Guardian Cryptic 27,111 by Imogen

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The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27111.

I spent a fair amount of time in a futile search for the wordplay of 13A SIGN, but apart from that the puzzle was not too difficult.

Across
1 BADGER Mark of rank taken by King Harry (6)
A charade of BADGE (‘mark of rank’) plus R (res, ‘king’)
5 ADAM BEDE Book a woman into bed? On the contrary (4,4)
An envelope (‘into’) of ‘bed’ in A DAME (‘a woman’), for the novel by George Eliot.
9 CHUTZPAH Circling Shed 26, old man taps cheek (8)
An  envelope (‘circling’) of HUT Z (‘shed 26’) plus PA (‘old man’) in C and H (cold and hot, ‘taps’).
10 SARTRE Arrest criminal John-Paul! (6)
An anagram (‘criminal’) of ‘arrest’.
11 MISSION CREEP Native American at the Alamo, say, quietly getting overinvolved? (7,5)
A charade of MISSION CREE (‘native American at the Alamo, say’) plus P (‘quietly’).
13 SIGN Indicate private is about to be canned? (4)
 I do not see the wordplay. Is the ‘private’ GI? If so, it is not a good match, and I cannot justify the SN. Is ‘is’ to be reversed? Again, I cannot make this stick.

An afterthought: I still do not like GI for ‘private’, but Sn is the chemical symbol for tin, so that ‘canned’ could indicate put in tin. Tortuous, but at least it is an explanation of sorts. I would be very happy if anyone can come up with something better.
14 ABSENTEE Told to go into a communal meeting? One didn’t (8)
An envelope (‘into’) of SENT (‘told to go’) in A BEE (‘a communal meeting’).
17 LADYBIRD One spotted boy by turning one way (8)
A charade of LAD (‘boy’) plus YB, a reversal (‘turning’) of ‘by’ plus I (‘one’) plus RD (‘way’).
18 SAGE Plant elder, perhaps (4)
Double definition.
20 WELFARE STATE Little fellow in conflict with car — this will provide comprehensive support (7,5)
An envelope (‘in’) of ELF (‘little fellow’) in WAR (‘conflict’) plus ESTATE (‘car’).
23 SQUINT Member of large family in the way gets a funny look (6)
An envelope (‘in’) of QUIN (‘member of large family’) in ST (‘the way’).
24 AMENABLE In a fit, people easily influenced (8)
An envelope (‘in’) of MEN (‘people’) in ‘a’ plus ABLE (‘fit’).
25 KEDGEREE Endlessly continue holding tool in dish (8)
An envelope (‘holding’) of EDGER (‘tool’) in KEE[p] (‘continue’; not a perfect match?) minus its last letter (‘endlessly’).
26 THUMBS So doctor held these up for approval (6)
An envelope (‘held’) of MB (‘doctor’) in THUS (‘so’).
Down
2 ACHE Something hurting at end of facial hair (4)
The end of  [moust]ACHE (‘facial hair’).
3 GATE MONEY Pounds on the door? (4,5)
Cryptic definition.
4 REPAST Some more pastrami makes a meal (6)
A hidden answer (‘some’) in ‘moRE PASTrami’.
5 AN HEIR AND A SPARE Wills and Harry? Troublesome pair, as Anne heard (2,4,3,1,5)
An anagram (‘troublesome’) of ‘pair as Anne heard’. The answering phrase refers to the recommendation that a monarch should have two offspring, the second to succeed if anything happens to the first. Although Charles is not yet king, he has fulfilled his quota with the Princes William and Henry (often known as Wills and Harry respectively). Also, in passing, Princess Anne was at one time the SPARE.
6 ARSONIST Criminal deserving the firing squad? (8)
Cryptic allusion.
7 BARER Having lesson in parts, messenger lacking English (5)
A subtraction: B[e]ARER (‘messenger’) minus the E (‘lacking English’). ‘lesson’ in parts is LESS ON.
8 DARK ENERGY Force randy Greek to swerve (4,6)
An anagram (‘to swerve’) of ‘randy Greek’. Cosmology, yet.
12 PICARESQUE Animosity about responsibilities is concerning rogues (10)
An envelope (‘about’) of CARES (‘responsibilities’) in PIQUE (‘animosity’).
15 NOSFERATU Horror film making a fortune about initiation into sex (9)
An envelope (‘about’) of S (‘initiation into Sex’; maybe a little dodgy) in NOFERATU, an anagram (‘making’) of ‘a fortune’. The film, dating from 1922, is by F W Murnau, although there are other versions with full titles Nosferatu the Vampyre by Werner Herzog, and Nosferatu: The First Vampire which is new to me.
16 MIGRATOR Main road more important, it’s said, for one leaving the country (8)
A charade of MI (M1, ‘main road’) plus GRATOR, a homophone (‘it’s said’) of GREATER (‘more important’).
19 LATENT Hidden in dead part of Australia (6)
A charade of LATE (‘dead’) plus NT (Northern Territory, ‘part of Australia’).
21 FLING Love affair with office work? Not I (5)
A subtraction: F[i]LING (‘office work’) minus the I (‘not I’).
22 BLUB Cry, then one needed to lighten up (4)
A reversal (‘up’) of BULB (‘one needed to lighten’).
completed grid

40 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,111 by Imogen”

  1. Re 13: Yes, I took ‘put in tin’ as equivalent to ‘canned’, and I liked it — as indeed the whole puzzle.

  2. I had a bad start, entering LOCK for 2d “OCK” (expression you might make if something is hurting) after L (end of facial). Definition = “hair”. Hmmm, well I convinced myself at the time somehow. After that things went further downhill and I ended up having to reveal the last three clues. I’m afraid to say that Imogen well and truly defeated me!

    I did, however, enjoy a few of the clues and thought that ADAM BEDE had an &littish quality with George Eliot being not a man but “on the contrary” a woman.

    Thanks to PeterO and Imogen.

  3. Thanks Imogen and PeterO

    Imogen is generally not one of my favourite setters, but I enjoyed this one, with WELFARE STATE and THUMBS favourites. I parsed SIGN as GI back in “tin” too, and also rather liked it.

    I failed to parse CHUTZPAH (I often miss these number = position in alphabet ones) and ACHE, which I thought was the weakest clue here.

  5. Struggled with the last few, mainly because I’d weakly thought that perhaps the answer to 3d might have been “gets heavy”

  6. Top puzzle, all round. Thumbs up for 13a – can and tin are so commonly associated I don’t think it’s a stretch. I put BARER in but couldn’t understand it, and now that it’s explained, don’t like it, but that’s probably because I always miss that type of device.
    Thanks Imogen, Peter

  7. While the mathematicians worry about permutations and combinations, I’m uncomfortable with force as an equivalent to energy. Never mind – it’s a crossword not a thesis!
    Enjoyable crossword and good blog.

  8. Overall I thought this was an excellent puzzle and I definitely didn’t find it as easy as PeterO! My favourites were MISSION CREEP, ADAM BEDE, LADYBIRD, CHUTZPAH, WELFARE STATE and THUMBS – all very clever clues. A genuine challenge to enjoy on a Friday and one I was pleased to complete, even if a little electronic assistance was required towards the end. Thanks to Imogen and PeterO

  9. Got the book easily enough, but hadn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of getting the film.
    Failed to spot the lift and separate in 7d, and the tool in 25a.

  10. I also agree about the analysis of ‘sign’ at 13a – and someone hinted at this in the other thread, referring to chemistry.

    Chutzpah – I remember the example of the boy who kills both his parents and then asks the court to be merciful on the grounds that he is an orphan.

  11. Thanks both,

    I’m a mathematician who didn’t worry about perms and combs, but I was with Auriga @7 about force=energy. Thanks for the help in parsing 13ac. Perhaps the question mark excuses any non-equivalence between GI and private.

  13. I thought this was well clued, but it took me quite a time. Thanks to PeterO for explaining BARER. Favourites were CHUTZPAH, ABSENTEE, THUMBS and BLUB. Many thanks also to Imogen.

  14. to Ian @10

    The difference between hubris, nerve and chutzpah:

    If you kill your parents, that’s hubris.
    If you then plead for mercy, that’s nerve.
    If you plead for mercy on the grounds that you’re an orphan — that’s chutzpah!

  15. Another very entertaining and satisfyingly tricky puzzle, as Imogen’s so often are. Particularly liked AN HEIR AND A SPARE and ADAM BEDE. Agree with the quibbles on DARK ENERGY, but it would be hard to correct without ruining the surface. BADGER was last in.

    Thanks to Imogen and PeterO

  16. I quite enjoyed this crossword too, and laughed aloud when I cracked 13A; groaned at 1A, which was my last in.

    Although in the ordinary way I’d quibble at energy/force, like others here, I think it’s reasonable to describe dark energy as a force, in that it’s whatever is producing the acceleration in the rate of expansion of the universe . . . and things that produce accelerations are forces. In other words, the “energy” part of the term “dark energy” is perhaps a tad misleading.

    I think. Brief pause while brain explodes.

  17. Thanks to Imogen and PeterO. I found this puzzle tough going and had particular trouble with the four-letter words (SIGN, SAGE, ACHE, BLUB). I had a very slow start, but PICARESQUE and NOSFERATU got me going and I finally caught on to BEARER (though I missed the less-on) and AN HEIR AND A SPARE (new to me). Definitely a challenge.

  18. “Pique” for animosity and “cares” for responsibilities are both pretty loose synonyms. Admittedly, though, more accurate ones would have made for a less plausible surface. The “then” in 2d is also a bit forced. I admit to sour grapes in 12, but not in 22.

  19. For 16, without pausing to think about spelling, I wrote in MIGRATER, not MIGRATOR. Some dictionaries give this as a legitimate alternative, but not Chambers, at least not in my 2003 edition (am still sticking with that, in the hope of winning the new edition one day in The Oldie or wherever). If this was picked out from a prize crossword entry, would MIGRATER be condoned? But thanks anyway to Imogen for an enjoyable puzzle, also to PeterO.

  20. This was rough, but I got there in the end. For once, the longest entry, AN HEIR AND A SPARE, was one of my earliest in, which helped. KEDGEREE was new to me, but it went in okay once I had the crossing letters in.

    I was always under the impression that Yiddish-derived words were better-known on this side of the Atlantic than yours, so I was mildly surprised to see CHUTZPAH. I got SQUINT shortly after CHUTZPAH, and therefore spent the rest of the puzzle looking in vain for a J and an X. Every time I’m expecting a pangram, there isn’t one…

    Didn’t parse BARER (the lesson = less on thing) or SIGN, so thanks for those.

  21. We got sign but didn’t twig the elemental reference until afterwards. Never heard of 5d but 22d made us laugh. Nice puzzle just hard enough for a leisurely lunch. Thanks to everyone.

  22. For the benefit of those who may wonder at the queries above wrt force and energy, at its very simplest a mechanical energy is a force multiplied by a distance, which is clearly not the same as just a force.

  23. Thankfully realthog has explained why dark energy is misnamed as I am trying to type on a tablet. Suffice to say, it is a hypothetical force

  24. Thank you Imogen and PeterO.

    An enjoyable puzzle, but hard going for me. ADAM BEDE and THUMBS, along with WELFARE STATE, were my favourites.

    Derek Lazenby @ 22, yes, but we are dealing with DARK ENERGY, the HubbleSite of NASA says

    … energy is supposed to have a source — either matter or radiation. The notion here is that space, even when devoid of all matter and radiation, has a residual energy. That “energy of space,” when considered on a cosmic scale, leads to a force that increases the expansion of the universe…
    … Since space is everywhere, this dark energy force is everywhere, and its effects increase as space expands. In contrast, gravity’s force is stronger when things are close together and weaker when they are far apart.

  26. Many thanks Imogen and Peter0. I enjoyed this. Having visited the Alamo I really liked 13ac, though of course 17ac had to be my favourite …

  27. realthog @16

    In writing up the blog, I thought that there might be objections to 8D, but I saw the force of your point that the answer is DARK ENERGY.

    Rompiballe @18

    I am a little surprised at your difficulty with ‘pique’ and ‘cares’ – indeed, Chambers gives animosity as the first definition of pique, and cares and responsibilities seem to me equally close. As you say, perhaps sour grapes. The ‘then’ in 22D depends on your feelings about ways of joining definition to wordplay.

    My afterthought for 13A came, as happens occasionally, after I had retired to bed, and I was too bleary for it to register as a PDM. In the light of day, the clue certainly looks better, although I note that so far no-one has rushed to the defense of GI/private.

  28. Marienkaefer @26

    I don’t know German but I googled your pseudonym a long time ago – Congratulations! 😉

  29. After parsing CHUTZPAH and SIGN, I needed a beer. Actually I was feeling quite proud of myself. I didn’t manage SARTRE and BARER though.

    Lots of great clues, a very satisfying puzzle – not easy.

    I was happy with dark energy being a force, also as in black magic

    Many thanks Imogen and thank you PeterO

    And thank you Valentine@14 for refining my understanding of chutzpah – brilliant!

  30. Eileen @ 28

    Thank you. As a postgraduate student I studied in the GDR, and used to babysit for a family there. I read them English stories (“nicht auf deine Sprache!”) and they loved the word “Ladybird” so much that when the family eventually got a car (a 10 year old Wartburg which was red and black) they called it “Ladybird”. So I adopted “Marienkaefer” as my avatar.

  32. I think the parsing of KEDGEREE is different. KEE [P] is ‘continue holding’ endless then the tool [EDGER] is ‘in’. Works much better that way.

  33. Yes, thanks Valentine. A nice response.

    Overall, I find the posts here rather more enjoyable than those that appear underneath the original crossword. People often add something more to the dialogue, there are no issues about ‘spoilers’, and there are no annoying posts saying “All done, 3 minutes 18 seconds”.

    I am about to submit this but the robot detector is demanding, as a condition, the answer to 2 x 2. Maths wasn’t my strong suit, but I’ll have a go anyway.

  34. I thought this was an excellent puzzle and am in awe of Peter O who breezed through it – I plodded through and left the last 4 (1, 26ac, 19, 22dn) for Mrs W to write in after I’d stared at them for an hour – great what a fresh mind does. Thanks for the blog PO and especially parsing 7d – I didn’t twig the less on – v clever. Thanks Imogen.

  36. I didn’t get to this until late and found it very difficult- indeed,I abandoned it unfinished until this morning when it suddenly seemed easier. I simply couldn’t see GATE MONEY but once I got it LADYBIRD and SIGN followed. The latter was a guess and,at the time, I thought the clue awful. Makes sense now though.
    Delayed thanks Imogen.

  37. Thoroughly enjoyed this typically excellent puzzle from Imogen, though one of his easier works I thought.
    I admired the construction of CHUTZPAH and SIGN was a favourite (feel sure I’ve seen the “canned” indicating ‘in SN’ before – though I solved/parsed from first principles). SQUINT was a great clue, I thought, and enjoyed the chestnuts SARTRE and FLING.
    Thanks again to setter – and to blogger.

  40. I’m actually a cosmologist by trade. It is true that dark energy is not literally a force. For instance, to use a criterion that often works nicely in physics, it doesn’t have the same units as a force — one would never say that the amount of dark energy was XXX newtons or even pounds. On the other hand, many of us refer to it informally as a force. I’m sure that I’ve said in lectures that “dark energy is the force that makes the expansion of the Universe accelerate”. So I can’t get too worried about this particular bit of loose language.

    On the other hand, like Van Winkle I was surprised to see Sartre referred to as John-Paul.

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