Guardian Cryptic 29,355 by Fed

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/29355.

The long lights helped me to a reasonably quick solve. The puzzle is notable for many well-formed surfaces.

ACROSS
8 LUKEWARM
Half-hearted gospel minister’s back on with a mass (8)
A charade of LUKE (‘gospel’) plus W (‘with’) plus ‘a’ plus R (‘ministeR‘s back’) plus M (‘mass’); ‘on’ serves to suggest the order of the particles.
9 EUROPE
Swedish band regret turning record over the wrong way (6)
A charade of EUR, a reversal (‘turning’) of RUE (‘regret’) plus OPE, also a reversal (‘the wrong way’) of EP (extended play ‘record’) plus O (‘over’).
10 OBTAIN
Get in boat at sea (6)
An anagram (‘at sea’) of ‘in boat’. Short and sweet (like much of the rest of the puzzle).
11 IN THE RAW
Nightwear’s tight – good to go naked (2,3,3)
An anagram (‘tight’) of ‘ni[g]htwear’ minus the G (‘good to go’).
12 BEST
Live with Saint George? (4)
A charade of BE (‘live’) plus ST (‘saint’), fot the footballer.
13 REGULATION
Management helping to hold sledge back (10)
An envelope (‘to hold’) of EGUL, a reversal (‘back’) of LUGE (‘sledge’) in RATION (‘helping’).
15 INSECTS
Shocking treatment on board ship after discovering tiny woodworm, say (7)
A charade of IN (‘dis-covering tINy’) plus SECTS, an implied envelope of ECT (electroconvulsive therapy, ‘shocking treatment’) in SS (‘on board ship’).
16 ACETATE
Film Lyle’s partner after hole in one (7)
A charade of ACE (‘hole in one’) plus TATE (‘Lyle’s partner’ in the conglomerate which started off in sugar refining), for (cellulose) acetate, which has replaced nitrate as the basis for photographic film.
18 ISOTHERMAL
His other Malbec keeps at constant temperature (10)
A hidden answer (‘keeps’) in ‘hIS OTHER MALbec’.
19 EVER
First Lady meeting resistance at all times (4)
A charade of EVE (‘first lady’) plus R (‘resistance’).
20 BUTTRESS
Hardy girl just starting to embody essence of Geordie Shore (8)
A n envelope (‘to embody’) of R (‘essence of GoeRdie’) in BUT (‘just’) plus TESS (of the d’Urbervilles, ‘Hardy girl’); ‘starting’ indicates the order of the particles. Geordie Shore is a television series.
22 TEEPEE
Tom Petty originally heard round tent (6)
TP (‘Tom Petty originally’) as pronounced (‘heard’).
23 RAMROD
For starters, Ratty and Mole regularly seeing Mr Toad drive aggressively (6)
A charade of RAM (‘for starters, Ratty And Mole’) plus ROD (‘regularly seeing mR tOaD‘); RAMROD, verb, to force. The surface is a detailed reference to The Wind in the Willows.
24 ELECTRIC
Thrilling to pick most of cereal crop (8)
A charade of ELECT (‘pick’) plus RIC[e] (‘cereal crop’) minus its last letter (‘most of’).
DOWN
1 BUBBLE AND SQUEAK
Finishing off champagne with steak – making foremost amongst them question dish? (6,3,6)
Where does the first E come from? A charade of BUBBL[y] (‘champagne’) minus its last letter (‘finishing off’) plus E plus AND (‘with’) plus ‘steak’ with QU (‘question’) replacing’ (‘making’) the T (‘foremost amongst Them’). My best guess is that, although BUBBLY is the common word for ‘champagne’, what is needed here is BUBBLE[s] – that seems acceptable to me. BUBBLE AND SQUEAK is a breakfast dish of boiled potatoes and cabbage (left over from the previous evening’s dinner), fried.
2 DEPARTMENT STORE
Perhaps Harvey Nicks delivery expected – primarily with unopened flat pack (10,5)
A charade of DE (‘Delivery Expected primarily’) plus [a]PARTMENT (‘flat’) minus its first letter (‘unopened’); plus STORE (‘pack’). Harvey Nicks (real name Nichols) is an up-scale DEPARTMENT STORE.
3 LAUNDRETTE
Cleaning outfit – square’s removing clothes covered in coffee (10)
An envelope (‘covered in’) of [h]UNDRE[d] (‘square’ of 10) minus its outer letters (‘removing clothes’ – for a while, I wondering how UNDRESS fitted into it) in LATTE (‘coffee’).
4 IMPINGE
Touch on soap’s conclusion being inspired by Dynasty – that is entertaining (7)
A double envelope (“entrtaining’ and ‘being inspired by’) of P (‘soaP‘s conclusion’) in MING (‘dynasty’) in I.E. (‘that is’).
5 DEFT
Clever person that set this up on time (4)
A charade of DEF, a reversal (‘up’ in a down light) of FED (‘person who set this’); plus T (‘time’).
6 ARMED TO THE TEETH
Seeing threat demo posed – choppers maybe prepared for combat? (5,2,3,5)
A charade of ARMED TO THE, an anagram (‘seeing … posed’) of ‘threat demo’, plus THE TEETH (‘choppers maybe’).
7 SPEAK OF THE DEVIL
Welcome subject of discussion – ask if vote helped out (5,2,3,5)
An anagram (‘out’) of ‘ask if vote helped’.
14 LOCALITIES
Spots pub is hosting match (10)
An envelope (‘hosting’) of TIE (‘match’) in LOCAL (‘pub’) plus ‘is’.
17 SMASHED
Drunk son, crazy about the girl (7)
An envelope (‘about’) of SHE (‘the girl’) in S (‘son’) plus MAD (‘crazy’).
21 EDDY
Current terms of the Grand Unified Theory (4)
Last letters (‘terms’) of ‘thE gramD unifieD theorY‘.

picture of the completed grid

78 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 29,355 by Fed”

  1. Thanks PeterO and Fed.

    I found this quite straightforward, but nevertheless enjoyable. I didn’t check the parsing in detail of the long ones, so missed the BUBBLE(Y) thing.

    DEFT last one in as it took a sleep to see the DEF part.

  2. I realize it’s probably just me, but I enjoy clues, especially long ones, more if I can crack the wordplay, then confirm the definition. So I enjoyed ARMED TO THE TEETH and SPEAK OF THE DEVIL more than the other two, especially with the reluctant E of BUBBLE. And like our fearless blogger, was trying to UNDRESS in the LAUNDRETTE.

    I found the UK GK quite manageable (or in one case, SE).

    I thought the insertion of Fed was quite DEFT.

    Thanks

  4. Yep,, as per pdm @3, bubbles, too, is pretty common usage.
    And yep, somewhat à la Peter and Dr Wh, 3d reminded me of My Beautiful..,, and what Sammy and Rosie did.
    Thanks Fed for lots of 5d stuff. Still thinking how but = just, but it’ll probly dawn on dim brain. Enjoyed it, thanks PnF.

  5. I also thought DEFT was clever. Well disguised in the middle, the upwards reversal of our setter FED.
    LUKEWARM left me a bit, well, lukewarm, but that’s probably because I struggled with the parsing. Too much work I thought for very little gain. But apart from that I enjoyed this.

    BUBBLE AND SQUEAK was amusing, because it’s so far away from the idea of champagne and steak.
    However, I love bubble and squeak, with liver (sorry folks)., probably because my father was a butcher from the Depression era.

    Surfaces for IN THE RAW and TEEPEE also entertaining. Probably my favs, with the misdirection.
    Question about INSECTS. Collins online gives woodworm as countable for the insects, and uncountable for the damage caused.

  6. Yep, as per pdm@3, bubbles, too, is pretty common usage. And yep, somewhat à la Peter and Dr Wh, 3d evoked My Beautiful…, and what Sammy and Rosie did. Lots of 5d stuff from Fed, thanks. Still trying to click but = just in 20ac, but no doubt dim brain will light up sometime. Enjoyed it, thx FnP.

  8. Finished this in good time, but some left unparsed. Liked surfaces of 12a and 22a. Was first thinking of Lyle and Scott for 16a. Some tortuous parsing and would never have parsed “Laundrette” in a month of sundays…
    Thanks very much PeterO for clearing my doubts early and thanks to Fed for the puzzle.

  9. [gif @ I’ve had double posts too after thinking I’d lost them. Was very glad of the Edit function when I realised I had duplicate posts as it gives the option to delete. Just happened again.. Not sure if it’s my end or if I need to email Admin ]

  13. Well that was a breezy romp. Either I was more awake than usual early on a Friday morning or maybe I was on this setter’s wavelength after solving him in the Indy and Toughie slots yesterday. As PeterO says in his preamble, ‘notable for many well-formed surfaces’. BUTTRESS, REGULATION, INSECTS, RAMROD and DEPARTMENT STORE my faves. The slightest of raised eyebrows for BUBBLE(s).

    It being somewhat early, I did have to check my glasses when reading the clue for LOCALITIES which I took to be ‘spoRts pub’ at first – which fitted the surface very nicely.

    Thanks Fed and PeterO

  14. Posting early for once. My lowest @ to date… An enjoyable solve and very helpful analysis by Peter O – especially for your help with the parsing of LAUNDRETTE. It is my joint favourite with DEFT. Many thanks to FED and Peter.

    [I agree with those who prefer using BUBBLES in 1D]

  16. Enjoyable tussle with some DEFTly constructed clues.

    Favourites: INSECTS, IN THE RAW, DEFT, IMPINGE, LUKEWARM (loi).

    New for me: Tate and Lyle (for 16ac).

    As with paddymelon and grantinfreo, for 1d I was thinking of BUBBLE[s] = champagne, and after that I parsed it the same as PeterO.

    Thanks, both.

  17. Sorry PeterO. I mustn’t have read your whole comment to see that you said ”bubbles” was acceptable.

  18. Found this a bit overwordy at first as I struggled to make an impression. But yes the “long lights” helped greatly. Nice to see BUBBLE AND SQUEAK being served up, haven’t had that for a while. I think there is also a good children’s book with that title by Philippa Pearce. Couldn’t for the life of me parse EDDY or BUTTRESS, though I realized that Tess was involved. Last one in the beautiful LAUNDRETTE…

  19. Thanks RussThree@10 (or wherever you end up after the duplicate posts are deleted!) I was having trouble with BUT=just too.

    Very DEFT, Fed – and a footballer even I have heard of! Wasted time trying to force EXCITING into 24a: wasn’t sure about RAMROD=drive aggressively or ACE=hole in one, and yes, LUKEWARM is fiddly, isn’t it. Lots of lovely surfaces.

    Hands up if you were puzzling vainly over the other Swedish band….

  22. A fun romp indeed. Top ticks for BUTTRESS, LUKEWARM & INSECTS

    Another BUBBLE(S) here although it did remind me of this grotesque character from Little Britain

    Cheers P&F

  24. Not usually a fan of so many long answers, I tend to find I can just guess them based on a crosser or two, particularly when they contain 2 and 3 letter middles, and then work the parsing.

    Still, an enjoyable solve. No issue with bubbles for champagne, definitely in common use.

  25. Thanks Fed and PeterO
    I was puzzled by the definition for RAMROD. I couldn’t find any reference to driving online (except for cattle drives). Chambers has “push or drive with great force”, which doesn’t seem to relate to Mr. Toad’s type of driving!
    Favourite was LOI IMPINGE.

  26. Among many other delights I enjoyed the double bluff of Harvey Nicks where I assumed a lift and separate when there wasn’t one.

  27. With the Masters starting yesterday, Lyle is referring to Sandy, who won the green jacket in 1988, so ACETATE was my favourite along with BUBBLE AND SQUEAK (no quibble with BUBBLE(S)). Very enjoyable as ever and I liked the self-referential DEFT.

    Ta Fed & PeterO.

  28. I had EUSTACIA with (two crossers) for Hardy girl which caused a fair amount of trouble.

    And I am still not sure about Buttress = Shore. Which meanings of either are close enough to be called synonyms. I am sure I must be missing something obvious

    Like some others immensely especially Deft

    Thanks Fed and PeterO

  30. Matthew Newell @28
    If you read them both as verbs they are close, though “shore up” is commoner than “shore” by itself.

  31. All done but I didn’t enjoy it as much as other solvers. The surfaces were good, if somewhat wordy, but I thought that some of the definitions were rather too loose.

  33. Thanks Fed & PeterO, that was fun.
    Especially liked the tight nightwear, ACETATE & ‘Geordie Shore’
    Maybe it’s not champagne but chimpanzee?

  34. ilan caron @32
    It’s one of those words that can be its own plural, like fish and sheep. “We’ve got woodworm” would refer to more than one!

  35. I worked through this one slowly but steadily.
    [I was vainly endeavouring to fit in ABBA at 9a, gladys@19.]
    I enjoyed the already-mentioned 5d DEFT and the two long ones 6d ARMED TO THE TEETH and 7d SPEAK OF THE DEVIL. Thanks to Fed and PeterO.
    [Sorry muffin@25, I’m not sure that I understand your concerns about 23a RAMROD – Chambers seems to say it means “drive with great force/aggressively” and it seemed the clue only needed “regularly” “Mr Toad’s” for the ROD part. Apologies if that’s not very clear.]

  38. Good stuff as usual from Fed, with some clever surfaces. ISOTHERMAL was an excellent hidden. On the whole I tend to prefer the shorter clues like “Get in boat at sea” and “Live with Saint George?”, both very neat, rather than some of the long ones where it tends to be a matter of guessing the answer and then working out all the elements.

    It took a while for the penny to drop for EDDY – I must try to remember “terms” for ends, which we have of course had before.

    muffin @25 and 37: surely “drive aggressively” is ok for “push or drive with great force”? The Mr Toad reference is a misdirection!

    Many thanks Fed and PeterO.

  40. Like others was greatly helped by the four long ones. A lot of get from the crosses / definition then parse which is a bit discouraging.

    Favourites: IMPINGE, LAUNDRETTE

    Thanks Fed and PeterO

  41. I think RAMROD is a use of the noun as a verb: hence to “ramrod” is to do the action that one associates with using a ramrod.

    BUT = just: “He was but a boy when he first encountered…”

  42. Apologies, muffin@37. I was trying to save our dinner veges from over-cooking and type at the same time. You are right, my online Chambers didn’t have “aggressively” in the definition; what I was trying to say was that I thought “aggressively” seemed to imply “with great force”. Thanks for explaining that much better than I did, Lord Jim@38. [And yes, I saw it as a use of the noun RAMROD as a verb, pserve_p2@41.]

  43. Ronald@18. LOL (My) Beautiful Laundrette.
    pserve_p2@ 41. Agree with you about RAMROD. It doesn’t mean driving a vehicle.

  44. Thanks for the blog, I put the Across in as I solve in order but I do not look at the grid when I do the Downs so the four long ones are much trickier without the letters. Good set of clues , DEFT and IN THE RAW the pick for me.
    Nobody has mentioned the theme ?

  48. Thanks PeterO, I didn’t find this straightforward (eg LAUNDRETTE – cryptic defn hard to guess and took a while to parse too, there are quite a few squares!) but enjoyed unravelling over time, eg piecing together LUKEWARM, the neat self-ref in DEFT, and sidetracked by Opeth and Entombed when considering 9A, no doubt as intended. Thanks Fed.

    [PS Roz I assume you refer to the album “Lukewarm Teepee” by 70s folk/prog legends Ramrod Acetate, didn’t realise you were a fan. Original copies sell for big money.]

  51. JorgeRamon @22, I was with you seeing Nick Kamen when I read that clue.

    Thank you to Fed and PeterO for an entertaining crossword (which I solved quicker than yesterday’s Bluth) and a comprehensive blog that helped me parse the couple I hadn’t.

  57. Entertaining puzzle with clues well crafted to give smooth surface readings, albeit at the expense of concision – like some other posters I prefer the short and sweet. Not a grid we see often – only 24 lights, which must be the smallest number amongst the Guardian approved ones.

    As usual, the four long entries went in from the definitions and the enumeration, but that isn’t a criticism. However, SOTD was one of my favourites, along with the small but perfectly formed OBTAIN, IN THE RAW, BEST and DEFT (LOI!). ISOTHERMAL is nicely hidden in a good surface.

    I don’t have a problem with BUBBLE(S) or ‘woodworm’ to refer to more than one little critter. I’m a bit less comfortable with ‘terms’ – I think in the sense of ‘end’ the word is only normally used in the singular, but this is no big deal.

    Thanks to S&B

  58. Muffin @37 the Chambers app has;
    transitive verb (ramˈrodding; ramˈrodded)
    To push or drive with great force

  59. As usual several of Fed’s parsings defeated me, so congratulations to those of you to whom this came more easily. 2D was my LOI despite getting STORE on the first pass. About the only thing I didn’t struggle with was BUBBLES!

    Thank you Fed for the puzzle and PeterO for the elucidation.

  60. Thanks both and a welcome entertainment.

    I read this far in the comments waiting for someone to query the equivalence of SPEAK OF THE DEVIL and ‘Welcome subject of discussion…” but just as I determined to pose the question myself the cerebral storm clouds parted and… – how very clever!

  61. I found this more difficult than many of you seem to have. Perhaps I was just having an off day. I failed to parse two of the long ones (1dn and 2dn), although they make perfect sense once you see how it’s done.

    I know it’s silly of me, but I’m a bit disappointed that we no longer seem to have the latte police around. For some reason I can’t explain, I always enjoyed it when people complained that “latte” means “milk”, not “coffee”.

    (For the record, I do not make this objection myself: it’s always been clear to me that the English word “latte” refers to a form of coffee drink, and while it’s true that the Italian word means “milk”, that’s not relevant.)

  62. [Ted @61: Misappropriation of words happens in both directions. Italians call small sponge cakes, rather like the French madeleines, ‘plumcake’ although they never contain any fruit (of course ‘plum cake’ originally meant cake containing dried fruit, not necessarily prunes – what Brits would now call fruit cake). In any case, Anglophones say ‘lahtay’, which is easily distinguishable from ‘latte’ 🙂 ]

  63. [… the English word ‘latte’ is simply an abbreviation of the Italian ‘caffèlatte’, and only becomes relevant if an Anglophone tries to order one in Italy! And as an Italophile I am spared any discomfort because when in the UK I only ever order a double espresso or a flat white…]

  64. Thanks Fed for an excellent set of clues, many with seamless surfaces. I found this gentle for Fed and easy for a Friday (assuming that the day of the week means something). My favourites included TEEPEE, RAMROD, BUBBLE AND SQUEAK, DEFT, SMASHED, and EDDY. Thanks PeterO for the blog.

  65. What is so great about coffee? People carry round two inexplicable things: lattes and dog poo bags. Which is best? There’s only one way to find out….

  66. Oh well. It was good to read the blog.
    I solved seven very quickly … stared at the rest for ages … and finally gave up, with no more solved.
    Somewhat discouraged to discover it was an easy crossword rather than a hard one! There’s always tomorrow.

  70. Steffen @69: Tight is another way of saying ‘drunk’. In a nation of pubs there are many words that mean intoxicated.

  73. Shanne – I did it last weekend and solved just under half of it.

    I’m going to try it again today.

    Ty

  74. Thanks PeterO and thanks all. Even you, Ziggy.

    Yes, I was thinking BUBBLES for champagne.

    Matthew Newell @28, re SHORE/BUTTRESS you can take your pick of the verb or noun versions.
    As verbs:
    Buttress: to prop or support with, or as if with, a buttress
    Shore: To prop (often with up; also figurative)

    As nouns
    Buttress: Any support or prop
    Shore: a temporary prop used to support a wall, excavation, etc

    In a Venn diagram, I’m pretty sure ‘temporary’ falls inside ‘any’, no?

    Muffin @25 I’m surprised to see you expecting Mr Toad’s style of driving to be relevant to the definition. Mr Toad is part of the wordplay, drive is part of the definition. I don’t think ‘to push or drive with great force’ and ‘to drive aggressively’ ought to be at all controversial.

    George Clements @31 I can’t speak for other setters, but personally I find comments like this unhelpful without some kind of elucidation. Which definitions feel too loose to you?

    Ziggy – in answer to your question which appears to have been deleted: kompromat.

    Roz @50 I can’t tell if this is a meta-joke, especially given Nat Tate’s non-existence, but if not, it’s entirely coincidental. No theme was intended.

  75. Thank you Fed for dropping in and your detailed comments. I was interested in the noun/verb shore/buttress versions. Really enjoyed your crossword.

    Roz’s humour about the non theme is complimentary. She got me with the non existent Nat Tate, but she and Gazzh seemed to have a lot in common with the 70s folk/prog legends Ramrod Acetate. 🙂

  76. What I did I did pretty quickly but had to cheat on the last 5 answers, with EDDY as the LOI. I’m more familiar with ‘bubbly’ as another name for champers but ‘bubbles’ is a VHO. 50 Cent even just says ‘bub’ in his hit ‘In Da Club’, it’s unclear to me whether this is meant to be a shortening of ‘bubbly’ or ‘bubbles’ but it works either way.

  77. This was a fun puzzle, as Fed’s always are, but this time the blog and comments were just as much fun, especially the erudite discussion of the theme(s) by paddymelon, Roz and Gazzh. Thanks all.

  78. Very late to this – so probably the last post.
    If so, for the edit check, I shall witness THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
    (EUROPE 1986)

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