Guardian Cryptic 28,128 by Nutmeg

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28128.

That slipped down a treat. What more is there to say?

ACROSS
1 AFTERNOON TEA Meal for four? (9,3)
Cryptic definition.
8 ORGANZA Widely differing characters added to journal’s material (7)
A charade of ORGAN (‘journal’) plus Z A (‘widely differing characters’ -they cannot be farther apart in the alphabet).
9 ENTERIC Gutsy man went ahead, leaving wife behind (7)
A charade of ‘[w]ent’ minus the W (‘leaving wife behind’) plus ERIC (‘man’).
11 BLIGHTY England insignificant in past (7)
An envelope (‘in’) of LIGHT (‘insignificant’) in BY (‘past’).
12 ATHWART Husband caught in fighting ultimately sent sideways (7)
A charade of ATHWAR, an envelope (‘caught’) of H (‘husband’) in AT WAR (‘in fighting’); plus T (‘ultimately senT‘).
13 EUROS Capital for indigenous Aussies? (5)
Double definition, the second being a wallaroo, which I remember from a Guardian crossword not so long ago, though I cannot place it.
14 ARCHDUKES Aristos expert with their fists? (9)
A charade of ARCH (‘expert’) plus DUKES (‘fists’).
16 LOOSELEAF Many ladies feel uneasy, draping area with moveable sheets (9)
A charade of LOOS (‘many ladies’ – indication by example) plus ELEAF, an envelope (‘draping’) of A (‘area’) in EFEF ELEF, an anagram (‘uneasy’) of ‘feel’.
19 METER Measuring instrument‘s forte, subtract one (5)
MET[i]ER (‘forte’) minus the I )(‘subtract one’).
21 ZEALOUS Militant god takes a look inside (7)
An envelope (‘takes … inside’) of ‘a’ plus LO (‘look’) in ZEUS (‘god’).
23 THROW UP Abandon cat (5,2)
Double definition.
24 DRIVING Forceful Republican enters in fall (7)
An envelope (‘enters’) of R (‘Republican’) in DIVING (‘in fall’).
25 RAVIOLI Italian course is a fiddle, short­ened right at the start (7)
A charade of R (‘right’) plus ‘a’ plus VIOLI[n] (‘fiddle’) minus its last letter (‘shortened’), with ‘at the start’ indicating the order of the particles.
26 EASTER PARADE American artist held by desperate criminal in Hollywood musical (6,6)
An envelope (‘held by’) of A (‘American’) plus RA (‘artist’) in EASTERPDE, an anagram (‘criminal’) of ‘desperate’.
DOWN
1 ANGRIER Rearing bats with greater spleen? (7)
An anagram (‘bats’) of ‘rearing’.
2 TENCHES Fish from narrow waterways missing river (7)
T[r]ENCHES (‘narrow waterways’) minus the R (‘missing river’).
3 READY-MADE Ideally suited tag line for forger? (5-4)
Double definition.
4 OMEGA Last overseas contributor to home game (5)
A hidden answer (‘contributor to’) in ‘hOME GAme’, for the last letter of the Greek alphabet.
5 NOTCHED Recognised bags children nicked (7)
An envelope (‘bags’) of CH (‘children’) in NOTED (‘recognised’).
6 EARMARK Single out animal sanctuary, English branch first (7)
A charade of E (‘English’) plus ARM (‘branch’) plus ARK (‘animal sanctuary’ – plus Noah, Shem , Ham and Japheth, and the ladies their wives, of course)
7 DOUBLE-GLAZED With extra glass and large drink, took it easy after golf (6-6)
A charade of DOUBLE (‘large drink’) plus G (‘golf’) plus LAZED (‘took it easy’).
10 CATASTROPHIC Tactics Harpo contrived with dire outcome (12)
An anagram (‘contrived’) of ‘tactics Harpo’.
15 CAFETERIA Diner‘s companion’s first to celebrate, bursting into song (9)
A charade of C (‘Companion’s first’) plus AFETERIA, an envelope (‘bursting into’) of FETE (‘celebrate’) in ARIA (‘song’).
17 OCARINA Instrument from old vehicle in front of Audi (7)
A charade of O (‘old’)m plus CAR (‘vehicle’) plus ‘in’ plus A (‘front of Audi’).
18 EGOTIST Narcissist, say, is wearing too much (7)
A charade of EG (‘say’) plus OTIST, an envelope (‘wearing’) of ‘is’ in OTT (over the top, ‘too much’).
19 MORAVIA Gunners pursuing doctor through Czech region (7)
A charade of MO (‘doctor’) plus RA (Royal Artillery regiment, ‘Gunners’) plus VIA (”through’).
20 TOW ROPE Supply power to breakdown equipment (3,4)
An anagram (‘supply’) of ‘power to’.
22 SUGAR Tabloid (American) sent up GI’s sweetheart (5)
A reversal (‘sent up’ in a down light) of RAG (‘tabloid’) plus US (‘American’). ‘GI’ just to indicate an Americanism.

 

image of grid

76 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28,128 by Nutmeg”

  1. Another fine puzzle to end the week from one of my favourite setters. I thought I was in for a rough session after getting just two in on my first pass through the across clues, but it all yielded satisfactorily in the end. I was held up for a while by looking for the definition at the wrong end of the clue for BLIGHTY, LOOSELEAF, and EARMARK. Couldn’t parse EUROS, so thanks to PeterO for the explanation and thanks to Nutmeg for the fun.

  2. Don’t you hate it when, after the first pass through the clues without looking at the grid, you find that the few you’ve done are all overlapping and use up each other’s crosser opportunities?

    Anyway, this was a very nice puzzle. If any setters could have followed the Wow! of yesterday’s ingenuity without being a letdown, Nutmeg would certainly be one of them.

  3. A pleasant and challenging hour.  I couldn’t join in the general adulation of the week, since I found the previous ones tedious and simplistic at best.  But here there were some fun clues (I especially enjoyed DOUBLE-GLAZED and ATHWART), and it was a relief when the NW quadrant finally gave way to some extra-concentrated effort, even though I’d already solved 1A and 1D before the puzzle exited the printer.

  4. I am Australian but I did not know about euro = wallaroo. I had entered it but then changed it to EARLS for Earls Court = the London “capital” for Aussies!

    New for me was Easter Parade (the musical) although maybe I have heard about it vaguely in the past and forgot about it today.

    I could not parse 23a THROW UP, and still do not understand its connection to cat. Can someone explain, please 🙂

    Thanks Nutmeg and Peter.

  5. michelle @4, cat, as a verb, is a slang word for doing just what the answer says.

  6. Yes, slipped down a treat. TILT euro =wallaroo: I stared at this answer in puzzlement till I pulled out the trusty Chambers. And I’d forgotten cat=vomit, though I’ve met this before only in crosswordland.

    I liked ENTERIC, not what I was originally looking for as a synonym for gutsy, though it does bring to mind the phrase ‘intestinal fortitude’ . Also liked ATHWART and READY-MADE.

    Thanks to Nutmeg for the fun and PeterO for the blog.

  7. Despite some missteps in the NW corner, I found this to be a satisfying solve with ENTERIC, RAVIOLI, and EARMARK ticked as favorites. Loved the surface for DOUBLE-GLAZED. Thanks to Nutmeg and to PeterO for explaining EUROS among others.

  8. Like rodshaw@1, afternoon tea and angrier did themselves while the old Epsom was still cranking, and most of the rest slipped down easy, but not quite all. Omega was very nicely hidden, which then saved me thinking about how Eric went after [w]ent. Loi in was the musical, not my thing so a nho, but just a matter of spreading the grist among the crossers. Oh yes and I’d completely forgotten about that other bit of urban slang for technicolor yawn. So, not the high wire of recent, but smooth and nice as sugar and spice. Thanks both.

  10. thank you, DaveinNCarolina @5

    I never before heard that cat=vomit. It seems quite weird to me!

  13. Thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO.

    I loved this little sparkler of a puzzle. Nothing too obscure. Favourites were 16a LOOSELEAF, 6d EARMARK (as mentioned by Tony@7 above) and 22d SUGAR. Took me a while to get my LOI, 26a EASTER PARADE (same as gif@8), as I was dithering around a bit trying to think of American artists! Thank goodness for enough helpful anagram fodder when I became “desperate”. I could even forgive Nutmeg for clueing ERIC in ENTERIC as “man” – one of my pet hates I know is shared by several others on 15², because I liked the rest so much.

  14. I must have spent as much time on LOI EASTER PARADE as the rest of the puzzle. For some reason I just couldn’t fathom it. I had decided that ‘desperate’ didn’t have enough As to be anagram fodder, so it was ‘Who’s the artist? What sort of criminal?’. NHO the film/musical, so when those two words popped into my mind as possibilities, I had to search for it to confirm. I knew that a EURO is a type of wallaroo, but CAT for vomit was another NHO, and didn’t appear very early in the search I did. I’m not convinced ‘abandon’ equates to THROW UP either – more THROW IN, I would have thought. But it had to be, didn’t it?

  16. I had no idea how EUROS worked so thanks for the explanation. I was pleased to recognise the bringing up the day’s takings sense of ‘cat’, undoubtedly helped by its appearance elsewhere in the last week or so. A bit further on down the gastrointestinal tract also had its moment of cruciverbal fame with the “Gutsy’ ENTERIC.

    The ‘tag line for forger?’ was a nice way to finish.

    Thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO

  17. Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO

    Very nice. Favourites ENTERIC, DOUBLE GLAZED, and EGOTIST.

    Could someone explain why READY MADE is “tag line for forger” please?

  19. Perhaps not one of Nutmeg’s very best, but even at threequarter throttle she can easily outrun most other setters. If I have ever known euros as wallaroos I had forgotten it, and I don’t think that the clue for ‘trenches’ is very good. That minor gripe apart, another entertaining puzzle from one of my favourite compilers.

  23. Thanks both, lovely puzzle to round off the week – what an elegant setter Meg is!

    We definitely had EUROS some time quite recently as I recall discovering that it also called the Common Walleroo.  If Beery drops in he’ll no doubt fish out the reference.

    LOI was SUGAR which took as much time as the rest of the puzzle to see.

    Have a nice (safe) weekend, all.

  24. Although there are clearly those that disagree – and it’s all about personal taste as has been said before – I think we’ve been treated to a cracking week (pun intended!).  From Paul’s Prize – I look forward to tomorrow’s comments – via a better than usual Vulcan and then the highlights of Brendan and Qaos.  I agree with Dr Whatson @2 that Nutmeg is one of the few who could follow without a potential let down.

    Yes, one or two did jump out, AFTERNOON TEA, being the most obvious and, helpfully, providing me with some starters but it’s a nice cryptic definition.  DOUBLE GLAZED was another where the reference to glass did lead to a rapid guess which subsequently parsed correctly.  Again, it’s a lovely clue.  ORGANZA, BLIGHTY (I wondered if there might be a VE Day theme coming), LOOSE LEAF, ANGRIER, EARMARKS and CAFETERIA all got ticks from me.

    Some new meanings, though gettable from the wordplay, included ‘euros’, dukes’ and ‘cat’.  ATHWART possibly my favourite; I just think it’s a splendid word!

    Finally, I wasted half an hour re-reading all the answers, reading the first and last letters of all the clues in all directions, adding and subtracting all 26 letters from all the answers.  I can confidently assert there is neither theme, acrostic nor nina.  I think!

    Thanks to Nutmeg as always and PeterO for helping me understand those that I hadn’t met before.

  25. muffin @22 Maybe slightly too hastily typed.  Even clearer to look at with reference to track record.  If s/he has made a ready then s/he is a capable forger.  A cook might advertise in the same way with the tag line ‘muffin baked’ perhaps?

  27. Lovely puzzle as always from Nutmeg: there’s something so smooth about her setting. Like others I hadn’t heard the double meaning of cat (nor dukes = fists). Favourites were LOOSELEAF, DOUBLE-GLAZED, ENTERIC and CAFETERIA. Many thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO.

     

  28. Although not overly challenging, with the long ones pretty quick to fall (apart from Easter Parade, which I’d never heard of but it does have Fred Astaire, Judy Garland and songs by Irving Berlin so I think that’s entirely *my* problem!), I thought this was marked by outstanding wit and succinctness. Cluing was highly efficient yet clearly and cleanly crafted so it was a pleasure to solve. Many thanks Nutmeg, and PeterO for putting the blog together.

  29. Thanks for  the blog, PeterO.

    I just wanted to add my appreciation for the good week we’ve had: we’re truly fortunate.

    My favourite clues today were 9ac ENTERIC, for the definition, 16ac LOOSELEAF and 7dn DOUBLE GLAZING, for the construction and the surfaces and TOW ROPE, because I always love that use of ‘supply’.

    Many thanks to Nutmeg for bringing the week to such a satisfying close.

  30. In “crossword land” aria always reminds me of Araucaria. Straightforward apart from 13ac for the reason mentioned above.

  31. According to Chambers, BLIGHTY means “Home; The home country; A wound necessitating return home (World War 1)”. It does not mean “England”.

  32. poc @31 Are you aware of other nationalities experiencing a ‘blighty’ wound that meant a trip home?  Germans? French? Americans? Turks? …  Might Chambers be unconsciously displaying a UK centric bias I wonder?

  33. poc @31: my Oxford says “an informal term for Britain or England, used by soldiers of the First and Second World Wars”. I think it’s fine.

  35. As Vic Reeves would say “What a beauty”. I’ve been working through the Nutmeg archives and haven’t found a duff one yet. Lovely stuff and even a trademark grumble from rodshaw – my day is complete. Cheers

  37. poc @36: I wholeheartedly agree with you. Unfortunately, neither of us can argue with Oxford Dictionaries no matter how much it sticks in the craw.

  38. The beauty of the internet is you can find evidence to justify anything 🙂 First google result for BLIGHTY says “an informal term for Britain or England”

  40. bodycheetah@38: Indeed the clue would have worked equally well as “Britain insignificant in past”. The fact that the setter chose England tells me that they either didn’t know this or that they didn’t think it mattered. Rather ironic on VE Day but I don’t wish to belabour the point.

  41. For Blighty, Collins has: ‘An informal term for Britain or England, used by soldiers of the First and Second World Wars.’

    Wiki explains: ‘The word derives from the Bengali word bilet?, which more specifically came to mean “European”, and “British; English” during the time of the British Raj.’

    Pleasant solve with Nutmeg’s characteristic succinct and accurate cluing.

    I liked the clue for TOW ROPE as my Prius refused to open its doors or start because the little 12V battery was exhausted (like me.) Luckily, I bought a battery ‘conditioner’ (aka charger) from the RAC the last time that this happened.

    Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO.

  42. Really nice crossword and very satisfying to get 13a as it was a new word for me.  It’s been a good week so far.

    Thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO

  43. What Eileen said, although I’d add ask whether solvers got their deja-vu moment solving this one before the FT, or vice versa?

    Thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO

  45. Mark@23 (I think) said it for me – yes ATHWART is a lovely word. Nutmeg’s concise and elegant clueing is always a joy for me. Despite going straight in I had ticks by 1a and 1d amongst many others. I failed on EUROS – mainly because I’d entered a tentative incorrect AYRES (rock) having got the R and S crossers and then forgot to revisit it when the E went in. I also missed the anagram for TOE ROPE! Thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO, and bodycheetah@35 for his appreciation reference of rodshaw :-).

  46. Very satisfying. I couldn’t see myself completing it unaided only getting a few on the first pass. They gradually slipped into place, even the unfamiliar and half-familiar words.

    Thanks N and P

  47. This was a mixed bag for me, with some easy anagrams, the obvious inclusion of OMEGA, the well signposted 7d and 9a, but two very difficult double definitions in EUROS and THROW UP. (And how anyone can say that cat=vomit is getable from the wordplay, as one commenter did above, is beyond me.) So, I’ve learned something today, thanks to Nutmeg.

  48. I wrote 1a in straightaway and thought it was going to be easy but I struggled to complete. Like others, I didn’t know EUROS, DUKES or cat. I enjoyed Mark@24 about his wasted half hour. Favourite was LOOSELEAF.

  49. No-one else has mentioned it, so I’d like to give a shout-out to NOTCHED. What a superb amount of misdirection in only four words.

    Nutmeg has never disappointed me.

  50. Although the OED glosses the verb ‘cat’ as simply ‘vomit’ I think that is not how it is used. The uses I have seen in print and heard orally have the sense of coughing up a small amount of food or phlegm from the throat – not from the stomach. And that is what one hears cats do: the sound is of a clearing of the throat.

  51. Sorry Sheffield hatter. My bad. I didn’t get ‘cat’ from wordplay. You’re right. I got ‘throw up’ from abandon + crossers + word count and assumed there was a link between cat and throw up of which I was unaware. Which, I suppose, is technically a DNF.

  52. Mark @51, I’m struck by your saying that your prior ignorance of the connection between cat and throw up made the puzzle a DNF for you (I’ve been struck by similar comments in the past). If I figure out the structure of a clue (double definition in this case), get the answer from part of the clue (abandon) and crossers, and deduce that the rest of the clue (cat) must be a synonym for the answer, I regard that as a triumph of ingenuity over ignorance. I’m just making an observation here, not being critical of you. We all have our own standards for what constitutes “finishing” a puzzle.

  53. Mark @ 51. Didn’t mean to cause you to fall on your sword. Hope you’ve made a good recovery.

  54. DaveinNCarolina @52, That is exactly the way I look at it. If I took Mark @51s approach there would be a lot more DNFs for me.

  56. I seem to remember Nutmeg once making a comment along the lines of starting a crossword with the down clues, as they tend to be easier.  I should have followed that advice today, as I only had a couple of answers in on first pass and needed many of the down crossers to get going in earnest.  I loved READY-MADE, my LOI, and the DOUBLE-GLAZED golfer.  I was reminded of how different we all are when some posters were saying AFTERNOON TEA was a write-in.  For me, it was my penultimate entry (CDs are not my favourite clue type).  I spent a while trying to lever RISOTTO into 25 before moving on.

    A couple of the synonyms here seemed a little tenuous – THROW UP for abandon, ZEALOUS for militant, TRENCHES for waterways (they seem more like the channels in which the water runs rather than the waterways themselves to me) – but not enough to prevent me writing in the answers.

    Another good Nutmeg puzzle.  Thanks to her and to PeterO.  (Slight typo in the blog at 16 – you meant ELEF rather than EFEF.  Just to prove I read it, you understand 😀 ).

  57. Thanks PeterO for expanding my GK with your explanations, and Nutmeg for a lovely puzzle which stretched me just the right amount. Solved under ‘exam conditions’ today so I was relieved to see “euros” and “Throw Up” above. I think I have seen the latter used in the abandonment sense in a Sherlock Holmes story (a character had “thrown up” his life in some colonial outpost – maybe it was even Watson describing how he came to 221b?) otherwise would have been a complete guess. I have only heard of Easter Parade because it’s on an old Acker Bilk (I think) record. I liked lots of these but will pick 7D, 8A, 15D and 16A as favourites, somewhat arbitrarily. Mark@51, if I end up with all the right letters in all the right boxes I regard it as a job well done even if I can’t explain every element of every clue. Taking a harsher stance, I would probably despair and have to “throw up” my otherwise enjoyable crossword-solving pastime!

  58. Unlike others I found this hard work. Maybe my brain is just going soft after all these weeks of lockdown.
    I had never heard of cat for vomit or euros for Aussies, so the answers were entered more in hope than certainty. I started with ready cash for 3D which meant a long time trying to figure a word for 16 . I was expecting a dnf but got there eventually.
    Thanks for the explanations.

  59. Like Munromad@ 58 I found this hard going..EUROS was a guess and it took me the longest time to remember “cat” and THROW UP. I liked ORGANZA and AT HEART.OMEGA was LOI.
    Thanks Nutmeg.

  60. I don’t have much to add, except thanks for the explanations of the wallaroo and the unfamiliar verb sense of “cat.” Oh, and to add that for those who said they are unfamiliar with EASTER PARADE, you owe yourself a watch.  Fred Astaire doing Fred Astaire things (better than almost anywhere else), Judy Garland doing Judy Garland things (again, among her best work), and–perhaps best of all, Ann Miller doing this.

  61. Hi mrpenney @60 – thanks for the clip.

    I’ve never seen the film but I thought it was as classic as ‘White Christmas’ – but then I’m old. This song is what I know it for.

    As for cat = vomit: it has cropped up quite a lot in crosswords. I very probably wouldn’t have remembered it if I hadn’t met it first in a puzzle I blogged. My SOED tells me it’s slang from 1877.

  62. Mention of Fred Astaire reminds me of the Ginger Rogers quote:

    “I do everything that he does, but backwards, in high heels”

  64. Muffin @63:  Wow. I mean, his singing voice isn’t going to bring the house down, but it’s more than serviceable.  And his acting is pretty good, at least for the types of roles he was called on to play.

    I love that Ginger Rogers quote.

  65. Great crossword in a great week. But isn’t the plural of tench, tench? Tenches sounds so wrong. Trouts? Pikes? Salmons? Or am I missing something?

  67. Michelle – I’m English, and only knew (as in finally remembered!) that Euro was some sort of kangaroo because of horrible struggle with last Easter’s Maskarade. Never heard cat used in this sense before either.

  68. Thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO.

    Porridge-filled Goldilocks (cd we Pitman this to Gx or some such?) here.  Just right.

    I filled this in a double-helical way, with solves first  spiralling towards the centre from NW and therefrom to SE.

    And EASTER PARADE.  Via BLIGHTY.  Made me consider commenting on out-of-date references.

    Today’s blog is a treat: the SUGAR-coating.  It seems there are many methodologies afoot.  Some print, some tackle the across clues seriatim and then press on down, perhaps entering as the answers fall – but not always!  For my own part I flash a panic-stricken scan until something emerges from the corner of the eye; I mouse around from whatever I get.

    muffin@: “Tag line” – for me it’s in the family of “confidentiality assured”, “repairs while you wait” “family butchers”, that sort of thing.  The “fish” mnemonic is great and, ahem, always worth centre-staging.

    The weekend looms again. [Is there anything interesting to know about the “fact” that a week contains 7 days (and not, say, 6).]  Hurrah for the weekend I say.  Have a good one brethren and cistern.

  69. Is that autocorrect on the ‘cistern’ Alphalpha?
    Lovely puzzle, ‘wow’ moments for me were EGOTIST and CAFETERIA.
    I think most will have encountered the phrase ‘threw up the opportunity’, so that must be the sense meant.
    Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO.

  70. Didn’t know that CAT means vomit. Got EUROS as I looked it once for the wordwheel as I wasn’t sure the name of a currency is not a proper noun.

  71. I enjoyed that one, but didn’t get Euros. And also learned another meaning for cat. I have scanned the blog and didn’t see mention before, but nice to see every long outside clue starts and ends with the same letter. ACED going clockwise.

  73. Anyone any idea why the posts for today, 11/05/2020, for the Quiptic and the Cryptic have not appeared? Do I have a problem or is it the site?

  74. Is the word play for 25a e=mc squared. ie ecstasy is the same as Master of ceremonies squared (agreed)…

  75. This is for my own benefit as I know no one will read this now but the long solutions at the top and bottom and the sides all have in common that the first and last letters are the same. I then looked at the down columns and initially thought that Nutmeg had also toyed with trying the same trick as 6 of the 8 columns have the same letter at the top and the bottom.

  76. Sugarbutties @75 That is a great pick up. There are too many instances for it to be coincidental. Clever Nutmeg and I can almost see her smile while creating it.

    I felt all along there was a theme or something and kept looking but of course didn’t find one. Thought it might be a pangram but missing 4 letters, if I remember rightly.

    I always thought it was nice of the European Community to name their currency after an Australian marsupial. How inclusive is that? 😛

    Since lockdown I am busier than ever and don’t get to the crosswords for ages after they’re published. Glad I read the wonderful comments here to the end this time.

    A belated thanks to Nutmeg for an absorbing solve and to PeterO for confirming my take on it all.

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