Guardian Cryptic 28,144 by Philistine

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28144.

A satisfyingly witty crossword from Philistine. Just from the way it seems as I solved it, I found 2D SARI a favorite.

ACROSS
1 ASLEEP Please spread out (6)
An anagram (‘spread out’, also serving as definition) of ‘please’.

For a more sensible parsing, see Dr WhatsOn @2 et al.
5 PRECLUDE Rule out overture to include music finale (8)
An envelope (‘to include’) of C (‘musiC finale’) in PRELUDE (‘overture’).
9 CRITERIA One’s into oddly erratic standards (8)
An envelope (‘into’) of I (‘one’) in CRTERIA, an anagram (‘oddly’) of ‘erratic’. OK, you could choose the other I.
10 COARSE Firm bum? That’s crude! (6)
A charade of CO (company, ‘firm’) plus ARSE (‘bum’).
11 ARTICULATELY I see you said, not long ago, to follow skill with eloquence (12)
A charade of ART (‘skill’) plus ICU (‘I see you said’) plus LATELY (‘not long ago’), with ‘to follow’ indicating the order of the particles.
13 See 18
14 TIPSIEST Most drunk end with most sleep (8)
A charade of TIP (‘end’) plus SIEST[a] (‘sleep’) minus the last letter (‘most’).
17 SCORPION Descendant admits returning for stinger (8)
An envelope (‘admits’) of ORP, a reversal (‘returning’) of PRO (‘for’ as opposed to anti) in SCION (‘descendant’).
18, 13 DARK SUIT Formal wear for men in clubs? (4,4)
Double definition, with the second referring to a pack of cards, in which ‘clubs’ and spades are black, while hearts and diamonds are red.
20 ASYMPTOMATIC Mother’s in meeting ad infinitum, feeling fine (12)
An envelope (‘in’) of MA (‘mother’) in ASYMPTOTIC (a mathematical, principally graphical, term for lines which approach one another to meet at infinity (‘meeting at infinitum’).
23 PIERCE Part covering right hole (6)
An envelope (‘covering’) of R (‘right’) in PIECE (‘part’). ‘Hole’ as a verb.
24 UNAFRAID Not frightened of a fraud in development (8)
An anagram (‘in development’) of ‘a fraud in’.
25 UNCHASTE Launch a steamship that’s partly corrupt (8)
A hidden answer (‘partly’) in ‘laUNCH A STEamship’.
26 NYMPHS City speed beginning to scare the likes of Daphne (6)
A charade of NY (New York ‘city’) plus MPH (‘speed’) plus S (‘beginning to Scare’).
DOWN
2 SARI Material deftly wrapped to cover Caesarian section (4)
A hidden answer (‘section’) in ‘CarSARIan’. Bravo, Philistine.
3 EXTRACTOR Fan of overlapping Thespians (9)
EXTRA and ACTOR (‘Thespians’) with the A overlapping.
4 PARITY Tories say locking up Islamist leader means equality (6)
An envelope (‘locking up’) of I (‘Islamist leader’) in PARTY (‘Tories, say’).
5, 22 PLAY CAT AND MOUSE WITH Torment resulting from unsympathetic law? Do a mischief! (4,3,3,5,4)
An anagram (‘mischief’) of ‘unsympathetic law do a’.
6 ESCALOPE I’m leaving limo during getaway for some meat (8)
An envelope (‘during’) of ‘l[im]o’ minus I’m (‘I’m leaving’) in ESCAPE (‘getaway’).
7 LEAPT Rose petal arrangement (5)
An anagram (‘arrangement’) of ‘petal’.
8 DISCLOSURE First to limbo dance outside — absolute revelation (10)
A charade of DISCLO, an envelope (‘outside’) of L (‘first to Limbo’) in DISCO (‘dance’); plus SURE (‘absolute’).
12 SUCCESSION Following report of breastfeeding episode? (10)
Sounds like (‘report of’) SUCK SESSION (‘breastfeeding episode’).
15 INDECORUM Home code broken, uncovering Trump’s vulgarity (9)
A charade of IN (‘home’) plus DECO, an anagram (‘broken’) of ‘code’, plus ‘[t]rum[p]’ minus its outer letters (‘uncovering’).
16 LISTLESS Don’t enumerate so much, it’s dull (8)
Definition and literal interpretation (LIST LESS).
19 STRAIN Sexercise tension? (6)
A lift and separate charade of S plus TRAIN (-‘exercise’)
21 MYRRH At first, Megan upset Harry, throwing away a gift of perfume (5)
A charade of M (‘at first Megan’) plus YRRH, an anagram (‘upset’) of ‘H[a]rry’, minus the A (‘throwing away a’). If the surface brings to mind the Duchess of Sussex, she spells her name Meghan. We three kings of orient are.
22 See 5

 

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75 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28,144 by Philistine”

  1. A nice steady solve .. third in a row this week … much to like in the clues, and little to dislike.  Must confess that LOI was 10A, and I got it wrong due to writing in 7D solution incorrectly.  The biggest chuckle came from NYMPHS.  Actually SARI was my least favorite.

  2. Nice puzzle and blog.  For some reason I stalled half way through for a while, then it all fell into place.

    I had a different parsing of 1a: spread alone indicates anagram (of please), and the definition is out.

    Also, a quiblet with 20a:  ad infinitum means to infinity, emphasis on the journey, rather than at infinity, which is where the asymptotic effect occurs.  However, if you think of it as a punny way of indicating the thought, it isn’t so bad.

  3. Lots to like here. I enjoyed the creative cluing of EXTRACTOR and the silliness of STRAIN, and laughed out loud at COARSE. I thought “most sleep” for SIEST in 14a was pushing the boundaries of looseness, but gettable, so no complaints from me.

    I parsed ASLEEP as did Dr. W@2.

    Thanks to Philistine for the fun and PeterO for his usual early blog.

  4. Ditto DrWh and DaveinNC re parsing asleep. Yes, a pleasant potter today. Most sleep for siest was a bit cute, as was the overlap in extractor. And ma in asymptotic I thought was brill; I take your point, DrWh, about ‘ad’ not meaning ‘at’ but the clue sort of earns the right, as you suggest. As for suck session, that earnt a wry ‘erk’ in the margin. All part of the fun, thanks P and P.

  5. Thanks PeterO, Philistine.
    Dr. WhatsOn@2
    20a made me look at it again, and decided it’s ok. It is fantastic that ASYMPTOMATIC could be clued this easily and well.

  6. Finished this one (with a liberal use of the check button, which is still par for the course) so quite happy with that result. Had Sandia for a while for 26a, s + *(naiad) which seemed plausible, but a very minor city and a misdirected anagram, which I believe is not generally acceptable. Favorite was 3D, which made me chuckle when I grasped it. LOI was 25a – I still miss hidden word indicators too often.

  7. Ditto DrWh and DaveinNC re parsing 1ac.

    I could not parse ASYMPTOMATIC. It never occurred to me that ASYMPTOTIC is a word so I did not even bother to look it up in the dictionary.

    My favourite was 7d LEAPT.

    Thanks B+S.

  8. Re 20a If there is any problem with the clue it is the “meeting” part rather than “ad infinitum”. Asymptotic means “approaching but never reaching” and for mathematicians infinity is not a point or a value; it’s a shorthand way of describing a journey to a place that is never reached! So if “meeting to infinity” is stretched to mean “forever travelling towards a meeting (but never getting there)” the clue is absolutely fine.

  9. Nice crossword with plenty of good clues. NYMPHS was laugh out loud, as was SUCCESSION. ARTICULATELY was put together very nicely. Despite putting a lot of thought into it, my LOI was the long phrase. Always nice to get a long answer early, but I had to keep leaving it and look at other clues. More and more crossers appeared, until I had them all. That was when I realised that my obsession that C_T = cut was wrong. It was the torment that misled me. Thanks to Philistine and PeterO.

  10. Lovely fun puzzle from Philistine as ever. Lots of favourites with clever misdirections but top prize has to go to 14 across where I pencilled in TIGHTEST (sleep tight) until 6 and 15 down ruled it out. I then thought how it parsed superb and SIEST for most sleep very clever.

    Thanks all

  11. Yes, much to like. I’m with DrW et al re the parsing of ASLEEP, which I liked. Also liked, as did others, SARI and ASYMPTOMATIC, laughed at COARSE and smiled at EXTRACTOR.
    Thanks to Philistine for the fun and PeterO for the blog.

  12. I enjoyed this, albeit with a couple of niggles that don’t seem to have bothered anyone else.  I can’t think of a sentence in which absolute = sure (in 8d) or following = SUCCESSION.  Is it just me?

    Thanks Philistine and PeterO.

  14. A lovely puzzle, with the favourite perhaps being the slightly Pauline 12dn. My LOI was 20ac but when I had got it I was thinking “Yes, of course”, which is a sign of a rather good clue.

    The anagram in 12dn is very clever, referencing the infamous law introduced to deal with hunger striking suffragettes.

    Very slight niggle about the spelling of Meg(h)an, I suppose.

    Thanks to Philistine and to early bird PeterO.

  15. Please Graun crossword editor, don’t allow clues such as 10ac since I am PI(holy) he he he. It was of course my COD as a lover of smut.

  16. essexboy@12, ‘I did (whatever) in the sure/absolute knowledge that it would (whatever)’…?

    And btw, thanks for the tip about BBC4 Extra, I’ve been enjoying the comedies, and have also found archive.org/details/ClassicRadioMyWord with Muir et al…bliss!

  17. A lovely puzzle, which I would have preferred to solve on paper, not on a tiny phone screen. It is always tempting to shortcut the parsing when solving electronically.

    Thanks to Philistine and PeterO

  18. Glorious quantities of wit today, from schoolboy humour and bad puns to mathematical trickery…deligthtful. I thought “dark suit” stood out as the weakest – it’s not really a term I’ve heard applied either to men’s formal wear (black tie, lounge suit, suit and tie, jacket and tie etc) or to spades and clubs (the black suits). So while I saw the trick and knew it was “something” suit the first bit was a guess.

    Apart from that I was truly impressed by the economy of some of these, and the two hidden words, especially the “sari” for its definition. Many thanks Philistine and to PeterO.

  19. beery, thought of you while nutting out asympto[ma]tic, as I’m sure we’ve had clues to do with asymptotes before…

  20. Thanks grantinfreo @16, I guess that works.  The nitpicker in me still thinks that, in order for it to work, you have to pair the ‘absolute’ with a word like knowledge, indicating mental certainty – in which case the equivalence is dependent on the sure/certainty overlap, rather than sure=absolute.

    [Ta for the My Word tip!]

  21. Thanks for the blog, PeterO.

    Lovely puzzle, which made me smile from the very first clue, with its polite reminder to socially distance. [I parsed it as did Dr WhatsOn and others – having first tried to make an anagram of SPREAD.]

    Other favourites were SARI, NYMPHS, MYRRH and PLAY CAT AND MOUSE WITH, for the reference mentioned by NeilH.

    Many thanks to Philistine – I loved it.

  22. DocWhat @2: If you allow the translation of the Latin ad to be towards, I feel your quiblet dissolves a little, don’t you?

    My own quiblet was finding a sentence with interchangeable SUCCESSION and following.  No doubt someone will.

    Very pleasant stroll this morning with a solitary tick at the Halpernesque COARSE.

    Nice week, all.

  25. I’m with Ong’ara in Kenya (@15) as a lover of smut.

    Some amusing Paulesqueness here.

    A LOL moment came with 12d.

  27. First saw the COARSE clue in a Cyclops (where else?).

    ”Pieces of nine, pieces of nine”. A parity error. 🙂

  30. Re Eileen @21 I thought 1ac was a lovely example of the compilers art where it wasn’t clear whether SPREAD or PLEASE was the anagrist even with all crosses. I too succumbed to the misdirection at first.

  31. Very nice work from Philistine. SUCCESSION and EXTRACTOR were my favourites.

    Took ages to get the big anagram, even though it was clear that it was an anagram AND I had most of the crossers.

  32. I loved COARSE.
    It made me laugh out loud which would usually have caused consternation on the tube, but of course, travel’s not an option at the moment as I’m not a special adviser.

     

     

  33. Lovely puzzle as always from Philistine, including TIPSIEST, ASYMPTOMATIC and DISCLOSURE. Like Auriga@24, SARI was my LOI (I spent ages trying to get an anagram from Spread that ended in ‘p’ – a hopeless task). Many thanks to Philistine and PeterO.

  34. Hello and thanks PeterO for clarifying things here, I got 20A from crossers and failed to think of “asymptotic” and am now unhappy about it for reasons already outlined, will come back if I think of a potential improvement.

    Essexboy @12 I am also unhappy with following = succession, having first entered Succeeding although couldn’t parse 2nd half and crossers forced a correction.

    TheZed @18 I concure re “Dark Suit” and I wonder if this is even an accepted phrase in any dictionary or similar (not sure if I have even heard it, certainly not as frequently as “black tie” or similar, and black/red suit for cards. Google led me to something about spiderman so I stopped there).

    My own minor grumble is 7D as my son oftens scrambles up things and then leaps down but hardly ever the opposite, but the wordplay was clear enough.

    I especially liked 1A for misleading me and 10A for amusing me, but lots more too so thanks Philistine.

  35. Yes, I too tried an anagram of spread at first; I think DWO @2 has nailed it.

    I liked the firm bum and breastfeeding.

    Good surfaces to the clues I thought – thanks Philistine and PeterO.

  37. Perhaps an indication of Philistine’s art and subtlety was the fact that the hidden word UNCHASTE wasn’t spotted by me until almost the very last. Very enjoyable solve, and only when I realised that 5d/22d was actually a clever anagram did I write in WITH instead of GAME for 22down, which I’d put in at first. Another example of his excellence as a setter.

  38. Really enjoyable puzzle. I also spent a while trying to find an anagram of SPREAD. Being a mathematician helped with the asymptotic reference.

  39. Thank you Robi @36. Also I belatedly thought of a heartrate which tends to leap in one direction only.

  40. Thanks Philistine and PeterO

    Lots of fun. I loved the clue for MYRRH, but I wonder why he didn’t use Meghan – error, or fear of libel laws, perhaps?

  41. @essexboy, William & Gazzh – I’d also add to the chorus of quibblers that feel following and SUCCESSION are not synonymous (and in fact having hit upon the suck/succ homophone I initially tried to parse succeeding)

    Also have I missed something or is there a mismatch between Thespians plural and ACTOR singular?

    Overall I really enjoyed the wit and naughtiness. As many have said, COARSE and SUCCESSION are rather reminiscent of Paul (although he seems to be getting less smutty these days). I seem to recall a whole Puck puzzle themed around breasts a year or so ago – I for one am a big fan of the schoolboy silliness!

    Thanks Philistine and PeterO

  42. As you say, PeterO, satisfyingly witty.
    It’s all been said. My favourites were COARSE, STRAIN, NYMPHS, MYRRH, EXTRACTOR and the long anagram. I also enjoyed the discussion on asymptotes, a subject I am familiar with.
    Thanks to Philistine and PeterO.

  43. I understand the doubts some have had about following=succession and “dark” suit for clubs, but I think this sort of liberty is allowable because the clue is eminently solvable and the lightbulb moment is a fitting reward for both solver and setter.

    Like gsolphotog @10 I was playing with TIGHTEST for 14a, but I didn’t write it in because “end” was unaccounted for in the wordplay. A wry chuckle when “most” of a siesta finally clicked.

    Held up in the NE because I had thought of PASS for overture in 5a (is the use of include in the clue a little clumsy when the answer is preclude?), and had stupidly written in PLEAT at 7d. Eventually dug myself out of this hole and had another chuckle at 10a, which Paul must be kicking himself for not having used in one of his.

    Plenty of other chuckles in what PeterO quite rightly describes as a satisfyingly witty crossword. Thanks Philistine for the entertainment.

  45. I’m okay with SUCCESSION – the first entry in Chambers is “A coming after or following”

  46. I got off to a slow start having miscounted the letters in PLEASE but got there in the end. Work got in the way of solving this in one session but I thought overall it was excellent with only DARK SUIT not quite up to scratch. Cheers P&P

  47. Eileen and William — I tried scrambling “spread,” but I already had the final P from PARITY going down.  Dersap? Sadrep? It was a mess till SARI rescued me and grist and grind changed places.

  48. bodycheetah @45:  Yes, I’m with you, I looked it up too and decided it was fine…but I still can’t conjure up a coherent sentence with interchangeability.

  50. Valentine et al re SARI:  My wife is tall for a lady and when she went to India for a wedding, decided to buy a sari to blend in with the other ladies.  She quickly discovered that a sari is made from a standard length of material and, when it is wound around a tall person, it leaves a perilously small piece to tuck in.  She spent the day in mortal dread of unravelling to reveal all!

  51. For 20A how about “Growing ever closer has mum feeling fine”? I can’t decide if adding “but maintaining some distance” after “closer” is any better – maybe adds some topicality?

    I couldn’t think of any way to include “Meeting” without offending either the mathematical senses of an asymptote & infinity or the surface sense of Mother being enclosed in the word.

    Thanks bodycheetah@45 – this isn’t the first time my failure to memorise Chambers has led to headscratching.

  52. great puzzle, loved the topical 1a for which even with all the checkers i was still trying to make an anagram of the wrong word. also loved COARSE

    thanks Philistine & PeterO

  53. The following/succession of Obama by Trump …? Seems plausible if not pretty.

    I enjoyed this a lot for its witty and elegant clueing.

  55. Nice one Jeremy Nicholas @ 32!!

    Late to this, so I will just agree with all that Eileen @24 said.

    My favourite setter on top form.

    An Arachne tomorrow and my cup will run over!

  56. Thezed @18 and Gazzh @34; ‘dark suit’ doesn’t appear in most dictionaries but it is in Crossword Compiler, which has a variety of rather strange phrases. I did, however, find this in Debrett’s (who should know):

    ‘Lounge suit’ is an expression only seen on invitations as a dress code. In conversation the terms dark suit or business suit or possibly business dress or business attire are used.

  57. PS, when I first started compiling, I put ‘green roof’ as an answer before it was pointed out to me that you can’t just put any old string of two words into a crossword (although ‘green room’ would, of course, have been acceptable).

  58. Philistine really is a master in my book. Clues that are witty, varied and creative but still precise. On the easier side (evidenced by me being able to complete it and comment on day of publication!) but no less enjoyable for it.

    Clues like 21d & 25a and others make me think Philistine must forever be spotting words and sequences of letters and thinking ‘that will make for a good clue’! However he does it, it’s an incredible knack.

    Didn’t appreciate the suffragette reference in 5d so thanks for that NeilH

  59. Robi @56 good research! I would make a comment about Debrett’s being a bit esoteric but I cited it myself recently wrt “ma’am” vs “your majesty” when addressing her maj so I’d be being hypocritical. As JN @32 pointed out, we are not special advisors so that’s not allowed.

    Re ‘green roof’ that would now be an acceptable term, ironically! All the rage – you seedum everywhere…

  60. sheffield hatter @44 – ah, a much more satisfying clue than my slow brain gave it credit for. I sort of allowed myself to believe that “of” was somehow synonymous with EXTRA in a ‘extra-, meaning outside of’ way but now you explain I see that’s utter nonsense. Thanks!

  61. Was this a little easier than usual for Philistine? I thought so but it may be that I’m on better from than usual owing to the scaffolding on the front of our house being taken down. Well done lads!
    My main difficulty today was being unable to parse ASYMPTOMATIC. It had to be right once the crossers were in but I didn’t know the word ASYMPTOTIC. UNCHASTE was LOI because I didn’t notice it was a hidden word.
    Liked SUCCESSION and COARSE being another smut fan but COD was MYRRH!
    Thanks Philistine.

  62. Relatively easy but very enjoyable puzzle.
    Only minor nit to pick – I agree with @18 TheZed.  Clubs and Spades are referred to as “black” suits rather than “dark” suits (certainly, at least in Bridge…).  I mean, couldn’t black and red both be dark colors?

  64. Jay in Pittsburgh @62 “Clubs and Spades are referred to as “black” suits rather than “dark” suits… I mean, couldn’t black and red both be dark colors?” Of course, you are right. But that’s why Philistine has, very fairly, in my opinion, ended the clue with a question mark.

  65. I was happy enough with clubs being a “dark suit” (though black would have been more accurate). I just hadn’t heard of it as a description of menswear.

  66. Thanks to PeterO and Philistine

    Great wit and a very good puzzle, but for me “most” can only mean 3 out of 5, 4 out of 6 etc. when indicating how many letters of an element.

    20a reminds me of the old mathematician’s joke:

    A teetotaller is someone who tends to go to the pub every night.

  67. I was so pleased to get 1ac straight away; I clicked the Reveal Button to find – it wasn’t elapse. Sapele, clearly less likely.

     

  68. Muffin@65
    I have come across “dark suit” in the expression “Doing (insert fruitless activity) is like spilling tea on yourself in a dark suit. It may feel hot to you but no-one else notices”. There is a more frequently used Paulesque version.

  69. My only encounter with DARK SUIT was in a Dilbert cartoon strip a few years ago when he observes: “Doing extra work around here is like peeing yourself in a dark suit…you get a warm feeling but no one notices.”

  70. Thanks Philistine and PeterO.
    I had the same doubt about ‘ad infinitum’, but then ‘ad’ can also mean ‘at’ with the accusative.
    Chambers has for absolute ‘certain, positive’, after I think the OED’s sense 14
    Of a person or thing: free from all doubt or uncertainty; positive. Now archaic and rare.
    ‘Most’ for ‘almost’ is an Americanism, if that helps.

  71. Completed yesterday’s, but got only three clues of this one: just too hard for me. Or one of those days!

  72. Belated thanks Robi@56, I don’t think anyone familiar with Debrett’s would want me at their party but will look out for this if I ever receive any invitations in future.

    TheZed @59 – very good! and agree, we have one ourselves and I think they are pretty much compulsory in any flat-rooved development around here.

    Dansar@66 – I always like a new (to me) mathematical joke – thank you.

  73. I had a maths teacher who described an asymptotic functions as “… all stations east to infinity.”

  74. Philip @73 … ? As a geographer, I can confirm that if you head east, you will evenutally end up back where you started.

  75. On first run through, I didn’t do any so I set it aside. Second time round it seemed a lot easier. Am I really the only person who couldn’t parse SCORPION? I had SON for the descendant and was at a loss with CORPI, forwards or backwards. I enjoyed this once I got going. Thanks Philistine and PeterO

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