Guardian Cryptic 28,308 by Philistine

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28308.

Quite a quirky crossword, with some amusing definitions-that-aren’t, and three (count ’em) more or less cryptic definition clues.

ACROSS
1 BEER GUT Result of having a six-pack and losing it (4,3)
A cryptic definition; kind of, with a play on ‘six-pack’ either as abdominal muscles or containers of beer. My first entry, and I was rather surprised that it turned out to be correct.
5 COPULAS Paul & Co’s irregular verbs? (7)
An anagram (‘irregular’) of ‘Paul’ plus ‘Co’s’. Copulas are verbs like “be” which link subject to complement.
9 ADIEU Gold-plated cube is so long (5)
An envelope (-“plated’) of DIE (‘cube’) in AU (chemical symbol, ‘gold’).
10 LIMERENCE Most recent concoction after fruit crush (9)
A charade of LIME (‘fruit’) plus RENCE, an anagram (‘concoction’) of ‘recen[t]’ minus its last letter (‘most’). A new word for me (and not in Chambers) for an infatuation, as required for 14A.
11 CELEBRANTS Worshippers‘ bathing ritual starts with immersion in cleanest fluid (10)
An envelope (‘with immersion in’) of BR (‘Bathing Ritual starts’) in CELEANTS, an anagram (‘fluid’) of ‘cleanest’.
12, 28 WELL-TRAINED Like a good dog in spring, I daren’t go barking (4-7)
A charade of WELL (‘spring’) plus TRAINED, an anagram (‘go barking’) of ‘I daren’t’.
14 INFATUATION How to fry tuna? Add endless oil and stir for 10 (11)
A charade of IN FAT (‘how to fry’) plus UATION, an anagram (‘stir’) of ‘tuna’ plus OI (‘endless OIl’).
18 TATE GALLERY Are all Getty items to be moved into an alternative suitable location? (4,7)
An anagram (‘items to be moved’) of ‘are all Getty’. The mischievously amusing suggestion that the art be moved from Los Angeles to the UK is excuse enough for the presence of ‘items’ in the clue.
21 INCH Short distance from born-again Christian (4)
A hidden answer (‘from’) in ‘born-agaIN CHristian’.
22 NET PROFITS What Federer might earn after tax and expenses (3,7)
Cryptic definition.
25 GALLIPOLI Battle nerve is to bandage cut in retreat (9)
An envelope (‘to bandage’) of POL, a reversal (‘in retreat’) of LOP (‘cut’) in GALL (‘nerve’) plus II (‘Is’, as a jocular plural of i). As the invasion of Gallipoli in the First World War led to eight months of fighting, it is more often called a campaign, rather than a battle.
26 INDIA Country hotel takes precedence (5)
A reference to the radio code alphabet, in which Hotel is followed by India.
27 PERUSED Unexpected departures artlessly scanned (7)
An anagram (‘unexpected’) of ‘dep[art]ures’ minus ART (‘artlessly’).
28 See 12
DOWN
1 BLANCH Turn pale when division changes sides (6)
BRANCH (‘division’) with the R replaced by L (‘changes sides’, right to left).
2 EDIBLE Hendrix belief oddly not palatable (6)
Even letters (‘oddly not’) of ‘hEnDrIx BeLiEf’
3 GRUMBLINGS Murmurs of discontent as empty garages get filled with booze and jewellery (10)
An envelope (‘get filled with’) of RUM (‘booze’) plus BLING (‘jewellery’) in GS (’empty GarageS‘).
4, 15 TELL A FALSEHOOD Archer has fooled assembly with a lie (4,1,9)
A charade of TELL (William, ‘archer’) plus A FALSEHOOD, an anagram (‘assembly’) of ‘has fooled’ plus ‘a’.
5, 23 COME TO THE POINT Stop skirting the issue of top ethnic Me Too movement (4,2,3,5)
An anagram (‘movement’) of ‘top ethnic Me Too’.
6, 24 PORK PIES 15s food (4,4)
Double definition, the first being rhyming slang for lies.
7 LINGERIE Be a remainer? That’s pants (8)
A charade of LINGER (‘be a remainer’) plus IE (‘that’s’). An unannounced indication by example.
8, 20 SHETLAND ISLAND Yell, perhaps, or be quiet, sweetest heart: if air is air and sea is sea … (8,6)
A charade of SH (‘be quiet’) plus ET (‘sweETest heart’) lus LAND IS LAND (referenced jocularly to follow ‘if air is air and sea is sea …’).
13 LADY GODIVA Exposed tax-averse rider (4,6)
Cryptic definition.
15 See 4
16 STRING UP Hang for having shotgun in part of Las Vegas (6,2)
An envelope (‘in’) of NGU, an anagram (‘shot’-) of -‘gun’ in STRIP (‘part of Las Vegas’).
17 STICKLER Perfectionist finding swab originally left inside heart (8)
A charade of S (‘Swab originally’) plus TICKLER, an envelope (‘inside’) of L (‘left’) in TICKER (‘heart’).
19 BIDDEN Inside job I’d denied, as ordered (6)
A hidden answer (‘inside’) in ‘joB I’D DENied’.
20 See 8
23 See 5
24 See 6

 

image of grid

93 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28,308 by Philistine”

  1. This was quite an eerie deja vu experience for me. It seems that I have dropped across this puzzle quite recently – or at least a majority of the clues – to the extent that as I worked through it I knew exactly what was coming next. Since I don’t have ESP capabilities I wonder if it was in a quiptic, since currently I’m working through every quiptic of this century in my spare time. Can anybody else help me on this, or perhaps I do really have ESP after all (I shudder to think)? Either way, every answer went in very quickly, even more quickly than the first time ….

  2. For any 17d, there will probably be 3d about 11ac, and 7d probably has an incorrect conjugation in terms of 5ac, but let’s not 16d a setter who created such 22ac in ways to reward my 14ac (though definitely not 10ac) with such delightful pastimes. 9ac and thanks to both.

  3. Well, not a write-in as for rodshaw, but certainly lots familiar, eg copula (faintly), adieu, the Tate, blanch, edible, pork pies, lingerie and the lingerieless Lady Godiva. Limerence, otoh, was yes a nho, not in my SOED (which pre-dates its coining) or in my Collins… not a term that made it into the Psych canon, afaik. Gallipoli was indeed a campaign, a folly that killed a host of young blokes. As you say, PeterO, quite quirky, thanks both.

  4. Lovely riff, Peri1561. Eyebrow did flicker at celebrants, but this crusty old heathen went What would I know. But I thought ‘be’ (imperative) was ok in 7d.

  5. This turned out not to be as hard as it first looked.  The “air is air …” bit seemed impenetrable at first, but yielded, as did all the others.  I wondered briefly if that other legendary archer, Robin HOOD, was an intentional misdirection in 4,15, but occupying the last 4 letters it just didn’t compute.  I also wondered why there was a question-mark at the end of 9a ADIEU, since it seemed a perfectly respectable clue with no need of fudging.

  6. A pleasant, steady solve which didn’t cause me too many problems. I really liked GRUMBLINGS and SHETLAND ISLAND (once I had seen the trick – it looked like mumbo-jumbo until I put together SH and ET). Thought of INFATUATION fairly early with just two crossers, but couldn’t see a definition until the unknown LIMERENCE fell. 22a needed some crossers to distinguish between several net possibilities. All in all, lots of very nice clues. Thanks, Picaroon and PeterO.

  9. Testing. I tried posting a comment but it didn’t appear. Tried again, and got the ‘looks like you have already posted that comment’ message. Still not up, despite refreshing. Will this appear?

  10. What a great puzzle! I didn’t even mind that it was a DNF for me as I really enjoyed myself. I had CUPOLAS at 5a from anagramming the letters but couldn’t parse it for the life of me – no wonder – I was plain wrong! Had never heard of COPULAS. Makes sense when one thinks of the word copulation.

    As my most recent career was as a (non-religious) marriage and funeral celebrant (in some other countries they are called officiants), I was more inclined to think of the leaders of rituals as CELEBRANTS (11a) but then I realised that ritual was there to provide “R” for the fodder so was not part of the definition.  When I looked up celebrant in Chambers I found the word can also be used to describe those involved in a celebration, so I was cool with that one in the end.

    The very clever post by Peri1561@2 covered many of my favourites. I also liked PORK PIES (6/24d) and loved the aforementioned 8/20d SHETLAND ISLAND (Jimmy Perez being one of my favourite television characters). I always love it when Philistine slips in a subtle mention of his day job (the swab left inside the heart in STICKLER at 17d) – I am quite sure he is indeed a perfectionist in his role as surgeon!

    Warm thanks to Philistine for the setting and PeterO for the clarifications.

  11. A fun puzzle. COPULAS and LIMERENCE were DNK for me but I got them from clues and dictionary checking proved my guesses. Favourites were INFATUATIOn and INDIA. India had to be the answer but it took a while (too long) for penny to drop on the parsing. GALLIPOLI as a battle raised an eyebrow and I needed PeterO’s help to equate IS with II! A trick to remember. Thanks blogger and setter.

  13. Rodshaw @1 had deja vu all over again and I had BEER GUT before I even started the puzzle. Spooky!

    That all seemed to fall into place quite smoothly, although LIMERENCE was new to me (don’t tell Mrs P that I said that).

    I think SHETLAND ISLAND was my favourite.

    Thanks to Philistine and PeterO.

  14. This was pretty fair play by Philistine’s standards, with a couple of well-worn tropes (PORK PIES and NET PROFITS notably) thrown in.

    Was pleased to spot the subtractive anagram in PERUSED and very much enjoyed piecing together the whimsical SHETLAND ISLAND clue. Like others, COPULAS caused a bit of trouble: I was quite pleased with my first attempt of ABLATES, until I realised a) it didn’t mean the same thing as ABLATIVES, and b) it wasn’t an anagram of BEATLES anyway.

  15. Loved that, especially SHETLAND ISLAND. LIMERANCE and COPULAS were new to me too though very fairly clued. The CELEBRANTS question is a tricky one when drawing up church rotas. On the one hand we want to affirm that all those gathered are (hopefully) celebrating together; on the other hand preach and preside share their first two letters… Also in printed liturgy: are p and c president and congregation or people and celebrant…? So all in all I thought CELEBRANTS was a good reminder. No deja vu for me. Just many thanks to Philistine for a fun puzzle and to PeterO for the (early) blog.

  17. Yet another relatively easy midnight solve in what has been the gentlest week in yonks. COPULAS and LIMERENCE (lovely word) were new and my favourites were TATE GALLERY and SHETLAND ISLAND. Bravo Peri1561@2 and thanks to PeterO & Philistine.

  18. Peri1561@2: it’s a good job you posted early on and PeterO kindly included a completed grid.  On my screen, I was just able to view the grid as I worked through your comments.  very neat.  If it had been one post later, I’d have been scrolling up and down to make sense of it and would probably have cursed you!  Happy Days.

    Not a deja vu experience but I do get what rodshaw@1 and gif@3 are saying (not you, Penfold – I think you’re being mischievous already): the NE went in so swiftly that either I was bang on the wavelength or there’s some vestigial memory deep inside.  No complaints though.  I still enjoyed them.

    So much to like in, as PeterO has indicated, a quirky puzzle.  Lovely to be tested in so many ways but without – COPULAS and LIMERENCE aside – being presented with unfathomable obscurities.  I love the PDM when something like Yell suddenly resolves itself, or the mind finally gives up on Jeffrey and finds Tell.  SHETLAND ISLAND is a favourite for similar reasons to JinA – we share a fondness for both the books and series – and LINGERIE, which appears quite often, was delightfully clued (setters’ varying ways of using the that is/i.e. device are great fun).

    Other ticks went to TATE GALLERY – nice to see it in its entirety for once, the anagrams for TELL A FALSEHOOD, WELL TRAINED and COME TO THE POINT and the device in BLANCH.  EDIBLE resulting from an alternate letters device has popped up a couple of times in recent puzzles and BIDDEN too, though this time the President Elect has not been employed.

    Thanks to Philistine and PeterO

  19. My favourite setter on good form, although the inclusion of COPULAS and LIMERENCE, two words I did not know, slowed me down.  My favourite was STICKLERS, because I like the way the setter included a reference to his day job!  So, many thanks Philistine for the fun and PeterO for the early blog, as ever, and the help with parsing.

  20. JiA @9 I love Shetland as well (and Jimmy Perez and the other guy whose name escapes me) – waiting impatiently for another series.

    Took a while and a fair use of check button and dictionaries, but got there. Liked BEERGUT, CELEBRANTS, ADIEU, LINGERIE

    Never seen *is* to mean two Is before – made me laugh.

    Why is *Yell, perhaps* the definition for SHETLAND ISLAND pls

    Thanks to Philistine and PeterO

  22. I’m with Dr. WhatsOn @5: looked to be hard but then when I finally summoned up the courage to tackle it, 30-ish minutes later there it is done!  COTD SHETLAND ISLAND; FOI BEER GUT (with a laugh), LOI  PERUSED but just because of order…  DNK COPULAS or LIMERENCE but worked out nicely.

    Thanks Philistine and PeterO!

  24. A great crossword, thank you Philistine.

    LIMERENCE was new to me as well but it is in wikipedia.

    Favourite (for the surface) must have been 1ac. But 5dn was a great anagram and I loved the ‘is’ = i i in 25ac once I had struggled to parse it.

     

  25. After an inexplicable disaster yesterday a (rare-ish) completion for me! Somehow got stuck on the second word of 22A even with all the crossers. COPULAS was dredged up from somewhere, but LIMERENCE was an unknown. I didn’t know Yell, but it was nonetheless probably my favourite clue.

  26. Rodshaw @1 COPULAS  5a was a new word to me, but I entered one letter at a time in the right order – checking as I went!  And then ADIEU jumped into my head.  This was after midnight so I was too tired to connect DIE with Cube but instead of sleeping after I completed a handful of clues (if any sometimes) I completed the whole thing.

     

    While were are on this topic, I am still not confident enough to do the weekend puzzles with no check this!

    So I enter my answer, and if I’m not certain it is correct I use http://www.danword.com/

    Ever clue I have tried has been on there with the answer. I don’t even enter the whole clue because a few words is all it needs?

    Sometimes it lists other clues from the puzzle, leading me to think these compilers are reusing old clues in their entirety.

     

    I’ll enter this to google, not even verbatim, with half the clue missing, and I bet it gives me the answer!

    “Result of having a six pack crosswords”

     

    I win my bet (and crossword solver produced the same this time).

    I’d like to think the clues are fresh and the setters send them in advance to these sites, but is that too hard to believe?

  27. Thanks PeterO for your very clear explanations in particular the Is of GALLIPOLI and reasoning behind INDIA.

    My GRUMBLINGS today restricted to 4D as Wm Tell is more commonly considered an expert with the crossbow rather than an Archer (with a hand-drawn bow) but I defer to Chambers if a wielder of the crossbow is also considered an archer and it makes a great surface – has been a while since I was reminded of the infamous Perjurer (as often used by Cyclops/Private Eye – also shades of insect/arachnid from the other day perhaps?).

    I know Copula in another sense again (statistical/probabilistic) but could see how it might apply to words, and agree that LIMONENCE was clued very well and helpfully for an unknown word. I thought there may have been more to 22A with Federer as the NET PRO and something meaning FITS appearing elsewhere so wasted some time digging for that. Was delighted when SHETLAND ISLAND fell into place (with all crossers) but favourites was STRING UP with ADIEU a close second, thanks for the fun Philistine.

  28. Hmmm, just repeated my google search and crossword solver gives a little more info e.g. 5 hours ago!

    So my hope they are fresh clues lives!

  29. A delightful puzzle from start to finish – Philistine is on top form today.

    I have ticks for COPULAS, which I did know, LIMERENCE, which I didn’t but am pleased to know now, INFATUATION, TATE GALLERY, GRUMBLINGS, SHETLAND ISLAND and the amusing STICKLER – but there could easily have been more.

    Many thanks to Philistine, as ever, for the fun and to PeterO for th blog.

  31. Trussed up like a Christmas turkey in the NE, but I did like the puzzle, so thanks to the compiler and blogger.

  32. Thanks Philistine and PeterO

    A DNF for me as I had never heard of COPULAS and had “cupolas”, thinking that was some sort of &lit reference to the dome of St.Paul’s that was going over my head. I didn’t know LIMERENCE either, and got it from a wordsearch. I’m not keen on “most recent” to give the fodder for the end.

    The rest was fun. I knew YELL from a Bank Holiday island puzzle a year or so ago. BEER GUT and LOI LINGERIE were favourites.

    Did anyone else think of Lester Pigott for 13d? Couldn’t fit it in. though….

  33. After jousting all day with Imogen yesterday I was chuffed that BEERGUT, TATE GALLERY, NET PROFITS & INCH went in straightaway – and began to think today’s would be easier. Which just shows what a klutz I am.
    I’m another who’d never heard of LIMERENCE, pieced it together slowly, stared at it blankly – then went and looked the word up. Ditto COPULAS.
    I, too, raised an eyebrow at GALLIPOLI being a “battle” and I, too, am a huge fan of SHETLAND ISLAND (clue, books, tv series and the beautiful islands themselves).
    PERUSED, STRING UP, LINGERIE and INDIA were smart and sassy examples of why Philistine is a hero of mine – ADIEU was beautiful – and BIDDEN was so deliciously well-hidden that it was the last I solved!
    Thank you PeterO for the ever-informative blog, and a 21-gun salute to Philistine.

  34. I loved the SHETLAND clue. I generally leave very long clues till last, and was going to wait for some crossers, but thought “Oh, Yell is a Shetland island, I wonder if that’s anything to do with it”. Parsing it was delightful though.

  35. This was great fun. Loved BEER GUT (an easy FOI for me). INFATUATION was very nicely clued, I thought. The other cryptic defs (Federer and Godiva) were jolly good — I always take too long to switch my brain out of “parse for charade” mode to see the cryptic defs easily. The surfaces overall were very well crafted: TATE GALLERY was an excellent example of the skill of matching surface to wordplay. Like everybody else, I didn’t know LIMERENCE, but the wordplay fairly got me there. Super setting, IMO.

    Thanks to PeterO for the clear elucidations.

  36. I needed nearly all the crossers before the penny dropped on 8, 20 SHETLAND ISLAND – what an inventive clue.

    I thought “Battle” was fine as the definition in 25a.  Wikipedia: “The Gallipoli campaign, also known as… the Battle of Gallipoli…”.  First World War battles often lasted months, eg the Battle of Verdun from February to December 1916.

    Many thanks Philistine and PeterO.

  37. [muffin @32: I know you’re a classy chap but kudos for sitting in St Paul’s to do the crossword this morning.  Seeking divine inspiration, presumably…]

  40. Dr W @5:  I wonder if you meant the COPULA clue at 5a rather than 9a?  In which case it was the same question that I was going to pose – seems a perfectly good clue without it.

    I loved this quirky puzzle with its off-beat “definitions”.  We Graunders enjoy a wonderfully diverse crop of setters at present don’t we?

    Many thanks, both.

  41. Another great puzzle from the Levanter. I’m familiar with COPULA and the related expression ‘copulative verb’ (snigger), but LIMERENCE was new to me and LOI – like others I had to resort to Wikipedia to verify it.
    Originally I put BLEACH in for 1dn (bleach/breach fits the clue almost as well).
    Favourite was STICKLER for the reason given by Julie in Oz@10

  42. muffin@32 I was a Lester Pigott person, too

    akaRebornBeginner@26  William Pedoe (who was also instrumental in developing Alexa) has some details of how such programs as Danword work; so, no, I don’t think compilers would type in their clues and solutions.

  43. I used to live in Yell, so the SHETLAND ISLAND was an instant write-in.  Most visitors to Shetland unfortunately drive straight through Yell and onto the ferry to Unst, which is a pity as Yell itself has a lot to offer.  When I moved from Yell to Helsinki, I actually moved south, albeit slightly, and most Finnish people find this quite amusing.

    As a linguist, particularly a Celticist, the copula was another write-in.  The copula is very different from the rest of the verb ‘to be’ in the Celtic languages.

    Having said that, I was quite slow to see some answers, which I think others got straightaway.  I’m thinking LADY GODIVA,  INDIA,  NET PROFITS ….  (I got the net bit but couldn’t think of the other word, must be getting old).

    Never heard of LIMERENCE and only got it eventually from the wordplay.

    Nice puzzle, though.

    Thanks to Philistine and to PeterO.

     

  48. Very held up with this at first, particularly with the NE corner and a couple of words I hadn’t come across before, COPULAS and LIMERENCE. Then, suddenly, whoosh! in it all went at a great speed. Almost as quickly as the thaw after the snow this morning in Cambs…

  50. I just wondered whether the reference to Paul in the clue for COPULAS was an affectionately tongue-in-cheek allusion to one of my favourite setters.

    Some delightful stuff here, SHETLAND ISLAND probably being a favourite. Thanks to Philistine and PeterO

  51. Yes, it looked quite daunting at the beginning with all the long answers, but they relatively quickly revealed themselves.

    Unfortunately, I didn’t know Yell, so that was my LOI as I also left it, thinking it would be a literary reference to look up at the end, doh!

    Very entertaining with a lot of good clues. I particularly enjoyed STICKLER, NET PROFITS and TELL A FALSEHOOD.

    Thanks Philistine and PeterO, especially for the two ‘Is’, which I assumed included a typo.

  52. afternoon all. I enjoyed today’s a lot. I still think yesterday’s ‘Lady R’ clue was the pick of the week but as an overall solve, I thought today’s was the most pleasurable for me on balance.

    I was another who kept trying to connect Lester Piggott somehow with 13d.

    and on that (musical) note, given that I enjoy the song links that sometimes get mentioned – even if this one isn’t HMHB – I was very surprised to learn fairly recently that this rather lovely song from my youth by James has the baffling bracketed title of Sometimes (Lester Piggott)   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0jZ8Nn-SuY

    thanks to Peter & Philistine!

  54. I’m quite annoyed with myself for missing LIMERENCE, which I had come across. I might have got there eventually if I had had the patience to persevere.

    I saw SHETLAND ISLAND very quickly and with amusement. Several other clues tickled my sense of humour, and overall a fine mixture of clue types and difficulty.

  55. As with others, SHETLAND ISLAND was my fav today, with fond memories of visiting there for too brief a week some years ago, [including visiting grave of my great great grandfather.]
    Lots to like, too much to mention. Thanks to Philistine and PeterO.

  56. Would have been here much earlier if I could have persuaded myself that LIMERENCE was actually a word. Normally I’d do a Google with stuff like this but I tried other routes today. Let that be a lesson to me.

    Sorry about my Wednesday prediction for a Thursday Enigmatist. Imogen is pretty close though. I didn’t quite manage the NE, so very much a case of being careful of what you wish for.

  58. So I have a good night’s sleep, come back here to see if anyone has had the same question-mark question as I posed @5 last night, saw copmus@9 and realized I had listed the wrong clue (should have been the much-mentioned 9a COPULA), and then saw that William@40 correctly diagnosed what I had done (well done to you and apologies to everyone).

    BTW, although “of” and “in” etc. are used too, copulas are I would guess the most common form of link word used in cryptics to tie the definition to the wordplay, when a link word is used.

  59. Thanks to Philistine I now know how to tell love from LIMERENCE and that Yell is a Shetland Island as well as a delivery company (anybody else try to construct something with Shipping?) So many setters are using PORK PIES now, just as I am trying to become vegetarian. I must remember their false nature. Off to listen to the improbably named Yves Tumor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z2UHLoZy1E

  60. Like Gervase @41, I initially put in ‘bleach’ at 1d, which I was sure was correct, and when I saw the even more correct looking ADIEU wouldn’t fit, I became quite rattled, thinking if there was one mistake there may well be more. Anyway I finally saw BLANCH and things finally came together, including LIMERENCE. I’m very impressed that anyone had heard of it. One to wheel out in the future to show how doing cryptic crosswords can make you sound clever.

    Maybe a bit of a chestnut but I still liked ‘Yell, perhaps’ and the rest of the clue for SHETLAND ISLAND.

    Thanks to Philistine and PeterO

  61. Damn I meant grantinfreo@8.  Both Ozzie, aren’t you?  My only excuse is my coffee machine is broken.

  62. I don’t think I’ll ever use LIMERENCE (10a). It looks like a word made up from Latin bits like many technical terms, but actually, according to a website called “English Language and Usage” a psychologist just made it up. Even most psychologists don’t know the term, says the website, so what’s the point of using it?

  63. Beobachterin@15. You and a number of others have said that COPULAS was “new to me though very fairly clued”. I agree that the construction of the clue is obvious (once the possibility of the BEATLES being involved has been eliminated (Boffo @14!), and the crossers give a nice skeleton for the vowels to be fitted into. However, that still leaves six possibilities, or five after the obviously wrong CUPOLAS has been ruled out – with or without refence to the dome of St.Paul’s (muffin @32 & Mark @37!). I’ve mentioned this bugbear of mine in previous comments on different crosswords, but of course it’s impossible to have a rule that “obscure” words should not be clued with anagrams that can only be resolved by guessing and checking. After all, what is obscure about COPULAS? It was a write in for Anna and Eileen!

    I found the presence of Roger Federer in the cryptic definition at 22a too distracting for me to get the answer, so this was another DNF for me (on OddOtter’s scale, this would be 2.5 points, I think, for five unchecked letters not filled in). My turn to sit in the grumpy corner today! Actually I liked the vast majority of this puzzle, and was pleased with myself for solving 8, 20 from the wordplay (LAND IS LAND!) rather than geographical knowledge.

    I almost wrote TABERNACLES at 11a, but luckily spotted that it’s not quite an anagram of CELEBRANTS before putting pen to paper.

    [I was highly amused by rodshaw’s solving experience @1 – isn’t it amazing how our brains work! I share his shudder at the possibility of having ESP. When browsing a bookshop in Sedbergh, “the North’s answer to Hay-on-Wye”, I was lucky to come across a copy of Dying Inside, a 1972 science fiction novel by Robert Silverberg about how difficult it might be to live with a telepathic ability; perhaps disability would be more accurate. Nothing about crosswords in this book, but a very thought-provoking and disturbing read nevertheless. (There’s a clue in the title.)]

  64. Liked that the aforementioned 2 unknown (to most) words were fairly clued.

    Ticks for myself for completing an offering from this compiler albeit doing a check on those words.

    Thanks to Philistine and PeterO for clarifications.

     

  65. [Petert @59. So many setters are using PORK PIES now, just as I am trying to become vegetarian. My very last meal with meat before becoming a vegetarian in 1982 was a pork pie! I remember thinking at the time what a huge commitment it would be to stick to eating no meat for the rest of my life. Good luck.]

  66. I enjoyed that. I was held up after I entered NET RETURNS for 22A. Nice pun, I thought.

    Thanks to Philistine and PeterO.

  69. akaRebornBeginner @26
    ‘I am still not confident enough to do the weekend puzzles with no check this!’

    As another relative newbie, I’m trying to rely less on ‘check this’ – slowly! The weekend puzzles are actually very good training. Yes, I’m more likely to enter wrong answers but a) there’s more incentive to stick at the wordplay to check I’m right and b) the mistake usually comes to light when I can’t fit in the crossing words.

    The whole puzzle takes considerably longer, but there’s a great sense of achievement when I’m done. Have a go – you might surprise yourself

    : )

  72. Fiona@30. Your reply reminds me of the story of the Scottish couple relaxing in the piano bar and requesting a selection from ‘No,no Nanette’. The pianist apologised, admitting he was not familiar with the music from the show, to which the reply was ‘Och, d’ye no know ‘No, no Nanette’.

  73. Quite easy for a Friday Guardian I thought — my only miss was PORK PIES— I wrote in “pure lies.” I had many ticks including ADIEU, BEER GUT, EDIBLE, and LIMERENCE. The latter was quite familiar to me because I had read the 1979 book by Dorothy Tennov called “Love and Limerence.” [I found it fascinating and I remember it well decades later.] Thanks to Philistine and to PeterO for parsing — I didn’t understand SHETLAND ISLAND or INDIA.

  74. Very enjoyable puzzle. I was defeated by 8, 20 – lovely clue though.  Only quibble is with the use of “pants” to describe lingerie – that seems a tad off to me…

  76. Dave Ellison @42 – thanks for the link to William Pedoe’s site  – clever stuff.

    JinA and Gervase – glad I wasn’t the only one who thought of copulation.  Maybe it was the EDIBLE LINGERIE… or maybe not.

    A propos, Jay @74, UK pants are worn underneath US ones.  Hence those who TELL A FALSEHOOD are likely to face an even more uncomfortable ordeal on this side of the pond!

    Many thanks P & P.

    [This is off-topic, but there are a lot of people here with linguistic interests, who may be interested in a piece on the BBC today about the proposed reforms to the German phonetic alphabet.  Eileen, the Ö word might trigger another Brian Blessed flashback. 😉 ]

  77. [Sorry – nothing to do with this puzzle, but for those here who hadn’t heard of Grayson Perry in a recent puzzle might like to know that he’s on (British) Channel 4 at 8pm tonight.]

  78. One slight problem, William Tell was a crossbowman (arbelist) not an archer (toxopholite) like Robin Hood, just saying:)

  80. sheffield hatter, yes, 5 bad unches = -2.5 on the XOO scale… still a “good” score 🙂 For my part, a -1.0… did indeed think “can’t be cupolas”, but then couldn’t see anything else so, like muffin, entered it anyway assuming some unknown spin on the word. But no worries… much enjoyed this anyway.

    Jay in Pittsburgh, I also wondered re pants… turns out it’s a Britishism; per lexico: “British – Underpants or knickers”.

    Gazzh, re archer, appears at least some sites describe Mr. Tell as such. And tho I didn’t find it in Chambers, numerous sites do include crossbows as archery (e.g. https://archershub.com/what-is-crossbow-archery/). Hope that allows you to enjoy the surface guilt free 😉 [Or should I say let’s you love it, if you get my point… Penfold, you’re a bad influence!]

    Thx to our setter/blogger/commenters…

  82. [muffin: Well… ALMOST all… but crossed w/the last few so missed tony smith re crossbow/archery. Akin to arachnid/insect apparently, as mentioned at the link I gave too.]

  83. I enjoyed the puzzle with its usual Philistine wit, although it was a DNF for me as I simply couldn’t see LADY GODIVA and couldn’t remember the tax protest part of the story.  Most of my stand-out clues have already been highlighted by others.

    The only thing I’ll add is that I wondered if there was a mini-theme or perhaps an aborted theme of Cockney rhyming slang with the presence of PORK PIES (lies), LADY GODIVA (fiver) and half INCH (pinch) in the grid.  But I can’t see any more, so it’s probably just chance.

    Thanks for the entertainment, Phil, PeterO and posters.

  84. Jay in Pittsburgh @74  In the UK “pants” just means “underpants,” not “trousers.”  The nigglet is that “lingerie” is just women’s underwear, I believe, and women’s underpants over there are “knickers.”

  85. Many thanks to 42 and 69 for your helpful responses.

    When there are cash prizes , do the online solvers still produce answers for new puzzles?

    I have tried to complete puzzles without the online solver, and when I complete one before I lose patience and cheat , it is very rewarding, Katherine.

    In my youth I was better at the cryptic part of the clue, and hopeless at the literal side.

    I am so much better at the literal side than the cryptic side now. Bit when you can turn “is” into “ii” , and presumably “iii”, I have a lot to learn.

     

  86. 5a We’re currently watching the (free) Sky Arts series on Brunelleschi’s “impossible dome” or ” cupola” in Italian which is maybe why I didn’t guess COPULAS. Either is possible from the fodder whereas only LIMERENCE fits at 10a.
    As Brendan is often quoted, a puzzle doesn’t have to be difficult to be enjoyable and this one was definitely that.
    Thanks to Philistine and PeterO.

  89. cnut @87. In the clue for 14a the number 10 is a reference to the answer to 10a LIMERENCE (or a crush).

  91. No One Will Ever Read This: Sorry to spoil your name tag! LEMORANGE does fit, but not following how it satisfies the clue… perhaps explain your parsing?

  92. OddOtter @91. I can’t speak for the poster @90, but the only way it works for me is just the “fruit crush” part of the clue.

  93. Sheffield hatter at 65, I had the opposite experience to you when I became a vegetarian in 1989. It was a Friday and I stopped eating meat then went out to the pub that night and came home, forgetting I was a veggie and ate 6 mini sausage rolls. Doh ! So I became on a veggie on a Saturday.

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