Guardian Cryptic 26761 by Screw

by

The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26761.

I think that this is Screw in a somewhat unbottoned mood – not that it is that much easier than his previous offerings. I found it most enjoyable.

Across
1 SHTICK
Act as Bond, Connery-style? (6)

STICK (‘bond’) as Sean Connery might render it.
5 KEYPAD
On which 747 is sir given important place to sleep? (6)

A charade of KEY (‘important’) plus PAD (‘place to sleep’). On a telephone-style keypad, the letters S I R are under the numbers 7 4 7.
8 SAPHEAD
One who’s not shocked left out idiot (7)

Two uncommon words for the price of one: S[l]APHEAD (a bald person; ‘one who’s not shocked’) minus the L (‘left out’).
9 MACHINE
When there’s a loud boom, I must replace old device (7)

MACH ONE (the speed of sound, ‘when there’s a loud boom’) with I for O (‘I must replace old’).
11 CHEMICAL TOILETS
More than one can camp to go on (8,7)

Cryptic definition (or two?).
12 LOIS
Lane possibly leads to lake, one in Surrey (4)

First letters of (‘leads to’) ‘Lake One In Surrey’, for Superman’s main squeeze.
13 OPPRESSING
Work records what bully’s doing? (10)

A charade of OP) (‘work’) plus PRESSING (‘records’).
17 RIGAMAROLE
Process to fix a part for mother? (10)

A charade of RIG (‘fix’) plus A MA ROLE (‘a part for mother’).
18 T-BAR
Tower on slope — start climb via door at the rear (1-3)

Last letters (‘at the rear’) of ”starT climB viA dooR‘. The ‘tow-er’ is on a ski slope.
20 STRING ORCHESTRA
Those bowing to rich strangers post acrobatics (6,9)

An anagram (‘post acrobatics’) of ‘to rich strangers’, with an extended definition.
23 SECONDS
One hand indicates this, another helping (7)

Double definition: the first, the hand of a (non-digital) watch, the other, a helping of food.
24 ARCHERY
Sport that woman needs bow to start, close to body? (7)

A charade of ARC (‘bow’) plus HER (‘that woman’) plus Y (‘close to bodY‘), with an extended definition.
25 INSECT
Batting order for cricket? (6)

A charade of IN (‘batting’) plus SECT (‘order’). The question mark is for the indication by example.
26 THORNY
Difficult defendant finally up for it (6)

A charade of T (‘defendanT finally’) plus HORNY (‘up for it’!).
Down
2 HAPPENING
In on (9)

A double definition, the first in the sense of fashionable.
3 IBERIA
I live by narrow inlet somewhere in Europe (6)

A charade of ‘I’ plus BE (‘live’) plus RIA (‘narrow inlet’).
4 KIDNAPPER
One captures Farage fan getting in with revolutionary (9)

An envelope (‘getting in’) of DNA, a reversal (‘revolutionary’) of AND (‘with’) in KIPPER (a political supporter of UKIP, ‘Farage fan’).
5 KEMPT
Course on leaving it tidy (5)

KEMPT[on] (horse racing ‘course’) without ON (‘on leaving it’).
6 YUCKIEST
Most horrible keys I cut in error (8)

An anagram (‘in error’) of ‘keys I cut’. I think the definition applies to the answer all too well.
7 A-SIDE
Single bananas I declined to bag (1-4)

A hidden answer (‘to bag’) in ‘bananAS I DEclined’. Not an anagram in sight.
8 SECULARISTS
They reject religion, as its rules start to cause riots (11)

An anagram (‘riots’) of ‘as it rules’ plus C (‘start to Cause’).
10 EAST GERMANY
Old country festival loads get to begin entering (4,7)

An envelope (‘entering’) of G (‘Get to begin’) in EASTER (‘festival’) plus MANY (‘loads’).
14 RELUCTANT
Dodgy clue time! Shout about it being unenthusiastic (9)

An envelop0e (‘about it’) of ELUC, an anagram (‘dodgy’) of ‘clue’ plus T (‘time’) in RANT (‘shout’).
15 IN-BETWEEN
Been? I went dancing neither before nor after (2-7)

An anagram (‘dancing’) of ‘been I went’.
16 EMINENCE
Rapper detailed new intros to copyright every note (8)

A charade of EMINE[m] (‘rapper’) minus the last letter (‘detailed’) plus N (‘new’) Plus CE (‘intros to Copyright Every’).
19 VELCRO
Unravel crossword in which there’s something to get stuck on (6)

A hidden answer (‘in which’) in ‘unraVEL CROssword’.
21 RECON
An American’s observation of cheat, not for the first time (5)

RE-CON (‘cheat, not for the first time’). RECON as an abbreviation for reconnaissance is a primarily US military usage.
22 ONSET
Start both notes off — and tones (5)

An anagram (‘off’) of ‘notes’ or ‘tones’.
completed grid

44 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 26761 by Screw”

  2. Thanks, PeterO.

    I didn’t find joy in any of this. I couldn’t see much meaning in the surfaces of 11a, 5, 10 and 22d.

  3. Thanks Screw and PeterO
    The more of this I did, the less I enjoyed it. I agree with Dave Ellison about the nonsensical surfaces. I found myself consulting Chambers more frequently than usual, more than once fruitlessly. RIGAMAROLE isn’t in – the net says it’s an “alternative spelling, chiefly American”. SAPHEAD is in, but only as “the furthest point of a sap”. RIA isn’t a “narrow inlet”, it’s a drowned river valley (Plymouth harbour is one, for instance). “Kipper” = “Farage fan – really? Rant = shout? Eminem?
    I did like MACHINE and INSECT.

  4. I’m with Dave and muffin. I’ve never heard of RIGAMAROLE. I didn’t find the definition (if that’s what it was) at 11A convincing. And I’ve never heard a Farage fan called a “KIPPER” (as opposed to a UKIPPER).

  5. Thanks PeterO
    We have had a debate about RIGAMAROLE before so it’s not a case of déjà vu. Back in March 2014, Quixote used it in an Indy puzzle (#8555) with the clue being “Garbled nonsense from the old woman in capital part (10)”. As I indicated at the time, the entry can be justified as it is given as an alternative spelling in Collins. Anyone interested in the original comments can see them here.

  7. Thanks Screw and PeterO,

    This was very hard for me, but I did like the “batting order for cricket?”!

    muffin @3, COED gives ria n. Geog. a long narrow inlet formed by the partial submergence of a river valley.

  8. Very glad that copmus got here first – I agree with him that this was a great puzzle. Particularly surprised by Dave Ellison’s description of it as “joyless” – understand that Screw’s style won’t be to everyone’s taste, but there was grin after grin where I’m sitting. Both 5s particularly brilliant, and for those that love economy, it won’t get much better than 2.

    “Kipper” for UKIP supporter is in very common usage.

  9. Made a mess of SE corner with DESCRY instead of VELCRO and TRYING instead of THORNY – both seemed just about OK. Found it hard work to start with, but with some good clues such as KEYPAD, KEMPT, SAPHEAD and KIDNAPPER. Thanks to Screw and PeterO.

  10. Thanks Screw and PeterO

    I’m very much with copmus and Mitz on this, I thought it was tremendous. I’m slowly getting used to Screw’s style, and enjoy each new puzzle more than the last.

  11. Glad it wasn’t just me. Not much fun had here, but admittedly I had to give up after a while. Now that I’ve been through the whole thing, I see that much of it I might have got with enjoyment if I had persisted (perhaps) and if I hadn’t been so put off by clues like 2d and 11ac which even when I see the solutions nothing happens. When he’s good (if Screw is a he) he’s very good, but he’s wildly inconsistent.

  12. Thanks Screw and PeterO. I thought it was a clever crossword and far from joyless, but a little stretched in places. There were lots that I liked, in particular 18a, 25a, and 2d. There were also a few that I didn’t, chiefly 11a. I guess we have to interpret it as “More than one can [for] camp to go on”, but it doesn’t feel very natural.

  13. Surfaces? Well, Screw’s style is sometimes a little surreptitious, which can make things more difficult than they otherwise would be. This can be seen to an extent where the Pasquale clue for RIGAMAROLE is compared to today’s much harder one, which is nontheless exactly the same in its parsing.

    The word itself is odd, but Collins has it, so fair play I’d say.

    Happy Crimble to all btw.

  14. The SE corner was pretty straightforward by Screw standards, but it took me ages to see how the NW worked – SAPHEAD was the key to that though KEMPT was last in. Plenty of entertainment and cunning misdirection. Tiicked MACHINE, STRING ORCHESTRA and THORNY. I’d never seen that spelling of RIGAMAROLE but that was very clearly clued despite not being in Chambers…

    Thanks and Happy Christmas to PeterO and Screw

  16. Ed @15
    This comment, along with your previous two one-word submissions (“Ludicrous” and “Rubbish”) is hardly constructive. Please take a minute or two to read the Site Policy, particularly para 2.

  17. Thanks to Screw and PeterO. I had great difficulty getting starting but, from previous experience, I know I have to persevere with this setter. Lots of terms were new to me. I did not know slaphead-bald, so that “sap” in SAPHEAD only emerged from the crossers. I missed UKIP-kipper and pressing-records, and did not know the Kempton course, though I did eventually get KEMPT, OPPRESSING, and KIDNAPPER.

  20. I found this quite difficult but far from joyless. I haven’t really got to grips with this setter’s style but I rather enjoyed trying. The best clues tended to give me the most trouble- SAPHEAD, LOIS,SCHTICK. The last two made me smile. I suppose RIGAMAROLE was a bit naughty but I did eventually work it out from the wordplay.
    I think Boris Johnson was the one who introduced KIPPERS to the mainstream. I suppose he’s got to be good for something!
    All in all quite satisfying in the end.
    Thanks Screw

  21. Great blog PeterO! I would never have parsed 5a in 100 years!!
    I had key??? and daybed in my head :-(.
    Found this hard with top half having gaping holes. Still getting used to Screw…Thanks to both of you.

  22. Got the SE corner (eventually) and very little else. I really needed the blog today!

    I think this is the first Screw I’ve seen (as I’ve explained before I have only recently returned to cryptics after a lengthy break). S/he certainly seems to have a different style although I don’t think I could put my finger on exactly what the difference is. The clues all seem fair once they’ve been explained, but still hard to get my head around. As ilippu @21 implies, this setter will take some getting used to!

    Thanks to Screw and extra special thanks to PeterO.

  24. Could one of the brainy people who inhabit this site please explain how 16dn EMINENCE = NOTE? I can see ‘notable’ or ‘of note’ or ‘notability’, but not NOTE. Apart from that, quite witty but with ludicrous surfaces.

  25. Thanks all
    Favourites shtick and thorny.Failed with kempt and a-side.
    I solved happening quite easily and soon without really understanding it!

  26. cholecyst @24

    If you wade through ‘note’ in Chambers, you will eventually find EMINENCE, which, as a synonym, is OK by me. Of the equivalents you suggest, notable is an adjective, whereas EMINENCE is a noun; “She was a person of eminence / She was a person of note” identifies EMINENCE with ‘note’, not ‘of note’; ‘note’ can be synonymous with notability.

  29. A really enjoyable puzzle. Very difficult but also lots of satisfying a-ha moments.

    The only surface that is really perhaps too clunky is 11A. However I suspect that SCREW submitted “More than one camp can to go on” and by some miracle this typesetting error slipped through the superb editing regime of the Guardian crossword. 😉

    No problems with RIA as SOED has

    ria ?ri:? ? noun. l19.
    Physical Geography. A long narrow inlet of the sea formed by partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley.

    I suspect a lot of the comments are just sour grapes as the puzzle was too difficult for the complainants! (I’ve put my tin helmet on. 🙂 )

    Thanks to PeterO and Screw

  30. This was too difficult for me to solve without help. I was completely stuck on four interlocking lights in the NE (5a, 9a, 5d, 7d). DH kindly read the blog and gave me a hint for 5a (the ‘nerdiness’ of the wordplay). After bouncing some ideas off him, the penny finally dropped for that one. With those additional crossers, the rest fell quickly.

    It wasn’t one of the most enjoyable crosswords I’ve done but I did love some of the clues, particularly ONSET, RELUCTANT, VELCRO and SECONDS.

    Thanks to Screw and Peter.

  32. For ria, Chambers has “a normal drowned valley”. It might be narrow, but certainly doesn’t have to be – Plymouth and Falmouth harbours certainly aren’t, so any dictionary that defines “narrow” as being an essential component is mistaken!

  34. It has been interesting to read the mixed bag of reactions to this puzzle. I found it quite challenging but managed to complete it. Last in were 5D and 5A, neither of them with any conviction, although when I saw the explanations I had to kick myself.

    I really enjoyed most of the clues, the setter’s ingenuity showing up here and there in delightful ways.

    However, I agree with those who have drawn attention to some strange or ‘clunky’ surfaces that could have been improved to make them ‘more natural’ or to make the intended cryptic device work better.

    The DD in 11A would have been more convincing with a simple change, e.g.

    More than one can go here when outdoors. (8,7)

    although I note Brendan thinks the original clue could be a simple misprint. There were a few others that I think could have been better constructed, but this is a minor quibble and does not detract from the fine variety of misdirections and other cryptic devices Screw has deployed so well.

    Thanks Screw and PeterO.

  35. Great crossword. There is nothing wrong with the surface at 11a. I had a mental image of a party halfway up Everest; some are flagging and are allowed to camp in order to complete the trek.

    People are sometimes too quick to criticise surfaces.

  36. Muffin @32

    I have found at least 3 dictionaries which use the word “narrow”.

    As it is a drowned river valley it is not surprising that narrow is used. The original erosion was performed by a river which do tend to work in a linear direction! As opposed to sea erosion which does tend to work on a broader front owing to it’s orientation to the coast!

    Consequently the shape of a ria is usually narrow when compared to natural sea erosion. Hence the word narrow is used to distinguish it from a bay for instance.

    Despite all this we are in “crosswordland” where the terms of reference are surely dictionaries! Any cries of “the dictionary” is wrong do tend to sound a little desperate. 🙂

  37. Tramp @35

    Great crossword – quite right. Surface of 11A OK – quite right.

    I just thought you were a bit too quick to defend 11A against some observations made on it. (By the way, I did not and would not criticise the surface. I don’t know if your generalisation included my post.) The cryptic device that appears to have been used is the double definition. PeterO wondered how the second definition is made. I wondered too – hence my attempt at an improvement @34.

    Having said that, I apologise for my careless attempt at an improved clue for 11A. (I copied the wrong line from my back-of-envelope scribbles.) The second definition in my clue is a definition by example, but it lacked a ‘?’ or a ‘possibly’ to indicate that.)

  39. Thanks Screw and PeterO

    Thoroughly enjoyed this … a testing challenge and quite a few nods of appreciation as the penny dropped with the cryptic thinking involved. Particularly good were KEYPAD, MACHINE and THORNY.

    Having said that, there was one that I completely failed to parse – KIDNAPPER – could find Nigel Farage as the leader of the UKIP, but couldn’t take the leap of faith to KIPPER. Also sloppily failed to break ARC HER in 24a.

    Finished in the NE with SAPHEAD (both new words to me), the brilliantly economic HAPPENING and SHTICK (which brought a laugh as I had to trawl the way Sean Connery would say it from the memory).

    Hard it was … joyless … far from it !!!

  41. Brendan @36
    It’s rather like having a definition of SWAN as “large white waterbird”. No matter how many observations of white swans you make, one black swan demonstrates that the definition is wrong.

    In fact, the rias on the south coast of England are generally broad; Langstone and Portsmouth harbours in particular are massive.

    I would call any narrow inlet a “creek”.

  42. P.S. You’re giving examples of dictionary definitions; I’m giving examples of the things they are defining. Surely if there is a mismatch, the definitions are wrong?

    Lanstone Harbour is as near as dammit square (look at a map) – it can’t possibly be described as “narrow”!

  43. Muffin @42

    I know that you realise that a dictionary definition is a generalised definition of the way a particular word is used when the dictionary is published.

    Therefore it will describe the majority usage of a particular word. If that entry refers to something tangible in the real world that doesn’t change anything as the dictionary only reflects usage of the word.

    Crosswords use dictionary definitions.

    If one wants to found out about something tangible one uses an encyclopedia. (Or the internet 😉 )

  44. Thanks PeterO and Screw.

    Late to the party as ever. I found this a mixed bag. Really liked CHEMICAL TOILET, THORNY and ONSET, found others clunky – or even clumsy.

    I was beaten by KEYPAD, KEMPT and A-SIDE in the NE which – from reading the blog – are excellent clues. so that’s my failing.

    I’ve had better Screws, but no reason to complain!

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