Guardian Cryptic 27726 Nutmeg

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Thanks Nutmeg. This was difficult in parts. Apologies for the late blog. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

9 Rescue injured relative, overcoming resistance (9)

RETRIEVAL : Anagram of(injured) RELATIVE containing(overcoming) R(symbol for electrical resistance in physics).

Defn: … from, say, a difficult position.

10 Kinsman from Paris one called regularly (5)

UNCLE : UN(“one” as one in Paris would say) + 1st, 3rd and 5th letters of(… regularly) “called“.

11 Publicly sell uniform used in battle (7)

AUCTION : U(abbrev. for “uniform”) contained in(used in) ACTION(a wartime battle).

12 Butcher‘s attempt to get slimmer (3,4)

CUT DOWN : Cryptic defn: What one would do/attempt with one’s food intake to become/get slimmer.

Defn: To slaughter/mow down.

13 Online information turned into lyric? (5)

EPODE :  Reversal of(… turned) [E(prefix indicating something is online/to be found on the Internet) +  DOPE(information) ].

14 Like a shrewd judge proceeding round diocese (3-6)

FAR-SEEING : FARING(proceeding/progressing, as in “how are you faring with the assignment”) containing(round) SEE(diocese/the place where a cathedral church stands).

16 Training aided the muscles, producing withering complaint (5,3,7)

DUTCH ELM DISEASE : Anagram of(Training) AIDED THE MUSCLES.

Defn: … that affects, well, elm trees.

19 Old port drunk by others, apparently with a bad reputation (9)

NOTORIOUS : [ O(abbrev. for “old”) + RIO(de Janeiro, Brazilian port) ] contained in(drunk by) [NOT US]( them/the others).

21 Anticipating shower, daughter’s run off (5)

DRAIN : RAIN(a shower) placed after(Anticipating …) D(abbrev. for “daughter”).

A tricky placement indicator.

22 Could they make porter empty beer jugs? (7)

BREWERS : Middle letters deleted from(empty) “beer” + EWERS(jugs/pitchers).

Defn: …/dark brown bitter beer.

23 Gallantry about data that shouldn’t be asked of us ladies? (7)

COURAGE : C(abbrev. for “circa”/about, with reference to years or time periods) + [OUR AGE](piece of data/information about us ladies that one should not ask for).

24 Looking back is somewhat more troublesome (5)

RETRO : Hidden in(somewhat) “more troublesome“.

25 Point the finger at inapt clue — revision needed (9)

INCULPATE : Anagram of(… — revision needed) INAPT CLUE.

Defn: To blame.

Down

1 Mad dog near bombed battleground … (10)

ARMAGEDDON : Anagram of(… bombed) MAD DOG NEAR.

2 … attracted attention, having set off but run away (5,3)

STUCK OUT : “struck out”(set off/started doing something, especially something new) minus(but … away) “r”(abbrev. for “run” in cricket scores).

3 Priest at home in nightclub (6)

DIVINE : IN(at home) contained in(in) DIVE(a nightclub, especially a disreputable one).

Answer: … as a noun.

4 Kitchen equipment put together without reference to wife (4)

OVEN : “woven”(put together/interlaced, say, threads to form a fabric) minus(without reference to) “w”(abbrev. for “wife”).

5 Travelled between prospective southern terminals (10)

ELECTRODES : [ RODE(travelled, say, on a horse or a bike or in a car) contained in(between) [-ELECT](indicating a prospective appointee, chosen but not in office yet) ] + S(abbrev. for “southern”).

Defn: Conductors through which electricity enters or leaves an object.

6 Criminal turns — he’s pursuing lady (8)

HUNTRESS : Anagram of(Criminal) TURNS — HE’S.

Defn: It’s the lady, not him, that’s doing the pursuing.

7 Rising international firm catching finest creatures in the sea (6)

OCTOPI : Reversal of(Rising, in a down clue) [ I(abbrev. for “international”) + CO(abbrev. for “company”/a commercial firm) ] containing(catching) TOP(the finest/the best).

8 Penny-pinching medium (4)

MEAN : Double defn: 2nd: The middle quality or state between 2 extremes.

14 Dog clubs possibly go along with the rest (6,4)

FOLLOW SUIT : DOG(to follow/to trail) + SUIT(in playing cards, one of which/possibly are clubs).

15 Commando short of experience joining engineers in punt (5,5)

GREEN BERET : GREEN(short of experience/untrained) plus(joining) [RE(abbrev. for the Royal Engineers in the British military) contained in(in) BET(to punt/to wager) ].

Defn: … in eg. the British military.

17 Arab carrier? (8)

HORSEBOX : Cryptic defn: The Arab in this case being the breed of horse originating from, well, the Arabian Peninsula.

18 Rural tales a great success on two occasions (3,5)

AGA SAGAS : [ A + GAS(a great success, in reference to a person/occasion that is very entertaining or amusing) ] twice in succession(on two occasions).

Defn: … named after the AGA cooker that came to be popular in country homes in the UK.

20 Pays for food after treasurer cleared out (6)

TREATS : EATS(food) placed below(after, in a down clue) “treasurer” minus all its middle letters(cleared out).

21 Subs essentially contributing to benefit twice (6)

DOUBLE : Middle 2 letters of(… essentially) “Subs” contained in(contributing to) DOLE(social benefit for the unemployed).

22 Grain store (local name) (4)

BARN : BAR(a local/a watering hole near one’s home or place of work) + N(abbrev. for “name”).

23 Stand up for male of the species (4)

COCK : Double defn: 1st: To stick out conspicuously, as when dogs prick (no pun intended) their ears; and 2nd: …, specifically species of birds.

54 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27726 Nutmeg”

  2. Thanks scchua and Nutmeg. It all seemed to be going swimmingly but I came to a crashing halt with “aga sagas”. I have to confess to living in the country and having an Aga I cook on every day and yet never having heard the term. My feeling is that with odd phrases such as this, and also “epode” the wordplay needs to be crystal clear. “gas” as the wordplay here was not doing it for me, which is a pity as the rest of the puzzle was good fun.

    Tick for the clever Dutch Elm Disease and hence the theme – double Dutch, Dutch courage, oven, uncle, auction and barn were the ones I spotted.

  3. Thanks Nutmeg and scchua

    A DNF for me, as I didn’t know EPODE (and it wasn’t clued clearly enough for me to be able to work it out), and “Rural tales” didn’t suggest AGA SAGAS to me.

    I don’t think it’s sour grapes, but I thought that some of this wasn’t up to Nutmeg’s usual high standard. CUT DOWN is doubly loose, and surely there should have been some indication of the incorrect OCTOPI – Chambers, for once, comes off the “descriptive” fence as says “octopi is wrong”.

    Favourite by a long way was NOTORIOUS.

  5. Thanks, scchua.

    Another witty and well-crafted puzzle from Nutmeg – many thanks to her.

    I had ticks for 16ac [great anagram and surface] and the hilarious 23ac.

    I have to go out soon so, in the hope of forestalling another lengthy discussion on OCTOPI, I refer you to the many comments which were made when it appeared in a recent Boatman puzzle. I really think it’s all been said. 😉

  8. Thank you Nutmeg and sschua.

    Loved the theme.  Dutch oven came to my mind at 4d, so I did not parse the answer correctly – incidentally Dutch TREATS can be added to the list of thezed @2.  I had to check EPODE in the dictionary.

  9. Thanks Nutmeg and scchua.
    I don’t much worry about the neatness of surfaces, but I did notice these were smooth and often witty. Favourites were NOTORIOUS, COURAGE and AGA SAGAS. I never even suspected there was a theme.
    EPODE was completely new to me and I didn’t guess it even with all the crossers, so a dnf.
    On the other hand, the definitions of CUT DOWN and FAR-SEEING both seemed weak to me.

  10. I also failed on EPODE and had to go online to get AGA SAGAS – which was apparently recognised as a genre in the 2000 edition of the Oxford Companion to Literature. Like Eileen I liked the long anagram and the very witty and clever COURAGE. I also ticked DRAIN and INCULAPTE was another word that was vaguely familiar that has been brought to the fore.
    Many thanks to Nutmeg and scchua.

  12. I’m definitely on a roll theme-spotting-wise today.   It’ll never last

    Tricky in places but I enjoyed the whole

    Thanks to Nutmeg and scchua

  14. Did anybody else have difficulty with MEDIUM = MEAN? Sure, they both have the sense of being in the middle, but I can’t think of any contexts where you can substitute one for the other. Maybe I just need my morning coffee. Thanks!

  15. Thanks for parsing of the brilliant COURAGE . Didnt see a theme and didnt think she did them.

    No room for CALAMARI so I’ll have a LATTE (with my sponach)

    One of  three fab puzzles today-thanks Nutmeg and  scchua.

  16. Unlike Sue @12, I’m being a bit of a muppet, failing to spot the second theme of the day.

    Good, smooth clues; I particularly liked NOTORIOUS. I thought ‘Paris one’ would have been better as ‘Parisian one,’ although I guess it’s OK as in Paris taxis etc.

    Thanks to Nutmeg and scchua

  18. Cookie @17 I did not take it you loved the disease, just the theme! There are indeed resistant trees – some have been planted in my local park and we even gave my father-in-law one for his birthday a few years back, which is doing well. Alas HS2 (should it happen) will be the death of it, rather than the dreaded disease. I did live a while in “Elm City” (New Haven, CT) whose magnificent elms on the Green had been destroyed by ice storms and DED but also since replaced with resistant strains. So as with ash dieback, there is hope.

  19. Glad to see I’m not the only one who failed on “epode”. Seems fair enough given that dope for information isn’t too obscure.

    Can a plant disease really be a complaint? Close enough, I suppose.

  21. The correct plural of octopus is octopodes. The word is Greek, meaning eight-footed and so should follow the Greek form the plural. But I think that only those who learnt Greek at school or university would bother.

  22. Thanks for the blog. EPODE and AGA SAGAS did for me – biffed EROLE mistakenly guessed. Otherwise liked the puzzle and smooth surfaces.

  26. Thanks to Nutmeg and scchua. I enjoyed this a lot, but the theme completely passed over my head. Last two for me were epode and Aga sagas, both of which were new terms for me, but I thought gettable from the cluing (though did have to check both on line). I was another fan of courage and I also liked far-seeing and stuck out. Thanks again to Nutmeg and scchua.

  27. I am another of those who miss the theme even when it’s obvious, as here. It’s so annoying when it keeps happening!
    “Epode” is a bit niche except for classicists – and clearly Nutmeg is trying to drive them away with the incorrect “octopi”! The only famous Epodes are by Horace, who wrote his famous (and better) Odes later on. He called these early poems Epodes because their metre imitates their Greek originals (all Roman poets are indebted to the Greeks), but they are difficult Latin and not much read these days, unlike his Odes.
    Thanks, Scchua, for a great blog, and Nutmeg for a clever & enjoyable crossword.

  28. Enjoyed this – another high class puzzle. EPODE was last in and least familiar.

    Thanks to Nutmeg and scchua

  29. Thank you to Nutmeg and scchua.

    I didn’t find this as daunting as Nutmeg usually is, despite confidently starting with “cut back” for 12 across, which I think sort of works. Like others I bit my lip at “octopi” but enjoyed going back to find Boatman’s justification, as linked by Eileen.

    Cookie @24/25 – thanks for the link.  I can recommend this as a fascinating read:

    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28256439-the-hidden-life-of-trees

     

     

  30. Dr. Whatson @14: If it helps, MEAN in Maths is the MIDDLE quantity, hence the MEDIUM? I wonder if Nutmeg MEANt ‘quantity’ rather than ‘quality’.

  31. Pex @30

    It did cross my mind that Nutmeg had confused “medium” with “median”. (Though “mean”, “median” – and “mode” – aren’t necessarily the same.)

  32. Pex @14 the middle quantity is the MEDIAN. The most common is the MODE and the arithmetic average of a set of values is the MEAN, which may not be one of the quantities at all e.g. for the set of values 1,2,2,7 the mode and median are both 2 but the mean is 3. I took the term to be its less mathematical one ie intermediate, which is the first definition in my Chambers for that sense of the word.

  33. Wheal Dreath: would the singular of “epodes” be “epus”?

    Whichever way, it was too niche for me. Other than that a very enjoyable solve. I loved the others drinking the old port.

  34. An entertaining and well-crafted puzzle. I liked COURAGE and DUTCH ELM DISEASE best. The two words/phrases that were new to me were perfectly gettable from the wordplay: OCTOPI and AGA SAGAS. The Wikipedia article on the latter made interesting reading.
    Thanks to Nutmeg and Scchua.

  38. Having promised myself not to mention this again, after giving the link this morning, I have to say, bear of little brain, I really like that. 😉

    And, Alan B @34,  while I’m here, you’ll have forgotten, then, that after Sil commented that we must be prepared for the plural of opus being opi, you  suggested ‘octopera’ as the plural of ‘octopus’- I liked that, too!

  39. thezed@32:Indeed!

    The MEAN is what we used to call the AVERAGE before it got complicated and I don’t know what possessed me to use the word MIDDLE there. I think I got my MIDDLES and MEDIUMS mixed up ME IS DUM!

  40. Didn’t get AGA SAGAS despite being familiar with the term.Seems to relate to the works of Me TROLLOPE which I’ve never read but as all of them have been dramatised in some form, I’m quite familiar with them.
    Some of the puzzle seemed easier than usual for Nutmeg but other bits seemed slippery than we usually get with from her/him. I did pause over OCTOPI after the recent debate but I couldn’t think of anything else.
    Thanks Nutmeg.

  42. Dnf as never heard of EPODES or AGA SAGAS and HORSEBOX tripped me up. Liked DUTCH ELM DISEASE (missed the theme, doh) and HUNTRESS

  43. Thanks to scchua and Nutmeg

    Unless they have changed their minds since 1993, the SOED gives OCTOPI as a valid plural for OCTOPUS. As it is widely used and, I would think, never misunderstood I can’t see how Chambers can support their assertion.

    Pleasant crossword, loved AGA SAGAS

     

     

  44. My (2007) version of the SOED says: “Standard pl. in English is octopuses, although the Greek pl. octopodes is still occas. used. The Latinate form octopi is incorrect.”

  46. Eileen @38

    You’re right – I forgot that I had suggested ‘octopera’.  I would never put OCTOPI in a crossword, and I was surprised to see it turn up again today, but it’s nice to get some fun from all this.

  47. Thanks Nutmeg and sschua (a lovely blog)

    Precisely, PA@40: what is a body to make of the “us” in the surface for COURAGE?

    And the same two letters causing proxy havoc in OCTOPI!

    Let’s forget about them, that’s what I say…..

  51. As seemed relatively clear from the discussions on the Boatman puzzle, mediaeval latin writers made a mistake in coining the word “octopus” with a latin ending and it was adopted by the great taxonomist, Linnaeus. Unless we are going to change the name of the creature to octopod I can’t see how we can object to octopi, though I would never use it.
    Thanks to Nutmeg and scchua

  52. Alex @ 48

    You’re assuming the editor takes an active role.That’s not necessarily the case.

    At the Q&A session organised by Boatman in January last year, Hugh Stephenson basically implied that he checked the wordplay, but didn’t solve the crossword per se. That suggests that if the wordplay works he possibly doesn’t go any further than that, either grammatically or linguistically.

  53. Sil @44

    That’s interesting. I have emailed the OED to ask them to explain the change. If I receive a reply I will post it in General Discussion.

    BTW

    In looking for any words beginning with the Greek  pous = foot (I found none), I noticed this entry nearby:

    Pourcuttle n.L16-M18 [Origin of 1st element unkn.; 2nd prob. CUTTLE n.¹] An octopus

     

     

  54. Bit late to the party I know but it takes me this long to finish as I’m still trying to teach myself how to do these things! This blog has been invaluable, so thanks to all the bloggers and commenters . I do find it odd that there is grumbling about the widely used octopi and none about divine as a noun to mean priest- not widely used round my way!

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