Guardian Cryptic 27,771 by Vulcan

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The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27771.

For a Vulcan, a little light on the CDs, but very heavy on the DDs (and variants). He seems to like vintage TV shows (to the sum of which I added Monty Python at 22A), although 29A DYNASTY has been resuscitated recently. I note four clues (15A LANGUISHED, 27A GANGLING, 11D BLEEDS and 16D SPRINT) of the form of a charade of a single letter plus a word (and a fifth, 1A SWINGER, which could have been clued that way). For me, this was one of the quicker solves.

Across
1 SWINGER Vocalist embraces wife, one that’s promiscuous (7)
An envelope (’embraces’) of W (‘wife’) in SINGER (‘vocalist’).
5 SITCOM Friends on TV? (6)
Crypticish definition.
9 CLEAR OUT Smack around side of face: buzz off! (5,3)
An envelope (‘around’) of EAR (‘side of face’) in CLOUT (‘smack’).
10 CHANEL TV station heartless as promoter of beauty products (6)
A subtraction: CHA[n]NEL (‘TV station’) minus the middle letter (‘heartless’).
12 IN THE LONG RUN Entering the marathon, but not for a while (2,3,4,3)
Double definition.
15 LANGUISHED Left in agony, went into decline (10)
A charade of L (‘left’) plus ANGUISHED (‘in agony’).
17 BEE Short alert from pager or buzzer (3)
A subtraction: BEE[p] (‘alert from pager’) minus the last letter (‘short’).
19 COW Intimidate Daisy? (3)
Double definition.
20 PRESCIENCE Foreknowledge of screen epic to be redistributed (10)
An anagram (‘to be redistributed’) of ‘screen epic’.
22 ANYTHING GOES Porter’s work that doesn’t follow the rules? (8,4)
Double definition, the first referring to the other song by the other Cole Porter.
26 DORSET Strode around the county (6)
An anagram (‘around’) of ‘strode’.
27 GANGLING Tall and skinny, first to go fishing (8)
A charade of G (‘first to Go’) plus ANGLING (‘fishing’).
28 RAPPER One knocking a recording artist (6)
Double definition.
29 DYNASTY Soap with unpleasant conclusion (7)
The ‘soap’ operas of 1981 and 2017, with title ending in NASTY (‘with unpleasant conclusion’).
Down
1 SECT Beetle, for example, not in special group (4)
A subtraction: [in]SECT (‘beetle, for example’) minus IN (‘not in’).
2 ITEM A single thing, or a couple (4)
Double definition.
3 GERANIUM Bloomer that may come to ruin game (8)
An anagram (‘that may come to’) of ‘ruin game’.
4 ROUGH Approximate area of golf course (5)
Double definition.
6 IN HAND Being prepared to receive cash thus in payment? (2,4)
Double definition.
7 CONTRABAND One has no duty to buy this (10)
Cryptic definition.
8 MALINGERER Rename girl Artful Dodger (10)
An anagram (‘artful’) of ‘rename girl’.
11 BLEEDS British city shows effect of cuts (6)
A charade of B (‘British’) plus LEEDS (‘city’).
13 BLACKADDER Very gloomy summer, a 5 (10)
A charade of BLACK (‘very gloomy’) plus ADDER (‘summer’). In the first series, the title and eponymous character was “The Black Adder”; for the other three, the enumeration (10) applied.
14 ONE-WAY TRIP I try weapon out: there’s no going back from this (3-3,4)
An anagram (‘out’) of ‘I try weapon’.
16 SPRINT Small photo of race (6)
A charade of S (‘small’) plus PRINT (‘photo’).
18 HIRED GUN Hit man who can’t afford his own weapon? (5,3)
Definition and literal allusion.
21 WHEEZE Clever idea asthmatic has (6)
Definition and allusion.
23 GRAND A lot of money? Splendid! (5)
Double definition.
24 RIBS They may go spare in your Chinese meal (4)
Cryptic definition.
25 EGGY Like an omelette? For starters, extremely good Greek yoghurt (4)
First letters (‘for starters’) of ‘Extremely Good Greek Yoghurt’.
completed grid

37 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,771 by Vulcan”

  1. I failed 24d RIBS – it is not a dish that I associate with Chinese food. I thought that 29a was a bit weak as a clue. I was trying to work out what to do with the DY- bit at the start.

    My favourite was HIRED GUN.

    Thanks Peter and Vulcan

  2. Yep bit of a doddle. If you’d asked me whose song Anything Goes was I’d have had to guess, but the other way round was no prob. It had to be (spare) ribs, but ditto michelle re its being other than Chinese. Ta P and V.

  3. Thanks PeterO and Vulcan.

    Straightforward and mostly inoffensive, though. like michelle, I didn’t like the lack of wordplay for DY in DYNASTY.

    Regarding spare ribs: I’ve lived in the UK all my life, and don’t recall seeing them in butchers’ shops or on menus other than in Chines restaurants, until a few decades ago. They are still a staple of Chines takeaway meals, but widely available elsewhere nowadays.

  4. Same objection to 29a DYNASTY as in the posts above, and I also thought RIBS at 24d was a bit dodgy: as a Chinese meal, it was not my first thought – DIMSims also crossed my mind – but it did kept me guessing until the end as my LOI.

    21d WHEEZE as a clever idea was unfamiliar to me.

    On balance, I enjoyed solving several clues, with ticks for 17a BEE, 20a PRESCIENCE, 22a ANYTHING GOES, 7d CONTRABAND, 8d MALINGERER, 11d BLEEDS and 18d HIRED GUN (same as michelle@1).

    Thanks to Vulcan and to PeterO for the early blog [Where are you in the US, Peter? I tend to remain aware of the time difference because my son and daughter-in-law are living in Brooklyn.]

  7. Yes, David – that’s the US pronunciation and that’s how I parsed it – but I think there should have been an indication of this being a homophone.  Really enjoyed this light-weight but funny and clever crossword ( so thanks to Vulcan and, as ever, to Peter O.

  8. Thanks Vulcan and PeterO

    Quite good; no particular favourites. I too have only seen “spare ribs” on Chinese menus.

    As with others, not keen on DYNASTY, as the DY seems unclued (I certainly don’t pronounce it DIE NASTY, David Ellison!).

  9. Thanks both
    The British (i.e. proper) pronunciation of DYNASTY is din assty. So a US homophone indication is required

  11. Agree with Shirl @9.  Homophone indicator required.

    Otherwise, a fairly quick and easy solve to get the week started.  I did feel one or two of the clues were barely cryptic.  DYNASTY was one (now explained as American) but also SITCOM.  I only got that from BLACKADDER.

    Thanks Vulcan and PeterO.

  12. A very mixed bag for me. A number of clues caused me “doh” moments – “cow”, “bee” I should’ve guessed quickly but needed crossers, and I thought the anagrams (“malingerer”, “one way trip”, “prescience”) all rather neat – good surfaces and unforced, although clearly clued, as perhaps a Monday should be. Similarly the double defs, “hired gun” and “wheeze” worked very well and Porter threw me for a bit with clever misdirection. But I had issues with quite a few clues. “sitcom” I only got after “blackadder” as I couldn’t believe it was a non-cryptic definition with nothing else to go on. “Channel” is a bit dodgy as a TV station and a channel are quite distinct entities – I know the distinction is technical, but so is the distinction between a noun and a verb and we would not clue one using the other. Likewise “in the long run” should be “entered” not “entering” the marathon surely? “Dynasty” has already been commented on but I would only add that even as a US homophone (unsignalled) it does not work as there I heard it with the emphasis on the first syllable and the “nasty” pronounced as “nusty”, unstressed. So it’s not “die nasty” in any pronunciation. “ribs” I was OK with – whilst they do technically refer to a particular cut of meat they are also very strongly associated with Chinese meals so this was a definition by example.

    Thanks for the blog PeterO and many fun clues Vulcan.

  13. I’m with the first half of what thezed@12 said. I also had quibbles over DYNASTY and RIBS (barely cryptic to me but clearly not so for others) but the other queries passed me by. Like TerriBlislow@7 I really enjoyed this puzzle so thanks to Vulcan and PeterO.

  15. Thanks both.

    All a bit meh for me.  Same thoughts as other re (DY) NASTY.  It’s only a partial clue, really, but I suppose since the answer reveals itself so readily, it’s fair enough.

    EGGY & RIBS were least favourite of a mediocre bunch, but quite liked BLACKADDER.

    Had to wait for PeterO to understand the Porter reference at 22a.

    Yesterday’s Everyman took up far too much of my Sunday so I’m actually rather grateful for this near write-in.

    Nice week, all.

  17. Quick and perhaps a little too easy (even for me). Although it was simple, I liked ITEM. Re the homophone controversy around DYNASTY, I agree with thezed @12 – listen to Kiss by Prince and he clearly sings “you don’t have to watch DIE-NUSTY…”. So, a flawed clue but easily gettable.

    Thanks PeterO and Vulcan

  18. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO. I got ANYTHING GOES quickly, but otherwise my reaction was the same as Michelle@1.

  19. I started thinking that 5a was comedy and 4d was round. I never find lots of dd and cd very satisfying as one never knows if the answer is correct until there are a few crossers. The less said about DYNASTY, the better.

    I liked BLEEDS, nice surface.

    Thanks Vulcan and PeterO.

  20. Yeh, a jolly stroll for a Monday morning; ribs notwithstanding.
    Threw me too that. Think I said before, some of Vulcan’s puns – like 18 dn, 6dn, 28a and 19dn – remind me of Christmas crackers! Without the crack and hat. Thanks Vulcan and Peter O

  21. LOI: 1d, but the rest was fairly simple. As I have a sore throat & headache today, I wasn’t complaining.

  22. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO. As others have said, mostly straightforward but nonetheless enjoyable. Only the NE held me up a little and last ones were sitcom and malingerer. I actually quite liked Blackadder and languished and thanks again to Vulcan and PeterO.

  23. beaulieu @3 Living in the US, my first association of spare ribs is barbecue, where they are much more prominent than they are in Chinese restaurants, where there are dozens and dozens of alternatives.

    Who’s the other Porter and what’s his other song?  Is there a British one I don’t know about?  I put ANYTHING GOES in right away.

  24. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO. I enjoyed this one, although lack of familiarity with British slang tripped me up again (WHEEZE). I liked the bits of misdirection in BLACKADDER and ANYTHING GOES. Needed a few crossers to get DYNASTY, about which I will say no more.

    Thezed@12, I think the clue for 12a works as it stands. If I’m (now) entering the marathon, then I’m “in the long run.”

  26. No particular quibbles here – a very straight-forward solve and only minor hold-ups were early on when I over-estimated the deviousness.   Copmus@25 – I agree that the lack of complexity and some of the surfaces reminded me of Rufus.  Thanks Vulcan and PeterO

  27. Very Rufuslike and none the worse for that as far as I’m concerned. I didn’t have any of the problems that others experienced. RIBS and DYNASTY went in straight away. Actually I think this would have pretty much a write in if I hadn’t been watching Politics Live at the same time as doing it.
    Good Monday fare.
    Thanks Vulcan.

  29. Julie in Australia @4

    Not so far away – I live to the east of your son, in Ronkonkoma, halfway out on Long Island.

    Valentine @ 23

    As I hinted in the preamble, the reference to the other Cole Porter is to a Monty Python sketch. It did indeed include the other song, but written, I assume, by Michael Palin.

  30. Geoff Wilkins @28. Collins online defines sitcom as “an amusing television drama series about a set of characters. Sitcom is an abbreviation for ‘situation comedy’.” So that seems fair. I’d agree that Blackadder is a very superior sitcom, compared to old-skool shows such as Terry & June.

  31. Geoff Wilkins @28

    For what it’s worth, Wikipedia thinks so, mentioning sitcom under Blackadder and vice versa. Situation comedies, which follow the same cast of characters from episode to episode (as opposed to sketch or stand-up comedy) are often in a domestic setting, but would include Yes, Minister as well.

  32. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO

    I’m with Willima@15, a bit meh….  Some entertainment from ANYTHING GOES however, followed by some confusion (a la Valentine@23) about the “other” Cole Porter.  Illumination may be found here – a new one on me, or is it just one I haven’t managed to remember?…..

     

     

  33. Quick aside…anyone else try ‘Hammer’ for 28A before crossers ruled it out? I’m remembering those trousers, he would’ve taken off in the recent windy weather here!

  34. Has anyone had a sudden problem accessing the Guardian crosswords on their mobile? As of last night I can’t get the usual (fill in on screen) version – just a white space although comments are still there underneath and other versions: print and PDF come up ok! Very odd.

  35. alphalpha @32 — crikey, that’s an old ‘un!  I’m sure I’ve never seen that sketch either.  John Cleese and Michael Palin look like boys.  And I don’t recognize any of the others — were they in some earlier configuration of the group?  Or are they just too young for me to recognize them?  The humor feels to me not so much Python-ish wacky as just disconnected.

  36. I’m very late to the table at late evening in Ontario, but I was also dismayed by the clue for DYNASTY. May I suggest a passable rewrite?:
    “Soap did yield initially, with an unpleasant ending”

  37. Valentine @35 – I believe this is from a recording of The Secret Policemen’s Ball, a live charity event to which the Pythons and others contributed. The only non-Python I noticed in this sketch was Peter Cook as the defendant. Very silly, very funny and very pointed.

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