I was surprised (and delighted) to see a Brendan puzzle this morning, so soon after his recent Prize offering.
This, too, was worthy of the Prize slot, being yet another tour de force from the master, revolving around the deftly woven into the grid 1,4 and 10,13, PLUS ÇA CHANGE PLUS C’EST LA MEME CHOSE, which I hope is familiar enough not to cause too many complaints: the wordplay makes it gettable, I think.
As usual with Brendan’s puzzles, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, with many of the clues involving anagrams, palindromes or some other rearrangement of letters, along with witty references throughout to change and/or being/staying the same. Apart from my admiration for the brilliant exploitation of the theme, my favourite clues were 12ac PROSPERO, 16ac STET, 17ac STATUETTE, 21ac AMARETTO, 24ac ALL THE SAME, 6dn NOSEPIECE, 7dn ENLARGE, 8dn SUPPOSITIONAL and 14dn EXECRATED.
Many thanks to Brendan for a most enjoyable and absorbing puzzle.
Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1, 4 Good thing, an end of fighting in store? That implies no fundamental shift (4,2,6)
PLUS ÇA CHANGE
PLUS (good thing) + AN [fightin]G in CACHE (store)
9 Exchange notes to begin with and perform differently (4)
REDO
DO RE (beginning notes of the scale, exchanged)
10, 13 It completes 1 and 4 across, together with modification of 11, 15, and 23 (4,4,2,4,5)
PLUS C’EST LA MEME CHOSE
PLUS (together with) C’EST LA ( an anagram – modification – of CASTLE {11ac}) + MEME (15ac) + CHOSE (23dn)
11 Move king to safety, as last resort, inside church (6)
CASTLE
An anagram (resort) of LAST in CE (Church of England) – a chess move, explained here
12 Exiled duke introducing son to appropriate circle (8)
PROSPERO
S (son) in PROPER (appropriate) + O (circle) – the exiled duke in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest; my friend and I already have tickets for Kenneth Branagh‘s return to Stratford in this role next May
15 Child’s plea for attention as superspreader? (4)
MEME
ME ME (child’s plea for attention)
16 Rearrange test or keep exactly as is (4)
STET
An anagram (rearrange) of TEST – Latin for ‘let it stand’
17 For Oscar, say, act in sci-fi movie? Au contraire (9)
STATUETTE
ET (sci-fi movie) in STATUTE (act) – in the opposite order from the clue
21 Semiaquatic mammal, a mother, back in drink (8)
AMARETTO
A reversal (back) of OTTER (semiaquatic mammal) + A MA (a mother)
22 Produce same thing again, poorly accommodating conclusions of the critic (6)
RECOPY
ROPY (poorly) round [th]E [criti]C
24 Nevertheless, like happy families in novel start? (3,3,4)
ALL THE SAME
Double definition: the opening line of Tolstoy’s novel ‘Anna Karenina’ is ‘All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’
25 Colleague unaffected by reversal (4)
OPPO
A palindrome – military slang for opposite number, which I remember as a child my father using
26 More like cardinal? Moving left, just the same (6)
REDDER
And another
27 Best or worst of French accomplishment (6)
DEFEAT
DE (of French) + FEAT (accomplishment) – best and worst both as verbs and auto-antonyms
Down
1 Strive to see maturity in group of equals? (7)
PEERAGE
PEER (strive to see) + AGE (maturity)
2 Perturbed about wartime menace (1-4)
U-BOAT
An anagram (perturbed) of ABOUT
3 Replace two letters in a speech to become understood? (7)
CAPEESH
A SPEECH, with the C and S replaced – slang from Italian capire, to understand
5 Other changes, including about bully (6)
HECTOR
An anagram (changes) of OTHER round C (about)
6 Recognizes truce, we hear – that could help to save face (9)
NOSEPIECE
Sounds like (we hear) knows (recognises) peace (truce) – ‘a piece of armour, especially part of a helmet, that serves to protect the nose’
7 Adjust one aspect of photo or make alterations in general (7)
ENLARGE
An anagram (make alterations in) of GENERAL
8 After wee dram, take seat on island in curtailed ballot? That’s speculative (13)
SUPPOSITIONAL
SUP (wee dram) + SIT (take seat) + IONA (Scottish island) in POL[l] (ballot, curtailed)
14 Judged following suit, totally condemned (9)
EXECRATED
EXEC (‘suit’) + RATED (judged)
16 Line the writer inserted in stuff is shown up as not very original (7)
SIMILAR
A reversal (up, in a down clue) of L (line) + I (the writer) in RAM (stuff) + IS
18 Re-enter after revolution of earth (7)
TERRENE
An anagram (after revolution) of RE-ENTER
19 Position of leader no different after overthrow (3,4)
TOP SPOT
Another palindrome
20 Name of goddess or just vowels in name (6)
ATHENE
A THEN E – the vowels in nAmE
23 Conservative replacing first of those elected (5)
CHOSE
C (conservative) replacing [t]HOSE
Wonderful puzzle, the most enjoyable I have seen for some time (I don’t do the Prize). PROSPERO, ENLARGE, AMORETTO, and NOSEPIECE were among my favourites too, and I would add CAPEESH (a favourite of gangster movie scriptwriters). I didn’t get the parsing of ATHENE, but Eileen’s suggestion looks good. Thanks Eileen and Brendan.
Did this last night when I saw Brendan’s name, thinking it was worth a late night and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Filled in the bottom half first and then got lucky with PLUS ÇA CHANGE which led on to the rest. The theme was simple but delightful. I agree with Eileen’s favourites and I also especially liked the double MEMEs and CHOSEs along with CASTLE. Another tour de force.
Ta Brendan & Eileen.
Enjoyed this but needed Eileen’s help for the parsing of 17, 20, and 22, which I had bunged in as “recipe”. Particularly liked 21 amaretto and 12 Prospero, although it took me some time to break my anchoring to a more contemporary exiled royal. Pity about the deux choses.
Thanks Brendan and Eileen
Very clever, though some will no doubt complain that MEME and CHOSE appear in the grid twice (as I wrote at a time when this would have been the first comment – chapeau to Apteryx @3 for immediately reassuring me!!).
Congratulations to Brendan for having the self-control not to clue “ME! ME!” by reference to Trump.
Thanks to Brendan for a neat puzzle and Eileen for, as ever, an early and workmanlike blog which explained the two bits of wordplay I hadn’t been wide enough awake to work out.
Thanks to Brendan, and to Eileen for the blog. Yes, the vowels in ‘name’ are A then E.
Yes I think 20d is one of those, like Bay extremely bowlegged (5), etc. And, well I don’t know about prize level, as after the French saying, itself assez claire, it was all pretty cruisy. Elegant and enjoyable though, merci B et E.
@3 & 4: I thought that their may quibbles about MEME and CHOSE but surely it’s acceptable if both words mean something different. Anyway, I thought it was very clever.
Although I enjoyed the theme, I suspect I’m going to be a lone voice when I say that the puzzle didn’t really do it for me, overall. While I liked the exposition of some curiosities of the language, such as palindromes and the equivalence of best/worst, I felt that some of the cryptic readings indicating those were too direct, leading to strangely obvious answers in some places and producing some bland surfaces in others. I also thought the long connected entry was odd; I enjoyed the first part, but the second was a write-in which then gave away either the other MEME or the other CHOSE depending on which you already had solved and hence spotted the idea. Also, I assume that for those who didn’t know tthe phrase, a fair chunk of the puzzle was inaccessible.
STATUETTE was also weird; why the French? I liked the construction and correctly surmised what was required of us, but I spent a long time thinking of French actors called Oscar, especially given there was so much French already. Perhaps it was an intentional misdirection but it just seemed unnecessary to me.
Of course, it’s a rare thing that nothing good be found, and indeed I enjoyed U-BOAT, DEFEAT and AMARETTO – the latter being especially nice because it wasn’t at all clear whether the animal or the drink was going to be the definition.
LOI was SUPPOSITIONAL.
Thanks both
Brilliant puzzle; excellent blog
Many thanks
Now that the mêmes choses are explained to me, I agree that their duplication and interaction is very clever
I’m with AlanC @7 and Apteryx @10 re MEME CHOSE.
Yes, AlanC @7, given the theme, having a pair each of memes and choses, with pair-members differing in meaning, is a touch of Brendan genius.
I loved this one – it was just ideal for me, as I have a decent level of French, and even knew the Tolstoy reference (a sentiment with which I deeply disagree: there are many different ways for a family to be happy). So it was quite a quick solve for me but still very satisfying. Thanks, Brendan and Eileen!
I totally agree with everything Eileen has written, a touch of mid-week magic.
I also like that STET is sort of hidden in STATUETTE as it stands, statuesque.
Thanks to Brendan and Eileen
Not being au fait with French, the ‘PLUS ÇA CHANGE PLUS C’EST LA MEME CHOSE’ anchor was totally lost on me, but I thoroughly enjoyed Brendan’s cleverness throughout.
Big thanks to Brendan (of course) and to Eileen for the excellent blog.
Very clever as usual from Brendan. A “meme chose” meme, as it says across the middle, with REDO, RECOPY, SIMILAR, ALL THE SAME and so on. I do agree with AP @8 that 10,13 was a write-in once you’d got the first clue, but I don’t think that matters in the scheme of things.
Many thanks Brendan and Eileen.
Well spotted, Lord Jim @16 – many thanks. 😉
Lucky you Eileen, and thank you for your blog with the extra details, par excellence, d’habitude. I enjoyed the repetition of même chose. I thought that was the point!
I am another who liked the double meme chose. I solved the French saying in the wrong order when I was well into the puzzle, which probably made for a better solving experience, as well as the fun if racking my brain for Tempest quotes about change.
My thoughts exactly, paddymelon @18!
A thoroughly enjoyable puzzle throughout, as one would expect from Brendan.
Unrelated to the puzzle, the ‘word’ CAPEESH really sets my teeth on edge. Is it really so hard to write Capisce?!
Thanks Brendan and Eileen
I loved that “meme” in 15A and “chose” in 23D are both the same and not the same (either in sound, significance or language) as their counterparts in 13A. This is a veritable tour de force. Merci, Brendan. Thank you, Eileen.
AP @8 @ 8.48. (Lucky numbers). Re the French ‘au contraire’ in STATUETTE. I know/remember that, in certain circles, people would use that phrase even when speaking in English. I think it’s just Brendan’s little joke and a nod to the French in the theme. It made me laugh.
Lucky Eileen, indeed. A delightful puzzle from start to finish and I enjoyed spotting and then teasing out the themed items. So very clever. CASTLE, AMARETTO, PROSPERO, CAPEESH, ENLARGE and ATHENE were faves but, as Eileen says, it’s the whole thing that really takes the biscuit.
Thanks both
VG puzzle, but a dnf as I don’t recall seeing CAPEESH in print before – I’ve heard the word in movies etc, but if I’d ever had to write it, I’d have used the Italian spelling.
Favourites CASTLE and ATHENE.
I didn’t look for or spot the theme, but it is clever.
Thanks Eileen and Brendan.
O-level French was worth it after all. The crossers made CHANGE jump out. I did think surely there’ll be complaints about so much foreign!
I’m familiar with STET from old fashioned typesetting correction where you undo a correction by writing stet.
Great stuff and thanks both.
paddymelon @23 Indeed, The phrase, au contraire, mon frere, has become especially associated with Bart Simpson, not otherwise, I think, a noted master of European languages:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqjJVqCJ2EY
An excellent crossword, with a satisfying, unifying theme. Thanks Brendan.
Whenever I see how members lavish praise on a setter and his works,it makes me think:”Am i missing out on a secret code,or I’m just a gatecrasher at an all-exclusive party”?I could only do 11a,16a,21a,7d and 23d,the rest were just too difficult to grasp.
Balfour @27
There is the episode where Bart is sent on an exchange visit to France and comes back fluent in the language.
The Outsider @29
I don’t recognise your pseudonym so, if this is your first time to comment, welcome to the site – and my apologies if not. We aim to be totally inclusive and don’t regard any contributors as ‘gatecrashers’. 😉
Was the blog any help at all in explaining the clues you had difficulty with?
Just brilliant, both puzzle and blog (and most comments, come to that). Thanks, all.
Wonderful! Thanks, both!
After giving up in despair yesterday when I solved only a handful of clues, this crossword restored my confidence. I think it’s one of the most enjoyable cryptics I’ve done since I started on the Quick Cryptics eighteen months ago. So neat, funny and clever without being clever-clever. Doesn’t Del Boy say ‘au contraire’, with no understanding of its meaning?
Plus ca change etc simply whizzed in as it’s a phrase I often sprinkle into my day to day English. And therefore most of the top half of this wonderful latest Brendan offering fell into place quite swiftly. Thereafter found things chewier in the nether regions of the grid, with a struggle to parse a few. Loi the Greek goddess, and a penny dropping moment when I realised how that one cleverly worked. Many thanks Brian and the eternally enthusiastic and upbeat Eileen…
You’ve come a long way, Amma @34 – Congratulations!
Thanks, Eileen@36. I couldn’t parse everything – your blog is, as ever, invaluable – but I completed it.
I think there’s a political tinge to 26ac Moving left means getting REDDER.
I don’t think I knew that there was a legitimate English spelling of CAPEESH – ugly, isn’t it. I liked the repetition of the MEME CHOSE as individual words: it’s a deliberate part of the arrangement, not a careless accident. But once all that French was in, clever as it was, the puzzle was more or less over. Speaking of careless accidents, I had an unparsed RECIPE for RECOPY.
I’m glad I made time for this puzzle by one of my top two setters (the other being Philistine who compiled the latest Prize). My experience went along the lines of what my near-namesake (AlanC) reported @2: I filled in the bottom half before tackling the most interesting bits in the top half. I was a tad lucky to recognise PLUS C’EST LA MÊME CHOSE from four of its checked letters (and no doubt also from its enumeration), making the rest of the puzzle more straightforward. CAPEESH was completely new to me and was my LOI. All in all, a super puzzle, as I hoped and expected.
Many thanks to both Brendan and Eileen.
A great puzzle, as always with Brendan. The theme was more or less clear, mais je ne savais pas the French phrase, so DNF… Thanks Brendan and Eileen!
Not a complete waste of time. Only cracked 6 clues.
It’s hard enough doing some of these crosswords in English, let alone French
After feeling battered and bloodied by the Paul-Mog one-two yesterday this was a genuine pleasure. Liked the Anna Karenina and amaretto and it just seems cleverer and cleverer after reading through today’s comments.
What fun! I missed the theme, though, so thanks to Eileen for explaining it and then to Lord Jim @16 for the “meme chose” meme.
ginf@6 — explain please?
Eileen — your blog for SIMILAR leaves out the “is,” which is needed to complete the word.
ARO@21 “Capisce” would be pronounced with three syllables. “CAPEESH” gives the colloquial pronunciation in English.
What a grand romp. I finished the whole puzzle last night, though a few words at a small-hours wake up.
Thanks, Brendan and Eileen.
Hi Valentine @44
Eileen — your blog for SIMILAR leaves out the “is,” which is needed to complete the word.
I don’t think so! – ?
Thank you Eileen.Nothing wrong with your explanations.Its perhaps a big leap for me as my daily go to is Times Quick Cryptic which I solve reasonably well.
Disclaimer:I’m not a mole for Times or endorsing Times Cryptic.
“Capeesh” is the colloquial pronunciation in English because it is the standard pronunciation in Sicilian and Neapolitan. (Except that the initial c is a sound we don’t have initially in English, i.e. unaspirated, making it something between a K and a hard G.)
Excellent puzzle and blog. Thanks to setter and blogger.
This solve overflowed from its lunch spot and into my afternoon. Les pires choses arrivent.
I enjoyed the puzzle, though I wouldn’t gush about it like most commenters have today. I don’t remember seeing TERRENE before, but as we were in a gallic mood today, it came easily. At one point, there was more reversing than on a forklift truck test, but I see how it all comes together and, as Eileen says, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Thanks Brendan, Eileen and bravo à tous!
I agree with Eileen that Brendan’s whole is often greater than the sum of its parts but I’m not sure I see that as an inherently good thing. If there is to be some clever conceit or overall construction I’d prefer it was the icing on the cake rather than the sponge. I know I’m in a tiny minority so I’ll leave it there. Chacun à son goût
Cheers E&B
Just for fun, in the spirit of today’s grid: Engage le jeu que je le gagne!
Pulled teeth to get the last few. Only a few months ago I wouldn’t have been able to finish this one. Really stuck with seven to go, then broke the dam by entering 24a ALL THE SAME unparsed (thanks for enlightening, Eileen!). LOI 12a PROSPERO (oh, “exiled duke” is the definition!). A lot of great clues
3d I would spell CAPICHE, but it seems CAPISCE, CAPISCHE, and CAPEESH are all acceptable variants
14d EXECRATED, I don’t think I’ve seen “suit” for EXEC before — very good. Took a while
I’m with The Outsider @29 and 46. Just too much of a stretch for me this one but many thanks to Eileen for the, as always, excellent blog and explanations which never fail to teach me something.
I rarely hear the second half of PLUS ÇA CHANGE (more often people leave it at that, pronouncing it with an ellipsis and a shrug), and I’ve said many times that I don’t speak French. So I couldn’t remember what the last word of the second half was. So the extra CHOSE was helpful!
C’est not ç’est.
A little cedilla to soften the c
But not before i and not before e
Tremendous fun from Brendan, comme toujours, something of a piece de resistance, with entertaining clues aplenty and a clever theme.
A-THEN-E was probably my favourite for a neat variation on the -AND- device, plus ENLARGE as I always like a one-word anagram.
I thought “replace two letters” in the CAPEESH clue was a bit loose as the letters in question were neither swapped for each other nor replaced by others in the same position, but that’s just my opinion: chacun a son gout, as they say.
Thanks to the dream team of Brendan and Eileen
Thanks for the blog and the puzzle. A then E. Very good.
DJR @55 – many thanks: I am mortified. I was never taught that handy mnemonic but I do know better than that – mea culpa. I have done my corrigenda and given myself 100 lines and a detention. 🙁
I seem to be in a minority finding this a loveless slog for the most part of today. The top half of the grid was absolutely dominated by what was basically one long clue – I hope those who castigated Paul for his duplications yesterday applied a similar standard here. I ended up getting CASTLE MEME and CHOSE all before finally breaking 1&4, and then 10&13 immediately as you would, and then the rest of the grid flowed with minimal trouble from there. That was late in the afternoon however.
Lots of clever bits, and palindromes, and thematic executions once the top half fell apart. Lost on me a tad by then. Thanks Brendan and Eileen.
If I had known that 10, 13 was like that I’d never have started it. Never heard the expression.
Shame, I usually enjoy Brendan’s offerings.
We enjoyed this after a few days away from Crosswords….
Two of my happinesses a) are when we manage most of the clues and feel proud of ourselves, and b) when most of the bloggers are happy and say interesting things.
So today was a good day!
I enjoyed this clever offering very much, thanks Brendan and Eileen.
I see the justifications for reusing MEME CHOSE but to have half a clue mean ‘bung in 15 and 23 again’ was a bit disappointing.
I found this just too much of “look at how clever I am”. I do find it strange that commenters seem to allow certain setters tremendous latitude; e.g. here the unindicated French and repeated words; that they would castigate others for.
Failed to pass ALL THE SAME … and I thought it was a bit too hard for a crossword answer, once I’d read the blog. However, lots of folk managed it, so maybe not.
Just like to say how much I welcome all those who commented today after struggling to solve this one! I often don’t contribute when I’ve failed to finish (which is usually), having seen that virtually all other contributors had succeeded. It’s really nice to have lots of different levels giving their view 😊.
Thanks Brendan and Eileen
I’m sorry, I can’t agree with the almost complete approval of this puzzle. Having a long phrase in French without an indicator seems unfair; as an Italian speaker I winced at CAPEESH, and what’s the “for” doing in 17a?
My favourite, as with others above, was ATHENE. I also felt smug at knowing PROSPERO and ALL THE SAME!
Nightmare! Sorry I’m English, while I know odd bits of French grammar who but a fluent French speaker would know those two long phrases, even ‘one look’ didn’t get them. 🙁
Rich @63. I see your point but Brendan might argue that, for the benefit of people unfamiliar with the long saying and/or with French, it was fair to make it reasonably gettable from the wordplay.
I would have thought that most people who do the Guardian crossword will have heard “Plus ca change”; maybe the second bit less so. In my case, I was lucky in that both bits came to mind quite early on, which made filling the rest of the grid much more straightforward but no less enjoyable.
Brendan seems to please many (most?) people, including me, all of the time, and all the people some of the time. To expect him to achieve the third bit is, as the saying goes, probably asking the impossible.
Many thanks to Brendan (I enjoyed it a lot); and to Eileen for the usual excellent blog.
Muffin @66 “ what’s the “for” doing in 17a?”,
you will probably have seen road signs that say “for X follow Y”.
In this case – to get to something for which Oscar is a dbe, follow/use this wordplay.
Seems fine to me.
An interesting day, with a number of names among the commenters that I don’t recognise, which can’t be a bad thing – but I don’t remember a Brendan puzzle receiving such a marmite reaction.
Having nailed my colours to the mast, I have nothing to add. I’m with bodycheetah @ 50 – ‘Chacun à son goût’ – at least in that respect.
Just one example:
muffin @ 66 – as others might feel smug at having sufficient working knowledge of French to recognise a three-word phrase that has passed into the English language (see mrpenney @54) and actually enjoyed teasing out the less familiar second part from the wordplay, yet rankle at quotations from Shakespeare and Tolstoy, perhaps?
I see that, while I’ve been (slowly) typing – and thinking – I’ve been overtaken by AndrewR @68! I’m too tired to start all over and so I’ll let him speak for me and leave it there.
Thanks to Andrew and to everyone!
Plus ca change…(usually on its own without the completion) is such a part of ordinary English speech that complaints about French, unindicated or not, seem ingenuous to me.
Like Apteryx@3 and some others, I had RECIPE for 22a RECOPY. I justified it as RIPE for poorly and recipe as the formula for making the same thing again. Unfortunately it is the wrong part of speech, so I can’t argue for an equally good solution.
AlanB@40, I share your two favourite setters, Brendan and Philistine, although I make it a triumvirate with Arachne. They never fail to delight.
Thanks B&E for the brilliant puzzle and exceptional blog.
Favourites? Arachne, Philistine and the much-missed Picaroon. I’m afraid I tend to agree with bodycheetah @ 2.22 pm about Brendan: everything is in the service of creating a dazzling tour de force made up of his ingenious themes, patterns, Ninas and so on. But that is purely my personal taste, and it’s obviously a style that appeals to a lot of people.
Thanks both.
A fine entertainment (free and online) that I failed to fully enjoy having lost the will to solve after spotting the clue for C’EST LA MEME CHOSE out of the corner of my eye. That being said there was much to appreciate during extensive reveals, knowing that enlightenment would await me here.
Honi soit qui mal y pense imho.
Gladys @72 (I think it’s safe to go back to numbers now – though I was very grateful for your suggestion the other day 😉 )
PS (after giving my final answer – I hate people who do this!) I have to disagree.
I feel confident in saying that Brendan, brilliant as he is at grid-filling devices, never, ever compromises the quality of his clues, as I highlighted in my preamble to the blog – and I meant to add the excellence of his surfaces throughout.
[Cellomaniac @71
“AlanB@40, I share your two favourite setters, Brendan and Philistine, although I make it a triumvirate with Arachne. They never fail to delight.”
I think that those 3 would probably also be my top picks [no disrespect to the others] of the current setters.
Sadly (and I don’t know why), we rarely see Arachne in the Guardian these days. To assuage the loss, I have recently started printing off Rosa Klebbs from the FT.]
Thanks to Eileen and everyone (well, almost).
To Engineerb at 64, your comment reminds me of a Stephen Fry story. At school, a teacher bellowed at him “Don’t be clever with me, boy” to which the small Fry replied “Yes, sir, just how stupid would you like me to be?”
My thanks, as always, for dropping in, Brian / Brendan @76.
A fantastic puzzle! I enjoyed the French phrase and the repetition of même chose, même chose / all the same. I also liked the music and the chess clues, also related to the theme. And exiled duke.
And thank you for the blog. I needed help with parsing 21a, 22a, 8d.
Merci beaucoup, Eileen, Brendan and everybody!
Thank you for the blog. Unsurprisingly I needed it for every clue. You know I’ve had a ridiculously bad time of it when I don’t even see the anagrams!
26a – REDDER
I still genuinely have no idea how you get this answer, despite the blog; I thought “left” in a crossword meant ‘L’? Where do the letters come from?
Steffen, REDDER – it’s not an anagram, it’s playing on the colour, cardinal red, as worn by cardinals. So more like a cardinal is more red. And “moving left, just the same” tells us it’s a palindrome.
I enjoyed this, but I have enough French to know the phrase.
Thank you to Eileen and Brendan
Steffen@79. Glad to see that you’re still trying the puzzles. REDDER is the same if you read it from left to right or right to left. Cardinal is a red colour or a red bird.
Thanks Brendan and Eileen for the brilliant puzzle and blog.
As a newbie, it is reassuring to read comments from those who, like me, fail to solve most of the puzzle. Thank you for the guidance and explanations in the blog.
I enjoy this setter as there are always hidden depths to many of the clues and the surfaces usually bring a smile. Sometimes takes a while to get going but always worth it. I’ve always thought that the second part of the main phrase was its essential bit even if it is occasionally left unsaid. Cotd for me was Athene. Many thanks to B, and E whose explanations always enlighten.
Eileen @58 if I may be so bold you had only a corrigendum to do!
I got the south west corner and am chuffed with that. And greatly enjoyed revealing all the other clues. I thought it a brilliant puzzle, just wish I’d been able to do it! Give me a few more months…
Amazed as ever at the comments in the Guardian complaining about – this time – foreign words. They’re absolutely standard English words and phrases. If people don’t like the crossword there’s always another one tomorrow. I just imagine that people who do crosswords must be clever and well read. It therefore astonishes me that they have these blind spots and are proud of them. In the last week we’ve had composers, Cambridge Colleges and French phrases widely used in English as the targets of abuse! I’m not very good at Shakespeare, and popular music bands, and films, often leave me baffled. But that’s my ignorance and I always leave these wonderful blogs and wonderful crosswords better educated – rather than resentful!
NHO CAPEESH, but won’t forget it. Ugh! The language of Dante!
Like others I winced at the veramente brutto CAPEESH – its existence, not its use in a crossword – but this was an ideal bedtime solve.
Thanks all.
[James @84 – I did ponder that for a moment or two but, as I had to amend the same error three times, I counted my ‘corrections’ as plural – but I won’t argue about it. 😉 ]
1961B @56: I saw “replace” as re-place, i.e. put two letters in a different place.
PLUS ÇA CHANGE was a phrase I first heard in a government department over a decade ago – little did I know how often I’d hear it in the 13 years hence!
A fine puzzle, having completed a day late I raced to 225 to see what the view was – pleased to see largely positive! I really liked it – but couldn’t help note a tone of resignation with all the “what, this nonsense again?” answers 🙂 thanks Brendan and Eileen!
Thank you Shanne and Oakville
STET would seem to be part of the theme of not changing, too
George @90
Indeed it is – and in my list of favourites. 😉