Guardian 27,464 / Crucible

53 comments on “Guardian 27,464 / Crucible”

1. Thanks, Gaufrid. Finally, a “standard” level of difficulty for a non-Monday puzzle!

   The second wordplay in WHIT is just an anagram (running) of WITH.

2. Got most of the theme, ex post facto.

   But are there more obscure answers here?

   COMRADE? SOVIET?

3. Early start and reasonably early finish. North west corner was the trickiest section for me. Thanks Crucible and Gaufrid

4. A bit more of a challenge than we’ve had so far this week this week.  As usual I didn’t spot the theme.

   I’m with Gaufrid re program(me).  My ancient Collins allows both to mean a computer code but the popular usage has been the American version since about the 1970s.

   I thought REATA was a bit obscure and whiffed strongly of the last corner of the grid to be filled and so the only word that would fit the crossers.

   NUMBER ONE raised a smile.  I’m at a bit of a loss to see how “delivered” (21 ac) or “describes” (1 dn) mean “around”.

5. Gaufrid – I wonder whether “running” in 8ac is an anagrind indicating an anagram of “with” as a further clue?

6. Thanks Crucible and Gaufrid

   Slow start – 16a first one, then PLUMBAGO – but it went steadily thereafter (though I did spend some time trying to see why SPRINGY = “ruffled” in 22a!) I didn’t know REATA, but it was a fairly obvious hidden. Favourites were APOCALYPSE and the &lit BLUEBELL (for those who don’t know, hybrid Spanish bluebells are a threat to our bluebell woods. You can tell them apart because native ones have flowers on just one side of the flower spike; Spanish ones on both sides).

   Wouldn’t 13 be better as “Let stand back to front”? The ‘s seems a bit awkward.

7. re programme/program

   When I was first involved with computers in the mid 70s they were used interchangeably. The shorter US version became standard in the 80s, I think, just because it’s shorter? “Program” would have thus been better, but “programme” isn’t entirely wrong.

8. The cowboy’s lariat obviously derives from LA REATA – the rope. Not sure what it’s doing in an English crossword, but the clue’s easy enough.

9. Crucible so reliable. Only a mini-theme really but a delight.

10. DaveMc@59 yesterday: If you’re here again today, many thanks for your wellwishings – not too painful and smoothly done by a doctor/surgeon working in his own practice, a definite plus on the medical side of things in the Fatherland! I’m sorry but I don’t know how the doctor/violin joke goes.

    I for once got the theme and enjoyed this greatly. Many thanks Crucible and Gaufrid.

11. gladys @8:  Thanks for that.  Interesting trail.

    Astonishing…I actually spotted a theme.  Must be a first.

    Unfortunately, as themes so often do, it rather marred the puzzle and meant it was over too quickly.

    LEASE was my favourite – very smooth.

    I, too, would like to hear the doctor/violin joke.

    Nice weekend all.

12. Martin@10 and William@11

    “Doctor, doctor, will I be able to play the violin after the operation?”
    “Yes, of course you will”
    “Great! I never could before!”

13. I couldn’t parse SAPID at all. I’ll have to remember ‘p’ for ‘priest’. Favorite clue was OVEREAT, nice misdirection in the surface- I was first thinking I’d have to take ‘sow’ out of another word.

    Thanks Gaufrid and Crucible

14. Thanks, Gaufrid.

    I’m with copmus @9 – Crucible is, indeed, so reliable. Like others, I didn’t know 24ac but enjoyed teasing it out , following the very clear instructions – and what a great surface!

    I thought BLUEBELL was very clever, being both a theme word and an all-in-one clue, well illustrated here.

    Other favourites were APOCALYPSE [it gave me an amusing picture of a catastrophic rendering of ‘Jerusalem 😉 ] and DEHYDRATED – but it was all, as usual from this setter, good stuff.

    muffin @6 – “Wouldn’t 13 be better as “Let stand back to front”? ” – my short answer is ‘No’.

    Many thanks to Crucible for an enjoyable puzzle.

15. Thanks to Crucible and to Gaufrid for explaining some of the parsing which was not obvious to me.

    In the late 60s to early 70s there were computer instructions in which a programme was a sub-program(me) of a program (or the other way round, I don’t remember), and you ended up having to pronounce programme as “programmy”. It didn’t last.

16. [Eileen @14

    I once went to a WI meeting, to hear a visiting speaker on Alpine Gardening. I knew the words to Jerusalem, but none of the ladies seemed to know the actions!]

17. Three themes spotted in a row! Did not detract from the solve in any way, either for good or ill.

    6d clue of the day for me, being aware of its &lit property … though whether bluebells have bulbels as distinct from bulbs is something way above my knowledge of flora.

18. Thanks to Crucible and Gaufrid. I did not get the second meaning of WHIT and struggled with PALPITATE (my LOI – I was looking for a stone) but I much enjoyed this puzzle.

19. Thanks Crucible for an enjoyable themed crossword, even if I had to look up the river ORWELL.

    Thanks Gaufrid for a good blog and explaining the BLUEBELL &lit.

    I didn’t know REATA/riata but it was easily clued and does appear in Chambers and Collins, so there shouldn’t be any griping about it, I believe.

    My favourite was NUMBER ONE.

20. Thanks both. Stalin was a GEORGIAN, so maybe that is in the theme

21. Thanks to Crucible and Gaufrid. Struggled a little with this one and a slow solve for me. Particularly SE and finally NW with palpitate also being my last one in (could not work the pit bit out). Got there in the end but needed to check some parsing here (e.g sapid). Missed the theme of course (must look more closely for them) and thanks again to Crucible and Gaufrid.

22. Strange that Napoleon appears in this crossword and the Independent crossword today, with very similar clues.

23. Of course, as far as this one goes, he’s a character in the book.

24. In a neat bit of symmetry this was my second real struggle of the week after Monday’s offering, and I conceded with half the grid (mostly the bottom half) incomplete. Those empty spaces included two new words for me, SAPID and REATA.

    Favourite clue (and the one I really wish I’d solved) was NUMBER ONE.

    I’m not sure I follow why GEORGIAN = STATESMAN – is ‘statesman’ supposed to be read as ‘national of a particular state’?

25. I think this must have been much more enjoyable if you knew and spotted the theme. I know of the book, but have never read it, so the only theme word I recognise is NAPOLEON. (Please don’t anyone brother to list them for me.)

    I didn’t get WHIT and wanted to put in SIPID (opppsite of insipid?) for 21a. Is that even a word? It’s not in my Chambers but Google found it.

    I don’t usually mind the odd foreign word if it’s fairly well known. But REATA? Really? I know it was obvious from the clue, but even so!

    I did like 9a (especially the use of stone to mean pit), 19a and 1d (where WI misled me nicely).

    Thanks to Crucible and Gaufrid for the explanations.

26. Chiaros @24 I’ve seen STATESMAN used before to define ‘New Yorker’ or ‘Texan’, here I suppose it refers to the state of Georgia, though the theme would indicate the country

27. Started very slowly, but this got easier once a few crossers were in place – as always with Crucible the clueing is fair. REATA was unfamiliar but clearly clued. Spotted the theme fairly early but it didn’t help much. PALPITATE was last in.

    Thanks to Crucible and Gaufrid

28. Chiaros@24. Yes – either a national of a sovereign state,
    or inhabitant of a state in the USA. This crops up quite often.

29. Frankie @ 4.  Re 21 ac, “delivered” = SAID, which is around P for priest.

30. Enjoyed this puzzle. I can’t remember if any ploughing occurs in Animal Farm, but 16a might be associated.

31. Lots to enjoy here – including the obvious,but unseen by me, theme. My favourites were LARCH (nice use of fencing to make a great surface) LEASE SAPID NUMBER ONE APOCALYPSE and NAPOLEON. I didn’t parse GEORGIAN and failed on WHIT.
    Thanks to Crucible, Gaufrid and everyone.

32. EmilyM@26 and Crossbar@28 – thank you, one to file away!

33. Like some others who have commented, I found this to be the most challenging crossword of the week, but everything was clear and fair, and some of it good fun too. In 8d WHIT I thought at first there was ‘too much clue’ for the answer but soon realised it was a DDD!
    I wonder if our American friends thought what a palaver it was (LABOUR minus U) to get LABOR in 19a ELABORATE.
    In my list of favourites NUMBER ONE was number one.
    Thanks to Crucible and Gaufrid.

34. Quite enjoyed this – though LEASE was a guess,I just couldn’t see the parsing. I did see the theme although,as we were told what it was, this wasn’t a great achievement. I liked PLUMBAGO,LARCH and APOCALYPSE but NUMBER ONE was my favourite and FOI. Worthy of Paul!
    Thanks Crucible.

35. A fun Friday finish to a fine week o fpuzzles.

    I enjoyed the theme – although I believe there was a Guardian cryptic within the past year (from Qaos, perhaps) that really went whole hog and loaded up the puzzle with multiple characters from Animal Farm.  My favorite clue today was NUMBER ONE – but if I had realized the Spanish bluebell concern described by muffin @6, BLUEBELL would possibly have been my fave.

    I noted with interest the number of comments above regarding the unfamiliarity of REATA.  That is one of those words that is ubiquitous in American-style crosswords (like KRA and ETUI and AMAH and PROA and many others) that one does not normally encounter anywhere else.

    LMAO at the crossers in 2d.

    Martin @10, glad to hear things went well.  EmilyM @12, thanks for your perfect rendering of the doctor/violin joke.  The only thing missing was this!

    Many thanks to Crucible and Gaufrid and the other commenters.  Have a nice weekend, all.

36. Alan B @33

    I did not see your post until after I submitted mine @35.  Re: your comment: “I wonder if our American friends thought what a palaver it was (LABOUR minus U) to get LABOR in 19a ELABORATE” — yes, that is exactly what I thought!  (Although I would be lying if I told you the word “palaver” was specifically included in that thought!)

37. DaveMc@35. Putting Spanish words in American crosswords is not quite so strange as putting them in English ones. I think I read that Spanish is the second spoken language in the USA.

38. DaveMc@35 I’m gonna save that link in case I have any more crap jokes, thanks!

39. DaveMc @36
    Thanks for your comment.
    ‘Palaver’ – how British of me!

40. Clue of the day, if not the year, for me was the very clever BLUEBELL. Easy enough to get from the wordplay but what a brilliant &lit.
    Thanks to Crucible and Gaufrid.

41. Can’t complain as we all do it, I know I definitely do it, but strictly speaking, code is not a program, it is just a part of a program, as indicated by the book title “Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs”, as the code bit is the Algorithms bit. Another piece of useless information for you, :).

42. DL @ 41

    Code = program when they are verbs.

43. Well, technically a DNF since I had to use ‘Check’ to verify the non-crossers of TALE (although I didn’t see what else it could be).  And even after reading Gaufrid’s blog, at first I was mystified by the parsing, having first read it as a curtailment of “TALI” rather than “TALL”.  That’s lower-case ‘L’s for you!

    [Gaufrid, would it be possible to change 225’s font to a serif font e.g. Times New Roman?]

    For WHIT I also thought, and still think, the “with running” is superfluous, I’m not convinced about the secondary bit of wordplay as suggested by Frankie-tc.

    When I got to BLUEBELL I felt almost like despairing! 🙁  “Bulbel” is in Chambers, in a subheading under “bulb”, but “Hybrid” does not suggest an anagrind to me.  And the native British bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, is not a hybrid.  It is true that it readily    hybridises with the introduced Spanish bluebell H. hispanica – to the despair of those who love the British species!  We know of tracts of woodland, round our way, where the native species has been driven almost to extinction by the Spanish interloper and its cross-breeds!  Not a happy state of affairs to read about in a crossword!

    Enough of that.  Otherwise a fine piece of work – the theme not over-emphasised (I think SOVIET and COMRADE belong, also perhaps COMMANDANT and maybe SILAGE and PLOUGHMAN’S (connected with the ‘farm’ part).  And of course we had “pig” in the clue for 12a.  Incidentally, I looked up to see whether it’s still illegal in France to name a pig “Napoleon”.  Apparently not….

    NUMBER ONE looks like a rather Paul-ine clue, eh, what?

    Thanks to Crucible and Gaufrid.

44. I spent far too long trying to think of the popular music of Wisconsin . . .

45. Thanks both,

    A DNF but enjoyable none the less. 10ac had hidden depths as one of the main uses of larch is in fence panels, AIR.

46. Dl@41 not all programs have data structures, but I would maintain all programs have algorithms

47. Crossbar @37 – I don’t think the frequent appearance of REATA in American-style crosswords is attributable to there being many Spanish speakers in the U.S.  I think the issue is simply the challenge of setting crosswords where consecutive letters, rather than every other letter, must cross each other and spell words both across and down, which leads to the use by setters — more frequently than I think occurs in a typical UK-style grid — of words that are not found in everyday parlance, to be able to accomplish this end.  To be clear — I believe REATA is found in most U.S. dictionaries as a term usable in American English, derived from Spanish.

    EmilyM @38 – Haha!

    Alan B @39 – Dad and Rod’s long talk (7).

    Slipstream @44 – That was my initial reaction also!  BTW, here’s a good one — “about”, if not “of”, Wisconsin!  Worse things to do on a Friday than to hear the glorious voice of Ella Fitzgerald!

48. DaveMc@47 Thanks for the explanation. I’m not familiar with American crosswords. However, I’m going to have to eat my words anyway as I’ve just found REATA in my Chambers. Should have looked before. So now, according to my own rules, it is perfectly OK to use it, and I shall add it to my list of words used only in crosswords. 🙂

49. The capitalization of Snowball rather gave the theme away for me early on, and wasn’t strictly necessary for the clue.

50. I suppose ‘reata’ is a fairly well-known word to me because I moved to Texas some 20 years ago! And, incidentally, it’s the name of an excellent restaurant in the astonishing landscapes in West Texas, in the small town of Alpine. Just 20 miles from the artist’s haven of Marfa and the glorious Davis mountains. And the closest town of any size to Big Bend National Park. I’m sorry- beginning to sound like a travel blog!

51. Loved it – thanks to Crucible, gaufrid and all forum contributors.

52. Thank you Crucible and Gaufrid.

    I really enjoyed this crossword yesterday.  I think there is more to the REATA clue, and that it was not included  because the setter was squeezed into a corner (Frankie the cat @4).  The Spanish Civil War stimulated Eric Blair to write Animal Farm (and Ninety Eighty-Four).  REATA in the Spanish of Spain means a single file of horses or mules,  or a rope to link pack animals together, it also means mindless obedience or following. Crucible has referred to a horse in the clue, which brings to mind  the reason why Blair set the book on a farm

    “I saw a little boy, perhaps ten years old, driving a huge carthorse along a narrow path, whipping it whenever it tried to turn. It struck me that if only such animals became aware of their strength we should have no power over them, and that men exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit the proletariat.”

53. On the subject of typefaces raised by Laccaria @43:

    In my experience, TNR is NOT the ‘best’ serif typeface out there, because some of its glyphs are still fairly similar – specifically l & 1 (minuscule ‘L’ and the number 1 respectively).
    **Full Disclosure**
    I am now old enough to need to wear reading glasses, but still ‘young’ enough to be too lazy to put them on as often as I should 🙁

    When it comes to the clarity & easy identification of individual glyphs, I favour the typeface ‘Palatino’/‘Palatino Linotype’ (its name on Apple & Windows systems respectively).

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatino

    I like it because its glyphs are all easily distinguishable from one another, and also because I personally find its glyphs to be æsthetically pleasing.
    That said, I don’t doubt that there will be many other people out there who find it to be ‘fuddy-duddy’ or antiquarian or overly-fussy, or just generally not nearly as appealing as the idea of a sandwich made with five-day-old turkey (with neither cranberry sauce nor gravy) for their lunch on December 30th 🙁

    De gustibus non est disputandum, isn’t it? 😀

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