A good Thursday workout from Imogen: a few unfamiliar words and references, but all well clued.
I made a good start on the easier clues, but things definitely slowed down towards the end, and the SE corner held out for a while until I remembered a couple of classic crossword misdirections (in tent / dry). I have no idea why the name in 25a ever got filed in my memory, but apparently it did.
Some very neat concise surfaces, and some laugh-out-loud moments (particularly 15a and 3d). Thanks to Imogen for the entertainment.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CRIES WOLF | Raises false alarm as crow flies not straight (5,4) |
| Anagram (not straight) of CROW FLIES. As in the boy who cried wolf. | ||
| 6 | DIG UP | Revolting dog I would turn out of the ground (3,2) |
| PUG (dog) I’D (I would), all reversed (revolting). | ||
| 9 | WONGA | Not right to cheat American out of money (5) |
| WRONG (to cheat), without the R (right), followed by A (American). A slang term for money. | ||
| 10 | NEARLY MAN | One not quite a success in new Park film (6,3) |
| N (new) + EARLY MAN (film by Nick Park of Wallace and Gromit fame). | ||
| 11 | STRIKE BACK | To perform flogging is to act as the Empire did (6,4) |
| Double definition: flog = strike someone on the back, or as in the Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back. | ||
| 12 | ETNA | At intervals, Neptunian geographical feature that explodes (4) |
| Alternate letters (at intervals) from [n]E[p]T[u]N[i]A[n], with a neat extended definition for the Sicilian volcano. | ||
| 14 | CUMBERS | Gets in the way of extracting copper from gourds (7) |
| CUCUMBERS (a plant from the gourd family), minus CU (Cu = chemical symbol for copper). | ||
| 15 | DELUGED | Thrown off toboggan and soaked? (7) |
| A neat pun – if you get thrown off a LUGE (a type of toboggan), you could be said to be DE-LUGED. | ||
| 17 | PASS OUT | Exeat for graduate (4,3) |
| Double definition: permission for a student to be absent during term-time, or to complete one’s course of study. | ||
| 19 | MIGRATE | What one Greek moving into China does? (7) |
| I (one in Roman numerals) GR (Greek), inserted into MATE (Cockney rhyming slang: China = china plate = mate). Clue-as-definition (&lit). | ||
| 20 | ROCK | We hear Big Bird to be highly enjoyable (4) |
| Homophone (we hear) of ROC (a mythical giant bird). Slang term: to say something rocks is to say that you really like it. | ||
| 22 | MINISTRANT | Attendant sprinted short way ahead to junction (10) |
| Tricky parsing, and an uncommon word, so one of my last few in. MINI (short, as in mini skirt) + ST (street = way), ahead of RAN (sprinted), then T (T junction). | ||
| 25 | GOLDA MEIR | Large ideogram represented former PM (5,4) |
| Anagram (re-presented) of L (large) + IDEOGRAM. The prime minister of Israel in the early 70s; one of the first few women to be PM anywhere. | ||
| 26 | ABODE | A beautiful original poem, Home (5) |
| A + first letter (original) of B[eautiful] + ODE (poem). | ||
| 27 | TRASH | Scraps expert conclusion? Unwise (5) |
| Last letter (conclusion) of [exper]T + RASH (unwise). | ||
| 28 | TITCHIEST | Very short time, most irritating (9) |
| T (time) + ITCHIEST (most irritating). Titchy = slang for small. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | COWES | College is down in seaside town (5) |
| C (college) OWES (is in debt = is down). Port town on the Isle of Wight. | ||
| 2 | IGNORAMUS | Not-so-wise guy stupidly smug on air (9) |
| Anagram (stupidly) of SMUG ON AIR. | ||
| 3 | SHACKLETON | Explorer‘s hut split (10) |
| SHACK (hut) + LET ON (split = to divulge information). | ||
| 4 | OMNIBUS | Writer opens Milton’s text, not the first volume (7) |
| NIB (writer) inserted into (opening) COMUS (a text by John Milton) with the first letter dropped. | ||
| 5 | FLACCID | Little animal picked up by police, showing limp (7) |
| CALF (a young animal) reversed (picked up, in a down clue) + CID (Criminal Investigation Department). | ||
| 6 | DOLL | Toy poodle has left Lima for good (4) |
| DOG (poodle), with L (left) + L (Lima in radio alphabet) replacing the G (good). | ||
| 7 | GAMUT | Upset stomach on a grand scale (5) |
| TUM (stomach) + A G (a grand), all reversed (upset, in a down clue). The full range of a musical scale. | ||
| 8 | PANHANDLE | Beg God to manage successfully (9) |
| PAN (Greek god) + HANDLE (to manage successfully). A slang term for street begging. | ||
| 13 | FLIGHT PATH | Highly planned escape route? (6,4) |
| Double definition: the planned route for a flight (high in the air), or the route for flight (=escape). | ||
| 14 | COPYRIGHT | Policeman back on duty, yes? It’s an act (9) |
| COP + the back letter of [dut]Y + RIGHT (right? = yes? = asking for confirmation). Copyright Act = generic term for copyright law. | ||
| 16 | GUACAMOLE | No force in camouflage sported something of avocado (9) |
| Anagram (sported) of CAMOU[f]LAGE without the F (force). Avocado-based dip. | ||
| 18 | TRIDENT | Clear intent to obtain weapon (7) |
| RID (clear, as in to clear/rid an animal of fleas) in TENT (the trick is to break “intent” into two words). | ||
| 19 | MAIGRET | Detective resolves 19 across (7) |
| Anagram (resolves) of MIGRATE (19 across). The fictional French detective. | ||
| 21 | CALLA | Flower, roughly every one coming up (5) |
| CA (circa = roughly) and ALL (every one) reversed (coming up, in a down clue). Flowering plant of the Arum or Zantedeschia families, loosely related to lilies. For once a flower in Crosswordland is a flower and not a river. | ||
| 23 | TWEET | Water gets into dry post (5) |
| WEE (water) in TT (teetotal = dry). A post on Twitter. | ||
| 24 | GASH | Roughly cut fuel at hospital (4) |
| GAS (fuel) + H (hospital). | ||
Definitions are underlined; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
Re 21ac – I parsed it as all and nearly one – i.e., ace short of the e, read backwards. Thanks for the succinct blog and thanks to the setter for, as you say, a great workout
Just realised I had TETCHIEST. No cigar.
Great puzzle.
You can always rely on Imogen for a brain work out and this was a most enjoyable one. Thanks to him and Quirister
I meant 21d, of course….
Quite a lot of fun to be had here. I was nearly lazy, thinking of coming here to help parse “trident”, “tweet” and “omnibus” but I am glad I worked them out myself, though I had to google “comus” and also “calla” as neither was in my braincyclopaedia.
I did not like “nearly man” – so much of the solution is a film I’ve never heard of so it seems a bit of a lazy clue, and “rock ” was weakened by the lack of mythological reference, but other than that there was lots to like here. I loved “de-luged” and building up “ministrant” as a plausible solution. “ignoramus” had a great surface, “doll” was full of misdirection and the “copyright” act was neatly clued too. “guacamole” was a clever take-away anagram (who’d have thought it?) but the surface is a bit…bizarre. The 19s made a neat pair and then “tweet” and “trident” gained ticks once I’d worked out how they worked.
Overall a good solving experience – thank you Imogen, and thanks Quirister for blogging it.
Smashing puzzle as usual from this setter.
I think it was Eileen who coined the phrase lift and separate for the IN-TENT ruse used in TRIDENT.
Loved DELUGED but struggled with NEARLY MAN as I’d not come across the film.
Held up for a while by entering FLIGHT PLAN instead of PATH and had to look up Comus although perfectly fairly clued.
Top blog, Quirsiter, many thanks.
FLIGHT PATH was not hard to get, but its parsing seems a little problematic, topologically speaking. For an aircraft, it is a “highly” planned route. For someone escaping, it is a planned escape route, or maybe just escape route. Such overlap does not usually occur in a double definition, but I don’t know what else it could be called.
20a had to be ROCK, but I spent the longest time trying to get emus and amuse to work together – the emu of course not having a flight path.
Thanks both.
I’m not often here early enough to comment.
A nice puzzle to take to the bath with no reference material. I entered GOLDA MIER which held me up with TRIDENT for a while. COWES/WONGA were last for me as I was convinced that 9a started CON.
Good stuff – thanks to S&B
Failed by mis-spelling guacamole (and not double checking the anagram), and putting tripe instead of trash. Unwise=ripe? Not really, but it felt close enough.
Thanks to Imogen and Quirister. I started off like a house on fire with this but then ground to a complete halt. The last seven or eight clues seemed to take forever, and largely held uo in the NE and SW. Eventually got omnibus and nearly man, even though I have never heard of the film. The SW held out much longer and eventually, largely due to frustration with myself, I bunged in unparsed rage for 20 and gilia for 21. Therefore a DNF for me today, however I enjoyed the challenge and liked SHackleton, strike back and deluged. Thanks again to Imogen and Quirister.
Since when does f stand for force?
F – standard symbol for force in physics
Thanks to Imogen and Quirister. Gentler than usual for Imogen, but the the top two clues went straight in which somehow gives one a confidence boost I feel.
Lots to like in addition to the smiles at 3dn and 15ac – the image in 14ac for example.
Thanks Imogen and all. Couple of queries. In 9A how does “out of” fit in? I was trying to remove the A for American. If spare as it seems then it messes up the definition which would lead to ‘broke’ or something similar.
In 20A surely the definition gives “rocks” not rock?
Imogen and I don’t usually mix well, but today I failed only on 22a and 28a (hastily entering “tetchiest” like Copmus@2). Better than my average performance with this setter, allowing me to claim a moral victory, and I did enjoy the struggle. New for me: china = mate, split = let on, and NEARLY MAN (didn’t know the film either, but the crossers gave it to me.
Eric@14, to be highly enjoyable is to “rock.” Regarding the “out of” in 9a, I took them to be just linking words between wordplay and definition.
Thanks both
Eric @14: I think it’s a kind of reverse construction – you can make wrong (less the R) and A (for american) out of the word ‘wonga’. The ‘out of’ is just a link between definition and wordplay as, say, ‘gets’ often is.
Eric @14 for “out of” I read it like “in” and other link words – x comes out of y where x and y can be wordplay and definition or vice versa. Admittedly this way round (wordplay out of definition) is a little odd and at least one commentator here objects strongly when link words are used in both directions but only really work well in one. Like me yesterday not liking the reading of a clue (“babysit”) some will never question it and some will think it wrong, but there is an explanation of sorts (I hope).
With “rock” I thought exactly the same. If we think “That is highly enjoyable” should be “That rocks” then yes, the clue is wrong. Finally I decided the answer lay in “to be” (no Hamlet please…) as in “to be highly enjoyable” = “to rock”, remembering that when this is set in a sentence “rock” is a verb and so conjugates, but “be” has to conjugate too, so the comparison being made is with the verb phrase and the bare infinitive. After much contemplation I decided it worked but I still didn’t like the clue!
On train journey so time to complete which isn’t my normal experience with Imogen.
I’ve tried the following observation before and got short shrift but I’m nothing if not a trier.
I think the level of difficulty of the midweek puzzles has become a real threat to entry level participants who have only limited time. Saturday’s prize is regularly easier than many of the daily ones.
The regulars here seem oblivious to just how good they are and how all that stored knowledge means certain clues and constructions take them no time. My main worry is that some of the compilers come here for your approbation and by extension to beat you and if they can beat you or at least slow you down, no mere mortal has a chance.
And please don’t tell me to choose another paper with an easier puzzle. I’ve been ‘doing’ this one for nigh on 50 years on my daily commute but I fear if they had been regularly this difficult in the early 70s I wouldn’t have persevered.
So there. !
And thank you Imogen.
Tc Very well said. So often I have thought the same. Hugely refeshing to have the point made so eloquently. Thank you.
Thanks Tc and Eddie. I think most of the comments above are from the regulars, as you say. Any less experienced solvers reading this, would you care to comment? It’s always good to hear from those who struggled with a puzzle, as well as from those who were pleased to complete it.
Re SHACKLETON: I can’t find any source for “split” meaning divulge information. It’s not in Chambers, although “to split on someone” is, as to inform. Funny coincidence that “spilt” could have worked. Am I missing something?
I thought this really difficult and I came close to not completing but as usual bloody mindedness prevented this. Lots of misdirection of course and I fell for most of them including 21dn which I expected to allude to a river. I didn’t parse OMNIBUS- I’d forgotten Comus-or,to my shame,TWEET. COD was STRIKE BACK; clunker was ROCK which,despite Thezed’s erudite defense, I don’t buy.
Thanks Imogen.
Thanks TC and others, couldn’t agree more
Sorry, hit post early by mistake, I was going on to say that I nearly always finish the prize but rarely a midweek puzzle
Mike: ‘split’ meaning to divulge secrets is in Chambers 10th edition paper copy. Maybe you have a different version?
I also didn’t like “out of” as a linker in WONGA. Something like “Not right to cheat with American money” seems better to me. Liked GUACAMOLE and the MAIGRET/MIGRATE pair. Cheated MINISTRANT as I ran out of time. I saw FLIGHT PATH as a CD.
Thanks, Imogen and Quirister
I fail at these puzzles far more often than I finish them (see my earlier comment about today’s offering), so thanks, Tc@18, for reminding me that the commenters here as a group are probably more skilled than most solvers. In response to Quirister@20 (and belated thanks for today’s blog), my own experience in coming to 15^2 has one of grateful learning, from both bloggers and other commenters. I have never felt discouraged by comparison, probably because no one here brags about their cruciverbial prowess. I do, however, agree that compilers should be aware that most comments here come from relatively accomplished regulars.
Thanks Quirister and Imogen.
Late to the party – I’ve been out for the day [super ‘As you like it’ at Stratford].
William @6 – just for the record, I again have to disclaim credit for ‘lift and separate’, although I have quoted it a lot in the past. See here for the origin, from Shuchi’s site, which is a valuable resource for beginners. [Shuchi was a blogger here when I first found 15².]
Re ‘Comus’ – my A Level English to the rescue again!
Thanks to Quirister and Imogen
Apologies to Tc and others, but I found this gentle for an Imogen. On another day I might not have, but today my first impression usually turned out to be correct -the only things I know which are “something of avocado” are dreadful 70’s bathroom suites and guacamole, MINISTRANT appeared in a recent Rosa Klebb, Golda Meir jumped straight out at me, and so on.
There were a couple of hold-ups. GOURD had me thinking “Oh God it’s going to be something only ever seen in a Nigella recipe”, but no, a humble cucumber. I hadn’t heard of CALLA but but the wordplay was straightforward enough.
Two gripes though.
Along with others I don’t like OUT OF in 9a. I never like it when the suggestion is that the wordplay is derived from the definition – it’s surely the other way around. I accept that it is sometimes necessary to employ this device for want of viable options but in this case there were many. A perfectly good example is given by phitonelly@26, and another might be NOT RIGHT TO MISTREAT AMERICAN MONEY.
26a BEAUTIFUL ORIGINAL for B? ORIGINALLY maybe
No quibble about 20a – I saw it as “this party is starting to ROCK/BE ENJOYABLE”
I enjoyed this and for once finished an Imogen. I have been doing crosswords for over 50 years and probably fail more often than not. But I have no wish to see the standard being made easier. What would be more boring than write-ins day after day. Similarly getting less than 10 or 20% day after day would lead me to look for a simpler daily puzzle. As it is we are blessed in the Guardian, with a wonderful range of setters who vary their level of difficulty regularly. With setters like Philistine, Arachne, Picaroon, Paul, Brummie et al, the variety of clue types, innovations and themes, mean we can enjoy a fun time every day.
Last thanks go to Quirister for explaining several parsings I could not fathom.
A very satisfying crossword. I didn’t ponder OMNIBUS or DOLL for long enough to work out the parsing, so thanks to Quirister for that information, and I had never heard of CALLA, but that was perfectly gettanle.
I liked the quality and variety of the clueing in general, my favourites being MIGRATE/MAIGRET, DELUGED and SHACKLETON.
thezed @17
I thought 20a ROCK was both fair and accurate. We would not expect to enter TO before an answer-word if is a verb, so if a clue says ‘to stop’ we enter just HALT. Similarly, if the clue says ‘to be highly enjoyable’ we enter just ROCK (because it is interchangeable with ‘be highly enjoyable’ or ‘are highly enjoyable’ in a sentence).
Thanks to Imogen and Quirister.
Late to it too (morning here in Oz).
Thanks for an interesting blog, everyone. I failed to complete the puzzle, largely persevering until giving up on the SE, where I couldn’t get 22a MINISTRANT (unfamiliar), 28d TITCHIEST (I only knew “tetchiest”) and 23d TWEET without assistance.
After about four years of being a pretty regular solver, I think I have to agree with S Panza@30 about the levels of difficulty/challenge, rather than Tc@18 et al. I do respect what has been said as I sometimes feel a bit “put off” when the comments here indicate that others have succeeded (or even found a puzzle easy) when that has not been my experience. But I find the majority of comments here neither arrogant nor patronising, so on balance I am just happy to come here to learn more and improve my practice. I think our setters should be able to outwit me sometimes just to keep me on my toes. I recall way back (when I had too little time to focus on this hobby) being just so happy to get three or four answers on an Araucaria every now and again.
I agree with Dansar@29 and Alan B about 20a ROCK – I had no problem with the clue myself, and it was a favourite. Other ticks for the aforementioned 11a STRIKES BACK and the 19s MIGRAT/MAIGRET, as well as 25a GOLDA MEIR and 8d PANHANDLE. I needed help from you, Quirister, with the parsing of LET ON in 3d SHACKLETON amd 4d OMNIBUS (no encounter with Milton’s COMUS in the Australian curriculum).
Thanks to Imogen and Quirister.
[Glad to see you on here after your eye surgery, Marienkaefer@13. Hope you are healing well.
I wanted to say I really appreciated the tone of your comment, DaveinNCarolina@27.]
[Errata: Alan B@31, and MIGRATE]
I have been solving cryptics for 25 years but the Guardian only for the last year. I rarely finish, but often get to 75% or so. I enjoy this blog immensely even if I don’t come often … and then usually very late. I loved the cryptic puzzles by Cox and Rathven from The Atlantic as they always had a secondary puzzle before answers could be inserted in the grid. I enjoy these, but I do wish I had had a classical education, cared about cricket and football, or was an angler or twitcher. My general knowledge is often not up to scruff … especially Britishisms, which, as a Canadian living in the States I often find obscure. Today’s Cowes for example. However, my failings don’t stop me coming … and I sent the the clue to 1a to a friend because I thought it was brilliant to anagram crow flies as cries wolf. Isn’t English wonderful?
The post from S Panza @30 sums up the split audience nicely – “what would be more boring than write-ins day after day?”. For the expert solver maybe. But there are a substantial number of solvers for whom the crossword is part of their overall enjoyment of the Guardian who would possibly appreciate a puzzle that was at least approachable every day, perhaps to fill in the rest of the lunch hour after reading the news pages, with the grandest ambition of coming close to finishing. The impression is commonly given on this site that occasional easier crosswords are tolerated only for the purpose of starting beginners on the path to greatness. My personal preference would be one crossword a week at this level of difficulty.
I wonder if the Guardian has any data on its crossword solvers? They must have some interest in how the balance of approachability and difficulty affects sales of newspaper and revenue generated by online adverts.
Could someone explain why water = wee? I can’t think of a phrase or expression where one could be substituted for the other. You can pass water but I don’t think you pass wee.
Grateful for inspiration.
Belated thanks to those who commented on my queries on 9A and 20A. The variety of fors and againsts showed me that I wasn’t alone which is nice and also what a mixed bunch (in a nice way) we are as solvers! Thanks again.
I enjoyed this a lot even though I could not parse 5d FLACCID – I was on the wrong track, trying to think of a homophone (‘picked up’). Also could not parse 4d OMNIBUS or 10a NEARLY MAN (never heard of Nick Park of Wallace and Gromit fame).
New for me was WONGA.
My favourites were TRIDENT, TWEET, STRIKE BACK, DELUGED.
Thank you Nutmeg and Quirister.
Simon’s @36
I asked myself the same question at first, but I quickly realised that someone attending to my health might say “We need to test your water.” I think there are genteel words for everything!
Good to see the interesting discussions here.
Like JinA I started off (albeit 40 odd years ago) being pleased to get but a few of the answers. I learnt a lot by looking at the answers the next day, not always seeing why. Doubtless I would have progressed quicker had 225 been around then (or even PC’s).
simonc: I would say you definitely ‘pass wee’ doing a No.1 and to ‘pass water is a polite way of putting it. I do think ‘water’ on its own is rather vague though.
We crossed Alan B, while I was trying to phrase it. I think you make the point better.
Hello Tc@18. Very late, so no one will see this, but I would like to add to the comments about difficulty.
I seldom contribute to the blog because I do not come to it until I have solved or given up, and that is usually the next day. I probably complete about half the puzzles, but give myself an A+ if I get to 90%. I find fifteensquared to be almost as enjoyable as the puzzle itself, and feel that some of the regulars are people that I know and would love to meet. (I especially like the digressions.)
I like the idea of different sources having puzzles of different degrees of difficulty. I started with syndicated puzzles in the Globe and Mail, which as a beginner I found difficult at first but now are easy – an excellent way to get into cryptics without being overwhelmed. Then I “graduated” to the Telegraph, and after a couple of years had the temerity to try the Guardian. I see nothing wrong with that kind of multi-level experience.
Also, as Van Winkle@35 says, easier or more difficult puzzles can fill different parts of the day, and be equally satisfying. I still take a Telegraph book to the doctor’s office, and I still find a Globe and Mail puzzle a nice bedtime snack. For that reason I enjoy the Monday Guardians, the Quiptics and the Everymans (Everymen?) as much as the more challenging weekday and prize puzzles.
Thanks to all the setters and bloggers for the enriching experience.
Did anybody else have 21d as CILLA? It also fits the parsing with C = circa, I = one and ALL reversed. Also a flower. I suspect it is related somehow to CILLA Black.
Sorry, should have said thanks to setter and blogger. Good puzzle. COD deluged ha ha.