Guardian Cryptic 26,936 by Tramp

by

Very enjoyable – many favourites: 1ac, 20ac, 23ac, 28ac and 16dn.

Across
1 ANTIDEPRESSANTS Treat sadness with pills primarily in jars? (15)
(Treat sadness p[ills] in)*
9 FINE ART Match frames to hand painting? (4,3)
FIT=”Match”, framing NEAR=”to hand”
10 SWEATER Top one worrying? (7)
SWEATER=someone sweating=”one worrying”
11 SEE Make out with date (3)
double definition
12 SCREWDRIVER Do motorist: drink shows up (11)
SCREW=”Do”=have sex with; plus DRIVER=”motorist”
13 ON THE LEVEL Open Hello! — event getting spread (2,3,5)
(Hello event)*
15 ASAP Son stops drivers parking right now (4)
S[on] inside A[utomobile] A[ssociation]=”drivers”, plus P[arking]
18 SAND Centre to massage with rub down (4)
the centre of [mas]S[age], plus AND=”with”
20 WATERMELON Plant with a label and band name (10)
W[ith] plus A plus TERM=”label” plus E[lectric] L[ight] O[rchestra]=”band” [wiki] plus N[ame]
23 DIMENSIONAL Order online: ad is about male concerned with length? (11)
(online ad is m[ale])*
25 ACT Court following a law (3)
C[our]T following A
26 RETSINA Sending back case, not opening wine … (7)
[c]ANISTER=”case” without its opening letter, and reversed/sent back
27 CHIANTI … check one against another? (7)
=another wine. CH[eck] is a chess abbreviation, plus I=”one”, plus ANTI=”against”
28 REGISTERED NURSE Tender working with surgeries? (10,5)
(Tender surgeries)*
Down
1 AFFUSIONS Baptisms of fire, at the start USA’s in round (9)
(of f[ire] USA’s in)*
2 TANGENT Touching man below belt (7)
GENT=”man” below TAN=”belt”=beat
3 DRAGSTER Drive with more speed, no top covering German racing car (8)
DR[ive] with [F]ASTER=”more speed, no top” around G[erman]
4 PETER Time to look outside cell (5)
slang for a prison cell. T[ime] with PEER=”look” outside it
5 ELSEWHERE Masters entry with sheep, most of flock breaking away (9)
I think this is Ernie ELS [wiki] who enters the Masters tournament, plus EWE=”sheep”, with HER[d]=”most of flock” breaking inside
6 SIERRA Range Rover, initially following Queen as one shot bears (6)
R[over] following ER=”Queen”, inside (as I)*, where I=”one”
7 NATIVES Cornish town: its leader is not available for locals (7)
ST IVES=”Cornish town”, with its leader S replaced with N[ot] A[vailable]
8 SORER More angry really about royal (5)
SO=”really” plus RE=”about” plus R[oyal]
14 ERADICATE Remove poster found in Morecambe by end of June (9)
AD=”poster” in ERIC Morecambe [wiki] the comedian, plus AT=”by”, plus [Jun]E
16 PINSTRIPE Cut up rubbish suit (9)
SNIP=”Cut”, reversed/”up”; plus TRIPE=”rubbish”
17 EMULSION Muse close to Lucian smeared with oil paint (8)
(Muse [Lucia]n oil)*, where the n is the closing letter of Lucian
19 NAME TAG Security person turned over identification (4,3)
GATE MAN=”Security person”, reversed/”turned over”
21 LEARNER Student and lecturer to make most of time (7)
L[ecturer] plus EARN=”make”, plus ER[a]=”most of time”
22 UNDIES One pegs out pants (6)
UN=dialect [or French] for “One”, plus DIES=”pegs out”
23 DURER Midge swallowed by medic, an artist (5)
Albrecht Durer [wiki] is the artist. Midge URE [wiki] is a singer, inside D[octo]R=”medic”
24 NICHE Hotel in good position (5)
H[otel] in NICE=”good”

52 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 26,936 by Tramp”

  3. Thanks Tramp and manehi

    I thought that the two 15 letter clues were brilliant.

    The bottom went in quite quickly, though not without some question marks; the top took much longer. I had never come across AFFUSIONS, so I needed a wordfinder for that one. I didn’t parse ELSEWHERE totally either.

    Question marks: 11a the “with”, needed for the surface, spoils the cryptic grammar; 6d I can’t make any sense of the surface reading; 16d PINSTRIPE isn’t a suit – a “pinstripe suit” is a suit, but calling a suit a pinstripe makes no more sense than calling it a velvet!; finally a minor point – there’s no indication in 22d that the “one” is French, so your “dialect” interpretation might be fairer.

  4. Thanks Manehi – I think you’ve missed the theme which coincides with today being the start of the Open at Troon. Many golf references in the clues – Open, Masters, sand, drive, match, top one, drivers, round, range, cut, and we may have missed others. Very appropriate crossword – thanks to Tramp too.

  5. Thanks for the blog

    I wrote this puzzle relatively recently. Unusually for me, I was pleased with it and so I asked for it to be used next; I’d forgotten about the Euro puzzle which is why the last puzzle appeared on a Monday. There is no intended theme to this puzzle. Any references to golf are coincidental.

    The original clue for 4d was: “Time one goes outside cell” but I had used up my quota of scatological clues so Hugh rewrote it.

    The original clue for 5d used “Swinger” to define ELS, however, in a recent puzzle, I tried to use that same device and Hugh thought it was too loose: I actually think it’s ok. Anyway, I was pleased when I came up with the revised: “Masters entry”.

    “Pinstripe” can, informally, refer to the suit itself. Check Chambers.

    The “with” in 11a isn’t ideal but I don’t think it is incorrect: <definition> with <another definition>. Not ideal but “with” is not a word that serves no purpose, in my opinion.

    One is “un”. I’ve used that a few times before. I used to indicate that it was northern usage until someone on here told me that it is sufficiently well-known elsewhere to not need the regional indicator. I agree.

    I think the surface of 6d is fine. I picture queen out shouting bears with a Range Rover following behind.

    Have a good ‘un

    Neil

    Ps I really have to stop reacting to criticisms

  8. Cookie @6 (and Tramp @5)
    I don’t understand that, or rather, I don’t agree with that definition. You wouldn’t refer to a “velvet” or a “Harris tweed” to mean a suit, would you? Pinstripe is just a type of material from which a suit (or many other things) could be made.

  9. Thanks to Tramp and manehi, and double thanks to Tramp for dropping in@5.

    Overall a great puzzle which yielded slowly, as a good puzzle should.

    I needed help parsing 1a (I was looking for the definition) and 8d.

    With regard to to 12a, I think there is a more polite interpretation than Solana79 suggests at the Guardian website. You can “do” someone financially (as in conning or duping them) as well as sexually. Not sure which one Tramp meant.

  10. muffin @8, I often heard my mother and father using the term.

    “Independent traders and investors are reportedly able to earn a shed-load of money on the stock market. With the internet, there’s no need to spend your whole day sweating through your pinstripes at the London Stock Exchange anymore, either. You can potentially earn a mint (or lose it, for that matter) from the comfort of your own bed.”

    This is from COVERED mag

  13. Some brilliant clues here eg 1a,12a,23a,28a,2d. Liked ‘Masters entry’ for the ubiquitous Ernie too.

    Can’t see anything wrong with 16d. ‘Will you be wearing the pinstripe today, sir?’

  14. I thought this was a fantastic puzzle.
    @muffin
    I hate to intrude into your private grief, but pinstripe is a pattern, not a type of material, and I don’t think Tramp should be held accountable for your issues with Chambers, however valid they may or may not be

  15. Thank you Tramp for a brilliant puzzle and mahehi for a super blog.

    I, too, had to check AFFUSIONS on the web, not in my dictionaries, nor can I find it on Site Search, perhaps it is a first? beery hiker may be able to enlighten us.

    The clues for ANTIDEPRESSANTS and REGISTERED NURSE were great, and I also liked the clues for RETSINA and CHIANTI among many others.

  16. I can make lots of things out of velvet (though most likely not a suit), but what else is commonly made from pinstripe cloth, Muffin? Likewise, if I hear someone say, “He is wearing Harris Tweed[s],” I picture a suit, don’t you?

  17. I couldn’t get onto Tramp’s wavelength at all. Finally gave up and left quite a few in the top half unsolved – 3,5,6,7,8d and 10,12,13a.

    Of the clues that I solved, I could not parse 22d, 20a, 9a, 1d, 1a.

    PETER = prison cell was new for me. My dictionary says it is Aust/NZ – but I have never heard that term before. (I am from Oz)

    Thanks Tramp and manehi

  18. Thanks manehi and Tramp for the puzzle and popping in here.

    I thought there was going to be a drinks theme after getting RETSINA, CHIANTI & SCREWDRIVER. At least Neil has pointed out that there is no deliberate theme.

    I can’t see anything wrong with pinstripe=suit as it’s also in the ODE, which tends to have current usage: ‘a double-breasted navy pinstripe.’

    Lots to like, DRAGSTER was particularly good, I thought.

  20. Thanks, manehi, for the blog and Tramp for another super puzzle.

    Rather late with this: I had a lengthy response to muffin’s quibbles and, by the time I’d finished writing it, discovered that Tramp had already replied. [Don’t stop, Tramp – it’s always good to hear from you!] That was exactly the picture I had in mind for 6dn – loved the ‘one’s’!] Then I ‘had to’ go out for coffee.

    muffin – I wonder if you have a pair of chinos?

    As so often, I share manehi’s favourites – and I also liked 23dn very much.

    Thanks again, Tramp – most enjoyable.

  22. Robi @19, thank you, my Collins is the “compact” one, so rather small, but I was surprised that my COED did not give AFFUSION. I seemed to remember Eileen mentioning the word a while ago, that is why I tried Site Search.

  25. [The sad thing, Eileen, is that the last Beelzebub has probably been “published”, not that I would ever have reached that level!]

  26. Michelle @17: I know PETER = (prison) cell from a very rude song called ‘The richest ******* family in the land’!
    I will get out more – in 3 months’ time!

  27. Thanks to Tramp and manehi. I had more trouble than usual with this puzzle (I usually have better luck with this setter) but did get through. I had difficulty parsing several items: I did not know Midge Ure for DURER; I took a while before seeing St. Ives for NATIVES; I got LEARNER but not the various elements, especially “er/a”; and last in (after lots of staring) were SAND, SIERRA, and particularly UNDIES. Still very enjoyable.

  28. There’s another sense in which pinstripe = suit. If we talk about company bosses, business types, etc., we may well refer to them as the suits or the pinstripes.

  29. Found this very hard. AFFUSIONS was last in – I was unfamiliar with that and semi-cheated it. A high quality puzzle with plenty of chewy wordplay, and a couple that should have seemed much easier than they did.

    Thanks to Tramp and manehi

  30. Cookie @15 – Yes, I can confirm that AFFUSIONS was a first time solution, but not the only one – ACT, DIMENSIONAL, DRAGSTER, FINE ART, NATIVES and SORER were the others.

  31. Thanks both.

    In parsing 12ac, both ‘screw’ and ‘do’ are used to mean defraud or twist. ‘Do’ for have sex with seems very old fashioned. I don’t think I’ve heard it that way since about 1964.

  34. Great fun. Hard but fair. Affusions gave us Fine art, last in. Thanks Tramp and Manehi.

  35. Thanks all
    Strange how different we can be, TM I solved fine art almost first but struggled with effusions.
    Favourite was 25ac.

  36. A great puzzle, very satisfying to solve. It felt really fresh and original, containing many far-from-familiar solutions.
    The first element of 22d, however, could do with expansion. UN is ONE in French and in some dialects, usually written as ‘UN. Neither the French word nor the apostrophe was indicated here, which was a pity. Maybe I’m pedantic (I know I am!)…..it was still a cracking solve. Thanks to Tramp and Manehi.

  37. I found this quite hard especially the top half. I loved SCREWDRIVER which I remember because of a rude joke involving a man repairing a car.I’m sure I needn’t go on, and there was a lot to like despite my slowness. I didn’t see a problem with PINSTRIPE when I entered it and I don’t now- even if I don’t have much faith in Chambers. AFFUSIONS was new to me and it took me a long time to get, but the cluing was fine.
    Generally enjoyable despite the above.
    Thanks Tramp

    P.S. How can Jeremy Hunt still be in a job?

  38. Aren’t 1 and 28 ac &lits? Otherwise there’s no definition in either case.
    I don’t understand 7 dn. Since there is no instruction to take away the ‘s’, “not available” must be doing double duty.

    Peter @ 37. What about Boris??

  39. jaceris @ 38

    Yes, I took them as &lits, which is why I thought they were so good.

    “Its leader” (S) is “not available” (NA)? I think that works.

    Faced by overwhelming uninamity, I withdraw my objection to “pinstripe” = “suit” (fingers crossed behind my back!)

  42. Yes, “affusions” was a new one on me too. Was there anyone who already knew the word? (I’d never heard of Midge Ure either.)

    I found this very hard — I only got two or three words in before I went to sleep last night.

    In 3d, I think the definition of “faster” is “with more speed”, not “more speed.”

    What is Site Search?

  43. With 1 across Tramp has tried to get &lit but the part of speech suggested by the clue is wrong. I would expect a verb rather than a noun. To be honest, SSRIs are not pills in jars anyway. I should know!

    28 is a lot better, but in UK there are no registered nurses. Add to that a problem with what RNs actually do in America or Australia, and the difficulties mount! Are they ‘in surgeries’? Well, maybe. In UK they’re not anywhere.

    This is a good puzzle, with some clues I enjoyed solving. No disrespect, but when they do ‘clever’ clues maybe compilers need to do their research.

  44. To answer the question ‘What is Site Search?’ in #42 above.

    If you want to check if a certain word such as EFFUSIONS has already been used in any of the crosswords analysed here, please see the input box ‘Site Search’ under the calendar on the right side of this page.
    If we enter a term and hit the button ‘Search’, the results are returned.

  45. For the record, 1a was originally this:

    Treat sadness? Pills primarily in jars?

    Hugh changed it. His version is smoother but, as I pointed out twice, it’s not obvious that the answer is a noun which is why I think my version is better. I think the question mark shows that the pills might not be in jars.

    At the risk of sounding big-headed I think 28a is a good clue. The question mark indicates that the definition is a bit tongue-in-cheek. I do try to do research where I can.

    Neil

  46. In case Tramp, a great compiler and personal favourite, is still about, I hope this offers some reassurance (which he shouldn’t need….!). I’ve made this point before (with Screw amongst others); it often seems that the best puzzles receive the most quibbles here. If the alternative is blandness, thank goodness for crosswords that provoke pointless complaints!
    This was a super puzzle, worthy of a Thursday, which I thoroughly enjoyed – without reservation.
    Many thanks. And to manehi, of course.

  48. [Oh! it is Neil, it really is. I enjoy more artistry from some of your creations than I do from many lauded poets and painters, and know I’m not alone. As one who is setting the standards these days, you should not be allowed to stop!! I’m no anal nerd, but I actually keep copies of all your puzzles (and Arachne’s) with the best of others’ with which to whet the appetite of friends and acquaintances – whom I deem worthy – many of whom never visit online forums. Our amazing language, and its younger fans, deserve your like. I predict a time, not far off, when solving a classic Tramp will be part of an enlightened school syllabus. No joke! Wx]

  49. Perhaps a bit late but I would like to echo William’s praise!
    We even thought it was one of Tramp’s very best.
    No theme standing in the way [I know, it’s fun to write themed crosswords!] of some really good constructions.

    The much mentioned 1ac [I too think that the original clue is better] and 28ac were gems.
    The ellipsis is one that makes real sense.
    While the first bit (26ac) is a bit chestnutty, the second part (27ac) is very nice.
    Unlike some others, I liked the absurdish imagery of 6d.

    Keep them coming, Neil!

    ps, after entering early on ON THE LEVEL at 13ac, I thought there might be Status Quo theme.
    It is the title of one of their most successful albums, while Hello! [including exclamation mark] is another one.
    Fortunately, it was not the theme.

  50. Stop setting now, Tramp, before William F P vaporises!
    But seriously, it is very rare for a crossword to get away with no negative comments on this site – the occasional Paul, perhaps a Bonxie – because people have different hopes for their crosswords. I enjoy Tramp crosswords but I don’t love them because I always seem to end up with a few shoulder shruggers – clues that were too convoluted for me to be able to unravel and which annoy me if I have spent too much time trying so to do. But which turn out to be precisely the clues that others thought fantastic. The ideal crossword is in the mind of the individual solver.

  51. Thanks manehi and Tramp.

    A thoroughly enjoyable puzzle which delivered a steady solve with a few “aha”s and a new word for me – AFFUSIONS.

    My only question was One = UN which has been satisfied by Tramp’s visit above.

    So thanks again.

  52. Thanks Tramp and manehi

    Got to this one yesterday and it took most of the day on and off to work my way through it. Lots of really interesting clues to keep one engaged throughout the solving journey. Particularly liked the wine clues, ELSEWHERE and the new to me AFFUSIONS when I finally tracked it down.

    Was pleased to work out DURER (vaguely remembering the German artist) and Midge URE (although I had forgotten that it was from his Ultravox days … oh memories!

    Ended up in the NE corner with that tricky ELSEWHERE, what I made unnecessarily harder than it needed to have been SWEATER and SORER as the last one in.

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