Guardian Cryptic 28,687 by Vulcan

by

Happy 90th to Rufus, and thanks to Vulcan for the puzzle…

with many references to the Guardian crossword setter Rufus / Roger Squires both in the solutions and in surfaces such as 6dn. For solvers less familiar with Rufus, this interview for his 80th might be of interest: [Guardian site], and his Guardian puzzle archive can be found here: [Guardian site].

ACROSS
9 LONG REIGN
Giving Gone Girl new review in his extended period at the top (4,5)
anagram/”review” of (Gone Girl n[ew])*
10 ROGER
I hear you on the radio (5)
cryptic definition: a way to say ‘I hear you’ on the radio
11 BLOWN
In navy after misfortune blossomed (5)
Rufus was in the Royal Navy, and was known for including nautical references in his puzzles

N (navy) after BLOW=”misfortune”
12 CORDUROYS
Do cursory alteration to trousers (9)
anagram/”alteration” of (Do cursory)*
13 REFEREE
He, as a qualified judge, about to discharge European detained (7)
Rufus is a qualified football referee

RE=”about” + FREE=”discharge” with E (European) inside
14 SQUIRES
Rosemary, who sings soprano with broadcast choral groups (7)
Rosemary Squires the singer [wiki]

S (soprano) + homophone of ‘choirs’=”broadcast choral groups’
17 FIEND
Devotee starts off filling in easy 9 down (5)
the starting letters of F-illing I-n E-asy N-ine D-own
19 GPS
What enables one to pinpoint place for doctors (3)
GPS devices, or GPs (doctors)
20 DANTE
In days before, this was him (5)
Rufus also set crosswords as Dante in the Financial Times

D (days) + ANTE=”before”
21 SURVEIL
Keep an eye on certain short curtain (7)
SUR[e]=”certain short” + VEIL=”curtain”
22 MARRIED
Joined by crazy admirer (7)
anagram/”crazy” of (admirer)*
24 FULL OF FUN
Refund so, if his work not this amusing? (4,2,3)
Re-FUN-d is FULL OF FUN – not sure if it’s part of the wordplay that the remaining letters spell RED (Rufus is Latin for ‘red’)
26 ALACK
Unfortunately, a gap his retirement left? (5)
A LACK=”a gap” – I think the rest of the surface references Rufus and is not part of the wordplay
28, 4 MAGIC CIRCLE
He tricked his way into this 1 (5,6)
Rufus was a member of this CLUB
29 SPACESUIT
Wearing this one looks like nothing on earth (9)
cryptic definition
DOWN
1
See 19, 22
2 ONE-OFF
Reserving energy, switch positions with unique individual (3-3)
ON and OFF are “switch positions”, around E (energy)
3 IRONBRIDGE
His home game covered by press (10)
Rufus lives in Ironbridge, Shropshire

BRIDGE=card “game”, with IRON=”press” on top
4
See 28
5 ENTRUSTS
Puzzle set, turns and hands it over (8)
anagram/”Puzzle” of (set turns)*
6 URDU
Contributor to our duplicitous language (4)
hidden in o-UR DU-plicitous
7 A GOOD RUN
Plenty of success in the past, moving round (1,4,3)
AGO=”in the past” + anagram/”moving” of (round)*
8 EROS
Raise tender for statue (4)
=the name of a statue in Piccadilly Circus, London

reversal/”raise” of SORE=”tender”
13 RUFUS
He was a so-called king (5)
“He” is implicitly Rufus in the context of this puzzle, and RUFUS was also a nickname of William II [wiki]
15 UNDERWATER
Being in drink here admitted him to the 19 1 (10)
Rufus became a member of the Goldfish Club after an underwater escape from a crashed aircraft
16 STEAD
Endlessly regular, in his place (5)
surface (and perhaps those of 2dn and 5dn) could reference Vulcan often setting in the Guardian on Mondays, which had been Rufus’ regular slot

STEAD[y]=”Endlessly regular”
18 EARPLUGS
To block noise, sheriff covering those with these? (8)
Wyatt EARP=”sheriff” [wiki] + LUGS=slang for ‘ears’ which would be covered with ‘these’ i.e. EARPLUGS
19, 1 GOLDFISH CLUB
Successful ditchers preparing big cold flush (8,4)
[wiki] an association for those, like Rufus, who have survived after ditching an airplane at sea

anagram/”preparing” of (big cold flush)*
22, 1 MONDAY CLUB
Possible association of his fans, all Tories? (6,4)
[wiki] a political group aligned with the Conservatives

Rufus regularly set puzzles for the Guardian on Mondays
23 ICARUS
He was a high-flyer who crashed (6)
description of both Rufus [see 15dn and 19/1dn] and Icarus – which is why Rufus chose Icarus as a pseudonym when setting for the Independent
24 FAME
Setting not right for celebrity (4)
F-r-AME=”Setting”, minus the ‘r’ for “right”
25 ONCE
Clue originally featured in 1 — and never again? (4)
C[lue] inside ONE
27 KATE
Girl, one on thin ice away from the sides (4)
s-KATE-r=”one on thin ice”, without its outer letters/”sides”

83 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28,687 by Vulcan”

  1. I cannot imagine that anyone missed the theme today, as per Special Instructions and what a fun tribute to ROGER SQUIRES/RUFUS/ DANTE. I especially enjoyed finding out about the GOLDFISH CLUB. Favourites include CORDUROYS, ENTRUSTS, ALACK and EARPLUGS. Thanks for explaining the Red part of FULL OF FUN. Happy 90th Rufus, I for one, miss your Monday contributions.

    Ta Vulcan & manehi

  3. Many happy returns Roger!! I hope you have not been too inconvenienced by the dreadful weather in Ironbridge.
    Thank you Vulcan for this lovely memory of Mondays gone by and manehi for clearing up one or two parses.
    I guess some will quibble about another theme and the fact that Roger Squires life story is not GK for many!! I had to read his Wiki page for background. However, this is a special birthday for someone who brought many of us hours and hours of pleasure so please put those quibbles to one side!!

  4. To this day, and maybe for as long as we solve, my husband and I refer to some cryptic definition clues as Rufus-like. As with other setters, over time he seemed to be a friend and even a member of the household. Today’s crossword is sad, sweet and very clever. As others did, I found out a lot more about Rufus than I ever knew (but I saved the Wiki entry until completing the solve) because of this great tribute. Probably because I am proud of seeing the joke 24ac is my COD. Admiration and thanks to Vulcan – and to you manehi.

  5. Bit heavy on GK today and I probably missed the theme which might have made it easier for others? For example, in 3d, who does ‘his’ refer to, ditto 9ac which I could see was an anagram but did not know who ‘his’ referred to.

    Ah, I see I forgot to read the special instructions – Happy Birthday, Rufus! miss doing your puzzles.

    Gave up on 10ac, 14ac (never hard of Rosemary Squires), 20ac (did not know the GK for this), 7d.

    Liked: EARPLUGS, ONCE, FIEND

    New: GOLDFISH CLUB, WILLIAM II /RUFUS, IRONBRIDGE, MONDAY CLUB

    I did not parse 24ac, 11ac, 26ac A LACK but did not understand the ‘his retirement left’ bit until I saw the theme just now.

  6. Thanks for all the information about Rufus. I managed to complete the puzzle from the clues despite not knowing much about him. I used to enjoy his Monday puzzles which were generally more straightforward than this. The goldfish club was new to me, too. The misdirection in 17a was very clever. Rosemary Squires! For me, a name from my childhood but I understand she continued performing into old age. Is she a relative? A fine tribute to a setter who deserves it.

  7. I’m not entirely convinced by the definition of FIEND, but this was a very cleverly constructed puzzle helpfully supported by manehi’s excellent blog. There were quite a few clues which I couldn’t fully parse and suspected might involve cryptic references to the great man’s life and works; well done manehi for dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s in such a dedicated fashion.
    Favourite, I think, was A GOOD RUN.
    Thanks to Vulcan and manehi – and to Rufus for memories of happier times.

  9. Lovely tribute, some facts I knew and some I didn’t but was able to work out from the clueing, a nice range of devices from Vulcan and, as this didn’t appear on a Monday, some chewy parsing. I do feel there’s a bit more to FULL OF FUN but I haven’t managed to tease it out. Refund is full of fun, yes, but Red is also full of fun to make the word as manehi points out. The strange word order in the middle of the clue and the idea that we might demand a refund if Rufus didn’t deliver fun gives the clue an &littish feel.

    ONCE is my stand out clue for today. Beautifully done. Closely followed by GPS.

    Thanks Vulcan and manehi

  10. What Shirl said @2

    Many happy returns Roger X

    Thanks to Vulcan for setting such a great birthday tribute puzzle and to Manehi for the blog

  11. Happy birthday to Rufus. I enjoyed this more than most Vulcans. I think I would have preferred not to have the theme signposted, since I didn’t actually know any of the facts about Rufus and solved most of the references using the wordplay. The only one I might not have got was Dante, which was my penultimate clue followed by 16d.
    Thanks to manehi for the link to the Guardian article, which I hope will fill in the many gaps in the wikipedia page for Rufus.

  12. A deserved tribute to someone I hadn’t heard of, but was fascinated to find out about.
    I particularly enjoyed his (approximately) two millionth clue – “Two girls, one on each knee (7)” and was gobsmacked at his anagram for Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

    NeilH@7, Chambers has Fiend as “a devil…an addict; a devotee”.

    Favourite was EARPLUGS.
    Nice one Vulcan and thanks manehi.

  13. Great puzzle. Hadn’t heard of the GOLDFISH CLUB, so had to look it up. Congratulations to Rufus (and belated thanks for all the Monday fun that we enjoyed for so many years).

  15. Most enjoyable, and a splendid tribute to Rufus on his birthday. What an amazing life! Managed almost everything except parsing the two 24 s, so thank you manehi and fellow contributors to this blog.

  16. Thanks Vulcan and manehi
    Worst failure for years – I gave up with only about a third completed. Simply not on the wavelength.
    Pedants’ corner: I’m sure that there must be statues of Eros somewhere, but the one in Picadilly Circus isn’t one; it’s his brother, Anteros. You can tell because he has butterfly wings.

  17. https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/shortcuts/2017/dec/18/farewell-rufus-the-guardians-record-breaking-crossword-setter

    who is Kate? I struggled with whom HE was in the puzzle , Thomas Telford (Ironbridge) , Dante , and ‘kings (Rufus) – all were red herrings until solver’s comments made it obvious.

    Being able to set quality puzzles at 90 yrs is so wonderful. Best wishes to Roger in his retirement , but I’ll miss his Monday morning puzzles.

  18. A fitting tribute indeed.

    It’s hard to believe that it’s ten years since we were invited to join in a tribute for Rufus’ eightieth birthday
    http://www.fifteensquared.net/2012/02/14/calling-all-admirers-of-rufus/
    and I’ve just enjoyed re-reading what was said then. I have nothing to add about Rufus, except to say what fun I had ‘helping’ with his amazing magic tricks at our first Derby S and B.

    Vulcan has done a great job in cleverly including so many aspects of Rufus’ life, in some fine clues. My favourites were ROGER, DANTE, SQUIRES (I remember Rosemary!), URDU and – top of the list – MONDAY CLUB, which made me laugh. (Monday was Roger’s day in the FT and Telegraph, as well as the Guardian.)

    A very happy birthday, Rufus and many thanks to both Vulcan and manehi.

  19. Thanks, TimC @12. I stand (well, actually, I sit) corrected and am completely impressed by Vulcan’s puzzle instead of being about 99% impressed by it.

  20. How nIce to be reminded of Rufus – approachable, prolific, and master of the witty cryptic definition that I still find the most purely satisfying type of crossword clue (exemplified by 10A above). Was it his long tenure as setter on the first day of the week that effectively created the convention of the Guardian’s “Monday slot”, that is still with us? Anyone coming recently to crossword land may feel that they’ve somehow wandered into a private birthday party, and yes – it is all a bit self-indulgent and cosy-club-like – but surely pardonable self-indulgence just this once. Few setters have given more pleasure over a longer period. Particular thanks to Vulcan for creating this worthy tribute.

  21. What a super tribute to a fine setter! I didn’t know anything about Rufus, really, but was able to solve without any reference aids – like others was intrigued to find out about the Goldfish Club. Many thanks to Vulcan and to mane for the blog.

  22. I’ve never actually solved a Rufus puzzle but I did have the pleasure of meeting him about ten years ago. I knew next to nothing about him but when he performed a few magic tricks, I knew I was in the presence of greatness.

  24. I knew nothing about Rufus other than that he was a Guardian setter, but only had to look him up when stuck on IRONBRIDGE; a mention of Shropshire gave me my LOI.

    It was lovely to learn snippets about Rufus from solving the puzzle. Is ALACK a sort of triple definition? GOLDFISH CLUB had to be correct, so I Googled it. EARPLUGS was good, and I quite liked GPS. Only SPACESUIT felt a bit out of place to me, almost a Quick Crossword clue.

    Overall an enjoyable tribute to Rufus, not too difficult but with some lateral thinking required.

  25. Hooray for Roger S, the master of the concise clue – there was never anything too tortuous or with unnecessary verbiage. I didn’t always find his puzzles a walkover – those clues consisting of a single cryptic definition were always ingenious but only gave one route to their solution….

    He was particularly good at clever clues for well known expressions. My favourite was: ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ (5,3,4).

    Thanks to Vulcan for a well crafted puzzle and to manehi, who was lucky to catch this one.

  26. Why won’t this crossword open on the Guardian App? Had to do it on the web site as I was up a long time before the paper boy arrived with the printed version.

    Many Happy Returns to Rufus. Very much missed on Mondays.

    It’s very easy to miss any special instructions, michelle@5. I’ve certainly done it in the past.

    I think this would have been rather confusing to anyone not familiar with Rufus’s personal history. I solved it fairly quickly, but without much enjoyment because the references were unknown to me, despite having done Guardian crosswords for decades. Sorry. Maybe we should have had one of Rufus’s puzzles instead?

    Thanks Vulcan and manehi.

  27. Found this a bit of a mixture with a few I got from the definition and crosses but couldn’t quite parse. Enjoyed it tho’.

    Favourites SQUIRES, EARPLUGS, IRONBRIDGE, A GOOD RUN, SURVEIL

    Thanks Vulcan and manehi

  28. A tour de force from Vulcan. I did wonder, part way through, whether he had used any Rufus clues in setting this one, as he has the style off pat.

    Thanks to Vulcan, manehi and of course Rufus.

  29. Happy Birthday Rufus, and thank you for the super Monday puzzles you used to set – my gateways to crossword solving.

    Thank you Vulcan for this lovely tribute, and manehi for the interesting blog.

  31. A lovely tribute, as many others have said.

    I well remember some undeserved criticism of Rufus on these blogs with people saying he set too many puzzles, and his clues were ‘too easy’, but I always enjoyed solving his crosswords. I was another who met him at an S&B ‘do’ and found he was a charming man.

    I liked A GOOD RUN and EARPLUGS for the wordplay, and FULL OF FUN for the multi-layering.

    Thanks Vulcan, Rufus and manehi.

  32. Gervase @25. I’ve found two Rufus clues that are almost the reverse of your ‘Out of sight, out of mind’. In 2014 ‘Proverbially, it leads to madness!’ (3,2,5) and in 2011 we have ‘Mad at being forgotten?’ (3, 2, 4). The one you’re referring to is 24,630 from 2009 (18a).

  33. Much fun to be had today, just right as a tribute to the FULL OF FUN one… although I have to admit that my memory of RUFUS puzzles is mainly one of embarrassing DNFs, since as Gervase says @25, if you don’t get a CD there’s no other way in.

    I knew some of the biographical details but was (and am) intrigued to know if some of the other solutions were also a nod in Rufus’s direction. Does he speak URDU? Are CORDUROYS his trousers of choice? Does he make a habit of turning up to functions in a SPACESUIT (over the corduroys)? And like akaRB @17 I wondered about the mysterious KATE.

    Interesting to see blossomed = BLOWN, from which we get full-blown.

    Many thanks to Vulcan and manehi, and Happy Birthday Roger.

  34. As one who normally hates a Google, I it was worth it today to enjoy and applaud a lovely tribute to a man who gave so much pleasure to so many. Well done Vulcan. And huge thanks and happy birthday Rufus.

  35. Happy Birthday and very best wishes to Rufus / Dante / Icarus … A lovely, well-deserved tribute. Many thanks to Vulcan & Manehi. (I too remember Rosemary Squires).

  36. What a treat, just a shame that the big day wasn’t yesterday, as both RUFUS and Vulcan are distinguished members of the MONDAY CLUB: those setters who ease us into the solving week with puzzles that are not too hard on the brain, but almost always great fun. This was a perfect example, as well as being a reasonably comprehensive biography of Vulcan’s predecessor: 25 minutes or so of smiles, and not a single grumble.
    Thanks manehi for posting the article about ROGER SQUIRES from ten years ago; it added to my appreciation of what a many-faceted character ICARUS is, and hence what a fine puzzle Vulcan has created in tribute to his LONG REIGN. It also sorted out what some of the answers were doing in the puzzle, such as ROGER, IRONBRIDGE, DANTE, MAGIC CIRCLE and GOLDFISH CLUB.
    Among many enjoyable clues, I think SQUIRES, EARPLUGS and MONDAY CLUB (boo!) were my favourites.

    Still smiling, thanks to Vulcan and manehi. And many happy birthdays to RUFUS!

  38. PS, forgot to mention CORDUROYS: nice to see ‘trousers’ meaning the garment itself, and not being used as a device for enclosing one part of the answer in another!

  39. Many thanks Vulcan and manehi. And many happy returns, Mr Squires. I can’t put it any better than Shirl @2. This was just lovely all round, sheer delight from beginning to end.

  42. Thanks both.

    If it weren’t for Rufus I wouldn’t be here. At one point it was my habit to sip a coffee on a Monday afternoon at the seaside and tackle a Rufus. It was always a pleasure to race between the crossword and the coffee; many’s the cold dregs were abandoned. For me Rufus always meant a clever dd, which I still regard as the height of wit.

    (For all that I am still missing something in the parsing for FULL OF FUN – I can see that ‘refund’ is “full of fun” and that his work could so be described but after that I’m lost, even given that ‘rufus’ is the latin for the residual ‘red’.)

    Happy Birthday Rufus – looking forward to a re-run in ten years.

  43. A fitting tribute. Like revbob I didn’t know too much about the great man but have enjoyed finding out the relevance of some of the answers afterwards.
    Thanks all.

  44. Thanks to Vulcan for such an enjoyable puzzle on such a happy occasion, allowing us all an opportunity to celebrate the cruciverbalist’s art. Thanks also to manehi for the blog. Happy birthday Rufus and very best wishes for your health and happiness.

  45. AlphaAlpha @42 – I’d like to echo your comment. Rufus was my ‘way in’ to cryptic crosswords, the only setter I could get any handle on. There is no way I’d still be here several years later without him.
    Thanks Rufus.

  46. As a tribute, this was just great. As a puzzle, if it were an ordinary Tuesday puzzle I would have said it would have been better to omit the name from the SI, but as a Tuesday puzzle by a Monday setter celebrating a Monday setter, it is just fine. Congratulations, Rufus.

  47. I echo what many have said, particularly Sagittarius @20 and Cookie @29. Great puzzle, great blog, great tribute!
    I’m not quite sure about BLOWN meaning “blossomed” in 11ac, but I’m sure someone can enlighten me!

  48. Happy Birthday Rufus! I was a member of 22 d, they helped to build my confidence with these fiendish puzzles. And thanks to Vulcan for a fitting tribute. As a flyer myself, I have no wish to join 19d!

  49. A lovely tribute with some very nice touches: ENTRUSTS (“Puzzle set, turns and hands it over”) and STEAD (“Endlessly regular, in his place”) very nicely reflecting Vulcan’s position as Rufus’s successor.

    I suspect Rufus must have clued URDU many times, but the only one I can find off hand is: “Some harbour dues with which Indians are conversant (4)” (26,987).

    Many thanks Vulcan and manehi.

  50. GrannyJ @47: ‘blow’ in 11ac is a rare verb meaning ‘to blossom’, cognate with German blühen. It’s a different etymology from ‘blow, blow, thou winter wind’ (cognate with German blähen).

    Robi @37, thanks for the KATE suggestion. A google search led me to this, an account of Rufus’s 80th birthday celebrations mentioned by Eileen @18. It includes Araucaria’s poetic tribute on that occasion:

    Master magician Roger Squires
    For eighty years has graced the land,
    And still his mental sleight of hand
    Perplexes, conjures, and inspires,
    Not his the strained linguistic mires
    That only nerds can understand;
    His clues, meticulously planned,
    Delight us as they cross the wires.

    So, as we toast our honoured guest,
    Best wishes; thanks, and this behest –
    Pray relish and don’t rue the fuss
    We make of you, dear Rufus: plus
    Remember this, young master Squires:
    No cruciverbalist retires.

  51. When I started doing cryptics (before I stopped for many years and resumed last year), Rufus was one of the few I had any chance of completing and, if I didn’t, the clues were enjoyable; looking at the answers the following day gave more pleasure. This was a lovely tribute to a legend of the grid. I don’t know Rufus but I wish you many happy returns as if you were an old friend.

  52. Thanks, essexboy @50, for the explanation & the link. As a German student in my youth, I’m ashamed that I didn’t make the connection!

  53. What club is the magic circle? I can only find it as an Australian children’s TV show.

    Like many others, I’d never heard of the Goldfish club and was charmed by it.

    Yet more spelled-out numbers, the third in recent times, in FIEND (N for 9) and 1 (ONE) in ONCE. But this time nobody has complained! Are we just used to it (I don’t mind it myself) or is the general good humor of the Rufus birthday party having the happy-making effect it should?

    Vulcan, thanks and ever thanks, this was lovely. And manehi, thanks to you too for clearing up here and pointing out there. (RED in REFUND for one.)

  55. Happy birthday Roger. Sincerely hope you are not flooded out today by water from the Severn but by lots of cards and pressies. Enjoy the day!

  56. Valentine @53. Neither Rufus nor Vulcan would have used *spoiler alert!*an anagram of 10CC (as in yesterday’s Qaos) to make the middle part of an answer! There’s a difference of degree between using the first letter of ‘9’ for N or using ‘1’ for ONE and inserting a C as Vulcan has done, and requiring an anagram of the letters of ’10’. Well, that’s my opinion anyway. But yes, an outburst of general good humour is welcome too.

  57. Quite a few bits of Rufus’s biography were new to me (the Magic Circle, the Goldfish Club, Ironbridge – and it didn’t even occur to me to check REFEREE).

    I found his crosswords simple but never particularly easy – as Gervase says above, the clever double and cryptic definitions he was so good at don’t give you a second route in if the answer won’t come – but they were always FULL OF FUN, so that you smiled even while kicking yourself.

    A very happy birthday, Mr. Squires, and thanks Vulcan for the tribute. I liked EARP LUGS.

  58. My crosswording career began at the very end of Rufus’ reign. I remember attempting a few Monday Telegraph crosswords authored by Rufus, but I was too green to appreciate his skill.
    So much of this was solved via Wikipedia, but that didn’t matter as the object was to provide a suitable tribute, which Vulcan certainly did.
    Congratulations on the birthday, sir, may you have many more.

  59. Valentine @53 – the Magic Circle is effectively the trade union or guild for prestidigitators in the UK. You have to be *very* good to become a member. They have a lovely theatre in London (their HQ) where they put on magic shows.

  60. I remember Rufus puzzles with great affection. Had DONCE for 20 though as I did not know of him as DANTE.

    Really enjoyed this.
    Thanks Vulcan.

  62. Not being in the know I struggled with the Rufus-isms but all guessable. And I’ve leant what the GOLDFISH CLUB is now.

    Thanks Vulcan, manehi and of course Rufus

  63. A lovely birthday tribute to Rufus.
    Besides the many biographical clues, I really like ‘crazy admirer’ and URDU.

    Thank you Vulcan & manehi for elucidation re the Goldfish Club, and
    thank you essexboy@50 for Araucaria’s brilliant sonnet.

  64. Happy birthday Rufus! And what a wonderful tribute from Vulcan today.

    Wasn’t it always Rufus or Janus on a Monday?

    Thank you Vulcan and manehi

  67. My best friend at school, his dad, Michael Bailey was president of the magic circle.
    The stuff he did with cards was ridiculous. He showed me one trick that fools everyone, the only thing he made me promise was that I was only to show the trick once.

  68. Managed the clues that didn’t have anything to do with Rufus. But I simply didn’t know about the man and the many references to him. This went rather over my head and a DNF, though I appreciate the plaudits for someone who was obviously a very popular setter and much missed. A DNF on several clues today. But don’t want to spoil the celebration…

  69. Loved this puzzle even though, like several other comment writers, I was ignorant of the details of Rufus’ biography. Nearly all were gettable, even if one was left wondering about the exact parsing without the specialized inside knowledge. Absolutely no quibbles. A wonderful tribute from Vulcan to a fine antecedent in the Monday Club.

  70. [This I Learned today: Wyatt Earp is almost always referred to as a US Marshal — not least in John Ford’s masterpiece My Darling Clementine — but it turns out that Earp had a stint as a sheriff too.

    PS: Victor Mature’s soulful rendition of his portion of Hamlet’s soliloquy playing the doomed Doc Halliday, speculating about the undiscovered country, is a keeper]

  71. This was a fun crossword, but I did read some articles about Rufus part way through (on the tube travelling this morning) to solve it. I used to like Rufus’s crosswords back in the day – when I regularly completed them in the paper as a student and through my first few jobs. They always felt possibly achievable, unlike some of the setters later in the week, but I didn’t know much about him at all, and found some of this information, like the Goldfish Club, fascinating (there’s also the Gannet Club). Rediscovering the daily crossword habit online there has been so much more information around about the setters now.

    Thank you Vulcan for setting this tribute, and manehi for parsing one or two I wasn’t sure about or why they were included.

  74. I think I agree with Ronald @68. Some fine clues among the unthemed ones, but I’d have been utterly lost without the special instructions and “meet the setter” article.

  75. Could 14 be not a homophone of choirs, but instead the old english “quires” as “In quires and places where they sing here followers the Anthem?

  76. A nice thought Andrew@75. Chambers lists quire(2) as “n. an obsolete spelling of choir”. The only problem is what to make of “broadcast” in that case, which to me is clearly an indicator of a homophone.
    I’m still puzzling over FULL OF FUN. It doesn’t gel as much as I’d like with current explanations.

  78. muffin@77: It’s a lost cause – like ‘presently’. No advance on FULL OF FUN as Tim C@76 observes – there is (I’m sure) something I’m missing. Ah well; move on.

  79. I struggled with this one, until I twigged that RUFUS might have been a setter (noob here, don’t judge me harshly), and a visit to the Wiki page provided a lot of answers. And a raised eyebrow at all his other accomplishments!

  80. We saw this puzzle in the Guardian Weekly, where there were no special instructions, but we realised there must be a themed “him” to which multiple clues referred. Once I’d worked out that Ironbridge must be one of the answers, I looked at the “notable people” section of the Wikipedia page for Ironbridge, and having discovered that Roger Squires (both words we already had solved, though we’d had to look up Rosemary to check) lived there, the theme was understood, and we were able to check the appropriateness of other clues by reading up on Rufus after we had worked them out. We were most impressed to discover his other talents!

    Like many others here, I found Rufus an encouraging way into cryptic crosswords, but unlike many of you I have a large stash of unstarted crosswords my mother cut out from the Guardian over 20 years, so I will be enjoying Rufus, Araucaria et al. for years to come.

  81. As usual, too late to be seen, but I was completely mystified by many of the clues in this puzzle, as the Guardian Weekly did not show any “special instructions”, there was no reference at all to “Rufus” in the clues, and anyway I fail to understand how references to another setter’s (inter alia) war record or home town can be considered reasonable clues in a cryptic crossword. As it turned out, I almost completed the crossword without any of that hidden information thanks to the good clueing by Vulcan, but wasted much time trying to parse clues like 20ac.
    I’m clearly not the only one who takes the Weekly, and I think the Guardian should be admonished for this omission. (as well as for printing the clues in a smaller font than any other part of the paper, but that’s another story.)

  82. Another Guardian Weekly subscriber – as Bosun points out, no special instructions, but we quite enjoyed trying to guess who the oft repeated “he” might be! Only one we didn’t get was Dante (tried Dunce instead, but didn’t really see why!). Thoroughly enjoyed reading this blog and following the various links – thanks all!

  83. I’m with Bosun@81. The clues were meaningless without the special instructions, and totally obscure even to a regular Guardian solver such as myself. Inappropriate choice to include in the Weekly.

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