Guardian 27,647 – Brummie

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Pretty easy-going for a Brummie, I thought, with just a little trouble finishing off the SW corner.

Brummie doesn’t always do themes, but I spotted one here quite quickly (which helped with a few subsequent clues): it’s George Orwell’s ANIMAL FARM, with Mr JONES the farmer, MOSES the raven, BOXER and CLOVER the horses, and pigs OLD MAJOR, the old boar who inspires the revolution, NAPOLEON the Stalinesque dictator, the Trotsky-like SNOWBALL and the propagandist SQUEALER. Thanks to Brummie.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
9. ROACH Final section of joint unfinished choral works (5)
Anagram of CHORA[L] – “the butt of a marijuana cigarette [joint]” as Chambers puts it
10. ANNAPURNA Old coin container in Pennsylvania high spot (9)
ANNA (former Indian coin) + URN in PA
11. STOOD FIRM Fixed dot, so company could not be moved (5,4)
(DOT SO)* + FIRM (company)
12. TOTEM Miles is after bear symbol (5)
TOTE (to bear) + M
13. MAE WEST Sheep hiding in ground cover, an airman’s lifesaver (3,4)
EWE in MAST (nuts & acorns, which I suppose could cover the ground). The Mae West was the nickname of a US airman’s life-jacket, named after the buxom actress
15. LEAFLET Performing flea meets obstruction (a bit of foliage) (7)
FLEA* + LET (obstruction)
17. JONES Jack gets United to take on son Tom? (5)
J + ONE + S, with reference to the singer
18. OLD Getting on Circle line with a large number (3)
O + L + D (500 – large number?: well, it depends what you’re counting)
20. MOSES Natural lining material wrapped round end of the contents of basket (5)
E (last letter of the middle letters of bASKEt – a rather unusual construction) in MOSS Ignore that rubbish: it’s “end of thE” in MOSS, and the infant Moses was found by hidden in an “ark of bulrushes”, i.e. a basket, where he was found by Pharaoh’s daughter
22. ROBOTIC Mechanical orbit circling round and around (7)
O (“round”) in ORBIT* + C (circa, around)
25. SECLUDE Almost understand oddly clued “shut off” (7)
SE[e] + CLUED*
26. BOXER Lightweight worker in goods packing? (5)
Double definition (“lightweight” is a def-by-example – the question mark at the end of the clue may be intended to show this)
27. OVERHEADS Heating and lighting, say, above school’s entrance (9)
OVERHEAD (above) + S[chool]
30. LOOSE-LEAF Easily removable WC with false nuts round tip of base (5-4)
LOO (toilet, WC) + [bas]E in FALSE*
31. CREDO Ruby’s shielded by firm belief (5)
RED in CO (company – we had this the other way round in 11a)
Down
1. ARMS Means of defence gets hot with top off (4)
[W]ARMS
2. NAPOLEON Game to sleep with nothing on next to Trotsky? (8)
NAP + 0 + LEON – perhaps the reference to Trotsky is a nod to the the theme, as is “sleep with nothing on”, from the original 4th Commandment “No animal shall sleep in a bed”, later surreptitiously modified to “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets”
3. SHOD Booted a bit of the pitch over the top of Hillsborough (4)
H[illsborough] in SOD
4. RADIO TWO Wait, or do shifts as a broadcaster (5,3)
(WAIT OR DO)* – Radio 2 is a BBC radio channel, the successor of the Light Programme
5. ANIMAL Barbarian lifting a thin plate of bone (6)
Reverse of LAMINA
6. OPHTHALMIC Circle left to access champ hit badly about the eye (10)
O (circle) + L in (CHAMP HIT)
7. BRUTAL Animal research facility about to introduce a tedious course (6)
RUT (tedious course) in reverse of LAB – perhaps a pity that “animal” appears here so close to 5d
8. FARM Till first sign of five in the morning about right? (4)
F[ive] + R in A.M.
13. MAJOR Stick around with Gold, an American student (5)
Reverse of JAM (to stick) + OR – an American student may say “I’m a physics major”
14. EASY TARGET Yes, regatta activated sedentary duck (4,6)
(YES REGATTA)* – the definition is a (needless?) variant on “sitting duck”
16. TASTE Art venue includes sex experience (5)
S in TATE [Gallery]
19. DISNEYFY Sydney, if tarted up to present a trivial, cosy image to tourists (8)
(SYDNEY IF)* – an odd-looking spelling, but Chambers has it
21. SQUEALER Little pig‘s snitch (8)
Double definition
23. BUXTON Spa where males are heard to gain weight (6)
Homophone of “bucks” + TON
24. CLOVER Hide bordering lake (you’ll prosper in it) (6)
L in COVER – if you’re well off you’re “in clover”
26. BALL Dance nut (4)
Double definition – nut=ball=testicle
28. HOCK Artist lacks yen, in a way, for a joint (4)
[David] HOCKNEY less YEN*
29. SNOW Newscaster keeps neutral in broadcast (4)
N in SOW – Jon Snow, long-running presenter of Channel 4 News

60 comments on “Guardian 27,647 – Brummie”

  1. Thanks to Brummie and Andrew. I thought we were on for a pangram and spent ages looking for a “Z” that wasn’t there.

     

  2. Thanks Andrew and Brummie

    A bit ho-hum, but redeemed by the lovely MOSES (I got the E from “end of thE”, Andrew) and RADIO TWO.

    Unusually I did see the theme.

    A bit clumsy to have ANIMAL @ 5d, then 7d clue starting with “animal”.

  4. Thanks both
    20 a – I think that the “e” is the last letter of “the” and Moses is the “contents of basket”

  7. Thanks Brummie and Andrew

    I saw 20 as MOSS ‘wrapped round end of thE’, with ‘contents of basket’ being the definition.

  11. Really enjoyed it. I do recall doing another “Animal Farm” themed cryptic within the last couple of years I think, but that did not detract from the pleasure of solving this one. As already much discussed by others, MOSES at 20a was a great clue and definitely my favourite. I did miss MURIEL though! I still felt that wave of sadness when I filled in BOXER at 26a – recalling his mantra “I will work harder”… and then remembering his eventual fate – so poignant! 23d BUXTON was unfamiliar as a spa (town?), but gettable from the crossers.

    Many thanks to Brummie and Andrew.

  14. I was a bit put off by ANIMAL occurring twice-and LEAF for that matter-and thought OVERHEADS was a bit weedy.

    Those things put me in a critical mood especially after the perfection of Arachne yesterday. And stopped me seeing the theme TILL later on.

    I did like BUXTON and ROACH. And i suppose MOSES is OK.

    is S for sex OK? (prefer IT, M or F)

    Thanks Andrew and Brummie

  17. Thanks Andrew and Brummie. I’d have enjoyed it a lot more if I’d spotted the theme, but have only myself to blame for my lack of pleasure, in this as in so many other respects, ho-hum.

  18. muffin @15:  You’re right, it should be, but I think it’s a verb.  How about  Annapurna (v.i):  Of teenage girls in a group, to make gentle noises of appreciation when enjoying ice cream.

    Good crossword BTW, many thanks, both.

  19. Embarrassed to say missed the theme and even more so to confess to having read no Orwell, such a zeitgeist icon! On the family shelf of course and absorbed by osmosis via perennial reference, including some character names, but not the same. Hence a dnf in the SW, Boxer and Buxton; ouch. And hence not an easy solve. Slow to get leaflet, seclude, brutal (animal as adjective), taste (s[ex], not ‘it’), Squeeler, and the sitting duck. Not a great outcome. Keeps one humble, keeps ze leetle grey cells learning.

    Thanks Brummie and Andrew.

  22. Thanks Brummie and Andrew. I think the setter must have been in a good mood for this one, certainly not his most challenging offering, but good fun nonetheless, and it took me back many years to ‘O’ level English Lit. (alongside Henry V and A Tale of Two Cities.)

    In 22a, ‘circling’ appears to be doing double duty as both anagrind and containment indicator. Surely another word is required?

  23. Thanks Brummie; like Bullhassocks @17 I would have enjoyed this more if I had spotted the theme, doh!

    Thanks Andrew; I can’t find S = sex in Chambers, Collins or the ODE, so I don’t think it’s a usual abbreviation – context anyone? I didn’t much enjoy the ‘ground cover’ either, although I think I’ve seen something similar before. I thought about rotator for 22 although it didn’t parse properly.

    I liked the easily removable WC.

     

     

  24. I enjoyed myself not least because  I spotted the theme!

    My favourite clue was 20a as I thought the ‘contents of basket’ was brilliant.   6d made me think of my sister whose dissertation I typed and as she was studying to be an 6d optician, you can imagine how many times I typed that word which means that I don’t have any trouble spelling it.

    Thanks to Brummie and Andrew

  27. Crypticsue, had to check the first ‘h’ in ophthal, though I’d known it since about age 12 (surgeon uncle, lots of med talk around the family table).

  29. Thank you Brummie and Andrew.

    I made the same mistake as Andrew taking the ‘e’ from basket in 20a, now my favourite clue.

    Like Greensward @25, I parsed 13a as EWES in MAT – he should know whether ‘mast’ could cover the ground …

    Tom JONES the singer did not come to my mind for 17a,  I thought of Fielding’s book – perhaps there is a special reason ?

  30. Thanks, Andrew and Brummie.

    I managed to spot the theme quite early, having met it several times before. [JinA, the most recent was Crucible’s puzzle on March 23rd this year.]

    Like crypticsue, I loved the contents of the basket but I’m with copmus @14 re OVERHEADS.

    I parsed MAE WEST as  Greensward did but forgot that when I read the blog, as Andrew’s parsing works well, too.

  31. Greensward @25, I parsed it as Andrew did but I like your version. ‘Ground cover’ is a better description of mat than mast, IMHO. Sorry I didn’t see it.

  33. Excellent puzzle.  Went in mostly fairly easily but there were a number of places that really made you think.

    ROACH was new to me.

    I didn’t know that a MAE WEST is/was specifically an airman’s jacket – I have always associated it with sailors.

    LOI was BOXER, or rather it would have been, except that I put BOSTON for the spa and hence threw an incorrect guess at BASER (whatever that might have meant …).

    Great puzzle, enjoyable.

    Thanks to Brummie and to Andrew.

  36. Gordon Macdougall – I don’t think the animated Animal Farm was a Disney effort (Halas & Bachelor possibly?) so that clue isn’t part of the theme.

  37. Thanks to Brummie and Andrew. Most of this went in quite easily but then like others got bogged down in the SW. Just like Goujeers@28 and Anna@33 I went for Boston for 23 and hence could not make sense of 26a. To my embarrassment totally missed the theme, even though I am familiar with the book. Hey ho would almost certainly have finished if I had looked for a theme, but liked what I did solve. I particularly liked roach, Jones and Annapurna, and thanks again to Brummie and Andrew.

  40. gladys @36, apparently a Manchester Guardian article in 1955, Animal Farm on the Screen, described the film as “Disney-turned-serious” (wiki), so I think DISNEYFY could be part of the theme as gordon mcdougall proposes @20 – apparently the CIA financed the animated version as “a means of defence” (1d) to counter communist propaganda.

  41. Nothing too tricky here – NAPOLEON was first in and I immediately guessed the theme from that, though I didn’t remember all of the names.

    Thanks to Brummie and Andrew

  42. I have read so much of Orwell – at least as much non-fiction as fiction – but I didn’t spot the theme despite the gift-wrapped NAPOLEON going down!  (I thought only of the card game.  I was given a hint about a theme, but I forgot all about it.)

    I was clearly on a different wavelength from Tyngewick’s (@5), finding this crossword too much of an ordeal.  But of the many clues I left unsolved I really should have got BOXER and BUXTON, and I don’t know why I didn’t.  The only words I hadn’t heard of were DISNEYFY and ROACH (with that meaning).  DISNEYFY was one of my first in, the wordplay being straightforward and the definition so obvious and clear!

    Thanks Brummie and Andrew.

  43. Great fun.  Like other commenters above (Julie in Australia @11, Eileen @30, Jeremy @35 — hope I didn’t miss anybody!), I spotted the theme early on and also immediately recalled seeing this same theme in a previous Guardian Cryptic … and, carrying further with Eileen’s comment, I think it has appeared not just once but multiple times.  I could be wrong (it certainly wouldn’t be the first time, or the last), but it seems to me that almost every Guardian setter who does themes, especially ghost themes (including Qaos and the much missed Brendan — oh where oh where are you, Brendan?), has constructed a puzzle around Animal Farm character names within the past 4 or so years.  Maybe one of the commenters who excels at researching and/or recalling details of prior puzzles (beery hiker, I think?) could confirm.

    I share with others above the opinion that MOSES was the top clue today.  Nice PDM with “contents of basket”.

    Many thanks to Brummie and Andrew and the other commenters.

  44. Didn’t get the theme although I think I’ve read all of Orwell- Socialism in literature was part of my Degree- and Animal Farm is well known to me. I remember seeing a lousy film version which ends with the animals embracing Capitalist democracy! I’m sure that if I had spotted the theme I would have got BOXER more quickly. As it was it was LOI.
    I parsed MAE WEST as EWE in MAT;which is surely correct. Other favourites were ANNAPURNA and BUXTON.

    Thanks Brummie.

  45. Thanks to Brummie and Andrew. As soon as I saw the setter’s name I thought I had a good chance of finishing, and thus it proved. I freely admit I missed the theme and wasn’t looking for one – in my defence it is over 50 years since I read Animal Farm !

  46. Peter @44

    I too had MAT for my ground cover (with EWES inside).  ‘Mast’ would be ok for a forest floor, with the meaning mentioned by Andrew in the blog.

  48. I found this a steady solve, reasonably challenging. I completely missed the theme and I’m quite glad I did, as I was forced to use the wordplay.
    I split MAE WEST as Andrew did, but I justified MAST as a cover for an electrical ground. That’s not quite right though – it’s more of a support than a cover.
    Thanks to S&B.

  49. [Alan B @47 –

    Yes, I saw your “alpen” follow-up!  Three cheers for the good old (and I do mean old) Funk & Wagnall’s/Merriam-Webster’s two-volume dictionary!  We had one of those two-volume Websters in the house when I was growing up — although I think it must have been a much more recent edition than 1890, perhaps circa 1940s or 1950s.  Thanks for your glowing research effort!]

  50. [Further to the Alpen question (sorry, I know that it’s not this puzzle, but I doubt if anyone would see it if I posted on the Maskarade). Alpen is a very well-known trade name for a type of muesli in Britain. The reason that I mention it is that it’s very useful for campers as it contains dried milk so can be reconstituted with just water, meaning it’s not necessary to carry milk.]

  51. [DaveMc
    Actually, although the F & W dictionary has two volumes, as stated, the Webster (1890) is one volume, 5 inches thick and weighing 16 pounds (using the old British units).]

  53. As a Canadian, I was extremely gratified to see roach clued with that meaning this week. Can I suggest a puzzle theme with various names for marijuana? My former students had dozens, the most popular constantly changing.  Moses was, however, the clue of the day for me as well.

  54. Paulus @53 –

    I enjoyed your comment, but I didn’t follow the connection of “As a Canadian, …” to the rest of your first sentence.  I was wondering if perhaps you meant to say *cannabian*.

  55. Beautifully constructed puzzle but agree with blogger that it was rather too easy for a Guardian non-Monday; such a shame as some of the clueing so sparkling I would have loved it to have lasted more than a few minutes. Sorry to moan but S for “sex” irritated (like “b” for boy or “g” for girl – which another setter has slipped in recently(ish) – and also seem to follow whim rather than convention).
    I particularly enjoyed ROACH and RADIO TIMES with my personal favourite, just pipping MOSES being OPHTHALMIC.

    Many thanks to Brummie and Tyngewick (great blog).

  56. I didn’t do so well on this one. I was stumped by MOSES and OVERHEADS, and only got CLOVER, HOCK, and SNOW after I came here and got the crossers from OVERHEADS.

    I’m with Greensward @ 25 and others with respect to MA(E WES)T.

  57. [Andrew – so sorry; I misnamed you last evening (and all I’d drunk was a cup of tea!) but it was a great blog.]

  58. DaveMC@54 – Canada legalized marijuana on Wednesday last week, not in edible forms however. So, a reference to roaches seemed particularly apt as a Canadian.  I was looking forward to a whole puzzle involving spliffs, blunts, chronic etc. etc. In particular I was looking for a clue for 420.

  59. Paulus @58, Congratulations on your liberation. It will be interesting to see how it effects society in your fair land. I loved this puzzle, and the theme which completely passed me by, until Squealer popped up, by which time I”d almost finished so came here to confirm the rest. I know I’m always late to join in but still love to read the blog and bloggers comments. I think I”m improving slowly as it took me only 2 days to complete! Thanks Brummie and Andrew.

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