Characteristically smooth and witty surfaces from Picaroon this week.
Apart from a couple of obscurities (RACHITIC and POILU, and, perhaps, TARRAGONA) there was nothing that required too much in the way of research. We particularly liked the clever charade for INCUBATORY, and the brilliant definition for MOBIUS STRIP. Many thanks, Picaroon.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SLIPPAGE |
Attendant put on petticoat or an unwanted shift (8)
|
| A charade of SLIP (petticoat) and PAGE (attendant). | ||
| 5 | PASTIS |
Reclining, take a pew and mug for aperitif (6)
|
| SIT SAP (all rev). | ||
| 9 | RACHITIC |
Rickety chair upset with jerk (8)
|
| *CHAIR, TIC. It’s the adjective from rachitis, which means rickets. | ||
| 10 | ATTILA |
Invader has trouble crossing dry area (6)
|
| TT (dry) in AIL (trouble), A(rea). | ||
| 12 | MOBIUS STRIP |
Crowd united in high spirits for band with no B-side? (6,5)
|
| MOB U in *SPIRITS. A brilliant definition, we thought. | ||
| 15 | NOTER |
Excluding top royal commentator (5)
|
| NOT ER (top royal). | ||
| 17 | ON MESSAGE |
Following the party line, singles wise to drink last of rum (2,7)
|
| (ru)M in ONES, SAGE. | ||
| 18 | TARRAGONA |
Spanish port I’m leaving without tatty garment on (9)
|
| RAG (tatty garment) ON inside TARA (I’m going). | ||
| 19 | OASIS |
Place to drink nothing in current circumstances (5)
|
| 0 (nothing) AS IS. | ||
| 20 | SAGITTARIUS |
Guitarists and a rock star group (11)
|
| *(GUITARISTS A). | ||
| 24, 8 | BRANDY SNAP |
Mark bringing flower back? This is sweet (6,4)
|
| BRAND (mark) PANSY (flower, rev). | ||
| 25 | ADDITIVE |
Forming a habit to ignore cold food ingredient (8)
|
| ADDI(c)TIVE. | ||
| 26 |
See 7
|
|
| 27 | EYESIGHT |
Out loud, I refer to what the Observer must use (8)
|
| Sounds like “I cite”. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SHRIMP NETS |
In the main, they catch personnel interrupting new temps in seconds (6,4)
|
| HR (personnel) in *(TEMPS IN), S(econds). | ||
| 2 | INCUBATORY |
Where Marxists govern, right-winger’s brooding has such an effect (10)
|
| A brilliant charade of IN CUBA TORY. | ||
| 3 | POILU |
Nancy’s old serving man turned up to frame painting (5)
|
| OIL (painting) inside UP (up, or reversed in a down clue). It’s an old French slang term for a private soldier: Nancy here signifies France, nothing to do with the Mitfords. | ||
| 4 | GAINSBOROUGH |
Artist acquires a bit of English capital (12)
|
| A simple charade, although a borough isn’t necessarily part of London. | ||
| 6 | ANTIPASTO |
Opt against playing, leaving golf course (9)
|
| *(OPT A(g)AINST). | ||
| 7, 26 | TRIP SWITCH |
One cuts current outings with enchanting lady (4,6)
|
| TRIPS WITCH. | ||
| 8 |
See 24
|
|
| 11 | FROM DAY TO DAY |
Not anticipating much, like Robin’s correspondence with Doris? (4,3,2,3)
|
| Younger solvers may need reminding that Robin Day was a pioneering BBC TV news journalist: Doris Day was a Hollywood film star who appeared in 39 films over a 20 year career. I can find nothing to support the suggestion that they ever corresponded, other than in name. | ||
| 13 | WASSAILING |
Return of cutter riding the waves on the drink (10)
|
| SAW (rev) SAILING. | ||
| 14 | PERSISTENT |
Nicely trim dressing nurse cut on new patient (10)
|
| SISTE(r) (nurse, cut) N(ew) inside (dressed by) PERT (nicely trim). Quite a lot to unpack in the wordplay, but I wasn’t entirely happy with the definition. | ||
| 16 | RHAPSODIC |
Stealing hearts, music genre’s poetic and lyrical (9)
|
| H(earts) inside RAP’S (music genre’s), ODIC (poetic). | ||
| 21 | ARIES |
Sign of decay but not the first (5)
|
| (c)ARIES. We wondered if this was the start of a theme, crossing as it did with SAGITTARIUS, but there don’t seem to be any other astrological signs in the grid. | ||
| 22 | EBBS |
Leader deposed by Jeb Bush oddly loses power (4)
|
| (j)EB B(u)S(h). | ||
| 23 | RANI |
Country bringing down current queen (4)
|
| IRAN, with the I (symbol of electric current) moving down. |
Thanks to Picaroon and bridgesong. I had lots of trouble with the northwest corner. I needed a Google search to get TARRAGONA, had trouble with GAINSBOROUGH because, even with all the crossers. I kept thinking in terms of “gets” rather than “gains,” and did not know RACHITIC (though I did parse it).
A pleasant and fairly rapid solve. LOI was new-to-me (RACHITIC) – but readily solved from the clue. Otherwise enjoyed MOBIUS STRIP & SAGITTARIUS, plus the cute reference to Robin and Doris (local heroine, recently deceased), and am always up for a bit of WASSAILING. Thanks Picaroon.
Thanks bridgesong. I got there eventually but with the grid completed still had to spend some time finding explanations for 1 and 14d where I agree with you about the definition. Couldn’t get Mali out of my mind for 23d and delayed things by entering ‘addition’ for 25.
Some lovely penny dropping moments in this, as you say INCUBATORY really stood out, and quite a range of obscure words and artful definitions. It took a while to get going, but really enjoyed this one.
Thanks Bridgesong, I took Borough to be the place Borough, near London Bridge, part of our English Capital?
Had fun with this, but had to verify RACHITIC post-entry; everything else more-or-less straightforward. I agree with others that persistent and patient are not the same: the Venn diagram circles for each come close but do not intersect.
Nice puzzle.
Needed help from google with GK.
New: Robin Day (English political journalist); POILU, MOBIUS STRIP.
Favourites: OASIS, BRANDY SNAP, RANI, TRIP SWITCH, PASTOS (loi).
Thanks Picaroon, this satisfied me a great deal — not a write-in but not impenetrable. I agree with Bridgesong about the brilliance of MOBIUS STRIP and the problems with PERSISTENT, an answer I needed a word finder to get. Favourites included ON MESSAGE, ANTIPASTO, TRIP SWITCH, RHAPSODIC, and ARIES. Thanks Bridgesong for parsing.
Good level for a Saturday crossword. Thanks Picaroon. But a DNF as OASIS eluded me which is a bit embarrassing and I had put in ADDITION which I was maybe 90% sure was OK which meant I was completely defeated by PERSISTENT. So I’m gratified to find there is some questioning here about it’s credentials! iNCUBATORY was my fave. Thanks bridge song for filling in my gaps.
Thanks to Picaroon. I must say I found this a bit of a slog but it might have been just me beign put off a bit by my encounter with a couple of unfamilair words. I liked some of the clues like 20a SAGITTARIUS and 13d WASSAILING. Had trouble with lots of parses, so thanks to bridgesong for the blog.
BEING put off. Oh and I meant to mention 24a8d BRANDY SNAP which I thought was a fun clue.
Thanks for the blog. Such a neat definition for MOBIUS STRIP.
We had Klein in recently and Paul missed a chance to reference the Klein bottle which is the 3D (or 4D ) equivalent.
Thanks Picaroon, and bridgesong for the explanation.
Loved MÖBIUS STRIP.
Solved almost all in quite a straightforward way, then got badly held up by the matched clues from NE and SW corner.
Eventually the (TRIP) SWITCH went on and got that and the BRANDY SNAP (nice misdirection where flower means….a flower!)
However I never got 23d, as an earlier poster I had MALI in mind. I did look at RANI but couldn’t find a Q of that name .
Definitely good fun though so thank again to Picaroon, bridgesong and all the other learned commentators on here!
good weekend to all
Ach, should’ve just looked in Chambers!
Fem of raja Hindi, from Sanskrit
Thanks Picaroon and bridgesong
FOI EBBS, followed by my favourite too, MOBIUS STRIP. (To those for whom this was unfamiliar, try making one. Take a strip of paper. Twist it once, then fix the ends together. Draw a pencil line along it. Try cutting along the line!)
I don’t understand the definition for FROM DAY TO DAY.
Found this very tough and did not finish: nothing wrong with it, just me being thick. Liked MOBIUS STRIP, FROM DAY TO DAY, BRANDY SNAP. Didn’t know TARRAGONA. I did know POILU but took forever to work it out.
Thanks bridgesong and Picaroon. I completed it after some false starts. I recognised Doris and Robin, but tried ‘live day by day’ and several others before getting it right. Also, NETS was clear long before SHRIMP.
I agree with Ant@4 about BOROUGH. The term originally meant a town with ancient rights to run itself, and The Borough was and is Southwark, one such town, just south of London Bridge, which still has a Borough Market and an Underground station on the Northern Line called Borough. Since the 1960s, each local government unit in London is called a borough – as bridgesong says, that would be a less satisfactory definition, as it would use the particular to refer to the general.
Muffin @14, if Robin Day corresponded with Doris Day (improbably), their messages would go FROM DAY TO DAY, wouldn’t they?
Muffin @ 14: Chambers defines FROM DAY TO DAY as “concerned only with the present “ so I think the definition is pretty accurate.
Thanks to ant @4 and sjhart@ 16 for clarifying the meaning of Borough.
Muffin@14 someone with a serious illness may take things FROM DAY TO DAY i.e. not expecting much, no plans for the future.
Many thanks indeed for the characteristically excellent blog, bridgesong.
Re the concerns raised about 14 down’s definition:
Chambers gives one definition of “patient” as “persevering in long-continued or intricate work”. Collins concurs, also defining patient as “persevering”, with the example of a “patient worker”. In this specific sense, patient can define persistent.
Re day to day, If you aren’t anticipating much you are not thinking too much about the future so you’re living day to day.
Thanks bridgesong for the blog and Picaroon for the puzzle which I enjoyed across a few visits. The penny took a while to drop for a few and I particularly enjoyed TRIP SWITCH and BRANDY SNAP which required more than a few key crossers.
Funny how the brain works. I kept staring at TARRAGONA to try to make sense of it and when I picked the paper up again on Friday night it fell into place so easily that I could not understand how I had not already parsed it.
Good weekend to all
Yes, a really good puzzle from Picaroon as ever. As bridgesong says, MOBIUS STRIP was simply brilliant; I also ticked PASTIS, SAGITTARIUS and TRIP SWITCH.
Thanks for the clarification on the definition for FROM DAY TO DAY. I still think that it’s rather loose!
muffin: for me, FROM DAY TO DAY is one of those where, once the cryptic element is cracked, fits with the definition in hindsight. I agree with the various examples given already. But, starting with the definition element, I don’t think I’d stand an earthly of arriving at the solution.
Not a lot to add – I share the admiration for both MOBIUS STRIP and INCUBATORY. Possibly the latter wins by a short head – only because I did twig the clever definition and then the enumeration confirmed the likely solution. So sort of the opposite situation to FROM DAY TO DAY. Desperate to avoid an OASIS earworm, I discover there is an Italian jazz rock combo called MOBIUS STRIP so, if anyone fancies some laid back riffs on a Spanish theme, I give you Andalusia.
Thanks for popping in Picaroon. Unlike Dr W @5, I felt the Venn diagrams for persistence, patience (and I’d add tenacity) do intersect – though I’d agree it’s easier to get to patient from persistent than the other way round.
Thanks Picaroon and bridgesong.
I knew Poilu from the Balzac story. I was never sure if French soldiers were hairy because they were tough and masculine or because they didn’t have time to shave. NOTER seems to me to be one of those words that exist in theory, but nobody ever uses.
I thought that ‘not anticipating much’ was a pretty good definition for FROM DAY TO DAY – it summed up pretty well what it was like living through lockdown. I also didn’t have a problem with ‘patient’=PERSISTENT, so was glad when Picaroon turned up to confirm my thoughts. Had never heard of RACHITIC and looked it up in Chambers after solving, and TARRAGONA was similarly confirmed in my atlas – who needs Google?
Coincidentally, the Brexit blogger Chris Grey used MOBIUS STRIP in the headline of this week’s blog – I wonder if he did this crossword?
The London district called BOROUGH is familiar to me as there are several good real ale pubs there and it’s a handy place for a pre-match drink if going to games at Millwall (shudder), Charlton Athletic or Crystal Palace, as London Bridge station is situated there.
Thanks Picaroon and bridgesong.
Agree about noter, PeterT @26, I went what the bleep is that. Found that I’d only done 2/3 of this, just finished now. A few dnks, rachitic, Sir Robin and poilu, o’wise pretty smooth. And yes, ‘..band with no B-side?’, isn’t that just the coolest! Enjoyed, many tas both.
This was a really nice puzzle. I had too many favourites to list them all, but I must just put in a mention for the lovely surface for TRIP SWITCH – “One cuts current outings with enchanting lady”.
The BOROUGH in 4d could indeed be Borough (as in Borough Market etc), but I was happy with it just being one of the administrative divisions of Greater London, as in the London Borough of Bromley. I don’t think it matters that there are boroughs elsewhere.
Many thanks Picaroon and bridgesong.
A perfect Saturday puzzle, with a few straightforward ones to get you started, some clever but entirely fair wordplay, some new (to me) words, a couple of laughs and a head scratcher or two to finish off with. Very satisfying, so thanks Picaroon and bridgesong.
Too many obscure solutions for my taste, even for a Prize Saturday. Had no chance with POILU or RACHITIC which were bewildering even after having revealed them. And a thumbs down for NOTER, which I have never encountered in either speech or writing before. Liked FROM DAY TO DAY and INCUBATORY, but the comparative paucity of comments on here suggests I may not be alone in finding this too clever by half.
For once, I didn’t put last Saturday’s paper in the recycling bag – but I did completely forget where I’d put it, with the result that, by now, it’s practically all been said but I’ll put in my two-pennorth anyway.
I’ll join in the praise for the very clever MOBIUS STRIP and INCUBATORY and I had ticks, too, for RACHITIC, OASIS, SAGTTARIUS and SHRIMP NETS.
For anyone eager for a second helping, Mr Brydon appears in the Indy today as Rodriguez.
Many thanks to Picaroon for a most enjoyable puzzle and bridgesong for the blog.
Möbius strip’, ‘Moebius’ in English.
The only reason I (me@5) felt confident in objecting to the patient/persistent equivalence last night was that I did look them both up in several places, and though they both refer to perseverance, patient carries with it an even-tempered state of mind which persistent doesn’t. It’s not so easy to smile (honestly) and grit your teeth at the same time.
Enjoyable puzzle, loved the strip with no B side. Thanks, Picaroon.
In 18a, how does TARA = “I’m going”?
And thanks too to bridgesong.
Valentine @35
“Tara” is an informal word for “goodbye” (especially from Liverpool?), similar to “tatty-bye” etc.
“a borough isn’t necessarily part of London” (4dn)
One could equally say that a course isn’t necessarily an antipasto (6d). Doesn’t matter does it? I wasn’t thinking of Borough when I filled it in but that seems equally valid.
I agree with Petert@26 about NOTER being mostly theoretical. Nevertheless, it is a word, and once you got the wordplay, you definitely knew it was the word, didn’t you?
Muffin, I think the way to understand the definition in11d is to recognize that “much” is being used adverbially, contrary to its function in the surface. I think it describes quite well what day to day living is all about.
I didn’t know POILU, but constructed from the wordplay then verified this interesting word.
Same for the (less interesting?) word RACHITIC. I was sure I had correctly got the wordplay but didn’t seem to be able to make a word. Eventually used Word Wizard as anagram solver for CHAIRTIC*.
Valentine@35 Tara (or ‘ta-ra’) was, for example, Cilla Black‘s customary valediction (if you knew of her?). If you follow the link, “chuck” (pronounced with the same vowel as ‘foot’) is a term of endearment, related to the word ‘cluck’. I don’t think the video works, unfortunately.
RACHITIC and Rani were new for me but not hard to guess.
Thanks Picaroon and bridgsong.
Tara
Many thanks, Picaroon and all. An interesting but tough struggle for me … especially in NE and SW corners. Defeated by RANI.
Never quite parsed RHAPSODIC. Why is “stealing” in the clue? Thought it might be the definition and had REASSIGNS in until twigging the lovely BRANDY SNAP.
Choldunk @39: “stealing” is an inclusion indicator – the letter H has been taken, or stolen, from somewhere unspecified and added to RAP’S. Of course, it could also be a deletion indicator; but I think that untangling that sort of ambiguity is part of the fun.
Many thanks for explaining, Bridgesong. Yes, it’s fun to fail now and again. It all adds to the pleasure when succeeding.