Guardian 29,668 by Brummie

55 comments on “Guardian 29,668 by Brummie”

1. I definitely found this on the tough side for a Monday. Missed the theme altogether. Thanks for some missing parsing, manehi, and to Brummie for the crossie.

2. For once, I spotted the theme, but after I’d finished the puzzle, so it didn’t help in the solving . Agree with manehi that this was trickier than expected for a Monday. The ANC is a very useful political party for crossword setters, isn’t it? Took me a while to see the parsing of BARMY. Lots of good clues, but specially liked PHANTOM, FLAY and NORTH STAR. Thanks to Brummie and manehi.

3. Thanks Brummie and Manehi
   No theme, of course. Worth it for the “surreal painter” in 30a.

4. Harder work than usual for a Monday, and defeated me in several places: I had SUNDAE/Y the wrong way round and failed to spot Tom Daley or taps=bugs or bar/my.

   Some ingenious definitions. Favourites APPERTAIN, FINANCIAL, UNTRUE, TRAJECTORY, WHOA.

5. Did not know the definition of SPORT as a plant variant – though the answer was obvious. Wasted time putting a homophone of “pea” into “sort” but knew that wouldn’t fly. Spotted the theme quite early on and that helped. Did not find this crossie as difficult as others (on the Guardian forum) seemed to but thoroughly enjoyed a workout courtesy of a master. Thanks all round.

6. Good fun!
   Totally missed the parsing of BARMY; which is now my favourite clue today.
   Thanks Brummie and manehi.

7. Thanks manehi for the parsing of BARMY. My LOI… I was too exhausted to look further than wondering if it might be an unannounced homophone of BALMY.

8. There’s also the TIMES OF (OFtTIMES) INDIA.

9. Liked AITCH, BARMY, SPAT and HATE MAIL.
   NEUTRINO
   The surface sounds whimsical. Or am I misreading it?

   Thanks Brummie and manehi.

10. [Tomsdad @2: Does anyone else remember many delivery trucks with the ANC logo on them, common in the 1980s just as the ANC party was being labelled terrorists? I always thought their motto should’ve been “Free Nelson Mandela with every delivery”…]

    Not the workout my Monday brain was expecting and I was another who blithely sailed through with no notion of a theme. Sigh…one day I’ll learn it’s not just Qaos who has themes. Maybe. After lots of Paddington hard stares apparently meaningless clues slowly clicked into place so many thanks Brummie for the wakey-wakey call and manehi for clearing it all up. Time for a coffee I think!

11. Well the theme was pretty glaring but as usual i didnt even think to check. As per manehi’s solving, appertain does need its own preposition, ‘to’, to substitute for ‘bear on’. The merest quibbletino. Nice to have Brummie’s chewy-ish Monday puzzle, ta to both.

12. A little chewy in places but lots of fun – agree with gladys about the ingenious definitions, that’s possibly what added to the difficulty level. Completely oblivious to the theme but so obvious now it’s been pointed out!

13. I assumed Liam Gallagher for the upside-down mail, thinking ‘Brit band’ indicated a Britpop band, which Oasis definitely were and One Direction weren’t; I also think he’s the more famous Liam, but that’s probably just my age (I had a teenage son in the 1990s).

14. Very tough puzzle. I failed to solve 26ac (never heard of sport = plant variant) and could not parse the answer when I revealed it online.

    I totally failed to see the theme!

    Favourite: BARMY.

    New for me: English diver Tom Daley (for 16d).

    I thought that 22ac was an overly wordy clue.

15. A perfect Monday puzzle

    Many thanks

16. I wonder if puzzle 29,667 was meant for today? It might be one reason this was tough for a Monday. Satisfying solve, though I revealed WHOA.

17. Tom Daley did not jump out at me, but I had all the crossers and just assumed. I too found it quite difficult, in fact, I’ve struggled a bit all weekend.
    Some lovely clues here, I liked SPORT, WHOA and HATE MAIL, when I eventually got them.
    Are Prom and Concert synonyms? I’ve never been to one, but I thought they were dances.
    Thanks both.

18. Grant@11
    ‘The merest quibbletino’ (I liked that coinage), you have raised seems pertinent.

19. nicbach@17: Originally a “promenade concert” was one where the audience could stroll around while music played e.g. in pleasure gardens. However mostly now the link for Londoners (and others?) is the “proms” the series of concerts mostly at the Albert Hall each summer, so named because of the standing room in the centre which made for cheap “seats”. I would say “prom” as a dance (such as an end of high school event) has a much more US feel to it, and “prom” as concert is more UK.

20. Prom is definitely a concert in the UK (I used to go to them, but still managed to miss that bit of PROMPT), but the US “school dance” meaning is gaining ground now that some UK schools have adopted the American social event (never a thing in my school days, thank goodness!)

21. A few unparsed, and as usual missed the theme.

    Thanks Brummie and Manehi

22. Hard but fair with some ingenious clues. Solid plodding got me through. Thanks Brummie and manehi

23. I needed a second shot of caffeine to wake up my brain after a week largely devoid of crosswords. At least, that’s my excuse for finding this a bit tough at the beginning. And, of course, no theme noticed.

    I failed to parse BARMY, thinking it was the alternative spelling of balmy, which could just about be ‘well’. I liked the wordplay and definition of FINANCIAL, the lift-and-separate surreal painter, the good anagram and surface for ANABAPTIST, and the HATE MAIL, where I took the jumped-up Brit band member to be LIAM Gallagher.

    Thanks Brummie and manehi.

24. Have heard of “readies” meaning money or cash, but never its singular form used in this way.
    Defeated by the NE corner, as just couldn’t see why BARMY deserved its place in the grid, but plaudits for that one having read the blog. Didn’t know that version of SPORT, either. Have had a sneaky go at The TIMES Cryptic today and have to say I found it a lot more straightforward than our very own Brummie’s offering this morning…

25. I’m a fan of Brummie’s puzzles and this was a great start to the week. Very much in the Goldilocks zone for me, though I failed to spot the theme: which now seems so obvious. The reference to Miro took my mind back to my beloved Barcelona; though, sadly, it is becoming increasingly expensive to stay there, and with the proposed ban on sort lettings (from 2029??) will become even more so. With thanks to both.

26. Thanks for the blog and the grid , seems so obvious now it is too late .
    Really good puzzle , quality clues throughout but I do like the Monday tradition and this could have been later in the week , FINANCIAL my favourite , very neat .
    I spend half my life thinking about NEUTRINOs , they are the key to everything but elusive little b……. . The Borrowers of the Particle Physics world .
    KVa@9 the surface is completely wrong but a fine clue of straight definition plus wordplay .

27. I was on the lookout for theme in this grid as setters have previously used the 3-letter clue in the centre as a kind of key. One or two more solves revealed the gist, after which I confess to cheating a bit by seeking out slots for familiar titles (22 ac, 7d). Otherwise quite a toughie for the start of the week.

28. Yes, quite chewy in parts for a Monday but ultimately satisfying. Not sure “Brit band member” to clue ‘LIAM’ is wholly fair, mind you. Liked UNTRUE – as I live in Nice I always look at that particular word with suspicion when it’s at the start of a sentence, and I was right today 😁 Also liked AITCH, BARMY and STANDARD ROSE. The theme whistled above my head, I’m embarrassed to say…

    Many thanks both.

29. This took ages in places. Tragically, I thought of Arthur Daley (a ducker and diver) before Tom. Oh well, it did the trick.

30. Got most of it last night. Filled in the rest this morning, with the help of the check button.

    Never heard of Tom Daley or either Liam. Tried really hard to fit MP in what turned out to be TRAJECTORY when I finally thought of that other politician.

    Thanks to Brummie and manehi.

31. A little tough but most enjoyable solve for me. Laughed out loud when 9 finally clicked and am still laughing at the “bear on a piano” surrealist painting.
    Thanks Brummie. and manehi.
    I’m one who’s willing to give setters a fair amount of latitude when fitting solutions to clues.

32. SPORT for a new plant variety means what we would now call “mutation”.

33. Thanks Brummie for the challenge. I revealed APPERTAIN and missed the very clever BARMY but mostly I found this to be quite enjoyable. I particularly liked AITCH, INDIA, ANABAPTIST, FLAY, and POISE. I didn’t think to look for a theme. Thanks manehi for the blog.

34. I always find Brummie tough but satisfying, so I thought that a Monday Brummie would be easier than his usual. Not so, with lots of unparsed solutions.

    Like RobT@28, I thought Brit band member was unfair as a clue for LIAM at 28,1. Fortunately crossers plus definition were sufficient to get the solution.

    Several clues made my short list. 9a AITCH produced a chuckle, and 31a TIMES was a nice combination of surface and wordplay. I’ve seen 20a IAMBI before but I still like it. But my favourite was 6d ANABAPTIST, for the superb surface.

    Thanks, Brummie for the super fun, and manehi for the excellent and much-needed blog.

35. Tough start to the week. Question: what is the indicator that SUNDAY is the correct answer as opposed to SUNDAE? I always struggle with the “direction” of homophones!

36. I agree with others – no picnic! Got there in the end, missed the theme (perhaps if GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH and/or INDEPENDENT had been in there I’d have twigged – but that’s asking too much, I know how tough it is to fit themers in a 15×15 grid).

    Wasn’t sure if OFTTIMES needs a hyphen, but Chambers says it’s OK albeit ‘poetic’. A bit on the tricky side, that one: don’t see how a ‘poetic’ hint could be fitted in the clue.

    And I took ages to figure out what could fit I-M-I (my LOI) even with the strong poetical reference.

    Definite ‘likes’ for FINANCIAL (good misdirection!); LANCASTER (ditto); BARMY; TIMES; ANABAPTIST (loved the surface!); FLAY; HATE MAIL. But once again just a random selection.

    Thanks to Brummie and manehi.

37. MT@35: the rule is that the definition (except in very rare cases) is always at either the beginning or end of the clue, not in the middle. In this case ‘dessert’ comes in the middle so it’s not the definition.

38. …unless it’s a two word definition, of course, like “about ready”. “Said dessert” might be a definition, except that in this case, it isn’t. I often get homophones the wrong way round, and I did today. If you look at the clue carefully (I didn’t), the grammar should tell you which answer is right: the said dessert (is) a week’s portion.

39. Laccaria @36 – The Independent is now online only, but its smaller offspring The ‘i’ is prominent at the beginning and the end of IAMBI, pronounced as the clue requires. I really have seen enough of IAMBI recently and feel it might decently be retired..

40. The i tries to keep quiet about this but for over five years now it has been owned by the Daily Heil .

41. Knowing the theme would have helped with my last one in, SUNDAY. (Having the pun indicator at the start makes the correct answer clear, as Gladys@38 said.) Instead, I struggled for a dessert and only belatedly realised what ‘a week’s portion’ meant. Doh!

    I have a ‘quibbletino’ (thanks Grant@11!) but it appertains to the use of ‘ready’ in 10a. Yes, ready money is an expression meaning cash, and we say things like “have you got the readies“, but just ready for money seems a bit of a stretch. Which I’m happy to forgive, let me hasten to add. 🙂

    Thanks to Brummie and Manehi.

42. Tough but enjoyable. Thanks Brummie.

43. Late solve after golfing all day. Fun theme, (although rarer these days for Brummie puzzles), which jumped out early after MIRROR and SUN, the Brit’s gleaming example of journalism! The NORTH STAR was a 19th Century newspaper, which links in nicely with the ANC reference.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_North_Star_(anti-slavery_newspaper)

    Ta Brummie & manehi.

44. I solved SUN.

    Is Monday not supposed to be a bit kinder than this?

    I got nowhere near any of the other clues.

45. I thought APPERTAIN was brilliant. The image of ”Bear on a Piano” is certainly quite surreal. And the grammar is exquisite.

    Laughed out loud at the clue for TIMES. My first reading was Elon Musk (X)’s house arrest finally overturned (by Trump).

46. For the second time in recent days, Mr T and I had to put our heads together to finish the crossword.
    For the second time in recent days we actually spotted the theme (but only after completing the puzzle).
    A very satisfying crossword, thanks both.

47. Thank goodness for themes, don’t think I could have finished this without spotting it. Had same quibbletino re READY vs READIES, but loved the crossword, bravo Brummie and thankyou manehi

48. Excellent puzzle

49. Agree it was tough for a Monday but enjoyable nonetheless and no quibbles worth mentioning. Thanks to Brummie and Manehi.

50. Belated follow up on the READY vs READIES discussion: it’s one where dictionaries disagree slightly:

    – Chambers has it as singular READY meaning “ready money” but with the note “slang; also in plural”
    – Collins has it as singular but with a definite article: THE READY: “informal short for ready money” – and I do believe I’ve heard this usage

    So perhaps the question of whether it needs the ‘THE’ or not is more pertinent than the question of singular vs plural?

    Either way, it’s temptingly useful for crossword setters, so I committed it to memory some time ago [along with a number of other things that only really get used in crosswordland…!]

51. Steffen 44 – I also managed ‘hate mail ‘ but not sure why. The rest was incomprehensible – not just for a Monday! There goes another week.

52. Pleased to have completed this and understood the parsing (except HATE MAIL, all parts of which baffled me). Missed the theme, as always. Thanks to setter and blogger.

53. This felt impossible. Solved about a fifth of it in over an hour before tapping out.

54. Grandma said, “If you can’t say something nice, say nothing!” I’m saying nothing but missed my Monday treat .

55. Didn’t finish the left side. Not sure that awareness of the theme would have helped. Glad to see others found it tough. Difficulty seems to be random these days

    BARMY was great and raised a smile

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