Guardian Prize crossword No 29,751 by Brockwell

55 comments on “Guardian Prize crossword No 29,751 by Brockwell”

1. Nice puzzle and blog. There are also leaf warblers and grass warblers.

2. GRASSHOPPER, MELODIOUS and DUSKY are also warbler species and at least two naturalists have LEAF warblers named after them.

3. For 24a, the motorcycle (“Bike”) that Dennis Hopper rode in the movie Easy Rider can also be referred to as a chopper. A clever clue.

4. In “Bike refusing to start for Dennis perhaps” (24A), the solution is I think, a reference to the Harley-Davidson (AKA chopper) Dennis Hopper rode easily on alongside Peter Fonda. Great warbling, Brockwell, deftly accompanied by bridgesong.

5. For 7D I had OPERA BUFF for a while, until realising it couldn’t work. Last one in was STRAD, which proved tricky to realise, but simple and pleasing once worked out. Thanks B&B.

6. Nice puzzle, just the right level of difficulty.

   The first “6d” had me thinking of sixpence, but then I saw all the others.

7. I noted SYLVIA, BLACKCAP, SEDGE, TIT, WOOD, LEAF, MELODIOUS, GRASS-HOPPER and DARTFORD as being warblers of the feathered variety.
   Fun puzzle, thanks to Brockwell and Bridgesong.

8. Sledge (not Bob, Percy the Warm and Tender) another warbler.

9. Could actually be MEL (B) or MEL (C) for 27A.

   Like others, I’d also assumed that ‘bike’ (cHOPPER) referred to in 24A was the one Dennis rode in the movie Easy Rider. Hadn’t thought about the Raleigh bicycle (even though I had one!)

   Amazing to see all of the various warbler references hidden in non 6d clues!

   Clever puzzle, very enjoyable.

10. Not too taxing. I noted onlytwo letters connected top and bottom half.

    Ticked WALKABOUT, STRAD, AGREED, and AIRWOMAN

    A few thoughts follow. Neither knew TACHOGRAM nor does my computer. Could not parse it either not knowing cram. NHO DARTFORD. Did not parse EBOLA and I can see why now after reading the blog. 24 “refusing to start” does not say delete first letter to me. 16 I cannot think how to use cap and international interchangeably.

    Thanks Brockwell and bridgesong

11. As several people have commented, the Chopper reference in 24ac is to the motorcycle used by Dennis Hopper in the film Easy Rider, not to the Raleigh children’s bicycle. Should have remembered that.

    Martyn @10: TACHOGRAM is in Chambers; it’s the record made by the tachometer or tachograph, the device fitted to lorries which records their speed.

    In sport, a “cap” refers to someone selected to play for their country, hence an international.

12. If warbler is an unlikely description for Meatloaf, then “complaint” for ebola takes the biscuit. I guess I’d complain, briefly, if I caught it. I didn’t spot the numerous bonus warblers that others did. As with today, the Saturday Prize was much more accessible than the preceding Friday’s offering.

    Thanks Brockwell and bridgesong.

13. Thanks Bridgesong@11. I have come to peace with TACHOMETER.

    I understand the meaning of cap. My issue is I cannot think of a sentence where one word can be used in place of the other. I am sure someone can help.

14. BLACKCAP
    Martyn@13
    Colins online
    cap
    You can refer to someone who is representing their country for the first time in a team game such as football, rugby, or cricket, as a new cap.
    [British]
    New Zealand – who have one new cap – won last year’s fixture 29-9.

15. Thanks, bridgesong and other bloggers for identifying more warblers than I did. But I knew the Dartford warbler, which made 8a simple enough.
    My problem is with 22a – I agree it is SLEDGE, not sleigh, but is there a word ‘bobsledge’? I have only heard of a bobsleigh (and so has my spellchecker).
    I was puzzled by ‘hog’ in 14d, but I suppose it means corner in the sense of getting a monopoly hold in a market. Do others agree?
    Thanks for the clever theme, Brockwell.

16. Could 12a be TWIT with IL(L)? The repetition of TIT doesn’t sit well.

17. I guess “American” is there in 23d to turn the idiot into the Green Day song American Idiot, which might more plausibly be covered, though I agree that it doesn’t add much to the parsing.

    A theme right up a birdwatcher’s street, so that by the time I had GRASS I was sure there must be a HOPPER somewhere – warblers are the typical Little Brown Jobs among birds and often very hard to tell apart, but these were fun. There’s a GARDEN warbler hidden in the clue for OPERA GOER as well (yes, I had OPERA BUFF for ages too, until CHOIRBOY told me otherwise). Thanks, Brockwell and bridgesong.

18. me@13: I just realised autocorrect changed TACHOGRAM into tachometer. I guess that demonstrates one of my points @10. Apologies for not picking it up before posting

    KVa@14 – thank you. I do not want to do this to death as it is not important, but I am not sure I personally would replace cap with international in either example.

19. We have had a visiting BLACKCAP singing outside my bedroom window through the summer – amazing song – my daughter is less impressed by the noisiness at 5am on sunny mornings.

    Lots of WARBLERs hidden here – the DARTFORD WARBLER is rare and seen in Dorset heathland, around Purbeck, but not many other places, although according to the RSPB the numbers have recovered a bit since I learned that.

    Fun puzzle – thank you to bridgesong (and Timon) and Brockwell.

20. Antonknee @5 I first thought of Opera Buff too. It’s a shame when a solution is ambiguous without the crossers.

21. A clever and fun puzzle.

    I didn’t finish, despite my reasonable knowledge of birds. The top half went in fine, the bottom half less so.

    DARTFORD was my favourite.

22. Gladys: perhaps American idiot is ASS rather than ARSE – bottoms rather than donkeys?

23. That’s how I saw it HM @22

24. Antonknee @5 and Ravenrider @20 – I had OPERA GOER, pencilled in for ages on 7D, but I wasn’t sure – so didn’t write in the rest until I had crossers to say. Covent Garden is where I’ve seen opera most often – at the Royal Opera House (up in the Gods, cheap standing tickets). Although I’ve also seen opera elsewhere in London, but those venues also didn’t have the same cheap standing tickets. (I went to a lot of theatre in the cheap seats as a way of avoiding the rush hour tubes home when I was working in London)

    Isn’t an OPERA BUFF is someone who is interested in opera, not necessarily someone who GOES to opera.

25. A very impressive collection of warblers, which I found easier to identify here than in real life. Does the hyphen in the enumeration for OPERA-GOER rule out the buff?

26. A lovely gentle puzzle with some neat or wry clues. Many thanks Brockwell. Thanks also to bridgesong. I somehow failed to parse TWILIT, AIRWOMAN or LOOSE HEAD fully.

    Great theme. So many songbirds and quite a few singers.

27. Another delightfully comprehensive themed puzzle from Brockwell. There was plenty for him to go at, with both species of warbler and singers and he rose to the challenge.

    I particularly liked LOOSE HEAD, DARTFORD, OCTAVAL, DIANA ROSS, TACHOGRAM and CHIRPER (CHER had to be there!).

    I loved the Nora Batty anagram: it reminded me of Rosa Klebb’s (Arachne’s) classic from several years ago:
    ‘I back Mrs Batty for Chancellor! (8)’.

    Bridgesong, I don’t quite understand your comment on 19ac: doesn’t “it’s the introduction to Rigoletto that is jammed inside the pianist” mean that the pianist is jamming the R?

    Many thanks, as ever, to Brockwell, Bridgesong and Timon.

28. Tough but slightly helped by the theme. Needed online help for the warbler GK.

    I could not parse 14d apart for TA = cheers and I failed to solve 8ac.

    New for me: BLACKCAP, LOOSE HEAD (rugby term); SYLVIA = warblers; SEDGE warbler (for 22ac); TACHOGRAM.

29. No complaints from me. I guess I was lucky in plumping straight for the GOER rather than the BUFF. Very pleasing to discover the range warblers – some of which I even recognised. I think Historymittens @22 is probably right about ‘American idiot’ in GR ASS referring to the US version of ‘arse’ but, with the alternative British ‘ass’ available, that might have avoided the seemingly redundant word identified by our blogger. I don’t agree with Bridgesong, however, that ‘jamming’ is the wrong indicator in SATIRE. To jam is to squeeze or block from the outside as well as to crowd full from the inside so it works as either container or insertion indicator.

    Thanks Brockwell and Bridgesong

30. 1a John O’Shea was a prop forward for Wales and the Lions.
    23d When I first tried this the only crosser I had was S and I immediately thought the answer was POTUS.
    Thanks to Brockwell and bridgesong.

31. I missed a lot of the WARBLERs, although I did check that SEDGE was one type. Impressive use of the theme.

    I ticked MEAT LOAF, OCTAVAL and DIANA ROSS. Like the blogger, I couldn’t find Coe in TACHOGRAM and failed to parse it, although I like watching athletics.

    Thanks Brockwell and bridgesong.

32. S@15 BOB = bobsleigh = sledge. No need for a bobsledge!

    Maybe a fraction off Brockwell’s usual standard but excellent nonetheless

    As a former owner of a sky blue Raleigh Chopper I’m sticking with the original parsing for old times sake

    Cheers B&B

33. I’m not too familiar with Brockwell, but I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle. There was something to admire in every clue and I was already impressed by the ingenious collection of warblers before coming here and discovering even more outside of the 6d links. Last ones in for me were SLEDGE, STRAD and AIRWOMAN. I’ll be keeping a special eye out for Brockwell in the future. Thanks to bridgesong for the blog.

34. Thanks Brockwell and bridgesong
    “Pianist”, though true, isn’t the most obvious description for Erik Satie!

35. There is a nice (accidental?) connection between 11A and 27A: Meatloaf was in the film Spice World, featuring the Spice Girls 🙂

36. Didn’t know most of the warblers but got there anyway. I frowned a bit at SLEDGE.Google shows copious hits for bobsleigh and bobsled, but bobsledge is much rarer, and my spell checker doesn’t even recognise the word, nor indeed does Chambers.

37. poc@36, that was an issue for me too – see @15. Bodycheetah@32 has answered it (many thanks), though I still feel Brockwell is pushing it a bit.

38. No one has pointed out yet that TREMOLO is…warbling, essentially.

39. Good point, Mr P@38. 😁

    Though warbling was not an essential qualification (see MEAT LOAF, for example), it certainly helped me to see why Diana Dors was not a mistake by the setter, the far more appropriate DIANA ROSS also having the advantage of fitting the wordplay more accurately. 🙄

    The theme also helped me to avoid the unnecessary doubt/debate about SLEDGE or sleigh, with the absence of a “seigh warbler” being decisive. 😉

    My most enjoyable solve to date of a puzzle by this setter.

    Thanks to Brockwell and Bridgesong.

40. S@37 you’re right and it’s a slippery slope 🙂

41. I’d never heard of LOOSE HEAD or Steve Cram or a TACHOGRAM, so that slowed me down some. Didn’t know about cap/international either, and I join with people who question whether a person referred to as a “cap” can also be called an “international.”

    Couldn’t have named a single warbler, so that all went past me too.

    That said,it was still an enjoyable puzzle. Thanks, Brockwell and bridgesong. Bridgeson, what sort of singing do you do?

42. Valentine @41: when I started blogging back in about 2009
    I was a member of a community choir so was singing regularly. Not so any more (but I do still play bridge!)

43. Very enjoyable. I am only familiar with a few warblers, so missed some of the references. Thanks to commenters for filling in the list. Impressive grid-fill when all is revealed!
    The AIRWOMAN clue eerily reminded me of Amelia Earhart, whose plane went down in July 1937 near a Pacific island.
    Lots of fun.
    Thanks, Brockwell and bridgesong.

44. Valentine@41, I think you’re in USA? To state more fully what others have said previously: in the UK, players of several sports who are picked to represent their nation are given a special cap as a mark of the honour. In casual language and in TV/radio reports, it might well be said for example ‘Finn Russell is a rugby cap/international for Scotland’.
    I don’t have much to add to other comments – good crossword, not too hard, no quibbles (I liked the surely intentional misdescription of MEAT LOAF).
    Thanks Brockwell and bridgesong

45. Many thanks to bridgesong for the excellent blog and to everybody else for the nice comments. Especially loving the “slippery slope” bodycheetah @40 😂.

46. beaulieu@44 Yes, I’m in the US. And I do understand the meanings of cap and international. My question was about how the terms are used. I haven’t yet seen the likes of “Finn Russell is an international for Scotland.” The examples always include “cap,” which apparently can be used by itself to stand for a person, but I haven’t seen any with stand-alone “international.” So I’m still not clear.

47. Valentine – I understand your difficulty, and I don’t believe that the words “cap” and “international” are smoothly interchangable in a sentence. But readers of sports reporting in the UK understand that when the journalist says “awarded a cap” they are (generally) not referring to an actual, tangible cap – though a ceremonial one is occasionally depicted being awarded – instead it is shorthand for “selected to play for their country in an international match”.

48. Thanks to Grecian (aka Brockwell) @45 for dropping in; it keeps us bloggers on our toes to know that the setter may be reading our analyses.

49. I had LOOSE LEND for 1a which I parsed as LOO (John) (o)S(h)E(a) L (lost) END (top) meaning to forward someone money.
    Wasn’t familiar with the rugby position. But I 9a with everything else 😆

50. V@46 et al – from Chambers;

    CAP
    4. An occasion of being selected for esp a national team, symbolized by a cap
    5. A person so selected

51. SH 39,

    My understanding has been for many years that tremolo is the amplitude modulation of the note, whereas vibrato is the frequency modulation of it, that is, warbling.

    Well, that’s what the switch on my old Vox AC30 does anyway. Here’s an example of the former https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-meUOGeiuI&list=RD8-meUOGeiuI&start_radio=1

    Cheers all.

52. Etu@51. Well, that’s not what Wikipedia says:

    “There are multiple types of tremolo: a rapid repetition of a note, an alternation between two different notes, or a variation in volume.”

    So perhaps you should correct Wiki rather than me!

53. SH, you and Wiki are saying much the same as me, although its very broad compass seems to include something which might equate to a warble.

    A modulation in amplitude, in volume that is, is the essence of tremolo. I’ve not heard it used to refer to a trill however.

    Vibrato, on the other hand, is always a variation, a modulation of pitch, so is always a warble as I understand it.

    Your original point’s still valid though, I think. The setter probably did intend the word to refer to a warble. This is just my contribution to Pedant’s Corner.

54. Tremolo could of course refer to Brian Poole

55. Pino@30, re 23d GRASS, I confidently wrote in POTUS, with POT being both the cannabis and the container it grows in, and the definition being Idiot, or better yet, American Idiot if like me you accept American doing double duty as a legitimate device. (It was 22 SLEDGE that made me rethink.)

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