Guardian 26,620 – Tramp

by

Tramp rounds off an excellent, if challenging, week in fine style with a puzzle teeming with references to Alfred Hitchcock and his films, though I think there’s only one place where knowledge of the subject is needed in an answer. Many thanks to Tramp for the entertainment.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
9. HERBICIDE Having no preference in bedroom, police enter here, finding killer in bed (9)
BI[-sexual] + CID in HERE. A nice misleading definition to get us started
12. NOTORIOUS Well-known American after Olympics rejection? (9)
“NO TO RIO” (site of the 2016 Olympics) + US
13. GLAMOUR Magnetism in girl’s case — illicit affair to follow (7)
G[ir]L + AMOUR. Does an amour have to be illicit?
14. REFRAME Present differently — concerned with shot on film (7)
RE (concerned with) + FRAME (film shot) – not keen on this, as “frame” has virtually the same meaning in answer and wordplay
17. OXBOW Stock producer holding black and white cattle’s collar (5)
B in OXO (stock cube maker) + W
19. SAW Watched horror film (3)
Double definition – a recent series of horror films
20. LATHI “Some characters to kill at …” — Hitchcock getting stick (5)
Hidden in kilL AT HItchcock. “In South Asia, a long, heavy iron-bound bamboo stick used as a weapon, especially by police”
21. ERINYES “Furious” women from Italy and Spain crossing New York (Queens borders) (7)
NY in I + E, all in ERS – the Erinyes are the Furies of Greek mythology
22,11. CASTING COUCH A snug Hitchcock stripped off — work for it here? (7,5)
Anagram of a A SNUG [h]ITCHCOC[k]
24. NIGHTWEAR Clobber for going off with … : anger flows (9)
(WITH ANGER)*
26. RAGED Was in Frenzy in which director ultimately matured (5)
[directo]R + AGED
28. VERDI He noted essentially: “See Kim Novak in disguise across road” (5)
RD in an anagram of the midde letters of sEe kIm noVak
29. SYCOPHANT One crawling out of Psycho shot with worker (9)
PSYCHO* + ANT
Down
1. CHIC Young woman cut with it? (4)
CHIC[k]
2. TRAUMA Turn in drama (time for 27 shock) (6)
U in DRAMA with the D (date) replaced by T (time)
3. RIGHT OF WAY Freedom to use land is why fair got in a mess? (5,2,3)
(WHY FAIR GOT)*
4. WINNER On North by Northwest, upset over one late director (6)
I in reverse of RE (on) + N NW. Michael Winner, who died in 2013
5. DEATH ROW Spot for murderers — each cast supporting director (5,3)
D[irector] + EA[ch] + THROW (cast)
6. BLUR Smudge cosmetic she took away (4)
BLUSHER, with SHE “took away” (a bit ungrammmatical, or maybe dialect/slang)
7. IGNORANT Rude, single Hitchcock lead actor, working over breaks (8)
Reverse of ON (working) “breaking in to” I [Cary] GRANT. Chambers gives “rude” as a definition of IGNORANT – I’ve seen it used in this way by people who seem think it means “ignoring..”
8. ETAS Alien, like foreign characters (4)
ET + AS
13. GROPE Feel good with Hitchcock film (5)
G + ROPE (1948 Hitchcock film)
15. FILMSTRIPS Shoots on outings series of pictures (10)
FILMS (shoots) + TRIPS. As in 14, I don’t much like the double use of “film[s]” here
16. EYING Watching, say, dark force stabbing (5)
YIN (dark force) in E.G.
18. BRINGERS Fetching ones start to become identical (they are) (8)
B[ecome] + RINGERS
19. SUSPENSE The Guardian writers mostly set without expectation (8)
US + PENS in SE[t] – and of course Hitchcock was the “Master of Suspense”
22. CURACY “See you on Twitter?” — blue post of priest (6)
CU (see you) + RACY (blue)
23. IN GEAR Dressed and working (2,4)
Double definition
24. NAVY Tone reflects section of The Lady Vanishes (4)
Hidden in reverse of ladY VANishes – I’ll let Tramp off the superfluous “The” as it’s part of the film title.
25,10. TAIL LIGHT Part of American car seen in Rear Window (4,5)
TAIL (rear) + LIGHT (window)
27. DATE ’50s hairstyle and its wearer clipped to go out (4)
DA – duck’s arse (or ass) hairstyle – + TE[d] (the DA was favoured by Teddy Boys)

54 comments on “Guardian 26,620 – Tramp”

  2. Thank you Tramp and Andrew

    My favourites were CASTING COUCH, CHIC, TRAUMA, IGNORANT, HERBICIDE & SUSPENSE.

    New words for me were ERINYES & LATHI and I had not heard of the the movies SAW & ROPE but was happy to find that they existed!

    NB. Andrew, there is a typo in 5d which should be D + EA (not EQ) + THROW

  3. Thanks Tramp and Andrew
    I finished this surprisingly quickly, though I didn’t see the parsings of OXBOW or DATE (although I had tried “duck” for the latter!). Favourites GROPE and CURACY. LATHI was cleverly hidden, but the surface was a bit clunky.

  4. Thanks Andrew – I agree with your minor reservations, but overall found this very enjoyable and a ‘just right’ difficulty level to ease into the day.

    Some neatly satisfying surfaces, and I liked the slightly ambiguous container directions.

    Good stuff.

  5. My knowledge of Hitchcock films is sketchy at best so had trouble with GROPE, but it was an excellent puzzle. Favourites were OXBOW, SYCOPHANT, HERBICIDE and SUSPENSE. Many thanks to Tramp and Andrew.

  6. btw I’m sure that you knew, Andrew, but you haven’t mentioned that “Notorious” was a Hitchcock film (1946).

  7. A very ‘bitty’ solve for me, in that answers appeared randomly across the grid and only coalesced towards the end. I liked HERBICIDE, NOTORIOUS and SYCOPHANT. But I must say ‘worked for it here’ in 22, 11 made me feel a little uncomfortable. LATHI was new to me. More product placement in 17 🙂

  8. Like muffin @3 I missed the parsing of DATE and OXBOW (“oxo” was new to me) and initially tried to squeeze in “pesticide” in lieu of HERBICIDE, but I managed to get through nonetheless. As to ERINYES, last night I saw the Oresteia at the Almeida Theatre but in this updated version the challenge from the Furies was replaced by the give and take of a modern court scene.

  10. Thanks for a great blog, Andrew.

    Another excellent example of Tramp cleverly exploiting his theme to the full, while not making it essential to the solve – with the exception of ROPE, which I saw as a child and was quite terrified. [I’m looking forward to seeing our Little Theatre’s version of it next season, as I’ve not seen it since.]

    Again, too many good clues to pick out favourites [but, of course, I did like the furious women and I’m envious of acd] – many thanks to Tramp for the entertainment, which I’m glad I found time for before setting off for my weekend in Copenhagen.

  11. Thank you, Andrew, what a belter to round off the week?

    Needed your blog for the ‘no to Rio’ reference.

    New words include ERINYES and LATHI.

    Can anyone remember the attractive lady in the Oxo advert?

    Smashing puzzle, many thanks, Tramp.

    Nice weekend, all.

  12. Really enjoyed this, not least because it featured my favourite film at 4d. VERDI a bit too convoluted for my taste, and SAW with a shrug. My compliments to setter and blogger.

  13. Re 7 it is ‘bitty’ because, once again in the Guardian, the theme to which the compiler is a slave really, is mostly in the clues. So he has to find a way to shoe-horn it all in. 28 is a good example of this struggle. I think Tramp should not do this as much, because the technique is pretty good compared to most other Guardian setters for me. There were a few annoying things, but not many.

    Perhaps PeterO can say if there is an ‘accidental subjunctive’ at 9a! 🙂

    HH.

  14. I found this somewhat easier than the previous two days’ puzzles, and probably more enjoyable. “Rude” in the sense of IGNORANT makes me think of the “rude mechanicals” in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. I needed Andrew’s help in parsing that one, and I’m still not convinced about “working over breaks” as an indication that “on” breaks into “I grant”. Like ulaca @12, I found VERDI a bit too convoluted, and I didn’t much like SAW.

    My favourites were NOTORIOUS, SYCOPHANT, TRUAMA and CURACY.

    Thanks to Tramp and Andrew.

  15. 22/11 ac is it worth highlighting that ‘work for it here’ means ‘work for sex here’ i.e. use sex to get work. I disagree with you on 14ac. Reframe does not just apply to film. You can reframe an argument, for example. Otherwise, nice crossword and great blog. Thanks.

  16. This was most enjoyable, thank you Tramp. I especially liked HERBICIDE, SYCOPHANT, IGNORANT, NOTORIOUS and TRAUMA.

    I needed help with parsing WINNER, IGNORANT, and DATE, thank you Andrew.

    I was waiting for muffin to raise an eyebrow at OXO, MikeP @7 mentions ‘more product placement in 17.’
    What exactly is the policy on mentioning ‘brands’ etc? There was controversy over the Guardian policy in the Indy 8963 comments.

  18. Great fun with a nice but not essential theme, and a pleasing variety of techniques. The only surprise was that Tramp didn’t make a cameo appearance in the puzzle. Now I feel like going for a Tramp myself, taking 39 Steps at the very least.

    I was Spellbound at the way Tramp managed to get references to Hitchcock, murder, films and horror into just about every clue in some way. This was vertigo-inducing brilliance, the sort you might want to discuss with strangers on public transport. Even 3dn, with its reference to “fair got in a mess” recalled the climax of Strangers on a Train (a bit).

    I confess, I nearly sabotaged my chances by somehow assuming 1dn was ‘lass’ (something to do with using ‘cut’ for diverse purposes), but there was always the shadow of a doubt, and a little bird told me I would be the wrong man. I loved “No to Rio”!

    ERINYES was a new word for me, but cleverly and fairly clued. REFRAME worked OK for me: one can reframe a discussion or debate, which is quite distinct from the film reference in the wordplay.

    I would pop down to the cellar and ask Mother if she enjoyed it too, but the last time I checked, the lady had vanished.

    Right, to the tennis (recalling Strangers on a Train again!)

  19. A typical Tramp, with a theme that required very little knowledge, seeming hard at first but giving way at a pleasing pace – just enough to make it a bit of a challenge with plenty to entertain. Last in were SAW and SUSPENSE (I thought SAW was right much earlier but wasn’t familiar with the horror films). I’m sure I’ve seen ERINYES in a previous crossword, and there can’t be much else that fits those crossers. Liked NOTORIOUS, OXBOW, WINNER, BLUR and GROPE

    Thanks to Tramp and Andrew

  20. Thanks Andrew for the super blog.

    I wrote this puzzle in April 2013.

    Thanks for the comments.

    Neil

  23. By strange coincidence, I started this puzzle at Leytonstone tube – it’s the suburb of Hitchcock’s birth, and the station entrance is decked with murals based on his work, which I look at every time I pass (not often). So I was primed with general knowledge which I hardly needed! The more surprising, then, that the clue which gave me greatest trouble was SUSPENSE.

    Thanks Tramp for the celebration of one of east London’s greatest sons.

  24. Excellent puzzle which appeared hard at first but yielded gradually and in a satisfying manner. I loved GROPE and NOTORIOUS. I’d forgotten ERINYES and LATHI was new to me.
    Lots to enjoy.
    Thanks Tramp.

  25. I’m a little surprised that LATHI was unfamiliar to so many of you – it crops up frequently in Indian novels (and other books set in the subcontinent)

  27. I am not surprised that LATHI is unfamiliar to non-Indian readers abroad.
    One can’t expect many to pick it up from novels set in India.
    If we in India – even those in small towns – know many typically English/US/AUS terms, it’s because our newspapers carry a lot of international news and even snippets. (Apart from our reading of novels, of course.)
    By contrast, regional papers in those countries concentrate more on local news, with little international news.
    Is this assessment correct?

  28. I was going to say that I was familiar with LATHI from crosswords, but a site search hasn’t turned up many. Interestingly, the word has turned up in several FT puzzles; however I never do these!

  29. Sorry to be different, but I found this crossword very unsatisfying. Just a couple of examples: “eying” may be an alternative to “eyeing” but it’s a very odd-looking word and very rarely used in comparison to eyeing.
    The wordplay (if that’s what it’s called) in 28 across is very imprecise.
    I don’t see why a tail light is a particularly American feature of a car. Don’t British, German and French cars have tail lights?
    Sorry, that’s three rather than a couple, so I’ll stop there.
    In summary I couldn’t help thinking that this crossword shows many signs of what the estimable hedghoggy describes as compileritis. It all comes across as too contrived, somehow, and loses the fun.
    As a PS anyone who has read Orwell’s essay “A Hanging” will find the word lathi stuck in his or her mind.

  30. David and Linda @29

    The consensus on the internet seems to be that “EYING” is the American spelling, though some Americans disagree.

    I agree with you about VERDI.

    Yes, in the UK we have lights on the back of the car but we usually call them “rear lights”. I’m sure the Germans and French don’t call them “tail lights” either.

    Themed puzzles do tend to end up with at least some clues looking contrived, but some people love them. Shouldn’t they be allowed the pleasure of solving them occasionally even if some of us are less keen on them?

  31. I tend to write themed puzzle with the theme in the clues. If you don’t like them don’t do them and then everyone’s happy. According to Chambers, tail light, is mainly used in the US so I indicated it that way. Eying is listed in Chambers and it doesn’t say it is chiefly used in US.

    One of the best in the business has just messaged me to say he loved it. That’ll do me.

    Neil

    Neil

  32. Moreover, I do not think the wordplay in 28ac is ‘very imprecise’.
    OK, perhaps ‘intricate’ or ‘too convoluted’ for some.

    ‘… essentially, See Kim Novak …’ = E,I,V [multiple fodders are fine]
    then ‘… (the result) in disguise …’ = (E,I,V)* = VEI [well-accepted anagram indicator]
    then ‘… (the result) across road …’ = VEI around RD (road)
    So, there’s your VERDI, definition: ‘He noted’.

    Yes, it’s not Chifonie, agree – but imprecise?

  33. jennyk
    Occurences of “eyeing” on the Internet outnumber occurrences of eying by 23 to one. If eying were the American usage you’d expect it to be the other way around. In any case, the Guardian is a British paper, and I’d expect a crossword using an Americanism to highlight it, in line with usual practice.
    As a native English speaker I don’t see tail light as an Americanism. Taillight (without a space) certainly is, but tail light is just as understood and widely used (probably more so, actually) in British English as rear light.
    It’s a matter of personal taste, I suppose, but once one has ascertained the theme of a themed crossword, the challenge has gone – it’s merely a question of considering the possibilities associated with the theme and seeing whether they fit.
    And “etas” and “bringers”? When did you last use those words?

  34. One hears ‘bringer of joy’, ‘bringer of peace’, ‘bringer of gifts’ etc. frequently around Christmas time. Eta is a Greek letter, such letters often crop up in crosswords.

  35. David and Linda @33
    Perhaps it isn’t specifically American – I was just basing that on some of the discussions I found online. In that case, there is no need to indicate non-UK spelling. I agree that “eyeing ” is more common, but just because a spelling is used less often, that doesn’t mean it is wrong to include it in a crossword.

    As a native British English speaker, I do see “tail light as an Americanism”. Perhaps it is a generational thing.

    As for “etas” and “bringers”, most cryptic crosswords include words which at least some of the solvers will not use regularly. From yesterday’s cryptic, when did you last use “apsis” or “pasha” or “irrupts”? From the previous day, what about “louche” or “consortia” or “gnarl”? From the day before that, “finable” or “barouche”? I don’t use any of those words on a regular basis, but I don’t have any problem with meeting them in Guardian cryptics.

  37. There have been some complaints about EYING and VERDI – whatever their merits (or otherwise), both were quite easy to solve.

  39. Thanks all
    Last in was trauma, very clever.
    I also liked curacy.
    Enjoyable but I had bringing instead of bringers!

  40. Thanks all
    Last in was trauma, very clever.
    I also liked curacy.
    Enjoyable but I had bringing instead of bringers

  42. I enjoyed this as ever with a Tramp puzzle. They often seem impossible after the first pass but then, thanks to the precise cluing, they give up their “secrets”.

    Almost as enjoyable today were David and Linda. Having presented a series of specious criticisms of various clues they insisted on repeating them and adding a few more even though they had been “shot down in flames”.

    “Well done!”

    Be careful though as we have recently discovered a “troll hunter” in our midst! 😉

    Thanks to PeterO and Tramp

  43. Bringer – as in Jupiter – is fine, but bringers just sounds unnatural.
    As someone who lives in a Greek-speaking country I cannot think of how one would use the term etas as denoting multiple occurrences of the alphabetic character. Perhaps several Basque separatist organizations?
    And to answer the compiler, I’ve no aversion to themed puzzles per se. It’s a matter of execution. The Greek-themed one in the Indy the other day was excellent.

  44. Ignorant means “not knowing” and not “rude” except in common parlance. Apart from that – great crossword. Off to watch some old Hitchcocks.

  45. My thesis contained lots of etas and other Greek letters (phis, gammas etc).

    I do wish the dictionaries would stop including unnatural words.

  47. Dave in Spain @44

    Yes, you would think so – but Definition 5 is:

          5. Discourteous, rude, ill-bred

  48. I thought this one of the best Tramp puzzles for a while – which is a fairly high bar in any event.

    Hammering a theme too hard can often detract from other virtues of a good puzzle. This theme got a fair workout but the puzzle didn’t pay a price for it.

    I wonder how big a stash of already submitted puzzles the Guardian puzzle editor has.

  49. OECD, ignorant 1a lacking knowledge or experience, b uninformed; rude 3a primitive or unsophisticated, b archaic uneducated.

    ignorant 2 colloq ill-mannered, uncouth; rude 1 impolite or offensive.

    I see no problem with 7d.

    Thanks again Tramp for a most enjoyable puzzle.

  51. I love Tramp’s crosswords. He has a style all of his own and it’s refreshingly different and fun. There’s perhaps the odd bit of a stretch in the occasional clue, or a little clunkiness, but I’ll happily take that to get such ingenious and thoroughly-themed puzzles. Lovely stuff!

  52. I only got to this one late (falling behind in my duties!). Just like to say I thought it was very enjoyable. Good fun and great variety in clueing. Thanks to Andrew and Tramp.

  54. Thanks Tramp and Andrew

    Picked it off the back pile yesterday and found it the typically enjoyable experience from this setter. Was aware of the Hitchcock theme throughout the surfaces – a great feat to weave it in to so many clues! Found that I had to chip away at it throughout the day on and off and managed to finish it when stuck on a train after it hit a car for a couple of hours last night. (No casualties, thankfully).

    Finished with OXBOW (didn’t spot the Oxo), GLAMOUR and WINNER (who I had to look up) were the last few in. Needed help with the parsing of a couple – IGNORANT, OXBOW and the definition of CHIC.

    Liked the CASTING COUCH (even more so with the ‘it’ reference) and the clever and quite difficult DATE.

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