(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) Not that hard, as it turned out. Thanks to Pasquale. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Wise man rolling in drink to see stars (7)
PEGASUS : Reversal of(… rolling) SAGE(wise man) contained in(in) reversal of(rolling?, if so, then it’s surface at the expense of misleading wordplay) SUP(to drink).
Defn: Constellation of …
5 Inspired Democrat lagging behind popular Italian dictator? (7)
INDUCED : D(abbrev. for for a member of the Democratic Party) placed after(lagging behind) [ IN(popular;fashionable) + DUCE(Italian title originally equivalent to “duke”, and later used to refer to a dictator, especially to Mussolini, Il Duce) ].
9 People on staff matter to boss (9)
HEADCOUNT : COUNT(to matter, as in “size counts…or maybe not”) placed after(to) HEAD(the boss;the chief).
10 A classical man to you and me represents something harmful (5)
VIRUS : VIR(in classical Latin, a man) plus(to) US(pronoun refering to myself and you or others as a group).
11 Archbishop’s envoy reported delay (4)
WAIT : Homophone of(… reported) “Waite”(Terry, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s envoy).
12 Dodgy shiner not ultimately genuine (10)
RHINESTONE : Anagram of(Dodgy) [SHINER NOT + the last letter of(ultimately) “genuine” ].
Defn: Not a genuine diamond. A WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition) clue.
14 Endure losing a sheep (6)
WETHER : “weather”(to endure, as in “to weather the storm”) minus(losing) “a“.
Defn: …, specifically a castrated ram.
15 Firm‘s contract (7)
COMPACT : Double defn: 1st: Tightly packed, so as to be firm, like a solid; and 2nd: An agreement between parties.
16 North African countries suffering big harm (7)
MAGHRIB : Anagram of(suffering) BIG HARM.
Answer: The NW African region, alternative spelling of “Maghreb”.
18 Row created by the French to fester (6)
RANKLE : RANK(a row of similar things, as in “a taxi rank”) plus(by) LE(French for “the”).
20 Dryden character in a note on work he left (10)
ACHITOPHEL : A + CHIT(an official note giving information or showing an amount of money owed or paid) plus(on) OP(abbrev. for “opus”, a musical work) + HE + L(abbrev. for “left”).
Defn: John … in his poetic political satire “Absalom and Achitophel”
21 Note put about in the morning conveys unwanted message (4)
SPAM : Reversal of(… put about) PS(abbrev. for “postscript”, a note as an afterthought) + AM(abbrev. for “ante meridiem”, the morning period, from midnight to noon).
24 Star inside nebula not entirely detectable (5)
DENEB : Hidden in(… not entirely detectable) “inside nebula“.
Defn: A white supergiant of a star.
25 Home worker engaging nurse and manager (9)
INTENDANT : [ IN(at home) + ANT(a social insect, specifically one who belongs to the worker caste) ] containing(engaging) TEND(to nurse;to care for).
Defn: … or administrator of some public business or an establishment, say, a theatre or opera house.
26 Name of London street hiding a chemical (7)
REAGENT : REGENT(a street in central London) containing(hiding) A.
27 Briefly arrange private office in German city (7)
DRESDEN : “dress”(to arrange or get troops into rows/columns, as for a parade) minus its last letter(Briefly …) + DEN(a private office where one can be undisturbed).
Down
1 Playwright beginning with page that expresses contempt (5)
PSHAW : SHAW(George Bernard, English playwright) placed below(beginning with …, in a down clue) P(abbrev. for “page” in a book, say).
2 Managed to break into holiday home — it’s very hard (7)
GRANITE : RAN(managed, say, a business) contained in(to break into) GITE(a furnished holiday home in France).
3 Little nonentity not in clique (4)
SECT : “insect”(term for an insignificant and contemptible person;a nonentity) minus(not) “in “.
4 Billy Graham type is “OT/NT-basher”, put unfairly (8,7)
SOUTHERN BAPTIST : Anagram of(… unfairly) IS “OT/NT-BASHER”, PUT.
Defn: Yes, put unfairly … more likely to be a -thumper than a -basher.
5 Accident insurer finally sorted out, giving apology for mistake (1,5,9)
I STAND CORRECTED : Anagram of(… out) [ACCIDENT + the last letter of(… finally) “insurer” + SORTED].
6 I mend TV set that’s broken for selling off (10)
DIVESTMENT : Anagram of(… that’s broken) I MEND TV SET.
7 City girl keeping a date that brings new life (7)
CORDOBA : CORA(a girl’s name) containing(keeping) DOB(abbrev. for “date of birth”, the date on which a newborn is brought into the world).
8 Examine and discredit one form of therapy (7)
DISSECT : DISS(a variant of “dis”, slang for “to discredit”;to criticise disrespectfully) + ECT(abbrev. for “electro-convulsive therapy”, for treating certain mental illnesses).
13 Kind to preside over slightly twisted board (10)
CHARITABLE : CHAIR(to preside over, say, a committee or a meeting) with “I” and “R” exchanging positions(slightly twisted) + TABLE(especially one to serve meals on;a board).
16 Put illiterately, Queen and I go walkabout (7)
MEANDER : Reversal of the order of the 1st and 3rd parts of(Put illiterately, or maybe merely impolitely) [ ER(abbrev. for “Elizabeth Regina”, the Queen) + AND + ME(grammatically wrong usage of or Put illiterately? the objective case when it should, maybe, be the subjective case of the first-person pronoun, I) ].
17 Boleyn and husband, say, set up in hellish situation (7)
GEHENNA : Reversal of(…, set up) [ ANNE(Boleyn, one of King Henry VIII’s wives) + H(abbrev. for “husband”, used in genealogy) + EG(abbrev. for “exampli gratia”;for example;say) ].
19 A place bathed in light? Not in the winter (7)
LAPLAND : [ A + PL(abbrev. for “place”) ] contained in()bathed in LAND(to settle on a surface;to light, as in “the bird may or may not light on this branch”).
Defn: A place in the far north with no sun in the winter. Another WIWD clue.
22 Morning — chief time to get stuck in (5)
MATIN : MAIN(chief;principal) containing(… to get stuck in) T(symbol for “time”, used in physics).
23 Inadequacy of computer being set up is concerning (2,2)
IN RE : Reversal of(… being set up) [“Ernie”(the name given to the computer that generates the winning numbers in the Premium Bonds lottery) minus its last letter(Inadequacy of …) ].
Answer: Latin for “in the matter of”;concerning, commonly used in jurisprudence.
(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)
Thanks to Pasquale for the challenge and scchua for the blog.
Although I got it more or less immediately, I wonder how many potential answers a London cabbie with a chemistry degree could cobble together for 26? And I know Hugh has a bulging in-tray, but dear old Terry Waite is a blast from the past!
In 16d I think ungrammatical would be more accurate than illiterate – I know several people who could read and write “me and ‘er went walkabout” without any problem!
Thanks Pasquale and scchua
There are always words in a Pasquale puzzle that I hadn’t come across – today’s were MAGHRIB and ACHITOPHEL; both required electronic help. (Most of the latter could be worked out from the wordplay, but “note” = “chit” wasn’t obvious.)
There were several clues that needed a “guess the answer, then try to parse” approach. Why should “Little nonentity” immediately suggest “insect”? CORDOBA I guessed from the crossers, but it would have been just about impossible to solve “forwards”. (Girl = CORA; “date that brings new life” = DOB? Neither the first things sprininging to mind.)
MATIN isn’t used in English, so should have had a foreign language indication.
I did like LAPLAND.
Thanks scchua,
I found this quite hard – toughest of the week so far. I missed PEGASUS – I don’t think the clue made it clear you had to reverse both ‘sage’ and ‘sup’. I also missed IN RE – I’ve never heard of this – or ernie the computer for that matter.
I loved matin which I got thanks to recently reading Umberto Eco’s Name of the Rose – as I recall he was recently feted in a guardian cryptic.
Yes, I forgot to say that 1a doesn’t seem to work, and the instruction doesn’t include reversing the “sup”.
[ERNIE stood for “Electronic Random Number Indicating Equipment”, as I recall.]
My original clue to PEGASUS read: Wise man immersed in drink rolling over to see stars. I think I must have overlooked an edit (one of a number) designed to save space, sorry!
Unlike the blogger and others I actually quite liked 1a PEGASUS, only because I got it early and it really helped, but I do see how the two reversals were not properly flagged.
Like muffin @ 3, I needed electronic help for 16a MAGHRIB and 20a ARHITOPHEL. Must confess to also resorting to google for 11a WAIT, never having heard of Terry Waite, and to check VIR in 10a. And 24a DENEB was also unfamiliar, although I got this from the hidden.
In the end I had two bung-ins that proved to be wrong; missed parsing of both 7d CÓRDOBA (I filled in Cortona, a town in Italy I have visited) and 23d IN RE, where I stuck in “on me” for no good reason except it fitted (never having heard of ERNI(e), as matrixmania also notes @ 4.
Like Thesauvianscrabbler @ 2, I thought the play on titles for the Queen, ER and ‘ER, (which an ill educated person might use for “Her”) in 16d MEANDER was clever.
I have used the term the term “bible basher” a few times in discussing scriptures with my teenagers in class recently – I guess I like its alliteratiive construction – and would be much more inclined to use “basher” than “thumper”, tho opposite of what scchua suggests in the comment on 4d SOUTHERN BAPTIST.
Well I had fun, even in my flawed attempt, so thanks to Pasquale, scchua and fellow commenters.
Crossed with you, Pasquale. I like it when gracious setters like you come onto the forum, explain the chain of events and apologise. Thank you.
Julie in Australia – I needed electronic help for a few also, but struck it lucky on WAIT as vivid childhood memory was the news of his kidnapping which occurred at the same time as our family arrived in the UK, dominating the news.
I got CHARITABLE from the definition and crossers but couldn’t parse it. From reading the blog it seems the first five letters are an indirect anagram … I thought these were verboten?
This is my first day of retirement, so I can become a morning solver and occasional contributor instead of a late night lurker on fifteensquared. Thank you to Pasquale for a crossword I could solve comfortably, thus getting my retirement off to a great start and to all the bloggers whose explanations of tough clues have been giving me pleasure for a very long time.
Very enjoyable puzzle with eminently fair clues. I dragged ACHITOPHEL from the deepest recesses of my memory but it was solvable even if you’d never heard of the work.
I think MEANDER has been done before (by Paul?) and it reminded me of Araucaria’s ‘Royal couple are flirting’ for PHILANDER’
Thanks scchua and Don.
Found this quite an easy but very enjoyable solve. I think the H in 17d must refer to Henry the unit of electrical inductance (Symbol H), and of course Annes husband. Never heard of bible thumping but bible basher is a well known term for evangelistic preachers. Thanks scchua and the Don
Sorry scchua but I don’t know that SHAW would have described himself as an English playwright.
Also, ERNIE is a hardware random number generator, not a computer. This is more than mere pedantry as the distinction is crucial to how it works.
Despite these nits, thanks to Pasquale and scchua.
Thank you Pasquale and scchua.
A most enjoyable puzzle. I did not remember ACHITOPHEL but managed to get it from the clue, then checked on Google. For me MAGHRIB means the prayer after sunset and Maghreb the North African countries, one of my daughters-in-law being from Morocco.
MATIN is in the COED (as a variation of matins) “poet. the morning song of birds”.
WETHER, RHINESTONE, SPAM, PSHAW and MEANDER were fun.
Thanks scchua and Pasquale for a good crossword and comment above.
Not very up on Dryden but ACHITOPHEL was nicely clued. I particularly liked RHINESTONE and CORDOBA among others.
Yes,pretty good although I was another who needed electronic help. My knowledge of Dryden is virtually non existent and the alternative spelling of MAHGREB was new to me as was DENEB. As usual there was a lot to enjoy. I especially liked PSHAW- which eluded me for too long- GRANITE and PEGASUS.
Thanks Pasquale.
P.s. Welcome Bayleaf
Thanks to Pasquale and scchua. I was lucky here because I did remember Terry Waite, DENEB, IN RE (though, not knowing Ernie, I could not parse it) and “Absalom and Achitophel” (from my post-graduate days more than 40 years ago). The “gite” in GRANITE was new to me as was the “ect” in DISSECT and MAGHRIB. Billy Graham is by far the most celebrated of Southern Baptists but I would not characterize him as a Bible thumper-basher. All in all, a very enjoyable puzzle.
Thanks to Pasquale and scchua. After a pretty blank start it succumbed pretty easily, though I had to look up 20ac (rather guiltily, given the letter in the “crosswords are too hard” series in the Guardian today).
I particularly liked 12ac, 16 and 17d. Ernie was, and perhaps still is, used to generate Premium Bod winners.
I have noticed of late ants working hard as workers (eg 25ac today). I also read today that the way ants seek out optimal journeys for food gathering is being used to model algorithms for autonomous (driverless) vehicles. In case anyone was interested …
1ac is corrected in the online version.
Bond, sorry.
Thanks to setter and blogger.
Managed to finish except for IN RE.
I think I quite like being described as a Premium Bod winner!
A few more obscure words than usual today – DENEB and ACHITOPHEL were unfamiliar and I wouldn’t have been able to place GEHENNA either. Some nice clues so no complaints from me
cholecyst @12 – I think we had the conversation about MEANDER and PHILANDER last time it came up, but I don’t mind listing them again:
Paul 25663: Prince Philip’s possible autobiography, wind! (7)
Shed 26809: Go hither and thither with Shed and ‘is missus? (7)
Gemini 22248: Must our royal couple, in short, have fool around? (9)
Chifonie 22694: Briefly, prince and queen play around (9)
Araucaria 24559: Royal couple are flirting (9)
Gordius 25553: Royal couple make love? (9)
Picaroon 26566: Royal couple’s courts (10)
Thanks to Pasquale and scchua.
I enjoyed this, and was pleased with myself for remembering ACHITOPHEL and GEHENNA.
Matrixmania @10: I had the same thought about the indirect anagram in13d, but maybe as only one letter is moved it’s ok?
By no means the quickest solve of the week but I enjoyed it nevertheless. One or two good surfaces, on a par with Arachne’s on Tuesday – SOUTHERN BAPTIST is a cracker, and RHINESTONE up there too. For a while I worked with the neologism LAIT – derived from ‘laity’, I presumed, this being Pasquale? – at 11a until trying something else; similarly I stabbed in CARIOCA (citizen of Rio) for a while at 7d, even though it didn’t remotely parse, but saved myself before I came here.
I reckon that CHARI in 13d is technically a hidden anagram too, cf matrixmania @10. Good to see Pasquale @7 ‘fessing up to an error in the editing process for PEGASUS.
nice puzzle – correctly guessed at Dryden character, hell and the star from the wordplay. failed on Ernie but would never have got it so not a doh! moment when I came here
only know WETHER because I recently looked up the derivation of Bellwether (as in bellwether state in US elections) – lead ram of the flock with a bell around his neck for others to follow
beery hiker @22.
Thanks…I knew I could rely on you!
Another enjoyable crossword to continue a good week. Unusually for a Pasquale, there were no new words for me, although I guessed MAGHRIB must be an alternative form of Maghreb. In my hurry to visit this site and move on to the next job on my list, I didn’t stop to work out the parsing of 8d DISSECT or 19d LAPLAND, so thanks to scchua; and thanks to Pasquale for explaining what happened to 1a PEGASUS because it puzzled me at the time.
Took me quite a time, but all in all very nice. I didn’t know the MAGHRIB variant, but it was pretty clear and I managed to get DENEB and ACHITOPHEL so felt fairly pleased. Loved the long anagrams.
Thanks as ever to Pasquale, and to scchua.
I’d upgrade 12a from a WIWD to a full &lit! My favorite clue.
The couple I couldn’t parse were because of a lack of specific knowledge on my part (Waite, Ernie), but that’s not the setter’s fault.
On bashers and thumpers: in my experience, in the US, “Bible-thumper” is a very common (and somewhat derogatory) term for an evangelical preacher. “Bible-basher” isn’t a common phrase over here, as far as I know. To me it suggests more or less the opposite of a Bible-thumper — that is, a basher would be someone who dislikes the Bible. But this is the sort of expression that varies greatly with region, so I’m not at all surprised that others don’t hear it that way.
Very elegant. I enjoyed that a lot. Thanks Pasquale and sschua.
Julie in Australia @ 8 – I love that expression and I’m stealing it! I am a frequent target of those who love to bash with bibles and they do a lot more damage than a mere thump.
@ #1 And I know Hugh has a bulging in-tray
Is this ironic? Is he even there to see it “bulge” or “grow higher” more likely.
Our “illustrious ed”‘s absence allows Pasquale to disregard his target audience yet again!
An ill-judged puzzle. IMHO of course 😉
Concerning 1a PEGASUS and Pasquale’s explanation @7:
Pasquale tells us his original clue was
“Wise man immersed in drink rolling over to see stars (7)”
which has what I might call perfect cryptic grammar and a surface that couldn’t be bettered. The clue as printed, and as it appears above in scchua’s blog, is
“Wise man rolling in drink to see stars (7)”
in which the cryptic grammar doesn’t quite work (as noted), and the surface is also inferior.
The online version now has Pasquale’s original clue and carries a special instruction that reads “The clue for 1 across has been modified.”
What a cheek! I can only conclude that Pasquale is taking the blame for an appalling piece of editing that was carried out by the Editor or at his behest in order “to save space” (using Pasquale’s words). The clue was modified all right, but it was modified again in order to restore the faultless original!
If I’m wrong I’m sure I’ll know about it soon enough, but if I’m right I can only say this is not the first time. Perhaps some-one is in a position to shed some more light.
I don’t often check on this site, but a couple I couldn’t get – so thanks. 1a didn’t work but heh, he’s explained so Alan Browne @ 33 – keep calm and eat some chocolate.
Steve @34
Thanks for the advice – which I’ll keep for when it’s needed.
Wrt Comment 33 above.
I have often wondered what the role of a ‘crossword editor’ on a UK paper is. I have never got a proper answer.
Once, when what was considered an objectionable/a faulty clue was published, a crossword editor said if he had seen it, he would not have allowed it. Hence my question takes added significance.
If there is a space constraint and a clue exceeds the word limit, does the crossword editor ask the setter to rewrite? If so, does he not check the revised version?
Or does the request to rewrite the clue go from a sub on the paper at the last minute, probably during siesta time, when some overlooking is possible? The sub may not have a clue as to how it all works and might simply take the revision.
If a crossword editor merely vets puzzles at a very preliminary stage to save the paper from any possible defamation suit, then the term ‘editor’ is a gross misapplication, in my opinion. Some other term has to be thought of.
Please stop all this! The crossword editor and I were between us away for two successive weeks just before publication, so checking was a little more rushed than normal. I tend to write long clues, so each of us may make suggestions for shortening to save a line or two and can make mistakes. Anyone in publishing knows that ‘corrections’ can introduce new errors (some of you should have a go at a publishing career — I guess you would all be perfect). I passed the final proofs and therefore accept complete responsibility. The bile poured out against the crossword editor is hurtful and unnecessary. But please spare me the bile too — life is too short.
Pasquale @37. You are failing to see the seriousness of this. A clue in the crossword was questionable and a small number of people were slightly inconvenienced in solving it. Bad enough in itself. But take one more step closer to the abyss and imagine the consequences if the slip had been anagram fodder being left short of a letter, a setter using “disinterested” when they meant “uninterested” or someone misguidedly referencing something dangerously modern such as Elvis Presley. A decent crossword editor may be all that stands between some setters and a serious case of apoplexy. Think of the burden on the NHS!
Apologies. Somewhat over busy planning my next wave of strike action. For “setters” in the penultimate sentence read “solvers”.
IN RE is also hidden backwards in concERNIng.
Pasquale @37
Thank you for the total clarity you have brought to this matter. I certainly didn’t intend to direct any criticism where it wasn’t deserved, and I’m sorry if I have caused any hurt.
I ‘know’ you to some extent from your occasional contributions to this forum and of course from the kind of crosswords you set for us. The praise you have got on this page and in the past is well-earned.
There have been editing errors in the past, and there was a spate of them towards the end of last year, after which there was a marked (and possibly coincidental) improvement. There may still be something amiss with the editing process, for which no setter is to blame, but solvers never know what the Editor does.
I only popped in (consistently late) to see what others made of the Maghrib/Mahgrib (ditto with e for i) choices – I’d originally entered Mag…. so delaying my GEHENNA. Had not intended to comment but, having read contributions, I would like the Don to know that (as well as the pleasure of seeing his name atop the puzzle and the enjoyment of its solving) we don’t all look for, or even notice, any particular editorial shortcomings. Indeed, if I’d any plea in that direction it would be for fewer write-ins and more challenging puzzles – they are supposed to puzzle after all! But I guess that’s not the fashionable view, dammit!
Great crossword – many thanks.
Ted@29 – I agree, also believing RHINESTONE to be a fine &lit!
William F P @42
Well said, but I have to differ with regard to how challenging we find these puzzles. If I had asked for fewer write-ins there would have been none at all(!), and if I had to define by example the quality and difficulty level of a puzzle that I would find both challenging and rewarding to solve, I would cite this puzzle and the Paul from the day before (both being fresh in my mind). Sorry if it turns out I’m speaking for the majority!
I don’t look for editorial shortcomings, but I do tend to notice them, as do most bloggers on this site. As you must realise, I think it’s galling when a clue that is so good as to be near-perfect is marred by an editorial mistake or misjudgement. This year, that has not happened very often, and credit for that should go wherever it belongs.
Alan@44 – methinks you’re too modest; and I enjoyed your riposte to our promoter of chocolate!
For myself, I shall ever raise clarions for the trickier daily cryptics (particularly when not relying on abstruse words to so be!)
🙂
William F P
Thank you so much for your post – much appreciated.
I too enjoy trickier daily cryptics than we have had this week, but not too often. Too modest? I’m not sure. My success rate is high, but because I’m not an intuitive solver I have to work at the darn things more than most in this community. As if to compensate for that, I find the step up from, say, this day’s puzzle to a trickier one, or to a barred grid puzzle, is typically smaller than for most people.
Let’s hope for a tricky one soon. I’ll compare notes with you here!
Thanks to Pasquale and our blogger. I was defeated by ACHITOPHEL as I’d never heard of it and couldn’t come up with letters 2-4. No matter. CÓRDOBA was splendid, I thought.
I too raised an eyebrow at the initial wordplay in 1A but raised the other eyebrow and kept it there as I trawled through some of the remarks here on the subject. Our junior medical colleague has satirised the loss of perspective nicely. When an apology from the setter himself isn’t enough to let the matter drop it’s a rum do.
PJ @47
Believe it or not, I took the perceptive comment in your second paragraph to heart. I was quick (as you may have noted) to apologise for anything I may have done to stoke the Don’s ire, but somehow you characterise the first dose of sarcasm from our doctor friend as something praiseworthy instead of as a red rag to a bull. The consequence of that post is there for all to see, and we were all then treated to a second dose.
When sarcasm is used for something other than innocent humour, I ignore it. Irrespective of that, I should learn to pick my battles more circumspectly.
This response is a full 24 hours after your post, so you may not see it. Anyway, I respect your comment, and I’m glad you enjoyed the puzzle. (So did I.)
Thank you for an entertaining puzzle, Pasquale, and for the blog, scchua. RHINESTONE was very good. As a star-watcher, I liked DENEB and PEGASUS, and as a chemist, REAGENT. Covered a lot of paper working the anagrams of 4d & 5d. Yes, everything should be accurate, but let’s just forgive and forget. Peace.
Thanks Pasquale and scchua
Well there is some advantage of doing these puzzles so much later … was able to pick up the modified 1a and not be aware of the maelstrom that the previous version had caused until coming here.
I’m another who always enjoys the puzzles of the Don and admire him for stepping up and accepting anything erroneous that may have come up in any of his work. This was at his mid-range level of difficulty but I did make it harder for myself by writing GEHENNA in where MEANDER was supposed to go. ACHITOPHEL and MAGRIB were both new terms for me – but it was the parsing of VIRUS, CORDOBA and DISSECT that held me up at the end.