Guardian 26,578 / Screw

59 comments on “Guardian 26,578 / Screw”

1. Yes, very enjoyable. Had to look up Paul Weller for the WINE CELLAR Spoonerism. Re 1a, I think that OVER is indeed ‘wrapped up’. I liked HECKLE, RHYMES and TOMFOOLERY in particular. At first I wondered whether 15a was IRAN – but HH would have been apoplectic about that. Thanks to Screw and Eileen.

2. 1ac. Wrapped up = Over, Ring = Loop, ‘retailed’ with ‘K’ for the ‘P’.

   I’m beaten on ‘Gift token’ too.

   Excellent puzzle from Screw and blog from Eileen. Thanks.

3. Thanks Eileen
   I parsed 1ac as OVER (wrapped up) LOO[p] with the ‘p’ replaced with K (ring, retailing {re-tailing} with £1000).

   9ac is GIFT (bent) TO KEN (top of Barbie’s letter?).

4. Thanks you Eileen and Screw. I think, written on top of Barbie’s letter would be ‘Gift To Ken’

5. Sorry, ‘thanks to’ or ‘thank you’

6. 1a over + loop with the tail of loop being replaced by k

7. Thank you Eileen. Good blog to a good puzzle.

   Five written in unparsed, I’m afraid.

   I just assumed that Barbie might write “Gift To Ken” at the top of her letter but I’m not really convinced.

   I don’t really understand why left = to go. A little license required perhaps.

   Not keen either “hitting” in the ORKNEY ISLANDS clue.

   Lastly, why is Inspector Morse a spy? I’ve never seen it but I thought he was a policemen.

   Nice weekend, all.

8. Hi William

   Are you confusing clues 6 and 7dn?

9. Thanks Screw and Eileen
   I didn’t enjoy this, mainly because of parsing difficulties. I didn’t parse 1a, 9a, 6d 7d or 17d (and “returns” in this one would work better in an across clue).
   I didn’t like TOGO, or the “wind hitting” in 4d. I raised an eyebrow at 16a – mods predate Paul Weller by about 20 years.
   Isn’t the thing on top of a helicopter called a “rotor” rather than “propeller”?
   “Ignorant” means “lacking knowledge”, not “stupid”.
   I did like ORGY, RHYMES and MOOR – new (to me) way of indicating “read upwards”.

10. @7
    Re GIFT TOKEN. No, Gaufrid is right – gift=bent

    Re TOGO, “You have 5 clues left” = “You have 5 clues to go”

    Re TIMOR SEA, as Eileen indicates there is no reference to Morse being a spy in the clue, just in your comment.

    I think you must have done this in a bit of a hurry!

11. Thanks Eileen. Agree with your comments, and your ups (including the brilliant RHYMES) and downs were mine too. But I knew nothing of the mod-Weller, nor could fathom gift-bent. Otherwise, excellent, Screw.

12. Thanks Eileen and Screw

    Tough but enjoyable. I forgot to try to parse 24a after waiting to see from crossing letters whether it was to be ‘defer’ or ‘deter’. I also failed to understand 9a fully.

    I was initially puzzled by 15a where it looked as if there was a shift from past tense to infinitive, but I then realised it referred to phrases like ‘three down and two to go’.

    Oddly I found this a lot easier than Paul’s offering this week with which I seemed mentally out of kilter, and slightly harder than yesterday’s Qaos where 24a and d defeated me.

13. I found this a tough but satisfying workout. Count me as another who biffed OVERLOOK, although it was the LOO(P) element that I couldn’t see rather than the first part of the answer. I don’t have a problem with left=to go and Herb@10 has provided an excellent example of when they can be synonymous. I also don’t have a problem with Paul Weller being described as a Mod even though the movement started much earlier. TIMOR SEA was my LOI, and although I biffed it I saw how it was parsed post-solve.

14. Thanks both. I quite liked this, except 9a, which was a bit over complicated. Perhaps “Present option – from Barbie?” would have been neater?

15. Thanks to Screw and Eileen.

    Entering the solutions wasn’t difficult, but parsing them certainly was. I came close to parsing 1a, getting OVER and the idea of a changed “tail”, but then those two Os seduced me into thinking that one of them must be the “ring” and it was downhill from there. I didn’t see GIFT= “bent” or pick up Barbie/Ken, and I missed the reason that “left” can be TO GO (thanks, Herb).

    Favourites are RHYMES, NUCLEAR FAMILY and MOOR.

    Eileen

    In 12a, shouldn’t the “overseeing” be underlined too? SUPERCARGOES aren’t “officers afloat”, they are what are overseen by the officers.

    muffin @9

    As the link provided by Eileen says, Weller was part of the later mod revival, and as such is presumably popular with mods (though I was more of a rocker, so I can’t confirm that personally).

16. jennyk @15
    I looked up “supercargoes” in Chambers and discovered, much to my surprise, that the are “officers in charge of cargoes” on ships.
    Point taken about Paul Weller.

17. Thanks all
    I cannot recall previous Screws but I enjoyed this . Last in was heckle, very clever.Like the blogger I struggled to parse a few.
    I’m not a Spooner fan but this one was cunning.

18. muffin @16

    Ah, that will teach me to look things up before commenting, and I owe an apology to Eileen.

    But … in that case, I’m not sure what role “overseeing” is playing in the clue other than smoothing the surface.

19. I was a bit Screwed but got there in the end.

    Thanks Eileen, I was another that had IRAN at first for the country. Some great clues as usual from Screw/Donk. RHYMES was a classic. I also particularly liked the SUPER CAR GOES (you can see some this weekend in Monaco) and BY GEORGE.

20. Thanks Screw and Eileen.

    What a work out, I got tied up for a while with 5a thinking of ‘ditch’, and Weller was unknown.
    I did like RHYMES, TOGO, DETER, STEPLADDER, PROPELLERS and too many others to list.

21. muffin @16,jennyk @18, SUPERCARGO is also in the OCED for ‘an officer in a merchant ship managing sales etc. of cargo’; managing, overseeing?

22. Thanks, Cookie. You have reminded me that I intended to underline ‘overseeing’ as part of the definition – I’ll do it now.

    Hi muffin @16 – I was amazed to find that definition, too [so no need for an apology, jennyk @18!]

23. Thanks Screw and Eileen

    In 27A I don’t think Ringo is relevant: John and Paul were often seen by George when the three of them were singing lead & harmony into one or two microphones, while Ringo was stuck at the back behiond his drumkit.

24. Thanks Screw and Eileen

    I needed help to parse 9a, 16a, 12a, 6d.

    New word for me was SUPERCARGO. Never heard of Paul Weller.

    I liked 26a, 14d, 7d, 11a, 5a, 27a.

25. This compiler is more rigorous in The Independent, and so better there. I think a lot of what’s here suffers from the dreaded -itis, and SCrew/ Donk should just compile naturally wherever he is published.

26. hh @25

    Perhaps this is Screw/Donk’s natural compiling style when not constrained by The Independent’s requirements. If so, if he used this style for them too, you would lose what you value there.

27. Thanks, Eileen

    Enjoyable offering from the prison officer. Like others, I didn’t know the relevant meaning of SUPERCARGOES (hence almost LOI), and the parsing of 1a and 9a escaped me (though I did notice Ken in there).

    Favourites were WINE CELLAR (I’m not a great fan of Spooner clues in general, unless they are top drawer), RHYMES, and the well-incorporated anagrams for ORKNEY ISLANDS and HEATSTROKE.

28. Eileen, I sailed in 1946 at the age of four to England with my mother, to check on her family after WWII, on the MV Port Fairy. There were only 12 passengers and it was quite a voyage. The crew, including the SUPERCARGO, were at loggerheads with the captain, and the bo’s’n gave me a brush and a tin of paint to paint the ship red. The captain was furious, but luckily not with me.

29. Thanks, Eileen.

    I am exactly with muffin @ 9 on this.

    And I saw Ringo on drums as did Simon @ 23.

    I wish I could have enjoyed it more.

30. I agree with Eileen, “tough but entertaining” sums it up pretty well. I think I’m getting better at predicting Screw’s devious misdirections, and had no problems finishing this on paper – OVERLOOK was last in after SUPERCARGOES. Liked WINE CELLAR, DETER, RHYMES, LITMUS, TIMOR SEA and TOMFOOLERY.

    Thanks to Screw and Eileen

31. SUPRERCARGOES was my LOI but the rest went in quite easily-MALFUNCTION I’ve just noticed I haven’t filled in 24DNA-MOOR I assume. Anyway, I thought this both straightforward and enjoyable. Admittedly I did parse several after the event.
    Thanks Screw.

32. [Andy B @13 – I’ve seen biffed in a few comments recently but I’ve never seen it explained – can you enlighten me?]

33. Another IRAN here. Favourite clue RHYMES.

34. SUPERCARGOES was just a collection of alternate letters until I lost patience and had a bit of a cheat. Naughty I know but it’s Friday and getting late.

    PROPELLERS certainly needs its ? because it’s the rotor that supports a helicopter, by providing lift (and indeed momentum). The propeller-shaped thing at the back, which stops it from turning round, is called a rotor too.

35. When I lived in Kiribati a ship would anchor outside the reef and goods would be moved through a gap using a large biscuit tin(!) fitted with an outboard motor. The person in charge of the often very tricky manoeuvre was called the supercargo.

36. beery @ 32

    I believe BIFFED is Bunged In From Definition, and sorting the mechanics out later.

    hth

37. Simon @36 – thanks for that! So I didn’t need to biff anything today…

38. Like many others I biffed in 1A, and just remembered to come and seek out the proper explanation here.

    Screw is a gentleman and a scholar. Some of his clues I think “ooh, bit iffy, maybe?” with a sharp intake of breath but they’re always made up for by the ones which are innovative genius.

39. IGNORANTLY does not mean stupidly and helicopters don’t have PROPELLERS, as others have noted. When I encounter such obvious errors in clues the puzzle loses savour for me as it becomes arbitrary rather than the logical challenge that it should be.

40. Got to this late. Normally, I either solve these in the evening (puzzles usually drop at 6 p.m. Chicago time the night before) or on my morning commute. Last night, I was out to all hours playing bridge and drinking; this morning, I met an old friend for breakfast.

    So I really don’t have a whole lot to say that hasn’t already been said. Count me as another who hadn’t heard of Weller, but that clue really could only have been WINE CELLAR.

    The clue for TIMOR SEA is of a type that irks me a bit: the wordplay is “Endeavor to populate island rising,” while the definition properly is “island rising here?” (“Here” doesn’t adequately define TIMOR SEA, and Timor is unquestionably already populated, so that’s really the only option.)

    It’s always seemed to me like you should either have a clean division between wordplay and definition, or an exact overlap (a full &lit). I’ll even forgive it if the entire clue is the definition and the wordplay is only the first or second part of that (with a word or two left over) (the type that bloggers here usually describe as “&littish”). But a partial overlap like this feels like it ain’t cricket.

    But as ever, I’ll admonish myself that the clue diverted me, and I eventually solved it, so there is nothing truly worthy of complaining about.

    Inspector Morse, by the way–for all his ubiquity in British crosswords–is a virtual unknown commodity here. Of course I know who he is, but that’s largely from my crossword-facilitated exposure to British culture more than anything else.

41. Oh, and I blame Auto-correct for Americanizing my spelling of “Endeavour.”

42. Wonderful.
    Anyone else put in By Christ first?
    Thanks Eileen.
    More from Screw soon I hope. I like these newbies. Well most of them.

43. As usual, I did (after much struggle) get the solutions but in many cases (all noted above) had great trouble with the parsing (though I enjoyed RHYMES). Thanks to Screw and Eileen.

44. Crossbencher @39 [and muffin @9]

    I winced when I typed IGNORANTLY for ‘showing stupidly’ and expected more reaction – but I’m afraid that, through general ignorance [not knowing] it has taken on a new meaning, so I don’t think Screw can be faulted here.

    mrpenney @40

    I urge you to purchase the Inspector Morse series.

    And I think it’s time to copyright Andy B’s @13 ‘biff’, as I did for Muck’s ‘Araubeticals’ of immortal memory.

45. Thanks for that, Eileen!

46. Cheers, muffin – there was too much to think of earlier on, so I let that one go for a bit!

47. Eileen, Beery Hiker and Simon S – as far as “biffed” and its derivatives are concerned I’m afraid I can’t take the credit for coining it. It started life as BIFD (which Simon correctly says is an acronym of Bunged In From Definition) on the Times for the Times site and was coined by a contributor who goes by the name of Grestyman. However, it soon morphed into the version that is in current use.

    Another one coined recently on TftT that may not make the leap over here is a Dean Martin which is used to describe a clue that takes much longer to solve than it should, and it stands for Depressingly Easy Answer Needing More Actual Reflection Than Is Necessary. I can’t take the credit for that one either – a contributor called Penfold coined it, although it was me that asked for suggestions because I was tired of typing out variations of “such and such a clue took me much too long to solve”.

48. Many thanks, Andy B, for saving me from further embarrassment.

49. Hi Eileen. Thanks for the blog, excellent as always. I believe the alphabetical puzzles are coming back but, with new setters, they will never be quite the same

50. Hi muck

    How lovely to hear from you!

    I, of course, agree.

51. Ah, mrpenney, it may be true that Inspector Morse is “virtually unknown” here, but not for me–I have watched, on WTTW, (the Chicago based NPR station) the entire series starring John Thaw. Loved it, and its sequel, Inspector Lewis, too.

    Enjoyed this puzzle and blog. Thanks to Screw and Eileen.

52. @51
    Endeavour, the series about Morse as a young policeman in the 60s, is also very entertaining if you can get it. (Morse author) Colin Dexter’s clues in the Azed competitions (see andlit.org.uk under N.C.Dexter) are also amongst the very best. A personal favourite is “Item gran arranged family slides in” – MAGIC LANTERN (anag. incl. clan, & lit.).

53. Nice work Screw. Clever use of ‘retailing’ in 1ac; didn’t spot bent as gift in 9ac; great Spoonerism in 16ac. Overall 26ac was my favourite. But I don’t get the TIA part of 6dn.

54. 1961Blanchflower

    An ait [alternative spelling ‘eyot’] is a small island, quite often found in crosswords, as I indicated in the blog. In the clue, ‘rising’ indicates that it needs to be reversed.

55. 1961Blanchflower @53

    “Ait”, like its variant “eyot”, is a word meaning a small island, usually in a river.

    Herb @52 et al

    I second the recommendation of “Endeavour”. I was sceptical about it at first, but I enjoyed it. The young Morse’s relationship with his boss and mentor is interesting.

56. Thanks Eileen and Screw for a puzzle that I found entertaining despite a few lapses (see above and below).

    mrpenney #40

    A couple of (very) minor points. From Wikipedia on Timor Sea:

    The sea contains a number of reefs, uninhabited islands and significant hydrocarbon reserves.

    16A “really could only have been WINE CELLAR”.

    How about WINE SELLER?

    I’m a little surprised that no-one has mentioned that before. The two words do not make quite as natural a couple as WINE CELLAR, but they fit.

57. They do, but I’m not sure WINE SELLER passes the ‘which phrases should be allowed in crosswords’ test.

58. Thanks Eileen and Jennyk — I subsequently re-read your blog, and saw that you had explained the TIA/AIT usage. I had never come across the word before (despite suffering from Guardian crosswords since the 1970s). I have learned a new word, which shows you are never too old to learn something new, and I’m sure it will come in handy on future river journeys.

59. Thanks Screw and Eileen

    Afraid that this one languished in the pile for ages – took it out this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it !!

    A number of clues that actually made me ‘smile loudly’, including WINE CELLAR, BY GEORGE and RHYMES. Like xjpotter, I was another who wrote in BY CHRIST initially – think that was why Ringo was omitted – to misdirect one along the path of disciples.

    Didn’t end up parsing the second part of OVERLOOK although had a similar thought process as jennyk with it. Think that I thought ‘sine weller’, but could make nothing from it and missed the very clever D(I)ETER at 21.

    Finished with WINE CELLAR, TIMOR SEA and the previously unknown SUPERCARGOES as the last one in.

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