Guardian Cryptic 27,803 by Pasquale

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Always good to see Pasquale, or indeed any of Don’s many disguises.

A tough but fair challenge; the wordplays were clear enough to deduce the existence of a few very obscure words (I’m sure 17a and 25a don’t get out much) and an unfamiliar Shakespearean character. Neat (and nicely misleading) surfaces too.

Thanks very much to Pasquale – and to Andrew, the regular blogger in this slot, whose Easter break has given me the opportunity to step in.

Definitions are underlined; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.

Across
1 IDENTITY PARADE Row following criminal activity (8,6)
Cryptic definition: a police line-up to confirm a witness’s identification of a suspect (row = line).
9 DESCALE Escape into valley and take coat off (7)
ESC (Escape key) in DEE (the valley of the River Dee) DALE (valley). Coat = coating, in this case limescale.
10 RECLINE Lie it’s right to avoid when leader comes out (7)
R (right) + [d]ECLINE (avoid, without the leading letter). Good misdirection: I spent ages trying to make DECEIVE fit somehow.
11 RHONE Smooth stone found at end of spectacular river (5)
HONE (usually a verb, meaning to sharpen or polish, but it can also mean the stone used to polish things on) after the end letter of [spectacula]R.
12 TEARSHEET Doll to necessitate change of bed linen? (9)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doll_Tearsheet (a character in Henry IV Part 2, though I don’t know my Shakespeare that well so I needed Wikipedia to tell me); or you’d need to change your bed sheet after tearing it.
13 CUFFLINKS Blow on golf course? They’ll get through at least four holes (9)
CUFF (blow = hit) + LINKS (a type of golf course). Cufflinks are usually worn with double (folded back) shirt cuffs, so each one goes through four buttonholes in total.
14 CANID Mammal fashioned in tin and copper once (5)
CAN (tin can) + 1d (1 old copper penny, so “copper once”). A dog or related animal.
15 SOBER Solemn one crying half-heartedly (5)
SOBBER (one crying) with one of the two middle letters (heart) removed.
17 REFECTION Thought left to wither, bringing refreshment (9)
REFLECTION (thought) with the L (left) withered away. Not a word I’d come across before, but it can be deduced from “refectory” = a place to get food.
20 ENSCONCED Aim to keep fine at Oxford and settled (9)
END (aim = target) containing (keeping) SCONCE (a fine at Oxford University for some minor breach of etiquette, but usually “paid” in beer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sconcing).
22 DACRE Newspaperman about to participate in challenge (5)
C (circa = about) in DARE (challenge). Paul Dacre, editor-in-chief for the Daily Mail, Metro etc.
23 CHALICE Cup in church given to the daughter of an Oxford dean (7)
CH (church) + ALICE (Alice Liddell, daughter of the dean of Christ Church, Oxford, to whom Lewis Carroll first told the story of Alice in Wonderland).
24 LAMINAE English beast rolling around in sheets (7)
E[nglish] ANIMAL, all reversed (rolling around). Very clever – it had me stumped for ages.
25 DISENTHRALMENT Slave’s hope is to get cruel handler smitten (14)
Anagram (cruel?) of HANDLER SMITTEN. Another word I hadn’t seen before, but logical enough.
Down
1 INDIRECT SPEECH He scripted nice revised report of spoken words (8,6)
Anagram (revised) of HE SCRIPTED NICE.
2 EASE OFF Cease offending, dismissing outsiders — relax a bit! (4,3)
Hidden answer (dismissing the outside letters) in [c]EASE OFF[ending].
3 TRAVELLER Provider of account ultimately, one going wild penning some yarn? (9)
I’m not sure of the parsing here, but I think it’s [accoun]T (ultimately = last letter) + RAVER (one going wild) containing ELL (which is an old measure of length; used for cloth but I’m not sure it makes sense for yarn). Traveller as in commercial traveller / salesman, perhaps? But I’m happy to be corrected if anyone can do better. I started thinking about Shelley “I met a traveller from an antique land . . .” but couldn’t make it work.  Confirmation from Pasquale: it’s &lit (clue-as-definition), based on the idea that traveller’s tales are often somewhat outlandish and exaggerated.
4 TRENTON US city fashion, collecting regular payment (7)
TON (fashion; French for “tone”) containing RENT. The name of several US cities, one of which is the capital of New Jersey.
5 PARLAYS Normal wagers or bets using previous winnings (7)
PAR (normal, as in golf scores) + LAYS (wagers, as a verb).
6 RICKS Brian the slapstick actor’s spoken of in spasms (5)
Homophone (spoken of): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Rix.
7 DRIVE-IN Endless coffee? I have to enter that roadside refreshment stop (5-2)
I’VE entering DRIN[k] (possibly coffee, endless).
8 VESTED INTEREST Events set tried to get organised — reason for ulterior motive? (6,8)
Anagram (organised) of EVENTS SET TRIED.
14 CO-CODAMOL See deranged commander doubling up — what can relieve one’s pain? (2-7)
LO (see) + MAD (deranged) + OC (Officer Commanding) twice (doubled), all reversed (up, in a down clue). A painkiller combining paracetamol and codeine.
16 BASMATI Rice needs juicy cooking — no good avoiding that, mum admitted (7)
BASTING (pouring juices over meat while it’s cooking), without the NG (no good), with MA (mum) inserted into it.
17 RICHEST Most splendid scientific institution with financial resources (7)
RI (Royal Institution) + CHEST (as in war chest: an amount of money set aside for a specific purpose).
18 FIDDLER One keeping records about theologian, one who interferes (7)
FILER (one who maintains files / records) around DD (Doctor of Divinity, though it’s probably an abbreviation for the Latin version of that).
19 INCENSE In Anglican church smeller misses nothing that may smell there (7)
IN + CE (Church of England) + N[o]SE (smeller, missing O = nothing).
21 ON ICE Delayed, like performance by some skaters (2,3)
Double definition.

 

43 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,803 by Pasquale”

  1. I found this easier than many of Pasquale’s offerings – this time I knew the obscure words. Hadn’t heard of DOLL TEARSHEET. Many thanks to Qurister for stepping in, and to Pasquale.

  2. Strong Oxford element here: 20a and 23a, as highlighted in the clues, but also DACRE and RICKS, two high-profile Professors, respectively of History (the late Hugh Trevor-Roper, aka Lord Dacre) and of Poetry (Christopher Ricks, happily still going strong, in seems, in the US). Maybe other references that I have not picked up. I liked the structure of the long perimeters, and the fact that the obscure terms (e.g CO-CODAMOL, new to me) were lucidly clued. Many thanks to Pasquale and to Quirister

  4. TVM for the blog. Gave up on tearsheet and parlays (should have got parlays, but an unfamiliar betting term for me) – brain fade. But I did get 17 and 25 and the rest …

  5. Thanks for reponse. I was actually thnking of each of two cufflinks going through a minimum of two holes each so maybe I should have had eight — but you can use cufflinks with single cuffs anyway!

  6. TOPSie @3: yes, of course, I obviously wasn’t concentrating when I wrote the blog.  Thanks – I’ve fixed it now.

  7. This was quite hard going and I needed help from google for the GK terms like SCONCE, Paul DACRE, CO-CODAMOL painkiller, and TRAVELLER yarn –  https://verdantgryphon.com/collections/traveller

    Also RICK = spasm was new for me.

    I was unable to parse 3d, and 12a – I think that the definition would be “yarn”

    Thanks B+S.

  8. Pasquale @5: yes, 2+2 (or 4+4) for a pair of cufflinks makes more sense, rather than just one.  Thanks for the puzzle and for checking in here.

  9. I don’t see why “ell” as a unit of length-measurement shouldn’t be used for yarn as well as for cloth.  12 across is hardly more than one sense, since it refers to Doll’s strenuous activities in bed.  (By the way, Shakespeare would have been ace at crosswords.)

  11. Michelle @7: I like the idea of traveller yarn, but I think it’s a bit too obscure to be the definition (and the wordplay would be [account]T and RAVELLER, which would leave “provider” and “penning” unused). Pasquale, if you happen to come back here, can you clarify how this one works?

    Geoff @9: technically you could measure yarn in ells, but one ell (as suggested by the clue) wouldn’t be a useful quantity of yarn. At various times and places an ell seems to have been anything from 18″ to 54″; that’s enough cloth to make something, but not very much in terms of knitting wool (usually sold by weight) or even embroidery thread (usually sold in lengths of several yards). Perhaps I’m just being picky.

  13. Is there not a subtle difference between slapstick and farce? Brian Rix was a master of farce, which derived its humour from complicated, ridiculous situations. Slapstick is surely more about custard pies in faces, paint down trousers etc. It somehow seems to undervalue Brian Rix by describing his work as slapstick.

  14. Quirister@11 – yes, I agree with you. Pasquale does tend stowards the obscure, though! I can’t yet see why TRAVELLER = provider. Apart from that I can understand your parsing  – it makes sense.

  16. Thanks Pasquale & Quirister, enjoyable set of clues. Doll Tearsheet now known, but coco gettable from Dr Google. Cufflinks good.

    Much friendlier, after yesterday’s introspective collection.

  17. I agree. The reference to slapstick threw me for a bit. Slapstick’s not farce and I doubted my answer for this as “ricks”. It’s being a bit picky I guess, but the clue could have just as well read “Brian the farcical actor …” could it not ?

  18. Thanks Pasquale and Quirister. Challenging and enjoyable.

    I was puzzled by 3d, but on reflection I think it’s intended as an &lit based on the idea of travellers’ tales being exaggerated and far-fetched.

  19. Thanks to Pasquale and Quirister. Found this tough going particularly on the right hand side. However eventually got there, largely due to the three long anagrams. Last ones were Trenton, parlays and tearsheet (managed to dredge this up from somewhere in the depths). However a very enjoyable challenge and liked cufflinks, richest and Rhone. Thanks again to Pasquale and Quirister.

  21. Thanks to Pasquale and Quinster.

    My FOI was RICKS and led to an uh-oh moment, well-based as it proved – with TRENTON, DACRE, TEARSHEET, REFECTION, ENSCONCED and CO-CODAMOL all registering on the obscurity scale. This combined with some over-elastic defining – “roadside refreshment stop” for DRIVE-IN, “one who interferes” for FIDDLER left this Goldilocks under-enthralled.

    On TRAVELLER could it be that “ELL” is an abbreviation (some) of “Tell” (yarn, the verb).

    I did enjoy CUFFLINKS and IDENTITY PARADE, and PARLAYS was a new one on me.

  22. I found this tough, but it did elicit a few smiles along the way. 3d had to be TRAVELLER but I’m not sure we’ve got to the bottom of this one yet.

    I was a bit puzzled by the redundancy in 8d. An ulterior motive is itself a reason.

    Thanks Pasquale and Quirister.

  24. Hm. Tearsheet? Parlays? New to me. Not 100% sure about the latter as, for me, it is the punter who makes the wager while it is the bookmaker who accepts, or lays, the bet.

    Many thanks to Qurister and Pasquale

  25. Another who found this tough going – in the end I worked upwards. The structure was kind, for once, which is good of the setter when doubtless he knows the clues or answers are obscure. First time through yielded almost nothing. “Ricks” was a guess as I’d not heardof the actor and I only knew of a rick in the neck. “Parlays” was new to me, and “tearsheet” appeared relatively recently, in a prize puzzle I think, or maybe a Genius.

    I was going to complain that “dean” in 23ac should be “Dean” as it is a formal title (like Mr) but Wikipedia tells me, almost tautologically, “The Dean of Christ Church is the dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford”. So I guess the Dean is a dean which is fine. Quite.

    Beyond the obscurity and the difficulty, lots of cleverness here to be applauded too and let’s not lose sight of that. Thank you Pasquale, appropriately in Easter week, and Quirister for making sense of it, especially “co-codamol” whose parsing stumped me.

  26. Tough here, too.  Ended up with the 4 outer long-ies and worked steadily inwards.

    Gave up trying to parse TRAVELLER so I hope The Don will pop in to put us out of our misery.

    Pasquale’s puzzles often encourage some degree of research (TEARSHEET, DISENTHRALMENT, SCONCE, etc.) which I enjoy, so many thanks for the inventiveness.

    Nice week, all.

  27. As always with Pasquale, a few of these solutions were educational. PARLAYS was new to me, but I know next to nothing about betting.

    Thanks to Pasquale and Quirister (is this your first Guardian blog?)

  28. Well, I got Traveller for 3d from Teller (provider of account) around rave (one going wild)
    BUT why is that ‘some yarn’?

  29. beery hiker @27: it’s my second one I think.  I usually do blogs for the Independent and Everyman, but occasionally drop in elsewhere to cover for absences.

  30. Apart from the much mentioned TRAVELLER everything went in and was parsed. I thought it was all very fair and would be disappointed if a Pasquale puzzle didn’t produce some words I wasn’t familiar with – but they are always clued clearly so are gettable despite their obscurity. TEARSHEET came to mind as it has appeared before (Imogen) with the same definition but different wordplay. There were many I liked with my favourite being IDENTITY PARADE for its clever definition.
    Thanks to Pasquale and Quirister.

  31. Thanks both,

    Just to add to the confusion about 3d, could it be t + raveller – one who makes things, especially yarn, wild and confused? The whole thing being ad littish?

  34. I didn’t parse TRAVELLER either. I toyed with TELLER around,er,RAV which doesn’t mean anything.Anyway,it had to be right. The rest of it, even the obscurities was fine. I did know Doll TEARSHEET. Fabulous name I always thought. Never heard of TRENTON. Must be one of the few cities that never appeared in an American Pop record. Doesn’t have the brio of Tulsa or Tallahassee does it? Liked DACRE despite Paul of that ilk being such a despicable man!
    Thanks Pasquale.

  35. My experience and opinion of this puzzle were very much the same as WhiteKing’s (@30). I like to add to my vocabulary at times (as I expect to with Pasquale), and I like good, fair clueing.
    I enjoyed the four long clues round the perimeter, and getting three of them quite early on helped me to solve some quite challenging clues within. DISENTHRALMENT was one of my ‘new’ words.
    Thanks to Pasquale and Quirister.

  37. The Don is always one of my favourite setters as it makes me feel so clever when I solve some of the more unusual clues – I wouldn’t call them “obscure” … Doll is a fabulously foulmouthed character and I liked the reference to Alice Lidell. DACRE was the only one I hadn’t heard of, but gettable from the crossers.

    Most enjoyable puzzle of the week for me so far.

  39. “Pasquale says:
    April 24, 2019 at 3:15 pm
    T + ELL in RAVER & lit was intended. Sorry it caused trouble!”

     

    so a traveller is a provider?

  40. I seem to be alone in my unhappiness at 1a. It just seems like a straightforward simple definition. What is cryptic about it? I can’t imagine a less respected setter being let away so lightly.

  41. Engineerb @40

    Consider different pronunciations of “row”.

    I was out all day yesterday, so didn’t comment, but as I’m now on I’ll add that I found this surprisingly easy for a Pasquale, though it did rely on having the right GK.

  42. Thanks to Quirister and Pasquale

    A very good puzzle with most points already covered but I wonder if anyone else was held up by considering TURNSHEET for 12a? It parses almost perfectly if DOLLY can serve for DOLL.

  43. This was a fun puzzle – thanks Pasquale and Quirister.
    I took ‘provider of’ as the definition of TRAVELLER – in the sense of ‘a traveller in silk stockings’. Otherwise I can’t see how ‘provider’ fits in the wordplay to make it &lit.

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