Guardian Cryptic 27,602 by Brummie

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An enjoyable mix of clues, with some tricky sections that I got a bit stuck on. Favourites 12ac, 7/17 and 8dn. Thanks to Brummie.

Across
1   See 14
 
5 HARRIER Who would bother a runner? (7)
  double definition: someone who harries; or a cross-country runner
9 NOMEN Roman name that sums up a hen party (5)
  =a Roman’s second name
NO MEN=”sums up a hen party”
10 CHARYBDIS Mythological character cautious about bids (9)
  =a monster in Greek myth
CHARY=”cautious” plus (bids)*
11 SPECIALISM Circling island, misplaces cultivated field (10)
  (misplaces)* around Island
12 SCUM Film set in Ceausescu mansion (4)
  hidden in “CeauseSCU Mansion”
14, 1 RECREATIONAL VEHICLE Diverting channel and moving home (12,7)
  RECREATIONAL=”Diverting” and VEHICLE=”channel”
18 BOX JELLYFISH Spar has sweet salmon etc — to be avoided by bathers (3,9)
  BOX=fight, “Spar”; plus JELLY=”sweet” and FISH=”salmon etc”
21 COOT Bird making bird sound at end of flight (4)
  COO=”bird sound” plus flighT
22 PRESUMABLY Players bum around, I’d say (10)
  (Players bum)*
25 ROUGHSHOD Hooligan, having splashed out dosh, is equipped for slippery conditions (9)
  =having horsehoes with extra grip
ROUGH=”Hooligan” plus (dosh)*
26 NAOMI Arizona omitted housing name (5)
  hidden in “ArizoNA OMItted”
27 DREAM UP Imagine many, many sheets in the air (5,2)
  D=”many”=500 in Roman numerals; REAM=”many sheets” of paper; UP=”in the air”
28 UNAIDED By oneself, so funded at an international level? (7)
  UN AIDED=”funded…” by the United Nations
Down
1 VANISH Lustre not right — get lost (6)
  VARNISH=”Lustre” without right
2 HAMLET Play leads to joint restriction (6)
  HAM=”joint” plus LET=”restriction” or obstruction e.g. of a tennis service
3 CANTILEVER Is there no way for me to bar projected supporter? (10)
  =a supporting beam fixed at one end but not the other
‘can’t I lever?’=”Is there no way for me to bar…?”
4 EXCEL Latin ’40 sounds stand out (5)
  homophone/”sounds” of: ‘X L’=Roman numerals/”Latin” for “40”
5 HEADSCARF Playing charades with foreign leader is a form of cover (9)
  (charades)* plus Foreign
6 RAYS Set up broadcast flashes (4)
  homophone/”broadcast” of: ‘raise’=”Set up”
7, 17 INDECENT EXPOSURE Moving experience — sun dot flashing (8,8)
  (experience sun dot)*
8 RESEMBLE To take after beer’s drunk with Mel (8)
  (beer’s Mel)*
13 DIPSOMANIA Craving tasty mixtures, love, servant and one on one (10)
  DIPS=”tasty mixtures” + O=”love” + MAN=”servant” + I=”one” + A=”one”
15 RULERSHIP Position of king, plus heir, ousted (9)
  Rex=”king” + (plus heir)*
16 OBSCURED Headless biblical figure’s restored and shrouded (8)
  [J]OB’S=”Headless biblical figure’s” + CURED=”restored”
17   See 7
 
19 ABROAD Advanced on American girl walking the streets (6)
  Advanced, plus BROAD=”American girl”
20 MYRIAD Many, many hollow air screws (500) (6)
  ManY hollowed out, plus AIR reversed/”screws”, plus D=500
23 SADHU Holy man’s down at shed, endlessly (5)
  =Hindu holy man
SAD=”down” plus HUt=”shed, endlessly”
24 AHEM One’s on edge — pardon me (4)
  A HEM is on an edge or border

27 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,602 by Brummie”

  2. I also got a bit stuck, mostly in the NW corner and with RECREATIONAL VEHICLE which was almost my LOI. But all very enjoyable, particularly HAMLET, MYRIAD and PRESUMABLY. Many thanks to Brummie and manehi.

  3. Thanks Brummie and manehi

    Usual mixture of dodgy surfaces and loose definitions. I hope that the repetition of “many, many” was deliberate, as it would be very clumsy otherwise.

    Favourite was UNAIDED.

  4. Thanks, manehi for the blog and Brummie for an enjoyable puzzle.

    Did anyone else have TERN first for 21ac? – it worked perfectly until I got to 16 and 17dn.

  5. muffin says it for me. Particularly RAYS for flashes. As a result I struggled with this and could not get 14, 1. I did like 7, 17 though.

  6. Is that ‘ern’ sounding like ‘erne’ Eileen? My Collins gives ern as an alternatve spelling for it. Anyway I found this pretty hard work, tho satisfying in the end. Agree with you @gsolphotog about devious: anyone else fall for trying to work 14/1 as an anagram? Only when 1a was clearly ‘vehicle’ and the fodder was therefore short of an ell did I wake up. 18a was a help as the dreaded box j makes news in our tropical waters (now moving south!). Also slow to get some of the gimmes, eg excel and broad. Ticks were for 10a and 3, 13 and 24d, and fave was the flasher at 7/17.

    Thanks to Manehi and to Brummie for the workout.

  7. Thanks to Brummie and manehi. SADHU was new to me (though I did parse it) but elsewhere I did not have my usual difficulty with this setter. I took a while working out HEADSCARF and the vehicle in RECREATIONAL VEHICLE.

  8. grantinfreo @6

    “Is that ‘ern’ sounding like ‘erne’ Eileen?”  Yes – it’s a standby crossword bird. 😉

  9. I left the bird alone until I had some others.7/17 yielded 18 which make swimming round here er.. more interesting in the summer-if they are Charybdis then the other stingers must be Scylla.Anyway 18 led to 16 then 21 was an free header.But I did hear a little rumbling on the other site about a different answer.

  11. Eileen@4, grantinfreo@6. Yep, with you both there. Wrong bird, impossible anagram, but got there in the end. Didn’t know the specific derivation of ‘roughshod’ (thanks manehi.) The sort of horse equivalent of hobnail boots, then!

    Thanks Brummie and manehi –  nicely done both.

  12. I was convinced for far too long that 14,1 was an anagram of “diverting channel and”; far too many of the crossers fit that as well.

  15. Yes, Howard @ 12, I spent much time on that, too; it was the extra L not in that fodder that ruined it.

     

    Thanks to Brummie and manehi

  16. Quite an entertaining challenge, which took me longer than I felt it should have. DIPSOMANIA was last in.

    Thanks to Brummie and manehi

  17. Thanks to Brummie and manehi. Sounds like my experience was similar to others. Generally found this tough going and a puzzle of four bits for me. NE and SW went in quite readily, but when I took stock I noticed they were complete but very little in the other quadrants. Eventually got a breakthrough with sadhu and myriad. The NW was last until I got a breakthrough with vanish which led to 14,1 (another who spent ages looking for an anagram) and Hamlet last one. Overall a challenging but enjoyable experience and I liked the two long across clues. Thanks again to Brummie and manehi.

  18. Took ages but got there in the end. I don’t enjoy anagrams (I’m not good at them) but they were my way in – the grid remained blank for ages until HEADSCARF and it’s fellows opened the door. Very satisfying in the end. I groaned (in a good way) when EXCEL showed itself.

    Thanks to Brummie and manehi

  21. Howard@12 et al. I was sure there was an anagram available for 14/1 and spent quite a long time looking for it-until he crossers made it clear that it had to be RECREATIONAL something! Took a while to suss the rest of it and the NW took the longest to get. Still,got there in the end. I liked CHARYBDIS.
    Thanks Brummie.

  22. 15d: ‘ousted’ can be replaced by ‘thrown out’. ‘Thrown out’ is a (well-known) anagram indicator but that doesn’t result in ‘ousted’ being one.

  23. Sil @22

    I accepted “ousted” as the anagram indicator, just about. I’m more concerned by the double duty of “king”, as Mike @13 pointed out (though I missed it myself). I don’t think the entire clue works as an &lit, so is it kosher?

    btw loose definitions. pex has pointed out “rays”; the other one that really grated was RESEMBLE – “takes after” has a much more restricted meaning than “resemble”, as it implies line of descent.

    What was the “leads to” doing in 2d?

  24. muffin, I am not really ‘worried’ about ‘ousted’ being an anagram indicator. It was clear what Brummie meant but it still feels as “if A=B and B=C, then A=C”. That is, of course, true in mathematics but not always in Crosswordland.

    The same clue also having ‘king’ doing double duty is not very elegant, to say the least. But is it a sin? There are other setters who do it at times. My view on a thing like this is: Apparently it is kind of accepted, but I will never ever allow myself to do it. Never.

    Brummie’s use of ‘leads to’ in 2d made me doubt about the answer that pointed in the HAMLET direction. It’s actually the other way round: HAM + LET leads to HAMLET, isn’t it?

    BTW, in 21ac, I went for COOT and my solving partner for TERN. They’re probably both all right, although “A at B” is more likely to be “A + B” than “B + A”.

    Despite some, as you said @3, dodginess we overall liked the challenge today. Brummie often has some sort of ghost theme but we couldn’t see one today.

    Many belated thanks to manehi & Brummie.

  25. I was less concerned than some by ‘quibbles’ mentioned by others here but agree that ‘leads’ in
    2dn seemed clumsy. The wordplay for EXCEL is a well ridden chestnut. Apart from these, I found this to be an excellent, and enjoyable, offering from this super setter.
    Many thanks to Brummie and manehi.

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