Guardian Cryptic 27,820 by Vlad

by

Fun to solve and tricky to parse and blog. Favourites 13ac, 14ac, 18dn, as well as 27ac/8dn/17dn. Thanks to Vlad.

Across
9 TOP BANANA Most important person to lead America? Idiot! (3,6)
TO + PB=chemical symbol for “lead” + A (America) + NANA=slang for “idiot”
10 EXTRA More from Turkey’s premier artist (5)
EX=”from” + Turkey’s premier letter + RA=”artist”=Royal Academician
11 LIMOGES Car journeys taking off round French city (7)
LIMO=”Car” + GOES=”journeys” taking off the round ‘O’
12 PUCCINI Composer Henry ignored minor problem over National Insurance (7)
H (Henry) removed from HICCUP=”minor problem”, reversed/”over”; plus NI (National Insurance)
13 AS IF Nothing is held back? Don’t believe it! (2,2)
FA=’F* All’=”Nothing”, with IS held inside; all reversed/”back”
14 MEMORY LANE Way back (6,4)
cryptic definition
16 VAGRANT Opposed to some financial help for drifter (7)
V (versus)=”Opposed to” + A GRANT=”some financial help”
17 SANCTUM Retreat from problem — can new Head of Technology crack it? (7)
SUM=mathematical “problem”, around all of: (can)* + Technology
19 RATTLETRAP Knackered old bus conductor’s role reversal (10)
Simon RATTLE is a conductor + PART=”role” reversed
22 PLAN Idea to reduce growth (4)
PLANT=”growth”, reduced by one letter
24 OVERRAN Somewhat perverse — lunar revolution took longer than expected (7)
Hidden/”Somewhat” and reversed/”perverse” in luNAR REVOlution
25 CLAUSES Over 50 reasons they might be dependent (7)
a dependent clause is a part of a sentence that could not be a sentence on its own
CAUSES=”reasons”, going around/”Over” L=50 in Roman numerals
26 TRUCE On return, initially enjoyed short break from action (5)
Reversal/”On return” of: Enjoyed + CURT=”short”
27 ON MESSAGE Shambles a government covered up by individual speaking thus (2,7)
MESS=”Shambles” + A + G (Government); all inside ONE=”individual”
Down
1 ITALIAN VERMOUTH It’s unusual, Marilyn, but not unknown — have it out (7,8)
“It”, as in ‘gin and it’, is short for ITALIAN VERMOUTH
(Marilyn have it out)*, but without y=mathematical variable=”unknown” edit thanks to William
2 SPAMMING Making unwelcome contact with maidens in country — over a thousand (8)
M M=”maidens” (cricket abbr.); inside SPAIN=”country”; plus G (grand)=”a thousand”
3 BARGE Good to have nude round boat (5)
G (Good), with BARE=”nude” around it
4 RAP SHEET One in speech covers list of offences (3,5)
a ‘wrap’ and a SHEET are both “covers” to keep you warm; but the first one is “in speech” i.e. entered as a homophone RAP
5 SAPPHO Has to keep very quiet about love poet (6)
HAS around PP (pianissimo)=”very quiet”, reversed/”about”; plus O=zero=”love”
6 DESCRYING Seeing and disapproving of son getting engaged (9)
DECRYING=”disapproving of”, with S (son) getting inside
7, 20 ATTILA THE HUN Aunt suffering with health — it’s an old scourge (6,3,3)
(Aunt health it)*
8 CABINET MINISTER Chaotic — a bit reminiscent of Grayling, perhaps (7,8)
Chris Grayling is the UK Transport Secretary
(a bit reminiscent)*
15 MAIL ORDER How to sell admirer snaps — look inside (4,5)
(admirer)* with LO=”look” inside
17 SEARCH ME ‘I’m clueless!’ — Hunt to Amber regularly (6,2)
Jeremy Hunt and Amber Rudd are also Cabinet Ministers
SEARCH=”Hunt” + regular letters from aMbEr
18 TALISMAN One’s lucky having time with Angelo Dundee? (8)
T (time) + Muhammud ALI’S MAN=”Angelo Dundee”, boxing trainer [wiki]
20   See 7
21 TINPOT ‘Second-rate!’ Upset about new book collection (6)
TIP=overturn=”Upset”, around N (New), + OT (Old Testament)=”book collection”
23 SAY SO Approval for one like this (3-2)
SAY=for example, “for one” + SO=”like this”

39 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,820 by Vlad”

  2. I had not heard of the conductor or the boxing trainer, so those parsings eluded me, and I cheated altogether on TINPOT (which seems obvious now). So this was a DNF for me, though an enjoyable one. Also “it” for vermouth is something I’d never heard of.

    [There’s so little vermouth in a modern martini–are there really people who care which vermouth they get?]

    I spent the longest time with just a P on the composer, and was misdirected into trying to justify PURCELL (composer Henry) somehow.

  3. Vlad is one of the setters who usually catches me out somewhere along the line, so I was quite chuffed to actually complete this today, although I did need to come here to check the parsing of 9a.

    Favourite was 18d for the use of “Ali’s man”.

    Thanks to Vlad and manehi.

  4. I feel a bit odd for me to be suggesting this, but isn’t the first part of 4dn, A (one) in R[eceived] P[ronunciation]?

  5. This was a difficult but satisfying solve. Took me a while, but I got there in the end. My favourite was MEMORY LANE.

    I was unsure how to parse RAP in 4d.

    I needed some help from google for the GK clues: Angelo Dundee and Simon Rattle, both of whom I had never heard of before.

    Thanks manehi and Vlad.

  7. Thanks Vlad and manehi

    Well I finished it, but it took quite a lot of electronic help. A lot of “guess the answer, then parse” (or not, in several cases).

    A bit GK heavy too. For instance, I loved the clue for TALISMAN, but it would have been opaque if you didn’t remember (or Google) Angelo Dundee.

    Other favourites were MEMORY LANE and SANCTUM.

  9. Tough puzzle, I thought; like muffin @7 I needed my computer to help a lot.

    I parsed 4D like KLColin @4 but then was puzzled by the ‘covers’ meaning SHEET. I can’t believe I missed the old lead = PB trick – good clue!

    I ticked PUCCINI, SANCTUM, OVERRAN (nicely hidden), ATTILA, CABINET MINISTER and TALISMAN.

    Thanks Vlad for the challenge and manehi for the unravelling.

  10. I also had A in Rp = speech as KLColin above.
    Vagrant was oneof my first ones in so was eventually able to get vermouth then italian but couldn’t see the definition.
    Greatpuzzle

  12. Thanks, manehi, a trivial correction maybe needed at 1d – without.

    Masses of help needed and still several unparsed.

    Nevertheless, plenty of ticks everywhere, with special thanks for the splendid Trump reference at 9a.

    Many thanks, Vlad.

  13. Thoroughly enjoyed this, especially as I think this may be my first ever unaided completion of a Vlad.
    Too many excellent clues to choose from but I put a big star and smile next to the old bus.

    Thanks all.

  14. I enjoyed this too (@gsolphotog @13), and my favourite was RATTLETRAP, with its a very neat juxtaposition, ‘bus conductor’, in the clue’s surface.  I also liked very much the two long anagrams and SEARCH ME.

    This was certainly tricky in places – many places.  I liked KLColin’s suggestion (@4) for RAP in RAP SHEET (A in RP), but I parsed it as blogged, which was probably what was intended.  I had the two I’s with which to get PUCCINI, but I had to leave it for a while after trying MANCINI (whose name is Henry) and giving up because it wouldn’t fit the clue.

    I thought there a few rather weak indications, such as ‘minor problem’ for ‘hiccup’ and ‘they might be dependent’ for CLAUSES, but if the wordplay is sound and the answers gettable i can’t complain.  I was lucky to get TALISMAN quite early on (I think I had the S) because this requires what I would call specialist knowledge,  which incidentally I didn’t have, but I thought I recognised that name from the boxing world long ago, albeit not with a particular boxer.

    Thanks to Vlad and manehi.

  15. I also enjoyed this, but like mrpenney @2 tried at first to parse Purcell for the composer – then wondered if his first name was spelt Henri, so checked Wiki, where I had a pleasant surprise “Henry Purcell est un musicien et compositeur anglais”, so in France composers are immortalised whereas in England they are not, Wiki gives “Henry Purcell was an English composer”…

  16. Too hard for me today, got through about half before giving up. Thanks to Manehi for explaining the rest of it for me, always helpful if not frustrating to see how obvious they are in hindsight.

    I parsed RAP SHEET as a homophone: one of these, when spoken, covers -> a wrap sheet, as in a sheet of wrapping paper that covers a gift. The RP explanation makes more sense.

    At this stage I’m taking it as a positive that I can solve clues without always knowing how I got there!

  17. Tricky but great fun.Good to see Simon Rattle and Angelo Dundee – men from utterly different fields who actually deserve legendary status.13 and 14 ac my favourites. So simple and yet so clever.Thanks Vlad and Manehi

  18. Angelo Dundee too obscure in my opinion; I guessed the solution but wasn’t certain until I got all the crossers.

  19. Thanks to Vlad and manehi. Phew, well I got there in the end, but it was very slow and tough going. I have learned from experience with Vlad that perseverance often pays off. Last in for me were tinpot, descrying and memory lane. Favourite were memory lane. Italian vermouth and talisman. Thanks again to Vlad and manehi.

  20. Thanks to Vlad and Manehi.

    Most enjoyable, especially the glorious (and &littish?) 8dn – ditto for 17dn.

  21. Had to resort to a bit of guess and check to finish this within my allotted time, but as always from Vlad this is a very fine puzzle. TINPOT was last in.

    Thanks to Vlad and manehi

  22. A bit of a toughie I felt, but when I realized it was Vlad and went looking for the tricks (e.g. 12a), it wasn’t so bad.

    For 1a, the mechanics were ordinary, but the surface was great.

    Thanks.

  23. A few unparsed such as TINPOT, but all eventually in correctly. Interesting references to people in contrasting fields of human endeavour as others have pointed out.

    A good clue, but unfavourite term of the day: ON MESSAGE. Ugh! Maybe it’s just me being grumpy.

    Favourite and last in was MEMORY LANE, a trip I’m taking increasingly often these days.

    Thanks to Vlad and manehi

  25. I really appreciate the blog! In pre-blog times an unfinished crossword was frustrating, and answers without any clue to parsing often equally so. I found today’s very difficult and didn’t finish. A big thank you to all the excellent bloggers!

  26. Manehi@6, the apparently plural “covers” is also the short form for bedcovers, a generic term for whatever one sleeps under at night (as in “under the covers”.) Where I live a single sheet is an appropriate form of covers year round. So ‘“covers” = SHEET was not an issue for me. But our compiler’s pseudonym does not suggest an equatorial upbringing so perhaps he did intend wrap and sheet collectively as plural ‘covers”.

  28. Another who persevered and got there in the end with TINPOT loi and unparsed – although it wasn’t that tricky with hindsight. I thought the mini-ster theme was amusing and loved Ali’s man – as always with GK if you know it it’s fine, if you don’t it’s unfair! Many thanks to Vlad and manehi.

  29. Thanks to Vlad and manehi. I fared better than usual with this setter, partly because I knew Angelo Dundie and got PUCCINI after starting with Purcell. I knew IT from previous puzzles, but had to look up Chris Grayling.

  30. Never heard of Angelo Dundee-is that a real name?-so TALISMAN was a guess. I thought this was difficult and I wasn’t helped by being certainly that 12ac was Mancini- Henry of that ilk, who wrote Peter Gunn etc..Fared better with RATTLETRAP. Liked 1and 8 dn and MEMORY LANE which took ages to get.TINPOT was LOI.
    Thanks Vlad.

  31. Am I the only person that finds even the explanation(s) of 4D confusing let alone the clue? I’ve been impaled too many times now: in future I’ll spend my time on other pursuits when Vlad is the setter. Thanks anyway.

  32. That’s how we like them!

    The sublime trio 27ac, 8d, 17d: that’s all you need to know about British politics.

    But there was a lot more to like, even if it was a DNF for us (due to 4d) and even if we couldn’t parse 18d.

    We particularly admired the construction of 9ac (to lead = TO PB), and agreed with the surface too!

    Etc etc.

    Thank you manehi for the blog and Vlad for a wonderful puzzle (done without any cheating).

  33. Thanks to both. I am always entertained by the variety of solving experiences in the blog.

    I knew the conductor had to finish NI which limited the possibilities but I put RETURN FARE for the way back which was fine until I got to SAPPHO. That meant unpicking things took a while. Like others, TINPOT was my last but I enjoyed the romp.

  34. Did anyone try to unravel (Henry) Mancini as the answer to 12a?
    Lovely puzzle.
    Thanks to Vlad & Manehi

  37. nametab @34

    I reported @14 that “I had the two I’s with which to get PUCCINI, but I had to leave it for a while after trying MANCINI (whose name is Henry) and giving up because it wouldn’t fit the clue.”

    (I’m not bothered that you missed that, by the way.  There was a lot to read before your much later comment.)

  38. Thanks to manehi and Vlad

    This is a crossword. Nary a wasted word nor a stretch in sight. Could 14a be BACK WAY? Either way a wonderful clue.

  39. Found this one very tough, reminiscent of the old days of the 1970’s when I did the Grauniad on the train from Watford to Euston every weekday morning. Did not know IT for vermouth, had Rossini for the composer for a long time before Puccini struck, On Message not a term I knew (although that’s what it had to be), always thought grayling was a salmon (how on earth did it become a name?), Tinpot a good clue, but my COD was Talisman, a great penny dropper. Many thanks to setter and bloggers, it is clear we are never too old to learn new tricks.

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