Guardian Cryptic 27,233 by Rufus

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The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27233.

Lashings of cryptic definitions, but, more unusually for Rufus, the makings of a theme, of things Greek (Narcissus, Pan, colossi, siren). Of the four long CDs around the perimeter, the leading ones, 1A and 1D, went in first of all, but the other two waited until the very end.

Across
1 SLEEPING PARTNER One in business who has retired? (8,7)
Cryptic definition.
9 ENTERITIS To begin with, it is an internal inflammation (9)
A charade of ENTER (‘begin’) plus ‘it is’.
10 SIREN Warning! This woman is dangerous (5)
Double definition.
11 PALM OIL Handy lubricant? (4,3)
Punning definition.
12 AIRLIFT If trail is vandalised, supplies by plane (7)
An anagram (‘is vandalised’) of ‘if trail’. To avoid a clash of verbal form, ‘supplies’ and the answer have to be taken as nouns.
13 EGG Form of food produced in layers (3)
Cryptic definition.
14 NEAREST Certainly it’s not Far Eastern in origin (7)
An anagram (‘in origin’) of ‘Eastern’.
17 EN MASSE All together in France (2,5)
I suppose there is a cryptic element here.
19 COLOSSI Firm has a deficit — one in large figures (7)
A charade of CO (company, ‘firm’) plus LOSS (‘a deficit’) plus I (‘one’). Excellent surface.
22 DEAD SEA There’s no catch in it (4,3)
Cryptic definition.
24 SUE She means to seek legal redress (3)
Double definition.
25 ANTONYM Many not able to provide a word of opposite meaning (7)
An anagram (‘able to provide’) of ‘many not’.
26 ABSTAIN Refrain from giving sailor a dirty look (7)
A charade of AB (able-bodied ‘sailor’) plus STAIN (‘a dirty look’).
28 GREET Hail or drops of water in Scotland (5)
Double definition, the second being a Scots word for weeping.
29 IMPARTIAL Just not taking sides (9)
Essentially the same definition twice, with the meaning of ‘just’ as “simply” (or thereabouts) providing a touch of the cryptic.
30 SITUATION VACANT Post-free? (9,6)
Cryptic definition.
Down
1 SWEEPING CHANGES A new broom often makes them (8,7)
Cryptic definition.
2 EXTOL Once article for sale comes up, applaud (5)
A charade of EX (‘once’) plus TOL, a reversal (‘comes up’ in a down light) of LOT (‘article for sale’ in an auction).
3 PURPOSE Will find postal order in one’s wallet (7)
An envelope (‘find … in’) of PO (‘postal order’) in PURSE (‘one’s wallet’; ‘one’s’ does not serve much purpose in the wordplay).
4 NOTELET Brief communication raising school rent (7)
A charade of NOTE, a reversal (‘raising’ in a down light) of ETON (‘school’) plus LET (‘rent’).
5 PASSAGE While away time in a sea journey (7)
A charade of PASS (‘while away’) plus AGE (‘time’).
6 ROSTRUM Conductor’s support for uplifting alternative string sound (7)
A charade of RO, a reversal (‘uplifting’ in a down light) of OR (‘alternative’) plus STRUM (‘string sound’).
7 NARCISSUS A bloomer he made, being too fond of his image (9)
A slightly cryptic reference to the character from Greek mythology.

Metamorphosis of Narcissus

Dali’s version: The Metamorphosis of Narcissus
8 RUNS THE GAUNTLET Takes part in a hit parade (4,3,8)
Cryptic definition – as the hittee, not the hitter!
15 ALLOTMENT Does this imply sharecropping? (9)
A sharecropper is a tenant farmer who gives the landowner a share of the crops in lieu of rent, but here is intended to signify cryptically the apportioning of public land for garden use.
16 SOS Appeal of love on board ship (3)
An envelope of O (‘love’) in SS (‘ship’).
18 NEE Born and even briefly raised (3)
A reversal (‘raised’ in a down light) of E’EN (‘even briefly’; ‘briefly’ is generally used in crosswords to indicate the lopping of a letter from the end of a word, but one can hardly claim that e’en is not a briefer form of even).
20 SINATRA Possibly train as a singer (7)
An anagram (‘possibly’) of ‘train as’.
21 ISMAILI Post one is after is one in a Shiite sect (7)
A charade of ‘is’ (‘the second one) plus MAIL (‘post’) plus I (‘one’). Not one of the happier surfaces from Rufus.
22 DEADPAN Breathless piper lacks expression (7)
A charade of DEAD (‘breathless’) plus PAN (‘piper’)
23 AUSTRIA A number leave one country for another (7)
AUSTR[al]IA (‘one country’) minus A L (‘a number leave’ – 50 to be precise).
27 ANITA Tina set up with a new name (5)
A charade of ANIT, a reversal (‘set up’ in a down light) of ‘Tina’ plus ‘a’.
completed grid

33 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,233 by Rufus”

  1. As an occasional xword setter i know how hard it is to write such clear and well-surfaced clues as Rufus. He’s a master.
    I’m annoyed by those who would do away with the tougher setters (guardian letters page the other day).
    The world is full of crosswords of all sorts and all levels. But I don’t know anywhere like the Guardian for the delightful range of witty tricksters. Leave them alone! Whenever i do Times xwords they are always fair and well clued. But they’re always dull. Save our crazy peacocks!

  2. I couldn’t agree more, rewolf: thanks for putting it so plainly. And thanks also to Rufus and Peter O.

  3. I found this a relatively straightforward puzzle but I had to look up the definitions for 21d ISMAILI and 28a GREET. I’m still puzzling over 9a: how can TO BEGIN WITH mean ENTER; also in 14a how does IN ORIGIN indicate an anagram?

    Thanks to Rufus and PeterO.

  4. Thanks Rufus and PeterO
    Entertaining, but very easy, with the only hiccough an initial AMBER at 10a. AIRLIFT was my favourite.

  5. Rewolf @1 – Yes, different styles of setters and varying levels of difficulty are very welcome. Variety is the spice…. But the Times, which I do every day, dull? I don’t think so. The Times’ setters are anonymous but I’d bet a fiver that some of them are also Guardian setters.

  6. A very enjoyable Rufus, as usual. I also endorse Rewolf’s comments @1 about variety being the spice of Guardian crossword life (although I never try other papers’ puzzles to make any comparisons). I particularly liked SWEEPING CHANGES, ROSTRUM and DEAD SEA. Many thanks to Rufus and PeterO.

  9. To answer Logomachist. Fill in your own comparisons, but for me the Times is looking at a John Constable – solid, good looking, dependable, can’t argue – or, the tougher Guardians, an MC Escher, quirky, requires some lateral thinking, fun!

  10. Much like Claret @3 both Greet and Ismaili were new to me (although perfectly gettable with crossers and some parsing in the latter case), and I too didn’t especially like “in origin” as an anagram indicator. I can’t say I much liked 30a either (the hyphen doesn’t seem to do anything other than muddle things), but 19a was excellent, I thought 1a was one of Rufus’ wittier and clean cryptic defs, and all told it was a very pleasant solve, suitable for those of us suffering a Monday morning hangover. Thanks Rufus and PeterO.

  11. Not that it matters greatly but I meant 1d, not 1a. There’s that hangover for you. Nothing wrong with 1a, mind.

  12. I enjoyed that little Greek theme once you pointed it out, PeterO! Thanks also for the excellent Dali pic. What an interesting story to be reminded of in these days of rampant Narcissism!

    Like Fieldman@10, I really liked 19a COLOSSI. Other favourites were 8d RUNS THE GAUNTLET (which took me a while to see, as I thought the first word was going to be connected to ROCK music), as well as my LOI, 3d, PURPOSE.

    Dear reliable Rufus: you always provide a good start the week. For this much thanks.

  14. Thank you Rufus and PeterO.

    A very enjoyable start to the week. As usual for me with four long answers, an Everyman feature, two went in first, 1d and 30a, and the other two went in last – I am glad that they were cryptic definitions and not long anagrams!

    I particularly liked the “Handy lubricant” and the “large figures”.

  15. Thanks to Rufus and PeterO. Enjoyable as usual. ENTERITIS (the Enter part) and GREET were my LOI. RE Rewolf@1, as an annual visitor to the UK since 1980 (long before I stumbled on the Guardian puzzles on line) I brought home to the US books of puzzles when available (including Araucaria’s collection, Monkey Puzzles – a treasure). More recently I have invested in the books of Times Jumbo puzzles, so that I have a working comparison. I can’t pin down an exact set of distinctions (the Times varies significantly in degree of difficulty – though occasionally I think I spot a Rufus contribution) but I agree that the wit and variety in the Guardian (even when I cannot rise to the challenge – e.g. with a Maskarade prize) is distinctive, even addictive. The various critiques of the Guardian puzzles and this blog strike me (to invoke a US expression that may not work in the UK) as “sour grapes.”

  16. Not quite a write in but not far off. None the worse for that though. It’s quite pleasant to have a relatively easy solve once in a while. It will please some Guardian letter writers no doubt, especially the alleged Mensa member! Liked ROSTRUM. And,of course, I agree with Rewolf @ 1.
    Thanks Rufus.

  17. Having a two stage approach to completing this. First, solve all the clues without putting pen to paper (or its electronic equivalent), – have done that bit-, then will come back to it later in the day to try to fill in the grid without further reference to the clues. Didn’t quite manage stage two last Monday.

  18. Thanks both,

    I think this must have been easy because I managed to do all the across clues before tackling the down ones (except for 1d). Some weeks one’s on Rufus’s wavelength for the CDs

  21. Nothing to add except to agree with rewolf @1 – the same point I’ve tried (less eloquently) to make on a number of occasions.

    Thanks Rufus, nice week, all.

  22. Found this a little bit less straightforward than Rufus usually is, but in retrospect it is hard to see why, as the only unfamiliar solution was ISMAILI which went straight in.

    Thanks to Rufus and PeterO

  23. This was quite easy, but not a romp. I didn’t get any of the long answers at first, but I did get the four short ones. Of the long ones, 1a and 1d came pretty quickly, but the other two were among my last four answers to go in – I’m not sure why.

    I was interested in the comparisons made between Guardian and Times crosswords. To add my own subjective opinion, I do find the Guardian (my usual tipple) typically more interesting, varied and enjoyable than the Times crosswords, which I tackle instead of the Guardian for a few weeks of every year when I am abroad. What is a fact, rather than an opinion, is that the Times does not allow themes. When I am in ‘Times’ mode I do miss themes, which in the Guardian seem to feature quite often (twice a week on average?) and contribute significantly to my enjoyment. I also believe that the Guardian crossword editor allows setters to take more liberties, which suits me but not everybody.

    Thanks to Rufus and PeterO.

  24. I solved the four long clues first which made the rest of the crossword very easy.

    I have been doing the Times, Guardian and Telegraph crosswords each day for around 50 years.

    I prefer the Times crossword because the cluing is much more precise.

    In my case, having a Science background, all three crosswords have been made easier as in the early days there were often two or three literary quotations, which I struggled with.

  25. An interesting observation, Paul @24.

    My experience (which is a fraction of yours) tells me also that Times crossword clues tend to be more precise.

  26. Rufus in decidedly bouncy form today. I’m not always enamoured of his work, and in a perverse way I enjoyed the fact that the long answers were all ‘cryptic’ definitions! Still, leopards and spots.

    I agree with those who find the Times crosswords more accurately clued than other daily puzzles in general. That to me is a fact, and I enjoy the rigour of all that. Themes to me are neither here nor there, and they are in my view never a substitute for a well-written crossword.

  27. While I was teaching the crossword of choice in the staff room was the Times. I agree that it is more rigorous than the Guardian is at times, but the flashes of lightness and humour that illuminate many Guardian puzzles are rather less common “over there”; they seem to take themselves more seriously!

  28. Enjoyed this one, thanks Peter O and Rufus. Didn’t get the obscure (for me) Ismaili, but just about managed the rest. I hope that the “sweeping changes” and “situation vacant” isn’t a hidden message, as I do enjoy Rufus’s puzzle on a Monday!

  29. Is The Times the premier crossword? I think so, simply for the consistency, but as most of its solvers will probably say, it’s certainly not short of fine ideas, or humour.

    NHS observes ‘rigour’, and that’s right I think, but there’s more to The Times than that. OTOH muffin points up The Guardian’s strong point, though I fear it is occasionally diluted by some of the more ‘modern’ clueing!

    Thanks Rufus & PeterO.

  31. Coming back after a long break. I am not very good, I’m lucky to get 50%. Today I got almost all, except austria. Feeling quit good about it.

  32. PaulW @30 – So there is! Well spotted. Seven solutions at least. I don’t think I’ve seen a theme in a Times crossword before.

  33. Well you whetted my appetite. So I did the Times puzzle. (I usually only do the Saturday Times and it’s my source for The Listener)

    There is definitely a theme. One related to an anniversary as well. I too have never spotted one before in this puzzle.

    It also had a dodgy homophone for those on here that like to rant about such trivia!

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