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Today’s puzzle comes from the mind of Pan.
This was the easiest puzzle I’ve solved in a while (I only do Monday puzzles when I’m blogging them).
Virtually every clue was a write-in, except for WINDROW (I had to check the definition) and for some reason, SOLICIT took a while to come to mind, making the other blank I had (LINENS) very obvious.
Couple of minor quibbles, none of which affected the difficulty or enjoyment of the puzzle (an unnecessary “new” in 6dn, and “top of” in an across clue (25ac).
Thanks, Pan.
| ACROSS | ||
| 9 | LARGE |
Substantial part of secular generation (5)
|
| Hidden in [part of] “secuLAR GEneration” | ||
| 10 | UNABASHED |
Bold university dean excited about social gathering (9)
|
| U (University) + *(dean) [anag:excited] about BASH (“social gathering”) | ||
| 11 | DOMINICAN |
Party with small jug for friar (9)
|
| DO (“party”) with MINI (“small”) + CAN (“jug”) | ||
| 12 | HASTE |
Catholic leaving continent with undue speed (5)
|
| C (Catholic) leaving (c)HASTE (“continent”) | ||
| 13 | WORSTED |
Fabric in front of warehouse stored incorrectly (7)
|
| [front of] W(arehouse) + *(stored) [anag:incorrectly] | ||
| 15 | HANDLES |
Names for knobs? (7)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 17 | RANGE |
Extent of place to practise shooting (5)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 18 | SCREW TOP |
See 16
|
| 20 | TIGER |
Animal in Italian river good for source of biodiversity (5)
|
| TI(b>G)ER (“Italian river” with G (good) replacing [for] [source of] B(iodiversity)) | ||
| 22 | SOLICIT |
Very lawful petition (7)
|
| SO (“very”) + LICIT (“lawful”) | ||
| 25 | WINDROW |
Glazed frame covering top of raked stacks of hay (7)
|
| WINDOW (“glazed frame”) covering [top of] R(aked)
“top of” would work better in a down clue, in my opinion. |
||
| 26 | TONIC |
Boost unit in charge (5)
|
| TON (“unit” of weight) + I.C. (in charge) | ||
| 27 | SPEEDWELL |
Plant pip containing source of protein before spring (9)
|
| SEED (“pip”) containing [source of] P(rotein) before WELL (“spring”) | ||
| 30 | MANGANESE |
Element of Japanese comics? (9)
|
| MANGA is a type of “Japanese comic”, so MANGANESE could conceivably be the adjective associated with them. It isn’t, hence the question mark in the clue. | ||
| 31 | CHIMP |
Deep-fried potato containing head of minute animal (5)
|
| CHIP (“deep-fried potato”) containing [head of] M(inute) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BLED |
Drained fluid from bottom of well in part of garden (4)
|
| [bottom of] (wel)L in BED (“part of garden”) | ||
| 2 | TRIMARAN |
Slim American operated boat (8)
|
| TRIM (“slim”) + A (American) + RAN (“operated”) | ||
| 3 | NEON |
Unusual tea leaving baby with gas (4)
|
| *(tea) [anag:unusual] leaving NEON(ate) (“baby”) | ||
| 4 | MUSCADET |
Museum trainee getting wine (8)
|
| Mus. (museum) + CADET (“trainee”) | ||
| 5 | LAUNCH |
Take off in boat (6)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 6 | WASHINGTON |
Nothing was new for this new president (10)
|
| *(nothing was) [anag:new]
I assume the second “new” refers to the fact that Washington was the first president, but it’s completely unnecessary and the clue would have read just as good (maybe better) without it. |
||
| 7 | CHISEL |
Tool in bench is electric (6)
|
| Hidden [in] “benCH IS ELectric” | ||
| 8 | EDGE |
Side of faceted gemstone (4)
|
| Hidden in [of] “facetED GEmstone” | ||
| 13 | WARDS |
Fight police officer in cell blocks (5)
|
| WAR (“fight”) + DS (Detective Superintendent, so “police officer”) | ||
| 14 | TRENCH COAT |
Garment with awfully neat crotch (6,4)
|
| *(neat crotch) [anag:awfully] | ||
| 16, 18 | SCREW TOP |
Closure for team during pause (5,3)
|
| CREW (“team”) during STOP (“pause”) | ||
| 19 | POWDERED |
Drop weed carelessly into ground (8)
|
| *(drop weed) [anag:carelessly] | ||
| 21 | GARDENIA |
Shrub in grand forest on borders of India (8)
|
| G (grand) + ARDEN (“forest”) on [borders of] I(ndi)A | ||
| 23 | LINENS |
Stripy designs covering navy fabrics (6)
|
| LINES (“stripy designs”) covering N (Navy) | ||
| 24 | TESTES |
Investigations involving lower part of reproductive glands (6)
|
| TESTS (“investigations”) involving [lower part of] (reproductiv)E | ||
| 26 | TOME |
Member hiding money in book (4)
|
| TOE (“member”) hiding M (money) | ||
| 28 | DACE |
Diner’s first to get fabulous fish (4)
|
| D(iner) [‘s first] to get ACE (“fabulous”) | ||
| 29 | LOPE |
Run gently from damaged pole (4)
|
| *(pole) [anag:damaged] |
Like loonapick, a lot of write-ins for me. Queried jug = can in 11a; otherwise pretty straightforward. Thanks to P & l.
drofle @1: I took jug = can in the sense of prison?
PostMark@2 – Ah, yes indeed!
sorry, I still don’t get the solution to 3d, would someone be kind enough to show another way of explaining the wordplay for me please. Many thanks
Hanover Jane @ 4: Neonate = baby; take off ‘ate’ (anagram of tea) and you have NEON.
Today is the first day since December that both (teenage) kids will be going to school. A gentle start to the day was needed and Pan provided it. Thank you Pan and to loonapick for parsing 3d.
Hanover+Jane @4: “neonate” means baby. From that subtract “ate” (the anagram of (unusual) “tea”) to get a gas, NEON.
Took me longer than usual – brain not firing.
Liked NEON and MANGANESE in particular
Got MUSCADET but haven’t seen mus for museum before.
Thanks to Pan and loonapick (and I agree about 6d – confused me for a while)
Thanks Pan and loonapick
Drofle and Megan have explained NEON for Hanover Jane, but no-one has mentioned what an odd (and possibly unfair) clue it is – it is a “ghost” subtractive anagram. You have to think up a word not present in the clue, then subtract an anagram of another word from it.
Otherwise fine. No particular favourites.
As many have said already a write in and while I agree that there was a spare ānewā in 6D I canāt see anything wrong with saying ātopā to signify first letter (25a) whether itās an across or a down clue.
Thanks all
Unusually straightforward, even for a Monday, as others have said. But I’m not complaining, always happy to be able to finish, especially over breakfast. WINDROW was new to me.
Thanks Pan and Ioonapick
Some lovely surfaces here – who wouldn’t want a garment with an awfully neat crotch?
I thought NEON was excellent and fair given that it was a four letter word with two crossers
DOMINICAN made me chuckle – more Vic Reeves than Giles Brandreth – a good thing in my book
[Off to get my vaccination now so if I turn into a Microsoft bot and never return it’s been lovely knowing you – albeit virtually – ciao]
I’m not suggesting that it’s a theme, but there are a few lakes knocking about. There’s WASHINGTON Lake in Washington State, SPEEDWELL Lake in New Jersey, GARDENIA Lake in Canada’s Northwest Territories and Lake BLED in Slovenia.
Thanks Pan and loonapick
26a – one of those where Chambers thinks that A is a synonym of B, but B not a synonym of A. Not moaning… such is language… but interesting I think.
A pleasant Monday stroll but held up a bit by putting in OBTAIN (take = anagram āoff in boatā) instead of LAUNCH. I liked MANGANESE and POWDERED. New words were SPEEDWELL and WINDROW.
I agree with your take on WASHINGTON, loonapick. Ta both.
A pleasant enough way to while away an hour or so when I was finding it hard to get to sleep.
MANGA and WINDROW are this morning’s new pieces of useless general knowledge š
I take your point about 3D, muffin @9, but I tend to agree with bodycheetah @12 that as half the answer is crossers and the solution is hardly obscure, the clue is a fair one (and quite a clever one).
Some rather neat surfaces, too.
Thanks to Pan and loonapick.
26d: M as an abbreviation for money? I canāt think of an example of that.
Well Penfold, my childish mind had another mini theme in the clues: 15a, 14d, 24d & 26d.
Agree with loonapick’s blog including the additional ‘new.
Fun and easy puzzle.
Favourites: DOMINICAN, HASTE, SOLICIT, UNABASHED.
New word for me: SPEEDWELL.
Thanks, Pan & loonapick..
Straightforward Monday puzzle and none the worse for that (thanks for the blog loonapick, but thereās no call to be so snooty about it – all solvers have to start somewhere, and this was as good a place as any).
I donāt have a problem with ātopā for an initial letter irrespective of the orientation of the solution; it would be a different matter for the adverb/preposition āaboveā.
In Panās defence I would say that Washington WAS a new president – there certainly hadnāt been any before him!
That was fun – nice a quick and only one DNK which, surprisingly, was DACE. WINDROW was in the grey matter somewhere…
[The whole “Manga” and “Anime” fascinates me – in Japan, it is very common to see adults reading comic books, something that at least in the UK would be seen as childish; I know that the same is true in France where bande dessinĆ©e (BD) don’t carry the same social stigma that they do in here (and my son read “graphic novels” at Middle School in the States – my very middle-class parents were quite disparaging about my desiree to read “Whoopee…”]
Thanks to Pan for the gentle stroll and loonapick for the blog.
[bodycheetah @12: I had mine on Saturday and other than I can now reboot my PC just by looking at it, I can’t spot any differences…]
Thanks Pan and loonapick
Shirl @ 17: M = MONEY is a standard abbreviation in economics, with M0, M1, M2 etc referring to the various definitions of a nationās money supply.
Shirl @17: M for money is used by the Bank of England, e.g. ‘M1’ is “a country’s basic money supply that’s used as a medium of exchange”.
Thanks Simon S & drofle
Good Monday puzzle.
I liked the NEONate and MANGANESE. I was trying to put ‘ricks’ into the answer to 25A but not surprisingly I failed. I didn’t know WINDROW.
Thanks Pan and loonapick.
Penfold @13: I had ten minutes to kill before a video call so I played around on Google and there’s a TIGER Lake in Florida, a Lake MANGANESE in Michigan, a NEON lake in Alberta, CHISEL Lake in Manitoba and TRENCH Lake, also in Canada’s NW Territories. Mind you, with a subject like that, there’s a fair chance of coincidence so, despite the sample, it could still be unintended by the setter. Some are pretty obscure.
[MaidenBartok @21 DACE is what the Queen throws when she plays Monopoly.]
A bit uneven, I thought. Sorry Pan.
Two plants, two elements, two consecutive hidden words. And some thin definitions: definitely MANGANESE, but also is āunitā really enough to clue ātonā? And are all Dominicans really Friars?
HASTE and POWDERED were lovely clues, though, so not all bad by any means
PostMark @26 Yes, I’m sure there’s no intended theme. There are so many lakes, especially up there in Canada (Mark Lake and Penfold Lake are both in Ontario), that finding a specific one must be like finding a needle in a WINDROW.
Boffo @28: someone on the Guardian site mentioned that there are several pairs here, and we do indeed have two boats, TRIMARAN and LAUNCH, two elements, NEON and MANGANESE, two fabrics, WORSTED and LINENS, two plants, GARDENIA and SPEEDWELL, and two (land) animals, TIGER and CHIMP.
I tend to agree with muffin @9 that the convoluted nature of 3d didn’t fit very well with the level of the rest of the puzzle. Otherwise good Monday entertainment.
Thanks Pan and loonapick.
Boffo @28
All male Dominicans who have taked orders are indeed friars; females are nuns.
Lord Jim @30: I clearly have no original thoughts today but I’m enjoying responding to the suggestions of others. MUSCADET and TONIC are both beverages, possibly?
[Penfold @27: groan.
Bodycheetah @12: your Vic Reeves comment just made me remember that he uses the pottery at Aylesford which is located in the old Friary…]
M =money is an abbreviation listed in Chambers, hence it is fair game in the Guardian, as it would be in the FT & Indy, but not in The Times or Telegraph. The M0-M7 series of abbreviations are for the various categories of “money supply” though, which is something completely different. Perhaps I’m the only person exercised by the inclusion of the word “with” in 12a and 3d….”with undue speed” suggests “hastily” to me and “with gas” suggests “windy”
AlanC @15: I’m glad it wasn’t just me with ‘OBTAIN’ at first for 5d! Otherwise, of middling difficulty for a Monday, I thought, so thanks to Pan and loonapick.
The second new in 6d didnāt bother me – in fact it was one of the clues I ticked, along with SCREW TOP. WINDROW was new for me as well, and everything else was straightforward and enjoyable – thanks to Pan and loonapick.
Hardly a pause from start to finish, and that doesn’t happen often to me even on Mondays. Quite enjoyable nevertheless, with a smile for the DOMINICAN. I’ll keep an eye out for a WINDROW next time I’m on a country walk.
Fiona Anne @ 8: Mus for museum is sometimes so marked on maps.
I agree wholeheartedly with Gervase @20 about the snooty tone of loonapick’s commentary. I really can’t see the point. It’s off-putting enough BTL, there’s no need for the bloggers to join in.
Well, I got through this with very little difficulty!
OK, this means it must have been a pretty easy puzzle but I’m giving myself a pat on the back anyway.
DOMINICAN and MANGANESE made me smile.
Could we add SCREW and CHISEL to the list of pairs as they’re both found in a toolbox?
The lake in Seattle WA is Lake Washington, not Washington Lake. I googled “Washington Lake,” though, and found a handful in the northeastern states, none of which I’d ever heard of, including the one here in Connecticut.
I enjoyed the anagrams NOTHING WAS for WASHINGTON and NEAT CROTCH for TRENCH COAT.
Thanks, Pan and loonapick.
This won’t have bothered anyone who got 26a before tackling the down clues, but I had LIMB for 26d: LIB is an abbreviation for book in Chambers, so the clue works fine (until you can’t solve 26a).
Other than that, no complaints here, an enjoyable and mostly smooth solve, with some smiles along the way. ‘Very lawful’ raised a chuckle, and I thought NEON(ate) was very good (sorry, muffin). And ‘new president’ was ok in my book; it’s misdirection, after all the clues with Joe Biden as the answer.
Thanks to Pan for the entertainment, and to loonapick for the blog; sorry you’ve taken a bit of a pasting below the line. For what it’s worth, I didn’t detect anything “snooty” (Paul the other one @39), merely an observation that it was an easy crossword – which is what it was designed to be, surely.
And loonapick, I didn’t think you were snooty at all. Saying something was easy for you isn’t sneering at anybody else — we all know that’s what hard for me today may be easy for you, and the opposite tomorrow.
baerchen @34: as you’re obviously aware, the “with” in both 12a and 3d is intended not as part of the definition but as a link word. Whether it’s a justifiable link word is, I suppose, a matter of opinion. Is [wordplay] “with” [definition] a legitimate clue form? To me it suggests that you get the wordplay elements with the answer, and personally I’m ok with it. I can understand purists not being so keen.
Without (I hope) giving any spoilers, there’s a clue in today’s Quiptic that you might like.
I’m with sh@42 and V@43 regarding perceived snootiness – in the nose of the observer perhaps? (Hardly.)
A pleasant tour, with many falters along the way, but no protests here.
I am very much with muffin@9 about the multi-layered nature of NEON, but I’ve been bleating about this process (which I believe is easy for the setter but can result in impenetrabilities for the solver) for so long that I’ve become reconciled to putting up. In this case the subtraction fodder at least is clear – it’s often the case that we are asked to come up with a “ghost” synonym and then shorten it or alter it in some vague way (this can cause brain sprain). I don’t like it so cheers muffin.
Sheffield_hatter @42: another LIMB here.
@Lord Jim 44…
I guess my view is that if the G is to publish an easy puzzle on Mondays to entice new solvers (an initiative I’d wholeheartedly support) then the crosswords should be precise. I wouldn’t want my son to take his first driving lesson from an instructor with one hand on the wheel while the other one lazily waves a fag out of the window before performing a handbrake turn having coasted down a hill in neutral. So include me among the number (apparently a small number, perhaps as low as one) who doesn’t like “with” in either of these two clues.
I did the quiptic (a first for me, sorry if that sounds snooty) and enjoyed it (as expected given the setter)…which clue did you have in mind?
I was with Bullhassocks @35 and AlanC @15 in discovering OBTAIN for 5dn. Somewhat later I compounded the error by solving 26dn as LIMB (with sheffield hatter @42 and gladys @46). Needing to unpick these errors made me very slow.
MANGANESE was my clue du jour.
Thanks Pan and loonapick.
[baerchen @47: ah, so it was you I saw in my rear view mirror…]
I thought I was on course for completing two Monday crosswords within 45 minutes but got held up by MUSCADET, spending far too long trying to think of names of museums, rather than the simple abbreviation. I am getting used to “in” being either part of the word play or just a link, but like baerchen I was less familiar with “with”, and wondered whether chasty might be an alternative to chaste.
As I remarked the other day, paired clues are getting more popular.
Baerchen @47; for what it’s worth (maybe not a lot?) ‘with’ appears in this list of linking words.
Hi Robi, the thing about “link words” would seem to be about whether they adjust the part of speech of the definition as described by the wordplay and in both these cases I think they do. I’m not by any means a Ximenes hard core fan, but….
baerchen @47: please see my comment on the Quiptic @14.
@Lord Jim, yes completely different as you say. Anyway sorry for having banged on about this today everyone
Thank you for the crossword and the blog. Bit easy for me but not complaining, I would have loved this crossword when I was first learning to do cryptics and we have all had to start somewhere. The Guardian should return to the policy of two easy, two medium and two difficult each week.
I’m with Sheffield Hatter, Valentine and Alphalpha as regards loonapick’s comment: “I only do Monday puzzles when Iām blogging them”. I don’t blame him; I much prefer chewy puzzles. When I think “Oh, it’s Monday tomorrow” my heart doesn’t leap with joy as regards the cruciverbal prospects, as all the other days promise much more of a tussle.
“I found this easy” is arguably the least helpful thing anyone can say to someone who didn’t find it easy.
Thanks Pan for a fun crossword. I found NEON a mutil-layered, not an unfair clue. (I enjoyed the baerchen-initiated discussion of “with;” I usually overlook a word or two used just to make a surface readable.) I also liked TIGER, CHIMP, and SOLICIT quite a bit. My FOI was the incorrect OBTAIN; LAUNCH occurred to me much later. I missed MANGANESE; I got stuck on ANIME and wrote in monoamine. Thanks loonapick for the blog.
Buddy @57. Yes, not terribly helpful, but not snooty either!
I enjoyed the link word discussion and, as a solver, tend to agree that “with” is not quite right. But when I come to write amateur clues, I’ll use almost anything I can get away with for a decent surface š . I had one minor niggle which nobody else seems bothered by, namely WINDROW (singular) for stacks of hay (plural). I know, I know – the windrow is the line of stacks, but I still see it as the line and not the stacks themselves. Hence the niggle.
I enjoyed the surprisingly crotched TRENCH COAT, NEONATE and WASHINGTON. I saw the “new” in the latter’s clue as a way to indicate that the job of leading the colonies was not new to Washington when he was appointed the first president, in contrast to the experience of most newly elected presidents.
Good fun. Thanks, Pan and Lord Sn… loonapick :O .
phitonelly @60. Haha!
Despite being a retired neonatologist 3dn was the last one in and I still didn’t parse it! However finished it without the hint of a cheat. It’s all downhill from now on.
drofle @ 56
While my heart does not leap with joy I really look forward to Monday because there will be two puzzles I have a reasonable chance with. Not been doing cryptics for long so am learning and easier puzzles on a Monday are great. Also love Everyman.
Keep going Fiona Anne, I started with Everyman and a few of the easier Guardian setters, There is no magic solution , it is simply practice, and you really do get better over time.
I apologise to anyone I have offended with my comments about the level of this puzzle. In my defence, I think I am within my rights to express that a puzzle is easy and to compare it to others. The statement about not doing Monday puzzles is a factual one – I don’t have as much time as I’d like to solve puzzles, so try to do the ones that give me more satisfaction.
Fiona Anne @63 – I agree with Roz’s comment – keep going! After many years doing the Guardian puzzle, I now positively relish Azed on a Sunday. When I first looked at it, it seemed impossible, but now I really enjoy it (even though there are always loads of anagrams).
It took me two years to complete my first Azed. There were no blogs then, I had to wait two weeks for the answers and Azed’s brief explanations.
Loonapick, we should always be grateful to anyone who takes the trouble to write a blog for us and you are quite entitled to think it is too easy for you.
Woo-hoo, a rare finish, I hope the experts do not begrudge my moment of celebration as I know it was a relatively simple puzzle.
Just a couple to parse.
Thanks for the hints, Loonapick.
drofle@56 and others, I look at the “easier” Mondays as a chance to enjoy two crosswords (Cryptic and Quiptic) in the time one other weekday puzzle would take. Also, while the enjoyment is different (more emphasis on surfaces, less on degree of difficulty), it is not, for me at least, lesser. Like cake and steak, you can enjoy equally the quick and easy pleasure of one and the chewier pleasure of the other.
I actually DNF this, because I was so convinced that LIMB was correct that I never got beyond looking to fill out L_N_C for 26a. Nevertheless an enjoyable crossword from the always entertaining Pan, and thanks loonapick for the excellent blog.
If I hadn’t had TONIC first (I’m happy with “unit” for TON), I probably would have gone for LIMB too.
loonapick @65: I prefer when bloggers give their honest assessment of a crossword and not just a dry parsing of the answers. I don’t get why anyone would take offence at that.
LINENS and TONIC were LOIs as I was another with LIMB. The only DNK was WINDROW. The arbitrariness of TON = unit. I’d got SPEEDWELL but nearly wrote in SPEEDBILL as I was distracted by the news item on telly about the bill being put through Parliament today to prevent public protests.
I thought of LIMB too, not yet having TONIC, but couldn’t get past “lib” so left it unfilled in. I didn’t think members could be toes, thought they were just arms and legs.
Not snooty, snootish maybe.
[Valentine@72 … Lord Gnome would probably have something to say about that in his mighty organ!]