Guardian Cryptic 26772 by Brummie

by

Took a while to get started, sped up in the middle, and hesitantly entered in the last few. Favourites were 21ac and 16dn.

There is a mini-theme of windows – COMPASS, BULLSEYE, SASH, CASEMENT, LANCET, ORIEL and FRENCH are types of window, LOUVRE is a type of window blind… and PAINT is a Microsoft Windows program?

Across
7 ETHANAL
Volatile liquid essential to Elizabethan alehouses (7)

Hidden in [Elizab]ETHAN AL[ehouses]
8 COMPASS
Comet’s gas cloud? Not quite, to go by this instrument (7)

COM[a]=”Comet’s gas cloud? Not quite” [wiki], plus PASS
9  
See 15
10 CAMBRIDGE
City approached game without energy (9)

CAM[e]=”approached… without energy”, plus BRIDGE=”game”
12 FLEET
Ships from France and Spain caught by obstruction (5)

F[rance], plus E[spana] in LET=”obstruction”
13 ROADSHOW
Hard in ways that hurt mobile campaign (8)

H[ard] inside: ROADS=”ways” plus OW=”that hurt”
15, 9 SCOT-FREE
Whisky chain ignored Frank, incurring no penalty (4-4)

SCOT[ch]=”Whisky” without ch[ain], plus FREE=”Frank”
16  
See 21 down
17, 6 FAIRISLE
 Top design just lies awkwardly (4,4)

=a knitting technique that can be used to design tops [wiki]. FAIR=”just”, plus (lies)*
18 BULLSEYE
Sweet — half a ton’s worth? (5,3)

A bull’s eye in darts is worth 50, or half a ton/hundred
20 FINAL
Ornamental topping one leaves for last (5)

FIN[i]AL=”Ornamental topping” with i=”one” leaving Edit thanks to Muffyword

FINAL[e]=”Ornamental topping” with one letter leaving
21 FLUORESCE
Rash of ulcers gets end of nose to light up (9)

(of ulcers)* plus [nos]E
22 SASH
Distinguishing feature of beauty contest winner: ostentatious walk, one yard short (4)

SASH[ay]=”ostentatious walk”, short of A=”one” plus Y[ard]
24 ACCRETE
“Grow” a cold on holiday island (7)

A plus C[old] plus CRETE=”holiday island”
25 SCOURGE
Cobalt in stream is cause of affliction (7)

CO[balt] in SURGE=”stream”
Down
1, 23 STAR SIGN
 One of 12 celebs swilling gin (4,4)

STARS=”celebs” plus (gin)*
2 CASEMENT
Seem to waver in middle of hypocritical speech for the Irish nationalist? (8)

Roger CASEMENT [wiki], an Irish nationalist. (seem)* in the middle of CANT=”hypocritical speech”
3 LANCET
Permit restricting polit­ical party’s means of opening (6)

LET=”Permit” around A[frican] N[ational] C[ongress] the South African political party
4 POT ROAST
Drug joint’s menu item? (3,5)

POT=”Drug” plus ROAST=”joint”
5 SPADES
Pack member moves earth (6)

double definition: part of a “Pack” of cards; tools used to move earth
6  
See 17 across
11 MERCILESS
Unforgiving, cut down on appreciative remarks abroad (9)

LESS=”cut down” on MERCI=’thank you’ in French=”appreciative remarks abroad”
12 FICHU
Cover for female in Pacific hurricane (5)

A triangular shawl. Hidden in [Paci]FIC HU[rricane]
14 ORIEL
Island, rock all around, needs large projecting light (5)

“light” meaning window. I[sland] with ORE=”rock” all around it, plus L[arge]
16 PIERROTS
They’re white-faced when supporting pillar crumbles (8)

a type of white-faced clown. PIER ROTS=”supporting pillar crumbles”
17 FINESPUN
Oversubtle entertainment includes hot psychic talent (8)

FUN=”entertainment” around IN=fashionable=”hot” plus E[xtra] S[ensory] P[erception]=”psychic”
19 LOUVRE
Learning about a sort of light art here (6)

LORE=”Learning” around U[ltra]-V[iolet]=”a sort of light”
20 FRENCH
Father half charms people (6)

F[athe]R plus ENCH[ants]=”half charms”
21, 16 across FACE PAINT
Self-respect and power is not something that could improve a mug (4,5)

FACE=”Self-respect” plus P[ower] plus AIN’T=”is not”
23  
See 1

53 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 26772 by Brummie”

  2. Thanks manehi and Brummie…..Fine one.
    Missed the theme, as usual 🙁
    And, left 2d open, with all crossers, not knowing Irish Nationalist 🙁

  3. Yes, thanks for the explanation of COMPASS which I couldn’t work out. FICHU was new and ETHANAL was also unfamiliar – for a while I thought there may have been a mistake but LANCET clearly was correct. Although I’d heard the word plenty of times before, I’d never really known who/what PIERROT was. One more invaluable piece of knowledge learnt from cryptics. Favourites for me were POT ROAST and FINESPUN.

    Nice theme – I missed out on PAINT which I agree does count.

    Thanks to Brummie and manehi

  5. Thanks Brummie and manehi

    Very enjoyable, with particular favourites FINAL and ROADSHOW.

    I don’t see how 5d gives the plural SPADES when both the indicators (“pack member” and “moves earth”) indicate singular entities.

    Apart from that, the only weak one was POT ROAST, in which there isn’t a distinction between the “roast” as a joint, and as a “menu item”. For example, if the solution had been “roast”, would “joint’s menu item?” have been a satisfactory clue?

  6. Re Muffin@5
    I took the pack member to be the suit rather than an individual card and moves earth as a verb. It works for me, anyway.
    Thanks to S & B.

  7. Rullytully @6
    I can just about accept your first point (though “spade suit” would make more sense as a singular member), but not the second – a spade moves earth; spades move earth.

  11. Thank you, manehi, nice job finding COMA.

    Unfamiliar with FINESPUN – nice word.

    Failed on Mr CASEMENT – *SEEM was easy enough but thought ‘rant’ was the container and so couldn’t find anything to fit.

    Not yet completed a Brummie.

    Nice week all.

  12. Muffin @ 7: I agree with you about SPADES and POT ROAST – my feelings precisely. Missed the theme as always. Thanks to Brummie, and to manehi for parsing COMPASS, which eluded me.

  13. Thanks Manehi and Brummie
    An enjoyable puzzle. I got the theme but missed some examples so thanks for the list.
    Re 11d, I read this as mercis (plural) around (on?) ‘less’ (down?) cut to ‘les’.

  14. Thanks Brummie and manehi.

    Caught on to the window theme, which did not help with 21a! By the way, a LOUVRE window has no glass, just slats that can be set at various angles to control light/air entry and keep out the rain – they are common in the Caribbean.

  15. must say, ‘ethanal’ threw me somewhat, having only ever seen the -OL ending.

    Thanks Manehi for some helpful explanations.

    and Brummie of course.

  17. AdamH@15 I think Ethanal is C2H3OH whereas Ethanol is C2H5OH, its a long time since O level Chemistry.

  18. Ethanal is still better known as acetaldehyde, though this hasn’t been the “correct” name for more than 50 years.

  19. Thanks Brunnie and manehi

    Another variation on 11D: how about to MERCI LESS – to say thank you less often – to ‘cut down on appreciative remarks abroad’. A little whimsical perhaps, but it would not surprise me if that was what Brummie had in mind.

  21. William @20

    I do not see why. Perhaps I might have made it clearer by making my linking interpretation as – to say fewer thank yous -.

  22. This one felt quite educational, with a few less than familiar words, largely straightforward but a little tricky to finish. COMPASS was last in – COMA was new to me so I couldn’t parse that. Missed the theme but I don’t think it would have helped much. I parsed MERCILESS the same way as PeterO @19.

    Thanks to Brummie and manehi

  26. Thanks to Brummie and manehi. Like others I had trouble parsing COMPASS, and FICHU was new to me (though I did eventually see the hidden clue). ORIEL and CASEMENT were last in – with the latter I did parse it thanks to the crossers and checked it on Google thereafter. Overall, I found this puzzle difficult, especially at the outset (I had a very slow start), but well worth the effort.

  27. Missed the windows. Decided 8a had to be COMPASS without being able to parse it, and was then very puzzled trying to force HOG to have a drug connection. Funny how hard it is to get back on track having jumped to a false conclusion! At least I saw ESP in 17d quite quickly, so wasn’t tripped up there. (Hello, Tony Pay@25. How are you?)

  29. I found this quite tough but managed to finish it with help at times from reference sources. I haven’t heard of BULL’S EYE (18A) as a sweet or ‘finial’ (in 20A) as anything, but like all other clues they were solvable, and it was only my own ignorance that slowed me down.

    Brummie used an increasingly popular device in 20D (FRENCH), requiring us to manipulate (‘take half of’ in this case) not a given word (‘charms’) but a synonym (‘enchants’) of a given word. It is analgous to indirect anagrams, which are very common now. Well, I suppose anything is ok if it can be explained satisfactorily, but I think the example in front of us is a bit weak.

    5D (SPADES) was readily solved, but it doesn’t work. Any correction would spoil the surface, of course, and I agree with what muffin said in posts 5 and 7.

    I agree with PeterO (and others who followed him) on 11D (MERCILESS). That clue works well in my opinion.

    As always, I missed the theme! However, this is one of the best of recent puzzles, and I enjoyed it very much.

    Thanks to Brummie and manehi.

  30. I don’t often cmment on this site, though i visit it quite often, because I hardly ever tackle the crossword until lunchtime with my wife and it all seems a bit late after that. (We’re still on the paper version by the by.) However I did want to say hopw sad I was to read about the whole incident with Hedgehoggy, including his immensely dignified and brave final post. I very rarely agreed with him and it did seem that many of his ideas were not applicable to the Guardian crossword but, for heavens sake, why do people – even a minority – feel to do any more than disagree from time to time? There seems to be something about the web that encourages people to forget that other contributors are human beings – the anonymity of pseudonyms probably doesn’t help – and perhas all of us need to remind ourselves of this from tiem to time.

    Related to this, Ximenes was always completely Ximenean: I remember him half-apologising in his monthly prize crossword comments for a clue he used once: “What the non-top-tical feel on the bottom.” (It was, of course, a down clue.)

    Today’s crossword from Brummie seemed easier than some of his contributions and we finished it before the washing-up. I remembered fichu as a word without knowing its meaning and confused it in my mind with a similar sounding word that I can’t pin down that is – or perhaps was – a sort of very lightweight multi-person shelter to take on mountain trips – it was held to the ground only by the weight of the people shaltering. Can anyone remember the actual word?

  32. Bob Langton @31
    It’s remarkable how often one of my posts misses out a “n’t” too – I wonder if the site filters them? 🙂

  33. I parsed MERCILESS as PeterO and I’d stand by that. Mind you I also had FENG SHUI for 17dn which I was distinctly iffy about and,no, I didn’t get the theme although finally getting ORIEL did make me wonder.
    I made rather heavy weather of this but I can’t hold the setter responsible for that.

    Thanks Brummie

  34. Thanks Brummie and manehi. As usual I was unable to complete a Brummie but one day, one day. I usually don’t comment either but am sufficiently irked to come out from behind the bushes. Who has let their toddlers mess with the print settings yet again? Until earlier last year it was possible to print the quick and the cryptic either in landscape or portrait using one page. Then it could only be done in portrait. From today it seems impossible to do either except by printing the PDF, which is ok if reading and writing tiny print is your thing since it’s not fitted to page. Sudoku also went funny some time last year and print now does the text but bizarrely not the actual puzzle. The PDF shows a giant puzzle but not the text. Could I ask any Guardian person reading that the messing about stops? The FT has no problems in printing full page versions of its crossword and doesn’t keep fooling about with things. Ask them how to do it perhaps.

  35. Hazzabean @34
    Umm – I printed it (in portrait) from Chrome on one page without having to fiddle with any settings. What browser are you using?

  36. Hazzabean @ 34: I’m on a Mac and it’s been a problem for months, but today I used the Print function and it came out on one page for a change.

  37. As usual, I missed the theme, even though I realised that some of the answers are windows. I didn’t get FINESPUN, which was new to me. ETHANAL was new too, but that had to be right and searching online confirmed it. I interpreted MERCILESS as PeterO suggested @19.

    Like muffin and others, I don’t think SPADES really works. I’ll also quibble over FAIR ISLE, which I thought of a few times, but didn’t enter until I had all the crossers because I didn’t feel “top design” really workes Yes, the Fair Isle technique can be used to design tops but there is no specific link between Fair Isle knitting and tops. It is also used for a lot of other items (tams and mittens particularly). I suppose it is just a case of knowing too much about a specialist subject and cringing when technical terms are used in a misleading way, so it remains a quibble rather than a serious complaint.

    Favourites are COMPASS, FLUORESCE and FACEPAINT.

    Thanks to Brummie and manehi.

  38. Hazzabean @ 34

    Are you opening the pdf in your browser or in a separate reader?

    I download the pdf from Firefox into Foxit Reader and it prints well enough, though over the last week or so it has been smaller than it used to be. I haven’t tried fidling with the printer settings yet.

    From various comments here and on the graun site I suspect it may been down to individual permutations of OS, browser, pdf reader, and possibly printer as well.

    That’s one of the problems facing website designers these days, the sheer multiplicity of ways their product can be accessed.

    hth

  39. jennyk @37
    I sympathise with your “specialist knowledge” of knitting. I do cringe when scientific terms are used loosely or incorrectly!

  40. …………I did appreciate “ethanal” rather than “acetaldehyde”, though the latter would have been a bit of a challenge as a “hidden”, I think!

  41. Bob in 30, I think the bivvy tent you are thinking of is called a kisu, which is very appropriate considering how cosy they are.

  42. To all who replied. Thanks. I am using win10 and tried Chrome, my regular, and when that failed I tried IE then Firefox with similar results. I used the browsers’ PDF renderers as I’m already sick of having to use more than 1 app with the Sudoku, first printing the text only, downloading the jpg of the actual puzzle, print out the text, put the paper back in the printer, load Word and insert the jpg in a suitable place in a blank document, resize it, then print again. I’m not new to computers and as I say I’ve been printing with no problems until last year when the portrait/landscape and sudoku problems arose. I could live with that but something changed between yesterday and today and printing was even more of a pain.
    I’ve just switched from my iPad and booted up my desktop to try again and it seems to be back where it was yesterday. Not perfect but workable. Time for the darkened room and Nursie to bring the tablets.
    Thanks again to all who replied.

    Grumpy

    Scotland

  43. To me FINESPUN at 17d means “subtle”, without the pejorative implication of”over”.
    5d had to be SPADES but I needed manehi to explain how it could be a singular noun.Thank you.

  44. Thanks for that. I posted this under hh’s last post:
    I, too,hope that hedgehoggy won’t go. I, too, agreed with many of his criticisms. I think the problem is the bluntness with which some of them were expressed. It’s a proverbial problem with communication on the internet – you can’t “see” the other person who is commenting and therefore have no cues about their behaviour other than the face-value of their words. I would hope that, on this site no-one’s views are intrinsically more valuable than the rest. And nasty ad-hominem comments like those directed against hh (and a few by him) should be cut by a moderater.

  45. I,too,hope that hedgehoggy’s won’t go. I, too, agreed with many of his criticisms. I think the problem is the bluntness with which some of them were expressed. It’s a proverbial problem with communication on the internet – you can’t “see” the other person who is commenting and therefore have no cues about their behaviour other than the face-value of their words. I would hope that, on this site no-one’s views are intrinsically more valuable than the rest. And nasty ad-hominem comments like those directed against hh (and a few by him) should be cut by a moderater.

  48. John McCartney @46

    Today’s blog must be nearly dead by now, but I would just like to echo pretty much everything you said. There have been several offensive posts over the last few days, of which the ad-hominem ones were the worst, but one of the good things about this site is that they are seized on by others, reason almost always prevails, and the offender often acknowledges the offence and the hurt caused.

    The site administrator, who is the moderator on this site, has to intervene from time to time, but not often. Almost all posts are kept, I believe (that’s something to bear in mind when posting!), and I respect the moderator’s practice of minimal intervention. The incident that is the subject of your post is clearly a major one, and collectively we have struggled to deal with it, but I think your point of principle (“no-one’s views are intrinsically more valuable than the rest”) has been upheld.

    Like you, I hope HH returns. One contributor has asked the site administrator to email HH privately and give him a flavour of the responses he has had to his ‘sign-off’ post. I would echo that too.

  49. Thank you for your helpful advice, Julia. I have been buying the Guardian daily for over 50 years. Amazingly I might want to do the crossword at the same time as my wife reads the paper. Or do you think I should buy 2 copies? And perhaps the Guardian ought to close its website altogether and reserve its wonders for cash only customers.

  51. Thanks Brummie for a good challenge and manehi for a great blog.

    Came here to understand the parsing of COMPASS (thanks) and FENGSHUI (dammit!)

    Must be getting ‘parsed’ it!

  52. 14D “Island, rock all around, needs large projecting light (5)”
    Never heard of an oriel window. I thought it was ‘MOVIE’ which seemed a clumsy clue but sort of worked, so I struggled for ages with all the wrong crossing letters.

  53. Thanks Brummie and manehi

    Still working through some of the Christmas period backlog and did this one today. Was able to do most of it in my lunchtime break and finished the last few on the train ride home.

    Found it at just the right difficulty level … helped along with some recent puzzles – e.g. the Easter Rising puzzle made CASEMENT a lot easier than it could have been and PIERROT has turned up a few times as well.

    Liked the mixture of devices and some nice misdirection. Absolutely missed the Windows theme !!!

    Finished in the SE corner with SCOURGE, FINAL (with its previously unheard of ‘finial’) and FINESPUN (that I actually used a word finder for – could see the FUN bit … but for the life of me couldn’t work out the middle part).

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