Guardian 27,879 – Vulcan

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A typical Vulcan today, with lots of cryptic definitions.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
7. REVERENDS Ministers always in tears (9)
EVER (always) in RENDS (tears, as a verb, rhyming with bears)
8. HUMID I would follow nasty smell that’s close (5)
HUM (smell) + I’D
9. SPOT CHECK Impromptu test for measles? (4,5)
Double/cryptic definition
10. SEAMY Disreputable motor yacht on the water (5)
SEA (water) + M[otor] Y[acht]
12. ARMOUR One gets coverage in Mail (6)
Cryptic definition, as in chain mail – Im not sure the wording really works here
13. TO A FAULT Why repairer is called excessively (2,1,5)
Double definition, though “to a fault” is surely not why a repairer is called
14. BATTERY Sort of farm that stores electricity (7)
Double definition
17. STYLIST Elegant writer‘s catalogue for pig farmer? (7)
The catalogue might be a list of sties, or STY LIST
20. CRACKPOT Mad to cause vessel to leak? (8)
If you CRACK a POT it might leak
22. VISAGE Gives a false face (6)
(GIVES A)*
24. SNIPE Trim English bird (5)
SNIP (to trim) + E
25. PRINCIPAL This boy is usually a girl (9)
Cryptic definition – the principal boy in a pantomime is usually played by a woman
26. LOCUM One’s arrival is a relief for the surgery (5)
Cryptic definition
27. PRESS‑GANG Compel to join group of journalists (5-4)
Double definition
Down
1. PEPPER Pelt with dried berries (6)
Double definition
2. BEETROOT Vegetable better cooked — nothing old should be swallowed (8)
0 O in BETTER*
3. NETHER These regions are hell! (6)
Cryptic definition – hell is sometimes called the nether regions
4. EDUCATE Bring up empty envelope? Gold coin is inside (7)
DUCAT (gold coin) in E[nvelop]E
5. EUREKA I found it in Greece (6)
Cryptic definition – Archimedes’ cry as he leapt naked from the bath; more usually translated as “I have found it”
6. AIR MILES Points collected on the fly (3,5)
Cryptic definition
11. PAST Reportedly did well in exam for history (4)
Homophone of “passed” (did well, or at least adequately, in an exam)
15. AT RANDOM Drama not rehearsed without planning (2,6)
(DRAMA NOT)*
16. ROPE In seminar, open binder (4)
Hidden in seminaR OPEn
18. LASHINGS An abundance of beatings (8)
Double definition – the word brings to mind “lashings of ginger beer”, supposedly often said by Enid Blyton’s Famous Five, though in fact she never used it
19. STIR-FRY Dish first cooked on railway (4-3)
FIRST* + RY
21. COP OUT Avoid responsibility for police­man being dismissed (3,3)
COP (policeman) + OUT (dismissed, e.g. in cricket)
22. VANISH Vehicle is hard to make disappear (6)
VAN IS H
23. GRANNY Old woman tied up in knots? (6)
Definition + a rather vague cryptic def.

43 comments on “Guardian 27,879 – Vulcan”

  1. Had totally forgotten about the panto tradition, which had me staring dumbly at 25a, for which principal was the only candidate. But otherwise yes, standard Vulcan fare, eg battery and past, the likes of which you find in the cryptics at the back of the glossy celeb mags in doctors’ waiting rooms. Thanks Vulcan and Andrew.

  2. Stumbled over the NE for a while – took me ages to see “seamy” and “air miles”. Most were groans and I agree with Andrew about the slightly dodgy “to a fault” and especially “armour” which I guessed immediately but did not believe. In many ways DD and CD are the hardest to set as, just as for other clues, once you have the answer you want to be certain of it. Wordplay usually does that but in a CD it is so much harder to guarantee.

    Anyway, a fun romp and much more the traditional Monday Rufus-style puzzle, so congrats Vulcan on achieving that.

  4. Thanks Andrew. I had “knight” at 12a at first – seems just as likely. Enjoyed the STIR FRY. Thanks to Vulcan.

  5. At last we’re back to Mondayness.

    Just couldn’t get PRINCIPAL and another who took a while to get SEAMY

  7. I’ve just been down a small rabbit hole on wikipedia regarding pepper and berries. It seems that chilli peppers are indeed berries, but they are not often dried and the clue would have to be berry. The plural berries and dried both imply black pepper which is not in fact a berry in the casual or botanical sense – it is a drupe, though Wikipedia says there is sometimes very little difference.

    It’s Monday, so probably nobody cares …..

  8. Most went in smoothly but held up with one or two, like PRINCIPAL, at the end.

    I enjoyed REVERENDS and LOCUM as well as the PRINCIPAL.

    Thanks Vulcan and Andrew for a good start to the week.

  9. My favourite was STYLIST.

    New for me was SEAMY. I could not parse 25a PRINCIPAL, or 23d GRANNY – I forgot about granny knots.

    I also wondered about pepper = berries, and when I checked in my online dictionary I discovered that pepper = “a climbing vine with berries that are dried as black or white peppercorns.”

    Thanks Andrew and Vulcan

  12. Thanks Vulcan and Andrew

    As Shirl says, the Quiptic was much harder (and there’s a surprising conincidence). I don’t think ARMOUR works either.

    As with Michelle, my favoruite was STYLIST.

  13. muffin @12 a doubly-surprising coincidence in some sense. Just finished the Quiptic and it was quirky but quintessentially fun. Looking back over this, I forgot to mention that “granny” was a poor clue – obvious and yet not well-defined!

  14. Thanks to Vulcan and Andrew

    TheZed@13 – my personal problem with ‘granny’ is the definition ‘old woman’ – I may be a granny but I don’t consider myself old!

  15. Thanks Vulcan and Andrew.  A pleasant Monday puzzle, but I had a couple of gripes which were similar to other people’s.  Like DuncT I initially thought of “knight” for 12a before I had any crossers, and I’m not sure that the actual answer totally works.  And 23d GRANNY is more of a vague allusion than an actual cryptic clue.

    On the other hand I thought 19d STIR-FRY was very good.  And the STY LIST at 17a raised a smile.

  16. Thanks both.

    Surely ARMOUR is plain wrong, isn’t it?

    Quite liked PRINCIPAL, EUREKA and TO A FAULT but the rest was a tad dull for my taste.

    Nice week, all.

  18. Put me down as another KNIGHT for 12a.
    Hadn’t noticed the Quiptic coincidence until I came here. I could make a disparaging comment about the editor but I will refrain

  20. crypticsue @14 I understand your grievance and sympathise but perhaps this clue works in the sense that, rather than all grannies being old women (heaven forfend), “granny” is a term sometimes used endearingly, mockingly or respectfully towards an old woman?

  21. Maybe I’m just grumpy today, but I’m afraid I didn’t enjoy this much in spite of a few clever clues (STYLIST stands out in particular). With cryptic clues, the absence of wordplay gives the setter a responsibility to ensure that a solver who thinks of the correct answer will immediately recognize that it is correct. At least with GRANNY, the old woman (sorry, Crypticsue) and the knot made me sufficiently confident to put it in right away. Not so with ARMOUR or TO A FAULT, neither of which really work.

    Thanks to Vulcan and Scchua.

  22. Pantomime isn’t a thing over here, so every clue that depends on it is baffling to me. Like PRINCIPAL in this case. I also didn’t know the word LOCUM. That’s another fault with the cryptic definition as a clue type: if you don’t know it, you just don’t know it, and the clue is no help at all.

    Otherwise, this went VERY quickly for me–nearly write-in territory.

  23. Add me to the list of ARMOUR-sceptics and TO A FAULT fault-finders.

    In addition, and this is more about the technical definition that the clue construction, is 14d. A BATTERY does not store electricity, it creates it via a chemical reaction. A capacitor stores it.

    Thanks.

  24. Thanks to Vulcan and Andrew. My experience seems very similar to some others. Mostly it all went in steadily, but then got bogged down in the NE. Last two were air miles and to a fault. I was another fan of stylist and stir fry and thanks again to Vulcan and Andrew.

  25. Like mrpenney, I’ve never seen a pantomime.  Unlike him (I assume), I’ve run across many references to it, and the terms are familiar to me, but they’re not top-of-brain, so while PRINCIPAL had to be the answer, I couldn’t see why till I came here.   (I really want to see a panto before I die!)

    Nice Monday puzzle.

  27. Thanks both,

    I’m willing to forgive pepper. Nearly everybody calls the undried fruit ‘berries’. Even the wikipedia article that says them drupes calls them berries a few lines further on. Chilies are very commonly dried and how else would one make chili pepper without drying them first? I liked 15ac.

  29. Dr WhatsOn @23

    A rechargeable battery – a lead/acid accumulator, for instance – in effect stores electricity. It is charged up using electricity, and provides it again when required.

  30. I have to be honest, this went in so quickly that none of the clues really stood out as a favourite. Having a second look, I quite like LASHINGS (as an answer, not necessarily in my personal life), but mainly for its association with ginger beer etc in old fashioned children’s fiction, and EUREKA as a cleverly constructed CD.

    My main reason for posting is HUMID – I’m not sure I have ever come across HUM for a bad smell in any other context than crosswords (where of course it crops up frequently).

    Thanks to Vulcan and Andrew. I’m sure the week holds stiffer challenges!

  31. Valentine @ 26 – I don’t think that it is a spoiler to say that one of the answers here is also in today’s Quiptic

  32. Valentine @26 On the blog about the Quiptic they’ve deleted comments referring to the coincidence as they’d be spoilers for this puzzle, so I think we’d best not comment on it here lest we spoil the Quiptic for those yet to tackle it.

    Re storing electricity – this can only ever, at best, be a colloquialism. Both a battery (which, technically, refers to a collection of cells not a single one) and a capacitor store energy. “Electricity” is the name of a subject, not a well-defined quantity in physics (there is no symbol or unit for “electricity”). Some people say capacitors “store charge” but they don’t – they separate it as they have equal amounts of positive and negative charge. So, in a technical sense there is no such thing as a “store of electricity”. However, given that 99%+ of the population would probably use the expression, and non-technical English is decided by use not by committee, I was happy to let this one pass.

  33. Valentine @26 and Shirl @31

    There’s actually a more remarkable coincidence between the Quiptic and Tees’ Indy puzzle today –  but I don’t think that’s a spoiler for either.

  34. TheZed@32: That (“English is decided by use not by committee”) is a very interesting statement in the broader context here. Many times setters use meanings which “nobody” ever uses in practice, but get justified here by “it’s in Chambers”, which is effectively your committee.

    In some sense, lead-acid batteries store electricity in the same way that boxers’ arms store punches. Recharging is quite different, though.

  35. Dr. WhatsOn @34 I was contrasting technical language (which often is specifically defined by committees, such as IUPAC for chemical terms) with the rest of language – sorry if that was not clear. I know the OED is specifically meant to reflect usage and so changes over time, and I assume that Chambers and others follow. However, like the law books, they are easy to add to and hard to delete from, which is why my OED still has “yclept” and other Spenserisms. Not heard that word used, ever. In terms of “it’s in Chambers so fair game” my feeling is not so much if it is there at meaning number 17, so much as if it is an obscure meaning number 17. “Set” famously has a huge number of meanings, and I bet by the time we reach number 17 it would still be a fair one to use. If it turned out that “box” is an obsolete Scottish term for a toilet pan, I’d be less impressed (unless it was an Azed puzzle in which case it’d be one of the easier ones…)

  36. Yay, a proper Monday crossword in the Rufusian tradition, completed in 30 minutes ! Thank to Vulcan and to Andrew

  37. I suppose there is a problem with ARMOUR but it went in quite easily as did most of this- including BATTERY. I liked STYLIST.
    Thanks Vulcan.

  38. TheZed@35. Yup. I think that as with most things, there is no right or wrong, just a matter of degree, and we all fall naturally somewhere on the Prescriptivist – Descriptivist spectrum. One challenge is not so much that setters may be at different point than solvers, but that solvers don’t necessarily know for a particular clue (absent indicators) where the setter stands.

  40. TheZed@35
    I don’t know if “box” is a Scottish term for “toilet pan” but I do know that “jordan” is a term for a “chamber pot”. In this I suspect that I’m one ahead of Katie Price.0

  42. Hum certainly means a bad smell. I recall this scrap from somewhere:
    What is this that roareth thus? Could it be a motor bus? Yes, the smell and hideous hum indicat motorem bum.

  43. “Hum” is a term I am familiar with, as in “Wow, that hums”.

    “To a fault” is fine for me, and I cannot see a problem; surely a repairer is called to a fault in my central heating. One of the better clues for me.

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