The puzze may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28952.
Boatman in experimental mood, I think, with some things working better than others. There is a mix of simple clues to help get things moving and more unsimple ones to keep us on our toes, with a generous sprinkling of newspaper and crossword names worked smoothly into the clues.
| ACROSS | ||
| 8 | MAGNETIC |
Boatman not featuring in Enigmatic Variations is attractive (8)
|
| An anagram (‘variations’) of ‘enigmat[i]c’ minus an I (‘Boatman not featuring’ – should that suggest removing both Is?). | ||
| 9 | IGUANA |
Like to monitor typos in Guardian? No way! (6)
|
| An anagram (‘typos in’) of ‘gua[rd]ian’ minus RD (‘no way’). The definition refers to a monitor lizard (with an unusual meaning of ‘to’). | ||
| 10 | ANSWER |
A curse, deleting one article after another (6)
|
| A charade of AN (‘another’ article) plus SWE[a]R (‘curse’) minus A (‘deleting one article’). | ||
| 12 | MISTREAT |
Abuse from security service, apparently a special experience (8)
|
| A charade of MIS, which, in some fonts more than others, looks like (‘apparently’) MI5 (‘security service’); plus TREAT (‘a special experience’). | ||
| 13 | ESP |
Second of second; second page; second sight (3)
|
| A charade of E (‘second of sEcond’) plus S (third ‘second’) plus P (‘page’). How abot not having an argument over enumeration? | ||
| 14 | EDITED |
Enjoyed Independent: emerged with no content corrected (6)
|
| Outer letters only (‘with no content’) of ‘EnjoyeD IndependenT EmergeD‘. | ||
| 16 | ETERNITY |
Forever and always, including time with tiny changes (8)
|
| A charade of ETER, an envelope (‘including’) of T (‘time’) in E’ER (poetic ‘always’); plus NITY, an anagram (‘changes’) of ‘tiny’. | ||
| 17 | RETESTS |
Challenges again from different setters (7)
|
| An anagram (‘different’) of ‘setters’. | ||
| 20 | ANTENNA |
OneNote audio input extension (7)
|
| A charade of AN (‘one’) plus TENNA, which sounds like (‘audio’) TENNER (ten pound ‘note’). | ||
| 23 | STOCKMAN |
Spooner derides brown cowboy (8)
|
| A Spoonerism of MOCKS TAN (‘derides brown’). | ||
| 24 | WIDEST |
Furthest off the mark with last two in Toughie (6)
|
| A charade of W (‘with’) plus ID EST (i.e. IE, ‘last two in ToughIE‘). | ||
| 26 | YOU |
Solver seen in agony — ouch! (3)
|
| A hidden answer in ‘agonY OUch’, hopefully without an extended definition. | ||
| 27 | CATACOMB |
Stripped of flesh, act fatal: icy tombs found here (8)
|
| Minus the outer letters (‘stripped of flesh’ – I suppose the idea is down to the bare bones) ‘aCt fATAl iCy tOMBs’, with an extended definition. | ||
| 28 | SIGNAL |
Both Telegraph and Herald are noteworthy (6)
|
| Triple definition. | ||
| 31 | DEFIER |
One challenges you to give in, taking on Observer, say (6)
|
| An envelope (‘taking in’) of I (‘Observer’; the ‘say’ suggests a two-step process: observer -> eye -> I) in DEFER (‘give in’). | ||
| 32 | DEEPFAKE |
Video deception by leaders in dubiously elected executive presidencies fooling all, kindling enmity (8)
|
| First letters of (‘leaders in’) ‘Dubiously Elected Executive Presidencies Fooling All Kindling Enmity’. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | EARN |
Get Listener misdirection at last (4)
|
| A charade of EAR (‘listener’) plus N (‘misdirectioN at last’). | ||
| 2 | KNOW |
Recognise one with all-consuming interests being upset (4)
|
| A reversal (‘being upset’) of WONK (‘one with all-consuming interests’). | ||
| 3 | STARED |
Boatman replaces leader of house in Slough with fixed gaze (6)
|
| A substitution: SHED (‘slough’ pronounced sluff) with the H (‘leader of House’) replaced by TAR (‘boatman’). We have a parts of speech problem. | ||
| 4 | SCAMPER |
Skip Wee Stinker, inverting riddle’s outer limits (7)
|
| A charade of SCAMP (‘wee stinker’ – an annoying child) plus ER, a reversal (‘inverting’) of RE (‘RiddlE‘s outer limits’). | ||
| 5 | EINSTEIN |
About one oddly intense Genius (8)
|
| An envelope (‘about’) of I (‘one’, Roman numeral or personal pronoun) in ENSTEIN (or …), an anagram (‘oddly’) of ‘intense’ | ||
| 6 | GUARANTEED |
Certain old penniless escort on an ’orse (10)
|
| A charade of GUAR[d] (‘escort’) minus D (‘old penniless’) plus ‘an’ plus [s]TEED (h’orse’, with the apostrophe indicating the dropping of the first letter, not, as is usual, specifically an H). | ||
| 7 | UNFASTEN |
Release slow Orwellian nurse (8)
|
| A charade of UNFAST (‘slow’ – ‘Orwellian’ referring to Newspeak of Nineteen Eighty-four; Roz, look up Grammar under Newspeak in Wikipedia, if you need more expalanation) plus EN (enrolled ‘nurse’). | ||
| 11 | SKI |
‘Make do with less’: politician ousted to go downhill fast (3)
|
| A subtraction: SKI[mp] (‘make do with less’) minus MP (‘politician ousred’). | ||
| 14, 21 | ERRANT |
Rambling hesitation and bluster (6)
|
| A charade of ER (‘hesitation’) plus RANT (‘bluster’). | ||
| 15 | THEOCRATIC |
The officer in charge preceding disloyal person in command, claiming divine authority (10)
|
| A charade of ‘the’ plus OC (‘officer in charge’) plus (‘preceeding’) RAT (‘disloyal person’) plus IC (‘In command’). | ||
| 18 | EXTRA SEC |
Times creates puzzle that’s rather dry (5,3)
|
| An anagram (‘puzzle’) of X (‘times’) plus ‘creates’. | ||
| 19 | TAMBOURS |
Almost domesticated some pigs by the sound of drums (8)
|
| .A charade of TAM[e] (‘domesticated’) minus its last letter (‘almost’) plus BOURS, sounding like (‘by the sound of’) BOARS (‘some pigs’). | ||
| 21 |
See 14
|
|
| 22 | ANYBODY |
Some really do by nature become uplifted by Everyman (7)
|
| A hidden (‘some’) reversed (‘become uplifted’) answer in ‘reallY DO BY NAture’. | ||
| 24 | WUSSES |
Awful systems — nothing odd here — create ineffectual people (6)
|
| Even letters (‘nothing odd here’) of ‘aWfUl SyStEmS‘. | ||
| 25 | EON |
Age of bird, not beast (3)
|
| A subtraction: [pig]EON (‘bird’) minus PIG (‘not beast’). | ||
| 29 | GIFT |
Good! One newspaper has flair (4)
|
| A charade of G (‘good’) plus I (‘one’) plus FT (Financial Times, ‘newspaper’). | ||
| 30 | ASKS |
What the Inquisitor does: challenges where you must set aside time (4)
|
| A subtraction: [t]ASKS (‘challenges’) minus T (‘where you must set aside time’). |
I had quite a long “Huh?” list after completing this, and when I came here for an explanation, many resulted in a groan: WIDEST, DEFIER, ANSWER & MISTREAT. I don’t like split clues, as ERRANT. When I say “stockman” the second syllable has a brief schwa, so it’s not really a homophone of Spooner’s “mocks tan”.
But at least i completed it. Boatman was in my “don’t attempt” list but is no moved to my “good” list.
Yes, basically what PeterO said. There were a few like WIDEST and DEFIER which took a while for the penny to drop and the lightbulb to come on (apparently 1p is the cost of illumination today). But all good fun.
Tx B&P
I had a few question marks too, but I thought IGUANA at 9a was a super and very funny clue, and I liked lots of Boatman’s other little “removal” tricks like the ones in 13a ESP and 25d EON. The definition for 10a ANSWER was cleverly hidden. I couldn’t parse 24a WIDEST until I came here, but now I see that it involved another clever device. I appreciated the puzzle today, so thanks to Boatman. Thanks also for the blog, PeterO – and I do hope that your part of New York out on Long Island hasn’t been adversely affected by the dreadful weather you have been experiencing in the US. The scenes from places like Buffalo have been unbelievable, and I grieve with you for the loss of life and devastation caused by the severe arctic storms.
[We crossed, Dr. WhatsOn]
Thank you PeterO, and echo best wishes from JiA.
Don’t have a problem with only one deletion, there’s only one Boatman, in MAGNETIC my FOI.
Next was IGUANA . I know me monitors, butD didn’t get the ”unusual meaning of ‘to’ ”.Someone on the Guardian site said it was Shakespearean?
The grammar for STARED works if ‘with’ is a link word, and ‘fixed’ is a verb, not an adjective.
I usually like Spoonerisms but I’m still doing my head in with this one, not GDU’s issue with the schwa, but where the consonants fall. On another day this could be me explaining this to myself, but I’m a fit baized by the heat down here.
Liked the theme, made me laugh. Injoke between setter and solver, both of which appear in the clues.
Oh, and the ‘eadlesss ‘orse was a doozie. Not Cockney for the ‘teed, but Cockney in the surface ”an ‘orse” is the way I read that. Clever.
Thanks Boatman, that hit the spot for me. I loved IGUANA, ANSWER, EDITED, ETERNITY, and ANYBODY, the latter for its surface. Thanks PeterO for the blog and explaining the Orwellian reference in UNFASTEN.
Unlike JinA, didn’t twig A for answer, loud d’oh as it’s an occasional regular. And stared dumbly before finally subtracting rd=way from Guardian, and only then twigging lizards. Agree, PeterO, “like to” feels archaic-ish; no eyebrow twitch at the time, but can’t think of an e.g. [the only one to mind means likely, not like: a Bard character saying something like Bruit it about that the King is sick and like to die ..]. But hey ho, all good fun, thanks both
Thanks for the archaic-ish reference to ‘to’ gif@8. Yes, I do remember that.
But on re-reading of the surface for IGUANA, I keep coming up with my first, which is a simple question.
(So you) like to monitor typos in the Guardian? No way! I loved it.
I couldn’t parse quite a few of these.
Got there in the end. I did like the “slow Orwellian” in UNFASTEN and my two favourites were ANSWER for the definition and WIDEST for the id est.
Yep sure, pdm @9, wordplay is fine; but as def, ‘like to’ is an archaic version of ‘like a’.
Agree re the 3d part of speech issue, PeterO. How about ‘Boatman replacing leader of house in Slough had fixed gaze’?
I did enjoy this, but my eyebrows did get something of a workout. Boatman generally writes nice smooth surfaces, and I think today the surface won over the wordplay in a handful of the clues, notably the ambiguous deletion instruction in MAGNETIC, the ‘to’ in IGUANA, the shift of tense / part of speech in STARED and the dropping of ‘h’ indicating the dropping of an ‘s’ in GUARANTEED.
I mean, I got them all, and I don’t mind a little pushing of the boundaries… this just seemed like quite a few pushes for one grid…! Perhaps there are more satisfying explanations for the above parsings that I haven’t worked out yet.
I really liked the inner and outer letters devices in EDITED and CATACOMB.
Thanks both!
Fairly smooth sailing in HMS Boatie but with pleasant scenery.
I liked “unfast” for slow as I’m a big Orwell fan
Question is-whether N Korea is worse than Air Strip One
But I solved it safely here on MAGNETIC Island
Thanks Boatman
Ah, thanks gif@12. I keep seeing things, then I don’t. Think my brain is heat-affected today. No Fremantle doctor here. Hate daylight-saving, having to wait another hour until the sun goes down.
Got fixated by “Tamworth” for 19d which slowed me down a bit.
As MACO89@10, I couldn’t either. Another TAMWORTH here, Shirl@16.
I still don’t understand the explanations of “Like to”: is it that “Like” = “Similar”, so “Like to monitor” is “Similar to a monitor”?
I can’t offhand think of any “like to” examples, but “like unto” feels familiar from the King James Bible – eg “Who is like unto thee O lord”. Splendid crossword I thought, though I spent a while wondering how EN was an Orwellian nurse…
[pdm @15 we’ve had not one, not two but three referenda/ums on daylight saving, driven mostly by big biz, all resulting in No. Easterners tease us … “Yeah, you and Qld, hicksville”. I say “After a stinking hot blinding bright day, the last thing we want is yet another stinking hot blinding bright hour”]
“The moon, like to a silver bow, new-bent in heaven”
I didn’t blink at “like to” but did some of my schooling in the West Country where I’ve heard that construction, usually as “like to them”, with all sorts of so-called Americanisms (sidewalk, fall for autumn).
Having found yesterday’s tough, I saw Boatman’s name, who I usually find a slower solve, and wondered how long this would take, but finished this much quicker than yesterday.
Thank you to PeterO and Boatman.
(me @20 – see A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act I, Scene I)
parsed STARED as did pm @5 but don’t share the same view on either the removal of one I in MAGNETIC or the Cockney indicator that is telling us to strip an S. And to add to the queries, ‘changes’ in ETERNITY feels like it should be ‘changed’ and I wondered whether ‘audio’ just standing on its own really serves as a homophone indicator I also parsed MISTREAT differently with MI as the prefix for more than one security service (which is where I applied the ‘apparently’) and then special experience = S TREAT.
I did enjoy the theme which was woven around in typical Boatman style and had plenty of ticks including IGUANA, ANSWER, SIGNAL, SCAMPER, UNFASTEN and ANYBODY.
Thanks Boatman and PeterO
[copmus @14, been there long? I stayed with old Clarrie, White Lady Bay, ’71 or 2]
I agree with pdm @5 / PM @23 – the parts of speech problem in STARED disappears if we regard ‘with’ as a link word between wordplay and def (which is fine, I think – ‘with’ can mean ‘by means of’/’through’ – eg “He solved my problem with (= by giving me) the answer to 3d”).
We then have (she) STARED (at) = she fixed her gaze on
My quickest ever Boatman, I think, and possibly the most enjoyable too. Maybe I like experimental. Thanks to him and PeterO.
[I’d echo JinA re the conditions in the US. It was good to see Valentine yesterday – maybe things aren’t quite so bad in Connecticut?]
Thanks PeterO and Boatman. Re 23 across: ‘mocks tan’ for STOCKMAN is either a little less or a little more than a Spoonerism.
Agree with PeterO’s assessment but pleased to finish a Boatman, which is a rare feat. I had the same parsing as PM @23 for MISTREAT as I think S and 5 is more than a bit of a stretch. Needed UNFASTEN and DÉFIER explained so thanks for that. GUARANTEED and the clever CATACOMB were my favourites.
Ta Boatman & PeterO.
….although ´apparently’ would suggest MIS looks like MI5. Also thanks for explaining WIDEST and UNFASTEN.
Loved the “experimental” bits. Btw, PeterO, no great shakes but you’ve omitted the AN in the parsing of GUARANTEED.
I liked the innovation, too, though I needed a wordfinder to finish the NE corner. I agree about with as a link word for STARED.
AlanC @29: For me, the ‘apparently’ went with MI: if the organisation (MI5 or MI6 (are there others?)) begins with the appearance of MI then it is a security service. Amazing how we can persuade our minds to justify a parse. I think the MI5/MIS similarity is probably the stronger of the two options.
Like many I had both eyebrows raised for a lot of this puzzle – quite a bizarre solving experience! After a couple of hidden-word and acrostic-style clues I had to check I hadn’t opened an Everyman by accident, but clearly they were the appetiser for a spicier main course. I really enjoyed the puzzle, and I thought Boatman just found the right side of the wacky/experimental line, largely because the difficulty wasn’t too high.
I liked ANSWER a lot – at first I got a bit huffy about using an abbreviation as a definition, and then I realised that it forced me to tackle the (not too difficult) wordplay. My main beef was with STOCKMAN, which doesn’t seem to fit the model for a Spoonerism. I would expect “mock-stan” to be the original, not “mocks-tan”.
Thanks P&B.
PM/AlanC – MI5 is “the Security Service”, MI6 is the Secret Intelligence Service. I’m with PeterO on this one.
Thanks Boatman and PeterO
I echo eb @26. However it’s justified, “like to” grates, though.
Boatman not really my cup of tea. Far too many unparsed insertions that I bunged in with a hopeful sigh. Thought 26ac particularly poor. Last one in after much harrumphing was DEFIER. Just my personal opinion this morning, perhaps mirroring my mood on this rather grey day in this part of the world.
Boatman goes libertarian, and all the better for it, I say.
I parsed STARED as paddymelon @5 et al, and MISTREAT as PostMark @23. Favourites were IGUANA (I had no issue with the archaic ‘like to’ – thanks to eb @20 for the illustration), WIDEST, CATACOMB and GUARANTEED.
Homoiophones forgiven, but ‘defer’ isn’t the same as ‘give in’ to my ear, though there is a semantic link.
Thanks to S&B
Game of two halves today. Plenty of early successes but then quite a few that needed some work especially in the NE. Thanks to Boatman and PeterO today.
Reading todays comments, I’m suddenly enjoying a bit of mild dreary English winter as we head to the Lakes!
Thanks for the blog, I think the theme is explicitly crosswords, Guardian Crossword etc plus some with special names. At least it was not card games yet again.
Fed up of themes but the clues here were brilliant . ANSWER and WIDEST so neat and deceptive , ANYBODY superbly hidden , GUARANTEED brilliant with the “old” penniless . UNFASTEN is doubleplusunbad ( if I need to look up anything it would certainly never , ever be on the internet ).
We had our traditional two Boatman clues 9Ac , 3D with separate meanings.
A MAGNETIC GIFT composed by an EINSTEIN and not for WUSSES at a time ( others referring to conditions in U.S. ) when British news was showing frozen IGUANAs falling off trees in Florida !
Thank you Boatman and PeterO
Like many before me, I couldn’t complete the parsing of loads of these – so a warm and appreciative hug to Peter O for the explanations. In particular, ANSWER & SKI, which were what I call CFEs (Crossed Finger entries).
I share Peter O’s quibbles regarding 8A, 12A, 3D – and the less said about “like to monitor” and the quasi-Spooner, the better.
Then again, despite all that, I did manage to finish it – so clearly the “experimental” elements (to use Peter O’s diplomatic adjective) were gettable, and I enjoyed the device used in EDITED & CATACOMB. So thank you Boatman for giving my grey cells a workout – and Peter O, I do hope all’s well with you and yours during the atrocious weather conditions
Thoughts on MISTREAT . MI is my favourite oxymoron of military intelligence , there have been many MI ( numbers) only 5 and 6 seem to survive now. In a sense they are all a type of security service.
I think the setter is just being whimsical here – a MI S(pecial) TREAT being from the security service apparently.
Naughty but nice. Thoroughly enjoyed the trickery and innovation here. Would be nice to see a genius other than EINSTEIN occasionally.
Cheers P&B
I often enjoy it when compilers are “out there” with novel devices, often eliciting a chuckle. But some of the goings on in this puzzle — as I listed above — I thought bordered on absurd. Perhaps I’m just grumpy today. 🙁
Geoff@44 it takes all sorts … yesterday I was so grumpy I could not even bear to comment. Today I thought this was the best Boatman I have seen and I have done them all.
Thanks Boatman and PeterO
Gervase @ 37 I also thought that ‘defer’ and ‘give in’ were not quite synonyms. I would hesitate to suggest that I could improve an experienced setter’s clueing, but I believe that ‘give way’ would have worked better.
I’m in the grumpy clan. I put a cross through anything I don’t like – there were 13 crosses.
From my “new” Chambers93 ( mint condition )
Defer 2nd entry – yield
grantinfreo @24 been here over 10 years but never heard of a White Lady Bay
But I have visited the Sail and Anchor in Freo and enjoyed the IPA etc
I parsed MISTREAT the same as Roz @42 i.e. MI’S TREAT, which I assume is the meaning.
Some typical Boatman trickery. I thought ANYBODY was well-hidden and the escort was a guardian, but then got left with an extraneous i. I also missed the A = ANSWER, doh!
Thanks Boatman for the fun and PeterO for a comprehensive blog.
Just to be fair Robi@50 . MrPostMark@23 had basically the same idea but I think he changed his mind later.
Roz @51: If Chambers says so it must be so 🙂 . I agree that ‘yield’ = ‘give in’, but for me ‘defer to’ is a more courteous concession and not a throwing in of the hand.
Tough puzzle. Mixture of very easy and very difficult. I had trouble parsing quite a few of my answers.
Failed to solve 31ac DEFIER and I did not parse 24ac, 4d apart from rev of RE, 7d apart from EN, 15d (I guessed the OC and IC bits), 25d.
Liked ANSWER, ERRANT, GUARANTEED, IGUANA.
New for me: WONK, EXTRA SEC.
Thanks, both.
Absolute mystery, as Boatman always is.
Thanks both.
I got a great deal further than I usually do with Boatman and there were some very satisfying solves here, but a handful remained unparsed.
I had completely forgotten the other meaning of “defer” which stumped me on the parsing of 31a.
Thanks, PeterO and all …
PaddyM @ 5 and others – yes, the idea in 3 Dn is to parse “with” as a link-word. I know that this is not everyone’s favourite link-word, so I try not to over-use it – in particular, I can see that for those who think of cryptic clues as being logically equivalent to “[wordplay] leads to [definition]”, it doesn’t make sense to have “[wordplay] with [definition]”, but it’s always seemed to me that what’s really happening in a cryptic clue is “[wordplay] combined with [definition] leads to [solution]”, in which case “with” says exactly what it means.
SimonS @46 – I agree that “give way” would be a closer synonym for “yield” in 31 Ac, but I preferred “give in”, as it paints a more vivid picture of a solver struggling with an Observer puzzle!
Hello HoofIt @54 – I read of your bafflement on theguardian.com, so kudos to you for coming here to find out what was in my head. I enjoyed (thanks to others for pointing it out) the irony in your comment about not being able to see “a definition” in 10 Ac. When you read PeterO’s blog, I hope you enjoyed seeing why others found that amusing!
I thought all of this very fun. The parsing of WIDEST and the definition of IGUANA eluded me, so thanks for explaining those. Having split my solve between last night and this morning, I didn’t get to really savor how inventive this was.
[Weather-wise, my part of the Midwest was spared the worst of things–unusually frigid temperatures but just a couple inches of snow, which amazingly will all be melted by Saturday if it goes as predicted. I feel for the folks in western New York–they always get lots of snow (lake effect means that the weather is constantly trying to dump the contents of Lake Erie onto Buffalo) but this was going to be a blizzard anyway, so this is the worst snow they’ve had in fifty years or more.]
What an odd mix of the very straightforward and a few head-scratchers! I’m another who thinks the Spoonerism just doesn’t work.
But on the other hand, I really liked IGUANA and UNFASTEN.
So thanks Boatman (esp for coming on here to comment) and PeterO
[mrpenny@8 if the Great Lakes get an ice cover, snow fall virtually ceases to the east of them]
I enjoyed the playfulness.
With yield I thought of the “yield” roadsigns that some countries have (like the UK’s “Give Way”). You don’t pull out in deference to the other road user’s right of way.
I think I only know the “Yield” roadsigns because of the Pearl Jam album of the same name with one on its cover, FWIW.
(Has sudden compulstion to listen to the track Given To Fly…)
A rapid start followed by a great deal of head scratching,. I was very pleased to complete the puzzle, almost fully parsed. Parsing WIDEST was the best moment, like unto an epiphany.
Thanks to Boatman (including for gracing us here) and PeterO.
“Experimental”? If that means inventively working from first principles, rather than (over-) familiar formulas to construct clues, then give me experimental!
So I have no problem with ‘ORSE = ‘TEED. We’re used to dropped Hs=cockney=keep dropping Hs. But I can’t fault the logic of ‘ORSE being “horse” without the first letter, whatever it is.
Like paddymelon @5 and McBeak @33 I think the “Spoonerism” in 23a slightly misfired. Spoonerisms require swapping the opening sounds of the two words. “Stockman” is a Spoonerism of “mock Stan”, not “mocks tan”. “Deride Laurel” perhaps?
As for the “parts of speech problem” with “stared” (3d), I parsed it as like to “hatted”, “hook-nosed”, “wide-eyed”, etc — the past participle meaning “having …”, “(furnished) with …”. “Hatted”=”with a hat (on)”.
“Hook-nosed”=”having a hook nose”.
“Wide-eyed”=”with eyes wide”.
“Stared”=”with a stare”, “having a stare”, “with fixed gaze”.
But then I read Boatman @56.
I got stuck on 4d SCAMPER for a while because I had started with “S” for “small” = “wee”, so was looking for a four-letter “stinker”.
Shirl and David (@16 going on @17), I resisted the seduction of “Tamworth” for 19d despite being in Tamworth NSW for the night.
essexboy @25 etc
With hindsight, I should not have baldly declared a parts of speech problem in 3D, but I am still not entirely happy with the definition. Your example certainly includes STARED on one side and ‘fixed’ ‘gaze’ on the other; it is a matter of the importance you attach to the other little words you included to make the equation.
[grantinfreo @25
There are a few places called Hicksville in the USA, including a hamlet on Long Island, named after a family, the Hicks; there is still a nursery with that name, owned by the family.
Julie in Australia @3 and Wellbeck @41
Here on Long Island we escaped the worst of the arctic storm. The day before, there was plenty of rain, when the temperatures were pushing 15°C, but it had cleared up by the time it plummeted to -10°C – there was a possible dusting of snow forecast for the East End, but I do not know if it actually happened.]
An assortment, in general, of poor definitions and awkward clueing. I have never really liked this compiler though, to be honest.
Surely the Spoonerism in 23a would be TOCKS MAN? I got that far and then got stuck. Then I put in STOCKMAN anyway because what else could I do?
Since when is DEEP FAKE one word?
I never would have parsed STARED, even without the parts of speech problem, which hung me up. I put in STARED anyway, what the hell?
eb@26 Here in Connecticut we had an easier time than Long Island, apparently. It got down to 0C-ish on Christmas Day or the day before, we had no snow at all, it was pretty moderate, though very cold. I took the bus to New York City — well, Brooklyn — for a family gathering of three generations. I’ve realized, though, that I can no longer say “I have three generations of cousins in Brooklyn,” because the third generation has now moved up and on, though did come back for Christmas.
I enjoyed the puzzle, though had to use the check button a bit. Thanks to Boatman and PeterO.
Definition with wordplay gets more of a thumbs-up as far as I’m aware, though as B says, probably not everyone’s fave link. It is complicated by its single-letter abbrev usage also, of course, just to add to all the fun.
I found this more doable than most Boatman’s.
I liked “Boatman not featuring” in 8 meaning to remove one I only, as removing all I’s would then be clued as “Boatmen not featuring”. I also parsed MISTREAT as special experience (TREAT) from MI = MI’s TREAT. I misparsed GUARANTEED by trying to remove ID from Guardian before adding (s)teed, so needed the blog to set me straight.
Liked UNFASTEN and ANSWER the best.
Thanks, Boaters and PeterO
Valentine @67 – DEEPFAKE as one word is a neologism, first coined in 2018. Hasn’t made it into the major dictionaries yet.
[Dave Ellison @60, not clear that the lakes froze in time, as Watertown to the east got almost as much snow as Buffalo. Other areas of upstate New York had only a few inches.
Even in a normal year, lake effect can add 200 inches to the season’s snowfall.]
Boatman @57 – thanks for the comment…yes, I feel a wally, but that is a very common condition with the Guardian crossword!
It’s odd that I struggle with your puzzles, but that is just my own limitations and no reflection on your excellent puzzles.
Happy new year, but don’t hurry back (only joking).
Thanks Valentine @67 – glad your family gathering was able to go ahead as planned. As Rob T says, deepfake is a recent thing, and a rather disturbing one at that.
PeterO @65 – little words bother me too. I think we can resolve the at/on mismatch by substituting a preposition like towards/across, or an adverbial expression like ‘westwards’. That leaves the his/her/my etc problem, which I would get round by recognising that crossword clues are often written in newspaper headline/abbreviated diary entry style, in which the/a/possessives/parts of the verb ‘to be’ are frequently omitted.
7.20 am: Switched off TV
7.21 am: Brushed teeth
7.22 am: Combed hair
7.23 am: Tied shoelaces
7.24 am: Located binoculars
7.25 am: Fixed gaze westwards across Lake Erie
That’s my best shot 🙂
[Tim @71: it takes it being cold enough for much longer for the Great Lakes to freeze over enough to turn off lake-effect snow. It used to be more common, but the last time there was enough ice was that winter of 2018-19, when a polar vortex came down and parked itself over the Midwest for like two weeks solid.
The lakes used to freeze over at least every other year, but now it’s more like once every five. Yay global warming?]
[Glad our US colleagues seem to have escaped the worst of the weather. Including mrpenney – Chicago, isn’t it? – a city which someone in one of Sara Paretsky’s VI Warshawski novels describes as having two seasons: winter and August]
essexboy @73
Thanks, I’ll buy that. I am glad you tied your shoelaces first – we would not want you tripping yourself up; then where would our blogs be?
Got it, and was pleased with myself. Love it when the setter responds to comments here. Thanks, Boatman!
[Last North American weather comment: Gervase @75: that’s funny, and not utterly inaccurate, though not entirely fair. Winter is long here in Chicago and basically consumes most of the normal spring months; spring is just the rainy end of winter. Summer is June through mid-September and can get preposterously hot, autumn is mid-September through late November and is beautiful. If you come here, shoot for September or October when there’s no more beautiful city on Earth.]
This was good fun. I wonder if 4d, given the reff to newspapers in other clues, refers to the famous and difficult crossword of the (Glasgow) Herald on Saturdays with the words ‘Wee Stinker’. For years the setter was Myops (Ancient Greek for gadfly, a la Socrates’ epithet of himself), also known as a Mr McKie who taught me Latin!
I loved this puzzle start to finish. Clever clues all over the place!
mrpenney @73: While I was happy to spend my christmas in 80 degF weather in San Diego, I must profess my undying affection for Chicago, truly one of the world’s great cities. Anyone planning a visit to the US should put it at the top of their list. Think New York without the attitude (although I love NY too)!
[[ I have been to Chicago, quite a while ago, and I liked it a lot. I can’t remember the time of year, but the weather was perfect!]
Late to the party again but had to pop in to say thanks to Boatman for a splendidly entertaining puzzle – loved all the references to other newspapers and their crosswords. I’m with Roz @39 and share all her favourites, particularly the brilliant WIDEST and UNFASTEN, both coming with delightful penny drops.
And thanks to PeterO for a splendid blog, of course.
And to tlp @66 for taking the time out of his busy day to pop in and remind us that he’s not Boatman’s no.1 fan.
Like others, I struggled with the NE corner but generally enjoyed this nevertheless, so thanks.
Can someone explain the “rules” on the number of letters assigned to each clue? To me, ESP isn’t a 3 letter word, rather a 1.1.1. abbreviation.
Penfold@83 there is only one rule – the setter sets and we try to solve. We can grumble if we do not like things . I think setters try to avoid the 1.1.1 etc because it gives too much away . I have seen RSVP and ASAP recently as (4).
CalMac@79 , a very interesting idea. I initially thought Sydney Herald , it has a crossword that has been mentioned on here a few times, but your reasoning works better.
CalMac @79 – yes, Wee Stinker has to be a reference to the Glasgow Herald’s crossword. I believe the current setter is Qix, who took over when John McKie died in 2020. I’ve never solved it, only know it by reputation.
Here’s a nice interview with John McKie from 2018:
https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/16103970.clued-john-mckie-man-behind-wee-stinker-crossword/
“Many people think a crossword is a battle between the setter and the solver, that one is trying to outdo the other,” he says.
“Now that has never been my intention. I always want the solver to get it completed, to have the satisfaction of completing it. And The Wee Stinker is designed to ensure that he doesn’t do it too quickly. I want them to have the satisfaction of feeling that they’ve earned the victory.
Widdersbel @ 85 , I side with Torquemada on this one. In the 1930s his Observer puzzle had only one correct entry on two occasions. The editor approached him about this and he replied that he would have to make his puzzles more difficult in future.
Thanks for the link Widdersbel@85 and CalMac@79 for bringing Wee Stinker to our attention. Boatman was hiding his light under a bushel when he dropped in and didn’t mention it.
I read all the way down to John McKie’s G-GAG for Happy Birthday. A good gag indeed, more than just a wee stinker.
And thanks Roz@86 for the Torquemada funny.
Hello! My first post; good to join your lively community, even if I am arriving just in time for the port on this occasion.
For those who’d like a Shakespearean reference for the somewhat archaic use of ‘like to’ in the sense of ‘similar to’, I cite Theseus:
“She lingers my desires, like to a step-dame or a dowager long withering out a young man revenue.”
(MND Act 1 Scene 1)
I didn’t notice anything unusual about “like to” for IGUANA. But couldn’t parse KNOW as wonk not a word I remember. Was it an 80s thing?
…whoops didn’t mean to send without thanking Boatman and PeterO