Guardian Cryptic 27,144 by Crucible

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Two (or three) themes for the price of one.

There are two themes (possibly three if we distinguish music from musicals) in today’s offering from Crucible – Scotland and music, and they combine at 16ac and 19ac.

I had to look up the charioteer at 21dn, but the rest was straightforward enough.

Thanks, Crucible.

Across
9 HARMONICA Play this on 1 March badly, then 1 April (9)
*(on i march) + A
10 AMATI Fiddle in the morning at 1 (5)
A.M. + AT 1

The Amati family were violin makers in Cremona from the mid 1500s to the mid 1700s.
11 QUAVERS Question states: “Should these be sung with tremolo?” (7)
Qu. + AVERS
12 ENDWISE Last part learned in upright position (7)
END (last part) + WISE (learned)
13 EAGLE European composer nearly withdraws good score, of course (5)
E(uropean) + <=ELGA(r)

An eagle is 2 under par in golf, so a “good score” on the course.
14 BLOOD FEUD Clan wars overwhelm Cornish resort, as Spooner has it? (5,4)
Spoonerism of FLOOD BUDE
16 THESCOTTISHPLAY Euphemistic drama, terribly hot physical test (3,8,4)
*(hot physical test)

“The Scottish Play” is a euphemism for Macbeth, used instead of the play’s name as it is supposed to be unlicky for anyone associated with the theatre to mention the title of the play.
19 BRIGADOON Almost all soldiers in a group love performing musical (9)
BRIGAD(e) + 0 + ON (performing)
21 ANNIE Queen takes in one orphan (5)
(Queen) ANNE “takes in” 1
22 CURLING Game played in the Dog and Fish (7)
CUR + LING
23 GORDONS Clansmen continue south, crossing road (7)
GO ON S (continue south) “crossing” Rd.
24 THANE Old landowner’s article defending origins of art nouveau (5)
THE “defending” A(rt) N(ouveau)
25 ALLIGATOR Hide supplier at rebuilt gorilla cages (9)
AT “caged by” *(gorilla)
Down
1 CHEQUE STUB Examines old boat, say, getting a bit detached? (6,4)
Homophone of CHECKS TUB
2 TRIANGLE Instrument needs altering in different places (8)
*(altering)
3 POPEYE He wrote the Ancient Mariner (6)
(Alexander) POPE (a poet, therefore “he wrote”) + YE (the ancient)
4 JIGS A wife abandons puzzle and dances (4)
JIGS(aw)
5 CALEDONIAN Scots trick one of their own, holding a light (10)
CON IAN “holding” A L.E.D.
6 LAHDIDAH Pompous type had one curry sent up (3-2-3)
<= HAD 1 DHAL

Strictly speaking, dhal is a potential ingredient for a curry, rather than a curry itself.  Chambers has “a cooked dish” made from dhal as a definitiion, so this clue is probably OK.
7 SATIRE Cross line leaving for take-off (6)
SA(l)TIRE
8 FIFE It’s played very loudly around one eastern county (4)
Double definition and (FF (very loudly) “around” 1) + E(ast)
14 BOTTOM GEAR Say catchphrase over in pub that’s used by climbers (6,4)
<=e.g. MOTTO “in” BAR

A driver would use bottom gear when climbing a hill.
15 DRY MEASURE Maybe peck seed Murray ground (3,7)
*(seed Murray)

A peck is an example of a dry measure.
17 CLARINET Edit article about new liquorice stick (8)
*(article) “about” N(ew)

“Liquorice stick” is a slang term for a clarinet.
18 LINEOUTS Rowdies touring in Spain see dirty jumpers here (4-4)
LOUTS “touring” IN E, where E = Spain.

In rugby, line-outs are contested by the forwards jumping for the ball, and certainly by the end of the game, rugby players could be described as “dirty”.
20 INROAD Around noon, radio broadcast raid (6)
*(radio) “around” N(oon)
21 AURIGA Charioteer drivers carrying superior gear (6)
A.A. (Automobile Association, hence “drivers”) “carrying U (superior) + RIG (gear)
22 CATS Show around back street (4)
Ca. (circa, so “around”) + <=St.
23 GOLF In which to see drivers turn left in odd places (4)
GO + L(e)F(t)

*anagram

55 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,144 by Crucible”

  1. There are also three stage musicals here in ANNIE, CATS and BRIGADOON. Great stuff from Crucible, though I didn’t know the liquorice stick and 3d defeated me completely.

  2. Gladys

    Yes, I had those covered under “music”, but along with “The Scottish Play” theatre could have been a third theme.

  3. Thought the theme combined at 16a – the Scottish playing music – but a minor point! Very nicely clued.

    Thanks Crucible and loonapick

  5. Thanks Crucible and loonapick

    I loved this, with QUAVERS and the brilliant POPEYE outstanding.

    GOLF (and EAGLE) are considered (incorrectly) to have originated in Scotland; LINEOUTS occur in rugby, which the Scots used to be quite good at….

  7. (Misprint: you’ve missed the D in the fodder for DRY MEASURE, loonapick.)

    btw DAL (the commonest of several spellings) is fine for the cooked dish. They are made from lentils or other pulses.

  8. Thank you to Crucible and loonapick.

    I enjoyed the themes – Macbeth (THE SCOTTISH PLAY at 16a and THANE at 24a), music, musicals and Scotland in general.

    3d was hard I agree, Gladys@1. There are just so many writers out there, and I did wonder if there was an abbreviation for Coleridge, but then that wouldn’t have been a cryptic answer. Once I had thought of “YE” for the “ancient” way of saying “the”, I added the shortest writer’s name I knew with “O” as the second letter and “E” as the second letter and somehow Pope came to me. But all pretty much a fluke really. A lovely PDM I must say, though it sounded just a tad formal calling Popeye the Sailor Man a mariner. Probably my favourite in the end.

    I did know “liquorice stick” vaguely as a description of a clarinet – maybe from a song that says “he played upon his liquorice stick”???

    Just bunged in “GORDONS” at 23a because it fitted. Still not sure about the clansmen reference here – a Scots family name, I suspect??? This was very late in the puzzle as I had thought the drivers were turning PALE at 23d, and the GOLF reference took a while to see – actually probably only because of a bit of thought association with the “course” in the clue for 13a, EAGLE.

    I only parsed 15d DRY MEASURE at 15d because of Peter Piper who picked such a peck!

    I did have a mild panic when I saw “jumper” as part of the clue for 18d – shades of the much-commented-upon Puck puzzle from last week – but in the end I actually knew that Rugby Union players jump for LINE-OUTS. I also had heard that some of the fans of the game are called “Rowdies”.

  9. POPEYE was my LOI and the clue that gave me the most pleasure once the penny dropped.

    The Scottish theme helped me towards “saltire” and thereby SATIRE.

    Thanks, Crucible (and loonapick)!

    P.S. Explanation of TRIANGLE should say “*(altering)”, though I don’t suppose anyone will be too worried.

  10. Just right! Some lovely surfaces with excellent wordplay and clever misdirection thrown in for good measure. I actually spotted the themes quite early for once – an added bonus!

    My only problem was with the parsing of 18d, so I was pleased to see that the blog confirmed my reasoning. Thank you loonapick and many thanks to Crucible for an entertaining start to the day.

  12. Thanks, loonapick.

    What a beautifully constructed puzzle from Crucible, with so many layers and connections, as pointed out above. I’d add one more to Julie’s comment @8: In THE SCOTTISH PLAY, ‘The THANE of FIFE had A WIFE’ – ‘a wife’ appears in one of the clues]. There’s probably more to find but I have to dash out now!

    POPEYE was wonderful – a real laugh out loud moment.

    Huge thanks to Crucible – a great start to the day!

  15. Great fun. I tried it late last night, and made heavy weather of it, then returned this morning, spotted the topic and raced through it.
    Cats is a Cameron MacIntosh production, btw (at least originally), which is Scottish enough for me

  16. It struck me that GOLF could also be clued without the last five words, with the first five doing double duty as a double definition: “In which to see drivers,” conflating the game and the Volkswagen

  17. And what a day for a Scottish theme, the dust barely settled on a formal call for a further referendum on independence (from Nicola STURGEON, who featured rather infamously as a solution a week or two ago).

    Very ingenious stuff from Crucible. A bit of head scratching with JIGS and ENDWISE at the finish, but nothing too untoward. POPEYE is a clue to remember – one to trot out whenever people need to know the difference between an ordinary puzzle and a cryptic one.

  18. Great puzzle and blog.Almost a shame to do it stone cold sober. Loved QUAVERS and POPEYE and I have cooked dahl/dhal/dal myself and ordered many at eateries.

  19. Thanks, loonapick, fine blog to a fine puzzle.

    So much to enjoy here, with favourites including POPEYE, BOTTOM GEAR, & QUAVERS.

    I would also have included CHEQUE STUB but the memsahib vetoed it on the grounds that it’s actually the cheque itself which is the bit detached…the cheque stub remains in the book. (Picky or what?)

    Lovely puzzle, many thanks Crucible.

    Nice week, all.

  20. Lots to enjoy here and the themes were cleverly managed. 3d was priceless. However I can’t agree with DAHL as curry. As any fule kno, it’s a pulse often served with curry but also eaten on its own. Might as well say rice or naan mean curry.

  21. poc @20
    I regularly cook a Gordon Ramsay recipe that he calls “Rajasthani red lentil curry” that is a dal.

    btw it’s our favourite of about half a dozen dals I cook. It’s on P.132 in “Gordon Ramsay’s Great Escape”

  22. Like everyone I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle and also the blog. Had it not been for the very clear Scottish theme I doubt if I would have solved CALEDONIAN. In relation to AMATI I did wonder if Crucible could have reinforced the Scottish theme by using TAM (being Scots for Tom) in the clue, but that is the not intended to be a complaint! Thanks to both Crucible and loonapick

  23. Agreed, a great puzzle (and blog). With the sport references adding up to a subsidiary theme, again with a Scottish link. THE SCOTTISH PLAY… GOLF (EAGLE) and CURLING, and tennis (neat clue to 16d), and Rugby (LINE-OUTS). Could add FIFE (St Andrews, ‘home of golf’).

  24. Maybe I’m just feeling grumpy today but I didn’t think POPEYE was that great. The POPE part was very vague and could have been clued much better. I’m sure the pontiff writes too. As does anybody who’s ever picked up a pen!

  25. Yes, a wonderful puzzle! POPEYE was definitely clue of the day/month/year for me. Other great ones were ALLIGATOR, HARMONICA, LINE-OUTS and CHEQUE STUBS. Many thanks to Crucible and loonapick.

  26. Thanks Crucible and loonapick.

    Delightful puzzle; lots of fun. I agree that POPEYE was outstanding and I also particularly enjoyed BOTTOM GEAR and LINE-OUTS. CLARINET was a bit of a write-in if you knew the expression.

  27. Much as I enjoyed this I object to rugby forwards being described as dirty. Playing in the desert its impossible to get anything more than the odd grass stain around here.

    That said it was one of my first in.

    Thanks to Crucible and loonapick

  30. yes, a great puzzle, so thanks to Crucible and loonapick. I liked “unlicky” especially!.

    Seemed strange to hear Fife referred to as a county, since I am so used to “Kingdom”.

    Is the word “Macbeth” actually in the script of the play? If so do actors say, say, “Good morning, The Scottish Play”?

  31. Thank you Crucible and loonapick.

    That was fun. I had to google SAlTIRE, apparently it is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, also called St Andrew’s Cross, which appears in flags – the flag of Scotland is called the St Andrew’s Cross, but is often informally referred to as the Saltire.

    William @19, I think that a CHEQUE STUB is ‘a bit detached’ from the cheque, the cheque being detached from the cheque book?

  32. Dave Ellison @30, just checked, first reference Act One, Scene I, line 8 (3 Witch) “There to meet with Macbeth”, second reference Scene II, line 16 (sergeant) “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name -“, and there are many more occurrences.

  33. Thanks Crucible and loonapick

    Great fun all round, although as a clarinet player for many years I have never heard it referred to as a liquorice stick (but as a singer in various amateur choirs over the years I am definitely familiar with 11ac).

    Trailman @17 – yes indeed: particularly 19ac, which was used by some in the last referendum to describe the nationalists’ case.

    AndyK @ 27 – take a look at the pictures from England v Scotland at Twickenham at the weekend (when the 5dsn were fairly soundly beaten) – the England players in their all whites look pretty dirty.

  34. This was a bit tricky in places but entirely fair. Annoyingly BOTTOM GEAR was last in. My favourite was POPEYE. You know you have done too many crosswords when AMATI is first in…

    Thanks to Crucible and loonapick

  35. Thanks to Crucible and loonapick. I did not know Bude (for BLOOD FEUD), LINE-OUTS from Rugby, AURIGA, OR LIQUORICE STICKS but in each case the cluing was sufficient. Re THE SCOTTISH PLAY, as an avid theatre-goer the term is very familiar to me but the usage is anything but precise. Its origin is in dispute (one of several explanations is that theatre companies, when a new play bombed, quickly inserted Macbeth as a substitute). Invocation of the curse is not linked to mentioning “Macbeth” during a performance (other than viewing the play itself as unlucky). Rather, one trigger (that I have encountered widely) is mentioning that name or a quotation from the text inside a theatre building (hence usage of “the Thane” and “the lady”). Maybe you know the play or movie The Dresser. In the US and maybe in the UK the curse can be invoked by citing those items anywhere. If you have actor friends, tread carefully (“fair is foul and foul is fair”?).

  37. A very enjoyable puzzle with some tricky elements, particularly my favourite, POPEYE.

    My only quibble is that I still don’t see the point of “dirty” in the clue for 18d. Yes, as loonapick pointed out, the players do tend to be dirty by the end of the match, but they usually aren’t at the start, whatever the conditions in which the match is played. It just seems strange to include it, as the clue would work just as well without it.

    Thanks, Crucible and loonapick.

  38. To be absolutely pedantic, the “Y” in “the ancient” or “YE” isn’t the letter Y; it’s a modification of a rune called “thorn”, and was always pronounced “th”.

  40. ACD @35 If the Scottish Play is mentioned, you are supposed to say “Fair thoughts and happy hours attend on you” (one of the Venetian plays, Act 3 scene 4)

  41. Lovely puzzle which had us scratching our heads in places. Something at the back of my mind reminded me of the charioteer and we finished with 7d. A tough one for Tuesday. Thanks to everyone.

  43. Cookie @31 Yes, I rather thought along the same lines as you. It is she who must be obeyed who remains unmoved, insisting that the definition is clearly “a bit detached” where the “bit detached” is clearly (if you are an intractable, uncompromising, stubborn, woman) the cheque itself.

    Hey-ho, after 40+ years I suppose it’s too late to change her now.

  45. This was very enjoyable. I agree that POPEYE was great, but it wasn’t easy to get – “He wrote” for a particular writer doesn’t narrow things down very much!

    For those still wondering about the orientation issue on prize crossword 27,136, Philistine has now clarified matters. See his comment @66 of that debate.

  46. Marienkaefer@40. I hadn’t heard of that counter effect but have run across various other devices that include include such things as turning around three times and throwing salt over one shoulder. Another explanation for the curse is that invocations in the text actually work and can bring forth real witches or demons. That belief is actually documented in the period by an anecdote (probably concocted by a Puritan enemy of the theatre) of a performance of Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus in Exeter where the actors suddenly realized that “there was one too many devils amongst them” so that they and their audience “hastened to be first out of doors.” The players then spent the night praying “and got them out of the town the next morning.”

  47. Very good indeed with POPEYE worth the price of admission alone. I’ve heard the term ‘liquorice stick’ in a lyric somewhere but I doubt that any musician has ever referred to a clarinet thus!
    Thanks Crucible.

  49. Brilliant puzzle: a masterpiece of construction with witty, pithy and grammatically sound clues throughout.

    My only very minor quibble – though, alas, it goes against much of the preceding praise – is with POPEYE. Granted, the surface is excellent but I thought this, relatively speaking, was the only poor clue because “He wrote” is just too vague.

    Okay, crossing letters in the grid will help but I’d say a truly outstanding clue should be solvable in isolation.

    Thanks to Crucible and loonapick.

  50. Thanks all
    Despite all the themes invented above I still enjoyed this crossword, especially Popeye.

  51. @49
    Surely a clue. Solvable in isolation,might be an excellent clue but not an excellent CROSSWORD clue!

  52. @497
    Surely a clue. Solvable in isolation,might be an excellent clue but not an excellent CROSSWORD clue!

  53. Lots of ticks from us – and I agree the brilliance of “the Ancient Mariner” deserved a better opening than “He wrote”. Good to see I’m back in tune with JinA, although I did know liquorice stick. Self-belief is restored after Saturday’s trauma. Thank you Crucible and loonapick.

  55. Uncleskinny @54
    Yes, a genius clue.
    Some setters are just ‘better’ than others, aren’t they?

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