Guardian Cryptic 27,203 by Rufus

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27203.

Some decent clues, little to complain about, and certainly quickly finished.

Across
9 THEIR With time, successor of both (5)
A charade of T (‘time’) plus HEIR (‘successor’).
10 PANORAMIC Father goes to Minorca, having break that’s all-inclusive (9)
A charade of PA (‘father’) plus NORAMIC, an anagram (‘having break’) of ‘Minorca’.
11 DILIGENCE Horse-drawn vehicle industry (9)
A fair double definition.
12 SHRED Scrap when Communist is told to be quiet! (5)
A charade of SH (‘quiet’) plus RED (‘Communist’); the two particles treated together as an injunction justify the order in the answer.
13 ANIMATE I meant a change to liven things up (7)
An anagram (‘change to’) of ‘I meant a’.
15 SAWN-OFF Short of shotguns? (4-3)
Crypticish definition.
17 THERE No, no, not here! (5)
One of those “It can’t be that – oh yes it can, it’s Rufus”.
18 SUB Due to take bus back (3)
A reversal (‘to take … back’) of ‘bus’.
20 REFER Appeal in two ways (5)
A palindrome (‘in two ways’).
22 RESPITE Pause as priest turns a key (7)
A charade of RESPIT, an anagram (‘turns’) of ‘priest’ plus E (‘a key’ musical).
25 ASSURED Fool’s rude, that’s for certain (7)
A charade of ASS (‘fool’) plus URED, an anagram (‘that’s for’, for want of anything better) of ‘rude’.
26 ERROR Panic, losing head, and slip (5)
[t]ERROR (‘panic’) minus its first letter (‘losing head’).
27 DECEPTIVE Design pet device, but not what it seems at first (9)
An anagram (‘design’) of ‘pet device’.
30 ARBITRATE Judge a little speed to be about right (9)
An envelope (‘to be about’) of R (‘right’) in ‘a’ plus BIT (‘little’) plus RATE (‘speed’).
31 CROWN Symbol of sovereignty King Charles had to acknowledge (5)
A charade of CR (Carolus Rex, ‘King Charles’) plus OWN (‘acknowledge’).
Down
1 STUD Endless reading for a boss (4)
STUD[y] (‘reading’) minus its last letter (‘endless’).
2 HELLFIRE Worst type of underground heating? (8)
Cryptic definition.
3 BRIG End of spinnaker in large sailing ship (4)
An envelope (‘in’) of R (‘end of spinnakeR‘) in BIG (‘large’).
4 SPANIELS Painless exercise for dogs (8)
An anagram (‘exercise’) of ‘painless’.
5 ENTERS Ernest goes out for records (6)
An anagram (‘goes out’) of ‘Ernest’.
6 CROSSWORDS Angry expressions that call for solutions (10)
CROSS WORDS.
7 EMBRYO It grows more by development (6)
An anagram (‘development’) of ‘more by’, with an extended definition.
8 ACID Drug found in a police department (4)
A charade of ‘a’ plus CID (‘police department’).
13 ACTOR His professionalism may be brought into play (5)
Cryptic definition.
14 AMELIORATE Improve meal or I eat out (10)
An anagram (‘out’) of ‘meal or I ate’
16 FIRED Given the sack with enthusiasm (5)
Double definition, the second being allusive.
19 BRANCHES Subsidiary offices of the Forestry Commission? (8)
Definition and cryptic allusion.
21 FIRE IRON Inferior sort of poker, perhaps? (4,4)
An anagram (‘sort of’) of ‘inferior’.
23 SCRIBE Score as a writer (6)
Double definition.
24 ENDEAR Make attractive object — a listening device (6)
A charade of END (‘object’) plus EAR (‘a listening device’).
26 EDAM Dutch product manufactured to be sent North (4)
A reversal (‘to be sent North’ in a down light) of MADE (‘manufactured’).
28 PICT Old northerner caught in a trap (4)
An envelope (‘in’) of C (‘caught’) in PIT (‘a trap’).
29 ETNA Mount found in Estonia, oddly enough (4)
Alternate letters (‘oddly enough’) of ‘EsToNiA‘.
completed grid

35 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,203 by Rufus”

  1. Thanks PeterO and Rufus.

    Don’t understand why PICT is old northerner?!

    Liked ‘No, no’ and ‘angry expressions’..and the smooth surfaces.

  3. I had a vague memory that the Picts settled in Scotland, ilippu@1.

    Thanks Rufus and PeterO.

    The answers and clues for 1d STUD/boss, 6d CROSSWORDS/call for solutions, and 16d FIRED/given the sack all seemed vaguely familiar to me. But perhaps they are just typically Rufusian.

    I liked the anagram, fodder and indicator in 4d, SPANIELS/painless exercise, and also thought that the surfaces for 13d ACTOR and 19d BRANCHES were quite smooth.

    I didn’t get the “horse-drawn vehicle” part of the clue for 11a DILIGENCE.

  4. Also a bit “iffy” about “appeal” as a synonym for REFER in the palindrome at 20a?

  5. But I did like the clever direction for the removal of the “no” (No, no) in noTHERE at 17a.

  8. Thanks Rufus and PeterO

    I enjoyed the nice anagrams for SPANIELS, EMBRYO and FIRE IRON, and the partial for PANORAMIC. I raised an eyebrow at THERE until I saw the construction that Julie @5 mentions.

    I didn’t know DILIGENCE as a horse-drawn vehicle (apparently French, so shouldn’t there have been an indication?) REFER = “appeal” just about OK, but very loose. HELLFIRE? – well, it is Rufus…

  9. Never heard of DILIGENCE as a carriage; liked ENDEAR and SAWN-OFF. I agree with copmus@7 that 18 belongs in the quick crossword department. But thanks as ever to Rufus and PeterO.

  10. Thanks, PeterO.

    Julie in Oz @4 Me too re REFER for “appeal”. In the end I decided one could ‘refer to’ or ‘appeal to’ an arbiter such as a judge or umpire for a ruling.

    Some to admire this Monday morning. Surprising anagrams at PAINLESS/SPANIELS & INFERIOR/FIRE IRON, and also admired No, no, not there and smiled at HELLFIRE.

    Pleasant kick off, thank you, Rufus.

    Nice week, all.

  11. All pretty straightforward but pleasant enough. DILIGENCE as a coach was very distantly familiar, probably from a previous Rufus, though he last used it in 2009. STUD is one of his favourite words (and definitions)..

    Thanks to Rufus and PeterO

  12. It’s rare for me to complete the cryptic puzzle in less than half an hour but it is a Monday and it is a Rufus! The less well-known meaning of diligence was also new to me but the solution to the clue couldn’t really have been anything else. Generally a straightforward start to the week. Thanks Rufus and PeterO

  13. No great scares today, despite the best efforts of HELLFIRE. Not at all an unenjoyable puzzle from Rufus.

  15. I completed this in 15 minutes which even for a Rufus is unusual, but I did have a few smiles along the way. Like Julie @5 I took the (No no) approach and hadn’t heard of diligence as a carriage. Happy with Picts – brought back school memories of early British history.

    Thanks to PeterO and Rufus, as always.

  16. What is the definition for 18? I can see all sorts of things going on with the reversing bus, and subdue, but how does sub = due? I thought the def might be ‘back’ with double duty happening.

  17. Thanks PeterO and Rufus.

    A gently humming start to the week, although these days I rarely manage a full week’s worth. I did not get HELLFIRE, which required too many geographical and ecclesiastical pirouettes for me. I thought DILIGENCE might be a trap, and sure enough….

    Terrible joke.

    Julie@4 – would it help to think in terms of a referee?

  18. paddymelon @16
    I took as a reference to a subscription to a club or society, sometimes referred to as “dues” (though not generally in the singular, I think).

  19. The usual pleasant and gentle start to the week. I thought 17a (THERE) and 14d (AMELIORATE) were great clues.

    In 25a, how is “that’s for” an anagram indicator?

  20. Oh, thanks muffin @18. That’s plausibly parsable.

    lol alhpalpha @17. I fell for the ‘trap’. Thought the solution was ‘delegance’ (horse drawn, nag reversed, in something I couldn’t explain, with the solution being something to do with the vehicle industry. Now that I know both diligence and delegance, I’ll never forget either, or have recourse to use either.

  21. JimS @ 19. I had trouble with the apparently missing anagrind in 25 too, but I think ‘that’s for’ is an oblique indicator, like substitute/represent/stands for or as I say in this household, anything that even remotely could mean b_____ it up.

  22. STUD ACID ETNA EDAM ANIMATE CROSSWORDS… This was a puzzle that made me feel like I’d been here before hundreds of times.

  23. Thank you Rufus and PeterO.

    I enjoyed this crossword, especially the clue for THERE!

    I was sure I had encountered DILIGENCE for a stagecoach in English books so searched and found that a ‘Dilly’ was a nickname for a “diligence stage”, a rapid stagecoach, the one that ran between Brighton and London via Cuckfield was known as “Death’s Dilly”.

  24. Alphalpha@17. Yes, that does help. I was not being critical of the clue, just looking for a possible context. Now I think it is something like appealing/deferring to an arbiter or a higher power.

  25. William, Sorry to overlook your helpful comment@10, where you had already alluded to that sense of “appeal”. How rude of me not to acknowledge your kind post. Note to self: read the whole blog not just the most recent posts. Thanks to both William and Alphalpha.

  26. Thanks to Rufus and PeterO. HELLFIRE, my LOI, took me a while, but the rest came quickly. For some reason DILIGENCE was familiar to me, if not from a Guardian puzzle then from a US one.

  27. Didn’t know DILIGENCE as a coach and I thought HELLFIRE a bit naff. I liked THERE and THEIR -well, I am a Liverpudlian- and the wince making CROSSWORDS.
    Thanks Rufus.

  28. copland smith @22 – you missed ERROR (29 appearances). ANIMATE and CROSSWORDS are only on 3 each…

  29. Like Cookie, I’ve encountered the diligence in reading, but probably referred to in letters or old autobiographies. A knowledge of the multitude of names that there were for horse-drawn vehicles seems pretty essential to crossword solving, as is a knowledge of the types of old sailing vessels. I daresay someone can direct us to lists of both. Thanks to Rufus and all of the bloggers.

  30. I failed to get respite and the other meaning of diligence was new to me, thanks PeterO and Rufus

  31. Elaine @29, I thought Charlotte Brontë’s book Villette might have a reference to a DILIGENCE, and it does in Chpater 7.

  32. Well spotted! I’m trying to remember where I have seen it mentioned and wonder whether it is in Jane Austen somewhere. Right sort of era?

  33. Fairly certain that “diligence” as a carriage doesn’t appear in Jane Austen (except perhaps “Northanger Abbey”, which I’ve only read once).

  34. muffin and Elaine, the book I thought DILIGENCE might have appeared in was “A Tale of Two Cities”, but I cannot find it there.

  35. Nice puzzle, but Quiptic level I thought.

    DILIGENCE is French for stage-coach and it also means haste in some contexts. I first saw the word in my Grandparents’ French Baedeker, where the description of each place was with appended with directions from the nearest large city: a train (approx time), then par diligence (approx time).

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