The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28600.
A puzzle which leaves me with some questions unanswered: two answers (19A and 16D) which I cannot explain to my satisfaction, and the theme, which seems to be Poppy Day, but why the centenary? I expect there are very good answers out there, so fire away.
| ACROSS | ||
| 9 | CENTENARY |
Building entrance unknown for a long time (9)
|
| A charade of CENTENAR, an anagram (‘building’) of ‘entrance’; plus Y (‘unknown’). A centenary can be a the period of a hundred years, as well as the anniversary. | ||
| 10 | NYALA |
African natives from city in the way of … (5)
|
| A charade of NY (New York, ‘city’) plus A LA (‘in the way of’). An African antelope. | ||
| 11 | ROUTE |
… repairing outer road (5)
|
| An anagram (‘repairing’) of ‘outer’. | ||
| 12 | APPEARING |
A prince’s fruit and gin cocktail turning up (9)
|
| A charade of ‘a’ plus P (‘prince’) plus PEAR (‘fruit’) plus ING, an anagram (‘cocktail’) of ‘gin’. | ||
| 13 | BRITISH |
National Front of Belfast tense with Irish revolutionary (7)
|
| An anagram (‘revolutionary’) of B (‘front of Belfast’) plus T (‘tense’) plus ‘Irish’. | ||
| 14 | TRIGGER |
Start getting judge to sit astride horse (7)
|
| An envelope (‘to sit astride’) of GG (‘horse’) in TRIER (‘judge’). | ||
| 17 | DELHI |
Shop around hot city (5)
|
| An envelope (‘around’) of H (‘hot’) in DELI (‘shop’). | ||
| 19 | DAY |
Might sound like Roman from successful period (3)
|
| DE, generally pronounced as DAY, is Latin answering to ‘from’, but where does ‘successful’ fit in? Is it a reference to “Make my day”? | ||
| 20 | POPPY |
Flower power shortly facing the end of hostility (5)
|
| A charade of P (‘power’) plus OPP (shortly facing’) plus Y (‘the end of hostilitY’). | ||
| 21 | STARTLE |
Key leader removed fencing — bitter shock? (7)
|
| An envelope (‘fencing’) of TART (‘bitter’) in [i]SLE (‘key’) minus the first letter (‘leader removed’). | ||
| 22 | LYING-IN |
Confinement at home after making inventions (5-2)
|
| A charade of LYING (‘making inventions’) plus IN (‘at home’). | ||
| 24 | BUNDESTAG |
Diet of rolls — add sandwiches from French (9)
|
| An envelope (‘sandwiches’) of DE (‘from French’) in BUNS (‘rolls’) plus TAG (‘add’). | ||
| 26 | OBESE |
Former student given finally more Guinness double stout (5)
|
| A charade of OB (Old Boy, ‘former student’) plus ESE (‘finally morE GuinnesS doublE‘). | ||
| 28 | SINUS |
Infilling suspect cavity (5)
|
| An envelope (-‘filling’) of ‘in’- in SUS (‘suspect’). | ||
| 29 | FLOWERIER |
Fancier has best that is last of litter (9)
|
| A charade of FLOWER (‘best’) plus I.E. (‘that is’) plus R (‘last of litteR‘). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SCAR |
Mark mobile soldiers’ second uprising (4)
|
| A reversal (‘uprising’ in a down light) of RAC ( Royal Armoured Corps, ‘mobile soldiers’) plus S (‘second’). | ||
| 2 | ANNULI |
Rings one set aside at the beginning (6)
|
| A charade of ANNUL (‘set aside’) plus I (‘one’). | ||
| 3 | GENETICIST |
Scientist testing ice melting (10)
|
| An anagram (‘melting’) of ‘testing ice’. | ||
| 4 | WABASH |
Sailor has bath outside in river (6)
|
| An envelope (‘has … outside’) of AB (able-bodied ‘sailor’) in WASH (‘bath’). | ||
| 5 | SYMPATHY |
Setter’s upward stroke blocks shot — pity! (8)
|
| An envelope (‘blocks’) of YM, a reversal (‘upward’ in a down light) of MY (‘setter’s’) plus PAT (‘stroke’) in SHY (‘shot’). | ||
| 6 | ANNA |
Old copper has piano from East Enders sweetheart’s scratched (4)
|
| A subtraction: [jo]ANNA (‘piano from East Enders’) minus JO (‘sweetheart’s scratched’), for the obsolete Indian (and other) coin. | ||
| 7 | EATING UP |
Finishing off each can, dog’s thrown up (6,2)
|
| A charadde of EA (‘each’) plus TIN (‘can’) plus GUP, a reversal (‘thrown up’ in a down light) of PUG (‘dog’). | ||
| 8 | HAIG |
General hospital getting a soldier upset (4)
|
| A charade of H (‘hospital’) plus ‘a’ plus IG, a reversal (‘upset’ in a down light) of GI (‘soldier’). | ||
| 13 | BIDES |
President’s withholding the last of human remains (5)
|
| BIDE[n]’S (‘President’s’) minus the N (‘witholding the last of humaN‘). | ||
| 15 | IMPRISONED |
Shut up! Setter’s dug around issue (10)
|
| An envelope (‘around’) of SON (‘issue’) in I’M (‘setter’s’) plus PRIED (‘dug’). | ||
| 16 | RAYON |
Fabric Raymond gets removed from boards (5)
|
| I do not see how this works: MD is removed from ‘Raymond’ – Managing Director? Any better suggestions? | ||
| 18 | LEARNING |
Inclined to introduce the head of religious education (8)
|
| A envelope (‘to introduce’) of R (‘the head of Religious’) in LEANING (‘inclined’). | ||
| 19 | DYESTUFF |
Means of staining poor-quality trousers, rather tight in front (8)
|
| An envelope (‘trousers’) of YES (‘rather’ – “Would you like that?” – “Rather”) plus T (Tight in front’) in DUFF (‘poor-quality’). | ||
| 22 | LEGION |
Force restraint of member: not right (6)
|
| A subtraction: LEG IRON (‘restraint of member’) minus the R (‘not right’). | ||
| 23 | GUERIN |
French painter dreadfully rueing … (6)
|
| An anagram (‘dreadfully’) of ‘rueing’, for various French painters, none of them very well known. | ||
| 24 | BEST |
… worst risks son’s raised (4)
|
| BETS (‘risks’) with the S moved up in the down light (‘son’s raised’). | ||
| 25 | EAST |
One Direction getting brute to lose face (4)
|
| A subtraction: [b]EAST (‘brute’) minus the first letter (‘losing face’). | ||
| 27 | EARL |
Peer pressure ultimately applied against a heartless prince (4)
|
| A charade of E (‘pressurE ultimately’) plus (‘applied against’) ‘a’ plus R[oya]L, (‘prince’) minus the interior letters (‘heartless’). |
Googling 11nov 2021 I found that Poppy Day was started the by the Royal British Legion at the instigation of Madame Guerin.
I’m afraid I can’t help with either parsing question as I was stumped myself. Docs in USA sit their boards (?specialty exams) but I don’t think that’s related to getting their MD (which they graduate from med school with).
Why is Joanna a piano?
Ps I’m assuming that Joanna is rhyming slang but I don’t understand the rhyme. Maybe it is a regional pronunciation thing.
Oops I meant 11 nov 1921
Not terribly happy with this one. Joanna rhymes with pianna, but like PeterO couldn’t fully work out RAYON or DAY.
Before I had many answers and the correct theme, I had GENETICIST, and wondered if Nov 11 2021 was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Francis Crick. Well it wasn’t, nor of James Watson or Rosalind Franklin. But amazingly enough, last month was the 100th anniversary of their average birthday.
Yep, summat to do with red poppies and Roy Rogers’ horse. I think.I’ve done, or tried, a Genius by Kite … hard, as I remember. This one’s ok, thanks K and P.
ngaiolaurenson @1
Thank you for clearing up the centenary – my searches failed to turn it up. That explains the appearance of the less than famous French painters – and Mme Guerin had first name ANNA.
Quite a tough puzzle. I found it easier to guess a few answers and tried to parse them afterwards but failed on a few of them.
Failed to solve 6d ANNA – I still do not understand it, but no need to explain – it looks headache-making!
I did not parse 19ac, 1d (never heard of Royal Armoured Corps),16d RAY+ON? 27d E+A+RL?
Favourite: BEST.
New for me: artist GUERIN, WABASH river, FLOWERIER – I have never used this word or seen it in use before but it makes sense even though it is quite a tongue twister.
Thanks, both.
Thank you, PeterO, for your prompt blog. I understood that it was sometihing to do with Remembrance Day but wasnt sure what, so I am echoing your thanks to ngaiolaurenson@1.
I am such a creature of habit that it takes me ages to get on the wavelength of a new setter and Kite was a new setter for me. It took until 3d GENETICIST (I solve clues in order) before I found the easyish anagram and could get a toehold. Thanks to Kite for the enjoyable 14a TRIGGER (yes I also thought of Roy Rogers’ horse, gif@5), 22a LYING-IN, 24a BUNDESTAG, 28a SINUS and 22d LEGION. I couldn’t fully parse a few (19a DAY, 20a POPPY, 29a FLOWERIER and 16d RAYON, all of which I got from the definitions rather than the wordplay), so I was grateful to read what the blogger thought. [Still not sure how FLOWER in 29a can mean “best”? ANNULI at 2d and the WABASH River at 4d were unfamiliar.] Thanks to Kite.
“The Aunt Joanna” is the piana, which rhymes to cockneys, but how is JO “sweetheart”?
I struggled with the parsing.
My thanks to Kite and PeterO.
Re. 19A, quoting Collins online: “If you say that something has had its day, you mean that the period during which it was most successful or popular has now passed.” The definition is therefore ‘successful period’.
ngaiolaurenson@2
Oh!Yea! “Get on the old Joanna, and let’s have a good old ding dong!” Michlle@7: Please ignore (or mind a little more headache?)…
16 RAYON: Can’t think of anything better than “not MD” could mean “gets removed from boards” —-Raymond may never have been an MD to start with? 🙂
Thanks, Kite and PeterO!
Spooner’s catflap@10
Makes sense
Auriga @9 ‘Jo’ is an old-fashioned, and maybe locally Scots word denoting a sweetheart, As in Robert Burns’s poem:
John Anderson my jo, John,
When we were first acquent,
Your locks were like the raven,
Your bonie brow was brent;
But now your brow is beld, John,
Your locks are like the snaw,
but blessings on your frosty pow,
John Anderson, my jo!
Sorry, how does flower=best… As soon as I typed that, I realised that it was the meaning used in “London, thou art the flower of cities all”. (This seems to be a day for poetry, and I also knew jo=sweetheart from that poem, which I had to learn at school but never liked.)
No, I don’t understand RAYON either, and found a lot of this tough going. I don’t speak either Latin or Italian, so “de” was a non starter for me. I spotted the French one in BUNDESTAG but failed to find the rest of it. Also failed on DYESTUFF, looked up GUERIN but didn’t manage to tie it to the theme… Not a satisfying day.
NYALA reminded me of a South African holiday where we had them wandering freely around the safari lodge.
LvA @11 – thanks for explaining [jo]ANNA – I neither knew the coin OR the piannah reference!
Fabric Raymond gets removed from boards (5)
(Raymond also called Ray) + (gets on = boards) – gets
Thanks to Jen @16 for clearing Rayon up. Like others I found it difficult to get on the wavelength today.
Spooner@16 the Burns poem is a bowdlerised version of the rather more earthy folk song
John Anderson my Jo John
When first that you began
You had as fine a tail-tree as any other man
But now it’s waxen wan John and wrinkles to and fro
And often needs my helping hand
John Anderson my jo.
Isn’t today the centenary of the birth of our beloved Araucaria?
That was fun if a little tricky in places, quite a few parsed after getting from crossers rather than directly from wordplay.
I parsed RAYON as Jen@16, but it took a good while staring at it I’m bafflement.
Re DAY I agree with SC@10 the definition is successful period, although I took it to be an obsolete meaning of successful, i.e sequential or successive as one day follows another and so on.
Thanks Kite and PeterO
A worthy and apt theme though not the smoothest of solving experiences for me. I struggled to see things Kite’s way for most of the puzzle. I resolved not to look up anniversaries first as that can make the experience into a grid fill exercise on occasion but the appearance of (EARL) HAIG early on was the giveaway. 1921, three years after the end of the First World War: it had to be something related. Then POPPY helpfully confirmed it. Did anyone else go on an unsuccessful hunt for Royal? (Unless it’s covered by the gutless prince in 27d)
Same queries/gripes as everyone else – not only have I never used FLOWERIER; I think I’d struggle to say it! Flower of Scotland and the flower of French nobility slain at Agincourt were the two examples that came to my mind. DAY was totally lost on me and I needed jen @16’s help to understand RAYON which is still rather ugly. BUNDESTAG seemed a slightly odd word to include with such a theme and what on earth WABASH is doing in there, I don’t know. Very odd inclusion (though KAZAKH, which also fits, might have seemed equally out of place.)
To end on a positive, I liked IMPRISONED, the surface and construction for DYESTUFF was good, SYMPATHY earned a tick and the clue/anagram for GENETICIST was excellent.
Thanks Kite and PeterO
Hadn’t encountered Kite before, but having only got less than half of it out after an hour, sadly will be added to my “don’t attempt” list.
Thanks Kite and PeterO. I found this an odd mix of very easy and very tough clues. The poetic meanings of JO and FLOWER eluded me, and maybe I’m being dense but Jen’s explanation for RAYON hasn’t helped me much… Will keep staring at that one a bit longer.
Bit of a mixed reaction from me.
I’m glad it isn’t just me feeling puzzled by DAY and RAYON. I’m sure the suggested parsing of RAYON is correct because it’s the same slightly-too-clever wordplay as in EARL, which personally I think is almost as unfair as an indirect anagram.
Yes, BUNDESTAG and WABASH have a slight whiff of struggling to complete the grid, but the clue for BUNDESTAG is a brilliant one. As are those for BRITISH, STARTLE, SINUS, DYESTUFF, LEGION and BEST.
And I’m glad we have an appropriately themed crossword for the centenary of the first Poppy Day, with ANNA GUERIN, EARL HAIG, BRITISH LEGION, POPPY DAY all making an appearance, together with SYMPATHY and BEST (as in “that lays upon the altar/The dearest and the best”).
Thanks to Kite and PeterO.
Michelle @15 – the coin is one of those things I only know about from encountering it in crosswords. It comes up occasionally – one to store in the memory banks for future reference. (Along with this meaning of JO, which I’m sure I have seen before, just couldn’t remember it.)
Can anyone explain the …s in 10/11 and 23/24, I don’t see the linkage in the pairs.
widdersbel @22: Yes, I stared at RAYON for a while, too. It’s RAY (short for Raymond) + ON which is “gets” removed from “gets on” (boards).
No, I didn’t care for it much, either.
Rather ground this one out I’m afraid.
rupert_arabia @25: No, I can’t. The ellipses seem to be vaguely joining the wording but serving no other purpose. Perhaps I’m missing something.
Thanks Kite and PeterO.
Isn’t it simply that every dog has its DAY?
Getting ROUTE, APPEARING, SCAR and HAIG straight away, I thought this was going to be a doddle. How wrong I was: it turned out to be a dnf.
Thanks PeterO for several explanations; and thanks Kite
Kite was new for me. This was weird: from the sublime (BUNDESLAG) to the ridiculous (DAY, ANNA, RAYON)!
Happy to see the explanations. Thanks Kite for being different and PeterO for being illuminating.
Googling 11.11.1921, I was immediately led astray by discovering that it was the day the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington in the USA was dedicated. I haven’t come across Kite before either; some of his/her clueing a little arcane.
Thanks for the explanations, PeterO. Didn’t finish this and didn’t much enjoy it, to be honest. (These two things may be connected.) Sometimes when the working of an obscure clue like 16d is revealed it’s a delight, but not on this occasion for some reason.
A pretty tough crossword, perhaps not the best way for a new setter to endear themselves to the Guardian cryptic solvers, at least those who don’t attempt the Genius regularly. Got there with copious use of the check button and with a couple unparsed, despite guessing the theme very early.
Thanks to Kite and PeterrO
Thank you SC@13. I’m a Burns fan, but I didn’t know (or remember) that.
Definitely a tough crossword and like others, I’m not sure I enjoyed it that much
Thanks to Kite and PeterO
William @26 – yes, it came to me while I was making coffee (funny how the brain works these things out in the background while you’re doing something else entirely). Now that I understand it, I actually quite like it!
dantheman @29 – yes, exactly that – definition is ‘successful period’ – see Spooner’s catflap @10
Another DNF, here. I could get all but a few, and did recognise the CENTENARY of the BRITISH LEGION as the likely theme (but too late to help much) – but those last few were beyond me. I had ANNA from goanna/pianna (heard in Australia) but couldn’t see the instruction for taking off the ‘go’. Was anyone else thrown a bit by UP appearing in both clue and answer for 7d? So, overall, despite a promising start, I share the misgivings of quite a few of you. Thanks, Kite and PeterO.
I share many posters view of this one. A mixture of the straightforward and almost wilfully obscure. I got the theme (for once!) and also searched unsuccessfully for Royal. Further gripes would be 7dn with up in both clue and solution and Raymond clueing Ray. Thanks Kite and PeterO for a tough start to the day. ( Also keen to hear if anyone can explain the connections between 10/11 ac and 23/24 dn!)
Rather clunky but thought BUNDESTAG and BRITISH were the pick of the bunch. Reminded of this bittersweet gem https://fb.watch/9cvpgwpB0M/
Ta Kite & PeterO
No mention of Scottish re JO.Thats just for starters
Got the British Legion theme straight away, hence rattled in quite a few, then hit a brick wall!
Must swot up on African antelopes for these crosswords.
Thought flowerier was a funny word, but it was elegantly clued.
I wasn’t going too badly until I hit the bottom quarter, when I ground to a halt. I finished with a few guesses and a few uses of a crossword dictionary. The theme was no use whatsoever in solving it.
First time for me with this setter too and I also found it a real mixture. Most of top half went in quite quickly (except for ANNA). Then slowed right down and needed help from here with parsing several.
Liked LYING-IN, IMPRISONED, SINUS, DYESTUFF, APPEARING
Thanks Kite and PeterO
It is interesting to learn that the tradition of wearing poppies was started by a Frenchwoman, because nowadays in France on Armistice days it is not poppies which are worn, but cornflowers.
Apologies if it’s already been explained, but RAYON is short form of the name, followed by “GETS” removed from “GETS ON” (“boards”) I think … ?
Thank you, Kite for this befitting, commemorative crossword marking 100years since The RBL adopted the poppy for the first British ‘poppy day’, each silk poppy inscribed with the words ‘Haig Fund’.
Lest we forget.
Curious puzzle, as everyone seems to have found. I didn’t know any of the GUERINs but it was the only recognisable French surname which fitted. And like many others I was foxed by DAY and RAYON – thanks to those who disentangled these.
I particularly enjoyed BUNDESTAG, DYESTUFF and GENETICIST (almost my LOI, as I spent ages stupidly looking for *ICEMELTING).
Thanks to S&B
The Royal British Legion is celebrating it’s centenary this year
I align myself with many other commenters here in finding this puzzle a bit too strained to be enjoyable. In particular, the indirect evacuation of ‘prince’=’royal’=RL seems unfair to me too.
The theme was guessable from the start — and yet I tried ‘pansy’ and ‘peony’ before eventually seeing POPPY: duh! But then the wordplay for that one seems duff to me.
Ah well.
I’m afraid I didn’t enjoy this very much, despite getting the Royal British Legion quickly (to be expected maybe on Remembrance Day), and sort of remembering it was the centenary. Didn’t understand RAYON. Didn’t get ANNA, though I’m very familiar with “on the old Joanna” for “on the pianner”. However FLOWERIER (such an awkward word) put me in mind of Scotland’s “national anthem”. It always seems like it’s an old song but here is the original version from 1968.
Thanks to PeterO and Kite
widdersbel@24
yes, you are right, I will store the word ANNA for future crossword usage
Thank you PeterO for plenty of explanation, Spooner’s catflap, Jen and others for furthering my understanding – some arcane lore beyond me today but always surprising what does pop out of the noggin unexpectedly and I have learned a few things (though I wonder how many will stick). Agree that some felt overcomplicated (maybe this is heightened by following silky Nutmeg yesterday) – and shouldn’t 27A have a question mark for defn by example iro prince? – but I liked eg DYESTUFF and did smile at BEST = Worst which I wouldn’t have got a few months ago. Thanks Kite.
Strange mix of the staggeringly easy and the impenetrable. It took me ages to figure out the theme, which in retrospect was entirely down to my stupidity!
As with others, some of the parsing was an unsolved mystery to me. Thanks Jen @ 16 for RAYON, but I still think it’s a very weak clue, given the answer was obvious.
I didn’t parse DAY but completely accept where the successful bit comes in.
As for JO = sweetheart, that’s a new one for me.
Will await the next Kite with interest before passing judgment.
Thanks Kite and PeterO
Thanks Kite and PeterO
Having noticed the special instructions, I Googled November 11th 1921 and discovered that the theme would either be the centenary of the first Poppy Day, or the tomb of the unkown soldier at Arlington Cemetery. After FOI BRITISH, I looked for somewhere to enter LEGION, and it all followed from there.
Favourite CENTENARY for the misleading “building” – I tried MILLENARY first.
[Thank you to Crossbar @51 for the link to The Corries’ ‘FofS’. It is astonishing how quickly this song was latched on to as a Scottish anthem – I recall being in a pub in Kelvinside in 1972 where a woman who was, to be fair, slightly the worse for wear, was singing it loudly and badly and claiming that it was, even then, the country’s national anthem. Intellectually, I know that my Scottish identity should not be triggered by yet another ‘Scots wha hae’ song about the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 celebrating defeat of the English – is there nothing else that defines Scottishness, for Heaven’s sake? – but I’m afraid it never fails to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.]
Many thanks to PeterO for a good blog and explaining the parsings. Thanks also to the feedback from the posters; it’s always good to find out what does, or doesn’t work. I thought that boards = gets on was pretty standard fare but that one seemed to be difficult for many. I realised that ‘jo’ was a Scottish word, but I’ve seen it before in crosswords, so didn’t give it a second thought. The East Enders reference in 6 was to indicate Cockney rhyming slang, as others have pointed out.
When I first set this, I thought it might be too easy, but that’s probably because I knew what the answers were! I realised that ANNA GUERIN might not be well known, but thought it would be interesting for people to find out a bit about the history of Poppy Day.
I’m afraid I’m another who didn’t much enjoy this, a vague idea that with HAIG in early at 8d and POPPY at 20a that today’s date would bear a significance. And not really on the same wavelength as a setter I’m not familiar with. Felt unsatisfied with certain clues even when I’d solved them. Not a fan of the word FLOWERIER, either. Gave up with 3 or 4 unsolved, having rather lost interest…
By the way, is CENTENARY ever used (by living, breathing, human beings) to mean a hundred years, rather than the anniversary celebration of it? Other than the setter, I mean.
Well, it’s good to see the loose ends cleared up. Given a little time for reflection, I had decided that I was on the right track for 19A DAY, and that ‘successful’ should be added to the definition. I do not think it just sour grapes if I agree with those who found 16D RAYON to be clunky.
ANNA confined to crosswords? I knew it (along with pie and pice) from stamp collecting.
[Spooner’s catflap @56. You’re welcome 🙂 I’m not Scottish, but the song has a similar effect on me.]
16d Ray short for Raymond and on = take ‘gets’ away from ‘gets on’ (boards).
What a mixed bag! Some really good clues but quite a few azedy ones and too many that just felt like an exercise in guessing dodgy synonyms (STOUT = OBESE). For me there was none of the satisfaction that comes from wrestling with a gnarly Boatman or Vlad
Kite @57: Thanks for dropping by. Having been an occasional (amateur) setter myself, I know what you mean when you say that clues often seem too obvious when you have set them yourself! I look forward to seeing more of your output.
[S’s c @56: Having spent many happy years living in Scotland, I agree with you that it is disappointing that a song which is basically just anti-English should be so popular when that nation has many of its own things to extol. And the tune is a rip-off of ‘Va pensiero’, the March of the Hebrew Slaves from Verdi’s ‘Nabucco’]
I thought 1 dn could also be derived from CSAR (Combat Search And Rescue) with the S being moved up.
Thank you Kite, Peter0, and Kite dropping by @57.
I enjoyed this, for once getting the theme early on. Plus learning some new things about Poppy Day – including the fact that the British Legion only became Royal in 1971, which may be why Kite didn’t clue the word.
19a Why say “dyestuff” rather than just “dye”? I’ve never thought to ask before. And I hadn’t a hope of parsing it.
Why is OPP “shortly facing”?
21a I don’t agree that “tart” means “bitter.” It means “sour,” and the two are often confused — I’ve heard people say that lemon juice, say, is bitter, but it isn’t. Unsweetened chocolate is. I’m surprised to see this error here.
I looked up General Haig and found that his wife was Dorothy Maud Vivian Haig Haig. Anybody know why she was two Haigs? (Not her maiden name, which was Vivian.)
Thanks to Kite and welcome to the Cryptic page. And thanks to PeterO for the untangling.
[I very rarely post grumpily about the contributions of others but I do find it frustrating when comments appear 50, 60 posts into the day’s thread announcing things that have already been discussed, sometimes in depth. If you haven’t had time to read the contributions of others, say so, or else frame your post as a contribution to the discussion. Otherwise, in addition to looking a bit silly, it’s showing no recognition or respect for those who’ve already participated. Including the setter. ]
And well done Kite @57 for dropping in. Especially as we may not have given your puzzle the reaction you might have hoped for. Doesn’t stop me looking forward to the next one.
The British Legion didn’t become Royal until 1925 when it was granted its charter, which may be why Royal is missing from the crossword.
Valentine @67: You’re quite right about ‘tart’ – this is no more bitter than sweet is umami.
The word ‘dye’ originally just meant ‘colour’, so a colourant (UK spellings!) was a DYESTUFF. One of the sections of the former British chemical giant ICI was originally called Dyestuffs Division – Pharmaceuticals Division was an offshoot of this, now incorporated in AstraZeneca.
Valentine @67: dyestuff is supposedly material from which dye can be extracted though it can also be used for dyeing. I guess something like woad or madder. I’m no expert (I think SPanza might be, if he appears) but I imagine you could extract a blue dye from woad but simply dunking woad itself in with your whites would do the job. Dye vs dyestuff.
Opp is an accepted abbreviation for opposite (or opposition).
And, as for Dorothy Maud, hers was obviously a double scotch.
Well, I got there in the end, but this felt generally ‘clunky’. Thanks to posters above for parsing RAYON (admittedly, now it’s been explained, a good clue) and DAY (not a good clue IMHO). As for FLOWER being ‘best’, well, again thanks to poster above for the explanation, but it’s way too obscure for me and, if this is the standard for Kite’s clues, I’m afraid they’re not for me. I’m not even convinced by the effort to follow a theme. Sure, the words are there and the anniversary was obvious, but the themed words are just randomly scattered across the grid and there’s no clear reason I can discern why there should not be one more or one fewer of them. Overall, unsatisfying.
PeterO @60 – just my experience, so of limited value, but I’ve only ever seen this meaning of ANNA in crosswords. But stamp collecting was never my thing. It’s a bit like all those solvers who only know cricketing terminology from crosswords.
Kite @57 – thanks for popping in. You’re right that boards=gets on is standard fare, and I’m not sure why so many of us have had problems with the clue… I spotted the removal device in R[ega]L easily enough, so why not this one? Perhaps because it’s removing a whole word from a two-word phrase, rather than a section of a single word? In any case, I thought it was fine once the penny dropped – the instructions in the clue could hardly be more explicit!
Obviously I meant R[oya]L rather than R[ega]L but anyway…
PM @68 – seconded on all points.
Benbow99@65 thanks CSAR is new to me and I think that is an even better parsing (if more obscure), according to the infallible Wikipedia it began in WW1 so could even be loosely thematic.
PostMark@71 thanks for replying to Valentine and, by doing so, discouraging me from adding a cruder and wordier whisky-based pun than yours. Valentine I still can’t find any reference to the double Haig though, maybe it’s an online error?
widdersbel @73
My experience with the RAYON clue,(and probably that of other solvers) was that RAYmONd so obviously contained the letters for the solution, I was deterred from looking any more deeply. Perhaps a different way of clueing the RAY part (sunbeam, perhaps?) wouldn’t have given rise to this blind alley?
PostMark @71: The SOED gives for DYESTUFF ‘(a substance yielding) a dye’. This is not a headword, so there is no priority date attached, but it implies that the ‘substance yielding’ is optional.
Having several years experience in the industry myself I can confirm that its usual meaning is simply ’dye’. I suspect it is a calque of the German ‘Farbstoff’ – most of the early practitioners of synthetic colourant manufacture were German.
Thanks for the blog, third new setter in recent times, must be quite daunting for them really so must be kind.
I thought BUNDESTAG , RAYON and LEGION were very neat clues.
MrPostMark , I did read @ 71 but would like to add that OPP=OPPOSITION is widely used when annotating astronomical tables and charts, but I do not think it is an “official” abbreviation.
Seconded Roz I took OPP as OPPO shortly, Oppo is a recognised if informal short form of opposite number but I’d wager PM knew that anyway.
PeterO@60 To quote BertandJoyce’s joke from yesterday. Another refutation of the old saw that Philately will get you nowhere.
I grew up on the banks of the WABASH–my early years were spent in West Lafayette, Indiana–but would have thought it rather an obscure river to include in a British crossword, even if it is reasonably long.
Didn’t enjoy that much. Too many ‘it’s bound to BE that, but I’m not entirely sure why’.
Thanks to Kite and PeterO.
Themed crosswords – almost invariably a heterogeneous mishmash and this a good example. Much to admire – SYMPATHY, WABASH, SINUS – but too many Humpty Dumpty definitions for my taste: force=LEGION, long time=CENTENARY, old copper=ANNA, successful period=DAY, African natives=NYALA.
On ANNA (whose eponym we miss – but did I spot her popping up the other day?) the coin was apparently demonetised in 1957 (per Wikipedia) and I remember first encountering it in a crossword sometime in the late 60s. I have never in the interim met it outside of a crossword. I feel it should go the way of the “gloomy dean” (whose name thankfully escapes me) and be expunged from the xword lexicon (the xicon?).
Nice to see the centenary celebrated.
I enjoyed this, particularly APPEARING, GENETICIST and BUNDESTAG for the surfaces.
A bit unfortunate to have “start” in the clue for TRIGGER, when it’s a big part of 21a, but I enjoyed the judge/trier synonym very much.
I also went for the parsing of RAYON as Raymond having his MD removed (therefore removed from medical boards), although it did seem a bit tenuous at the time. Thanks, posters, for the correct DAY and ANNA parses.
Welcome, Kite, and thanks for dropping in. Thanks too to PeterO for the blog.
Mrpenny@81 – Today’s ear worm – The Wabash Cannonball!
Thanks to Kite and PeterO and others for help with some parkings.
… and some parsings.
I’m sure I’m very late to this party, but why does BEST mean worst?(24D)
glenn @87
It’s one of those autoantonyms. – best can mean “get the better of”, so “worst” somone.
muffin @88
Thank you! I suspected something like that, but for *me personally* it’s kind of a stretch. But I’ll remember next time… 🙂
I am afraid, for once, I must label my experience with this unsatisfactory. But I did get there.
I had a very different way of getting to DAY – I took sound like Roman to be a Latin hint and “might” could mean god – or DEI, so I made it a homophone. Weird, but I couldn’t see any other way.
I did like the two “B” clues as well.
Thanks for the exercise Kite, and for dropping in. Thanks, very much, for the blog PeterO.
Mrpenney@81 I too was surprised that the mighty Wabash, 38th longest river in the States, did not attract more comment, but it was up against stiff competition. I was so surprised to guess it, from the HQ of a former employer being on S Wabash Ave in Chicago, that I forgot to grumble that I see wash and bath being two different things entirely, according to whether I get wet or the water gets me instead (Particle Man again). No doubt there is a better equivalence that I have missed.
Just noticed that I had NYASA (FOI) instead of NYALA. The Nyasa – the peoples of Nyasaland (now called Malawi) – are certainly African natives, and ‘as a’ fits ‘in the way of’ just as well as ‘a la’, IMHO.
Yes, it was a but clunky in parts, but solvable despite doubt over some parsing. A bit like a Paul crossword in that perseverance pays off.
Always helpful and appreciated when the compiler pops in – thanks Kite.
PostMark@68: as a late arrival (I solve in the evenings) your sentiment concerning duplicated comments is seconded here.
Thanks to PeterO
I’ve read every comment, slowly, below this frankly astonishing puzzle and I still have absolutely no idea how the clue for RAYON is supposed to work
Tongue in cheek, baerchen? At least 4 posters have explained it!
Muffin. Seriously. Walk me though it word by word (let’s move on from the fact that Raymond is in the wordplay for a clue where the answer is RAYON)
Sorry for misunderstanding, baerchen
Raymond gives RAY (as Raymonds are usually called), then “boards” is “gets on”; without the “gets” it gives the ON. (I didn’t get it before coming here either!)
Thanks Muffin. I had read that several times and failed to grasp it. Silly me.
Well done, TassieTim @92. That’s the first original thought on this thread for quite some time. Now, do you have any idea how the clue for RAYON works? Asking for a friend. 🙂
Apologies to baerchen. My comment @99 was not aimed in your direction – my broadband had snarled up and I hadn’t seen yours @94, 96 & 98.
I did not attempt this as I spent most of the day travelling by coach from Baza, Andalucia to Valencia and then fighting my way through the completion of the Locator form to return to the UK from Spain. Postmark @71 thanks for the mention but although I spent my professional life working at the Tropical Products Institute, later renamed the Natural Resources Institute my real area of expertise is (well was) the distillation of essential oils for perfumery usually in very remote areas such as the Chapare region of Bolivia, notorious for Coca production. But from the little I do know I think you are correct. Anyway from the posts here which I have read I think this sounds interesting and might give it a go later and will definitely look out for future Kite’s.
@SheffieldHatter & Muffin
In cricketing parlance, I appear to have played around a straight one there…
[baerchen – my sympathy. I’ve been playing around googlies, flippers, doosras and wrong ‘uns for over a week now. Grateful to stub my toes on the occasional yorker.]
Christ alive, that was a joyless slog…
To make matters worse, Latin ‘de’ is pronounced ‘day’ by English people, yes, but wasn’t pronounced in this way by Romans. Admittedly, ‘might sound like an Englishman saying Roman from’ doesn’t quite work…
Having done this in the morning and been reading the comments here, I find the crossword has been improving throughout the day. Some of the comments have been very entertaining and kept me amused with a few lol moments.
From this puzzle, it’s difficult to discern the ‘real’ Kite; the clues varied considerably in sophistication and complexity. I’m now eagerly awaiting Kite’s second flight 😉
3d scored one tick. 6d? A ridiculous clue
19 across : `couldn’t be owt else’ ergo: ennui BUT Anma Guerin … x
AnNa
boviously
I’m blessing Gaufrid (and gang) as always, in moments of failure.
I seem to be making a habit of joining in the next morning, having waited for inspiration to strike! It did, in that I got WABASH this morning (had to google to check it was a river – so much for the very few who worry about there being too much UK GK in Guardian crosswords), but DYESTUFF & FLOWERIER still eluded me. A bit cross with myself, because I had considered both DUFF & DYE. And I knew where the IER came from, but didn’t think of FLOWER for BEST. Also, thank you to Jen, William et al for parsing RAYON, which has me stumped. I wonder if some of the original poppies were made from rayon rather than silk.
Ah well, on to this morning’s Paul.
I really enjoyed this puzzle – I love a historical theme. Thanks to Kite for getting Anna Guerin in, and also for using one of my favourite dialect words in the same clue! Failed to get Bundestag but I can see it now.
Day is : “successful period” as in “Every dog has it’s day”, as the definition, and “sounds like the Latin for from (e.g. de profundis)” as the cryptic bit. A lot of clue for not much of an answer, if you ask me.
Well done those who parsed all of this one. I’m a bit surprised nobody has got in to say that RAC = mobile soldiers as would AA.
Thanks both
An afterthought to 23D. I wondered why Guerin was familiar but not as a painter, but I have only just got round to looking it up. Camille Guérin was half of the team who developed the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine for tuberculosis, which has saved millions of lives and is still being used today. It was first used in 1921, so that’s actually another centenary.
Thanks Togs, that’s a very interesting fact that I didn’t know.
Didn’t get close to finishing this one, and from the sound of things, never would have.
I did, however, know JO as a (Scottish) sweetheart from too much Scrabble!