Guardian Cryptic 27,104 by Tramp

by
As of the time of writing, the interactive version of this puzzle has gone AWOL; the PDF version may be found at https://crosswords-static.guim.co.uk/gdn.cryptic.20170126.pdf.

This turned out to be the Perfect Storm: I had to be out most of the evening, and when I got back, the puzzle had not appeared in its normal place on the website. I found the PDF, and was faced with a pretty difficult solve – I came close to despairing of finishing the crossword, yet alone parsing all the clues. However, I eventually completed it, and I hope I have correctly sorted out Tramp’s trickery. Then, of course,  I was stranded without Peedee’s invaluable utility, and had to knock up the blog by hand as best I could. Producing a filled grid is quite beyond me, and, given the late hour, proofreading will have to go by the board. Still, I must raise my glass in thanks to Tramp for the workout.
ACROSS
9,22 From a gin and tonic, drunk moves in a line? (9,7)
FORMATION DANCING
An anagram (‘drunk’) of ‘from a gin and tonic’. The question mark indicates the allusive definition (or the mismatched parts of speech, if you like).
10 Tend to go over to escort, getting one’s end away (5)
NURSE
A charade of NUR, a reversal (‘over’) of RUN (‘go’) plus SE[e] (‘escort’) minus an E (‘getting onE‘s end away’).
11 More Bloody Marys in the middle and one on right (5)
RARER
A charade of R (‘MaRy’s in the middle’) plus A (‘one’) plus RE (‘on’) plus R (‘right’).
12 Is tequila shot revealing features? (9)
QUALITIES
An anagram (‘shot’) of ‘is tequila’.
13 South American cocaine in flower and plant (7)
SANICLE
A charade of SA (‘South American’) plus NICLE, an envelope (‘in’) of C (‘cocaine’) in NILE (‘flower’).
14 Hearts or clubs? King inserted into decks (7)
TICKERS
An envelope (‘inserted into’) of C (‘clubs’) plus K (‘king’) in TIERS (‘decks’).
17 Had party finish off sangria (five parts wine) (5)
RAVED
An envelope (‘parts’) of A (‘finish off sangriA‘) plus V (‘five’) in RED (‘wine’).
19 Drink with friend (3)
BUD
Double definition, abbreviations for BUDWEISER and BUDDY respectively.
20 Like it? One drink (5)
ASSAI
A charade of AS (‘like’) plus SA (sex appeal, ‘it’) plus I (‘one’). ASSAI is a palm, or a beverage made from its fruit.
21 Serving men who drop round, left something in a piña colada? (7)
PARASOL
A charade of PARAS (‘serving men who drop’ – nice) plus O (’round’) plus L (‘left’).
24 They do up house: home counties housing spikes (9)
SHOELACES
A charade of SHOE, an envelope (‘housing’) of HO (‘house’) in SE (‘home counties’) plus LACES (‘spikes’).
26 Article on whisky island (5)
MALTA
A charade of MALT (‘whisky’) plus A (‘article’).
28 One records who pays for work on Buckingham Palace? (5)
NOTER
NOT E.R.!
DOWN
1 A long way from America: they fly back (4)
AFAR
A charade of A (‘America’) plus FAR, a reversal (‘back’) of RAF (‘they fly’).
2 Test alcohol-free beer at the end (European one) (3,3)
DRY RUN
A charade of DRY (‘alcohol-free’) plus R (‘beeR at the end’) plus UN (‘European one’, French, say).
3 Orders sidecar after pub shuts (10)
BARRICADES
A charade of BAR (‘pub’) plus RICADES, an anagram (‘orders’) of ‘sidecar’.
4 French number went down, we hear (6)
CINQUE
An approximate homophone (‘we hear’) of SANK (‘went down’).
5 Like some crisps? Nuts? Deal with change (8)
UNSALTED
An anagram (‘with change’) of ‘nuts deal’.
6,29 Wine cocktails shaken the wrong way? (13)
ANTICLOCKWISE
An anagram (‘shaken’) of ‘wine cocktails’.
7 Lines blocked with empty Eurostar coaches (8)
TRAINERS
An envelope (‘blocked with’) of ER (’empty EurostaR‘) in TRAINS (‘lines’).
8 Bases recipe off Black Russians once (4)
BEDS
A charade of B (‘black’) plus [r]EDS (‘Russians once’) minus the R (‘recipe off’).
13 Paddy drinks up (5)
STROP
A reversal (‘up’ in a down light) of PORTS (‘drinks’). STROP and ‘paddy’ both mean a tantrum.
15 Has ink come off ? Draw without stopping? (5-5)
CHAIN-SMOKE
An anagram (‘off’) of ‘has ink come’.
16 Have casual sex and drink around noon (5)
SWING
An envelope (‘around’) of N (‘noon’) in SWIG (‘drink’).
18 Part of Manhattan so nearly opening (8)
VERMOUTH
A charade of VER[y] (‘so’) minus its last letter (‘nearly’) plus MOUTH (‘opening’). ‘Manhattan’ is the cocktail.
19 Ingredient of snowball cocktail that might float in can? (8)
BALLCOCK
A hidden answer (‘ingredient of’) in ‘snowBALL COCKtail’. Having just learned what a snowball cocktail is, I find the information of no earthly use here. The ‘can’ is a WC.
22 Old records entertaining parties (6)
DISCOS
An envelope (‘entertaining’, tortuous word order) of O (‘old’) in DISCS (‘records’).
23 Wearing ring that’s mounted and embedded (6)
INLAID
A charade of IN (‘wearing’) plus LAID, a reversal (‘that’s mounted’ in a down light) of DIAL (‘ring’).
24,25 Downed one Sex on the Beach? (4,4)
SAND LARK
Double definition, more or less.
27 No head on men’s drinks (4)
ALES
A subtraction: [m]ALES (‘men’) minus the first letter (‘no head on’).

57 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,104 by Tramp”

  1. I am rarely/never on this setter’s wavelength and I found this one extra difficult to do as a screenshot of the PDF and then filling it in on my computer as an image. (I don’t have a printer, so it was not an option to print it out and do it by hand.) I ended up giving up on it.

    I failed to solve 13, 17, 24, 28 across and 2, 8, 18, 24, 25 down.

    Of the ones I solved I could not parse 11a and new words were BALLCOCK and ASSAI.

    Thanks PeterO for struggling with all the technical problems and thanks Tramp.

  2. Brigster put the pdf up on the Graun site which pleased many who were still up or in a different time zone.

    Tramp is top stuff and I loved this one.Thanks for blog .SHOELACES possible favourite but NOT ER was damn fine

  3. Thanks, PeterO. It was a novelty for me to solve a guardian cryptic on paper and it was pleasing to finish without needing checks and reveals. Perhaps I should try it more often? NOTER was sublime and I learned a couple of new words with SAND LARK and ASSAI – thanks to Tramp for a great puzzle.

  4. Very testing even for one who solves solely from the paper and thus was unaware of today’s online problems (I wonder what the respective proportions are?)

    Testing but worth it. SW corner was best and hardest. Especially liked NOTER, and the distraction of ‘downed’ in 24/25 (feathered) in a drink-themed puzzle. Thanks indeed to Tramp, and to PeterO for hard work.

  5. Thanks PeterO for a great blog. Like you, I found it a bit of a challenge but, as always, well worth persevering with. [At least I had the paper to do it in.]

    Very good to see Tramp back – and on top form, with so many witty references to the theme in both clues and answers, as usual, producing several chortles. I’m with quenbarrow @4 re the SW corner – I particularly liked the use of spikes / LACES in 24ac and laughed out loud at the innocently hidden BALLCOCK.

    Many thanks to Tramp for the fun – please come back soon!

  6. Thanks Tramp and PeterO

    I too found this very hard, but I managed to finish it, albeit with NURSE unparsed and RARER only partially parsed. On the whole I enjoyed the challenge. Favourites were PARASOL and VERMOUTH.

    DISCOS is a bit weak, as they are named after the discs played there. I don’t see why “trains” = “lines”; yes, they run on them, but…

  8. Sand lark.. didnt get lark .. the definition as downed one is rather ingenious but the sex on the beach bit is rather stretched and a force fit IMO.. however nice to see almost all clues in the theme ?

  9. muffin @6 re trains = lines – Collins: 6 – a line of coaches or wagons coupled together and drawn by a railway locomotive or, 8, a procession of people, vehicles, etc. travelling together. Or how about a train of thought?

    I meant to say that I read ‘moves’ as a noun in 9,22, too.

  10. I couldn’t download and print this from the Internet (my usual method for accessing the crossword just after midnight UK time) and then when my Guardian subscribed feed came through, the Cryptic was yesterday’s Chifonie. So clearly some gremlins have attacked The Guardian overnight!

    I liked the slightly risqué flavour of this drinks-themed puzzle.

    I really admire those who got it out but sympathise with those who struggled.

    In the end I could not get the SW to yield. Filling in BOOTLACES at 24a didn’t help!

    However my measure of enjoyment is often derived from relishing the individual clues I solve, so I did enjoy 16d SWING and 19d BALLCOCK.

    I have just gone back to my Pdf printout and circled all the drinks references. There are so many included in the clues. Thanks to Tramp for your ingenuity. And you are not to blame for the frustrations along the way to my partial solve. Additionally, your perseverance is much appreciated, PeterO.

  12. “serving men who drop” “draw without stopping” “that might float in can” are just three of the wonderfully funny and imaginatively disguised definitions in this fantastic puzzle. Chuck in a few anagrams “wine cocktails” etc and the witty “noter” and this is really a top crossword (set by a bloke who doesn’t drink, IIRC).
    Thanks to Tramp and to PeterO; I just hope that the Graun gremlin didn’t stop you enjoying the solve!

  13. Thanks Tramp, and Peter for not throwing in the towel and unravelling some pretty knotty clueing – more than I could manage.

  14. Thanks Tramp and PeterO.

    Strange, but I found this more straightforward than a lot of Tramp’s offerings – could have been the anagrams.

    I echo the thoughts about the allusive definitions and nice clues; a big grin for NOTER. PARASOL was another good ‘un.

  18. P.S. Meant to say that I had many guesses unparsed in terms of the clues I did solve, so on this occasion as on many others, I have really enjoyed reading the blog, and remain grateful for the forum. Otherwise my solving would be a very lonely experience.

  19. Loved this one – especially NOTER. Minor quibbles: Is SA really an abbreviation of SEX APPEAL? I mean I know it literally is but I’ve never seen it used as an acronym. Similarly R for RECIPE?

  20. Thanks Tramp and PeterO.

    +1 for people who do the crossword in the paper. And it was early enough this morning to allow us to do today’s before breakfast (we have late breakfasts).

    Charles is surprised that no-one has commented on 4d. French number 5 is ‘cinq’ which is pronounced ‘sank’, ‘CINQUE’ is either italian (pronounced totally differently) or an anglicised version which is pronounced ‘sink’ as in ‘Cinque Ports’. Is he missing something?

  21. @Normanl
    Why is ‘sank’ not a good (enough) homophone for cinque? (and ‘song’ for ‘sang’ ;-))
    My french accent isn’t bad, and I wouldn’t pronounce them the same, but in crosswordland, surely OK?

  23. Sorry NormanLinFrance and Tramp, we crossed (it took me a long time to type).

    Thanks for dropping by Tramp. You are forgiven, it was a fun puzzle.

    It took me a while to get the ‘part of Manhattan’ despite the fact that a Manhattan was one of my favourite cocktails when I lived in New York.

  24. Looks like 20 and 21 crossed. I didn’t notice the misspelling of the French “5” because I’m familiar with the Italian word; this wouldn’t have helped, though, as it is pronounced (more or less) “chink way”. (Why is it the “Cinque Ports”, though?)

    bodycheetah @19
    R for recipe is standard; I’ve frequnetly seen SA for sex appeal too, though I don’t know how accepted this one is.

  25. Brilliantly clued ! Top notch puzzle.
    I had a different parsing for RARER. AR as middle of Marys as Peter O has it, plus ER , one as in queen , with subtle reference to NOTER 28 ac, on R.
    Annoyingly this doesn’t actually work!

  27. Lovely exploitation of a theme. Liked NOTER and SAND LARK especially and agree with baerchen @12 re the cleverly disguised definitions.

  29. Thank you Tramp for a great crossword and thank you PeterO for all the trouble you went to.

    Like Robi @14, I found this more straightforward than many of Tramp’s puzzles. ASSAI and SANICLE were new for me.
    Loved the hidden BALLCOCK and the dig at Brenda, but the queen is paying for the repairs.

    I live in France, yet the CINQUE did not bother me since I thought of the Anglo-French, however I had “forgotten” the English pronunciation of Cinque-Ports – the clue could easily be re-written.

  30. Tripped up in the end by SAND LARK, but I loved this. NOTER, PARASOL and SHOELACES were terrific. Witty and fun, but still challenging – exactly what a good cryptic should be.

    Thanks Tramp and PeterO

  31. Clearly Tramp doesn’t support the “dry January” convention. Thank Goodness.

    Shome great fun to be had here today. Hic! Got harder the more I drank. I mean sholved.

  32. Quite tough in places, and I needed to guess and check a bit to finish it within my self-imposed deadline. ASSAI and SANICLE were unfamiliar, SANDLARK was last in. All entertaining and imaginitive

    Thanks to Tramp and PeterO

  33. And I thought the “we hear” applied to the “cinque” part as well – you should have kept quiet, Tramp.

  34. Too ingenious for me but I loved what I could manage. Even now after reading all the comments the penny has only just dropped re ‘downed one’. Thanks Tramp and PeterO

  35. A really fantastic puzzle, and worth the wait – I was reduced to doing the Indy until this eventually appeared online. Brilliant clues included SHOELACES, PARASOL, SAND LARK and TICKERS; and I thought the long anagrams (FORMATION DANCING and ANTICLOCKWISE) were tremendous also. Many thanks to Tramp and PeterO.

  36. @drofle 35
    bit harsh on Tees- “reduced” to doing the Indy! A fine puzzle too; Elsie Tanner in 2017 eh!

  37. Nice theme which helped a lot. This one was a heads down and think hard but it all came out in good time. Loved BUD! Never heard of assai as anything other than the musical term but as before we learn something new every day. Thanks to everyone. Cheers!

  38. Is Tramp really a non-drinker? I don’t think I have ever heard of anyone in crosswords circles who does not drink.

  39. Great puzzle for me today – despite not being a drinker and not being able to fully parse quite a few. Very grateful to Peter O for help with understanding how some of those trickier clues were constructed and many thanks to Tramp too of course.

  40. baerchen @ 36: I just don’t like the layout of the Indy’s online puzzle – I much prefer to print out the Grauniad’s. I waited a long time for the Graun puzzle to appear, and in the end gave up (I needed something to do over breakfast) and picked a Monk from last Saturday because I mistakenly thought it was an alias for Paul (whom I now see is Punk in the Indy).

  41. @ drofle & baerchen

    The Indy crossword editor was at the graun crossword conference in Brighton last week. He didn’t exactly rushnto the site’s defence when I described it as ‘god-awful’.

  42. Thanks to PeterO for the super blog and to others for your comments.

    I would say I hardly drink (I spill most of it, as my dad used to say)

    Neil

  43. @ Simon S
    Have to agree that the Indy online crossword is terrible on Laptop, iPad and IPhone. The only place where it is vaguely OK is at work where the office firewall blocks most of the adverts!

  44. Thanks to Tramp and PeterO. I’m late to the discussion (I normally tackle the puzzle in the evening US time and come here in the AM) and have little to add. STROP=paddy=tantrum was new to me as were SANICLE and ASSAI in this sense, but I much enjoyed the solve.

  45. Late to the party as well, but just wanted to say that I liked this one from Tramp. Took ages to get started, but then it went in steadily; just the last few held me up (for a long time).

    The theme was a bit of a giggle, as were many of the clues. I liked lots of them. I’m not sure that ‘have casual sex’ is a synonym for SWING, since SWINGERS spend large amounts of time arranging these events. Not that I know personally, of course.

    I don’t need to forgive Tramp for the CINQUE clue, since the first bit of CINQUE PORTS is always pronounced SANK. But a slight hint that it wasn’t modern French might have been favourite.

    Good puzzle; blog the same (and commiserations to Peter for the techie trouble). Thanks both.

  47. I’ve come to expect an enjoyable challenge from Tramp, one of my favourite setters, and this one was certainly a challenge. I really liked the clever, inventive tricks in the wordplay that sent the solver astray (this solver, anyway, and evidently some others too!).

    However, I didn’t enjoy what James (@13) aptly called ‘knotty’ clueing (which is at least as good a description as ‘clunky’ that I was going to use for this comment) – it just made some of the clues harder work than they could have been for no extra enjoyment. I counted six of these, but against them I must mention the six clues that I happily describe as brilliant: 9/22a FORMATION DANCING, 21a PARASOL, 24a SHOELACES, 6/29d ANTICLOCKWISE, 15d CHAIN-SMOKE and 19d BALLCOCK.

    The one clue I thought didn’t work properly was 4d CINQUE, even though it was my first or second in (with 5d UNSALTED). I had no technical problems, fortunately, because I filled in the grid in the real newspaper.

    Many thanks to Tramp, and special thanks to PeterO today for a comprehensive blog in trying circumstances.

  50. Not Tramp’s very best but still superb and best fun so far this year. Loved PARASOL, SHOELACES and CHAIN SMOKE.
    Many thanks Neil, and well done Peter for a perfect blog (would never have guessed at the impediments you faced and faced off!)

  51. muffin @46
    Yes, I’m sure ‘cinque’ as in Cinque Ports is pronounced ‘sink’. However, the clue does say ‘French number’, so the non-homophonic sound-alike is the one that applies here, and saying ‘we hear’ (in this case) is fair. My only problem was with ‘French number’ as the definition!

  52. If any one is still around, 8d Aren’t Russians still REDS?
    Thanks to Tramp and Peter O. Like most I didn’t know SANICLE and only knew ASSAI as a direction on a musical score.

  53. (this is a post that I wanted to submit yesterday but, for some reason, things went wrong)

    Great to see Tramp back on the score sheet!
    Yes, I do not pronounce ‘cinque’ like ‘sank’ (nor like ‘sink’).
    But this was another high quality crossword by a setter who was (and hopefully, still is) a favourite for many of us.
    We didn’t find this a difficult exercise.
    However, like some others we were stumped by that trio/quartet in the SW.

    Now, this isn’t the place to discuss Indy matters but, true, their website is a mess.
    What Simon S @41 said did actually happen but I can see the editor’s position.
    He knows that things changed since the Independent went only online.
    He also knows that he has a job that gives him a monthly income.
    Ever since the Indy overhaul some (but not that many) familiar faces called it a day.
    And perhaps because of that, there is more room for new setters.
    At least, the editor has shown to indeed be open for giving newbies real opportunities.
    Quality is still high ‘there’ and perhaps even more consistent than at The Guardian.

    When the Independent decided to dump the dead tree version, ‘we’ were invited to come up with ideas to improve the website.
    In those days, now just under a year ago, I had some email contact with the Indy about it.
    As a solver I know what I like and also what I do not like.
    I gave them some ‘advice’ that I thought was useful but nothing happened – I am afraid ‘they’ did not really understand what I meant.
    Compare this to The Guardian when they got complaints about the grids in the print version of their crosswords.
    They did change it back to how it was before.
    That said, one has to remember that crosswords as such are a lot more important to The Guardian than they are to The Independent.
    Probably because they have more money to spend.

    Just like I welcomed a new Tramp puzzle today, I would like to welcome another Jambazi.
    Seems like a long time ago since he was around in those areas.
    Anyway, this was a fine puzzle by a setter who should not disappear sooner or later.

    Thank you, PeterO for the blog.

  55. mikilad @54

    The sand lark is a bird (‘downed one’; down of the feathery kind). Wikipedia gives it as sand lark, Chambers as sand-lark, the OED gives examples as sand lark, sand-lark and sandlark.

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