Guardian Cryptic 28,568 by Nutmeg

80 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28,568 by Nutmeg”

1. Thanks Nutmeg and manehi
   I had never heard of a RADOME, so it was LOI, despite me having the letters for the anagram early on!
   All very nice. The neatly hidden MOUSE raised a smile.

2. I also found it a slow start; recently I have struggled with across clues; maybe I should start with the downs. My favourite was SABOTAGED. Loi was ENGIRD.

   Thanks Nutmeg and manehi

3. The LINE after A + QUI parsing for 2d is missing.

4. Lots of fun. Lke yesyes @2 I had a slow start, but things then accelerated quite quickly. Favourites were SEASON, AQUILINE and ENGIRD. Thanks to N & m.

5. Thanks Hovis – have updated.

6. Several of these were strongly suggested by the definition. Couldn’t parse AQUILINE, and deliberated for quite a while over SEASON and RADOME, which last one I had to look up. Another nice church pew feature in FILIAL to follow the one the other day which I must not mention as I’ll get into trouble as a spoiler…
   Lots to enjoy as usual with Nutmeg.

7. 4a – can I make a case for Deckwear? Seems to fit equally well/badly, as “limited clothing”…

8. …oh dear, I meant FINIAL, sons had nothing to do with it in this case…

9. I really enjoyed this excellent puzzle. Nutmeg writes clues that are very pleasant to read.

   Favourites: BEND THE RULES, RUE THE DAY, AQUILINE, SABOTAGED, SEASON.

   New for me: RADOME, PALINODE.

   Thanks, both.

10. Ed @7 I thought the same about deckwear. Neckwear is probably a better definition but deckwear is limited to use on boats/ships and I thought it more satsifying that the anagram letters are continuous.

    Other than that, finial was my last and nearly defeated me. I had to resort to working through the alphabet in my head for the first letter.

11. A few new words – PALINODE, RADOME – and an unusual one – ENGIRD – held me up, for the latter two, particularly as I had carelessly entered NECKWARE. I especially enjoyed RUE THE DAY. Thanks, Nutmeg and manehi.

12. Thanks Nutmeg and Manehi!

    Bend the rules: Parsing looks perfect. Can’t think of anything else.

13. Another elegant and enjoyable puzzle from Nutmeg.

    Nutmeg surfaces are always wittily silky-smooth : today, I especially enjoyed HAREM, SEASON and KITCHENER.

    Many thanks to her and to manehi.

14. Slowed myself down in the NE corner by carelessly writing in neckware (snap TassieTim) but after spotting my silly mistake enjoyed ENGIRD and RADOME. There used to be a radome on the coast of my childhood summer holidays at Mudeford on English south coast so that word popped out once I’d figured it was the definition. Palinode was a TILT.

    Lots of fun. Thanks nutmeg and manehi.

15. Nutmeg’s surfaces, of course.

16. Thanks Nutmeg and manehi. Some lovely clues here, cleverly misleading definitions and smooth surfaces. RADOME is new to me, but with those letters and “covering” in the definition, it was always going to end in -DOME, so not too tricky to work out. The one I struggled most with was REED ORGAN – just couldn’t wrangle the letters into an instrument until I had all the crossing letters in.

    I also had a bit of trouble parsing MOUSE – as a Liverpool FC fan, the words “famous Egyptian” instantly bring to mind Mo Salah, so I then spent a while pondering how “bottles”=USE… Doh!

    Ed @7 – I did ponder DECKWEAR for a moment, and it is arguably a valid solution, but is it a recognised term? It’s not in any of my dictionaries… NECKWEAR always seemed more likely.

    Ronald @6 – I mainly associate FINIAL with curtain rods – wasn’t aware of the church-related meaning. Good one to add to the knowledge bank, thanks.

17. Thankyou N and M.
    Enjoyed the misdirection in the hidden MOUSE and the surface reading of HOUSE.
    Liked the cluing of KITCHEN, in KITCHENER. The capital C led me down an another path being an Antipodean.
    Anxious as an anagrind I haven’t seen before, and not quite sure about it.
    BEND THE RULES I didn’t find very cryptic.
    Quibbles about the grammar in RUE THE DAY. Wouldn’t that read: wish they hadn’t rued the day?
    … and was looking for an adjectival indicator in ASSYRIAN.
    UMAMI my fav.

18. Exactly what Eileen said @13.

    Felt rig for engineer in ENGIRD a tad loose but only a very minor point. Otherwise, as elegant as we’ve come to expect with this fine setter.

    Many thanks, both.

19. UMAMI seems to be one of those words consigned to use only in crosswords and not in everyday speech.

    It’s common to hear the other 4 used t whenever would you hear, “the soup was a bit umami”?

20. William@19. UMAMI mightn’t be used an adjective but it’s valid as a ‘flavour in food’. We’re very fond of UMAMI in my household. I also love the word and find it almost onomatopoeic in the expression of pleasure rolling around the mouth.
    But you’ve raised the question of what is the adjectival form. Umamish?

21. I found this pretty straightforward, with some good surfaces, as we have come to expect from this setter – HAREM was my favourite.

    I agree with paddymelon @17 that the grammar for RUE THE DAY doesn’t feel quite right, but I liked the clue anyway.

    Autumn (here now in the Northern Hemisphere) is the time for chestnuts, and there is a fair sprinkling here amongst the single letter additions (that isn’t a complaint!). Perhaps that’s why ENGIRD was my LOI – I was fixated on ‘engineer’ = RE.

    Thanks to Nutmeg and manehi

22. paddym @17 “They wish they hadn’t voted brexit” / “They rue the day they voted brexit”?

    I was another Mo Salah victim and also spent too long on a fire that started in a BAKERY but the little known form of scrubland BAKEY turned out to be little known for a reason

23. Took a while – especially the bottom half.

    Favourites: SHOPPED AROUND, RUE THE DAY, CONTRAPTIONS, HOMESICK, AQUILINE

    Also not heard of RADOME or PALINODE (didn’t even think there could be such a thing)

    Thanks Nutmeg and manehi

24. Ah ok bodycheetah@22. I geddit.

25. William @19, you’ve obviously not listened to the Kitchen Cabinet on Radio 4 on Saturdays. UMAMI seems to be every other word!
    Regarding NECKWEAR/ DECKWEAR , restrictive suggests the former to me after years of being obliged to wear ties at work.

26. Thanks for blog. I like Nutmeg.

    Being a pleb nho PALINODE but worked it out; I did no FINIAL because I had a watchful small pottery dragon finial installed on my gable when the roof was redone ..

27. bodycheetah @22: You’ve convinced me about 21ac. And although I wasn’t decoyed into playing with Mo Salah I did toy briefly with TUT.

28. *know*

29. Lots of clever clues this morning – particularly liked SABOTAGED, GOING BUST and AQUILINE.
    Can’t quite see what the purpose of ‘limited’ is in 4A. Surely *all* clothing (except maybe a hazmat suit) only covers part of the body?
    THEY = ‘The authorities’ seems a bit weak to me.
    I wouldn’t have said the first two syllables of PALINODE are a homophone of ‘pally’ – surely one ends in a short i and the other with a long e?

30. Smooth surfaces as ever from Nutmeg.

    I failed to notice the hidden MOUSE, thinking muse must have been the famous Egyptian, doh. I liked RUE THE DAY and SEASON. I’m not sure why RADOME was necessary; with ‘hares’ one could have had radish or some such. Maybe Nutmeg just liked her clue for HAREM?

    Thanks Nutmeg and manehi.

31. I was another who wondered about DECKWEAR. I enjoyed this, though. Eileen@13 It is strange that a setter known for her smooth surfaces should choose a name that implies a rough one. If I were more gifted I would compose a PALINODE about it.

32. Muffin @1. If you ever travel into Harrogate on the A59 you will see plenty of radomes (aka golf balls) at Menwith Hill.

33. paddymelon @20: Hadn’t considered the delicious onomatopoeic aspect of the word. Perhaps the adjectival form should be umayummy.

34. ‘Anxious’ as an anagrind is just too random for my liking — the word carries no sense of rearrangement/mixing.
    But I’m happy with RUE THE DAY = wish they hadn’t. There is always an issue in defining an idiomatic phrase like this, because of the active agent role, which must be indicated by some sort of placeholder in the definition. It might reasonably be the unspecific ‘one’, ‘you’ or ‘they’.

35. Umami always reminds me of the concentrated steak juice in the gutter round the edge of the griddle…wiped up with bread, yum, a favourite as a kid. Neat puzzle as ever from the Megster, ta both.

36. [Careful with that seaweed, William]

    I very much liked SHOPPED AROUND – reminded me of the mere cats/meerkats we had recently. [That’s several species of small furry animal, but alas no Pict to groove with.]

    Thanks N & m

37. A thoroughly enjoyable puzzle. Wasn’t sure about LOI RADOME, but no problems otherwise, and plenty of entertainment. I particularly enjoyed SALAD BOWL, GOING BUST, and AQUILINE.

38. Didn’t know either RADOME or PALINODE, and couldn’t parse the latter. Also failed to spot the MOUSE lurking in the famous Egyptian: neatly done, Nutmeg.

39. pserve_p2 @34 – I didn’t question it when I was filling in the answer, but now you’ve raised it, yes, I tend to agree with you re “anxious”. It could easily be fixed by changing it to “worried”, which has the sense of being shaken (as in a dog worrying its prey).

40. I think bending the rules is can also be facetiously defined as “using flexible measures” so a DD in my book

41. Robert (Mouseman) Thompson (1876-1955), the Yorkshire furniture maker who nearly always carved a well hidden small mouse somewhere on his pieces, would have been impressed with the way Nutmeg cleverly hid hers in 5ac…

42. 9ac, even…

43. Most enjoyable, as I almost always find Nutmeg’s puzzles. She is a great setter! Same as several other contributors above – I learned a couple of new words – PALINODE at 25a and RADOME at 8d – but both were gettable from the wordplay. I also agree with previously mentioned favourites nominated by manehi and others. [There’s a great song by an Aussie artist I follow, Ed Kuepper, called “I think I might Rue the Day”, so that has made 21a an earworm for me all day. I always like the little tangents these puzzles take me on, as well as those suggested by other posters, such as the Pink Floyd references in a couple above]. [I have to say that Umami is big on my agenda as it is a favourite taste that I only learned about through Hetty McKinnon, my favourite Aussie cookbook writer, now resident in Brooklyn, who has introduced me to a myriad of wonderful tastes including Asian variations that are now firmly part of the meal planning in our household.] Thanks to both the setter and the blogger.

44. Thanks to Nutmeg for a challenging and well constructed puzzle. Sadly, it was a DNF for me as the MOUSE escaped. As with others I liked the new words; and my favourites were CONTRAPTION, SABOTAGED, HAREM and what’s not to like about the use of UMAMI
    Thanks also to manehi for the blog and for the comments from the group.

45. What Eileen said @13

46. William @19: UMAMI is a word that gets used on cooking shows a lot, and I in fact used it just yesterday myself [I was making a vegetarian minestrone (Meatless Monday, see) that called for three packets of vegetable stock concentrate, to which I said, “there’s the umami bomb.”] Of course, UMAMI is also what Oedipus said in bed, and having once made that joke I think of it every time I see the word.

    Since it’s basically Japanese for “yumminess,” I like the idea of “umamiyummy” as an adjective.

    Like everyone else, I was unfamiliar with a PALINODE, but like a well-clued word should be, it could hardly be anything else.

47. Nice puzzle. I never find Nutmeg’s offerings “easy”, but this took a little less time than most.
    [Echo JinA@43. essexboy: they’re no longer in that cave – they came to our garden and ate all the flowers.]

48. me@31 Her surfaces are rightly feted
    But, on spinach Nutmeg grated
    Not really a palinode which is a contradiction of a previous poem like Ogden Nash
    Nothing makes me sicker
    than liquor
    and candy
    is too expandy in recantation of Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker

49. Very enjoyable, steady solve mostly until I got to RADOME and PALINODE, which were unfamiliar to me, but gettable nonetheless.

    Like quite a few others I pondered DECKWEAR, but stayed with NECKWEAR as that used “limited” more smoothly.

    Favourite for me was GLAD RAGS for its simple neat surface

    Thanks to Nutmeg and manehi

50. Thanks both,
    [Re 17a: in relation to Brexit, immigration etc, I keep looking for that sub-editor’s chestnut, ‘Britain waives the rules’. But so far I have been disappointed.]

51. I’d never heard of a RADOME, and though I sort of knew that a PALINODE was some kind of poem and a FINIAL was some sort of architectural thingy, that was all I knew.

    Paddymelon@20 How about umamical? Umamious? But no, umamiyummy beats ’em all.

    Fine puzzle, thanks to Nutmeg. And good blog too, thanks mhl.

52. Beaten by ENGIRD sadly. AQUILINE, RADOME & PALINODE all required confirmation from Mr G but otherwise fairly straightforward.
    Nicely clued & very enjoyable.
    Thanks all.

53. Very late to the plate today with a busy day that’s kept me from the blog – even though the puzzle was completed whilst it was still dark outside this morning. Just briefly – to the relief of all – noting my appreciation of both puzzle and blog which I’ve sped read. A definite UMAMI flavour pervades and top marks for the Pink Floyd references.

    An Impalin’

    Michael Palin’s style was ailin’
    Like umami – earthy, ‘farmy’

    A Palin Ode

    But, none too soon, he’s changed his tune
    Now like honey, smooth and yummy

    Thanks Nutmeg and manehi

54. Enjoyable experience. Stumped by “shopped” (would never have thought “gave away”) and “engird”.

55. PostMark@53 Nice work!

56. Despite multiple failures (PALINODE, SEASON, ENGIRD, RADOME) I still managed to enjoy this with SABOTAGED, AMIGO, UMAMI, and AQUILINE being favourites. Loved most of the surfaces as usual. Thanks to both.

57. JinA@ 43. What Pink Floyd references?

58. [jeceris@57: The double album Ummagumma from 1969 included a live version of “Careful with that axe, Eugene” and a studio version of “Several species of small furry animals gathered together in a cave and grooving with a Pict”. Now find the references!]

59. Thanks for the blog , a bit too Sibyl Fawlty for my taste really.

60. Roz @59: I don’t share your generalised moschocarydophobia, but I didn’t find this one of the Spice Girl’s best 🙂

61. RullyTully @32
    Yes, I’ve seen them (though I think most are no longer there) – just didn’t know what they were called!

62. An excellent puzzle, with a generous helping (10) of long words/phrases (of 9+ letters). I set about getting these first, which I succeeded in doing because of all the helpful intersections.

    It’s all been said. It’s always good to have crosswords of this standard to get one’s teeth into.

    Thanks to Nutmeg and manehi.

63. A similar experience to manehi (although definitely far fewer solutions on the first pass), then it slowly came together in a very pleasing manner. Lots to enjoy, few quibbles. PALINODE a new one on me and I managed to work it out with some aids from the “net”.
    A fun puzzle. Thanks very much Nutmeg and manehi.

64. Dr Whatson @58.
    Thanks for the heads up. Not familiar with that album.

65. I would have finished this soon after breakfast but for carelessly entering NECKWARE (as did TassieTim@11 and CanberraGirl @14, so I’m in good company), and didn’t realise my error until half an hour ago. Even then RADOME was a matter of the only possible word from the letters available and then check in Chambers, but I had seen RIG=’engineer’ so ENGIRD was easy once it had the right crossers. Doh!

    Surprised to see a few complaints about weakness in some clues, but if I may be allowed, I didn’t think there was much cryptic about 17a: ‘Utilise flexible measures to gain one’s ends?’ and I see that manehi seems similarly dubious. Apart from thinking about measures=rulers=RULES and making them flexible=BEND, is there anything more going on?

66. I didn’t finish with RADOME and ENGIRD fixing me. Also managed to forget TREND could be “all the rage”
    Thanks both

67. Pretty gentle by Nutmeg’s standards. PALINODE and RADOME were new to me and ENGIRD was tough to spot.
    The only one that raised an eyebrow was ASSYRIAN, which appears to be an adjective defined by a noun. Obvious enough with the crossers, but feels slightly off.
    Thanks, N & m.

68. I agree with phitonelly on ASSYRIAN – oddly enough, nobody else except Paddymelon @17 has mentioned it.
    I also think that an unusual word like RADOME shouldn’t have been clued as an anagram.
    But apart from that, another nice and relatively gentle crossword from Nutmeg – well, that’s what we thought.
    Both 10dn and, to a slightly lesser extent, 15dn were marvellous – just simple charades but so effective!
    Many thanks to our blogger & setter.

69. I got close to a rare Nutmeg finish, but was undone by a number of obscurities, and for one who tends to solve from the definition rather than the wordplay, this made it rather tricky.
    Pleased with the rest of the solve though, everything else parsed.
    Thanks both.

70. Sil @68, phitonelly @67 & Paddymelon @17 Re ASSYRIAN being an adjective but being clued by a noun, I agree that it looks wrong but I thought of it as the answer to a question:

    “What was that empire that used to exist in the middle east in Old Testament times?”
    “Oh, you mean the Assyrian.”

    You wouldn’t expect a clue like this for BRITISH or ROMAN, because there are more direct ways of cluing those, but having got herself stuck with the word, Nutmeg could hardly clue it as “inhabitant of Nineveh”.

71. I agree with sheffield hatter about 16d ASSYRIAN which I thought was fine. “Name some empires” – “The Assyrian, the Roman…”. It’s a bit like when muffin (if I remember rightly) has complained about, say, Winchester being defined as “cathedral”, on the grounds that Winchester is the city. But of course a response to “What is your favourite cathedral?” could well be “Winchester”. (Sorry muffin if I’ve misattributed this argument to you.)

72. I thought ASSYRIAN could be understood as “the Assyrian” – a personification of the Assyrian empire – who memorably came down like a wolf on the fold, according to both Byron and Jeeves.

73. Hi Lord Jim
    Yes, probably me. It’s just sloppy language. “Cathedral” (or “Empire”) isn’t stated, but it’s implied, so it must be there! You wouldn’t get away with it in a legal context.

74. Love the Floyd references mentioned by others – look forward to Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast in the morning. Another classy puzzle which I tackled late this evening with the the aforementioned nhos proving tricky. SABOTAGED was beautiful.

    Ta Nutmeg & manehi

75. william@33 and mrpenney@46 late to the day but thankyou both
    Didn’t know that UMAMI meant yummy in Japanese. That makes it even more delicious. Love william’s umayummy.!

76. And mrpenney’s umamiyummy doubly good.

77. Even later but thanks manehi for explanations and everyone for more explanations, references and poems etc. This one followed the 80/20 rule for me, but enjoyed learning some new words, mix of jorum and a couple I had to look up to be sure – AQUILINE stood out for me, thanks Nutmeg.

78. Very disappointing . Always look forward to her careful balance of wit and subtlety and avoidance of obscure answers such as radome and entire. Must have been a bit rushed.

79. Encyclopedia@78 must have been a bit rushed – ENTIRE was very obscure indeed 🙂

    I wasn’t disappointed with this one, so thanks Nutmeg and manehi for the fun.

80. @73 more literary device than sloppy language. See synecdoche and metonymy.
    Tip: crosswords are not legal contexts 😉

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