Guardian Cryptic 28,648 by Picaroon

A very enjoyable solve…

…with seven pairs of ANTONYMOUS across solutions arranged symmetrically in the grid. My favourites were 11ac, 25ac, 13dn, and 21dn. Thanks to Picaroon for the puzzle.

 picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
7 LAMBASTE
A lot of meat to keep moist in pan (8)

definition: "pan" meaning to criticise harshly

a lot of LAM[b]="meat" + BASTE="keep moist"

9 LOATHE
Be averse to getting into pedalo at headland (6)

hidden in peda-LO AT HE-adland

10 GO ON
Rabbit or donkey (2,2)

definition: to keep talking

GOON=stupid person="donkey"

11 EQUIVALENT
Counterpart of Dancing Queen? It keeps John twirling (10)

anagram/"Dancing" of (Queen It)*; around LAV=lavatory="John" reversed/"twirling"

12 REVOLT
Soldiers at front of unit take seditious action (6)

RE (Royal Engineers, soldiers) + VOLT="unit" of electric potential

14 EDUCATED
Informed old coin is found in river to the west (8)

DUCAT="old coin" inside DEE="river" reversed/"to the west"

15 NAYSAY
Oppose always following one Pole, then another (6)

AY="always" following the N (North) pole, then AY again following the S (South) pole

17 ASSENT
Reporter’s rising to give agreement (6)

homophone/"Reporter's" of 'ascent'="rising"

20 IGNORANT
Foreign lady not starting books in a blissful state? (8)

definition referring to the phrase 'ignorance is bliss' / 'blissful ignorance'

s-IGNORA=Italian "lady" without the starting letter + NT (New Testament, "books" of the Bible)

22 ENTICE
Draw in net at sea, getting chill (6)

anagram/"at sea" of (net)*, plus ICE="chill"

23 ANTONYMOUS
Having no character drinking tea loudly, like seven pairs of solutions here (10)

ANONYMOUS="Having no character", around T=letter pronounced as 'tea'="tea loudly"

24 HALT
Come to a stop in lake in Panama, say (4)

L (lake) in HAT="Panama, say", as a Panama is a type of hat

25 ADMIRE
Think a lot of diamonds get hidden in a bog (6)

D (diamonds, in playing cards) inside A MIRE="a bog"

26 EULOGISE
Record penned in Brussels is getting English acclaim (8)

LOG="Record", inside EU="Brussels" + IS + E (English)

DOWN
1 NAPOLEON
Emperor is to keep sleeping, interrupted by lion (8)

NAP ON="keep sleeping"; around LEO="lion"

2 OBAN
Oscar turned up collar in Scottish resort (4)

Oban is a resort town in Scotland

O (Oscar, NATO alphabet) + NAB=arrest a criminal="collar" reversed/"turned up"

3 ASPECT
Feature a group of extremists seizing power (6)

A SECT="a group of extremists", around P (power)

4 FLAVOURS
Bitter and sour, say, from Left cutting benefits (8)

L (Left) cutting into FAVOURS="benefits"

5 PARLIAMENT
Old man perhaps accepting post up in assembly (10)

PARENT="Old man perhaps", around MAIL="post" reversed/"up"

6 WHINGE
Wife with joint which may be beef (6)

definition: beef as a noun meaning 'complaint' or a verb meaning 'grumble'

W (Wife) + HINGE="joint"

8 ELUDED
Avoided having erroneous beliefs, losing head (6)

d-ELUDED="having erroneous beliefs", losing the head letter

13 OXYMORONIC
Like the living dead with axes? There’s nothing silly about that (10)

definition: the phrase 'living dead' is oxymoronic, combining contradictory terms

X and Y are "axes" as in plural of 'axis' in co-ordinate geometry, with O=zero="nothing" + MORONIC="silly" going around

16 ANALYSES
Examinations of any sales subject to corruption (8)

anagram/"subject to corruption" of (any sales)*

18 TACTLESS
Lacking delicacy, time to be more passive? (8)

T (time) + ACT LESS="be more passive"

19 STROBE
Kind of light garment under servant’s coat (6)

ROBE="garment" after the outer letters of S-ervan-T

21 GONADS
Gallivants around playing organs, which will generate issue (6)

in the definition, "issue" is in the sense of 'offspring'

GADS=wanders leisurely="Gallivants", around ON="playing"

22 EASELS
Stands in line and moves gently around it (6)

L (line) with EASES="moves gently" around it

24 HIGH
Uttered greeting on horse? (4)

definition: 'high' as in under the influence of a drug – "horse" is slang for heroin

homophone/"Uttered" of 'hi'="greeting"

102 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28,648 by Picaroon”

  1. Ever since I started doing the Guardian cryptic, I’ve kept notes on each setter, with a rating of 1 (easy) to 5 (hard). This was because I rarely attempted cryptics (until last autumn) and my notes helped me decide whether to attempt a particular setter if I felt like doing a puzzle. Picaroon’s entry is “5 – tough but fair, some obscure words; a bit dull”, which meant: “avoid”! Apart from “fair”, that note is completely wrong for today’s puzzle. I found it enjoyable and, for me, on the easier side (a 3.5 rating).

    I got ANTONYMOUS too late to help me. But it was fun looking for the antonyms once the theme was pointed out. There were many good clues and enjoyable misdirections. (For EQUIVALENT, “John”, close to “Dancing Queen”, kept making me thinking of Travolta after the Grease clue earlier this week.)

    I think the editor is taking it easy on us this week, which is welcome here. But thinking about comments yesterday (some found it easy, others not), I’m beginning to wonder whether the time I attempt the puzzle is relevant. The earlier the better, it seems (the sample size is small). I always thought I was a night owl but maybe I’m turning into a morning lark.

    Thanks both.

  2. A nice touch by Picaroon with the antonyms, which helped in the solve.
    Favourites OXYMORON and GONADS.
    Is OBAN really a resort? I must get back there and have a look.

  3. Bravo Picaroon.

    I had the oddest experience with this, not a single across clue on first read through followed by all but four of the downs in before a single across solved. Very strange. Made the across clues a lot easier having so many crossers.

    Thanks manehi and Picaroon

  4. Tim C @3 – I was in Oban a few months ago (on the way to Isle of Shuna: population 3 humans, 2 dogs, lots of deer) and it looked like a seaside town/port.

  5. I saw the theme very late in the piece and pcked out the pairs after that.
    Favourites PARLIAMENT, STROBE, TACTLESS, FLAVOURS.

    New LAMBASTE.

    I did not parse 13d, 24d.

    Thanks, both.

  6. I found it slow going to start with, several times I nearly gave up before one clue gave me just enough to keep going. I was left with the top right entirely blank, and somehow 10 clues left out if which 6 had no crossers. Then I got Parliament followed rapidly by Equivalent, and the rest fell into place. The unfamiliar alternative spelling of Lambast didn’t help though I should have seen baste quicker.

  7. Enjoyable, and cleverly put together with all the across lights pairing off.
    EQUIVALENT, in particular, was a delight.
    Tim C @3: Can’t speak for nowadays, but I do recall from long ago arriving in Stirling, having spent the previous night in a b&b in Oban, and my parents inquiring of Tourist Information as to the availability of accommodation. The telephone call to a (delightful) b&b in Stirling commenced with something along the lines of “I’ve got some people with me and the poor lambs spent last night in Oban. Could you restore their faith in Scotland, do you think…”
    Thanks to Picaroon and manehi.

  8. pdp11@5 and NeilH@9, I’m not sure that I’ve ever been there (in my younger days), as we probably just bypassed it on the way to Fort William or Skye.

  9. For some reason, having only the first O and the S, I saw ANTONYMOUS quickly, which helped greatly with the across solutions (it’s unusual for me to find a theme useful, or even to spot it, though this one was pretty explicit). It was all pretty straightforward really. Favourites included OXYMORONIC and EQUIVALENT. I’d spell LAMBASTE without the E, but it’s a valid variant.
    Oban is a place it’s necessary to pass through if you want to visit some of the wonderful Hebridean islands, but I can’t imagine wanting to spend much time there if it’s not your home (not getting at Oban residents – the same can be said for the town where I live.)
    Thanks manehi and Picaroon.

  10. I settled down with this and had a happy couple of hours to solve it. I forgot 23a had indicated seven pairs until quite late on but by then I had enough answers written in to spot the rule which helped me get IGNORANT.

    Thanks for the blog manehi. My only question was in 26a. I thought that ‘a record penned in Brussels’ would be a EU LOG. But I did not think Brussels could stand for the whole EU with EUISE penning LOG. Or are the EU and Brussels considered synonymous?

    GONADS made me laugh. My LOI was EASELS. I even had it written down but could not see how it was ‘stands in line’ until the penny finally dropped. Thanks picaroon.

  11. Another cracker from Picaroon. Not too difficult, but a great pleasure. The symmetry of the placement of the antonyms is wonderful, reminiscent of the late great Araucaria.

  12. Thanks to Picaroon and manehi.

    As someone who spent many happy hours in the numerous hostelries of Oban throughout the 1990s, I only have happy memories of it the place. I was there every New Years Eve, and spent Millennium night on board one of the CalMac ferries, sounding the foghorn at midnight.

    Happy days!

  13. CanberraGirl @12 – yes, Brussels, the administrative centre of the EU, is a common metonym for the EU.

    (To avoid another silly debate and to paraphrase gladys from yesterday: if you have views on metonyms, please put on postcard and burn immediately.)

  14. I saw the theme early, which was a great help, and solved ANTOMYNOUS from the theme, instead of vise versa. Loved EQUIVALENT and GONADS, the less common spelling of “lambast” was well indicated, and EASELS was my last solve, mislead by “stand”

  15. This was a strange experience for me this morning. Working happily from the top downwards, and didn’t even get to read the clue for ANTONYMOUS until right at the last, and having wondered whether GONADS might be correct, then realised the significance of 23ac. Only then did I go back to locate the very cleverly concealed seven pairs of words with opposite definitions. Think I rather came into this through the side or back door. Many thanks to Picaroon and Manehi for a rewarding puzzle…

  16. Well that was fun. I liked the 23ac device for the across solutions.

    My first pass through the across clues didn’t yield very much, other than the knowledge that there was something going on in 7 pairs, but then slowly at first and then more rapidly it all unraveled. The more unusual spelling of LAMBASTE held me up a little, and annoyingly I was caught out again by axes. It’s not like I haven’t done a fair bit of maths in my time, but it always means hatchets to me not X and Y.

    Can’t pick out any favourites. All fun.

    Thanks Picaroon, and manehi. Lovely colour coded solution grid.

  17. Lovely stuff from Picaroon. Hadn’t seen LAMBASTE spelled like that before – looks more like a dance you’d do at the office Christmas party – assuming you worked at the foreign office or were a cabinet minster 🙂

    COTD the Pauline GONADS and EQUIVALENT for the ABBA reference – I’ll spare you the earworm

  18. I smiled all the way through this – what style! It has put me in a good mood for the rest of the day – and there’s still Alberich to come, after a triple treat yesterday. Christmas isn’t over yet, it seems.

    Huge thanks to Picaroon and manehi.

  19. I decided that 24dn had to be HIDE or HIED till the penny dropped, when I parsed it as having to do with getting on a HIGH horse. I thought that 4 down was going to be a technical word for false synonyms (bitter/sour) and was expecting a theme of rhetorical devices, having got OXYMORONIC. A great puzzle, though EQUIVALENT was my favourite.

  20. Clever puzzle from the pirate, which I found moderately challenging, despite getting the keyword fairly early (I solve the puzzle via the Guardian app on my iPhone and never stop to scan all of the clues before starting to call them up one at a time, so I often come late to key clues which are well down the list).

    LAMBASTE was my LOI, although I knew by then that ‘pan’ was the def – I blame the unfamiliar spelling. Great clue, though.

    Other favourites were GONADS and OXYMORONIC – nicely disguised definitions (and because I like the words :))

    One minuscule quibble: I would describe bitter and sour as tastes rather than flavours – the latter implies more complexity, involving the sense of smell.

    Thanks to S&B

  21. I was interested to see the comments on this one because I didn’t find Vlad’s offering yesterday easy at all (and only finished it today at a third sitting) but sailed through this one without any aids or even references. I saw the theme, but only because 23ac told me there was one, which helped with said 23ac and 7ac. I enjoyed it but found almost all the clues very clearly signposted so none of the aha moments or satisfaction from cracking a fiendishly convoluted or disguised clue.

    Thanks to Picaroon and manehi.

  22. I haven’t been to Oban recently but when I was there last it had a chocolatier so it qualifies as a resort in my book ;P

  23. Marvellous stuff although a dnf, as defeated by the devious OXYMORONIC. I tend to read all the clues first to see if there is a key, so 23ac came early. Smiled at GONADS and was reminded of Buster, the cartoon character in the Viz comic.

    Ta Picaroon & manehi

  24. [Wow Jinniecl @24, your moniker takes me back … high school yearnings, sealed with a kiss and all that …]

    Fun puzzle, ta Pickers and manehi.

  25. I am with Eileen on this one. Having suffered the abstract randomness of crossword grids on various bits of the planet, I think our setters do so well, not only to operate within symmetrical grids, but also to even exploit these constraints to such an extent and with such pleasing results.
    Bravi Picaroon and Manehi, for doing it technicolour justice.
    We’ve really been spoilt this week, I hope it continues.

  26. Very enjoyable. As with others, EQUIVALENT was my fav. Minor quibble: the ‘in’ in 22d superfluous to wordplay (though not for the surface). Thanks to Picaroon and manehi

  27. [Jinniecomelately @24: the tiny village of Ratagan, somewhat North of Oban, with a population of a couple of dozen, also boasts a chocolatier! (Who started at the age of 16 and even got himself featured on Radio 4’s The Food Programme.) So I’m not sure it serves as the defining characteristic of a resort 😀 ]

    A very clever puzzle and one can only gasp at the cleverness of the grid fill with that beautiful symmetry. My FOI, 1d, took me straight back to the George Orwell theme and, without posting a spoiler, there is a deja vu moment awaiting anyone who goes on to tackle today’s Indy. I’m another fan of EQUIVALENT though my favourite was NAYSAY for both the word, itself, and for the neat construction. The key word ANTONYMOUS and non-themed OXYMORONIC also earned big ticks but there was very little here not to like.

    That said, and without particular reference to Picaroon, I’m looking forward to a few non-themed puzzles in days to come. I’ve enjoyed pretty much all of them but a few ‘normals’ would be refreshing.

    Thanks Picaroon and manehi.

  28. I also thought the “keep moist in pan” surface was rather neat, since one bastes meat in its cooking pan.

  29. Postmark @29. Agree about themes, but this is the sort of theme I rather enjoy. It’s all gettable, pretty much all words we can expect to know with just one odd spelling . No searching Google for fish or birds (any combination of 4 letters), tracks on albums of rock bands, obscure poets etc. Now and then ok, but we do seem to get a lot of it.

  30. Top notch, thanks Picaroon and manehi. So much here to ENTICE and ADMIRE but
    OXYMORONIC is a thing of beauty.

  31. I spotted what was going on long before I solved 23a and would agree with wynsum above that OXYMORONIC is indeed a thing of beauty

    Many thanks to Picaroon and manehi

  32. Petert @31 and pserve_p2 @32: accidentally, coincidentally or additionally themed perhaps? Insofar as it doesn’t fit with the symmetry that would seem integral to the theme.

    Crossbar @34: to reiterate, this wasn’t a criticism of today. Or, to be frank, of any of the themes we’ve had of late. More a desire for a well cooked sausage and mash after a couple of weeks of rich food…

  33. I saw the clue for ANTONYMOUS too late for it to help with solving, but what a lovely puzzle.
    There are the OBAN games each year which attract a lot of visitors.
    Thank you Picaroon and manehi.

  34. What a great grid fill, not only getting in 7 antonyms but also placing them symmetrically, chapeau!

    I got a bit stuck on the LAMBASTE corner but enjoyed this immensely. Luckily, I got ANTONYMOUS fairly early on, which helped me.

    I particularly enjoyed EQUIVALENT, GONADS, OXYMORONIC and GO ON.

    Thanks Picaroon and manehi.

  35. PS, thanks manehi for the colourful solution. I think, however, it’s best to place the solution below the clues. Sometimes I check the start of the blog before solving just to see if there is any comment about difficulty – if the grid is at the top, it’s difficult to avoid seeing a number of solutions. 🙂

  36. Loved the ANTONYMOUS symmetry of the grid. As others have noted, GONADS and OXYMORONIC were top-rate.

    As if one theme were not enough (I mean that in a complimentary sense), another answer here is the theme of a crossword elsewhere today.

    Thanks to Picaroon and manehi

  37. Robi @43 thanks, I’ll have a think about it. I typically include grids for puzzles where I’m already writing comments about a theme (e.g. mentioning ‘ANTONYMOUS’ today) just below the spoiler line, so there would be the risk of having answers revealed there regardless of the solution grid.

  38. Superb stuff, with EQUIVALENT as the pick of the bunch.

    NAPOLEON was LOI, as I was desperately trying to make LAY IN or LIE IN work, and LEO for LION took me longer than it ought to have. I ended up sidetracked by a list of Roman emperors…

    AY for ‘always’ was new to me as, I think, was the spelling of LAMBASTE.

    Thanks Picaroon and manehi.

  39. For OXYMORONIC to fit into schematic symmetry would require PARLIAMENT to be self-contradictory, so I leave it to others to decide.

  40. A lovely and very well constructed puzzle. Who was it who once clued ANTONYM as “Friend of Caesar, J? The opposite (7)”? Or is that one of those apocryphal clues like “Gegs” that no one really knows the origin of?

    Many thanks Picaroon and manehi.

  41. I’m in agreement with virtually everyone that this was a most enjoyable solve, and the stand-out clues are EQUIVALENT, OXYMORONIC and GONADS. I wasn’t entirely happy with my parsing of EASELS: I had EELS for “moves gently” (my childhood vocabulary was much influenced by Arthur Ransome) around SA for “it” – which meant around was doing double duty – and left “stands in line” for the definition (I pictured easels in my school art room…) Hey ho.
    Thanks so much to manehi for the blog which put me right, and to Picaroon for all the fun.

  42. Very nicely designed: if I’d spotted the symmetrical placement of the ANTONYMOUS words sooner, it might have helped (anonymous= having no character?) Yes EQUIVALENT was good, but who else thought that the “counterpart of Dancing Queen” was going to be something-King? I liked the blissful state, and NAYSAY.

    Having passed through Oban several times on the way to Mull, I remember that it possesses a harbour, a beach, a promenade and lots of cafes and souvenir shops (and a chap busking on the bagpipes) which makes it a resort in my book, though I’ve never stopped to sample any of the above.

  43. At the risk of reopening the can of homophone-worms, I think it might have been Ximenes who clued “Heggs! (11)” for EXASPERATED.

  44. Lord Jim @ 49

    The ‘Friend of Caesar J’ clue certainly exists: it’s 8D in Guardian 25645 by Araucaria on 25/5/12.

  45. Thanks to Picaroon for a truly remarkable puzzle today. Took us a while to get going and only found the theme half way through but what a theme! The surfaces were by turns challenging and witty, and always enjoyable. Too many clues of the day to mention but a big shout for 23ac, 13dn and 21dn.
    Thanks also to manehi for the blog.

  46. Took me a while to get going with this. Then the top half went in steadily and eventually the bottom half. NAYSAY held me up for a bit which was annoying since it is so simple and I have previously noted the use of AY for always.

    Liked LAMBASTE – had seen part of lamb used recently in a puzzle – it was AMB that time not LAM as here.

    Also liked OYXMORONIC, IGNORANT, HIGH

    Thanks Picaroon and manehi

  47. My only very minor complaint that it would have been nice for ANTONYMOUS to reference specifically ‘across clues’, rather than leave it open. That would have just helped add a bit of focus to antonym-finding without spoiling anything.

    The puzzle felt very Brendan-like, in the best possible way, and he usually does tip you off if the across clues have been themed.

  48. [OBAN is also home to the Haggis Hunting Licensing Authority, while the Oban Times reported recently on the establishment of Scotland’s first free-range haggis farm in Lochaber.]

    Great fun, thanks P & m

    P.S. gladys @52 – I wondered about anonymous = ‘having no character’ too, but thought of the ‘anonymous (-looking) buildings’ of eg Soviet-era architecture.

    P.P.S. I thought the way manehi laid out the blog was exemplary. The thing to be wary of is the inclusion of giveaways in that part of the ‘preamble’ which is visible on the site’s homepage – which manehi has successfully avoided.

  49. Thank you manehi, I hadn’t considered your version of HIGH but like it (in terms of parsing). I started slowly and found this tricky with the usual potential for misdirection – eg “keep” in the first across and down clues yet neither being used in the trousering sense – but very entertaining and satisfying: despite getting the ‘key’ fairly early on, the wonderful EQUIVALENT (which got Bowie playing in my head while trying to cram Elton into the solution) held out almost to the end.
    For Oban to be classed as a resort it surely needs to sell sticks of rock with its name through it, can anyone confirm this? Could also have been defined as “distiller” but that would upset the anti-metonymists and I don’t want to incur the wrath of pdp11@15!
    Thanks Picaroon for a real treat.

  50. manehi, thanks for parsing ANTONYMOUS, which I filled in but didn’t see why. Funny — “synonymous” is commonly used, but I don’t recall ever seeing this one.

    This spelling of LAMBASTE is the only one I know, and I rhyme it with “taste.” Do those who spell it without the E do the same?

    manehi@40 Your question reminds me Bertrand Russell’s paradox of the village barber who shaves every man who doesn’t shave himself. Does the barber shave himself?

    I was a bit saddened to see OBAN described as a resort, since I’ve always thought of it in my romantic way as a quiet Hebridean fishing village. I’m relieved to see it doesn’t seem to be all that fancied up.

    Gladys@52 I was with you in pursuit of the king.

    Loved the puzzle, especially the symmetric arrangement. thanks, Picaroon and manehi.

  51. PS gladys@52 as well as essexboy’s suggestion, i have spent far too much time in anonymous hotel rooms, airport lounges, office lobbies etc so had no problem with that one.

  52. Petert @48: Since OXYMORONIC means self-contradictory, for it to fit with the theme scheme PARLIAMENT would be self-satisfying – which I think is fairly reasonable.

  53. Thanks Picaroon – as entertaining as ever, with proper lols at GONADS and OXYMORONIC. Not for the first time, I’m entirely in agreement with Eileen @20. And thanks manehi for the blog – didn’t need any help with parsing today but do appreciate the nicely colour-coded grid.

    CanberraGirl @12 – I parsed it the same as manehi in the blog, but now you mention it, I think reading “a record penned in Brussels” as a complete phrase for EU LOG works just as well.

    pserve_p2 @33 – the seamless join between wordplay and misleading definition in this clue typifies exactly what I like about Picaroon’s style.

    Lord Jim @49 – beautiful! Thanks for sharing that (not a chestnut for me – I don’t recall having seen it before.)

    Gervase @70 – excellent! I choose to believe the placement of PARLIAMENT in the grid is not a coincidence.

    I’ve only ever been to Oban as a means of getting the ferry elsewhere, but I did once have superb fish & chips there on the way back from Mull.

  54. Thanks to Picaroon and manehi.

    Hard to describe how much I enjoyed this other than to say that I don’t recall ever fingering my towel so much without actually throwing it in. Such fun.

  55. Delighted. I usually wince when I see Picaroon’s name, especially on a Friday, because I know it will be a pathetic DNF. This time, it all went in without too much fuss, helped by (unusually for me) spotting the theme and pattern very early. Also helped by its being a rare cryptic in which I actually know all of the words. LOI for some reason was Napoleon – a groan when that one went in.

    Thanks Picaroon and manehi!

  56. I understood “on horse” to mean HIGH in a completely literal sense. If you’ve ever seen anyone on heroin, you wouldn’t think of describing their state as “high”; “low”, more likely. To me, “high” describes a state of exhilaration, as brought on by some (other) drugs. Collins has:

    “18. informal
    being in a state of altered consciousness, characterized esp by euphoria and often induced by the use of alcohol, narcotics, etc”

    which agrees with what I say. Can’t say what Picaroon was thinking when he wrote the clue, however.

  57. Btw, I haven’t read many of the comments, but regarding the status of Oban as a “resort”, Wikipedia notes that its normal population of 8,490 (mid-2016 est.) rises to “over 24,000” in the tourist season.

  58. I share in the praise of the puzzle in general and OXYMORONIC in particular. Nobody has mentioned so far (maybe because it’s obvious and doesn’t need to be said) that OXYMORONIC, not only meaning self-contradictory, is composed of two Greek roots meaning sharp and dull, so it is physically formed from a pair of antonyms. The icing on the cake.

  59. Gazzh @65 🙂 the distiller reference would have gone over my head six months ago but whilst there in autumn waiting for our Glasgow train, the other half did a tour of the Oban distillery in the town centre whilst I rummaged around the Oxfam bookshop and walked to McCaig’s Tower for a panoramic view of the town and harbour. So now I’m an expert 😉

    [Eileen @20 I’ve never done an FT crossword but after your comment I printed today’s one off and am about half way through. The setter Alberich is very good; the clues are finely chiselled. Thanks for mentioning it. On his website, there is a guest puzzle from a certain Widdersbel 🙂

    On a related note, I saw the first line of an Indy blog on the 15^2 homepage and it mentioned an unusual grid for Thursday. So I had a look at the Indy website and the puzzle has eight 15-letter words and two 14-letter ones. That’s got to be a record?!]

  60. [Thanks for the unsolicited plug, pdp11 @78! 🙂 Alberich, like Picaroon, is a high-quality setter, so I second Eileen’s recommendation – and his site is an excellent repository of advice for solvers and aspiring setters.]

  61. [Also, if you want to see a really unusual grid from Picaroon, look at the current Guardian Genius…]

  62. Dr WhatsOn@76 So if PARLIAMENT is in a pair with OXYMORONIC would that mean it was composed of the dull and the sharp?

  63. Yes, thanks for the plug, pdp11 – I’ve just printed your puzzle, widdersbel. (It comes with a warm recommendation from Alberich: “Widdersbel’s setting technique is masterly: he uses a full palette of tricks to produce a set of
    exemplary clues. The puzzle is on the difficult side, but the scrupulous fairness of the clues means that you don’t have to be an advanced solver to enjoy the puzzle.”)

  64. Hope this is not too much off piste for some, but just after completing this excellent puzzle I was having little read of one of Ronald Blythe’s (“Akenfield”) books. Writing about the wild orchid, he mentions that “orchis” is the Latin (or possibly Ancient Greek) word for testicle, which defines the plant’s tuber-like roots. Though I realise an ovary can also be described as a GONAD…

  65. [Eileen @83: I’d insert into Alberich’s recommendation “with very smooth surfaces” if I could.]

  66. Thanks Picaroon for another top-drawer offering. I began ticking favourites early and often and then I realized that all the clues were good. I will endorse a popular choice, EQUIVALENT, as outstanding. Thanks manehi for the colourful blog.

  67. Following on to Valentine @66, I’ve seen the LAMBASTE spelling FAR more often than the other (and yes, I pronounce it with a long A). The online Merriam-Webster (your definitive US-specific dictionary) gives LAMBASTE as the main entry with LAMBAST as the alternative (both in spelling and pronunciation). In sum, I think we’ve stumbled upon another trans-Atlantic difference of opinion.

    The best chocolatier I know is in Lebanon, Indiana–a real dump of a town–and is located next door to a truck stop. No one would spend even an hour in Lebanon if they weren’t forced to, and yet those truffles are out of this world.

    pdp@78: I know OBAN primarily from the whisky, which can be found here and is quite tasty. I only inferred that there was a town (and later learned from previous puzzles that it was seaside).

  68. That was fun – and you’re all being mean to Oban, which I love, not just as the route to the Isles, but in its own right. I have actually stayed there for a week, not just overnight before catching a ferry elsewhere, and went back willingly. There’s a fair bit to explore, and not just the whisky distillery.

  69. Thanks for the blog, very clever grid and the clues were neat but just too darn easy. Maybe I was expecting more from this setter after such an easy week.
    Could we just skip the themes for once and have one seriously hard crossword ?
    Good to see Lord Jim again, I have missed your comments.

  70. [Hi widdersbell @71, 80, if you’re still there – I’ve now solved and enjoyed your puzzle. Next time you comment on one of my blogs, I shall have access to your email address and so will be able, with your permission, to consult you on a couple of parsings. 😉

    I do agree with PostMark @85.]

  71. I enjoyed this crossword and found it closer to Gervase @22’s “moderately challenging” than Roz @89’s “just too darn easy”. I’ve been cutting back on comments on this site recently, partly because I’ve been having difficulty concentrating, and very often have not finished the crossword on the day it appeared. If at all.

    And partly because some days the comments seem to be so full of criticism, impatience and self-importance. Maybe I’ve been guilty of those sort of behaviours too. I know there’s also plenty of delight and appreciation, but sometimes just wading through everything else seems like a hard price to pay.

    I greatly appreciate the vision, the imagination and the effort that Picaroon must have put into the construction of this grid, not to mention the very well written clues; and manehi deserves a round of applause for highlighting in colour the way the antonyms are set symmetrically. Well done both.

  72. sheffield hatter @91 – bravissimo!

    [Hi again, widddersbell – I’ve got them now! – they were 21ac and 26 (doh -I’ve got a print on my wall!) Congratulations – great puzzle!]

  73. I really enjoyed this one so I suppose it was a little less chewy than normal Friday fare as a result as I usually get part way and then ‘contrive’ to finish, any way I can. It was very clever although I didn’t really put the antonyms to work properly, having solved the west side first and bumbled my way through the east.
    I have really enjoyed this week. Although I feel for Roz who expects more.

    Thanks very much Picaroon and also special thanks for manehi.

  74. Very enjoyable solve with one eye on the cricket. Spotted theme but not so much as to Influence solving. Solving via the theme not so interesting I think.
    Oxymoronic favourite.
    Thanks both

  75. OXYMORONIC favourite in its own right, and as the key to the theme, while not paired/themed. A contradiction in terms indeed. Brilliant!

  76. Pickers is an amazing setter at all levels of difficulty
    His aim is to do justice to the language and entertain at the same time.
    His surfaces are immaculate
    I feel confident he could produce clues that could flummox anyone in the metro zone(3)

  77. I started the crossword at 11.30 pm with the intention of completing it next day, but to my surprise finished before midnight. I put this down to getting on the setters’ wavelengths more recently. Thanks Picaroon and manehi.

    copmus@97 love it!

  78. Geoff@99, I think it’s still current in Scottish and some N. English dialects and although Collins online currently has it as “archaic or poetic” British English, my old (1986) Chambers, giving it as an alternative to ‘aye’ didn’t see fit to attach any special usage notes. Perhaps it has become archaic since then? Haven’t got the latest Chambers. In any case, you’d do well to remember it, as it’s not that uncommon as a way of cluing ‘ay’ as an element of a cryptic clue.

  79. Thank you, Tony. My reference was Oxford online. I nearly always (ay?) get stuck on two or three clues in British crosswords only to discover they pertain to some obscure words or initialisms unfamiliar to us Down Under. Mustn’t grumble though — if we had as excellent an array of cryptic setters in Australia, we addicts wouldn’t need to poach our puzzles from abroad!

  80. Geoff, I see you’re right about Oxford. Here’s an example of archaic poetic use by English poet Edmund Spenser from The Faerie Queene:

    Faire Venus seemde unto his bed to bring
    Her, whom he waking evermore did weene,
    To be the chastest flowre, that ay did spring
    On earthly braunch, the daughter of a king

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