The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27141.
An excellent middle-of-the-road solve, with only a couple of slightly uncommon words, but a passel of cracking clues.
| Across | ||
| 9 | WHITEHALL | Civil service barrier restricts success, what? (9) |
| An envelope (‘restricts’) of HIT (‘success’) plus EH? (‘what?’) in WALL (‘barrier’). | ||
| 10 | AROSE | A flower sprang up (5) |
| A charade of ‘a’ plus ROSE (‘flower’). | ||
| 11 | NO SWEAT | Was one badly troubled initially? Not a problem! (2,5) |
| A charade of NO SWEA, an anagram (‘badly’) of ‘was one’ plus T (‘Troubled initially’). | ||
| 12 | YOU AND I | We can be heard as two characters in quiz (3,3,1) |
| Sounds like (‘can be heard’) U and I (‘two characters in qUIz’). | ||
| 13 | ILEX | Holly perhaps as one left with lover no longer (4) |
| A charade of I (‘one’) plus L (‘left’) plus EX (‘lover no longer’), for the botanical name of the holly genus. | ||
| 14 | GRADATIONS | Trains a dog awkwardly to make steps (10) |
| An anagram (‘awkwardly’) of ‘trains a dog’. | ||
| 15 | GETAWAY | Criminal escape that sounds unbelievable! (7) |
| GET AWAY! (‘that sounds unbelievable!). | ||
| 17 | BURGHER | Citizen‘s fast food, hard to eat (7) |
| An envelope (‘to eat’) of H (‘hard’) in BURGER (‘fast food’). | ||
| 19 | INTEGRALLY | Sheep coming together by home as a complete unit? (10) |
| A charade of IN (‘home’) plus TEG (‘sheep’ in its second year) plus RALLY (‘coming together’, gerund). | ||
| 22 | GRAF | It takes endless hard work to produce a tennis champion (4) |
| A subtraction: GRAF[t] (‘hard work’) minus its last letter (‘endless’), for Steffi, with an extended definition (sort of). | ||
| 23 | TUMBREL | Last three bits of glass thrown back in cart (7) |
| TUMBLER (‘glass’) with the final three letters (‘last three bits’) reversed (‘thrown back’). | ||
| 24 | DISMISS | Final military order received — is mission pared down? (7) |
| A hidden answer (‘pared down’) in ‘receiveD IS MISSion’. | ||
| 26 | ELTON | The foreign fashion revealed by a singing John (5) |
| A charade of EL (‘the foreign’ – for once, Spanish rather than French) plus TON (‘fashion’). | ||
| 27 | PIZZICATO | Mostly Italian food given to one pet? Nothing to be plucked (9) |
| A charade of PIZZ[a] (‘Italian food’) minus its last letter (‘mostly’) plus I (‘one’) plus CAT (‘pet?) plus O (‘nothing’). | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SWINGING SIXTIES | Is it sex results from this? Time for more freedom! (8,7) |
| A wordplay-in-the-answer: an anagram (SWINGING) of SIXTIES is ‘is it sex’. | ||
| 2 | TIPSIEST | One Greek character in match least able to stand up straight? (8) |
| An envelope (‘in’) of I (‘one’) plus PSI (‘Greek character’) in TEST (‘match’). | ||
| 3 | METE | Old boundary within home territory (4) |
| A hidden answer (‘within’) in ‘hoME TErritory’). | ||
| 4 | EASTERLY | See plant getting protected in wind (8) |
| An envelope (‘getting protected’) of ASTER (‘plant’) in ELY (‘see’). | ||
| 5 | PLAYED | Put in gym, daughter had fun (6) |
| An envelope (‘in’) of LAY (‘put’) in PE (‘gym’) plus D (‘daughter’). | ||
| 6 | BALUSTER | In storm one needs a support (8) |
| An envelope (‘in … one needs’) of ‘a’ in BLUSTER (‘storm’). | ||
| 7 | BORNEO | Duck has suffered on island (6) |
| A charade of BORNE (‘suffered’) plus O (‘duck’). The word order requires a little thought. | ||
| 8 | REGIUS PROFESSOR | Senior academic, awful gossiper for sure (6,9) |
| An anagram (‘awful’) of ‘gossiper for sure’. | ||
| 16 | WAGERING | Betting syndicate going after money after work? (8) |
| A charade of WAGE (‘money after work’) plus RING (‘syndicate’). | ||
| 17 | BULLDOZE | Force through pretentious nonsense, then rest (8) |
| A charade of BULL (‘pretentious nonsense’) plus DOZE ( |
||
| 18 | HEROICAL | Valiant rendition of symphony in empty hall (8) |
| An envelope (‘in’) of EROICA (Beethoven’s Third ‘Symphony’) in HL (’empty HalL‘). | ||
| 20 | TOMATO | Partner lacking energy tucked into excessive salad food (6) |
| An envelope (‘tucked into’) of MAT[e] (‘partner’) minus the E (‘lacking energy’) in TOO (‘excessive’). | ||
| 21 | ASLOPE | Inclined to upset pals, one being heartless (6) |
| An anagram (‘to upset’) of ‘pals’ plus ‘o[n]e’ minus its middle letter (‘being heartless’). | ||
| 25 | SWIG | Drink spirits initially, something that goes to the head (4) |
| A charade of S (‘Spirits initially’) plus WIG (‘something that goes to the head’). | ||
For me, this was the Don at his gentlest. I only count about three obscure words (ILEX, the “teg” in INTEGRAL, and REGIUS PROFESSOR, a rank we don’t have in academe here. Normally I struggle with his offerings, but this took me only about half an hour. Needed to come here for the parsing of “tumbrel,” which I BIF’d.
Fun stuff.
What work is the word “rendition” doing in the HEROICAL clue? The Eroica is a symphony, not a rendition of one.
Apologies for any misspellings, as I’m typing this on my phone.
Oh, and–holy expletive, I’m first!
This was a great way to finish off the week! Not too tricky and lots of interesting clues – SWINGING SIXTIES was my favourite for the innovative wordplay in the answer. My unfamiliar words today all began with T: teg, ton (meaning fashion) and tumbrel (which I’ve always spelt tumbril). Thanks to PeterO and Pasquale.
26a I am unfamiliar with Ton = fashion? Is it to do with “bon ton” Fashionable Society? https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/bon-ton nearest I could find.
Much quicker for me than yesterday’s. Didn’t know teg or regius but finished despite them. Thanks to setter and blogger. Just one minor error in blog – 17d doze is rest not nonsense. And more a question than a complaint I think – isn’t 17a clue expressed rather oddly? Sounds like Yoda to me.
Nothing much to add. Enjoyed the clever clueing for SWINGING SIXTIES. EASTERLY was my LOI, once I’d worked out which part was the definition (and remembered that interpretation of “see”).
Thanks Pasquale (and PeterO)!
As always, enjoyed the Don’s challenge. Felt there was a couple where the wording didn’t quite work (6d and 7d) but no real quibbles. TON = fashion was new.
Thanks Pasquale and petero
I’ll add METE to the list of unusual words: never knew it could be a boundary, but the clue is so easy that it doesn’t matter much. I enjoyed this one: thanks Pasquale and Peter.
Thanks Pasquale and PeterO
Unusually easy for Pasquale, with only METE unfamiliar to me, and that was an obvious “hidden”. I didn’t parse YOU AND I, though – I thought it must be the name of a quiz show I didn’t know (there are so many of them!)
I read 1dn first and immediately thought “permissive society”. Luckily it didn’t fit, or I’d still be struggling.
Thanks, PeterO and Pasquale.
I enjoyed this puzzle – and smiled on the way through rather more than usual for a Pasquale. I particularly liked YOU AND I, BURGHER, SWINGING SIXTIES, REGIUS PROFESSOR and GRAF.
The only new word for me today was ‘passel’. 😉
All very straightforward by the Don’s standards, though the right hand side gave way much faster than the left – SWINGING SIXTIES took me a while to see and unlocked the rest. METE=boundary was the only one I didn’t remember.
Thanks to Pasquale and PeterO
Thanks Pasquale and PeterO.
As others have said, a little gentle for the Don.
I did particularly like SWINGING SIXTIES and YOU AND I. Teg looks a bit like a crossword special, although maybe there are some farmers out there who can tell me it’s in daily use(?)
Thank you Pasquale and PeterO.
An enjoyable puzzle for me, not too hard. Like muffin @9, METE was unfamiliar to me and I failed to spot ‘u’ and ‘i’ in ‘quiz’ thinking YOU AND I must be the name of a quiz show- my favourite clue now.
Thank you, PeterO, loved your passel!
Very rarely finish one of The Don’s offerings at one sitting, with LOI SWIG.
mrpenney @1 I was going to ask the same question…”what is rendition doing in the HEROICAL clue.
Anyone?
Ticks against TUMBREL & SWINGING SIXTIES (I was there, I was there!)
Very agreeable crossword losing nothing by being at the easier end of The Duck’s spectrum.
Nice weekend, all.
Last in for me was 4d EASTERLY… with its common blurring of syntax around the preposition ‘in’. See (Ely); plant (aster) getting protected in (it). When so much of the pleasure of these crosswords derives from the wonderful precision of the clueing, this remains a slight kind of recurring (mild) irritation. But others can perhaps talk me round. And the puzzle overall was a delight, personal favourite being another p-zz- in PIZZICATO: many thanks to Pasquale, and to PeterO
quenbarrow @15 Yes, I know what you mean, and it’s a device I feel is becoming commoner. It gets justified as the syntax works with the addition of punctuation, I think. In this case, See, plant getting protected, in wind.
Any success in talking you round?
Thanks Pasquale and Peter0.
A very enjoyable solve and beautifully clued.
ASLOPE was new to me. Liked REGIUS PROF, EASTERLY and BURGHER.
William @14, I did not object to rendition in the clue for HEROICAL, “Valiant symphony in empty hall” sounds strange, including ‘rendition’ makes more sense to me, perhaps because the word suggests ‘giving’ in addition to ‘performance’ or interpretation’, EROICA is to be given “in empty HalL” – perhaps “Valiant rendition of symphony to empty hall” would have been better?
Lucky you enjoying the SWINGING SIXTIES, as I have mentioned before the only swinging I did then was crossing the Kagera River near our home in Uganda holding on to lianas.
Chris @4 that’s been exercising us too – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ton_(le_bon_ton) ???
Chris @4 & Cormac @19, TON is given in the COED (in italics, ton, since it is French) as “1 a prevailing mode of fashion.
2 fashionable society.”
Thank you Peter O and also the Don of course. A teg is a 2 year old sheep
I had to go and help out on my Nain’s (grandmother) farm and spent many an hour or two up on the hills trying to get the flock to go in the right direction. Thank goodness for sheep dogs. Teg also means fair in Welsh.I enjoyed this puzzle especially swinging sixties in which I had a great time.
Thanks to Pasquale and PeterO. I had no trouble with “ton” and “teg” (I knew them both from previous puzzles) but did struggle with YOU AND I and this sense of METE. My LOI was BALUSTER (even with all the crossers I did not spot it for some time). A very enjoyable solve.
Apart from a mental block at 25d, this was pretty much a write in. Nice clues nothing we didn’t know and just hard enough to fill a very windy and very hot March lunchtime.
Good fun today. Did anyone else spend the second half of their solve trying to find a home for the J, K, Q and V of the pangram the puzzle turned out not to be?
(And is PASSEL a word? Genuinely confused here!)
In 20 down, how does “too” get to mean excessive, rather than excessively? Setters shouldn’t bend English for the sake of a neat clue.
Feeling a bit cross with myself. Dashed in TUMBRIL for the cart and just thought, oh maybe the parsing will come to me later. Alas … Otherwise, would have quite enjoyed this, not always something one says about the Don.
Rompiballe @25. This has always irritated me too, but it happens so often, I’ve given up complaining. In fact what Gillian @5 calls Yoda-like syntax has become a useful signal in parsing.
What a great puzzle – not easy, and not too difficult. Although I like themed puzzles too, it was a relief to have one that isn’t. I solved most of it without reference aids but had to look up a few things near the end. All of the following were new words and/or definitions to me: teg, ton, mete, heroical and aslope. But the clear clueing made it all possible.
I have no particular favourites – the clues generally were a pleasure to solve. I bunged in TUMBRIL at 23a, not doing the clue justice, and scolded myself later on reading the blog. ‘The foreign’ (in 26a ELTON) is a device used more and more – presumably in case we might solve the clue too quickly!
Many thanks to Pasquale, and to PeterO for the blog.
I suppose this was Ok. The E side went in quite quickly but but I struggled a little with the W. I didn’t know TON or TEG but the latter had to be right and I guessed the former which was also my LOI. No particular favourites although GETAWAY was quite nice.
Thanks Pasquale.
jeceris @27
I didn’t notice the wrong use of ‘excessive’ in 20d TOMATO while solving. (I had both T’s, saw how the clue worked and bunged in the answer.) I agree it is a blemish – you can’t substitute ‘too’ for ‘excessive’ in any context that I can think of.
The clue could perhaps be fixed by adding a word:
“Partner lacking energy tucked into excessively fruity salad food”
but the setter might think this would give too strong a pointer to the answer.
I thought ‘rendition’ in 18d HEROICAL was a minor blemish at first, as it is a rather strong word to use as a ‘filler’ to smooth the surface, but Cookie has given us an explanation and an alternative @18. Changing ‘rendition’ to ‘setting’ might also do the trick.
Thanks all
Last in was baluster, also the only new word to me.
Thanks Pasquale and Peter0. Enjoyed this – and thought 8dn was one of those outstanding, long in the memory clues. I was briefly a junior Oxford fellow once: I am sure Pasquale must once have had dinner in an Oxford senior common room …
An excellent puzzle in all respects: I can only endorse and echo all the previous praise.
Favourite clues – again, already mentioned above – were those to SWINGING SIXTIES, YOU AND I and GRAF.
Many thanks to Pasquale and PeterO.
I concur with all those who found this an enjoyable puzzle, though it stretched my brain in places.
Thanks to Pasquale and PeterO, and to all contributors for an interesting forum.
Yes, the SWINGING SIXTIES (1d) was a great decade to be young – music, fashion, fun, freedom – I’m with ezzie@21.
How about “It’s just too too” for “excessively excessive”?
Been a while since I commented, but TON is also in Chambers. Meaning 2.
Agreed – lovely puzzle from Don. SWINGING SIXTIES is a tour de force.
Very late contribution, but SNIT works quite well for 25D.
https://www.chowhound.com/post/snit-snert-488587