The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26259.
I thought this a splendid puzzle, with misdirection in all directions, and definitions that required much thought to see their appropriateness.
| Across | |||
| 1. | “Sun” follows this year’s compulsive bed-hopper (5) | ||
| SATYR | A charade of SAT[urday] (‘Sun[day] follows this’) plus YR (‘year’). | ||
| 4. | Break down without cover for Skoda vehicle? Correct! (8) | ||
| DISABUSE | An envelope (‘without’) of SA (‘cover for SkodA‘) plus BUS (‘vehicle’) in DIE (‘break down’, of a car engine, for example). | ||
| 8. | Listen, Picaroon needs treating like a caring person (2,4,8) | ||
| IN LOCO PARENTIS | An anagram (‘needs to be treated’) of ‘listen Picaroon’. | ||
| 10. | Ballsier, free progressives (8) | ||
| LIBERALS | An anagram (‘free’) of ‘ballsier’. | ||
| 11. | Polish rejecting English entertainment (6) | ||
| IMPROV | A subtraction: IMPROV[e] (‘polish’) without the E (‘English’). | ||
| 12. | Two items of clothing for person in field (9) | ||
| SHORTSTOP | A charade of SHORTS plus TOP (‘two articles of clothing’). | ||
| 15. | Italian footballers spend cold months without women (5) | ||
| INTER | [w]INTER (‘cold months’) without W (‘women’), the reference being to the soccer club Inter Milan. | ||
| 17. | Tennis champ’s trophy (5) | ||
| ASHES | Two sports for the price of one: ASHE’S (‘tennis champ’s’), and the cricket series between England and Australia. | ||
| 18. | Nirvana‘s rock, blaring, has kicking intro (7-2) | ||
| SHANGRI-LA | An anagram (‘rock’) of ‘[b]laring has’ without the first letter ‘(kicking intro’). | ||
| 19. | Doctors put elementary wrapping around breaks (3-3) | ||
| LET-UPS | Reversed (‘around’) hidden (‘wrapping’) in ‘doctorS PUT ELementary’. | ||
| 21. | Pan what a drug supplier may do (8) | ||
| STOCKPOT | Definition and literal interpretation. | ||
| 24. | Cheeky sort of paparazzo pursuing person tanning (14) | ||
| WHIPPERSNAPPER | A charade of whipper (‘person tanning’ i.e. beating) plus SNAPPER (‘paparazzo’). The word was clued very similarly in Nutmeg’s Quiptic on Monday. |
||
| 25. | Carpeted with soft design over boring crimson (8) | ||
| REPROVED | An envelope (‘boring’) of P (‘soft’) plus ROVE, an anagram (‘design’) of ‘over’ in RED (‘crimson’). | ||
| 26. | Member of religious sect can prove who he is (5) | ||
| HASID | A charade of HAS ID (‘can prove who he is’). | ||
Down |
|||
| 1. | Falter with asinine witticism when drunk? (6-6) | ||
| SHILLY-SHALLY | A pronunciation of SILLY SALLY (‘asinine witticism’) ‘when drunk’. | ||
| 2. | Half-cut, Tony Blair’s wife hides £50 where payment is due (9) | ||
| TOLLBOOTH | An envelope (‘hides’) of L (‘£’) plus L (’50’) in ‘to[ny]’ ‘half-cut’ plus BOOTH (Cherie, Tony ‘Blair’s wife’, uses her maiden name of Booth as a barrister). | ||
| 3. | Bishop holds good service, one that flies by (5) | ||
| RACER | An envelope (‘holds’) of ACE (‘good service’ in tennis) in RR (Right Reverend, the formal style of a ‘Bishop’). | ||
| 4. | Strips down and regularly does gentle exercise (9) | ||
| DEPILATES | A charade of DE (‘regularly DoEs’) plus PILATES (‘gentle exercise‘). ‘Down’ here is in the sense of bumfluff. |
||
| 5. | We’re told the coast is clear (4) | ||
| SURE | A homophone (‘we’re told’) of SHORE (‘coast’). | ||
| 6. | Man, lousy bum, gin’s making insensitive (9) | ||
| BENUMBING | A charade of BEN (‘man’) plus UMBING, an anagram (‘lousy’) of ‘bum gin’. | ||
| 7. | More self-conscious person having a fling? (5) | ||
| SHIER | Double definition. | ||
| 9. | Subdued Balls and Miliband welcoming upright head of state (12) | ||
| OVERMASTERED | An envelope (‘welcoming’) of MAST (‘upright’) plus ER (‘head of state’) in OVER (‘balls’ in cricket, with deceptive capital) plus ED (‘Miliband’). | ||
| 13. | Rubbish penned by cryptic setter — it should make you think (4,5) | ||
| TEST PAPER | An envelope (‘penned by’) of PAP (‘rubbish’) in TESTER, an anagram (‘cryptic’) of ‘setter’. | ||
| 14. | Forced to admit routine is rehearsed (9) | ||
| PRACTISED | An envelope (‘to admit’) of ACT (‘routine’) in PRISED (‘forced’). | ||
| 16. | Dogs consuming bit of fruit — beginning to eat, they expel gas in America (9) | ||
| TAILPIPES | An envelope (‘consuming’) of PIP (‘bit of fruit’) plus E (‘beginning to Eat’) in TAILS (‘dogs’). | ||
| 20. | It’s said tea garden borders a US lake (5) | ||
| TAHOE | An envelope (‘borders’) of ‘a’ in T (‘it’s said tea’) plus HOE (‘garden’). | ||
| 22. | Don’t go with change, defending Latin (5) | ||
| CLASH | An envelope (‘defending’) of L (‘Latin’) in CASH (‘change’). | ||
| 23. | Fuel very Marxist uprising (4) | ||
| DERV | A reversal(‘uprising’) of V (‘very’) plus RED (‘Marxist’). | ||
1d reminded me of the definition of “mishmash” on Radio 4’s “Im Sorry I Haven’t A Clue”: to be too drunk to go to church.
Thanks, PeterO, especially for the parsing of LET-UPS, which I completely missed, misled by the “doctors”. 🙁
I agree this was a first class puzzle with some outstanding misdirection.
Two words included ending in V… V clever!
A few of these “sh” answers had me checking to see if it was a centenary tribute to Bill Deedes (whippershnapper yet again? shome mishtake, shurely?), but he was born in 1913.
Lovely, tough puzzle – thanks to Picaroon and to PeterO
Excellent puzzle – I particularly liked the clues for IN LOCO PARENTIS, LET-UPS and WHIPPERSNAPPER. Many thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.
Tough puzzle, but thoroughly enjoyable. Misdirections that are infuriating till the penny drops, at which point they appear delightful!
I spent some time treating ‘Picaroon’ as standing for either ‘I’ or ‘me’ in 8 – I can’t recall the last time a setter’s name in a clue had to be treated as just a word!
Thanks a ton to Picaroon, and to PeterO!
Got there eventually, but needed a nudge to pronounce the homophone at 5d with a supposed London accent, and me a Tottenham lad by birth and raising.
After yesterday, another stunningly good crossword. The best ones are like this, I’d say…giving clever misdirections at every turn, and yet with all definitions and synonyms comfortably within reach.
I too missed the reason for LET-UPS (particularly as it did have a ‘doctored’ PUT within it!) – how clever to disguise a Hidden Word clue that well.
Thanks PeterO, and congratulations Picaroon.
Thanks Picaroon and PeterO. I found 5d a bit of a stretch – my “estuary English” makes “sure” sound like “shuwer” and “shore” like “shaw”
Thanks Picaroon for a thorough whipping.
Thanks PeterO; on the first pass I managed DERV before my computer had to take over for a while.
So many misdirections that I got lost. I soldiered on and eventually cracked it. I thought the ‘gas in America’ was going to be petroleum but unfortunately it neither parsed nor fitted with crossers. 🙁 I particularly liked WINTER among others.
Thanks to PeterO for the blog. You explained several where I had the solution but not the parsing.
I was like Abhay@5 trying to make something of ‘I’ or ‘ME’ in 8 but eventually I saw that Picaroon himself had to go in. Unusual and very good.
Thanks for the blog PeterO, I thoroughly agree with your assessment of it, and to Picaroon for the puzzle itself. Two Picaroons in May and the Genius? Hugh is spoiling us.
Like others I was fooled by “doctors” in 19a and failed to parse it. Funny how that type of clue can often be the most difficult to spot.
Abhay @5 – I only happen to remember this other instance of a compiler’s name having to be used as it’s for a favourite word of mine. 21a in 25968 last June from Pasquale:
Thanks for the blog, PeterO, and Picaroon for another super puzzle – we certainly are being spoiled!
Thanks, too, to ClaireS for the research: I knew I’d seen another excellent example but just couldn’t remember – and it’s one of my favourite words, too!
What’s more, I had been meaning to look up the superb clue for SIMON PETER* that I half remembered and find, amazingly, that it’s the clue immediately before the one you quoted, in what I now remember as perhaps the most enjoyable Pasquale puzzle I’ve done. So thanks again. 😉
* Breaker of promise, thrice ultimately (NT) (5,5)
Sorry but I don’t understand SHIER. Both of the dds are surely spelt with a Y. And yes, I have checked Chambers, which I thought was everyone’s Bible.
jeceris @13
Maybe take a closer look at Chambers. Both my editions give I and Y as alternatives in both meanings.
Thank you PeterO. My online search produced this.
Search Chambers
Consult Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, The Chambers Thesaurus (1996) or Chambers Biographical Dictionary (1997 edition with amendments). Enter your search and choose your title from the drop-down menu.
Chambers 21st Century Dictionary Chambers Thesaurus Chambers Biographical Dictionary 1997 edition
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Sorry, no entries for shier were found.
So I must assume this is out of date
I have found SHIER on line (the main def. seems to be of a horse that constantly shies, though bashful was given as a subsidiary). I would never have thought of spelling the “more self-conscious” meaning as anything other than SHYER. Surely “shier” is perverse, as the adjective is “shy”.
To put this to bed, I hope, my version of Chambers, which is the latest update on IOS, gives SHIER as an alternative spelling of SHYER, in both senses.
It seems that Chambers is not enough. It has to be the right Chambers!
jeceris @18 – Unfortunately, online Chambers is not really adequate for crosswords. Presumably to encourage us to buy physical or electronic versions of their dictionaries it’s is rather, er, sparse. The Collins online resource is much better in this respect. For what it’s worth my (physical) 1983 edition of Chambers and 2011 (electronic – android) both give shier for the two meanings.
Eileen @12 – you’re very welcome. Not much research required I’m afraid. I just used fifteensquared’s very useful site search facility 🙂
Yes, Claire – I use it a lot. But you have to be able to remember what you’re looking for! 😉
Dictionaries have to be “descriptive”. This means that they include incorrect usages (sometimes labelled as “informal”, when “incorrect” would be better).
An example (if it isn’t premature to mention it) was seen in last Saturday’s Prize – those who completed it should know which clue I am referring to.
An enjoyable and not entirely straightforward challenge from the always inventive Picaroon. Completed most of it at lunchtime but the last two (IMPROV and OVERMASTER) took me much longer. I liked SATYR, IN LOCO PARENTIS, SHILLY-SHALLY and DEPILATES. Lake TAHOE was only familiar as the title of a Kate Bush song and I wouldn’t have been certain it is in America.
Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO
Thanks PeterO and Picaroon
I found parts of this very tough. Last one in was 20d which I did not parse properly.
A very clever puzzle with some great aha mments. I ticked 18a, 16d and 22d.
Thanks all
I sat in hspital while three nurses tried and two failed to fit a canular. Luckily today’s puzzle was difficult enough to keep me disracted while my blood vessels were ripped to pieces.
Still we got there in the end, solving and infusing (perhaps confusing and infusing).
They exhibited a very amiable sense of co-operation, one it would be hard to find amongst men.
Definitely a puzzle where close attention to the wordplay was needed. At 7dn I would always spell the answer in the context required “shyer”, but the answer of SHIER was obvious enough from the anagram fodder of 8ac, and I have seen it spelled that way before. The CLASH/HASID crossers were my last ones in. Oh, and count me as another who couldn’t parse LET-UPS. Very clever.
Re “incorrect usages” (cf muffin @ 21 but this isn’t a direct reply)
Increasingly I find the concept of ‘incorrect usage’ interesting. It now seems to me that as language evolves, usage determines meaning, for instance in English over recent years, hopefully, refute and others which I can’t bring to mind at the moment [confession: I enjoyed a ‘long’ lunch with my exlaws].
By their nature dictionaries document what is out there in the wild, and by definition [sic] can only do this after the event. So if several million people now believe that a particular word has a particular meaning then that meaning is de facto ‘correct’.
It’s not something I’m particularly happy with, but I am coming round to the view that the dictionary is wrong (or at the very least out of date) if the usage isn’t in it, rather than the usage being wrong because it isn’t in the dictionary.
And by way of exculpation or justification for my stance, I’d add that my academic qualification was as a linguist, with one of the papers covering linguistics.
Thanks Picaroon and PeterO, I really enjoyed this crossword.
Thanks for the space Gaufrid!
Simon S @26
Well argued, and what you say is probably inevitable. However I do object when a word that has a precise technical meaning is taken up (usually pretentiously) and misused. I won’t mention the word that annoyed me last Saturday, but, as another example, take the use of “catalyst”, when, almost always, the correct word for the concept intended would be “trigger”.
(And don’t get me started on “aggravate” or “alibi”!)
Why does sure = clear? Thanks.
Hi Ben @28; my Oxford Thesaurus gives the example of: ‘…. in the sure knowledge of….’ with a synonym of clear.
muffin @ 27
Thanks for your comment…
I suspect that you and I (and many others) are in the position of being aware that we’re in a period of transition, during which words which we believe to have a precise meaning are having their ‘meaning’ changed by misuse and hence dilution…nothing we can do about ‘cept rue, I think…
Time marches on, eh?
Simon S @30
Agreed (though reluctantly).
Another excellent puzzle from the “pirate”.
Although it was challenging it slowly capitulated. This was a masterclass in misdirection. I particularly liked 9D where I was convinced I had two “ED”s or perhaps even one split “ED”. I love the “aha” moment when it suddenly becomes apparent you’ve been duped!
Strange that up until now I was unaware of “SALLY” as a joke and now we have it twice in close succession.
Thanks to PeterO and Picaroon
Robi, @28. In my view “sure knowledge” and “clear knowledge” are clearly different.
Oh, I meant to comment on 5D.
I think my views that words like “on the radio”, “heard” etc don’t indicate a homophone but merely a “sounds a bit like connection” are well known on here.
However “sure” and “shore” in my place of birth (Preston) struggle to sound even a bit like each other. I was however able to mentally transport myself “dahn Sowff” to see that there were areas where these two words might sound similar. So no problem there. 😉
Yesterday, some said that Philistine was becoming easier.
Today, I must say that another of my favourite setters is becoming harder and harder.
This was tough, just like his previous one.
However, we only failed on 9d – couldn’t decide whether ‘Balls’ was OVER or OVERS, then drowned into a pool of whatever.
And two whippersnappers in one week (Nutmeg being the other one)!
The only time I did something with my eyebrows was in 18ac.
It looks like we have to kick out the H of ‘has’ but, ultimately, it is the B of ‘blaring has’ (seen as a whole, because that’s what one has to ‘rock’) who’s the victim. It is justifiable and I am happy with it but the comma between the two words doesn’t make life easier. But then, punctuation doesn’t matter in crosswords nowadays – instead, it adds to the misdirection (something I happily accept).
Terrific puzzle from Picaroon who made himself part of a lovely anagram in 8ac.
Many thanks PeterO.
Thanks Picaroon and PeterO
As others have said, this was excellent entertainment.
I had parsed 1a slightly differently – sun – S, follows – AT ( as in ‘follows my request – at my request) and year – YR. I think I prefer the SATurday / SUNday way though!
Many cleverly constructed clues by a setter who seems to improve with the more times that he appears.
Excellent puzzle. Thanks.
I think Picaroon is one of the best setters around. His puzzles are always entertaining and technically spot on.
The hardest one for me for a long time. Got shyer early on and then failed to get in loco parentis. Decided it must start with in. Got shilly shally and suddenly had it all except improv. Not using any dictionary but decided as a non-Brit, I could look up Balls first name.
Thanks to PeterO and Picaroon
A truly excellent puzzle and blog.
Just one minor point re 15a. If see “winter” as a verb here, e.g I winter in the south of France = I spend cold months there.