I found this tough to get through – after the few easier clues went in, there was a lot of guessing from checking letters and trying to make the wordplay fit. Really enjoyed 9ac, 8dn and 14dn.
Across
1 Native American has a vehicle back at house (6)
NAVAHO
=”Native American”. rev(A VAN)=”a vehicle back”, plus HO[use]
4 See 19 down
9 Summer plant beginning to fade, during sign of winter’s approach (9)
SUNFLOWER
=”Summer plant”. F[ade], inside SUN LOWER=”sign of winter’s approach”
10 Large area of a sort of moon reduced by half (5)
ACRES
=”Large area”. A, plus CRES[cent]=”sort of moon reduced by half”
11 Huge job’s ending after half one month and during second (5)
JUMBO
=”Huge”. [jo]B, after JU[ne]=”half one month”, and during MO[ment]=”second”
12,21 Disaster once, but league more or less keeps one secure (5,4,6)
THREE MILE ISLAND
=”Disaster once”. THREE MILE/S on LAND=”league, more or less”, around I=”one”
13 Points taken in something copper has to say in pleading (7)
BESEECH
=”say in pleading”. S[outh] and E[ast]=”Points”, in BEECH=”something copper”
15 Make attempt to avoid woodwork (6)
MARQUE
=”Make” [of car etc]. MARQUEtry=”woodwork”, and try=”attempt”
17 Stone fish trap (6)
GARNET
=”Stone”. GAR=”fish” plus NET=”trap”
19 Give up attic, once delightful housing (7)
CONCEDE
=”Give up”. Hidden in “[atti]c, once de[lightful]”
22 Small drink failing to be calming (9)
STEADYING
=”calming”. S[mall] plus TEA=”drink” plus DYING=”failing”
24 Was not resting, but took steps (5)
ACTED
=”Was not resting”; =”took steps”.
26 For speaking, one that receives part in Shakespeare (5)
ARIEL
=”part in Shakespeare” in the Tempest. Sounds like (“For speaking”) ‘aerial’=”one that receives”
27 Set fire to one reptile in sewer, according to reports (9)
LITIGATOR
=someone who sues or a ‘suer’, which sounds like ‘sewer’, so =”sewer, according to reports”. LIT=”Set fire”, plus I=”one”, plus GATOR=”reptile”
28 Reactionary has special hide-away (7)
DIEHARD
=”Reactionary”. (hide)* gives DIE plus H, where H=HARD? plus A R[oa]D=”a/way” – Edit thanks to molonglo
29 Piece of asparagus cut round very tip (6)
ADVICE
=”tip”. A[sparagus], plus DICE=”cut”, around V[ery]
Down
1 Joe’s not right in the head — this to fix part of it? (4,3)
NOSE JOB
=”this to fix part of [the head]”. (Joe’s)* in NOB=”head”
2 Money raised: a little bit at the end stolen out of spite (5)
VENOM
=”spite”. rev(Money)=”Money raised”, with the tail of the Y being stolen to make it a V?
3 In big house, working to hold small celebration (9)
HALLOWEEN
=”celebration”. HALL=”big house” and ON=”working”, holding WEE=”small”
4 Heard rumour, some whispered into this? (7)
EARDRUM
=”whispered into this”. Hidden in “[H]eard rum[our]”
5 Favour partner for girl (5)
GRACE
=”girl”, and a reference to the sitcom Grace & Favour [wiki]?
6 Humiliating condition, rudest I’ve suffered (9)
SERVITUDE
=”Humiliating condition”. (rudest I’ve)*
7 Not easy to identify, childishly made to go round the bend (6)
MASKED
=”Not easy to identify”. MAKED=”childishly made”, going around S=”the bend”
8 Sample of the West Country praying? (6)
SWATCH
=”Sample”. S[outh] W[est] AT CH[urch]=”the West Country praying”
14 Desist, Tea Party, in America! (9)
STATESIDE
=”in America”. (Desist, Tea)*
16 So busy, unable to get decent jogging gear? (3,6)
RUN RAGGED
=”So busy”; cryptically=”unable to get decent jogging gear”
18 Guided tour taken in the wrong order gets hugely extended (7)
TRIPLED
=”hugely extended”. TRIP=”tour” plus LED=”Guided”, having been taken in the wrong order
19,4across Why I must be erotic, go-go dancing: to get a quantity of money (6,4,3)
COGITO ERGO SUM
“Why I must be”. (erotic go-go)*, plus SUM=”quantity of money”
20 Publicly support salesmen, not very effectively at first (7)
ENDORSE
=”Publicly support”. [v]ENDORS=”salesmen, not very”, plus E[ffectively]
21 See 12
23 Handed out cards, dropping a letter (5)
DELTA
=”letter”. DEALT=”Handed out cards”, with the a dropping down two places
25 Pharaoh is up-and-coming African (5)
TUTSI
=”African”. TUT[ankhamun]=”Pharaoh”, plus rev(IS)
Thanks manehi. I parsed 28A as DIEH=special + A RD= a road/ a way. I struggled with a couple of ther parsings, so thanks for the alligator-in-the-sewers one, and 8D, where I wrongly chose ‘switch’. I liked the ref to the 1979 nuclear power station disaster, in 12a.
I thought this a very clever and generally satisfying puzzle, though I’m not keen on devices such as ‘part of asparagus’ to derive A. Agree with molonglo on the parsing of 28, though again I’m not very keen on ‘homophonic-derivational’ type clues.
The reptile in the sewer clue was a stroke of genius. Thanks to setter and blogger.
re 5d: the sitcom takes its name from ‘grace-and-favour’ which describes a flat or house owned by the sovereign and granted rent-free to someone in gratitude for something.
Thanks, manehi. Only having time to get to this late in the morning, I started off with a sense of relief as about ten clues went straight in… what seemed like half an hour later, I still only had the same success-count!
LOI was DIEHARD – had to stare long and hard to see the A RD.
I thought this a great workout, so thanks again to Imogen. Don’t you whisper onto rather than into an EARDRUM, though? 😉
Thanks, manehi and Imogen
I agree with your summary experience.
I liked VENOM now that I have seen your explanation; I couldn’t see where the V came from. Isn’t this also an original device, the second in two days?
This new device, Y to V, is not one for the purists. I liked it at first, but really only because I was pleased with myself for ‘getting’ it. ‘cash’ instead of ‘money’ in the clue would not do. I started to think of how other transformations of one letter to another might be made and got a bit scared.
Finished but not before the blog appeared which is my aim. Not as enjoyable as the previous two somehow but, I liked a few, 2d, 20d, 27ac. I’ve not seen that spelling of Navajo before but it had to be. Also had ‘divesture’ at 6d which held me up for a while, till I looked at it again.
Thanks all!
I (wrongly) parsed 7dn as an anagram of made around SK for slip-knot (a type of bend). I was very pleased with myself until I saw the correct answer !
a lot of guessing from checking letters and trying to make the wordplay fit sums up my experience.
I would have parsed 12,21 as
THREE MILES (“League, more or less”) around “I” (keeps one) then “LAND” (secure, as in to land a fish, or a contract).
Thanks for the blog – great stuff.
Thanks, manehi.
Tough but rewarding. On first pass I only had three answers, and the rest didn’t come easily. A lot of guessing and eventually working out the parsings, as others have said. LOI was MASKED – like merrythought @8 I was puzzled by SK in (MADE)*. The two ‘hidden’ clues (19a, 4d) took me an unconscionably long time to spot.
I agree with mariner @10 about the parsing of THREE MILE ISLAND.
Lots of ingenuity, novelty and devices which severely test the limits of acceptability. Favourites were 15a, 28a (a very clever lift-and-separate), 8d, 18d, 23d.
Thanks to Imogen and manehi. Tough but rewarding is right. Still don’t see the South in SWATCH.
Is this a geographical quirk in the UK? Marquetry was new to me.
Cheers from STATESIDE…
grandp@12: yes, “the West Country” is South-West England (sometimes but not always up as far as Glos and Wilts).
[Pterry: “that talent for taking something American and removing the one thing that makes it good. Thus we have slow fast food, West Country and Western Music, and this hotel.”]
Thanks Imogen and manehi
I found this difficult, but eventually completed it, though I was nowhere near with the parsing of ADVICE and didn’t see where the V came from in VENOM.
A lot to admire, but I didn’t really like LITIGATOR, as GATOR for reptile was a bit obscure, and the definition was given very obscurely (as a “sounds like”). I saw “maked”, but didn’t like that much either.
Can anyone remember a different pharaoh in a crossword?
……….anyway, wasn’t it turtles (of the mutant ninja variety) in sewers?
This has been a tough but rewarding week so far, and this matched the previous two for quality. This took me a while, but I never felt totally stuck, though I must admit to failing to parse THREE MILE ISLAND, MASKED, VENOM and my last in MARQUE. Ticked a few: LITIGATOR, EARDRUM, RUN RAGGED, COGITO ERGO SUM and DELTA.
Thanks to manehi and Imogen.
Doesn’t seem to be mentioned but 27 doesn’t have a definition really, try explaining that one to a learner, it’s not an &lit I don’t think double wordplay and no definition is fair.
otherwise very hard no amateur setter this one.
flashling @ 17
I’ll think that you will find that I mentioned the lack of proper definition for 27 @ 14!
Sorry muffin was scanning for 27 not litigator! Point still stands, would this have got into the times? Allegedly Imogen knows a bit about that.
No probs, flashling.
It was so nearly a very good clue, but flawed, I think.
A tough workout but I got there in the end. MASKED was my LOI from the definition alone. Do children really say “maked”? I also got ADVICE from the definition only, and you can count me as another who isn’t keen on the “piece of” device to indicate the first letter of the following word. However, I parsed VENOM correctly and thought it was an ingenious clue.
As far as the “sewer” homophone for the definition of 27ac is concerned, I didn’t have a problem with it and it is a device that Paul and some other setters have used from time to time.
A very difficult puzzle for a weekday. In fact the most difficult I’ve encountered.
I got there in the end and there were lots of great clues.
Didn’t like the “homophonic” definition or part of ASPARAGUS for A. Also the jury is out about cutting off bits of letters.
However I did complete the puzzle and fully parsed it. So it was possible!
Thanks to manehi and Imogen
For some reason found this the hardest for a long time. Last two days tough but got close to finishing- miles off here.
Just when you think we already had it all this week (Philistine, Picaroon), then there’s Imogen with another corker.
Last night I was saying Picaroon was coming quite close to Paul when we talk about the construction of clues.
Well, I think Imogen stands firm too!
So much variety, a novelty in 2d (and perhaps 7d), a Guardianesque naughtiness in 28ac.
This puzzle was really up my street.
btw 1, it was only last Monday that our friend Rufus used a definition ‘par homophone’ (in 6d, GALAHAD) and nobody complained.
btw 2, “piece of asparagus”, well, yes. But if one says that’s Araucarian, let’s embrace Imogen. 🙂
[and now a difficult sum to post this: 1 + … = two]
Seems to me that 27ac breaks the cardinal rule that there should be a direct definition, not just two word-plays. Although Araucaria claimed it wasn’t necessary if the answer was clear, I don’t recall that even he broke this rule.
Well done manehi – a tough one to blog! I found this the hardest daily puzzle I have done for a long time.
Excellent puzzle which made me work quite hard. Many thanks to S&B
@Mark #25
Guardian 25698 – Araucaria
23d Take point afterward? (4) for ROBE
I think he did a few other double WPs/no def but that’s the only one I remember off the top of my head. Not only does that one not have a “precise definition” – it doesn’t even have a precise wordplay.
But if you look at it in the context of the puzzle two easy theme-related clues give you the crossing letters R_B_. Hard to say it’s not fair with that thrown in.
Wait – there’s more.
I just recall another from a rant I had elsewhere – Araucaria but not sure of the puzzle #.
Writer’s one among teachers to put another type of 9 head to tail (10)
for PENSIONERS (9 was OPERA)
Ie “type of opera” gives SOAP
“Head to tail” makes SOAP -> OAPS
Actually Mr Google tells me it’s G25400 – a prizer.
“it doesn’t even have a precise wordplay”
That’s not putting it very well – obviously the first Wp is precise – what I meant was that the WP that takes the place of the def in a conventional clue allows for more than one possible answer – which I suppose defs normally do anyway, but hopefully the general drift is clear.
@27
We’ll never know but I wonder if “Take point afterwards?” is an &lit. referring to judges etc. – you ROBE first (put on your robe) and then take points from the lawyers. Perhaps that’s what you were implying anyway. But you’re right – there isn’t what you could call a “precise definition”. “Pensioners” is well out-there too, and I’m sure he must have sometimes done the homophone-for-the-definition thing as well. I once saw an interview with him in which he seemed almost militant in his refusal to tow any kind of line on definitions.
It’s good to see reminders of how wild and unconventional Araucaria could be. Since he died a remarkable number of commenters have referred to him as if he was scrupulously devoted to certain rules and requirements, always completely unambiguous, etc. – a characterisation that would surely have appalled him (or perhaps just made him laugh?).
@Herb #27
There was a fair bit of discussion on the blog at the time – which is here:
http://www.fifteensquared.net/2012/07/26/guardian-cryptic-25698-araucaria/
and nobody could come up with a further explanation.
Araucaria’s phrase was something along the lines of requiring that the clue should “lead logically” to the answer. I think the vast majority of his clues conformed to what Barnard outlined in his book and he made little use of what used to be called “cryptic licence” – ie spare words etc.
It’s amazing that he, and indeed The Guardian didn’t respond more aggressively to the unfair accusations of “looseness” etc from the rule-bound side of town but I wonder whether they secretly quite liked the idea of being regarded as a bit daring and Bohemian.
Oops #27 s/b #29
We’ve had W clued as “sounds like two ewes” or similar recently. I don’t think a visual (Y to V), rather than auditory construction of a letter is in principle any more scandalous.
Yes, the hardest Sue and I have done for some time too.
Many thanks one and all.
Golly Gosh! I am a lucky boy!
I often save my favourite setters to enjoy at the weekend. Have just finished this and what a delightful puzzle it has proved to be. I thoroughly agree with Sil.
The Y to V trick and the childish ‘maked’ were each exquisite fun. To me, these are the adventurous steps that advance the pure artistry of cruciverbalism. Long may such joyous creativity continue. If Imogen is doing a little dancing in Araucaria’s ballroom, then she’s doing it with her own style – and with the elegance such a venue demands. Long may it continue!
Thank you, thank you, Imogen.
Thanks Imogen and manehi
Thursday seems to be the hard puzzle day of recent weeks … and this one was the mother of all hards !!!
Only finished it on early Saturday and still some extra to parse a good number of them – got them all eventually except for GRACE & favour – didn’t know the sitcom or the other idiom of it.
Most of the relevant comments already made. I think that the innovative devices like the cut Y are good and it seems as if most folk seemed to work it out. Top stuff
‘a’ in asparagus – no reason to pick out this particular letter.
litigator – excellent and fully clued.