Guardian 26,799 – Screw

52 comments on “Guardian 26,799 – Screw”

1. Thanks Screw and Andrew (in difficult circumstances)
   I was forced to do this in the paper, but the clues seem the same as you have given

   I often don’t like homophone clues, but 7d and 27a made me laugh.

   I guessed the long one from the crossers, then wrote out the “anagram”. After crossing out all the letters in the first two words, I found that I had “given by” left over!

   I didn’t parse CUTE – I wondered if it might be something to do with “cutting” drugs.

2. Clearly some technical difficulties at the Guardian offices this morning – my iPad edition of the newspaper refused to download (although updates to previous editions were downloading fine).
   I’ve bought a paper edition, but the solving will now have to wait.

3. Thank you Andrew but your link to the pdf does not work (for me)…I get this;

   This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.

   Any ideas?

4. Hi Andrew

   Commiserations – I don’t know who I feel sorrier for – you or Screw.

   If you’re still there, no need to worry while you’re out.

   21ac same in paper version – minus brackets.

   Three more changes – but in definitions, not wordplay, so your blog stands:

   5dn: ‘target of mine’s’ for ‘Copper produced from this’
   17dn: ‘drama queen’ [ still in brackets!] for ‘she might run’
   19dn: ‘with residency overseas’ for ‘one who’s not legally a resident’.

   Hope that’s all!

5. William @3 – try this:

   https://crosswords-static.guim.co.uk/gdn.cryptic.20160205.pdf

6. 24d is MINIVAN with MIN (minute=60s) taken off.

7. PGreen @5 Perfect, thanks for your trouble.

8. Homophones can be dodgy but the Y-FRONTS and BACTERIA were good groan-inducing examples of the form. Drama queen for producer though? I’m not into am-dram so wouldn’t really know, but it seems a bit harsh.

   BIKING and FRIEND were good clues too. A bit tough in places but a good workout.

9. Nice puzzle – couldn’t parse a couple and struggled with the NW corner (NUDIBRANCH and BIKING) but got there eventually. Many thanks to Screw and Andrew.

10. Thanks to Screw and Andrew, and Van Winkle @6 for the parsing of IVAN.
    I have worked with a few 17 downs, and I don’t remember any drama queens! Directors, maybe

11. Thanks Screw & Andrew.

    Paper and pencil and no Czech button – a new experience. Shame about the cock-up as it’s a very good crossword. Trailman @8, the drama queen seems to have been changed to ‘she might run.’

    I liked the greatest lover of all and the sommelier’s slur, among others.

12. Hi Robi @ 11

    ‘Drama queen’ is the paper [ie ‘correct’] version – see my comment @4.

13. Thanks Screw and Andrew
    And thanks to van Winkle re 24d. I’ve fallen for that trick before!
    I did the paper version and took ‘drama queen’ as a Rufus style cryptic def. for a woman in charge of a play.

14. I should add that I much enjoyed the puzzle including the homophones.

15. Re 24d

    I thought the I was from the registration number plate. My first car was an M Escort.

16. NNI@15: Looking in out of curiosity, I wondered the same thing, but the letter I was not used as a year identifier, the prefix going straight from H to J on 1 August 1991.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_the_United_Kingdom,_Crown_dependencies_and_overseas_territories#Year_identifiers

17. Tragic that we had to wait so long for this splendid puzzle. Loved 22 and the long one, and 27(CotD and lol!) Delay made me realise what a gap this online publication would leave should it be discontinued. More cheerfully, thanks to Screw/Donk and Andrew. PS I saw 24 in the same light as Van Winkle.

18. Eileen @12; yes, I did it using the paper version but you can’t always be sure that that one is correct. I see the corrected web version is now displaying.

19. The version I have following the link is different again! On the newest version, 19d is “National banks eschew London male who’s not legally a resident” (answer is still NON-DOM) – I assume that’s N (national) + ONDO (London without its end letters) + M (male)

20. Another excellent puzzle, and another excellent week. On the whole this was slightly easier than yesterday’s Donk, but similarly full of devious misdirection and entertainment. Last in was BIKING – could have guessed that earlier but needed the crossers. Nothing too unfamiliar, though NUDIBRANCH was only familiar from previous crosswords, most recently Paul’s “Back horse with one limb, “Sea Slug”” (25625). Favourites were POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD, DESTITUTION, NON-DOM (the Johnny version not the bowdlerised one) and FRIEND.

    Thanks to Screw and Andrew

21. … oh and CUTE was cute too…

22. … but the newspaper version of 19d was one of those rare clues with alternative solutions that fitted even after crossers (CONDOM and NON-DOM), so I can see why it would have been edited out.

23. Van Winkle @22
    The newspaper gave it as (3,3), so CONDOM wouldn’t work

24. Oops!

25. I did this in the paper on my return from the gym so I was completely unaware of the problems others have experienced!
    This was OK although I didn’t manage to parse everything- Y FRONTS completely eluded me. A brilliant clue now I’ve read the blog. Loved BACTERIA,NOBODY and BIKING(LOI). I didn’t know NUDIBRANCH so had to resort to Mr Google!
    Thanks Screw.

26. another great puzzle from Screw. Hugh has had his Y fronts on a short spin cycle though, Arachne used the same idea in December.
    Failed on BIKING, sadly, so thanks Andrew for that.

27. Well, what a shame the puzzle was still being edited and proof-read so late in the day, and I sympahise with the blogger as well as the setter. Certainly in the paper version that I have a few clues looked as though they still needed some reworking.

    There was plenty to enjoy, though, and my highlights were 11A (NUDIBRANCH), 22A (TROUBADOUR), 2D (NOBODY), 13D (SUBSTATION) and 9D (NON DOM).

    I sort of get BI-KING at 1D, but I don’t think it works, 14A is ambiguous (but many of you will be happy with that), the definition in my version of 17D (PRODUCER) is doubtful, and I don’t think 6D (CUTE) quite works. Because of the editing problems, perhaps not all of these niggles may be fairly directed at the setter!

    Other than that, the variety and the originality in the clues made this an entertaining puzzle and a rewarding brain exercise.

    Congratulations, laced with commiserations, to Screw and Andrew.

28. Thanks to Screw and Andrew. I got to this puzzle late after the on-line version finally appeared. As usual with this setter there were terms new to me that stopped me for a while (DERV, NUDIBRANCH) though I did know Y-FRONTS from a previous puzzle and I needed help parsing CUTE, FRIEND, and BIKING. Overall, out of my comfort zone so a challenge.

29. Thanks to Eileen at 4 for listing the differences between the published version and mine – I’ll update the blog accordingly.

    Thanks also to van Winkle for explaining IVAN; and to PGreen for correcting my duff link to the PDF (which, by the way, is still the uncorrected version).

30. Re 20d: I’m guessing there’s some hoary old crossword convention here of which I’m unaware, because I don’t get the ‘in China’ reference.

31. China is abbreviated Cockney rhyming slang (China plate) for mate (or friend).

32. Thanks Alan – I should have pointed out the China = mate = friend link in my explanation.

33. RH@30. If you’re still there: “China plate” is Cockney rhyming slang for mate = friend.
    Enjoyed this puzzle a lot. And coming to it late, in the paper version, was untroubled by all the problems. Lots of wit and fun on display, despite a couple of tenuous connections. I couldn’t parse CUTE for example. Thanks all.

34. Thanks to you all for the ‘China’ reveal from this non-practising Cockney.

35. Why is a producer a ‘drama queen’? Seems oddly vindictive.

36. MartinD @ 35
    “Queen of the drama” possibly? (I wasn’t convinced, either!)

37. Thanks Screw and Andrew, and Van Winkle for the parsing of 24d, minIVAN.

    This puzzle was great, only NUDIBRANCH was new to me, but I needed help with some of the parsing, in particular Y-FRONTS, CUTE and IVAN.,

    Philip McMahon, one of the developers at the Guardian, has apologized for the delay.

38. Thanks Andrew!

    It was a good Screw notwithstanding the problems 🙂

    Had to come here to learn parsing for many clues.

39. Well as I never start the crossword before 6:00pm all the drama eluded me. (I had noticed at 8:00am that the online version was still showing yesterday’s puzzle as I always look first thing to see who the setter is.)

    It does appear though that the “final” version isn’t perfect. (Whether this was technical, newspaper staff or editor problems we’ll never know!)

    However I did enjoy this excellent puzzle. Only marred by two weakish definition at 1D and 17D in my opinion.

    Some clever cluing here some of which may have been a little advanced for a weekday offering. Not that I’m complaining, quite the opposite in fact.

    Thanks to Andrew and Screw

40. It was certainly an entertaining and challenging puzzle, once it finally appeared. I couldn’t parse CUTE or the I in IVAN. For 10a/18a/28a, I initially ended it with GONE BAD, but once I solved the anagram part, I recognised the right phrase.

    Favourites include the long phrase, DESTITUTION, NON-DOM (“residency overseas” version) and SUBSTATION. I didn’t like the sexism of DRAMA QUEEN and BI-KING (the BI-QUEEN might be the best lover), but perhaps that was deliberate to provoke “PC gone mad”?

    Thanks to Screw and Andrew.

41. Jenny @40

    Where is the sexism in DRAMA QUEEN. (Unless of course you are referring to the anti male variety. Which of course is quite acceptable as we men are more balanced 😉 )

42. I thought that this was a bit of a curate’s egg – some (to me) clunky definitions, 2D, 3D, and 5D for example. Can someone tell me to what POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD is a defence? To me it is more of an accusation.
    Thanks to Screw, to Andrew, particularly for parsing 20D, and to Van Winkle for 24D. I have to admit that MINIVAN was never likely to surface when dredging for a vehicle.

43. B(NTO) @41
    Producers aren’t (or aren’t always) drama queens in the usual sense, so if it is meant as the “queens of drama”, then as you said, it’s anti-male sexism and therefore still not acceptable unless it was tongue-in-cheek.

    Pino @42
    When people make accusations about PC gone mad, they are often doing so because they are defending themselves from accusations of sexism, racism or other -isms. “Yes I made a sexist/racist joke but don’t you have a sense of humour? It’s PC gone mad!”

44. Drama queen and bi-king – superlative gender equality.

    Superb puzzle.

    Thanks to Screw and Andrew.

45. Sorry — late to the party, so I expect no one will read this. Generally a fine crossword with many clever but clear clues. My only quibble is with 19D. Neither “not legally a resident” nor “with residency overseas” is an accurate description of “non-dom” status. I think the setter is confusing it with fraudulently claiming to be resident abroad, rather than claiming to be domiciled abroad while legally resident in the UK. There is quite a distinction, but unfortunately not one that is within the wit of headline writers to make, so they both get tarred with the same brush.

46. JennyK @43

    I think you missed my point which was not very well put. I believe Screw is being the reverse of sexist here. In fact I believe he is doing an Arachne in cluing a feminine wordplay for a generally intuited masculine definition.

    So “Drama Queen”= feminine and is also a nice misdirection as in this sense “Queen” means “leader”. This defines Producer which is has a masculine suggestion even though there thousands of females doing the job. 🙂

47. Pino @42

    Regarding the long phrase at 10A. Indeed, ‘defence’ alone doesn’t work at all as a definition. Andrew in his blog suggested an ‘&lit’ here. I’ll quote it as it is so far up the page(!)

    “sort of &lit, referring perhaps to Prince Philip’s notoriously un-PC remarks”

    I think (1) he’s right and (2) it’s the only way I can get it to work.

    Hope this helps.

48. Ian SW3 @45

    This is even later, so this won’t be read even if yours is!

    Obviously “not legally a resident” had to be corrected, and I thought the version in my print edition, “one with residency overseas” [ignoring the comma after ‘one’], was ok. I solved it without thinking there was anything wrong with it.

    For my own enlightenment, can you explain why the revised definition is also wrong? Thanks

49. Sure. Residency is, generally speaking, determined by where one happens to live from time to time (and during a particular tax year). Domicile (to cut a long story short) is the place one considers one’s permanent home, the place one always intends to return to, whether or not in a given tax year one actually resides or even sets foot there. The UK tax status usually reduced to “non-dom” in the headlines is more fully “resident but not domiciled in the UK.” It used to be that persons in that category (which includes most foreign workers in the UK expecting to be here only for a number of years) were not taxed on their foreign income unless and until they brought it into the UK. Nowadays, the opportunity to benefit from this status are more limited than they once were. In any event, a “non-dom” is by definition legally a resident of the UK. It is irrelevant whether he has a residency overseas or not.

    Most of the stories I see in the papers of people abusing the tax residency rules, however, involve people who seek to conceal or lie about how many days they spend in the UK or what other connections they have. These people are not claiming to be resident but not domiciled in the UK; they are claiming (fraudulently) to be non-resident. They could not be described as “not legally resident” (unless, in typical cryptic style, it is meant they are in fact resident and are acting illegally). They might well be claiming to have a residency overseas, but they are not “non-doms.”

    Now you can see why the writers of newspapers or hosts of television debates never get very far explaining the issue. Who would read or listen long enough to understand it? It must be harder still for the poor crossword compiler to find a succinct and clever way to indicate the concept. Perhaps “one who doesn’t feel at home,” or “one who wishes he were far away”?

50. Ian SW3 @49
    Thanks for that, Ian – both interesting and informative. Next time I read about the tax claims of people from outside the UK, I’ll try to make the distiction between claiming to be non-resident and claiming to be non-dom.

51. Thanks Screw and Andrew
    Always seem to be late for the puzzles at the end of the week, but what a treat to get to early this week !!! There is a high quality list of setters in the Guardian stable at the moment.

    There was a rich mix of clue devices used here, with the cute CUTE ranking high in my favourites. Had not seen a CONDOM being called a ‘Johnny’ before and had not heard of the flash name for a sea slug.

    Had no idea about the minivan parsing at 24d – having the VAN part was enough to know it must be right though.

    Finished mainly in the NE with NUDIBRANCH, the humorous BIKING and BANDANAS the last in up there. The cleverly defined SUBSTATION was the actual last of all.

52. Thanks Screw and Andrew.

    What a shame this was messed up by the publishing and editing errors.

    I printed the pdf on Monday night which still had 288 at 10ac, the square brackets at 21, the ‘she might run)’ definition at 17 and my clue for 19 reads:

    National banks eschew London male who’s not legally a resident.

    …..which I parsed as an anagram of ONDO (London without the banks – N&L – of National) plus M – but that still left me looking for another M. As they would say in Private Eye “shurly shome mishtake (ed)”.

    So that all made a tough challenge even tougher.

    Thanks for explaining IVAN, CUTE and FRIEND.

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