Guardian Cryptic 27,622 by Vulcan

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27622.

Vulcan continues on his Rufus tribute way, and I seem to be back in sync with his Monday offerings.

Across
7 JANITOR Caretaker‘s start-of-year rise (7)
A charade of JAN I (‘start-of-year’) plus TOR (hill, ‘rise’).
8 REDHEAD Top copper? (7)
Cryptic definition.
9 SHOE Put a sock in it (4)
Cryptic definition.
10 DAREDEVIL Revile dad horribly, being a reckless type (9)
An anagram (‘horribly’) of ‘revile dad’.
12 SPAIN Aerated bath in Don’s place (5)
A charade of SPA (‘aerated bath’) plus ‘in’.
13 CELERITY Heartless superstar gets speed (8)
CELE[b](RITY (‘superstar’) minus its middle letter (‘heartless’).
15 HELL Curse as front breaks off explosive (4)
[s]HELL (‘explosive’) minus its first letter (‘as fromt breaks off’).
16 CHARM Spell of delight (5)
Double definition.
17 AUNT Pawnbroker’s wife? (4)
A play on UNCLE as colloquial for a ‘pawnbroker’.
18 SMASHING Destruction is wonderful (8)
Double definition.
20 BAIZE Announced spaces for loading coarse cloth (5)
Sounds like (‘announced’) BAYS (‘spaces for loading’).
21 SHOULDERS Takes responsibility for rubbish users hold (9)
An anagram (‘rubbish’) of ‘users hold’.
22 VEST States waistcoat is small, in check (4)
An envelope (‘in’) of S (‘small’) in VET (‘check’), for the American English definition..
24 IN VOGUE Where fashion advice appears popular (2,5)
Definition and literal reference to the magazine.
25 GENESIS Seeing poorly, get glasses finally for book (7)
A charade of GENESI, an anagram (‘poorly’) of ‘seeing’; plus S (‘glasseS finally’).
Down
1 BASH Party? Try to have one (4)
To “have a BASH” is to ‘try’.
2 FIREWALL Hacking, will fear this security measure? (8)
An anagram (‘hacking’) of ‘will fear’, with an extended definition.
3 WOODEN The last to get such a spoon (6)
Marginally cryptic definition.
4 PENDULUM In grandfather’s case, a regular swinger (8)
Cryptic definition.
5 SHIVER In the cold, shake and shatter (6)
Double definition.
6 HAUL Carry away proceeds of robbery (4)
Double definition, but close to the same definition twice over.
11 RECTANGLE Shape of playing field a mess (9)
A charade of REC (‘playing field’) plus TANGLE (‘a mess’).
12 STEAM Energy of son, 11 … (5)
A charade of S (‘son’) plus TEAM (’11’).
14 TENSE … nervous energy, after 10s (5)
A charade of TENS (’10s’) plus E (‘energy’).
16 CHILL OUT Kid almost a yob? Relax (5,3)
A charade of CHIL[d] (‘kid’) minus its last letter (‘almost’) plus LOUT (‘a yob’).
17 A DIM VIEW No light opinion formed by the critical (1,3,4)
Definition and literal interpretation.
19 SPOT ON No spinners coming up? Absolutely right (4,2)
A reversal (‘coming up’ in a down light) of NO TOPS (‘no spinners’).
20 BASKET Hamper such a hopeless case (6)
Double definition.
21 SINK Go down its plughole? (4)
Cryptic/double definition.
23 SKIT Lampoon Saint Christopher (4)
A charade of S (‘saint’ – more often abbreviated to ST., but plain S is known, with plural SS) plus KIT (a familiar form of the name ‘Christopher’.
completed grid

49 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,622 by Vulcan”

  1. I struggled with this one. I failed to solve 3d, 17a (never heard that Uncle = pawnbroker), 2d and of the ones that I did solve I could not fully parse 7a (the I).

    Thanks Peter and Vulcan.

  2. Thanks Vulcan and PeterO

    A bit ho-hum. I liked JANITOR and SHOULDERS, but quite a lot of the rest was loose at best. In particular, defining STEAM as energy is just nonsense – I might just about accept “power”.

  3. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO. Like michelle@1, I had not heard of “Uncle” for pawnbroker. So AUNT at 17a was a biff in for me from the crossers (it could just as easily have been ANNE, for all I knew). I couldn’t parse 22a VEST (another guess) or 5d SHIVER and still don’t understand the latter.
    I enjoyed both 1a JANITOR and 3d WOODEN (spooner) – sorry, michelle. Other ticks for 8a REDHEAD, 1d BASH, 17d A DIM VIEW and 20d BASKET (case).
    Looking forward to the upcoming week of puzzles.

  7. One of those cases of two answers (CELERITY and AUNT) taking as long as the rest put together, despite me knowing the ‘uncle’ term for pawnbroker. Nevertheless, I found it more enjoyable than I ever found Rufus. Thanks Vulcan, and PeterO for the blog.

  8. Steam and energy are both used colloquially for vigour, muffin@2.

    “Shiver my timbers!” JinA@3.

    AUNT was my favourite and HAUL was LOI.

    Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO.

  9. And I meant to say the clues were very economical. It’s the first time I’ve seen all clues occupy only a single line in the online format.

  13. Hmmm bit of a mixed bag. Janitor was however excellent. 17a was a write in for me as my uncle Ron was a pawnbroker turned antiques dealer in the mid 60s. His wife was Aunt Mary so bingo!

  14. Enjoyed this. Most went in easily (e.g. wooden and aunt). Favourites 2 and 12 down. Held up for some time by entering two wrong guesses in the NW corner (boot for shoe). Thanks Vulcan and Peter O.

  15. The last puzzle by Vulcan was, if I remember right, very disappointing.  This time (s)he has given us a much better puzzle, specially if we regard the Monday puzzle as an easy start to the week.

    Not too demanding, and some straightforward clues.  7ac, 10 ac, 11dn for example.

    But there was also food for thought.  I failed to spot the anagrams in 2dn and 21ac for a while.  STEAM made me think.  And I liked BASH.

    Thanks to Vulcan and to Peter O.

     

  16. Nice smooth surfaces, and entertaining I thought. Struggled to see redhead although I twigged eventually, doh. Thanks for the blog.

  17. Thank you Vulcan and PeterO.

    I enjoyed this puzzle, especially the clues for JANITOR, SPAIN, FIREWALL, A DIM VIEW, GENESIS and BASH.

    AUNT made me smile, in France it is she, ma tante, who is the pawnbroker…

  18. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO. I finished fairly quickly (though took a while with BAIZE, my LOI) but was not confident about WOODEN, REDHEAD, and SHOE as “cryptic.”

  19. Contra copmus, a much subtler Vulcan I thought. In fact a dnf for me in the NE, where redhead was clever, ditto celerity. Janitor got a tick, as did smashing, a dim view, and basket. Far from a write-in, for this plodder anyway. Keep it up Vulcan, and ta PeterO.

  20. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO. This mostly went in quite steadily, but I then came a cropper in the NE. I failed to get redhead despite having all the crossers. Just could not see it, though I do not know why now, given it seems so obvious. I find with CDs that you either see them quite quickly or you just do not see them at all. I did like celerity, janitor and shoulders and thanks again to Vulcan and PeterO.

  22. Also having solved the whole AZED in the Observer for the first time ever yesterday, I found myself looking too deeply into this Vulcan and consequently didn’t do very well!

  23. Enjoyed this, thanks Vulcan and PeterO, but would somebody explain WOODEN?  Spoons can be wooden (I have several) but who is the last to get one?

  24. Valentine:
    A metaphorical prize for last place. It is used in Cambridge for a crew that is bumped on all
    four days, and the team bringing up the rear in the Six nations.

  25. Hi Valentine, the team that comes last at season’s end is said to get the wooden spoon (etymology dnk, maybe others will explain).

  26. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO.
    Maybe it’s me, but I would say Top copper? would logically lead to redheadED.

  27. Thanks for the prompt Grant in Freemantle(?)
    I suggested a Cambridge origin, but, apparently, not the original one.

    A spoon made of wood was formerly given to the candidate coming last in the Cambridge mathematical tripos.

  29. I think my Great Uncle Bill may have got a WOODEN SPOON in the 30s.
    Not for sums, although he was a mathematician.
    The Trinity rugby team entered a joke boat in the bumping races.
    Bill, not a small bloke, got the job of cox, on the grounds of being smallest.
    A picture of him sitting ON, NOT IN, the boat got into The Telegraph.

  30. Thanks, grantinfreo and il principe for the spoon explanation, but now I’m confused about the Six Nations.  To an American, the Six Nations (originally five until the Tuscarora joined) are a group of tribes forming the Iroquois Confederacy.  The original five were the Mohawk, the Seneca, the Cayuga, the Onondaga and the Oneida.  There are historians who believe that the Confederacy and its governing council (one member from each tribe) had an influence on the formation of our Federal government, in which a lot of power rests in individual states, while representatives from those states have input into the central government of the nation as a whole.

  31. The Six Nations (originally five until the Italians joined) are a group of rugby teams to a Brit.
    Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy compete for the championship, a Grand Slam, a Triple Crown, a Calcutta Cup and a WOODEN SPOON.

  32. Valentine;
    Thanks for your explanation. You’ve got the makings of a great themed crossword there !

  33. Didn’t like this much. Most were easy enough but I thought the cluing was often loose e.g. VEST which I sort of see but it took quite a long time. Same with WOODEN and I couldn’t see A DIM VIEW for ages. I did like AUNT, but I’m not surprised some others had difficulty with it, and BAIZE.
    If Vulcan is trying to emulate Rufus then he needs to up his game!

  34. I agree with Peter Aspinwall: Rufus at his best could come up with some deliciously economical clues – and some fiendish CDs, which, as has already been observed, are either solved really quickly or else take forever. But then again, Rufus created crosswords for decades and decades – and, if I understand correctly, Vulcan is fairly new to this. So I’m confident Vulcan will grow ever more accomplished. Some of today’s clues were pleasing, others less so. In the first camp I’d put Spain, In Vogue, Skit, Redhead and Aunt (even though I’d never heard the term “uncle” – I certainly won’t forget it now!) in the latter, Steam and Rectangle. I’m guessing Rec is short for Recreation Ground – although I’ve never encountered that before…
    Thanks to Peter O and to Vulcan

  35. Wellbeck @34

    It might just be a northern thing, but “rec” is indeed short for “recreation ground”. Around here they say “I’m just takin’ t’dog to t’rec”! (Actually, they would say “the” and “the” – I’m exaggerating for effect…)

  36. A lot of criticism for this but I thought it rather good, so many thanks Vulcan and PeterO.  muffin @35, not just a northern thing I was born and bred in the south and used to spend hours playing in the rec, until Mrs Th………….. no better not!!

    Favourites were  SPAIN, BAIZE (once PerterO had explained it) and IN VOGUE,

    How come discussion of the Monday puzzle contiues to be vituperative?

    Lets hope for something to soothe tomorrow.

  37. I pretend to be no expert but why did I think the original 6 Nations were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek (Muscogee), and Seminole?  Doh.

  39. It managed to be both too easy and too difficult. Didn’t know uncle for pawnbroker or celerity. I like the way the crossword lulled me into a false confidence.

  40. I usually aim for the longest answers first, but this time, expecting a level of challenge that is usual for a Monday, I decided to try all the shortest answers first for a change – the eight 4-letter words.  I resolved also to get all eight before looking at any other clues.

    It was an interesting challenge.  I got all eight as planned: four were easy, and the other four were hard.  All would have been easy given their two crossers while solving, but the way I did it forced me to think much harder on the four tougher ones – quite a rewarding exercise.

    Everything else has been said already.  I’ll just mention my last one in: SHIVER.  I knew the word as a splinter (or sliver) of glass, but not the verb meaning to shatter.  A TILT for me!

    Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO.

  41. Thanks to both although I did find this oddly unsatisfying.

    In answer to muffin@2 (yes, I know that was hours ago but no one has answered his point) STEAM is defined as energy in Chambers (definition 5) but it is listed as informal. I had to check myself as I was unhappy with it, but it is there in odd coloured pixels so I have to accept it.

    As always there were a few smiles (AUNT) and some definite clunks sounded (REDHEAD) but the clues were fair, if not always clear.

  42. @10 Copmus: Late to the party, but would you care to expand on your single word comment? What is “awful”? Your hangover this morning? Your inability to write constructive criticism? Or if you mean (as you obviously do) the crossword, perhaps you could conform to Paragraph 2 of Site Policy: Any criticism of a puzzle or clue must be valid, constructive and presented in a polite manner. The reason for any dissatisfaction should be clearly indicated.

  43. Yes, truly awful. The last Vulcan for me!

    By the way Muffin re “Taking the dog to the recreation ground” you are certainly not exaggerating, quite the opposite in fact.

    A great number, maybe even the majority, of people from many North Western towns would actually say.

    “Am tekking dog t rec”. Where is the Northern glottal plosive.

    Myself included.

    Naturally this would be modified somewhat if one was speaking to someone “posh” 😉

  44. Defeated by the HTML parser again!

    “Am tekking dog t rec”. Where is the Northern glottal plosive.

    should have read something like…

    “Am tekking {?}dog t {?}rec”. Where {?} is the Northern glottal plosive.

  45. Not enjoyable. Sorry. “Bash” is just one example of a clue that barely qualifies as a cryptic clue. Same with “wooden spoon”. Marginally cryptic indeed. 🙁

  46. For any late lurkers, can I say that I’m surprised that no one else appears to have had BALL instead of BASH at 1dn. It works fairly well, but of course led to a dnf.
    As woodbine@39 said, the puzzle was an odd combination of easy and too difficult.

  48. DNF for me – I can’t get into Vulcan’s mindset at all. I’m not at all sure about the Rufusian analogy, I used to sail through Rufus’s offerings and quite enjoy doing so.

  49. g larsen @46. I had BALLl as well which not only works just as well as BASh but fits with CLOG at 9a which to my mind is a better answer than SHOE.

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