Guardian 27,239 / Rufus

53 comments on “Guardian 27,239 / Rufus”

1. Yes, harder Rufus than usual, taking longer to finish.

2. I agree with the OP – a bit tougher than the usual Rufus, but nothing to hold me up for long. Smiled at DAISY, SQUATTED, BEES and PODIUM.

   Thanks, Rufus and Eileen.

3. Oh, and in addition to Eileen’s comment about RID, I thought 13d was dodgy as ‘man’ is in the clue and the answer (albeit abbreviated).

4. Agreed, this took a bit longer out of Monday morning than usual – no less enjoyable for that. I was held up at the end by having written in the (not unreasonable) MISLEAD at 22ac, and thus had to struggle with 24d before going back and transposing the L and D.

5. Yes I thought this was a bit trickier than usual for Rufus.

   Favourites were the clever CD for SQUATTED, and the nice surfaces for 14d and 16d. Personally I don’t have a problem with the “I’m” in 18a.

   I do agree with you Eileen that ALTERED was a bit iffy. But I’m even more dubious about 24d. “Far from good” seems to be an adjective phrase (if that’s the right term) so I don’t see how it equals SIN which is a noun or a verb. And “looks” only seems to be in there for the surface. Or am I missing something?

6. Hi JimS @5

   I see what you mean about 24dn – but I took ‘good’ as a noun in this instance, although it’s a bit clumsy.

7. Yes I got stuck on a few too, especially in the top NE and bottom SW corners, where I found the shorter words particularly vexatious. 12a DAISY was a guess after a rather uncertain EDDY at 8d. I took a while to recall the previous use in crosswords of “gin” for TRAP (26d), which made TERMS at 26 an unparsed guess as well (I am still unsure about that clue which seemed a little loose to me).

   Nevertheless, I liked 3d BEES, as did Chris in France@2, as well as 10a FALSEHOOD, 27a SERVE TIME, and 19d DEPARTED.

   Thanks to Rufus and Eileen.

8. SQUATTED was my last in, but that only shows my cd weakness. That said, I felt pretty good about getting the clever DAISY. Nearly put in HENS at 3d – don’t they have combs too, or is that turkeys? Not that it would have worked even then, of course.

9. Hi Julie @7

   For once, I disagree with you: I thought 26dn was quite precise! Perhaps you don’t have law ‘terms’ in Australia? See here: https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about-the-judiciary/the-justice-system/term-dates-and-sittings/term-dates/. And terms are set fees, so I liked the surface, too.

10. Thanks Eileen and Rufus.

    I totally agree about the neat surfaces. It is a rare skill to produce such good ones as as these.

11. Thank you Rufus and Eileen.

    I agree that this was a bit tougher than usual for a RUFUS, MISDEAL was my last in. I could not equate SIN with “far from good” in the clue for LOSING, like JimS @5, and I stupidly failed to get IOM for Isle of Man in the AXIOM clue.

    I especially liked the clue for DAISY, another reminder of my father singing in the morning.

12. Thanks to Rufus and Eileen. I too was slow getting started – and AXIOM gave me trouble because IOM for Isle of Man was new to me. Lots of fun.

13. Thank you, Eileen, I wondered if the grammar at RID would jar with anyone else.

    Enjoyed this principally as this is the first day I’ve been able to think straight after a mother & father of a cold.

    My involuntary internment has meant that I have been digging in the archives to find old puzzles and have another go at them. Fascinating to note how some setters’ styles have morphed over 3-4 years. Rufus now seems considerably smoother and with rather fewer double defs, and Paul appears to have honed his art considerably; his earlier grids looking a lot less polished.

    Don’t know what I’d do without The Graun.

    Many thanks, Rufus, nice week, all.

14. Thanks Rufus and Eileen.

    Entertaining solve; I was sure ‘Their quarters are combed…’ related to horses but that was a good mislead. And MISDEAL was a nice one.

    If we’re going to question cryptic grammar, shouldn’t it be ‘Opening of bottle..’ and ‘party’s leader…?’

15. [Eileen, Certainly not quibbling, and fascinating to learn of Hilary, Easter, Trinity and Michaelmas. There are no such court “terms” in Australia. They sound very quaint to my ears – clearly they are calendrical “terms” with religious connotations. Have been in touch with my “legal eagle” friends; they say the closest thing they have here is a summer break and a winter break. Glad to add to my learning yet again. My comment was certainly not parochial pickiness, just an unfamiliar reference.]

16. I agree that this was a little trickier than Rufus usually is, and dare I say it more enjoyable as a result.

    Thanks to Rufus and Eileen

17. I am a long time lurker, but come here to understand the solutions. I have a question to the regulars. What are the rules regarding looking up stuff on the internet?

    The rule I am following is: No look ups. The grid, a scratch paper and pencil, that is all. Dont google for town names or rivers in Africa, nor look up meanings of obscure words in dictionary.com. At the point of giving up use reveal to get the one or two clues and try to get the rest. Clues based on knowing the name of the editor of Guardian or train stations of the underground are beyond me. I grew up in South India speaking Tamil, and I now live in USA. I learnt English alphabet in my fourth grade and I could read newspapers till I was in my 11th grade. So wondering if I making things too hard on myself. After all my love for English language survived the onslaught of Wren and Martin. Don’t I deserve a brownie point for that? Should I be cutting myself some slack?

    In the end come here to understand the solution. Is this how all you guys are doing? Or certain kind of internet use is considered ok?

18. Sloppy editing. I meant “Could not read newspapers till I was in 11th grade”. My first cryptic cross word was from Indian Express in second year of college, probably recycled from Scotland Herald.

19. Oh dear, I did put in HENS for 3dn. It was LOI and I’m regretting it now! I thought this harder than usual too, especially as I got one wrong. The rest was rather good. Liked MISDEAL and DAISY.
    Thanks Rufus.

20. Ravilyn Sanders: if you’re doing a newspaper crossword (as opposed to taking part in an organised competitive event) there are no rules about looking things up. But I think most solvers would agree that the fewer aids you use, the more satisfying the experience is.

    I usually start out by seeing how far I can get with just the crossword and a pen. If I can finish it like that, great. If not, I don’t feel I’m cheating if I resort to dictionaries, Wikipedia etc. As a final resort I’ll use a word search site, but if I have to do that then finishing the puzzle doesn’t feel like such an achievement.

21. A really enjoyable start to the week and just a tad tougher than usual from Rufus, despite rattling in the first two answers within seconds. Loved 22a. Thanks to everyone.

22. Thanks Rufus and Eileen

    Late to this, and also found it harder than usual, especially the NW, though BEES was my favourite amongst several clues that raised a smile.

    I highlighted the “double duty” in ALTERED, which is surely a mistake. Also not only does SIN seem wrong in LOSING, I am struggling to match LOSING and DEFEAT in parts of speech – even if “defeat” is taken as a verb, it still doesn’t seem quite right.

    Is TENDER LOVE a valid expression? I don’t think I’ve ever heard it.

23. Hi muffin @22

    I think you have to take LOSING as a verbal noun, rather than defeat as a verb. ‘He can’t stand losing / defeat’: I think it works.

24. I thought this was a fairly straightforward Rufus. I don’t have a problem with 13a – I put in ALTERED quickly before I even noticed that ‘Revised’ was doing double duty. Isn’t this just a form of &lit?

    I wonder how many know the etymology of NYLON? (Look it up if you don’t). Makes the clue a tad weaker than it would otherwise be.

    Muffin @22: I’m taking LOSING as a noun (gerund). Then its equivalence to DEFEAT is evident.

25. Thanks both. I didn’t see LOSING as a noun.

26. Muffin @22 – also: I’m not a great fan of TENDER LOVE either. Seems a bit contrived and unidiomatic to me.

    I wonder (dare I even suggest it?!) whether even Rufus had some trouble fitting a word or words to _E_D_R_O_E? I tried on my copy of crossword_compiler (basic version), and it failed to find any single words to fit.

27. FirmlyDirac @24

    The etymology of ‘nylon’ has been discussed here several times before, so I decided not to mention it today, since the theory seems to have been debunked. – see here:
    http://www.timelessmyths.co.uk/where-does-name-nylon-originate.html

    and here: http://www.glossophilia.org/?p=4379

    Collins has NYLON [sic] as ‘a high-earning business executive who enjoys a transatlantic lifestyle, living part of thee year in New York City and part in London’; ‘nylon’ is listed as ‘ class of synthetic polyamide materials… a trademark’.

    See Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NYLON

28. FirmlyDirac @26
    Yes, it seems tautologous. “Love” is generally only qualified when this is not the case – “hard love”, for example.

29. Thanks, everyone – you’ve given me this earworm! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoriFtRVGQs

30. FirmlyDirac @26 (again)
    Chambers Word Wizard came up with GELDER ROSE and GENDER ROLE, but the former is a misspelling of GUELDER ROSE.

31. Can you have nylon meaning hose in the singular? Don’t we always say ‘nylons’? (16d)

32. @29 Eileen, an alternative 80’s earworm for you (and a precedent for Tender Love as a term)…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW_vpwbERBo

33. On 18 across, what bothered me was the definition, rid for removed…must be a blind spot of mine but I can’t think of a phrase where they are synonymous. I would think of relieved as more synonymous, as in to be relieved of something…

34. Isabel Newth @33
    Think “Pied Piper of Hamelin”…

35. A mixture of the good, the bad, and the utterly indifferent, I’m not sure this was ultimately a success for The Guardian. I’m as bored of saying it as 15/2ers are of hearing it I’m sure, but a little edit here and there and Bob’s your uncle. Right?

36. @33
    Or Henry II and Thomas a Becket!

37. “Will no one removed me of this turbulent priest?” I still don’t see how “removed” can equal “rid”.

38. Yes that’s exactly what I mean Valentine!

39. ‘shot’ would have worked in the clue, as in ‘get shot of someone or something’

40. featherstonehaugh @35

    “I’m sure, but a little edit here and there …”

    I must compliment you on the restraint displayed in your comments.

    However I doubt that any amount of editing could turn a “Rufus” into a decent cryptic 😉

    Due to the lack of interest/rose tinted specatcle outlook on here I now usually try to refrain from commenting on either of these issues.

41. BNTO, please try harder.

42. Or you can say that the Pied Piper rid Hamelin of rats or that he removed the rats from Hamelin, but the two verbs take opposite objects.

43. Congrats to Eileen for the cryptic-grammatical remark on 18A. Nice to know someone’s on the ball.

44. IsabelN @41

    Sometimes despite superhuman efforts I just cant stop myself 😉

45. I had just the same misgivings about the definition of RID but Chambers gives: ‘to remove, eg by banishment or murder’, which lets Rufus off the hook. [I can’t see how it would be used in a sentence, though.]

46. I got 12a pretty quickly, and went on an online search for a bicycle model called a Daisy, to make it a double def rather than a CD. I did find one, though it seems rather obscure and perhaps not what Rufus intended.

    Much harder than the usual Rufus, I thought. I resorted to revealing squatter, then I was able to finish the rest.

47. I’m a solver in Toronto, and I get the Guardian puzzles online (needing greater challenges than are offered by our local Globe and Mail cryptics). I enjoy your blog, and the banter that each puzzle engenders. You’re also my resource when I fail to parse or solve a clue, so thanks to you all.

    Some chatter earlier about gerunds reminded me of a joke that only appeals to grammarians:

    A gerund walks in to a bar. The barman asks, “What are you, drinking?”

    Cheers to all at 15-squared!

48. I like it – thank you! 😉

49. Chambers and Rufus are wrong! Rid doesn’t mean Remove. ‘Rid this villain.’ is wrong, ‘Rid me of this villain.’ is ok. It means Relieve, or Clear, as in clear the garden of weeds.. The object is the thing that is being cleared, or the person who is being inconvenienced, not the thing which is to be removed….Sorry to go on.

50. Isabel Newth @49

    I agree entirely – but it’s generally accepted that, if the definition can be found in Collins or Chambers, the setter is in the clear.

51. How strange that Chambers, Rufus and the OED are “wrong” yet Isabel and Eileen are correct!

    OED has

    rid

    …

    4. trans.

    a. To remove or dispose of (a troublesome or unwanted thing or person). Also refl. Chiefly with away, from, out of. Cf. redd v.2 1b.
    In quot. 1627: to consume (food).

    a1450 York Plays 123 (MED) The rakke of þe rede skye full rappely I ridde; Thondres full thrallye by thousandes I thrawe when me likis.
    c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) xlix. 165 I shal sone ryd his soule out of his body.
    ?1556 (?a1500) Knight of Curtesy (Copland) sig. A.iiii He sware he would rydde him fro that [lande].
    1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 364 When this foresayde remedie is not of force sufficient to rydde the mangie.
    1607 S. Rowlands Famous Hist. Guy of Warwicke (Hunterian Club) 29 Guy quickly made dispatch of his half score, He was not long in ridding them away.
    a1610 T. Rogers Leycesters Ghost (1641) 7 Such as could rid mens lives yet no bloud spill.
    1627 G. Hakewill Apologie iv. vii. 364 Ridding at one meale in the Emperours presence..a whole bore, an hundred loaues, a weather, & a young pig.
    1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 101 They fall upon him, and so soon rid him out of the way.
    1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 331 I..premeditated nothing but how to rid my self out of the World.
    1764 Ann. Reg., Chron. 105/2 As the quarrymen were lately ridding of stone, in the island of Portland.
    1859 K. Cornwallis Panorama New World I. 157 That dose..ridded them off better than anything else.
    1891 J. C. Atkinson Forty Years Moorland Parish 332 The kestrels are ridded out of the country.
    1909 Bull. Kansas State Board of Health June 169 The question arises whether a solution of this kind would not prove effective in ridding mites from other plants without danger to them.
    1992 in K. Jamie Queen of Sheba (1995) 60 It is a clot of oil That you wash and wash but cannot rid from your hands.

    ”’

    Obviously “wrong”. All those writers in the quotes “wrong” also!

52. Glad you’ve seen the light. LOL.

53. well I had Adam for 8d and that meant I couldn’t get 12a! First Rufus to stump me.

Comments are closed.