Guardian Cryptic 25970 Brendan

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Not exactly a gentle start to the week that we have come to expect.  A delightful puzzle, with a couple of answers I found tricky to parse.  Thanks to Brendan for the entertainment.  There’s a mini-theme around…

headwear and other items above you.  Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle. Please enclose any comments on them in double brackets. Thank you.]]

Across

1 Cover for plants he added after short time (6)

CLOCHE : HE placed after(added after) “clock”(to time, as in a race) minus its last letter(short).

Answer: A bell-shaped cover to protect plants, especially young ones. Also, a type of hat.

 

4 His cap unravelled in stages (6)

PHASIC : Anagram of(unravelled) HIS CAP.

9 Some gambit I learned that can be used in board game (4)

TILE : Hidden in(Some) “gambit I learned”. Answer: Also, old-fashioned British slang for a hat.

10 A party type put on bad album that’s pedestrian (10)

AMBULATORY : { A TORY(short for one from the Conservative Party) } placed after(put on, in an across clue) anagram of(bad) ALBUM.

Defn: Walking, as in “pedestrian traffic”.

11 Spread out hat that’s turned over and put away (6)

DILATE : Reversal of(that’s turned over) LID(slang for a hat) plus(and) ATE(put away, as in “he could put away a burger in 1 minute”).

Answer: To swell;spread out.

12 Guerilla fighters coveting changes (4,4)

VIET CONG : Anagram of(changes) COVETING.

Answer: The Communist guerrilla force in the then South Vietnam, from “Cong San”, Vietnamese for “Communist”.

13 Assailant liable to explode into gross rage (9)

AGGRESSOR : Anagram of(liable to explode into) GROSS RAGE.

15 Touched  material for making hats (4)

FELT : Double defn.

16 Virtuous circle? (4)

HALO : Cryptic defn: The imaginary circle above the heads of virtuous people, including saints.

17 Impress with one’s effort putting on crown, for example (9)

DENTISTRY : DENT(to impress;to make depression in a surface) plus(with) I(Roman numeral for “one”) ‘S TRY(an effort;an attempt).

Answer: The branch of medicine that includes putting a crown on your damaged tooth.

21 That woman’s mischievous, taking in current leader (8)

HIERARCH : { HER(3rd person pronoun for “that woman”) + ARCH(playfully roguish;mischievous) } containing(taking in) I(symbol for an electrical current in physics).

Answer: A person at a high level in, well, a hierarchy.

22 Hood with gown’s first put on, getting dressed (6)

ROBING : ROBIN(Hood, the legendary English outlaw) placed after(with … put on, in an across clue) first letter of(…’s first) “gown”.

24 Possible guidance to pack, if such be the circumstances (2,4,4)

IN THAT CASE : Cryptic defn: What you might say to help;guide someone who is packing things into cases.

25 Part of one’s mouth that’s hit by person losing temper (4)

ROOF : Cryptic defn: From the expression describing a person getting angry: “hitting the roof”.

26 Excellent fellow, poor driver? (6)

TOPPER : Double defn: 1st: An excellent and well-liked person, who is, well, tops; and 2nd: A poor golfer who drives off the tee by hitting the top (not the sweet spot) of the ball, ensuring that his/her ball doesn’t travel far.

Answer: Also, an informal term for a top hat.

27 It’s possible to bear chap having a row, say (6)

BOATER : Anagram of(It’s possible) TO BEAR.

Answer: One having a row in a boat. Also, a type of hat.

Down

1 In hearing, clinching upper limit (7)

CEILING : Homophone of(In hearing) “sealing”(finalising;clinching, eg. a deal).

2 Fedora is this  kind of hat (5)

OPERA : Double defn: 1st: The opera by Umberto Giordano; and 2nd: A kind of hat conveniently collapsible for keeping in opera house cloakrooms, of course. Lovely surface, as a fedora is a kind of hat, too.

3 Drug stashed in safe locations — my goodness! (7)

HEAVENS! : E(slang abbrev. for the drug “Ecstasy”) contained in(stashed in) HAVENS(safe locations;shelters, including those for avoiding the taxman). Another nice surface.

Answer: An exclamation of surprise, similar to “My goodness!”.

5 Kind of wood used in the odd piece of armour (6)

HELMET : ELM(a kind of wood) contained in(used in) anagram of(odd) THE.

6 Put sailors in vessel — they secure wheels on shafts (9)

SETSCREWS : SET(to put in a particular place) + { CREW(a group of sailors) contained in(in) SS(abbrev. for a steamship) }.

7 Piece of brass enclosing ring that’s worn by noble (7)

CORONET : CORNET(an instrument in the brass section of an orchestra, and made of brass, of course) containing(enclosing) O(the letter that looks like a ring).

Answer: And like a hat, it’s worn on the head.

8 Incomprehensible, like 1 down, 3, 16 across, 25 and other answers (5,4,4)

ABOVE ONE’S HEAD : Cryptic defn: Taken literally, a reference to the position of the answers to 1 down(ceiling), 3(heavens), 16 across(halo), 25(topper) and other answers associated with hats and heads.

14 Skill of leader holding devices for measuring joint (9)

RULERSHIP : RULERS(measuring devices) + HIP(the joint connecting each leg to the torso).

16 It’s positioned around locks in the rain, strangely (7)

HAIRNET : Anagram of(strangely) THE RAIN.

Answer: That which holds locks of hair in place, and like a hat, it’s worn on the head.

18 Weapon that may be ported, 8 (7)

TORPEDO : Anagram of(may be) PORTED and answer to 8 down, ie. placed above( ABOVE, in a down clue) first letter of(…’S HEAD) “ONE”.

19 Resentment more offensive soldier repeatedly reported (7)

RANCOUR : Double homophone of(repeatedly reported) “ranker”(having a more offensive smell or taste) & (one having a rank in the military;a soldier).

20 Show acute embarrassment as husband’s embraced by author (6)

WRITHE : H(abbrev. for “husband”) contained in(‘s embraced by) WRITE(to author).

23 Some cucumber etc that’s put on French loaf (5)

BERET : Hidden in(Some) “cucumber etc”.

Answer: A cap you might find on a Frenchman’s loaf(slang for head). ===============================================================================            
For the answer to pic#7 please click here ;for pic#9 here

31 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 25970 Brendan”

  1. Thanks, scchua.

    Not so gentle, as you say, but with Brendan, like Rufus, you know what to expect. Teasing out the theme with this puzzle was a pleasure, although it took me a while to get the gateway clue and understand what was going on. I prefer ‘loose’ themes like this, and when all was done it was fun to run back through the solutions to see all the references.

    Hard to choose a favourite clue, since there were so many that were very good. Thanks to Brendan for a lovely puzzle.

  2. This was a fun puzzle by Brendan with its theme of hats and other things that are on or above one’s head. And I was pleased that for once the theme was not over my head!

    My favourite clues were 4a, 10a, 11a, 17a, 21a, 24a & 20d.

    New word for me was SETSCREWS.

    I could not fully parse 25a, 26a & 27a.

    Thanks for the blog, scchua.

  5. Many thanks Scchua & Brendan. This was very enjoyable.

    [[I don’t think that I’ve ever seen so many images before! I suspect that #12 could be a Rabbit, presumably one that has been pulled out of a hat.]]

  6. [[Hi sidey,yes, but #4 has got another link besides HELMETs; Bryan, that is a rabbit (or one of its kind) that’s been pulled out of a hat.]]

  7. Thanks for the blog. Another clever themed puzzle from Brendan.

    I count 18 answers covered by the theme, 21 if you include references to hats in the clues themeselves; there are probably more. Mini-theme???

  8. Thanks Scchua and Brendan for an enjoyable puzzle. I think, perhaps in your concentration on the theme, you omitted to mention the full cryptic meaning of 16ac: as opposed to the more familiar vicious circle 🙂

  9. Thank God, a decent puzzle on a Monday.

    [1. Ian Ogilvy was The Saint, as well as Moore; 3. Don’t American footballers usually wear helmets?; 5. Zero Mostel was the original Fiddler on the Roof. He also wore a beret in The Producers, but that’s a bit of a stretch].

  10. [[12 rabbit fur is the most common constituent of FELT too 8 is Oddjob, the chap with the lethal BOWLER]]

  11. Fun puzzle with some nice clues.

    Thanks scchua; RULERSHIP is in Chambers but seems to me to be an ugly word. I liked the ‘French loaf’ in the clue for BERET.

  12. Thanks, scchua.

    Brendan’s treatment of a theme is always imaginative – a good way to brighten up a Monday.

    Favourite clue: 17a – nicely misleading surface incorporating a hat that shouldn’t be read as one.

    SETSCREWS were new to me but the wordplay led straight there. And I hadn’t come across the golfing connotation of TOPPER but, if the cap fits…

  13. [[Hmm……..
    #4 is a HAIRNET HELMET
    #7 is old Boris Karloff in ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ – maybe having had a bit of a TOPPER
    #10 is Slash from Guns & Roses, but what’s the link??
    #11 is, of course, our 1966 World Cup winning team and #9 are Spanish football fans – can’t see a football link, though
    🙁 ]]

  14. Thanks to Brendan for the puzzle and scchua for the blog.

    [[#3 is USC footballer John Wayne who starred in The Green BERETs who fought the VIET CONG.]]

    Cheers…

  15. Thanks scchua and Brendan for a nice start to the week.

    [[1 Ian Ogilvy – The Saint (halo etc)
    2 Dennis Price – Kind Hearts and Coronets)
    John Wayne – helmet?
    Zero Mostel – Topol
    Roger Moore – moore halos
    Valerie Hobson and Boris Karloff Frankenstein
    Harold Sakata – Odd Job
    Sara Luengo – magnificent top
    Ian St John
    White rabbit – conjured from a topper?

    Best I can do.

  16. Thanks to Alchemi (that’s Alchemi, not alchemy 🙂 ) for alerting me to today’s Brendan.

    Great stuff. Full of the subtle brilliance of my fellow countryman!

  19. Brendan did ever so well to fit so many related answers into this puzzle. Very enjoyable. DENTISTRY and SETSCREWS held me up at the end.

  20. Thomas99 @7: In the other place DinP reckons 22 theme-related. I can only get 20. I’m left with 10,12,13,21,24,6,14,19 and 20.

  21. Thanks to scchua for the blog. I had the answer TORPEDO which was a weapon fitting the crossing letters, but I was struggling to justify it. It is not carried ‘above ones head’ but I had to come here to see the explanation 🙁

    [[I recognised Roger Moore but none of the others.]]

  22. rhotician @20

    I reasoned that a hierarch was holy rulership – both of which could be said to be ‘above one’s head’ – ie your superiors.

    [[I noticed that Geoff Hurst is holding the Jules Rimet trophy ‘above his head’ but I prefer the explanation about his hat-trick.]]

    Thanks for the blog.

  23. Thanks Brendan and scchua,

    Easy-peasy in the main but good fun.

    [[Where on Earth did you dig up a picture of Slash without either his signature top hat or his aviators? Don’t think I’ve ever seen his eyes before…]]

  24. Thanks scchua and Brendan

    An enjoyable light-hearted journey through an imaginative collection of headgear.

    I had no trouble with ‘setscrews’ though I am more used to them as ‘set screws’ from Meccano, the only place where I remember encountering the term. OED gives both forms plus hyphenated examples.

  25. Hats off to Brendan, and many thanks for such an enjoyable puzzle.

    Thanks also to scchua for the review.

  26. Beg your pardon, Brendan, for my meiosis with regard to the theme (definitely no intention to downplay it).

    [[A collective well done, folks for: Ian Ogilvy & Roger Moore/HALO, Dennis Price/Kind Hearts and CORONETs, John Wayne/Green BERETs/VIET CONG, HAIRNETs/cycling HELMETS, Zero Mostel/Fiddler on the ROOF, Harold Sakata/Oddjob/killer HAT, Slash/TOPPER, Geoff Hurst/1966 HAT-trick, rabbit out of a HAT. Which leaves slightly less than 2 unsolved. I’ll paste links to these beneath the pictures, at the end of the day.]]

  30. [[Geoff Hurst’s first goal in the 1966 final was a header!]]

    [[… they think it’s all over … it is now!! Apart from… “Which leaves slightly less than 2 unsolved.”]]

    Many Thanks to Brendan for an ingenious puzzle & to scchua for the extra entertainment!

  31. “In the other place DinP reckons 22 theme-related. I can only get 20. I’m left with 10,12,13,21,24,6,14,19 and 20.”

    in 10 “a party type” could be a hat. That’s a “?” though.

    21, there is the leader aspect, also a “higher arch” could be above one’ head

    24 contains the word “HAT” in the answer

    14 for the same 2 main reasons as 21

    Including the “?” at 10A that’s 23:

    2 from the obvious 8 and 18
    4 mentioned in 8
    9 various hats in answers
    5 hats in clues
    2 from the leaders
    —
    22 plus the “?”.

    What a lovely theme. Didn’t spoil the solving much at all, though once sussed it made one or two a bit easier to solve.

    I caught it when I had ROOF and _B_V_, and used 18 to lock in ONE’S as opposed to “your” in 8.

    Last in was, amusingly, DENTISTRY. Amusing because early on I glanced at it with maybe one checked letter and though “Hmmm, ‘crown’ might be referring to the dental variety” – which I had forgotten by the time I had four checks and five blanks!

    Caught it before I gave up and went to OneLook though.

    Superb puzzle, Brendan, and thanks for the great blog scchua and the rest of you! What fun!

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