Guardian 28,019 – Chifonie

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Perhaps the day after a bank holiday is like a Monday, because this had a very Mondayish (or even Quiptic-ish) feel, with very straightforward clueing throughout. Thanks to Chifonie.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
1. BEAT A RETREAT Attend a soldier’s party and make a run for it (4,1,7)
BE AT (attend) + A RE (a soldier) + TREAT (party)
9. THIGH Taxidermist initially given rotting body part (5)
T[axidermist] + HIGH (rotting)
10. ENIGMATIC Giant mice to be dealt with? That’s baffling! (9)
(GIANT MICE)*
11. ENABLED Qualified as proficient in goal (7)
ABLE (proficient) in END (goal)
12. BALANCE Composure of bishop getting a puncture (7)
B + A LANCE
13. TAILENDERS Steel drain modified for rabbits (10)
(STEEL DRAIN)* – I think the definition is a reference to cricket, where a rabbit is a poor player, who might be a tailender in the batting order
15. SPOT Holy man keeps Jerry in place (4)
PO (chamber pot, jerry) in ST (saint)
18. DART Dutch painting is flash (4)
D + ART
19. AT THE WHEEL An abstainer cut with stiletto when driving (2,3,5)
A + TT (teetotaller, abstainer) + HEW (cut) + HEEL (stiletto)
22. OUTCROP Rocky appearance of dated hairstyle (7)
OUT (unfashionable, dated) + CROP (hairstyle, as in e.g. Eton crop))
24. SUSPECT Dodgy American parking in camp (7)
US + P in SECT (political or religious camp)
25. ETERNALLY Nearly let loose for ever (9)
(NEARLY LET)*
26. EAVES ’oists part of the roof (5)
[h]EAVES
27. ORCHESTRATED Gold casket marked and scored (12)
OR (gold) + CHEST (casket) + RATED (marked); “scored” in the musical sense
Down
1. BRIGADIER Senior officer to fix promotion during last stand (9)
RIG AD in BIER (stand for a coffin)
2. ACHILLES Pains gripping sick old Greek (8)
ILL in ACHES
3. AMEND Mark tucks into a scotch — that’s better (5)
M in A END (to scotch)
4. EDINBURGH Bride hung about in Scotland (9)
(BRIDE HUNG)* – it wouldn’t be a Chifonie without the idiom of “in X” = “place in X”
5. RUMPLE Representative in power in disorder (6)
MP (representative) in RULE
6. ACTON Continue to play in London (5)
ACT (play) ON – another one!
7. AT REST Stopped king interrupting a challenge (2,4)
R in A TEST
8. ACCEPT Go along with law restricting fungal growth (6)
CEP (fungus) in ACT (another ACT, but this time it’s a law)
14. DATE PALMS Get involved with priest’s charity giving fruit trees (4,5)
DATE (get involved with) + P + ALMS
16. PRESERVED Maintained parking’s booked (9)
P + RESERVED
17. SWISHEST Longs to inhabit street that’s most exclusive (8)
WISHES in ST – does “swish” really mean “exclusive”? Chambers defines it as “smart, stylish”
18. DROVER Medic terminated farm worker (6)
DR + OVER
20. LATEST News of the French trial (6)
LA (French “the”) + TEST (trial – very close to its use in 7d)
21. TRENCH Run into fish in Channel (6)
R in TENCH
23. THEIR His or her model beneficiary (5)
T (model, as in the early Ford car) + HEIR – “their” as the possessive for of “singular they“, used when the gender of the possessor is unknown or unimportant
24. SHYER More nervous to get pitcher (5)
Double definition (pitch = shy = throw)

40 comments on “Guardian 28,019 – Chifonie”

  1. dybbuk
    #1 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 08:24

    Yes, a very easy easing into the young year. Many thanks to Chifonie and Andrew. I particularly enjoyed parsing ‘brigadier’ but hated the singular ‘their’.

  2. il principe dell'oscurità
    #2 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 08:52

    Thank you Andrew and Chifonie; nice tight cluing. I’d add to Andrew’s list the evasive use of their; the speaker wishes to avoid the subject’s gender. Whilst not fully approving, it must be very useful to Inspector Lewis in his interviews. An example of the ability of English to be flexible when needs be. French detectives and Montalbano do not face this problem.

    A far greater evil is the evasive use of the passive voice in the mouths of politicians, if you ask me.

  3. Beobachterin
    #3 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 09:04

    Thanks to Chifonie (currently Chifone in the blog title) and Andrew. I could and parse most of this with ease so very Mondayish, but fun. Apart from the two uses of TEST, I thought the double use of parking for P weak; the American in 24ac could easily have been quiet in camp instead of parking, it seemed to me.

  4. Beobachterin
    #4 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 09:05

    *could solve and parse*

  5. Tyngewick
    #5 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 09:10

    Thanks both,
    ‘Monday’ and ‘Quiptic’ both crossed my mind. I wonder if we are in for a stinker tomorrow.

  6. baerchen
    #6 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 09:21

    in 5d, “in disorder” gives “rumpled”. The link word “in” modifies the definition, requiring an adjective when the wordplay suggests a verb. Didn’t this happen last time around?

  7. Auriga
    #7 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 09:45

    Only last week “rabbit” in this sense was new to me. Now a staple!

    A one-session crossword, but still fun.

    Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew.

  8. muffin
    #8 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 09:49

    Thanks Chifonie and Andrew

    Nice crossword. Not too hard, but it took me ages to see LOI 1a. Several favourites.

    One question – why is “Dutch” D? I thought D stood for Germany.

  9. rodshaw
    #9 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 10:21

    Speed of writing could not keep up with speed of solving, so mainly an exercise of the wrist, not the mind.  Perhaps the easiest Guardian cryptic in years?

  10. Anna
    #10 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 10:59

    Yep, an easy solve today.

    Sort of agree with muffin @8 that D should be Germany but there’s probably some set of initials where D stands for Dutch.  It seems that anything can stand for anything thises days.  Well, almost.

    On the his/her/their debate – Finnish has no way of distinguishing between he/she or his/her.  This can be useful.  Or very annoying.

    Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew.

  11. copmus
    #11 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 11:03

    baerchen@6- if the answer was RUMPOLE……food for thought.

  12. muffin
    #12 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 11:07

    I read an irritating muder mystery recently in which a lot of the story was told from the muderer’s viewpoint. In order not to give away the sex of the culprit, “they” was used exclusively. It got to be rather grating.

  13. Skinny
    #13 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 11:21

    Baerchen @6 – could a possible reading be disorder in the transitive sense – “I was so angry with him I was tempted to rumple the shirt I’d just ironed’ – something like that, where the ‘in’ signifies ‘represented like this’

  14. Julie in Australia
    #14 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 11:23

    Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew. I quite liked 22a OUTCROP, 27a ORCHESTRATED and 4d EDINBURGH. Agree with Auriga regarding “rabbits” for TAILENDERS (13a). Coincidences abound.

  15. Iroquois
    #15 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 11:30

    Merriam-Webster named “they” in the singular as its Word of the Year for 2019, to much fanfare here in the US (or as much fanfare as lexicography usually gets).

  16. Troglodyte
    #16 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 12:02

    Greetings all – having been lurking on the Grauniad section of 15^2 for over a year, I thought a new year might be a good time to join in a bit more. I always enjoy the friendly and erudite discussions of the solutions and related matters – and it’s a pleasure to see how globally widespread the solvers are. I reckon it’s a very good week if I can solve through from the Everyman to the Friday (with the Saturday being a bonus ball) but usually fall by the wayside by Wednesday or Thursday. A straight run so far this week though, so who knows? I enjoyed today’s offering – a single-session solve over my (cooling) coffee; nice to have a relatively easy one after Tuesday’s, which took me two days to work out. 13A (TAILENDERS) was my LOI today – I’m not completely convinced by the explanation, but still… I like ORCHESTRATED.

  17. DuncT
    #17 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 12:33

    Thanks Andrew and Chifonie.
    Very easy, but on first pass I put in TRIPE at 9a – it just about fits.

  18. robert
    #18 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 12:43

    Baerchen @ 6 If it’s a link word why should it have any bearing on the definition?

    Muffin @ 8 D for Dutch and D for Germany are abbreviations in different categories.

    Definitely on the gentle side today but enjoyable nonetheless.

    Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew.

  19. DaveinNCarolina
    #19 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 12:44

    Started this late last night while sleepy, but finished with no trouble this morning. Regarding the uses of “they,” many transgender or gender-fluid people prefer to be referred to by that pronoun, probably prompting the Merriam-Webster award mentioned by Iroquois @15.

    Troglodyte @16, welcome to the forum.

    Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew.

  20. phitonelly
    #20 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 14:08

    This did turn out to be a typical Quiptic-like Chifonie puzzle in that the constructions were very straightforward, but I struggled somewhat with the acrosses on the first pass. The downs came to the rescue.  I particularly liked BRIGADIER for the “last stand” wordplay.

    I don’t mind “in” as a linker in 5.  I think it can be read as wordplay [seen] in answer.

    Thanks, Chifonie and Andrew.

  21. Peter Aspinwall
    #21 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 15:16

    Dunct@17 I had TRIPE to begin with as well but ACHILLES put paid to that! This was quite straightforward but perhaps not as easy as some have said. Enjoyed it though!
    Thanks Chifonie.

  22. KeithM
    #22 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 15:50

    Shame about the double use of TEST and of a repeat of RABBIT from last week. D would have been better rendered as “German”. Editor should have sought revisions on these.

  23. Wellbeck
    #23 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 16:10

    I agree this was a relatively straightforward puzzle but it’s fun to have them from time to time. I’m another who liked BRIGADIER and ORCHESTRATED – EAVES made me grin. A very recent Grauniad crossword introduced me to the cricketing sense of “rabbit”, which was a spot of luck! Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew – and welcome to Troglodyte!

  24. baerchen
    #24 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 16:34

    @robert

    I’m afraid I don’t understand your point about link words. At all.

    @KeithM

    There are many lists of approved abbreviations which vary from paper to paper depending on the editor’s taste but D= German isn’t in any of them, largely because D=Dutch is in Chambers and it would be a bit daft if D could be either; although D= Germany (IVR) is generally accepted

     

  25. Bayleaf
    #25 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 16:55

    In what context (apart from cryptic crosswords) does P stand for priest as in 14d?

  26. DaveinNCarolina
    #26 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 17:15

    Bayleaf @25, I’m not enamored of what seems to be excessive use of single-letter abbreviations in clues lately, but Collins online does show priest as one of several dozen words for which p can be an abbreviation, so I suppose we have to accept it.

  27. Tupu
    #27 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 17:41

    I wonder why the passionate opponents of ‘they’ as a singular and plural pronoun do not worry about the use of ‘you’ in a comparable way and don’t go around asking ‘how art thou today?’. Admittedly ‘they’ is both number and gender free, but as Anna notes above, languages like Finnish cope perfectly well with gender free pronouns, as too do many others, e.g. Swahili. I may add I even know of a case where a journal editor sent back for ‘correction’ a text which used ‘her or his’ instead of ‘his or her’ when avoiding ‘their’! Both are in fact much clumsier than ‘their’, and other attempted solutions such as the unpronouncable ‘s/he’ or a note telling the reader that ‘for ‘he’ read ‘he or she’ are not very satisfactory.

  28. BlueDot
    #28 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 18:10

    I have also historically found the singular ‘they’ to be quite jarring, but as the linguistic plight of my trans brothers and sisters has been made clearer, I now embrace it whole-heartedly. I found this to be a wonderful acknowledgement of modern usage.

  29. robert
    #29 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 18:25

    Baerchen @ 24 My point is that if you read the second ‘in’ as a link word then you must be reading the definition as ‘disorder’ and the clue is fine, I think that most people would parse the second ‘in’ as part of the wordplay in the sense of ‘in a word meaning’ disorder rather than as ‘the state of being in’ disorder.

  30. Alphalpha
    #30 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 18:50

    Thanks to Chifonie and Andrew and a belated HNY to all (and sundry).

    Bayleaf@25: A PP is a parish priest – will that do?

     

  31. geof
    #31 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 18:53

    Thanks both :-).

    Totally agree with BlueDot@28.  OTOH, some of these strike me as silly: my brother, who was an out cisgender will always be my brother to me (though I do tend to use ‘my partner’ rather than ‘my wife’ or ‘my husband’).  OTOH , the proliferation of gender neutral bathroom signage in California drives me spare – in Denmark they just call them toilets – if anything I find the signs annoying because they exclude people who don’t want to make gender assertions whilst relieving themselves.

  32. Cookie
    #32 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 21:36

    Asante, Tupu @27, I wanted to enter a similar comment, but my English now is not too good…

  33. muffin
    #33 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 21:45

    tupu @27 et al

    I agree that it is unfortunate that English lacks a gender-non-specific singular pronoun, but I’m sorry, I can’t abide “their” as it is clearly plural.

  34. Trovatore
    #34 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 22:10

    Singular “they” and “their”?

    Good enough for Jane Austen, good enough for me.

  35. Pino
    #35 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 22:13

    11@ and, as I posted far too late for any to read re Picaroon on 27/12, an even worse batsman is sometimes called a ferret because he goes in after the rabbits.

  36. muffin
    #36 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 22:17

    Trovatore @34

    Jane Austen is my favourite author. If you could give me an instance, I  might change my mind!

  37. essexboy
    #37 - Thu 2nd Jan 20, 23:29

    muffin @ 36

    I expect Trovatore (would that be il trovatore? ;-)) may come back to you on that, but in the meantime you could have a look at the list here.

    Interesting to note that almost all the examples involve anybody, everybody, nobody etc. – in other words a hypothetical antecedent, rather than a reference to a specific known person. Hence no instances of what Il principe dell’oscurità calls the evasive use of their.

    As Il principe (there goes that gender-specific article again!) says, French detectives and Montalbano may not have our particular difficulty.

    But it would surely be wrong to give the impression, as sometimes happens, that English is the one language with the problem of embedded sexism. I wonder for example what impact it has on the national psyche when, say, a Frenchwoman finds it impossible to say anything about herself – that she is happy, sitting down, or even just alive – without the adjective ending (heureuse, assise, vivante) inescapably pointing to her femininity.

  38. muffin
    #38 - Fri 3rd Jan 20, 07:42

    Thanks essexboy

  39. Beobachterin
    #39 - Fri 3rd Jan 20, 09:07

    On P as priest, look at just about any Catholic or Anglican liturgical book and you will find D, P, B for deacon, priest abd bishop.

  40. Beobachterin
    #40 - Fri 3rd Jan 20, 09:08

    *and* (sorry, butter fingers…)

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