Guardian Cryptic 28,278 by Shed

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28278.

Quite a hard crossword for a time when changes of daylight savings time robs me of an hour’s worth of solving, with a couple of definitely obscure answers. A puzzle notable for a wide range of references – and three varied uses of paper in the clues.

ACROSS
1 BLUE BERET Peacekeeper’s unhappy with king eating vegetable? On the contrary! (4,5)
A charade of BLUE (‘unhappy’) plus BERET, an envelope (‘eating’) of R (Rex, ‘king’) in BEET (‘vegetable’), with the function of the particles reversed (‘on the contrary’); for the UN peacekeeping military.
6 CAMUS River Ouse’s outsides removed by thinker (5)
A charade of CAM (‘River’) plus ‘[o]US[e]’ minus the outer letters (‘outsides removed’); for the French philosopher and author Albert Camus.
9 SORER More angry, wanting a 27 (5)
A subtraction: SO[a]RER (’27’ – COMET, metaphorically) minus A (‘wanting a’).
10 GLOMERULI Heartless darkness I tempt to return, finding blood filters (9)
A charade of GL[o]OM (‘darkness’) minus the middle letter (‘heartless’) plus ERULI, a reversal (‘to return’) of I LURE (‘I tempt’); for a term new to me (and, I suspect, many others as well), the capillaries that filter the blood in the kidneys.
11 MOOD INDIGO Duke’s number 501, absorbed by what cow says to dog (4,6)
An envelope (‘absorbed by’) of DI (‘501’, Roman numeral) in MOO (‘what cow says’) plus DINGO (‘dog’) – or perhaps, whimsically, “MOO, DINGO” as a phrase; for the jazz song composed by Duke Ellington, on a theme provided by Barney Bigard.
12 FELT Ran fingers over fabric (4)
Double definition.
14 CHICORY Marx on track for coffee substitute (7)
A charade of CHICO (‘Marx’ – one of the Marx Brothers) plus RY (railway ‘track’).
15 THERMAL Current putting Hamlet right off (7)
An anagram (‘off’) of ‘Hamlet’ plus R (‘right’).
17 TEGULAE Mixing tea with glue produces tiles (7)
An anagram (‘mixing … with’) of ‘tea’ plus ‘glue’.
19 CADENZA Short emperor absorbing a study of brilliant passage (7)
An envelope (‘absorbing’) of A DEN (‘a study’) in CZA[r] (’emperor’) minus the last letter (‘short’).
20 APSE Despair, on reflection, engulfs part of church (4)
A hidden (‘engulfs’) reversed (‘on reflection’) answer in ‘dESPAir’.
22 DISCRETION Tact displayed by papers turning on product of gland lacking energy (10)
A charade of DI, a reversal (‘turning’) of ID (‘papers’) plus S[e]CRETION (‘product of gland’) minus an E (‘lacking energy’).
25 TARANTINO Director in love, thanks to diatribe beforehand (9)
A charade of TA (‘thanks to’) plus RANT (‘diatribe’) plus ‘in’ plus O (‘love’), with ‘beforehand’ indicating the order of the particles; for the film director Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction etc.).
26 GRAFT Hard work producing implant (5)
Double definition.
27 COMET Almost wake up to trailblazer (5)
COME T[o] (‘wake up’) minus the last letter (‘almost’). I think that the “definition” refers to the astronomical object, but is more a description than a true definition.
28 MEDITATED Was moderator keeping time for 5? (9)
An envelope (‘keeping’) of T (‘time’) in MEDIATED (‘was moderator’); for ‘5’ THOUGHT.
DOWN
1 BOSOM Bust — or its opposite, hiding beginning of slump (5)
An envelope (‘hiding’) of S (‘beginning of Slump’) in BOOM (‘its opposite’ – of ‘bust’ in a different sense).
2 UPROOTING Pulling out of excursion not beginning to involve top of purple jumper (9)
An envelope (‘to involve’) of P (‘top of Purple’) plus ROO (kangaroo, ‘jumper’) in [o]UTING (‘excursion’) minus the first letter (‘not beginning’).
3 BARBIROLLI Doll endlessly receiving one list from conductor (10)
An envelope (‘receiving’) of I (‘one’, Roman numeral or impersonal personal pronoun) plus ROLL (‘list’) in BARBI[e] (‘doll’) minus the last letter (‘endlessly’); for Sir John Barbirolli.
4 RIGIDLY Fix casually? Strictly! (7)
A charade of RIG (‘fix’) plus IDLY (‘casually’).
5 THOUGHT Initially, Huxley should get consideration (7)
A charade of TH (‘initially’ Thomas Henry ‘Huxley’, 19th century champion of Darwin) plus OUGHT (‘should’, although it takes TO).
6 CREW Boasted of oarspeople (4)
Double definition.
7 MOUSE Contemplate securing round bit of IT equipment (5)
An envelope (‘securing’) of O (’round’) in MUSE (‘contemplate’).
8 SCINTILLA Spark second girl to secure one collection of books (9)
An envelope (‘to secure’) of I (‘one’) plus NT (New Testament, ‘collection of books’) in S (‘second’) plus CILLA (‘girl’).
13 DEADWEIGHT Waded out to 6, having heavy burden (10)
A charade of DEADW, an anagram (‘out’) of WADED plus EIGHT (‘6’ CREW).
14 CATHARTIC Cleaning woman’s lorry (9)
A charade of CATH (Catherine, ‘woman’) plus ARTIC (articulated ‘lorry’).
16 MENDICANT Recovery is impossible for me, poor creature (9)
MEND I CAN’T (‘recovery is impossible for me’)
18 ELITISM Raised paper hat once, concealing one form of discrimination (7)
An envelope (‘concealing’) of I (‘one’) in ELITESM ELITSM, a reversal (‘raised’ in a down light) of MS (manuscript, ‘paper’) plus TILE (‘hat’).
19 CUCKOLD Horn-wearer‘s bird dropping round to have lunch and dinner, initially (7)
A charade of CUCKO[o] (‘bird’) minus an O (‘dropping round’) plus L D (‘Lunch and Dinner, initially’).
21 SCRUM Melee gets papers crumpled, somewhat (5)
A hidden answer (‘somewhat’) in ‘paperS CRUMpled’.
23 NOTED Recorded being famous (5)
Double definition.
24 GNAT Insect to dance about endlessly (4)
TANG[o] (‘dance’) minus the last letter (‘endlessly’) and reversed (‘about’).

 

image of grid

87 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28,278 by Shed”

  1. Not easy except by comparison to yesterday, but mostly enjoyable, especially MENDICANT and MOOD INDIGO. GLOMERULI and TEGULAE were new to me but gettable from the clues, with confirmation by Collins afterward. I didn’t think the clue for SORER quite works as worded. I was expecting to remove an A from a comet to get a synonym of ‘angrier,’ but I figured it out, so all is forgiven. Thanks to Shed (more of him, please) and PeterO.

  2. Well after struggling recently, pleased to say this was a gentle potter with little brain-racking, even tho Shed evokes a frisson of fear (think I got mauled by a Genius of his in the past). That said, the blood filters needed ‘read the tin then check’, as did the tiles…tesserae are familiar, but tegulae not. And should’ve gone back to parse Mood Indigo which was a write-in (our very own dingo, d’oh!). The girl in 8d evoked a tune or two (and the miniseries about her was ok too). In all, nice fun puzzle, thanks Shed and PeterO.

  4. One for the classicists with a couple of Latin/Greek literals:

    17ac TEGULA:”literally ‘tile’, from tegere ‘to cover’” — seems to be applied to scaly parts of insect wings.

    14dn CATHARSIS: “from Greek katharsis, from kathairein ‘cleanse’”.

    (Both from ODO.)

    Working out GLOMERULI from the Latin, though, was a bridge too far.

  5. Very enjoyable. Only a single write-in (GNAT), and many fun & challenging clues. Especially liked MOOD INDIGO – go Duke! – you were the best (but I heard that Billy Strayhorn actually wrote that one). Last two in were CADENZA and CUCKOLD, both great clues but I had to check with Mr G for the ‘horn’ connection, which was new-to-me. No parsing problems, but as usual I’m happy to leave those matters to others.

  6. I enjoyed this, a steady solve in two sittings.

    GLOMERULI I remembered from O level biology many years ago; but TEGULAE unknown.

    I struggled with the parsing of MOOD INDIGO, being convinced there was a Grauniad NDIGO: I thought the DI was the first occurrence. Doh!

     

    Thanks Shed and PeterO

     

  7. Always a pleasure to do a Shed puzzle – he doesn’t come along all that often

    TEGULAE and the ‘Horn-wearer’ association with a CUCKOLD were new to me but otherwise this went in without too many hold-ups, unlike yesterday’s Paul.

    I liked the Australian fauna and musical references (including CILLA) and the surface for CATHARTIC.

    Thanks to Shed and PeterO

  8. A dingo is not a dog; it’s an undomesticated Australian native species close to the wolf. ‘Nuff said.

    Apart from that, great puzzle.

  9. I found this quite easy today. Just happened to have the right GK, I suppose. I find bizarre surfaces quite helpful because they don’t distract me.

    My thanks to Shed and PeterO.

  10. Greg @8, if the scientific classification is Canis lupus dingo and it can breed with domestic dogs, I’m happy to accept a dingo as a dog.

  11. Another great puzzle though several I could not parse: CADENZA now looks easy, UPROOTING also quite clear … “I should” = “I ought” without a “to” so I had no problem with that. Thank you to Shed for the puzzle and PererO for the helpful (and early) blog; I hooe the clicks are soon back in sync.

  12. Peter O, you have a rogue “E” in your parsing of ELITISM. I enjoyed that; it reminded me of things I’d forgotten I know, viz TEGULAE and GLOMERULI. Thanks both.

  14. I had to rely on wordplay for 10a and 17a, but that’s fair enough, and the crossword, as a whole, was a most satisfying challenge.

  15. This was easier than it first appeared but some very smooth surfaces along the way. MOOD INDIGO, GLOMERULI and TEGULAE were new. I liked CADENZA, SCINTILLA and TARANTINO. Ta PeterO and good to see Shed again

  16. GLOMERULI was new to me, but Mrs P, a nurse, helped me out. I suppose something’s got to make the urine, so that Paul can extract it later.

  17. Thanks Shed and PeterO

    I was familiar with all the words, so it didn’t take long, though I didn’t parse SORER, and, like Dave Eillison, had the wrong DI in MOOD INDIGO. Favourite was DEADWEIGHT.

  18. A very pleasant puzzle.  I particularly liked the cleaning woman’s lorry at 14d, brilliant.

    I did wonder what the “once” is doing in 18d ELITISM, but I guess it’s just a rather rare example of a crossword clue acknowledging that its slang (“tile” for hat) is a bit dated.

    Many thanks Shed and PeterO.

  19. Thoroughly enjoyable, though I had to seek help for GLOMERULI. Some lovely smooth surfaces and it raised a grin or two! Thanks Shed and PeterO.

  20. Rodshaw @5 – it was Barney Bigarrd who was credited as co-writer of Mood Indigo. Strayhorn was 14 when the number was first broadcast in October 1930. Fake news!?

  22. So good to see Shed’s name on a puzzle.

    A most enjoyable solve, with several evocative clues. Favourites today were MOOD INDIGO, TARANTINO, CATHARTIC – for their construction, MEDITATED (I liked the ‘thoughtful’ mini-theme) BARBIROLLI (I went to some of his concerts when I was at University), SCINTILLA (memories of CILLA and it’s a lovely word) and CUCKOLD, for the amusing surface – but they were all good.

    grantinfreo @2 – the more familiar tessera is an individual tile in a mosaic – a tegula is a flat roof tile.

    Many thanks to Shed – come back soon! – and to PeterO.

    [Now for Wanderer (Puck) in the FT – it’s a good day. 😉

  23. Always a good sign when unknown/unfamiliar words can be derived by following the instructions as happened with GLOMERULI, TEGULAE, MOOD INDIGO (all unknown), BARBIROLLI (vaguely recalled) and CUCKOLD (not associated with horn).  All very neat.  SCINTILLA and UPROOTING both defeated me, in each case because the mind wouldn’t be shifted from a particular assumption; that the first would be a collection of books (eg pentateuch) and the second would begin with UN-.  Victory to Shed today.

    Like WordPlodder @7 and Lord Jim @18, I loved CATHARTIC (charabanc fitted and contains ‘char’ = ‘cleaning woman’ so had me wondering for a bit.  Not a lorry in my mind but I’ve discovered obscure definitions before).  muffin’s favourite, DEADWEIGHT, also earned a tick, as does SCINTILLA now I’ve seen the solution, and RIGIDLY for its economy.  (And APSE turns up again. One of those regulars, like ‘ounce’ and ‘obeli’ where very few options exist, given particular crossers)

    My only ‘meh’ moment was SORER.  Whilst the linked COMET was good, defining a comet as a ‘soarer’ is too vague for my liking.

    Thanks Shed and PeterO

  24. Couple of DNKs today – GLOMERULI and MOOD INDIGO (dislike Jazz so no surprise there).  FOI was 1a followed by 3d.  19a was a write-in as well.  The rest took a while but not as long as yeseterdays so I’m wondering if the editor got his Thursday and Friday jumbled-up?

    [To bring the level down to that of a Paul, can I just say that in French, the UN Peace-Keeping force is known as “Les Casques bleu” where “casques” is more often translated to “helmet” than to “beret.”  As a teenager visiting France in the days when they were always being mentioned on the telly, this gave me endless hours of puerile sniggering and unfortuately still does.

    For balance (trying to prove I’m not a total oik, that is), if you do nothing else today, go and search out Barbarolli’s 1943/4 recording of Bax’s Symphony No 3 with the Halle.]

    Thanks due to Shed and PeterO.

  25. Quite an easy solve.  Remembered the glomerular capsule from school.  And the kidneys do far more than just clean the blood.  They play a very important fole in regulating blood pressure too.  See, I was paying attention in class after all …

    No real complaints.  The word-play is fine.  The surfaces often terrible.

    Thanks Shed and PeterO.

  26. Tough but fair, I think.

    There was certainly some fairly obscure stuff required but the wordplay was clear enough to get me there. Perhaps a bit fierce to define CUCKOLD purely as “horn-wearer” without any sort of allusion to husbands.

    Some very neat cluing with CATHARTIC, DEADWEIGHT, SCINTILLA particular favourites.

    It’s a sign of a well-constructed puzzle, I think, if you have clues that look impenetrable until you have the crossers but then you look again at the clue and say Of course! CREW and GRAFT, for example.

    Thanks to Shed and PeterO

  27. [Eileen – “I went to some of his concerts when I was at University.”  Oh lucky YOU!  Pre-dates me unfortunately (which is why I messed up the spelling – grr).  Concerts – I remember those…]

  28. [Eileen @22: Puck has had a busy couple of days.  As Hob he produced an intriguing Indy puzzle yesterday.  Worth a try if you didn’t get around to looking at it – given your blogging commitments.  Congratulations/commiserations on your 100 posts!]

  30. Pleasant, steady solve with no nasty man-traps to fall into.

    Thanks for the blog, PeterO, was being a bit dim about s[e]cretion.

    Thanks, Eileen, for sorting out the tiles – I was almost there but not quite.

    More from this excellent setter, please.

  31. MaidenBartok @27:  Still listening to my beloved music but your comment re concerts saddened me.  There’s something essentially human about enjoying something with others.  I miss it so.

  32. [Postmark @28 – I did try the Hob later on yesterday but didn’t finish it. I’ve just looked at the blog and see you struggled, too. And I wouldn’t have had a hope of seeing the theme.]

  33. [William @31: I found for the first 3 months of lockdown I could not listen to music at all – I associated it so strongly with the lost concert-experience that it hurt too much. I tried to listen to a Prom concert repeat and when the Prommers shouted “Heave -HO!” as the piano was moved on stage I burst out in tears and had to turn it off (I’m a very regular Prommer and would possibly have been one of the people shouting “Heave Ho”).  I’ve been to a few Wigmore concerts which are musically fabulous, but sitting 2m apart from the nearest human, unable to interact, unable to have a chat in the bar, not being able to show the performers that you are even smiling is dehumanising and I’m not sure I’ll be going again.  Any may tastes are wide and varied (except Jazz and Musicals) – I had four festivals booked during the summer and again, it is sharing this with likeminded musos that I miss as much as the music.

    Try and explain this to a government obsessed with “business” and “trade” and whose only level culture is bacterial…]

  34. Interesting, on re-reading the comments so far, to see mixed views on the overall quality of the surfaces.  (Auriga: I find bizarre surfaces quite helpful because they don’t distract me; AlanC: very smooth surfaces along the way; tandemist: Some lovely smooth surfaces and Anna: The surfaces often terrible).  On the whole, the puzzle has had a definite thumbs up in terms of cleverness and solvability of clue, and there are some very nice surfaces but, boy, there are some clumsy ones too.  10, 11, 17, 19, 20, 22 Across and 2, 3, 18 and I think 19 Down are actually all pretty lousy as surfaces and I’m being generous to a couple of others.  That’s 10 out of 32 which is a pretty high proportion.  I’m sure I recall being critical of Shed for surfaces a month or so ago; a similar situation – many commenters had loved the puzzle but a minority of us were vociferous in begging to differ.  I’ve just found the blog here.  For my part, I’d welcome Shed’s contributions more warmly if the surfaces were given as much attention as clue construction.

  35. PostMark, you’re not the only one to consider CHARABANC for 14d. Like others I worked out the two unknowns from the wordplay. Not sure that everyone will instantly know Huxley’s initials (I thought it was TH for Thomas Huxley), but perhaps that’s just unscientific me.
    Moo, dingo! Love it.

  38. [MaidenBartok @33: I feel your pain.  And I also see it from the other side: my other half leads a folk rock band who’ve seen every gig since March cancelled, every festival (including some next summer), and many venues now closing for good.  As you say, no feedback from audiences, no income and a foreseeable future of playhouses that can only be a quarter full.  The internet is a kind of substitute but simply not in the same league as live performance.  Whilst I was delighted to see some government action in terms of financial support recently announced for the Midlands cultural sector, it’s all going to the big names (Birmingham Rep, Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Black Country Museum).  All very deserving but the grass roots are dying.]

  40. A surprisingly rapid solve for me today – no words or allusions that were totally unfamiliar, and I agree with Auriga that a clunky surface (of which there were unconscionably many) is far less distracting so that the charade is easier to spot. Overall, I found the puzzle rather disappointing, but I did enjoy BOSOM, CATHARTIC and MENDICANT.

  42. My NHOs were the same as others’ but all very fairly clued, I thought, and a thoroughly enjoyable solve. Thanks Shed and PeterO.

  43. Found this a very pleasing and satisfying puzzle to solve today. No matter that GLOMERULI was not part of my vocab, perfectly fairly clued. Liked COMET and CHICORY. And our little local river the CAM making another guest appearance, too…

  44. [PostMark @38: Anyone I may have heard of?   I’m a big Jon Boden/Kathryn Tickell/Eliza Carthy fan and oft found at Wickham, Swanage, WOMAD, etc.  Internet is NO substitute and job no 1 is in the Internet (IETF, IRTF, IAB and 5G/6G research).  We know the limitations… It is neither designed nor built for that purpose and will need money (plus nationalising – the private infrastructure model is broken).  Job no 2 is as a semi-pro muso – first recording gig this year is 21st November. My home town now has 41% unemployment – add that to the outrageous price of tickets at the privatised local theatre (Phil concerts are £37 in a sub-par acoustic, panto you can blow £150 easily on a family of 4) and it is all beyond depressing; we’re were in the merde before COVID, quite frankly.  I’m afraid I have nothing but disdain for the way the arts have been treated by this shower; even the “support” they’ve found down the back of an old Etonian sofa is derisory.  Sorry all – we’ve gone seriously OT].

  45. I hadn’t done a Shed in a while so it was nice to do one again for a change. It was also less of a struggle, parsing-wise, than yesterday’s.

    BTW “tile” actually comes from TEGULA:  the G got dropped over the years and the vowels did their vowelly things.

  47. Dr. W @ 45

    I assume that the word was borrowed from Norman French, where the /g/ had palatalised 🙂

    The other day we had strawberry – fragola in Italian but fraise in French.

    Sorry.

  48. I first came across TEGULA in an Azed cluing competition abut 40 years ago. I stuck because Ithought the winning clue “What the Fiddler on the Roof might have fiddled on” (GU in TELA) quite unsolvable. Never encountered the word since.

    [MaidenBartok and PostMark: Mrs G’s concertina duet has lost about 4 festival bookings this year, including Cheltenham and Whitby. Fortunately it’s thier hooby rather thans their living. |What’s happening to the professionals is heartbreaking.]

  50. So much to learn from crosswords – today tegulae and mood indigo for me. Lots to like, thanks to Shed and PeterO

  51. William, MaidenBartok and Eileen, I have missed live music too. For the last three weeks I have been able to play for a dance class, and the feeling of social interaction is wonderful. I’m not sure how long it will be possible, though.

  53. It always takes me a while to get onto Shed’s wavelength, but unlike some, I’ve no complaints about surfaces.

    Today’s obscure words (TEGULAE, GLOMERULI and, for those who don’t like jazz, MOOD INDIGO) were accessibly clued, it seemed to me. So much so that I didn’t look up the first two, and of course I knew the third. Using an anagram to clue an obscurity is one of my bêtes noires, but in this instance the crossers left only one arrangement possible – this is not always the case, so thanks Shed for that and for a generally enjoyable solve.

  55. A number of wrong turnings CHARABANC for CATHARTIC, MALIGNANT for MENDICANT, and only being able to think of Aldous Huxley, made this even harder than it should have been. A general failure to open my doors of perception in this brave new world that has no people in it except online.

  56. Job @54. I read it as “woman has lorry” (next to her). In some clues the S forms part of the solution, but in this case it can be ignored. I don’t see it as a problem.

  57. [MaidenBartok @44: you’re right.  We’re off topic so I’ve posted a reply to you over on General Discussion.]

  58. Like Grantinfreo @2, I felt a little trepidation on seeing Shed’s name, but found the puzzle relatively undemanding, particularly after Paul yesterday. I agree with Auriga and some others that clunky surfaces are easier to solve, but I’d prefer to struggle and enjoy the artistry of a fine surface post-solve – or post-visit to this site!

    [@MaidenBartok I share your pain too. I’ve spent my working life in theatre, and a large part of my non-working life too, and although I’ve now retired (thankfully), I’m distraught by the outlook for my younger friends and colleagues who find themselves now with no work and no prospects, and as you say, no real help from the mob of philistines in charge… The future for the arts is bleak indeed.]

  59. I’m afraid I didn’t really enjoy this – too many gobbledygook surfaces. I think I said the same thing for the last Shed crossword. If you just like the technical challenge of unravelling the wordplay, I guess it would be enjoyable.

    I did like the clue for MENDICANT, however.

    Thanks Shed (at least I did know GLOMERULI) and to PeterO for a good blog.

  60. Robi @59: you did.  I posted a link to that blog a little earlier.  My own experience is almost identical to last time: initially reacting to individual clues and finding a number I liked and praised (and posted about).  But then standing back from the puzzle and re-reading clues as part of the whole experience, rather than element by individual element, the ugly surfaces stood out.  Wood for trees kinda thing.  I appreciate that posts are generally vehicles for expressing an individual opinion, rather than trying to persuade others (unless it’s an argument about insects and spiders, rhotics or elks) but I’m genuinely surprised at those who see no issue with such as “Pulling out of excursion not beginning to involve top of purple jumper”.  It’s gobbledegook.  Certainly compared with the good surfaces that are here, such as those for COMET, THOUGHT, THERMAL or TARANTINO.

  61. Having spent the whole morning writing about SCRUM – sadly not the rugby kind – it raised a smile to see it here. I did allow myself to get unduly irritated by the number of subtractions which for me took some of the gloss off an otherwise excellent crossword.

  62. Not a crossword to start after lunch. Still, the obscurities were fairly clued, à la Pasquale, so it all worked out in the end. Loved the misdirection in CATHARTIC.

    [Eileen @22, not Mahler 2 in Sheffield, probably ’69, by any chance?]

  63. Rereading my comment @22, I realise it was poorly constructed and gave the wrong impression.  ‘…but they were all good’ was intended to apply to the clues, not the surfaces. Sorry!

  64. Trailman @62 – no, late ’50s, Bristol, in what was then the Colston Hall! (Your comment wasn’t there when I revisited my comment 22 – I should have frefreshed.)

  68. Lord Jim @18 noted the use of “once” in 19D to acknowledge that referring to a hat as a TILE is “a bit dated”. More than a bit, I’d say! More compliers follow suit, please, and recognise that some chestnuts we get in crosswords are obsolete. And to Shed – chapeau!

  72. [Eileen @69. Thanks for a bit of levity! (It’s been very serious today – no puns, no Half Man Half Biscuit references.)]

  74. Thanks both.

    I thought to complain at length about CADENZA, about having to get from “emperor” to “Czar” and thence to CADENZA, but…

    Life is too short and crosswords are a pleasant part of the residual landscape we currently inhabit.  So; I agree for the most part with PostMark@60.

  75. [“Compliers” is a common misprint of mine too. In fact I swap letters so often that when I was writing a lot of teaching notes I wrote a macro in Word that, with one keypress, would swap back the letters on either side of the cursor.]

  79. A Guardian setter named Shed,

    Down the garden path solvers he led;

    Some surfaces hunky-

    Dory, some clunky;

    Is anything more to be said?

  81. I really enjoyed MOOD INDIGO, CHICORY THOUGHT and BOSOM – they were clever and satisfying clue, and I was pleased that I remembered about TEGULAE.
    My quibbles are with SCINTILLA and CATHARSIS, both of which were guess-first, parse-later (with which I have no problem btw). It’s the “names” that are bugging me. I’ve long since accepted that in the cruciverse Scotsmen are invariably called Ian (even though in Scotland it’s generally spelt Iain) but woman = Cath, and girl = Cilla? Seriously?
    Am I just being very thick here? How on earth is one supposed to discern those particular names from the clue???
    Thanks to PeterO for the blog and Shed for the brainteasing

  83. Thanks PeterO, this was a steady but slow process for me and involved some googling, even then I couldn’t quite see where LOI ELITISM came from, so am especially grateful for that. Share many of the sentiments above re surfaces and charabancs [and lack of live music] but MOOD INDIGO and CHICO raised the spirits and I really enjoyed MENDICANT, DEADWEIGHT and CUCKOLD (which, as a metal fan and knowing the origin of the gesture, I ought to have spotted sooner, appropriately enough). Thanks for the challenge Shed [and I hope the rugby tomorrow isn’t blighted by SCRUM problems].

  84. Where art thou, Muse, that thou forget’st so long…?

    …clearly thou singest to the ear of cellomaniac @79  🙂

  85. Fun crossword.  I was so hoping that the answer to 16d would turn out to be Church Mouse.  My only quibble is with DEADWEIGHT.  Shouldn’t it be two words when defined as a noun?

    Thanks, Shed and PeterO.

  86. I never saw a purple cow.
    I never hope to see one
    But I can tell you anyhow
    I’d rather see than be one.

    Never minding seeing a purple cow.If you had heard one it would have Mood Indigo.

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