Guardian 27,029 / Chifonie

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This is my second Monday blog in a row to turn out to be Chifonie rather than Rufus and my third Chifonie in a row overall. I find I can repeat exactly what I said in my preamble a couple of weeks ago: a straightforward puzzle, with a characteristic medley of anagrams, charades and insertions and a number of familiar favourites – with satisfyingly smooth surfaces throughout.

Thanks to Chifonie.

Across

1 Stunt creates leak? Put a plug in it! (8)
ESCAPADE
AD [plug] in ESCAPE [leak]

5 Angel gives revolutionary massage (6)
CHERUB
CHE [the inevitable revolutionary] + RUB [massage]

9 Woman at all times is hot and restless (8)
FEVERISH
F [female – woman] + EVER [at all times] + IS H [hot]

10 More often than not it’s mismatched, my boy! (4-2)
ODDS-ON
ODD [mismatched] + SON [my boy] – I’m puzzled by ‘often’: I’d have thought it was ‘more likely’

12 Reluctant to put ring through strip of wood (5)
LOATH
O [ring] in LATH [strip of wood]

13 Eliminate east European? That’s bad! (6,3)
POLISH OFF
POLISH [East European] + OFF [bad]

14 Determined to keep prisoner blowing hot and cold (12)
INCONSISTENT
CON [prisoner] in INSISTENT [determined]

18 Supply a team reserve (3,2,3,4)
PUT ON ONE SIDE
PUT ON [supply] ONE SIDE [a team]

21 Plead for Bury to get grant (9)
INTERCEDE
INTER [bury] + CEDE [grant]

23 Influence of Tory boor (5)
CLOUT
C [Conservative  – Tory] + LOUT [boor]

24 Resident is ingenuous garaging vintage car (6)
NATIVE
NAIVE [ingenuous] round T [vintage [Ford] car]

25 Helped blockhead get first edition (8)
ASSISTED
ASS [blockhead] + IST [first] + ED [edition]

26 Distinction is a surprising result (6)
LUSTRE
Anagram [surprising] of RESULT

27 Loyal rep excited to take part in training (4,4)
ROLE PLAY
Anagram [excited] of LOYAL REP

Down

1 Clasp and fondle naughtily (6)
ENFOLD
Anagram [naughtily] of FONDLE

2 The way to enter vehicle showing delicacy (6)
CAVIAR
VIA [the way] in CAR [vehicle]

3 Correspondence at that time over ancient temple (9)
PARTHENON
PAR [correspondence] + THEN [at that time] + ON [over]

4 Daughter’s chosen to be gutted (12)
DISAPPOINTED
D IS [daughter is] + APPOINTED [chosen]

6 Section broken off sunglasses? Hell! (5)
HADES
[s]HADES [sunglasses] minus s [section]

7 Trot round shop that’s been put right (8)
RESTORED
RED [Trot] round STORE [shop]

8 Welfare of man on drug having convulsions (8)
BENEFITS
BEN [man] + E [drug] + FITS [convulsions]

11 Gassy smell to change report of perfect readiness (3,7,2)
ALL SYSTEMS GO
Anagram [change] of GASSY SMELL TO

15 Know about Channel 4? It’s tempting! (9)
SEDUCTIVE
SEE [know] round DUCT [channel] IV [four]

16 Dubious plot to capture Scottish island is possible (8)
OPTIONAL
Anagram [dubious] of PLOT round IONA [Scottish island]

17 Regulations for art works? Tory leader intervenes (8)
STATUTES
T[ory] in STATUES [art works]

19 Person has time during lesson (6)
MORTAL
T [time] in MORAL [lesson]

20 Dog went mad in pen? That’s tedious! (6)
STODGY
Anagram [went mad] of DOG in STY [pen]

22 I have invested in a car, where a boat is needed (5)
RIVER
I’VE [I have] in RR [Rolls Royce – car]

24 comments on “Guardian 27,029 / Chifonie”

  1. Thanks Chifonie and Eileen

    Very enjoyable. I spent some time trying to decide whether CAP or PAD was the “plug” in 1a; the penny eventually dropped. I don’t think I’ve seen LOTH spelled with an A before, but it’s given as an alternative in Chambers.

    Faourite was DISAPPOINTED.

  2. Thanks Eileen and Chifonie.

    I agree this was pretty straightforward, and also agree that 10 was a bit loose. I liked the misdirection at 1a (cork? bung?).

  4. I agree – a very enjoyable change from Rufus, although I like his puzzles also. SEDUCTIVE, HADES, ESCAPADE and PARTHENON were my favourites. I don’t really associate STODGY with tedious, but it makes sense.

  6. A nice straightforward start to a Monday, without being maddened by a Rufus cd. Tiny little hold-up with CLOUT / MORTAL at the end but that is purely in relative terms. No cleverness for cleverness’ sake but that’s not always a bad thing.

  7. yes, all very straightforward but it is Monday so we shouldn’t be too negative, and there were some nice clues here.

    Thanks to Chifonie and Eileen

  8. Thank you Chifonie and Eileen.

    An enjoyable Cryptic, even though I missed Rufus and his double definitions. Agree with Eileen that “More likely than not” would be a better definition for 10. COED is the other way round to Chambers, “loth” being given as an alternative for LOATH.

  9. Thank you, Eileen.

    Some slightly loose – ODDS ON for more often than not, possible = OPTIONAL, distinction = LUSTRE and so on but generally enjoyable nonetheless.

    Not sure what creates is doing in 1a, and don’t quite see how ‘correspondence’ and ‘par’ can be interchanged. The connection is clear enough…”there is a correspondence between X & Y” or “X is on a par with Y” but I felt the two could not normally be seen as synonymous without some extra work.

    Enjoyable change from our regular Monday morning fare.

    Nice week, all.

  10. Froma statisician’s point of view, whether you prefer “often” or “likely” at 10 depends on whether you are frequentist or a Bayesian!

  12. Thanks both,

    Until Goujeer’s @10 interjection, I was perfectly happy with ‘more often than not’. I think I still am. In a betting context, ‘odds on’ means that the bookies are offering you your stake back plus a bit less in the event your chosen horse wins. Bookies take a profit and manage their risks so this is a biased estimate of the probability that the horse will in fact win.
    In other contexts, the odds are simply another way of expressing probability. For an event that is repeated frequently, as implied by ‘more often than not’, the frequentist and Bayesian notions of probability, or how likely the event is to occur, (ceteris paribus) converge.

  13. I read “ingenious” for “ingenuous” so NATIVE was LOI but I can hardly blame
    the setter for that! The rest of this was rather nice and gentle as befits
    a Guardian Monday.
    Thanks Chifonie

  14. Thanks to Chifonie and Eileen. An enjoyable Monday puzzle. I understand Eileen’s comment about “familiar favorites,” for as I proceed backwards through the archives (I’ve reached September 2010) I’ve encountered my share of STATUTE-statue links – and that observation is not meant as a criticism of this settter.

  15. That was one of them, ACD – and Che Guevara, of course, who pops up in today’s Quiptic, too. And the play on Polish and Bury – but they’re worth repeating: there are new solvers coming along all the time.

  16. Many thanks Chifonie and Eileen. I found this puzzle to be much fun. Great clues and not too heavy on the head after a busy weekend. 15 down was a definite favourite.

  17. I had Ave and Car but couldn’t make Caviar so settled on Cavear as an alternative spelling without checking. Glad to be put right. I enjoyed this. Thanks Eileen and Chifonie.

  18. This was quite dull as well as being very easy 🙁

    Muffin @ 1

    I don’t think I’ve seen LOATH spelled without an A before. 🙂

  20. An enjoyable puzzle to start the week. I don’t have any problem with 10a – “if you ask me if I want a chocolate, odds-on/more often than not I’ll say yes.”

    Thanks, Chifonie and Eileen.

  21. Absolute joy to have a (relatively) easy Monday crossword without a tedious string of double definitions and feeble puns. Neat concise clues and smooth surfaces. More please.

  22. In completing *o*t*l for 19d I spent some considerable time trying to fit POSTIL for “lesson”… I’ll put it down to it being a Monday!

  23. This went smoothly for me, which more often than not doesn’t happen, even on Mondays. CHE is what we call a “gimme” in the States – I can use a toehold getting started so I’m not complaining – I am one of the new solvers Eileen references @15….

    “To take part in training” was a nice definition in 27, I thought.

    Thanks Chifonie and Eileen.

  24. Eileen @ 15
    As I’m sure that you spotted there are even more regulars –
    24a – Ford car = T; 7d – Trot = red and vice versa, more common since the Labour part elected Jeremy Corbyn as leader; 8d drug = E; 22d – RR = car and maybe more.
    No wonder experienced solvers found it easy !

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