Guardian Cryptic 28,573 by Vulcan

October 11, 2021 at 8:08 am by loonapick

Typical Monday fare, or was it?

This was for the most part typical of a Monday puzzle – "kinda" cryptic definitions, a double definition, some straightforward anagrams… but it took me a little longer than usual to get on to Vulcan's wavelength this morning, and that is essential in this kind of puzzle.

I thought I'd check out the Guardian website to see what other solvers thought, and some found it easier than normal, others harder than normal. Ah well, the only consistency in life is inconsistency.

I did learn a new word, though – Ciceronian. although it was guessable both from the anagram fodder and the definition.

Thanks, Vulcan.

ACROSS
1	OMITTED	Hand in dictionary that is left out (7)
		MITT ("hand") in OED (Oxford English "Dictionary")
5	BACK OFF	Move away from taking this to attempt repair? (4,3)
		If you "attempt" to "repair" certain things, you may start by taking the BACK OFF
9	FATAL	Following a story that has no end is disastrous (5)
		F (following) + A + TAL(e) ("story" that has no end)
10	MONASTERY	Second sign of hesitation to enter filthy house (9)
		MO ("second") + ER ("sign of hesitation") to enter NASTY ("filthy")
11	CICERONIAN	Eloquent, sliding in car on ice (10)
		(in car on ice) [anag:sliding*]
12	DOSH	Make quiet money (4)
		DO ("make") + SH ("quiet")
14	THE BIG ISSUE	Magazine‘s serious debating topic (3,3,5)
		A serious debating topic could be considered THE BIG ISSUE, and The Big Issue is a magazine sold by some homeless people in the UK to help them earn some money.
18	LINE OF SIGHT	Direct view here in the fog is nil, unfortunately (4,2,5)
		(the fog is nil) [anag:unfortunately*]
21	ONE-HORSE TOWN	See 7

22	LAST MINUTE	Unprepared to survive, so small (4,6)
		LAST ("service") + MINUTE ("small")
25	PEA-SOUPER	Quietly use a rope to get around in thick fog (3-6)
		P (piano, so "quietly", in music notation) + (use a rope) [anag:to get around*]
26	UBOAT	Extremely upset about snake, an unseen attacker (1-4)
		[extremely] U(pse)T about BOA ("snake")
27	SALTIRE	Cross, but showing wit as well as anger (7)
		SALT ("wit") as well as IRE ("anger")
28	DEEP-FRY	How to cook new hatchlings from the bottom of the sea? (4-3)
		FRY ("new hatchlings") from the DEEP ("bottom of the sea?")
DOWN
1	OFFICE	Workplace starting to warm up? (6)
		If something has been on ice, and is taken OFF ICE, it will "start to warm up"
2	INTACT	It can’t fail to become whole (6)
		(it can't) [anag:fail*]
3	TOLERATION	Endurance, suffering toenail rot (10)
		(toenail rot) [anag:suffering*]
4	DEMON	Very skilful person made money boxes (5)
		Hidden in [boxes] "maDE MONey"
5	BANDAGING	Team getting on with protecting injury (9)
		BAND ("team") + AGING ("getting on")
6	CUSP	Start to search inside hollow part of tooth (4)
		[start to] S(earch) inside CUP ("hollow")
7, 21	ONE-HORSE TOWN	Weston-super-Mare, such a mean place? (3-5,4)
		There is one mare (horse) in Weston-Super-Mare, so it could be described as a "one-horse town". Not sure why Vulcan has used the word "mean", as an average town would surely be big enough to have required more than one horse?
8	FLYSHEET	Handbill that can be used to keep the rain out (8)
		Double definition
13	DISTRIBUTE	Hand out inspector’s words of approval (10)
		DI'S (Detective "Inspector's") + TRIBUTE ("words of approval")
15	EASY AS PIE	Very simple, like a shepherd’s meal? (4,2,3)
		The meal referred to is "shepherd's" pie
16	PLATYPUS	Puts play off, its bill being remarkable (8)
		(puts play) [anag:off*]
17	SNOWBALL	This childish fight can escalate rapidly (8)
		The "childish fight" is a SNOWBALL fight.
19	CUT OFF	About to smack, intercepted (3,3)
		CUFF ("smack") about TO
20	VESTRY	Way into actual robing room (6)
		St. (street, so "way") into VERY ("actual")
23	TIRED	Short of energy, resistance overwhelmed by United (5)
		R (resistance) overwhelmed by TIED ("united")
24	GOBI	One marsh turns up in desert (4)
		<=(I ("one") + BOG ("marsh"), turns up)

49 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28,573 by Vulcan”

Blah

#1 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 07:17

A very odd mix today some very easy clues and some a lot more difficult than most Mondays.

I didn’t really enjoy the cryptic defs today, I thought BACK OFF was dubious, as was ONE-HORSE TOWN. SNOWBALL being the exception here it was very good.

The anagrams on the other hand were superb.

Thanks Vulcan and loonapick.
Dave Ellison

#2 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 07:18

I enjoyed this, in particular DOSH, for its neatness, and DEEP FRY.

There seemed to be WESTON in ONE HORSE TOWN, but I couldn’t make anything further of it. Wasn’t there a discussion about this answer recently?

Thanks Vulcan and loonapick
Blah

#3 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 07:18

I also wanted to highlight SALTIRE as excellent.
Dave Ellison

#4 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 07:23

It was Crucible five days ago, though just ONE_-HORSE
beaulieu

#5 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 07:25

Surely in the ONE-HORSE TOWN clue, “mean” is used in the sense of “unimpressive” rather than “average” – one might describe somewhere as ” a mean little place”?
Other than that, a good Monday crossword. I quite liked “BACK OFF” for the definition.
Thanks both.
michelle

#6 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 07:29

I enjoyed the humour of many of the surfaces as well as the various anagrams – they are always fun to work out.

I did not understand the parsing of 7/21 but was able to guess the answer once I had the crossers. This is my least favourite clue of the puzzle.

Favourites: DISTRIBUTE, DEEP-FRY, LAST MINUTE.

Thanks, both.
GingerTom

#7 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 07:35

My take on mean in the clue for 7/21 is as in `what does it mean`. There’s one mare, so that means it’s a one horse town.
I enjoyed this easy as pie puzzle, though could not parse Office, or indeed One Horse Town before coming here, so thanks to both Vulcan and loonapick
NeilH

#8 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 07:54

There was some fun here – I’m with beaulieu @5 in rather liking BACK OFF, and the whimsy of DISTRIBUTE appealed to me, and like michelle @6 I enjoyed the humour of the surfaces.
Really not convinced by WESTON-SUPER-MARE, but hey.
It’s Monday. Bother.
Thanks to Vulcan and loonapick.
ravenrider

#9 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 07:56

I was thinking mean=scanty or sparse, similar to bealieu @5. Still an odd clue though. “Like a shepherds” meal for “easy as pie” also felt strange to me. Still a nice mix of clues for a Monday though.
JerryG

#10 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 07:57

I thought this was fairly straightforward and therefore perfect Monday fodder. 11ac was the only new word but it wasn’t a difficult solve. Thank you Vulcan for the neat surfaces and the humour. Thanks loonapick for explaining WSM.
Sagittarius

#11 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 08:01

The 7/21 clue illustrates that “mean” is a word that can express respectful admiration (“a mean cocktail”), contemptuous disregard (“a mean hovel”) and plain average, as per loonapick’s blog. Not many words quite as versatile. A very satisfying crossword; thanks to setter and blogger.
Julia

#12 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 08:05

I failed on 6d, not getting beyond CASING the joint or CASTING around. Otherwise straightforward but really enjoyable. Thanks Vulcan and Loonapick
CanberraGirl

#13 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 08:48

Just what I needed for Monday. Thanks Vulcan and loonapick. Finishing this meant I had a bit of time available to go on worrying at the clues from Saturday which are still giving me trouble.
Tomsdad

#14 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 09:01

I’m with those who read ‘mean’ in ‘mean little town’ as ‘poor’ or ‘humble’ for 7-21. I can’t see that average would make sense of the clue. Like Loonapick, it took me a while to get going for a Monday crossword, with only a couple of across clues in the bottom half of the puzzle before the down clues gave some impetus. Thanks Loonapick and Vulcan.
blaise

#15 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 09:04

Well, I thought ONE-HORSE TOWN was gloriously silly. As to the various ways of interpreting the word MEAN I remember an American friend remarking that if you called someone mean, it was an insult. And if you called him a m*****f*****, it was a deadly insult. Whereas if you say “He’s one mean m*****f*****!” it becomes a compliment.
William

#16 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 09:08

I thought loonapick’s description of kinda to describe many of the cryptic defs was spot on.

No real complaints, just a bit of a grind.

Not sure what “with” is doing in the BANDAGING clue. Just fodder for the surface, I assume.

CICERONIAN was nice.

Matt thanks, both.
William

#17 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 09:08

…many… grrr
bodycheetah

#18 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 09:22

I was another slow starter but put it down to a 3:30 pet wake-up. I liked TOE-NAIL ROT – possibly the first time I’ve said that 🙂

WESTON-SUPER-MARE seems like a bit of a gift for setters containing (at least) the following words;
L-R we, west, ton, tons, on, sup, super, per, perm, er, ma, re
and R-L er, era, ram, rep, pus, us, snot, not, no, sew

And in my Enron days “having a WESTON” was slang for having a bad day

Cheers all
wynsum

#19 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 09:32

Not quite 15d but good fun, thanks Vulcan & loonapick.
‘Mean’ (as adjective) originally meant common (and so ‘inferior’) and only more recently small-minded or rude (but still not sure about ‘Weston-super’ even though it contains the letters for TOWN).
Lord Jim

#20 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 09:38

I thought this was excellent – about the right level for a Monday but full of wit. ONE-HORSE TOWN was very funny (and yes, “mean” here is clearly “humble, low, inconsiderable” – Chambers – rather than “average”). And Crucible’s related clue last week helped a bit. I also ticked U-BOAT for a great surface (though the enumeration was a bit of a giveaway) and several others.

Many thanks Vulcan and loonapick.
GreyBeard

#21 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 09:43

Re Previous Crossword: The “in America” in 4d refers to the Americanism “go down” meaning “happen”, as in Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane”.

Dylan co-wrote all the songs on the album Desire apart from the song, Sara. I think even though Jacques Levy was involved, all the songs seem very Dylan like. He did co-write one other song in his career and that was Brownsville Girl on the Knocked out and loaded album. This time, however, his co-writer was Sam Shepherd. Once again I feel the song does have significant Dylan elements even though he was in a bit of a creative dip at the time.
muffin

#22 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 09:51

Thanks Vulcan and loonapick
I found this both easier and more enjoyable than the Quiptic. ONE HORSE TOWN (with mean as poor, for me) amused, as did BACK OFF. I also ticked OMITTED.
Only question, the equivalence of VERY with “actual”.
Blah

#23 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 09:56

Muffin@22

Does “That’s the very one I wanted.” help with very = actual?

If not then sorry but it’s in Chambers 🙂
Robi

#24 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 09:59

I found this a little more difficult than the usual Monday Vulcan.

Some words I didn’t know: SALT = wit, and CICERONIAN. The ODE definition of ONE-HORSE TOWN is a small town with few and poor facilities, so, as others have pointed out, mean in the clue clearly means poor.

I liked the simple CUT OFF, where for a while I thought the ‘about’ was C, so took some time to put in the right answer.

Thanks Vulcan and loonapick.
muffin

#25 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 10:09

Thanks Blah
sheffield hatter

#26 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 10:20

I thought loonapick was having a little joke with his “an average town would surely be big enough to have required more than one horse?” Perhaps he will enlighten us. The crossword was full of humour, so maybe that led me to see humour in the blog too.

Thanks to Vulcan and loonapick.
Ark Lark

#27 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 10:34

Standard Monday fare, although I did like LAST MINUTE for its exactness and brevity.

I’m afraid I found some of the (not so) cryptic definitions underwhelming.

Thanks to Vulcan and loonapick
jinja

#28 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 10:35

Don’t see a problem with 7,21. Surely a one-horse town is a small unimportant place … hence “mean” …. ?
Lord Jim

#29 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 10:47

sh @26: yes, perhaps you’re right. Apologies loonapick – though judging by all the responses maybe you needed to flag it up with a smiley face…

PS there is a slight mistake in the blog at 22a: “service” should be “survive”.
Ronald

#30 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 10:56

ONE HORSE TOWN a bit like One Trick Pony, I suppose, and was my LOI. Liked U-BOAT and the Duckbill at 16d. Needed the O from OFFICE to realise that OMITTED was required at 1ac. Whenever I fail to solve the first across clue I normally start to fret a little.
il+principe+dell’oscurità

#31 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 11:10

Thank you Scchua, and Hectence for the smile; whenever the phrase one-horse town crops up I picture Weston-Super-Mare, which is a little unfair (even mean) as I only ever saw it from the railway, rarely a place’s “best side”.
However, being nearly a native, I feel entitled to quip, “If it weren’t for the fact that 3000 horses live there, you’d have to call Newmarket a one-horse town.”
il principe dell’oscurità

#32 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 11:13

Quiptic mix-up – thanks to Vulcan and Loonapick
TassieTim

#33 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 11:29

Took me a while to get into this too – I had to come back and have a second attempt later in the day. I can’t believe how long it took me to see LOI PLATYPUS. Thanks, Vulcan and Loonapick for parsing a few I remained puzzled by.
Gasmanjack

#34 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 11:49

I managed to resist five days ago, but now I can’t:
The definition of sheer waste – two blacksmiths in a one horse town.
Still Trying

#35 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 12:08

…. HUSH at 12a led me astray for quite a while ….
Simon S

#36 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 12:26

GreyBeard @ 21

[Dylan has numerous other co-writes: with Rick Danko and Richard Manuel separately in 1967, and most of Together Through Life was co-written with Robert Hunter,]
Valentine

#37 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 12:55

Never heard of The Big Issue.

7, 21 Weston may have only one horse, but she is a super one!

Blaise@15 and others — yet another meaning of “mean” (not relevant here) is “deliberately cruel.”

Gasmanjack @34 A blacksmith is a person who makes things out of iron. A person who shoes horses is a farrier. They’re commonly confused. (Of course, a person can be both.)

Thanks to Vulcan and loonapick. Nice morning fun.
Stanyel

#38 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 12:56

I liked 5a because, coincidentally, I had to take the back off my cooker yesterday to fit a new grill element. Not being very confident about this, I almost backed off. This type of thing often happens. My best example was when I stopped in Hungerford for a pint and found the answer to 1a to be SHOTGUN wedding: I didn’t hang around.
Valentine

#39 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 12:57

What has become of the Quiptic? I just clicked it and there is no corssword on the page! Apparently others have done it, so something may have happened to it since.
michelle

#40 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 13:03

Valentine@39
I can see the Quiptic
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/quiptic/1143
SPanza

#41 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 13:19

Very satisfying crossword and blog thanks both. Another HUSH here, Still Trying @35, apart from it not fitting it is as good as the correct answer! My favourite was THE BIG ISSUE.
Roz

#42 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 14:05

Thanks for the blog , a lot of good clues here and not too many so-called cryptic definitions or double synonyms.
The word play here showed a lot of variety and many techniques. A Monday puzzle can still be a good puzzle.
MarkN

#43 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 14:53

Very good for a Monday puzzle. I really liked Back Off when I finally got it. I didn’t have a problem with Weston Super Mare, with “mean” being poor or small. It also give me a rare excuse to use this joke: I’ve just heard that Weston Super Mare has been twinned with Chamoion The Wonder Horse.

I’ll get my coat…
MarkN

#44 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 14:53

Bah! Champion the Winder Horse, obviously…
Huntsman

#45 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 15:09

BACK OFF is about as far as I ever get when I try to repair anything so it gets my vote as pick of the clues. Nice puzzle.
Thanks all.
HoofItYouDonkey

#46 - Mon 11th Oct 21, 16:59

Just defeated by the NE Corner. Ho hum, not very good.
I should be able to finish more crosswords than I do.
Thanks both.
PeterW

#47 - Tue 12th Oct 21, 07:52

Weston-Super-Mare is an odd name. I wonder if there is any other town in England that has kept it’s latin description? (Bradwell-juxta-Mare in Essex is now plain old Bradwell-on-Sea).
essexboy

#48 - Tue 12th Oct 21, 20:34

[PeterW @47: there are a few magnas and parvas, and an awful lot of regis’s]
Josh Rubin

#49 - Wed 13th Oct 21, 02:14

First time I solved a regular cryptic entirely with no Googling!

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