Guardian 27,133 / Picaroon

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Seeing Picaroon’s name this morning made me, if possible, even more thankful that I was scheduled to blog today rather than yesterday.

Another excellent and most enjoyable offering from Picaroon, with the usual superb cluing throughout [apart from a slight blip at 2dn]. Many thanks to him.

[There may be one or two complaints of parochialism but I hope that will not have spoiled the enjoyment.]

Across

1 Power-mad criminal (6)
PIRATE
P [power] + IRATE [mad]

4 Like some drinks, talking with old therapist (6)
PHYSIO
PHYSI – sounds like [talking] ‘fizzy’ [like some drinks] + O [old]

9 Doctor Liam Fox in a tense scrutiny of motives (4-11)
SELF-EXAMINATION
Anagram [Doctor] of LIAM FOX IN A TENSE – one of the best anagrams I’ve seen for a long time: for non-UK solvers, politician Liam Fox is a doctor

10 Monarch‘s hot, tearing finery with an “eff off”! (5,1)
HENRY I
H [hot] + an anagram [tearing] of [f]INERY [with an eff off] – lovely!

11 Ex-minister meeting resistance — and not a leader (8)
GOVERNOR
[Michael] GOVE [ex-minister] + R [resistance] + NOR [and not]

12 Ruling nationalist‘s way to encourage progress (8)
STURGEON
ST[reet] [way] + URGE ON [encourage progress] – I think the Scottish Nationalist leader, Nicola  Sturgeon, has, like Michael Gove, appeared enough times now to be familiar

14 Carmen is close to perfect for discriminating fellow (6)
RACIST
RAC [car men] IS + [perfec]T

15 Two coppers arresting a small group of politicians (6)
CAUCUS
CU CU [two coppers] round A + S [small]

18 Muslim country in revolt, having to convert to Catholicism (8)
ROMANISE
OMAN [Muslim country] in RISE [revolt]

21 Piano star drunk on beer, where classical training took place (8)
PALESTRA
P [piano] + ALE [beer] + an anagram [drunk] of STAR

22 Banks maybe withdraw a false statement (6)
GOALIE
GO [withdraw] A LIE [false statement] for the legendary England goalkeeper Gordon Banks

24 Seeking academics to engage somewhere near Cambridge (15)
HUNTINGDONSHIRE
HUNTING [seeking] DONS [academics] + HIRE [engage] – Huntingdonshire is now a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire

25 Brandy drinks before church (6)
KIRSCH
KIRS [drinks] before CH [church]

26 American wears top out of bed or stuck in it (4,2)
LAID UP
A [American] in LID [top] + UP [out of bed]

Down

1 Bar where spin doctors congregate? (7)
PREVENT
Spin doctors might congregate at a PR EVENT

2 Joint Head of Enterprise leaves for transfer (5)
REFER
RE[e]FER [joint] minus E[nterprise]: a pity about ‘fer’ being in both clue and answer [cf quibbles re yesterday’s puzzle] and both verbs being from the same root – most unlike Pcaroon!

3 Material from humorist ultimately old hat (7)
TEXTILE
[humoris[T + EX [old] TILE [hat]

5 Chinese race finished in George’s house? (7)
HANOVER
HAN [Chinese race] + OVER [finished] for the house of four King Georges

6 Settled down with your picture book from Rome (9)
SATYRICON
SAT [settled down] + YR [your] ICON [picture] for Petronius’ work

7 Humming note, run round America with nothing on (7)
ODOROUS
O [nothing] + DO [note] + R [run] + O [round] + US [America] – I think, but I’m not entirely happy

8 One dope hugs second daughter in Shakespeare (6)
IMOGEN
I [one] GEN [dope] round MO [second] for the daughter of Cymbeline

13 Governess’s favourite eggs are picked up without box (9)
ROCHESTER
ROE [eggs] + R [sounds like – picked up – ‘are’] outside CHEST [box] for Jane Eyre’s favourite

16 A rubbish country welcomes right modernising leader (7)
ATATURK
A TAT [a rubbish] UK [country] round R [right]

17 Popular turns adopted by a cast working like hell (7)
SATANIC
A reversal [turns] of IN [popular] in an anagram [working] of A CAST

18 Painter captures something magical in land (6)
RWANDA
RA [painter] round WAND [something magical]

19 Two spies together with a red (7)
MAGENTA
M and AGENT [two spies] + A

20 Republican brought in to agitate gets a foothold (7)
STIRRUP
R [republican] in STIR UP [agitate]

23 What a doctor has, catching current bug (5)
APHID
A PH.D [what a doctor of philosophy has] round I [current]

47 comments on “Guardian 27,133 / Picaroon”

  1. I can’t see any problem with 7D the way you’ve parsed it. “with nothing on” provides the initial “O”.

  2. Thanks Eileen and Picaroon.

    I enjoyed this puzzle, although at first I thought I would never be able to solve it!

    I could not parse the RAC in 14a and I am still not sure what it is – maybe Royal Automobile Club? or something like that?

    I failed to solve 1d and 22a – I don’t know the current football/soccer/rugby players let alone the oldies. I do know the old movie stars from the 1920s onwards, but not the football players. Chacun à son goût, I suppose.

  3. Thanks, Jason – it’s just that ‘on’ usually means ‘added on’, rather than ‘at the beginning’.

  4. ignore my query above

    I have found it

    RAC |??re??si?|
    abbreviation
    • (in the UK) Royal Armoured Corps.
    • (in the UK) Royal Automobile Club.

  6. thanks Eileen – I should have guessed. In fact, the “problem” was that I did not think to separate the word into CAR MEN

  7. One slight quibble, for me – using “ex-minister” for GOVE. What if he were to become a minister again? I don’t think clues should be transient in this way. But no big deal…

    All in all an excellent and enjoyable workout.

    Thanks, Picaroon (and Eileen).

  8. Thanks, Eileen.

    What a superb setter this is. His signature calling at 1a!

    Had to use the internet to find SATYRICON but other than that all went in reasonably well.

    I hope it’s not inappropriate to mention last evening’s Inside No 9 here. It was great fun of course, being involved in a crossword so intimately, but I confess to not understanding the piece. Who planned the crime? It rather had to be the Professor as he had prepared the crossword so meticulously as a backdrop, but how did he know she would come that evening and lace his tea with poison. Perhaps someone can explain it to me, or perhaps (as my wife constantly reminds me) I’m taking a bit of fun far too seriously.

  9. Against yesterday’s decidedly sub-par offering this was a joy to solve. Some lovely surfaces (I agree 2d not ideal but I didn’t notice it until I read the blog) and the odd obscure word to keep me on my toes. Liked 13d and 22a particularly.

    Thanks to Picaroon and Eileen

  10. Hi William @8 – I think the blog of yesterday’s puzzle might run for a while yet, so that’s perhaps the best place to discuss it.

  11. Yes, back to normality (after yesterday’s oddity) with a great Picaroon puzzle. Favourites were APHID (took me some time to get this), MAGENTA (couldn’t parse! How dim. Thanks, Eileen), STURGEON and ODOROUS. Many thanks to P & E.

  12. Thanks Picaroon and Eileen.

    Lovely cluing; I can’t see any theme. I liked the car men, Liam Fox and the PHYSIO.

    Still to watch Inside No. 9, which I recorded last night.

  13. Thanks Eileen and Picaroon.

    Found this tough. Liked PIRATE (when I eventually got it), APHID and the lovely PHYSIO.

  14. Another lovely puzzle from this setter, though frustratingly I failed to solve 6D. SATYRICON is an entirely new word to me despite my having studied Latin for more years than I care to recall! My personal favourite clues were STURGEON, GOVERNOR, MAGENTA, PREVENT and RWANDA. Thanks to Picaroon and Eileen

  16. Thanks Eileen and Picaroon.

    Found this tough. Liked PIRATE (when I got it), APHID and the lovely PHYSIO.

  18. Thanks Eileen and Picaroon.

    It takes me much longer than my 40 minute combined train and tube journeys to completely solve a Picaroon, so only about 50% done today.

  19. lancsolver @14

    I did A Level Latin but hadn’t heard of the SATYRICON until I went to University, where it was my first set book – quite a culture shock!

  21. Thank you Picaroon and Eileen.

    The site is working properly now, I tried all morning to get the blog up, only Sphinx would appear! See now on the Sphinx site that one has to use the F5 refresh button when this happens.

    A most enjoyable puzzle, but I had trouble trying to parse ODOROUS. The anagram for SELF-EXAMINATION was great, and I also liked the ‘Governess’s favourite’ and ‘the book from Rome’.

  23. Thanks Eileen and Picaroon. Found this very enjoyable, esp 4ac and 1dn. Eileen was concerned at complaints of parochialism, but the politicians names were well known. However Banks, RAC and humming (again) slowed me down. Unlike Michelle I know many English sports legends (Trueman, Bannister, Redgrave et al) but never heard of said Gordon B. Not complaining though.

  24. A superb puzzle. I felt rewarded after every clue. At other times I feel triumphant for having overcome the contrivances, but for me solving Picaroon always prompts satisfaction rather than gloating. 2d didn’t bother me as I was happy to be transported back to university days as I parsed the clue. 4a, 12a, 22a were among many favourites. Thank you Picaroon and Eileen.

  25. Hi HKrunner @23

    I was thinking also of HUNTINGDONSHIRE.

    Gordon Banks was England’s goalkeeper throughout their 1966 World Cup campaign. [He also played for my local team, Leicester City – I have just found out that they bought him for £7,000 in 1959.]

  26. Brilliant as ever from Picaroon – a little tricky in places but all completely fair. GOALIE was last in – went through a very long list of Banks before remembering Gordon. My favourite was ATATURK, also liked PIRATE and SELF-EXAMINATION.

    Thanks to Picaroon and Eileen

  27. Thanks Picaroon and Eileen

    Went smoothly and entertainingly up to the SE, which I took far too long to complete (despite having APHID quite quickly). Eventually I saw MAGENTA (which I wouldn’t describe as “red” – the Red/Green/Blue colour system is quite different from the Cyan/Magenta/Yellow one); the rest then followed.

    I loved the two long ones across, PR EVENT, and GOALIE )when I eventually got it – LOI!)

  28. Laughed out loud at physio and goalie. Lovely puzzle which took us well past lunchtime to finish. Thanks to everyone.

  29. You were indeed blessed to be given this one to blog, Eileen. It was a superb puzzle, as you and others have said in different ways. I particuilarly liked 9a SELF-EXAMINATION (my first in), 10a HENRY I (my second), 12a STURGEON, 15a CAUCUS and 24a HUNTINGDONSHIRE, and to these I would add 13d ROCHESTER and 17d SATANIC for their great surfaces.

    HENR I was perhaps a bit easy, given “Monarch … (5,1)”, but some clues have to be accessible.

    I had fun with 22a GOALIE: I had the ‘G’, and when I saw ‘Banks’ I immediately thought of Gordon. In a way I was right, but thankfully I didn’t bung it in. The proper answer made this a good clue.

    Many thanks to Picaroon, and to Eileen for the blog.

  30. Obviously @29 I meant ‘HENRY I’ in my second paragraph. There was another spelling mistake too – sorry to be so clumsy.

  31. A puzzle of four corners for us today, NE, SW, NW and finally SE. 9A was a fantastic clue. The mention of Liam Fox and Michael Gove in the same puzzle caused a bit of a chill, but this was a really fun puzzle.

    Thank you Picaroon and Eileen.

  33. What a palate-cleanser after yesterday. Wit and erudition at every turn, and an object lesson in how to clue unfamiliar words. Transparent parsing throughout. Picaroon makes this look easy – Sphinx showed that it isn’t.

  35. Despite all the parochialism, I managed this with not too much woe (and not too much “whoa!” either). Difficult but doable. As you noted, Eileen, Nicola Sturgeon and Michael Gove are both reasonably familiar by now. Today’s football player was easy enough–but only because when I saw the clue and the fact that GOALIE fit, I just figured that Banks must be a goalie of some sort.

    The only hold-up presented by the fact that I live over here was figuring out that there was a place called HUNTINGDONSHIRE, but the clue was straightforward.

    I’ve said this before–one of these days, I’ll write a baseball-themed puzzle and inflict it on all of you as a form of revenge for all the football and cricket players I’ve been forced to work around here.

  36. Super puzzle – and all the more enjoyable after yesterday’s eccentric effort.

    Many thanks to Picaroon and Eileen.

  37. I am not sure there was a theme as such, but there were many references to things to do with those in power such as kings and politicians: HENRY, GOVERNOR, STURGEON, CAUCUS, HANOVER, ROCHESTER, ATATURK, LIAM FOX, GOVE, GEORGE.

    SATYRICON I knew from Fellini, having sat bewildered through it in the 60s; I am surprised no one else mentioned it. I entered PALESTRA, but I don’t know why, as I thought I had never heard of it; is it a well know word that has eluded me?

    Thanks Eileen and Picaroon

  38. Terrific. I thought I wasn’t going to get there , NE corner the last, but delighted to finish without help. a perfect challenge then
    I too remembered Satyricon feom Fellini

  39. I too knew Satyricon from the film – it was my first X-rated film and I had no idea what Fellini meant, let alone that he was a person. The film itself was a complete mystery!

    Great puzzle from Picaroon – only just given up with 2d unsolved.

    Thanks to Eileen for the blog.

  40. Dave @37: I don’t know how well the word PALESTRA is known in general. I know it from the Palestra, the arena at the University of Pennsylvania, which is one of the meccas of basketball here. It apparently was named on the suggestion of a classics professor at Penn. Since “mecca of basketball” is not a concept that makes any sense in Britain, I’m sure others have different experiences of the word.

  42. A great puzzle from our precise pirate Picaroon.

    Similar experience to mrpenney@35, as I have become familiar with Nicola STURGEON 12a and Michael GOVE (used in 11a) through both Brexit and The Guardian puzzle. For me, Banks for the GOALIE at 22a was a guess as I am more familiar with Inspector Alan Banks from the novels and TV series; also guessed 24a HUNTINGDONSHIRE and 21a PALESTRA from the crossers; all confirmed as correct by Google.

    I echo others’ appreciation of 4a PHYSIO and 13d ROCHESTER. The latter made me think of the craggy-faced Orson Welles in the part in the film version of “Jane Eyre” which I showed school kids on a 16 mm in the 70s. The film-maker took some licence with the original Bronte tale. However at last the story made sense. I also saw the film “Satyricon” (here clued as a book at 6d) in the 70s, and as others have remarked, made no sense of it at all, though it was considered very trendy at the time.

    Thanks to Picaroon and Eileen.

    [The gremlins have certainly made the forum very difficult to access for me. My cached link to the Guardian fifteensquared on this iPad is still not loading properly and I am not sure how to delete it and start again. Not sure how one does “Refresh” on an iPad (no F7 button). So as a technosaur, I am having to go through the search engine every time. Any hints from non-technosaurs?]

  43. I meant “at LEAST the story made sense”, as opposed to “Satyricon” which was like a trip on drugs.

  44. [Talking about films – like “Satyricon” – that made a lasting impression but little sense when seen as a teenager, does anyone else remember “Last year at Marienbad”?]

  45. I fully endorse Trailman’s wise words @33.
    After yesterday’s hype which we thought was Hell, Picaroon’s puzzle was pure Heaven.
    Thanks Eileen – lucky you!

  47. Well, I struggled with this and couldn’t solve 14A, 15A, 6D and 13D.

    Even if I’d got the acrosses – which I should have – I reckon I would have struggled with the last two.

    Having said that – I almost gave up with about half done, then with about 3/4 done, so am quite pleased that I got so far.

    I really enjoy Picaroon puzzles and these blogs.

    Thanks

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