A couple of odd clues, but otherwise a nice puzzle with 7dn and 17dn my favourites. Thanks, Rufus.
| Across | ||
| 9 | VERSATILE | It’s a lever that may be turned to many uses (9) |
| (It’s a lever)* | ||
| 10 | ABOUT | Concerning a fight (5) |
| A + BOUT=”fight” | ||
| 11 | NOMADIC | Kind of people who follow the herd (7) |
| cryptic [or unexpectedly-literal] definition | ||
| 12 | PUDDING | Of course, it’s sweet (7) |
| =a sweet course | ||
| 13 | GET ON | Board and fare (3,2) |
| =”Board” e.g. a bus; =”fare” as in ‘how are you faring’/’how are you getting on?’ | ||
| 14 | CONUNDRUM | Study a French instrument (9) |
| CON=”Study”; plus UN=”a [in] French”; plus DRUM=”instrument“ Obvious enough with crossers, but not sure what the definition is |
||
| 16 | RECONSIDERATION | Further reflection about thinking of others (15) |
| RE=”about”; plus CONSIDERATION=”thinking of others” | ||
| 19 | EATING OUT | Picnicking? (6,3) |
| cryptic[ish] definition | ||
| 21 | EYING | Looking, for example, to adopt a principle of Chinese philosophy (5) |
| E.G.=”for example”; around YIN=”principle of Chinese philosophy” – as in ‘yin and yang’ | ||
| 22 | POMPEII | Remains within easy reach of Naples (7) |
| cryptic definition – “Remains” as a noun rather than a verb | ||
| 23 | FIREARM | Weapon company gets receiver in (7) |
| FIRM=”company” with EAR=”receiver” inside it | ||
| 24 | MATHS | With a degree, I leave this subject (5) |
| MA=Master of Arts=”degree”; plus I leaving TH[i]S | ||
| 25 | EVERGREEN | Always on the go, remaining fresh and vital (9) |
| EVER=”Always”; plus GREEN as in a green light=”go” | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | AVANT-GARDE | Original advantage involved in capturing king (5-5) |
| (advantage)* around R[ex]=”king” | ||
| 2 | DRAMATIC | People are keen take part in such a society (8) |
| is the surface missing a ‘to’ after the ‘keen’? cryptic definition playing on a second meaning of ‘part’ e.g. a character in a play |
||
| 3 | GARDEN | Plot involved danger (6) |
| “Plot” as in a patch of earth (danger)* |
||
| 4 | DISC | Record appearance of full moon (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 5 | DESPONDENT | Tyrant captures northern retreat – it’s hopeless (10) |
| DESPOT=”Tyrant” around N[orthern] DEN=”retreat” | ||
| 6 | BANDANNA | Girl following music group may be spotted (8) |
| ANNA=”Girl” following BAND=”music group” | ||
| 7 | HOSIER | He is, or could be, a shopkeeper (6) |
| (He is or)* | ||
| 8 | STAG | Guns raised, when animal being hunted appears (4) |
| GATS=gatling “Guns” reversed/”raised” | ||
| 14 | CRINOLINES | They make women’s dresses stand out (10) |
| cryptic definition – wire frames used to hold dresses out [wiki] | ||
| 15 | MANAGEMENT | Male representative takes me in to see the bosses (10) |
| M[ale] plus AN AGENT=”representative”; around ME | ||
| 17 | NONSENSE | Fool’s speech in production of Lear (8) |
| double definition; the second refers to Edward Lear, famous for nonsense poetry [wiki], rather than the play King Lear | ||
| 18 | IMITATED | Took off (8) |
| cryptic[ish] definition – a ‘take-off’ is a mocking imitation | ||
| 20 | TEMPTS | Entices casual worker with way to get a rise (6) |
| TEMP=”casual worker”; plus ST[reet]=”way” reversed/”to get a rise” | ||
| 21 | ENRAGE | Cause anger by damaging a green (6) |
| (a green)* | ||
| 22 | PUMA | Turn up with mother cat (4) |
| Reversal/”Turn” of UP; plus MA=”mother” | ||
| 23 | FLEA | A circus performer? (4) |
| cryptic definition | ||
Thanks setter and blogger.
14a: as pointed out in one of the several spoilers in the Guardian comments, I think this is a sort of &lit/definition by example. The whole clue is a puzzle/conundrum, and should probably be terminated by a question mark.
Thanks Rufus and manehi
Some odd ones here. I agree that 14a seems to lack a definition. “May be spotted” is a ridiculously loose definition for BANDANNA. 2d doesn’t seem to make sense – why “keen”? “Within easy reach of Naples” is true enough about POMPEII, but still rather odd in a crossword (more appropriate in a travel guide?).
I did like GARDEN and MANAGEMENT.
[I always went to the flea circus at Barnstaple fair, and years later I saw all the props etc. in the Museum of Childhood in Ribchester. I don’t know if the museum is still there.]
I took the “male” in 15d just to be MAN, followed by AGENT with the ME in, but yours works as well, manehi.
As has been said before concerning friend Rufus, chacun a son gout; but this one was very much not to my taste.
Some entries are a bit weak but authentically Rufus-style and one can’t really complain about them, e.g. 12ac. Others are just weak. I know Rufus likes cryptic definitions, but how do 19ac, 22ac, 18dn and 23dn belong in any sort of cryptic crossword – in the case of 22ac, as opposed to a fairly low-level general knowledge crossword?
And to allow 14ac to stand as written, with a gentle but legitimate word-play but no definition, seems to be a failure on the part of the editor as well as the compiler.
Rufus normally sets one up nicely for Monday morning. Sorry, but this one leaves me feeling grumpy in a way that Monday morning doesn’t need.
I agree with Muffin on 14a lacking a definition and BANDANNA being fairly loose. I also raised an eyebrow at the indefinite article ‘an’ not being indicated in MANAGEMENT. Other than that, a nice start to the week with Rufus’s typical cds and dds. Thanks to setter and blogger.
A pleasant start to the week, finished over breakfast. The answers for 6d (bandanna) and 14a (conundrum) were obvious, but not clearly clued. But a nice solve – thanks Rufus and Manehi
Was it just me, or did other people think that 16a was a lazy clue? Especially for the keystone large central entry of the grid, I thought something a little more involved was called for.
I’d also agree with Neil H’s criticisms of four barely cryptic clues.
All very straightforward – 2 shows that even Rufus would occasionally benefit from editorial intervention
Thanks to Rufus and manehi
Is nobody else worried about that spelling of bandana?
southofnorth @10, that is the spelling given in the COED, which also says that it is often spotted.
I was also put out by BANDANNA spelt that way, southofnorth, but it’s in Chambers both ways, I see. I was more delayed by confidently putting DESSERT for 12a. Surely I wasn’t the only one!
Thank you Rufus and manehi.
A pleasant start to the crossword week. Like muffin @3, I took ‘Male’ in 15d to be MAN.
Favourite clue was that for NONSENSE!
Muffin@2: I thought the ‘keen’ in 2D referred to one of the several Keen actors from Victorian to modern times. The Victorian Edmund Keen was reputed to be extremely dramatic.
beaulieu@1 I too thought a question mark would have made the finishing touch to 14-anything else may have spoiled the surface.
I liked MATHS and FIREARM but this is the sort of cyptic puzzle that almost overlaps the Quickie.
Nope, ChrisP@14: the actors were Keans
I had the exact same thoughts regarding 14a as described in beaulieu @1, but was not (and still am not) persuaded that the missing definition was not simply an error. I parsed MANAGEMENT the same way as muffin @3 and Cookie @13 — I think it works better than “Male” = M and inserting an unclued AN. My favorite was HOSIER, which to me seemed almost &littish (and had a surface that was a great example, as someone mentioned last week, of a sentence that doesn’t sound like something one would never hear, except in a crossword clue). I also enjoyed DRAMATIC (notwithstanding the missing “to”), which was also my LOI. Thanks Rufus & manehi.
It’s a very long time since I bothered with a Rufus crossword. This one served to remind me why.
Thanks to Rufus and manehi. I paused over some items (e.g., CONUNDRUM – can this be right?) and was temporarily misled by Edward rather than King Lear, but, as usual, I enjoyed the puzzle.
All the criticisms have been made so I won’t repeat them. Not one of Rufus’s best puzzles. 14ac must be an error!
Anyway, thanks Rufus.
Leave poor Rufus alone!
We all know what to expect on a Monday – a nice easy start to the week. I for one look forward to it, limbering up for
the challenges to come.
Anyway, like Brian above, I created my own challenge by writing in DESSERT too.
Thankyou Rufus (and Manehi)
Notwithstanding Chambers et al, I don’t recall ever seeing EYING spelt that way. Looks odd.
Getting wise to this multiple-possibilities-for-a-cryptic-definition business. Apply patience, wait for crossers. Always annoying if crossers are also CDs
Paul @23
You describe very well, and succinctly, my solving experience of this Rufus puzzle and indeed most Rufus puzzles. The other method is “apply intuition and write in the answer”, which I believe some solvers manage week after week. ‘Making the right connections’ using intuition, however, is not my strong point. I’m sure that’s why I prefer the different sort of challenges of most Guardian setters other than Rufus.
Ho hum – another Monday, another Rufus and after last week’s which was one of his best this seems to be an example of the other end of his spectrum. Still it kept me and Mrs W occupied for most of the car journey to London – even if much of the time was spent trying to reconcile Cryptic Crossword with some of the solutions – or find a definition.
Thanks to Rufus for staying true to his style and to Manehi for the blog.
Like Brian-with-an-eye @12, I confidently put in DESSERT for 12a. I did the same with COWBOY in 11a. As others have noted before me, that’s the annoying thing about cryptic definitions.
Rufus doesn’t set the bar very high but this was particularly weak even by his standards. Such a shame with so much interesting fresh blood waiting in the wings.
Agree with the pluses and, unfortunately many, minuses of today’s Rufus, as mentioned above.
Rufus can be very good at spotting ‘things’ in the English language (we think), leading to really nice cryptic definitions.
In that respect, 18d and 22ac are quite unbelievable.
And, yes, 12ac and 23d were also not the strongest of the set (to say it mildly).
The lack of a definition in 14ac is strange/unforgivable but, I think, the lack of ‘to’ in the clue of 2d might be a typographic error.
I am a weekly FT blogger and I’ve seen many of those kind of ‘mistakes’ for which, in my opinion, the setter is not to blame.
Today, there was one more example in the pink one (enumeration of 7d – true, in a Dante puzzle ….)
The real reason for my comment is one that may not be appreciated by all of you.
It is one in the category ‘very naughty’.
So if that’s not your cup of tea, stop reading any further and have a good night.
It is well past the UK’s 9pm watershed now, so here it is.
As I was unfamiliar with the word at 14d (CRINOLINES) and having all the crossers, I suggested the answer might be ‘clitorises’.
It fits! Does it fit the clue? Mmmm ….
🙂 or 🙁 , take you pick.
We (my female – very anti-crude clues – solving partner, and I) had quite a laugh.
By the way, it’s not the answer!
I’ve a soft spot for Rufus. Despite the occasional lapse, he still makes for a pleasantly easy start to the week.
Re 14a, count me among the ones that think the lack of a definition is Rufus’s deliberate joke, given the solution.
Sil, I’m familiar with CRINOLINES but have never come across your alternative.
Michael, I’ve never come across them either – in plural, I mean.
Glad you got the joke. 😉
Sil @28
Well spotted. By using cryptic definitions in such abundance Rufus does leave himself open (so to speak) to such interesting possibilities.
I feel we may be a little unfair to Rufus on 14ac.- I recall the use of “study” as a noun in several Victorian novels describing a person, as in “she’s a study” i.e. a mystery.
Ian@34
I don’t think anyone has objected to the use of ‘con’ to mean study (which is standard fare in crosswords), nor has anyone suggested that was being used as a noun rather than a verb here. The problem with the wording of the clue for 14ac is that it resembles a joke without a punchline because it lacks an explicit definition indicator (such as poser, riddle or puzzle) giving a synonym for conundrum within the clue. If the solution is intended to be self-defining (because it has a puzzle-related meaning), the clue really needs to be rephrased as a question to create an implicit definition indicator:
Why study a French instrument?
@34/35: I think Ian is suggesting that “Study” is a definition for CONUNDRUM itself – for example, chess problems/puzzles are also called studies. If so, “Study” would be doing double duty as both definition and part of the cryptic wordplay.
manehi @36: In that suggestion there is a standard verb equivalent of study doing duty as one part of the cryptic wordplay and one of the less common noun definitions of study providing a fairly weak synonym of the overall solution. That seems very over-contrived for a Rufus crossword.