Guardian Cryptic 27,546 by Picaroon

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27546.

I had trouble with the SW corner, mainly because of 2D DESSERTSPOONFUL, with its knotty wordplay and unhelpful definition. Apart from that, progress was smooth.

Across
1 LADDISH Woman not quite a hottie? That’s a bit sexist (7)
A charade of LAD[y] (‘woman’) minus the last letter (‘not quite’) plus DISH (‘a hottie’).
5 DE FACTO Really scoffed about performer finishing early (2,5)
A charade of DEF, a reversal (‘about’) of FED (‘scoffed’) plus ACTO[r] (‘performer’) minus the last letter (‘finishing early’).
9 WESTON-SUPER-MARE Town street crossed by setters having great horse-riding experience? (6-5-4)
An envelope (‘crossed by’) of ST (‘street’) in WE (‘setters’) plus ON SUPER MARE (‘having great horse-riding experience’).
10 REEVE Bird concealed by tree vegetation (5)
A hidden (‘concealed by’) answer in ‘tREE VEgetation’. The male ruff has a spectacular collar of breeding plumage about his neck, which accounts for the name, but his partner, the reeve, is less showy.
A reeve
A reeve.
11 ACTS OF GOD Following trail back on rocky coast leads to disasters (4,2,3)
A charade of ACTSO, an anagram (‘rocky’) of ‘coast’ plus F (‘following’) plus GOD, a reversal (‘back’) of DOG (‘trail’, verb).
12 WATER POLO Women playing pelota, or another game (5,4)
A charade of W (‘women’) plus ATERPOLO, an anagram (‘playing’) of ‘pelota or’.
14 DODGE Scheme with Italian bigwig fencing diamonds (5)
An envelope (‘fencing’) of D (‘diamonds’) in DOGE (formerly the chief magistrate in Venice or Genoa, ‘Italian bigwig’).
15 TOPIC Republican’s out of line about earth issue (5)
A subtraction: T[r]OPIC (Cancer or Capricorn, ‘line about earth’) minus the R (‘Republican’s out of’).
16 REGRETFUL Rook with bird flu awfully sorry (9)
A charade of R (‘rook’, chess notation) plus EGRET (‘bird’) plus FUL, an anagram (‘awfully’) of ‘flu’.
18 STONEWALL Pen gripping love novel to reveal nothing (9)
An envelope (‘gripping’) of O (‘love’) plus NEW (‘novel’) in STALL (‘pen’).
21 SHALT Must old-fashioned Sierra stop moving? (5)
A charade of S (‘Sierra’, radio alphabet) plus HALT (‘stop moving’).
22 REFRESHER COURSE Help student’s received, perhaps (9,6)
An envelope (‘is received’) of FRESHER (freshman, ‘student’) in RECOURSE (‘help’), and as ‘perhaps’ can be justified as amplifying the wordplay, an &lit.
23 DELAYER Streamline business of French farm producer (7)
A charade of DE (‘of French’) plus LAYER (‘farm producer’). To de-layer (Chambers gives delayering as one word) is to remove layers of management.
24 DYNASTY Content to leave dirty, horrid old soap (7)
A charade of DY (‘content to leave DirtY‘) plus NASTY (‘horrid’). We recently had the Ewings from Dallas; here is the rival prime-time soap.
Down
1 LOWBROW Uncultured spat after wife’s caught in fling (7)
A charade of LOWB, an envelope (‘caught in’) of W (‘wife’) in LOB (‘fling’); plus ROW (‘spat’).
2 DESSERTSPOONFUL Tense about wild fun in baths with little liquid (15)
A charade of DESSERTS, a reversal (‘about’) of STRESSED (‘tense’) plus POONFUL, an envelope (‘in’) of NFU, an anagram (‘wild’) of ‘fun’ in POOL (‘baths’).
3 ISOMETRIC Liberated eroticism in the same form (9)
An anagram (‘liberated’) of ‘eroticism’.
4 HOSEA I’m surprised about the main part of scripture (5)
A charade of HO, a reversal (‘about’) of OH! (‘I’m surprised’) plus SEA (‘the main’), fot the book of the Old Testament and Hebrew Bible.
5 DIPHTHONG Two characters together swim with hot swimwear (9)
A charade of DIP (‘swim’) plus H THONG (‘hot swimwear’).
6 FORGO Pro with golf ball to accept losing (5)
A charade of FOR (‘pro’ as opposed to con) plus G (‘golf’) plus O (‘ball’).
7 CHARGE D’AFFAIRES Official blamed over drug-smuggling cases (6,9)
A charade of CHARGED (‘blamed’) plus AFFAIRES, an envelope (‘-smuggling’) of E (‘drug’) in AFFAIRS (‘cases’)
8 OVERDUE Finished interminable fight late (7)
A charade of OVER (‘finished’) plus DUE[l] (‘fight’) minus the last letter (‘interminable’, without an ending).
13 OUR FATHER Prayer of 4, heartbroken (3,6)
An anagram (-‘broken’) of FOUR (‘4’) plus ‘heart’-. HOSEA does not come into it.
14 DRESS DOWN Carpet to appear scruffier (5,4)
A double definition: carpet as a verb, to reprimand severely.
15 TASERED Stunned, with seat newly favouring Corbyn? (7)
A charade of TASE, an anagram (‘newly’) of ‘seat’ plus RED (‘favouring Corbyn’).
17 LOTTERY Draw seal ultimately, like an aquatic creature? (7)
A charade of L (‘seaL ultimately’) plus OTTERY (‘like an aquatic creature?’ – a playful coinage).
19 ELEGY See limits for one verse (5)
An envelolpe (‘limits’) of E.G. (for example, ‘for one’) in ELY (crossword’s favourite diocese, ‘see’).
20 LURID Sensationalist cover, in which solver is in text (5)
An envelope (‘in which’) of U R (you are, ‘solver is in text’) in LID (‘cover’).
completed grid

47 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,546 by Picaroon”

  1. I really enjoyed this puzzle. My favourites were 2d, 13d, 5a, 14d, 18a.

    I was unable to parse 15a – aha, very clever! I knew I had to remove an R from somewhere but I did not think of that!

    Thanks Peter and Picaroon.

  2. Good fun. I particularly enjoyed the pairing of LADDISH and LOWBROW, the ‘eroticism’ anagram and ‘like an aquatic creature’. I did manage to work out TOPIC, but couldn’t parse the corporate speak DE(-)LAYER, a word I hope never to meet again in my life.

    The way DYNASTY was clued reminded me of a review of the program I once heard: “The first two letters of the title are superfluous”.

    Thanks to PeterO and Picaroon.

  3. Another delightful puzzle, made more enjoyable by a few light bulb moments – eg the two long downs.

    Thanks to the ever-excellent Picaroon and PeterO

  5. Many thanks P ‘n’ P – this looked tough to start with and, indeed, quite a few clues were on the tricky side, but none caused me interminable delays. And if my spelling had been better I’d have got DIPHTHONG and CHARGÉ D’AFFAIRES inserted correctly first time…

  6. Loved this.  Full of wit and smooth surfaces such as 21a.

    Bit unsure about baths (plural) = pool (singular) but I suppose it’s OK.

    Struggled longest with LADDISH due to its excellent gender misdirect.

    First rate, as so often are The Pirate’s offerings these days.

    Nice week, all.

  7. Like PeterO I had trouble getting DESSERTSPOONFUL, despite having all the crossers. But a great puzzle. Favourites were LOWBROW, DIPHTHONG and OUR FATHER. Many thanks to P & P.

  9. Great puzzle, just tough enough without headbanging. I stared at delayer going ‘what the…’ for a while before the biz-speak meaning clicked; chuckled at being deflected from reeve by ‘concealed’; biffed 22a from the crossers and didn’t parse either it or 15a. I always remember Doge since Gielgud played one years ago in Marco Polo (tho the show was forgettable).

    Thanks PeterO and Picaroon.

  13. I’m fed up with saying how much I enjoy Picaroon’s puzzles, and how impressed I am with their consistent quality, but I’m doing it again. Much appreciated.

  14. @William 6

    In my childhood in Sheffield everyone used to say “we’re going to t’baths” when we referred to a visit to a swimming pool (singular). I don’t know how widepspread that vocab is though. This usage is in Collins.

  16. Another fine Picaroon puzzle, though did scratch my head a little over the answers to 18 and 23 across…

  18. Thank you Picaroon and PeterO.

    Quite a challenge with DESSERTSPOONFUL last in.  The birds in 10a and 16a delayed me since I wanted to use SWAN for Pen in 18a.

    grantinfreo @12,  the dog  fed greedily, the dog scoffed greedily?

  20. Excellent throughout, and I liked all the long answers, TOPIC and REGRETFUL especially.
    Just one thing jarred a little: the setter used the definition of digraph (or ligature) to indicate DIPHTHONG at 5d, but I know that at least one strict editor allows that, as do most dictionaries, Chambers indicating it as ‘loose’.
    Many thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.

  21. baerchen & Cookie @14/15:  Yes…come to think of it, we used to say that growing up in Nottingham, too.  “Gooin’ dahn’t baths”

  22. Same here on the baths front in Stoke – I don’t think i ever used the words ‘I’m going to the swimming pool’ until I was an adult. It was always ‘the baths’

  24. Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO. I thought at first this was going to be quite easy for Picaroon. However then met some tricky ones and my experience same as PeterO. Got held up in the SW with dessertspoonful, tasered and stonewall last ones. Those now among my favourites along with lottery. Lovely puzzle and thanks again to Picaroon and PeterO.

  25. Very enjoyable puzzle. Enough of a challenge, witty and many ‘aha’ moments.

    DESSERTSPOONFUL was loi. As a frequent cake baker this should have jumped out at me, but recipe spoonfuls are usually of the tea or table variety. Very rarely dessert.

    Martin @10. I too am always a little bothered by the enumeration for solutions with apostrophes. For 7d (6,9) doesn’t seem quite right, but then neither does (6,1,8) and (6,1’8) would be too much of a giveaway.

    Many thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.

  26. Another top class puzzle, as we have come to expect from Picaroon. I found it easier than he sometimes is, perhaps because of the helpful grid. DESSERTSPOONFUL was last in.

    Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO

  27. My LOI was DESSERTSPOONFUL too.  Seems a little odd that a long one like this held out until the end for so many people.  Clever parsing.  Fwiw, it was also “swimming baths” for “pool” in Surrey when I was a kid too.  Does it come down from the Romans, I wonder?

    I missed the parsing of REFRESHER COURSE, reading it as a weakish CD, so thanks for that one, PeterO.  Ta also for the reeve pic.  It’s nice to put a name to the face, as it were.

    Favourites were CHARGE D’AFFAIRES and TOPIC, with its pleasing surface.  Honourable mentions for the OTTERY coinage and the good time on the equine.

    Thanks, Peter and Picaroon.  Enjoyable solve as always from this setter.

  28. PS Forgot to mention that I now have an earworm courtesy of Ten Years After as a result of dessert SPOONFUL 🙂 .

  29. Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO. Great fun. Add me to the list of those with DESSERTSPOONFUL as LOI along with DELAYER. I needed some help from Google to pin down WESTON-SUPER-MARE.

  30. Happily finished but found a few very tough. Very enjoyable overall. Sadly, DELAYER is a bit too common in real life, so was solved quickly. LURID made me smile.

    Thanks Peter and Picaroon.

  31. Thanks Picaroon and PeterO

    Two sessions, but pleased that I solved it without any aids at all – also that I saw DELAYER as a verb! A couple not fully parsed, thanks for that, Peter.

    Favourite OUR FATHER, for the misdirection of “4”.

  32. I’m glad most of you enjoyed this but I’m afraid I didn’t..A bit too much like pulling teeth for me. I though 7dn rather cheeky and I was expecting a double D in 14ac. I did manage to get DELAYER and SHALT late in the proceedings and I did like TASER but this gets a thumbs down from me.
    Thanks Picaroon.

  33. Thanks Picaroon and Peter O – I needed the parsing for REFRESHER COURSE.
    I parsed LADDISH as (g)LADDIS+H but you are clearly right. Toyed with CAPO or POPE for the Italian bigwig 🙂
    And it took ages to see DESSERTSPOONFUL until DELAYER went in.

  34. I was doing really badly so I opened the blog to see what Peter O’s preamble would say and saw 2 down referenced and 1 across by accident. It’s possible I would have got 1 across eventually but I don’t think I would have got 2 down in a million years. (I have to say after reading the parsing note I thought it a dreadful clue). Once those two were written in the rest was finished in just a few minutes. Normally love Picaroon’s puzzles, this one a little less so. However, as always, many thanks to him and Peter O for taking the trouble for our amusement!

  35. Hard work for a long time, and not convinced even by Cookie at 18 about fed/scoffed.  Even so, the usual witty and cunning fare from Picaroon with plenty to enjoy.

    Thanks to Peter O for elucidating the ones I couldn’t.

  36. I seem to be in a minority here with 2d an early entry, but by a slightly misguided route. “Little liquid” made me think of desert, which led to desserts, and… well,there it was.

    Many thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.

  38. No relevance, but there is a village in Devon called Up Ottery – at least, that is how I knew it, but Wikipedia says that it is now written as one word.

  39. Great crossword (again) of a setter who, like Arachne & Nutmeg [I name these two as they are similar in style], doesn’t seem to be able to write a bad puzzle.

    DESSERTSPOONFUL (2d) was certainly not my last one in; that was DELAYER (23ac) which had to be it but a word I’d never come across meaning what it meant here.

    Did anyone else notice that Picaroon used the ‘about’ device [as a reversal indicator] three times?! In 5ac, 2d and 4d. A bit uncharacteristic for this setter.

    As is the very fine 13d (OUR FATHER) in which one has to split ‘heart/broken’.

    I thought WESTON-SUPER-MARE was great, not sure though Weston-super-Mare is …

    Many thanks to PeterO & Picaroon.

  40. A great, fun puzzle, all around.  I thought TOPIC, REGRETFUL, DYNASTY, DE FACTO, DIPHTHONG, and DRESS DOWN were all brilliant.  We don’t use DESSERTSPOONFUL as a unit of measure here in the US, but once the crossers were all in, that word fit the parsing perfectly and had to be the correct answer.

    PeterO @38, when I was solving 17dn I was put in mind of the Harry Potter books/movies, in which the Weasley family lived near the village of “Ottery St. Catchpole”.  Apparently that was J.K. Rowling’s humorous take on Ottery St. Mary, which may be the same (real) Devon village mentioned in your comment.

    Many thanks to Picaroon and PeterO and the other commenters.

  41. Like others I’m in the Picaroon fanclub and enjoyed most of this, the exception being 2d which seemed unusually contrived for him, and the surface was nonsense. And I thought it was my loi until I came here and realised I hadn’t done SHALT!
    15a (TOPIC) was a perfect clue to me – concise, every word did something and the definition was well hidden – I spent ages trying to think of synonyms for “earth issue” – climate change etc. I also double ticked DYNASTY having decided against Wright’s Coal Tar.
    Philontelly@27 – my SPOONFUL ear worm is from Cream’s Wheels of Fire when “Clapton is God” was graffiti on motorway bridges.
    Many thanks to Picaroon, PeterO and all contributors.

  42. A fine puzzle but a DNF as I had to come here to complete 9a WESTON-SUPER-MARE and 23a DELAYER so I could declare bedtime over here last night.
    Like WordPlodder@2, I enjoyed the connection between 1a LADDISH and 1d LOWBROW. But it was for me a really tough and time-consuming puzzle. Thanks for the explanatory blog, PeterO, and to Picaroon for a challenging crossword which defeated me, but whose cleverness is undeniable.

  43. [What an enjoyable blog, by the way…
    phitonelly@28 and WK@41 – I now also have “Summer in the City” by the Lovin’ SPOONFUL going around in my head after reading your song associations from 2d. Also found the Harry Potter back story interesting, DaveMc@40, following PeterO’s elaboration on 17d OTTERY @38.]

  44. I haven’t checked, but I seem to recall there are at least three villages in Devon all on the River Otter: Upottery, Ottery St Mary and Otterton. Youth Hosteled around there once as a 14 yo many (very many!) years ago.
    (Off topic I know, but it with any luck it’s too late for the Relevancy Police.)
    On topic: I found this particularly difficult today, which is why I’ve been lurking around these boards at such a time as this.

  45. The original studio version of Spoonful is I think on Cream’s first album Fresh Cream.

  47. A DIPHTHONG isn’t two characters together, it’s two vowel SOUNDS together, often only using one character as in ‘life’. Bit annoying.

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