Guardian Cryptic 26,966 by Puck

by

A little too clever for me, with much of the parsing done after the fact – I’m still unsure on 8dn, 17dn and 21dn. Favourites were 13ac, 21ac, and 18dn. Thanks, Puck

There…

…are links between 9/10, 11ac, 12/20 and the surfaces of 21dn and 22dn – follow the wiki link in 9/10

 

Across
9, 10 ROBERT THE BRUCE One who dresses edgy characters in theatre, including butcher playing Spiderman? (6,3,5)
=”Spiderman?” – Robert the Bruce took inspiration from a spider [wiki]. ROBER=”One who dresses”, plus the edges of T[heatr]E around (butcher)*
10   See 9
11 CAVED IN Warning by daughter before home collapsed (5,2)
=”collapsed”. CAVE=Latin for ‘beware’=”Warning”, plus D[aughter], plus IN=”home”
12, 20 RATHLIN ISLAND Ulster’s top spot? Hint: Northern Ireland’s ale’s brewed but not seen drunk here (7,6)
=”Ulster’s top spot”, the northernmost part of Northern Ireland and the location for Robert the Bruce’s spider legend.

(Hint N[orthern] Ireland’s ale’s)* minus (seen)*
13 INANE Silly way battle ends (5)
=”Silly”. “battle” ends IN AN E
14 FOG SIGNAL ASLEF missing point, going off bad weather warning (3,6)
=”bad weather warning”. (ASLEF going)*, missing E[ast]=”point”
16 POLITICAL ASYLUM Refuge provided by Macau? Silly move after cutback, it appears (9,6)
=”Refuge”. (Macau Silly)*, after: LOP reversed=”cutback”, plus IT
19 DRIVELLED Talked foolishly of car journey learner driver went on first (9)
=”Talked foolishly”. DRIVE=”car journey”, plus L[earner driver], plus LED=”went on first”
21 WOOER One trying to gain love of woman with alarmed expression (5)
=”One trying to gain love of woman”. W[ith] plus OO-ER=”alarmed expression”
22 GALLANT Braveheart not heartless following impudence? That’s noble (7)
=”noble”. The heart of [Br]A[ve], plus N[o]T heartless, after GALL=”impudence”
23, 23 down BANNOCKBURN Scottish victory — poet cut cake first (11)
=”Scottish victory” [wiki]. Robert BURN[s]=”poet”, with BANNOCK=”cake” first [wiki]
24 GENIE Spirit of type in egg flips (5)
=”Spirit”. Hidden reversed (“of… flips”) in typE IN EGg
25 TARTRATES Salt a setter confused with all but initially Epsom salts (9)
=”Salts”. TAR=sailor=”Salt”, plus (a setter)* minus the initial of E[psom]
Down
1 BRACHIOPOD Marine invertebrate crab craftily hid around different pool mostly (10)
=”Marine invertebrate”. (crab)*, plus HID around (poo[l])*
2 ABOVE ALL A lovable rogue, primarily (5,3)
=”primarily”. (A loveable)*
3 BRIDGE Game girl but no model, ultimately (6)
=”Game”. BRIDGE[t]=”girl” without the model T as its ultimate letter
4 STAN Chap getting last letter from Mrs Brown (4)
=”Chap”. Last letter from [Mr]S, plus TAN=”brown”
5 BEDRAGGLED Teased about large bottom at first — it’s wet and messy (10)
=”wet and messy”. RAGGED=”Teased”, around L[arge], with BED=”bottom” first
6 ABSTAINS Doesn’t drink with sailor, as isn’t at sea (8)
=”Doesn’t drink”. AB=Able-Bodied seaman=”sailor”, plus (as isn’t)*
7 PULL IN Wordplay comes across flipping poorly? Do this to make things tighter (4,2)
=”Do this to make things tighter”. PUN=”Wordplay” going across ILL=”poorly” reversed/”flipping”
8 SEWN Broadcast newsreels (4)
=is this a variant spelling of sown=”Broadcast”? Or is “Broadcast” also a homophone indicator within the definition?

(news)* with ‘reels’ as the anagram indicator
14 FACILITATE Expedite nothing at all at silly sounding gallery (10)
=”Expedite”. FA=’F***-All’=”nothing at all”, plus CILI which sounds like “silly”, plus TATE=”gallery”
15 LAMARCKISM Buddhist priest caught having unholy smirk about theory of evolution (10)
=”theory of evolution”. LAMA=”Buddhist priest”, plus c[aught] with (smirk)* about it
17 TEENAGER One of 13, say, giving support to Harry and his mum (8)
=”One of 13, say”. TEE=”support” plus NAG=”Harry” plus ER is Prince Harry’s grandmother?
18 LOOKOUTS Beware second hands on watch? (8)
=the people/hands “on watch”. LOOK OUT=”Beware”, plus S[econd]
20   See 12
21 WINTRY Cold and cheerless? If no success at first, just try … (6)
=”Cold and cheerless”. WIN=”success”, plus TRY. Not sure what the “If no” is doing other than improving the surface Edit – see comments by Roger and David
22 GO-GO … try, try again — to be hot to trot? (2-2)
=”hot to trot”. GO=”try” and GO=”try” again
23   See 23 across

42 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 26,966 by Puck”

  1. I enjoyed this one a lot, but probably can’t claim to have parsed everything. Spent a minute staring blankly, then got BANNOCKBURN and the rest followed pretty quickly with GENIE last in. A bit of general knowledge definitely helped – LAMARCKIAN, BRACHIOPOD and RATHLIN ISLAND might have been trickier without it. I think the Harry in question is an older king! Ticked ROBERT THE BRUCE, INANE, ABOVE ALL and TEENAGER

    Thanks to manehi and Puck

  3. The only way I could make 8d work is if “broadcast” is not only the definition, but also indicates a “sounds like”. Clutching at straws, I think.
    Some people have suggested that ER is Elizabeth of York, the mother of Henry the Eighth.
    That doesn’t work, though. The R suffix is reserved for reigning monarchs, and Henry’s mother was a queen consort. There have only been two ERs, Henry’s daughter (who died childless) and Harry’s grandma. If you doubt it, check a postbox in the UK. It will have the royal cypher EIIR.

  4. Many thanks, Puck and manehi. Lots of nice surfaces, which I always enjoy, especially 9/10. But I’m not sure why the ‘Bruce’ theme – it’s not an anniversary, is it?
    WINTRY: if you lop off the WIN (‘no success at first’), you just leave TRY.
    I agree, in 17d ER is Harry’s gran, not his mum.

  5. As for 21, I think what he’s saying is that if you remove WIN (success) from WINTRY, you are left with only (or just) TRY.

  7. Finally, seeing the crossing letters for 12, I couldn’t help thinking RITALIN – perhaps the island’s a place for the inattentive.

  10. Pretty much what others have said. I did finally finish, and thought it a good work-out, but ended with several unparsed. But some nice surfaces and the usual Puckish wit. SEWN must surely be wrong. And even I know that Brenda is Harry’s Gran. Who his father is is another question.

    Thanks to manehi and to Puck. Good puzzle and good blog.

  11. Apart from what seem to be a couple of errors on the part of the compiler – always a dangerous statement to make – I really enjoyed this. Would love to know what the crossword editor at the Guardian actually does, which again I say with some nervousness given the wonderful stable of compilers there. Just wish they had the editorial support they deserve. Thanks Puck and Manehi

  12. Oops and mea culpa.

    There are indeed two errors in today’s puzzle, at 8dn and 17dn, that have somehow crept through our checking and editing processes.

    Both the sewn/sown confusion and somehow forgetting completely about Princess Di’s role in the royal family now seem such glaring errors, but it’s sometimes the obviously wrong ones that slip through.

    My apologies, and I hope it hasn’t spoiled your enjoyment of the puzzle more than a smidgen or two.

    Thanks to manehi for the blog, and to others for your comments.

  13. This was a hard slog, and I too could not parse 17d and 18d. It took me quite a while to parse 9, 14, 19 and 25a as well.

    New for me (but fairly clued) were brachiopod, Lamarkism, Rathlin Island.

    Thanks Puck and manehi.

  14. whoops – I meant that I could not parse 8d and 17d – but now I see that they were errors on the part of Puck.

  15. Did question 17d, but I”m afraid that I completely missed the error at 8d (got up too early again!). Thank you for the confession, Puck – rest assured that your sins are forgiven, as the rest of the puzzle more than makes up for them!

    Thanks to manehi for the blog.

  16. Thanks to manehi and Puck, especially for popping in and holding his hand up.

    My LOI was sewn but I somehow didn’t notice the Harry’s mum mistake…

    I liked the LOOKOUTS among others.

  17. You missed 22ac in your list of theme clues – Braveheart was a nickname of Robert The Bruce, although Hollywood seem to think it was William Wallace.

  18. Nice puzzle – having long forgotten the story about the spider, I didn’t understand 9/10, so thanks for the explanation.

    The northernmost point in Ulster is actually Malin Head (or Inishtrahull, if you count uninhabited islands) – County Donegal is still in the Province of Ulster, even if it’s the ROI part of Ulster. But that’s not really a quibble – “Ulster” as shorthand for Northern Ireland is widely accepted, and you see it all the time in puzzles.

    Thanks Puck and manehi

  19. Rather a nice puzzle, not too tricky, but let down by Puck’s confessed errors. If it weren’t for the second of them, TEENAGER would make a very nice clue.

    Worked out most of the theme but didn’t know all that was going on.

  20. Thanks to Puck and manehi, and thanks again to Puck for dropping by. I enjoyed this very much, despite the two errors. It helped that I actually knew brachiopod and Lamarckism. After toying briefly with word ending “haldi”, I just assumed it was an earlier Henry, being unaware of the convention that only reigning monarchs are R. However I should point out, give the Scottish theme, that in Scotland it is only the first ER.

  21. I’ve been Pucked again: 12, 20 was clearly Slieve Donard, if only it fit the clue and there could be an alternative spelling for Slieve!

    Thanks Puck and manehi.

  22. SEWN was my LOI and I was poised to wax indignant until I saw the mea culpa
    from the setter. Also I didn’t spot the second error so what do I know? The rest went in rather quickly.
    Quite enjoyable.
    Thanks Puck.

  24. I dropped in here to check a couple of parsings and thought it really gracious of the setter to come by to own up to mishaps. While I got the theme pretty early on, I still don’t see why – is there some kind of obscure anniversary?

  25. This was rough. I looked at it last night (Chicago time), and got about two answers in. This morning, BRACHIOPOD went in, and this opened things up—but only slowly. (Between BRACHIOPOD and LAMARCKIAN, Puck is making me actually try to remember my high-school biology class. Have a heart, man—that was nearly 30 years ago!)

    For once, the long answers were, for the most part, easier for me than the shorter ones. Last one in, though, was TEENAGER, which I have to admit I cheated on.

    Also, had no idea what ASLEF was, but it was obvious from the clue what to do with it (drop the E and anagram), so it didn’t matter. Rathlin Island was new to me, and I combed a map of N.I. to confirm it. (I do NOT consider that cheating. If you throw obscure British geography at me, I have a right to educate myself. You’d do the same if I gave you a clue about a random river in Idaho or something.)

  26. This was a thoroughly enjoyable crossword – many thanks to Puck. I guessed ‘his mum’ must have been an error in 17a because the answer (TEENAGER) was pretty much forced. I got SEWN early on but refused to put it in because it didn’t work! All is explained now, and Puck’s apology is much appreciated. [There was indeed something amiss in the editing and checking process.]

    I’ve never heard of RATHLIN ISLAND, so I had to leave 12a (RATHLIN). ISLAND still went in as a certain guess.

    I had many favourite clues. I would just like to mention the nice variety and fluency in the clueing: a pleasant experience – not too easy and not too difficult.

    Thanks also to manehi.

  27. The two errors did not affect my enjoyment of this puzzle, thank you Puck, and thank you manehi for the blog, especially for explaining the “Spiderman”!

    I wondered if the theme might have something to do with Scotland considering breaking away from England as a result of the referendum, and perhaps joining up with “Ireland”? The Irish crowned Edward Bruce, the brother of Robert, as High King of Ireland in 1316, and Robert later went there with an army to assist him.

  28. Endorsing the comments at 26 and 27, the errors didn’t spoil the crossword one iota for me. It was obvious from the crossing letters what the answers were and the only reason I got involved in the debate was in order to throw light on the matter. I found it a thoroughly enjoyable crossword, and loved 21. On a possibly related matter, will Puck return to say what the significance of the top row is, please?

  29. Thanks Puck and manehi

    I enjoyed this, though I didn’t understand SEWN and saw the error in TEENAGER – thanks Puck for holding your hand up. I knew RATHLIN ISLAND but also tried to find an alternative spelling for SLIEVE DONARD.

    WOOER was lovely!

  30. David, Bab’s baps is clearly a reference to Barbara Windsor in the Carry On films. She’s distantly related to Robert the Bruce, I think. At least in Derbyshire, you have to be careful using the word BAPS, because it has two completely different meanings, although I think one comes from the other and has a raisin on top. I’ll stop now.

  31. I thought this was great, lots of very clever clues. I didn’t notice the error in 17D! The use of “rogue” as an anagram indicator in the context of 2D was brilliant.

  32. I am a little surprised at being able to put in my twopennyworth (or should that be twopenceworth?) at this late stage, but no-one seems to have mentioned 23A/23D as a theme entry. I raised one eyebrow at the variant on the Ulster/Northern Ireland confusion in 12A/20D (but there is the question mark), and the other one (and maybe the one over the pineal gland as well) at Puck’s admitted errors. However, I note that mum is a variant of ma’am, which I thought makes the clue about acceptable.
    I think it almost amounts to a secondary theme in the number of crossword clichés which are not what what they seem – ‘silly’ in 13A, 16A and 14D, ‘love’ in 21A, ‘setter’ in 25A, ‘primarily in 2D, ‘ultimately’ in 3D – and I wonder if 12A/20D was intended as a nod in the same direction.

  33. btw Rathlin Island is only one of several claimed locations for Robert the Bruce’s spider incident. Similarly, Napoleon’s mother must have been in a coach when in labour, judging by the number of places that claim to have been his birthplace!

  34. I was lucky enough not to get to this puzzle until after the errors had been corrected. 8dn is now the very nice “Darned newsreels!”, and 17dn now referrs to Harry’s “gran”. I found this quite difficult, due partly to my ignorance of Scottish history and geography, but very satisfying in the end.

    I didn’t see the parsing of “wintry”, but now it makes perfect sense. I also never managed to parse 12a: I couldn’t get past the assumption that Northern Ireland meant NI, so I couldn’t get the anagram fodder to come out right.

  35. Thanks, manehi.

    Late to the party again after another busy day but I couldn’t let such a lovely puzzle go without commenting.

    Past experience leads me always, I’m afraid, to presume editorial, rather than setter’s error. Huge thanks to Puck for fessing up – neither one had hindered [or spoiled] my enjoyable solve.

    I’m another who immediately lighted on the impossible Slieve Donard [before I’d solved 9,10: loved ‘Spiderman’, which must be one of the first historical stories I heard in primary school] but then Rathlin Island, which I’m also familiar with, having lived in Northern Ireland long ago, became obvious.

    Lots to enjoy, as ever, but I have to thank Puck for finally teaching me the meaning of BEDRAGGLED [never too late!]. I spent much of my childhood [only seeing the word written, rather than hearing it pronounced] interpreting it as ‘bed-raggled’, which I took as describing someone who had just got up, with tousled hair – I thought it was a lovely word! Later on, having been enlightened,I still only associated it with the idea of being ‘dragged’ though a hedge backwards, with no idea of it needing to be a wet hedge! I have finally, today, been driven to Chambers – ‘draggle: to make or become wet or dirty’. It will never be the same again – it just doesn’t sound ‘wet’ to me! 😉

  36. Ks dad I thought it might be that, hence the reference to 21 but, if a bap is the same in Derbyshire as in Yorkshire, it could be a surreptitious plug for a sandwich shop. I also remember Babs Cabs, also from Derbyshire.

  37. Nice to see our “illustrious Ed” is on the ball as usual. (Does anyone believe he actually reads these puzzles before publication?)

  38. Thanks to Puck and manehi. Today was a travel day so only now am I catching up. I much enjoyed this puzzle. I did know LAMARCKISM and did figure out BRACHIOPOD and TARTRATES from the clues but had to look up RATHLIN ISLAND. As usual, a good workout from this setter.

  39. I was surprised that I managed to complete this reasonably quickly this evening. I was confused by the apparent double role of “broadcast” in the clue for SEWN and I forgot to parse the wordplay for RATHLIN ISLAND. TEENAGER was my LOI, and I too missed the skipped generation until it was pointed out in the blog.

    Thanks to Puck for his puzzle and his ‘confession’. Even with the mistakes, it was an enjoyable solve. Thanks too to manehi for the blog.

  40. Nice solve. I spotted the Harry ancestry error but sailed straight past SEWN/SOWN – slight question mark maybe put with homophone possibilities I wasn’t concerned.

    Usual fun wordplays.

    Thanks all round.

  41. Thanks manehi and Puck.

    I printed my copy off after the corrections to 8 and 17 which were made on the 18th so had no problem with either the solve or the parsing.

    19ac still looks a bit poor with drive(r) in the clue and answer.

    I don’t think this marks a particular anniversary but enjoyed the theme of one Norman baron – Robert de Brus – who persuaded the clansmen to take sides with him in his turf war with other Norman barons led by the inept Edward II.

    Another part of history where the myth has outgrown the legend.

  42. Thanks Puck and manehi

    Obviously the two errors had been remediated by the time that I got to this and was able to enjoy it for the cracker puzzle that it was. Maybe the ROBERT THE BRUCE theme was delayed by the month from his birth date for some reason.

    Interesting solve where in many cases, it was seeing the word from the definition with the challenge to unravel the word play. Know a lot of people don’t like that, but it worked well for me here. Filling in some more of the gaps in the life of this King of Scotland was worth the effort as well.

    Hadn’t heard of ASLEF before but can better appreciate the surface reading of the clue having discovered that it is the train driver’s union – a neat touch.

    Finished with BEDRAGGLED and LAMARCKISM (which I also had not previously been aware of).

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