Guardian Saturday Prize Crossword 29,362 by Picaroon (20 April 2024)

by

A fitting puzzle for the Saturday Prize puzzle slot from Picaroon this week…

…no theme or Nina that I could see, but a tight set of clues, with a touch of Cyclops-ean edge about a couple of them, i.e. they wouldn’t be out of place in the Private Eye puzzle.

I didn’t make much headway when I started this soon after midnight last Saturday, but that might be due to some not inconsiderable convivial imbibement during the evening, and it all started to fall into place when the world became clearer over coffee and toast on the Saturday morning.

There was a double helping of removed Es, in 27A SE(E) CRETE and 1D LOU RE(E)D – with different Es, and both took a while to se(e). As did the ‘sixty engineers’ at 13D THREESCORE; the ‘programs’ being watched by Marge Simpson for SPREADSHEETS at 14A; and the ‘French bread’ at 6D ECUS.

I’m no great fan of seeing the likes of 18A PRINCE ANDREW given any publicity/normalisation in a crossword puzzle, but I have to admit it was a great anagram, and an even better definition – worthy of the aforementioned Cyclops!

Lots of good surface reads – 5A OPEN TOP evoking a crumbling hospital with no roof; Rabbie Burns cutting out the BS and the pot at 12 URN; 19D PASHTO being spoken at posh parties in Kabul; but maybe the image of Paul looking better with no clothes at 15D EPAULETTE was a step too far!

 

 

I had to check PLEONASM – not a frequent visitor to my vocabulary – and I thought an OGHAM was an individual letter/rune, but it seems that the same word can apply to the whole alphabet of Celtic/Pictish inscriptions – so I learned a couple of things along the way.

My thanks to Picaroon for the usual high-quality entertainment – I think we crossed paths on Saturdays five times last year, and twice already this year…keep ’em coming!

 

Across
Clue No Solution Clue (definition underlined)

Logic/parsing
1A LOGICAL Coherent American serving in pub (7)

LO_CAL (pub) around GI (American soldier, so one serving)
5A OPEN-TOP Work repeatedly to save part of hospital with no roof (4-3)

OP_OP (opus, musical work, repeatedly) around (saving) ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat, hospital department)
9A URINE Waste hour in Ealing? Not all of it (5)

hidden word in, i.e. not all of, ‘hoUR IN Ealing’
10A AFFLUENCE Having cash to flash, a dodgy dealer catches 2 (9)

A + F_ENCE (dodgy dealer in stolen goods) around (catching) FLU (2D – grippe)
11A EXPIRATION Old detective, one entering shop for a wheeze, say (10)

EX (old) + PI (Private Investigator, detective) + RAT_ON (shop, rass up) around I (one)
12A URN Scottish writer cutting the BS and the pot (3)

(Rabbie) (B)URN(S), Scottish writer, cutting out B and S!
14A SPREADSHEETS Maybe Marge Simpson’s opening these funny programs (12)

SPREAD (maybe marge, margarine) + S (opening letter of Simpsons) + HEETS (anag, i.e. funny, of THESE
18A PRINCE ANDREW Nerd with new Capri pants, not a sweater? (6,6)

anag, i.e. pants, of NERD + NEW CAPRI

[one of Randy Andy’s many ludicrous alibis is that he is unable to sweat, due to some traumatic incident in the Falklands War(!?)]
21A TEA (CAKE) & 24 Only half of teachers as keen to get sweet food (3-4)

half of each word – TEAC(HERS) A(S) KE(EN)
22A BLOODSTAIN Drop of claret is too bland when drunk (10)

anag, i.e. drunk, of IS TOO BLAND
25A EXTRACTOR Spear carrier hasn’t finished with e.g. Brad Pitt fan? (9)

EXTR(A) (spear carrier, non-speaking extra in film, hasn’t finished) + ACTOR (e.g. Brad Pitt)
26A OGHAM Ancient characters travel westwards with unsubtle performer (5)

OG (go, travel, reversed, or westwards) + HAM (unsubtle actor)
27A SECRETE Conceal what tourists may do in Greece, losing energy once (7)

tourists in Greece might SE(E) CRETE! (losing one E – energy)
28A HOEDOWN Oddly, Hoover now wild about Democratic Party in US (7)

HOE (odd letters of HoOvEr) + D (democratic) + OWN (anag, i.e. wild, of NOW)
Down
Clue No Solution Clue (definition underlined)

Logic/parsing
1D LOURED Dropping ecstasy, US singer looked angry (6)

LOU RE(E)D, American singer/rock legend, ‘dropping’ an E (Ecstasy tablet)!
2D GRIPPE Contagious virus – complaint with extra power (6)

GRIP_E (complaint) with an extra P (power) = GRIPPE (another complaint!)

[grippe being an obsolete English (and current French?) word for influenza]
3D CHERRY-PICK Unfairly select pop diva track still on the radio (6-4)

CHER (pop diva!) + RY (railway, track) + PICK (homophone, i.e. on the radio, pick – select – sounds like pic – photograph, still)
4D LEAPT Lizzie’s jacket fitting Rose remarkably (5)

LE (jacket, or outer letters, of LizziE) + APT (fitting)
5D OFFLOADED Old fellows with lots of cash getting dumped (9)

O (old) + FF (fellow, plural) + LOADED (with lots of cash)
6D ECUS Old French bread and sauce American leaves out (4)

subtractive anagram, i.e. out, of S(A)UCE, leaving out A – American

[bread in the sense of money!]
7D TONSURES Pious hairstyles certainly embraced by many (8)

TON_S (many) around (embracing) SURE (certainly)
8D PLEONASM Sunak welcoming sale on modified foreign imports, say (8)

P_M (Rishi Sunak, at the time of writing) around (welcoming) LEONAS (anag, i.e. modified, of SALE ON)

[‘pleonasm’ being redundancy of words…an import must come from elsewhere, so foreign is the pleonastic word here(?)]

[also, Rishi Rich is not too welcoming of certain foreign ‘imports’ at the moment…]
13D THREESCORE Sixty engineers stopping a source of excitement on match day (10)

TH_E SCORE (source of excitement – or dejection! – on match day) around (stopped by) RE (Royal Engineers, regiment)
15D EPAULETTE English setter better without clothing decoration (9)

E (English) + PAUL (Grauniad setter) + (B)ETTE(R) (better, without clothing, or outer letters)
16D SPUTTERS Speaks incoherently, even leaving S Club 7 (8)

S + PUTTER (golf club) + S(EVEN) (seven, even leaving)
17D DIDACTIC Performed start of play, Chekhov’s first with a message (8)

DID ACT I (performed Act 1, or start of play!) + C (Chekov’s first)
19D PASHTO It’s heard in Kabul at posh parties (6)

anag, i.e. parties, of AT POSH

[‘Pashto’ being the official language of Afghanistan – so everywhere in Kabul, not just at posh parties!]
20D GNOMON Swiss banker, briefly working, gets indicator of time (6)

GNOM(E) (Swiss banker, the Gnomes of Zurich, briefly, or short of a letter) + ON (working)

[a gnomon being part of a sundial]
23D OPRAH Marx, after revolution, becoming media personality (5)

HARPO (Marx) revolved to give OPRAH (Winfrey)!

[a fairly well-worn cruciverbal chestnut!]
24D CAKE See 21 Across (4)

see 21A

43 comments on “Guardian Saturday Prize Crossword 29,362 by Picaroon (20 April 2024)”

  1. Had the Beeb app playing in the background as I solved and, blow me, an interview with Sam McAlister about Scoop came on just as I got to 18ac. Thank you Auntie, I said, the nonsweater’ll go straight in then! And a few more gimmes helped open it up: a 9-letter fan is always extractor, pop diva + track = cher ry, and tons around sure, did +Act 1, and reverse Harpo were write-ins. Enjoyed it though, ta Pickers and rapper, now for a coffee and this week’s.

  2. Several words I hadn’t heard of but got from the wordplay: OGHAM, GRIPPE, GNOMON

    But DNF thanks to 8d , 16d and 17d

    Liked: OFFLOADED, OPEN-TOP, AFFLUENCE, HOEDOWN

    Thanks Picaroon and mc_rapper67

  3. Thanks mc_rapper67. My experience was very like yours, a slow start but steady enlightenment with similar stumbling blocks. I also furthered my education with PLEONASM, must try to work it into a conversation some time. Have to admit one of the LOIs was 9a, I overthought it and just couldn’t see the obvious and I’ll have to add ‘pants’ to my list of anagrinds.

  5. One of my rare Prize Puzzle successes, 100% and all parsed except EXPIRATION and EPAULETTE. (That sense of “shop” unknown this side of the pond, and setters aren’t celebrities here.) Feeling quite chuffed. Quite liked DIDACTIC as a clue.

  6. It took me a lot of sittings to finally get there. My favourites were: DIDACTIC; OFFLOADED; CHERRY-PICK; and THREESCORE. PRINCE ANDREW was a brilliant clue but it doesn’t feel right to call it a “favourite”. Thank you for your help in explaining mc_rapper67, it has been invaluable as ever. For what it’s worth, I agree with your identification of the word “foreign” as PLEONASM in the clue. Not a term I’ve ever encountered and I had to look up what it meant. After application of several hot towels, I think I understand the examples of how to apply it. Biggles A @3 best of luck with using it in conversation. Last but not least, my respect and admiration to Picaroon. Ta muchly 😎. Going to take a quick look at today’s Prize before 💤. Have a great weekend everyone.

  7. Nice puzzle, as near a steady solve as I ever get, as my solving consists of moments of inspiration carrying me through to the next period of inability. It took a while to realise that spear carriers are EXTRAs and the solution was fan. Loved THREESCORE and SPREADSHEET.
    Thanks both.

  9. [P.S. re PLEONASM I meant to add that as a slowly improving solver, I experience great satisfaction when I correctly get an answer which is a word I’ve not encountered before. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in that. It is the hallmark of a great setter not, I hasten to add, any great skill on my part. Thanks again Mr Pirate ☠️!]

  10. I had to look up PLEONASM to see what it meant – although the anagram fodder was obvious and it took me a long time to see THREESCORE and ECUS, although all in and parsed. Lots of entertaining surfaces in this.

    Thank you for an entertaining puzzle, Picaroon, and mc_rapper67 for the blog.

  11. [There is a form of PLEONASM that might not be obvious until it is pointed out, and that is the “pleonastic it”. Examples include “It is raining” and “It is a shame that”. Well, I thought it interesting when I first ran into it. No, not that it.]

  12. Having been away for a few weeks (hiking, only a phone, no printer, and really not enough time either) it was nice to come back to the Saturday prize and find a Picaroon and now an mc_rapper blog. Thanks both. I found the top-left corner held out longest, but eventually I remembered Lou Reed, and I annoyed myself by having a simple hidden word like URINE end up as my LOI, but enjoyed the rest, even the non-sweating Prince. I thought THREESCORE was neat, and I knew both OGHAM and PLEONASM were words, but had to check the meanings.

  13. Unfortunately too many words I did not know. I managed to guess and then check PLEONASM, TONSURES and OGHAM. I didn’t get ECUS and GNONOM.

  14. 8D should be written off as a bad clue – I still don’t get the definition, even though I got the answer.

  15. Shaji Farooq@14 in 8d the definition is an example of a PLEONASM since an import, coming as it does from another country, is by definition foreign. Even though I went to. Grammar School many years ago I don’t recall being taught all these terms.

  16. Thanks for a great blog, I liked EXPIRATION for the use of shop= RAT ON , SPUTTERS flowed very nicely, the relative obscurities seemed to be very fairly clued .
    PLEONASM is a word I use just to annoy my students when they say things like “negative electrons” , I thought the example in the clue was very good.
    EPAULETTE , I am not fond of the name of a setter in a clue, it is in a national newspaper not a school magazine.

  17. This week’s prize from Maskarade seems to think it’s an easy Monday day, so disappointing. Enjoyed the challenge from Picaroon, and admit to having to check the meaning of PLEONASM. Liked 14a SPREADSHEETS, especially seeing them referred to as ‘programs’. 11a EXPIRATION was one of my last in, as familiar with expire meaning to die rather than just breathing out. Thanks to setter and blogger.

  18. I was very slow to get started, solving only 2 clues on my first pass. It took me a long time to finish it and in the end it was very gratifying to have completed it.

    Favourites: CHERRY-PICK, EXTRACTOR, PRINCE ANDREW (for the clue, not the man), SPREADSHEETS, HOEDWON.

    New for me: PLEONASM (check parse); GNOMON.

    Thanks, both.

  19. I thought this was a brilliant puzzle, witty and challenging. Great surfaces, starting to sound to me like the beginning of a joke eg an old detective, a dodgy dealer and a Scottish writer (or one of the other dubious characters) walked into a pub etc.
    Three new words, ECUS, PLEONASM, GNOMON, which I worked out from crossers and a dictionary, but none of which I can see myself using in conversation. All parsed, probably reflecting the precise cluing.
    So many clues to love, with big ticks to SPREADSHEET, EXPIRATION, PRINCE ANDREW, SECRETE, DIDACTIC.
    Thanks for the puzzle Picaroon and for the blog, mc_rapper67

  20. Splendid blog as always. Splendid puzzle as always. Such a reliable setter. THREESCORE, SPREADSHEETS, GNOMON, PASHTO, PRINCE ANDREW for the anagram and PLEONASM for the learning were my faves. A worthy prize.

    Thanks Picaroon and mc

  21. It was good to see a different singer being used, LOU REED, and sharing top billing with CHER. URINE was surprisingly well hidden, and EXTRACTOR was a lovely clue, with FRENCH BREAD a sneaky definition, thanks P and MC

  22. I really enjoyed this; the blog only enhanced my experience. So thanks to both our clever setter Picaroon and our meticulous blog writer mc_rapper67. Sure there were some unfamiliar words as already mentioned by others, but it was fun to tease them out and learn new things. Many of my favourite clues coincided with those in mc_r’s preamble and those already flagged by other contributors, I also ticked 1a LOGICAL. I thought with the inclusions of Paul and Harpo, as well as Andrew, we might be in for a setters and bloggers theme, but that wasn’t to be. Just the same, it was a most satisfying Saturday Prize outing.

  24. Not giving anything away, but did anyone else think today’s Prize crossword must have been swapped for the Quiptic? All but about two were write-ins.

  25. Picaroon is probably my favourite setter and this was very enjoyable as always. (Though like you mc_rapper I’m getting a bit fed up with references to Prince Andrew in crosswords.)

    Does nobody else on here do the Guardian Saturday supplement quiz? It’s the Saturday breakfast entertainment in this house, and OGHAM featured in one of last week’s questions, so that made 26a a lot easier.

    I struggled for a while with 19d, wondering if “Bashdo” might be a variant of PASHTO, with “bash” and “do” being the parties, but I couldn’t see where “posh” came in. Eventually the penny dropped!

    [nicbach @8: like KLrunner @18 I can’t see what you’re referring to in Penny Lane – could you be more specific?]

    Many thanks Picaroon and mc_rapper67.

  26. Picaroon not sacrificing quality with quantity.

    I liked the RAT ON in EXPIRATION, SPREADSHEETS, PRINCE ANDREW, HOEDOWN, CHERRYPICK, and LEAPT; so it must have been good.

    Thanks Picaroon and mcr.

  27. Unadulterated pleasure for me, exemplifying why I will always have a shot at a Picaroon puzzle even if I’m too busy to do it on the day. Here almost every clue was a delight but special mention for the brilliant EXPIRATION and double ticks for URN, SPREADSHEET, PLEONASM, HOEDOWN, EXTRACTOR and SPUTTER. Loved the PRINCE ANDREW clue, which I spotted early. And GRIPPE came courtesy of the clever lyrics to Adelaide’s Lament from GUYS and DOLLS in which she spends the entire show suffering from a psychosomatic cold as a result of her too-long engagement to Nathan Detroit:

    “And further more just from stalling and stalling and stalling the wedding trip,
    a person can develop La grippe.
    And when they get on the train to Niagra, she can hear the churchbells chime.
    The compartment is air conditioned and the mood sublime.
    Then they get off at Saratoga for the fourteenth time,
    A person can develop La Grippe, La Grippe, La post-nasal drip,
    With the wheezes, and the sneezes, and the sinuses really a pip!
    From a lack of community property and a feeling she’s getting too old,
    A person can develop a big, bad cold”.

    Thanks as ever to Picaroon and mc_r

  28. [Lord Jim@26: is that the quiz that features Ana Matronic this week? As an online reader, I don’t know which features live in which paper supplements. If so, yes, I do it regularly, and I feel it’s a shame that comments are never open. ]

  30. Enjoyable week of solving with this. Some new words or with GRIPPE didn’t know it in English usage. Liked the definition of PLEONASM but have to admit to asking my browser about PLEANOSM before being led to the answer.

  31. I wish that people commenting here would restrict their remarks to the puzzle named at the top of the page. Comments about Friday’s puzzle are annoying for those of us who have not worked on that puzzle yet, and anything you have to say about today’s puzzle should not be posted on this forum at all.

    If you have a comment about Friday’s puzzle, why not post it in Friday’s puzzle’s blog?

  32. For 8d PLEONASM oed.com, in addition to the ‘1.a. 1610– Grammar and Rhetoric‘ sense has ‘2. 1616– gen. Superfluity, redundancy, or excess; something superfluous or redundant…’ — ie surplus, a word that applies to “foreign imports” – the UK having a trade deficit with the EU, made more difficult and expensive since Brexit. What a good idea that was.

  33. gladys @29: yes, that’s the one. Did you spot OGHAM in both the quiz and the crossword last Saturday?

  34. Thanks Picaroon and mc. About five jorums for me this week! I would have written THREESCORE as two words, but no matter. Came here to understand the complete parsing for EXPIRATION and EXTRACTOR.

  36. [lenmasterman@28 – ‘…In other words, just from wondering whether the wedding is on or off | A person can develop a cough‘ 😉 ]

  37. I started midweek for both the previous week’s puzzle and this one, delayed trying to find names of small towns for Maskarade’s megapuzzle. Finished Picaroon’s today. Nice puzzle. Lots of clever clues, all very reasonable. I used a wordsolver for LOI PLEONASM, but needed mc’s blog to explain it and also that EXTRA = SPEAR CARRIER. I liked GNOMON because it was a new word for me, and easy to work out. I toured the Ogham stones around Glencolmcille years ago. Anyway, I can start today on this week’s puzzle by … Oh! .. back to Maskarade. Hopefully, no need for the road atlas this time.

  38. I enjoyed this quality puzzle very much. The PRINCE ANDREW anagram was splendid, and my last entry PLEONASM was my favourite clue. And of course there were many more gems and neat misdirections.

    Thanks to Picaroon and mc_rapper.

  39. Thanks for all the comments and feedback – much appreciated, as usual.

    (And, as usual, I have been out hitting a small white ball with a stick around the Hampshire countryside all morning, with a modicum of success…)

    I don’t think there is anything that particularly needs any follow up – interesting to see that PLEONASM was a new/unfamiliar word to many – apart from to echo sheffieldhatter’s plea at 31, to keep things relevant to this puzzle. There are a couple of references to today’s Prize puzzle above, so a gentle reminder that this site has a convention of not making any comment, however anodyne, on open/active prize puzzles, until their deadline date is reached. Thanks for your understanding.

  40. Worth pointing out, since no one else has, that the surface for HOEDOWN is also excellent–note that Herbert Hoover was a Republican. [Defeated soundly by FDR due largely to his anemic response to the Great Depression, thereby ending a long era of Republican ascendancy. Hoover is also notable for having, at the time, the longest ex-presidency, a record recently broken by the ageless Jimmy Carter. Anyway, I do imagine that if Hoover were still alive, he would indeed be more enthusiastic about Democrats.]

    I’ve been beaten to the punch by lemmasterman @27 with the showtune reference. But that is also where I learned the word GRIPPE. I think I’ve also seen it in Evelyn Waugh or some other parodist of the posh.

  41. [ I too echo (I re-echo?) sheffield hatter’s comment @31, although in this case the extraneous comments about today’s prize have persuaded me to try it, as I normally avoid Maskarade’s TDFM puzzles. ]

    Meanwhile, Picaroon’s puzzles are always good, so to say this was one of his better ones is high praise indeed. And although I managed to parse everything (a rare event) I nevertheless enjoyed m_c’s excellent blog. I agreed with all his favourites and his other comments. So thanks PM (not Rishi) for making my day.

  42. [ Re me@41, I apologize for my extraneous comment about extraneous comments. Is there a pleonasm lurking here? ]

  43. Fabulous puzzle and really helpful blog, NHO pleonasm and ogham and gnomon. Managed to do the rest slowly throughout the day with a lot of enjoyment. Loved URN most I think, so many great clues. I also knew La Grippe from Adelaide’s lament (university drama group!)

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