Guardian Cryptic 27,442 by Vulcan

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27442.

A new setter, with an evident sense of humour, but, I think, a few kinks to iron out. This puzzle is a good fit for the Monday spot.

Across
1 THATCH Boris’s hair? Prime minister cut the ends off (6)
This did not strike me as the best introduction for a new setter, althought the reference in the definition to Boris Juhnson’s tonsorial proclivities presages a homorous slant to the setter’s clues.. The wordplay, however, is questionable: THATCH[er] (‘Prime minister’) minus the last two letters (‘cut the ends off’, which would normally indicate the first and last, rather than the last two). Maybe it is worth a little indulgence for the joke.
4 FRUMPISH Badly-dressed seafood stuffed with cut of meat (8)
An envelope (‘stuffed with’) of RUMP (‘cut of meat’) in FISH (‘seafood’).
9 BARKED Like a tree? Dog may have (6)
Double definition, or more like definition and allusion.
10 DIAPASON Organ stop is sad — piano worse (8)
An anagram (‘worse’) of ‘sad piano’.
11 OVER MY DEAD BODY No way will my relatives be crying here? (4,2,4,4)
Another definition and allusion.
13 HALF NELSON Hold son? (4,6)
HALF of NELSON is ‘son’
14 VETO Ban means nothing to surgeon (4)
A charade of VET (‘surgeon’) plus O (‘nothing’).
16 TAIL Dog, or part of it (4)
Double definition.
18 VOCABULARY Is that all you can say? (10)
Cryptic definition.
21 NO HARD FEELINGS Lacking rigid opinions, I am not offended (2,4,8)
Definition and literal interpretation.
23 RELATIVE Corresponding with one of the family (8)
Double definition.
24 SIMILE Show pleasure about one turn of phrase (6)
An envelope (‘about’) of I (‘one’) in SMILE (‘show pleasure’).
25 NORTHERN In one quarter, no respite at first given to our sailors (8)
A charade of ‘no’ plus R (‘Respite at first’) plus THE RN ( the Royal Navy, ‘our sailors’).
26 ANCHOR Hold firm in an endlessly boring task (6)
A charade of ‘an’ plus CHOR[e] (‘boring task’) minus its last letter (‘endlessly’).
Down
1 TUBE Train from Bath East (4)
A charade of TUB (‘bath’) plus E (‘east’), for the common name of the London Underground.
2 ARRIVAL A c-competitor is coming (7)
A R-RIVAL (‘a c-competitor’).
3 CLEARING Sort of bank on this route into university? (8)
Double definition; this reference for the second
5 RAISE MORALE Broadcast a serial, more to cheer us up (5,6)
An anagram (‘broadcast’) of ‘a serial more’. ‘us’ does not sit well in the definition.
6 MOPEDS Rockers’ old rivals grab exercise bikes (6)
An envelope (‘grab’) of PE (‘exercise’) on MODS (‘rocker’s old rivals’)
7 IN STORE Orient’s collapse is to come (2,5)
An anagram (‘collapse’) of ‘orients’.
8 HUNKY-DORY Like a lump fish? It’s OK (5-4)
Definition and literal interpretation.
12 YELLOW FEVER What makes cowards ill? (6,5)
Punning indication.
13 HIT-AND-RUN Batsman’s aggressive strategy found by accident? (3-3-3)
Double definition; the second would better apply to hit-and-miss,
15 MUSICIAN His sounds a possible career? (8)
I can only see a rather wayward cryptic definition.
17 INHALER At home more healthy to have respirator (7)
A charade of IN (‘at home’) plus HALER (‘more healthy’).
19 ANGUISH Agony, using a dreadful hotel (7)
A charade of ANGUIS, an anagram (‘dreadful’) of ‘using a’, plus H (‘hotel’).
20 WRETCH Poor chap’s attempt to be sick is heard (6)
A homophone (‘is heard’) of RETCH (‘attempt to be sick’).
22 GEAR Clothes one changes in the car (4)
Definition and allusion.
completed grid

71 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,442 by Vulcan”

  1. Good to welcome a new setter as the new week begins.
    Perhaps “cut the END off” might have worked better for 1a, THATCH, although even then only one letter is usually lopped.
    Agree with you, PeterO, about Vulcan’s sense of humour – I enjoyed the double definition/ allusions: 11a OVER MY DEAD BODY, 21a NO HARD FEELINGS and 13d HIT-AND-RUN. 8d HUNKY-DORY was fun too. OTOH, I was not fussed on 13a HALF NELSON.
    10a DIAPASON was unfamiliar but gettable from the wordplay. I didn’t get the university reference in 3d, CLEARING, so thanks for the explanatory link, PeterO. We might call it university ENTRY here in Australia?
    Thanks to Vulcan for a puzzle I could do without looking anything up, and to PeterO for a thorough and positive blog.

  2. PS Vis a vis a comment on Saturday’s prize blog re the arcane nature of the Captcha, mine today was 2+2=4, which was also pretty accurate.

  3. For 13dn, I had the definition as simply “accident”.

    There were a number of CDs and allusive definitions which brought to mind Rufus, and it was of a similar level of difficulty as the Monday Rufus of old, so maybe we have a permanent replacement in the Monday slot?

    Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO

  4. DIAPASON was a new word for me, as was CLEARING = noun [ mass noun ] Brit. a system used by universities to fill the remaining available undergraduate places before the start of the academic year.

     

    Thanks Vulcan and Peter

  5. Thanks Vulcan and PeterO, I enjoyed this and echo MarcoPolo’s comment about its Ruffian qualities.

    For THATCH maybe “Prime Minister cut down” would work better?

  6. Good to see 1a confounding expectations with ‘cuts the ends off’ meaning the last two letters not the first and last. Don’t like the condescending tone of comments in opening remarks and in some of the clues, like ‘wayward cryptic definition’ re 15 for example.

  7. Not a very good crossword. That is why there are ‘condescending’ remarks.

    Whether it’s more or less banal than a standard Rufus is another question.

  8. Thanks Vulcan (welcome) and PeterO

    I thought it was OK, though I was intending to comment on THATCH. HIT AND RUN is fine, as it refers to an accident when the driver doesn’t stop (as MarcoPoloOz implies). Favourite was VOCABULARY, though, like most cryptic definitions, I wasn’t confident that it was right until all the crossers were in.

  9. Welcome, Vulcan and thank you, PeterO.

    A very fast solve but no bad thing for a Monday morning.

    Nice wit and good surfaces.

    I look forward to seeing more of this new setter as he/she hones his/her art.

    Nice week, all.

  10. An enjoyable start to the week. I agree with Julie in Australia @1 on her favourites and also didn’t get why ‘half nelson’ was ‘son’ until reading it here..now it sounds obvious.
    Welcome to Vulcan.. I look forward to following a new setter from the start.

  12. I also thought this was good for a Monday, and welcome to the new setter! For THATCH I first thought of MAYHEM, but maybe that’s a a bit OTT even for Boris’s hair. I liked HALF NELSON, HUNKY-DORY and MOPEDS. Thanks to V & P.

  13. [muffin @ 11: I like to think of all those who post to this site who have PhDs etc struggling with the Captcha!]

  14. Personally I’d avoid all references to thst particular prime minister and maybe make reference to Tony Hatch – composer of Downtown for Petula Clark amongst many other tunes from our youths. Messing about on the river was another.

  15. Thanks Vulcan, PeterO

    Plenty to like, particularly VOCABULARY, HALF-NELSON, HUNKY-DORY. Don’t see what wrong with ‘us’ in ‘cheer us up’.  MUSICIAN I found a bit odd – if it’s just a CD, the cryptic reading doesn’t really mean anything.  If it’s two halves, they’re both the same.

  16. Reminded me very much of Rufus. I think CLEARING is pretty well hopeless to parse if you’re not British, and I was also unfamiliar with Boris Johnson’s hairdo. This is the price of entry for doing another country’s crosswords. No complaints intended. And the wit in many of the other clues more than made up for these.

    I did know DIAPASON from this poem, where it appears in the famously dense part II. Okay, by famous I mean, “famous among literature graduate students.”

  17. I think that 1a is more acceptable if you take “cut the ends off” to refer to the last letters of “Prime” and “Minister”. It works then, doesn’t it?

    I enjoyed this fairly easy start to the week and think that Vulcan has been treatred a little harshly here.

  18. Thanks Vulcan and PeterO

    I also had the second definition in 13 as simply ‘accident’, with ‘found by’ just being link words.

  19. I think that the sort of double definition for MUSICIAN is in the meaning of the word ‘sounds ‘ 1. as verb: (His) sounds (as though it could be) a possible career  and 2. as noun: Sounds are a career for a musician.

  20. A new setter for my birthday, how nice. I don’t mind the occasional less-than-perfect clue. I liked BARKED (but it made me think of other things a dog might do to a tree) and VOCABULARY. In my haste I had an unparsed AUDITION for 15d. Thanks V&P.

  22. Muffin@8: the fact that cryptic definitions almost always leave a doubt as to whcih of several possible equally valid alternatives is to be entered is precisely why I do not regard the form as ever accpetable as a clue type on its own. There must be a second route to the solution. In 15D’s case it’s not even a cryptic definition, and that has my vote for teh worst clue ever published.

  23. Bagel: I think bet is fair, being short for veterinary surgeon.
    Totally agree with Gerry Stonestreet @6
    Thanks Peterson and welcome and thanks Vulcan.

  25. I had AUDITION for 15D and reading the complaints about MUSICIAN wonder if the former might be a better fit with the clue? An audition before a possible career and audition something heard – sounds.

  27. Welcome and thanks to Rufus Vulcan. Like Rufus, the dd’s make life difficult until you get the crossers.

    Thanks PeterO; I agree that the clue for MUSICIAN (LOI) was somewhat naff.

    I did like HALF-NELSON though, and thought this was a largely good addition for the Monday slot.

  28. I really liked some of the slightly unconventional clueing, especially the “allusions”. Wonder whether Anto has changed his pseudonym.

  30. Welcome Vulcan. A few rough edges perhaps, but nothing that can’t be knocked off with a bit of practice. And just right difficulty-wise for Monday: not quite a gimme, but no great struggle either.

  32. I enjoyed this puzzle. Am with Frankie the cat @ 14 re prime minister. Happy Birthday digbydavies@ 20. I was dim regarding 1 down and couldn’t work out what TU meant if Bath East was BE. And I couldn’t get VETO but, again, I’m a bear of little brain. These clues were perfectly fair. I enjoyed CLEARING and HUNKYDORY . Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO

  33. Thanks to Vulcan (and welcome) for what I thought was an enjoyable start to the week and of course PeterO. I started off quite quickly but then slowed down, though in the end a steady solve. I got held up in the SE for quite a while particularly with the CDs. Last two in were vocabulary and musician. I rarely struggled with Rufus’s CDs therefore not sure why here. From my point of view it is probably just the case that with Vulcan being a new setter it may take a few attempts before I can get into his/her thinking. As I said an enjoyable puzzle and thanks again to Vulcan and PeterO.

  34. muffin @29: I hadn’t seen the Quiptic when I posted. I just think there’s a similarity in style between Vulcan and Anto, although the Anto was quite a hit more difficult.

  35. MarcoPoloOz @3, muffin @8, SimonS @18

    Indeed, ‘accident’ gives a better definition, but the form “(definition) found by (definition)” does not make much sense to me, so that referring to link words is tantamount to saying “The words ‘found by’ are irrelevant to the answer, and should be ignored”. That would be OK if the clue instructs one to ignore part of itself, but otherwise is widely regarded as poor form.

    izzythedram @19

    I do not understand how you see ‘sound’ as a verb in this clue. Perhaps you could give a paraphrase.

  36. What I meant was ‘ His (stressed) sounds a possible career’ meaning ‘ his (career, understood) sounds (a verb) (like, understood) a possible one.’

    As in ‘His sounds a good theory’ = ‘His theory sounds like a good one’

    Does that not make sense or is it too obvious to say?

  37. The ‘allusions’ probably don’t quite cut the mustard here and there. It’s probably in the cryptic definitions department that the better compilers shine, I’d say. You’d just perhaps like a big-name paper like the G to be launching its new compilers with a bit more of a bang.

    Decidedly average.

  40. Thanks Peter O and to Vulcan. This was an enjoyable way to start the week. Will look forward to more puzzles from Vulcan

  41. Have been missing Rufus onbMondays. Really enjoyed this and agree about Vulcans sense of humour. I think some of the criticism is a bit harsh and patronising.

  42. A new setter, I see!  Well, a nice puzzle, albeit rather too easy perhaps?  I agree that Mondays are traditionally ‘gentle’, I think the criterion (according to Boatman) is “able-to-be-completed-before-the-train-reaches-Victoria”.  Well, I think this one would have been done and dusted before even passing Haywards Heath!

    No matter, I’m happy to comment on it.  I agree that for THATCH, “cut the ends off” suggests top-and-tailing it, which is obviously not what’s wanted here.  BARKED is OK except that the surface doesn’t make sense to me.  Liked HALF NELSON – a good reverse clue!  YELLOW FEVER, I thought the clueing a bit weak.

    13d, I didn’t know about the Quiptic coincidence, but rather sad that this appears only a few days after the tragic case in Coventry – but that can’t be helped.

    Perhaps a bit short on anagrams?  I recall that Rufus didn’t use them over-much, but only four in a puzzle (if I’ve counted right) is exceptional.

    Hope I’m not being too harsh.  It’s always nice to see a new face.  And what more can I say but “most logical, Captain!” 🙂

    Thanks Vulcan and Peter.

  44. LizB@41 – I agree that some of the criticism is a bit harsh and patronising. For heavens’ sake, it was a good puzzle with maybe a couple of wrinkles, but we get those even from the experienced setters. Ignore the carpers, Vulcan – back to your forge to create the next one!

  46. I enjoyed this.  And welcome to Vulcan.  Or, perhaps it would be more appropriate to say/do this.  I agree with the others who found this puzzle a bit Rufusian.  No complaints from me.  And no complaints specifically, to either THATCH or MUSICIAN.  As for the latter, I parsed it exactly as described by izzythedram @36.  I needed the crossers in place first, but then the clueing made perfect sense to me once I hit upon the answer.  [On this point, I must respectfully disagree with Goujeers @22, who considered 15d to be the “worst clue ever published”.  Ha ha – please tell us, don’t hold back, how do you really feel about it?]  As for 1ac, I revert to my old argument:  seeing as I managed to enter THATCH into the grid unaided, based on clue and crossers, and understanding the parsing of “cut the ends off” even though that’s not the usual “top-and-tailing” (to quote Laccaria @42) wordplay suggested by this phrase, I think it could not have been that poor of a job done by the setter!  All’s fair in love and war and crosswords.

    Many thanks to Vulcan and PeterO and the other commenters.

  47. Laccaria @43

    I began typing (slowly as always) my post @46 when your post @42 was the most recent one visible to me.  “Peace and Prosperity” was Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidential campaign slogan in the 1950s (among other possible famous uses of that phrase).   The Vulcan greeting from Star Trek (complete with hand gesture, as shown on the link I posted @46) was “Live Long and Prosper”.

  48. Me @47

    I said “greeting” when I meant “salute”.  People who are better Trekkies than I may confirm, but I believe that “LLaP” was, like Aloha and Shalom, used for both greeting and farewell.

  49. Welcome Vulcan – quite a promising start, perfect for a Monday. Mostly straightforward, with a few that required a bit more thought and a few that were reminiscent of Rufus.

    Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO

  50. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO. I had the same problems as noted above (e.g., with MUSICIAN and CLEARING) but much enjoyed this Monday debut.

  51. I hope Vulcan won’t be put off by today’s commentary. I liked 6d – some of us will remember that MOPEDS were the bikes of choice for Mods.

  52. I for one welcome our new Vulcan overlord!  Not unlike the old Rufus Monday offerings: generally fair, not too taxing but amusing with it.  Will look forward to more.  Thanks to Vulcan and PO.

  53. Welcome, Vulcan.  Glad to see a new name.

    PeterO — you’ve got some new clue types labelled here –“Punning indication,” “literal interpretation,” “definition and allusion”.  I like ’em.  Thank you for the blog.

    I tried to make “en route” fit 7d for “to come,” eventually got the anagram when I paid attention to the clue.

    Clearing bank?  I Bifced it — bunged it in from the crossers, just because it fit.  I had no idea what Clearing had to do with either universities or banks.

    Once again, welcome to Vulcan and thanks to PeterO.

  54. Started very slow but plodded through. Last in was 18A, for which I had to get a little help. Thanks and welcome to Vulcan.

  55. Not of top quality. I’ll cite WRETCH as an example, though there are others, where details in the cryptic grammar have been overlooked. Here, in ‘Poor chap’s attempt to be sick is heard’, we must accept IS or HAS for the apostrophe and like it. I don’t, but it’s no more awful than we usually get with these second-stringers. Hard to know what the standard is at The Guardian nowadays.

  56. Welcome Vulcan, and thank you for an entertaining puzzle. I enjoyed “musician” and agree with Izzythedram about it. Like Bloggintheblog and others, I found the unconventional allusions rather satisfying. And how nice to have sparks of humour in the clueing – exactly what we need on a cold Monday. I do hope this new setter isn’t hurt by the handful of waspish comments or deterred by the slightly patronising ones.
    Don’t let them get to you, Vulcan! Here’s to many more from you…

  57. I had a hospital appointment just after lunch, so this had to wait until my return. I was glad that this was relatively easy and entertaining. I like cryptic definitions and I liked Rufus so I really enjoyed this. I think Vulcan is the best contender so far for the Monday slot. I think I’m going to like this guy!
    Thanks Vulcan- and welcome.

  59. I must say I don’t really agree with some of the blogger’s categorisation of clues here. VOCABULARY and YELLOW FEVER are (rather weak) CDs, but that’s it. I don’t see any others. Nor do I find the ‘definition and literal interpretation’ classification, and its like, all that persuasive. It is difficult when the clues are so imperfect, but nonetheless.

  60. Thanks for setting me right, Dave@47 😮 – I’m not the first person to mis-remember a quote!  In fact I think both phrases (as well as the hand gesture) derive from the Jewish duchanen ceremony, with which Nimoy was familiar.

  61. Peter Aspinwall @57

    I hope you are OK. Thank you for your message of support the other day on our strike action.

    I am still on strike today. I had time to do the crossword (I am a slow solver). The only one I did not find was HALF NELSON, even though this was pretty obvious with all the crossers.

    I agree with you about this setter. I am no as good at solving crosswords as all of you guys. This will alleviate my frustration if on Monday we get something enjoyable, but a bit easier like this puzzle.

  62. A lot of criticism here today – I enjoyed the puzzle. I would like to be able to set crosswords, but I’m not good enough. Are all the critics accomplished setters themselves?

  63. I imagine that if that was your first published crossword you would probably check out this site. I really enjoyed it Vulcan and suggest your next CD as they seem to be called is ‘Get a life’.
    Pompous pendants might make an interesting anagram with 15 squared as the surface. We do this for fun don’t we? Pete

  64. Welcome Vulcan and thanks Peter O. I enjoyed this and at least we have a replacement for Rufus at last. Looking forward to more of his work.I don’t understand why some people complain just don’t do the puzzle if you don’t like it.

  65. Though I appreciated this puzzle, I’m suroirsed at the “at last we have a replacement for Rufus” posts – I thought last week’s Orlando was as good a Monday puzzle as possible,

  66. This was the first time I’ve done the double and solved both crosswords on a Monday, which has given me the confidence to break cover and say hello and thank you to setter and blogger. My achievement was larded with checks, which I think purists might regard as cheating, but I’ll take what successes I can at this stage!

    I found this rather harder than the quiptic, with 15d and 18a the longest holdouts. Enjoyed the humour and hope to see more of Vulcan in future.

  67. Thanks and welcome, Vulcan! Thanks, PeterO and all commenters.

    Well, this was ok by me – I needed to check a couple of letters before getting vocabulary as my LOI but the rest I’d managed after a slow start. I remember it took a while to get used to Rufus and I had a familiar feeling today of gradually getting used to the mindset. I was very frustrated and even annoyed by that clue for “vocabulary” but then after I’d got it I realised it was really quite fair, I was just annoyed that I hadn’t “seen” it, even with all the crossers. I’m still a newby, after all! (And apart from Mondays, mostly a lurker too so no name change for me yet, it seems.)

    Live long and prosper!

  68. Just wondering whether in the UK there are instances of two crossword setters using the same pseudonym.

    Anyway, in India, one of the setters of the daily crossword in The Hindu, the national newspaper, goes by the byline Vulcan. However, knowing that it is very difficult even for UK citizens to become a regular setter in The Guardian, which I know doesn’t encourage anyone trying to ask if they can gain a slot (because they already have many applicants waiting), I dismissed any thought that it is the same person. Moreover, the style seems to differ.

    The Hindu, like The Times, was publishing its crossword anonymously since 1971 until some years ago. When the practice started, any setter who by chance had chosen a byline that had been well-established in the UK was advised to choose another unique one.

  70. Rishi@69 – I have to agree, I don’t like that sort of clue.  For many years I was working alongside a colleague who had a bad stammer – though he did work hard at overcoming the inconvenience.  Anyway – I’d avoid ever setting a clue in that form.

    But talking of setter’s aspirations – I see Boatman (my mentor) has put in to port today!  Shall I be brave and venture out into the blizzards to get my paper Grauniad?  Or shall I chicken out and use the online version?

  71. Re the “we have a replacement for Rufus” comments – one puzzle is surely too early to judge that, and no new setter is likely to churn out 40+ crosswords a year. On the quality issue I can see both sides of the argument – to me a few stylistic liberties are more excusable at the easier end of the scale, as Rufus so successfully demonstrated.

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