Guardian Cryptic 27,277 by Tramp

by

the puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27277.

A strange crossword. The Special Instructions indicate an anniversary, which is the 40th. of the death of Elvis Presley. There are some references in the clues, but very little in the answers. The clue forms are mostly straightforward, with such difficulty as there is in the vocabulary. Of course, I could be missing something altogether, but I found this rather disappointing.

Across
1 SMOOTHS Spitfire’s first fliers circling old planes (7)
An envelope (‘circling’) of O (‘old’) in S (‘Spitfire’s first’) plus MOTHS (‘fliers’)
5 BOOTLEG Illegal recording of John, mostly bent over in toilet (7)
An envelope (‘in’) of OTLE, a reversal (‘bent over’) of ELTO[n] (‘John’) minus the last letter (‘mostly’) in BOG (toilet’).
9 DEFER Flipping once more given food delay (5)
A reversal (‘flipping’) of RE-FED (‘once more given food’).
10 EMOTIONAL Drunk a lot in Love Me Tender (9)
An anagram (‘drunk’) of ‘a lot in’ plus O (‘love’) plus ‘me’.
11 FORCE FEEDS Insists on giving vital supplies in church — payment invested in crosses (5-5)
An envelope (‘invested in’) of CE (‘Church’ of England) plus FEE (‘payment’) in FORDS (‘crosses’). I was hoping that the church for once might be RC: it gave me the answer, even if I had to change horses in mid-stream.
12 DELI Headed over to indep­endent store (4)
A charade of DEL, a reversal (‘over’) of LED (‘headed’) plus I (‘independent’).
14 CALENDARING Scheduling in Graceland tours (11)
An anagram (‘tours’) of ‘in Graceland’. I had not met calendar as a verb before, but it is in Chambers.
18 OVERCROWDED Broke vow: recorded and jammed (11)
An anagram (‘broke’) of ‘vow recorded’.
21 BUST Bass: turn way down (4)
A charade of B (‘bass’) plus U (‘turn’) plus ST (street, ‘way’).
22 REGIMENTAL Concerned with soldier, intellectual, from a group of soldiers (10)
A charade of RE (‘concerned with’) plus GI (‘soldier’) plus MENTAL (‘intellectual’).
25 LUMINANCE Set characteristic cryptic clue; initially missing Nina (9)
An anagram (‘cryptic’) of ‘clue’ plus M (‘initially Missing’) plus ‘Nina’, for the brightness of a TV set’ screen.
26 SOUND Go off, that’s all right (5)
Double definition.
27 YELPERS Those screaming as Presley gyrates (7)
An anagram (‘gyrates’) of ‘Presley’.
28 MISUSER One thinks about lives one harms (7)
An envelope (‘about’) of IS (‘lives’) in MUSER (‘one thinks’).
Down
1 SOD OFF Provided lift? No chance! (3,3)
A charade of SO (‘provided’ – it is in Chambers, but for the moment I cannot think of a use in that sense) plus DOFF (‘lift’, of a hat).
2 OXFORD Kind of blue shoe (6)
Double definition.
3 TURKEY COCK One struts around in terrible film? Rubbish (6,4)
A charade of TURKEY (‘terrible film’) plus COCK (‘rubbish’).
4 SUEDE Material did rock for the audience (5)
Sounds like (‘for the audience’) SWAYED (‘did rock’). And see 2D, of course.
5 BROADENED Carving top of dry bread, one getting spread out (9)
An anagram (‘carving’) of D (‘top of Dry’) plus ‘bread one’.
6 OBIT After passing, notice cycle right away (4)
A subtraction: O[r]BIT (‘cycle’) minus the R (‘right away’).
7 LINGERIE Hang on! That is pants (8)
A charade of LINGER (‘hang on’) plus I.E. (‘that is’). ‘pants’ has had some use recently as an anagrind, but here it is the definition – or, rather, the indication by example.
8 GELDINGS Row over golf: good golfer admits they don’t have balls (8)
An envelope (‘admits’; the word order is unusual) of DIN (‘row’) plus G (‘golf’, radio alphabet) in G (‘good’) plus ELS (Ernie, crossword’s favourite ‘golfer’).
13 WARDRESSES Jailhouse workers struggle with habit (drugs) (10)
A charade of WAR (‘struggle’) plus DRESS (‘habit’) plus ES (‘drugs’).
15 LOOSE ENDS Unfinished business in toilet — how Elvis begins to die in smalls (5,4)
A charade of LOO (‘toilet’) plus SEENDS, an envelope (‘in’) of E (‘how Elvis begins’) plus END (‘die’) in S S (‘smalls’ – two of them).
16 POT BELLY Drug ring — Yankee showing sign of over­indulgence (3,5)
A charade of POT (‘drug’) plus BELL (‘ring’) plus Y (‘Yankee’, radio alphabet).
17 PESSIMAL Worst hit: is second record turned over? (8)
A reversal (‘turned over’) of LAM (‘hit’) plus ‘is’ plus S (‘second’) plus EP (‘record’).
19 STRUMS Plays with bodyguards protecting president (ignoring Pence) (6)
An envelope (‘protecting’) of TRUM[p] (‘president’) minus the P (‘ignoring Pence’) in SS (the Schutzstaffel were originally Hitler’s ‘bodyguards’, although they grew to have a much wider function).
20 SLIDER One moving smoothly back to Vegas appearing on top show (6)
A charade of S (‘back to VegaS‘) plus LID (‘top’) plus E.R. (television ‘show’)
23 ILEUM One left European Union — member which might help form motion? (5)
A charade of I (‘one’) plus L (‘left’) plus E.U. (‘European Union’) plus M (‘member’).
24 KNEE King originally called for a bit of leg (4)
A charade of K (‘king’) plus NÉE (‘originally called’).
completed grid

45 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,277 by Tramp”

  1. Thanks PeterO and Tramp.
    Needed parsing for 1d and 8d.
    Even though I saw Elvis and Presley, could not bother with finding references.
    Liked SMOOTHS, POT BELLY, OBIT and STRUMS.

  2. Thanks Tramp and PeterO
    I did not enjoy this much.
    From previous pop based crosswords by this setter, I would have expected Tramp to be a fan of Elvis. But the references here, POT BELLIED, the clue to 15d etc. are fairly disrespectful. But, maybe I have missed something! As you say PeterO, rather disappointing!

  3. Thanks PeterO and Tramp.
    This puzzle took me a long time to solve! I was unable to parse 20d and 12a.
    My favourite was LINGERIE.

  4. Yes I agree, PeterO, I could only see the Elvis Presley references in the clues, not in the solutions: Jailhouse Rock, Blue Suede Shoes, Love Me Tender, Graceland, Vegas and King.

    Thanks PeterO and Tramp.

  5. I gave up part way through because on the android app whenever a crossword with an introductory line is published then each clue is one out from its position in the grid. Like doing a two ronnies sketch version. Typical amateurish guardian.

  6. I thought there were enough references to Elvis to justify it as a Themed/ Anniversary puzzle and, in any case, there were at least four star clues, 1d, 7d, 16d and 20d, all of which left me still chuckling. I am certain the setter meant no disrespect at all in 16d, I would question whether he would have considered it as one of the themed clues. Thanks to Tramp and Peter O

  7. Always enjoy Tramp’s cryptics and this was no exception. I do agree that this outing was far from his best imo. Didn’t know calendar as a verb either but found it an easy anagram, one of my first ones in. Never seen PESSIMAL before but like the word. Again, easy to guess. In general, I found the surfaces a bit clunkier than his norm. Thanks to Tramp for the workout and to PeterO for the blog.

  8. I liked the mix of references in the clues and the answers so it was not overdone.I normally reckon at least ten references to justify a theme.
    We had Blue Suede Shoe(s)in 2 and 4.Across clues included Love me Tender, Gracelands and Presley.13d clue had Jailhouse, 15 had Elvis. in 16 Elvis sure had a pot belly in his later years but in his golden years he strummed.Then theres King at 24-and this was like a crossword OBIT for him.Oh-and “terrible films” which would describe nearly all the ones he did.

    Hop I am not alone in defence of this

  9. A tough work-out, and no mistake. Was expecting more EP in the clues and answers but that’s easy for me to say.

    PESSIMAL was new to me, though clearly indicated by the clue. I didn’t think much of “down” as the definition for BUST (making it my LOI).

    Thanks, Tramp and PeterO.

  10. Unlike some others, I enjoyed this a lot! And unlike Chris in France @9, I thought BUST was a very clever clue – my LOI. Favourites were BOOTLEG, OVERCROWDED, GELDINGS and POT BELLY. Made a mess of the SE corner by putting in MISUSES so had SLIDES, hence a query about the latter. Many thanks to Tramp and PeterO.

  11. I found this to be quite a challenge, especially because of words such as PESSIMAL and ILEUM which I’d not previously encountered. While there was indoubtedly an Elvis theme running through the puzzle I’m unsure why it needed a “special instruction” at the top? None of the clues needed knowledge of the theme to aid solving. It was more along the lines of a ghost theme such as Qaos often produces. Thanks to Tramp for the workout and PeterO for the parsing.

  12. One of the features of Tramp’s thematic puzzles is that the solver does not need to know about the theme, which makes them a fair challenge for generalists rather than specialists. By contrast, in GAFF’s effort in today’s FT, also headed “An anniversary puzzle”, solvers unfamiliar with EP’s work won’t have a hope of finishing without the aid of on-line assistance. One up to Tramp I reckon.

  14. I found this easy to solve, and liked PESSIMAL as it’s a word not often heard. Why hasn’t it (and PESSIMUM) entered common usage in the same way as OPTIMAL and OPTIMUM?

    However, I’m afraid I didn’t enjoy the puzzle. I’d hoped for a celebration of the best of Elvis, but this left me depressed. Off to listen to some of his hits, now.

    Thanks Tramp and PeterO.

  15. Sometimes, when on a long train journey, I’ve been disappointed when a crossword was finished all too quickly. Not so today – apart from diversions to sudoku and suguru, this took me all the way from London to Warrington! Thus just about appropriately tough for the circumstances. I wasn’t too worried by the alleged disrespect in the clues as to me EP was a briefly-great singer who was sold out by his manager to the entertainment industry, but that will be sacrilege to many I know.

    CALENDARING is not so much a word as a construction. It’s up there with ‘diarise’ on my proscribed list.

  16. EP died in his toilet, hence the toilet references: 5d etc. Also, he had intestinal ailments, possibly in his ILEUM. And “Worst hit” could lead to long discussions, listing the possibilities.

  17. Hmmm… I don’t think this felt like a particularly affectionate tribute to Elvis – especially the detailed visualisation of the indignity his death at 15dn.

    27ac also seems to hint at an unflattering view of Elvis fans?

    That said, I imagine that Tramp must actually be a fan – else presumably he wouldn’t have chosen this theme…

    All in all, a bit strange.

  18. A steady solve with no real hangups.
    Thanks to Tramp and PeterO

    I had not seen “calendaring” before, but “calendering” is very familiar. Don’t know if it’s in Chambers; it’s not in OED. (In case you’re wondering, a calender spreads a coating onto an extruded sheet.)

  19. Found this one pretty challenging and must admit to having used the check button a couple of times. All very entertaining though.

    Thanks to Tramp and PeterO

  20. A couple of Elvis song references not mentioned so far: “Way down” at 21a, and “that’s alright” at 26a. Maybe “G I (Blues)” at 22a too.

    My guess is that Supertramp fans tend not to be massive (sorry) Elvis fans as well, and the clues weren’t particularly reverential – but maybe Tramp will comment to prove me wrong. (He probably likes Heartbreak Hotel though. :-))

  21. Didn’t enjoy this one bit. I like to feel good during and after the hard work but this felt contrived and clumsy. And the overall distasteful references to the anniversary were simply unacceptable. My mum told me, if you can’t say anything nice about somebody then don’t say anything at all.

  22. I was expecting an Elvis puzzle today so this came as no surprise. It was a little odd though as quite a lot of the clues seemed a little snotty to say the least. Elvis and I go back a long way; someone bought me a copy of RocknRoll No1 when I was about twelve,which I thought fantastic then and I still do!
    Anyway, the puzzle was quite enjoyable. I didn’t know PESSIMAL and it took me some time to get despite it being fairly well clued. I liked LINGERIE and POT BELLY.
    Thanks Tramp.

  23. Thanks both,

    The newsgroup uk.media.radio.archers has a custom of making ‘Bad Taste Nominations (BTNs)’ for dodgy posts by its regulars. Perhaps we should institute them for Guardian clues. Because of the circs. of the King’s demise, 15d gets a BTN from me. (Is disrespecting Elvis lèse-majesté?)

  24. Elvis was massively overrated IMHO, mainly because he was white, to the detriment of many far more talented black musicians. Oh, and I didn’t enjoy the crossword much, either. One or two good’uns but too laboured overall.

  25. SO does not mean PROVIDED. (Resort to CHAMBERS ‘dictionary’ of errors is always a sign of desperation).
    BUST does not mean DOWN.
    CALENDARING does not exist
    A user who harms is an ABUSER not a MISUSER.
    And so on and on.
    Shoddy stuff.

  26. crossbencher @ 25

    “The network connection is down/broken/bust”

    My SOED gives ‘calendar’ as a verb dating from 1487. Are there any verbs that can’t have an -ing suffix?

  27. Thanks Tramp and PeterO

    Late to this, so please that it was pretty easy. I loved KNEE. Like Chris in France and crossbencher (and despite Simon S), I don’t think BUST is equivalent to DOWN (even in your example, Simon, a network that is “down” will, it is hoped, soon be “up” again, so is not “bust”).

  29. Well this puzzle seems to have produced much divergence of opinion. I’m in the “not Tramp’s best” camp as I found some of the surfaces a bit clunky and the theme superfluous as it neither helped with the solving nor added to the pleasure. Whilst I see BUST is a cleverly constructed clue the surface doesn’t add anything and I doubt anyone came up with it as a synonym for DOWN and like others it was my LOI by a process of elimination.
    Nevertheless it was a challenging workout and PESSIMAL and LUMINENCE are my new words for today so thank you Tramp and PeterO.

  30. My Mum used to say the same as Tenerife Miller’s and though I’m not an Elvis fan, I too thought this crossword was in poor taste. I can’t ever recall being disappointed with a Tramp crossword before, so hopefully it was just an aberration.

  32. Did anyone have [base] for 21a? Derived by turning one way – namely S – to E. Base is as close in meaning to down as is bust imho

  33. Thanks to Tramp and PeterO. I too had trouble with PESSIMAL, ILEUM, and BUST (where I too first opted for “base”).

  34. Thank you Tramp and PeterO,

    I was taking a holiday from commenting, saving my energies for the Everyman, but feel I must support the clue for BUST, “Down and out” implies “impoverished and, often, socially outcast” (Collins English Dictionary online).

  35. muffin @ 27

    Something that is down/broken/bust can be repaired/brought back to life as long as its condition isn’t irreparable.

  36. …but Cookie, “down and out” is considerably more extreme than merely “down” (and “and out” isn’t in the clue – no complaints if it had been).

  38. We didn’t think this crossword was very different from Tramp’s usual standard.
    A lot of stick though, today.
    Anyone who knows how themed crosswords work in Tramp’s world will understand that entries are non-thematic.
    Yet, quite a few commenters above thought that some of the answers, like 16d, were kind of offensive.
    Those who link e.g. POT BELLY to Elvis are doing that in their own mind.
    Where does it say that one or more of the answers should be related to Elvis?
    Perhaps, it is the simple preamble (‘To mark an anniversary’) that suggests that this will be the case.
    I am actually not quite sure whether Tramp wrote this puzzle especially for the occasion or that it was one lying on the shelf for a while.
    Anyway, I refuse to think that Tramp had bad intentions and cannot relate to a post like Tenerife Miller’s @21.

    We enjoyed it but found it harder than this setter’s usual output.
    The only one we couldn’t explain was SOD OFF (1d).
    While it is not a nice expression to include in a crossword, we also saw that Tramp did not have many other choices (other than re-writing the whole of the NW).

    Chambers (that dictionary that many seem to hate as others do the European Union) has indeed ‘Provided’ for ‘so’ (but only as definition #14).
    Looking it up the other way, i.e. going to ‘provided’ gets Oxford on one’s side too: on the condition or understanding that.
    Convincing or not, you cannot have it all all the time.

    Many thanks to PeterO for the blog and Tramp for what we thought was pretty un-shoddy stuff.

  39. Sorry, muffin @ 37, I’m confused…

    Does that mean

    If it’s down, it can be fixed

    If its broken, it can be fixed

    If it’s bust, it can’t be fixed?

    Where’s the distinction?

    And, completely off-topic and possibly non-PC (but wtf), I’m sure there there must be models whose down busts have been fixed…

  42. Tough, but interesting and enjoyable. Like others I don’t remember coming across PESSIMAL before (or CALENDARING for that matter).

  43. Thanks PeterO. The theme, if there was one, rather flimsy and the special instructions otiose. I suppose one’s blue suede shoes could be Oxfords, but… ‘Carving’ as an anagram indicator is somewhat far-fetched. I shall endeavour not to include ‘calendar’ (verb) and ‘misuser’ in my active lexicon.

  44. I agree with most of the negative comments here. I got excited when I saw a themed Tramp but ended up with being disappointed. BNTO @ 41 sums it up well.

    However, I have no problem with BUST (some other definitions being much vaguer).

  45. Too late for anyone to read this, but I want to point out that 19 down is cleverer than acknowledged in the blog. ‘SS’ can also stand for ‘Secret Service’, which is the agency which really does ‘protect the president’ in the US.

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