Guardian 26,887 / Arachne

52 comments on “Guardian 26,887 / Arachne”

1. So having missed out on Picaroon yesterday Arachne today must be pretty good compensation for you Eileen. Found this a very similar solving experience – plenty of entertainment and a reasonably straightforward gridfill with one or two that were tricky to parse. Too many highlights to mention.

   Thanks to Arachne and Eileen

2. Thanks Atachne and Eileen.

   What an excellent puzzle.

   I parsed 18 slightlly differently: ALDER + (with) MAST (fruit) ON (about), otherwise ‘about’ seems not to be contributing other than to the surface, which would be surprising given Arachne’s precision in clueing.

3. My reaction exactly, Beery Hiker – a fair swap indeed. 😉

4. Thanks Arachne and Eileen

   Lovely as ever – HEALTH CARE must be in the running for clue of the year; I loved lots of other constructions too, with TACTLESS a particular favourite.

   Just for once, Arachne has been a tad unfair with LIEGE; she has ingnored the H from (gung-)HO. I even looked up LEGHE to see if it was a word (taking the “is” as just linking)!

5. Thank you, Simon S @2 – I knew that wasn’t right and forgot to go back to it.

6. Certainly some very clever clues in there. Would it be carping to say that a lot of them are easily biffable though?

7. Arrrgh couldn’t see the parsing of 1a for the life of me so thanks to Eileen for that.
   The clue for exonerate is a gem and the whole puzzle exudes class.
   I solved this before visiting the Duomo in Orvieto on a cloudless morning.
   Ain’t life grand?

8. OK for some, baerchen – nice work if you can get it. 😉

9. Thanks Eileen. Yes, Arachne’s clues make delightful reading, and deliver joy. But though I liked ALDERMASTON a lot, I couldn’t justify ‘end of’ and ditto for OENOPHILE whose end half was weak. Unqualified raise for BULLDOG and (last in) TACTLESS.

10. Unqualified praise

11. Enjoy Italy, Baerchen.

    I really liked 14a NASTURTIUMS, 13d STONEHENGE (spent time looking for a Rolling Stones connection – great distractor), and 15d STALEMATE.

    Sad to say, though, I could not complete this – baffled by both 10a OENOPHILE (unfamiliar word) and 18a ALDERMASTON (have not heard of that event, even though I got the ALDER part).

    Thanks to Arachne for your web-spinning prowess and to Eileen for a most helpful blog.

12. Jason@6. Not sure I understand “biffable”? Cannot see it as predictive text for “gettable”?

13. molongo @9 – as the march was to Aldermaston, “end of” is part of the definition

14. Thanks, Van Winkle – that ties it up completely. I still couldn’t quite see it. I’ll amend the blog now.

15. Julie @12
    “Bunged In From Definition” is sometimes referred to as BIFD. Jason’s neologism might be better (though less pronounceable) as “bifdable”.

16. Great puzzle.Excellent blog.

17. This was a good workout. My favourites were PREHISTORY, BULLDOG, OENOPHILE, TACTLESS, MR RIGHT, ZERO.

    New word for me was ALDERMASTON (marches).

    I could not fully parse 18a, 2d.

    Thanks Eileen and Arachne

18. Sparkling form indeed! Given Arachne’s precision in clueing, am I right in thinking that mentioning the Rev Spooner wouldn’t have been appropriate in 1a because spoonerisms are based on sound and “dull” doesn’t sound like “bull”? Checked the def in Chambers, which goes (my italics): a transposition of initial sounds of spoken words, eg ‘shoving leopard’ for ‘loving shepherd.’

19. Quite right, blaise [but they do sound the same to some people where I live. 😉 ]

20. This baby took a long time to tuck up and get to settle in its cot, but it did eventually.

    You’d think this setter was a political animal, wouldn’t you? CND, the so-called Health Secretary, demise of the UK steel industry, Eurosceptics … can’t decide which side of the political divide she’s on, to be honest.

    Delightful puzzle. Favourite clue today ZERO, because by referencing one of the eleven ways to get out in cricket it reminded me that the Test series starts tomorrow.

    Thanks to Arachne for the puzzle and to Eileen for the blog – especially for explaining BULLDOG, which I never would have parsed in the time that it’ll take Leicester to win the Premier League again.

21. KD @20 – I liked ZERO too because the surface is so neatly constructed – for a rabbit (or a ferret), to be out for 0 would not be a cause for disgrace but to be run out (assuming it was the tail ender’s call) would be! And I loved all the parochial references in this one…

22. PS I still can’t see the word STONEHENGE without thinking of Spinal Tap – “in ancient times, hundreds of years before the dawn of ‘istory…”

23. [BH @22
    ……and their “full-scale” reproduction with feet misread as inches!]

24. That’s enough football, thank you, K’s D. I did all my 4downing here yesterday. I’m going out to lunch now.

25. Thanks Arachne & Eileen; great puzzle and blog.

    I missed the sedition in 17. So many good clues, it’s difficult to pick out the best. I did particularly like the ‘reds fan,”the end of March in 1958’ and, as Eileen remarked NASTURTIUMS. I also enjoyed the Hunt and Lawson bashing. Poor old Nigel Lawson thinks he knows better than all the scientific experts about global warming; maybe one day he’ll get it but I doubt it. BTW, the easy way to decide which way to vote in the referendum is just to look at the ‘old fogeys’ in the Leave camp! I hope I see the Farage (foreign Huguenot) and Johnson smirks wiped off their faces.

26. Thanks both. Haven’t had a chance to try an Arachne for a while, so it’s great to see that she hasn’t lost her touch. Trademark precision and wit, with nods to the scientific and political.

    Oenophile had to be looked up and was last in. Delightful word. Needed help with parsing of ALDERMASTON and EDITIONS.

    Liked BULLDOG too – pleasing to see an alternative Spoonerism indicator to the usual “Spooner’s”, but I guess she’s already used that once. It’s certainly a spoonerism in my locale, too, but if she’s anticipated potential issues with the spoken phrase then that just makes the clue better.

    Clue of the day was STONEHENGE – nice misdirection with “rock group”.

    I just hope 10a isn’t foreshadowing this evening’s match.

27. Thank you Arachne and Eileen.

    All great fun, especially BULLDOG – I could not parse it at first, then came back to it after breakfast and saw it straightaway. The term MINOR SUIT was lost on me since I do not play bridge. I was also held up by entering GROIN at 4d before remembering that “butter”.

    Too many favourites to list but, along with BULLDOG, NASTURTIUM stood out.

    Eileen, my late husband, who was from Lancashire, told me he was taught at school to pronounce the differences in the “u” sound by having to repeat “Put butter in the pudding and put sugar in the custard”.

28. I had a lot of fun with this like others, although I did my share of biffing too (EDITIONS, ALDERMASTON (didn’t know mast as fruit), TATA (didn’t know the Welsh steel company)). Thanks for the explanations.

    As ever, many of the topical references eluded me, although I certainly recognized that they were there. I’m assuming there’s a Lord Lawson who’s a Eurosceptic, right? I’m less convinced that there’s a Mrs. Patel who takes her clothes off, although that would be funny.

    Also hadn’t heard BLIMPS meaning “old fogeys,” so that was my last one in. Like so many puzzles by the more difficult solvers, I did this one from the bottom up (it takes me several clues before I’m on their wavelength, so my entree into a hard grid is usually near the bottom.)

29. Thanks to Arachne and Eileen. I didn’t know TATA (though the cluing was clear) but did know ALDERMASTON and needed help parsing RESEAL (last in). I much enjoyed this puzzle.

30. mrp @28, ACD @29 – Tata has been all over the news in Britain recently – they are an Indian company not a Welsh one! I suspect that was a write-in for many in the UK.

31. mrpenney @28, this might interest you, Colonel Blimp.

32. BH@30: Write-in indeed; it was the first I got. Being a Teessider, and one who worked for that company when they were British Steel, my reaction was “Ouch!”.

33. Let joy be unconfined! An Arachne crossword blogged by Eileen – how good can it get!

    The down side is that I was beaten by 10ac, despite answering to the description and having all the crossers. My only excuse is that “train” = “file” is a bit of a stretch!

    That and my envy of Baerchen are the only clouds.

    Thanks to Arachne and Eileen

34. A lovely puzzle. Did this very early this morning & have been out, so much I’d like to say has already been said. My favourite clue has to be 19d – so simple, yet so amusing!

    Many thanks to Arachne & Eileen.

35. Thoroughly delightful, except that file=train in OENOPHILE was too far a stretch as a synonym for me especially with a sound-alike thrown in to muddy the waters even further. But that’s a tiny quibble in an otherwise wonderful puzzle. Thanks Arachne and Eileen.

36. Excellent indeed – thanks to Eileen for her preamble that prompted me to have a go at this.

37. Wonderful puzzle. I was held up in the SW by assuming (though I didn’t go as far as filling it in) that there must be a steel company called VALE. So much for O level Latin (failed).

38. Brilliant. Missed ALDERMASTON but OENOPHILE came quickly, but thanks Eileen for the parsing of PHILE (and BULLDOG)

    Courtship threw me, as did the hyphenated lift and separates.

    Many thanks Arachne, just wonderful

39. Thank you, Eileen, lucky girl to land this one!

    Too many highlights to list so I singled out MR RIGHT, GLOAT, & EXONERATE.

    Confess to quite a few entries not fully parsed but a delightful puzzle nonetheless.

    gladys @35 Me too with the file/phile homophone but, like you, it didn’t spoil anything.

    Many thanks, spider-lady.

    Nice week, all.

40. Late again! I tackled this and yesterday’s puzzle together this afternoon. Like yesterday’s, this one was of a very high standard – I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve nothing much to add to the comments. I thought that the simple word ‘interchange’ in 1A (BULLDOG) was just right, as for many speakers it’s not a spoonerism, unlike the one in 15D. (Why interchange the first letters of BULL and DOG? Why not!)

    Thanks Eileen for the blog. I agree with everything you say in your preamble about the qualities of this puzzle. Thanks also to Arachne.

41. Another great one…much to enjoy:-)

42. A very fine cryptic, which I found easier than many Arachne puzzles, though parsing LEADEN took me quite a while, as did ‘hearing’ “close-up” in the way required. I can’t pick favourites as there are so many lovely clues.

    Many thanks, Arachne and Eileen.

43. What delights – Picaroon followed by Arachne! I thought STONEHENGE was brilliant (one of many).

    I know Arachne visits this site, having listened to her interview with David Baddiel on Radio 4, so I hope she will enjoy all the positive comments.

44. Jovis
    Absolutely. Being so busy this week I thought I was going to miss the first three days’ crosswords, but I managed to make time for Picaroon and Arachne today – and it was well worth it.
    I’ve just realised that I had overlooked ‘leads’ in the clue to 1A (BULLDOG) when I commented @40. The clue asks us to interchange the first letters of DULL and BOG, as Eileen’s blog makes absolutely clear, and the clue is perfect.

45. Simply sublime surfaces; none better than Arachne. Thanks to A & Me

46. Fat fingers; for Me read E

47. Unbelievably good – so many great clues and bringing such a freshness as well as topicality, smooth surfaces, fair wordplay. Arachne is right at the top of her game.

48. So happy to see Arachne on offer tonight and the best ever for me. Favourite was OENOPHILE, every juicy bit of it, from the def to the wordplay. I have no problem at all with either the homophone indicator or synonym. For me that was added value, not a flaw. MR RIGHT and STONEHENGE were a hoot.

    Thanks to Eileen for the blog. And for others above who filled in the UK topical references. It’s something to be able to solve from the wordplay without knowing all of them. So very fair to non UK solvers – not that I expect it to be, I enjoy learning something new. Only needed google for 18A and 21A to confirm. But I wouldn’t have got the BLIMPS reference without Cookie @ 31. Thankyou! Very interesting.

49. Nice puzzle – but I found it wuiate a bit easier than previous Arachnes. Quite a few easily biffable answers (agree with #6 – carp away if you feel so inclined) – also some of the devices we’ve seen a few times before – quadruple definitions – the tricks in 25a and 7d – still good – but no longer a surprise.

    Wearing her Green Party (she actually stood as a caondidate) her heart on a her sleeve a bit here (there’s (rather unsurprisingly)a leadership vacncy coming up there soon) I dodn’t notice a trademark use of the feminine where the default masculine is the norm – still you can’t have everything in one puzzle.

    Still a fantastic solve.

    @MrP #28 Nigel (now Lord) Lawson is a British elder statesman who was Chancellor of the Exchequer (= Treasurer elsewhere) for the Tories under Margaret Thatcher during most of the 80s. As such he presided over the “big bang” which neither he, his boss, nor the opposition – nor probably anyone foresaw the consequences of.

    As a long-time Eurosceptic he is by no means gung-ho – but he most probably would not mind the leg-pull in the clue.

    He’s also Nigella’s dad.

50. Thanks Arachne and Eileen

    Always a great combination …

    Started this one on Wednesday and got stuck with 20d until inspiration struck on the train this morning ! This was filled with clues that had brilliant surfaces with a topical summary of local happenings, a good mix of devices and just a lot of plain good fun. Looks like I forgot to parse MR RIGHT … :(.

    Think that STONEHENGE and RESEAL (once I got it) were my favourites in a very wide spread of very good clues. BLIMPS (of which I hadn’t heard of that definition before) and the brilliant HEALTH CARE were the next to last in

51. Being Arachne, I saved to enjoy at weekend. Brilliant puzzle, as ever, all ways round, but I do agree with JollyS; perhaps I know Ms Hayes’ style too well – though very enjoyable it was all over (far) too quickly.
    Huge thanks as ever.
    [Eileen – “out to lunch” yet again? You do know that it’s no shame to ask for help; I understand even some of the best people have demons to slay!
    😉 ]

52. Thanks Eileen and Arachne.

    I’m still in catch-up mode and raced through this but was completely baffled by the parsing of a few – the PHILE but if 10ac, the LE in 2dn (I’d read it as half cutting both head and when), and the whole construction of TACTLESS (which Had little confidence in).

    I really appreciate your explanations Eileen and all I can say is:

    WOW

    Terrific puzzle which I wish I’d given more time to.

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