Guardian Cryptic 27,795 by Chifonie

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Almost the perfect Monday puzzle from Chifonie.

This was the kind of puzzle most Monday solvers want to see, I think.  A gentle introduction to the week, with nothing obscure and straightforward, simple (but yet sometimes entertaining) clues.  10ac falls into the entertaining category.  My only VERY slight niggle is with 15dn, which is just not quite as exact as the other clues in the puzzle, (“one head” rather than “one’s head” would be more accurate, but the surface would have suffered), but not enough to give any real hesitation.

Thanks, Chifonie.

Across
1 TERRIER Soldier to slip up in bank (7)
  ERR (“to slip up”) in TIER (“bank”)
5 REPOSES Soldier sits or lies down (7)
  RE (Royal Engineer so “soldier”) + POSES (“sits”)
9 ROAST Criticise a society involved in corruption (5)
  A S(society) involved in ROT (“corruption”)
10 PHILANDER Briefly prince and his queen play around (9)
  PHIL(ip) (briefly “prince”) AND E.R. (Elizabeth Regina, “his queen”)
11 SALAMANDER Priest introduced to smoother amphibian (10)
  LAMA (“priest”) introduced to SANDER (“smoother”)
12 NEAR Tight-fisted? Not far off! (4)
  Double definition
14 DARDANELLES Dodgy dealers land in war zone (11)
  *(dealers land)

The Dardanelles is a narrow strait in western Turkey, the scene of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I
18 CONSTRAINED Reticent prisoner pushed to the limit (11)
  CON (“prisoner”) + STRAINED (“pushed to the limit”)
21 IBIS Irish leader twice gets the bird (4)
  I(rish) [leader] + BIS (“twice”)
22 SIGNWRITER Graphic artist uses wire and string (10)
  *(wire string)
25 ELOPEMENT Fugitive union member has internal operation (9)
  ELEMENT (“member”) has internal OP(eration)
26 ELAND Fast runner in dash to end of road (5)
  ELAN (“dash”) to [end of] (roa)D

Elands are actually the slowest of the antelopes, but I suppose a top speed of 25 mph is not too sluggish.
27 THEISTS Article’s about first believers (7)
  THE’S (“articles”) about 1st (“first”)
28 DISCERN Notice director is with nuclear researchers (7)
  D (director) IS with CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research, so “nuclear researchers”)

CERN originally stood for the French Conseil Euopéen pour la Recherche Nucléaire.
Down
1 THRUST Force hospital into consortium (6)
  H (hospital) into TRUST (“consortium”)
2 REALLY Mass meeting about drug? Indeed! (6)
  RALLY (“mass meeting”) about E (ecstasy, so “drug”)
3 INTIMIDATE Allude to touring Idaho for cow (10)
  INTIMATE (“allude to”) touring Id. (Idaho)
4 RIPON Rent regularly taken in Yorkshire city (5)
  RIP (“rent”) + ON (“regualrly taken”)
5 RAISE CAIN Hit the roof, as Adam did (5,4)
  Mildly cryptic defintion, Cain being one of Adam’s sons in the Old Testament.
6 PLAY Pundit initially put down performance (4)
  P(undit) [initially] + LAY (“put down”)
7 SUDDENLY Duly ends assembly without warning (8)
  *(duly ends)
8 SURPRISE Firm adopting advertising is showing incredulity (8)
  SURE (“firm”) adopting P.R. (Public Relations, so “advertising”) IS
13 TENDERNESS Ned resents contrived affection (10)
  *(ned resents)
15 READINESS Facility to see above one’s head (9)
  READ (“to see”) above 1 NESS (“head”)
16 ACCIDENT Stress keeping identification in disaster (8)
  ACCENT (“stress”) keeping ID (identification)
17 ANTIGONE Oedipus’s daughter is against Greek individual (8)
  ANTI (“against) G(reek) ONE (“individual”)
19 AT EASE Calm, having had drinks in A&E (2,4)
  TEAS (“drinks) in AE (“A & E”)
20 DRYDEN Tedious study of poet (6)
  DRY (“tedious”) + DEN (“study”)
23 NOTED Letter on top of desk is prominent (5)
  NOTE (“letter”) on [top of] D(esk)
24   Canteen stew (4)
 

*anagram

55 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,795 by Chifonie”

  2. I really wasn’t on Chifonie’s wavelength this morning and found many of these clues too “quick crossword” in their ambiguity. I loved “phil and ER” but, unlike loonapick, I felt the clues were a bit loose. It doesn’t help that I did not know the expression “raise cain” or “near” as being tight-fisted. Not sure why “on” is “regularly taken” either. “fast runner” for “eland” was very poor I thought – I’ve met a lot of African animals in the wild and eland are among the last that come to mind from that definition. Heck, a cow can run at 25mph and I don’t think anyone would think of it as a sprinter.

    Nice to see CERN appear, and some good anagrams but I found myself swimming uphill through mud on this one. Thanks Chifonie for a decent amount of amusement nevertheless, and loonapick for the blog.

  4. Yes, a fairly gentle start to the week but by no means a walk-over.  Enough meat on the bone to make me think.

    One or two unusual definitions – mess/stew; read/see.  Yes, OK, I suppose I can contrive contexts when they would be interchangeable so I musn’t complain.

    In 15dn you have to take the apostrophe as meaning ‘has’ and the clue is alright.

    I couldn’t parse RIPON (ON for regularly taken?) but was pleased to remember seeing the man blow his horn there one night  on the occasion of my one and only visit to the place, for a job interview in 1977.  I didn’t get the job!  Is the horn-blower still going strong?

    I would have thought that SIGN-WRITER should be hyphenated?

    Several good clues, my favourites being PHILANDER and INTIMIDATE.

    Thanks to Chifonie for getting my 65th birthday off to a good start.  And to loonapick, of course.

  5. Yes, Phil and ‘is missus was fun, but I’m struggling to substitute ‘on’ for ‘regularly taken’ in 4d (if it was taking it could be on e.g. a drug), but no doubt enlightenment will ensue. Also failed to parse 8d (surise, gauzy fabric??…d’oh!). Otherwise yep, fun and breezy. Thanks Chifonie and Loonapick.

  7. Thanks Chifonie and loonapick

    I’ll pass over the “in” in 4d and also ask why “regularly taken” gives ON? I questioned the definition for ELAND too, and I think “see” for READ is rather loose.

    PHIL AND ER is nice, but it’s a bit of a chestnut. ELOPEMENT was my favourite.

  10. To muffin @8

    Ah good, thanks muffin.  Perhaps I’ll go and see/hear him in the summer if I get over to the UK.

  11. Re: 4d

    Is ON the alternate letters of DOWN?  A drink is ‘down’ when it’s ‘taken’.  Rather far-fetched, I know.

  12. Gentle start for the week, thanks Chifonie, and Loonapick for commentary. What kind of a soldier is a terrier? 4d and 10a last in.

    Apparently there used to be a ferry running to Kangaroo Island, off coast of Sth Aust, named Philanderer 3. The wonder is what happened to versions 1 and 2.

  13. chinoz @12

    A “terrier” is a name sometimes used for a member of the Territorial Army (a force of part-time soldiers in Britain).

  14. And in light of the UK monarchical arrangements, shouldn’t this clue better read ‘the queen after her prince’? Or, revealing the answer, would that be sailing too close to the wind?

  15. I forgot that I too could not parse 4d, and I think the closest I got was something like:

    “regularly taking (a drug or medicine): he is on morphine to relieve the pain.”

    * similar to Grant@5

  16. Quite an enjoyable brain exercise from Chifonie today. Yes, I agree PHILANDERER 10a was funny. I liked 11a SALAMANDER, 5d RAISE CAIN and 20d DRYDEN as well. I got DISCERN at 28a but had to come here for the parse of CERN. That meaning of TERRIER was unfamiliar to me. Thanks to Chifonie and loonapick, and chinoz@12 and 14 for the smiles.

    [Happy 65th, Anna@4 – we are the same age – another link across the distance between Finland and Australia! Many happy returns.]

  18. Thanks both.  Re 4D, I think Grant@5 has it – the 19th definition of ‘on’ in Chambers Online is: ” regularly taking or using something • on tranquillizers”.  Can’t say I’m too convinced though.

  19. Thank you, loonapick but I don’t quite share your enthusiasm for this.

    Anyone involved in education for any length of time would wince at see = read.  Very rarely synonymous in my experience.  This, together with the one‘s problem you highlighted made 15d too weak for me.

    Like michelle, I failed to parse the on of Ripon, but now think it’s rather good.

    Also though member = element a tad loose.

    Anna @4  Happy Birthday, youngster!

    Nice week, all.

  22. I’m with loonapick on this one. Notwithstanding the subsequent quibbles I thought this was an excellent Monday puzzle. Like most people I had PHILANDER double ticked (not a chestnut for me muffin) and also ticked DISCERN INTIMIDATE and READINESS where I didn’t see any problem. Many thanks to to Chifonie and loonapick.

  25. Good fun this morning, particularly the PHILANDER. Had RAISE HELL leading to a misspelling of DARDANELLES which confused me for a while – careless, I know.
    I am afraid to say that I tend to miss the on, do etc issues but always enjoy the debate.
    Thanks, Chifonie and Loonapick.

  29. Thanks t o Chifonie and loonapick. Mostly all been said about this, a gentle start to the week which unpacked readily. I was another fan of Phil and er, and liked elopement and Antigone. Thanks again to Chifonie and loonapick.

  30. Count me among those who raised an eyebrow at 4d and 15d (even parsing the latter as Anna@21 suggests, I can’t quite make it work), but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of an otherwise delightful and well-clued puzzle. Thanks to Chifonie and Loonapick.

  31. Anna and Julie and me make three! Anybody else? Happy Birthday Anna.

    I think 4d is just a mistake, since “on” is “regularly takING”. Maybe it was a hurried correction of something else. I even tried R…N = “Rent regularly”, but to no avail.

    Thanks

  33. cholecyst, would that work other than weirdly, as in “I say old chap, I do believe that couple philander”?

  35. I found this a little trickier than most Monday puzzles, perhaps because some of the synonyms are a little slippery, and I’m still struggling with the ON in RIPON

    Thanks to Chifonie and loonapick

  36. I think GinF @5 and michelle @15 have what was intended for the “ON” in RIPON; it’s just not very good 🙂

  37. I really can’t see why “regularly taking” and “on” are not seen as synonymous. I’m on statins – I’m regularly taking them. What’s the problem?

  38. The clue says ‘taken’ not ‘taking’, that’s the problem. I think it is just an error.
    Thanks loonapick and Chifonie.

  40. I must admit that I’m in the quibblers camp. I thought this was a bit below par for Chifonie. Much more looseness in the cluing department than usual as a number of you have mentioned. I did like RAISE CAIN.
    Thanks Chifonie.

  41. cholecyst @24 and 39

    I’m totally mystified: as has been said, PHILANDER is certainly a chestnut [but it’s good for newer solvers to come across it] and I know that the first time I saw it was in an Araucaria puzzle. I have searched for it several times over the years, without success, and thought you’d finally nailed it for me – but I’ve searched the 15² archive [again] for MONDEGREEN and there’s no instance before 2009 and searching for Araucaria produces no puzzle for the 29th November. I’ve also checked on the Guardian archive. There were two puzzles from Araucaria in November 2008 but neither of them has this clue. I even thought of looking for Cinephile puzzles, but no luck there, either. Where did you find it??

    [I have to go out very shortly, so, if you come back, I  won’t be able to reply until later on.]

  44. Chadwick Ongara @43

    14a reminded me more of this:

    The moon shines bright on Charlie Chaplin
    His boots are crackin’ for want of blackin‘
    And his owd fusty coat is wanting mending
    Until they send him to the Dardenelles

  47. Hi cholecyst @46 – many thanks: mystery solved [almost]!

    I couldn’t find the Araucaria blog, because I was looking for ‘November 29th’ and it was blogged on December 6th – because it was a Prize puzzle!

    Similarly, in the Guardian archive, I was searching under ‘Cryptic’, not ‘Prize’.

    I’m still puzzled as to why PHILANDER doesn’t appear in the 15² archive before 2009, though.*

    [Simon S @45  I’ve only just managed to understand your comment – entirely my own fault [you must have been puzzled by mine, too – my apologies]: in my comment @41, please read PHILANDER for MONDEGREEN – doh!]

    *I’ve just had a proper look at that blog and see that rightback gave the solution thus:

    “PHIL AND E.R. – absolutely brilliant, referring to Prince Philip and the Queen (= ‘Royal couple’), with the definition being ‘are flirting’. One of the best clues I’ve seen for a long time.” – which explains why PHILANDER doesn’t appear in the archive, I think. Phew!

     

  49. cholecyst, I’m pretty sure he was – certainly it was the first time I’d seen it – but I just can’t believe that it was over ten years ago: I still remember the delight I felt when I solved it.

  50. Re Phil and ER: if Araucaria was the first in 2008, it looks like Chifonie was the second (as Armonie) in a 2009 FT puzzle. Several setters have done variations on it since.

  52. I can confirm that MONDEGREEN has never appeared before in the Guardian cryptic (I don’t believe the word was in common circulation back in 1999 so we can safely discount anything before the archive started). As for PHILANDER, I think we have discussed this before (along with its friend MEANDER) – as Eileen says it is a chestnut, and the oldest surviving Guardian instance was in Gemini 22248 back in 2001, but I am sure there must have been earlier ones.

  53. ^ Well found.

    “Must our royal couple, in short, have fool around?” Some extraneous wording there that might be frowned on 18 years later.

  54. I’m a bit surprised that no one has mentioned this, but “constrained” and “reticent” are quite different. The latter means “reluctant to speak”. It is sometimes (mis)used to mean “reluctant” in general, but even that’s not the same thing as “constrained”.

     

  55. Thanks to loonapick and Chifonie

    Nice, I liked the def FUGITIVE UNION @25a almost as much as I disliked FAST RUNNER @26. I’m another who can’t see CONSTRAINED = RETICENT though I suppose there may be a thesaurus that gives it.

    @4d REGULARLY TAKEN is probably a mistake but if we include IN in the phrase then:

    morphine was regularly taken in a drip

    morphine was on a drip

    is a possibility

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