The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27673.
Having missed blogging Arachne by a day, I was happy to be served another excellent puzzle, by Picaroon, which reduces my Eileen envy. Finely crafted clues throughout, which makes for a slower solve. It hardly amounts to a theme, but there are several film-related references (including my own at 2D!).
| Across | ||
| 1 | STREEP | Film star looks back across time (6) |
| An envelope (‘across’) of T (‘time’) in SREEP, a reversal (‘back’) of PEERS (‘looks’), for film star Meryl. | ||
| 5 | AGEIST | A European, in essence, is a discriminating sort (6) |
| A charade of ‘a’ plus GEIST, an envelope (‘in’) of E (‘European’) in GIST (‘essence’). | ||
| 8 | HOME RUN | Big hit from poet one translated (4,3) |
| A charade of HOMER (‘poet’) plus UN (‘one translated’, into French, for example). | ||
| 9 | OSTRICH | East of Berlin, privileged person denying reality (7) |
| A charade of OST (German word, ‘east of Berlin’) plus RICH (‘privileged’). | ||
| 11 | NOTWITHSTANDING | No fool, Henry has status still (15) |
| A charade of ‘no’ plus TWIT (‘fool’) plus H (‘Henry’ electrical unit) plus STANDING (‘status’). | ||
| 12 | IKEA | President with a place to get a Cabinet? (4) |
| A charade (some assembly required) of IKE (Eisenhower, ‘president’) plus ‘a’. | ||
| 13 | DISDAINFUL | Superior papers rejected by lad, if Sun’s out (10) |
| A charade of DI, a reversal (‘rejected’) of ID (‘papers’); plus SDAINFUL, an anagram (‘out’) of ‘lad if Sun’. | ||
| 17 | ABSOLUTIST | A distraught sob by musician who dislikes Fifty Shades of Grey? (10) |
| A charade of ‘a’ plus BSO, an anagram (‘distraught’) of ‘sob’ plus LUTIST (or lutanist or lutenist or luter, ‘musician’). | ||
| 18 | GOON | Cry to encourage idiot (4) |
| GO ON (‘cry to encourage’). | ||
| 20 | PORTERHOUSE BLUE | Doorman to put up with dirty work based in Cambridge (11,4) |
| A charade of PORTER (‘doorman’) plus HOUSE (‘put up’) plus BLUE (‘dirty’), for the novel by Tom Sharpe, and the TV series based on it, set around the fictitious Cambridge Porterhouse College. | ||
| 23 | RAVAGED | Awful-looking artist getting very old (7) |
| A charade of RA (‘artist’) plus V (‘very’) plus AGED (‘old’). | ||
| 24 | FATHOMS | Well-fed earl leaves lodgings and works out (7) |
| A charade of FAT (‘well-fed’) plus HOM[e]S (‘lodgings’) minus the E (‘earl leaving’). | ||
| 25 | CRONUS | Councillor with responsibility for 22’s old man (6) |
| A charade of CR (‘councillor’) plus ONUS (‘responsibility’). In Greek mythology, 22D HADES, god of the underworld, was a son of CRONOS. | ||
| 26 | ENTREE | Dish carried by salver, as the English say (6) |
| Sounds somewhat like (‘as the English say’) ON TRAY (‘carried by salver’). | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | TEMPTRESS | Workers dressing very Gallic femme fatale (9) |
| An envelope (‘dressing’) of TRÈS (‘very Gallic’) in TEMPS (‘workers’). Not so long ago, I revisited Framboise from Tirez sur la Pianiste; here is an opportunity for the other very memorable song from a Truffaut film, Jeanne Moreau singing Le Tourbillon in Jules et Jim. | ||
| 3 | EARWIG | Bug, one way or another (6) |
| Double definition, of sorts: the insect, or, as a verb, to eavesdrop. | ||
| 4 | PANTHEIST | Long job for Spinoza, say (9) |
| A charade of PANT (‘long’ – as in the hymn “As pants the hart for cooling streams”) plus HEIST (criminal ‘job’). | ||
| 5, 14 | A BOUT DE SOUFFLE | Foreign film concerning extremely delectable baked dish (1,4,2,7) |
| A charade of ABOUT (‘concerning’) plus DE (‘extremely DelectablE‘) plus SOUFFLÉ (‘baked dish’, dropping the accent in the answer). My first clue answered was 2D; here my second is Godard’s film. How about that for a spooky coincidence? | ||
| 6 | ESTANCIA | Criminal sent a group of spies in Escobar’s ranch? (8) |
| A charade of ESTAN, an anagram (‘criminal’) of ‘sent a’ plus CIA (‘group of spies’). Escobar could be any of many Spanish American people to justify the Spanish-borrowed answer word for a ranch, but principally refers to the Hacienda Nápoles, the Colombian estate of one-time drug lord Pablo Escobar. | ||
| 7 | SCI-FI | Audibly breathe hard, racing in cars like RoboCop? (3-2) |
| A charade of SCI, a homophone (‘audibly’) of SIGH (‘breathe hard’) plus FI (F1, Formula One, ‘racing in cars’) | ||
| 8 | HANDICAPPER | Official on course to give one power to stop escapade (11) |
| A charade of HAND (‘give’) plus I (‘one’) plus CAPPER, an envelope (‘to stop’) of P (‘power’) in CAPER (‘escapade’). | ||
| 10 | HIGHLANDERS | Battling hard with English soldiers (11) |
| An anagram (‘battling’) of ‘hard’ plus ‘English’. | ||
| 14 | See 5 | |
| 15 | FOOTLOOSE | Pay John’s tab for free (9) |
| A charade of FOOT (‘pay’ as in foot the bill) plus LOO’S (‘John’s’) plus E (‘tab’; a tablet of a drug, particularly E, ecstasy). | ||
| 16 | ALLERGEN | Film director penning bit of work — it provokes a reaction (8) |
| An envelope (‘penning’) of ERG (the unit, ‘bit of work’) in ALLEN (Woody, ‘film director’). | ||
| 19 | SEXTET | Group send rude messages on film (6) |
| A charade of SEXT (‘send rude messages’) plus ET (‘film’). | ||
| 21 | RAVER | Republican, say, is one in party (5) |
| A charade of R (‘Republican’) plus AVER (‘say’). | ||
| 22 | HADES | Took case of euphoriants in place of spirits (5) |
| A charade of HAD (‘took’) plus ES (‘case of EuphoriantS‘). | ||
HIGHLANDER(s), FOOTLOOSE, RAVAGED! … any other film titles?
Oh yeh … THE TEMPTRESS.
… and HOME RUN (several, none very well known), plus SEXTET (ditto, none as notorious as SEXTETTE, final film of the crossword compiler’s friend, Mae West). (And of course 5/14). Maybe others if you try every solution on imdb…
Not a slog but the pirate made me work right to the LOI, Ikea (d’oh!). Slow to get disdainful, and fathoms (despite its recency). Dimly remembered Cronus, and dnk the Godard film (Sympathy ftd only one I know), ditto the Sharpe work (tho loved Blot, with James, Suchet et al). Forgot earwig as eavesdrop, thinking ‘give someone a wigging’. And thanks once again for old school physics with its ergs and dynes (foreign to youngsters I’m sure, even to young middle-aged).
Very enjoyable, thanks P and P.
Arachne followed by Picaroon.
Poetry in motion
This was hard! Now that PeterO has explained everything, it all makes perfect sense. My knowledge of foreign films, drug barons and sci-Fi clearly needs improving, and the ENTREE really was a dropped tea tray.
Thanks P and P for a real challenge to start the day.
This was indeed “finely crafted”. The excellent wordplay meant that even the obscure (to me at least!) references were quite easily solved.
Many thanks to Picaroon for his usual lovely surfaces. Thanks too to PeterO for the comprehensive blog.
Beaten by IKEA, which I’d probably have got if I’d used the try-every-letter-of-the-alphabet brute force method in the 2nd position, as Ike would have jumped out. Pity, because that was tough going and I was so close.
Thanks, Picaroon and PeterO.
Thanks for the blog [and the song] PeterO. I might well have been guilty of Peter envy today, had I not been so lucky yesterday. copmus @5, as so often, hits the nail on the head.
I enjoyed working out 5,14 from the wordplay. I also particularly liked 10dn for the misdirection, 12ac for the ingenuity and because [along with PeterO’s comment about assembly, which in turn reminded me of the rude joke about MFI and Cecil Parkinson], it made me laugh, as did 9 and 17ac. Lovely surfaces, as ever, with special mention for 24ac and 19dn.
Altogether, another super puzzle – huge thanks, Picaroon.
Fun but over too soon – should’ve left some to mull over as I painted the walls, but there was a pleasure in gradually nibbling away at clues which had seemed impenetrable, only to hit myself with a tea tray. Estancia was a TILT, though managed from the wordplay and crossers. Thanks for the reminder re Earwig PeterO – got the answer (LOI) but not the second definition. From RoboCop to Spinoza – Picaroon does expect a lot of his solvers! Lots of films and books without a particular theme to spoil it. Some clues would’ve been near impossible without crossers (Allergen, for example, with director, work and reaction all vague) but were fun to parse once some other bits went in.
Thank you Picaroon. I shall return to Spinoza once Jeeves is finished with my copy of Ethics…
I agree with both Copmus@5 and (no surprise here) Eileen ‘(
Thanks to Picaroon for the crossword and PeterO for the blog
Absolutely superb from Pickers. Faves were A BOUT DE and ABSOLUTIST. DNK Cronus or Spinoza’s thang but gettable from the wordplay Had to stay in to finish.
I have been to IKEA just once and it is HADES – you can’t get out but have to follow a remorseless path through the underworld!
Thanks to Picaroon for the fun and PO for the excellent blog
Fathom is a Raquel Welch thriller (the sort of thing that used to be shown on TV on Sunday afternoons). But I don’t think this is really “themed”, it’s just how it’s turned out.
Pedantic wheel-spokery – re 19a … E.T. is the name of the character; the title of the film is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Apart from that, a fine crossword that had a lovely momentum to suit my bottom-up solving style.
Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO. I am another who really liked this, but generally slow going, with a few new words (e.g. Estancia). NE last to fall with ageist and sci fi. Too many nice clues to pick out any in particular, but I did like absolutist. Thanks again to Picaroon and PeterO.
I read Porterhouse Blue when I was a postgraduate there (Cambridge I mean). While the described college traditions are a bit of a stretch, I would recommend the book to anyone, if only for a particular scene involving a chimney and a large number of condoms. If it wasn’t for that hilarity, I would never have gotten 20a so readily, nearly 45 years later.
Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO. Enjoyable. I did not know PORTERHOUSE BLUE (but it was gettable from the clues) and needed all the crossers to get AGEIST, but I got GOON right away because of yesterday’s FT puzzle where I took a long time before seeing “pass swimmer” as GOBY.
I missed the anagram at 10d. Believing it to be H (hard) English (islanders) ighlanders! I realise now there is nothing to indicate a homophone. I am claiming a completion to make 4 on the run. If l complete Monday to Friday, Mrs S treats me to lunch. Is this fair?
My time was a bit limited today, so I used the Check button a little too often. A BOUT DE SOUFFLE and PORTERHOUSE BLUE went in very early and helped a lot. As always from Picaroon a high class puzzle.
Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate. And I’m thankful to Picaroon for this clean, clever solve, and to PeterO for the blog.
I knew neither A BOUT DE SOUFFLE nor PORTERHOUSE BLUE, but both could be solved anyway from the straightforward clues.
We loved it!! Thanks Picaroon and Petero. We got them all, but didn’t ‘get’ ENTREE until we came here!!! Lovely!!!
For me, it’s back to the enjoyable experience of working out the clues to get the answers today after a blip yesterday! (However, after reading all the comments both yesterday and today I suspect that blip could be in my performance rather than in the quality of the crosswords.)
I was interested in reading Eileen’s experience (@9) of solving 5,14 from the wordplay because that’s exactly how I got that film title, and I’m particularly chuffed about that because it wasn’t familiar to me.
This was a joy from start to finish. I particularly liked IKEA, GOON, HIGHLANDERS, FATHOMS and HANDICAPPER. (I haven’s seen ‘handicapper’ before either, but it’s an easy word to form from ‘handicap’, and the wordplay was good.)
Many thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.
CRONUS was last in. Put off by Councillor -> CR, as having been one for 30+ years I have never come across that abbreviation.
Hagman @23
I too only ever saw Cllr (every day!) in my years working for a county council, but I see Cr is in Chambers and Collins (as is Cllr, of course). I have come across Cr for Councillor once before in a Guardian crossword.
Thanks Picaroon and PeterO
Late to this after just entering two or three this morning. Great fun. I loved the dual-language ones – HOME RUN and ENTREE in particular.
Interesting that you write CRONOS in the explanation, PeterO – that (and KRONOS) are the olny spellings I was familiar with, but Wiki tells me that CRONUS is the accepted one.
I knew of Spinoza, but not his beliefs. Possibly a slightly unfair clue?
muffin @25
Knowing so little about Spinoza I decided to look up the subject in my Chambers Biographical Dictionary as well as Wikipedia. It is clear he was a Rationalist with pantheistic beliefs. I regard the clue as fair.
Alan B @26
Fair if having one thinks having to use Wiki (I don’t have the book!) is fair. I do, in fact, but purists might not….
According to my Moral Philosophy tutor Spinoza was “almost a pantheist ” and I’ve remembered his comment of 40 odd years ago and it was how I got 4dn. I also owe Tom Sharpe for PORTERHOUSE BLUE.
I didn’t start this seriously until late, having glanced at the puzzle this morning and got virtually nothing. Later, this seemed much more user friendly. I liked IKEA which was one of the first to yield,and NOTWITHSTANDING which got me going.
I usually have difficulty with this setter but I rather enjoyed this.
Thanks Picaroon.
Took me a long time to complete but home eventually. FOI HOME RUN. LOI 10d. COD ENTREE.
muffin @27
Nobody has to use Wiki or any other source. I fitted the wordplay to PANTHEIST and instantly learned something, taking it on trust. Looking it up was an optional afterthought. It’s not what I would call an obscure fact – just something I didn’t know until this afternoon. Pater A’s comment on this @28 was also of interest.
Alan @30
I’ll confess – I too worked it out from the wordplay, but didn’t bother to look him up – I just thought “I didn’t know he was a pantheist” 🙂
Like Chadwick Ongara @29, this took me rather a long time to solve, and I had to rely on wordplay for the French film, but that’s fine. As others have said, another delight to follow yesterday’s Arachne. If it’s a Nutmeg tomorrow I shall be both pleased and upset: pleased because it would be another of my favourite setters, and upset because it would mean that it will be some time before we see them again.
New to this forum and procedures. Do you have to thank everyone to get a reply about what is a fair assessment of completion or DNF. Just asking. Protocol? Cf enquiry earlier.
Thanks Picaroon and PeterO
The Stanchion @ 33
Welcome to the forum
My take on your questions is:
It’s simply polite to thank setter and blogger for their work, even if you go on to raise a quibble or two. Just good manners.
Other than that, I think it’s up to you. Personally I only post if I have something to say that may be of interest or use to others on the forum, if not I keep my trap shut. Other views are available.
hth
I struggled to get going with this, but eventually the answers flowed… slowly. Relieved to finish without having to resort to aids. Lots to admire in the elegant wordplay and devious definitions. AGEIST, NOTWITHSTANDING and HOME RUN my favourites. PANTHESIT guessed from the wordplay. ‘E’ for Earl was new on me. Thanks P and P.
The Stanchion @33
I’m not sure that I fully understand your earlier comments: I thought that you were asking whether it was fair that Mrs S had to stand you lunch!
You certainly do not have to thank people if you don’t feel inclined, and I know that contributers will respond if they understand that they are being asked a question to which a reply is appropriate.
As far as your parsing of ‘Highlanders’ is concerned; in my personal opinion, as you accept, there is no homophone indicator, so your parsing doesn’t work. However, if you get to the correct answer by the wrong route, it is not a dnf. We all get lucky sometimes, and even in competition conditions, such as the Times Crossword Championship, it is getting the right letters in the right places that counts. Unlike school maths homework, you are not required to show your working.
Thank you to Picaroon and a special thank you to Peter O for the wonderful parsing of IKEA, though I see that Eileen @9 also noticed the assembly required. I enjoy solving the puzzles, but I love the comments. Thank you to George Clements @36 – I’m enormously pleased to discover that nobody is going to ask to show my “working” (though on this side of the Atlantic we would just say work in that context). Thank you Muffin @31 for admitting that you didn’t know Spinoza was a pantheist – the temptation must have been there to claim omniscience. I was ignorant of Spinoza’s thinking, the French movie (which I googled successfully when I had a bout de) and I mistook Porterhouse blue for an extremely rare steak. So a dnf for me, but as always I am a happy camper.
Another cracking crossword. Thanks for the mfi Parkinson reference Eileen. Just googled it. Tee hee.
The Stanchion @33 By my rules, you are a DNF. Answers don’t go in for me unless I know they are right, with everything making sense. If anyone was marking me, I would hope they would review my workings in their full glory. But as they’re not, make up your own rules of a type designed primarily to maximise your own pleasure.
The Stanchion @33 – Welcome to the forum. What an individual considers to be honest solving is a matter of conscience and personal preference that can never be policed. As for there being any kind of protocol for comments here, yes there are site rules, but most civil comments will not contravene them as long as they don’t spoil active prize puzzles or go too far off topic. I tend to include thanks in mine out of politeness rather than any sense of duty or obligation…
Van Winkle@39 – good grief! I thought crosswords were meant to be a bit of fun! If I followed your strict strictures, many grids would remain uncompleted -if I’m certain of an answer, but can’t fully explain it, it goes in. Less satisfying, admittedly, but I usually just blame for the setter for using perverse or loose wordplay 🙂
Mr Beaver @41. Different strokes. I only have about half an hour a day to tackle the crossword, so completion is not a necessity for fulfillment. Average completion rate is about two a week. Plenty of enjoyment to be had from wrestling the cryptic content of a selection of hunky clues to the death. Reiterate the original message – no rules but your own.
Thanks for the replies regarding my parsing conundrum. Opinions are various I see. I will seek the view of Mrs S on the validity of my free lunch,should I complete the Friday puzzle. Thanks again and whether there be no such thing as a free lunch can be debated another day.
Very late, and any of my comments on the puzzle have already been made. I’ll add one on the significance of the date for Americans. As mrpenney has remarked, this day was Thanksgiving. As I learned on public radio, it is also the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address in 1863, a brief and moving statement by President Lincoln that we all recognize and quote even today. And as I remember all too well, it is also the anniversary of the murder of President Kennedy, exactly one hundred years later.