Guardian Cryptic 27,180 by Bonxie

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The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27180.

Bonxie is only an occasional setter here, and I have not blogged one of his puzzles since 2013. There are some prime inventions here, but balanced by syntactical loosenesses to shock the purists. Surely a crossword for those who have a more relaxed attitude. I was stumped by 14D.

Across
1 CAFTAN Foreman at factory returning loose clothing (6)
A hidden (?’clothing’ is required for the definition) reversed (‘returning’) in ‘foremaN AT FACtory’.
4 GALAXY Party axes stars here (6)
A charade of GALA (‘party’) plus XY (‘axes’ as the plural of axis).
9 CROC We leave a plant for a reptile (4)
CROC[us] (‘a plant’) without US (‘we leave’ – inventive, to say the least).
10 CHORISTERS They sing around their cross (10)
An anagram (‘around’) of ‘their cross’.
11 FIESTA Holiday at new site, wearing absolutely nothing (6)
An envelope (‘wearing’) of IEST, an anagram (‘new’) of ‘site’ in FA (sweet, ‘absolutely nothing’).
12 DRAW NEAR Pinched a bit of corn on approach (4,4)
A charade of DRAWN (‘pinched’) plus EAR (‘a bit of corn’).
13 MARSUPIAL Frenchman left au pairs inside playing possum? (9)
An envelope (‘inside’) of ARSUPIA, an anagram (‘playing’) of ‘au pairs’ in M (‘Monsieur, ‘Frenchman’) plus L (‘left’). The question mark suggests the indicaton by example.
15 EDGE Slowly move hands off book (4)
[l]EDGE[r] (‘book’) minus L and R (left and right, ‘hands off’).
16 BUMP Jog behind leading professional (4)
A charade of BUM (‘behind’) plus P (‘leading Professional’).
17 LOATHSOME Mobile homes — a lot are horrible (9)
An anagram (‘mobile’) of ‘homes a lot’.
21 WEREWOLF Fantastic being with us on westbound jet (8)
A charade of WE (‘us’, the counterpart of 9A) plus RE (‘on’) plus WOLF, a reversal (‘westbound’) of FLOW (‘jet’).
22 ACCUSE Odd clues in brilliant book (6)
An envelope (‘in’) of CUS (‘odd ClUeS‘) in ACE (‘brilliant’).
24 DISREGARDS Neglects to put down “Best Wishes” (10)
A charade of DIS (or diss, ‘put down’) plus REGARDS (‘Best Wishes’).
25 PEAT Pensioners first to consume fuel (4)
A charade of P (‘Pensioners first’) plus EAT (‘consume’). Perhaps you are more likely to use peat in the garden rather than burn it.
26 ESCORT Shepherd established bridges — that’s amazing! (6)
An envelope (‘bridges’) of COR! (‘that’s amazing!’) in EST (‘established’). After toying unsuccessfully with COR in 7D, it pops up here.
27 STRING Intently watching a lost series (6)
ST[a]RING (‘intently watching’) minus the A (‘a lost’).
Down
1 CORTINA Break into car at Alpine resort (7)
Triple definition: the ‘break’ was new to me, as a musical interlude in a tango event to allow the dancers to return to their tables, select new partners or whatever. The Ford car and the Italian resort were familiar enough. But see Kevin_from_ny @2 for a more sensible parsing.
2 FOCUS Concentrate on diplomats America caught hacking (5)
An envelope (‘hacking’ as the unusual indicator) of C (‘caught’) in FO (Foreign Office, ‘diplomats’) plus US (‘America’).
3 ARC LAMP Vice beneath a river light (3,4)
A charade of ‘a’ plus R (‘river’) plus CLAMP (‘vice’).
5 ANIMAL Moulting wings panic small creature (6)
‘[p]ani[c] [s]mal[l]’ shedding the outer letters of the two words (‘moulting wings’).
6 ACTINIDES Heavy metal group to perform mid-month? (9)
A charade of ACT IN (‘perform’) plus IDES (‘mid-month’).
7 YARDAGE Wow, old fish’s flipping length! (7)
A reversal (‘flipping’) of EGAD (‘wow, old’) plus RAY (‘fish’).
8 FORD MADOX FORD Repeatedly cross river to welcome Raging Bull writer (4,5,4)
An envelope (‘to welcome’) of MAD OX (‘Raging Bull’ – excellent misdirection) in FORD FORD (‘repeatedly cross river’).
14 SYMMETRIC Ken exits wounded, holding up TV award, though showing good balance (9)
This is an envelope (‘holding’) of YMME, a reversal (‘up’ in a down light) of EMMY (‘TV award’) in STRIC, which must come from ‘Ken exits wounded’ but I cannot for the life of me see how. No reasonable offer refused.
16 BEEHIVE Where queen resides in style? (7)
Double definition, the second being a hairstyle.
18 TRANSIT Crossing property carrying poles (7)
An envelope (‘carrying’) of NS (north and south ‘poles’) in TRAIT (‘property’).
19 MUSTANG Horsefly problem is mounting (7)
A reversal (‘is mounting’ in a down light) of GNAT (-‘fly’) plus SUM (‘problem’).
20 COUGAR Cat given joint with Italian sauce over (6)
A charade of CO (company, ‘joint’) plus UGAR, a reversal (‘over’) of RAGU (‘Italian sauce’).
23 CAPRI Island goat shedding hard skin (5)
CAPRI[corn] (‘goat’ constellation) minus CORN (‘shedding hard skin’).
completed grid

45 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,180 by Bonxie”

  4. Thanks PeterO and Bonxie.
    Delightful, I thought.

    There are Ford (car) models, throughout…I see escort and focus..several others as well.

  6. As for the solve, it took me a fair bit of effort, and I had the same quibbles as PeterO about the looseness here and there. Many clever devices, though.

    CO for “joint” in 20d I took as being not “company,” but the prefix co- as in co-author or co-owner.

    Re ARC LAMP: Here in America, we spell the CLAMP as vise, not vice. Vice is “sin” only. Is that not true over there?

  7. illipu @4, mrpenny @5: not to mention, the FOCUS, EDGE, TRANSIT (van), and even Mercury (now defunct division of Ford) COUGAR.

    And it’s VICE in the UK and here in Canada: which fits in a way, since your vice usually has you in its grip.

    Thanks Bonxie for a satisfyingly chewy puzzle, and PeterO for the blog: favorites were ACTINIDES, DISREGARDS and CROC

  8. I really enjoyed this puzzle. My favourites were SYMMETRIC, DISREGARDS, YARDAGE, ESCORT, MUSTANG, BUMP, BEEHIVE (LOI).

    I failed to pick up the theme of Ford cars, but I can now see that was very clever, too.

    ACTINIDES was a new word for me.

    Thanks PeterO and Bonxie.

  9. Thanks Bonxie and PeterO

    I was on Bonxie’s wavelength (as I usually am on the rare occasions when he sets), so finished and parsed all fairly quickly, with the SW last to fall. Great fun. Even I spotted the theme! Too many fun clues to mention.

  10. btw this clue was in Pan’s puzzle last week
    Reptile next to American flower (6)
    Isn’t this the sort of thing the editor watches out for?

  11. always lovely to see Bonxie
    @Muffin 10
    I can’t say the proliferation of crocuses bothers me overmuch, but I think that this puzzle is a little too hot on the heels of Maskarade’s autofest
    many thanks to S&B

  12. Thanks, PeterO, for the blog.

    I was glad to see Bonxie’s name this morning and thoroughly enjoyed the puzzle but I can’t believe I missed the theme – despite it being twice stated in 8dn and having been fixated for so long on CORTINA in Maskarade’s mammoth puzzle. Perhaps, as baerchen says, it came a bit too soon.

    I’m with mrpenney re CO in 20dn.

    Favourite clues: GALAXY and FIESTA.

    Many thanks to Bonxie.

  16. It’s so rarely that I get to start the crossword so early in the day that I thought I would celebrate by coming out of the place where I lurk and say first that this is one of many good crosswords that I have tackled recently, the highlights before today being the Shed and Maskarade puzzles.

    I often miss themes, but today I spotted it with one of my last entries: CORTINA. That is the only one, in fact, that is a proper name, whereas all the rest are real things as well as being names of Ford models. Congratulations to Bonxie for incorporating so many theme words into the grid. (We have seen FORD ESCORT and FORD ZODIAC recently, have we not?)

    Bonxie took liberties with cryptic grammar – not only ‘we’ in 9a CROC and ‘us’ in 21a WEREWOLF but also ‘are’ in 17a LOATHSOME – but apart from those the clues were excellent and I enjoyed the puzzle. My favourite was 8d FORD MADOX FORD with its Raging Bull.

    Thanks also to PeterO for his blog, which cleared up a couple of other points for me.

  17. I thought this was a tremendous puzzle! Brilliant – I have no problem with the somewhat loose cluing. Favourites included MARSUPIAL, ESCORT, WEREWOLF and MUSTANG. Many thanks to B and P. Come back soon, Bonxie!

  18. Such impeccable cluing-such as using we for us and vice versa, And with the numbering and clue, impossible not spell FMF correctly.
    Cortina my first entry- I’d forgotten the double FORD in the writer. But soon others lit up like Capri and Galaxy. It still wasnt a doddle-but less of an ordeal than the “autofest” as bearchen notes.

    That one brought back bad memories -my dodgy Hillman Imp and strange Zodiac.
    But this one reminded me of trouble-free motoring in my Capri in the 70s.
    I was on the lookout for Mondeo as we drove one from Dusseldorf to Rome once..

    If its too soon after Maskerade, blame the editor.
    Lovely puzzle and a rare appearance .
    Thanks to PeterO and Bonxie.

  19. Missed the theme, no doubt partly because I’m all carred-out after Maskarade, but it didn’t detract from a very rewarding puzzle. Plenty of ‘aha’ moments like ‘but there’s no way EMMY reversed will ever fit into a word’. ‘They sing around their cross’ is a great &lit as well as anagram. Well done Bonxie.

  20. Thank you Bonxie and PeterO.

    Wow, what a fun puzzle. 1d was a fantastic clue, I solved it as Kevin_from_ny @2 did, the musical interlude is new to me.

    Alan B @16, a ‘cortina’ is the thin web-like veil extending from the edge of the cap to the stalk in some toadstools, it is the latin word for ‘curtain’; the full name for the resort is Cortina d’Ampezzo, ‘Curtain of the Ampezzo Valley’.

  21. I really enjoyed this puzzle but then again I’m definitely not a purist. For once I did spot the theme in relatively good time and had I not done so I think ESCORT might have escaped me. i’m still not sure about ACCUSE being a synonym of “book” but that’s a minor quibble. Lots of fun clues, my favourites being those for FIESTA, EDGE, ANIMAL, SYMMETRIC, and BEEHIVE. Thanks to Bonxie and PeterO

  22. Thanks to Bonxie; great puzzle!

    Thanks Peter; good blog. Did anyone else try WINDSOR at the beginning for 16D? This was my LOI as I was determined to force an ‘R’ into the answer somewhere, doh! I was recently told off for putting we = us in a puzzle but I guess it’s horses for courses. I tend to put ‘we objectively’ to satisfy the purists.

    I think there are eight Fords here, not including the two in FORD MADOX FORD.

    I particularly enjoyed GALAXY, CHORISTERS, ANIMAL and BEEHIVE.

  23. Cookie @20
    Oops – that was careless of me. I didn’t bother to look up the word, my knowledge of Latin being pretty good. Thank you for your enlightening response.

  24. Robi @22, I had the B at 16d, so wanted to enter BALMORAL, a style of shoe, but it would not fit; your WINDSOR would fit, and it is a style of chair.

  25. Cookie@20 and Alan B@23: cortina is also Spanish for curtain, which would explain the tango connection. However I wonder if this definition is not merely serendipitous. I lived in South America for over 30 years and had never come across this (not being much of a fan of tango) so it seems a stretch to suppose that it was Bonxie’s intention, unless he wants to chip in.

    I parsed the clue as “(into car)*”

  26. Many thanks to Bonxie for a very enjoyable puzzle. It was a clever theme, despite its recurrence after that “too hard basket” Maskarade I tried recently. A pity if that took the shine off this one for other solvers.

    Thanks to PeterO and forum participants for clarifying some parsing.

    I am with lancsolver@21 regarding ACCUSE at 22a (my LOI) – not sure it is a close enough synonym for “book”.

    I share some favourites with others – mine were 11a FIESTA, 16a BUMP, 27a STRING, and 19d MUSTANG.

  27. poc @25
    Thanks for that further enlightenment. (And I owe an apology to PeterO for overlooking his comment on the CORTINA clue when I posted @16.)

  28. Thanks Bonxie and Peter0. I liked this very much – particular favourites were 10ac (I am one, and Easter is the time when you do indeed sing around a cross), the misdirection in 6dn and the excellent 8dn.

    Bonxie is the Shetland name for the Great Skua: plenty of 25ac used for fuel there.

    Missed the car theme, despite driving a 2dn.

  29. I thought this was an easier Bonxie than usual. I looked for a theme after the first run through, but with the words I had then failed to spot one and forgot to later. It would certainly have helped with the bottom left corner.

    Thanks Peter and Bonxie

  30. Thanks to Bonxie and PeterO. I did get SYMMETRIC and remembered CROCUS from last week but did not know ACTINIDES. Very enjoyable.

  31. Great crossword with unusual and ingenious cluing. 1d works on so many levels it’s amazing!

    Ashamed to say I totally missed the theme, but highly amused once it finally clicked. Strange coming so soon after the alphabetical mega carfest.

  33. I managed to finish this without even noticing the fords – must have been half asleep because they were all familiar. Quite a gentle one by Bonxie’s standards, but a nice variety of devices.

    Thanks to Bonxie and PeterO

  34. Thanks both,

    I thought ‘accuse’ was OK for ‘book’. A copper might say ‘I’m going to book you/accuse you.’ Admittedly, if a preposition followed it might be different, but close enough for Government work.

  35. Very much enjoyed this. The top half went in much more easily than the bottom. I liked ANIMAL, ACTINIDES, CHORISTERS and SYMMETRIC the best. Guessed ANTHILL for 16d – so near, yet so far!
    The use of bridges in 26 is interesting. I correctly guessed that it was an indicator in the cryptic reading but incorrectly assumed this meant it joined two pieces rather than spanning/going over a different piece. I can see it working both ways. Makes it rather a useful tool!
    Thanks, Bonxie for a fine puzzle and PeterO for the blog. I went for the anagram in 1d but I like the alternative triple too.

  36. I worked for a Ford dealer many years ago so the cars were familiar. I didnt get the theme until about halfway through when CORTINA,FIESTA and FOCUS emerged in quick succession. Rather enjoyable, although I didn’t care for ACCUSE much. Does this mean “book”? Can’t see it myself.
    Anyway,thanks BONXIE.

  37. Quite brilliant.

    Lovely clueing of xy as axes.

    Just a shame there wasn’t room for Ford Prefect (but maybe he belongs to another sci fi themed puzzle…)

  38. Peter A @ 36: I thought ACCUSE was short for J’ACCUSE, thinking it was a book, but googling it discover that it was in fact a newspaper article by Zola in support of Dreyfus. Mea culpa.

    Someone above says that to accuse is to book, as in a copper saying “You’re booked!” to a member of the criminal fraternity.

  40. Thanks Bonxie and PeterO

    Started (and finished) this late but loved it. Ingenious! Missed the theme as always – and am familiar with all the cars. One day….

  42. I got there in the end and felt it was worth the effort with lots of innovative clueing and misdirection. I particularly liked the misdirecting punctuation in 25a and 1d as the anagram fodder also clued the solution as well as it being defined by both the beginning and end of the clue – although I didn’t know about the tango connection until I got here. I wonder if Bonxie did when (s)he set it?! Thanks to them for a good workout and to PeterO for an excellent blog.

  43. Sorry, I posted without refreshing and missed lots of comments which meant I’d have written mine differently and with reference to them – and I’d also have known Bonxie’s gender!

  44. As regards xy as axes. These are the traditional axes on a Cartesian graph… The old saw goes “X a cross (across); wise up (Y is up)”.

  45. When the police have a person in custody and have decided to charge them with an offence, they are taken before the custody sergeant who enters the details into the charge book. This is “booking” them.

    Or at least this is how it used to be done

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