The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28024.
I thought this a very good puzzle from Brummie. He often has a theme, but if there is one here, it escapes me. I particularly liked the simplicity of 22A PLAYERS; The wordplay in 25A EARRING gave me some pause, but I think I have it right in the end.
| ACROSS | ||
| 9 | AMNIA | Membranes (a thousand) in a mess (5) |
| A charade of ‘a’ plus M (Roman numeral, ‘thousand’) plus NIA, an anagram (‘mess’) of ‘in a’. The plural of amnion. | ||
| 10 | PIANO ROLL | Music storage medium playing on air gets inside head (5,4) |
| An envelope (‘gets inside’) of IANOR, an anagram (‘playing’) of ‘on air’ in POLL (‘head’). | ||
| 11 | THIRD-RATE | After interval, judge is indifferent (5-4) |
| A charade of THIRD (musical ‘interval’) plus RATE (‘judge’). | ||
| 12 | SPAWN | Produce cut when Pence intervenes (5) |
| An envelope (‘when … intervenes’) of P (‘Pence’) in SAWN (‘cut’). | ||
| 13 | MONARCH | ‘Butterfly Month’ involves performing (7) |
| An envelope (‘involves’) of ON (‘performing’) in MARCH (‘month’). | ||
| 15 | See 29 | |
| 17 | PEARL | Prized example of peer pressure at the start (5) |
| A charade of P (‘pressure’) plus EARL (‘peer’), with ‘at the start’ indicating the order of the particles. | ||
| 18 | RAS | Obliterate extremely lacking African prince (3) |
| A subtraction: [e]RAS[e] (‘obliterate’) minus its outer letters (‘extremely lacking’). | ||
| 20 | NIGER | African country‘s familiar populist politician changes sides (5) |
| NIGEL (Farage, ‘familiar populist politician’) with the L replaced by R (‘changes sides’). | ||
| 22 | PLAYERS | Cast out parsley? (7) |
| An anagram (‘out’) of ‘parsley’. | ||
| 25 | EARRING | Jewellery calls for attention to collar (7) |
| The answer is clear, but I struggled with the wordplay. The best I can do is to regard ‘calls for’ as linkage between definition and wordplay, which then is a charade of EAR (‘attention’) plus RING (‘collar’). | ||
| 26 | GONER | No hope at all for this £1,001? (5) |
| A charade of G (divvying up the cash, ‘£1,000’ – originally, G referred to dollars, but it has also been applied to Sterling) plus ONER (‘£1’). | ||
| 27 | PIKESTAFF | Fish workers’ means of effecting a run-through (9) |
| Plainly correct: A charade of PIKE (‘fish’) plus STAFF (‘workers’). | ||
| 30 | RACONTEUR | Teller gets changed to run race (9) |
| An anagram (‘gets changed’) of ‘to run race’. | ||
| 31 | MACAU | British historian? Lay off this Chinese region! (5) |
| A subtraction: MACAU[lay’] (Thomas Babington, ‘British historian’) minus LAY (‘lay off’). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | LAST | Concluding it’s foot-shaped (4) |
| Double definition. | ||
| 2 | INSIGNIA | Paganini is to be played without ‘pop’ symbols (8) |
| An anagram (‘to be played’) of ‘[Pa]ganini is’ minus PA (‘without pop’). | ||
| 3 | CARD | Knave takes king for joker (4) |
| An envelope (‘takes’) if R (rex, ‘king’) in CAD (‘knave’). | ||
| 4 | UPGATHER | Hard time getting back into Prague ground to assemble, as in former days (8) |
| An envelope (‘getting … into’) of TH, a reversal (‘back’) of H (‘hard’) plus T (‘time’) in UPGAER, an anagram (‘ground’) of ‘Prague’. | ||
| 5 | EATERS | Features about the coreless apples? (6) |
| An envelope (‘about’) of TE (‘ThE coreless’) in EARS (‘features’). The question mark is for the indication by example. | ||
| 6 | BOX SPANNER | Tool case linking device (3,7) |
| A charade of BOX (‘case’) plus SPANNER (‘linking device’). | ||
| 7 | POTATO | Cup presented wrongly to a lazy person (6) |
| A charade of POT (‘cup’) plus ATO, an anagram (‘presented wrongly’) of ‘to a’. | ||
| 8 | GLEN | Dope cut with large narrow hollow (4) |
| An envelope (‘cut with’) of L (‘large’) in GEN (information, ‘dope’). | ||
| 13 | MOP UP | Clear the mess made by Flash, the dog? (3,2) |
| A charade of MO (moment, ‘flash”) plus PUP (‘the dog’). | ||
| 14 | ROLLER RINK | Multi-wheeled transport used in this posh car enclosure (6,4) |
| A charade of ROLLER (Rolls Royce, ‘posh car’) plus RINK (‘enclosure’). | ||
| 16 | SPRIG | Holly cut off singular killjoy (5) |
| A charade of S (‘singular’) plus PRIG (‘killjoy’). An unannounced indication by example. | ||
| 19 | SPEAKERS | Order repeatedly issued by them for audio equipment? (8) |
| Double definition. I would hazard a guess that the first definition was occasioned by the recent retirement of John Bercow as Speaker of the House of Commons. | ||
| 21 | GUIDANCE | Direction of type of desktop display system jig? (8) |
| A charade of GUI (Graphical User Interface, ‘type of desktop display system’) plus DANCE (‘jig’). | ||
| 23 | ARNICA | Learn? I can’t — lacking time for observation and application (6) |
| A subtraction: ‘[le]ARNICA[nt]’ minus (‘lacking’) LENT (‘time of observation’ before Easter). Arnica is a genus in the sunflower family; an extract of the flowers of some species has been used as an ‘application’ to treat bruises. | ||
| 24 | SUPPER | Drinker‘s snack? (6) |
| Double definition. | ||
| 26 | GIRL | Miss touring Gibraltar, having rejected Rabat (4) |
| An anagram (‘touring’) of ‘Gibraltar’ minus (‘having rejected’) ‘Rabat’ – anagram first, then the exclusion. | ||
| 28 | SUMP | Timeless puzzle causes depression (4) |
| A subtraction: S[t]UMP (verb, ‘puzzle’) minus the T (‘timeless’). | ||
| 29, 15 | FOUR SEASONS | A year’s worth of the drink, son, inside for us — no getting drunk! (4,7) |
| An envelope (‘inside’) of SEA (‘the drink’) plus S (‘son’) in FOURONS, an anagram (‘getting drunk’) of ‘for us no’. | ||
No complaints about this one. Favourites were PLAYERS, MACAU, and ARNICA, which took me a long time to parse. I couldn’t figure out the parsing for EARRING either, and I can’t improve on PeterO’s attempt. Thanks to him, and to Brummie for the challenge.
Great puzzle. I liked PIANO ROLL and ARNICA very much. I missed the significance of the first half of 19, so thanks for that.
There is a theme of famous paintings, I think: GIRL with a PEARL EARRING, the LAST SUPPER, the CARD PLAYERS, the FOUR SEASONS, the POTATO EATERS. Any others?
Thanks, Peter and Brummie.
What a pleasant oasis amidst a recent desert of mediocre midweek puzzles. Too many good clues to mention. Fittingly (though ashamed to say) my last one in was ‘LAST’.
rodshaw @3 me too.
Another painting:
MONARCH of the GLEN.
Thanks to Brummie and PeterO
An enjoyable solve with some elegant clues – I too partiularly liked 22a.
I thought 25a was (h)ear – ie sounds like a call to attention, with calls doing double duty.
And I liked your own bit of wordplay at 27a, PeterO! This got me looking up the derivation, which is apparently from “packstaff”, the pole on which a pedlar carried his goods. Though why that should be plain defeats me.
particularly, apologies.
minor point but I decided that the wp for 18a was [t]RAS[h]
more of a workout than some recently, but satisfying. Missed the theme, though did have a bit of a look, but now I see I should have had a clear picture of it.
Lots to enjoy, fav was GUIDANCE, it made me chuckle rather than going gooey.
TILT Ras; Interesting to see more than one option for the wordplay, I had the same as PeterO.
Thanks to Brummie and to PeterO for the helpful blog.
I was TRASH as well.
I found this a struggle, taking four times as long as yesterday’s. I looked for, but didn’t spot the theme.
Thanks Brummie and PeterO
This wasn’t to my taste – too many rather loose synonyms (“third” for interval – could be almost any ordinal), “box spanner” was weak, you can have a “gui” on any display so the definition is wrong (and it’s not a display system…). There were many enjoyable clues, but too many were too vague for my liking so overall I did not enjoy it as much as many recent puzzles. Good use of the theme though, which was nicely hidden away and did not seem forced.
Thank you Phitonelly for theme elucidation. Good one: I didn’t get GLEN until late, so MONARCH didn’t help. POTATO + EATERS (unusual word) not spotted however, means I must be losing it. And I was trash as well (though PeterO’s erase is definitely better.)
Got stuck in the north-east and gave up with only three-quarters solved. I also missed 29d15a FOUR SEASONS, which was disappointing. I did like 27a PIKESTAFF (thanks to marienkaefer@6 for the backstory), but there were too many I couldn’t see and several others I got but couldn’t parse. Not sure if it was just an off day for me or what.
Well done to phitonelly@2 for spotting the artworks theme! It eluded me. Definitely an off day. And good on you, Trovatore@5, for spotting the additional title.
Thanks nevertheless to Brummie, and I also really appreciated the explanatory blog, PeterO.
Like Julie in Australia, I found this a bit of a challenge and I’m really kicking myself for not seeing the theme, especially with PEARL and EARRING being so close. A lovely idea and cleverly hidden.
Brummie’s surfaces aren’t always elegant but I did like the clues for MOP UP, PLAYERS, RACONTEUR and SPEAKERS.
Thanks, both, for a great puzzle and blog.
Didn’t spot the theme, but here are three more paintings: Four Seasons (eg Arcimboldo), Spring (La Primavera – Botticelli) and Man with a Pikestaff.
At first I thought there was a musical mini-theme, or possibly one referencing royal and political leaders.
Thanks to Peter and Brummie.
Apologies – Four Seasons already noted by Phitonelly.
TheZed @ 11 Any of the first 8 ordinals certainly but I wouldn’t call that loose and the clue is in the name with GUI.
Definitely to my taste with good clueing and discrete use of the theme (guessed that girl, pearl and earring were involved but didn’t look any deeper). Upgather was a new one for me (and my spellchecker).
Many thanks to Brummie and PeterO (excellent blog, liked 27a).
p.s. I wondered if 25a was an allusion to ‘here wring’ but couldn’t satisfactorily parse it.
Even though I should have seen it earlier, appropriately enough 1d was LAST in for me too. I was about to put in [c]rus[h] for 18a, then half-remembered having heard of a RAS. ARNICA is there in my ‘words I’m supposed to have learnt from crosswords’ file, so of course wasn’t even half-remembered!
Missed the theme but still really liked this, with my favourite bits being the ‘Music storage medium’, ‘Holly cut off’ and the ‘Multi-wheeled transport used in this’ defs.
Thanks to Brummie and PeterO.
Definitely more of a challenge today. I also had an unparsed EARRING, wasn’t convinced by SPEAKERS and ticked PLAYERS. RAS was loi (via ERASE). We make a lovely vegetarian bake where RAS EL HANOUT is the key ingredient and I wonder if it means Prince of Spices?
MrsW spotted the theme after we’d finished which was the icing on the cake for this enjoyable puzzle – thanks to Brummie and PeterO
Thank you Brummie for a fun puzzle and PeterO for a helpful blog.
I too hesitated over the parsing of EARRING, “Friends, Romans countrymen, lend me you ears” came to my mind…
I missed the theme thinking of Vivaldi rather than Poussin.
WhiteKing @20, “RAS el hanout” means “top of the shop”.
Clever setting to get in so many themed words.
I liked PIANO ROLL, INSIGNIA and ARNICA. TILT was RAS, which is better known by me as an oncogene.
My LOI was, as some others, LAST – ha, ha!
Thanks Brummie and PeterO.
There is “Le Raconteur” by Whistler…
@22, apologies Eileen, I forgot that you had mentioned it
Robert @17 I guess you don’t listen to much jazz if you think there are only intervals up to sevenths – a ninth (in my experience) is a more commonly used term than “octave and a second” or “compound second” and ditto 11th etc. Re “GUI” I don’t see what in the name makes any reference to it being a desktop display system. It’s a piece of software interfacing between the user and the operating system, not a display system. It’s one of those clues where the more you know about the subject the harder it is to get because the definition is inaccurate. We had one a few weeks ago which clued a neutrino as an object that traveled at the speed of light. It isn’t and so those who appreciated the subtle difference would exclude the answer until forced to conclude the clue is wrong, which is hardly a good way to set a puzzle.
I should get out more but I have to fix Windows first 🙂
Cookie @24 – I only said I liked the clue: I missed the theme 😉
Cookie@21 – thanks for the correct translation – I still like my whimsical idea!
TheZed @ 25 Fair point about jazz (and no, I don’t other than the acid version occasionally) but I’d still argue against it being loose especially when you discount all the ones that don’t have 5 letters. I was thinking of ‘Graphical’, seems fair to clue a method of delivering information visually as ‘display system’ even if the words have other specific meanings.
Hope you’re a glazier otherwise that’s a hell of a task!
Eileen’s comment at 14 reflects my thoughts
Thanks to Brummie and PeterO
I enjoyed this. Yesterday’s was my first after being away for thirteen days. Nice to get back with old friends.
I think of SUPPER as a meal rather than a snack, though perhaps a less substantial one than dinner.
Uncharacteristically for me, this required sleeping on to get the last stragglers.
Regarding GUI, I think TheZed has a good point, but the clue is close enough to be acceptable. I’ve built enough of them in my time, and they can run on desktops, they are intrinsic to display, and they are systems.
Surely it is only a COUCH POTATO who is a lazy person.
A POTATO is simply a vegetable.
What is the blog at 33 about and how on Earth did it get posted here?
Rullytully @33
It was spam (now deleted).
Found this particularly challenging today, didn’t know RAS, so ashamed to say I had to Google it, even with R-S staring me in the face obdurately…
Many thanks to Brummie for keeping my mind off a rotten cold. Eventually got the theme but missed the Whistler; well done Cookie.
I wonder with the SPRIG whether Brummie was trying to shoehorn in a bit of asparagus (Manet). Thank you PeterO; I think you’re spot on with 25.
il principe @36, I think the Whistler was just chance, “Whistler’s Mother” is probably well known, thanks to Mr Bean and others.
I found this moderately difficult but very enjoyable. However I couldn’t decide between (T)RAS(H) and (C)RUS(H) at 18a. I chose the wrong one, although if I’d thought of (E)RAS(E) I would probably have got the right answer. Still, arguably ambiguous wordplay for an obscure word. And could someone more experienced than I am please explain the point of the question mark in 22a?
rjs @ 38 I’m afraid I can’t nor the one in 26ac
RJS @ 38
I don’t think RAS is particularly obscure. Anyone with even a basic/hearsay knowledge of Jamaican culture will have heard of RAS TAFARI.
Strokes for folks, ‘n all that…
I made very heavy weather of this. Started just after lunch,abandoned it until this evening and finally got it done. Didn’t see the theme and I’m not sure it would have helped that much if I had. Some good clues though. I especially liked LAST,SPAWN and MACAU.LOI was UPGATHER.
Thanks Brummie.
Simon @40 Indeed many will have heard of “rastafari” but I wonder how many would recognise that the first part is a title, given it is usually written as one word? I’d never made the link before but maybe I am unusually dense. I guess I should be grateful it was the Jamaican “ras” and not “raas”…
Every day is a school day, as they say, and that’s one of the many joys of puzzles and fifteensquared.
TZ @ 42
I think you may be conflating RAS TAFARI with RASTAFARIAN (often abbreviated to RASTA) – the one gave rise to the other, colloquially.
No great deal, for me anyway.
21d Not sure anyone mentioned that GUI is abbreviation for Graphic User Interface which is the desktop display that works with clicking on icons rather than typing in commands
Apologies if I missed this
DNF as I had SLOT for 8dn. Thought it wrong so then tried SLAP (a gap in a fence or hedge.) Didn’t think of the other meaning of dope.
An earlier historian was Catherine Macaulay. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharine_Macaulay
I struggled a lot with lots learnt – didn’t know piano roll, box spanner
I also plumped for crush and hence RUS. Have heard of Rastafari but only as one word and hadn’t considered the derivation so another TILT
There seemed to be a high number of clues with question marks which isn’t necessarily a problem but I think put me off a little
For EARRING I thought it was a soundalike clue and had the image of someone like Barbara Windsor shouting “ere” to get attention giving EAR then ring meaning collar.
With regard Supper, don’t get me started on this north-south divide thing. Supper used to be a hot chocolate and a bit of toast before bed when I was a kid.
Sugarbutties @48
I considered your suggestion (and a few others) and dismissed it as unsatisfactory, before settling on the parsing that I gave in the blog. If EAR is a soundalike for “ere”, what is the justification for the dropped aspirate? If it is a call for attention, what indicates the soundalike? If ‘attention’ alone, as an exclamation, is to give “ere’, leaving ‘calls’ to indicate the soundalike, the match is not very good. Also, why the s in ‘calls’? This last question seemed to scupper most of the variants I tried.
‘Calls for’ strikes me as rather substantial for just linkage, but it is the best fit to the clue that I could manage.