Guardian Cryptic 27,905 by Nutmeg

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The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27905.

A crossword squarely in my Goldilocks zone: nothing that struck me as a write-in, but nothing so convoluted or obscure that it did not respond satisfyingly to an application of thought. Kudos to Nutmeg.

Across
1 WORSHIP Main function of church vessel with gold facing (7)
A charade of W (‘with’) plus OR (heraldic ‘gold’) plus SHIP (‘vessel’), with ‘facing’ indicating the order of the particles..
5 THREADS Passes thin line through series of linked posts (7)
Double definition (the plural of series is series).
9 LIMESCALE Successive notes on fruit showing side effect of hard water (9)
A charade of LIME (‘fruit’) plus SCALE (‘successive notes’).
10 DICTA Formal statements from island court received by prosecutor (5)
An envelope (‘received by’) of I (‘island’) plus CT (‘court’) in DA (District Attorney, ‘prosecutor’),
11 SPUN Singular wordplay concocted (4)
A charade of S (‘singular’) plus PUN (‘wordplay’), with the definition as in “spun a tale”.
12 STOOD ASIDE Cricketing pair in standard first-class team withdrew (5,5)
An envelope (‘in’) of OO (‘cricketing pair’ of ducks) in STD (‘standard’) plus A (‘first-class’) plus SIDE (‘team’).
14 ATOMIC Type of power US agents tackling annual test reviewed (6)
A reversal (‘reviewed’) of an envelope (‘tackling’) of MOT (Ministry of Transport ‘annual test’ of vehicles) in CIA (Central Intelligence Agency, ‘US agents’).
15 RUBBERY Resilient component of bridge close to motorway (7)
A charade of RUBBER (‘component of bridge’, the card game) plus Y (‘close to motorwaY‘).
16 CHAGALL Artist‘s ‘Old Witch’ in demand (7)
An envelope (in’) of HAG (‘old witch’) in CALL (‘demand’).
18 RIGHTO Very good south coast resort out of bounds (6)
[b]RIGHTO[n] (‘south coast resort’) minus its outer letters (‘out of bounds’). RIGHTO, or right-oh or right-ho, as an exclamation of agreement.
20 SUPERPOWER Eg USSR‘s renewed purpose when ethnic revolt starts (10)
A charade of SUPERPO, an anagram (‘renewed’) of ‘purpose’ plus WER (‘When Ethnic Revolt starts’).
21 FEAR Be awed by sound of German quartet? (4)
Sounds somewhat like VIER (4 in German, ‘German quartet’).
24 LOOSE Earl pursuing several ladies, perhaps of doubtful morals (5)
A charade of LOOS (‘ladies, perhaps’) plus E (‘earl’).
25 ENOBARBUS M Antony’s friend, one reversing vehicle behind obstruction (9)
A charade of ENO (‘one reversing’) plus BAR (‘obstruction’) plus BUS (‘vehicle’), for the character in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra who was (on and off) ‘M Antony’s friend’, and was based on the historical Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, one of a host of people with those names, most of whom managed to be elected Roman Consul. I think the form ‘M Antony’ refers back to another crossword clue, but I cannot put my finger on it. Anyone with a better memory?
26 WRAITHS Passion finally erupts when Nutmeg’s drunk spirits (7)
An envelope (‘drunk’) of I (‘Nutmeg’) in WRATH (‘passion’) plus S (‘eruptS finally’).
27 SATIETY More than enough from composer, totally drained (7)
A charad of SATIE (Erik, ‘composer’ whose compositions include Jack in the Box, and Trois morceaux en forme de poire among many others) plus TY (‘TotallY drained’).
Down
1 WILTS County flags (5)
Double definition, the first being a abbreviation for Wiltshire.
2 REMOUNT Having differed, our men will need time to get on again (7)
A charade of REMOUN, an anagram (‘having differed’) of ‘our men’; plus (‘will need’) T (‘time’).
3 HASP Catch consists of plaice, primarily (4)
A charade of HAS (‘consists of’) plus P (‘Plaice, primarily’).
4 PRACTICAL JOKERS Down-to-earth couple in pack unsuited as tricksters (9,6)
A charade of PRACTICAL (‘down-to-earth’) plus JOKERS (‘couple in pack’; most packs of cards include two JOKERS).
5 THE FOUR FREEDOMS Modify mother’s offer due to basic human rights (3,4,8)
An anagram (‘modify’ as an imperative) of ‘mother’s offer due’. THE FOUR FREEDOMS were stated by Franklin D Roosevelt as the freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. We have a ways to go.
6 RED CABBAGE Left-leaning Tory group, say, turning up in a bit of a pickle? (3,7)
A charade of RED (‘left-leaning’) plus C (Conservative, ‘Tory’) plus ABBA (singing ‘group’) plus GE, a reversal (‘turning up’ in a down light) of E.G. (exempli gratia, ‘for example’).
7 ARCHIVE Leading setter’s collected works (7)
A charade of ARCH (‘leading’) plus I’VE ( I have, ‘setter’s’).
8 SHAPELY Curvaceous mimic, learner in cast (7)
An envelope (‘in’) of APE (‘mimic’) plus L (‘learner’) in SHY (‘cast’).
13 IMPAIRMENT Fault in flyers supporting MP over­come by new technology (10)
An envelope (‘overcome by’) of ‘MP’ plus (‘supporting’ in a down light) AIRMEN (‘flyers’) in IT (Information Technology, ‘new technology’).
16 CASE LAW Accountant set up country’s legal system, in part (4,3)
A charade of CA (Chartered ‘Accountant’) plus SELAW, a reversal (‘set up’ in a down light) of WALES (‘country’).
17 AMPHORA Grecian urn of lead-free pungent mineral on core of alabaster (7)
A charade of [c]AMPHOR (‘pungent mineral’; ‘mineral’ tends to suggest rocks to me, while camphor is produced by various plants) minus its first letter (‘lead-free’) plus A (‘core of alabAster’).
19 TREMBLE Small rock singer bringing in millions (7)
An envelope (‘bringing in’) of M (‘millions’) in TREBLE (‘singer’).
22 RISKY Hairy rebellious Irish broadcaster (5)
A charade of RI, a reversal (‘rebellious’) of IR (‘Irish’) plus SKY (‘broadcaster’).
23 WANT Western worker’s deficiency (4)
A charade of W (‘western’) plus ANT (‘worker’).
completed grid

45 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,905 by Nutmeg”

  1. I solved the whole of the right side first, then the left side. Very enjoyable.

    My favourites were RED CABBAGE, TREMBLE, CHAGALL, AMPHORA.

    Thanks Nutmeg and Peter.

     

  2. What a gem of a puzzle, not a single ‘?’, well maybe the merest eyebrow flicker at rubbery for resilient, not even a quiblet. But over all too soon, it almost wrote itself! I wouldn’t have remembered Enobarbus, but you couldn’t go wrong. I’ve re-read all the clues a couple of times over just for the aesthetic pleasure. Brava Nutmeg and thanks PeterO.

    PS I think I’ve spelled my name right and got the right setter today [thanks Roberto and Alphalpha yesterday]

  3. > freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear …

    … the last three are all in the grid!

  5. Well spotted Trovatore! As JinA said yesterday, one should always zoom out and do a scan post-solve.

  6. Speech?

    Could this be signalled at 10ac, DICTA?

    Oxford has this for “dictum”:

    Late 16th century: from Latin, literally ‘something said’, neuter past participle of dicere.

     

  7. Lost in admiration as always with Nutmeg’s puzzles. Thanks to Trovatore @3: I completely missed that additional refinement.

  8. Well done Trovatore – I even checked the four freedoms and still missed Nutmeg’s bonus brilliance in getting the refs in – and I buy your “dicta.”  Great crossie, as always from Nutmeg.  I do have a minute quibble about “small rock” for tremble (19d) but who the hell cares when you get such a great workout.  Thanks Peter O – succinct as always.

  9. Is the M Antony clue you’re thinking of:

    Friend of Caesar, J., or the opposite (8)

    ..versions of which have been clued by Araucaria and several others.

    Lovely puzzle.

  11. Thanks, PeterO [and Trovatore].

    A gem of a puzzle indeed – Nutmeg on top form. Many thanks to her.

    I liked the ‘unsuited’ in 4dn.

  14. PeterO: just to mention you missed underlining the definition at 17d.

    Needed your help to parse it as well as 25a

    Thanks

  15. Thank you Nutmeg and PeterO.

    I spent an age trying to find SPEECH, considered DICTA, then concluded this could cover SPEECH plus THE FOUR FREEDOMS SPEECH (the 1941 State of the Union address).

  16. PPPS 21ac reminded me of the Budapest, and later the Amadeus, playing the late Beethoven quartets, about which my dear dad was reverential. Must unearth the vinyls and play them again.

  17. Can someone explain how red cabbage is “a bit of a pickle”? I know it as a vegetable, and not one that I ordinarily see pickled. Is this a UK thing?

  18. Yes, Iroqouis@17, I would say red cabbage pickled in jars was the predominant form of consumption in the UK

    Thanks PeterO and Nutmeg

     

  19. Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO – excellent puzzle.

    Iroquois @ 17: yes, it’s mainly a UK thing. Pickled (red) cabbage is often served in winter and spring to give some punch to stews etc made of the less flavoursome vegetables around at that time of year. The Germans (and possibly the French) have pickled white cabbage, aka sauerkraut.

  21. A very good crossword, and no pushover. (I’d forgotten the name ENOBARBUS and had to work it out.) I particularly liked PRACTICAL JOKERS and STOOD ASIDE.
    Thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO.

  22. Thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO. As others have said, a lovely puzzle with little that was a write in, but nothing that was not gettable with some thought. The last for me were case law and wraiths, and favourites red cabbage, archive and loose. Thanks again to Nutmeg and PeterO.

  23. Louise @9

    Yes, that’s the one. Thanks for reminding me.

    Pedro @14

    Definition now picked out in 17D.

    Iroquois @17

    Perhaps, as others have said, picked red cabbage is a UK thing (although it does get a passing mention in Larousse Gastronomique). Another reason why it is not very common would be that it is generally home-made for short-term storage in the refrigerator; a water bath treatment to make it shelf stable would reduce the crunch and dull the colour.

  24. Simon S and David Ellison–thanks for the explanation! Here in the US sauerkraut is common, but we call it by its German name, and although I guess I’ve seen pickled red cabbage, I would tend to think of it as “sauerkraut” rather than “pickle.” I can’t think of a case where I’d use the name of a vegetable that might be eaten in a non-pickled way to refer to the pickled product; if I wanted to talk about pickled beets, for example, I’d say “pickled beets,” not just “beets.” So it was odd to see “red cabbage” all by itself meaning “pickled red cabbage.”

  25. PeterO @ 23

    Pickled red cabbage in jars is readily available in supermarkets. Unopened it keeps for ages, and even opened it retains colour and texture for quite a long time even though, on the jar I’ve just looked at, there are no e-numbers or other chemicals listed.

  26. Thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO.

    To say I liked CHAGALL would perhaps be to overstate the issue, but there were many beyond my general ken – the cricketing “pair” (but clever), ENOBARBUS, SATIETY, but most significantly THE FOUR FREEDOMS which concept has passed me by in life – and perhaps I’m a bit lethargic today (WILTS took for ever), but this one didn’t do it for me.  I did enjoy CASE LAW and RISKY.

  27. Fun fun fun. It’s all been said. No wonder Nutmeg is one of my favourite setters.

    I missed those freedom references despite my note to self of yesterday, but ain’t crosswords grand for the additional layers that can be revealed? (Well done, Trovatore@3 and @6, and Cookie@15!)

    Long ones were favourites. I also really liked RIGHTO at 18a, a favourite Australianism – usually – “Yeah Righto”.

    Reliance on teaching of Shakespeare and not teaching of Ancient History for 25a ENOBARBUS.

    Thanks muchly to Nutmeg (great puzzle) and PeterO (great explanatory blog).

  29. Theme-wise, it is also interesting that ATOMIC and SUOERPOWER are also over there together on the left.

    I had forgotten about ENOBARBUS, with whom I needed the internet’s help. But other than that, this went pretty smoothly.

  30. All very fair but I found it hard. Thanks Nutmeg for the mental workout. PeterO thanks I needed your help to parse several including HASP which I wrote in with little confidence. Favourite STOOD ASIDE by some margin.

  31. A bit late to start this today, so a lunchtime treat to keep my mind off an empty stomach. All good fun though a serious quibbler might pick at “has” for “consists of” and quartet meaning “four” rather than “foursome” (or “quartett” in German) but that would be nitpicking for a delightful puzzle where, yet again, you really just had to do what the clue told you and it was obvious. Sort of!

    [Sauerkraut as I understand it is a fermented vegetable, like kimchi, rather than a pickled one. It’s another form of preservation but adds flavours of its own. Not a huge tradition in the UK compared with the use of vinegar or salt. But I think I was probably mid 20s before I saw a red cabbage that was not in a jar so it is a very UK thing.]

  32. oh and Enobarbus always makes me think of Rowan Atkinson’s classic School Master sketch from the Secret Policeman’s Ball (5m23 in for those who don’t want to see the whole thing)

  33. Another very fine crossword – Nutmeg is a class act. ENOBARBUS was last in – I am not familiar with the play but vaguely remembered him from a previous crossword.

    Thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO

     

  34. Louise @10 – the only three Guardian examples since the archive started were all Araucaria.

    Araucaria 23470: Oppo, perhaps, of Caesar, J? (7)
    Araucaria 24717: Oppo of Caesar, J., or the opposite (7)
    Araucaria 25645: Friend of Caesar, J., or the opposite (7)

    Orlando’s versions are a little less direct:

    Orlando 25428: Lover of drama getting married? Just the opposite (7)
    Orlando 23781: Lover of Shakespeare writing here and there, say (8)
    Orlando 24489: Character in Shakespeare manuscript – or ‘War and Peace’, for example (8)
    Orlando 25593: Role at Stratford – writing War and Peace, say (8

  35. I was not on Nutmeg’s wavelength today, so struggled with this. I missed AMPHORA and TREMBLE. I thought the M Antony clue was indicating something akin to J Caesar, so it seemed a bit unfair in the end. Why not either Antony alone or Mark Antony in full? Easy for those familiar with the play but not if you’re not.
    Clever theme. Pity there was no room for SPEECH.
    Thanks, Nutmeg and PeterO

  36. I liked the combination of 5dn with WORSHIP, FEAR WANT and DICTA (thank you Trovatore @6). I trust Nutmeg has been commissioned to produce a black-edged one with GOODS, CAPITAL, SERVICES and LABOUR for 1st November.

    I am probably missing something, but I really cannot make RUBBER a component of bridge. It may be a component of “rubber bridge” but surely not of “bridge” itself. Why not “resilient span of bridge…”?

  38. This one got me! I put in ECOBABBLE for 25a (my Shakespeare doesn’t go much beyond the Merchant of Venice 🙂 ) which messed up 22d (can never remember SKY for broadcaster, must be getting old).

    But it was a great puzzle. CODs Practical Jokers and Wilts.

    Thanks Nutmeg and bloggers.

  39. phitonelly @35

    My suspicion would be that M Antony is a deliberate reference to the Araucaria clue (or clues, as our invaluable archivist beery hiker @34 points out; the third version is the one I recall – with a little help).

  40. Thanks both,
    I couldn’t get a run at this because of other commitments, so it seemed quite hard but all fell out eventually. I needed the check button for Enobarbus. I suspect the UK tradition for dousing veg in vinegar may have been reinforced by WWII. Rationing meant people were desperate for winter food other than root veg. Hence, pickled onions, cabbage, beetroot and piccalilli. Eggs were also pickled and herrings soused.

  41. Simon S @ 37

    Thanks awfully, but I am familiar with “bridge, the card game”. And I know that a rubber is the best of three games of bridge, the card game. What I still don’t see is how that makes a rubber a component of bridge, the card game, any more than a player’s schedule in a weekend tournament (usually five games) is a component of chess, the board game.

  42. I set off at a lick with WILTS starting me off and in complete contrast to michelle@1 I then solved the lhs. I wasn’t familiar with the 4 freedoms speech and didn’t look it up before coming here so missed the references in the puzzle. Nor had I heard of Anthony’s pal but it was fairly clued as it seemed unlikely to end in car or van! RISKY was loi and TREMBLE my favourite and second to last.
    Many thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO.

  43. PeterO@39
    I suspect you’re right. I didn’t remember the ANTONYM clues at the time, but I did remember the deliberate construction – ANTONY M equating with [NAME INITIAL] – so that’s what threw me here. Just a minor niggle for me. Appreciate your reply and the efforts of Beery to unearth the Araucaria and Orlando clues.

  44. thanks to PeterO and all the bloggers for the informative conversation above. A delightful puzzle, thanks to Nutmeg, so much to enjoy- I did like ‘unsuited’ ar 4 dn

  45. Neil H @ 41

    Just wanted to let you know I enjoyed your masterly response to Simon S @ 37 and agree with your argument re rubber. Thanks to all.

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