Guardian Cryptic 27,841 by Brendan

by

Slow going at times…

…with a few going in more quickly after the theme became apparent: Jules [TA]VERNE[R] and TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES Under the Sea, with SUBMARINER Captain NEMO of the NAUTILUS – and many other nautical references in surfaces, cluing, and solutions, including a nod to the films Finding NEMO / Finding DORY.

Favourites were 14ac, 15ac, 2dn, 4dn, and 16dn. Thanks to Brendan.

Across
8 SEASHORE Vexed about European tree such as beech, from what we hear (8)
“beech, from what we hear” gives ‘beach’ i.e. SEASHORE
SORE=”Vexed” around: E (European) + ASH=”tree”
9 HAULED Changed course, you said, in sound — also depth (6)
U is “you” said aloud, inside HALE=”sound”; plus D (depth)
10 DORY Fish from either side of dinghy (4)
D OR Y as in ‘d‘ or ‘y‘=”either side of dinghy“
11 OCEAN-GOING One I can upset about game on board, good for long voyages (5-5)
(One I can)*, around GO=”game on board”, the board game with black and white tiles, plus G (good)
12 TWENTY Little time left before close of play to produce score (6)
T (time) + WENT=”left” + closing letter of plaY
14 THOUSAND Twist and Shout — a great number! (8)
(and Shout)*
15 BRUTISH Like savage animal, it goes back into thicket (7)
IT reversed/”goes back” inside BRUSH=”thicket”
17 LEAGUES Article in French about fit groups of sportsmen (7)
LES=”[the plural definite] Article in French” around AGUE=a shivering “fit”
20 TAVERNER Sailor embracing French author or English composer (8)
John TAVERNER is the English composer
TAR=”Sailor” around Jules VERNE=”French author” of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea
22 FATHOM Understand female, mostly in some depth (6)
two definitions
F (female) + AT HOM[e]=”mostly in”
23 SUBMARINER A number is oddly right for next solution, say (10)
the next solution, NEMO, is a SUBMARINER in Twenty Thousand Leagues
(A number is)* + R (right)
24 NEMO Previous solution in fiction, one found in movie (4)
a fictional SUBMARINER
Finding Nemo is the “movie” reference, an animated Disney film about fish – including one named DORY [solution to 11ac]
25 JETSAM Travels fast with American that’s thrown off ship (6)
JETS=”Travels fast” + AM (American)
26 NAUTILUS Sea creature — as usual, it changed after new start (8)
=a type of mollusc – and also the name of NEMO’s submarine in Twenty Thousand Leagues
(usual it)*, after the start of New
Down
1 MEN-OF-WAR Naval craft 24 across destroyed, very much without point (3-2-3)
(NEMO)*=”24 across” with “destroyed” as an anagram indicator; plus FAR=”very much” outside W (west)=compass “point”
2 ESPY Pick out examples, possibly, being extremely selective (4)
extreme letters taken from ExampleS PossiblY
3 NOBODY Literary diarist translated 24 across (6)
The Diary of a Nobody was a 1892 novel by George and Weedon Grossmith
24ac, NEMO, is Latin for NOBODY
4 BENEATH Keep things shipshape on end of berth below (7)
BE NEAT=”Keep things shipshape” + end letter of bertH
5 SHINBONE Perform well, holding head up, in part of leg (8)
SHINE=”Perform well”, holding NOB=”head” reversed/”up”
6 OUT OF SIGHT Submerged, perhaps? Marvellous! (3,2,5)
double definition: =’not visible’; or ‘beyond comparison’
7 PENNON Write name before getting aboard, standard for ship (6)
=”standard” as a in a flag
PEN=”Write” + N (name) + ON=”aboard”
13 NETHERMOST Clear kind of flask stowed inside, as far down as possible (10)
NET=”Clear” of any deductions as in ‘net profit’; with THERMOS=”kind of flask” inside
16 SYNDROME Heartlessly, say, represented modern indications of disorder (8)
SaY without its heart or central letter; plus (modern)* with ‘re-presented’ as the anagram indicator
18 ENORMOUS Like big creature and not small one, with tail raised (8)
NOR=”and not” + MOUSE=”small [creature]”, with the tail or final E raised up to the top of the solution word
19 IRONING Pressing forward, I circle around (7)
ON=”forward”, with I + RING=”circle” around it
21 ABUSES 26, for example, in its place, turned up insults (6)
SUB[marine]=”NAUTILUS, for example”, inside SEA=”its place”; all reversed/”turned up”
22 FIRE UP Fill with passion and have lofty aim? (4,2)
two definitions
24 NAIL Nothing covering area that gives quick protection (4)
the “quick” is sensitive flesh, especially under the nails – as in ‘cut to the quick’
NIL=”Nothing” around A (area)

46 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,841 by Brendan”

  1. I quite enjoyed that although I could not parse a lot of the answers.  Thank you manehi for the explanations and Brendan for an interesting star to Friday.

  3. Thanks Brendan and manehi

    TWENTY and THOUSAND next to each other gave me the theme for once; this helped with LEAGUES, NEMO, and SUBMARINER. Favourites were FATHOM and BENEATH.

    The “as” in 26a jarred a bit.

  4. Thanks Brendan and manehi.

    Could it be said that the title 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is represented cryptically in the grid, with TWENTY, THOUSAND, and LEAGUES all appearing directly beneath OCEAN, or even better, beneath the SEA in SEASHORE? Or is that stretching the theme?

  7. My last four clues (SEASHORE, HAULED, BENEATH, SHIN-BONE) took me as long as the rest of the crossword. I saw the theme after THOUSAND SUBMARINE and NEMO, so the first part was quite quick.

    (The spell checker suggests SHINBONE is either hyphenated or two words, but not one word)

     

    Enjoyable – thanks Brendan and manehi

  9. very unusually i spotted the theme early, first with words for under, then the sea connections and it all went swimmingly! liked fathom especially.

  10. An enjoyable start to the day, though I couldn’t parse 22ac and 18dn. As explained – thank you manehi – they are both ingenious, especially 22ac.

  11. very enjoyable with a theme that even I could spot fairly early on in the solving process

    Thanks to Brendan and manehi

  12. Woke up early so thought I’d have a go before the tennis starts, and surprised to find I could finish a Friday puzzle at all, let alone relatively quickly (for me).
    Spotting the theme early on helped a bit, though not as much as I’d hoped it would. Needed to come here to parse IRONING and HAULED, but all very satisfying. Thanks Brendan and Manehi.
    And good luck to Johanna Konta.

  14. Ta Manehi & Brendan – twigged the theme fairly early (12a & 13a don’t usually occur together – 20,000 dalmatians anyone?!), and then steadyish. Mis-step with ensign for 7d, but when nothing around worked had to view more critically. Minor question of use of ‘represented’ to suggest anagrind in 16d.

    Faves were 23a and 24a. Pleasurable solve today, thanks ‘meme’.

     

  15. Nothing to add to the praise for this great puzzle, except to say that I hadn’t noticed it but I’m sure Steve B. @4 is right – that’s just the kind of thing Brendan does. Many thanks to him for the enjoyment and to manehi for a great blog.

     

  16. Lovely – thank you Brendan for a fun romp on my birthday…a nice present! Another who spotted the theme before I even had enough solutions to know there was a theme – it just felt “themey”. It helped with pointing to Verne in Taverner and Nautilus for the sea creature, and confirmed Dory which I was less sure of from the wordplay. Neatly done – shinbone and hauled were my LOsI and took as much head-scratching as the rest of the puzzle.

    I assume the Nina of “agua” in the NW is accidental, as is the appearance of “JE” and “LUS” at the start and end of the penultimate row. But with Brendan in this clever a mood, that may be one of those assumptions that makes an ass out of u and me…

  17. Despite having read Mrs ginf’s O’brian maritime novels, I still dnk hauled as changed course, tho it had to be. Found this a mixture of obvious, eg twenty and thousand, and unclear, eg syndrome for indications plural of disorder (tho I suppose a syndrome could be a collection of indications) and pennon (not especially for ships, as far as I read). And despite having known before that nemo is Latin for no-one, it didn’t click, so a dnf. Hey ho, had one or two other things on my mind. Now for a stiff gin and Friday night footy. Thanks Brendan and Manehi.

  19. I’m another who got the theme early on as my first two in were TWENTY and THOUSAND and as it was a Brendan. That helped with LEAGUES in particular. I also didn’t know Latin NEMO but did know the diary. I had 21d ABUSES as my favourite amongst a very enjoyable solve – many thanks to Brendan and manehi.

  20. Thank you Brendan and manehi.

    I liked the theme.  Perhaps SHINBONE refers to the sea shanty “Bully in the Alley”, i.e. Shinbone Alley, which would account for it being one word, which David Ellison @7 questions.

  21. I generally enjoy the extra challenge provided by interrelated clues, and this was no exception. Also enjoyed the theme, which I spotted early for a change, and it actually helped as I was looking for NAUTILUS. I stumbled over 8a and 2d, though in retrospect I should have seen both, but still a lot of fun. Thanks to Brendan and to manehi for the parsing of 1d.

  22. He makes it look so easy. Kicked off with the wonderful THOUSAND.

    I actually came across NEMO in Bleak House

    Thanks manehi and Brendan.

  24. Second excellent puzzle in a day following the Wanderer in the FT. Hard going, helped by spotting the theme (eventually). A few I couldn’t parse including NETHERMOST and more that needed nutting out such as ABUSES. Favourite was the dual def FATHOM.

    One of those puzzles when watching the Friday football, though sans ginf @17’s stiff gin, actually helped to finish things off.

    A big thanks to Brendan for one of the best puzzles for the week and to manehi

  25. Thanks Brendan and Manehi.

    Strangely (?) my way into the theme was through 21d. I had the A and the E, and pondering a SUB in the SEA meant 25a had to be a submarine. This pushed me to the 23a, 24a pair, and 24a finally allowed me to correct my pencilled in MAN OF WAR for 1d.

  26. A great crossword! Much enjoyed here. It was good at 20 ac to have an outing for John Taverner (c.1490-1545) as opposed to his fellow English composer John Tavener (1944-2013). Both were brilliant, and their place is secure in the choral repertoire as well as in crosswords.

  28. Found this most enjoyable but I did think that the inter-reliance of the definitions in 23 & 24 was strange (both very gettable from the cryptic part fortunately).

    Many thanks to Brendan and manehi.

  30. A fun puzzle, was not underwater with it at any time.

    I see that “beech, from what we hear” is underlined as the definition to SEASHORE, but wouldn’t that be considered the cryptic part in any other context? So like “cryptic definition” clues, this one has no straight definition (which didn’t hinder its solving), but in contrast it has two parts; the format is really quite unusual. Maybe it could borrow a definition from FATHOM which has one extra.

    Thanks.

  31. Thank you to Brendan and manehi. Quite a challenge I thought – I saw a marine theme quite a long time before I clocked it was Jules Verne.

    13dn reminded me of one of my favourite clues: “Flask of mother’s ruin (7)”. I do not know the setter.

  32. @ Marienkaefer

    Someone’s (I forget whose) comment yesterday led me to look up who – or rather what – you are. What a lovely name!

  33. Found the top left hand corner tough, not knowing either the Diary of a Nobody or the Latin Nemo, an also stumbling with Man not Men until seashore dawned. But it was a very enjoyable solve otherwise. Many thanks to setter and bloggers.

  34. For once I actually got the theme before reading the blog.  I think it was NAUTILUS tipped it for me, and then I went back to VERNE.

    I too had MAN OF WAR for the longest time, forgetting that “craft” can be either singular or plural and messing up 8a, my LOI.

    manehi, what is Pierre doing in the blog for 2d?

    Thanks to Brendan and to manehi.

  36. The theme was impossible to miss, since the linked clues were all themed.  So for once, I caught the theme in time for it to be a help.

    Muffin @6:  the Wikipedia tells me that naming Captan Nemo that is a deliberate allusion to the Odyssey.  (Recall that after stabbing out the eye of the cyclops, Odysseus tells him his name is “Noman” (in most English translations), so that when the other cyclopes ask who did it, and he says, “Noman did this,” their reaction is basically, “well if nobody did this, what are you on about?” Well, in Latin translations, that’s Nemo.)

  38. Enjoyable puzzle but one I found quite tough especially the NW. I had MAN OF WAR and saw no reason to change it until SEASHORE finally emerged. ESPY, while obvious after coming here, came very late in the proceedings. Theme was so obvious that I got it. I did like NOBODY once I twigged it.
    Thanks Brendan.

  39. Wonderful puzzle, thanks Brendan, and Manehi. Resisted the immediate impulse to put in “ensign” for 7d, having never come across Pennon before.

  40. As 12 and 14a were FOI the theme was unmissable, even by me. A fun puzzle and thanks to Brendan and manehi. Only quibble was 9a. I’ve hauled in the mainsail while changing direction but wouldn’t use one as a synonym for the other but Chambers would so quibble withdrawn.

  41. Shiver me timbers, this was a lovely piece of work. Just disappointed that Jules didn’t put in an appearance, as Verne did. Quite a quick solve but so much to admire. I liked the literary theme as well as the wider nautical one. Favourites include NOBODY, mainly because I love the book, NETHERMOST and OCEAN GOING. Great puzzle, thanks to both.

  42. Enjoyable puzzle. Particularly liked 14 across, but thought it would have been an even better clue if it had read “a grand number”.

  43. Very much enjoyed this. Theme gave me Leagues, which otherwise would have taken mych longer to get. TILT was changing course as meanihg of haul; also had not heard of ‘the diary of a nobody’. Fav clue was fathom. Thanks to Brendan and to Manehi.

  44. Echoing others, I really loved the nautical/literary theme. Thanks very much to Brendan and manehi. The blog made for enjoyable reading. Thought non-themed, 24d NAIL was my favourite. Like Pino@40 I didn’t agree with the definition “Changed course” for 9a HAULED, though if Chambers says it’s okay then we are overruled.

    All praise to you Brendan, for a very clever and challenging puzzle.

  45. Echo many others 2ith delight at this end of week. DNF partly because took 1d to be a reference to the plot of the book (Memo destroys a warship) so didn’t parse the actual clue. Singular man not plural mem. And spent too long puzzling over a type of molluscs for 21d. Favourite was 24d. Great puzzle. Thanks Brendan and manehi.

Comments are closed.