Got off to a quick start then stalled towards the end. Favourites were 10ac, 22ac, 8dn, 16dn, 18dn, and 23dn. Thanks to Pasquale
| Across | ||
| 1 | BLONDE | One’s left being embraced by 007 at end of movie? (6) |
| L (left) inside James BOND=”007″ + end letter of [movi]E | ||
| 4 | MEMBER | One in a class to recall skipping RE (6) |
| [RE]MEMBER=”recall”, minus “RE” | ||
| 9 | FLOE | Ice to glide audibly (4) |
| homophone/”audibly” of ‘flow’=”glide” | ||
| 10 | PHILISTINE | Greek character, first to get into row, a barbarian! (10) |
| PHI=”Greek” alphabet letter/”character” + IST=1st=”first” inside LINE=”row” | ||
| 11 | OHMAGE | Respect with love to the fore? There’s some resistance (6) |
| the Ohm is the unit of electrical resistance HOMAGE=”Respect”, with the O=”love” moved to the front/”fore” |
||
| 12 | COMPOSER | Noted person about to be given honour — affected type (8) |
| =a person associated with musical notes i.e. “Noted” C=circa=”about” + OM (Order of Merit)=”honour” + POSER=”affected type” |
||
| 13 | SPACE-TIME | Epic team’s playing — its multidimensional (5-4) |
| (Epic team’s)* | ||
| 15 | ESAU | Adult in employment suffering setback — one giving away a basic right (4) |
| in the Bible, Esau gives away his birthright/inheritence A (adult) inside USE=”employment” reversed/”suffering setback” |
||
| 16 | HIVE | Multitude in hurry, very cramped (4) |
| HIE=”hurry”, with V (very) inside | ||
| 17 | STRAPPERS | Big chaps set about ending in various theatre roles (9) |
| reversal/”set about” of: ending letter of [variou]S + REP (repertory theatre) + PARTS=”roles” | ||
| 21 | TRILLION | Number to sing — something positive or negative? (8) |
| TRILL=”sing” + ION=a charged particle=”something positive or negative” | ||
| 22 | YORICK | One who was well known I caught entering city (6) |
| Hamlet doesn’t quite say ‘Alas poor Yorick, I knew him well’, but the misquote is familiar and helps with the ‘definition’ I + C (caught, criket abbr.); both inside YORK=”city” |
||
| 24 | COLEOPTERA | Beetles wandering round in cooler peat (10) |
| (cooler peat)* | ||
| 25 | CASH | No end of bother in economic collapse — what’s missing in it? (4) |
| C[r]ASH=”economic collapse” without the end of [bothe]r | ||
| 26 | RESORT | Give new order to seaside town? (6) |
| first def as in RE–SORT=sort again=”Give new order to” | ||
| 27 | DEFEND | Keep from harm in brilliant finish (6) |
| DEF=hip-hop slang for excellent/”brilliant” as in Def Jam Recordings + END=”finish” | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BELLHOP | Short beauty given hotel work as porter (7) |
| BELL[e]=”beauty” short one letter + H (hotel) + OP=”work” | ||
| 2 | OPERA | Co-operative stores such an entertaining experience (5) |
| contained within [Co-]OPERA[tive] | ||
| 3 | DOPIEST | Most idiotic to cook food on street (7) |
| DO=”cook” + PIE=”food” + ST (street) | ||
| 5 | ENIGMA | Puzzle imagined to be tricky — not the first or last (6) |
| ([i]magine[d])*; with the first and last letters removed from the anagram fodder | ||
| 6 | BOTTOMS UP | Toast Shakespeare’s character with drink (7,2) |
| BOTTOM=”Shakespeare’s character” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream + SUP=”drink” | ||
| 7 | RONDEAU | Piece of music making man money, we hear (7) |
| RON=”man” + homphone/”we hear” of ‘dough’=”money” | ||
| 8 | CIRCUMSTANCES | Situation in travelling show, including naughty men’s act (13) |
| CIRCUS=”travelling show” around (men’s act)* | ||
| 14 | CAVILLERS | People going underground badly restricted — they grumble (9) |
| CAVERS=”People going underground”, around ILL=”badly” | ||
| 16 | HARBOUR | Time to get around bar, sloshing port (7) |
| HOUR=”Time” around (bar)* | ||
| 18 | AMYLASE | What’s in saliva to break up meal, say (7) |
| =a protein that helps to break carbohydrates into sugar (meal say)* |
||
| 19 | RECUSED | Sports field in service, or put out of action? (7) |
| REC=recreational ground=”Sports field” + USED=”in service” | ||
| 20 | KIPPER | Captains will have this fish aboard ship (6) |
| “Captains” would be ‘skippers’, or KIPPER inside SS=”ship” | ||
| 23 | RUCHE | What scoundrel turns up in something frilly? (5) |
| =a frill of lace or another fabric EH=”What?” + CUR=”scoundrel”; all reversed/”turns up” |
||
I loved KIPPER but just like the real thing, I imagine there may be some who didn’t! I somehow muddled through this in my jet-lagged state by just following the wordplay – must remember to do that more often. Thanks to all
Thanks Pasquale and manehi
I found this easier than usual from Pasquale, with only DEF and RECUSED unknown today (though, being of a certain age, I did try to justify “ptyalin” for 18d).
Favourites were YORICK (despite the misquote) and BELLHOP.
I didn’t like the “in” in 24a.
Re 22 – what a bizarre defence of a clue that is quite simply wrong. I would forgive perpetuating the misquote if the setter had acknowledged it by use of a question mark but he didn’t, so I don’t
Wrt 22a being generous I would argue that the quote and the character in question are very well known.
Two dreary and overly-simple puzzles in a row, although at least 22 raised a bleak smile on this occasion … “a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy” . I have mentioned before the lack of quality control in these puzzles, but nobody else seems to mind much, so I suppose it’s take them as they come, and be thankful for the occasional gem.
First of all, good fun, solid clues (apart from the misquotation) and an enjoyable puzzle. To pick up a thread from yesterday with (my shared) misgivings over “errors” such as “up” for “back” in an across clue and the idea that “if you can solve it, the clue was OK” I would suggest that this is true. The clue is OK. If the clue contains no such oddities it can be better than OK – and many of these are super. As ever with this setter you really just do what the clue tells you too. It’s just not what you think the clue tells you to do. The SS Kipper was lovely and a much less convoluted form of reverse clue, and “circumstances” deftly done.
I confess to hating words like “ohmage” (and “ampage” which sends me on a rampage…). They appear to be back formations, mimicking “voltage” – as volts measure voltage, presumably amps measures ampage and ohms, ohmage. However there are already perfectly good words (current, resistance) and we are unnecessarily multiplying our lexicon by adding these terms, which are also hideous (IMO). OK, rant over, that’s out of my system!
Many thanks Pasquale, and Manehi for unweaving this particular rainbow.
I don’t think we need to get our knickers in a twist about the misquote. No doubt he was well known to Hamlet.
I liked STRAPPERS, although at the beginning I thought they must be used in operations, doh! I also enjoyed CAVILLERS, KIPPER and RUCHE – nice picture of a TV scoundrel perhaps.
Thanks Pasquale and manehi.
Not up with hip-hop slang, so def was a que? (Rumpole sent up a character who said def and brill, but different meanings). Strappers not in use, tmk, but ok. Needed the oral enzyme to get Yorick. Had to correct the spelling in 24ac, coel v celo, mixed my Latin roots (hollow v sheath…related?) Dnk that spelling for rondo, the latter being earlier by my SOED. Have a hmmm? next to recused, which pollies here use sort of reflexively (he recused himself from the inquiry due to conflict of interest). All in all a steady and enjoyable potter, thanks both.
A very quick start for me today, with the NW a near write-in. I have rarely used OHMAGE, but it slotted in easily enough.
Far more trouble in the east. I have little interest in the bible; ESAU was a familiar name but I was ignorant of his story. I also struggled with RONDEAU (musical terms are a weakness), which didn’t help. STRAPPERS also gave me pause, and I share the misgivings with YORICK. It is part of the setter’s job to misdirect, but not with misinformation. Either leave out the WELL, or acknowledge the issue with a question mark.
Otherwise excellent. I liked KIPPER, TRILLION, DOPIEST, and would’ve liked YORICK but for the quibble.
Thanks to Pasquale for the fun, and to manehi for the notes.
Very enjoyable although I could not get CASH or OHMAGE. Once again I can not image anyone solving this crossword who did not get YORICK from the clue as given. I’m sure the Don knows the quote but was in fact trying to help us get there. Question mark or not this is just too persnickety for words. These ridiculous discussions nowadays are beginning to spoil the blog.
My favourites were BOTTOMS UP and YORICK.
Thanks Pasquale and manehi for for a few enlightenments along the way!!
AMYLASE, COLEOPTERA, SPACE-TIME, TRILLION, OHMAGE. It would be nice to have a proper science-themed crossword one day. Thanks to Pasquale for a nod in that direction and to manehi for the blog.
The setter popped in to the Guardian comments page early(ish) this morning and acknowledged, with good grace, his error.
“Ignorance, sir, pure ignorance
Pasquale”
so is now forgiven in my book. As muffin @2 it still makes my favourite.
Also enjoyed PHILISTINE, OHMAGE, BELLHOP and KIPPER. BLONDE is a lovely &lit and was my FOI.
I haven’t encountered – and don’t particularly like – STRAPPERS as a word but it’s fairly clued. My only objection is DO PIE for ‘cook’ but it’s a nitpick in an otherwise good quality puzzle.
Thanks to Pasquale and manehi
Thanks, manehi and Pasquale.
Since the misquotation is as well known as Yorick allegedly was, I assumed 22ac was irony on Pasquale’s part.
The Zed @6: I agree “ohmage” is contrived, but “amperage” is common parlance.
@5 rodshaw…you are not alone
I was unsure why STRAPPERS was gendered as where I come from “strapping lass/lad” are both common expressions but I suppose the wordplay needed to be one or t’other
Oh yes, forgot about 14d; I wondered if ‘grumbling’ might be some quaint and ancient practice of the milliner’s craft, silly me.
All pretty straightforward by recent Tuesday standards, and definitely at the easier end of the Don’s range.
Thanks to Pasquale and manehi
Rodshaw@ 5 and bearchen @ 16. OK but nobody is forcing you to do crosswords and you could go elsewhere.
@SPanza
Good grief, I do believe you’re right. Now why on earth didn’t I think of that myself?
bearchen @ 20 Touché.
Got through this quickly before I got tangled up in the SE corner with the likes of STRAPPERS, RUCHE and CASH. 6d BOTTOMS UP made me smile…
Thank you Pasquale for an enjoyable puzzle and manehi for a helpful blog – I did not know RECUSED or that use of DEF.
Muffin @2, but the beetles are “wandering around in cooler peat”.
Thanks to Pasquale and Manehi
Less formidable than this setter usually is.
A fellow setter might have something to say about 10ac…
Interesting and slightly surprising to see that RECUSED is a new word for some. It would have been for me a couple of years ago: I owe my knowledge of the word entirely to Jeff Sessions who famously (I thought) recused himself from the Russia enquiry in the US.
Marienkaefer @ 24, I would be pleased to see his name this week!!
Couldn’t help but notice that 23d RUCHE is French for 16a HIVE. Mind you, it didn’t help a bit and I refuse to join the 14d about the misquote.
Spanza @ 26 – I agree. The irony is that Philistines were a civilized and cultured people: some think they were Greeks who didn’t go home after the Trojan war.
Marienkaefer @28 and plenty of evidence that they produced olives, olive oil, wine and beer. Not philistines in my book therefore!!
Mark @ 12
DO = COOK is commonplace – “who’s doing tonight’s meal?”, “how are you going to do the potatoes?”, and is separate from FOOD in the clue.
Enjoyed this… usually do with The Don’s offerings, but I wonder why he opted for the unconvincing STRAPPERS.
I’d have thought STEAMPORT a safer bet
All the rest smoothly clued, though.
Many thanks, both, nice week, all.
At the easier end of the Don’s range, but enjoyable from beginning to end with no quibbles whatsoever. Thanks to Pasquale and to manehi for pointing out the significance of the “rep” in 17a, the only thing that I couldn’t parse.
Agreed William @ 31, but we might all have had more fun with STRIPPERS!
Very enjoyable. My favourite was RONDEAU.
New words for me: CAVILLER, AMYLASE, OHMAGE.
Thanks Pasquale + manehi
Simon S @30
Fair point. I’d taken DO PIE = COOK and I see now I’d overlooked (or taken for granted) ‘food’. Objection withdrawn.
Sorry about Yorick! To quote Dr Johnson: Ignorance, madam, pure ignorance. Hope I am forgiven!
I had no problem with KIPPER, but after it was over and done it struck me as the teensiest bit peculiar to call it “this fish”. Of course it can’t be anything but, but you never hear of “fish such as …, kipper(s), …”. Is it the same as calling bacon “this animal”, or is there something different going on, perhaps because what you get served resembles the original more? I would certainly call kipper seafood. Maybe it’s just that, living in the US most of my life, it’s been so long since I’ve heard the word in a sentence, and I just can’t remember all UK usages.
If you treat 14 down as a straightforward definition,
then COMMUTERS works quite well!
Bit like “Play it, Sam”, where the error too has become part of the canon; no need for apols, Pasquale.
The top half went in readily, the bottom half needed MrsW’s help to get it going. My view is if Pasquale (who I see as one of the most erudite setters) is unaware of the innacuracy of the Hamlet quote then very few people will be. Whether it is in Shakespeare’s version or not it is commonly quoted – and it’s nice to have the opportunity to become familiar with the original via the thread here – but it doesn’t in any way invalidate the clue for me. RECUSE is definitely a word that’s risen from obscurity in recent years, unlike CAVIL which remains obscure although residing somewhere in the back of my brain. I didn’t know DEF in that sense – and I was surprised to see such a contemporary reference from a setter who I saw as more of a classicist. Lots to like, all of which have been mentioned, so many thanks to Pasquale and manehi.
Roy Blake@38 – I spent some time trying to make COMMUTERS work.
Most of the bloggers here are much smarter than me, but i thought this was a wonderful puzzle – probably because i finished it. Couldn’t parse recuse or strappers so thanks Maheni for that. Don’t really care about the ‘well’in.22ac. We might turn into cavillers ourselves!( a word i parsed before wrinting it in).
Apropos of yesterday, stadiums and forums as plurals seem to be, through common usage, acceptable. Bless the humble bacterium whose plural is more often correctly used. Thanks Pasquale.
Cookie @23
The surface of the clue is fine, but the anagram indicator is thus “wandering round in” rather than just “wandering round” (or “in” should be in the anagram fodder, which obviously is incorrect).
Kudos to Pasquale for accepting his error. Curious to see what those posting here that it was ‘ironic’ now have to say
Grant @17 – milliners?
Nuff respeck to Pasquale for cheerfully admitting his error in 22A but – like GrantInF, Robi and others – I had no problem with the clue in the first place. The misquote is as “well” known as the original line – in the same way as “Play it again, Sam” – and so it works just fine for me. But then, not being enormously skilled in the cruciverse, I have always depended on the kindness of setters…..
BOTTOMS UP, KIPPER and RONDEAU made me giggle, and I had already learned about RECUSED from Jeff Sessions, which was handy.
Thanks to Pasquale for the fun, and Manehi for the ever-informative blog
jeceris@45, ill (badly) in miners (people going underground)
Sorry but why is 1ac Blonde? I see the parsing but not the meaning, as it were.
Is it just that he ends up with a blonde?
MartinD @48
It’s an &lit clue (and literally). Bond often embraces a blonde woman at the end of the film (I assume – I’ve never seen one that didn’t have Sean Connery in it), so provids its own definition.
Thanks Muffin. I rather thought so. Wood……trees……
Most of this went in relatively easily but there were a few that slowed me up- mostly in the SE corner- RUCHE,CASH and DEFEND. Incidentally DEF or DEFFO is Liverpudlian slang signifying approval and that’s what I used to parse DEFEND!
I did like OHMAGE when I finally got it.
Thanks Pasquale.
When I read 1a, my first thought was, I’ll bet someone is going to call this an &lit – it almost is, but isn’t because the “One’s” isn’t part of the wordplay. Sorry, muffin. I still think it’s a fun clue, though.
Good point, Dr WhatsOn
Nitsuj @ 42
I missed the discussion on plurals yesterday, but to quote the late great Eric Partridge: English plurals are much to be preferred.
Possibly the fastest Pasquale I’ve ever done. YORICK didn’t bother me, but then I’m a 10.
I failed to parse KIPPER and I blame it on the unusual definition-in-mid-clue construction. Like AMYLASE very much.
Thanks, Pasquale and manehi.
Thanks to Pasquale and manehi.
I’m at a loss to understand the point made by Dr. WhatsOn@53 – not disagreeing or anything, merely seeking enlightenment – so in what sense is “One’s” not “part of the wordplay”? I appreciate that the venerable Dr. WhatsOn has expertise in this area, but I don’t and would seek to improve.
I enjoyed this, RESORT in particular catching my fancy for it’s simplicity (I don’t know why…..).
Alphalpha @57
The point that the learned doctor is making is that the wordplay is:
left being embraced by 007 at end of movie
“One’s” is part of the definition, but not part of this, so it just fails as a complete &lit.
Whilst resistance is a perfectly good word, it is a general term, whereas ohmage specifically refers to a measurement of that quality in standard units. Much like area and acreage, I would think.
muffin@58
Yes, thank you. Now I see it.
So if the “One’s” was deleted it might just make an &lit?: “Left being embraced by 007 at end of movie?”
Markfieldpete@59
Good point. And current and ampage. Potential and voltage?
I think 1a is a semi&lit. clue, they often have a pronoun at the beginning or end…
Alphalpha @60
Good suggestion – missed opportunity?
btw I think the term used is “amperage”.
Thanks Cookie. 2 tilts in one day…
Marfieldpete @59, Alphalpha @60: that would seem logical but there is no such word as “coulombage” or “metrage”, “kilogramage” or almost any other so I don’t think it works. I suspect the origin is a laziness arising from people’s failure to distinguish between a quantity and its unit – a very common error in those learning the basics of science. Such errors can become commonlace and even accepted, as the setter taught us in this very puzzle!
Potential and voltage are subtly different in ways too complex to go into in this small box. But voltage is the term for the quantity measured (usually) in volts, as current is the quantity measured in amps in SI.
Thanks to Pasquale for the entertainment and RE, and to manehi for the blog.
I had a dubious SLAY for FLOE for a while. Lovely puzzle.
muffin@43: I think it works fine as ‘cooler peat’ is an anagram of the beetles, rather than the beetles being an anagram of ‘cooler peat’.
lots of fun and a number of clues I chuckled at including YORICK and AMYLASE
Interestingly re 1ac, there is a movie called BLONDE, about Marilyn Monroe.
thanks to Pasquale and to Manehi
gonzo @66
Sorry, but I’m not seeing the distinction between “A is an anagram of B” and “B is an anagram of A”. Could you explain further, please?
Did ok here (c70% finished), stuck in SE corner before giving up … I also need to bash my head to remember that in crossword land ‘cook’ often = ‘do’ (even though I don’t like it. i understand the ‘what are you doing for dinner’ usage, but I still feel if that make the words synonyms, then you can form sentences in which “do” lazily substitutes for most activity verbs. “Mo Farah is doing (=running) the marathon” … “Who’s doing (train driving) the 16:42 to Ely” etc … it’s just we cook more than we run or drive trains….) Anyway it’s not intuitive to me …
@69 Nothing to do with crosswordland. If your chicken isn’t quite done it isn’t quite cooked. My partner also says “wait for it to do”, so it seems to work as an intransitive verb too (in Stourbridge at least). See definition 16c in the OED:
. To prepare or make ready as food; to cook; to preserve, pickle, etc. Cf. done adj.1 3, well-done adj.
Took until this morning but this is the first Paquale crossword I’ve been able to complete. So a big thank you to Pasquale and to Manehi for the blog.
However I thought one of the purposes of the blog was to encourage newcomers and help them become good solvers. Surely the pedantic discussions about Yorick and the like are a real turn off for younger solvers.
Anyway I’m off to see the “Scottish Play” this evening so I’ll be castigating any setter misquoting that.
I’ve never posted on here before so go easy on me, but nobody seems to have commented on the spelling of “its” in 13ac. Am I missing something? Why the possessive?
Tombo @72, I think it must be an error, the blog prints the clues directly from the crossword, and the apostrophe is missing in the on-line site, but I do not have the newspaper to check…
Tombo@73 – you’re right; a clear mistake which passed me by (presumably because, like many of us wizened old solvers, I’ve learnt over the years to ignore punctuation in cryptic surfaces) so grateful that you chose to delurk. And welcome.
Dr Whatson – you are quite right – BLONDE is not an &lit (and thus the only clue I was a little unhappy with). As cookie says, these are sometimes referred to as “semi&lit” but more often as “partial&lit”. We also have “&littish” and “WIWD” (Wordplay Intertwined With Definition) slightly different but also refer to close-run &lits.
Dr Whatson’s earlier comment about “this” in 20dn – perhaps this is to indicate the definition more overtly since it is not at the beginning or end of the clue?
Nice puzzle – many thanks, both and all.
oops – I’ve just solved this and commented thinking it was yesterday’s (even though a commenter above mentioned it’s a Tuesday!} so only my usual one day late.
I now realise my comment was wasted as those to whom it was addressed will not see it! (I know that some do look back on the previous day’s posts). I shouldn’t be listening to radio at the same time! (Any Questions/Answers; Chris Mason most refreshing, not so sure about Fiona Bruce on the TV version – since you ask…….)
Are rodshaw and baerchen complete tossers or have their partners just upped and gone? I suspect both.
I also had “slay” instead of “floe” for a bit.
William F P you were a year ahead of me.
Have to agree with SPanza and Denislaw re the arsey criticism to be found often in 225.