Guardian 27,640 – Chifonie

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It was no surprise to see a Chifonie today after Vulcan last week, as the two of them have set more than half the Monday puzzles since Rufus’s retirement. This one was a fairly typical example, though it took me bit longer than usual to make progress on. Thanks to Chifonie.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
8. RESEARCH Investigation after soldiers brand companion (8)
RE (Royal Engineers – soldiers) + SEAR (to brand) + CH (Companion of Honour)
9. MASON Skilled worker‘s close relatives (5)
MA + SON (two close relatives)
10. DORY Oscar tucked into overcooked fish (4)
O in DRY
11. PARDONABLE Story about fellow can be forgiven (10)
DON (fellow) in PARABLE – I don’t much like the gramatically-inaccurate “can be forgiven” as the definition
12. DISCUS Event to talk about endlessly (6)
DISCUS[S]
14. LITERATE Well read American volume’s devoured (8)
LITER (US spelling of “litre”) + ATE
15. PALADIN Boy in distress becomes a champion (7)
LAD in PAIN
17. PRELATE Senior churchman makes parson sympathise (7)
P + RELATE – I can’t find any justification for P=parson, though Chambers does give P = Pastor and Priest (either of which could have been used in the clue) which might justify it indirectly
20. MASTODON Dot moans about old creature (8)
(DOT MOANS)*
22. ALEPPO Drink very quietly with opposition leader in Syria (6)
ALE (drink) + PP (pianissimo) + O[ppostion]. There seems to be a law that Chifonie has to include at least on example of “in X” = “a place in X” in every puzzle
23. MEERSCHAUM Pipe disintegrating each summer (10)
(EACH SUMMER)*
24. HASH Chop up hardwood? (4)
H[ard] + ASH
25. SCORN Sniff at old Bob’s foot sore? (5)
S (shilling, bob) + CORN (sore place on the foot)
26. TACITURN Cut train in error? It’s withdrawn! (8)
(CUT TRAIN)*
Down
1. SEMOLINA A lemon is prepared for dessert (8)
(A LEMON IS)*
2. DENY Contradict unknown understudy? (4)
DEN (study) + Y (unknown) – a second “lift and separate” clue (after 24a)
3. TRIPOS Get high before big exams (6)
TRIP (to get high) + OS (outsize – big). Tripos is the name of exams at Cambridge University
4. CHORALE Vocal in revolutionary hymn (7)
ORAL in CHE (Guevara)
5. IMPOSTER I’m Bill and I’m not what I seem (8)
I’M POSTER
6. ESPADRILLE Footwear for English banker wearing suit (10)
E + RILL (“banker”) in SPADE. I was worried about the suit being “spade” instead of “spades”, but Bridge players talk about “the spade suit”, so perhaps it’s ok
7. ANKLET Jewellery taken casually round port (6)
L (left, port) in TAKEN*
13. CHATTERBOX Windbag caught milliner on TV (10)
C + HATTER + BOX
16. INDECENT Church in request that’s improper (8)
CE in INDENT (request)
18. TAPESTRY Records evaluate hanging (8)
TAPES + TRY
19. ANDANTE Joiner getting worker’s point fairly slowly (7)
AND (“joining word”) + ANT (worker) + E (compass point)
21. AT EASE A flirt is carefree (2,4)
A TEASE
22. AS MUCH American chums adapted the same (2,4)
A + CHUMS*
24. HUTU Shelter acceptable for some Rwandans (4)
HUT + U (as in “U and non-U”)

32 comments on “Guardian 27,640 – Chifonie”

  1. Good to be back after a couple of weeks away. Enjoyed IMPOSTERS and AT TEASE. Not sure about P for parson either, Andrew. Didn’t get TIP from to get high and wasn’t sure about HASH as to chop up…more as to make a hash of or, of course, corned beef hash.
    Thanks, Chifonie.

  2. Thanks both,

    Paladin was new to me. I thought this was going to be hard for a Monday, but it gave steadily. 6d was ingenious.

  4. Meerschaum was a TTM as I stared at the fodder going ‘pipe out of that, wtf?’ then remembered that I once brought one home (Istanbul, ’67, say no more) at the same moment that the letters gelled…micro endorphin rush. A nice Monday puzzle, thanks Chifonie and Andrew.

  6. Thanks Chifonie and Andrew

    Not much to add. I liked LITERATE and CHATTERBOX.

    Minor misprint in 4d, Andrew – ORAL, not ORLA.

  7. Thank you, Andrew. Not the usual Monday write-in for me; glad of your parsing for RESEARCH in particular, which I was too lazy/dim to fathom for myself. Thanks to Chifonie for helping clear my brain fog.

  10. A nice puzzle with lots of ticks and like Bullhassocks I hadn’t parsed RESEARCH as I couldn’t see how EAR meant brand – lazy and dim-witted indeed. I liked PARDONABLE for using parable rather than lie or take for story; LITERATE for the volume misdirection; IMPOSTER because it was my loi (being dim again); ESPADRILLE and ANKLET – simple and neat; and I too had a ? against P=parson. Good to see you back and up before our Australian friends Hedgehog.
    Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew.

  12. The bottom half went in very quickly but not the top half. I liked the simple MASON, which I took too long to see, and the American volume where I spent ages trying to fit in AV. I wondered about port = left = L, but I suppose it is just about allowable.

    Thanks Chifonie and Andrew.

  13. Thanks Chifonie and Andrew.  I thought this was quite difficult for a Monday and it took me a while to get into the swing of it.  I liked PALADIN and LITERATE.

    A couple of minor moans, though I should stress that neither of them are Chifonie’s fault.  As I’ve said on previous occasions, I know it’s an old crossword chestnut, but I don’t like “banker” to mean river (6d).  I dislike even more the spelling IMPOSTER (5d), rather than impostor.  My SOED has only the latter, but Chambers gives both as alternatives.  I suppose it just shows that if people go on spelling something wrongly for long enough it becomes OK.

  14. Thank you Chifonie and Andrew.

    Quite hard for a Monday, but enjoyable. I did not manage to fully parse RESEARCH or TRIPOS and had forgotten PALADIN – see on checking that a paladin was originally one of the twelve peers of Charlemagne’s court.

    Agree with Lord Jim @13 as regards IMPOSTER, my 1995 edition of the COED gives it as an alternative spelling, but my 1963 edition does not mention it (and my spell checker is questioning it).

  15. A further thought,

     

    This crossword included some old chestnuts of crossword setters eg banker=river, revolutionary=che. These make the crossword easy for the old hands but harder for novices. What is the logic of having an easy crossword on Mondays if it is only easy for experienced solvers? The Quiptic is supposed to be for less experienced solvers. I don’t usually do it so I don’t know if it tries to avoid the obscure conventions. If not, it should; but, by extension, shouldn’t the Monday crossword also?

  17. Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew. I found this slow going for a Monday, but nonetheless very doable. Bottom half went in more quickly than the top half, and finally got held up in the NW. Last one tripos which was a new word for me despite having spent a large proportion of my life in academia (never any tripos in universities I have studied/taught in). I did like espadrille and chatterbox, and thanks again to Chifonie and Andrew.

  18. Agreed, a pox on all bankers, lowers, flowers, et al.

    I had a different parse of 8, RE+SEARCH (investigation) and “brand companion” as definition, based on “brand research.” Which is not exactly a pat phrase, but I’ve seen worse …

    On the other hand, mine does make better use of “after”.

  19. Like some others, I failed (was too lazy) to parse RESEARCH. Not proud of myself for that!
    I was also puzzled for a while by PALADIN, which I thought was a kind of seat, until I realised that the word nagging me was in fact PALANQUIN. Oh well!
    Otherwise a fun Monday.
    Thanks all.

  21. I thought the same, Roger GS, but more lazily, thinking there must be a business-world acronym B&R, like R&D. But I think sear for brand plus CH is convincing.

  22. After seeing others struggle with RESEARCH, I have to admit it was my crossword trainee (now wife) who spotted the SEAR while I too was trying to fathom EAR.

  23. Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew. An enjoyable Monday outing. I had no trouble with RESEARCH and knew TRIPOS from previous puzzles but took a while spotting the rill in ESPADRILLE.

  24. Slightly surprised by the comments on 17A, which I got without trouble after running through the available titles. The random use of first letters without any indication seems to have become commonplace.

  25. Nothing tricky here but it did take me a while to read DENY the right way

    Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew

  26. Enjoyed this and thought it just about right for a Monday slot. Chifonie is a dependable setter. ESPADRILLE and MEERSCHAUM are old friends for solvers but I don’t think I’ve seen them in the same puzzle before.
    Good fun.
    Thanks Chifonie.

  27. I got stuck on trying to make PRIMATE work for 17A, and ESPADRILLE was LOI. I had to do some judicious googling to get TRIPOS, which was completely new to me. I wonder how many other non-UK people would know of that.

  28. I too enjoyed this except for P for Parson. I was surprised that
    Chambers gives “learned” as the first meaning for “literate” as I thought that it just meant “capable of reading”.
    Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew

  29. Interesting point, pino. “Illiterate” means “incapable of reading”, but the opposite also implies “well-read” rather than just “can read”, I think.

  30. I had the same parsing for RESEARCH as Roger GS but didn’t quite like it so I’m happy to see the alternative.
    I was stuck on TRIPOS and MEERSCHAUM for ages as neither look like anything to this American.

    Lots of nice cleanly clued clues gave me a smile- I enjoyed chatterbox and dory especially.

  31. [Minor point, Andrew, but the ‘word-split’ clues are not strictly speaking “lift and separate”; cf Crosswordunclued where, I believe, the originator of the term is cited.]
    The discussion of literate v. illiterate has been had on this site before.
    Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew

  32. John Carney @ 27: I’m very non-UK (Canadian -> Australian -> New Zealander) and I had no trouble with “tripos”.  (Once I saw it. 🙂 )  OTOH I am of the mathematical persuasion, and have read quite a bit about G. H. Hardy who, I gather, had some very definite opinions about the mathematical tripos.

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