Guardian Cryptic 27,652 by Vulcan

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27652

When the puzzle failed to arrive at the usual time, it did not take long for me to work out that the UK has left Daylight Savings Time – here in the USA (or most of it), we have another week to go. Anyway, it is a Monday, so an hour’s late arrival is no problem. I seem to be cornering the market in Vulcan puzzles; I like his humour, but too many of his clues strike me as weak. At  least, it was quickly done, a definite plus under the circumstances.

Across
1 CLOSET Fail in court recess (6)
An envelope (‘in’) of LOSE (‘fail’) in CT (‘court’).
5 KNAPSACK To sleep, say, on bed, one may lie on one’s back (8)
A charade of KNAP, sounding like (‘say’) NAP (‘sleep’) plus SACK (‘bed’). In the surface, the two ‘one’s are the same; in the cryptic definition, they are not.
9 INTIMATE Friendly  hint (8)
Double definition.
10 SAVING Protecting goalie’s job (6)
Well, Rufus was known to do this: essentially the same definition twice.
11 CERTAINLY NOT Only interact corruptly? No way (9,3)
An anagram (‘corruptly’) of ‘only interact’.
13 NO GO Traffic lights always red? Not possible (2,2)
Definition and cryptic reference.
14 LAST TIME Previously, but never again? (4,4)
Double definition.
17 PRO FORMA Invoice of a sort for working poor farm (3,5)
An anagram (‘working’) of ‘poor farm’. Pro forma, as a matter of form, may be applied to various things, including an invoice, which would generally be one sent as a quotation, before the goods are sent or the work done. So, do we have here an indication by example? I cannot quite decide.
18 IONA Announce I own a place for spiritual retreats (4)
Sounds like (‘announce’) ‘I own a’. The island of Iona in the Inner Hebrides is known mainly for its Abbey.
20 HADRIAN’S WALL A British division raised by the Romans (8,4)
Cryptic definition.
23 MISSUS Wife, the most beautiful girl in America? (6)
MISS US (‘the most beautiful girl in America?’; of course, it should really be Miss USA, but I would give Vulcan a little leeway here).
24 EARL GREY A lordly brew? (4,4)
Cryptic definition.
25 SMART SET Fashionable people get new mattress (5,3)
I suppose this is intended to be a definition and literal interpretation, but I do not like it: it is a long time since I bought a bed, but I would have thought that a ‘set’ would be a mattress and box spring (or whatever they are called over the pond and elsewhere), and in any case there are many other meanings of set. ‘New’ for SMART is none too precise either.

An anagram (‘new’) of ‘mattress.
26 WITH IT Trendy humorist has success (4,2)
A charade of WIT (‘humorist’) plus HIT (‘success’).
Down
2 LUNG Using a little plunger, take a breather (4)
A hidden answer (‘using a little’) in ‘pLUNGer’.
3 SWITCH OFF Lose concentration, so stop watching TV (6,3)
Double definition.
4 TEA URN Each in sequence for drink dispenser (3,3)
An envelope (‘in’) of EA (‘each’) in TURN (‘sequence’).
5 KEEP A CLEAN SHEET Not concede one has to store spare bed linen (4,1,5,5)
Definition, referring to soccer, and literal interpretation.
6 ARSONIST Does one deserve a lighter sentence? (8)
Punning cryptic definition.
7 SAVVY Knowing, for example, about two volumes (5)
An envelope (‘about’) of VV (‘two volumes’) in SAY (‘for example’).
8 CONFORMING Party getting together, not rebelling (10)
A charade of CON (Conservative ‘Party’) plus FORMING (‘getting together’).
12 JOURNALISM Reporting for work (10)
One of the better cryptic definitions.
15 TAIL LIGHT A misfortune in constricted part of car (4,5)
An envelope (‘in’) of ‘a’ plus ILL (‘misfortune’) in TIGHT (‘constricted’).
16 ARKANSAS Part of the Union in a right state (8)
A charade of ‘a’ plus R (‘right’) plus KANSAS (‘state’). The definition is debatable: ‘union’ – no capital – could mean a group of states such as the USA, but with a capital generally refers (at least in the USA) to the Northern states in the Civil War. Arkansas did initially vote to stay in the Union, but then switched to the Confederacy.
19 NARROW Strict, requiring name on pointer (6)
A charade of N (‘name’) plus ARROW (‘pointer’).
21 RISER Pipe up (5)
Cryptic definition.
22 SEMI Some advise minister in the House (4)
A hidden answer (‘some’) in ‘adviSE MInister’, for a SEMI-detached house.
completed grid

37 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,652 by Vulcan”

  1. You may be trying too hard with 25 across. I read “New mattress” as a plain anagram without double meaning.

  3. Yes a pleasant enough Monday stroll, not quite a write-in but that might just be my fuzzy brain, as in slow to think of urn to go with tea, and to stop trying to fit w in 23ac. I thought missus was quite fun, along with ‘with it’ and Arkansas (geog and hist inaccuracy notwithstanding). Had a ? next to the long one…forgot about soccer (again!).

    Thanks Vulcan and PeterO.

  4. A very pleasant gentle start to the week, with Vulcan keeping up the Rufus tradition.  I liked the mattress anagram at at 25a, and I thought 12d JOURNALISM was a great cryptic definition.

    Thanks Vulcan and PeterO.

  5. A gentle stroll this morning – perhaps as well, as I have things to do. Some nice double definitions but such clues are not always to my taste, being too close to a “normal” crossword in asking “What’s another word for x?” with little else to guide you to an answer. Re 18A Iona is famous for more than an abbey – it is the home of a large ecumenical Christian retreat best known to Radio 4 listeners perhaps, as a result of John Bell of that community appearing regularly on the God Spot (aka “Thought for the Day“).

    Knapsack is a lovely word. Along with haversack (a bag for carrying horse oats originally) and rucksack (literally backpack) we seem to have a superfluity of words for bags on our backs. The etymology of knapsack (from a Germanic root meaning “to bite” and “bag”) is rather less obvious.

    Missus was a bit of a tea tray moment, and I enjoyed journalism, lung, pro forma among others. Thank you Vulcan and PeterO.

  6. A girlfriend of mine from long ago, who was rather well brought-up, would be up in arms at 24a. “There is no such thing,” she would say, “as Earl Grey Tea. It is Earl Grey’s Tea!”

    Thanks to Vulcan for bringing my brain gently into gear, and PeterO for the comprehensive blog.

  7. @thezed

    I’d always wondered whether “knapsack” had its roots in “knapping flints” ie a bag in which someone carried a hammer, chisel etc

  8. As with the above comments, thanks for a gentle start after last week’s challenges when the prize took us until Tuesday and Pasquale from Wednesday to Friday.
    Hope to get back on track this week!
    Not so keen on LUNG and SAVING but enjoyed the rest, particularly JOURNALISM and HADRIANS WALL – though fixated on it being some variety of edible snail to start with.
    Thanks Vulcan and PeterO.

  9. Thanks, PeterO, although I don’t share many of your misgivings on this occasion.

    On the easier side, certainly (no bad thing for a Monday morning), but I found this well-constructed and droll with ticks at MISSUS, ARSONIST, JOURNALISM, & ARKANSAS.

    I understand your quibble re ARKANSAS but taking liberties with capitals and punctuation has long been an acceptable ruse de guerre in crosswordland.

    Many thanks, Vulcan, nice week, all.

  11. An enjoyable,quite easy start to the week. Can someone explain 21d why is it riser? There was no other possible word for r.s.r

  13. Thanks Vulcan and PeterO

    No complaints from me. I liked KNAPSACK and MISSUS.

    Slightly frustrated as I guessed ARSONIST before I had any letters, but didn’t enter it as I counted its letters incorrectly!

  14. All very gentle but for me a bit lacklustre

    Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO (and to everyone who made the York weekend so special once again)

  15. Thanks both.
    To me, and I suspect most Brits, ‘Union’ when capitalised is mostly known from the State of the Union Address, where the word applies to the whole of the US, does it not? So I had no problem with Arkansas.

  17. Three clues in a row with “no way”, “not possible”, “never again”. Is Vulcan trying to tell us something?

    Talking of patterns, has anyone noticed in the last couple of weeks (but not today, as it happens) a large number of clues (a dozen maybe) that refer to “private parts” or their various functions/uses? Something in the water, or just a coincidence? Makes a nice change, anyway.

  18. Nicely Mondayish but with a couple of tricky bits at the end.  I particularly liked 6d

    Tanks to Vulcan and PeterO

  19. And, baerchen, re etymology of ‘knap’, that would be one super-long link: pre-pre-proto-Indo-Germanic, all the way back to the neolithic!

  21. Had heard of “start” but not “KEEP” A CLEAN SHEET 5d, so the KEEP part was a guess from the crossers. I also liked the much-favoured MISSUS at 23a, in fact I had four ticks in a row for that one, 18a IONA, 20a HADRIAN’S WALL and 24a EARL GREY. I enjoyed the IONA and KNAPSACK discussions too. Thanks to Vulcan, PeterO and contributors.

  22. A nice gentle start to the week. I didn’t have any of the objections raised above (just grateful I could solve it, probably!).

    Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO.

     

  23. [We crossed, Oleg@21; interesting that IONA appealed to me and not you. Guess I was just happy to know about the island because it is the namesake of a school in my part of the world at which some friends teach.]

  24. The fastest I have ever completed one, 40 minutes. I must be getting better, although I did struggle to understand Arkansas until I saw this thread. And I have never heard of a closet being referred to as a recess.

    Thanks Vulcan & PeterO.

  25. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO. Not a lot to add here. As others have said a relatively gentle solve, with some good clues such as journalism and knapsack. Thanks again to Vulcan and PeterO.

  26. grantinfreo @19: the practice of (flint) knapping goes back a long way before the neolithic, probably to a time before there was any language to speak of (or in).  But the word could have arisen at any time, because the practice has been going on, for different purposes, ever since.  Wikipedia: “Knapping for building purposes is still a skill that is practised in the flint-bearing regions of southern England, such as Sussex, Suffolk and Norfolk, and in northern France”.  So baerchen’s surmise @7 could well be right.

    [Encota @10: nice to meet you too – and to discover the meaning of your username!]

  27. baerchen@7, perhaps a query for Susie Dent on Countdown. She has an origin of words slot.
    Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO, Mr Paddington Bear and I managed this one without too much trouble.

  28. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO. Given the unusually late arrival of the puzzle in the US, like PeterO I was grateful for the relatively easy ride, though I took a while with KEEP A CLEAN SHEET (I did not know the sports term) and with RISER, my LOI.

  29. A gentle puzzle to start the week – and perhaps we need something easier every now and then.

    As others have said, some of the clueing was rather poor but I did like 5 ac, 18 ac and 26 ac.

    Thanks to Vulcan and to PeterO

  30. Never heard of KEEP A CLEAN SHEET but it was all could think of to fit the crossers. Otherwise not much to say. Easy enough except for RISER and MISSUS which required a little thought.
    Thanks Vulcan.

  31. Thanks for that Lord Jim@26, it’s somehow heartening to know that ancient (maybe even pre-lingual) crafts are still practiced today.

  32. I didn’t get a look in as MrsW did it whilst I was at the dentist this morning. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO.

  33. I quite liked this but it was a stroll in the park. Clearly, the mandate is to include lots of CDs on Monday. JOURNALISM was excellent but the others were a bit too easy. The toughest clue form to write, I would say. Rufus was the undoubted master of the art.
    Not sure why Peter had a problem with SAVING. It seems like a standard DD. Protecting/Saving one thing from another and a goalie’s job seem quite separate to me.
    Had to chuckle at MISSUS. very nice.
    Thanks, Vulcan and PeterO.

  34. Oleg@20 – would your revised clue not require an indication of a homophone? I agree that “I own a” made for an easy clue – particularly as I had never heard of the island or the spiritual retreat centre or Abbey there.  I have tried to write my own cryptic puzzles, it seemed fiendishly difficult to create decent clues. Although I often agree with the comments on here about the quality of the setters, a remain generally humble in my admiration of anyone who takes this on and the solvers (who all seem to get here so much more quickly than do I).  Thanks today to Vulcan and a special thank you to PeterO who has replied to a comment of mine previously and so, I realize, actually reads these comments – I fear otherwise I’m simply talking to myself. 🙂

  35. Delighted to get back here after a few days of being behind the curve – completing the puzzle a day-plus after its publication date.  [I am also delighted because of the Boston Red Sox’ achieving another “World” Series championship last night, not that that would interest most 15^2-ers … but then again, American baseball terms do make their way into the Guardian Cryptic from time to time …]  I really enjoyed this puzzle, and did not mind that the overall solving difficulty was at a “Monday” level.  I thought there were some excellent, smooth and concise surfaces (some of which, I concur with others above, evoked memories of “RufusMondays” past) and chuckle-inducing PDMs.  My ticked clues included KEEP A CLEAN SHEET, MISSUS, SMART SET, HADRIAN’S WALL, and KNAPSACK, among others.  

    I read capital-U “Union” in 16d the same way beaulieu @15 did, and the American Civil War sense mentioned by PeterO in the blog didn’t even occur to me.  Perhaps that is in part due to my hailing from a Northern state (?).

    The history/etymology of knapping – my favorite TILT.

    Many thanks to Vulcan and PeterO and the other commenters.

  36. I have a couple of rucksacks but I – the foreigner – associate knapsack with the Dutch word ‘knapzak’.

    Google pictures for ‘knapsack’ , then do the same for ‘knapzak’.

    Spot the difference!

    And see why the second part of the clue slightly confused me.

    Friendly Monday stuff with JOURNALISM and ARSONIST as particular highlights.

    Many thanks to Peter O & Vulcan.

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