An elegant, but not iverly challenging, puzzle from Nutmeg in today’s Guardian.
I enjoyed this puzzle, which seemed to be about the right level of difficulty for a Wednesday. Solving the long entires definitely helped though as they provided a lot of crossers for some of the trickier short ones, with UNLESS my LOI. A couple of bits of general knowledge were required, but nothing too obscure. CORDOBAS took a while to get to, because I forgot that capital = currency, and then when I came to blog it, I thought that perhaps CORDS = PANTS was a bit of an unreferenced Americanism, as we don’t call trousers pants over here, but I can let that slide, as it is a fun clue.
Thanks, Nutmeg.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SHACKLE | Small journo with extremely large tie (7) |
| S (small) + HACK (“journo”) with [extremely] L(arg)E | ||
| 5 | BLESSED | Favoured plot has comparatively little content (7) |
| BED (“plot”) has LESS (“comparatively little”) content (ie in it), so B(LESSE)ED | ||
| 9 | GLUON | Particle to attach firmly, we’re told (5) |
| Homophone [we’re told] of GLUE ON (“to attach firmly”) | ||
| 10 | AMBIGUOUS | Acclaimed fellow’s gone outside large university, uncertain (9) |
| (f)AMOUS (“acclaimed” with F (fellow) gone) outside BIG (“large”) U (university) | ||
| 11 | BEEF WELLINGTON | Noble statesman pursuing grouse for his dinner, perhaps (4,10) |
| WELLINGTON (“noble statesman”) pursuing BEEF (“grouse”, as in complain) | ||
| 13 | NOEL | Northern stars returning for festival (4) |
| N (northern) + <=LEO (constellation, so “stars”, returning) | ||
| 14 | ANGELINA | Lady regularly feels restricted by heart problem (8) |
| [regulary] (f)E(e)L(s) restricted by ANGINA (“heart problem”) | ||
| 17 | EXTENSOR | Former singers last to go forward, one stretching a leg? (8) |
| EX (“former”) + TEN(S)OR(s) (“singers (tenors) with its last (letter) going forward a bit) | ||
| 18 | ACME | Summit at Chequers must end, only leaders staying (4) |
| [only leaders staying] of A(t) C(hequers) M(ust) E(nd) | ||
| 21 | FORBIDDEN FRUIT | The first thing pilfered to fund Firebird production? (9,5) |
| *(to fund firebird) [anag;production] | ||
| 23 | IRASCIBLE | King departing, crab-like, is unusually crabby (9) |
| *(crablie is) [anag:unusually] where “crablie” is “crablike” with K (King) departing | ||
| 24 | UNITE | Horseman it’s said put on uniform to join forces (5) |
| Homophone [it’s said] of KNIGHT (“horseman”) put on U (uniform) | ||
| 25 | HUELESS | Drab female abandons fuel top Nazi collects (7) |
| F (female) abandons (f)UEL that HESS (“top Nazi”) collects, so (H-(f)UEL-ESS) | ||
| 26 | SWAGGER | Son faces hazard with extra heart, showing off (7) |
| S (son) faces WAG(G)ER (“hazard” with extra middle letter (heart)) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SIGN | Put one’s name on placard (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 2 | AMUSEMENT ARCADE | Craft cameramen used at leisure facility (9,6) |
| *(cameramen used at) [anag:craft] | ||
| 3 | KUNG FU | Fine antelope in country turned up in Chinese art (4,2) |
| <=(F (fine) + GNU (“antelope”) in UK (“country”)) [turned up] | ||
| 4 | ERASED | Times editor taken out, not to be seen (6) |
| ERAS (“times”) + ED (editor) | ||
| 5 | BABBLING | Incoherent article penned by bishops on ostentatious items (8) |
| A (“article”) penned by B B (bishops) on BLING (“ostentations items”) | ||
| 6 | ENGINEER | Direct English poet’s never drinking alcohol (8) |
| E (English) + NE’ER (“poet’s never”) drinking GIN (“alcohol”) | ||
| 7 | SHORT-CIRCUITING | Avoiding strong drink, ending revolution (5-10) |
| SHORT (“strong drink”) + CIRCUITING (“ending revolution”, as in completing a circle) | ||
| 8 | DISENGAGED | Separate royal headline from February 1981? (10) |
| (Lady) DI’S ENGAGED may have been a headline in February 1981 | ||
| 12 | INTERFAITH | Bumbling train thief with multiple convictions (10) |
| *(train thief) [anag:bumbling] | ||
| 15 | ENCIRCLE | Nancy’s in Lima wearing enchantress’s ring (8) |
| EN (“in” in “Nancy” (French city)) + L (Lima in the phonetic alphabet) wearing CIRCE (mythical “enchantress”) | ||
| 16 | CORDOBAS | Old graduate splitting pants in Nicaraguan capital (8) |
| O (old) + BA (Bachelor of Arts, so “graduate”) splitting CORDS (“pants”)
The cordoba is the unit of currency in Nicaragua, hence “Nicaraguan capital” |
||
| 19 | UNLESS | Save when banks leave fund a smaller amount (6) |
| [banks leave] (f)UN(d) + LESS (“a smaller amount”) | ||
| 20 | TRAUMA | Shock as naked guy boards vehicle close to arena (6) |
| [naked] (g)U(y) boards TRAM (“vehicle”) + [close to] (aren)A | ||
| 22 | DEAR | Sound made by animals cherished (4) |
| Homophone of [sound made by] DEER (“animals”) | ||
*anagram
Thanks, loonapick and Nutmeg.
A pleasure as always to solve. I, too, had trouble with CORDOBAS, as, despite being in Nicaragua in 1970, thought the currency was pesetas; what a memory!
LOI was 7d.
Lovely puzzle.
I have to mention that every time I see the word ‘antelope’ in a clue it makes me chuckle. But I guess you gnu that….
My favourites were BABBLING, DISENGAGED.
New for me was GLUON but it was very fairly clued, as was CORDOBAS.
Was unable to parse the AMOUS bit of 10a.
Thanks, Nutmeg and loonapick.
Yes cordobas was a nho, so needed all crossers then a guess. Otherwise the usual spice lady elegance as Loonapick says. Slow to get swagger, even though the hazard/wager/bet trick is a chestnut. Had hmmm? next to 7d, but I guess ‘circuiting’ works as ‘ending revolution’. Enjoyable stroll, thanks both.
[Yes michelle, I loved the new gnu at the zoo poem as a kid, and I so wish I still had the book it was in; full of beaut fun stuff like the ketchup bottle one, Chesterton’s vegetarian sendup one, and heaps more]
I’ve said it all before, but another excellent Nutmeg puzzle should not pass without acknowledgement of consistent quality and sincere thanks to a super compiler.
What George said. Sheer delight.
Thanks for the blog, Loonapick.
Very enjoyable. Faves were forbidden fruit and unless. Least fave was hueless which seemed a tad forced. I parsed pants=cords because i’ve always called corduroy pants/trousers cords. Thanks nutmeg. Like Michelle i failed to parse (f)amous in 10a. Thanks Loonapick for sorting that out.
I ALWAYS forget that capital = currency. It’s like a gigantic dark spot in my brain.
Enjoyed this one very much. Nutmeg probably my favourite setter at the minute.
Neat, smooth and fun. Some great anagrams, lovely variety of clues and great surfaces. “Cordobas” was new to me, last one in and needed all the crossers but a great example of cluing an unusual word. Once I had the answer there was no ambiguity and, working back, it could only be that. I was doubly annoyed at forgetting the “capital” trick as I spent some time with Memrise years ago learning all the capital cities and was wondering how on earth to force Managua into this somehow!
Many thanks Nutmeg, and loonapick for the blog. Not a blemish in sight and much more enjoyable than the past two days.
What strange associations sometimes lead us to the answer! I guessed straight away that capital was [probably] about money and have fond memories of the Hercule Poirot story (The Adventure of the Clapham Cook) where the left-luggage clerk thinks an absconding bank clerk is heading for Bolivia because he glimpses the name on his banknotes. Of course, as Poirot soon realises, bolivars are Venezuelan currency and neither Bolivian nor, unfortunately for me, Nicaraguan. A quick trip to wikipedia made up for the deficiencies of my own little grey cells…
Great crossword, by the way. Just challenging enough.
Like many others I was tripped up by cordobas. I have less of an excuse, though, as I treasure a bill from the Intercon hotel in Managua for a trifling 2,277,000 of the little chaps, one of the relatively few occasions on which I have paid a sum of this order for a meal. Mind you a bottle of Chilean red accounted for 1,400,000 of the total. (Tip was no incluida). Nice puzzle but a bit baffled by 7d.
Michelle @2: Groan re antelope gag!
Mostly fun with some lovely clues like DISENGAGED, SHORT CIRCUITING etc., but also some oddities:-
The first thing pilfered gag was excellent but the anagram fodder of the firebird business seems oddly disconnected.
Also, Drab female abandons fuel top Nazi collects is a sentence that should be taken outside and shot.
Other than that an enjoyable solve, many thanks, both.
Nice week, all.
Didn’t know GLUON, so had to look that up for Loi. Mistakenly early on I was trying to fit in SALIENT (important, rather than showing off or self important, I suppose) for 26ac. S (son) ALIEN (hazard) T (exTra heart). SWAGGER so much better and precise, of course…
Just enough of a challenge to keep my interest throughout, and too many favourites to mention. William @12, the clue for 25a may be a bit clunky, but it’s conspicuous only by contrast to the rest. It would pass without comment (at least from me) coming from most setters. Thanks as always to Nutmeg, and to loonapick for explaining the wordplay of 7d.
DaveinNC@14: Absolutely. It was the contrast with the rest of the excellent crossword that struck me the most. As you rightly point out, one gets used to those sort of strained surfaces from certain other setters, but not normally this one.
Google for cordoba, having figured out it must be the currency and forgot that short =strong drink, so didn’t parse 7d. Wondered how ‘Amous’ sounded like ‘Amos’, so also didn,t parse ambiguous; the actual parsing so much better.
Agree with comments re the consistency and high standard of this setter, lots of fun. A capital puzzle.
Thanks to Nutmeg and to Loonapick.
[ngaiolaurenson@16 by “a capital puzzle” I assume you mean it was sterling rather than dolorous?]
William @12 the “firebird” fodder had me going down routes of Prometheus until enlightenment struck, so perhaps not a bad choice of fodder if it misled well?
Another sparkling crossword from Nutmeg.
I think the clue for 25A is OK. It might read better with a semi-colon after fuel.
I liked the multiple convictions of the train thief.
Thanks Nutmeg and loonapick.
Can’t seem to move for antelopes these days – there’s one in the Indie today as well.
gem of a puzzle.
The reason i think 25a is forced is that it feels like the setter was left with trying to find a clue to fit h-e-e-s. I cant think of another word that fits!
It must be a while since the capital ruse has been used as I too had forgotten about it until the solution emerged from the clue and crossers – then much bashing of head with tea tray. Loi was NOEL and I liked HUELESS despite its quirky surface. BEEF WELLINGTON was superb along with the long anagrams. I didn’t parse ENCIRCLE and also missed the AMOUS bit. Top setting and blogging – thank you both.
Nitsuj@21 – I’m sure you’re right – and HUELESS is by garb the best of the bunch with HEEDERS and HEELERS being the only other words that come up.
By far – I don’t know how garb got there
TheZed @17: Fascinating. Were you thinking Stravinski or database management systems. Either way, your point’s well-made – the fodder misled us both!
Nitsuj @21: I’m sure you’re right. Setters often end up shoe-horned into something a bit strained in either the bottom left or bottom right corners. I suppose Nutmeg could have gone for HEELERS which (apparently) are a breed of Australian cattle dogs who get cows to get a move on by nipping at their heels. A bit GK though, perhaps.
[William @25 Definitely Stravinsky…first heard it on my tenth birthday in the form of a puppet show!]
A lovely puzzle, thank you Nutmeg, and thank you loonapick for a helpful blog.
William @12, the Firebird lived in the tree bearing the golden apples…
I read 9d as a dd. Avoiding a strong drink would be circuiting a short, while you could end a full revolution of a current by introducing a shorter path by way of a short circuit.
I also missed the parsing of AMOUS. It seems obvious now. Thanks to loonapick, and to Nutmeg for another very enjoyable puzzle.
Me @28. I meant 7d of course, not 9d
TheZed@17: Yes, I did mean sterling, well- noted.
William@25: Blue Heelers was an Australian police tv show that ran in the 90’s for some years, taking its title from the cattle dog, which ran here in NZ, so a familiar term to me. GK is so variable from person to person and place to place.
Great puzzle, no surprise there.
We’ve come to expect no extra stuff in Nutmeg clues, but I’m wondering if “ending” in 7d is really necessary. To my mind, and maybe it’s only me, circuiting and revolution carry the same sense of completing the circle. But I’ll grant the surface reads better with the ending.
@27, … the French wiki article says she lived in the tree, but other articles say she stole into the garden of Koshchei the Deathless, the evil demon of Russian folklore, to steal the apples.
Just fantastic. INTERFAITH is wonderful, and I also really liked IRASCIBLE and UNLESS.
Some of the less good surface readings (25) only stand out because other clues are so smooth.
Thanks Nutmeg and loonapick
I wasn’t going to comment as others have already said what I would have, but the mention of HEELERS prompted my to point out that they aren’t just Antipodean; there’s a Lancashire Heeler breed.
Thanks to Nutmeg and loonapick.
Perfect porridge. I enjoyed DISENGAGED and ANGELINA particularly but a high standard throughout. ACME took waaay too long as did NOEL, SIGN and DEAR. Thoroughly entertained.
Cookie @27: Thanks for that. Is that the folk tale wherein the fire-bird steals the king’s golden apples? Or am I getting my stories muddled?
ngaiolaurenson @31: Thanks for that. I mentioned it to my son who lives in NZ and he tells me it was hugely popular and ran for over 10 years. You’re dead right about GK being personal.
William @37, yes, it appears that the ballet was based on several folk tale characters, among them was the Firebird, Prince Ivan-Tsarevich, Thirteen Dancing Princesses and the evil sorcerer-king Kashchey the Deathless. Also, perhaps relevant to the clue, it seems finance was a problem, so Diaghilev decided to produce a ballet since it would be less expensive than an opera.
hmm, thinking about 25a, Hess collected auxiliary fuel tanks for his plane before flying to Scotland, and she dropped these while circling around before Hess parachuted as near as he could to Dungavel House…
Hi all,
I parsed 7D slightly differently. ‘Avoiding strong drink’ being to circuit a short, then ‘ending revolution’ as the definition?
This gave me plenty to think about, and I enjoyed it very much for that reason. I was going to write in BEEF WELLINGTON but pulled up until I knew it could not be BEEF STROGANOFF (which would have been better clued with ‘noble family’ rather then ‘noble statesman’, so I thought it rather unlikely).
I got SHORT-CIRCUITING, which was my way into the top right corner, but was not really sure about ‘ending revolution’ until I read the blog. ANGELINA and ACME were relatively easy in hindsight, but they were my last two in!
Thanks Nutmeg and loonapick.
Spent a lovely few months working in Nicaragua when Violeta Chamorro was newly President in the early 90s and therefore spent quite a few Cordobas, but it failed to help today: doh!! As ever I enjoyed this from Nutmeg although I found this offering quite hard. Favourites were ANGELINA and BEEF WELLINGTON. Many thanks Nutmeg and loonapick.
Very enjoyable (and not very difficult) puzzle. Strangely enough, 16dn was my first one in. Couldn’t figure out 26ac and 7dn until I came here. I guess “wagger” and “short” as used here must be Britishisms because I’m unaware of these…
Jay @44
“Hazard” is an old term for a bet or WAGER; the “extra heart” gives the second G.
I thought you did drink “shorts” in America? Small shots of spirits.
I had a wry smile at CORDOBAS as the capital/currency thing came up in one of the first cryptics s I attempted. Needless to say I didn’t make the connection then but something obviously stuck in the grey matter. I thought this was wonderful and particularly enjoyed ENCIRCLE for yet another variation in the French trick. Thanks all
Me @46 apologies for all the typos. My iPad is having a senior moment
Cookie @39: Wow, you do know your stuff! Many thanks.
[William, it is mostly thanks to Google.]
HOENESS would also fit at 25ac, but unfair to those who haven’t heard of this ex Bayern Munich player. COD 8d.
Nicaraguan capital fooled me initially until the CORDOBA dropped and I didn’t see IRASCIBLE until very late in the proceedings. I had to look up GLUON even though the answer was pretty obvious from the wordplay. Some answers came to mind prior to parsing – BEEF WELLINGTON was an example- which is often the case with this setter. Not a complaint,Mind you!
Thanks Nutmeg.
A classy puzzle, as is always the case with this setter. I adored the train thief and Di getting engaged, TRAUMA and UNITE. I couldn’t entirely parse 10a and 19d, so thanks to Loonapick for the explanations, and huge thanks to Nutmeg
The mispronunciation of GNU as G-NOO has apparently become widespread because of the Flanders and Swann song. I wouldn’t describe a chess KNIGHT as a horseman – a horse or a man, but not both. Missed capital = currency but will watch out for it. Another fairly easy but fun solve. Thanks to Nutmeg and loonapick.
KNIGHT (see above) – sorry, stupid comment!
“Britishisms” – huh! You mean “Proper English” as opposed to Americanisms. This is an English crossword published in an English newspaper for goodness sake!
I agree with those who saw SHORT CIRCUITING as a double definition.
A typically elegant Nutmeg (though I note that none of the clues was ticked by me….)
Many thanks, both and all