Guardian Genius 263

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This crossword can be found at https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2025/04/24/Genius_crossword_No_263.pdf

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I’ve enjoyed Tramp’s cryptics in the past;  as far as I can remember, he’s not set a Genius before, but this too was an enjoyable solve.

The instructions told us:

Letters latent: From each answer one letter must be omitted whenever it occurs before entry. Definitions refer
to unmutilated answers (lengths indicated in brackets); wordplay to mutilated entries. The missing letters spell
four connected items from a work; one answer (undefined) is its title. Six other clues contain an extraneous word;
their initials spell its author.

The extra words are:

12a  Puzzle

19a  Ancient

25a  Reporter

5d    Knows

6d   Exasperating

17d  Romance

… giving us Parker.

Although I’m familiar with much of Dorothy Parker’s verse – and have had a Canadian Club or two in the Algonquin – I couldn’t have solved this without the internet.  The “work” is Inventory (undefined solution to 11 across), a comic poem by Ms Parker, and the “four connected items” are Love, curiosity, freckles and doubt – as the poem in its second verse says:  four be the things I’d be better without.  These “items” are spelt out – in order of clues – in the letters dropped when the solution is fitted into the grid, the actual entry being defined by the wordplay.  I was distracted for a moment, because the phrase is the title of an autobiography by Pat Phoenix, whom I worked with briefly at Granada TV.

The dropped letters are highlighted in red in the decryption and definitions are underlined.

Across
7  Worried about a vehicle having parts ordered separately? (1,2,5)

A LA CARTE

AACARTE

ATE  (worried) around (about) A CART (a vehicle)

8 Papers without a shot: space for written work (5-4)

PROSE POEM

PRSEPEM

Anagram (shot) of PPERS (papers without A) + EM (space in typography)

10 Sex in the morning at home – it’s essential for the body (7)

VITAMIN

ITAMIN

IT (sex) + AM (in the morning) + IN (at home)

11 Against entering pub with politician (9)

INVENTORY

INVNTORY

V (against) inside (entering) INN (pub) + TORY (politician) … no definition, as indicated in the rubric.

12 Puzzle theme from finest wit, essentially (5)

TOPIC

TOPI

TOP (finest) + I ( middle of wit – essentially)

13 Constrict flow of air? Unusual to restrict muscle in back (11)

STRANGULATE

STRANGLATE

STRANGE (unusual) around (to restrict) LAT (muscle in the back)

14 Study of people out of work in collection of poetry (12)

ANTHROPOLOGY

ANTHOPOLOGY

OP (work) in ANTHOLOGY (collection of poetry)

19 Push again to understand ancient poetry over time (11)

READVERTISE

READVERTSE

READ (understand) + VERSE (poetry) covering (over) T (time)

22 Rowed with a Liverpool fan (5)

OARED

ARED

A RED – a fan of Liverpool FC (who play in red).

23 Part of foot is mature: Achilles’ tendon initially ruptured (10)

METATARSUS

METATARU

Anagram (ruptured) of MATURE + first letters (initially) of Achilles and tendon.  (I only know about this because Wayne Rooney’s was broken just before the 2006 World Cup … )

24 He’s no longer working on plane, perhaps (7)

RETIREE

RETREE

RE (on) + TREE (plane, perhaps)

25 Admired reporter went back (8)

REVERTED

REVERED

Revered = admired.  (I had “reversed” at first but it doesn’t fit with the T of “curiosity”)

26 Craving making money (8)

YEARNING

EARNING

EARNING = making money

Dow
1 Part of Romeo fighting (8)

FRACTION

RACTION

R (Romeo in NATO aplhabet) + ACTION (fighting)

2 One studies language of Greek letter by Scotsman (10)

GRAMMARIAN

GAMMAIAN

GAMMA (Greek letter) + IAN (traditional crossword solution for Scotsman)

3 Bad condition of empty trawl-net with hole in bottom (7)

TETANUS

TTANUS

TT (trawl-net with no content) + ANUS (hole in bottom)

4 Plane without wings upside down at end of show from French region (9)

PROVENCAL

PROVENAL

LAN (plane without its outside letters – wings) reversed (upside down) under (at end of) PROVE (show)

5 Friend drinking English pints knows it might get you ready for action (3,4)

PEP TALK

PEP TAL

PAL (friend) outside (drinking) E (English) PT (pints)

6 Speed of phone network exasperating right through city (8)

CELERITY

CEERITY

EE (phone network) + R (right) inside (through) CITY

9 Empty dishwasher: lift cups out acknowledging son is inconsiderate (13)

DISRESPECTFUL

DISRSPCTFUL

Anagram (out) of DR (dishwasher with no content) + LIFT CUPS

15 Last worker with garden tool; rake broken by male (9)

SHOEMAKER

HOEMAKER

HOE (garden tool) + (with) RAKE outside (broken by) M (male).  Definition:  someone who works with a last.

16 Former PM in government: person at the back? (9)

GLADSTONE

GLASTONE

G (government) + LAST ONE (person at the back)

17 Romance writer looked surprised (4-4)

OPEN-EYED

PEN-EYED

PEN (writer) + EYED (looked)

18 Looking to take in golf: playing together without a break (8)

SEGUEING

SEGEING

SEEING (looking) around (to take in) G (golf in NATO alphabet)

20 One argues in department with consumer (7)

DEBATER

DEATER

D (department) + EATER (consumer)

21 Talk after attention – viewers irritated by this? (4,3)

TEAR GAS

EAR GAS

GAS (talk) after EAR (attention).  Definition:  tear gas irritates the eyes (viewers)

 

13 comments on “Guardian Genius 263”

  1. Thanks prospero and Tramp.

    Enjoyed this. Nho, of the author or the work.

    After a couple of hours I had these 18 letters:
    across : L _ V _ C _ R I O _ I T Y down: F R_ _ K_ E S D O _ B T
    For author’s name: I had P A R K E R.

    ‘Romeo’/Faction/Fraction, F; Pep Talk, K, ‘knows’; Celerity/Alacrity options took time to resolve; also the two-letter omissions.

    I Googled : LOVE CURIOSITY and DOUBT – the words I guessed from the omitted letters; it led to Dorothy Parker poem called Inventory!

    Once I got all the 4 words, solving the remainder clues was made easier, to some extent.

    Personally, I am not happy entering non-words into the grid.

    Always glad to finish one more Genius.

  2. Oh boy. I’ve been waiting for this day to come so I could finally get the answer to 6D. Had everything else out a while back but twisted my brain in knots trying to get that last one. The crossers of R and T had me convinced it had to end in rate. Kept trying to think of the name of a city, possibly ending in gate. I never thought to look up synonyms of speed as I was convinced the definition was speed of phone network. I was unaware EE was a phone network, so that didn’t help either. Thanks Prospero and Tramp. A good workout.

  3. @Moaljodad in Gdn site, soon after publication: “”In other news: Tramp’s 7th Genius and his first since 2014!”

  4. Viv from Oz@3
    6d and 8a were my last two in. For Alacrity, A(L)ACRITY, found A&A as a phone network; Had to change it to Celerity to fit PRSEPEM

  5. Came together very nicely for me, with the title of the work yielding quite early on.
    Works containing lists of items are useful thematic devices… I recall not so long ago we had the Jumblies with their collection of things.

    Thanks to Tramp and Prospero

  6. This is only the 2nd genius I have completed. I really must make sure I parse everything and refer back to the special instructions often, having found inventory early on but moved on because I couldn’t see the definition. Then felt really stupid when the penny finally dropped. I probably wouldn’t have tried to find the work referenced until I ground to a halt, but I’ll never know how much faster I might have finished.
    An entertaining challenge.

  7. Thanks to Tramp for what I found to be an excellent puzzle. It took ages for it to dawn on me that the missing letters- both sets – were actually in order so might have helped sooner if I’d spotted that. I guess I should not have been surprised because this often seems to be how complicated-sounding instructions are compensated for with Genius puzzles. CELERITY was a new word for me: like Viv@2 I had never heard of the word and was sure it had to end in RATE.

    The only part missing for me is that the theme and words were not in my own GK so solving that part was ultimately down to the immediate solution offered by the internet which I resisted until the very last. I quite liked the little poem. Nice little tribute from Pat Phoenix I guess.

    Thanks to you prosperous for the blog.

    [Does anyone know if the Grauniad actually publishes the prize winners? When I finish a Genius I always like to submit for the prize but have never seen any winners- and have complained in the past that I don’t even get a confirmation screen that my submission was successful if I submit from my phone, just a blank page reset 😡 ]

  9. Ed – I haven’t ever seen the winner published … all I know is I’ve completed all 263 – I believe correctly – and never won!

  10. That’s an impressive record, prospero, that’s over 21 years’ worth of puzzles and even more impressive that you’ve completed them all! Well done, and thanks again for the blog.

  11. If you scroll down on the main Crossword page, the winners are published online, at least for the recent puzzles. I won a Genius prize a few years ago. Exciting stuff.

  13. I enjoyed this one, it took me some time but in the end it all made sense and I was confident I’d completed it correctly. Very well constructed, thanks Tramp.

    I had heard of Dorothy Parker but didn’t know the particular poem. Glad to have confirmation here that I got them all right. I think everyone who completes a Genius should get £100 😀 😀

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