Guardian Cryptic 27,533 by Nutmeg

by

Nutmeg delivers another solid puzzle this morning.

I scanned the across clues, with very few of them registering, but gettiing the two long down answers soon had me on my way.  As usual with Nutmeg, her cluing was precise and surfaces were smooth.  I’m not entirely convinced by the way she has clued 23ac, but will be interested to hear what commenters think of it.

Thanks to Nutmeg as always.

Across
9 NEGOTIATE Not drinking say, I consumed treat (9)
  NOT drinking e.g. (“say”) + I ATE (“consumed”)
10 CHAIR Children look for president (5)
  Ch.(ildren) + AIR (“look”)
11 POTABLE Cost in bar OK for drinker? (7)
  TAB “(cost”) in POLE (“bar”)
12 MIRACLE Motorists seen in distance — it’s inexplicable (7)
  R.A.C. (Royal Automobile Club, so “motorists”) seen in MILE (“distance”)
13 RARE Excellent way to cook steak, very thin (4)
  Triple definition
14 MELTING POT Where diverse cultures mix, starting to run corporation (7,3)
  MELTING (“starting to run”) + POT (belly = “corporation”)
15 NUPTIAL Put in a revised line relating to union (7)
  *(put in a) + L(ine)
17 SUSPECT Dodgy faction keeping us quiet (7)
  SECT (“faction”) keeping US + P(iano) (“quiet”)
19 FILO PASTRY What could make florist pay for baker’s item? (4,6)
  *(florist pay)
22 TRUE Correct conclusions in lawsuit, whenever you prosecute (4)
  Final letters of (conclusions in) lawsuiT wheneveR yoU prosecutE
23 MERCURY Plan(e)t (7)
  Double definition
24 RIPOSTE Return rent — very large note attached (7)
  RIP (“rent”) + OS (outsize, so “very large”) with TE (“note”) attached
26 LINED Family with daughter showing signs of age? (5)
  LINE (“family” + D(aughter)
27 ASSAILANT Asian last to rattle adversary (9)
  *(asian last)
Down
1 ONE-PARENT FAMILY Cook ran menial type of household (3-6,6)
  *(ran menial type of)
2 AGITPROP A dolt to sustain fake news from Moscow? (8)
  A GIT (“dolt”) + PROP (“to sustain”)
3 STUB Evidence of smoke from small boat (4)
  S(mall) + TUB (“boat)
4 FAREWELL Leaving jug upturned in sink (8)
  <=EWER (“jug”, upturned) in FALL (“sink”)
5 HERMIT Solitary lady’s time almost up (6)
  HER (“lady’s”) + <=TIM(e) (‘time”, almost up)
6 OCARINAS No car in a scrapyard has instruments inside (8)
  Hidden in “nO CAR IN A Srapyard”
7 MADCAP Crackpot erected wall, subject to financial limit (6)
  <=DAM (“wall”, erected) + CAP (“subject to financial limit”)
8 ARMED TO THE TEETH Extremely well protected, with canine backing? (5,2,3,5)
  Cryptic definition
16 IMPOUNDS Takes control of seconds after Nutmeg’s put on weight (8)
  S(econds) after I’M (“Nutmeg’s”) put on POUND (“weight”)
17 SURPRISE Unexpected growth following insurance company’s setback (8)
  RISE (“growth”) following <= PRU’S (“insurance company’s”, set back)
18 EUROSTAR Surrogate on the move wanting good train service (8)
  *(surroate) (“surrogate” less the G of “good”)
20 LARYNX Organ adjoining ribcage, primarily in feline (6)
  A(djoining) R(ibcage) in LYNX (“feline”)
21 SKYLAB Board limiting Kentucky’s remote research centre (6)
  SLAB (“board”) limiting Ky. (“Kentucky”)
25 PAID Assistant under pressure brought in (4)
  AID (“assistant”) under P(ressure)

*anagram

42 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,533 by Nutmeg”

  1. After a rapid start to this I came to a halt with 4 in the top left remaining. I think I had downtuned the cryptic part of my brain and they soon dropped after a short break. But I was left with one unparsed which I cam here for. Loonapick asks what commenters think of the clue for 23ac. I would like to ask him what the two definitions are…

  2. I didn’t know the MERCURY of the botanical variety (since looked up) so couldn’t parse 23a, but the clue now looks OK, if unconventional, to me.

    Otherwise nothing to quibble about and an enjoyable afternoon tea time solve. I liked the cryptic def at 8d and the misdirection of ‘adjoining ribcage’ in 20d.

    Thanks to Nutmeg and loonapick

     

  3. Thanks Nutmeg and loonapick

    Mostly fun, if harder than usual. I like the neatness of NEGOTIATE, and SUSPECT.

    I knew Dogs’ mercury as a plant, but not so sure about MERCURY by itself.

    Two quibbles:

    there seems to be a mismatch between “canine” and TEETH (singular/plural).

    25d surely should be “assistance” rather than “assistant”, as the assistant is an AIDE (see here – not the most authoritative source, possibly, but it agrees with what I thought).

  6. Thank goodness for the anagrams, some of which helped to get me started on the puzzle. Lots to like here, although some of the parsing eluded me – particularly the aforementioned 23a MERCURY. I couldn’t see the “negot” part of the wordplay in 9a NEGOTIABLE nor the “look” as in AIR in 10a CHAIR (I mistakenly assumed it was “C” not CH as the abbreviation for children in the latter). I liked 15a NUPTIAL, 24a RIPOSTE and 1d ONE-PARENT FAMILY, and on reflection, I now feel MERCURY’s clue was neat…Much appreciated, Nutmeg and loonapick, and other commenters who have posted interesting thoughts.

     

  7. Well, I learned a thing or two there, albeit at the expense of puzzle-parsing satisfaction. But ’twas ever thus, so thank you to loonapick and Nutmeg (though I’m not sure dolt=git).

  8. Thanks, loonapick, fine blog to an enjoyable puzzle.

    Like Encota, I smiled at the Trumpish connotation at 7d.

    Don’t quite see how ARMED TO THE TEETH works.  The answer comes readily enough but am I missing something with the backing reference in the clue?

    Least favourite was PAID defined as brought in.  Hmm?

    Other than those minor quibbles, a fine slow-burning puzzle which had to be thought about.

    Nice week, all.

  9. Bullhassocks @7  I wondered the same and was moved to look it up.  Chambers gives ‘fool’ and ‘bastard’ for git.  Not another reference similar to 7d, is it?

  10. One down’s anagram almost as spectacular as Paul’s item of clothing anagram in his Saturday prize crossword three days ago, well done Nutmeg…

  11. Thoroughly enjoyed this, no quibble with AID as an assistant (it doesn’t have to be a person). My LOI was the ‘couldn’t see the wood for the trees’ OCARINAS.
    Many thanks N and L.

  12. Personally, I loved 23.

    KTColin: Mercury is a poisonous weed that crops up in my garden (1st def) and also a planet (2nd def).

    Were are spoiled today – three great puzzles, with Maize in the Indie being my favourite non-Azed puzzle of the year so far.

  13. I dnk the plant mercury or Pru the insurer but the solutions were gettable. Puzzled a bit over rent for rip, took ages to see ‘subject’ as a verb in 7d, and thought ‘brought in’ was more like earned than paid in 25d.

    All good fun though and not too hard.

    Thanks loonapick and Nutmeg.

  14. William@9 I think the delicacy of dictionary compliers, and the oral and informal nature of insults, means that their meanings are often loosely defined. In other words, they can mean what you want them to mean. Though I’d say ‘dolt’ is a fairly mild term, meaning ‘one who is a bit dim’; ‘git’, in my book, is a lot stronger, meaning ‘someone who is mean-spirited or malevolent’ springing from its more pejorative origins – implying bastardry.

    Still, if any of these are being applied to Trump, I’m more than happy, whatever their meaning!

  15. Thanks both. Great stuff, with the exception of 25d. I agree with muffin @ 3 about AID = assistant, and PAID = brought in???

  16. I was unable to parse 23a (never heard of the plant – but now I see it’s in my online dictionary). Was not sure if my guess at parsing PRU’s for insurance company was correct, so I’m glad to see I worked that one out.

    Thanks Nutmeg and loonapick

  17. Thank you Nutmeg and loonapick.

    I found this very challenging but enjoyable, a lot of fun clues with good surfaces.

    I had no problem with AID for ‘assistant’, the COED gives “a person or thing that helps”, ‘aide’ is just an abbreviation of the French aide-de-camp,  Larousse gives “personne qui aide“,  but I am puzzled by the definition “brought in” for PAID.

  19. Thanks to Nutmeg and loonapick. Like some others I had little across on first pass, but got in by the two long down clues. It unpacked quite readily after that but got held up by the last few (mainly NE). Melting pot and ocarinas (I often struggle with hidden words) last two in, and another who could not fully parse mercury. I liked farewell and on reflection melting pot. Thanks again to Nutmeg and loonapick.

  20. @17, “My last job brought in only a small amount”, “My last job paid only a small amount”, not sure if this is correct English?

  22. Thought I was on for a finish two days out of two but, alas! After steaming through the East, I slowed in the SW and was mainly defeated by the NW, so DNF. I enjoyed it a lot and learned more about cracking these darn things. I liked the clue for mercury but I’m pretty hot on British wild flowers so dog mercury sprang to mind immediately. Same concerns as others around git, aid etc. But overall a nice piece of work which I really enjoyed.

    Thanks to Nutmeg and loonapick.

  23. Thanks both,

    Some very elegant cluing and all done by coffee time. I, too, had qualms about ‘paid’ and wondered whether there was a sense in relation to pulling in a rope, as opposed to paying it out. But there isn’t. So I think Cookie @20 is about as near as one can get.

  24. I was on Shirl @15’s side re PAID and despite Cookie’s best efforts I’m still not entirely convinced. It was the only one I scurried to the check button for, and I was pleased when it worked out.

    Not Nutmeg’s toughest ever puzzle, but since I’ve failed with her before, that’s not a complaint!

  25. I had the same minor quibbles as others (with CHAIR and PAID, and the parsing of ARMED TO THE TEETH), but enjoyed this as I always do with Nutmeg’s puzzles. Many thanks to N & l.

  26. As always a very entertaining crossword from one of the Guardian’s best setters.

    Thanks to Nutmeg and loonapick

  27. NEGOTIATE, MELTING POT and MERCURY were readily solvable without having to understand all the wordplay (or in the case of MERCURY the ‘other definition’: plant), but it’s good to see it all explained here.
    This was a very satisfying crossword, with FAREWELL and SURPRISE my two favourites. (My first full-time job was at the Pru.)
    Thanks to Nutmeg and Loonapick.

  28. Thanks to Nutmeg and loonapick. An enjoyable puzzle as usual from this setter. Most of my queries have already been addressed though I did not know FILO PASTRY and for LARYNX I took a while before spotting lynx as cat.

  30. I had my problems with PAID too and initially I thought, like Muffin, that the clue should have had ASSISTANCE rather than ASSISTANT although I now think that Cookie has it about right..It was,needless to say LOI. Overall,though, I got on better with this than I usually do with Nutmeg. Getting the two long answers pretty much straight away got me off to a good start and the rest unravelled fairly quickly. I guessed that MERCURY was a plant but I’d never heard of it.
    Thanks Nutmeg.

  31. Another good puzzle from a great setter, although I don’t feel it was her best. Like
    Keyser@22 the east went in first and the West followed once I unravelled the excellent anagram. My queries were the same as William@8 – I don’t see what the canine backing? is. NEGOTIATE is a great clue with every word being an intrinsic part and the misleading definition in plain sight – a perfect cryptic clue imho. Like others I got the solution but didn’t get the clue for MERCURY but as a fan of new devices I now appreciate it. So I’m now thinking the puzzle is better than I first thought – always a nice way to finish a blog contribution.
    Thanks to Nutmeg and loonapick.

  32. With canine support, I guess it means. Not great for me, that idea.

    MERCURY also I didn’t feel to be a great success, but overall a very good puzzle from a consistently very good compiler.

  33. I enjoyed this.  Some very nice surfaces, as always from Nutmeg.  7d was, for me, tops in this category, for the reasons already noted by others above.  It would have been an even more perfect clue if the answer could have better matched the definition (not to mention You-Know-Who himself) by meaning crazy-scary, rather than crazy-funny.

    I liked the device used to clue 23ac, even though, like several other commenters, I did not know of the plant MERCURY but assumed there had to be one (sort of like the the insect peacock from yesterday).  Favorites for me today were ONE-PARENT FAMILY, AGITPROP, NEGOTIATE, and my CotD, MELTING POT.  [I continue to have a delayed PDM in cryptic crosswords over corporation = belly, despite having seen it who-knows-how-many times before.  Maybe at some future point that will be my initial thought on reading the clue, as is the case these days with flower = river and theatre = surgery.]

    Many thanks to Nutmeg and loonapick and the other commenters.

  34. Two of my earliest write-ins were the ones involving “lynx” and “canine”, so, as my garden rain gauge overflowed last night (it takes up to 50cc – 2 inches) I thought it might be raining cats and dogs. Nope! Does Nutmeg ever do themes? I can’t remember any offhand.

  37. Unlucky, leroyjean, but (as the article explains) it’s not a plant! (Can’t say I’ve ever heard of it, though.)

    S Panza @35

    I imagined something like a turnpike, where a bar or pole is left across the road until you pay the toll.

  38. @35 s panza, just like a stick or rod, especially if metal – a metal pole, a metal bar. Does that work for you?

    Great puzzle by nutmeg, the 1 down anagram and the 6d hidden just two examples of her brilliant expertise in creating simple surfaces, love it.

    I have to say though that 13a, unless you are a philistine, is a double definition.

    Many thanks nutmeg and thank you loonapick as always.

  39. With plan(e)t I was first looking for something that meant planet, but without an e it would mean plant. That would be rather clever. Guessed the answer having the last letter, Had to check the dictionary, but clue is OK by me.

  40. Thanks muffin, I guess it just works but somehow I think of a pole as vertical and a bar as horizontal.  I always argue that if I get to the correct answer iffy definitions should not matter, but in this case it took me ages to write this in.  Otherwise a fine crossword which I found on the hard side.  I did think FILO PASTRY was very good.  Many thanks Nutmeg and Loonapick for explaining several answers which I just banged in without being very confident about.  Nutmeg, are you aware that in the island of Grenada (probably still the worlds second largest producer of Nutmeg and Mace after Indonesia) the spice is referred to as the lady in the boat with the red petticoat,  This is because the fruit, (the boat), opens to reveal the beautiful dark shiny nut (the lady) covered with the startlingly bright red mace, the (petticoat).  Beautiful island, beautiful tree beautiful spice!!

  42. Very enjoyable. I was on the same lines as Dutch in trying to remove the (e) in 23 across for a plant. Had a few questions but all have been cleared up above – so thanks to Nutmeg and everyone here!

Comments are closed.