Guardian Cryptic 27,965 by Picaroon

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27965.

I was robbed of an hour for this blog, as the UK has gone off daylight savings time, and we have not. Coupled with a moderately difficult puzzle, and getting used to a new version of PeeDee’s blogging utility, this blog may be a little rushed. At least the theme is clear, winding through clues, wordplay and answers, and anchored in the remarkable 13A/6D READER, I MARRIED HIM, a quote from Jane Eyre.

ACROSS
9 HITCH Seek a lift from drug, having desire (5)
A charade of H (for a change, heroin, ‘drug’) plus ITCH (‘desire’).
10 RUINATION Discharge of water runs to the west, leading to disaster (9)
URINATION (‘discharge of water’) with the R moved one space (‘runs to the west’).
11 DALLIANCE Fling ending in bed with coupling (9)
A charade of D (‘ending in beD‘) plus ALLIANCE (‘coupling’).
12 REMIT Cancel putting the clock back (5)
TIMER (‘clock’) reversed (‘putting … back’). My feeling entirely.
13, 6 READER, I MARRIED HIM A pair of admirers, he and I, getting spliced? (6,1,7,3)
Am anagram (‘getting spliced’) of ADMIRER ADMIRER (‘a pair of admirers’) plus ‘he’ plus ‘I’, with an extended definition, a quote from Jane Eyre. Very clever.
15, 8 TIED THE KNOT Got 9-ed and made a bow (4,3,4)
Definition (the answer to 9A is HITCH) and literal interpretation.
17 ANTI-G Laundrywoman tightly presses kind of suit (4-1)
A hidden answer (‘presses’) in ‘laundrywomAN TIGhtly’.
18 LOB See bishop getting shot (3)
A charade of LO (‘see’) plus B (‘bishop’).
20 HYENA Does one have urge to break into laugh? (5)
An envelope (‘to break into’) of YEN (‘urge’) in HA (‘laugh’), with an extended definition.
22 SPANGLE Pain left in extremely sore shiner (7)
An envelope (‘in’) of PANG (‘pain’) plus L (‘left’) in SE (‘extremely SorE‘).
25 SEMI-PRO House for person balancing jobs (4-3)
A charade of SEMI (detached, ‘house’) plus PRO (‘for’).
26 GROOM He’ll be a 30 coach (5)
Double definition.
27 CARGO CULT Mythic vessel received by leaderless mystical sect (5,4)
An envelope (‘received by’) of ARGO (‘mythic vessel’) in [o]CCULT (‘mystical’) minus the first letter (‘leaderless’).
30 MAN UNITED Club Med welcoming a new group (3,6)
An envelope (‘welcoming’) of ‘a’ plus N (‘new’) plus UNIT (‘group’).
31 EVENT Incident for which there’s still time (5)
A charade of EVEN (‘still’) plus T (‘time’).
DOWN
1 CHAD Conservative conned the country (4)
A charade of C (‘conservative’) plus HAD (‘conned’).
2 STALWART Show surprise about law-breaking supporter (8)
An envelope (‘about’) of ALW, an anagram (-‘breaking’) of ‘law’ in START (‘show surprise’).
3 CHAI President ultimately put away drink (4)
CHAI[r] (‘president’) minus the last letter (‘ultimately put away’).
4 IRON WILL Vow broken by Reagan briefly showing resolve (4,4)
An envelope (‘broken by’) of RON (‘Reagan briefly’) in I WILL (‘vow’).
5 DIVEST Take the plunge outside of Sunset Strip (6)
A charade of DIVE (‘take the plunge’) plus ST (‘outside of SunseT‘).
6 See 13 cross
7 KISMET Lot of junk is metal (6)
A hidden answer in ‘junK IS METal’.
8 See 15
13 ROADS Colonialist discussed aspect of infrastructure (5)
Sounds like (‘discussed’) RHODES (Cecil, ‘colonialist’).
14 ENGAGEMENT A phase of love or of war? (10)
Double definition
16 ERATO She inspired merry action, periodically (5)
Alternate letters (‘periodically’) of ‘mErRy AcTiOn’.
19 BESTRIDE Set out, partner’s admitted, to get leg over (8)
An envelope (‘admitted’ – here working in the opposite way that one might expect) of EST, an anagram (‘out’) of ‘set’, in BRIDE (‘partner’).
21 ESPOUSES Favours mates found on websites (8)
E SPOUSES.
23 AMOUNT Sum for which Richard III offered up his kingdom (6)
A MOUNT – or, rather, a horse.
24 EXCITE Kindle‘s former name (6)
A charade of EX (‘former’) plus CITE (‘name’).
26 GAME Perhaps go up for it (4)
Double definition – or, rather, the first is an indication by example (‘perhaps’).
28 OWED Outstanding ring joined with another (4)
A charade of O (‘ring’) plus WED (‘joined with another’).
29 TOTE System for better conclusions in report, so not futile (4)
Last letters of (‘conclusions in’) ‘reporT sO noT futilE‘.

 

image of grid

51 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,965 by Picaroon”

  1. I thought this was a fantastic puzzle maybe spoiled by a couple of clues that imho used a cheap way out. As PeterO mentioned, the direction in 19d BESTRIDE is unexpected, like Yoda’s OSV syntax. This is not unknown in crosswordland, but it leaves one feeling the setter could maybe have found a better way. Likewise “presses” to indicate hidden, in 17a ANTIG. Really?

    BTW, doesn’t OPEN also work for 28d (if we forget the theme)?

    Despite the grumbles, I really enjoyed it. Thanks.

  2. An entertaining offering from the Pirate. Seeing the theme for a change helped me with GROOM and the long anagram at 13, 6. I couldn’t parse either until coming here, so thanks to PeterO for enlightening me. They’re both among my favourite clues now.

  3. Phew! This was in danger of becoming a real pain until, with spangle, engagement etc, the SW unlocked and the rest flew in. The theme helped, unmissable via hitch and tied the knot, even to the congenitally theme-blind. Even so, the ‘reader’ bit of the long one, with its clever double admirers trick, only came with the final rush. LOI was semi-pro, new to my lexicon; ditto the ‘cancel’ meaning of remit. The leg over was fun (echoes of Aggers). Lots of clever stuff, which had me grumbling, then grinning. Thanks Pickers and Peter.

  4. As a marriage celebrant and Brontephile, I really enjoyed the theme. Lots of clues made me smile once I saw them. Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.

  5. Very happy to see Picaroon’s name come up this morning, and the puzzle did not disappoint.
    If the puzzle is, indeed, linked to an actual event, best wishes and congratulations to those concerned.

  6. Thanks Picaroon and PeterO

    Great fun. I saw the theme for once!

    I didn’t parse RUINATION – very clever. Other favourites were IRON WILL and LOI ESPOUSES.

  7. A very entertaining crossword with a theme even the most theme-blind person couldn’t help but spot.   If this is linked to a particular couple, congratulations to them

    Thanks to Picaroon and Peter O

  8. As muffin@6 says, great fun and saw the theme for once. Favourites were CARGO CULT, HYENA and READER I MARRIED HIM. Great! Many thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.

  9. Very entertaining – thanks Picaroon and PeterO.
    Needed help with CARGO CULT – did not know it but could only think of ARGO for the boat.
    Interested to learn another of your roles, Julie@4!

  10. Another top class crossword, perhaps a little easier than most Picaroon offerings.

    Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO (and if there is an occasion being celebrated, congratulations)

  11. So much to enjoy here – and a theme which never (to me) felt forced or in the way, just unremittingly witty and inventive. I did not parse “ruination” (did not pass it?) so thank you for that, PeterO. I am an “admirer admirer” admirer for sure. However, DNF for me as I had (as Dr WhatsOn @1 pointed out) “open” for 28d, as an open engagement is still outstanding, and it is “o” plus “pen”, both rings. With the theme, “owed” is *better* but very far from unique so I would be peeved if it were a prize and I missed out because of it.

    The subtle misdirections here were great fun and I think I enjoyed this more than any puzzle in the past few weeks. Thank you Picaroon and maybe congratulations are in order?

  12. Also just quick etymological note – fascinating how “cult” and “occult” have totally different roots, one from meeting and hence worship, the other from “hidden” and yet they go together so obviously!

  15. After seeing OPEN I didn’t think there would be a better thematic answer – usually do .check all’ to catch typos before coming here but forgot today.

    Thanks to Picaroon for an excellent puzzle and to PeterO for parsing clues which I’d not sorted before biffing.

  17. Thanks both.

    A very good puzzle, I thought. Like some others, I think READER I MARRIED HIM is excellent – I hadn’t worked out the parsing until I came here. CARGO CULT, RUINATION and several others were very good too.

    I thought about OPEN for 28d, but it didn’t seem quite right, so I mentally went through all possible words O-E-, and all became clear.

    Just a tiny complaint: ERATO was perfectly fair, but it’s one of those words, whether in the clue or the answer, that suggests the setter tried and failed to think of something better (like ide for “fish”, and plenty of other words that I can’t bring to mind at present, that are only likely to be found in a crossword).

  18. Another OPEN. RUINATION was excellent, as were HYENA and AMOUNT imo. I didn’t parse the two admirers properly, nor the hidden ANTI-G – I was trying to get somewhere with Mrs Tiggywinkle but that was going nowhere. The first definition (by example) of GAME also eluded me so I had much need of PeterO’s parsing today – and I even managed to miss the theme – not one of my better days, but that’s no fault of the setter – thanks Picaroon.

  19. beaulieu @17 – AMERICANO (5 appearances in 2019) is the new ERATO (3). I suspect both have uniquely helpful combinations of vowel crossers

  20. Quite prepared for a bout of self flagellation when it’s been explained, but could some kind soul expand on the parsing of 26A please? How does GROOM relate to 30?

  22. Most of this went in readily, but the last few took forever. Last ones were cargo cult (never heard of it), owed (toyed with open), groom and game (the latter three helped by the theme). Ruination was favourite and thanks to Picaroon for the clever challenge and PeterO for explaining some parsing.

  23. Thanks for the blog. What’s the difference between an &lit and an extended definition? – I thought HYENA was &lit, probably wrong. Good puzzle, head-scratcher, also had OPEN rather than OWED.

  25. Andy Smith@23. The reason HYENA is not &lit. is that the first few words “Does one have” do not participate in the wordplay. So the remainder is the word play, the whole clue the extended definition. When the whole clue is necessary for both the definition and the wordplay, you have an &lit.

    It is my observation over many puzzles that people try to find &lits where unfortunately the term does not quite fit. The near misses are like iron pyrites. They are tempting and sparkling, but the real gold is pure and RARE.

  26. I gave up, which is a shame because I missed some excellent clues. I might have got 13ac but I looked at admirers+admirers+he+i and rejected it because it was too long. Doh.

     

  27. Though I’ve read Jane Eyre a couple of times in the distant past, simply could not see – or remember the first part of 13ac, 6d. Nevertheless, some excellent clues, as ever with Picaroon.

  28. A brilliant crossword. I escaped Manchester for a solo tour of Robinson’s pubs in Marple and finished this in the second. I was delayed by an answer that I was unable to write, being a Liverpool fan. Funny, though.

  29. A great crossword with a different more general theme than some. The Jayne Eyre reference was lost on this solver but many of the other theme clues were fun and sometimes mischievous.

    CARGO CULT was also new for me.

    Thanks Picaroon for the puzzle and to PeterO for the unraveling, particularly for the pair of admirers.

  31. And as usual, now that I’ve posted about it, I see it. I was taking “perhaps” rather than “perhaps Go” as the d-by-e.

  32. LOI GROOM which almost beat me before I realized what the theme was about. COD CHAD as it’s the first half of my first name.

  35. PeterO @33

    You are, of course, correct, but I remember Go! from my childhood as a board game where you travelled around the world collecting souvenirs. I was quite surprised to discover, much later, that there was an earlier game of this name!

  36. Thanks to PIcaroon and PeterO. Enjoyable puzzle well blogged.

    Struggled to parse RUINATION tho obviously correct.

    And I had OPEN too, but thought it fitted in with the theme, as in open marriages…

  37. God bless my soul I saw the theme and, for once, it did help. There were a lot of goodies here but I think I liked AMOUNT best.
    I got READER I etc very quickly even though I’ve never read it.I have seen and heard it lots of times as I suspect many others have.
    I did think ANTI G was a bit desperate.But anyway I did enjoy this.
    Thanks Picaroon.

  39. Thanks both and lots of fun.

    Is Man United really a club, or is it an abbreviation which might have been signaled?  No matter, it gives me the opportunity to bring a future conversation around to same-sex marriage (surely a more elegant term available?) and views thereon in order to note that I have always been a Man United fan (although….).

  40. Alphalpha @39

    I’ve seen MAN U in a crossword recently (I can’t remember if it was a Guardian). MAN UNITED is surely better than that!

  43. Nice puzzle, pleasant theme, enjoyable blog.  Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO..

    For once even I got the theme without even looking for it.  On the other hand, the parsing of the Jane Eyre clue completely escaped me — thanks, PeterO.

    Why is a person balancing jobs a semi-pro?  How does EVEN mean still? What is an anti-g (anti-gravity?) suit?

    I must be getting in lower than usual on the list because so many of you are still asleep.

  44. My last comment makes no sense when I come in at no. 43.  I wrote it when I was about at 12, then forgot to post it and went out.

  45. Valentine@43: A semi-pro (athlete etc) still has a day job other than their sport.
    An anti-g suit squeezes blood back up to the head of someone experiencing high g-forces (such as a fighter pilot).
    Another OPEN here. Thanks to S&B.

  46. ERATO is a fine word imo, and if we assume that the MARRIED HIM, TIED THE, and ESPOUSES are sacrosanct because of the theme, that leaves only POM-POM as an alternative to SEMI-PRO, and only HEELS and HEEDS as alternatives to HYENA. Which leaves only EPSOM as an alternative to ERATO.
    Grid filling is hard.

  48. Excellent puzzle and lots of fun. I, too saw the theme early on. Unusual for me but difficult not to! Groom must be my favourite and LOI.

  51. I have been say with shaky internet so have been able to do the crosswords but not read the blog. I loved this and particularly enjoyed reading the blog on our wedding anniversary! (Too late for the conversation though.)

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