A tough challenge, with quite a few parsings that took a while to work through. My favourites were 8ac, 12ac, and 25ac. Thanks to Enigmatist.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | FIBRE |
Bran flakes maybe are lying about (5)
|
| definition: bran flakes are a source of fibre in one’s diet
edit thanks to KVa in comments: [they] FIB=[they] “are lying”; plus RE=”concerning”=”about”
|
||
| 4 | NUTHATCH |
New thick cover seen all over nestling bird (8)
|
| edit thanks to AlanC and others in comments who had: definition as “bird” and N + THATCH around (nestling) U = Universal viewing in cinemas
|
||
| 8 | A DREAM COME TRUE |
Fairy-tale outcome, naked man with heavenly body bordering on regret (1,5,4,4)
|
| ADAM (the first man in the Bible, naked in the garden of Eden) + COMET=”heavenly body”; both around/”bordering” RE=concerning=”on”; plus RUE=”regret” | ||
| 10 | KLAXONED |
Warned by horn, flabby person’s knocked down crossing (8)
|
| LAX ONE=”flabby person”; inside/crossing KD (abbreviation for knocked down, shipped in parts prior to assembly [wiki]) | ||
| 11 | PROTON |
It’s charged for fashionable types (6)
|
| PRO=in favour of=”for” + TON=”fashionable types” (‘the ton’=people of fashion, from the French phrase ‘bon ton’) | ||
| 12 | HANDCRAFT |
Manually construct labels seen in bathroom water structure (9)
|
| H AND C (Hot and Cold, “labels seen in bathroom”) + RAFT=”water structure” | ||
| 15 | AISLE |
The writer is going to read out passage (5)
|
| sounds like (‘to read out’): I’LL=I will=”The writer [of this phrase] is going to” | ||
| 17 | TOTEM |
Venerated species? Quickly count how many (5)
|
| TOT ‘EM would be a ‘quick’/shortened way to say ‘tot them’=”count how many” | ||
| 18 | DEAR HEART |
My beloved Music Faculty, and what it does through data transmission (4,5)
|
| one’s EAR for music (‘faculty’ as in ‘ability’), plus HEAR=”what [the ear] does”; both inside DT (abbreviation for data transmission) | ||
| 19 | LEGUME |
Contrarily starts to eat meat – and umpteen set veg (6)
|
| starting letters to E-[at] M-[eat] U-[mpteen], plus to GEL=to “set”; all reversed/”Contrarily” | ||
| 21 | VENDETTA |
Surgeon you shouldn’t have taken around to put a stop to feud (8)
|
| VET (veterinary surgeon) + TA (‘thank you’=’you shouldn’t have’); around END=”put a stop to” | ||
| 24 | IMPERIAL GALLON |
Measure of liquid being seaweedy, litre one’s about to drink (8,6)
|
| I’M=I am=one is=”one’s” + ON=regarding=”about”, both around/”to drink” all of: PERI=a supernatural “being” in Persian folklore; plus ALGAL=like algae=”seaweedy”; plus L (litre) | ||
| 25 | FOOTWEAR |
Order two of each? Right (8)
|
| definition: something ordered in pairs (of shoes, socks, etc)
anagram/”Order” of (two of)*; plus EA (short for “each”) + R (short for “Right”) |
||
| 26 | NICAD |
Battery stereo system finally reduced by 50% (5)
|
| definition: NiCad meaning nickel-cadmium, a type of battery
NICAM [wiki] is a system for broadcasting stereo sound the final M (equal to 1000 in Roman numerals) is reduced by 50% to D (500 in Roman numerals) |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | FRANK WHITTLE |
Engineer cut down below sign (5,7)
|
| definition: an engineer and inventor [wiki]
WHITTLE=to “cut down”; after FRANK=to place an official mark on something=”sign” |
||
| 2 | BAR MAGNET |
Recycled reticule with weapon kept in drawer (3,6)
|
| definition: a magnet is something that ‘draws’ or attracts
a “reticule” is a bag made of netting, or a NET BAG, recycled/re-ordered to become BAG NET; with ARM=”weapon” kept inside |
||
| 3 | ERATO |
In retirement old books are a source of inspiration (5)
|
| definition: one of the muses in Greek myth
reversal (In retirement) of: OT (Old Testament, books of the Bible) + ARE (from the surface) |
||
| 4, 23 | NICKEL AND DIME |
Trump’s tuppenny-ha’penny copshop lined dame up (6-3-4)
|
| definition: US (“Trump’s”) phrase describing something cheap, similar to the British “tuppeny-ha’penny”
edit thanks to KVa and others in the comments: NICK=police station=”copshop”; plus anagram/”up” of (lined dame)*
|
||
| 5, 14 | TIME TRAVELLER |
McFly perhaps turning it up satisfied one repeatedly doing twist? (4,9)
|
| definition: in the film Back to the Future [wiki], Marty McFly is the name of a time traveller
IT (from surface) reversed (turning… up); plus MET [some conditions]=”satisfied”; plus RAVELLER=someone that ravels=”one repeatedly doing twist” |
||
| 6 | AFTERMATH |
A fine term at Harrow – but what points out consequences (9)
|
| A (from surface) + F (fine) + TERM AT (both from surface) + H-[arrow] with arrow=”what points” taken “out” | ||
| 7 | COUNT |
Recognise member of European nobility (5)
|
| double definition | ||
| 9 | UNRESTRAINED |
Extreme disquiet did prevail, according to hearsay (12)
|
| UNREST=”disquiet” plus RAINED which sounds like (according to hearsay) ‘reigned’=”did prevail” | ||
| 13 | CAMEMBERT |
MP that whip’s feeding on cheese (9)
|
| CAT (of nine tails)=”whip” around/”feeding on”: MEMBER (MP, member of parliament) | ||
| 14 | TIME TRAVELLER |
See 5
|
| 16 | SMART ALEC |
Know-all Special Constable arresting market porter? (5,4)
|
| SC (Special Constable) around/arresting both of: MART=”market” + ALE=”porter” beer | ||
| 20 | GUMBO |
Fool rolling barrel over lady’s fingers (5)
|
| definition: “lady’s fingers” and GUMBO are both other names for okra
a MUG=a “Fool”, reversed/”rolling”; plus B (barrel) + O (over in cricket) |
||
| 22 | DRAWN |
Worried chap might be put in the picture (5)
|
| double definition: a person can can look drawn when worried; or things can be drawn into a picture | ||
| 23 | NICKELAND DIME |
See 4
|
I had NUTHATCH as N + THATCH around (nestling) U = Universal viewing in cinemas.
I was not very confident about completing this but with a lot of checking, I eventually made it. Full of twists and witty clues, this was actually good fun. My favourites were FIBRE, NUTHATCH, A DREAM COME TRUE, VENDETTA, FOOTWEAR, FRANK WHITTLE, NICKEL AND DIME and SMART ALEC. I couldn’t even begin to parse IMPERIAL GALLON or NICAD, so thanks for that.
Ta Enigmatist & manehi.
Thanks Enigmatist and manehi
I completed the grid, but several I didn’t bother to try to parse. NICAD in particular was baffling, as I had never heard of NICAM.
Why is “chap” in 22d? “He” (or “she”) would read better.
Favourite HANDCRAFT.
[Last year and this we have frequently been seeing nuthatches in our garden; never in the previous 40-odd years. Are they becoming more common?]
Many faves. Topmost among them were FIBRE, KALXONED, HANDCRAFT, IMPERIAL GALLON and UNRESTRAINED.
FIBRE
Took ‘are lying’ as FIB.
NICKEL AND DIME
Took copshop as NICK
NUTHATCH
Parsed it as AlanC@1
Thanks Enigmatist and manehi.
Same as KVa @3 for NICKEL AND DIME.
Much more approachable than many of this setter’s offerings although the parsing was tough in places.
Thanks for the parsing of 8a and 24a where I had bits but not the whole.
I particularly liked SMART ALEC and FOOTWEAR
Thanks Enigmatist and thanks manehi for the explanations of those two
DRAWN
I find that ‘chap’ also means cheek/jaw.
Either def 1 could be read as in the blog
or
could be split into two
Def1: Worried
Def 2: chap might be (Of course someone’s jaw or cheek is drawn when worried. So 1 and 2 are
related. I can’t think of anything better. Someone may have a better explanation for the ‘chap’).
That was a challenge! Many thanks for the helpful blog. I parsed nuthatch like AlanC. In 4, 23 down I thought “Nick” was cop shop and the anagrind was just “up”,
KVa @8
That makes more sense. I was wondering why an adult (presumably) nuthatch would be referred to as a “nestling”.
KVa’s post disappeared as I was typing! It was making the point that “nestling” was just a containment indicator for the U.
Sorry muffin@9.
After posting my comment, I noticed that AlanC@1 had already explained
that aspect.
I feel as though I am just starting to tune in to Enigmatist’s wavelength. Of course, it could be that this was a slightly easier puzzle, but maybe, just maybe, I can see a glimmer of light at the end of a very long tunnel! I enjoyed the tussle very much.
Thanks to Enigmatist and manehi
KVa @10
No problem. I had missed that in AlanC’s post too.
FIBRE
Adding to what I said @3
‘are lying’=FIB (as in they are lying/they FIB) seems to work better
than ‘lying=FIB’ as the ‘are’ isn’t accounted for in the latter case.
The ‘are’ as a linkword doesn’t sit well in the cryptic reading.
TOTEM
Should we consider it as quickly said ‘total them’?
Instead of GUMBO I guessed that BARKO might be some kind of slang for a fool who was either barking mad or barking up the wrong tree, which would have parsed nicely as B for Barrel and a reversal (over) of OKRA. Unfortunately…
Being non-techie, didn’t know NICAM, let alone NICAD! Rueful DNF, as completing the rest was gratifying. Thanks both.
I have an answer for every clue, and I can even parse quite a few, which is good going for me with Enigmatist. The ones that escaped me were NICAD (nho NICAM), KLAXONED (ditto the KD abbreviation), DEAR HEART and IMPERIAL GALLON, and the first bit of A DREAM COME TRUE because I had “naked mAn” as just A so the dream wouldn’t parse.
But I did enjoy this: ticks for FIB RE, SMART ALEC, H AND C RAFT, NICKEL AND DIME and FOOTWEAR. Glad to say that I remembered FRANK WHITTLE and picked the right McFly. Thanks Enigmatist and manehi.
My word I needed the blog today!
I completed the parsing to a half dozen or so: the rest were, at best, semi-parsed – and some (yes IMPERIAL GALLON, I’m looking at you) were just guesses based on crossers.
But despite all that I really thoroughly enjoyed it (especially after yesterday’s dog’s dinner). And, on the occasions when the post-parsing swam into view, it was enormously satisfying.
Huge thanks, manehi, for all the explanations; I had no idea reticules were made of net, and like Gladys, with 8A I got comet and rue, but thought “naked man” was that first A and so couldn’t make sense of dream.
HANDCRAFT, AFTERMATH and FIBRE were my favourites.
Thank you Enigmatist for the challenge.
[muffin@2: nuthatches have been visiting our feeders for years. I love the way they eat upside-down, craning their heads back and up, every now and then]
For KLAXONED, I had ‘knocked down’ = KO, crossing LAX NED – Ned being a person. Seemed to work… This crossie took me quite a while over several sittings, with too much guess-from-definition and check-the-answer for my liking. Thanks to manehi (and several commenters) for the hard yakka in sorting out the parsings I could never get (or lost the will to continue trying to find), and Enigmatist for the tough task.
muffin @2
You must have inherited our nuthatches – we used to see a lot on our feeder (or the same one multiple times), but recently they’ve been absent. Nice to see them celebrated in 4ac.
I found this pretty approachable, no wrong directions and I’m getting used to a few regular devices (you shouldn’t have). Got NICAD, but needed the parsing, thanks.
Well done manehi to unravel this one. I’m sorry but I personally did not much care for this. Liked aftermath and camembert, but found most of the rest overly convoluted with rather obscure definitions. Klaxoned is going in my list of most loathed. Thats my rant over and for the people who loved it – good for you! Thanks doctor estimating for the puzzle.
Strangely, none of the wordsearch engines I sometimes use found KLAXONED.
NUTHATCH: I’m sure AlanC’s parse is correct, but that renders “seen all over”=U, which seems a bit dodgy to me. The ‘U’ might be paraphrased as “seen by all” but not really “seen all over”.
DRAWN was a really tight cryptic double def; my LOI. Very ingenious.
I easily biffed IMPERIAL GALLON=”measure of liquid”, but I couldn’t parse the clue, ignorant of the Persian supernatural. And like others here, I didn’t know NICAM so couldn’t parse the biffable NiCad battery.
There is a sort of assumption in the crossword world that the required GK orientates very much towards the European and North American arts and humanities up to mid-20thC and not much towards science and technology. So, it’s nice to see Whittle, NICAM and algal squeezing in here.
Thanks for the blog Manehi – very much needed in very many parts
Just one slip – In Nicad D is 500, not L
Three miracles with this one- I completed an Enigmatist, I did it quicker than Paul’s challenge yesterday and on the whole enjoyed it.
Only two unparsed NICAD and KLAXONED (I doubted that was even a word but nothing better was coming). Judging by comments here and on Guardian site I will take that as an achievement as well.
Certainly labouring through this setter’s efforts in many nationals is starting to pay off.
Thanks Manehi and Enigmatist
well done, manehi! – finished this but with maybe half unparsed and it would have taken an eon to get to NICAD …
Re 22 (DRAWN), I parsed “chap might be” as referring to one of a pair of chaps (chaparreras), leather leggings that are worn over trousers and are fastened by straps, ie drawn, so the clue to me is a triple definition (worried; chap might be; and put in the picture).
Was going to say the same about D and L in Nicad but Dropbear@24 beat me to it.
This was a real toughie for me, so thanks to Manehi for the parsing, and Enigmatist for the challenge. Got them all except the Engineer (whom I should have thought of – my degree is in Engineering from 43 years ago!), but parsing was a real struggle for some.
I finished and even enjoyed an Enigmatist puzzle. I was reminded of PostMark’s great joke in an Around the World in Eighty Days context, because they were all parsed bar two. Muffin, Nuthatches have even started nesting in a gap in the brickwork of our house.
“Being” -> PERI is a construction that a normal human could only solve the other way around.
Perhaps one doesn’t need to know about Persian supernaturals – the sub-title of G&S’s ‘Iolanthe’ is ‘The Peer and the Peri’ – so just a fairy.
pserve_p2@23: those of us on the other side of the divide feel that there are more STEM-related clues lately: solving PROTON may be very basic science, but it’s out of my everyday range. (NB: this is not a complaint.)
@muffin not really all that strangely. I refuse to consider it a real word.
And legumes aren’t veg.
Somehow, with lots of help, I filled the grid but couldn’t parse IMPERIAL GALLON (PERI for being seems a bit loose to me), DEAR HEART and NICAD (although I do sort of remember Nicam). Lots of clues to like though. My personal list was FRANK WHITTLE, FIBRE, LEGUME, BAR MAGNET, NICKEL AND DIME, AFTERMATH, and SMART ALEC.
Thanks Enigmatist and manehi.
Plus, using the tangerine moron as metonymy for the US is not to be encouraged.
Billy Mills @33
Chambers allows “to klaxon” as a verb, so its past participle is surely valid too?
I’m confused by you saying that legumes aren’t vegetables. Passing over that it’s French for “vegetable”, even in English we eat a lot of leguminous vegetables – peas, beans, etc.
Some legumes are vegetables and some vegetables are legumes: it isn’t a complete overlap but it was near enough to solve the clue (and not entirely wrong).
Beyond my pay grade, I’m afraid. Filled half the grid, with many unparsed.
And reading the blog, I’m not surprised. Lots of GK new to me, unfamiliar words, and constructions beyond my skill level.
Congratulations to those of you who unravelled this.
Muffin@2
[Nuthatches – depends where you live, like many birds they are moving north, maybe due to climate change and agriculture practices. 40 years ago they were not in Scotland but now they are fairly common. In the Pyrenees they are declining but still fairly common in forests.]
I started off making reasonable progress and thinking that this must be easier than usual for Enigmatist. But although I managed to fill the grid eventually, there were several that were just entered from the definition. IMPERIAL GALLON I would never have parsed — “being = PERI”? — every person or thing is a being so that doesn’t narrow it down much! I’m also a bit doubtful about “did prevail” = “reigned” in UNRESTRAINED. Someone may reign as the result of prevailing in a struggle, but I’m not sure they’re the same thing.
But I did particularly enjoy SMART ALEC for the nice surface and play on “porter”, and FOOTWEAR for the clever &lit. (In response to recent comments I am occasionally trying to explain why I like clues 🙂 .)
Many thanks Enigmatist and manehi.
… I’ve just looked up “reign” in Chambers (which I should have done before commenting) and one definition is “to prevail”. Oh well.
Tricky as expected from Enigmatist; needed search for the engineer Frank and the battery (despite having all crossers), and McFly. Completed the rest with many unparsed. No wonder the blogger had some parsing issues – thanks manehi and all the contributors, it was needed. It was a slow solve, with not much satisfaction (other than from solving tricky clues) but I guess good for the learning process. Thanks Enigmatist
Last weeks Private Eye crossword set by Cyclops had the following clue: ‘Rather cheesy, this MP getting cuddled by whip.’ Are Cyclops and Enigmatist one and the same?
Last weeks Private Eye crossword set by Cyclops had the following clue: ‘Rather cheesy, this MP getting cuddled by whip.’ Are Cyclops and Enigmatist one and the same?
Gumbo isn’t okra, it’s a stew of celery, peppers and onions in a strong stock. When lady’s fingers are used as a thickener then it is okra gumbo.
Kevin & Sou Wester, are you one and the same?
Staticman1#25 Exactly the same for me.
dl42 @ 45
From Chambers:
“gumbo /gumˈbō/
noun (pl gumˈbos)
1. Okra or its mucilaginous pods
2. A soup thickened with okra pods
3. A dish of okra pods seasoned
4. A fruit conserve (US informal)
5. In central USA, a fine soil which becomes sticky or soapy when wet
6. (with cap) a patois spoken by blacks and Creoles in Louisiana, etc
ORIGIN: Louisiana Fr gombo, from Bantu (ki)ngombo”
The OED also has definition 1.
It’s always a good idea to consult a dictionary before commenting on the meaning of a word.
Having never heard of FRANK WHITTLE, I had to reveal him, giving me the crossers I needed for FIBRE and KLAXONED (which I too refuse to believe is a real word). But that’s the closest to the end I’ve gotten in an Enigmatist without needing the reveal button.
I also agree with Billy @35 that “Trump’s” to mean “American” is annoying, is lazy, is getting old, and is really starting to grate. Setters who read this far, this is my plea to PLEASE STOP.
To AlanC @ 46: one’s my evil twin, but I’m not sure which is which
SW@ 50: 😊
Thank you for the blog and comments for the bouts of clarity. I solved Frank Whittle then lost the will when revealing Nicad and Erato. No chance. Ho hum.
D_a_n_n @52
I’ve never seen NICAD in a crossword before, but ERATO is surprisingly frequent! If the clue says “inspiration”, a Greek muse is quite probably the answer, and the others are more difficult to clue. Anyone fancy writing a clue for TERPSICHORE?
[Actually, a search turned up this one from Philistine in 2022:
Unorthodox priest with job providing inspiration to dance (11)]
Thanks for the blog , I saw the name of the setter on my way to work and thought great , scratch my head on the way home . Sadly not to be , friendly grid and very friendly clues . They say it is the hope that kills you .
It’s charged = PROTON hmmmm , a tiny glimpse of science and the setters park their imagination .
Kevin@43 , Cyclops is Brummie .
Just printed the FT instead, life’s too short.
Muffin@53
Another convention logged- thank you.
Given my previous comments about Enigmatist I’d say this was more Brahms than Mahler…thank you manehi and other commentators for the blog and Enigmatist for the grid.
No fun!
Not being familiar with Back to the Future I was pleased to construct 5/14 from the wordplay and crossers in a sort of jorum where the definition rather than the solution was unknown.
16d Technically porter is not an ale; they are both different types of beer. In mediaeval times even ale and beer were different, ale being brewed without hops.
Thanks to Enigmatist and manehi
We had nuthatch as ‘nu’ the Greek letter and thatch
I agree with Roz, that this wasn’t as challenging as we’ve come to expect from Enigmatist, but I found it a good solid puzzle – though easier than the preceding Paul’s for me – and I felt that it was rather more stylish than some of E’s other offerings.
PROTON came and went without particular remark in my case.
Thanks all.
Pretty amazed we finished this having never completed an Enigmatist before. Found it easier than Thursday’s Paul. Like others never heard of NICAD. Favourite was TOTEM. Thanks Enigmatist and Manehi.
NICADs used to be popular in labs – nickel-cadmium cells , very low internal resistance so very easy to recharge .
NICAM popular in the 90s for TVs and video recorders , a stereo system for the old analogue signals , must have died out when things went digital .
Near Instantaneous Compression And Multiplexing was/is digital, Roz.
Analogue stereo was/is broadcast on FM using a 38kHz sub carrier (suppressed) to carry the difference signal (“S”) from the mono (M). A 19kHz pilot signal is used to regenerate the 38kHz carrier to demodulate the S.
Yes it was digital to work with the old PAL analogue signals on the BBC , no longer needed with digital broadcasting . You could buy NICAM TVs and videos but they were more expensive .
I get fully what you meant now, thanks Roz.
[It’s nice to be reminded of these old systems:
PAL (Pale And Lurid) as used in the UK.
NTSC (Never Twice Same Colour) as used in the US.
SECAM (System Essentially Contrary to the American Method) as used in France.
Many a true word spoken in jest…]
I like the acronyms , we still have an old Phillips VCR with NICAM stereo written on it . I suspect most people ( maybe the setter ) in the UK only met this term for consumer goods for about 20 years .
Oofyprosser @ 15, I am a techie but didn’t think of NICAM either (it’s obsolete now anyway) and I don’t think I would have worked out the replacement of M with D as explained above.
Almost insanely difficult. While I persevered to the end with only one unsolved, the parsings were largely incomprehensible.
On what planet did you find this setter?
And something I’ve noticed in this blog, why doesn’t anyone else speak up about some of the really arcane clues and puzzles Enigmatist presents. Is that the stiff upper lip of the British as seen in the cryptic puzzle blog world?
Enigmatist presents a level of difficulty I’ve not regularly encountered in the Guardian Cryptic puzzles for the last 20 years.
Frequently when I crack one of the clues I’m never certain of my answer’s correctness, because of the level of parsing difficulty.
Paul always seemed the toughest until the E-monster arrived.
Awful. Should I know that DT is a standard abbreviation for Data Transmission, and B is a standard abbreviation for Barrel?
I stuck with this for a while because there was still some movement, but I think I’m done now, with seven unsolved, mostly in the SE. I was pleased, though, to get as far as I did
15a AISLE I parsed as “The writer is going to” (I’ll) “read out” (past tense) — otherwise “to” does double duty. I liked the surface of this one, suggesting a reading event
I also enjoyed 24a IMPERIAL GALLON, both for the surface and the parsing
2d we’ve had a lot of MAGNETs lately, especially clued as “drawer”!