Guardian Prize 28,039 / Philistine

48 comments on “Guardian Prize 28,039 / Philistine”

1. Eileen, in 20d I think it is ‘urge’ replacing ‘her’ (… but not …).

2. Thanks Eileen. A couple of typos:
   26 it’s an envelope not a charade
   6 WE FIND GOT is the fodder
   8 missing the T of bidet.
   I’m thinking SURGERY is a typo their end, and am as uncertain as you about “Legionnaire’s”.
   Thanks Paul.

3. I see your idea Sil, but that would clue SYURGE just as well without some indication of where URGE goes imo.

4. Thank you Philistine I enjoyed that. The use of Lay in 16dn had me fooled for a bit – I kept thinking the past tense to lie or about songs/poems. Over too quickly but fun. And thank you Eileen – I agree with 1st post – urge in sry: sherry without her

5. SRYURGE rather

6. I couln’t see how the craving got got into the her-less sherry either Eileen. The Burnsian-Scottish theme was clear but I was ignorant of the date’s significance (one day before Australia Day, or Invasion Day for original inhabitants). Yes a nice prize puzzle, on the easy side. Thanks both.

7. Thanks to Philistine and Eileen. I did not know the significance of January 25 but still got most of the Burns and related links, with the exception of NEEPS AND PATTIES that eluded me for most of the week.

8. If ‘urge’ replaces ‘her’ in ‘sherry’, you’ll surely get SURGERY.

   I don’t really understand what Gonzo is saying.

9. Fond of a dram, was Rabbie, and no doubt would have tried a 25 if there were any.

10. ‘Hat but no shoes’ doesn’t mean that they’re wearing their hat on their feet, after all…
    Meant to thank Philistine of course – Muphry’s Law strikes again.

11. Re 20d, I saw ‘sherry craving’ as ‘sherry having (i.e. containing) an urge’, which would give you SHERURGERY, from which you then have to subtract the HER.

    Lovely puzzle, thought the * trick for 26a was great.  Has it been done before?

    Many thanks Philistine and Eileen.

12. What you’re actually saying, Gonzo, is that “but no” doesn’t indicate a replacement.

    But that is what, I’m pretty sure, Philistine meant and something that I happily accepted.

    Essexboy, the ‘trick’ in 26ac is nice but does it lead to a proper surface? “Flowerless* drink” – what’s that?

13. I read 20 as:  Sherry craving = Sherry drinking urge = SURGEHERRY, minus HER = SURGERY.

    Fine puzzle with impressive number of references.  I agree that it was hard to miss the theme.

    Thanks, Phil and Eileen. Enjoyed all the links.

14. Thanks Eileen. Something of a stroll in the park but none the less enjoyable for that. I wondered about ‘Legionnaire’s’ too and toyed with ‘kepi’. I also wasn’t sure that amalgam=alloy but find it is an alloy of mercury so my education has again been extended. I lacked the analytical insight to question ‘surgery’, just bunged it in and thought no more of it..

15. Nice puzzle, but rather on the easy side for a Prize, I felt. Liked the Scottish theme, which helped in minor ways.

    The solving process was rather unusual this time because I think I got just about every clue from the wordplay rather than the definition. No issue with solve-then-parse this way!

16. Sil van den Hoek @1 has explained 20 Down perfectly. ‘craving but not her’ means replacing ‘her’ with ‘urge’ which can only produce the answer given. Thanks to Eileen and Philistine; I enjoyed having an easy one for a change

17. My whisky club celebrated Burns night here in Ottawa on the 24th, with the justification that it was by then the 25th in Scotland, so it was a sheer delight to encounter this superb crossword the next day. Even the non-themed clues were great – I especially liked AMOEBA, RADIUS, GET WIND OF, SURGERY (I’m with Sil on that one), and PULPIT.
    Thanks, Eileen, for your typically engaging blog, and Philistine for the wonderful two-dram puzzle.

18. I saw the Scots theme and found it an interesting coincidence given a bit of the discussion on one of Eileen’s very recent 15² daily blogs, though like some others above, I had not heard of Burns Night. I have had a lovely time today learning all about it. However I did realise that 22a ROBERT and the last part of 1a, 13/23d referenced the famous Scottish poet, so I did highlight it along with the other Scots references. I guessed AND TATTIES at 9a (my Irish cousins call them “Tatties” too) but didn’t know what went with them, so I admit I did have to cheat NEEPS by googling.

    Like essexboy@11, one of my favourites was the “trick” in WHISKY at 26a though it took me a while to finally see the wordplay telling me to remove “aster”. To respond to Sil@12, I often put one of those hibiscus in syrup flowers into a glass of bubbles on special occasions: when I forget to, it is “flowerless” I guess, so I didn’t mind the surface. (I also just googled a whole range of pretty fancy-sounding cocktails that use edible flowers.) I had no quibbles over 20d, SURGERY, which I must have understood at the time as I see I have circled the HER part of the clue. Ticks from me also for 25a REEFER (loved your droll comment, gif@9), 17d SEIZURE and 18d PULPIT.

    Terrific puzzle and the blog made for enjoyable reading, including the tangents. Many thanks to Philistine for the entertainment and to Eileen for the detailed solve.

     

19. [We crossed, Cellomaniac@17. Lovely to hear of your special celebrations and this happy coincidence.]

20. I certainly agree with Sil on 20d although I must admit I didn’t see it at the time.

    There’s a minor error in blog for 6d – GOT not GET.

21. I’m with Sil too. I think the clue would read better without “but”.

22. Very enjoyable, and I was helped by the Scottish theme.

    My favourites were LEAKAGE, WHISKY, FIDDLE WHILE ROME BURNS, NEEPS AND TATTIES, PULPIT.

    Thank you Philistine and Eileen.

23. In 18a, Eileen, I think CAP may refer to the sole requirement for a member of the American Legion to be in uniform – which is when wearing an official Legion cap – see legion.org and search for ‘uniform’. The Royal British Legion wear caps also.  As one of the founders of the BL, James Chuter Ede (Attlee’s Home Secretary and a great humane reformer), said: ‘I’m a pacific person, but I’m not a Pacifist’.

    Here in Herefordshire, we held our Burns Supper on Friday, one day early, so the theme and HAGGIS were on my mind and greatly enjoyed. So NEEPS AND TATTIES got filled in, even though I failed to parse it.  Looking for BURNS helped solve a complex anagram.  Oddly, WHISKY was my last one in.

    I did not have a problem with SURGERY.  I just thought it meant sherry with ‘urge’ substituted for ‘her’.

    Many thanks to Philistine for not too hard a puzzle, and Eileen for your work.

24. Fun, but a bit too easy for a Prize, I thought. Perhaps my view is coloured by having been to school a five-minute walk from Burns’ birthplace, and having had his poems (and his life history, somewhat sanitised) presented as an important part of my education, so – for almost the first time ever – I was helped by the theme.

    Thanks Eileen and Philistine.

25. Goodness – over twenty comments before I’m even up! Typos and errors now tidied up – thanks, Gonzo @2.

26. I knew it was Burns Night (though there are no celebrations here in Helsinki, as far as I know), so couldn’t really fail to see the Scottish theme.

    Only one minor quibble.  Perhaps a little heavy on first-and-last-letters?  Though, yes, they are clued differently every time.  10ac (‘cleaned out aquarium’ for AM and two other pairs), 7dn (‘empty stonework’ for SK), 16dn (‘under cover’ for UR). 11ac (‘at first’ – first letters)  17dn (‘ends’ – last letters).

    Is to suspect the same as to get wind of something?

    An enjoyable puzzle but over all too quickly.  Much easier than one or two of the puzzles during the intervening week.

    Thanks to Philistine and to Eileen.

    PS, Eileen – I’ve only just got up too, and it’s 11 0’clöck here!

27. I really do hesitate to suggest “improvements” to clues, but would
    20d be better simply without the word “but”? “A not B” can be read as “A instead of B”, while “A but not B” is more like two separate actions – it doesn’t indicate that the A goes where the B was.

    A minor point on an an excellent crossword. Many thanks to Eileen and Philistine.

28. As with sjshart (23) the theme was fresh on my mind since my local has been trying to flog its haggis, neaps and tatties for the last 2 weeks. (others in the UK will know what pub chain I refer to)

    Agree that it was a tad easy for a prize but I’m not complaining because we do like to finish by Sunday.

29. I thought there were some elegant clues in this, even if not the most taxing.  I enjoyed REVOLUTIONARIES, LEAKAGE, AMATEUR, PULPIT, SKEWERS and REEFER for their smooth surfaces, WHISKY was clever but HAGGIS deserved COTD for the most beautiful of definitions as well as clever construction.

     

    Thanks Philistine and Eileen

30. Apologies for not noticing that Gonzo had already mentioned the typo 6d + others.

    Eileen, it is always nice to see you over at the Independent posts. I recommend today’s Dalibor.

31. 26 seemed fairly obvious to me once I’d realised it was an asterisk and not just an ink blob (eyesight not the best) after which it was easy: Asterisk without the Aster (flowerless) in Why (the reason). Not sure what Sil’s problem was

32. Thanks to Philistine and Eileen. As has been said a straightforward prize puzzle with plenty of nice clues and made easier by the theme.

33. Thanks Philistine, Eileen

    1ac is odd. Fiddle while Rome burns is a phrase with a meaning but we’re not given the meaning, just two bits of wordplay.

34. James: I struggled with 1a. The best I could come up with was playing a fiddle might be to accompany (while the capital fires [burns]).

    I tried to work it as Eileen says but, sorry, I can’t make ‘fire’ into a definition of the phrase.

35. If a theme is obvious to me then it’s really obvious! I spent a year at College in Dalkeith in 1970 and fell in love with Scotland so the theme struck a chord with me. I really enjoyed this and, unlike some others had no problem with any of the clues. I parsed SURGERY as Sil did and I’m rather surprised it aroused so many comments!
    Thanks Philistine.

36. Good work by Philistine, but there was no mention of either Chinese New Year, or Eric Cantona (25th anniversary of him kicking racism out of football: literally!). Could that have made it a Cantonese New Year?

    Anyway, today is the first day of spring (on some other old calendar), so Happy Imbolc, Happy Bridget Day, and happy solving.

37. Very good Nightshift (re Cantonese).

    I imagine you enjoyed this theme, being form the Clan MacLeod ho ho.

38. Och, no. Pedro!

    I got the theme, but Rabbie Burns was a Lowlander (i.e. Sassenach (‘Saxon/English-speaker/non-Gael)), and I’m a Highlander 😉

    Best wishes.

     

39. (Previously commenting at fifteensquared on Guardian Prize puzzles and some others simply as “Tony”, I have decided to disambiguate my identity)

    I enjoyed this and completed it without too much trouble. The device in 26a seemed typically Philistine and I enjoyed getting it, although I agree that Sil has a point about “flowerless” drinks, notwithstanding Julie’s stiff defence.

    I understand SURGERY to involve a substitution, but I also agree the cryptic instruction wasn’t the most elegant.

    I wondered about “Legionnaire” too, but just assumed a cap must be part of a legionnaire’s uniform (as sjshart confirms).

    James @33, 1a, FIDDLE WHILE ROME BURNS is fully (if cryptically) defined, but in its literal rather than metaphorical meaning. One might say that what Nero (allegedly) did was ‘accompany (on the fiddle) a fire in Rome’.

40. 16d
    I always have a problem with LAY = AMATEUR because lay vicars are paid members of a cathedral choir so not amateur. They are lay because they haven’t been ordained, as lay justices are not members of a legal profession.
    Thanks to Philistine and Eileen for an enjoyable puzzle and blog.

41. Tony @39 ‘One might say …’: yes, but that’s what the phrase refers to, not what it means.  The solution may be fully indicated, but it isn’t fully defined.  If (pseudo)historical events are fair game for solutions, what do the words matter?  In that case, the solution might as well be ‘play the violin while Rome is on fire’ and you might equally well have ‘play bowls while the Armada’s coming up the channel’.  Fiddle while Rome burns only works as a crossword solution because it has entered the language as a phrase in that exact form with a transferred meaning. Usually a phrase like that will be clued with its metaphorical meaning as the definition, with its literal meaning possibly being used for secondary indication/wordplay.

42. James @ 41

    On consideration, you are quite right in what you say (so eloquently). Thanks.

43. Thought I completed but just realisef I misspelled neeps. I would argue neaps is ok but then it’s not a homophone.

44. Howard, I put ‘neaps’ at first because I thought that’s how it was normally spelt, but by the same logic as yours, I was led to check and find that it’s as stated.

45. Oops! I hadn’t saved my new handle on my smartphone.

46. Revolutionaries, reefer and whisky … high times at the Guardian then.

    Good prize level crossword, thanks to setter and blogger.

47. I forgot to say, I liked the fact that the clue for 24a, REVOLUTIONARIES had fewer letters than the answer itself.

48. I know I’m disgracefully late to this but the definition for PACIFIST at 18a is surely “Legionnaire – that’s certainly not him”

Comments are closed.