Guardian 27,587 – Arachne

by

My second blog of the week, as promised, and it was a delight to find Arachne’s name on today’s puzzle. Mostly not too hard, though 5d took me a while to parse, but a witty delight throughout. Thanks to Arachne.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
9. WORK ETHIC Wore thick pants, something Protestants have (4,5)
(WORE THICK)*
10. ODOUR Do parts of us smell? (5)
DO in (“parting”) OUR (of us)
11. SEVEN Prime Suspect’s original episode cut short (5)
S[uspect] + EVEN[t] – seven is a prme number
12. SKIN GRAFT Asking RAF technicians about operation (4,5)
Hidden in aSKING RAF Technicians. As often seems to happen to me with hidden clues, this was one of my last ones in
13. HOLY SEE According to Spooner, only that man Francis lives here (4,3)
Spoonerism of “solely he”, and a reference to Pope Francis
14. IN DRINK Well-oiled Indian bowling team (2,5)
IND. + RINK – Chambers gives “2. A portion of a bowling green… allotted to one set of players; 3 A division of a side playing on such a portion”, which would make it part of a team rather than a team, but I am no expert
17. MEDEA Dame Edna’s initial career as terrible mother (5)
Anagram of DAME + E. In Greek mythology, Medea accidentally killed her children
19. SHE Edges away from very pale woman (3)
[a]SHE[n]
20. TATUM Art of jazz trumpeter Armstrong touched us magically at the start (5)
First letters of Trumpeter Armstrong Touched Us Magically – “Art of jazz” is the great jazz pianist Art Tatum
21. NOBBLED Prevented from winning, VIP wept (7)
NOB (VIP) + BLED (wept)
22. GARMENT Decent chap keeping member in trousers? (7)
ARM in GENT
24. SINGLETON Spill the beans and reveal one’s unmarried (9)
SING (to let on, e.g. to confess or inform to the police) + LET ON
26. INTEL Spy provides this home phone number (5)
IN (home) + TEL (phone number, as shown on letterheads etc)
28. BRINE Pickle and cheese sandwiches start to niff (5)
N[iff] in BRIE
29. NAUSEANTS Gutless Amazon repellently exploit workers — they make you sick (9)
Reverse (“repellently”) of A[mazo]N + USE ANTS
Down
1. CWMS Cow moos, repeatedly expelling gas in Welsh valleys (4)
COW MOOS less every O (oxygen) – I know this word (related to English “coombe”) from the 26-letter pangram Cwm fjord bank glyphs vext quiz
2. DRIVEL Doctor left to collect Arachne’s eyewash (6)
I’VE (Arachne’s) in DR + L
3. TENNIS BALL Medical labs in Netherlands engaging retired bouncer (6,4)
Hidden in reverse of medicaL LABS IN NETherlands
4. CHASTE Virginal Conservative on speed (6)
C + HASTE
5. ACTINIDE One idiot about to go around and disperse depleted uranium, say (8)
Quite a complex parsing here: reverse (“around”) of I NIT (idiot) CA (about) + D[ispers]E. The actinides are a group of elements that includes Uranium
6. BONG Interminable sex act finally taking toll (4)
BON[k] + [takin]G. Bong/toll as in the sound of a bell
7. ROYALIST Fan of Elizabeth Taylor is eccentric (8)
(TAYLOR IS)* – Queen Elizabeth II, that is
8. BRAT Kid brother cheers up (4)
BR + reverse of TA (thanks, cheers)
13. HYMEN Vacuous, happy folk in Maidenhead (5)
H[app]Y + MEN
15. DETERMINED Stubborn butcher met dire end (10)
(MET DIRE END)*
16. KEMPT Well-groomed male observed guards (5)
M in KEPT (observed, in the sense of carrying out or celebrating a practice). KEMPT, a variant of “combed” is usually found in its negative version “unkempt”
18. DEBONAIR Sophisticated editor backing British broadcasting (8)
Reverse of ED + B + ON AIR
19. SEDATING Making dopey son search for love online (8)
S + E-DATING
22. GENIUS Class describing imaginary number for Einstein? (6)
I (the “imaginary” square root of minus one) in GENUS
23. EXTANT Surviving by hiding in a tent abroad (6)
X (multiplication sign = by) in (A TENT)*
24. SOBS Cries of old boy wearing socks inside out (4)
OB in S[OCK]S
25. LEER Lascivious look of Bluebeard oddly vanishing (4)
bLuEbEaRd with the odd letters removed
27. LASH Six excluded from Liberal whip (4)
LAVISH less VI

54 comments on “Guardian 27,587 – Arachne”

  1. Several how’s your father allusions from the web spinner today in a fairly gentle workout. I did find rink as also meaning team by searching the two words together. I dimly remembered the jazzman post-solve and ditto actinide. Loved the Holy See and the gaseous cows.

    Thanks to Arachne and once again to Andrew.

  3. Andrew’s description of it as a “witty delight” sums up exactlly my thoughts on this puzzle. However, I too hit a stumbling block with 5d so I really appreciated the early blog.

    Many thanks to Arachne for a pleasant start to the day,

  7. Euripedes, wrote plays that please.  Medea, m’dear did murder…

    Euripedes was a bit of a sensationalist perhaps…

     

    Enjoyed a clever puzzle.  Many thanks.

  8. Some gems in there. 12 one of the best hidden clues. LOI BRAT.

    Once saw Diana Rigg as Medea. I don’t think the infanticide was accidental.

    Thanks A & A.

  9. Thank you Arachne. A smile on my face as soon as I saw the setter’s identity, and the smile lasted until the puzzle was completed.

  10. 16d reminded me of this:

    This is my dream,
    It is my own dream,
    I dreamt it.
    I dreamt that my hair was kempt.
    Then I dreamt that my true love unkempt it.

    ~Ogden Nash

  11. Re 12a SKINGRAFT.

    I have some questions.

    a) Is ‘about’ accepted universally as a telescopic or hidden indicator? Or is it used as such only by this setter? (We know that ‘about’ works as c/c ind and as anag. ind.) Does the use of the word as hidden ind too a ploy to mystify the solver?)

    b) Is this use of recent origin? Has it come to UK cryptic crosswords from US puzzles of similar nature?

    b) Is it okay to use  ‘about’ after the hidden fodder as in this instance?

    c) Can it be used before the hidden fodder?

    Will be grateful for any responses.

     

  12. Missed X from ‘by’ again in 23d; I do need to keep a book as Eileen has suggested.
    Like Andrew, the backwards run-ons evaded me until the end. Enjoyed the misdirection of Maidenhead and didn’t get actinide.
    Overall an enjoyable solve – loved Medea – enjoyed this on radio 4 this week:
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b077x8pc Natalie Haynes stands up for the classics.

  13. Great stuff.  Favourites SINGLETON and GARMENT.  Fascinating that the former word breaks down into two parts each meaning the same thing.  And the latter was delightfully smutty!

    (Andrew, I think you’ve underlined the wrong bit of 14a.)

  15. re 14ac – I was pleased to add to my small stock of pretty useless GK when I checked and found out that a “rink” in lawn/green bowling can mean a team of four players.  One of the joys of x-wording is picking up on gems like that and extending the old vocab.  Thanks Andrew and praise be forever for Arachne.  What a fabulous crossword. (I never ever read this blog and forum until I have finished solving by the way but I do really enjoy getting additional insights from the blogger and from other solvers.)

    Rishi@11 – “about” is just one of dozens of creative ways of indicating a hidden solution.  I nearly always miss these hidden words – though an unusually knotty surface is often characteristic of this device – and then when I finally spot it I have to get the battered old tin tray out and give it some more punishment.

  16. Oh, and yes, Andrew, you have accidentally underlined the wrong bit of the 14ac clue. I knew you knew the definition.  I certainly would not have cracked this one without spotting the definition as I did not know “rink” for a team until I consulted Mr&Mrs Google. (Come to think of it that and 5d were the only ones I had to check today.)

  17. An absolutely wonderful puzzle! Like Andrew, I took time to work out ACTINIDE. Many fantastic clues: for me the stand-out ones were WORK ETHIC, TENNIS BALL, and NAUSEANTS for its clever political reference. Many thanks to A and A.

  18. Brilliant stuff from Arachne. Favourites were ODOUR, ROYALIST (has that anagram never been spotted before?) and SEVEN. I always like a well-concealed definition when the answer’s a number.

    When I solved CWMS I briefly wondered whether there could be a vowel-less theme. I wonder how far a setter could get without AEIO or U…

    Many thanks to Andrew for his second blog of the week and to Arachne

  19. Rishi @ 11: If its any consolation I cant see anything in the clue to indicate an embedding. About does not do it for me.

    It seems to me that the praise for the compiler is sufficient to cover a couple of iffy bits.

     

  20. Rishi@12 and pex@19 – I think that reading 12ac “Asking RAF technicians” as a string of words that go about an “operation” is perfectly OK.  It’s just a wicked bit of elision.

  22. Rich @11 ‘About’ in the sense of ‘somewhere round here’ rather than ‘encompassing’ might be more acceptable parsing for some solvers but, as TerriBlislow wrote, there are many ‘creative’ indicators in use (such as Vlad’s ‘going around’ last week) and sometimes you just have to know the shorthand!

  23. Excellent for the most part, but I’m still mystified by 12a. Can some kind soul explain where the OD comes from?

  27. There seem to be various versions of the Medea story: my “accidentally” came from a partial reading of the Wikipedia article, of which the relevant section says:

    In Corinth, Jason abandoned Medea for the king’s daughter, Glauce. Before the fifth century BC, there seem to have been two variants of the myth’s conclusion. According to the poet Eumelus, to whom the fragmentary epic Korinthiaka is usually attributed, Medea killed her children by accident. The poet Creophylus, however, blamed their murders on the citizens of Corinth.

    According to Euripides’ version, Medea took her revenge by sending Glauce a dress and golden coronet, covered in poison. This resulted in the deaths of both the princess and the king, Creon, when he went to save his daughter. Medea then continued her revenge, murdering two of her children herself. Afterward, she left Corinth and flew to Athens in a golden chariot driven by dragons sent by her grandfather, Helios, god of the sun.

    This deliberate murder of her children by Medea appears to be Euripides’ invention, although some scholars believe Neophron created this alternate tradition. Her filicide would go on to become the standard for later writers. Pausanias, writing in the late 2nd century AD, records five different versions of what happened to Medea’s children after reporting that he has seen a monument for them while traveling in Corinth.

     

  28. Lovely crossword; I particularly enjoyed the hiddens where I spent far too long trying to think about ‘Medical labs …’, doh!

    The clue for GARMENT produced a big smile, and many others were excellent.

    Thanks Andrew for a well-oiled blog.

  29. Finally! Back in the day I had O-level proficiency in several languages, but none in the Celtic family, so I bought Teach Yourself Welsh. Now nearly 50 years later, thanks to 1d, something I learned there has managed to be of use. W is a vowel, btw.

  30. Last one in, I’m ashamed to admit, was 6d because i just couldn’t think of the right sex act.

    I felt less ashamedly unconfident about my bowling teams and mythology, but the answers were clear.

    Wonderful puzzle, as always. Still smiling from Hymen and Garment. I thought 20a was brilliant and i enjoyed tennis ball. A lovely new clue for royalist. Loads of great touches, Liberal whip, etc. A joy to solve.

    Many thanks Arachne and Andrew

  31. Thanks to Arachne and Andrew. Great fun as usual. I had trouble with ACTINIDE and IN DRINK (which I did not parse) though I did parse CWMS

  32. Thank you Arachne for a delightful puzzle and Andrew for yet another blog.

    The hidden answers were great, I took an age to spot them, and I think even Eileen will like the Spoonerism.

  33. I loved this puzzle.

    Great blog, especially the extra discussion about 17a MEDEA, my favourite clue. (Amusing to have our own Dame Edna in there. I did toy with MELBA briefly – another Australian Dame – but could not parse it, and then it was so obviously MEDEA!) Particular thanks to Andrew for coming back on the blog with more info about Medea after already posting a very good solve.

    I know 23a has been mentioned by Hedgehog@12, but I think it is wonderful that Arachne does not waste even a single word in the wordplay, where “by” provides the X in EXTANT.

    Seeing Arachne’s name at the top of the puzzle was welcome, but as always I found it a challenging solve. In the end, it was very worthwhile.

     

  34. What a stunner!  How can so many perfect clues all appear in the same puzzle!?

    I had in mind 7d, 29a (some splendid social comment!) and 10a, though there are several (many) other very strong contenders.

    Brilliant – many thanks, Arachne.

  36. Just start an Arachne crossword and you know you’ll be in for a treat.

    As usual, I didn’t find it too hard. Except for the NE in which I didn’t see the hidden in 12ac [well, just in time], probably because the hidden indicator ‘about’ is one that I do not like very much, while I failed on 6d [too much focussed on ‘gong’ which I couldn’t get to work].

    What I like most about Arachne’s crosswords is that there’s never a dull moment and that I never cry out things like ‘why on earth does the setter do this?’ or ‘that‘s not very good’. Never.

    Precision and surface go hand in hand, and the surface never takes over from precision. That’s what makes the very best setters stand out from the rest.

    I especially admire clues like 11ac (SEVEN) and 7d (ROYALIST) which – to me – are real examples of lift & separate (as it once was). Others may disagree.

    Enough praise – this was wonderful!

    Many thanks to Andrew & Arachne.

     

  37. Thanks to Arachne and Andrew. As others have said a great puzzle with lots of nice clues. However a DNF for me. I could not for the life of me work out 5d. That said still an enjoyable challenge and I particularly liked the long hidden answers. Thanks again to Arachne and Andrew.

  38. Lovely crossword as always from Arachne. Too many favourites to mention.

    Thanks to Arachne and Andrew

  39. Thanks Arachne and Andrew

    Great fun. A DNF for me, in fact, as I had an unparsed DONG at 6d, and I didn’t parse IN DRINK or EXTANT. My favourites were SKIN GRAFT, HOLY SEE (and I’m another Spooner-clue disliker!) and ROYALIST.

    One question – is “brining” the same as “pickling”? I thought pickling had to involve vinegar.

  42. Well this was more the sort of thing after my difficulties yesterday. Arachne can usually be depended on to provide an enjoyable puzzle and this was no exception.Mind you, there was ACTINIDE which I’ve never heard of and which I couldn’t parse but thanks to the trusty OED, I managed to get. MEDEA went in very quickly thanks to my listening to Natalie Haynes on R4 yesterday.Needless to say I liked, and very quickly got,TATUM.
    Thanks Arachne.

  44. Very late, I know, but could not get to this any earlier today, to say how brilliant I found it all. DNF because of ACTINIDE but that’s my fault. Many thanks Arachne and Andrew.

  46. Your parsing of 6D was much cleaner than mine, and a relief, in a way… I assumed the BON was from “BON(E)” ! :0

  47. I can’t believe I was defeated by both hidden clues! Arachne is a master of camouflage.

    Favorites:  SOBS, ROYALIST, HOLY SEE.

  48. I had the same parsing as glenn @46 for 6D, and I too was quite surprised about it, partly because BONE seems a bit dirty for a crossword, but mostly because I think it’s the wrong part of speech. (In the sexual context, I think that it has to be a verb, whereas the clue wants a noun.) I should have known that Arachne’s precision wouldn’t allow that.

    I agree with the consensus that this was an absolute gem of a puzzle. The ingeniously hidden TENNIS BALL at 3d stood out for me, and 10a, 11a, 12a, and 7d were other favorites.

     

  49. It’s a long time since I enjoyed an unfinished puzzle so much. I did not know cwms, (Art)Tatum or Medea.
    But that’s my problem.
    Well done setter, and even more well done Andrew.

  50. Brilliant.  Superb (and often amusing) surfaces and sparkling wordplay, an absolute delight to solve.  CotD for me was TENNIS BALL (“retired bouncer” – haha!).  Other favorites included … most of the other clues in the puzzle.  I also really enjoyed today’s blog and comments — particularly Dr. Whatson @29.

    Many thanks to Arachne and Andrew and the other commenters.

  52. The plural of CWM is Cymoedd not CWMS. It is not appropriate to use one language’s method of creating a plural in another language.

    Has anyone else had a problem with the Crossword section disappearing from the home page in the app?

  53. Sgiwen @52

    ‘It is not appropriate to use one language’s method of creating a plural in another language.’  But it does happen.  The French used to call a tram driver a wattman, the plural of which was given as ‘wattmans’ in some dictionaries and ‘wattmen’ in others.

  54. John E @53 is right. And of course we do this all the time in English.

    “That house is full of poltergeists.”

    “Strauss wrote many waltzes.”

    “Wherever the celebrity went, she was surrounded by cameras.”

    “I have saved many mementos from my childhood.”

     

     

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