Guardian Cryptic 28,671 by Anto

by

A pleasant solve with some nice surfaces – my favourites were 1ac, 10ac, 3dn, 5dn, 6dn, and 20dn. Thanks to Anto for the puzzle.

 

ACROSS
1 JOCULAR
Playful old chef using lime tips in beer (7)
the tips of O-ld C-hef U-sing L-ime, inside JAR=”[a glass of] beer”
5 FLEA PIT
Jump into suit and dive (4,3)
definition as in a dive bar

LEAP=”Jump” in FIT=”suit”
9 RUN IN
Walk out in opposition to arrest (3,2)
“Walk” and “out” are opposites to RUN and IN
10 TWO FOR ONE
Repair to new roof is a bargain (3,3,3)
anagram/”Repair” of (to new roof)*
11 OUT OF TOUCH
Feeling exhausted and isolated (3,2,5)
…TOUCH=”Feeling”, and “exhausted”=[to have run] OUT OF…
12 FOUR
Make 25% by getting one over it (4)
the definition could also include the ‘(4)’

“one over” FOUR is 1/4 or 25%
14 FLAT-EARTHERS
Customised leather rafts sail over the edge, if they’re right (4-8)
anagram/”Customised” of (leather rafts)*
18 CALL OF NATURE
It is answered with relief (4,2,6)
definition referring to ‘relieving oneself’
21 DOSH
Demand silence on party money (4)
SH=to shush=”Demand silence”, after DO=”party”
22 PERFECTION
Ideal power structure embraces force (10)
P (Power) + ERECTION=”structure” around F (force)
25 MERCURIAL
Mutated rural mice become erratic (9)
anagram/”Mutated” of (rural mice)*
26 IRISH
Europeans make eyepiece with high finish (5)
IRIS=part of eye=”eye / piece” with the finish of hig-H
27 CASCADE
Fall for rotter in action (7)
CAD=”rotter” in CASE=lawsuit=”action”
28 NON-USER
Being drug-free, one avoids exploitation (3-4)
I think the wordplay refers to another meaning of USER as in someone that exploits other people
DOWN
1 JARGON
Clash finished? Not quite and few may understand it (6)
JAR=”Clash” + GON[e]=”finished? Not quite”

a bit awkward to have both the 1ac/1dn JARs
2 CANUTE
Old king is engaging with an insider (6)
CUTE=”engaging” with “AN” inside
3 LONGFELLOW
Poet expressing pain after desire waned (10)
OW=”expressing pain” after LONG=”desire” + FELL=”waned”
4 RATIO
Relationship formed by medium putting time in for daughter (5)
definition: a mathematical relationship or proportion

RA-d-IO=”medium” with T (time) replacing d (daughter)
5 FLOW CHART
Watch Flora dancing without a sequence of steps to follow (4,5)
anagram/”dancing” of (Watch Flora)*, minus an ‘a’
6 ETON
School sited between Derby and Oxford, initially (4)
the letters ‘E to N’ or E TO N are between the initials of “Derby and Oxford” i.e. letters D and O
7 PROPOSER
One pushing for union member­ship expected to bend the knee (8)
definition referring to a proposal of marriage (union)
8 THEORIST
Golden-hearted believer may provide some ideas (8)
OR=’gold’, in the heart of THEIST=”believer”
13 ATTRACTION
Temptation to clean out account with purchase (10)
A-ccoun-T “cleaned out” of its inner letters + TRACTION=”purchase” in the sense of ‘grip’
15 TENDERISE
Submission issuer occasionally supports to soften things up (9)
TENDER=”Submission” + occasional letters from I-s-S-u-E-r
16 ACADEMIC
Unexpectedly, I came across rogue professor (8)
anagram/”Unexpectedly” of (I came)* around CAD=”rogue”

a second CAD after 27ac
17 ALL-SORTS
A ramble up around Stein Head provides variety (3-5)
A, plus STROLL=”ramble” reversed/”up” around the head of S-tein
19 TIDIES
Bond’s capture of copper puts things straight (6)
TIE’S=”Bond’s” around DI=Detective Inspector=”copper”
20 ANCHOR
Herculean chore involves stop at sea (6)
hidden in Hercule-AN CHOR-e
23 FELON
Criminal attacked one left out (5)
FELL ON=”attacked” with one L (left) taken out
24 AURA
Restaurant has a certain atmosphere (4)
hidden in Rest-AURA-nt

75 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28,671 by Anto”

  1. I concur as to the cleverness of 10ac, and would add that 14ac is every bit as good. Anagrams that flow so smoothly into the definitions are things of beauty.

    Thank you, Anto and manehi.

  2. Yes a pleasant solve. Liked FLEA PIT and FLAT EARTHERS especially.
    Strange about the two JARS and CADs in close proximity.

    Thanks Anto and manehi

  3. Quite a few smiles with this one. In particular, “feeling exhausted” as a cryptic definition for OUT OF TOUCH, since it is a naturally occurring phrase in its own right; really good.

  4. I am really liking Anto’s puzzles. I also ticked the afore-mentioned 14a FLAT-EARTHERS (tim the toffee) and 3d LONGFELLOW (manehi). Other goodies were 18a CALL OF NATURE, 2d CANUTE and 5d FLOW CHART, but I liked the whole thing really. Much appreciated, Anto, and thanks for the blog, manehi, most especially the explanation for 6d ETON which, even though I solved it, completely baffled me.

  6. thanks m and a! I hadn’t worked out the wp for E,TO,N! i was wondering like Tim@2 whether something thematic would emerge from cads and jars…

  7. That was fun! Thanks Anto.

    Failed to parse ETON and ATTRACTION, so thanks manehi. I now thinks ETON is a fabulous clue.

    Also enjoyed FLEA PIT, ALL-SORTS, and my loi CANUTE.

    Great start to the day.

  8. Lots of smiles today and some lovely deceptively smooth surfaces -ashamed of how long it took me to raise the ANCHOR!

    Favourites FLEA PIT, FLAT EARTHERS, FLOW CHARTS (once a daily feature of my working life: do programmers still make them?)

    Some nicely unusual clues too, like RUN IN, FOUR, ETON. I noticed the rotter and the rogue both being CADs, but not the two JARs.

  11. Have to agree with what’s been said so far. A fun solve with excellent clues especially the smooth anagrams. One tiny, tiny quibble would be the use of in in clue and solution in 9ac.
    Thanks Anto and manehi.

  14. Most agreeable and enjoyable with ticks for me at CALL OF NATURE & FELON.

    Dr W beat me to the same comment re OUT OF TOUCH. Lovely def.

    Really starting to warm to Anto’s querky style.

    Many thanks both.

  16. Thanks manehi. Well done for unraveling ETON – that was a tricksy one. Pretty much agree with you on the highlights but would add 4d RATIO for the lovely surface. Great stuff, Anto.

  17. First time I finished a puzzle in about a week.
    Liked ETON.

    I could not parse 28ac, 9ac,12ac.

    Thanks, both.

  18. Took me ages with ETON for the penny to drop. A good clue along with FLEA PIT, FLAT EARTHERS and CALL OF NATURE
    .
    I wonder what Paul would have made of PERFECTION? It reminded me of Dennis Mews’ appearance on The Great Australian Bake Off.

  19. Thank you manehi (and Dr Whatson) for the first sense of OUT OF TOUCH which sailed over my head.
    Gladys@8 I also had problems with ANCHOR, can’t speak for programmers but risk managers still love flow charts which set out the agreed procedures we are supposed to follow at all times.
    I liked the JARs in the top left as each was defined and used differently, not so much the CAD double dose. But see also Methuselah in yesterday’s Indy for superb use of repetition in clues.
    Never thought I would express hearty praise for ETON and FLAT-EARTHERS, thanks Anto.

  20. Half the grid filled on the first run through but quite a while to fill in the rest with some delightful constructions – or erections – throughout. I see some on the G site didn’t like ETON but it worked for me (echoes of H2O in there!). Too many to tick – I’d have probably highlighted most of those mentioned by others already; the anagramming was lovely today, as were the witty defs/double defs in CALL OF NATURE and OUT OF TOUCH. My brother lives near Stein on Skye so ALL SORTS rang a pleasing bell.

    Thanks Anto and manehi

  21. Anto is now one of my favourite setters. In my personal Hall of Fame of great clues, over the last two years he is currently in the lead. As usual today we had lots of clever cluing and lovely surfaces. If you wanted to quibble I suppose arguably 16d needed a definition-by-example indicator as not all ACADEMICs are professors, but it brought a smile and was my clue of the day.

    Many thanks Anto and manehi.

  23. I often don’t seem to be on Anto’s wavelength, but I really enjoyed this – like everyone else it seems. Witty, smooth, inventive, lots of aha moments. Same favourites as others, and I’ll add the mutated rural mice.

    [And a couple of smiles that perhaps weren’t intended: the clue for 5d gave me a Terry Wogan flashback, and 22a reminded me of Chandler’s ‘Gum would be PERFECTION’.]

    Many thanks Anto and manehi.

  24. Thanks Anto and manehi
    I was another baffled by ETON, and I didn’t parse PERFECTION either. Favourite was ATTRACTION.

  25. So nice to do an Anto puzzle without muttering “That’s too hard for a cryptic”. Some great anagrams. With no Lakeland scenery around, I can’t blame my failure to finish this unaided on the distractions of a grey Manchester morning.

  27. I enjoyed this a lot. Got very held up at the end by thinking ‘copper’ was IP (1p), which would’ve been rather clever.

    Favourites were 5A and 6D.

    Thanks Anto and manehi.

  29. My favourite clue was that for ATTRACTION – I was another fooled by ETON…

    Thank you Anto for lots of fun, and manehi for the helpful blog!

  30. My final comment on 6d comes from Frank Muir when asked to sum up an opera with a newspaper headline
    “Mystery of missing apple on boy’s head-eaten or arrow!

  31. Quite new to cryptic but this was quite a kind CW for me. How devilishly good is 6d…the CW gives you the answer – school “E _ O _” then you stare at the clue and finally the phonetic penny drops. 14a my favourite just for the laugh. Thanks to Anto & manehi

  32. Yes, a very entertaining crossword.

    I didn’t find it that easy at the beginning but made steady progress. LOI was TIDIES as I thought the copper was PC or Cu at the beginning. I liked FLEA PIT, ETON (has it been done before?), ATTRACTION and FELON.

    Thanks Anto and manehi.

  33. Another who couldn’t parse ETON, though if it’s a school that’s required with four letters it usually is that institution. Just as “see” conveniently tends to be Ely as part of the word building. Though not today, of course. Anyway, thought this an entertaining and satisfying solve this morning. Many thanks Anto and Manehi…

  34. Copmus@30…that’s very good! I remember FM once having to explain the origin of “O, death, where is thy sting?” and coming up with a gardening accident story that ended in “Hoed Eth, where is my string”. Clever stuff on the wireless in those days…

  35. Lots of fun and lots of ticks. In particular, liked OUT OF TOUCH and FLAT-EARTHERS. Thanks to Anto and manehi.

  36. Ronald @33, yes, ETON comes to mind immediately – I thought the answer might have been harder to get if the clue had been “College sited between Durham and Oxford, initially”.

  38. I STILL don’t understand Eton. There are loads of letters between D and O, and none of them are T.
    I didn’t really enjoy this puzzle, I only ticked one -18a – for its entertainment value and relief when I finally finished (partly thanks to my clever husband).
    Sorry, not on. Anto’s wavelength at all.
    Can someone explain Eton in greater depth as for idiots please?

  39. Hi SinCam @38
    The letters between D and O in the alphabet are from E to N.

    Actually, that’s pretty much what manehi said, so I doubt if it will be any help!

  41. SinCam @38: muffin and michelle have already responded to your crie de coeur. I made passing reference in my earlier comment to ‘H2O’: the word ‘water’ was famously clued as HIJKLMNO being H 2(to) O using much the same device.

  42. A lot of good things here – a nice variety of constructions, some great surfaces, particularly for the anagram clues, and ETON is playful.

    Unfortunately a clunky 1ac (‘lime ends’?) put me in a bad frame of mind at the beginning and the inelegance of one too many cads together slightly spoiled my enjoyment of what is otherwise a fine puzzle.

    However, thanks to S&B

  44. [copmus@30 I remember ” Now ‘eres the winner of our deerskin tent ” as well, but what was the programme?]

  45. [On the panel game “My Word”, Frank Muir and Denis Norden were given a quote at the beginning of the programme and at the end had to tell a story which ended with it. I remember one – I won’t tell the whole story, though I could! – that ended “we usually get tulips from hamster jam”.]

  46. Gervase@42/43 yes, although fruity beer is (or was, the last time i went out!) in vogue I thought eg “leaf” might have worked better there. But as you almost say, any initial bitterness was overwhelmed by a rich, velvety mouthfeel which left a warm afterglow.

  47. Noticed that ETON comes between Derby & Oxford alphabetically, but didn’t see the wordplay. Tried PROMOTER at 7d, guessing the muscle that bends the knee might be a moter or similar

  48. Thanks Anto and manehi, that was great.
    I tried to parse 7d before the penny dropped!
    Loved FLEA PIT, ETON and FLAT-EARTHERS.
    I also liked the clue for LONGFELLOW, a poet whose pain following the death of his wife Frances Appleton is beautifully expressed in ‘The Cross of Snow’.

  49. Petert@44 (and copmus@30 and muffin@45): I suspect it’s apocryphal but there is the story of the camping store that advertised its January sale with “Now is the winter of our discount tents”.

  51. Jim @27 re 19d TIDIES: I too thought of copper as being a coin rather than a policeman, but I went for 1d rather than 1p as I thought it was a pre-decimalisation term for a penny. I actually like this parsing of ID better than manehi’s DI.

  52. [copmus, Petert and muffin: at the risk of incurring the wrath of VW, my favourite “My Word” story involved two friends, one based in the city and one in the country, who each adopted a pet bee. The city chap became worried that his bee wasn’t eating enough and was wasting away, and he asked his friend why his, in contrast, was doing so well. The friend replied that his bee was thriving because of all the fresh air and space to fly around in, or as he put it, “My bee eats because I’m a landowner.”]

  53. [Lord Jim @52
    Knock knock
    Who’s there?
    M A B is a big horse
    M A B is a big horse who?
    M A B is a big horse I’m a Londoner

    I’ll get me coat]

  54. Thanks for the blog, some good clues and all very nice but I do hope for something a bit nastier tomorrow and Saturday.

  55. [I think My Word was the original source of the proverb “you can’t have your kayak and heat it”, the punchline to the story of an unfortunate Inuit who lit a fire in his, with predictable results.

    The one I remember was the gent who attended Thora Teesdale’s food-themed costume party, dressed in a little Brie for Thora T.]

  57. Gervase @42. “…clunky 1ac (‘lime tips’?) put me in a bad frame of mind”. It misled me too, as I was looking for a five-letter beer (such as LAGER) with the two ends of lime=LE inserted. Hence when I penultimately got JOCULAR, which is of course constructed quite differently, I entered it with a cross between a groan and a grin – a groyne?

    Roz @54. It’s all very well for you, but I took a day and a half to solve Tramp this week, so the last thing I need is something nasty on Friday too. 🙂 In fact, the change of style from Tramp to Anto left me struggling today, with only the ‘mutated rural mice’ coming to my rescue on the first sweep through. But I soon got in tune and started to enjoy it – which is how it should be.

    Thanks to Anto and manehi.

  58. I am here for 6d which defeated me on the parsing , though a check on the school only took a few seconds!

    Well done Manehi , I could not get away from D to O , and I can see why so many loved that clue!
    6d was not the only write in and check , with the parsing needing quite a bit of thought.

    Well done Anto , and Manehi – a thoroughly worthwhile puzzle today.

  59. I’m with the majority here in liking this a lot. FLAT-EARTHERS, LONGFELLOW and PROPOSER were my faves. I couldn’t see the FELON parse but it was obvious once the crossers were in. I’m not quite convinced ATTRACTION and TEMPTATION are synonymous. Strikes me the former comes slightly before the latter.
    Like Jim and AllyGally’s alternative parsing for TIDIES. Seems to be an example of a clue that works in two distinct ways, which is always fun.
    CANUTE might have been nicer with incursion instead of inside. Just a thought.
    Ta muchly, Anto and manehi.

  61. I began “out of synch” with Anto but finally realised I should be “out of touch”.
    Also I must be getting old since the opposite of “WALK OUT” for me was “SIT IN”.

  62. I too was more than happy using 1D for the copper in TIDIES.

    I was scuppered eventually by putting, for some unknown reason, ACADEMIA rather than ACADEMIC.

    Would never have parsed ETON in a million years. Thanks manehi.

  64. Seasoned followers of 225 (including appreciative lurkers like me) will welcome a rare sighting of that one-time stalwart, RCWhiting @50. Maybe he feels that Roz is now a sufficient source of the mordant and cogent incisiveness that was his trademark, but the Domestic Comrade and I have missed him.

  67. I don’t remember the punch line, but the My Word! I’d like to hear again is the one that includes the conversation among the soldiers inside the Trojan Horse. anybody recall that one?

    Would Lord Jim@52 and muffin@53 explain the line they’re referring to? And Julia@56 the same? I’m a little dense today. But not too dense to thank Anto and manehi.

  70. [Sorry, Julia: you posted while I was typing.]

    muffin @66. It’s more than 50 years since we’ve had decimal currency, and I can’t honestly recollect how we used to write the coppers. Half a crown was two shillings and sixpence, written 2/6, but were amounts of less than a shilling written with a “d” after the numeral?

    I worked for a short time in 1971 on a market stall, where I recall that potatoes were a penny a pound, but of course by then it was “1p”. Would the price before D-Day have been tuppence ha’penny and if so how would it have been written?

    I’m quite happy to go with Detective Inspector, especially as it’s been used in several clues quite recently, and it will be familiar to those who read crime fiction such as Ian Rankin’s Rebus series.

  71. sh @70,
    Here‘s some evidence of the written style for smaller amounts, so 1D seems fine for the clue.
    PS I went with Detective Inspector too during the solve.

  72. I enjoyed this. A lot. The definitions were often quite precise which helps get the grid going and allows for a little looseness and fun elsewhere.
    Meanwhile I have just given up on yesterday’s Tramp with lots of bad tempered reveals. Top half killed me. I can see how it works, but don’t pretend to like much of it. Off to read that blog and find out how marvellous it was!
    Thanks very much Anto and manehi

  74. For those who have forgotten how old money was written, it was LSD for pounds shillings and pence before LSD came to have another meaning.

  75. Essex boy. at63_, thankyou, I used to be a regular.
    After a mishandling by Philistine I almost had to give up but forgave him and I am now back.in the swing as I approach my eightieth. I enjoy most of the new boys and girls but still cling to the memory of what Araucaria could achieve in his nineties!

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