Guardian 26,807 / Orlando

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Anyone looking for a gentle lead-in to the new week is going to be disappointed today. However, those who prefer not to have a surfeit of double/cryptic definitions will be pleased.

I though this one was a little more difficult than Orlando usually is, but no less enjoyable, and I was glad of the opportunity to blog it.

Across
8 Composer’s displaced river birds (8)
BITTERNS – BRITTEN’S (composer’s) with the R (river) moved (displaced)

9 Whack? What about bandage? (6)
SWATHE – SWAT (whack) EH (what) reversed (about)

10 Belt around waist, initially thrown out (6)
SPEWED – SPEED (belt) around W[aist] (waist, initially)

12 Year said to be turning, possibly (1,4,3)
I DARE SAY – an anagram (to be turning) of YEAR SAID

13 Slippery character not first in list (3)
EEL – [h]EEL (not first in list)

14 Holy men pocketing millions for harvest festival (6)
LAMMAS – LAMAS (holy men) around (pocketing) M (millions)

16 Doting marshals dote best (8)
BESOTTED – an anagram (marshals) of DOTE BEST

17 Director backing Britain? Jolly good fellow! (7)
KUBRICK – UK (Britain) reversed (backing) BRICK (jolly good fellow)

20 Extremely deficient personage trained animals (7)
ONAGERS – an anagram (trained) of [p]ERSONAG[e] (extremely deficient personage)

23 Mad Max — or spy getting  fit (8)
PAROXYSM – an anagram (mad) of MAX OR SPY

24 Small bird bagged by lord right away (6)
PETITE – TIT (bird) in (bagged by) PEE[r] (lord right away)

26 Not even a worm turned for an early bird (3)
MOA – A [w]O[r]M (not even a worm) reversed (turned)

27 Game allowed to get in the way (8)
ROULETTE – LET (allowed) in (to get in) ROUTE (the way)

28 Acquire / pass (4,2)
COME BY – double def.

31 Slippery character was confused with 13 (6)
WEASEL – an anagram (confused) of WAS EEL (13ac)

32 Bird in grass moving quietly (8)
STEALING – TEAL (bird) in SING (grass)

Down
1 One procuring ice cream wrappers in shopping centre (4)
PIMP – I[ce crea]M (ice cream wrappers) in [sho]PP[ing] (shopping centre)

2 Empress of Blandings, say, impressing leader of the pack (4)
STOW – SOW (Empress of Blandings, say) around (impressing) T[he] (leader of the)

3 Police Sergeant collaring primitive people easily shocked (6)
PRUDES – PS (Police Sergeant) around (collaring) RUDE (primitive)

4 Bestial wild flower (7)
ASTILBE – an anagram (wild) of BESTIAL

5 Bumble’s law repeatedly favoured killer (8)
ASSASSIN – ASS ASS (Bumble’s law repeatedly) IN (favoured)

6 After a drink, drunk is unassailable (10)
WATERTIGHT – WATER (a drink) TIGHT (drunk)

7 Bird getting round in sport (8)
WHEATEAR – HEAT (round) in WEAR (sport)

11 Chap ignoring a flipping tree (3)
ELM – M[a]LE (chap ignoring a) reversed (flipping)

14 Table knives slice dough for Albanians (3)
LEK – hidden in (slice) ‘tabLE Knives’

15 Just about me? (4,2,4)
MORE OR LESS – me is more less or (m[or]e)

18 Not being admitted, woman swore (8)
UNAVOWED – UNA (woman) VOWED (swore)

19 Chromium and yttrium salts formed regular structures (8)
CRYSTALS – CR (chromium) Y (yttrium) plus an anagram (formed) of SALTS

21 Petition for canal not to be closed (3)
SUE – SUE[z] (canal not to be closed)

22 Plunge in river cut short after one minute (7)
IMMERSE – I (one) M (minute) MERSE[y] (river cut short)

24 Agreement reported in full (6)
PACKED – a homophone (reported) of ‘pact’ (agreement)

25 Chiller regularly seen in kitchen (3)
ICE – [k]I[t]C[h]E[n] (regularly seen in kitchen)

29 Soft centre with bit of liqueur inside (4)
MILD – MID (centre) around (with … inside) L[iqueur] (bit of liqueur)

30 Dishonest / proclivity (4)
BENT – double def.

39 comments on “Guardian 26,807 / Orlando”

  1. This was more tougher and more enjoyable than the usual Rufus (I’m not a fan) so thanks all round. Slight correction needed to your comments on 18d, though, Gaufrid.

  3. We really enjoyed this. An unusual grid, with so many 3 letter words. Harder and more fun than the usual Monday breakfast fare.Last one in, and one of the best was 8a bitterns. Liked the bird theme. 17a Kubrick was easy, but nice. Thanks Orlando and Gaufrid

  4. Thanks Orlando and Gaufrid
    Odd one. The LHS went in easily, but for a long time I had very little on the RHS (and one of those was a misplaced LEK!) I confess to finding the Check button useful today, as more than once I had some of the right parsing, but not all – for instance I tried to put E first and H last in 9a; I tried STARLING for 32a, and so on.
    Good value, though, with more clues than we are used to.

    (Type in your answer for ASTILBE, Gaufrid.)

  5. Thanks, Gaufrid.

    Lovely puzzle from Orlando – great to see him back in the Cryptic slot. Many thanks to him.

    Favourite clues 1dn and the laugh-out-loud 15dn. I liked the Mad Max clue, too, and the new slant on the beloved ASSASSIN. [I discovered that Dickens’ Bumble was not the first to say ‘The law is a ass’ – see here:
    http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-law-is-an-ass.html ]

    [Gaufrid, you have a small typo in 4dn – ASTILBE.]

  8. Thanks muffin & Eileen. Typo corrected (I’ll blame the bright sunlight shining on my monitor for not spotting it whilst proofreading).

  9. Yes, definitely not Rufus (I don’t think he would have included ASTILBE and ONAGERS) but not too taxing. Favourites were MORE OR LESS (thanks Gaufrid for parsing), PAROXYSM and KUBRICK. Many thanks to O and G.

  10. Lots to keep you on your toes here. Loved the economy and wit of many of the clues — my favourite was 7d. Welcome to the Monday slot, Orlando, and thank you, Gaufrid.

  11. Great change for a Monday esp with a full-strength Orlando- any dissappointed Rufuphiles still have Dante in the FT.
    Thanks for blog. Blandings my favourite clue-I’m gonna buy the series.

  12. Promised Mrs T this morning that I wouldn’t be long on the crossword as it’s Monday as it’s always an easy start to the week. Didn’t quite work out like that, with plenty of food for thought.

    MORE OR LESS was a cracker, and generally there were lots of inventive ideas to get one’s teeth into. I’ve just about got to appreciate what Rufus does, but it made a nice change to have something more typical of the rest of the week – there would have been no grumbles if this were a Thursday, say.

  13. Thanks Orlando and Gaufrid.

    Great to see Orlando in the Cryptic spot. I really enjoyed this, even though I first entered SNEAKED at 32a and tried MOKE for 29d, of course they would not fully parse.

    I parsed 13a as (k)EEL. MORE OR LESS was beyond me, I tried to work in ORLando!

  14. Enjoyed this a lot, but found it a lot tougher than we normally expect on a Monday. The NW corner gave me most trouble – ASTILBE was unfamiliar and BITTERNS was last in – took me a long time to think of the right composer. Favourite was MORE OR LESS.

    Thanks to Orlando and Gaufrid

  15. Thanks to Orlando and Gaufrid. I took a while before seeing ASTILBE (new to me), MORE OR LESS, and BITTERNS (my last in) but much enjoyed this one.

  17. Economical (as maysie said @10), precise and very enjoyable.

    Clues rarely come more economical than 15D (MORE OR LESS). I don’t rate this the best, though, by any means: it was easy enough, because the phrase readily comes to mind on seeing ‘just about’, but you absolutely have to get the phrase first and then see what ‘me’ means. I know some people enjoy that a lot (I see Eileen did!).

    Just one other observation: I think 13A (EEL) could be either ‘heel’ or ‘keel’ minus its first letter.

    Many thanks to Orlando for a well-crafted crossword and to Gaufrid for the clear (and economical!) blog.

  18. Cookie @13

    I now see that you also thought of EEL (13A) as ‘keel’ minus its first letter: I didn’t spot this on my first scan of the blog when I posted @17.

  19. Orlando was a pleasant surprise – loved MORE OR LESS. Thanks for finding the missing head of the EEL – I suspected REEL but HEEL fits better. Not that happy with the vague “bit” of liqueur – could have been any of 6 letters – but that’s a very minor quibble in a fun puzzle.

  20. @ Alan and Cookie
    I had yet another parse of 13: rEEL. I was thinking of “reel off” for list, so I suppose reel on its own doesn’t quite work. Thanks, Gaufrid, for the real parse 😉
    Thanks also to Orlando for a fine puzzle.

  22. Anyone else try that other well known film director, KURMACE (UK reversed, RM = jolly, ACE = good fellow)? No?
    As others have said, a nice change from the regular Monday slot, and much more to my personal preference.
    Thanks all.

  23. I enjoyed this (although I prefer fewer three-letter words). Thanks Orlando and Gaufrid.

    There have been no eyebrows raised about the indirect anagram in 8a – are these now generally acceptable? BITTERNS seems to me to be fine…you get the birds from the crossers, and an aha moment with Benjamin B (or at least I did). But I wouldn’t want anything much more oblique than that.

  27. I liked this. Not the easiest solve I’ve experienced but none the worse for that. As a Wodehouse devotee I found STOW both easy and amusing. I liked ASSASSIN too, and KUBRICK,and-and–. Too many to list really.
    I parsed EEL as rEEL which I thought O.K. but I see that hEEL is better.
    Thanks Orlando.

  29. Hi rob @28

    I wondered that for a minute this morning, then the penny dropped. Think of heats / rounds in a knock-out competition.

  32. Another impressive crossword from a setter who we see perhaps more often in the Quiptic slot than in the dailies nowadays.
    That said, after some gap years, he is kind of back in the FT (as Cincinnus) and, as Orlando, still around though less prolific than in the past.

    My LOI was BITTERNS (8ac), clever!
    15d (MORE OR LESS) was indeed a wonderful clue.
    But sometimes great minds think alike.
    17 Jan 2013, Loroso (aka Anax) had this one in the FT: “As good as me? (4,2,4)”.
    My memory is still working fine, so finding 15d was not much of a problem.

    Good puzzle.
    And if anyone missed Rufus, just have a go at today’s FT (as Copmus said @11) which features Rufus’ alter ego.

    Thanks Gaufrid.

  33. A pleasant change to have a “real” puzzle on a Monday. (I’ve already put on my tin helmet but hopefully it’s late enough for nobody to notice!)

    I’d never heard of ASTILBE but it was fair enough as there were so many crossers. (Naturally this was LOI as penultimate was BITTERNS)

    I also didn’t like “bit of liqueur” for “l” but it does give a nice surface. 🙂

    Thanks to Gaufrid and Orlando

  36. Thanks Orlando and Gaufrid

    Finished this one late last night … and the normally tricky little three-letter jobbies were my springboard into the puzzle – LEK being first in.

    Do like this setter’s crisp and precise style with all of the standouts having already been called out. Nice to see the once famous ONAGER making an appearance in crosswords again – have seen him in a number recently. It used to be a well used animal in puzzles once!

    Finished in the NE corner (has been a trend of late) with STOW (after looking up what an ‘Empress of Blandings’ might be – have never read a Wodehouse), PIMP (tricky but good) and the very clever BITTERNS as last in.

  38. Pedants’ corner here, I’m afraid. But I must point out that in 17 across, UK and Britain are not synonymous. The UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Crossword setters are far from the only people to get this wrong. Athletes from Northern Ireland competed in the Olympics as part of team GB, for which they are not technically eligible. Team UK would have made more sense.
    I’m very aware of this as my wife is from Northern Ireland and we lived there at one time.
    It seems a minor point to many, I’m sure, but it does irritate when this mistake is made. It’s not as bad as the assumption that England = Great Britain or the UK but it is still wrong.
    Apart from that, I did enjoy the crossword very much.

    David S

  39. Thanks Gaufrid and Orlando.

    We’ll that was a bit different for a Monday ranging from the simple to the sublime – I too had MORE OR LESS as a favourite.

    DavidS, to be fair to Orlando, he/she did put a question mark after ‘Britain’ in 17ac – I took this to indicate that it is oft stated incorrectly (as in team GB which must be really irksome).

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