An enjoyable puzzle – my favourites were 13ac, 7dn, 16dn, and 17dn. Thanks to Carpathian
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | INTERMISSION |
Ministries on casual break (12)
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anagram/"casual" of (Ministries on)* |
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| 9 | PASSÉ |
Old-fashioned secretaries not completely prepared (5)
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PAS (PAs, Personal Assistants)="secretaries" + SE[t]="not completely prepared" |
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| 10 | CATERWAUL |
Supply with gold before beginning to laugh and cry (9)
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CATER="Supply" + W (with) + AU (chemical symbol for gold) + L-augh |
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| 11 | SCARPER |
Flee in small vehicle with rejected agent (7)
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S (small) + CAR="vehicle" + REP="agent" reversed/"rejected" |
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| 12 | RELIEVE |
Right to trust missing book provides help (7)
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R (Right) + b-ELIEVE="trust" missing the b for "book" |
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| 13 | SOCIAL WORK |
Crooks wail about community service? (6,4)
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anagram/"about' of (Crooks wail)* |
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| 15 | PLUS |
Regularly applauds bonus (4)
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regular letters from a-P-p-L-a-U-d-S |
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| 18 | JUST |
Barely impartial (4)
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double definition |
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| 19 | STATUESQUE |
Monumental queues forming behind National, endlessly (10)
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anagram/"forming" of (queues)*, after STAT-e="National, endlessly" with 'state' as an adjective e.g. state pension |
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| 22 | RAMPAGE |
Servant goes after farm animal in frenzy (7)
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PAGE="Servant" after RAM="farm animal" |
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| 24 | DETAILS |
Apparently removes end from items (7)
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DE-TAILS could mean "removes end from" |
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| 25 | EXCLUSIVE |
Ninety featuring in subtle story published only by us (9)
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XC="Ninety" in Roman numerals, inside ELUSIVE="subtle" |
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| 26 | FAINT |
A home featured in newspaper is unsteady (5)
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A, plus IN=[at] "home", both inside FT (Financial Times, "newspaper") |
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| 27 | HAPPY-GO-LUCKY |
Carefree and pleased to leave fortune to unknown quantity (5-2-5)
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HAPPY="pleased" + GO="leave" + LUCK="fortune" + Y=unknown in mathematics |
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | INSTANCES |
Examples of popular positions (9)
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IN="popular" + STANCES="positions" |
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| 2 | THESPIAN |
Ship neat rum for player (8)
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anagram/"rum" of (Ship neat)* |
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| 3 | RECUR |
Part of core curriculum to come up again (5)
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hidden in/"Part of" co-RE CUR-riculum |
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| 4 | INTERPRET |
Bury ready for French to take (9)
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INTER="Bury + PRET=prêt="ready" in French |
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| 5 | SHRILL |
High quiet stream (6)
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SH=[be] quiet! + RILL="stream" |
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| 6 | ORATE |
Ordinary charge to speak (5)
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O (Ordinary) + RATE="charge" |
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| 7 | SPASMS |
Fits spring on messaging service (6)
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SPA="spring" + SMS=phone text "messaging service" |
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| 8 | ALLEYS |
Ways of heading off depression before the Sabbath (6)
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v-ALLEY="depression" with its first letter/"heading" taken "off"; plus S (Sabbath) |
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| 14 | WITHERING |
Article in part of electrical system is decaying (9)
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THE=definite "Article", in WIRING="part of electrical system" |
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| 16 | LIQUIDITY |
I quit idly, wandering in fluid state (9)
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anagram/"wandering" of (I quit idly)* |
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| 17 | BEATIFIC |
Defeat provided by one caught showing great joy (8)
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BEAT="Defeat" + IF="provided" + I="one" + C (caught in cricket) |
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| 18 | JARRED |
Vessel with wine is shaken (6)
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JAR="Vessel" + RED="wine" |
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| 20 | ERSATZ |
Substitute Queen rested by entrance to zoo (6)
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ER (Elizabeth Regina, "Queen") + SAT="rested" + Z-oo |
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| 21 | GAZUMP |
Leaders of gardeners’ and zoologists’ unions meet privately to seek a higher offer (6)
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definition: a seller agreeing to an offer (e.g. on a house) and then accepting or asking for a higher offer leading letters from G-ardeners' A-nd Z-oologists' U-nions M-eet P-rivately |
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| 23 | MOCHA |
Little time for tea or coffee (5)
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MO (moment, "Little time") + CHA="tea" |
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| 24 | DWELL |
Blue revolutionary left lodge (5)
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LEWD="Blue" as in 'blue movie' reversed/"revolutionary" + L (left) |
This was very enjoyable with lovely words such as SPASMS, CATERWAUL and STATUESQUE. I suspected this was a pangram so the missing ‘X’ helped me get EXCLUSIVE. Good clues all round.
Ta Carpathian & manehi
Definitely Mondayish, but as AlanC @1 says there were some nice clues and a pangram to boot. Thanks to C & m.
Thanks Carpathian and manehi
Very enjoyable. I needed the parsing of PASSE, and I don’t see why “take” means INTERPRET.
It’s a pangram,
What a lovely starter puzzle for the week.
Thanks to Pasquale and manehi.
Your take on something is how you INTERPRET it muffin @3
Absolutely a Monday puzzle but as already noted, some nice clues and solutions. I noticed it was a pangram but that did not help much. Thanks C and M.
Me @4, I obviously meant Carpathian. My apologies. It’s Pasquale for the Quiptic.
Thank you, Carpathian!
Crossbar @5
I don’t think that works, because “take” in that sense is a noun, so would be equivalent to “interpretation” rather than the verb “interpret”.
Crossbar@5: “I take/interpret that to mean…” But it’s far from an obvious synonym.
Anyway, this was straightforward but fun: I liked CATERWAUL, SCARPER and ERSATZ among many nice unusual words. Took a while to spot SHRILL and the blue revolutionary in DWELL.
Couldn’t parse alleys. Thank you for that, Manehi. Very enjoyable crossword. Thank you for that, Carpathian.
A good example of the fact that a crossword doesn’t have to be hard to be enjoyable. CATERWAUL was my favourite. Pangrams are very clever, but I feel less satisfied when I get a solution because I know it must have a Z for example.
muffin@8. gladys@9 has worked it out with the correct parts of speech. I was too lazy. 🙂
Thanks manehi. Always pleasing to see Carpathian’s name at the top of a puzzle, and this one didn’t disappoint. Lovely clueing throughout – except for one very tiny quibble that I wouldn’t even mention except that it seems uncharacteristically lax for this setter, who is normally so precise: what is “for” doing in 23d, hmm? Anyway, that very minor detail was far outweighed by the overall enjoyment. Difficulty level just right for my Monday morning brain – a bit more of a challenge than the Quiptic but all very scrutable.
Petert @11 – spotting the pangram didn’t help me at all, since I ticked off all the high-scoring Scrabble letters quite early. Spotting the second Z made me wonder briefly if it was going to be a double pangram but I don’t think it is.
Enjoyable puzzle which was quite like a Quiptic for the most part. I took longest on the 24s.
I guessed it was a pangram (did not actually check to be sure) but that did not help much.
Liked INTERPRET, WITHERING, CATERWAUL, ALLEYS, SPASMS.
Thanks, both.
I can’t get excited about pangrams. I just want the individual clues to be clever and solvable without additional aids, including themes. I think I might have said this before. 😉 Fortunately I usually don’t notice either.
Yes, good start to the week with precise cluing.
I realised it was going to be a pangram with that helping JARRED and JUST. I got stuck for a while at the end on the two 24s, one of which DETAILS earned a tick, together with ALLEYS.
Thanks Carpathian and manehi.
Pretty straightforward. I did like SPASMS and DWELL.
Thank you manehi.
Interesting we had MOCHA and ERSATZ. I usually associate ERSATZ with coffee when coffee was scarce. Interesting too how often ERSATZ comes up in a crossword. I’ve often thought it must be a ‘go to’ clue to fill the grid, but with a pangram today, we also have GAZUMP. Great clue. As was HAPPY-GO-LUCKY.
Thank you Carpathian and manehi for a lovely start to the week.
Some neat anagrams and tidy clues such as MOCHA.
Widdersbel @13: I took/interpreted the ‘for’ in 23d as meaning ‘to be given to’/’to be added to’, eg
I have some coffee here (not instant or ERSATZ) for Widdersbel = I have some coffee here to be given to Widdersbel
I have some Rembrandts for your collection = I have some Rembrandts to be added to your collection
– so the cryptic grammar works OK for me.
Thanks C & m. If I were the editor (yes I know, delusions of grandeur) I’d have saved this one up for the Quiptic slot, as it would fit it perfectly (or better still, have used it last week!)
Lovely Monday crossword – my favourites have all been mentioned.
Thanks Carpathian and manehi
Thx to Carpathian for an enjoyable puzzle, with some lovely clues and a pangram to boot. Pleasant start to the week with many favourites:
BEATIFIC, CATERWAUL, DWELL, SPASMS, STATUESQUE, WITHERING
EXCLUSIVE, ALLEYS, ERSATZ and GAZUMP.
Thx also to manehi for blog.
I’ll go along with ShropshireLass @22 – but I’m with Crossbar @15 regarding pangrams: it never occurs to me to look for them.
Last two in were the similarly clued and interlocking RELIEVE and ALLEYS…
I do like the word CATERWAUL and try and use it in conversation as much as possible.
The word you used @19, wynnum, was my overall impression too – a neat puzzle. Many thanks to Carpathian and manehi.
Autocorrect changed wynsum to wynnum I’m sorry – wynnum (with a capital letter) being a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
I enjoyed this up to my LOI ALLEYS. I still bridle at clues that require me to come up with a synonym (‘valley’ for ‘depression’) and then manipulate it (heading off) towards a less than illuminating definition (‘ways’ – one of those words which can have so many meanings). If I had eb@20’s delusions I could imagine myself tweaking the nostrils of any setter offering such an (I’m gonna say it) unworthy and unfriendly device.
Still, mustn’t grumble – lots to enjoy and nice to see Roz turning up in the 12th row.
essexboy @20 – hmmmm, a bit of a stretch, but I always feel positively disposed towards Carpathian so go on then. 🙂
At 11, I had SCAMPER so couldn’t parse the agent bit. Doh.
What is a pangram?
Nick @30 Something that contains all the letters of the alphabet.
Straightforward enough but good fun.
Thanks Carpathian and manehi
I enjoyed the wailing crooks at 13a. Thank you for a pleasant stroll, Carpathian, and manehi for the company.
Quite enjoyable. My knowledge of French doesn’t extend to “ready” — I’m happy with “the French”, as we so often see in cryptics! I’m a little uneasy about “high” and “shrill”. I suppose there’s a link, but a tenuous one, methinks. “Beatific” is new to my lexicon — I was trying to work out how “terrific” could fit.
Widdersbel@13 and 28 The third meaning given for “for” in Chambers is “Wanting or wishing to have”. That would appear to justify the use of the word as a juxtaposition indicator in 23D.
Like Crossbar @15 (and Eileen @23) “I can’t get excited about pangrams.” (There is one every day in the Guardian newspaper: Codeword.) Today’s was so straightforward that I can’t imagine needing any help from a missing Z or X, and I tend to agree with essexboy @20 that it would have fit nicely into the Quiptic slot. Some unusual words, and I can imagine Paul, Brendan or Tramp, for example, giving us some really tricky definitions/synonyms to make things harder. But Carpathian was very friendly: ‘cry’=CATERWAUL, for example, which held me up only momentarily, and ‘charge’=RATE, which I still haven’t checked in Chambers a couple of hours after finishing, as the solutions were obvious from wordplay and/or crossers.
Thanks to Carpathian and manehi.
Geoff Down Under @34. Perhaps you don’t have Pret A Manger coffee and sandwich bars in your part of the world?
On a different tack, can anybody explain why I can’t find any solution or reveal to the Maskarade easter puzzle 28733. There is also no fifteensquared explanation either. I usually manage to complete most of these crosswords but found this one extremely baffling.
Ian F @38
The closing date for entries is Friday 29/4 so the Maskarade blog will appear next Saturday.
Thanks for the blog, AlanC straight in at Number 1 again , but you missed the theme.
Very tidy clues today , I will second , or third , the praise for SPASMS , ALLEYS and DWELL.
Ian F @38. “There is also no fifteensquared explanation.” Gaufrid is too polite to tell you that you are mistaken. I have no such restriction!
Roz@40 What theme?
Very enjoyable Monday tester. Thanks Carpathian – lots of great clues but if I had to pick one it would be relieve. Thanks Manehi for the blog and in particular for the parsings that escaped me, passe and statuesque.
Roz @40: intrigued?
More or less a write-in, but thoroughly enjoyable with clever clueing. I really like it when each clue is a stand-alone phrase or sentence in its own right; with some (well, at least one) of the other setters the clues get so convoluted that they are simply not pleasing. Not sure if I’m making sense…
Oh, and yes – I learned my new Britishism of the day with GAZUMP!!
Thanks Carpathian, I liked this a lot. The surfaces were both compact and readable; this always adds immensely to my enjoyment. Favourites included SOCIAL WORK, EXCLUSIVE, ALLEYS, ERSATZ, MOCHA, and DWELL. Thanks manehi for the blog.
First class, as ever.
CATERWAUL and BEATIFIC were new to me but eminently parsable.
I particularly liked SPASMS, JARRED and ERSATZ.
Thanks both.
Sorry Valentine and AlanC, I did not express myself very clearly. I meant you usually have a theme for us, often names of bands, songs , albums etc.
This was the first puzzle I completed in one sitting (usually I get started in the evening, then tackle the rest in the morning). However, I didn’t do a “Check all”, and so missed #11A, which I had parsed as S-CAMPER, and was puzzled as to why PER-REP was double-clued!
@manehi: A minor error in the blog: for 19A, “endlessly” should not be underlined as a second definition. Thanks for the blog.
Thank you, Carpathian. Many lovely clues with an interesting mix of vocabulary.
The one that made me smile once I parsed it was [v]ALLEYS. I also liked the Queen in ERSATZ — on first reading I was afraid it was going to be some obscure queen but no, it’s our old familiar ER!
Roz@48: I had a few but I think people are fed up with my themes 🙂
[AlanC @50, how could you think such a thing? I had Jimmy PAGE, RAM Jam, Men at WORK, STATUES QUE, SHRILLy Bassey and Bill WITHERING. I’m sure there are others.]
Well I like them and I think most people do.
Perhaps people are fed up of too many actual Guardian puzzle themes, I certainly am. A theme used to be a rare treat, now we seem to get two or three every week.
eb @50, love it. Roz @51: you always brighten my day.
Oh a bit of Dyscalculia going on there…
Just checked , three themes last week out of six,far too many. The made up ones here are far more entertaining and do not spoil the clues.
Both this puzzle & P’s Quiptic spot on for a Monday & very enjoyable. A nice gentle intro is just how it should be.
Thanks all.
I’m a day late now but…. thought there was another religious layer to INTERMISSION as it combined break between missions with ministry which is also church work.
Thanks both.
Is that what you guys call &lit?
tim @57/58 – I like your thinking.
To be a ‘true’ &lit, every element in the clue needs to function as both definition and wordplay. I don’t think that’s the case with INTERMISSION, because ‘ministries on’ is the anagram fodder and ‘casual’ is the anagrind, so that leaves ‘break’ without a function in the wordplay.
But I agree that there’s something clever and allusive going on in the clue. In fact you could say it works on three levels: INTERMISSION = ‘break’, INTERMISSION = anagram (‘casual’) of ‘ministries on’, and INTER-MISSION = ‘ministries on break’. Not sure what you’d call that!
Still very much an L on cryptic crosswords but getting there slowly.
Drofle @2 says “Definitely Mondayish”.
I have heard that the Guardian crosswords get progressively more difficult as the week passes. Ie Mondays are the easiest (I know that Quiptic is deliberately supposedly easy; I refer not to that, but to the main one), Saturdays the hardest. Is this true? Does this apply to other newspapers?
Sped through the first 3/4, then hit a wall, and had to cheat to get DWELL before popping in the final few. Some lovely clues though, including CATERWAUL, SPASMS and EXCLUSIVE. No problems with ‘pret’, as Pret a Manger is fairly ubiquitous in the UK, and Pret a Porter was a mainstream film some years ago.
Delboy@60, Monday is traditionally the friendliest cryptic puzzle of the week. I never really think there is progression through the week , often Thursday or Friday will be on the easier side. Saturday no longer seems to be the hardest puzzle even now the prize has returned.
When the Guardian did have very hard setters they would often be on Wednesday and Saturday.
Even though you say you are a learner it is still worth trying harder puzzles, you may not finish but you will learn more.
Thanks Roz