Guardian 29,726 by Brummie

55 comments on “Guardian 29,726 by Brummie”

1. Thanks Brummie and manehi
   LOI WELCOME – I needed all the crossers, as I’ve only ever heard “parade”.
   I was surprised to find YODLERS as an alternative spelling in Chambers. I wouldn’t spell it like that, nor as the first page of hits in Google did (yodelers)!
   Favourite DEHYDRATED. I also liked ZERO.

2. Very enjoyable challenge.

   The TICKER-TAPE part fell early but WELCOME took ages.

   Had to look up the spelling of YODLERS, was convinced the was an extra E involved.

   Many thanks, both.

3. So sorry, muffin, your quicker than me.

4. I’m not sure about “behind” in 12 across. C is in front of hic. Thanks to setter and blogger.

5. This was an enjoyable challenge, neither too easy not too tough.

   I could not parse 12ac.

   New for me: CLARIONET, AUTOCADE; HYDRA = a minute freshwater coelenterate (I only knew about the mythical creature, not the real one) and the variant spelling of YODLERS.

   Favourite: LITTLE.

6. My only query was for CHIC with “clubs behind” and couldn’t work out why C (clubs) was in front of HIC and not behind it.

   Ditto SueB @4

7. Liked STRANGLEHOLD, EASY ON THE EYE, DIGITS, FRENCH, PEEPSHOW and LITTLE.

   CHIC
   ‘Clubs’ ahead of ‘expulsion of drunkard’, as I understand.

   Thanks Brummie and manehi.

8. Trying to make ‘hardly’ and LITTLE equivalent. in 19d The wordplay in the clue is clear enough to construct the answer, and the surface reading is amusing, so I suppose some licence can be allowed. Needed the crossers for the final word in TICKER-TAPE WELCOME. Got the first part from the cryptic def, but I’ve only ever heard of the parade as a parade. Liked COROLLA, CLARIONET and CHAMPAGNE (though perhaps that homophone has appeared previously). Thanks to Brummie and to manehi for the clear blog.

9. I too couldn’t see the WELCOME for ages. It’s always a ‘t-t parade’ in my experience. Unsure about PEEPS in 16d though it had to be that. Chambers has it as ‘informal’, not ‘silly’.

10. To paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, this was a two cup puzzle. Don’t like them too easy and this was just right, some nice clues, especially STRANGLEHOLD. Never heard of a CLARIONET before. Clue for 12ac was misleading I thought, sounds like the C should be after HIC.

11. I think the clue for CHIC is “ghost-punctuated” …clubs; behind, expulsion of drunkard

12. I don’t have a problem with CHIC. If you’re reading from left to right, HIC is behind the (first) C for clubs, if clubs is leading. A bit different to the usual cluing for the positioning

13. SueB @4: know what you mean, I’ve often wondered about this. I suppose one might think about the word going forward. In which case, C is behind HIC.

14. CHIC, as KVa said @7.

15. Great puzzle. Although not as tough as Brummie, or Fridays can be, still took enough time to make it feel satisfying. Weirdly the second second part of 11,27 took the longest for me which was a bit annoying.

    I liked 18a although it doesn’t have any real fireworks, just a nicely put together clue.

16. After yesterday’s profoundly unwelcome reminder of Keith Harris and his ghastly CUDDLES the monkey, it was refreshing to be taken back via PEEPS to Harry Enfield’s character, Stavros the kebab seller, as featured in Friday Night Live back in the late 80’s along with Loadsamoney.

17. Just the one tick today for DEFICIT
    I wondered if there was more to TT WELCOME, PEEPSHOW & PROPORTION but apparently not

    I did wonder why a drunk would be expelling CHI (chinese life force)

    Cheers M&B

18. The -portion portion of PROPORTION at 22ac meant that I was held up at the very end in the SE corner, with YODLERS, LITTLE and DEHYDRATED, surprisingly, last to yield. Needed Manehi to see how LITTLE was parsed. Lots to like this morning, though…

19. Tomsdad @8: I suggest “little used” = “hardly used” = not used very often.

20. Another to falter over WELCOME until the crossers. Enjoyable puzzle with FRENCH,COROLLA, STRANGLEHOLD, EASY ON THE EYE and HYSTERICS being my favourites. Not doing the Irish Tourist Board any favours though!

    Ta Brummie & manehi.

21. I think the heat has frazzled my brain – I just don’t get the parsing of CHIC. I can’t understand any of the suggested explanations, I’m afraid.

    I did quite like COROLLA, STRANGLEHOLD, EASY ON THE EYE, TOTEM CONGESTION, PESKY and ZERO.
    I’m with Quirister @19 re hardly / little.

    Thanks to Brummie and manehi.

22. Thanks to Brummie and manehi
    Its good to be tested, but its also good to enjoy the process. Brummie scores on both accounts.
    Favourites: COROLLA; TICKER TAPE WELCOME; PROPORTION; ZERO; TOTEM.

23. I’m glad it’s not just me Eileen @21. I note that Chambers Crossword Dictionary has ‘behind’ as a tail indicator. Behind is at the back of. The back of ‘word’ is ‘d’.

24. I too struggled with the parsing of chic, but I think muffin @11 has it. You put C (for clubs) then behind that you put hic (expulsion of drunkard) to get chic. What I am more dubious about is 22a. I get portion = lot or allocation and lot or allocation = destiny, but does it follow that portion = destiny? Chair = furniture & furniture = table, so does that imply chair = table?
    Peeps reminded me of a character played by Harry Enfield back in the eighties when you could make fun of other people’s accents – “Hello Peeps!”
    Thanks to Brummie and manehi.

25. Absolutely loved this. I’m with Shropshirelass@22 – I always want to be tested but I do like to enjoy myself as well. Brummie excels at getting the balance absolutely right. Don’t have the problem with CHIC that others do – just needs a literal reading, pausing after each element. Lots of favourites with STRANGEHOLD as a contender for clue of the day. Thanks also to manhi for the usual excellent blog.

26. monkeypuzzler @24 – in older literature, you read of the character’s lot or portion in life, this is their lot, the portion of the world they deserve.

    Thank you to manehi and Brummie for the blog and puzzle.

27. Portion is destiny in Chambers and, after the event, I have a vague memory of something Shakespearean. I am another who didn’t parse CHIC and generally struggled with this.

28. Even with manehi’s explanation I still don’t get the parsing of 22A. No matter what step one puts in the middle, I don’t see how “destiny” can mean “portion” or vice versa. I’m not even much convinced by destiny meaning “lot, allocation”. One’s lot or allocation might well be determined in the moment or by circumstance, not predetermined by fate.

    Apart from that, it was an enjoyable puzzle that was just hard enough for my abilities.

29. I found this the easiest of the week. A rare Friday finish for me.
    Thanks for the parsing of CHIC.
    Thanks both.

30. I shrugged at T-T WELCOME, thinking, well I’ve only heard PARADE, but maybe others have a different expression. I just now did a search for T-TW and all the hits were for T-TP, so those others are hiding. Just sayin’!

31. The SOED includes for PORTION: “That which is allotted a person by providence; lot, destiny, fate”. It probably is rather archaic.

    I’m a bit surprised nobody’s questioned the definition for CHAMPAGNE — “drunk at a celebration?” As manehi suggests, this really needs to be something like “this is drunk at a celebration”. It’s rather like when we get Rome (say) defined as “in Italy”, and people object that it should be “place in Italy” or similar. Does the question mark maybe cover it?

    Thanks Brummie and manehi.

32. Thanks both and a fine entertainment. AUTOCADE got my first prize because of the pleasure from dredging it up out of the slob-lands of memory. Combine with T-T-W and there is the faint whiff of a theme.

    ‘Due meed and portion’ rings a vague bell but in my mind it has a liturgical resonance rather than a Shakespearean one (Petert@27).

    Hopefully if AFTERLIFE includes a ‘fire’ it will be one that has been ‘left neglected’.

33. Lord Jim@31
    CHAMPAGNE
    I agree with you.
    The question mark doesn’t seem to compensate for the missing ‘what is’.

34. Can someone explain how ‘defence’ defines ‘espousal’? Am I missing a link or an alternative meaning?

35. I always do the Quick before the Cryptic, so 20dn came easily today 🙂

    Rare for me to complete either a Brummie or a Friday crossword, so I’m feeling particularly pleased with myself today

36. After the heads-up here, I had a look at the Quick online. I’m amazed by the number of comments – far more than on the cryptic. I’m surprised that so many people do it, let alone feel moved to comment on it!

37. Thanks for the blog , good set of neat and clever clues but the week as a whole has been like a Dirac delta function and I am fed up .
    HAJ@34 , you can defend/espouse a cause .
    I know lots of people who do the Quick , most days I swap the back page of G2 for the FT crossword .

38. Gosh, what a lot of quibble. CHIC needed the crossers to confirm my reading: ‘clubs’ =C [pause] ‘behind’ [comes] HIC. Yes, it’s unusual but surely not unprecedented.

    Similarly, ‘drunk at a celebration?’ surely implies a possible ‘that which is…’?

    11/27 TTW reminds me of a Philip K Dick story called A Little Something For Us Tempunauts which is worth seeking out for those into time travel paradox, but beware, it will keep you awake at night.

    Thanks to Brummie and manehi.

39. This took a long time and two sessions separated by a 19d nap – I’m blaming the heat – but was worth it. CLARIONET I knew from Dickens – Uncle Frederick plays one in Little Dorrit – and the use of PORTION as destiny seems similarly Victorian. Thanks Brummie and manehi.

40. For 21a my brain went to poop (deck) as a not stern part of a boat )I had the first P), and so spent some time trying to think of a Paulesque meaning of line before the teatray descended from several stories.
    Add me to the list of people who needed the crossers for welcome.

41. sh @38: to be clear, personally I’m fairly relaxed about these things (5d). It’s just that over the years I’ve become very accustomed to what is likely to give rise to objections on 15², and when I’m solving I’ll often think “Gosh, there’ll be some moans about this”. The most common I think is the homophone that only works in a non-rhotic accent (I’ve no objection to that at all). Another is “First politician” to indicate P for example. (Before I discovered this site I always just used to accept that, but I can understand why some people don’t like it.)

    So when I saw “drunk at a celebration?” to define CHAMPAGNE I immediately thought I would see objections, and was a bit surprised when there weren’t any. But it all just comes down to what you think is fair. If I remember correctly, Araucaria used to use things like “in Italy” to indicate “Rome”, so Brummie is in good company 🙂 .

42. Sorry but to espouse a cause is to embrace it, not to defend it.

43. Ray@42
    Collins online gives Defence as a synonym of Espousal – so seems good to me.

44. I am sure that this is a pettyfogging quibble, but is HIC an expulsion? Surely it’s an intake of breath.

45. Jim@41. In the same way that you’re not overly bothered about the missing “this is” in “drunk at a celebration?” (see #31) I’m not all that enamoured of it, despite seeming to have espoused it (see #38).

    Funny old world.

46. No quibbles for me. I didn’t need all the crossers for WELCOME, but it took a while. The only ticker tape parades I could bring to mind were for Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins; and, of course, Hong Kong Phooey. The former eventually made me think of welcome (home). Thanks all.

47. Hong Kong Phooey a more believable , gritty neo-realist version of Ludwig . ( without the nepo-babies )

48. No problem with CHIC but what kind of fairground has a PEEPSHOW?

49. Digger @48
    Quite an old one!

50. The closest I got so solving any clue was 23d…I had PUSHY.

    Thanks for the blog.

51. Hardly had a little trouble with this.
    Nice puzzle.

52. Samuel Beckett has a joke somewhere:
    Why did the barmaid champagne? Because the stout porter bitter.

53. Andy @52
    I like it!

54. I’m another who wondered about “behind” in 12ac, but muffin @11 has convinced me.

    Perhaps like Digger @48, 16dn (PEEPSHOW) makes me think I’ve been going to the wrong fairgrounds!

    I’ve never heard of a TICKER-TAPE WELCOME (it’s always a “parade” in my experience), or an AUTOCADE (which I would call a “motorcade”), or this spelling of YODLERS, but the dictionaries back them all up, so I’m not complaining.

    It’s mildly interesting that 3dn would work just as well without “on the inside”. I wonder why Brummime chose to include it.

55. All completed and parsed. Delightful puzzle with some amusing surfaces. 2d FRENCH and 5d CHAMPAGNE perhaps my favourites

    12a CHIC, clever idea, but like Andrew Sceats @44 I’m not sure that HIC is actually an expulsion. The order is okay though. If you visualize C and HIC in a race, C is behind

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