupils in college, initially (7)
CLASSIC
CLASS I(n) C(ollege)

6 My dear, it can be quite unpractical! (6)
DREAMY
[MY DEAR]*

7 Touching displays of regal appreciation (9)
ACCOLADES

Double def

8 Is a good man able to get a game? (7)
CANASTA
CAN A S(ain)T A

9 Evidently not turning to crime (5,8)
GOING STRAIGHT
Cryptic def

15 I’m in a race — go! (9)
ANIMATION
I’M in A NATION

18 Stuff and nonsense (7)
FLANNEL
Double Def

20 Lover of Theseus gives song with uplifting finale (7)
ARIADNE
ARIA END rev

21 A problem of choice (7)
DILEMMA
Double Def

22 Excellent to include it, within limits (6)
FINITE
IT in FINE

25 Cut, cut hard (5)
SEVER

SEVER(e)

 

 

*anagram

17 comments on “Guardian no. 25862 by Rufus”

  1. Thanks flashling and Rufus

    I found it quite hard to see some of the answers in this fairly typical Rufus piece.

    I too wondered about the double ‘amp’ and ‘broad’. I also felt that one or two clues were a bit weak e.g. 29a which was my last in.

    I admired several of the surfaces. I ticked 1a, 13a, 1d, 4d and 7d as I moved along.

  2. Thanks Flashling.

    This was an enjoyable puzzle. It took about 40 minutes to complete, which is fast for me. Thanks to fifteensquared, I think I have made quite a lot of improvement.

    New definition for me today was ‘FLANNEL’ = nonsense.

    I liked 20, 14, 23, 9 and 28.

    I solved but could not parse 25d, 10a and 2d.

    Re 10a – does ‘assertion’ always solve as ‘(I) am’ or can it be other answers such as ‘(he) is’, ‘(they) are’ etc?

    Re 2d – I still do not understand dd of ‘tumbler’, ie I know it is something that ‘holds water’ , but can someone explain the ‘part of a lock’ part to me in more detail?

    Re 25d, I still don’t completely understand the parsing, apart from cut=sever. How to parse the ‘cut hard’ part?

  3. Enjoyable – although not keen on 29a which was my last one in. Thanks to Rufus and Flashling

    Michella @2
    Assertion more often than not means (I) am
    2d a tumbler is a part of the lock that holds the bolt in place until it is removed by the key
    25d Severe = hard and if you cut it (ie remove the last letter) you get a word meaning cut

  4. Thanks Flashing and Rufus. Not hard but enjoyable.

    Michelle @2 Re 25d, I think Flashing has parsed this but it is mixed up with the answer to 22d. So cut = sever and severe is hard in the sense of “he was very severe with his children” which, if you cut the last e becomes sever(e). Flashing you might want to correct this!!

  6. Bad start this morning, went out without a pen so had to liberate one from William Hill’s. Then all fairly straightforward till RETREAT, last in; I could not see beyond Retread, with its other ‘flight’ connections. Doh!

  8. crypticsue@3 and coltrane@4

    thanks, now I understand how to parse 10, 2 25. Sorry all, but we beginners sometimes need it explained in more detail!!! I guess that is the definition of “being a beginner’.

  9. Thanks Rufus; I did not think this was as entertaining as usual, maybe because of some dodgy dd’s, I thought.

    Thanks flashling; strange puzzle with 7 answers beginning with ‘A.’ The clues I didn’t like were 27, which had ‘amp’ in clue and answer; 19 with a fairly obvious anagram from sideboard to BROADSIDE; RETREAT, which I am having difficulty in seeing as a dd [maybe my problem, although departure has the synonyms of ‘flight’ and ‘retreat;’] 24, where either ‘cheek’ is doing double duty as an anagrind or, as flashling points out, the ? is the anagrind.

    I quite liked CANASTA and SEVER.

  11. I was glad finally to get to the puzzle threads! Have we to put up with Mister Halpern’s centenary celebrations for a whole year? Woe is me, I am not much fun at Xmas either though, to be honset.

    Pretty basic stuff from R today, worthy of the Quiptic, I’m probably liking ANIMATION best.

    Cheers
    Rowly.

  13. Thanks to flashling for the blog. I had SEVER for 25d without spotting that severe=hard 🙁

    There were several clues I felt were weak today: 5, 24, 27, 9 and 21.

  14. coltrane,you had better watch out. I am studying your contributions very closely to decide whether you are a John or a Robbie.

  15. RCW @ 14 I’m actually a David, pleased to meet you, but as our Sainted leaders say I will try to stay on message!!

  16. Thanks to flashling & Rufus.

    As others have said some dodgy DDs which prolonged this a little beyond the usual 10 minutes.

    I know it’s a matter of taste (and editorial policy!!) but couldn’t we have easy Monday fare that was a little more like the rest of the week’s puzzles.

    Or is “Retro is the new Black”

  17. @ Michelle, sorry this blog was done in a hurry before work as a favour, I just hadn’t got the time to make it more beginner friendly, will try to in future next time I’m asked.

    Phil

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