Guardian Saturday Puzzle 28,279 / Picaroon

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It’s always a treat to find Picaroon’s name on a puzzle, especially if I’m blogging it.

Picaroon’s puzzles do have a theme from time to time but it wasn’t until, tackling the clues in order, as usual, I got to 22ac that I saw a hint of one here. The clue was very straightforward, so the theme was immediately obvious, although none of the stars had leapt out at me while entering the previous clues. Looking back, they were easy to spot, although I’d never heard of the constellations in 1 and 11ac.

I think this must be one of the easiest Picaroon puzzles I’ve done but I enjoyed picking out the theme words and, as always, there were lots of clever clues and witty surfaces to admire. My favourites were 6, 9, 17ac and 5 and 19dn.

Many thanks to Picaroon for the fun.

Definitions are underlined in the clues.

 

Across

4 Flipping jazzy piece — it’s just a number in musical style (6)
GARAGE
A reversal (flipping) of RAG (jazz piece) + AGE (from the saying, ‘Age is just a number’, which a friend of mine loves to write, reassuringly, on my birthday cards

6 Create division among staff welcoming a teacher back (8)
POLARISE
POLE (staff) round A + a reversal (back) of SIR (teacher): I love the precision of Picaroon’s cluing: it took me a moment to realise that ‘among’ was part of the definition – we already have an insertion indicator in ‘welcoming’

9 They want specific fare for one boarding vehicles (6)
VEGANS
EG (exempli gratia – for one) in VANS (vehicles)

10 Lots dare sporting figure-hugging attire (8)
LEOTARDS
An anagram (sporting) of LOTS DARE: ‘sporting’ (= wearing) is often used as an insertion indicator – I’ve seen it disputed here as an anagram indicator but, for me, it works perfectly, in the sense of ‘playing’, which is a very common indicator

11 Rendering standard line in opera I perform (11)
NORMALISING
L (line) in NORMA (the familiar crossword opera) I SING (I perform)

15 Engineer hadn’t really emptied water supply (7)
HYDRANT
An anagram (engineer) 0f HADN’T R[eall]Y (’emptied’)

17 Mondeo car in America has built-in music player (7)
OCARINA
Neatly hidden in mondeO CAR IN America

18 People seeking money in careers stupidly following crossword setter (11)
MERCENARIES
ME (crossword setter) + an anagram (stupidly) of IN CAREERS (could be part of the definition)

22 Feel dazed, as you can in all these across solutions (3,5)
SEE STARS
Double definition

23 Expose buttocks, encasing right one in a bit of armour (6)
MORION
MOON (expose buttocks) round R (right) + I (one) – it’s an old Spanish helmet
[Last Saturday, Puck gave us HALF MOON – this week, we have The Full Monty 😉 ]

24 Treats like Italian tomatoes or miscellaneous items (8)
SUNDRIES
Double definition

25 Driver’s anger on London-to-Leeds journey? It’s not real (6)
MIRAGE
M1 (the London-to-Leeds motorway) + RAGE: a version of road rage (driver’s anger)

 

Down

1 A male, say, picked up an order of business (6)
AGENDA
A GENDA (sounds something like – (‘picked up’ – gender {male say}) – I think / hope the use of ‘picked up’ as an indicator should forestall objections re dodgy homophones

2 Eagles maybe perfect circling isle on rocks (5,2,3)
HOLES IN ONE
HONE (perfect) round an anagram (rocks) of ISLE ON

3 Italian artist‘s staff sacked agent (8)
MANTEGNA
MAN (staff – a different use from the one in 6dn) + an anagram (sacked) of AGENT – I’m rather ashamed to say I didn’t know this artist

4 Fashion house awarded hot, extremely classy clothes (8)
GIVENCHY
GIVEN (granted) + C[lass]Y round (clothes) H (hot)

5 Shifting gear keeps career up in this industry (3,5)
RAG TRADE
An anagram (shifting) of GEAR round a reversal (up) of DART (career) – a very clever surface  (‘shifting gear’!)

7 Touching up during summer nights (2,2)
IN RE
A hidden reversal (up, again) in summER NI[ghts] – a legal term, meaning ‘in the matter of, concerning’

8 Tablets, we hear, providing comfort (4)
EASE
Sounds like (we hear) ‘Es’ (ecstasy tablets)

12 Italian footballers on British grass produce a cross (10)
INTERBREED
INTER (Milan – Italian footballers) + B (British) + REED (grass)

13 Asian islander assuming rising current in undulating plain (8)
FILIPINA
A reversal (rising) of IF (providing) + I (current) + an anagram (undulating – I liked that) of PLAIN

14 The French queen tours American lakeside city (8)
LAUSANNE
LA (the French) + ANNE (queen) round US (American)

16 Revolutionary artist developed modelling framework (8)
ARMATURE
A reversal (revolutionary) of RA (artist) + MATURE (developed) – this word was in the back of my mind but I had to check that it’s ‘an open framework on which a sculpture is moulded with clay or similar material’

19 Last couples in Hampstead beckon this sexy guy (6)
ADONIS
Last two letters of hampsteAD beckON thIS: I love the outlandish sentences setters concoct for this kind of clue – here’s the sexy guy

20 Revered figure with multiple lives (4)
ISIS
IS IS (multiple lives) – the Egyptian goddess, not the Oxford river, this time

21 Loaf, one maybe baked in a tin (4)
BEAN
Double definition – my last one in, as it took a while for the ‘baked in a tin’ penny to drop (doh!) and then for me to guess and check that BEAN, like ‘loaf’, is slang for ‘head’ – another great surface

53 comments on “Guardian Saturday Puzzle 28,279 / Picaroon”

  1. Thanks Eileen. Unusually for me I did realise the theme this time but rather too late to be of much assistance as quite a few of the astronomical bodies had already written themselves in. The NW corner held me up and it took some time for me to understand GARAGE, AGENDA and VEGANS. Not knowing that ARMATURE was a sort of modelling framework I fell into the trap of thinking ‘revolutionary’ was the definition and that held me up for a while.

  2. I thought 21 across, bean was money as in “I haven’t got a bean”  and loaf as in bread is slang for money as well.

  3. Thanks Eileen, I see that Ara and Norma are Southern Hemisphere constellations so don’t feel so bad at not knowing them.
    Thanks Picaroon for a fun puzzle.

  4. Thanks to Picaroon and Eileen. Lots of fun. This is one of the few times I 1) spotted the theme and 2) got some mileage in the solving – and, for those interested in allegory, MANTEGNA’s  “Minerva’s chasing the Vices from the Garden of Virtue” is a classic.

  5. Not too difficult if I could knock it off on the Saturday. I saw the stars once I had solved 22a, but it didn’t really help with the few remaining across clues. Gonzo @3 – I live in the Southern Hemisphere and I didn’t know them either! Thanks, Picaroon and Eileen for some parsing.

  7. A classy puzzle. I had the right half filled when I got to the SEE STARS clue – a great moment, as I simply hadn’t seen the stars I was writing in up to that point.

    I didn’t spot all the stars but was happy to accept they were all there.

    It was a very good set of clues – not much that was easy (to the best of my recollection) but all solvable, including the one I didn’t get (BEAN). I liked SUNDRIES most of all, and I admired the way all those stars were incorporated.

    Thanks to Picaroon and Eileen.

  8. Indeed a fun puzzle, so thanks to Picaroon and Eileen.

    Homer nods: the Isis is in Oxford, and is known downstream as the Thames.

  9. Forgot that Filipina didn’t start with ph, stared, revealed, dnf…a bit dumb in an otherwise gentle job from the pirate. Even do, I’m another who didn’t know the artist, or the artwork meaning of armature, or a few of the stars, eg ara and carina. Always things to learn, thanks both.

  10. At first glance I didn’t care for the grid, which was very much a left half and a right half, and I remember thinking ‘I hope there’s a theme here to link the two a bit’. There was and it was pretty obvious, but in the end knowing there would be star or constellation names in the across answers didn’t help in getting any, though it did confirm them (assuming you knew Norma and Ara, which I confess I didn’t). A very nice puzzle in the end. Eileen, I’m glad your LOI was BEAN because mine was too, and I felt a bit dim when I finally got it. I feel better now, so thanks! And thanks too to Picaroon, of course.

  11. As Eileen says, Picaroon’s clues are always written with precision, a quality that I appreciate. The theme was obvious once SEE STARS was in, but I can’t recall that it helped with the solve. Most of it went in easily enough, but I only thought of SUNDRIES on returning to the puzzle after a week away from it. Thanks to Picaroon for providing me with a few bits of new knowledge and to Eileen for her usual informative blog.

  12. Thanks to Picaroon and to Eileen for the entertaining blog.

    [RAG TRADE, owned by celebrity hairdresser Mr Teasy-Weasy Raymond, won the 1976 Grand National, beating Red Rum into second place.]

  13. A most enjoyable puzzle with a stellar theme. When I first “saw” SEE STARS at 22a, I thought I was looking for signs of the zodiac, but when I only found LEO in 10a LEOTARDS and ARIES in MERCENARIES at 18a, I had to put my thinking cap on again. I agree with you, Eileen, and echo what others have also said regarding the word hidden in 1a GARAGE, as I had to look up ARA in the constellations listed in Bradford’s red book to check. Interesting coincidence to have 6a POLARIS crop up in another crossword recently.

    What a treat to have Eileen blogging two days in a row, so thanks to her for another great blog, and of course to Picaroon for starring in the Prize Puzzle! 

  14. A dnf for me, as I failed on FILIPINA – I just didn’t see assuming=IF, even though it’s not uncommon in crosswords. Like Eileen  and KeithS, my last one in was BEAN, which I now think one of the best clues, being concise, witty, not too easy (at least for me), and obvious in retrospect – that “d’oh!” moment on seeing the answer usually means the clue was good. Other favourites were AGENDA and ADONIS, and most of those others have mentioned. I didn’t get the theme until I solved 22ac, but for me, themes are usually nothing more than harmless amusement for the setter – they’re of minor interest to me as a solver.

    All in all a good crossword with blog to match. Thanks Eileen and Picaroon.

  18. I wonder how many of us spotted the theme only when we got to SEE STARS?  Several posters and our esteemed blogger have already ‘fessed up’ and I join them.  No idea at all that there was a theme until then.  Cleverly done.  I also join that small but exclusive band who failed on FILIPINA – and can’t really see why in retrospect other than, like gif @10, not getting beyond the ‘Ph’ in Philippines.

    Over and above the theme, some classy cluing and nice surfaces.  One of those puzzles where almost anything can be revisited with pleasure a week on and marvelled over again.  POLARISE, VEGANS, OCARINA, HOLES IN ONE, ADONIS and BEAN are probably my pick of the bunch with extra commendations for the cheeky IN RE (as opposed to the other cheeky activity clearly enjoyed by Eileen) and the brilliant HYDRANT.

    Thank to PeterO @9 for the ISIS correction.  It rather jumped out at me when I read the blog this morning.  It was a minor sadness (compared with the far greater havoc wreaked by the movement) when the ‘so called Islamic-State’ adopted their ISIS handle.  The word is now associated with the latter rather than lazy Summer afternoons drifting in a punt post finals.

    Finally, thanks to TassieTim @7 for summarising my reaction to this morning’s Prize.  Every time this happens (normally with Maskerade on a Bank Holiday weekend) I realise what a conservative cruciverbalist I am.  Not for me, I’m afraid.

    Thanks Picaroon and Eileen

  19. Just popped back to stress it’s the cluing of the cheeky activity that is admired by our blogger.  I’ve heard no reports of inappropriate exposure in the East Midlands so have no grounds to suggest Eileen has ever misbehaved in such a way!

  20. Another who failed at FILIPINA and with hindsight,it’s fairly obvious. As Grantinfeo suggests, it must be to do with the F/Ph shift.

  21. Er, can I just repeat PeterO @ 9’s comment that the Isis is in Oxford, not Cambridge.  The Isis (rowing) and the Cherwell (punting), as I still think of them.  Hope I’ve remembered the spelling of the latter.

    Lovely crossword.  Particularly impressed by some of the surfaces.

    Thanks Picaroon and Eileen.

  22.  

    PeterO @9 and PostMark@19 , ”Indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus’.

    Oh dear – a literal rude awakening this morning! How long is it going to take to live this down? Totally inexplicable.

    Craving your indulgence, I’m going to amend the blog without comment, before anyone else sees it.

  24. As epee @6 says, the stars did not help in solving but (as Eileen says) fun trying to pick them out.

    (1 minute too late amending Eileen :))

  25. Really enjoyed this one, as I generally always do with Picaroon’s high-quality wordplay. Technically a DNF as I got distracted in search of FILIPINA, despite having all the crossers, and – yes – BEAN was my LOI too.

    Much obliged to Pic and Eileen – you’ve bagged yourself a classy pair of puzzles this week.

  26. I can’t find my piece of paper but I do remember spotting the theme which helped with the solving of another enjoyable Picaroon crossword.

    Thanks to him and Eileen

  27. I must have been on the setter’s wavelength last Saturday, as this all went in very easily, only held up (like Eileen and a couple of others) by the fiendish BEAN. It helped that whatever GK was required was right up my street. The stars theme helped me to write in MORION with confidence.

    RAG TRADE was not only a Grand National winner (Penfold @13) but also a sitcom in the early 60s that I was allowed to stay up and watch. Most of it would have gone straight over my head, but I remember that I used to think that Reg Varny was very funny.

    As Eileen remarked, lots of clever clues and witty surfaces, so many thanks to Picaroon for the entertainment.

  28. [PostMark @19
    Regarding the last remark in your comment: I’m perhaps a liberal cruciverbalist by comparison, but I recommend you try the alphabetical cryptic crossword on offer today.  (If my advice turns out to be bad you can say what you like to me next Saturday.)]

  29. [Alan B @29: OK – but I’ll hold you to it. In return, may I commend to you today’s Indy to which I turned in lieu of the Prize. Not at all easy but two if not three absolute stunners in amongst a host of splendid clues]

  30. [PostMark @30
    OK – agreed.  I’m always receptive to such tip-offs, especially with respect to the Indy.  Getting to an Indy puzzle always causes me grief in ways discussed here recently, but with patience and determination I do always get there.  I’m claiming the same right to reply!]

  31. [Agree, PostMark, today’s Paul is not for me. Feeling a bit disappointed because after TassieTim @8’s post I rushed to look expecting a real challenge. Which I’m sure it is for those who like that format. I’m probably just not clever enough. Anyway I’m over on the Indy following your recommendation. Any idea how I can make it full screen? I’m trying to do it through a letterbox!]

  32. [Alan B @31: I feel I have an advantage in that the relatively small number of posts on the Indy are pretty positive so I’m confident in recommending a good ‘un.  We will both have to await next week’s judgment of the Paul.  I’m normally a fan of his work, if less a fan of jigsaw puzzles.]

  33. An excellent crossword — favourites were VEGANS, LEOTARDS, SUNDRIES, HOLES IN ONE, and GIVENCHY. MORION, MANTEGNA, and LAUSANNE were all new to me but solved by parsing. I failed at BEAN so no prize for me but it was fun nonetheless. Thanks to both.

  34. Does anyone know why this puzzle wasn’t made available on the Guardian app? Its absence left a gigantic hole in my Friday evening entertainment. (I live in the USA and do the puzzles when uploaded at midnight UK time.)

  36. I’m an astrophysicist, so the theme was a big help to me, but I confess that I didn’t remember that NORMA was the name of a constellation.

  37. Colin Lewis @35 & 36

    Due to the nature of the puzzle (an alphabetic jigsaw), the interactive version isn’t available online either. The only format offered is a pdf file.

  39. Many thanks to everyone commenting, and especially to Eileen for the customarily splendid blog. It’s always a treat to find Eileen’s name on a blog of a puzzle, especially if I’m setting it!

    I’m sure that there are lots of somewhat niche stars out there, so for fairness I limited myself to those given in Collins Dictionary. I seem to remember the grid fill being particularly tricky, especially as, in the Guardian, grids come from a set library of about 60.

    Nice weekend, everyone. (I’m sure many of us are enjoying the news that’s just come in from Pennsylvania!)

  40. Many thanks for dropping in, Picaroon – always appreciated – especially bearing such splendid tidings! I hadn’t heard any news since 1.00.

  41. I got the theme pretty early by solving SEEING STARS but it provided no help when solving and I had to come here to find out what most of the stars were (thanks, Eileen). I am also a big fan of Picaroon’s for the qualities mentioned by others, such as the precision of his wordplay and his life-like surfaces.

    [Postmark@19, the final S in the acronym ISIS is for Syria, but the organisation itself never used Syria in their name. At one point they were the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Ash-sham) (ISIL), but later they settled for just the Islamic State (IS).]

    [SH@28, I remember being allowed to stay up for The Rag Trade, too, although the only thing I remember about it is Miriam Karlin’s catchphrase (playing the shop steward): “Everybody out!”]

  43. NW corner delayed me a bit because GARAGE as a kind of music took a while to surface. RAG came easily but I couldn’t parse AGE. I looked it up on wiki and was surprised to learn that The Kinks was (are?) a garage band. I can remember at least one line of three of their hits! I’m told that there is a more recent style known as “UK garage” but I wouldn’t recognise it if they suddenly played some where I was listening.
    Thanks to Picaroon and Eileen

  44. I’m not really expecting anyone but me to see this but …

    … I’ve been keeping my head down all day, mortified by my matutinal egregiously erroneous fluvial reference – gratuitous, to boot: why did I need to mention it? How many times have I blogged ISIS as the Oxford river / flower?

    To add to my chagrin, I think this is the first blog of mine in months which hasn’t included an actual typo.

    Thanks to all for your comments. 😉

    [Tony Collman @42 – me too, re Miriam Karlin. ]

  45. Nice to see how much many of you enjoyed this. I can’t say I did – I got about halfway with some difficulty, then gave up. But, to soothe my pride, I didn’t have too much difficulty with FILIPINA.

  46. Eileen @44. I’m sure that regular commenters here will extend their sympathy to you. I know how it feels to make a public blunder, but my experience tells me that other people don’t pay as much attention to your blunders as you do yourself. There is a great deal of respect for you on this forum, and I hope you will think of this rather than an unimportant slip. Sleep well!

  47. Thanks to Eileen and Picaroon. As an amateur (and very lapsed) astronomer I was pleased to see a theme of stars and constellations,although like many of us I hadn’t heard of some of the southern ones. It took me an age to fall in to the baked BEAN too! Excellent Saturday fare. [Rather surprised to see the conservative cruciverbalists baulking at today’s offering, considering that the esteemed and much-missed Araucaria regularly set alphabetic jigsaws and was also rather keen on “special instructions”!]

  48. Took me a long time to see the theme. I entered SEE STARS with three clues left to solve.

    Failed FILIPINA

    Thank you both

  50. Loved this though I wasted a lot of time looking up the names of Ford Mondeos in the US. It proved quite interesting though irrelevant. Then I had to google OCARINA instead. Only looked at this today so missed the Cam/Isis confusion: poor Eileen. (I still blush at my triangle confusion so sympathise…) Thank you to Eileen for the helpful blog and to Picaroon for a lovely puzzle.
    Meanwhile I am still pondering Paul’s offering from yesterday, somewhat helped by last night’s zoom.

  51. Eileen — what was your terrible goof?  The Isis flows through Oxford — and then becomes the Thames downstream?  Is it also the Thames upstream of the University?  And how is what you said wrong?

    If  you post a response on this site I’ll find it.  If it’s too late and too trivial to bother, that’s fine too.

  52. Oh dear.

    I said @ comment 22 that I was going to amend the blog for the archive, without an ‘Edit’ note, hoping that people would allow me to try to forget my inexplicable senior moment when I called the Isis ‘the Cambridge river’.

  53. Now I understand.  You must have corrected the blog before I read it, because “Oxford” is what I read.  So the apologies left me baffled, and your explanation clears it all up.

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