Guardian Cryptic 27,523 by Paul

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27523.

Paul, as entertaining as he usually is, with some fine clues, and not too difficult (which suits me very well, as I was at choir rehearsal most of the evening).

Across
1 SPACESHIP Flying machine, originally staggering speeds with it (9)
A charade of S (‘originally Staggering’) plus PACES (‘speeds’) plus HIP (‘with it’).
6 MEANT Deliberate, inserting point into flesh (5)
An envelope (‘inserting … into’) of N (‘point’ of compass)  in MEAT (‘flesh’).
9 ORANGE FREE STATE Pre-Rainbow Nation province in six-colour rainbow condition? (6,4,5)
Richard of York gained battles in vain: orange is one of the seven colours in the traditional rainbow. The Orange Free State was originally an independent republic; after the Boer Wars, it became a British colony, then was incorporated as a province of the Union of South Africa, which, post-apartheid, is sometimes known as the Rainbow Nation (a term coined by Archbishop Tutu).
10, 27 DREW BARRYMORE  Actress was less inclined to sketch Robin and Maurice Gibb, but ___ ? (4,9)
Barry Gibb was the third brother in the Bee Gees.
11 COARSEST Questioning of Socrates most common (8)
An anagram (‘questioning’?) of ‘Socrates’.
14 SERENGETI Plain sailing finally within peaceful heart of nation (9)
A charade of SERENGE, an envelope (‘within’) of G (‘sailinG finally’) in SERENE (‘peaceful’); plus TI (‘heart of naTIon’).
15 GUSTO Blast, zero energy (5)
A charade of GUST (‘blast’) plus O (‘zero’).
16 BOWER One on the fiddle — that’s shady (5)
Double definition.
18 MOUSTACHE Growth of a man without love has to be uncomfortable? (9)
An envelope (‘without’) of O (‘love’) in MUST ACHE (‘has to be uncomfortable’).
20 IRRITATE Needle slowing jabs up in arms (8)
An envelope (‘jabs’) of RIT (ritardando, musical direction, ‘slowing’; RIT can also be an abbreviation for ritenuto) in IRATE (‘up in arms’).
21 FLOG Beat, whacking balls from behind (4)
A reversal (‘from behind’) of GOLF (‘whacking balls’).
25 USED-CAR SALESMAN Dealer stereotypically having dubiously made assurances to take in new driver? (4-3,8)
An envelope (to take in’) of L (‘new driver’) in USEDCARSAESMAN, an anagram (‘dubiously’) of ‘made assurances’, with an extended definition.
26 TOTAL Perfect wreck (5)
Double definition.
27   See 10
Down
1 SCOLD Nag disposed of, about a hundred (5)
An envelope (‘about’) of C (Roman numeral, ‘a hundred’) in SOLD (‘disposed of’).
2 AMATEUR Over peak in retrospect, a partner on top of you lay (7)
A charade of ‘a’ plus MATE (‘partner’) plus U (‘you’) plus R (‘peak in Retrospect’). ‘Over’ and ‘on top of’ indicate the order of the particles.
3 ERGO Thus a little progress on the climb (4)
A hidden (‘a little’) reversed (‘on the climb’) answer in ‘prOGREss’.
4 HAFT Handle hard toward the stern (4)
A charade of H (‘hard’) plus AFT (‘towards the stern’).
5 PRECOCIOUS Highly-valued holding company advanced at an early stage (10)
An envelope (‘holding’) of CO (‘company’) in PRECIOUS (‘highly-valued’).
6 MISERY GUTS Sad guy, mister, sullen principally? (6,4)
An anafram(‘sad’) of ‘guy mister’ plus S (‘Sullen principally’), with an extended definition.
7 AWAKENS A white rattlesnake is suddenly alert (7)
A charade of ‘a’ plus W (‘white’) plus AKENS, an anagram (‘rattle-‘) of ‘-snake’.
8 TWENTY-ONE Time passed there with English card game (6-3)
A charade of T (‘time’) plus WENT (‘passed’) plus YON (‘there’) plus E (‘English’).
12 UNCRITICAL Failing in crucial test initially, lacking judgement (10)
An anagram (‘failing’) of ‘in crucial’ plus T (‘Test initially’).
13 HERMIT CRAB Scuttling 1cm, rather black crustacean (6,4)
An anagram (‘scuttling’) of I (‘1’; the flip side of yesterday’s AI, which I think acceptable as a Roman numeral – a clock face might carry either) plus ‘cm rather’ plus B (‘black’).
14 SOBRIQUET Handle something on the barbecue, very much on top (9)
A charade of SO (‘very much’) plus BRIQUET (‘something on the barbeque’).
17 WARMEST Point about subdivision, most cordial (7)
An envelope (‘about’) of ARM (‘subdivision’) in WEST (‘point’ of the compass).
19 COLUMBO Smoker in male with a long neck, old, old solver (7)
Acharade of COLUMB, an envelope (‘in’) of LUM (chimney, ‘smoker’) in COB (male swan. ‘male with a long neck’); plus O (‘old’), for the detective, played by Peter Falk, in the long-running American TV series.
22 GUNGE Piece for example erected, filthy stuff (5)
A charade of GUN (‘piece’) plus GE, a reversal (‘erected’ in a down light) of EG (‘for example’).
23 PARR Fish pie and raspberry ripple starters (4)
First letters (‘starters’) of ‘Pie And Raspberry Ripple’.
24 DEWY Finally, Torquay United promoted, sparkling in the morning? (4)
A reversal (‘promoted’ in a down light) of Y (‘finally, TorquaY‘) plus WED (‘united’).
completed grid

42 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,523 by Paul”

  1. It was good to tackle a puzzle which didn’t need reference sources. The Bee Gees clue for 10,27a DREW BARRYMORE was funny. Thanks to Paul and PeterO.
    [Good to read of your visit to Australia noted on yesterday’s forum, quenbarrow. Sorry you have arrived to such cold weather, but a warm welcome nevertheless!]

  2. 22dn: Very tempted by MANGE.

    But not too good for 21ac.

    Of which, “whacking balls” rather nicely puts golf in its place.

  3. I don’t think i’ve seen ‘questioning’ to indicate an anagram before.
    Thanks to Paul for the puzzle and PeterO for the blog, which I needed for a couple, including 2d, which is my least favourite sort of ‘fiddly’ clue!

  5. A challenge to get going today but every clue worth the effort. Handle and Lay as definitions meant that we had to work hard to break down the parts rather than just guessing and working backwards.

    Couldn’t see the jabs in 20a so thanks for explaining it as an envelope indicator. Will try to remember that one as well as ‘questioning’ as an anagram. Liked rattle as one too.

  6. Many thanks to Paul and PeterO.

    I too wasn’t sure about “questioning of” as an anagram indicator. “Questionable” would work but that’s a bit different.

    But any quibbles are outweighed by the brilliant 10, 27. Very funny.

  8. It took me a long while to parse some of these, especially IRRITATE as the musical term didn’t come to me for a while. And I hesitated over 14d as I wasn’t familiar with the alternative spelling of SOUBRIQUET.

    Regarding 2d, is text speak now so acceptable that U for “you” no longer needs a homophone indicator?

    But I enjoyed this – the answers came at a satisfyingly steady pace. Thanks to Paul and PeterO.

  9. I count 15 clues with meaningless surfaces, 2d being probably the worst. All very inelegant IMO, with only a few redeeming clues.

  10. Enjoyed it all, apart from 2d, which I simply couldn’t parse at all, even though amateur was the only word that fitted…

  11. My admittedly very old Chambers does not give ‘total’ as a synonym of either ‘perfect’ or ‘wreck’. I can see ‘total’ = ‘complete’ and ‘perfect’ = ‘complete’ so I can accept the first def.

    On-line Chambers has ‘wreck’ as N American slang, so there should have been some indicator to that effect.

  13. Trismegistus @8. U for you predates text speak by at least 40 years. I remember the first time I saw a fake “RU18” car numberplate behind the bar in a pub. I was 15…

  14. LOI was ERGO. Teatray! Other than that I was definitely on Paul’s wavelength this morning.

    Thanks to him and to PeterO for some elusive parsing.

  15. Use of U reminds me of the old sketch (perhaps imperfectly remembered):

    FUX? SVFX. FUM? SVFM. OK LFMNX

  16. Thanks Paul. Many good laughs and much admiration of your verbal dexterity. 10,27 and 25 favourites.

  17. Anyone else have ‘mange’ for 22d? Led to an unparsed ‘slam’ for 21a. Hate it when that happens.

    Shame, I usually enjoy Pauls.

  18. An enjoyable puzzle. I needed Mr Paddington Bear to explain Drew Barrymore even with the explanation. Doh!

  19. My favourites were 14a, 21a, 18a and 19d (loi)

    I could not parse 9a, 20a.

    Thanks Paul and Peter

  20. I really enjoyed that and completed it (and quite quickly) which is rare indeed for me. The coincidence of 4d using aft, having been in boatman’s puzzle yesterday was the kickstart I needed. Liked 9a, 7d, 18a and, of course 10/27! Parr and Rit were new to me.

    Couldn’t parse 20a & 2d. Lay = amateur still has me puzzled. Is it lay as in lay preacher?

    Big thanks to Paul and PeterO.

     

  21. NNI@11: Just to add to John’s comment, ‘to TOTAL’ is also a common term in England for ‘to wreck’. Short for ‘totally wrecked’ I guess.

  22. Thanks to Paul and PeterO. I thought this was a nice fun puzzle with lots of nice clues. Took a while to get going, but generally unpacked steadily. That said another who could not parse amateur and irritate, even though both had to be the correct answers. Really like the aforementioned Drew Barrymore and also misery guts made me smile. Thanks again to Paul and PeterO.

  23. Great crossword. Paul on top form, I thought. Loved DREW BARRYMORE, ORANGE FREE STATE and, particularly, USED-CAR SALESMAN because of the extended definition. I had to check on Torquay Utd’s season but unfortunately they were relegated, not promoted.
    andysmith @9, I like great surfaces too, but that never puts me off Paul’s puzzles, which I almost always enjoy.
    Lots of fun. Thanks, Paul and Peter (apostolic blog today 😉 )
    Keyer @20, yes, lay as in lay preacher or lay member.

  24. Thank you Paul and PeterO.

    Usually I am not on Paul’s wavelength, but the answers here went in without a hitch.  The clue for HERMIT CRAB was fun after yesterday’s Al muddle.

  26. This was great fun.  USED-CAR SALESMAN was CotD for me, based on the totality of the clue, but the laugh-out-loud DREW BARRYMORE was only a whisker behind.  Other favorites included BOWER, PRECOCIOUS, AWAKENS, TWENTY-ONE and SOBRIQUET.

    I enjoyed the Richard of York mnemonic in PeterO’s discussion of 9ac.  Probably an old chestnut for many (most?) folks here, but it seemed new to me — i.e., if I have heard it before, I forgot that I did.

    Re: 3d: Cogito ergo sum.  Invorto ergo ogre.

    Auriga @25, thanks for the Two Ronnies skit!

    Many thanks to Paul and PeterO and the other commenters.

  27. Definitely at the easier end of Paul’s range, which hasn’t been true very often recently, but I found this one very entertaining. Favourite was probably USED CAR SALESMAN.

    Thanks to Paul and PeterO

  28. Good puzzle, Paul, and good blog PeterO.

    “Yon” isn’t “there.”  You can say, “It’s under yon tree,” but not “the tree is yon.”

    On the other hand, this time “aft” means “towards the stern” as it should, rather than just “stern” as it did yesterday.

    I enjoyed USED CAR SALESMAN and DREW BARRYMORE too.  I had to come to the blog, though, to find out who all those people were in the clue, had barely heard of the BeeGees and certainly couldn’t name them.

    What became of the Captche?

     

  29. This proved to be quite agreeable after being unable to get any of the across clues on the first pass. But the down clues began to yield beginning with MISERY GUTS and AWAKENS and then I was away. I liked ORANGE FREE STATE and DREW BARRYMORE.
    Thanks Paul.

  30. Thank you PeterO and Paul. Some days I’m just on Paul’s wavelength from the word go, and today was such a day. For example, the two fifteen- letter answers were FOI. The clue for DREW BARRYMORE was sheer genius !

  31. @21 ‘total’ comes from the car insurance industry: a writeoff or ‘total loss’ means that it would be more expensive to repair the car than to pay the full insurance value. To ‘write off’ and ‘to total’ have both derived from this, e.g. ‘he lost control of his car and totalled it’.

  32. Oofyprosser @17, you and me both, but fortunately my personal check button (Mrs T) alerted me and I realised what sort of piece Paul was talking about.

    I enjoyed MISERY GUTS. That’s the sort of Paul I like, when he’s not trying to be too convoluted.

  33. Thanks to Paul and PeterO.  Enjoyable. MISERY GUTS was new to me and I too did not catch the RIT in IRRITATE.

  34. Just a thought: would 10, 27 have worked as well if the Guardian’s editorial policy had been enforced, and the clue had to read “Actor was less inclined…”?

  35. I greatly enjoyed this, so many thanks Paul and PeterO. Standout clue IMHO was DREW BARRYMORE.  I am late commenting today because I also had a choir practice.  Mine is a small amateur (lay) choir in the beautiful village of Galera, Andalucia, where Mrs Panza and I mostly reside.  Mrs P is a beautiful singer while I make up the numbers, but thoroughly enjoy the experience.  We get to sing Church music and Spanish songs, some with a taste of Flamenco about them and it brings us together with the local folk in a very enjoyable way.  I would love to hear more about your choir PeterO, and the stories of any other choristers among us.

  36. S Panza @35

    Allowing myself a minor digression, like you I “make up the numbers”, in our Church choir. We have just sung an Agnus Dei composed by our choirmaster, and, to branch out, will be singing “God Bless America” at a local professional baseball game. I believe Eileen also sings.

  37. Hello Lord Jim. I was only put off John Barrymore by the word actress. Spent a long time trying t to parse it before thinking of Drew which of course made brilliant sense. Thanks Peter O for the blog esp the obscure 2d, and Paul for his customary entertainment.

  38. A real mixed bag for me. Some great clues – 10,27 when the pd’d, BOWER MOUSTACHE AWAKENS GUNGE and DEWY, and some dreadful ones including the nonsense that is 2d. I do find it disappointing when setters write meaningless clues to provide the camouflage for the component parts. Nevertheless there was plenty to enjoy as well so thanks to Paul and PeterO for teasing out the obscure parsing.

  39. I don’t really understand some of these strong criticisms of some of Paul’s surfaces.

    2D actyally does make some kind of sense in a poetical way. “On thinking back one realised one was past ones best when one’s partner began to take a more dominate position in sex” ! Not brilliant but some meaning.

    After all the surface is only a nicety and doesn’t help in solving the clue (barring &lits of course)

  40. What lurkio said @ 39!! Well not including the bit about sex exactly, but the general sentiment.

  41. If I’m to choose between a fun puzzle and a “story-telling” elegant surface – well, I can always read a good novel or a poem for the latter. Nothing wrong with a nice surface and it’s something I can certainly appreciate as the icing on a crossword cake. But the fun of a good puzzle is my joy – far more important than surface. IMO.
    As ever – much enjoyment from a superb setter.
    Many thanks, both and all.

  42. Adding my voice to the chorus of approval for DREW BARRYMORE, USED-CAR SALESMAN was also brilliant. Didn’t mind AMATEUR, but it was one of those that jumped out, so I didn’t spend any frustrating time trying to unpick the surface. Thanks Paul and PeterO, particularly for the parsing of IRRITATE, where RIT was a new one on me.

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