Guardian Cryptic 28,832 by Pasquale

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28832.

Pasquale provides us with quite a bit of deviousness as well as his trademark words less travelled.

ACROSS
1 CORACLE
My beer keeping cold in boat (7)
An envelope (‘keeping’) of C (‘cold’) in COR (‘my’!) plus ALE (‘beer’).
5 GOBBLED
Ate hastily — result of injury to mouth? (7)
GOB BLED (‘result of injury to mouth?’).
9 MACON
President not supplied with right wine (5)
A subtraction: MAC[r]ON (Emmanuel, ‘President’ of France) minus the R (‘not supplied with right’), for the southern Bourgogne appellation.
10 VOUCHSAFE
Very old university — get irritated about ending of generous grant (9)
A charade of V (‘very’) plus O (‘old’) plus U (‘university’) plus CHSAFE, an envelope (‘about’) of S (‘ending of generouS‘) in CHAFE (‘get irritated’).
11 BRAKE LIGHT
Spooner’s water shining — a warning signal (5,5)
A Spoonerism of WAKE LAKE BRIGHT (‘water shining’).
12 GAUL
Anger is heard in this old region (4)
Sounds like (‘is heard’) GALL (‘anger’; not the most common meaning)
14 TABERNACLES
Baal centres? Very different from these places of worship! (11)
An anagram (‘very different’) of ‘Baal centres’.
18 CONNOISSEUR
Expert to study din round second old city (11)
A charade of CON (‘study’) plus NOISSE, an envelope (’round’) of S (‘second’) in NOISE (‘din’); plus UR (‘old city’).
21 UREA
River has a chemical found in pee (4)
A charade of URE (‘river’ in Yorkshire) plus ‘a’.
22 DOG-FANCIER
A fine corgi — source of delight for one, possibly (3-7)
An anagram (‘possibly’) of ‘a fine corgi’ with one I replaced by D (‘source of Delight for one’), with an &lit definition.
25 APATHETIC
Indifferent in a way, having heartless set of values (9)
A charade of ‘a’ plus PATH (‘way’) plus ET[h]IC (‘set of values’) minus the H (‘heartless’, both as the card suit and as the middle letter).
26 EDITH
One without regrets maybe needing to change husband (5)
A charade of EDIT (‘to change’) plus H (‘husband’). The definition refers to Edith Piaf, and perhaps her best known song “Non, je ne regrette rien“.
27 NOTEPAD
Write on this — not extended record, short announcement (7)
A charade of ‘not’ plus EP (‘extended record’) plus AD (‘short announcement’).
28 SASHAYS
Glides in country dance, beset by impertinent talk (7)
An envelope (‘beset by’) of HAY (‘country dance’) in SASS (‘impertinent talk’).
DOWN
1 CAME BY
This writer gets in taxi — celebrity finally picked up (4,2)
An envelope (‘gets in’) of ME (‘this writer’) in CAB (‘taxi’) plus Y (‘celebritY finally’).
2 RACIAL
Bill enters revolutionary den of people (6)
An envelope (‘enters’) of AC (‘bill’) in RIAL, a reversal (‘revolutionary’) of LAIR (‘den’).
3 CONTENTION
Opposing element in camp, trendy about nothing in argument (10)
A charade of CON (‘opposing element’ – ‘element’ is misleading, but just refers to the opposition in an argument) plus TENT (‘camp’) plus ION, an envelope (‘about’) of O (‘nothing’) in IN (‘trendy’).
4 ENVOI
Messenger cut short one final message (5)
A charade of ENVO[y] (‘messenger’) minus the last letter (‘cut short’) plus I (‘one’). A concluding part of a book or poem.
5 GAUCHERIE
Social ineptitude could make you ultimately cagier, eh? (9)
An anagram (‘could make’) of U (‘yoU ultimately’) plus ‘cagier eh’.
6 BAHT
Eastern money brings expression of disgust over time (4)
A charade of BAH (‘expression of disgust’) plus T (‘time’). The monetary unit in Thailand, equal to 100 satang.
7 LEASABLE
Like something one might get from a letter? (8)
A cryptic definition, depending on interpreting ‘letter’ as someone who lets.
8 DUELLIST
Fighter with various duties crossing lines (8)
An envelope (‘crossing’) of LL (‘lines’) in DUEIST, an anagram (‘various’) of ‘duties’.
13 WARRANTEES
Protected customers sounded off endlessly about goods? Quite the opposite! (10)
An envelope (‘about’, with the particles exchanged by ‘quite the opposite’) of RANTE[d] (‘sounded off’) minus the last letter (‘endlessly’) in WARES (‘goods’). A warantee is a customer to whom a guarantee is given.
15 BESPOTTED
Get noticed, having blemishes? (9)
BE SPOTTED.
16 SCHUMANN
Friend in religious group names composer (8)
A charade of SCHUMA, an envelope (‘in’) of CHUM (‘friend’) in SA (Salvation Army, ‘religious group’); plus NN (‘names’).
17 INTERACT
Communicate what could be intricate, first off (8)
An anagram (‘what could be’) of [‘i]ntricate’ minus the first letter (‘first off’).
19 SILICA
A bishop about to leave RC church? This matter is insoluble (6)
A subtraction: [ba]SILICA (‘RC church’) minus (‘to leave’) BA, a reversal (‘about’) of ‘a’ plus B (‘bishop’).
20 BRAHMS
Musician offering support with hymns, regularly (6)
A charade of BRA (‘support’) plus HMS (‘HyMnS regularly’).
23 FACTS
Fine religious book providing pieces of information (5)
A charade of F (‘fine’) plus ACTS (of the Apostles, ‘religious book’).
24 CHOP
Meat quickly offered, not half! (4)
A reference to the pidgin CHOP-CHOP (‘quickly’).

picture of the completed grid

73 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28,832 by Pasquale”

  1. Nice to see the old city Ur get an airing in CONNOISSEUR. I haven’t seen that old crossword standard in a while.
    Favourite was GOBBLED.

  2. Quite enjoyable, but there were a few in the SE quarter that threw me. I’m not au fait with Edith Piaf’s output, so I was at a loss to understand 26a, despite having worked it out from the wordplay. I’m getting close to remembering the River Ure by now, having encountered it in several British crosswords. I must visit it next time I’m in the UK! Couldn’t think of a religious group SA till I came here. Thought it may have been Seventh Day Adventist without its D. No particular favourites.

  4. Shrugged at Edith as I forgot about the little aparrow who regretted nothing, though I know that song well… bit dim. Stared dumbly at the silica crossers before waking up, and dnk that a hay was a dance. Otherwise pretty straightforward. Thanks PnP.

  6. I thought this was right in the Goldilocks zone, very nice.

    Earlier I was thinking 12a was ambiguous between GALL and GAUL, but of course the “this” requires it to be GAUL.

    There may be one of those strictly-technical vs. common-usage issues regarding the solubility of silica, but I’d like to argue the clue is fine. It would appear the substance is “poorly soluble” (see here), but requires high temperatures and pressures for even that, so “insoluble” is the common experience.

  8. I also couldn’t fully parse SCHUMANN at 16d as I missed the Salvos, Geoff Down Under@2. And like grantinfreo@4and 5, I was unable to see 26a EDITH and 19d SILICA, which were my only unsolved clues when I had finished the rest – both delightful penny-dropping moments when I “twigged” Piaf and baSILICA. Plenty to like in this grid and more than challenging enough for me, so many thanks to Pasquale, and to PeterO for the blog.

  9. [P.S. I liked the phrase “words less travelled” in your blog, PeterO – in that category for me went 9a MACON, 10a VOUCHSAFE, 4d ENVOI, 5d GAUCHERIE, 7d LEASABLE, 13d WARRANTEES and 5d BESPOTTED, so thank goodness for Pasquale’s ever-reliable word-play which made all of them gettable.]

  10. Thank you Peter O.
    Liked GOB BLED. My first guess at the parsing was HOBBLED, result of injury to the mouth + ? > change the first letter.
    And I love EDITH.

    Is there a theme? There’s an obvious French connection with MAC(R)ON, EDITH (Piaf), CONNOISSEUR, GAUCHERIE, and GAUL. On googling SCHUMANN and BRAHMS I found that they were members of the ‘conservative’ group in the ”War of the Romantics”. CHOP(in) was also a Romantic. Don’t know what side he was on. He wrote “Revolutionary Étude” although that was about Warsaw. Is WAR – RANTEES a nod to a theme? ENVOI, DUELLIST?
    Or is this a whole heap of UREA? 🙂

  12. Like others, I could not see the SA religious group, so couldn’t parse SCHUMANN. Thanks for the explanation Peter. I groaned aloud at CHOP and GOBBLED as I put them in.

  13. Used to work in the warranty business, and have a vague recollection that we had to be careful not to call them a guarantee. Wish I could remember why – obviously a subtle legal difference.

  14. Crispy, I used to think “warrantee” was a term used by indecisive people who couldn’t make up their mind whether to use “guarantee” or “warranty”, but belatedly discovered that it’s the actual person. Makes sense.

  15. Re 3 – I think it is opposing (con) element in camp (tent) trendy about nothing (i-o-n). When read like this the clue flows perfectly

  16. Geoff @ 14. Despite working in the business for years, never actually heard anybody usethe term warrantee. Incidentally, Boroughbridge is a good place to see the River Ure should you ever venture to Yorkshire.

  18. Crispy & Geoff: I suspect you already know this but brief research suggests a guarantee comes for free whereas a warranty is paid for, tends to last longer and is seen as the better security. (Though, helpfully, Chambers’ given etymology is ‘Anglo-Fr garantie, from garant warrant’!) And the ‘ee’/’or’ (nothing to do with Winnie the Pooh) is the same split we see in lessee/lessor, franchisee/franchisor etc.

    CORACLE, SCHUMANN, BRAHMS and DOG FANCIER my favourites today.

    Thanks Pasquale and PeterO

  19. Thanks Pasquale and PeterO
    A surprisingly fast start, but a slow finish in the SE. LOI EDITH was favourite.
    I spent some time trying to work BIGHT as the water in 11, but when the penny dropped it was actually quite a good Spooner of LAKE BRIGHT.

  20. Enjoyable, though several parsings were a step too far for me and I learnt a few new words. Favourites were GOBBLED and BRAHMS. Thanks PeterO and Pasquale.

  21. Thanks Postmark @18. Sounds about right. I always thought the difference was that a guarantee was to say it won’t go wrong, whereas a warranty says it probably will so we’ll sell you something to cover it. Also, is the guarantee also the person that gets the guarantee, or is that the guarantee-ee?

  22. Crispy @21: there are times when Chambers can only be described as ‘unhelpful’! The fifth definition of ‘guarantee’ is this mishmash:

    5. Someone to whom a guarantee is given, who gives a guarantee, or who acts as guarantor

    so it can be the giver, the receiver, the ensurer and the thing itself, it would appear!

  23. Like paddymelon @10 I noticed the French Connection, which put this mots croisés right up my rue. Especially as I was living just up the road from the Place EDITH Piaf (Edith Piaf Square, although in fact it’s a triangle) when it got its current name in 1978, AND Mrs blaise used to work with Mrs MACrON from 9A, AND my favourite restaurant for many years was just behind The Sacré Coeur BaSILICA. For those who don’t know Edith Piaf, I recommend the sheer power of this live clip of Non, je ne regrette rien, recorded at the Paris Olympia in 1960, 3 years before her death. With French and English subtitles to boot.

  24. Postmark @22. Isn’t the English language a wonderful thing?

    Cleave – 1) To divide or split
    2) To unite.

    Not sure which edition of Chambers I have (1998), but look at the definition of eclair when you have time.

  25. There seems to be some CONTENTION about the parsing of CONTENTION. As far as I can see, PeterO’s CON = ‘opposing element’, plus TENT = ‘camp’ (as a verb?), would lead to something like TENCONT (opposing element in camp).

    Wordworrier @7 and Angela A @15 have the same parsing I think – CON = ‘opposing’, plus TENT = ‘element in camp’ – which does work.

    My parsing was a bit more whimsical: I thought the campsite might be divided (perhaps over Ximenean principles in crossword-setting?) into a PRO TENT and a CON TENT. The ‘opposing element in camp’ would therefore be the CON TENT.

    pdm @10/blaise 23: we could add SASHAY to the French connection (as Valentine told us recently, it’s from French chassé).

    I’m with Dr W @6 – this was right in the Goldilocks zone. Thanks P & P.

  26. This hit the sweet spot for me. The less well used words were not so unusual as to be NHO’s, the GK needed was far from obscure and I didn’t need to be a cunning linguist to solve these clues. Thoroughly enjoyable though so much thanks to Pasquale and PeterO.
    (From my experience in commercial contracts, a guarantee is usually given in relation to something known and specific eg guaranteeing that someone else pays the rent on a property whereas a warranty has a less specific cost eg warranting that a vehicle is in good working order. And then there are indemnities…)

  27. I’ve always considered “guarantee” and “warranty” to be fully interchangeable synonyms, so I’m interested to hear of these distinctions.

  28. SE corner yielded last for me too, Geoff Down Under@2, with both EDITH and SASHAYS requiring quite a bit of mental exertion…and thought DOG FANCIER was a bit devious in its clueing. Thought LEASABLE rather weak. A couple of what I might term as Beano or Dandy expletives used in Cor! For 1ac and Bah! for 6d. Old fashioned perhaps, but still very much in current use by crossword compilers today. Couple of composers, but no particular musical theme, although I half expected Liszt to pop up to keep Johannes B company. Thanks Pasquale and PeterO…

  29. I enjoyed this, though fell three or four short. With regard to Baal in 14A , it recalled for me Mendelssohn’s “Baal we cry to thee” from his oratorio Elijah. Apparently, in Hebrew Baal can mean Lord. Baal-Zebub meaning Lord Fly. I used to think the golden calf, as worshipped when Moses is up the mountain, was also called Baal; but I don’t think that’s right (?) Anyway, there is a beautiful depiction of it by Poussin in the National Gallery. According to the Bible, on seeing the worship of the calf Moses got into such a strop that on God’s behalf he ordered thousands of Israelites to be slaughtered: brother on brother etc. You just can’t beat those old fashioned Judeo-Christian values.

  30. essexboy@2 et al Also the “element in camp” avoids the otherwise awkward, spurious “in”

    Thanks PeterO, for another great blog, and to Pasquale

  31. Like ginf I was disappointed in myself to miss Edith Piaf. I can remember that on the day she died our French teacher suspended teaching and just played her songs. I am with Angela@15 on the parsing of CONTENTION, though I like essexboy’s idea.

  32. I enjoyed that. Needed a little outside help for the last few in, but not outright reveals so that counts as a finish in my book. As a Brit in France I noticed MAC[r]ON, CONNOISSEUR, EDITH, GAUCHERIE, ENVOI and GAUL. Is this enough to qualify as a theme (or un thème perhaps)?

    Liked BESPOTTED and GOBBLED, sometimes a nice simple charade can be quite satisfying to spot. Lovely misdirection of ‘letter’ with LEASABLE. DOG-FANCIER anagram fodder had me confused until the penny dropped, very clever clueing, although ‘source of’ as first letter indicator is new to me (and raised my eyebrow a millimetre but if it’s considered acceptable then OK).

    Cheers both!

  33. Thanks for the blog, a good steady solve, excellent word play for many clues.
    Extended warranties were a bit of a thing for a while for TVs , washing machines etc, pay a lot to extend the guarantee for something that should not go wrong. If it did there were always loopholes and they would not pay up or replace.
    Minor quibble, SILICA is certainly soluble although you may need a strongly alkaline solution.

  34. I’d need a Liszt to find a theme but I’ve never had any desire to dissolve silly car
    Fun puzzle which could have done with the odd Navaratra and Eigenvector to maintain the Don’s reputation round the manor
    I think GOB BLED was about every one’s fave and not a bad Spooner eithert.

  35. Liked GOBBLED, EDITH.

    Did not parse 13d, 16d apart form NN=names, 24d.

    New: SILICA is insoluble.

    Thanks, both.

  36. Although Roz is correct that silica will dissolve in a strong alkali, it’s pretty much insoluble in water – if it wasn’t, we wouldn’t have sandy beaches!

  38. Seem to be seeing COR for ‘My’ a lot these days, Thought LEASABLE was weak – barely cryptic. Liked DOG FANCIER. Thanks both.

  39. My problem with the clue for LEASABLE was that I couldn’t be sure that the answer was correct. It felt like there ought to be a more apposite solution. Or a more watertight clue…

    I like essexboy’s CON TENT for the ‘opposing element in camp’. 🙂

    On the whole, I felt this was a slightly easier than usual offering from this setter. Very enjoyable.

    Thanks to Pasquale and PeterO.

  40. Does LEASABLE mean “like a lease” or what?

    Other than that, lucid and enjoyable puzzle. Thanks Pasquale and PeterO.

  41. Wasted ages trying to make an anagram of A FINE CORGI and I’m not sure I ever did correctly identify the right fodder after I found the source of Delight. Oh well.

    No actual unknowns for once, though the WARRANTEES/SASHAYS pair gave me plenty of trouble (Remembering Antic Hay helped with the dance). I don’t think I have ever seen SA for the Sally Army in real life, though I’m sure it’s In Chambers – at any rate, I couldn’t think what it was. Favourites GOB BLED and the Spooner.

  42. Valentine@40: LEASABLE in this case means “able to be leased – like something that you might get from a letter of properties”. Took me a while to sort that one out.

  46. Just a minor quibble in that I always believed a true spoonerism should combine actual phrases. Is there really such a term as “lake bright”?

  48. Liked GOBBLED and BRAHMS. Never heard of ‘hay’ as a country dance and a couple of quick googles haven’t helped but no doubt it is out there somewhere. Also not at all sure that ‘to lease’ and ‘to let’ are interchangeable, as implied by LEASABLE as something that can be let. I really liked the surface of BASILICA, but thought that the definition was too loose; so many materials are insoluble, and silica has other properties which define it better than its insolubility. Perhaps I’m grumbling because, after quite tough Monday and Tuesdays (to me anyway) I was hoping for an easy ride today and didn’t get one! Thanks Pasquale and PeterO.

  50. @sheffield hatter. I take your point, but at least shoving leopard is grammatically correct. And amusing. Lake bright isn’t any kind of grammatical construction you’d be likely to find outside of bad poetry.

  51. @Quicksilver I would agree with you that the spoonerism ought to have some meaning – we can just about find one in Lake Bright, I suppose.

    [I think I visited Spooner’s grave in Grasmere Churchyard a week ago – I visited every grave stone, but didn’t really spot it – some inscriptions were rather worn. No doubt about Wordsworth’s, however]

  52. Edith Piaf made ne regrette rien, my only DNF. Shame, the only blip in a great crossword.
    The ELEMENT bit of 3d confused me, but I bunged it in anyway.
    Thanks to the Don and Peter.

  53. Re warranty v Guaranty
    This was how I was taught many moons ago.
    A warranty is an assurance whilst a guaranty is a commitment.

    Warranty is a written assurance that the facts specified in the product is true and genuine, but if they are not it will be repaired or replaced. e.g I warrant that an item or property exists and that I have the right to sell it, and is long term and in case of default remedy is damages.

    A guarantee serves as a commitment made by the seller, to the buyer, that in case the product is below quality, it will be repaired, replaced or the money deposited will be refunded, and is usually time limited. Damages are unlikely.

  54. Fun puzzle.
    Not sure why “very” is in the TABERNACLES clue as it seems to add almost nothing. Apart from that, some very good clues. I liked the &lit DOG FANCIER and GAUCHERIE for the surfaces. I missed WARRANTEES and LEASABLE, and the significance of the EDITH definition (assumed it was a biblical reference). Also mentally tried out FAMOS and FRUTH before alighting on FACTS.
    SILICA only dissolves in certain solutions because it reacts chemically, so not a purely physical dissolution like sugar in water. I thought the definition therefore was pretty accurate.
    5d: “Social ineptitude in Blair’s exhortation to missus, allegedly”?? One for the homophone police to wrangle about.
    Thanks, P & P.

  55. I thought the difference between a guarantee and a warranty is that a guarantee is an enforceable legal obligation, whereas a warranty isn’t.

  56. Simeon
    [I think it is is the other way, a warranty is a specific legal term enforceable in a court before a judge, as is a warrant, whereas a guaranty is more general and non specific. A written guarantee can be a warranty but oral and implied guarantees are very difficult to enforce. The basis rule of trade remains caveat emptor which is implied in any guaranty]

  58. [I always pay the extra to extend the warranty on electrical goods from the standard 12 months to several years … tv’s, DVDs, dishwashers, washing machines, amps, etc. Dunno the correct legal def, ie whether it’s guar or warr, but whatever, I feel easier. And, Roz, on the couple of times something’s died, they’ve actually coughed up 🙂 ]

  59. Clive @ 57

    From Chambers

    warr?anty noun (law)
    1. An act of warranting, esp in feudal times the covenant by which the grantor of land warranted the security of the title to the recipient (general warranty against the claims of all and every person; special warranty against the claims of the grantor, or others claiming through or by him or her)
    2. An undertaking or assurance expressed or implied in certain contracts
    3. A guarantee, usu with an acceptance of responsibility for repairs during an initial period of use
    4. Authorization
    5. Justification
    6. Evidence

    guarantee /gar-?n-t??/
    noun
    1. A formal promise that something will be done, esp one in writing by the maker of a product to replace or repair it if it proves faulty within a stated period
    2. Generally, a promise or assurance
    3. A legally binding agreement to take responsibility for another person’s obligation or undertaking
    4. A pledge or surety
    5. Someone to whom a guarantee is given, who gives a guarantee, or who acts as guarantor

    The words ‘legally binding’ only appear under ‘guarantee’.

    It’s much the same in my 1970s SOED.

  60. Did wonder about a mini theme, given the positioning in the grid of BRAHMS and SCHUMANN. Brahms as a young man was taken under the wing of Robert & Clara Schumann, and after Robert’s death in an asylum, was (at the very least!) a lifelong friend and confidant of Clara.

  62. SImon S
    I accept that Chambers has those definition but Chambers is not the authority in law, it is very good for crosswords and current usage but there is plenty of case law defining warranty and guarantee. I doubt a court would be impressed if Chambers was solely used to argue legal definitions. also See PM@22

    Merriam Webster Law dictionary is more authoritative in Law definitions

  64. Thanks PeterO, in particular for the Sally Army – saw your blog last week too late to comment so pleased that your clear explanations remain in the usual style, though I have to say I’m in the wordworrier et al “camp” re 3d. Am also in the Dr WhatsOn camp of fans for this puzzle, lots to think about and plenty of satisfaction from unravelling the more complicated parsing.
    While I didn’t think 7d was the greatest example (sneaky enough to be my last in though), I do like a cryptic definition as it is our best hope against our robot soon-to-be-masters moving in on cryptics after they have conquered chess and poker – and I don’t recall having seen too many of them lately.
    RobT @32 i am sure I used to query “source of” but now just try not to think about it – I don’t think I have ever seen “mouth of” to indicate the last letter though – presumably we would have to consider that equally fair, though even odder at first glance?
    Thanks Pasquale.

  65. Paul @48
    It may or may not be of any help to you, but, as gladys @41 alluded, Antic Hay is the title of a novel by Aldous Huxley. The title is a quote from the play Edward II by Christopher Marlowe:
    My men, like satyrs grazing on the lawns, shall with their goat feet dance the antic hay.

  66. There’s quite a well known dance tune by Percy Grainger, but it’s spelt Shepherds’ hEy – the commoner spelling, I think.

  67. Gladys @42: doesn’t you explanation point out precisely the problem? If a property is LEASABLE it isn’t “like” (similar to) something one might obtain from a landlord…it is the actual thing that is to be rented out. What work is the “like” doing in the clue? I arrive late but enthusiastic in endorsing the complaints of Ronald @28 and Chris M @38 and Valentine @40.

  69. Andrew Tyndall@67 Isn’t the “like” there just to show it’s an adjective? Without it we would expect a noun.

  70. Petert @69 seems right. A few odd words but I vaguely knew them.

    Thanks Pasquale and PeterO (for the charades and envelopes…wink)

  71. [CliveInFrance Thanks for your useful link – I was looking in St Oswald’s church – so no wonder I didn’t find it there]

  72. Many thanks sheffieldhatter@49 (always enjoy your comments) and PeterO@65 (always enjoy your blogs) for the references. I now have another Wikipedia rabbit hole to dive down when I should be working!

  73. Sheffield Hatter @49, please don’t mention dances from the 1520s or we’ll get people who only do post-1960 dances!?

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