As Andrew said a couple of weeks ago, there seems to be an emerging pattern of Vulcan and Chifonie alternating in the Monday slot.
A generally straightforward puzzle [I have one or two queries / quibbles, noted below] to start the week. Thanks to Chifonie.
Definitions are underlined in the clues.
[I have to go out soon, so may not be able to add further comment until later.]
Across
1 Display prominently that parking is included in rent (6)
SPLASH
P [parking] in SLASH [rent]
4 Shows off? Rep can change direction! (7)
PRANCES
An anagram [change] of REP CAN + S [south – direction]
9 Typically, Nero gave a translation (2,7)
ON AVERAGE
An anagram [translation] of NERO GAVE A
10 Quietly polish ring (5)
PHONE
P [quietly] + HONE [polish]
11 Case husband found in market (5)
SHELL
H [husband] in SELL [market]
12 Lady dines out? That’s unforgivable! (6,3)
DEADLY SIN
An anagram [out] of LADY DINES
13 Ring band touring El Salvador (7)
RESOUND
ROUND [band?] round ES [El Salvador]
15 Starts to look at tracks through the country (6)
LATVIA
Initial letters [starts] of Look At Tracks + VIA [through] – a rather weak way to clue ‘at’
17 End to child’s toy of the highest quality (6)
TIPTOP
TIP [end] + TOP [child’s toy]
19 Mark with permitted colour (7)
SCARLET
SCAR [mark] + LET [permitted]
22 Noticing alumnus’s help (9)
OBSERVANT
OB [old boy – alumnus] + SERVANT [help]
24 Dainty and, to some extent, self-indulgent (5)
ELFIN
Contained in sELF-INdulgent
26 Man called after causing accident (5)
PRANG
P [pawn – man] + RANG [called]
27 Saviour does without offal (9)
DELIVERER
DEER [does] round LIVER [offal]
28 Member of crew in Spain gave permission (7)
ELEMENT
MEN [crew] in E [Spain] LET [gave permission]
29 Player satisfies in return for respect (6)
ESTEEM
E [bridge player] + a reversal [in return] of MEETS [satisfies]
Down
1 Northerner has scruples crossing the river (7)
SCOUSER
SCR [scruples – apothecary’s weight] round OUSE [river]
2 Go the French way (5)
LEAVE
LE [the French] + AVE[nue] [way]
3 Clothing society suffering legal action (5,4)
SHELL SUIT
S [society] + HELL [suffering] + SUIT [legal action] – unfortunate that this crosses with 3ac SHELL: loonapick noted something similar last month in Chifonie’s puzzle 27,630
4 Pressure on clergyman hurt in triumph (7)
PREVAIL
P [pressure] + REV [clergyman] + AIL [hurt]
5 Father rejected mate, causing outrage (5)
APPAL
A reversal [rejected] of PA [father] + PAL [mate]
6 Winger gives angry account (9)
CROSSBILL
CROSS [angry] + BILL [account]
7 Insane preparation of pigment (6)
SIENNA
An anagram [preparation] of INSANE
8 John worked for Frank (6)
CANDID
CAN [John] + DID [worked]
14 Orderly has model eating fruit (9)
SHIPSHAPE
I’m not sure where the initial S comes from – I think it must be ‘S [has] + SHAPE [model] round HIP [fruit] Doh! – please see comments 1-8
16 Robbers used to predict the future (3,6)
TEA LEAVES
Cryptic definition: ‘tea leaf’ is Cockney rhyming slang for ‘thief’
18 Place review in hand (7)
PLAUDIT
PL [place] + AUDIT [review]
19 Fix a piece of furniture (6)
SETTLE
Double definition
20 Lambast Tory leader over odd outburst (7)
TANTRUM
TAN [lambast] + T[ory] + RUM [odd]
21 Body of king found in thicket (6)
CORPSE
R [king] in COPSE [thicket]
23 German captured by profligate scoundrel (5)
ROGUE
G [German] in ROUÉ [profligate]
25 Traveller catches cold? That’s funny! (5)
FARCE
FARE [traveller – a taxi driver might refer to his passenger as a fare] round C [cold]
14 down: I parsed as SHAPE around HIPS, giving both S’s
Thanks both. I think that 14d is SHAPE around HIPS
14d: Isn’t it simply “hips” (plural) inside “shape”?
Thank you Chifonie and Eileen. A great week to all.
Sorry Wiggers @1 – too slow!
14d. I think the fruit is ‘hips’ in ‘shape’
Me too
Wow! Three more or less at once!
14 down – I assumed it was plural “HIPS” (for fruit, which can be singular or plural) in SHAPE.
Sorry, 1-7 weren’t available when I posted.
Thanks all – I really will get my coat now. 😉
Thanks Eileen; I think 14d is shape (model) around hips=fruit (plural/collective).
Pleasant Monday start to the week; thanks Chifonie.
Thanks Eileen for the good blog, I won’t repeat @1-7. I didn’t know the scruples, although the answer was obvious.
I quite liked TANTRUM and DELIVERER (the ‘does’ trap.)
Thanks for the blog – thought the West was tougher than the East, but probably just being slow. It occurs to in passing that the word “let” could be described as an auto-antonym – it can men both “allow” and “forbid” – other candidate words like that?
A relaxing start to the week.
Agree with Robi about DELIVERER.
Thanks to Chifonie and Eileen.
Theological point: Deadly sins are not unforgivable, they just lead one to Hell if one dies with them unforgiven.
I think it was just brainfuzz (some obligatory weekend celebrations), but slower than Friday. I mean, shape around hips, or audit following ‘pl’ are not much harder than copse around ‘r’ or roue around ‘g’, but the SW was slow, and ditto 10a, terribly slow to get hone for polish in an otherwise gentle top half.
Didn’t mind the 2 shells intersecting, bit of resonance is ok. But Scouser, though obvious, was a ?, thinking “scr as abbreviation?” as I dnk the apothecary’s weight; might have met it in, e.g., Trollope’s Doctor Thorne, but nothing fired.
Thanks Eileen, and Chifonie for the workout.
What a hippy shake! I thought ‘I’ll just pop this in before my main blurb…..meanwhile….
Thanks Chifonie and Eileen
I didn’t find this particularly easy, especially on the West side. I had OBSERVING instead of “OBSERVANT for a while (though I did think that “helping” rather than “help” would have given SERVING better).
I didn’t parse SHIPSHAPE either, Eileen!
Favoourite was DELIVERER.
@andysmith 13 Sanction?
Less taken with this than some others. Didn’t like the double shell, surely hone is to sharpen, not polish? Or prang or Latvia.
Thanks to Chifonie and Eileen for opening the week. I liked 17a TIPTOP and 18a PLAUDIT. “Player” = “E” in 28a ELEMENT annoyed me as it seemed a bit weak, though I know I need to always be on the lookout for those bridge player references. I couldn’t parse the “SCR” part of 1d SCOUSER or the “Robbers” part of 16d TEA LEAVES, so I appreciated the elucidation on the blog.
Thanks Chifonie and Eileen. Yes, fairly straightforward, although ELEMENT had me puzzled for a while, and I initially had ALLEZ at 2d (a weak-ish cd) until the crossers killed that idea.
Andy @13: CLEAVE is another example. JinA @20: I think you mean 29a, ESTEEM. Cheers all.
Thank you Chifonie and Eileen.
I enjoyed the puzzle but, like JinA @20, needed the blog to understand SCOUSER and TEA LEAVES.
Oleg @19, the COED gives for hone “to refine or perfect (something) over a period of time” and for polish “refine or improve”.
re me @13 – apologies. I thought I had just invented the term “auto-antonym” but a Google gives Wikipedia with a long list of such words … nothing new in this world.
Andy@13
“Sanction” seems another auto-antonym to me. Can mean “give permission for” or “not allow” – as in trade sanctions.
David S
West slower than east for me too. Apothecary’s weight was a tilt for me – thanks Eileen. I liked DELIVERER and PLAUDIT, didn’t parse TANTRUM and wasn’t keen on the two shells crossing. Thanks to Chifonie and Eileen.
Oleg @19 – I remember questioning hone = polish here several years ago. Chambers has only ‘to sharpen on or as if on a hone’ but Collins gives ‘to sharpen or polish with or as if with a hone’, so I decided not to mention it this morning.
Thanks to Chifonie and Eileen. Mostly a steady solve for me, but I was another who got bogged down in the SW. Last ones tiptop, plaudit and element. The last two had to be correct, but it took me an age to see the parsing. I also liked deliverer and shipshape. Thanks again to Chifonie and Eileen.
I had trouble with 1d. I was aware of SCOUSE from the Monkees song “Randy Scouse Git” but had not heard of SCOUSER
It all went in pretty steadily. I paused on SHELL SUIT having just put in SHELL as the crosser. I also wondered if SCOUSER and SHELL SUIT were going to be the start of a theme (but alas no. No PERM etc. 🙂 ). I needed the blog for scruples – I’d never come across that before, although the answer was clear enough.
Thanks to Chifonie and Eileen.
Found this a little tougher than Monday puzzles and Chifonies usually are. Last two in were PLAUDIT and ELEMENT – not sure why those took me so long.
Thanks to Eileen and Chifonie
Yes Beery Hiker – same last two for me. Just didn’t get element as member, though I guess it is on occasions. Congratulations Oleg on featuring in Saturday’s crossword!
And thanks Chifonie and Eileen for today.
Yaffle @ 31
The site policy asks you not to post about live prize puzzles.
Thanks to Chifonie and Eileen. I’m another who started with “observing” and needed help with SCR in SCOUSER and TEA LEAVES. Years ago from this blog I learned PRANG, my favorite example of a term commonplace in the UK but unknown in the US.
Thanks both,
Like beery hiker @30 plaudit and element were my last ones in. As I’m an accountant, a review and an audit mean two separate things to me. An audit is much more thorough than a review. But I’m sure to the broad mass of the common people they are much the same thing.
I am with muffing again, finding the last handful of clues really quite difficult; and having OBSERVING which held me up with 19d.
I liked TIPTOP and TANTRUM
Thanks Eileen and Chifonie
Sorry, muffin, “muffin” not muffing. I seem to have frequent trouble with the G key: I recently, and to my embarrassment, hit T (just above G) when signing off a group email with my usual “Regards, Dave”
[David @36
Oh dear!
I believe that muffin’ the mule is still illegal…]
Re Keyser@37. As a SCOUSER May I say that I’ve never worn a SHELLSUIT in my life. I was a little miffed to see SHELL crossing with the aforesaid SHELLSUIT and it rather spoiled an otherwise reasonable puzzle for me. Snap for 1-7 on SHIPSHAPE.
Thanks Chifonie.
Not all that easy for a Monday. LOI LE-AVE. How is member=element?
Re: Peter Aspinwall@38 – but surely a perm and a mooie were mandatory?!!
Only teasing – no offence intended. Probably reflects too much of my time spent on football forums. 🙂
I had no problem with element=member (an element of a set).
enjoyed the puzzle – deceptive – synonyms just ever so slightly off-kilter to make you think
Thanks Chiffonie & Eileen
Keyser@ 40. None taken. I also dislike football – and what on Earth is a mooie?
I read 15 across as L from looks + AT + VIA [tracks trough]. Still not great for the AT.
Having to fall back on bridge players makes me groan as I never see it till I read the blog. When will I learn?
As well as the repeated shell there’s “let” = “permitted” and “gave permission” at 19 and 21a. A few too many single letter clues for my liking too. Sorry to carp. Thanks to Chifonie and Eileen.
I’m a tad late to the party and find myself in aggreement with many of the above comments. I share Pino’s dissatisfaction when single letters get overused as signifiers; I, too, started with OBSERVING – interpreting “help” as a verb rather than a noun; and PLAUDIT and ELEMENT were the last two I solved. I’d never heard of a Crossbill but guessed it from the crossers, nor the apothecary’s weight. Hey ho – at least I was familiar with Scousers, shell suits and Cockney rhyming slang…. Thanks to Chifonie and Eileen
One of these clues looking a bit familiar .. can’t say much more. Blink twice if you agree.
Arriving here late in the day (again), alas . . . but I enjoyed the puzzle and really enjoyed the blog and comments above! [Just to remove any possible doubt that anyone may have after reading entries 1 through 11: SHIPSHAPE is “hips” (plural) inside “shape”! Haha! But the real laugh-out-loud comment for me was from David Ellison @36.]
Hands-down CotD for me was DELIVERER. Loved that misdirection of “does”.
I knew PRANG and SCOUSER from prior Guardian puzzles, but SHELL SUIT (which we refer to here in the US as a track suit) was new to me — or perhaps it was something I once knew but forgot — and required a Google-confirm. I was a bit mystified that the SHELL-SHELL combo (sharing the final L, no less) was not revised before publication, especially as there seems to be no overarching reason, such as getting another themed answer into a themed puzzle, or completing a pangram, or completing a Nina, for the setter to use SHELL at 11ac, when there were many readily available alternative words that could have been used in that space without changing any of the crossers, such as SMELL, SNELL, SPELL, STEAL, STEEL, or SWELL, and less common words like SHEOL.
Many thanks to Chifonie and Eileen and the other commenters.
DaveMc @47 – we have both tracksuits and shell suits, the latter typically being baggy, shiny, polyester based garments.
Thanks Chifonie and Eileen, especially Eileen for your scruples about shipshape 🙂
Peter Aspinwall @ 42: mooie = moustache.
Online fancy dress shops all seem to sell this clichéd ‘scouser’ outfit LINK
Keyser@49. I suppose I could have guessed it was moustache. Still, I left LIVERPOOL in 1971 and Scouse stereotypes have changed since my day. Thanks for the link: it made me smile!