The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26425.
There seemed to be a lot of envelopes in this one, in addition to the CDs and DDs.
| Across | ||
| 1 | PRESSED ON |
Continued with the ironing? (7,2)
Crypic definition.
|
| 6 | CHEAP |
He took the hat round for not much money (5)
An envelope (‘took … round’) of ‘he’ in CAP (‘the hat’).
|
| 9 | NIGHT |
Near to the start of darkness (5)
A charade if NIGH (‘near’ or ‘near to’) plus T (‘The start’). Rather familiar.
|
| 10 | ANNUITIES |
May they keep aunties in change? (9)
An anagram (‘change’) of ‘aunties in’, with an extended definition.
|
| 11 | CONCLUSIVE |
Convincing vice-consul is difficult (10)
An anagram (‘is difficult’) pf ‘vice-consul’
|
| 12 | STOP |
Finish roadwork (4)
A charade of ST (street, ‘road’) plus OP (‘work’).
|
| 14 | STEAMER |
The craft of the cook? (7)
Cryptic definition.
|
| 15 | HOUSMAN |
Sweetheart lost by doctor and poet (7)
HOUS[e]MAN (‘doctor’) without (‘lost’) the E (‘swEetheart’) – not Hugh Laurie, but a junior doctor in a hospital. The poet is A E Housman, best known for A Shropshire Lad.
|
| 17 | ASSENTS |
Agrees when ordered to go aboard a ship (7)
An envelope (‘to go about’) of SENT (‘ordered’) in ‘a’ plus SS (‘ship’).
|
| 19 | CROOKED |
Warped, like the criminal mind (7)
Double definition.
|
| 20 | PAID |
Settled one into residence (4)
An envelope (‘into’) of I (‘one’) in PAD (‘residence’).
|
| 22 | UNDERSTUDY |
Reserve player (10)
Cryptic definition.
|
| 25 | OFF SEASON |
Switch positions round the oceans, when business is slack (3,6)
An envelope (’round’) of SEAS (‘the oceans’) in OFF ON (‘switch positions’).
|
| 26 | GREED |
Consented to give up a vice (5)
A subtraction: [a]GREED (‘consented’) without (‘to give up’) the ‘a’.
|
| 27 | TYRES |
They go round on wheels (5)
Cryptic definition.
|
| 28 | PLENTIFUL |
More than enough to fill up ten skips (9)
An anagram (‘skips’) of ‘fill up ten’.
|
| Down | ||
| 1 | PANIC |
Policeman held up in a state of terror (5)
An envelope (‘in’) of ANI, a reversal (‘up’ in a down light) of ‘in a’ in PC (‘policeman’).
|
| 2 | ENGENDERS |
Propagates fresh greens — about to finish (9)
An envelope (‘about’) of END (‘finish’) in ENGERS, an anagram (‘fresh’) of ‘greens’.
|
| 3 | SETTLEMENT |
Community payment (10)
Double definition.
|
| 4 | DEAR SIR |
It’s no way to address a lady! (4,3)
Cryptic definition.
|
| 5 | NINEVEH |
9 to 5, he goes round the old city (7)
A charade of NINE (‘9’) plus V (Roman numeral, ‘5’) plus EH, a reversal (‘goes round’) pf ‘he’.
|
| 6 | CRIB |
Not a fair copy (4)
Cryptic definition.
|
| 7 | ELIOT |
Priest and Old Testament poet (5)
A charade of ELI (‘priest’) plus OT (‘Old Testament’).
|
| 8 | POSTPONED |
Put off, but not deterred (9)
Definition.
|
| 13 | OUT OF SIGHT |
Proverbially, it leads to madness! (3,2,5)
A cryptic reference to the proverb “out of sight, out of mind” with an alternative meaning for “out of mind”.
|
| 14 | STAMPS OUT |
Puts an end to current measures in beer (6,3)
An envelope (‘in’) of AMPS (‘current measures’) in STOUT (‘beer’).
|
| 16 | MAKE USE OF |
Employ recruit (4,3,2)
Double definition, I suppose.
|
| 18 | SENDS UP |
Takes Mickey to prison? (5,2)
Double definition (the second being ‘prison’ as a verb, to emprison).
|
| 19 | CLEANSE |
Is inclined to enter the church, subject to purification (7)
An envelope (‘to enter’) of LEANS (‘is inclined’) in CE (‘the chorch’ of England); ‘subject’ as a verb.
|
| 21 | INFER |
Deduce there’s no getting away from Hades (5)
INFER[no] (‘Hades’) without (‘getting away from’) ‘no’.
|
| 23 | YODEL |
An off-peak call? (5)
Cryptic definition.
|
| 24 | KEYS |
Operators of locks and harbours, say (4)
A homophone (‘say’) of QUAYS (‘harbours’?)
|
*anagram
Thanks, PeterO. Don’t you SEND “down” rather than UP to prison?
Thanks Rufus and PeterO
Reasonably quick solve today, but it had a slightly different feel to normal with a couple of clues that were out of the norm for him. You rarely see Rufus use the ‘streetwork’ style lift and separate device and similarly the NINEVEH style clue.
There were a couple of other slick answers at 13d and 23d.
Maybe a quick, but certainly an enjoyable solve today.
NeilW @1
Chambers gives both “send down” and “send up” in this sense. I have seen the suggestion that it comes from “sent up the river” (to Sing Sing from New York).
Not often i get in the first five of the blog. Must be because i am retired. I Always find Rufus straightforward. I liked 6a 4d and 23d but the latter two are only just cryptic.
Thanks Rufus and PeterO
Usual Rufusian mixture delights and weaknesses. Delights included CHEAP, ANNUITIES, HOUSMAN and INFER. Rufus missed a chance to link 20a with 3d, but that’s not his style, is it?
I didn’t understand the second definitions for POSTPONED or MAKE USE OF (that seemed to have the same definition twice), and there seems to be something wrong (that I can’t quite put my finger on) for the clue to OUT OF SIGHT – is there a definition at all?
I have only heard “send down” for “send to prison”.
I thought the “roadwork” in 12 referred to the STOP in large letters painted on roads!
Thanks Rufus and Petero
I found this fun, especially YODEL, STEAMER and OUT OF MIND.
Like Muffin, STOP had me fooled, and I failed to parse OFF SEASON, Grrrrr. Reserve player held me up, kept thinking along the lines of twelfth man.
“Send him down!” I can’t imagine a British judge sending him anywhere else.
OUT OF SIGHT held me up for a while but otherwise quite fun. YODEL could almost give cryptic definitions a good name.
Fairly easy Rufus, good fun as usual. I particularly liked UNDERSTUDY and YODEL, and also wasn’t sure about SENDS UP. I’ve certainly never heard a judge say “Send him up!” on TV! My time in real-life courts has fortunately been limited to a spell of jury service a long time ago.
Thanks to Rufus and PeterO.
Thanks to Rufus & PeterO.
As SENDS UP is in the BRB, I guess it must be fine.
I, too liked YODEL and UNDERSTUDY. I didn’t like TYRES or POSTPONED – surely deterred is put off anyway [Chambers,] so why ‘not deterred?’
………maybe the ‘but not’ is supposed to be a double-negative…….
Trailman @7, “String him up!”, but not a British judge nowadays.
“Send up” in the OCED specifies “US sentence to imprisonment”.
Thanks all
Very straightforward, only send up delayed matters!
Somewhat easier than last Friday’s puzzle. One query though – what is cryptic about UNDERSTUDY clued as ‘reserve player’?
Julia @14, it had me fooled, see @6 above. An actor is not often called a player, one tends to think first of a sportsperson (the spell check is questioning this, but I assume there is such a word nowadays).
For me this was one of Rufus’s better ones – mostly straightforward but a few that required a bit more thought. Last in was CRIB. Liked OUT OF SIGHT, ANNUITIES and YODEL.
Thanks to Rufus and PeterO
Thanks, PeterO
My last one in would have been UNDERSTUDY. I was held up as I put STIRS UP for 18d, which seemed to fit the clue quite well.
13d provided a chuckle/groan!
I tried TURNS at 27, and SUBSTITUTE at 22. The latter because the theatrical meaning of player occurred to me first; the former as I took the clue for a double definition (silly me, given it was Rufus today). My iPad also objected to TIRES at 27, which was harsh, given the US leanings of SENDS UP.
dtd @19 – I had TURNS too – one of those annoying ones that fits the crossers so you don’t realise that it’s wrong, though TYRES is obviously a better answer…
I didn’t like this, but I never really like Rufus, so what a surprise, but I do particularly dislike the use of the past tense at 2 across. That actually says ‘H and E (or HE as one thing) took (the) hat round’ which is nonsense. And what is THE doing there? Et cetera.
Quite enjoyable. I had SUBSTITUTE too but it soon became clear it was wrong. I didn’t like SENDS UP much but it didn’t offend me as much as it seems to have some others. I liked YODEL,STEAMER and STAMPS OUT.
Thanks Rufus.
Thanks Rufus and PeterO – by the way, did you … a word in your explanation for 8d POSTPONED? 🙂 A clue which I still don’t quite understand, I’m afraid.
muffin @5: Perhaps the problem you can’t quite put your finger on in OUT OF SIGHT is this: the line in the referenced proverb doesn’t quite work because it lacks an object and connected pronoun to which the madness could apply. In that context it’s always expressed “… out of [my/his/her/its] mind,” never just “… out of mind.” That said, I still think it’s a very nice cryptic definition clue and my favourite from today.
Thanks to PeterO for the blog.
I initially read 19a as warped (an anagram indicator) ‘like the’ (anagram fodder) meaning criminal mind. However that gave me nothing useful so I had to try again. Nice misdirection by Rufus.
Angstony @23
No, I did not leave anything out of 8D – I cannot see anything cryptic in it either.
Enjoyed this but couldn’t see what was going on with 16dn.
I thought POSTPONED was ok in that if you postpone somebody you are not rejecting (or deterring) him / her completely.
Favourite clue was HOUSMAN – hadn’t realised the name lacked an ‘e’.
Angstony @23
I think that’s it. I must admit that I did smile on solving it.
8d, perhaps Rufus was playing on the saying “deferred, but not deterred” (used in a US college context).
Rufus on flying form, I thought. Just about the perfect Monday crossword – I’m sure a lot of neophytes/weaker solvers absolutely loved this.
There was the odd one of those uniquely Rufusian watery Double Definitons, but I thought most of the clues were lovely, and well judged for the standard required. Would have made an excellent Quiptic.
PeterO @25
I was more confused by ‘not deterred’ having no apparent explanation than anything else, but I think I’ve got it now: the expression ‘put off’ can mean either ‘defer/red’ (put off until later) or ‘deter/red’ (put off altogether) and his clue was simply telling us it’s not the latter. Still rather weak though I feel.
Usual Rufus fare.
It never ceases to amaze me that his many weak clues are either ignored or forgiven.
If the object is to encourage/teach beginners the clues should of course be easy but more importantly rigorous. Sadly almost every Rufus puzzle has several clues which fail to be the latter.
Thanks to PeterO and Rufus
I’m with Muffin, I thought 12A was a double definition with “roadwork” meaning stop signs. Could someone tell me what the OP stands for in relation to “work” please – is it short for “operations” or “occupational…” something?
Crypticrochet @32
OPUS – quite common in crosswords, I’m embarrassed to say.
Just to chip in on the “Sends up” the American phrase is to “Send up the river” or go to prison, specifically to Sing Sing in NY. I don’t know who “Micky” is, though. Bugs Bunny makes jokes about it sometimes.
@34 “Take the Mick” is perhaps commoner in English, though “take the Mickey” is fairly well used.
Crypticrochet @34, to “take the Mickey” is to make fun of someone, or to copy their behaviour for a laugh; “send up” can mean the same thing (as well as the US meaning to “send to prison”). The term Mickey predates Mickey Mouse.
Thanks muffin! Knowing all these little abbreviations is one of the hardest bits of learning cryptics.
Once again in wholehearted agreement with limeni – so eloquently put. Usual grumbles from usual suspects – if they derive such meagre enjoyment from these puzzles it begs the question why bother? RUFUS ROCKS thanks to blogger.
xhaar @38
As far as I am aware this is a place to discuss the Guardian cryptic crosswords.
It is not the place to discuss the reasons for posts. I do believe we all have equal rights to our opinions on these puzzles and equal rights to post them.
Feel free to disagree with and argue any points raised by posters regarding the puzzles.
However, comments surmising motives for posting are definitely “Off topic”. IMHO 😉
Really annoying remark, and it isn’t the first time we have seen the uncritical ‘Rufus Rocks’ comment IIRC, which I find as objectionable as maybe shaar finds other people’s more detailed contributions. If I got ‘meagre enjoyment’ from coming here I wouldn’t bother!
@40
I think uncritical comments are permitted here even if they’re a bit vague. It’s criticisms that are meant to be “valid, constructive and presented in a polite manner” and it’s “the reason for any dissatisfaction” (italics added) that “should be clearly indicated”. Perhaps shaar was in fact reacting to the flouting of this rule (Brendan, for instance, doesn’t even say which clues he doesn’t like). Anyhow “Rufus rocks” doesn’t seem to transgress in any way.
I’m pleased to see that the discussion on yesterday’s offering is still ongoing. It gives me the opportunity to wonder why “ordered” is a suitable clue for “sent” in 17a. But “go”, “come”, “sit” or any other imperative form of a verb could be an order. Is that fair?
Hi Mike
It isn’t ‘ordered’ = SENT it’s ‘ordered to go’ = SENT. The enclosure indicator is simply ‘aboard’ rather than ‘to go aboard’.
For 19A I initially had CONCAVE: ‘CON’ (criminal) + ‘CAVE’ (latin for beware / mind out)