Guardian Cryptic crossword No 29,797 by Vlad

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/29797.

Curiously, the first four clues that I solved were what I call subtractions – and there were a couple more to come. Altogether a delightful puzzle, with 26A GULF OF AMERICA as my favourite, but primus inter pares. There were a few less common definitions, and 21A NOSFERATU would have been a little obscure (Murnau and Herzog) but for the recent remake.

ACROSS
1 MEALS ON WHEELS
Fast food once thought to be under threat from Trump? (5,2,6)
Double definition; the first relying somewhat on the association of wheels with speed. That leaves ‘once’ hanging – I would suspect that Trump’s budget cuts are very likely to be a threat to the service. The whole clue might be regarded as a cryptic definition.
10 REKINDLED
Leftie carrying reading matter is excited again (9)
An envelope (‘carrying’) of KINDLE (‘reading matter’ – a bit of a stretch, I think) in RED (‘leftie’).
11 CUTER
Prettier hair-stylist somewhat disheartened (5)
A subtraction: CUT[t]ER (‘hair-stylist’) minus a T, one of its middle letters (‘somewhat disheartened’).
12 TROPE
‘Shark eating raw beginner’ could be metaphor (5)
An envelope (‘eating’) of R (‘Raw beginner’) in TOPE (also known as the school shark). A TROPE is a figure of speech, such as a metaphor.
13 QUERULOUS
Unfinished line awful – writer finally stops complaining (9)
An envelope (‘stops’) of R (‘writeR finally’) in QUEU[e] (‘line’) plus LOUS[y] (‘awful’), with both words minus their last letters (‘unfinished’).
14 CONCHIE
He wouldn’t fight against non-feminine boss (7)
A charade of CON (‘against’) plus CHIE[f] (‘boss’) minus the F (‘non-feminine’).
16 NOTICED
Saw what plain cake was? (7)
NOT ICED.
18 INSTANT
Flash wearing leather in street (7)
A charade of IN (‘wearing’) plus STANT, an envelope (‘in’) of TAN (‘leather’. I think the most direct correspondence is as a verb, to thrash) in ST (‘street’).
20 FORSAKE
Choice of routes east round perimeter of Sahara Desert (7)
An envelope (’round’) of SA (‘perimeter of SaharA‘) in FORK (‘choice of routes’) plus E (‘east’). We don’t need no stinkin’ truth is capitals.
21 NOSFERATU
Horror film star, one you said flipped over female (9)
An envelope (‘over’) of F (‘female’) in NOSERATU, an anagram (‘flipped’) of ‘star one’ plus U (‘you said’).
23 CRASS
See queens’s backside? That’s vulgar (5)
A charade of C (‘see’) plus R (Regina, ‘queen”) plus ASS (‘backside’). Cue angished cries. Prove me wrong. Please.
24 SHAKO
Has clocked stunner in hat (5)
A charade of SHA, an anagram (‘clocked’ as hit) plus KO (knockout, ‘stunner’).
25 ENTERTAIN
Please, what can you do in Victoria? One right to leave (9)
A subtraction: ENTER T[r]AIN (‘what you can do in Victoria’ Station) minus an R (‘one right to leave’).
26 GULF OF AMERICA
If camouflager’s clever, some may not recognise its existence (4,2,7)
An anagram (‘clever’) of ‘if camouflager’. We seem to be having a Trump theme.
DOWN
2 ELKHOUNDS
Incredible Hulk’s done for hunters (9)
An anagram (‘incredible’) of ‘hulks done’.
3 LANCE
Impaler – Vlad’s second name in one (5)
A charade of L (‘VLad’s second’) plus ANCE, an envelope (‘in’) of S (‘second’) N (‘name’) in ACE (‘one’).
4 OBLIQUE
Maybe obtuse old adult’s bored by intellect (7)
An envelope (‘bored by’) of IQ (‘intellect’) in O (‘old’) plus BLUE (‘adult’ as risqué).
5 WIDGEON
Glamorgan opener cracking poor delivery to leg – duck! (7)
An envelope (‘cracking’) of G (‘Glamorgan opener’) in WIDE (‘poor delivery’) plus ON (‘leg’ – still cricket).
6 ENCOUNTER
Meet nitpicking accountant British and American separately ignored (9)
A subtraction: [b]E[a]N COUNTER (‘nitpicking accountant’) minus the B and A (‘British and American separately ignored’). The first four clues I solved have all been subtractions; I take it that that will not continue!.
7 LOTTO
Drunk bishop lost gambling game (5)
A subtraction: [b]LOTTO (‘drunk’) minus the B (‘bishop lost’).
8 PROTECTIONISM
Charge for coition, pet – Mrs Trump’s economic policy (13)
An anagram (‘charge for’?) of ‘coition pet mrs’.
9 CROSS-DRESSING
Annoyed by Band-Aid, could be TV Paul’s subject matter (5-8)
A charade of CROSS (‘annoyed’) plus DRESSING (‘Band-Aid’). ‘TV’ could be TV or transvestite; ‘Paul’ would be RuPaul – his actual name, it seems.

I am informed that the ‘Paul’ would really be Paul O’Grady.
15 HEADED OFF
He helped one going round before fellows left (6,3)
A charade of ‘he’ plus A[i]DED (‘helped’) minus the I (‘one going’) plus O (’round’) plus F F (‘fellows’).
17 CHARABANC
Cleaner turned around to catch a bus (9)
A charade of CHAR (‘cleaner’) plus ABANC, a reversal (‘turned’) of C (circa, ‘around’) plus NAB (‘catch’) plus ‘a’.
19 TEA LEAF
Where to drive taking gangster to centre of Sleaford – not an honest person (3,4)
A charade of TEALE, an envelope (‘taking’) of AL (Capone, ‘gangster’) in TEE (‘where to drive’, golf); plus AF (‘centre of SleAFord’). TEA LEAF is rhyming slang for thief.
20 FRUSTUM
Bucket shape made by French-American corporation (7)
A charade of FR (‘French’) plus US (‘American’) plus TUM (‘corporation’. I would hope that this term for a sizeable midfiff has appeared often enough recently not to be a stumbling block).
22 SNAFU
United supporters upset – it’s a cock-up! (5)
A reversal (‘upset’) of U (‘United’) plus FANS (‘supporters’).
23 CARER
Nurse having no time for president (5)
A subtraction: CAR[t]ER (‘president’) minus the T (‘having no time’). ‘For’ suggests, incorrectly as far as the wordplay needs, that ‘president’ is the definition.

picture of the completed grid

70 comments on “Guardian Cryptic crossword No 29,797 by Vlad”

  1. Nice puzzle. I wasn’t LANCEd in the end, as my first almost empty pass suggested. Nice blog too, PeterO: I don’t think you’re wrong about CRASS – I don’t C any other way it could be.

    Independently, there seems to be a parallel between CR+ASS and T+RUMP. Just saying.

  2. MEALS ON WHEELS
    Def 1 I think is ‘fast food once’ (mobile food service being the original fast food service)
    REKINDLED
    KINDLE is probably a stretch as the blogger says, but I liked it (matter/thing on which we read).
    CARER
    Agree with the blog.
    Loved GULF OF AMERICA

    Thanks Vlad and PeterO.

  3. Few bits of nho — the shark, the horror film and the bucket shape (who did know?) — but otherwise none too gnarly from the impaler. Loved the surface of 5d, and am trying hard not to add rudely to that of 8d. Enjoyed it, ta Vlad and PeterO.

  4. Thought the cross dresser was Paul O’Grady. Not that I know. That’s what Google said. FORSAKE and OBLIQUE my tops. Kindle ok by me. I guess it doesn’t matter. Tope shark new to me. Nice blog and puzzle. Thanks. And the website is accessible today. Thanks again.

  5. Only one answer (TEALEAF) first time through. Four hours sleep then led to a steady but hard solve.

    gif@3 FRUSTRUM well known to English (British?) maths O levellers in my day.

    Thanks Vlad and PeterO

  6. Kindle for reading matter also initially looked odd to me, but you pick it up and read it like you would a wood book it’s OK I reckon.
    Like sofamore @4 I thought it was Paul O’Grady, aka Lily Savage, in CROSS-DRESSING.
    Not sure I’m a fan of some of the anagram indicators here like “clocked” and “charge for” as I can’t see a sense of any mixing. I did wonder whether “charge for” was a Grauniad typo for “change for”.
    Smiles today for CHARABANC (French for carriage with benches), NOTICED, CRASS (with the ass fitting in well with the crass surface) and WIDGEON (another great surface).

  8. I really enjoyed the puzzle—thanks Vlad. Most of it came pretty quickly as three of the long answers were quite familiar to those of us on this side of the pond. CROSS DRESSING took a few moments till I figured out which Paul was being referred to. The last fill and by far the slowest for me was CHARABANC. I had never heard the word and it took me a while to understand the word play. My favorite was TEA LEAF; I enjoy Cockney slang. Thanks to PeterO for a great blog.

  9. Thanks PeterO. I think (and searches indicate) the ”once” in MEALS ON WHEELS was a Trump policy which has since been abandoned, so once goes with the definition.

    I was misled by “for” in the clue for PROTECTIONISM. for gave me pro which was a start, but that was mistaken. The only way I can parse that is charge is anagrind, and for is a link word.

  11. I was curious about ”maybe obtuse” in the clue for OBLIQUE. I went down the (wrong) path of geometry, an obtuse angle. Why the maybe?

  13. Well, there’s an answer for all the clues, but I can’t say I “completed” this. Several guessed correctly from the def but not parsed: QUERULOUS, CRASS (is “queens’s” a misprint?) NOSFERATU, ENCOUNTER, part of CHARABANC. On the other hand, the wordplay for FRUSTUM and CROSS DRESSING led to unfamiliar conclusions. And why is Trump a threat to MEALS ON WHEELS in particular?

    Favourites GULF OF AMERICA, WIDGEON, ENTERTAIN, ELKHOUNDS, NOTICED.

  14. I am not sure why ‘queens’ is pluralised in CRASS – thought I was seeing things at first but there is deffo a superfluous S.

    Great fun from Vlad who was having a go at Trump in the Indy not so long ago. Some super anagrams in particular.

    Thanks both

  16. I wondered about the parsing of C=see in 23ac.

    10ac I thought that a Kindle is a gadget, not the actual reading matter which needs to be uploaded into it. But I can also see the point that Tim C@6 makes.

    New for me: FRUSTUM, SHAKO; TEA LEAF = thief; Trump policy vs MEALS ON WHEELS; WIDGEON duck; TOPE = shark (12ac); CONCHIE.

    I don’t think that NOSFERATU was obscure as I solved that clue after I had solved FRUSTUM. It was easy for me as there are no other horror films that I know of ending with letter U. But no doubt I can be proven wrong on that point 😉

  18. Thanks Vlad and PeterO
    It went in easily enough, though several unparsed. FRUSTUM was a jorum,
    I wondered if “charge” in 8d was a Grauniad misprint for “chnage”.
    Nowadays the duck is more usually spelled WIGEON.

  19. (Can’t speak for PeterO, Auriga @15. But I interpreted PeterO’s comment on 20a as a reference to Trump’s Truth Social, and that Trump often posts in capitals. PeterO is based (sorry PeterO) in the USA.)

  20. Auriga @15, I suspect that PeterO is complaining about the capitalisation of Desert in 20a, but it does read rather strangely. Maybe the dreaded autocorrect has got in the way with AU (Automatic Unintelligence).

  21. This went in quicker than most Vlads although it was a crawl over the line SNAFU, SHAKO, FRUSTUM and CHARABANC all needing to use solely the wordplay.

    A lot of subtle digs at Donald trump in this, with the North, West and South lines all having a pop at him.

    Got the wrong TV Paul with expecting some type of food dressing from Mr Hollywood until my wife’s TV habits came to mind.

    Knew the horror film thankfully both the original and the far less good remake.

    Glad the K was checked in REKINDLED or I may have struggled.

    Another impaling survived by me, either Vlads getting softer or I’m getting better.

    Thanks Vlad and PeterO

  24. Lots of fun and a couple of new words for me (Trope and Shako, both fair). I loved the three 13 letter clues with a delightful Trump theme. Shame Vlad couldn’t work Trump into Cross Dressing!

  25. {sofamore@4. Yes, didn’t get the database connection error messages today, but I had to verify many several times that I am a human. That’s a dubious claim, but it was accepted.)

  28. me @18
    Good example of Muphry’s Law – all comments about misprints will include a misprint.
    Of course this invalidates TimC’s earlier one @6, which doesn’t!
    (Sorry Tim, I hadn’t noticed that you had already suggested “change”.)

  29. One of the less evil Vlad’s, I think, and most enjoyable. The digs at Trump were a pleasant way to start the day.
    My first thought about 23a was even worse than PeterO’s, seeing CR as Camilla Regina. But the C must be “see”, of course. I like the suggestion from Dr W @1 that there is a link between CR-ASS and T-RUMP, though it’s possibly a bit of a stretch.
    Maybe the slightly strange “queens’s” in 23a is a pointer to Queens, NY, reminding us that ARSE is another word our transatlantic cousins don’t spell correctly.
    Thanks to Vlad and PeterO

  30. Another night of fun with a very accessible Vlad. I solved GULF OF AMERICA early and thought it was a stunning clue that wasn’t surpassed, although PROTECTIONISM came close and I also liked CONCHIE, NOSFERATU and SNAFU, which presumably references the current woes at Man Utd. The unheard of FRUSTUM and loi, SHAKO were fair as well. Also noticed as donnut @10 that LANCE needs amending.

    Ta Vlad @ PeterO.

  31. My recollection is that relatives who received Meals on Wheels often complained about how long it took. Fast it wasn’t. Didn’t understand the Trump reference.

  32. Lots to like here, as usual for Vlad – it would be invidious to pick favourites from such a good set of clues.

    LOI for me was the unfamiliar SHAKO (I did ring a faint bell once solved, but that might be false memory syndrome).

    My rationalisation of the contentious anagrinds: ‘clocked’ as in ‘hit’ – which is certainly used quite often; ‘charge’, as a noun, is what is loaded to make something (battery, firearm) work, ie the anagram fodder in this case.

    Thanks to Vlad and PeterO

  33. PROTECTIONISM “charge”… should this be “change”, I don’t see how charge works as an anagrind.

    I found this relating to MEELS ON WHEELS.

    Vulcan/Imogen sets in the Spectator today.

  35. Muffin@18: Widgeon (with that spelling) has appeared as answers several times, most recently by Harpo in crossword 29,693 on May 13. It provokes a discussion each time on how it should be spelled.

  38. Wigeon is much more common, but for some reason, crossword setters always seem to plump for the obsolete version with the D.

  41. Excellent blog to an excellent crossword.

    Failed to spot the verbal version of tan and leather..

    I wonder why Vlad didn’t opt for king instead of queen in the CRASS clue? We’ve all become familiar with Carolus Rex these days.

    Feel sure charge is Graunulism for change.

    Many thanks, both.

  43. Completed but a lot unparsed. Still don’t get the MEALS thing.
    Despite being a mathematics graduate, I don’t think I’ve ever seen FRUSTUM written down and share the surprise that it’s not ‘frustrum’.
    Thanks both.

  44. Another one that started off looking impenetrable but ended on the easier side. Lots of references to the Orange One.

    Winced when entering Gulf of America, as I deny its existence.

    Thanks Vlad and PeterO

  45. Certainly easier than his recent Prize, but equally enjoyable. GULF OF AMERICA is a classic and the debate over the spelling of WIDGEON shouldn’t obscure the excellence of the surface. Favourite was FORSAKE – a satisfying construction and I liked the capital deception. Only quiblet was CARER, where surely the clue should be “President having no time for nurse” (ie Carter minus T)?

  46. William @41 (and others): see me @32. I don’t think ‘charge’ is necessarily a misprint: it goes better than ‘change’ with ‘economic policy’ for the surface reading

  47. I took it that the surface reading for 8D was that Mrs Trump’s economic policy was to charge for sex. So in that context change wouldn’t work, would it?

  48. Maybe like others, I’ve been having terrible problems with Cloudflare and Database Error this morning, and having finally broken through at 12.30 I just don’t have time to read all the comments, Forgive me, therefore, if someone has already suggested this, but I thought that there might be covert references to the Orange Entity besides those in the perimeter clues. The clue for 4d, for example, seemed strangely suggestive, and I wondered if the clue for 14a incorporated an allusion to the convenient bone spurs. Meanwhile, QUERULOUS and CRASS were too applicable to require comment.

  49. An awful lot of headscratching from me today, but nonetheless got the grid filled aside from CHARABLANC – didn’t know the word or the cleaner.

    TUM is definitely new to me, so I’d appreciate an explainer. I got it in because FRUSTUM sounded like a shape, but none the wiser why having read the blog. (I can do tum = tummy = stomach, if that’s part of it, I just don’t understand the leap from there to corporation)

    Thanks Vlad and PeterO

  50. SamW @49
    A paunch or beer belly is often referred to as a “corporation”. I’ve not been able to find out why, but the usage goes back at least a couple of hundred years.

  51. I didn’t like CONCHIE. It’s a pejorative term for someone taking a principled position. I’ve only ever heard it used like this.

  52. SamW @49
    Char, like corporation (for which my blog did give an explainer), has come up often enough in crosswords to be worth remembering.
    Auriga @15 & paddymelon @19
    I couched my comment as a misquote from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (and a quote from Blazing Saddles).
    sofamore @4 etc
    I had not come across Paul O’Grady, so went with RuPaul, even though, as I discovered, it is his real first name, and not a portmanteau stage name.
    Donut @10
    Corrected.
    TimC @7
    Frustating, isn’t it?

  53. All entered and parsed so must be on the easier side for Vlad. Had to google-check the hat, the bus and the bucket. Made life difficult for myself with 8 down – assumed CHARGE was the anagrind, FOR was part of the fodder and the answer was something to do with either Melania’s or Ivana’s attitude to money.

  54. Tough, but got it done! With some excellent clueing I was able to get nhos CONCHIE, SHAKO, CHARABANC, TEA LEAF, FRUSTUM. Yes, I liked 23a CRASS, as well as 25 ENTERTAIN, 2d ELKHOUNDS (for “Incredible Hulk”), 7d LOTTO

    LOI 12a, I had to look up all three words to confirm — TROPE, shark, and tope

    Not sure I agree with PeterO about the obscurity of 21a NOSFERATU. The 1922 film is one of the most famous of its era. Like others, once I had the U I had it immediately

  55. This was no doubt written before the ‘Department of War’ was resurrected. More straightforward than Vlad’s Prize Puzzle, I thought. I enjoyed reading about the Sahara Desert’s routes in FORSAKE, the entraining that was to ENTERTAIN, the risqué old adult being OBLIQUE, the nitpicking accountant to ENCOUNTER, the helper in HEADED OFF, and the TEA LEAF gangster.

    Thanks Vlad and PeterO.

  56. Well it took a goodly while (the frequent database error doodah messages didn’t help) but I did finish it in the end – so it MUST have been an easier Vlad!
    And an enjoyable one.
    FRUSTUM was my first ever jorum: I was astonished when Duck Duck Go assured me it was a thing.
    I agree with Mandarin @45 about CARER, with Mig @54 about Nosferatu,
    with Balfour @48 about the numerous references to Jabber the Fatt
    – and with PeterO about 20A.
    And of course the Gulf Of America doesn’t exist, ArkLark, but don’t worry, neither does Brigadoon and I’ve come across that in a crossword before…
    Many thanks to Vlad for the fun and to PeterO for the usual entertaining blog.

  57. NeilH @29, so 23a could then be-
    King and Queens’ backside. That’s vulgar!
    I think charge in the sense of run is ok as an anagrind, as the latter is commonly used that way.
    Great puzzle. ELKHOUNDS and GULF OF AMERICA were my favorites
    Thanks, Vlad and PeterO.

  58. I solved the puzzle early on today and, since then, I’ve been pretty much on the move, trying to pop in from time to time (more than a dozen times, in fact) to post my two penn’orth on this great puzzle. My least successful day so far: this, my latest attempt, has taken four goes to gain entry and the tiny window may have closed by the time I’ve written my comment and so I’ll keep it brief: I agree with all the praise and I’ll eschew all the quibbles.

    Bravo, Vlad! – and thanks to PeterO for the blog.

  59. [Eileen
    Did you see the posts from Simon S and me on the Brummie Prize you blogged? We’ve both had Emails purporting to come from you, but almost certainly not!]

  60. muffin@59 – I think that is a scam and best deleted. If you reply to it, it may be sent from your email address also.

  62. Very busy work day but completed this in the gaps. I improved my vocabulary a little along the way.

    Good blog by PeterO, thanks Vlad, thanks all.

  63. muffin @59

    No, I didn’t – and have again encountered the database error message in trying to retrieve them, hence the delay!

    I’m in the midst of a nightmare trying to resolve an email hack, beginning yesterday, which I thought had been sorted but I am at present unable to receive or, apparently, send emails. My sincere apologies to anyone here who may have been trying to contact me.

    Many thanks, muffin and Simon for the alert – a horrible scam, of course. Apologies again, all round. I do hope his one gets through.

  65. Many thanks yet again to Peter O for a very nice blog and to others who commented.

    Thanks also to Protase@32 for correctly explaining the anagrinds.

    Apologies for the rogue s in 23ac.

  66. Vlad as usual very tough but not quite insuperable. Didn’t know CONCHIE (=’conscientious’) but it clearly fits.

    Anyone who’s read War and Peace (OK I only got about halfway through) will be familiar with SHAKO – it’s what all the soldiers were wearing during the Napoleonic wars. Often being made of leather or felt, they didn’t serve very well as protective headgear – which is why 20th century troops switched to helmets.

    I too didn’t really see the Trump allusion in MEALS ON WHEELS. But the rather naughty (and misdirecting) allusion to Madame Trump in PROTECTIONISM made me smile. After all, Melania is on record as having posed nude in a former life…

    As for GULF OF AMERICA: I could only cringe. Instead of exhorting our transatlantic cousins to “Remember the Alamo”, I would rather tell them “Beware the Alamo!” The Mexicans must be incandescent…

    I took the Paul in CROSS-DRESSING to refer to RuPaul – not having heard of any other candidate.

    And CRASS I interpreted as Camilla Regina’s posterior. Poor thing, does she deserve this? – and what with Charlie not being too well?

    WIDGEON (sometimes spelt WIGEON) was rather too easy, but lovely surface!

    Also likes for LANCE; NOSFERATU; REKINDLE; QUERULOUS; FORSAKE; HEADED OFF; TEA LEAF; OBLIQUE. And others.

    Thanks to the Impaler and Peter.

  67. [ Eieen@63
    I too received a Spam purportedly from your private email; it asked if I was an Amazon user. I didn’t press Reply but when I used your email address yesterday to try to alert you it seems to have resulted in my sending you a request for an Airbnb voucher for someone with breast cancer. No problem for me as I can just delete but I hope for your sake you get it sorted. This is posted even later than usual because I kept getting the dreaded Database error message]

  68. I came here to find out why MEALS ON WHEELS had been under threat from Trump. I hadn’t known that that was an American service as well.

    I think the Paul in 9d would have been RuPaul. Paul O’Grady was not a cross-dresser, his alter-ego Lily Savage was. Paul had a good TV career as himself in later life.

  70. I thought the character Lily Savage was a woman who dressed like a tart so not a cross-dresser at all. Paul therefore was a drag artist when he dressed as Lily

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