Guardian Cryptic 27,719 by Picaroon

A tour de force from Picaroon.

This is a puzzle to savour. Fantastic clues and misdirections (Norman Mailer, for example, is brilliant).

It would be impossible to pick out a favourite clue in this crossword, as it would be unfair to the other clues.

Thanks, Picaroon.

Across
1, 4 BESIDE ONESELF  Frantic doctor nurses English XI and German XI (6,7)
  BONES (“doctor”) nurses E (English) SIDE (team, so “XI” as in cricket XI) + ELF (“German” for eleven (“XI”)), so B(E-SIDE)ONES-ELF
4   See 1
 
9 IMPENDING Terror about to finish soon (9)
  IMP (“terror”) + ENDING (“about to finish”)
10 OUTRE Bizarre journey, moving right to the east (5)
  (r)OUT(R)E (“journey” (ROUTE) with the R moved east (i.e. to the right))
11 IMAGE That is skirting issue still (5)
  I.E. (“that is”) skirting MAG (“issue”)
12 SYNTHETIC Tiny chest, bust that’s fake (9)
  *(tiny chest)
13, 15 HOBSON’S CHOICE Boy digs into brownies and plum, being offered nothing else (7,6)
  SON (“boy”) digs into HOBS (“brownies”) + CHOICE (“plum”)

A hob is a sprite or elf, as is a brownie.

15   See 13
 
17 DORSUM Solve problem about right back (6)
  DO SUM (“solve problem”) about R (right)
19 LATERAL A learner follows more advanced kind of thinking (7)
  A L (learner) follows LATER (“more advanced”)
22 UNDERCOAT Scots remarkable at compre­hending the German primer (9)
  UNCO (“Scots” word for “remarkable”) + AT comprehending DER (“the” in “German”)
24 UNCUT University teachers admitting middling grade is rough (5)
  U (University) + N.U.T. (National Union of “Teachers”) admitting C (“middling grade”)
26 ELAND African native‘s internet domain? (5)
  E (“internet”, as in e-shopping, e-mail, etc) + LAND (“domain”)
27 ADUMBRATE A silly price for sketch (9)
  A + DUMB (“silly”) + RATE (“price”)
28, 29 MIDLIFE CRISIS Goddess on film cried sadly, desiring lost youth (7,6)
  ISIS (“goddess”) on *(film cried)
29   See 28
 
Down
1, 21 BRITISH MUSEUM Tramp keeps jazzy shirt, I think, for tourist site (7,6)
  BUM (“tramp”) keeps *(shirt i) + MUSE (“think”), so B(RITISH-MUSE)UM
2 SEPIA One takes off clothes, turning brown (5)
  <=A(I)PES (I (“one”) clothed by APES (“takes off) and the whole turned)
3 DANGEROUS Hairy and desperate chap rogues manhandled (9)
  DAN  (“Desperate” Dan, the cartoon character) + *(rogues)
4 ORGANIC Exploding cigar no good for one’s health? (7)
  (*cigar no)
5 ENOCH Biblical character and husband shape up (5)
  <+H + CONE (husband and “shape”, up)
6 ESTATE CAR People about to tour country in vehicle (6,3)
  <=RACE (“people” about) to tour STATE (“country”)
7, 20 FRENCH LETTERS  They prevent issue in Norman Mailer’s writings? (6,7)
  FRENCH (“Norman”) + LETTERS (“writings” of a “mailer”, i.e. someone who mails letters)
8 MISSUS Dutch or transatlantic pageant winner (6)
  MISS U.S. could be the winner of a beauty pageant in the States, so “transatlantic pageant winner”
14 BROADBAND New York girl group makes fast connection (9)
  BROAD (American word for “girl”) + BAND (“group”)
16 OUTNUMBER Released song that’s top in terms of quantity (9)
  OUT (“released”) + NUMBER (“song”)
18 MOORAGE Reversal of space-time where craft are made fast (7)
  <=ROOM (reversal of “space”) + AGE (“time”)
19 LITMUS Indicator of base books with lots of mawkishness (6)
  LIT(erature) (“books”) with MUS(h) (lots of “mawkishness”)
20   See 7
 
21   See 1
 
23 RADII Set that’s endless — one spoke and spoke (5)
  RADI(o) (“set” that’s endless) + I (“one”)
25 CLASS Schoolchildren maybe working (5)
  CLASS (“schoolchildren”) and a reference to the class system (i.e “working” class)

*anagram

45 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,719 by Picaroon”

  1. At the easy end of Pickers, tho with a couple of dnks, viz hob as brownie (Hobnob..biscuit?) and unco as Scots for (strange or altered enough to be) remarkable. Slow to remember mag for issue and broad for girl, d’oh for both. Lots of amusement, eg the Norman Mailer, midlife crisis and Eside in bones plus elf.

    Thanks Picaroon and Loonapick.

  2. It took me quite a while to getting on this and I was glad to be able to finish it.

    As a non-Brit, I could not parse the UNCO in 22a or the N.U.T. in 24a.

    My favourites were MISSUS, DORSUM, BESIDE ONESELF (Loi)

    Thanks B&S

  3. I now realise that I did not parse HOBSON’S CHOICE – that was interesting to learn that a hob is a sprite or elf, as is a brownie.

  4. Thanks Picaroon and loonapick

    First pass yielded nothing at all, so I put it aside. When I picked it up again, I saw the anagram fro SYNTHETIC, and it all went steadily from there, though mostly “guess, then parse”. The exceptions to this were favourites ADUMBRATE and LOI DORSUM.

    I also liked MISS US.

  5. I had a lovely time and particularly relished the four double word clues.

    Like some others have said, I also had a few things unparsed (e.g. the aforementioned “Scot” for UNCO in UNDERCOAT 22a – to me, “UNCO” means clumsy). (Though I was pleased to get HOB in HOBSON’S CHOICE 13/15a. I knew it referred to some kind of elf, as well as a setter for the Independent, whose name always reminds me of our Puck.)

    Thanks to Picaroon for the fun and to loonapick for some explanations. [Lots of laughs from down here, though I’m not laughing about your political brouhaha over there.]

  6. Yes, at the easy end of P’s puzzles but loads of wonderful clues. Like muffin, my LOI was DORSUM.  Many thanks to P & l.

  7. A bit too much “guess then parse” on the long’uns for me as when there are so many elements to a clue I end up with too many permutations to make sense of it so work back from a plausible answer to “prune the tree” as they say in search algorithms. Having said that, working back from undercoat led me to think “unco” must be scots for remarkable and a quick search meant ILATT (I learned a thing today).

    Adumbrate is a word I used to cite as one of the few English words containing the Latin “umbra” meaning shadow – umbrella is derived from it of course, and basic physics of light has the umbra and penumbra for full and partial shadows. A classic example of using a fancy-sounding word (umbra) when we have a perfectly good one in the language already IMHO.

    Loved the Puckish surface of the tiny chest and I am sure I’ve seen Normal Mailer before – that was my FOI in spite of the clever surface because of the deja vu. I enjoyed Eland – though could that even be clued as “Yorkshire elk”?

  8. Thanks Picaroon, great entertaining puzzle.

    I started getting grumpy about Norman Mailer, thinking I needed to know about his works, doh, only just twigged that before coming here.

    Thanks loonapick; I wondered a bit about ‘maybe working’ as a definition but I suppose working is a type of class.

    I did particularly enjoy all the long ones although I forgot about ‘bones’ as doctor.

  9. The word Hob in this sense (13ac) of sprite, or something more sinister, always for me evokes the classic 1958 BBC TV SF serial by Nigel Kneale, Quatermass and the Pit – filmed in 1967 by Hammer. From the wikipedia entry: “Workmen discover a pre-human skull while building in the fictional Hobbs Lane (formerly Hob’s Lane, Hob being an antiquated name for the Devil) in Knightsbridge, London.” I couldn’t find a way of pasting-in images (is there a way?) but some fine ones both from TV and film can be found online. Please forgive the digression. Thanks to Picaroon for a great puzzle altogether.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=quatermass+hobbs+lane&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiW0KOSmfLfAhUfQhUIHVQPBagQ_AUIDigB&biw=1225&bih=532

  10. Brilliant, superb, enjoyable, excellent – all those superlatives and more

    Thanks to Picaroon and loonapick

  11. This was one of the best crosswords for ages. I can only second loonapick’s observation – a tour de force.

    The more obscure were so elegantly clued as to make them fair and fun.

    Bravo Pirate and thank you.

  12. [quenbarrow @12

    Copy the URL of the image you want to put in. Highlight the text in your proto-post you want the link on. Click on the paperclip icon. Paste the URL in the box, then click the tick.

    Like this ]

  13. Thanks to Picaroon loonapick. As others have said, very enjoyable but also a lot of solve and then parse (and in some cases needed to come here to finalise the parsing). Top half went in quite readily but the bottom half took much longer. Last ones were new words to me in adumbrate and dorsum. Lots of nice clues but I did particularly like litmus and the aforementioned Norman Mailer. Hanks again to Picaroon and loonapick.

  14. Several I couldn’t parse; radii gave me particular difficulty. I’m not convinced by Dorsum as an English word though easily recognised as Latin from dorsal etc.

    For those unfamiliar with Hob, Hobgoblin is a related word that you might recognise.

  15. Indeed, a tour de force, but Miss US? The reference to Dutch clarifies it however.

    Thanks to the blogger and Picaroon!

  16. Re 24a. I think there was a comment in a previous blog on the fact that the NUT no longer exists. It is now the NEU (National Education Union), following amalgamation with ATL. NEU probably of less help to setters though?

  17. I love it when a word I’ve heard of but don’t know the meaning of comes up and can be solved from the clue and then put into context via the definition and a bit of research. ADUMBRAGE was an example today, along with SENESCENCE on Monday. I find this more rewarding than a straightforward TILT – like DORSUM today or TERRET on Monday. Crosswords are about much more than grid filling.

    Like others have said there were many gems today – my double tick went to IMAGE (and of course 7/20). I didn’t parse 1/4 but that didn’t bother me at all as I knew it would be impeccably clued and the defintion was enough to bring a smile to my face; I didn’t know the UNCO bit; and didn’t C the middling grade.

    To me another mark of an elegant cryptic crossword setting is clue length (or shortness). Today only two clues went into the second line when printed off – which is even more impressive when five of the solutions combined two grid entries.

    Brilliant – thanks to Picaroon and the lucky loonapick.

  18. Thanks to Picaroon and loonapick. I had more of a struggle than others above. I did know NUT from previous puzzles but did not know DORSUM or the Scot unco, did not parse BESIDE ONESELF, and missed the Mus(h) in LITMUS..

  19. Having happily parsed the 4across part of 1,4 as ONES (=11) and ELF (German 11) I came here hoping to discover how BESID derived from ‘doctor nurses’. Heigh Ho….
    A wonderful and witty crossword.
    Thanks P&L

  20. Perhaps the easiest Picaroon I’ve encountered but perhaps I was just on the wavelength today. FRENCH LETTERS, HOBSONS CHOICE and BESIDE ONESELF went in straight away and the rest followed apace.It could also be that I’m still bucked by the trouncing of Theresa last night.
    Thanks Picaroon

  21. I do like this setter.  I had to miss his previous puzzle for lack of time, but I found time to do this one – it was truly excellent throughout and most enjoyable.  I especially liked all the long two-word answers.

    Thanks to Picaroon and loonapick.

  22. Many thanks, loonapick.

    For once, I was slightly annoyed to see the name on the puzzle this morning – but only because I was going out for a walk and lunch in the countryside and didn’t have time to get properly stuck into it before I went. It was good to have it to look forward to when I got back.

    As [almost] always, crypticsue @13 sums up my feelings exactly – and I agree entirely with Alan B about the two-word answers: I’m always impressed and grateful when setters contrive to get them consecutively in the grid, rather than having to dot about all over the place.

    Many thanks, as ever, to Picaroon – it was well worth waiting for!

  23. Thanks both,

    Agreed this was a lovely puzzle. When I’m painting and decorating I use a primer and then an undercoat or a product that describes itself as primer and undercoat combined. Just saying.

     

  24. I am another who solved a number of clues from the definition and parsed them afterwards (or in several cases not at all till checking them out on here – Thankyou Loonapack).  I am with thezed at 9 where too many permutations are baffling until wood has been sorted from trees.  That said, the economy of many other clues was a joy.

    I spent a long time early on toying with screen goddess Marilyn Monroe across the bottom, (on the basis of the initial M which was all I had at that stage and the letter distribution).  Other crossers eventually put paid to that.

    Lots of favourites, but of those not mentioned above, I loved CLASS – an example of a clue elegant in its brevity.

    Congratulations to Picaroon, who rarely fails to please.

  25. Blimey, I finished a Picaroon ! I must admit that when I saw that name above the grid this a.m. I expected not to be able to get started, never mind finish, but when I sat down to attempt it either my brain was particularly engaged or as others have said it was particularly easy by this setter’s standards. I too can’t resist nominating Norman Mailer as my favourite clue – for some reason though I fell in straight away on that one.

    All in all, shades of Araucaria I thought. Thanks to Loonapick and Picaroon !

  26. Brilliant but benign by Picaroon today. I found Chalmie’s in the FT harder. FOI FRENCH LETTERS, LOI DORSUM. Knew UNCO from the DT cryptic.

  27. Simon S @35

    I always thought it was “Dutch plate” for mate. Google suggests that both are unlikely (though mine more so!), and it’s just short for an affectionate “duchess”.

  28. After so much brilliance, isn’t it time to have Picaroon’s (Guardian) crosswords bundled?

    Generally, crosswords are like mayflies, short-lived.

    However, some deserve to be remembered for a long long time!

  29. Thanks both.

    Not so given to hosannas as others, this grump didn’t appreciate having to come up with the German for 11 (though I will never now forget it) the “Scots” for remarkable and the Latin for back. “Bones” as a synonym for doctor was a bit stretchy for me outside of Star Trek (sawbones I’d buy). The “hobs” and “brownies” equivalence represented another stretch of the synonymous elastic.  “Frantic” for BESIDE ONESELF registered on the tetch scale on account of the thing being that one can be beside oneself with e.g. joy.  SEPIA was just not my cup of brew.

    But hey ho it was quite enjoyable in spots – Norman Mailer, RADII, MISSUS.  Now back to my home on the range…..

  30. Alphalpha @ 38. At school, my German teacher’s favourite quip was “elf Eier”, so I have no trouble remembering the German for 11 (or for eggs, for that matter).

  31. Too hard for me. But at least I know the difference between primer and undercoat. Picaroon, it’s all in the prep!

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