Guardian 25,952 – Rufus

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Found this quite tough for a Rufus – the SE corner held me up, and I had to resort to Google for 25ac given the unhelpful crossers. Favourite clues were 6dn and 8dn, as well as 25ac once I understood it.

Across
7 PECULATOR =”embezzler” [s]PECULATOR=”gambler” “Losing head”
8 DELHI =”capital” (I held)*
9 OVERBOARD =”taken to drink”, “drink” meaning the sea OVER=”No longer” + BOARD=”directors”
10 HUMAN double def =”Being”; “liable to error”
12 IDLERS double def =”Intermediate gears”; =”none [of these] would wish to engage”
13 DEFEATED =”Beaten” FEAT=”heroic exploit” in DEED=”action”
14 BASSOON =”in the wind” section BA’S=”Graduates” + SOON=”shortly”
17 BOMBARD =”use guns” (mob)* inside BARD=”Shakespeare”
20 CLAPTRAP =”Nonsense!” CLAP=”Approve of” + TRAP=”gin”=a type of snare to catch game
22 COURSE double def e.g. “Aintree”; e.g. “starter”
24 BANAL =”boring” BAN=”Prohibition” + AL[l]=”most of all”
25 BOX AND COX =”never sleeping together” – see Wiki BOX=”Fight” AND COX=”row”
26 SCREW double def =”Propeller”; =[prison] “guard”
27 PORTERAGE =”carriage” PORTER=”Drink” + AGE=”time”
Down
1 FERVID =”full of fire and passion” F[orte]=”Loud” + (Verdi)*
2 QUARRELS double def =”Bolts”; =”arguments”
3 TALONS =”They grip and hold” ON inside (last)*, with the anagrind “resort” to be read as “re-sort”
4 CORRIDA cryptic def referring to a fight in a bull ring
5 MEDUSA =”Jellyfish” MED[iterranean]=”sea” + USA=”America”
6 WHEATEAR =”chat”, a type of songbird A inside (weather)*
11 AFRO =”Hairstyle” (for a)*
15 ALLIANCE =”marriage” [d]ALLIANCE=”flirting”, minus D[aughter]
16 OARS “Means of propulsion” / &lit O[n] A R[oman] S[hip]
18 BOUNDARY =”perimeter” (around by)*
19 APROPOS =”fit” A PROP=”A rugby player” + O[ver] S[ize]=”too fat”
21 PRAYER =”Collect” [a short prayer] R[ands] inside PAYER=”one who is settling up”
22 CHASTE =”Spotless” CHA=”tea” + (set)*
23 SPONGE cryptic def

19 comments on “Guardian 25,952 – Rufus”

  1. This puzzle by Rufus was truly vocabulary-expanding. I can’ remember when I have learnt so many new words, definitions and phrases in one puzzle: WHEATEAR, PECULATOR, BOX AND COX, MEDUSA = jellyfish, PRAYER = collect, SCREW = guard, ‘gin’ = ‘trap’, QUARREL = bolt, ‘prop’ = ‘rugby player’. It was a very enjoy learning experience.

    My favourite clues were 24a, 6d, 23d, 17a & 14a.

    Thanks for the blog, manehi.

  3. Many thanks Manehi & Rufus.

    This was very enjoyable and rather harder than the usual Monday Rufus – but none the worse for that.

    You have cited 8dn as among your favourite clues but that is clearly a typo.

  4. Thanks manehi and Rufus
    Yes, harder than usual. I had to use a Crossword Solver site for “porterage” – a solution that parses well retrospectively, but difficult to work forwards, I think!
    Most enjoyable.

  5. Thanks Manehi. My usual Monday morning struggle with cryptic defs was typified by CORRIDA but HUMAN raised a smile when I got it. Are IDLERS really gears? None of us would wish to engage ie employ them however.

    But I too liked 6d, and also 19d and 21d.

  6. Thanks manehi and Rufus

    A good Monday morning puzzle by Rufus in smooth and tricky mood.
    I ticked 12a and 6d among several pleasing clues.

  7. Harder than the usual Rufus, we agree – especially the NW corner. We aren’t too happy with “Idlers” as intermediate gears. And “Corrida” was an early suggestion that we didn’t put in till the end, since it seemed so uncertain. Still does. But loads of excellent, fun clues. 20a was good(Claptrap) amd 25a (Box and Cox) Thanks Rufus and Manehi

  8. Good start to the week with some nice surfaces.

    Thanks manehi; I got stuck in the NW corner, probably because I didn’t know QUARRELS=bolts. I also had to check PRAYER=collect, although it couldn’t be anything else. I enjoyed BASSOON as I struggled to think of the names of winds for a while. 🙁 I got the chat=bird, but didn’t know WHEATEAR as such. I also particularly liked APROPOS.

  9. P.S. Apple Granny @7; definition from Collins [idle wheel]: ‘a gearwheel interposed between two others to transmit torque without changing the direction of rotation to the velocity ratio Also called: idler.’

  10. IDLERS and BOX AND COX were put in without aids on a wing and a prayer, and I had to resort to aids to get CORRIDA. I was sure the clue was a barely-disguised cryptic definition relating to bull-fighting, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember the word and the checkers were unhelpful.

  11. Lot of pertty obscure stuff and a horrible, unfriendly grid , really no help at all.Then thes Rufusy clues, which c an be a bit on the ‘cryptic def’ side!! But is Minday!

    Cheers
    Trowly

  12. Thanks both, good puzzle.

    AppleGranny et al – I have designed many idler gears in my time, and think ‘intermediate gears’ is pretty fair. I’ve mostly used an idler gear to keep the direction of rotation unchanged or to apply tension to a chain or belt.

    Nice week, everyone.

  13. Thanks, Rufus and manehi.

    I enjoyed today’s puzzle; especially WHEATEAR and PRAYER.

    Thanks, William, for expanding on IDLERS.( A good week to you, too.)

    Giovanna x

  14. William@12 may have heard of idlers as gears, but I don’t think it would be widely known by non -engineers. Also true for quarrels as bolts. It seemed rather unfair to me to have these clues crossing. They were the only two clues I didn’t get.

  15. This needed a couple of gardening breaks before it yielded. I am not of a mechanical bent, but I did know that gears could idle so that solution made sense. We couldn’t understand PRAYER so thanks manehi.
    It was my mum, who is something of a bird-watcher, who got WHEATEAR. She informs me it is a type of chat, makes a noise like one and its name derives from its white ‘bottom’ (although she used another word I don’t want to offend anyone!).

  16. Surprisingly hard for a Rufus and a Monday.

    As to ‘wheatear’, George, your comment made me reach for Chambers and, yes indeedy, your mum seems to be absolutely right. Well, well.

  17. I’m with Rowly @ 11 on this one. Sometimes I really struggle with Rufus’ wavelength, so I was cheered somewhat to see that the experts also found it a tough one! I had never heard of ‘box and cox’ so that was a google answer, and didn’t think 4d was much of a clue at all. Failed completely on prayer. Oh dear!

  18. Thanks Rufus and manehi

    Thought that this was one of the better Rufus puzzles for ages – a bit more thinking required, little or no ambiguity with any of the clues and silky smooth misdirection throughout.

    The only clue that I needed help to solve was BOX AND COX (hadn’t heard of the term before) and even though I thought it would be box and ‘something’ – cox didn’t spring to mind!

  19. I failed with this one. Considered BOX AND COX but had never head the term and (as a Cambridge resident) reasoned that a cox doesn’t row, only shouts at those who do, so dismissed it. Cursing myself for not getting QUARRELS though.

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