The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28077.
A quick solve here, with what seemed more envelopes than I could shake a stick at, and basic clue types throughout. I do not have the faintest idea why The Romany Rye was vaguely familiar – I’m sure that I have never read it. The theme, which I only saw after completion, is London landmarks (we will include Eros, even though, as we all know, the figure on the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus is actually Anteros).
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PESETAS | Old money collection hidden among vegetables (7) |
| An envelope (‘hidden among’) of SET (‘collection’) in PEAS (‘vegetables’). | ||
| 5 | REFUSAL | Fellow American needs genuine protection? No (7) |
| An envelope (‘needs … protection’) of F (‘fellow’) plus US (‘American’) in REAL (‘genuine’). | ||
| 9 | LORDS | Look at ways to get peers assembled (5) |
| A charade of LO (‘look’) plus RDS (roads, ”ways’). | ||
| 10 | ADMIRALTY | Butterfly on empty tray that represents sailors (9) |
| A charade of ADMIRAL (red or white, ‘butterfly’) plus TY (’empty TraY‘). | ||
| 11 | CONSISTENT | Steady relative in happy surroundings (10) |
| An envelope (‘in … surroundings’) of SIS (‘relative’) in CONTENT (‘happy’). | ||
| 12 | EROS | God is angry on being overthrown (4) |
| A reversal (‘on being overthrown’) of SORE (‘angry’). | ||
| 14 | UNDERGROUND | Resistance movement not fully crushed (11) |
| Double definition, the second perhaps hyphenated. | ||
| 18 | ENTRAINMENT | Rail passengers go through this diversion, losing energy and time (11) |
| A subtraction: ENT[e]R[t]AINMENT (‘diversion’) minus E and T (‘losing energy and time’). | ||
| 21 | ARCH | Vault tree, avoiding lake (4) |
| A subtraction: [l]ARCH (‘tree’) minus the L (‘avoiding lake’). | ||
| 22 | SERPENTINE | Winding river engulfs inept punter (university dropout) (10) |
| An envelope (‘engulfs’) of RPENT, an anagram (‘inept’) of ‘p[u]nter’ minus the U (‘university dropout’) in SEINE (‘river’). | ||
| 25 | DESPERADO | Maybe pirate radio dropped one after speed distributed (9) |
| A charade of DESPE, an anagram (‘distributed’) of ‘speed’ plus ‘rad[i]o’ minus the I (‘dropped one’). | ||
| 26 | INGOT | Possessing a lot of money, moved into expensive block (5) |
| An envelope (‘possessing’) of G (grand, at one time ‘a lot of money’) in INOT, an anagram (‘moved’) of ‘into’. It would be ‘expensive’ if it were gold, say. | ||
| 27 | CRYSTAL | Bellow’s last novel is Glass (7) |
| A charade of CRY (‘bellow’) plus STAL, an anagram (‘novel’) of ‘last’. Better not call Saul. | ||
| 28 | MINSTER | Spray over top of neglected church building (7) |
| An envelope (‘over’) of N (‘top of Neglected’) in MISTER (‘spray’). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PALACE | Step round city’s grand building (6) |
| An envelope (’round’) of LA (Los Angeles, ‘city’) in PACE (‘step’). | ||
| 2 | STRAND | Right up inside smooth thread (6) |
| An envelope (‘inside’) of TR, a reversal (‘up’ in a down light) of RT (‘right’) in SAND (‘smooth’, verb). | ||
| 3 | TESTICULAR | Cutter sail, possibly nut-related? (10) |
| An anagram (‘possibly’) of ‘cutter sail’. | ||
| 4 | START | Son biting Dawn? (5) |
| A charade of S (‘son’) plus TART (‘biting’). | ||
| 5 | ROMANY RYE | Novel chap who likes the company of travelling folk, cod mornay and whiskey (6,3) |
| A charade of ROMANY, an anagram (‘cod’, false) of ‘mornay’ plus RYE (‘whiskey’), for the novel by George Borrow, actually called “The Romany Rye”. | ||
| 6 | FART | Part of Arthurian windbreak (4) |
| A hidden answer (‘part’ – we need ‘of for the fodder) in ‘oF ARThutian’. | ||
| 7 | SOLARIUM | Not a natural place to bathe, or sail off with a flipping Greek character (8) |
| A charade of SOLARI, an anagram (‘off’) of ‘or sail’) plus UM, a reversal (‘flipping’) of MU (‘Greek character’). The ‘bathing’ would be sun-bathing. | ||
| 8 | LAY ASIDE | No professional team obscures a save … (3,5) |
| An envelope (‘obscures’) of ‘a’ in LAY (‘no professional’) plus SIDE (‘team’). | ||
| 13 | PRETENSION | … before strained situation leads to unjustified claim (10) |
| A charade of PRE (‘before’, as a prefix) plus TENSION (‘strained situation’). | ||
| 15 | DANCE HALL | Leach land freely to create suitable environment for hops (5,4) |
| An anagram (‘freely’) of ‘leach land’. | ||
| 16 | HERALDIC | Peripheral dictionary includes ‘indicative of something to come‘ (8) |
| A hidden answer (‘includes’) in ‘peripHERAL DICtionary’. | ||
| 17 | STICKS BY | Pieces of furniture with hollow body supports (6,2) |
| A charade of STICKS (‘pieces of furniture’ – general, not specific) plus BY (‘hollowm BodY‘). | ||
| 19 | FIDGET | Restless type able to swallow date, say, upside down (6) |
| An envelope (‘to swallow’) of D (‘date’) plus GE, a reversal (‘upside down’ in a down light) of EG (‘say’) in FIT (‘able’). | ||
| 20 | PEWTER | Bluish-grey bench one removed from row (6) |
| A charade of PEW (‘bench’) plus T[i]ER (‘row’) minus the I (‘one removed’). | ||
| 23 | PRO-AM | Power walk sports competition (3-2) |
| A charade of P (‘power’) plus ROAM (‘walk’). | ||
| 24 | WEST | Young man’s way with set control? (4) |
| A charade of W (‘with’) plus EST, an anagram (‘control’?) of ‘set’. The definition is a reference to Horace Greely’s injunction “Go West, young man”. | ||
Thanks. An enjoyable tour of London, a theme that I managed to see. Took a while for the pdm of going west, never heard of the Romany rye but fairly clued, smile at 14a (I like puns) and also 3d. Thanks to Brummie.
I rather liked this, a bit Paulish in a couple of clues – you know which ones!
I enjoyed this, although I did not see the theme as usual!
My favourites were WEST, CRYSTAL.
New for me was Romany Rye.
Thanks, Peter and Brummie.
I not only enjoyed this but it was also my quickest ever finish desipte initially writing in stands instead of sticks for furniture. I also saw the theme but only once i had finished. Thanks Brummie. Right up my street.
Took more than a while..ages, alphabet trawling..before the phrase Go west young man bubbled up from the neural depths. Slow, too, to think of pew to go with t[i]er. Otherwise, yep a nice stroll, tho the novel was a ‘nho so just do what it says’. Ingot and crystal were neat. Quite fun. Thanks Brummie and PeterO.
I had trouble with a PEW too, my last one in. I had to go through the alphabet, twice, till I got there.
Thanks Brummie for an enjoyable crossword. I saw the theme half way through which helped with a couple, but also sent me on a wild goose chase for MARBLE ARCH.
Thanks also PeterO
What Dr. WhatsOn says
Thanks Brummie and PeterO
Didn’t see the theme, of course. I too had STANDS BY (stands is slightly better than sticks for furniture?), so couldn’t get ARCH.
I didn’t enjoy it very much – lots of nonsensical surfaces.
I notice that Hugh posted yeterday in the G comments “no one’s puzzle ever gets published unedited!”.
Which leads me to believe that he thought 6d to be a worthy addition to the G’s archive.
Rum.
I only have the vaguest familiarity with London, but am I correct in thinking that these all have some proximity to Hyde Park (Corner)?
hi Boffo
‘fraid not. Lord’s is in NW8 (St John’s Wood), Admiralty Arch is the opening from Traf Sq into The Mall, The Strand runs from Fleet St to Charing X, Westminster is a city in itself and Crystal Palace is in The Badlands of Sarf London
The top half went In readily last night – the bottom half took twice as long this morning. I joined in the alphabet trawl for PEWTER and gave up before getting to wEST so a dnf. I enjoyed the Pauline clues and despite being obvious with hindsight we got HERALDIC from the definition and crossers before seeing the hidden word – so the cotd for me. Despite looking I missed the theme and thank Brummie for an excellent puzzle and PeterO for the blog to match.
Another stands instead sticks here.
The ‘s after Bellow’s doesn’t quite work for me. I’d have preferred Last novel by Bellow is Glass.
This featured a number of clues that don’t read to make any sense. Notably Butterfly on empty tray that represents sailors. Wot? The answer jumps out immediately but does nothing to help the poor old clue.
Took more time to find ARCH and WEST than the rest put together.
Many thanks, both, nice week, all.
Thanks for highlighting the theme words. Many of those would have passed me by.
I liked SERPENTINE, INGOT and DANCE HALL (dreaming of beer and rabbits before the correct implication of ‘hops’ corrected my rhythm).
I’m a lot happier with FART than with “control” as an anagrind. I also liked SERPENTINE and had the same experience as whiteking @12 with HERALDIC. There were some good clues here that could have been great with better surfaces
Thought this was going to be quickly completed, but the bottom half proved more challenging than the top. Have to say that WEST defeated me, so a DNF today…
Entertaining solve, although I missed the theme, despite it staring me in the face.
I quite liked FART, despite the use of ‘of.’ I wondered how ‘huri’ was related to windbreak. Maybe trophy in 10A would have made slightly better sense than tray?
Thanks Brummie and PeterO.
Missed the theme because for some reason I didn’t look for one when I had finished the puzzle. Sadly I have only ever been to London for a couple of days of my life but I know many of those landmarks from films, books and general knowledge. Some though were unfamiliar, so coming here was useful for adding that extra appreciation to the solve.
I made the same mistake as you Nitsuj@4, muffin@8 and William@13 regarding stands before STICKS at 17d, but when I realised it must be ARCH for “Vault” at 21a I had to have a re-think. Similar experience to others with 24d WEST. I thought it was going to elude me too, WK@12 and Ronald@16: it was my LOI and it took me an inordinately long time to recall the “Go West, Young Man” reference. Thanks for identifying the person responsible for the quote, PeterO, and for the blog. And thanks for an enjoyable puzzle with a few smiles along the way, Brummie.
Thank you Brummie for a nostalgic puzzle and PeterO for a helpful blog.
Perhaps WESTMINSTER HALL belongs in the puzzle?
My experience was almost exactly that of JinA @18, including the extent of my time in London. I never did think of the Greely quote, though, so a dnf. In retrospect it was a really clever idea somewhat spoiled by the poor choice of anagrind. Mostly enjoyable, my favourites being UNDERGROUND and ENTRAINMENT. Thanks to Brummie and to PeterO, especially for the parsing of INGOT.
Into is quite often anagramed for the siffix -tion. Ingot was one of several clues that went in quickly but took a little time to parse.
Three-quarters of this went in steadily, but completing the bottom left-hand corner was a much, much slower process. Although HERALDIC and DESPERADO had been early and pleasing discoveries, CRYSTAL, and especially WEST, took me an eternity to see.
I’m a Londoner born-and-bred, and yet I didn’t spot the theme at all – despite SERPENTINE and UNDERGROUND being my first two entries. Oh the shame….
Heartfelt thanks to PeterO for spelling it all out so carefully, and to Brummie for a fine piece of work.
It’s all been said but l have to confess I got to WEST from the less literary route of the Village People songs YMCA “young man ….” and Go West. Thanks to both.
[BTW anyone who follows British football and wants (needs) a laugh should check out David Squires football coronavirus cartoon in the Grauniad today. The reference to Pepe Reina’s howler last night in particular is hilarious]
barchaen@11-you’ve answered something for me I thought that ARCH was looking forlorn needing MARBLE or WAY
but now you mention it ADMIRALTY ARCH completes this guided tour-please wipe your hands on the way off this coach
and put an obol into brummie’s hat
Like BlueCanary @23 I had the Village People to thank for West and now still have the song on loop in my head ?
Couldn’t parse FIDGET and find it over convoluted now PeterO has explained. Nice theme though.
Thanks Brummie and PeterO. I also had STANDS BY – I don’t think I’ve heard of “sticks” for furniture. Also ERIS instead of EROS for the god – “is angry” = ‘S IRE, which doesn’t quite work, plus she’s more of a goddess I suppose.
STANDS BY is just as good as STICKS BY at 17d – the only difference being that if you choose the former you have to change it to the latter in order to accommodate ARCH.
Knowing central London rather well, I really should have spotted the theme from SERPENTINE and STRAND, the others coming to mind more easily once the connection is made.
I missed WEST completely (I must have seen the clue early on but then forgot about it).
Thanks Brummie and PeterO.
Alan B @27
I would agree with you, but I think I would say “no worse than” rather than “just as good” 🙂
14ac reminds me that in “A Fish Called Wanda” Jamie Lee Curtis tells Kevin Kline that the London Underground is not a resistance movement. Perhaps the only good joke in the whole film. Anyway, I found this fairly easy and I enjoyed solving it – what more could one ask? Thanks to Brummie and PeterO.
I quite enjoyed this -FART produced a juvenile snigger- although I struggled a tad with START and WEST. I had to look up ROMANY RYE which I’ve never read – or heard of come to that.Not seeing the theme is annoying because it’s obvious now I know and I’ve spent a lot of time in London over the years!
Thanks Brummie.
I also originally had STANDS but subsequently realised it had to be wrong. However, I had POTATOS at 1a and THRONG at 2d, both only partially parsed of course. Missed the theme as usual, even though I actually thought of Hyde Park as I was writing in SERPENTINE. Must learn to look for it!
Yet another STANDS instead of STICKS. I had to resort to out and out cheating to get WEST, my last one in, and still didn’t see why that was it, until I had it explained by PeterO, for which thanks. I have read The ROMANY RYE, but a very long time ago ; the father of my then girlfriend was a biographer of George Borrow, so I got rather immersed in Borrovian matters.
Thanks Brummie, for the workout.
I also got (Go) WEST via Village People, and of course if you segue straight into YMCA the lyrics do read Go West Young Man. With Start, Underground, and Ent(e)r(t)ainment I thought we could be looking at Jam songs, then Go West, Desperado, maybe Crystal had me thinking pop songs in general. (There were some earworms today). I missed the actual theme until after completion.
Thanks PeterO and Brummie
BlueCanary @23, Squires is a marvel. The only disappointment is that he is yet to be immortalised on a banknote.
Had STRING instead of STRAND. Didn’t get WEST. They should have been obvious from the theme. D’oh!