Guardian Cryptic 27,801 by Vulcan

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The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27801.

Apart from 6D, involving an expression with which I was not familiar, I found this a pleasantly easy start to the week. Vulcan has improved markedly.

Across
1 SUSPENDS Holds up dispatches about American power (8)
An envelope (‘about’) of US (‘American’) plus P (‘power’) in SENDS (‘dispatches’).
5 PLENTY Lots to go with the horn? (6)
A reference to the horn of PLENTY.
9 AIRBRUSH Spray that, it’s commonly said, can smooth your locks (8)
With a dropped H (‘it’s commonly said’) it could be HAIRBRUSH (‘can smooth your locks’).
10 INJURY Damage on panel (6)
A charade of IN (‘on’) plus JURY (‘panel’).
12 LEAVE-TAKING Saying goodbye, going on holiday (5-6)
Definition and literal interpretation.
15 PILOT Plan to screen one experimental programme (5)
An envelope (‘to screen’) of I (‘one’) in PLOT (‘plan’).
17 DISPARATE Various ideas, part worked out (9)
An anagram (‘worked out’) of ‘ideas part’.
18 CONFESSOR Edward, for one, who owned up (9)
Double definition. ‘One’ seems to want to join both definitions. Edward the Confessor was an eleventh century Anglo-Saxon king.
19 SACKS Dismisses sound of instrument (5)
A homophone (‘sound of’) SAX (saxophone, ‘instrument’).
20 ACE OF HEARTS A case for the new member of the pack (3,2,6)
An anagram (‘new’) of ‘a case for the’.
24 APPEAL Please  ask for help to challenge decision (6)
Triple definition.
25 AS A WHOLE Gap made by cutter, altogether? (2,1,5)
A SAW HOLE.
26 MOMENT Second in importance (6)
Double definition. Very good of its kind.
27 PLANGENT Mournful dope engaged by factory (8)
An envelope (‘engaged by’) of GEN (information, ‘dope’) in PLANT (‘factory’).
Down
1 SNAIL’S PACE Slow speed of house conveyancer (6,4)
Cryptic definition.
2 STREAMLINE Improve speed of download online (10)
A charade of STREAM (‘download’) plus (‘on’- in a down light) -‘line’.
3 EYRIE Vantage point, one adopted by Jane (5)
An envelope (‘adopted by’) of I (‘one’) in EYRE (‘Jane’)
4 DUST AND ASHES Tackling headstands, us? A sad disappointment (4,3,5)
An anagram (‘tackling’) of ‘headstands us’.
6 LONG GRASS Where a tricky problem has had a good kicking? (4,5)
Cryptic definition; a reference to the expression “to kick into the long grass”, which apparently means to postpone indefinitely dealing with a difficult problem.
7 NOUN Part of speech advocating abolition of New York body (4)
NO U.N.
8 YO-YO Repeatedly, you almost bounce up and down (2-2)
‘YO[u]’ minus the last letter (‘almost’) twice (‘repeatedly’).
11 FIRST REFUSAL Offer that spoils a so far clear round (5,7)
Definition and literal interpretation, in reference to dressage.
13 MASCARPONE Mother’s fish served with a single cheese (10)
A charade of MA’S (‘mother’s’) plus CARP (‘fish’) plus ONE (‘a single’).
14 PERSISTENT Remarkable prettiness is long lasting (10)
An anagram (‘remarkable’?) of ‘prettiness’.
16 THEN AGAIN On the other hand, afterwards gets at least some profit (4,5)
A charade of THEN (‘afterwards’) plus A GAIN (‘at least some profit’).
21 EDWIN Man taking some red wine (5)
A hidden (‘taking some’) answer in ‘rED WINe’.
22 PALM Prize  tree  that’s on hand (4)
Triple definition.
23 SPAM Small girl one didn’t want delivered (4)
A charade of S (‘small’) plus PAM (‘girl’). The definition does not quite make it.
completed grid

28 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,801 by Vulcan”

  1. I liked 1d, but not so much 2d: “line” is in clue and solution.

     

    A quick solve – thanks Vulcan and PeterO

  2. A pleasant puzzle I think, with one point I wasn’t sure of. 22d works perfectly without the word “Prize”, but I was wondering what kind of prize PALM is indicating for the extra definition. A search reveals the Palm Photo Prize, but I suspect this was not what was intended. There is the well-known Palme d’Or, but that has an E. Just wondering.

    Thanks Vulcan and PeterO.

  3. I think the reference at 11dn should be to show jumping rather than dressage. I was left with that one unparsed, fixated on partial anagrams (“spoiled”) and dressage was close enough to trigger the connection.

    Enough of a challenge in the lower half to keep me occupied.

    Thanks Vulcan and PeterO.

  7. 6d: the LONG GRASS metaphor has been much used recently in relation to (apologies for mentioning it) Brexit – for May’s repeated kicking of awkward issues into it.

    11d  was a very neat misdirection, the word ‘spoils’ inviting one to look for an anagram of ‘a so far clear o’. Typical of Vulcan, who may have improved, as PeterO says, but who seemed pretty good to me already as a post-Rufus Monday setter. Thanks to both.

  8. Enjoyed this. As said, Vulcan is getting a bit trickier.

    Was just going to praise 20a but see that gsol beat me  @6.

  10. Thanks Vulcan and PeterO

    I didn’t find this easy at all – the SW in particular took ages to complete. I agree with David Ellison @1 about “line” in 2d. I got 6d easily enough, but it’s one of the loosest allusions I’ve seen in a clue.

    I did like ACE OF HEARTS very much.

  11. Agreeable start but, notwithstanding the link provided by trenodioa @5, I find I’m rather with The Doc @2 re PALM.

    1d afforded a chuckle and I rather think we’ll all end up with Brexit in the 6d.

    To my shame, I must confess to having to check that the UN’s headquarters are in New York…on FDR Drive to be more precise.

    Many thanks to Vulcan who appears to be honing his (her?) art.

    Happy Easter everyone.

  12. Thank you Vulcan and PeterO.

    A lovely Easter Monday puzzle.  LONG GRASS was new to me, as was PLANGENT – the latter perhaps forgotten.

    The COED gives for palm 3 a supreme excellence. b a prize for this.

  13. I was fine with PALM = prize, as in “a leaf of a palm tree awarded as a prize or viewed as a symbol of victory”.

    I did not get the horsey definition of FIRST REFUSAL.

    Thanks Vulcan and Peter.

  14. KLColin @3

    Yes, show jumping it is of course – which shows how much I know about the field. I just wanted to point out the horsey connection, and grabbed the first word that came to mind.

  16. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO. I enjoyed this, nothing too challenging but still plenty to think about. Got held up a bit in both the NE and the SW but not for that long. Favourites fot me were then again, moment and first refusal. Thanks again to Vulcan and PeterO.

  17. Slow and fun for me. I’m with muffin @10 in having found this hard going, with a few including FIRST REFUSAL unparsed. A few guesses and I finally met my match at 9a with a silly non-word ‘airpress’.  It looked plain wrong, and surprise, surprise it was.

    I liked the two triple defs and the ‘Slow speed of house conveyancer’ brought a smile.

    Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO

  18. Cockney H-dropping is not “common”, either in the sense of vulgar or in the sense of widespread.

  19. Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO. Mostly smooth sailing, but the last few took a while, and like WordPlodder@17, my luck ran out with AIRBRUSH. I also liked the triple definitions (first time I can recall seeing two in the same puzzle).

  20. Enjoyed this. Favourite was airbrush.
    Rompiballe – As an h-dropper from way back (and not cockney) I thought it was widespread, but I could easily be suffering from the illusion that if I do something then surely everyone else does too!
    Thanks to Vulcan and PeterO

  21. Only just got to this and found it perfectly agreeable. I didn’t like the clue for PALM and delayed entering the answer for fear I was missing something. That was the only,minor,problem with the puzzle. I agree with those who see the similarity between Vulcan and Rufus.
    Thanks Vulcan.

  22. Thanks to both PeterO and Vulcan. This was pleasant wee solve on a rotten afternoon.

    I am more familiar with “kicking the can down the road” so LONG GRASS was my last in and I took some convincing it meant the same. It was not an expression I had come across at all. Apart from that all was achievable, even if I did look sideways at AIRBRUSH, but photo retouching convinced me.

  23. “Kicking it into the long grass” could be golf-derived. One could cheat by surreptitiously removing one’s ball from a very difficult-to-play spot by kicking it into dense undergrowth and claiming a lost ball, thus taking only a one-shot penalty.

  24. I parsed 22D Prize tree that’s on hand as P(rize) + alm (tree) = PALM which is on your hand.

  25. John_Ha @24

    That deserves a P of some sort. I take it that an alm is the hybrid of an ash and an elm.

  26. Tricky crossword for me, more challenging than usual, which is good. I must be a bit dense as I’m not getting the “House Conveyancer” bit of 1D? Can anyone help me, please?

  27. Martin @26

    ‘Conveyancer’ has a definite meaning, a person who draws up deeds for the transfer of ownership of property; this fits with the surface that Vulcan is setting up. For the cryptic interpretation, he is playing on the root of the word: to convey, which can mean to carry, so that a ‘house conveyancer’ – it should really be conveyor – is the snail which carries its house on its back.

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