My second Gordius In two weeks: regular readers may be aware that he is not exactly my favourite setter, so I will just say that this is fairly typical of his style, though perhaps harder than usual.
| Across | ||||||||
| 1. | TAILBACK | Story told to encourage when caught in this? (8) Homophone of “tale” + BACK (encourage). Not much of a definition – I suppose the idea is that children might be told stories to keep them happy in a traffic jam |
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| 5. | CAESAR | Old dictator took vehicle over backwater (6) SEA< in CAR |
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| 9. | GESTAPO | Dictator’s henchmen sorting postage (7) POSTAGE* |
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| 10. | BELLOWS | Saul’s blowers? (7) Reference to the author Saul Bellow |
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| 11. | LACKS | Is short, they say — short of discipline (5) Homophone of “lax” (short of discipline). This seems to be the wrong way round, but I think it’s just about Ok; I think replacing the dash with a colon would improve it |
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| 12. | SALT WATER | Possibly last drink is more than brackish (4,5) LAST* + WATER. One of my bugbear clues (which I still need a name for), with WATER having the same meaning in wordplay and answer |
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| 13. | FREUDIAN SLIP | Perhaps 1p under fails, giving away more than intended (8,4) (IP UNDER FAILS)* |
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| 17. | SPOKESPERSON | Front wheelwright? (12) Double definition, or definition + cryptic def: a spokesperson is a “front” for an organisation, and wheels have spokes. |
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| 20. | TOILET SET | It takes one to settle abnormal dressing requirements (6,3) (I TO SETTLE)* |
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| 22. | OZONE | With love three can affect the atmosphere (5) The chemical symbol for Ozone is O3 (and O = love). I’m not sure if the definition should include the words “can affect the” – it doesn’t seem very accurate either way |
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| 23. | ANIMALS | Creatures making a lot of tricks in a turn (7) Reverse of SLAM (lots of tricks in Bridge etc) IN A |
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| 24. | BRIDGET | She‘s a model on the game (7) BRIDGE + [Ford Model] T |
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| 25. | SONATA | Music produced by some person at an instrument (6) Hidden in perSON AT An instrument, with a redundant word to make the whole clue a definition (I won’t call it &lit as the structure isn’t right), as a sonata is an instrumental piece (though ti can be for more that one), as opposed to a cantata, which is sung. |
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| 26. | BEAM ENDS | People wearing necklace, whereon they are distressed (4,4) MEN in BEADS – if you’re on your beam ends you’re (financially) distressed |
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| Down | ||||||||
| 1. | TOGGLE | Leg got twisted in crosspiece (6) (LEG GOT)* |
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| 2. | INSECT | Being of fashionable school? (6) IN (fashionable) + SECT |
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| 3. | BRASSERIE | Money republic raised for a place to dine (9) BRASS (money) + EIRE< |
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| 4. | CROSS PURPOSES | For election of members? (5,8) Cryptic definition – the purpose of a cross on a ballot paper is the election of a member of parliament (etc) |
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| 6. | ALLOW | Permit to be without depth and quiet? (5) SHALLOW (without depth) less SH (quiet). I think the double use of “without” here is quite clever. |
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| 7. | SMOOTHLY | Throw over discussion, keeping student at ease (8) MOOT , L in SHY |
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| 8. | RESCRIPT | Decree for others about to tear inside (8) C (about) RIP in REST. Rescript is “an edict or decree” |
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| 10. | BILLIARD TABLE | Carrier of cannon balls? (8,5) Cryptic definition – a cannon is a type of stroke in billiards, which also involves balls |
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| 14. | NEOLOGISM | Some log in prepared for a new term (9) (SOME LOG IN)* |
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| 15. | ASHTRAYS | Lost without heroin — on Sunday smokers need them (8) H in ASTRAY + S |
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| 16. | POSITION | Attitude is shown up in draught (8) IS< in POTION (draught) |
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| 18. | MORGAN | Many an instrument playing in Llaregyb (6) M (1000. many) + ORGAN (instrument). Llaregyb is a bowdlerised spelling of Llareggub, the setting of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood, which includes a character called Organ Morgan. We had the correct spelling of the town recently as an answer in an Orlando puzzle, so I don’t know why Gordius has chosed this version here. |
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| 19. | BERTHS | New arrivals heard of accommodation on board (6) Homophone of “births” |
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| 21. | ENACT | Make it lawful to bring back corporal punishment by head teacher (5) Reverse of CANE + T[eacher], though I don’t like “head teacher” = T. |
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Thanks Andrew and Gordius. I couldn’t parse 22ac because the print version doesn’t have ‘three’ below the line.
Completed correctly, but fairly slowly. I look forward to reading others’ comments layer as some of the clues seemed a bit loose to me today, which probably means I’m missing things.
Still, always good to get one right.
Thanks [and commiserations 😉 ], Andrew.
I agree with you about SALT WATER and would make a similar point about LOG in 14dn, since that’s the root of the word. As you say, we need a 14dn!
[Hi George Clements @2 – I don’t think you’re missing much.]
Unlike Andrew, to whom thanks, I found the puzzle relatively easy for Gordius. Couldn’t parse 7D SMOOTHLY. I hadn’t realised that MOOT could mean “discussion”. Not happy with “at ease” as a definition of “smoothly”. Surely the former is adjectival, whilst the latter is adverbial?
@4
“I stood at ease” – definitely adverbial. (I think Gordius is using at ease and smoothly both to mean “without difficulty/anxiety”.)
Thanks Andrew and Gordius
Not wholly satisfying but some clever cluing nonetheless. As Andrew notes, a bit harder than usual.
I could not parse ‘ozone’, though the answer was obvious enough, but I did like 13a, 17a, 26a, 7d and 15d.
Andrew – you seem to be missing a ‘g’ in Llareggub.
Herb @ 5
“I stood smoothly”?
Thanks to Andrew for the blog. You explained a couple that I failed to parse.
On 24 I spent a long time trying to put T first followed by a game and got nowhere. Eventually, when I had all the crossers I saw the order intended by Gordius. ‘on’ means ‘after’? I think this one could have been clearer while still being cryptic.
Thanks tupu, missing G added – that’ll teach me to complain about people’s spelling..
Thanks, Andrew.
I’m in the camp of those who found this trickier than usual for a Gordius. I found Tuesday’s Picaroon a breeze in comparison.
As well as niggles about the clues already mentioned (I couldn’t parse OZONE either), the grammar of 4d doesn’t really work for me. But I did like 17a.
It is very difficult when the clues are not fair. Like ALLOW which clues ‘shallowsh’!! I struggled.
I liked the subscript idea in 22a but like you, Andrew, wasn’t keen on ozone affecting the atmosphere.
The cannon in billiards is a shot where the cue ball hits both the other balls, hence the cannon balls reference in the clue, which is better than I think your commentary implies. Thanks for the blog, and to Gordous for the puzzle.
Gordius! Touch screen typing even worse than my keyboard efforts.
Thanks Andrew and Gordius.
Can I say something positive, since we have had mostly a miserable set of comments so far?
Whilst I found it a little tougher than recent Gordius’, I though there were some fine clues: BILLIARD TABLE, CROSS PURPOSE, OZONE, SPOKESPERSON. I was sidetracked but cannon balls into thinking BALLISTIC, but was tickled when I got the answer. I thought OZONE was clever and original (my paper had “three” below the line), so contemplated ETHER at first.
I don’t mind WATER doing double duty in 12a – what’s the problem with that? – if it is indeed doing double duty. I read the definition as “is more than brackish”
Thanks Andrew and Gordius
This was really odd. I didn’t have a lot of difficulty in finishing it, but there weren’t many for which I understood both the definition and the wordplay – indeed I can’t think of a crossword where so many of the definitions escaped me! (TAILBACK, CROSS PURPOSES AND RESCRIPT for three)
SPOKESPERSON was my favourite.
Thanks Andrew
I got to this Gordius one late. 7d SMOOTHLY was last in as I pondered on it for ages.
22a OZONE seemed obvious but I still don’t get the clue.
I know I only started this after a tough day at work, but I really got nowhere. Just glad this wasn’t my blog day here. Ta Andrew.
A typical Gordius puzzle as others have noted. SMOOTHLY was my LOI but I needed aids to get it. I’d equate “with ease” to “smoothly” but not “at ease”, and not “ease” on its own either.
I took “can affect the atmosphere” to refer to the effect of aerosols on the ozone layer.
Andrew S @19
So exactly backwards, then! (Ozone doesn’t affect the atmosphere; ozone in the atmosphere is affected by other chemicals, such as chlorofluorocarbons).
Quite. Not a terribly good clue.
I’m another one who didn’t find this particularly difficult. It does help if you know the setter’s style.
So I found the sloppy/loose cluing I was expecting so wasm’t misled.
One or two decent clues as has been mentioned but unfortunately the puzzles served up in the Guardian by Rufus and Gordius are in a different league than our other excellent setters. 😉
Thanks to Andrew and Gordius
Another mention of Llaregyb, or Llareggub as DT would perhaps have preferred.
I’ll repeat my late post of a few days back then:
There’s a place near Swansea once popularly spelled “Llanmaddog”, which spells “God damn all” backwards (It’s now been unsportingly formalised as Llanmadoc).
I’ve often wondered if it was the inspiration for UMW’s location.
As for the rest of the puzzle I found it hard, mainly owing to what I thought were shaky definitions rather than crafty devices.
I usually like Gordius’s puzzles, and other than the above I’ve no real grumble about this.
Thanks all.
Ozone has the chemical formula O3 – hence the clue of love and three printed as a subscript.
Ozone is part of the atmosphere…
Sorry that I often don’t have much time to visit here nowadays – thus the late post. Ozone is a poisonous component of vehicle emissions so definitely has a deleterious effect on the atmosphere (at low level.)
Thanks for the blog, Andrew.
Thanks, Andrew. I understand what Gordius was doing at 6a, but, like Rowland @11, I’m not sure “without depth without quiet” (i.e., [sh]ALLOW) can be clued as “without depth and quiet.” Also just wanted to second NeilW @25 re: ozone being an atmospheric pollutant (in the troposphere), so the definition could (and, in this case, should) include “can affect”.