Guardian Cryptic 29,376 by Anto

by

Thanks Anto for the puzzle – my favourites were 10ac, 14ac, 24ac, 9dn, and 20dn.

There are a few clues/solutions linked to gambling: TOTE, RACETRACK, TIPSTER and the surface for 16dn.

ACROSS
1 MOORCROFT
Tie up credit frequently for ceramics factory (9)
definition: a UK pottery manufacturer [wiki]

MOOR=”Tie up” + CR (credit) + OFT=”frequently”
6 BRED
Brought up to talk about money in an informal way (4)
sounds like (to talk about): ‘bread’=informal term for “money”
10 SMEAR
Dirty sort of business a Republican goes after (5)
definition: “Dirty” as a verb, to make dirty

SME (small and medium-sized enterprises)=”sort of business” + A (directly from surface) + R (Republican)
11 YALE LOCKS
Skye local managed to provide security apparatus (4,5)
anagram/”managed” of (Skye local)*
12 READY UP
Prepared ahead to deliver scam (5,2)
definition: a slang term for ‘swindle’

READY=”Prepared” + UP=”ahead”
13 ICEBERG
Murder composer that’s challenging, cold and dangerous (7)
ICE=slang for “Murder” + Alban BERG the “composer” [wiki]
14 ROMAN CATHOLIC
Religious type initially essential to churches (5,8)
the initials RC (for Roman Catholic) are “essential to” (found in the centre of) chu-RC-hes
17 COUNTING SHEEP
Agricultural stocktaking can put you out (8,5)
“put you out” meaning ‘make you fall asleep’
21 STOP GAP
Fool takes on leading German – it shouldn’t last long (4,3)
SAP=”Fool” around TOP=”leading” + G (German)
22 MONSOON
Satellite includes operating pole that shows seasonal weather (7)
MOON=”Satellite” around both of: ON=”operating” + S (South “pole”)
24 ELONGATED
Do a gentle twist when stretched (9)
anagram/”twist” of (Do a gentle)*
25 GUANO
Gouda in box occasionally includes fertiliser (5)
occasional letters taken from G-[o]-U-[d]-A [i]-N [b]-O-[x]
26 TOTE
Betting group starts targeting operations that eventually … (4)
definition: a British gambling company [wiki]

starting letters to T-[argeting] O-[perations] T-[hat] E-[ventually]
27 RACETRACK
… locate stand for Spooner where bets are placed (9)
Spoonerism of ‘trace rack’=”locate stand”
DOWN
1 MISERERE
Ireland releases information after hoarder makes plea for mercy (8)
definition: a psalm asking for mercy (from God)

EIRE=”Ireland” minus I (information); after MISER=”hoarder”
2 OMEGA
Character has ring that’s enormous (5)
definition: character as in a letter/symbol

O=”ring” + MEGA=”enomous”
3 CARRY ON LUGGAGE
Funny film about case you’ve kept up in the air? (5,2,7)
CARRY ON LUGGAGE might be part of the ‘Carry On…’ comedy film series
4 OLYMPIA
She provides an endless series of games (7)
Olympia was home to the original Olympic Games – not sure if there’s more to this clue

edit thanks to KVa in the comments:
“She” is the definition – Olympia is a female name.
OLYMPIA-[d]: end letter removed from “series of games”. An Olympiad can be an international contest in e.g. chess, involving a series of games
5 TALLISH
Everything in note demanding silence is somewhat implausible (7)
definition as in a ‘tall tale’

ALL=”Everything” in TI=musical “note” in the sol-fa scale; plus SH=”demanding silence”
7 RECHERCHE
It’s rare seeing her here juggling with two clubs (9)
anagram/”juggling” of (her here C C)*, with C twice from “two clubs”
8 DOSAGE
Amount of drugs given by guru after party (6)
SAGE=”guru” after DO=”party”
9 SLEEPLESS NIGHT
Helpless gent is tossing during it – advise 17 perhaps (9,5)
COUNTING SHEEP (17ac) might be advised if having a sleepless night

anagram/”tossing” of (Helpless gent is)*
15 MICROSOFT
Small and flexible doesn’t quite describe an IT company (9)
Microsoft is an IT company that can’t quite be described as “Small”

MICRO=”Small” + SOFT=”flexible”
16 OPEN BOOK
Start betting with something that’s easy to understand (4,4)
to “Start betting”, a bookmaker might open/start a ‘book’ to keep records of bets and payouts
18 TIPSTER
Adviser using time in the US to break bank (7)
PST (Pacific Standard Time, in the US); breaking into TIER=”bank”
19 NOMADIC
Travelling around new domain with Charles (7)
anagram/”new” of (domain)*, plus C (Charles)
20 ASSERT
State authorises subversive regiment to be gutted (6)
A-[uthorise]-S S-[ubversiv]-E R-[egimen]-T, gutted of their inner letters
23 OMAHA
Some boredom a hazard in US city (5)
hidden in (“Some” of): [bored]-OM A HA-[zard]

62 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 29,376 by Anto”

  1. A really enjoyable offering, with a nice link between SLEEPLESS NIGHT and COUNTING SHEEP. As manehi points out, a bit of a horse-betting theme in the bottom half with TIPSTER, (MICRO)SOFT, OPEN BOOK, (ELON)GATE(D), TOTE and RACETRACK. Favourites were the unknown MOORCROFT, RECHERCHE, STOP GAP and the amusing CARRY ON LUGGAGE. Needed ROMAN CATHOLIC parsed and also unsure about OLYMPIA.

    Ta Anto & manehi.

  2. That was fun today. I didn’t get much from my first pass of the across clues, but everything gently unfolded. I’d never heard of MISERERE, but it the clue was nicely crafted. SLEEPLESS NIGHT was lovely and TIPSTER misdirected me for a while.

    Thanks so much Anto & manehi

  5. Very nice challenge today, mostly a gentle work-out with the north-west corner proving stubborn at the last. I was ignorant of MOORCROFT but enjoyed a look at their website when checking and they make some beautiful pieces. READY UP was also new to me. ROMAN CATHOLIC was my favourite, although I only got it from the crossers and parsed after. Also liked MISERERE, CARRY ON LUGGAGE, TALLISH, and COUNTING SHEEP. Thanks for the clear explanations, manehi, especially for STOP GAP and TIPSTER which eluded me. I agree with posters above re OLYMPIA(d). Thanks Anto.

  6. Could be that the betting theme extends into other words and race horse names. I think SLEEPLESS NIGHT, COUNTING SHEEP, READY UP, MONSOON, ICEBERG and NOMADIC are possibly competing race horses and “BRED” is very much a word from that industry.

    Thank you Anto and manehi.

  8. Never heard of Moorcroft nor “small and medium-sized enterprises”, nor READY UP as a scam. Couldn’t parse ICEBERG.

    Everything else was tickety-boo and enjoyable, thanks Anto & Manehi.

  9. I agree with Olympia=she / girl in d.

    I could not parse 18d or 14ac (wrongly assumed it was a cd).

    New for me: MOORCROFT pottery company; READY UP = deliver scam.

    3d reference in clue – I wonder if Carry On movies are still considered to be funny?

    Thanks, both.

  11. I found this reasonably straightforward, and good fun. I’m another who hadn’t heard of MOORCROFT, though easy to guess. I looked at their site earlier. I need a new lamp, but they are a bit pricey for me. A pity as they are rather attractive…PS I’ve lost track of how many times BERG has come up this year. With thanks to Anto and manehi.

  12. Another one who found the NW corner slowest in, but all in and pretty much parsed. I did wonder about the racing theme too. I didn’t know MOORCROFT, but having looked it up, I did recognise the pottery as it featured on the 2023 series of The Great Pottery Throw Down – as a second challenge. I needed the blog for STOP GAP, I don’t know why I never think of SAP for idiot, because I’ve read it enough.

    Thank you to manehi and Anto.

  13. Another who has nho MOORCROFT, (and Google shows a debt collection agency with the same name.) Also wasn’t aware of READY UP but it couldn’t be anything else. Otherwise fairly plain sailing. I’ve questioned some of Anto’s choices in the past so I regard this as an improvement.

  14. Thanks Anto and manehi
    Several parsings evaded me through things I simply didn’t know. With others I had never heard of MOORCROFT, though the crossers made that easy to work out. SME, READY UP, and PST also passed me by.
    I’ve only seen STOPGAP as one word in that sense.
    manehi – I’m not sure about how you have indicated the parsing of the clue for CARRY ON LUGGAGE; it seems to require “case” to do double duty, as there isn’t actually a film of that name?

  15. GDU@8, agree with your comments. Some lovely clues, some I found clumsy, such as SOFT for FLEXIBLE?

  16. The ones who have not heard of MOORCROFT should stay in more and watch Bargain Hunt 🙂

    Much easier than Anto usually is, I thought.

    Thanks manehi, too

  17. Another NHO for READY UP. Even googled it to no avail so in it went with a shrug

    Top ticks for SLEEPLESS NIGHT, TIPSTER & RECHERCHE just because I like the word.

    Cheers M&A

  19. I think you have to read the whole clue for CARRY ON LUGGAGE as a whimsical cryptic definition to avoid the case doing double duty. I agree that this was Anto at his best.

  20. Found this a bit of a curate’s egg. Really liked YALE LOCKS and ELONGATED, nho of MOORCROFT ceramics or MISERERE, but both eminently gettable from the clueing. (Knew about misericords and the song Misery by Metallica). Wasn’t too taken by CARRY ON LUGGAGE or READY UP. However, an enjoyable solve overall…
    Only knew David MOORCROFT as one time 5,000 metres world record holder.

  21. I wonder whether Misere (a sort of bet) In MISERERE counts towards the “theme”, not to mention mad in NOMADIC. The word Miserere comes from the first word of Psalm 50 in the Vulgate (Ps. 51 in the AV) “Have mercy on me O God”. I know I’ve posted this before but I think The Cat Empire is worth repeating.

  22. I only knew Moorcroft because a friend collects it and I knew the name OLYMPIA because of the actress Olympia Dukakis but I had to google READY UP to learn that it’s British Australian slang for to swindle. Laughed at CARRY ON LUGGAGE as I had just started packing my own. The other ticks have already been mentioned. Although RACETRACK went in from the crossers I don’t like Spoonerisms. Ronald@20 what is a curate’s egg?

  23. Enjoyed this, and as a former citizen of Stoke on Trent, MOORCROFT was a pleasant starting point.

  24. [OakvilleReader @22
    In case Ronald doesn’t see your query, it dates back to a 19th century Punch cartoon in which a bishop serves a curate a bad egg. The curate assures the bishop that it was “good in parts”.]

  25. Good, entertaining crossword.

    I liked the anagrams for ELONGATED and RECHERCHE, and the wordplay for TIPSTER. I failed to see the RC, essential to chuRChes; clever!

    Thanks Anto and manehi.

  26. Thanks for the blog, great puzzle, neat clever clues throughout. CARRY ON LUGGAGE is brilliant and ROMAN CATHOLIC very deceptive.
    I find it hard to believe that people have not heard of MOORCROFT, William Moorcroft was one of the true, great pottery designers. They have an original bottle kiln at their visitor centre , not many left.

  27. 9D was my favorite for the clever surface.

    NHO Moorcroft but assembled it from the wordplay. And also NHO Ready Up as another word for ‘swindle’, but with the crossers and wordplay it couldn’t be anything else.

    Thank you Anto and manehi.

  28. I really enjoyed this and the blog helped with a few that I just couldn’t parse, including RC and READY UP. Many thanks Anto and Manehi 👏. My favourites were COUNTING SHEEP and SLEEPLESS NIGHT. Most of the clues were very clever but, as KateE commented, a few were a bit disappointing – such as SOFT.

    [Tim C@21, I am glad you posted the link again. I remember liking the band last time but couldn’t remember their name. I’d like to see them if they tour here 😎.]

    [michelle@9, I have to confess that some of them still make me laugh despite not being PC. I can only attribute this to a combination of childhood memory (watching with my parents) and the undoubted comic genius of some of the actors, such as Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams…]

  29. [Pauline @28 I’ve seen them live at The Enmore in Sydney with my two sons who loved them. A band even better live than recorded and recommended by me. They’re in London and Glastonbury at the end of June but all sold out I’m afraid]

  31. Very enjoyable – although over very quickly. LOI Moorcroft, never heard of it but gettable from the clue. My only interest in pottery is that it is one of a few words that rhymes with lottery. Thanks Anto and manehi

  32. [Many thanks Tim C. I’m just recovering from a hip operation so I doubt I’ll be able to go to gigs by then, even if they weren’t sold out. I always watch the Glastonbury coverage on the BBC, it’s too big for me to go to these days… Hopefully their set will be broadcast. I’ll be sure to look out for them when they tour again.]

  33. I wonder if ‘challenging’ in 13a is meant to refer to the composer as it seems superfluous as part of the definition. NHO READY UP but have loved Moorcroft for as long as I can remember (you would be unlikely to be able to afford it on Bargain Hunt!).

  34. Nicely constructed puzzle with good surfaces (though those for MISERERE and GOUDA are a bit random 🙂 ).

    SMEAR, YALE LOCKS, ELONGATED and RECHERCHE did it for me.

    Thanks to S&B

  36. Bless me, Father, for I have sinned!

    I’m a lapsed RC but I still sadly failed to parse the “essential” bit of 14a.

    Nice Clue, Anto!

  38. Kicking myself as a Stokie that MOORCROFT was one the last ones to give itself up.

    I enjoyed this thoroughly, only got a few on the first pass, and then it slowly revealed itself. Very satisfying.

  39. For a while, fell for the trap in STOP GAP, thinking that “leading” was extracting the G from German (otherwise it would be D). But it’s in Chambers!

    Otherwise very enjoyable and not too taxing. CARRY ON LUGGAGE most amusing.

  40. Thanks Anto for an enjoyable crossword. My top picks were OMEGA, MICROSOFT, and ASSERT. I will add ROMAN CATHOLIC to the list now that I’ve seen its parsing. (I thought the def. was ‘religious’, ‘type’ was Roman and I could go no further.) Thanks manehi for the blog.

  41. I had never heard of the same things everyone else from abroad had never heard of, so we can chalk this one up in the “too British for me” category…though at least I did manage to finish it.

    I did want to mention the lovely surface in the clue for OMAHA, a nod to its reputation as…not the most exciting place on the planet. I admit that I’ve never spent any real time there–I’ve only ever driven through–so I can’t comment on whether that reputation is well-earned.

    PST and the other similar abbreviations such as PDT, EST, CST, etc. are frequent guests in American-style crosswords, where any string of three letters with a meaning will eventually show up. You usually get told what part of the country and often also what time of year, to remove ambiguity. So PST might be clued as “Winter setting in Seattle”. [Oddly, MDT/MST are the least frequently seen, and I don’t think it’s just because the Mountain time zone is the least populous of the four mainland ones.]

  44. … READY v. I.4b. ‘1893– transitive. Australian, New Zealand, and Irish English. With up. To prepare in an improper or dishonest manner; to manipulate, pervert; to fix, falsify. Cf. ready-up n.
    2004 Detailed evidence from James Gogarty exposed how the normal planning process had been ‘readied up’ with a false sequence of events.
    Irish Independent (Nexis) 22 January

  45. Enjoyable enough. A few words new to me. I feel like 4d links the wrong way between definition and fodder, but I suppose definition can provide fodder, as well as fodder can provide definition.

  47. [FrankieG @46
    The popes banned performance (and publication) of that anywhere other than the Sistine Chapel. Legend has it that a young Mozart heard a performance and later wrote it down note for note. However recent scholarship has revealed the original Sistine version, and it is significantly different from this one that we all know. Perhaps Mozart wasn’t infallible!]

  48. Thought the same as MikeB @33 regarding the challenging composer.
    Also never heard of READY UP. Anything to do with “readies” as slang for cash ?

  51. I had a Latin failure, with MISERERI (with quite obviously incorrect Erin somehow truncated – I blame the very nice beer this afternoon) spoiling my otherwise correct grid.

    Despite being English I hadn’t previously registered MOORCROFT, though the wordplay was evident. On subsequent Googling, clearly both not to my taste and also well beyond my price range.

    Pleased to say that this crossword was not out of my range though. My background in the betting industry helped with OPEN BOOK and RACE TRACK (though the latter is not UK usage, TOTE is). I found ‘somewhat implausible’ for TALLISH a bit of a stretch, but I grinned, so it was worth the entry fee.

    Thanks to Anto and manehi.

  52. Another Brit here who had never heard of MOORCROFT (or READY UP for that matter) hence the NW corner held out for a while, with MOORCROFT being the LOI. Thanks to Manehi for the parsing of ROMAN CATHOLIC, was baffled by that until I came on here!

  54. Nho SME in 10a nor Ready Up, but did get both from the crossers. Aside from those two found this quite straightforward and particularly enjoyable as there seemed to be a racing theme for much of the puzzle.

  55. Thanks Muffin@24. If the setters are watching this might come up in a crossword puzzle one day. Thanks also Anto and Manehi.

  57. FrankieG @43. It’s so rare in Australia that most of the Australians here have never heard of the term.

  58. TimC @ 29 and Pauline @28

    It’s probably worth noting that most of the musicians in that clip are no longer with the band. The trumpeter, bass player, drummer and percussionist have all left. On the upside, they have added the superb world musician Grace Barbé to the line-up, on bass.

  59. I enjoyed this very much. A couple of words unknown to me, but clued fairly and gettable, with a check to confirm they were correct after putting them in.

  60. Late to the party gregfromoz@57. I thought I had a pretty strong grasp of Aussie slang but I’ve never heard of READY-UP.

  61. I sang in the Allegri Miserere in St Mary de Castro in Leicester a few months ago – just the right sort of ambience.
    The Mozart link was most likely invented by Wolfgang’s Dad Leopold, who was keen to burnish his son’s reputation so more people would pay to come to his concerts. It was being performed in London before he was born!
    Here’s a link to a useful music history video on the subject of the different versions
    https://youtu.be/h6hD8YtO5HI?si=8b3HwlgOWafz7nEz

  62. Thank you FrankieG @ 43 44! Was intrigued by the “swindle” definition of ready up, having never come across it, so have been hunting for examples! To no avail! Wherever did you find them?

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