The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26356.
A friendly grid, particularly so because the long answers were not too difficult. Indeed, I thought this to be Picaroon in a relaxed mood, entertaining but not too strenuous.
| Across | ||
| 1 | VICTORIA CROSS | The person who triumphs with this clue gets an award (8,5) |
| A charade of VICTOR (‘the person who triumphs’) plus ! ACROSS (‘this clue’). Sorry, you don’t get more than a pat on the back. | ||
| 10 | OPPOSED | Sat behind revolving Post Office counter (7) |
| A charade of OP, a reversal (‘revolving’) of PO (‘post office’) plus POSED (‘sat’). | ||
| 11 | AMMONIA | What’s in a magazine and in a novel is pungent stuff (7) |
| A charade of AMMO (‘whats in a magazine’) plus NIA, an anagram (‘novel’) of ‘in a’. | ||
| 12 | GRACE | Polish or German people (5) |
| A charade of G ‘German’) plus RACE (‘people’). | ||
| 13 | OVERSPILL | Excessive gushing from paramours wanting large contraceptive (9) |
| A charade of [l]OVERS (‘paramours’) without the L (‘wanting large’) plus PILL (‘contraceptive’). | ||
| 14 | ETHEL | Girl to see the light after stripping (5) |
| A hidden answer (‘after stripping’) in ‘seE THE Light’. | ||
| 16 | CLEVERISH | Fairly sharp metal bar is breaking chain (9) |
| An envelope (‘breaking’) of LEVER (‘metal bar’) plus ‘is’ in CH (‘chain’). | ||
| 18 | WARDROBES | Places for hanging and bloodshed, with medics maintaining order (9) |
| An envelope (‘maintaining’) of OBE (‘order’) in WAR (‘bloodshed’) plus DRS (‘medics’). | ||
| 19 | KIROV | Dancers cutting hems from skirt before very gripping ball (5) |
| A n envelope (‘gripping’) of O (‘ball’) in ‘[s]kir[t]’ without its outer letters (‘cutting hems from’) plus V (‘very’). The Mariinsky Ballet is still better known by its previous name of the Kirov. | ||
| 20 | SUBPHYLUM | Classification of plum with bushy tangles (9) |
| An anagram (‘tangles’) of ‘plum’ plus ‘bushy’. | ||
| 23 | DU PRE | Kid cradles rook in bower (2,3) |
| An envelope (‘cradles’) of R (‘rook’) in DUPE (‘kid’), for Jacqueline |
||
| 24 | EPISTLE | A Paul composition: well set, with no odd parts, and very good way in! (7) |
| An envelope (‘in’) of PI (‘very good’) plus ST (street, ‘way’) in ELE, ‘wElL sEt’ ‘with no odd parts’. | ||
| 25 | DOTTIER | Party time! Couple runs for more nuts (7) |
| A charade of DO (‘party’) plus T (‘times’) plus TIE (‘couple’) plus R (‘runs’). | ||
| 26 | TIMON OF ATHENS | Play and skip around with skinny birds only (5,2,6) |
| A charade of TIMO, a reversal (‘around’) of OMIT (‘skip’) plus NO FAT HENS (‘skinny birds only’). | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | IMPEACHER | Rogue royal astride every charger? (9) |
| An envelope (‘astride’) of EACH (‘every’) in IMP (‘rogue’) plus |
||
| 3 | TASTE | Sense country must bring its leader down (5) |
| STATE (‘country’) with the S (‘its leader’) moved (must bring … down’). | ||
| 4 | RADIO | Notice where you’ll find carnival dresses for tranny (5) |
| An envelope (‘dresses’) of AD (‘notice’) in RIO (‘where you’ll find carnival’). Not a transvestite, but rather dated slang for a transistor radio. | ||
| 5 | AWARENESS | Descartes is shortly to plug a tool for raising understanding (9) |
| An envelope (‘to plug’) of RENE’S (‘Descartes is shortly’) in ‘a’ plus WAS, a reversal (‘for raising’; ‘for’ suits the surface better than the wordplay) of SAW (‘tool’). | ||
| 6 | RUMP STEAK | Fellow leaves dowdy women with woodcut (4,5) |
| A charade of [f]RUMPS (‘dowdy women’) without the F (‘fellow leaves’) plus TEAK (‘wood’). | ||
| 7 | SINAI | Area of Egypt‘s capital dominated by crime (5) |
| A charade of SIN (‘crime’) plus A 1 (‘capital’). | ||
| 8 | TONGUE TWISTER | Performing this could lead to stuttering woe (6,7) |
| An anagram (‘performing this could lead to’) of ‘stuttering woe’, with an extended definition. | ||
| 9 | WALLS HAVE EARS | Sports must keep everyone trim — it’s a warning to the unwary (5,4,4) |
| An envelope (‘must keep’) of ALL (‘everyone’) plus SHAVE (‘trim’) in WEARS (‘sports’ as in ‘he sports a new blazer”). | ||
| 15 | LARGHETTO | King enters city slum quite deliberately (9) |
| An envelope (‘enters’) of R (‘king’) in LA (‘city’) plus GHETTO (‘slum’). | ||
| 16 | CABALLERO | Foreign gentleman with vehicle for Parisians to go round (9) |
| A charade of CAB (‘vehicle’) plus ALLER (‘for Parisians to go’) plus O (’round’). | ||
| 17 | IRRUPTION | Invasion from unit prior to struggle (9) |
| An anagram (‘to struggle’) of ‘unit prior’. | ||
| 21 | BLINI | In Russia the fare is one pound, heading north over the province (5) |
| A charade of BLI, a reversal (‘heading north’) of 1 LB (‘one pound’) plus NI (Northern Ireland, ‘the province’). | ||
| 22 | MEDIA | Torpedo aimed for 4 etc (5) |
| An anagram (‘torpedo’) of ‘aimed’. | ||
| 23 | DITCH | Axe tip from Douglas pine (5) |
| A charade of D (‘tip from Douglas’) plus ITCH (‘pine’). | ||
*anagram
A good while ago the estimable Sil van den Hoek described Picaroon as a shooting star. Time has proved him wrong.
Thanks Peter. It was fun though, with some excellent surfaces, and diversions like 7D. For 2D i had rogue=imp + royal=ER around every.
Thanks Picaroon and Peter. I parsed 2d the same way as Molongolo.
Sorry molonglo!
Really enjoyed this. Very fair and a good workout. Especially liked 23a and the surface of 24a. Just a slight niggle. Is the definition as part of a word ( cut) acceptable at 6d? I don’t object and it didn’t hold me up.
Cryptocyclist @5
The only person entitled to say what is “acceptable” is the editor. Word separation devices often appear in the Guardian, so yes it is acceptable.
Solvers and setters may like or dislike them. Eileen for one likes them a lot. I think some setters prefer not to use them. I’m sure Pasquale has objected to them, here and elsewhere. I suspect they are not allowed in the Times.
I enjoyed it. On my first pass I only got one solution and most of the clues took several attempts to solve but it all gradually clicked into place without taking too long. Having said that I didn’t think any of the clues were particularly outstanding.
Thanks, PeterO.
Very entertaining puzzle from the Pirate, with some clever constructions, misleading definitions and good surface readings. And smiles along the way (I loved the ‘no fat hens’).
Particular favourites were 1a, 4d, 8d, 9d, 16d – as well as 26a.
Cryptocyclist @5: rhotician is absolutely right that the decision rests with the editor, and that playing around with word boundaries (or capitalisation and punctuation, come to that) is not allowed on the Times. I’m firmly with Eileen on this: I enjoy these devices. The fundamental Ximenean exhortation is ‘say what you mean’. This, for me, doesn’t have to imply ‘WRITE what you mean’ – I consider these orthographic tricks to be an extension of the principle of the homophone clue.
Thanks PeterO.
This may not have been one of Picaroon’s most difficult puzzles but, for me, it’s up there with his very best – brimming with delights from the very first clue, 1 across, which put me in a very good mood.
I have ticks all over the place and it’s very difficult to pick out the very best [Gervase’s list corresponds quite closely with mine] but the skinny birds are in the lead, I think, by a short head. I got the answer to 26ac immediately from the enumeration and a few crossers but laughed out loud when I parsed it.
The surfaces are just lovely and, as I often say, it’s well worth taking a few minutes to go back and savour them. I loved the misdirection in 24ac. I could go on …
Huge thanks to Picaroon, as ever.
23 across – the cellist is Jacqueline du Pré (2,3), not Dupre. Nit picked.
Thanks Picaroon, very entertaining once I got around all the misdirections.
Thanks PeterO; yes, the NO FAT HENS was amusing. I got my re/a ward for VICTORIA CROSS.
Tricky little bower, I thought at first it would be an archer but once I had got the first ‘D’ all was revealed. I also liked the whiff of AMMONIA.
Well, I loved every millimetre of this one! Skinny birds and all. Far too many to single out just one really but 26ac must take the chocolate coated hobnob for Clue of the Year!
Thanks so much, Picaroon, take the 1ac of Crossword Setters!
Thanks to the blogger too.
As a relative novice I found this tough. Why does PI mean very good in 24ac?
Poc @ 13
It’s an abbreviation for pious
Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.
Just a little nit: would 14a be better parsed “to seE THE Light”, thus stripping the same number of letters from each end?
Two crackers in a row, from two of my favourite newer setters, so we are being spoiled this week. This seemed a little impenetrable at first, and full of cunning misdirections and imagination, but I never got completely stuck, and there were no unfamiliar words, so it was slightly easier than yesterday’s Imogen. Last in was DU PRE, also liked VICTORIA CROSS, TIMON OF ATHENS, ETHEL, AMMONIA and TONGUE TWISTER.
Poc @13 – make a note of PI – it crops up in crosswords a lot.
Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO
RUMP STEAK is awful, and I certainly prefer compilers that eschew such horrible device, but Picaroon as far as Guardian compilers go (for me) is one of the better ones, and he provides a very entertaining puzzle today. Yes there are a few constructions that would not make it in The Times as far as I am aware, but, as has been stated by argus-eyed onlookers, here we have a Guardian puzzle.
In my opinion, these crosswords are far more entertaining than the Times ones. After a few months of Paul, Picaroon et al I’m afraid I find those rather dull and boring. These combine clever construction and clueing with the essential ingredient of humour and wit which seems a bit lacking in the Thunderer. Just my opinion, of course, so no need to shoot me down in flames.
Also like Eileen, I find the split word clues or whatever you call them very acceptable and even, dare I say it, clever.
Wow, Picaroon, what a cracker! Thought I couldn’t do this on 1st and 2nd readings, then ‘Kirov’ started me off, followed by walls have ears. Particularly loved ‘Du Pre’, ‘Timon of Athens’ and wonderful ‘tongue twister’ anagram. More, please! Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.
almw3 @18 – hear hear! For me the cheeky clues are the most memorable and I enjoy “lift and separate” and reverse clues. Once a Guardianista, always a libertarian…
Thanks Peter O and Picaroon – it’s still a treat for me to complete an entire puzzle without any help, and this was one of those occasions. I really liked the anagram at 8d; last one in was 26a with which I was not familiar, but which was clear from the (entertaining) clue.
Very enjoyable, great surfaces, variety of cluing, plenty of wit and enough to chew on. Agree in part with some critics of 6 about ‘woodcut’ but it didn’t detain me so it must be acceptable.
Thanks, PeterO and Picaroon.
Thanks to setter and blogger as ever.
Can someone explain to me how counter/opposed works for 10a? I got the answer but discounted it initially on the grounds that counter is present tense and opposed past tense. I’m obviously missing another way of looking at it.
Thanks Picaroon and PeterO
I can only add my appreciation – AMMONIA was my favourite.
Mike R @ 23 – I read “opposed to” as equivalent to “counter to” – not exact, but close enough, I think.
I thought this was a cracking puzzle, and rather than repeat what has already been said I’ll just say that my thoughts echo those of Eileen@9 almost identically.
Counter’s adverbial innit, here.
I thought this was rather difficult. When I completed it,finally,I realised quite how good(and fair) it was. RUMP STEAK was a bit naughty, though!
Hear hear from me too as per almw3@18 and Beery Hiker @20. Guardian xwords beat all the rest.
PaulB @26: adjectival rather than adverbial IMMHO 🙂
Thanks to PeterO and Picaroon
Some people’s “crackers” is other “nightmare”. Last two days for middle of roaders have just been too difficult
I’m yet another who thought it was a terrific puzzle – inventive, wonderful surfaces and altogether one of the best for a long time. It seems much harder than a lot of the Saturday prize puzzles, but I enjoyed every moment. Many thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.
A great puzzle from the Pirate.
It’s all been said already.
My only addition is that looking back on the clues they all seem easy. However after the first pass almost all of them seemed impenetrable. In my opinion this is the mark of a great crossword.
Thanks to PeterO and Picaroon
Rhotician @1: “A good while ago the estimable Sil van den Hoek described Picaroon as a shooting star. Time has proved him wrong”
Well, here’s the so-called estimable one.
Could be that I used “shooting star” but what I surely meant was “rising star”. In the Netherlands the equivalent of “shooting star” is a positive thing, one who’s launched into something heavenly or the like.
Moreover, one should know by now that I am a huge Picaroon fan.
Guardian solvers cannot complain too much about the crosswords they get nowadays. It is a bit cynical that after the sad demise of the great late Araucaria who gave us so much joy, the overall level has drastically changed. In a positive way, that is.
Picaroon’s crosswords are always good, say grade A.
But I thought this one was just marvellous: A*.
1ac: great, and 9d: having “Sports must keep everything trim” purely as the fodder part, that’s just brilliant.
The wit of 26ac and the in the light of recent events perhaps horrific surface of 18ac were other highlights.
A well-hidden hidden at 14ac, a well-hidden anagram at 22d.
Even clues that are simple on the face of it, like 16ac and 23d, have surfaces that are consistent in their wording (metal & wood for those who don’t understand what I’m talking about).
Was it hard? Not particularly.
Was it a delight? Yes.
ps, I am really surprised by the discussion on 6d.
Indeed, Picaroon is not a setter who uses these ‘modern’ techniques very often and if he does, in a measured way.
Just like it should be, IMO.
But then, this is the Guardian, the Philistines and Boatmans of the World do it all the time.
And, at this place, most of us love it!
Do I?
I know what you meant Sil. But the astronomical shooting star’s brilliance is short-lived. Unlike Picaroon’s.
No nametab, I really do mean adverbial!
Paul, we thought about “counter” too.
Chambers gives “counter” as an adjective meaning “opposing” or “opposite”, not “opposed” – just like my PinC suggested.
However, their Thesaurus (horror for some, salvation for others) is happy with “opposed”.
I have a real issue with 15d.
I hate this type of clue where a generic indicator (city) is supposed to lead to a specific example (in this case LA). It leads to a situation where you cannot solve the clue without inspired guesswork. There are so many other ways in which the clue could have been framed that this just seems lazy.
engineerb, you put the finger exactly there where my PinC put hers tonight.
However, ETHEL was already there so I knew that 15d had to start with an L.
The clue is so full of information that, IMO, the city can’t be a “long one”, so LA sprang to mind almost immediately.
So there we are.
For my PinC (and you) perhaps unfair (and I see what the two of you mean), for me it was just ‘it has to be LA, wherever, in the solution’.
It that respect, I don’t think it’s lazy.
Yes, bloody thesauri. And bloody awful word lists in crossword compiling programs. Gah. I’m with the adverbialists. It’s neater shurely.
Excellent puzzle – made easier to crack by the friendly grid and (if you twigged them early) the recognisable biggies.
Many thanks to PO for simply underlining the def in 6d with no further comment. There’s nothing modern about word-splitting. Barnard (in his 1963 book) found it so unremarkable he didn’t even coin a word for it. It’s a perfectly fair and normal part of the game.
Adverb or adjective – either, will do me fine for COUNTER – Collins Online has both.
Big thanks to S&B.
Thanks all
I didn’t start this until late Thursday and since I usually find Picaroon quite tough it was no surprise that I only completed the “biggies” (larghetto, Timon…, Walls…) early this morning (Friday).
I thought 5d was clever and 23ac wonderfully misleading. Is ‘slum’ an equivalent for ‘ghetto’?
RCW @40
SOED has
ghetto
…..
2 A densely populated slum area occupied by a minority group or groups, usu. as a result of social or economic pressures; an isolated or segregated social group or area. l19
slum
…..
2 An overcrowded district of a town or city, having squalid housing conditions and inhabited by very poor people; a street situated in such a district (freq. in pl.). Also transf., a house materially unfit for human habitation. e19.
So it seems OK. I too thought slum referred only to a particular dwelling and not an area as a noun.