Guardian Cryptic 27,374 by Picaroon

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27374.

A tangled web of cross-references, mainly centred on 17A MUSIC, in a multitude of guises. I found the disentanglement very satisfying.

Across
1 STATIST Government backer, round lunchtime, seen in streets (7)
An envelope (‘seen in’) of AT I (at one, ’round lunchtime’) in ST ST (‘streets’).
5 PARTITA A hint about possessing skill for some 17 (7)
An envelope (‘possessing’) of ART (‘skill’) on PITA, a reversal (‘about’) of A TIP (‘a hint’).
10 FOLK People making 17 (4)
Double definition.
11 JOHN THOMAS Male member of Apostles (4,6)
Double definition.
12 PLAY ON Power to provide what follows 9 (4,2)
A charade of P (‘power’) plus LAY ON (‘provide’); see 9D.
13 FANFARES 17 to 12 trumpets from devotees accepting cost (8)
An envelope (‘accepting’) of FARE (‘cost’) in FANS (‘devotees’).
14 ASPERSION Slur like individual admitting onset of inebriation (9)
An envelope (‘admitting’) of I (‘onset of Inebriation’) in AS (‘like’) plus PERSON (‘individual’). A fine surface.
16 SWING 17, something a child might 12 (5)
Double definition.
17 MUSIC Score century, after current problem recedes (5)
A charade of MUSI, a reversal (‘recedes’) of I (‘current’) plus SUM (‘problem’); plus C (‘century’).
19 ROCK GROUP Sweet stuff wife’s taken from mature people making 17 (4,5)
A charade of ROCK (‘sweet stuff’; for those who do not know, a stick-shaped and generally peppermint-flavoured candy traditionally associated with seaside resorts) plus GRO[w] UP (‘mature’) minus the W (‘wife’s taken from’).
23 SOFTBALL Piano used with party game (8)
A charade of SOFT (‘piano’) plus BALL (‘party’).
24 NAPALM Ally in war zone’s weapon there (6)
An envelope (‘in’) of PAL (‘ally’) in NAM (Vietnam, ‘war zone’, also referenced in the definition as ‘there’).
26 BOWLED OVER Impressed with vessel by English port (6,4)
A charade of BOWL (‘vessel’) plus E (‘English’) plus DOVER (‘port’).
27 PUNK 12 words with king’s 17 (4)
12A is PLAY ON, and PUN is a play on words; plus K (‘king’).
28 OYSTERS 9, perhaps, fancy sort? Yes! (7)
An anagram (‘fancy’) of ‘sort yes’, the reference in the definition is to the reputation of OYSTERS as an aphrodisiac.
29 ADDRESS Deal with Bill, needing bandage (7)
A charade of AD (‘bill’) plus DRESS (‘bandage’).
Down
2 TROILUS Labour to protect right country, one in 12 7 (7)
An envelope (‘to protect’) of R (‘right’) in TOIL (‘labour’) plus US (‘country’). The definition is a reference to Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cresida.
3 TOKAY Tea picked up and fine wine (5)
A charade of T (‘tea picked up’) plus OKAY (‘fine’). And a fine wine it is,too.
4 SEJANUS Roman commander‘s extremely snide, a two-faced fellow (7)
A charade of SE (‘extremely SnidE‘) plus JANUS (‘a two-faced fellow’ – a Roman god, actually, with two faces to look ahead and to the past).
6 ATTUNE Adjust some 17 for the audience (6)
A homophone (‘for the audience’) of A TUNE (‘some 17’).
7 TROJAN WAR Hacker’s tool, escalating bleak conflict (6,3)
A charade o f TROJAN (a type of computer malware, ‘hacker’s tool’) plus WAR, a reversal (‘escalating’ in a down light) of RAW (‘bleak’).
8 TRADE-IN 17 to accompany a German exchange (5-2)
A charade of TRAD (traditional jazz, ’17’ MUSIC) plus EIN (‘a German’).
9 THE FOOD OF LOVE 17 man stops breaking off to do nothing (3,4,2,4)
An envelope (‘stops’) of HE (‘man’) in TFOODOF, an anagram (‘breaking’) of ‘off to do’ plus LOVE (‘nothing’). The definition ’17’ MUSIC refers to the famous quotation from Twelfth Night, continued in 12A:

If music be the food of love, play on
15 EPISTOLET Message from character turning up clutching arm (9)
An envelope (‘clutching’) of PISTOL (‘arm’) in EET, a reversal (‘up’ in a down light) of TEE (the letter, ‘character’). New to me, but an obvious diminutive of epistle, and clearly clued.
18 UROLOGY After treatment, your nurses record medical specialism (7)
An envelope (‘nurses’) of LOG (‘record’) in UROY, an anagram (‘after treatment’) of ‘your’.
20 KINDRED Related to nice North Korean? (7)
A charade of KIND (‘nice’) plus RED (‘North Korean?’).
21 UPLANDS Outspoken solver intends to tour deserted hilly region (7)
An envelope (‘to tour’) of D (‘deserted’) in U, a homophone (‘outspoken’) of YOU (‘solver’) plus PLANS (‘intends’).
22 LANDOR Both sides gathering round English linesman (6)
An envelope (‘gathering’) of O (’round’) in L AND R (‘both sides’), for Walter Savage LANDOR, the poet whose lines include:

Nature I loved, and, next to nature, Art.
25 PIPER Just beat monarch’s 17 maker (5)
A charade of PIP (‘just beat’) plus ER (‘monarch’).
completed grid

62 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,374 by Picaroon”

  2. Top-class. Could go into any anthology of crosswords, on the lines of Paul’s excellent ‘Centenary’ volume, recently picked up in a cut-price bookshop.

  3. This is well above my current skill level (which I’m working hard to improve), but I’m pleased I managed to get over half of it out after revealing 17, and learned some tricks and new words along the way.

    Thanks Picaroon for the puzzle and PeterO for the very useful blog.

  4. I had 22d as LANDER from the wordplay (L AND R ‘gathering round’ E) – Wikipedia says Tim Lander is a minor Canadian poet. I had forgotten Landor, who is very much better known of course, but either answer could be valid.

  5. Thanks Picaroon and PeterO

    I got into this in a very roundabout way. First pass yielded only SEJANUS (whom I remembered from I Claudius). I then worked out MUSIC (I don’t see the relevance of MU in your explanation, Peter), which gave me UROLOGY, then OYSTERS, then an unparsed 9d, then 12a. It all went easily enough from there, though I failed as I had FOOTBALL (soft foot pedal on a piano, perhaps?) and, as beaulieu, LANDER. (I needed a wordsearch for EPISTOLET, but then parsed it OK.)

    All very fine except UPLANDS; this grated as it isn’t pronounced “youplands”.

  8. Another ‘Lander’ here.
    I went for ‘E’ as the included letter, as it isn’t often that the nationality of a composer, writer etc. is specified in the clue. Looking back, should have been suspicious of ‘gathering round’ as a single inclusion indicator, when either could have been used (albeit to the severe detriment of the surface reading.)
    Don’t you hate it when you click on ‘check all’, and find you’ve failed by one letter?
    Thanks Picaroon for an excellent, well crafted puzzle, and PeterO for the usual concise blog.

  9. Fantastic, intricate puzzle! It took me some time, but was worth it. I made a mess of SOFTBALL, having FOOTBALL (Piano used with foot – pedal??). Another LANDER here. Many thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.

  10. While googling ‘poutball’ as a possibility for 23a (p = piano, out (of) = used (up)) I came across the board game ‘Phutball’, short for Philosopher’s Football. Looks very interesting – have any of you lot played it?

  11. Brilliant puzzle. Thought I was getting nowhere until 5a fell through the wordplay then the music clues fell like dominoes.

    Ooh no Mrs titter for 5a. Best clue for me was 24a – so clever but brought that terrible war photo to mind.

    Thanks to pickers and PO for brightening up a dull day.

  13. Looked very daunting and I stared at it fruitlessly for quite a while before solving PIPER, and soon after the K of TOKAY giving me a choice between ROCK and FOLK. That soon led to MUSIC, and after that it sailed in fairly quickly, although EPISTOLET troubled me for a while and so did UPLANDS (not happy with d for deserted, to my mind the one blemish in an otherwise terrific puzzle. Well done Picaroon, and thanks Peter O for a very clear blog

  14. What a week we are having and still one to go! Many thanks Picaroon, PeterO and the Editor. Like muffin one of my favourites was PUNK. I also enjoyed JOHN THOMAS. Unlike muffin I liked UPLANDS. I had CANTATA at first for 5a, but when it would not parse I thought again. See you all on the morrow!!

  15. D for deserted has been discussed several times here before – I think someone found it used in military records. It’s in Chambers, anyway.

  16. Loved it.
    I am with the LANDERs contingent though, so am asking myself, did I really solve it? Commiserations from a fellow traveller, Greensward@8.
    It’s all a moot point given that I enjoyed the ride so much.
    A philosophical question – why are crosswords (and life) ultimately more satisfying when they are difficult?
    Regarding LANDER vs LANDOR: that’s the trouble with guessing and then trying to confirm via google such things as whether your answer is a “linesman” (poet, writer or lyricist). For a while I had a tentative LERNER as in Lerner and Loewe.
    I enjoyed the descriptions here of how people got into it (eg Job@13). For some strange reason, after getting nowhere, I saw ATTUNE as the homophone at 6d. That led to MUSIC at 17a and the rest is history. Thanks for your allusion to the domino effect, BlueCanary@11. That’s what it was like for me too.
    Such a fun solve.
    I felt it was like digging up a treasure chest from Davy Jones’ locker!
    So thanks to the pirate Picaroon, and also to his fellow “Pirate Pete”, PeterO.

  17. Julie in Australia @ 16: the mental picture I have of you in scuba gear with a spade digging up treasure from the ocean floor is just magical. But beware those Aussie sharks!!

  18. Super puzzle – many thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.
    And another LANDER here …
    Loved 9 Down, which also provided some handy crossers.

  19. Another superb puzzle. Took me ages to get to music, then there was a flurry of filling in, and then a distinct ritartando as I headed towards my loi, which for me was 21d. D for deserted may be in the dictionary but these single letter indicators are often unsatisfying I find, even when they are better known, like the musical notes say. And then finally it was da capo to this blog, for which many thanks. I failed to parse 19ac.

  21. Thanks Picaroon, PeterO
    Great puzzle. I loved all the PLAY ON clues.
    FOI was MUSIC, but it didn’t help at first. I got SWING from the W in TROJAN WAR, then PLAY ON, then THE FOOD OF LOVE. A very pleasurable unravelling.

  22. @15 Eileen The usage in military records is puzzling because I believe it’s also used for died and discharged, it seems odd to me that an ambiguous abbreviation gained currency!

    A tough but very enjoyable challenge today, so many clues that seemed impenetrable until re-read in a different voice.

    Thanks Picaroon and PeterO.

  23. I think Pickers was having fun on this which he wanted to share with us lot so didnt want to blow it by making it too easy which would blunt the force of the tea tray.
    MUSIC went in first which gave me UROLOGY and that led to OYSTERS but still no pdm.I saw SEJANUS by following directions, not remembering him and that suggested JOHN and the second half of 7d had to be WAR….and I still hadnt got the punch line.Maybe ASPERSION was next and I had an inkling of FOLK and TOKAY. Then I got TROILUS (following instructions again) and suddenly I saw PLAY ON and the gateway.

    This is probably very boring but I just wanted to pay tribute to P’s excellent cluing.

  24. LANDER for me too, though I did wonder if it was a misspelling of LANDOR. That’ll teach me.

    Very good puzzle.

  25. Thanks Picaroon and PeterO.

    It was good setting but unlike most people, I didn’t really enjoy this – too much GK, I thought (SEJANUS??)

    I’ve only just realised why PIP = just beat, as in to pip at the post.

    I did enjoy JOHN THOMAS, though.

  26. Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO. I got MUSIC early on and knew LANDOR and also SEJANUS from the Jonson play (a really challenging read) but struggled with PUNK, EPISTOLET, and the rock in ROCK GROUP. A challenge but very enjoyable.

  27. Lots of fun, bless my soul; this one raised the bar, struck a chord and was far from middle of the road. On a scale from 1 to 10, this goes up to 11. I have a couple of notes (that’s quite enough musical references thank you – Ed).

    I have never heard of LANDOR, but assumed someone called Lander had composed lines at some point.

    JOHN THOMAS was mildly risque, but not as cheeky as ARSE the other day.

    I struggled to solve 17 (and thus the rest of it) until I spotted “a German” in 8d; EIN led to TRAD which led to MUSIC.

    Though a horrible answer, NAPALM was my favourite clue, along with TROILUS, for the combination of PLAY ON TROJAN WAR.

    Great work Picaroon and PeterO.

  28. Thank you Picaroon for a challenging puzzle and PeterO for a very helpful blog.

    Why is it that black and white photographs seem to me so more evocative than coloured ones? Is it a question of age? When I was young coloured illustrations in books were rare, the words that built the pictures in my mind were, of course, in black and white. I have often wondered about this, please excuse me for the digression, it arose from 24a.

  29. Cookie@28- agreed, I think it’s because there are no distractions – the eye zeroes in on the subject matter.

    For those younger readers who are unsure what has triggered this debate Google napalm girl (I know!)

  30. muffin @5

    Something strange happened as I was entering the explanation of 17A MUSIC. Perhaps I inadvertently hit some control key, but the SI popped up in the answer field where I had previously entered MUSIC. I corrected it there, but did not notice the missing bit in the explanation, now restored. I hope that it makes more sense now.

    For favourite clue, in a rich field I would go with 14A ASPERSION for the smoothness of its surface (not something to which I generally give much attention).

  32. Very enjoyable.

    Regarding 22dn, comments same as JulieinAustralia@16 et al.

    Equated “mature people” to “growN-ups”. Spent some time wondering why the “N” had been dropped and then twigged it should have been “mature” instead of “mature people”.

  33. Two more LANDERS here!! And we thought so because we thought ‘linesman’ ie anglers might be the definition!!! Brilliant, brilliant puzzle! Thanks Picaroon – and PeterO for the blog, of course ??

  35. I really struggled to get started on this, and FOI was SEJANUS though I wasn’t sure if he was real or a figment of my imagination. BOWLED OVER and KINDRED followed, but it was ages before I got MUSIC (not sure why this proved so hard) and then about half the puzzle fell into place.

    I stopped for coffee and a rest, and then miraculously it all fell into place. EPISTOLET was new to me, though fairly obvious, and JOHN THOMAS a euphemism I’d not come across before (sheltered upbringing).

    I’m expecting any day soon a crossword entirely devoted to similar euphemisms, and schoolboy humour in general. Not many days go by without something a little risqué. I’m starting to find it all a little tiresome, but to show I’m not entirely without humour here’s a link you might enjoy (if I get the html right) Flanders&Swan

    Anyway, thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.

  36. I really enjoyed this one – it seemed impenetrable at first but once MUSIC and OYSTERS led to THE FOOD OF LOVE the rest were much easier to crack. SEJANUS was new to me put fairly clued and TOKAY was only vaguely familiar but quite gettable. EPISTOLET was last in.

    Whoever gets tomorrow has a hard act to follow after Nutmeg, Arachne and this.

    Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO

  37. Well – technically a DNF since (like many others above) I’m a “LANDER”. Pity – clues should not lead to ambiguous answers without a crosser to resolve.

    How many others, I wonder, had FOLK GROUP for ROCK GROUP, and CANTATA for PARTITA? Certainly I did – but another check on the wordplay and I fixed both of these in time!

    As to the interminable and circular cross-references – well I have to admit these are not my favourite, theme-wise. I was wondering whether I’d have to solve 17 in its own right, or to deduce it from the references. But as it happens, when I came to 28a, well there are only two anagrams of “sort yes”: OYSTERS and STOREYS (I knew this without having to resort to an anagram-solver – there’s my scrabble-playing knowhow coming home to roost!). OYSTERS fitted admirably, and that then gave a strong hint for 9d, and the rest followed….

    Incidentally, hasn’t this crossword come out a month too early?

    As to 11a – a bit cheeky, eh? Bit too Chattereley for some people’s liking, I reckon!

    Nevertheless, good work: thanks Pickers and Peter.

  38. “Chatterley”. There, I can’t even spell the name right! Never did like the book, anyway, in spite of……… 😮

  40. Took some time to get music. Still don’t understand ‘I’ for current, I’m sure someone will enlighten me.

  42. sadoldsweat @40
    I for current is quite common in crosswords. It’s electrical current, as in Ohm’s Law

    V = IR

    where V is voltage (potential difference for the pedants) and R is resistance.

  43. Rather dashed in a couple: Phoney War for 7 Down and The Look Of Love (Mark Almond song?), and so was completely stumped for 5 and 13 Across. Must take things more slowly and logically in future…

  46. I did get Landor – more because I’ve always liked the sound of his full name. An apposite quote from him: “Music is God’s gift to man, the only art of Heaven given to earth, the only art of earth we take to Heaven.”

    Thanks to both.

  48. There was so much to like here that I can more than forgive the amount of time it took me to get going! On the first pass, all I had was ASPERSION and it was some time before SEJANUS and JOHN THOMAS got me going -if you see what I mean. MUSIC took ages but once it was in I made reasonably good progress. I have to admit to being a FOOTBALL and a LANDER so I can’t claim a triumph here.
    My last two were PIPER and PUNK which were delightful.
    I can’t help thinking that this would have been better as a Prize.
    Thanks Picaroon.

  49. Just to be contrary, I was a RANDEL (several possibilities in Wiki), which put the kibosh on 28, for which I’m duly kicking myself, having spotted the possible anagrind but dismissed it.
    Other than that, I loved it. Beautifully designed grid and cluing to boot.

    Thanks, Picaroon and PeterO for the comprehensive blog.

  50. I too had LANDER with the rationale “linesman = angler = lander of fish”. Not sure if that makes me really clever or really stupid.

    Thanks, Picaroon and PeterO.

  51. In retrospect, it was a mistake by Picaroon to include “English” in 22d. It’s not needed for surface or definition, and its “misdirection” only means that there are two valid answers to the clue (admittedly, one much more probable than the other). I can only suppose that he thought that he was being helpful.

  52. I sometimes find these intricately cross-linked puzzles frustrating, but this one was very satisfying. I made very slow progress at first, but picked up speed as 17 fell, followed by 12 and 9.

    Call me juvenile, but I thoroughly enjoyed 11.

    I thought of JANUS at one point, and I was certainly aware that S[nid]E was a likely part of the clue, which makes it ridiculous how long it took to spot SEJANUS (played by Patrick Stewart, with hair, in I, Claudius).

  53. Loved it.

    Even though I (like many others) LANDERed it. I am not familiar with either LANDOR or LANDER (as either a poet or as a type of angler), but the latter seemed to me so obvious from the wordplay that I didn’t bother to look up whether there was, in fact, a famous poet named LANDER or not.

    (I am familiar with LANDO, from the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as LANDRU, from the original Star Trek TV series, but that’s beside the point.)

    Many thanks to Picaroon, PeterO and other commenters. “PLAY ON!”

  54. Great crossword. Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO. I also was a Lander – and I think one can legitimately argue that either of “English” or “round” is redundant, in terms of wordplay. The definition is also somewhat ambiguous, so the clue really does have two equally (?) acceptable answers. Or am I simply trying to justify my own laziness??

  55. Such an enjoyable puzzle, but I ran out of time and failed to solve 10a, 11a, 6d, 21d, 24a, 25d.

    I needed help to parse 23a and my favourite was 9d.

    Thanks Picaroon and Peter

  56. ^^ my notes were wrong – at first, I had put FOOTBALL for 23a, but corrected it to SOFTBALL which I actually could parse!

  57. Julie @16

    I’m so late to this blog that you may not see this, but I didn’t want to let your ‘philosophical question’ go unanswered. [“Why are crosswords (and life) ultimately more satisfying when they are difficult?”]

    It’s the thrill of the chase, Watson, as Holmes might have said. If a problem is too easy, all you get is an outcome. If it was a necessary outcome, all the better, but what you feel is relief rather than any level of satsifaction. I think we just love any mental challenge from the time we anticipate it to when we solve it, and the more ‘difficult’ it is the more we are enjoying that exercise.

    It can even be satisfying if you try and fail a mental challenge every now and then. (In the context of these crosswords, just come to this forum and enjoy reading how you were taken for a ride!) At least with crosswords we can choose whether or not to persevere with a challenge that we enjoyed for a while but have come stuck.

  58. I solved this with a friend which was just as well as he magically knew TROILUS etc. Still a challenge.

    Loi was LANDER (yes…), not that I knew either poet. Penny drop converting FOOTBALL to SOFTBALL. Picaroon must be wondering why the football obsession.

    Things went a bit backwards, SWING led to PLAY ON and OYSTERS finally gave us THE FOOD OF LOVE.

    Tons to like. ROCK GROUP, NAPALM (though not currently a war zone?), PUNK, BOWLED OVER, OYSTERS – and I seem just to be focusing on SW.

    Had EPISTLET but took me ages to spell it right.

    Many thanks Picaroon, very enjoyable and thank you PeterO

  60. W B Yeats in To a young beauty
    There is not a fool can call me friend,
    And I may fine at journey’s end
    With LANDOR and with Donne.

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