Guardian Cryptic 27,383 by Rufus

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27383.

The rubric says:

Rufus has decided to retire. This was the first Rufus, published on 30 August 1982.

I am sure that this will cause much wailing and gnashing of teeth in a good proportion of our audience, and may result in a sea-change to crosswords. This puzzle, from 35 years ago, is largely in familiar Rufus territory; some excellent clues (1A TIDE RACE in particular),  fine surfaces, double definitions, and more cryptic definitions than you can shake a stick at (and more than we have become accustomed to from Rufus). Some of them do not fit the description CD very well – for example, 14A SCOTCH MIST is a literal interpretation of the words rather than a definition of any kind. Also, I note a couple of “lift and separate” devices (one in the original use of the term), and a fair number of envelopes.
In all, it must be said that Rufus merits his retirement, having produced a prodigious output which has given pleasure to so many solvers for so long.

Across
1 TIDE RACE Current champion tried to break first (4,4)
A charade of TIDER, an anagram (‘to break’) of ‘tried’ plus ACE (‘champion’). Rufus at his best to start out.
5 BEWARE Worker about to fight – watch out! (6)
An envelope (‘about’) of WAR (‘fight’) in BEE (‘worker’).
9 REST CURE Taken by those who are sick and tired of work? (4,4)
Cryptic definition.
10 DEGREE Educational measure? (6)
Cryptic definition.
11 INACTION Idleness indeed (8)
A charade of ‘in’- plus ACTION (-‘deed’).
12 TISSUE Sit out with a girl in gauzy fabric (6)
A charade of TIS, an anagram (‘out’) of ‘sit’ plus SUE (‘girl’).
14 SCOTCH MIST An alcoholic daze? (6,4)
Cryptic definition.
18 LABOUR POOL A working reserve (6,4)
Cryptic definition.
22 CREATE First form (6)
Cryptic definition.
23 AGNOSTIC In a religious sense, he believes in coasting freely (8)
An anagram (‘freely’) of ‘coasting’.  The definition is rather peculiar. Chambers gives for the noun:

A person believing that we know nothing of things beyond material phenomena, that a Creator, a creative cause and an unseen world are unknown or unknowable; a sceptic.

This contains the word “believing”, but how to reconcile it with the definition in the clue, I do not know. The possibility of an extended definition seems equally off the mark.
,24 CUTTER Craft of one in the tailoring trade (6)
Double definition, and the most obvious nautical reference.
25 CONFETTI Paper thrown at the match (8)
Cryptic definition.
26 PRETTY Fine for a non-drinker found in the quarry (6)
An envelope (‘found in’) of TT (‘a non-drinker’) in PREY (‘the quarry’).
27 ADDENDUM A literary supplement? (8)
Cryptic definition.
Down
1 TORRID It’s very hot when it’s clear on the hill (6)
A charade of TOR (‘hill’) plus RID (‘clear’).
2 DISMAL Gloomy little sergeant major with face put out (6)
An envelope (‘with … put out’) of SM (‘little sergeant major’) in DIAL (‘face’).
3 RECITE Deliver publicly (6)
Cryptic? definition.
4 CARBON COPY Duplicate of the same type (6,4)
Cryptic-ish definition.
6 EYESIGHT Pupil power? (8)
Cryptic definition.
7 ACROSTIC A sign of wrong and right, we hear, in a puzzle (8)
Homophones (‘we hear’) of ‘a’ plus CROSS (‘sign of wrong’) plus TICK (sign of ‘right’).
8 ELEMENTS Weathermen caught in a flurry of sleet (8)
An envelope (‘caught in’) of -‘men’ in ELETS, an anagram (‘a flurry’) of ‘sleet’.
13 STRONGHOLD Keep a firm grip (10)
STRONG HOLD (‘a firm grip’).
15 BLACKCAP Bird of ill omen to an old criminal? (8)
Double definition, the second being an allusion to a judge donning a black cap (actually just a square of material) on pronouncing a death sentence, when the UK had the death penalty.
16 ABSENTEE Sailor sent to quarters for being a defaulter (8)
A charade of AB (‘sailor’) plus ‘sent’ plus E E (‘quarters’).
17 QUOTIENT Not quite free to give the result of the division (8)
An anagram (‘free’) of ‘not quite’.
19 TOFFEE Start talking of payment for suckers (6)
A charade of T (‘start Talking’) plus ‘of’ plus FEE (‘payment’).
20 STATED Said to be like America? (6)
Double definition – although the second is more a pun.
21 SCHISM A division of the Church (6)
Cryptic definition.
completed grid

113 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,383 by Rufus”

  1. Monday’s will never be the same.
    We’ll miss you.
    Have a very happy retirement !

    PS You haven’t changed a bit.

  3. Dear Mr Squires you are neither my favourite nor least favourite setter, but I shall miss you enormously, and as ipd’o @1 says Mondays will not be the same without you. Enjoy a long and fruitful retirement. Oh, and this was a very fine crossword.

  4. I will miss Rufus a lot! Thank you for so many enjoyable puzzles over the years. You are one of my favourites and an important part of my Mondays in that I always look forward to a puzzle by Rufus on a Monday.

    New words for me in this puzzle were scotch mist, tide race, and I was unable to parse 15d blackcap.

    I failed to solve CREATE, CONFETTI, SCHISM.

    My favourites were elements, acrostic.

    Thanks for the blog, Peter.

  5. Re:  23 AGNOSTIC.  While a theist believes he or she knows whether God exists, and an atheist also believes he or she knows whether God exists (though they disagree on the central point), an agnostic throws up his or her hands and says, “I don’t know.”  I think this is poetically expressed by the entire clue:  In a religious sense, he believes in coasting freely.

    Happy retirement, Rufus.  So long, and thanks for all the fish.  I mean puzzles.

  6. I am very sad. Rufus puzzles helped me with some full solves early on when I first started solving “The Guardian” cryptics, which gave me confidence to continue. He will be much missed. In a weird kind of way I am also going to miss the debates on this forum about whether Rufus puzzles are too easy for some, yet to others’ tastes.

    In this historic puzzle from 35 years ago (what a lengthy service Rufus has provided to the solving community!), I very much enjoyed 10a DEGREE, 23a AGNOSTIC (great post on the latter, slipstream@5), 25a CONFETTI (a smile from this wedding celebrant), 6d EYESIGHT, 7d the homophonic ACROSTIC, 15d BLACKCAP and 17d QUOTIENT (a clever anagram).

    Thanks to PeterO for your tribute in your introduction and your comprehensive summary of the range of devices used in this puzzle alone. To Rufus, I would like to express my sincere gratitude, as you have become a familiar, sometimes challenging, yet very comfortable friend to me over the years. Warm good wishes to you for many blessings in the future.

  7. Very sorry to see you go.
    I hope the constant carping and snide remarks from this site has not hastened your decision.
    All the best

  8. I’m another who has greatly enjoyed Rufus’s puzzles. As others have pointed out above, his style has hardly changed over the years. My favourites today were CONFETTI, PRETTY and TOFFEE. I join in wishing him a very happy retirement.

    I see that a Paul puzzle has now appeared online (with the same number), and the Rufus has disappeared!

     

  10. And the comments to the puzzle online are all for Rufus. Help – what is happening?

    But anyway, thank you Rufus. You will be missed.

  11. It would have been nice to have had a more gracious response to the news than snide comments about a possible sea change in crosswords, the implication being that now Rufus is out of the way there is room for one of the oh so clever and smart brigade to step in and impress us with their expertise and erudition. Good luck with that.

  12. Oh dear, Mr Paddington Bear downloaded the Rufus puzzle early this morning and I can only access the Paul one so now we can’t spend our Monday struggling together with the same crossword.

  13. Correction: it says it’s a Paul puzzle, but if you click on the ‘Print’ link, it prints out the Rufus one. What a mess.

  14. THANK YOU, Rufus, for 35 years of contest with your unique style.

    Quibbles along the way?  Well certainly, but you have provided an access point for many beginners to cut their teeth on (and also many more seasoned vets to gnash some of theirs on!)

    I have roughly the same ticks and question marks as PeterO so I’ll leave it at that.

    Mondays will never be the same again, enjoy a long, happy, and well-earned retirement.

    Thank you.

  15. Incidentally, I was amazed to see the <i>lift and separate</i> device from so long ago.  I thought it was a relatively recent ruse.

  16. Can someone, anyone explain what is going on. Online I now have two different crosswords downloaded for today. I have solved the ‘historic’ Rufus, and I guess I will now have a go at the Paul, but will there be a 225 blog to check against? I’m getting too old for this .

  17. Thanks Peter and many, many thanks to Rufus.

    It is thanks to him that I stated to learn the “skills” required to solve cryptic crosswords. His clues were always elegantly structured. I will miss his puzzles tremendously and only hope his retirement was not influenced by some of the sniping comments that regularly appear here.

    As has been said above Mondays will just not be as eagerly anticipated.

    Have a very happy and long retirement Rufus.

     

  19. Trust the Grauniad to screw things up. The web page shows the Paul puzzle yet when I try to print it I get the Rufus one. Does anyone at Guardian Orbital HQ actually look at what they publish?

  20. What an absolute shambles to mark dear Rufus’ departure.

    Many, many thanks for the link, Uncleskinny @18 – there is no sign of this lovely photograph and article in the paper I paid for! [I had been surprised at the meagreness of the rubric on such an occasion.] And if I click on the link in the article, I get the Paul puzzle!

     

  21. Goodbye Mr Rufus, I shall miss you. Many solvers on this site thought you were the equivalent of Bakers dog food in the world of crosswords. Not me, I loved you.

  23. How disappointing. I look forward to Mondays for Rufus’ riddle-like cryptic definitions. Oh well, I suppose he deserves to put his feet up after all these years.

    Happy retirement Rufus.

  24. Good luck to whoever has to fill Rufus’s Monday slot! They always cheered me up and today’s was no exception. ACROSTIC was my favourite today.
    Happy retirement Mr Squires. Also thank you to Uncleskinny for the link to the wee story.

  26. Ah, the frustration I’ve had on Mondays when a cd eludes me when all else is complete! I had barely started cryptics in ’82, so may or may not have seen this one before: how amazing that his style has changed so little. Thankfully, today was a day when it all came right, so at least he leaves me with a sweet memory.

    The Guardian, however, should be roundly ashamed of itself, first for not printing Hugh’s appreciation (and thus Araucaria’s little poem) in the paper edition, and then for whichever human (surely not Hugh?) decided to suppress Rufus’s swansong online. An apology should follow. Oh, and a no-change policy on Monday, to encourage novice solvers; a bit more Chifonie, perhaps?

     

  27. Thanks to Rufus for all those Mondays.

    Sadly I too can only see the Paul cryptic which I duly did (with a couple of frustrated ‘reveals’) and now can’t get any help with parsing….my thoughts on Guardian team echo those above!

  28. Out of curiosity, I have just had a look at the Guardian website to see how far back their online Rufus crosswords go.  The earliest one I found was 21,623 (28 June 1999).

  29. Variety is what makes crosswords so interesting, and over the years I have enjoyed Rufus’s Monday offerings every bit as much as more knotty puzzles by the likes of Enigmatist and advanced puzzles such as the Listener. Nobody does the cryptic definition like Roger, and his puzzles are always entertaining, witty and fresh. It was with great sadness that I read of his withdrawal from setting and I wish him a long and happy retirement.

    The sentiments at post 7 occurred to me too, but I would like to think that Roger is too big to have let the constant carping from a small but persistent minority play any part in his decision.

  30. I have long enjoyed Rufus’s very clever surface readings. Mondays will be all the poorer with his absence.

    Have a long and happy retirement, Mr Squires.

  31. Thanks to Rufus and PeterO. My paper copy of the Guardian has the article (under a slightly different headline) on page 3 of the G2 section. Is there a difference in other parts of the country?

    Thanks again Rufus, and enjoy a long retirement

  32. I was flabbergasted to find out how much Rufus’s style had changed since his first puzzle.  It didn’t seem like a Rufus puzzle at all.  That is because it wasn’t, it was just another Guardian cock-up.

    Thank you Rufus for all the puzzles over the years.  I hope they don’t try and hold you leaving piss-up in a brewery.

  34. Eileen (20) and Trailman (26): I’m puzzled by your complaints about the absence of the Rufus tribute in the print version. It’s all there in my copy, including photograph (slightly different angle) and Aracauria poem. Page 3 of G2, filling half of the tabloid page. Maybe it varies regionally? (I’m in Norfolk). Anyway, I add my thanks to Rufus and best wishes for a long happy future.

  36. Thank you for everything, Rufus, Mondays will not be the same.  I will especially miss your cryptic definitions, such fun.

    Have a long and happy retirement.

  37. Apologies the the Guardian for one thing: I never checked G2. It is indeed there. Thank you Shirl @31 and quenbarrow @35 for pointing this out.

  38. Well that was weird. Logged on and got a Paul. Solved it. Went to fifteen squared and got Rufus blog. Went back and Rufus this time popped up. Solved that. Anyway, many thanks and very best wishes to Rufus. Thirty five years has flown by.

  40. Hi Shirl @31 et al – oh dear, I hadn’t got round to looking at G2, which I usually leave until later in the day. My apologies.

    When I started blogging on 15² in 2008, Rufus sent me a very kind email, which gave me the confidence, when we were planning the first Derby S and B, in 2011, to invite him to join us. Not only did he come but he brought along several of his magic tricks, with which he enthralled and delighted us – and did the same at several subsequent gatherings.  It was such a pleasure to meet him and discover that he is just as charming as his puzzles.

    In the earlier days of 15², Rufus used to comment quite regularly. I think he got weary of explaining continually that he’d actually been given the brief of providing an easy entry into the crossword week. It must be quite tough to receive brickbats for so faithfully fulfilling one’s job description. At the age of 84, Roger is surely entitled to a happy and peaceful retirement – the poignant final couplet of Araucaria’s poem notwithstanding.

    I must have done this first puzzle in 1982, just a couple of weeks before moving into the house where I still live – but I found it a bit tricky this morning! Many thanks for it, Roger – and for all the others in between. x

  43. Eileen, thanks for the link you provided

     

    i loved this:

     

    “In 2012, the Guardian threw a party to celebrate Roger’s 80th birthday. His colleague Araucaria (also known as the Rev John Graham), then aged 91, was unable to come but wrote this doggerel instead. It sums Rufus up perfectly:
    Master magician Roger Squires
    For eighty years has graced this land
    And still his mental sleight of hand
    Perplexes, conjures and inspires.
    Not his the strained linguistic mire
    That only nerds can understand;
    His clues, meticulously planned,
    Delight us as they cross our wires!
    So, as we toast our honoured guest,
    Best wishes; thanks; and this behest –
    Pray relish and don’t rue the fuss
    We make of you, dear Rufus: plus
    Remember this, young Master Squires:
    No cruciverbalist retires!”

  45. Well well.  The very first thing to say, of course, is, All the best wishes to Roger Squires for a long and happy retirement – and may we continue to enjoy his cruciverbal skills maybe in a gentler setting? (I know full well that one often only partially retires, and Araucaria’s prophetic last line, above, is very apposite!)

    As to the puzzle: it perhaps illustrates the piece of wisdom imparted to me by one of Rufus’s more junior (and more fearsome) colleagues: “beginners tend to make their crosswords too hard”.  Not that I’m imputing that Rufus was a beginner back in 1982, but this offering was certainly no walkover, and tough compared to his more recent puzzles.

    My only quibble is the same as Peter’s: SCOTCH MIST ought to have had a definition (it’s a species of grass).  How about “An alcoholic haze on green?” perhaps?  But the rest is all fine, and Rufus’s more recent style still shows through strongly.

    All the best, Rufus, I (and I’m sure many others) will miss you from the Graun.  And thanks to Peter for ‘doing the honours’.

  46. re Scotch mist – I tell a lie, it’s not a grass but a different type of plant – but still a weed on lawns.

  47. Many thanks to Rufus for all the puzzles over the years. My late father always loved his Monday Rufus: he said he could always complete it and it raised a smile. I echo that.

  48. He will be sorely missed,the master of the typical cryptic clue.I am a Kenyan xword fan who regularly reads comments here but hardly comments.

  49. Eric @27 et al (not Gore)

    Oh dear, the Grauniad strikes again. Evidently, the Rufus was on display when I wrote the blog, but was replaced, at least partially, at some stage by the Paul. That in turn disappeared before I was able to cobble up a blog, and the Rufus reappeared. It is probably just as well that the Paul remains unblogged, since I hope and expect it will reappear in due course. Watch this space.

    slipstream @5

    You are probably right in that the explanation you give for 23A AGNOSTIC is what Rufus intended. However, I still feel, as I wrote in the blog, that it misses the mark.

    Gerry Stonestreet @11

    I think that your snide comment is quite uncalled-for.

     

     

  50. I reckon I must have started doing the Guardian Cryptic round about 1982, so I’d like to think I’ve tackled this puzzle before.

    Enjoy your well-earned retirement, Rufus.

  51. Thanks for blogging, Peter (one for your cv …)

    I helped Eileen organise the S&B event in Derby that we held back in 2012 to which Rufus was invited, and much to our delight, came.  So I had the chance to meet and talk to him at that, and at subsequent Midlands events.  He is an engaging, self-effacing man with lots of stories to tell; he’s also a talented and prodigious crossword compiler and is seriously good at close-up magic as well.

    When I first got back into cryptics around ten years ago, I was always pleased to tackle Rufus on a Monday.  His brief to provide an approachable puzzle meant I could finish him more often than not, and I was one of those who looked forward to, rather than was negative about, the trademark cryptic definitions that abounded.  I’ve done his Monday puzzles ever since and there has hardly been one that I haven’t enjoyed.

    I will add my own thanks to him, as well as sending him very best wishes for the future.

  52. PeterO @49:  I didn’t find your comments in the least <i>snide</i> and can’t imagine why anyone would interpret them that way.

  53. A bittersweet day and a lovely way to sign off. Interesting to see from the ELEMENTS clue that there is nothing new about such clues. I found this a little harder than most recent Rufus puzzles but none the worse for that.

    Thanks to PeterO and Thanks and Happy Retirement to Rufus.

     

  54. Hi K’s D @51 – you made me think I’d made a second numerical mistake today but, believe it or not, it really was as long ago as 2011 that you organised the first Derby S and B  – if you scroll down the comments, you’ll find some pictures.

    I’ve just realised I was so indignant earlier on that I omitted to thank PeterO for the blog – my apologies. 😉

  55. We’d like to add our thanks to Rufus for many enjoyable hours. We’ll miss starting with confidence on Mondays!

  56. Thanks to Rufus and PeterO. I started buying the Guardian and attempting to do the puzzle around 1985 during my brief annual stay in the UK. My only success was on Mondays with Rufus, so that he was my point of departure. As someone who officially “retired” in 2005 but still finds myself very busy, I wish him many happy hours doing whatever magic appeals to him.

  57. An ex-pat Brit in the US for 20+ years, I had fallen out of the crossword habit until April this year. The Monday Rufus and 225 have both helped me navigate my way back into curious world of cryptic crosswords and I am grateful to both, but Rufus in particular and I’m glad to have re-discovered the joy of solving before his retirement. I wish him well. Thanks to Rufus, PeterO, and to all of the thoughtful contributors to this site.

  58. Thank you to Rufus for providing so many crosswords that enabled me to become (mostly) proficient at solving. We are really going to miss you on Monday morning, but wish you a very happy retirement. Thank you PeterO for today’s blog.

  59. From my experience of this setter’s crosswords in the Guardian since 2014, I can see from this crossword that his unique style came into being from the start. Like some others, I was surprised and delighted to see the lift-and-separate device used 35 years ago (in the clue for ELEMENTS). His puzzles are not my favourites (some answers in this one were best guesses that were subsequently confirmed by crossers), but what I have no hesitation in saying is that he has left an almost matchless legacy in setting the playing field for other setters to succeed in getting their creations published for our pleasure, and I’d like to thank him for that. I congratulate him for his achievements and wish him well in his retirement.

  60. So by my reckoning Rufus finished on 769 puzzles and a record 22124 clues (to 15015 distinct solutions) since the start of the Guardian archive in 1999. This probably accounts for just over half of his Guardian total! By comparison Araucaria had 781 and 21915 and Paul 721 has 19533 (so far!).

    Appropriately, his most clued words was ADIEU with 13 appearances, followed by ADDRESS, EDGE and EXTRA 12, ANON, ERRATA, STIR, STUD and STYE on 11 and AGENDA, ARENA, CAREER and IDEAL on 10 each.

     

  61. Many thanks to PeterO for a lucid blog as usual.  Not sure about “a sea change to crosswords” though – there seems to be plenty of candidates to fill the gentle Monday slot.

    And many thanks and respect to Rufus for a lifetime of crossword setting: 85 is a ripe old age to have produced such a prodigious output. May you enjoy your retirement to the full.

  62. Thank you, Rufus. I wish you a long and happy retirement. I didn’t see it 35 years ago, but today I loved the clue for ELEMENTS.

     

  63. I’ll miss him too. I didn’t always enjoy his puzzles but mostly I did, and it was Rufus who got me started on crosswords again after many years. Rufus’s style hasn’t changed over the years but I have to admit that I found this puzzle a little harder than usual- especially the NW corner.
    May Rufus have a long and happy retirement.

  64. Thanks for all the entertainment, Rufus. I was lucky enough to meet him at one of the S&B meetings and found him a really good guy who slipped in a few pieces of magic to enliven the proceedings.

    Thanks PeterO for a good blog and your fitting words.

  65. I have always likened the experience of a Rufus crossword to a good natter with one’s witty and mischievous granddad. As I never had the chance to do this with either of my granddads, this has been a fine pleasure for me and one that will be greatly missed henceforwards. Unless … the Guardian does the obvious after the reception for today’s puzzle and carries on reprinting the old puzzles for the next 35 years. Many thanks, Rufus.

  66. With the retirement of Rufus, a cryptic crossword novice like me will be left with inpenetrable Grauniad crosswords for some time.

    Some of the criticism Rufus has suffered on this site in the past few months has been shameful. We are not all experts and Rufus sets puzzles for expert and beginner alike to enjoy.

    Happy retirement from someone who learned more about doing these puzzles – and that isn’t much – from Rufus than anyone else.

  67. Many thanks to Rufus for all the enjoyment he has given over the years – enjoy your retirement !

    I confess to being a touch confused by frequent references to “lift and separate” in these pages. Prior to discovering this site I had only ever come across that phrase as a 1970s advertising slogan for female undergarments. Have I missed something ?

  68. I’d like to echo the many thqanks to Rufus from people whom he has helped to get started with cryptic crosswords. That includes me and I still enjoy his Monday contributions and will miss them. Mondays won’t be the same

  69. @JohnB 67

    The Playtex ad lives on in crosswordland. A “lift-and-separate” device is one in which the word-play calls for a whole word to be split.

    In this puzzle, one example is the word “weathermen” which is split into “weather” as definition and “men” going into an anag of “sleet” to give ELEMENTS,

    These can be hard to spot and the odd thing about the two in this puzzle is that they are  undisguised; by which I mean that the “men” bit isn’t further camouflaged. Which I thought made it harder…I was playing for the spin, as it were, and it went straight on

  70. End of an institution. Can’t believe how long Rufus has been part of my cross?ord life. Many thanks Rufus, and wishing you a happy retirement.

    I too was surprised to find the word-splits, or lift-and-separates ( although the latter term also gets used for splitting two words that are strongly associated) were present, I thought they were a recent libertarian thing – proven wrong again.

    There are Rufus puzzles today in the FT and in the telegraph. The FT includes RETIRE as a answer, and the Telegraph has as the last across clue AND SO TO BED. also, in the telegraph the quickie puzzle, also set by the cryptic setter, always has a pun in the first few across clues. Today the first 3 across answers were MASTERS CHOIRS RETIRES, which is the the 80th birthday poem mentioned above.

  73. Hi Dutch, @70  –  I notoriously can’t do ‘quick’ crosswords, since there’s only one way in to the answer, but knew about the puns in the Telegraph quick puzzle from sharing holidays with a friend who does them, along with the cryptic. I don’t think I knew that these puzzles were set by the cryptic setter. It’s a real shame that very few people – who do the Telegraph Quickie / read the Guardian / visit 15²?! – will fully appreciate  this absolute gem of an exit line, so huge thanks to you for pointing it out. 😉

     

  74. Certainly the end of an era.     Many thanks to Rufus in all his guises.    It was a great pleasure finally to meet him at some of the S&B gatherings mentioned above.     Variety of solving difficulty is a feature of every daily paper, I’d say, and most solvers would start with the easier ones, which Rufus majored on.     As remarked, he’s written more clues than anyone else apparently but the decisions to publish are not his but those of his editors over the years who will sense what is popular.        Have a very happy retirement!

  75. It amazes me how little Rufus’ style has changed over all these years.  He obviously loved CDs right from the word go!  Two of them – DEGREE and CONFETTI – had me scrambling.  I took the definition for TOFFEE as “for suckers”.  I quite liked AGNOSTIC with its extended definition.

    11 reminds me of a seminar I attended by the chemistry professor Ralph Raphael of Cambridge years ago entitled “Acetylenes in Action”.  He proceeded to describe a number of examples of failed acetylene chemistry, only at the end explaining that the title ought to have been “Acetylenes Inaction”.  My first exposure to a (reverse) lift and separate device!

    Brilliant innings, Mr Squires.  Enjoy your retirement.

    Thanks, PeterO, for the blog.

  76. Farewell, and a long and happy retirement Rufus. Another lovely, gentle start to the week this morning and who’d have guessed that 35 years have gone by since it was compiled. It was just the same as the Rufus’s we have come to know and love.
    My very best wishes to you.

  79. Latecomer wanting to add his wishes to Rufus, for a long and happy retirement, and many thanks for all the puzzles that set the tempo for the week.

    I actually found Rufus puzzles somehow both the easiest and the hardest to do, in the sense that I’d run through about 90% quickly and then stare at a few CDs like all I would see was one perspective of a Necker cube …

  80. Over so many years, Rufus’ clues have contained some of the most sublime, succinct wordplay; I have smiled with delight and admiration many times. As has been noted, he has fulfilled his remit for Monday’s crossword to the letter (pun perhaps intended); any carping has been a disservice.  … the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain …

    A long and happy retirement Mr Squires

    Thanks to PeterO for today’s blog.

     

  81. Just popping in to say a huge thank you to Rufus for so much pleasure over the years… loved your puzzles. Will miss them greatly and Mondays will never be quite the same again. Happy retirement Sir.

  82. Thanks to Rufus for 35 years of very enjoyable crosswords and have a happy and healthy retirement. You will be missed.
    Eileen @ 40 or anyone else. Do you know if anyone had the brief of providing an easier challenge on a Monday before Rufus? My impression is that the practice predates him by several years.

  83. I can’t remember exactly when I started trying to do the Guardian crossword, but it was probably the end of the Seventies, so Rufus has been part of that experience most of all that time. Truly the end of an era. Very best wishes for your retirement Rufus.

  84. I know he gets a lot of criticism on here but I always look forward to a Rufus on Monday, as a fun and not too impenetrable start to the week. I will really miss him, but hope he enjoys his well earned retirement as much as I do. Many thanks for giving so much pleasure over so many years.

  85. Thanks Rufus. There I go, pleasurably, and self-satisfied-ly, tipping in the ‘easy’ solutions every week, and, every week, growling ruefully (rufusfully?) at the intransigent ones….only to smile when the penny drops. Enjoy your retirement. What a performer!

  86. Quite a shock to see the notice about Rufus and retirement this morning.

    Best wishes and thanks – you are the master of the concise, clever and witty clue, and I will miss you.

    Just a brief comment on AGNOSTIC. I’m pretty rubbish at crosswords but I interpreted the clue as “A GNOSTIC” = anagram of coasting and a gnostic does “believe in a religious sense” as evidenced by the gnostic gospels.

  87. Jovis @86

    AGNOSTIC has certainly caused some puzzlement – and debate.  Your idea of A GNOSTIC is a good one, as it fits a part of the clue, and in that way you have two cryptic indications (the other one being the anagram), and the clue is still an extended definition of AGNOSTIC.  I personally think slipstream @5 nailed it with his/her simpler explanation, taking the anagram as the wordplay and the whole clue as an extended definition.

     

  88. Many thanks Rufus for the years of enjoyment and quiet smiles. I am a bit late today as things got very busy very early so I didn’t have a chance to read the blog at breakfast. Everything that needed to be said has, so I will just add my thanks from the other side of the world.

    And of course to PeterO for the blog.

  90. Thanks PeterO for the blog, and many, many thanks to Rufus for his huge (!) contribution to the cruciverbial world. We’ll miss your wit and elegance but you’ve earned your place in the “retired setters paddock”. Enjoy a grazeful retirement.

  91. A book of Rufus puzzles was my introduction to Cryptic crosswords, and I’ve always felt that his puzzles were an excellent way of attracting new enthusiasts to this pursuit. I wonder how many people Rufus inducted into the cryptic habit over his 35 years ; must be an awful lot. So I’m grateful to Rufus not just for the fun his puzzles have given, but for every other cryptic I’ve enjoyed as a consequence of his introduction.

  92. Best wishes to you on your retirement, Rufus. Enjoyed your puzzles for a long time, as have family – most notably my 89 year-old mother-in-law. We will miss your start to the week.

  93. Can this late-completer add his thanks and best wishes to Rufus. Undoubtedly the most distinctive voice in the Guardian stable, always elegant and – as this final appearance shows – amazingly consistent over the years. Notwithstanding the occasional ungettable cryptic definition, I’ve enjoyed the ride greatly.

  94. I am so sorry and will miss you ‘Ruf’ as we have always called you. An old friend. Like so many others we broke our teeth on you. My first present of a thesaurus to my husband was inscribed with ‘many more happy times with ‘Ruf’. Mondays will just not be the same. We wish you a well earned and happy retirement

  95. Just another comment to say’thank you’ and echo the good wishes for your retirement, Rufus. I will miss my Monday challenge, not least because I could actually complete it more often than not!

  98. Many thanks for all your kind words. I have much appreciated your contributions to this site. I have been stimulated, amused and sometimes surprised by your  comments! Best wishes, Rufus

  99. Like many others, I’m very sad to see Rufus go.  He has eased me back into cryptics after a very long gap and given me the confidence to tackle some of the tricker fare.  I do hope some of the very unkind and surly comments posted on this site recently haven’t been a factor – it’s very distressing to think that they might have been.

     

    My best wishes for a long and happy retirement.

  100. I’ll add my voice to the chorus of thanks. Rufus helped give me confidence, and on of his was my first ever full solve. Many  thanks, and enjoy your retirement

  102. O Rufus! As always, it took me most of Monday to finish your crossword – for I was determined to complete every single entry, and figure out the parsing, rather than guess wildly and then learn the truth via this blog.
    You and you alone gave me a reason to like Mondays – and they simply won’t be the same without you. Your work has delighted so many people, and – along with all your fans (Rufusistas??) I wish you a long and deliriously happy retirement.

  103. Another somewhat belated, but heartfelt, THANK YOU to the monday Master (the lateness owing to the fact that, for the first time, I failed to complete a Rufus on the day of publication.) Well played, sir, you saved your best ’til last (or should that be first?)

    Here’s to a long and happy retirement. CHEERS!

    Not forgetting, thanks to PeterO for blogging.

  104. I want to add my best wishes and thanks to Roger.

    Retiring at your young age … I can only quote one of your own clues …

    Bird nuts (6)

     

  105. Agree with most of the previous comments- one quibble is the description of Araucaria’s tribute as “doggerel”. It was an elegant, light-hearted sonnet using a slightly variant rhyme pattern. One wonders where serious verse and comic meet. Lewis Carroll’s play with words echoes George Herbert. Am sure either would have enjoyed crosswords had they lived at a later date.

    Am sure Rufus will continue to exercise his mind. Valete.

  108. I am the novice who sinks in that linguistic mire of the other Guardian setters. Only Rufus gave me a chance – and always a smile. I will sorely miss him. Good luck Roger, a very big thank you.

  110. Gosh Barrie, Remuera , strictly speaking (i.e. following ‘the rules’) you’re absolutely right.

    However, in a down clue “A on B” can be seen as B+A, if taking ‘on’ as ‘hanging on to/from’ or the like – e.g. a lamp on the ceiling.  Most editors find it acceptable.

    Hope that helps.

  111. Far too late, I fear, to add my heartfelt thanks to Rufus for the many puzzles of his I’ve enjoyed over the years and best wishes for his retirement. (I blame the Graun’s decision to cease providing feeds from their Crossword Blog)

    Incidentally, I wonder if there is any significance in the fact that Mr Squires appears to have provided a farewell puzzle for the DT and the FT, but not the Guardian? The republication of his first there instead seems to have been a late decision, too, judging by the mess which saw it mingled with a Paul puzzle for some?

  112. Late to the party unfortunately — sad to see Rufus go.  I’ll miss his puckish sense of humour and masterful sleigh-of-hand in surface readings.

  113. I’ve been working backwards through Monday cryptics, so I’ve seen a lot of comments from people missing Rufus – this is my first, and I see what people mean. I really enjoyed this. Now I’ve done his first puzzle I’m off to do his last – and looking forward to 35 years worth of them!

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