Guardian Cryptic 27,871 by Tramp

48 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,871 by Tramp”

1. As ever with Tramp he tells you exactly what to do in a totally fair way, just not the way you think he is doing it! A lot of these were solve first, parse after and some were pretty tortuous but all of them worked out so no complaints and lots of smiles.

   Kudos for the definition of “homeopath” but I suspect there will be some grumbles – hopefully massively diluted by the chorus of cheers. And I see on the paper’s website a number of people have never heard the term “brewpub”. And they call themselves Grauniad readers? Shocking…

   “Etcher” – it should be impossible with millions of films and singers but these two in particular made it the first thing to come to mind. Lovely surface and it made me smile.

   Cheers muchly to Tramp for this and manehi for working through the details.

2. Thanks Tramp and manehi

   I got off to a good start when the across anagrams jumped out at me, but then slowed down, taking ages to finish (with PRUNELLA and BARBER).

   I thought it was rather GK heavy – said PRUNELLA, ALI G, Father TED, ROCKy, SARACENS (also very much a guess, then parse clue) etc.

   HEADREST was a weak clue and definition.

   HOMEOPATH was favourite.

3. Pretty much what thezed said.

   My favourites were REPAIRABLE, ALIGHTED, SARACENS and PRUNELLA.

   Many thanks to Tramp for an enjoyable puzzle and manehi for a great blog.

4. This was difficult for me; I am rarely on this setter’s wavelength – it’s not his fault, it’s me.

   I failed to parse 23a (ALI G? never heard of him) and 10a.

   New for me: Saracens team, but the clue was fair and even amusing.

   My favourite was PRUNELLA.

   Thanks B+S.

5. Getting in before I even have the paper so I can comment on yesterday’s Paul. I think it’s instructive that there were only 24
   Posts. It was very hard for the amateur solver. I suggest the majority of us gave up the struggle early. I gave in after about 2 hours with 1/3 undone.
   Possibly the judgement that it was fair by those that completed it should be viewed in context of the number that couldn’t.
   and don’t get me started on last Saturday’s prize which I’m still working on.

6. It took me ages to parse 26ac; it also took me ages to solve 18ac but in the latter case it was simply because I overlooked “parable” and was stubbornly working on either “fable” or “tale”.  I do like the way Tramp finds alternative indicators for (as manehi puts it) containment or insertion (e.gs are “cans” and “spears”).  It was strange therefore to find a couple of chestnuts – most especially in 20d.  Nevertheless it was a battle royal for me this morning and a protracted one at that.  Marvellous stuff – so grateful to Tramp for the workout and many thanks to manehi of course.

7. Some good anagrams, but I still find the breadth or looseness of synonymy that Tramp tends to the uncomfortable. All justifiable looking back (ie from answer to element), but to identify an element of the wordplay, in order to move forward towards the answer, is often remote. Tramp has defended before his clues, when disquiet was expressed by other commenters, but my impression was that he thought more about the former (the posterior view) than the latter (the prior). It is of course this latter that we the solvers are up against.

   But still thanks to Tramp for the workout, and Manehi for parsing the couple that eluded clear explanation.

8. Nodding in agreement with most of the comments above, as I’m usually working the why and wherefore after I’ve put in my (fairly confident) answers to the clues with this setter. Never a smooth solve with Tramp for me, I’m afraid…

9. Thanks for the blog. Frankly I gave up on NW and SE quadrants – a fairly hostile grid and some trick clues in those semi-isolated regions. BARBER completely foxed me even after revealing it.

10. A stern but enjoyable test, although I cringed at some of the definitions, especially that for ‘etcher’.
    Re. 15d, most posters here will probably already know that, along with her husband Timothy West, Prunella Scales is a keen crossword solver and wrote a touching introduction to a book of collected Araucaria puzzles.

11. Enjoyable puzzle.

    Thought the Britney Spears clue was brilliant.

12. Slow going at the beginning.

    I particularly liked REFUSE, BARBER and HOMEOPATH (quack, quack)

    Thanks Tramp and manehi.

13. TerriBlislow@6

    I was also trying to parse 18a with ‘tale’ and ‘fable’ for a long time.

    You were not alone!

14. Thanks, manehi.

    A little tricky, but good fun. I particularly liked “picked up by some” to indicate the non-rhotic homophone at 7d.

15. I liked the presence of SARACENS and MANCHESTER CITY-Even handed I reckon.

    I really enjoy Tramp’s puzzles as I think I can identify with his planet. I liked the Quack clue as it was deliberately provicative and immaculately clued.

16. Thank you Tramp and manehi.

    Very tricky and enjoyable. Like Jim T @11, I found the Britney Spears clue brilliant.

    George Clements @10, we had the Telegraph newspaper at school, so Prunella Scales probably started with those crosswords – I was much younger, but remember her turning our light out at night – cold dormitory with washbasins in a bow window, the water in the jugs froze by morning in winter.

17. An excellent and entertaining 99th Guardian puzzle for Tramp – pretty tough in places and I will admit to using Check a few times.

    Thanks to Tramp and manehi

18. Andysmith@9 – you were right, the NW and SE bits were deliberately tough, with some obscure cluing making them very difficult if not impossible for many solvers. E’s for tablets? Hmmm.

    Parsed 1d by truncating The Rock, another film…..another hmmm.

    Thanks for the workout Tramp and the assembled bloggers for their comments.

19. I seem to recall, some years ago, a themed puzzle structured around the acting careers of Prunella Scales and her husband Timothy West, both dedicated cruciverbalists (and narrow boat enthusiasts, of course).

20. Hornbeam @19 – I think the one you mean was Biggles 26089 (published 25 Oct 2013!)

21. Thezed:  there are people who have never heard of a brewpub?  The brewpub concept has succeeded so well that “find the brewpub and you can’t go too far wrong” is the best strategy for dinner in an unfamiliar city, at least on this side of the Atlantic.  I did this most recently on the 4th of July when my husband and I were in London, Ontario.

    Well, I shouldn’t carp, because I’ve never heard of Prunella Scales.  It was my second-to-last in–I figured out, finally, how the clue worked, and googled PRUNELLA to see if it was a thing.  It is a plant.  I came here assuming that someone would explain how that plant could be referred to as “scales.”

    Also new–well, not <i>new,</i> but dredged up from the depths of some memory somewhere, was CURARE, my last one.

    HOMEOPATH was my clue of the day.

22. (Wait–the blog comments no longer recognize standard HTML?) Interesting.)

23. [mrpenney

    You can use the icons above the text entry box for your formatting]

24. mrpenny @21 Alas it seems there are such poor readers. I remember the emerging brewpub concept in Seattle in the early 90’s and then again in New England a year or two later where we used exactly the tactic you described in Northampton, MA. Mind you, this was back when coffee shops in Seattle were independent, chain-free and novel. I feel as though I am writing ancient history!

    And as a Brit I missed the prunella scales reference for some time and was also wondering what the flower had to do with scales. We should both have known that Trump’s sense of humour works differently!

25. Was proud to get maybe two thirds of these before throwing in the towel. HOMEOPATH made me smile in particular since I wrote it in from the wordplay before clocking the definition. Also very much enjoyed BARBER although had to check it since I was not aware of the verb form. Also liked PARTY LINE.

    New abbreviations for me this week:
    Section = S
    Drivers = AA
    Fine = F
    Weight = W

26. Oh and Barrel = B!

27. OK, yes, pretty fair. But 13d….really? What century are you living in?

    And I have to point out re. 17d that ‘America’ is not a country.

    Tramp’s clever with words, I can’t deny, but surprisingly ignorant in some respects.

    Oh, and I’ve never heard of a ‘brewpub’. In my youth they were called ‘brewery pubs’. Even drunk we could manage a couple of syllables.

     

28. Like chinoz @7, I sometimes find that Tramp stretches the limits of synonymy (lovely word; I’m waiting to see it in a crossword), but I have no complaints about today’s clues. Even so, I missed several, including the unfamiliar SARACENS and PRUNELLA. It was interesting to learn that so many English solvers are unfamiliar with brewpubs. I’ve lost count of the number of them in my current home town of Asheville, NC.

    Thanks to Tramp and manehi.

29. Peter @27, I also get annoyed to see America referred to as a country (always meaning mine), but I think that battle has been lost, and the Canadians are apparently polite enough not to scream foul about it.

30. Peter @27 fair point about America and country but you’ll have to explain what you meant about 13d…I can’t parse your comment. Sorry!

31. thezed @24 – is there a wee typo in your comment? 😉

32. The pedants who try to argue that “America” is not the name of a country need to give it a rest.  That usage is almost as old as the country itself, and the USA doesn’t really have another workable short form.  Yes, “America” can also mean “the Western hemisphere,” but in this hobby we should be well used to words that have more than one meaning.

     

33. Eileen @31 – more a “braino” than a typo I fear!

34. mrpenney @32

    “America” (named after Amerigo Vespucci) originally referred to the eastern seaboard of the continent of South America (Brazil, principally)…..

35. Our first Tramp for a long time and, like Michelle@4, not really on the wavelength for a while. Were illuminated by, and agree with, comments of more experienced solvers like thezed and chinoz. Tc@5’s point about hardness is very fair. Yorkshire Lass and I solve together which makes it much easier: hats off to those who can solve solo with tests like the last few. And agreed that the last Paul prize was a real challenge. As to today, loved HOMEOPATH – right on – and PRUNELLA: the Scales at the beginning exact but nicely misleading. Many thanks to Tramp and manehi.

36. I was beaten by the BARBER but concede it was a clever clue.  Was also bamboozled by ELAPSE for which ‘go’ was the definition: I am sure it will be in Chambers although it certainly doesn’t spring out as a synonym for me.  I also object to the team referenced in 11a making another appearance while we are between seasons!  Gripes over, I loved PARTY LINE and yes, @thezed, I enjoyed the definition of HOMEOPATH which is, for me, a good synonym.  Overall a steady solve.  Thanks Tramp and manehi for the blog.

37. Ugh

38. I’ve never heard of BREWPUB. Do they exist in the UK? PRUNELLA was easy to parse after the event but before? ROCK,WEAR and ETCHER were decidedly dodgy and non sport fans would have to guess SARACENS- even though the latter parsed rather well but,again,in retrospect. I liked this better than the above would indicate but I’m not a great fan of Tramp and this puzzle hasn’t made me change my mind.

39. @thezed, Tramp, and others: Even if homeopathy doesn’t work for you (assuming you have tried it and aren’t just getting on the bandwagon of slagging off what you don’t understand) it has worked for many people. Attacking other people’s belief system is vile in any form. It’s like saying all Muslims are bombers or all Catholics abuse children. As it happens, homeopathy didn’t work for me, but I’m not going to it criticise because of that. Healing is highly personal. Actually, all forms of healing work on faith.

    I think it’s irresponsible of the Guardian to publish such a blatant insult. What I meant by ‘what century are you living in’ is that the point of view that homeopathy is quackery belongs in the 1980s, when allopathic medicine, backed into a corner, responded to the resurgence of older, more effective forms of treatment by slinging insults. I suffer from a chronic condition that allopathy has been helpless to address, where other, more established therapies have been effective. Even so, I will not criticise others who have experienced allopathy as worthwhile. If it works for you, that’s great. Calling homeopathy quackery shows the point of view of the speaker to be ill-informed and dogmatic. To assert that something is not true because you haven’t experienced it is plain stupid.

    But arguing this contentious issue in an internet forum is pretty pointless. People who post have generally already made up their minds.

    On top of that, it’s late and I’m drunk.

    And the ‘America’ thing…crosswords require precision. America is not a country. Fact. Tramp could have said ‘half a continent’, which would have been accurate and made for a more interesting surface.

     

     

40. Peter @39 – your argument would have some stronger basis if the clue had equated homeopathy to quackery, rather than homeopaths to quacks. People can believe as much as they want in the power of homeopathy to ease their ailments, but those promoting homeopathy have no scientific basis on which to do so and are by definition quacks.  And if “quack” means “non-allopath”, would this not anyway be a badge of honour for a homeopath, rather than an insult?

41. Peter @39 Thank you for clarifying your position – when I said I could not parse your comment, I meant exactly that – I honestly did not know what your position was (I was going to type “complaint” but as I did not understand your comment I was not actually sure it was). Clarification is achieved. We shall beg to differ but this is not the time or place to discuss why, as you also say.

42. Thanks Tramp and Manehi. I thought this was terrific – witty and ingenious. Also pretty tough – a hard Tramp in the same league as Enigmatist (which is high praise, in my book).

43. I always enjoy a Tramp. Thanks as ever. The Britney Spears was a lovely example of “lift and separate” (as opposed to the split-word type often wrongly described as such here).
    A great week I thought (Monday apart – which I usually skip). Nice to have a run of puzzles which mostly puzzle – there’s nothing more disappointing than sitting down to enjoy a little tussle and to find the game’s over before the tea has drawn!
    Here’s hoping for an Enigmatist in the not too distant….
    Many thanks, both and all.

44. [Peter@39 – I don’t agree with your comparison of homeopathy with religions. Were you to have said that they were all exempla of superstitious claptrap, I may have had more sympathy!]

45. Homeopathy… Water Memory? Hahahahahahah. Even Flat-Earthers are not as funny 🙂

    Whew! Can’t say I finished that, but thanks Tramp for a marathon workout, and manehi for explaining his tortu(r)ous logic.

46. What a profound and extensive analysis the poster at 37 has provided. I wait with bated breath for more of his erudite pronouncements.

    Excellent puzzle from Tramp, as always. No problem with homeopath/quack here – it was a very good clue.

     

47. Peter @ 39

    I haven’t tried homeopathy, because I looked into it first. I understand it perfectly well – its bollocks.

48. I’m sorry, where are my manners.

    Thanks to manehi and Tramp

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