Guardian Cryptic 27,912 by Brummie

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27912

A quick blog, because of shortage of time.

Across
9 IROKO Current takes rook circling wood (5)
A charade of I (physics symbol, ‘current’) plus ROKO, an anagram (‘circling’) of ‘rook’.
10 CLOBBERED In the habit of being beaten? (9)
Double definition.
11 STOCKINGS Storing spades and hose (9)
A charade of STOCKING (‘storing’) plus S (‘spades’).
12 I-BEAM Supporter making one smile (1-4)
Definition and literal interpretation.
13 PLAUDIT Approval of hair arrangement, involving initially uncut diamonds (7)
An envelope (‘involving’) of UD (‘initially Uncut Diamonds’) in PLAIT (‘hair arrangement’).
15 LIGHT UP Look happy to get solution to clue over (5,2)
A charade of LIGHT (‘solution to clue’) plus UP (‘over’).
17 ABYSS Fool around near Gulf (5)
An envelope (‘around’) of BY (‘near’) in ASS (‘fool’).
18 MAN M1’s gender-specific crew (3)
A charade of ‘M’ plus AN (‘1’),
20 ELBOW In Mexico, the inclination for a bender (5)
A charade of EL (Spanish, ‘in Mexico, the’) plus BOW (‘inclination’) – with a hint of an extended definition?
22 EXPRESS Old lover, smooth, fast mover (7)
A charade of EX (‘old lover’) plus PRESS (‘smooth’).
25 OUTLIER Isolated figure to expose ‘fake news king’ (7)
A charade of OUT (‘expose’) plus LIE (‘fake news’) plus R (‘king’).
26 THIRD Desire for drink? No way, given day and position (5)
A charade of THIR[st] (‘desire for drink’) minus ST (‘no way’) plus D (‘day’).
27 ROTHERHAM Rare moth flitting round home in Yorkshire town (9)
An envelope (’round’) of H (‘home’) in ROTERHAM, an anagram (‘flitting’) of ‘rare moth’.
30 GREEN-EYED Descriptive of a kind of monster novelist: the Old Devil, for a start (5-4)
The monster being envy; a charade of GREENE (Graham or others, ‘novelist’) plus YE (‘the old’) plus D (‘Devil for a start’).
31 GLORY That’s a surprise celebrity (5)
Double definition.
Down
1 DIGS They take in sarcastic comments (4)
Double definition. I suppose that the first is intended to have the sense of lodgings (Chambers also gives a meaning of hard-working students; either way, the given definition strikes me as a little off-centre).
2 HONORARY Working without pay? ‘Oh, flipping no!’, Rex and Ray snapped (8)
A charade of HO, a reversal (‘flipping’) of ‘oh’ plus ‘no’ plus R (‘Rex’) plus ARY, an anagram (‘snapped’) of ‘Ray’.
3 ROCK Decrepit old thing fails to start music (4)
A sutraction: [c]ROCK (‘decrepit old thing’) minus its first letter (‘fails to start’).
4 ACONITUM Exercised caution with Mike’s poisonous plant (8)
An anagram (‘exercised’) of ‘caution’ plus M (‘Mike’, radio code word).
5 CONSUL Gold Coast’s heart and soul freely accepts new government envoy (6)
An envelope (‘accepts’) of N (‘new’) in CO C (‘gold Coast’s heart’) plus OSUL, an anagram (‘freely’) of ‘soul’.
6 ABRIDGMENT Not everything that was written about game bird by conservation body (10)
A charade of ABRIDGME, an anagram (‘about’) of ‘game bird’ plus NT (National Trust, ‘conservation body’).
7 ORIENT Determine position of Imbruglia’s top ten hit, led by Gold (6)
A charade of OR (‘gold’) plus I (‘Imbruglia’s top’) plus ENT, an anagram (‘hit’) of ‘ten’.
8 ADAM An occupier of Eden Avenue’s main block (4)
A charade of A (‘Avenue’s main’) plus DAM (‘block’). Before I had a crosser to tell me otherwise, I came up with the answer NAVE.
13 PHASE Unsettle sound stage (5)
A homophone (‘sound’) of FAZE (‘unsettle’) – but Chambers gives the answer as one of many alternative spellings of FAZE!
14 DESCENDANT Part of a line of harmonic accompaniment about to stop (10)
An envelope (‘about’) of END (‘stop’) in DESCANT (‘harmonic accompaniment’).
16 POWER Might have an obligation to reside in Porbandar’s outskirts (5)
An envelope (‘to reside in’) of OWE (‘have an obligation’) in PS PR (‘PorbandaR‘s outskirts’).
19 NOONTIDE Diet no-no, munched at this time of day? (8)
An anagram (‘munched’) of ‘diet no-no’.
21 BRIGHTON City‘s bishop about to restrict those with conservative views (8)
An envelope (‘to restrict’) of RIGHT (‘those with conservative views’) in B (‘bishop’) plus ON (‘about’).
23 PRIVET Bush needs fix under pressure (6)
A charade of P (‘pressure’) plus RIVET (‘fix’).
24 STRAYS Poor Cats actor finally gets dressed in old corsets (6)
An envelope (‘gets dressed in’) of R (‘actoR finally’) in STAYS (‘old corsets’).
26 TOGO African country‘s version of takeaway (4)
TO GO.
28 EDGE Bite lip (4)
Double definition.
29 MAYA Old people blossom with one (4)
A charade of MAY (‘blossom’) plus A (‘one’).
completed grid

43 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,912 by Brummie”

  2. A couple of quibbles, but otherwise a fine puzzle, which looked at first like it might have defeated me completely, but it gradually opened up.  I agree with PeterO that the definition in 1d is a bit off.  Surely it is the owners of the lodgings that do the taking-in, not the lodgings themselves.  And then there is the abhorrent “needs” as a linking word in 23d.  Say no more!

    Thanks.

  4. Well spotted passerby; Greene is among the many writers that I’m embarrassed not to have read, hey ho. As Dr. Wh said, nice puzzle with no major quibbles. And a couple of get crossers then guess by ear: got iroko right, aconitum wrong (acinotum). Can’t quite find a swap in 10ac: he was clobbered as a…., in the habit of a…. hmmm. Smiled at the Mexican bender, the corsetted actor and the African-American takeaway. Fun, thanks B & P.

  6. This was an excellent puzzle which I enjoyed immenslely, even though I failed to solve DIGS.

    My favourites were MAYA, GREEN-EYED, THIRD, HONORARY, DESCENDANT.

    New for me was IROKO.

    Thanks Brummie and Peter – I also initially entered NAVE @ 8d.

  7. Thanks Brummie and PeterO

    Enjoyable, despite not seeing the theme.

    I always thought that “lights” were the spaces where you wrote the answers, not the answers themselves.

    Surely “That’s a surprise!” is “Glory be!”

  9. The theme helped me get ROCK and CONSUL. Not so IROKO, which I had to try letter by letter in I_O_O.

    Previous TOGOs by Guardian setters:

    Paul: How one’s coffee may be ordered in African Country

    Country for taking away

    Nation earmarked for sale

    Screw: Left country

     

    There may well be others; 225 didn’t include clues in the early days

     

    Thanks PeterO and Brummie

  10. Another who had NAVE at 8d. It works – it is hidden in (“an occupier of”) edeNAVEnue and it is the main part of a church. So that’s my quibble – two plausible answers to the same clue. I also raised an eyebrow at 1d, but I’ve decided not to quibble about that one.

    The rest I enjoyed, even without spotting the theme. I was quite pleased that I knew ACONITUM (Monkshood and Wolfsbane being two examples) and happy to learn IROKO – so completely the other way round to grantinfreo @4

    Customary thanks to Brummie and PeterO

  11. I’ve read Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory and The Honorary Consul.Saw the original BR with Dicky playing Pinky

    And I have a copy of the Third Man which was written as a film with Carol Reed directing so this was a splendid start to the day.

    Thanks Peter and Brum.

  12. One of my favourite authors and I still missed it completely!

    Plus I foolishly went for LIPS in 1d as a LOI double definition guess.  Better luck tomorrow.

    Thanks Brummie, thanks PeterO.

  13. Great puzzle! Got there slowly but steadily. Particularly liked GREEN-EYED, THIRD, PLAUDIT and IROKO. Missed the theme, of course. Thanks to B & P.

  15. Dave Ellison @ 9.  I think “TIME TO GO” was in Araucaria’s last puzzle, set on his deathbed.

  16. Another NAVE here.

    Enjoyable puzzle with ? next the minor quibbles mentioned about, plus one more at ADAM.  The answer yields readily enough but what is main doing?  I thought we built dams on rivers, not the sea.  But then someone will doubtless put me right.

    All Hail passerby for spotting the Graham Greene theme which eluded me despite being one of his firm fans.

    Copmus@8:  Nice little extra, bravo.

    Many thanks, Brummie, and PeterO for the rapid blog.

    Nice week, all.

  17. Another NAVE here. Missed the theme as per.

    grantinfreo @4 all I can say is it’s never too late! GG produced some marvelous books. Some, such as Travels With My Aunt have a delightful Waugh like sense of the absurd running through them.

    Some clever clueing today, thanks B & P

  18. Having recently caught up with the bittersweet Jade Goody story through the Channel 4 series, I entered GOODY rather than GLORY for 31a, and wonder if anyone else did the same. Goody seems as a valid as Glory for the other part of the DD (surprise), and Jade Goody seems to have been the epitome of the ‘surprise celebrity’, famous for being famous. But of course it doesn’t fit the Graham Greene theme.

  19. And another who missed the theme (thank you passerby @3), had “nave” and hated “digs”. There’s misdirection, and then there are errors…and I fear these two were in the latter category. Otherwise, sneakily done and one of those where a number fo clues hold out until you suddenly realise there was no reason at all you’d found them difficult. For me, anyway. Thanks PeterO and thanks Brummie.

  20. William@16 – ‘main’ is there to indicate ‘first letter of’ – but that doesn’t really work satisfactorily.

    I need a good prod (e.g. significant date) before I think of looking for a theme, so didn’t get it today – but thanks to Brummie anyhow.

  21. Well I looked for a theme and did not see it! Have not read Greene but am at least familiar with the title the third man. Digs and iroko LOsI – I keep forgetting that current can = i. I am interested in the number of people who put Nave in for 8dn (can see that it parses well) has I cannot see how the clue alludes to a church, but agree re the quibble with main. Don’t really see how light = solution, although I guess you can light upon a solution.
    Quenbarrow@18- I initially thought goody but quickly changed to glory as I thought that had more of a surprised feel to it.
    Enjoyable puzzle, particularly liked Maya and Adam and learnt that iroko is a wood and ikoro is a type of drum.
    Thanks to Brummie and to PeterO

  22. I Enjoyed this, quality cluing and the theme was handled well.

    I got Adam rather than the equally suitable Nave, any ambiguity seems inconsequential outside of a prize puzzle.

    I don’t see the problem with ‘Digs’, ‘they’ doesn’t have to denote a person and lodging houses take in lodgers (although I half expected quibbles along the lines of ‘digs aren’t always sarcastic’).

    Muffin @ 7 I too was taught that the grid consisted of ‘lights’ and ‘darks’ but I’ve seen light used to denote any individual square, an answer space, an answer and even a clue – it’s become almost meaningless in its variety!

    Thanks to Brummie and Petero.

    p.s. tiddly typo in 16D – PS for PR

  26. Doh convinced I had cracked it, but a DNF for me courtesy of 1d. I put in an unparsed wits, therefore it serves me right. Nevertheless an enjoyable puzzle which yielded little at first, but eventually unpacked. Last one was glory, but the theme passed me by completely. My favourite clue was clobbered and thanks to Brummie for the challenge and PeterO for the blog.

  27. I had the same problems – I put DIGS but didn’t like it; I wanted to put NAVE but there was an M in the way and I entered GOODY, which you might say on getting a nice surprise. I prefer it to GLORY. Otherwise enjoyable though.

  28. I enjoyed this. There were some amusing surfaces, including 22a and the similarly themed 20a and 26a.

    This was one of those occasions where I’m amazed at my ability to miss a theme that seems so obvious in retrospect.  I was quite keen on Graham Greene in my youth but rather went off him after coming across George Orwell’s devastating review of The Heart of the Matter.

  29. I spotted the theme, but can’t say it helped much, as the only one I have read (The Heart of the Matter) was not mentioned. Quite tough in places.

    Thanks to Brummie and PeterO

  30. Thanks to Brummie and PeterO. For once I spotted the theme but too late for it to help me much (and GREENE-EYED initially had me thinking of Iago, Othello, and Shakespeare). Like others I had to experiment to get IROKO but I did get DIGS early on.

  31. I’ve read quite a lot of Graham Greene but I didn’t see the theme I regret to say. I found this quite hard to get started on this- I only had ROTHERHAM on the first pass but it gradually opened
    up. I had to look IROKO up. Liked CLOBBERED.
    Thanks Brummie.

  32. IROKO is common in Nigerian books by renowned writers eg China Achebe. Also read a Graham Greene book in 83-84. COD CLOBBERED.

  33. I saw some of the themers, but thought the theme was just “films”. I missed the Power and the Glory one – I was another who went with GOODY, which seems a better fit. I also missed DIGS, so a DNF.
    Quite tough. Can anyone explain where “H” = home is used?
    Thanks, Brum and Peter.

  34. I also found this slow to start but then it came in quadrants. I had the same quibble over DAMming the main but thought DIGS worked ok as robert says. Favourites were CLOBBERED and DESCENDANT and missed the obvious theme despite saying “it’s Brummie so there will be one”.
    Thanks to Brummie for an excellent puzzle and to PeterO for the complementary blog.

  36. Lord J:  H=home is also occasionally seen in baseball, but I doubt that’s what’s intended in a British crossword.

    [On that note, it’s funny how much of the cricket notation that appears in crosswords freely translates to/from baseball.  O = out, C = caught (but in baseball C is way more commonly catcher than caught), R = runs, etc.  I really only had to learn O = over.  Separately, if crossword setters ever learned baseball, they could have some really odd abbreviations to work with.  K = strikeout, BB (base on balls) = walk, etc.]

  37. Not being horticulturally inclined, iroko (just rejected by my spell checker) and aconitum (similarly) are today’s new words.
    I had ‘piss’ for 1d and ‘goody’ 31a.
    I missed the theme completely.
    Thanks to all and Brummie.

  38. Thanks to PeterO and Brummie

    A very fine crossword and if 1d began as “What’s taken”, a very fine answer @BigC

    I had GOODY, as well having just read about her, which helped me miss the theme. It shouldn’t have because The Power and the Glory is well inside my top ten.

     

  39. Lord Jim @35  You may be right.  I’m wondering whether it’s commonly used when people put their phone numbers on forms to distinguish from cell/mobile numbers?  I know I do that.  Can’t find a dictionary confirmation of H = home though.

  40. Thanks both,

    Finally managed to complete this when I got hold of the paper copy and I was not encumbered with grandchildren. I do very much prefer solving in the newspaper to on-screen.

    Like some others, I had a bit of disquiet about 1d and 8d and 28d, 29d and 31a. There was a feeling of ‘Yes, it fits, but I’m not sure that there aren’t several other solutions that would fit just as well. If I had spotted the theme, I would be feeling a) it’s a grand puzzle, b) very smug with myself.

     

  41. phitonelly @ 3

    It’s a problem that certain regularly used abbreviations don’t appear in dictionaries. W D L for Win Draw Lose are familiar to readers of sports league tables, be they cricket, rugby or soccer, but they are not generally in dictionaries.

    In the same tables you find F & A for (points) For & Against, but I don’t think they’ve been used in crosswords yet,

  43. Tough with those couple of unfamiliar words. The fact that I eventually saw they were anagrams helped so that made it a fair contest.
    Had to sleep on it overnight but finished it this morning.
    But it wasn’t til I came here and started reading that I realised the theme, which I had totally missed. Feeling chagrined (!) as I like Graham Greene’s writing.
    I did like 10a but feel I have to be CLOBBERED over the head sometimes to spot a theme.

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