Guardian Cryptic 29,118 by Brendan

100 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 29,118 by Brendan”

1. Damn, another theme I missed. Themelet, really. I enjoyed this offering from Brendan, a setter who often thwarts me.

   I assumed the addict in 6d was a user, and it took me a while to account for that AB at the start. I didn’t parse OWLISH, and it took me a while to work out in 11d why pie is money. The use of “rabbit” to mean a bad sportsman is, as far as I’m aware, uniquely British, so 5a didn’t make sense.

   Thanks Brendan & PeterO.

2. Thanks, Brendan and PeterO!
   Quite an enjoyable puzzle and an excellent blog (as always).

   JILL
   Looks like there is a wordplay…
   ILL (coming to harm) following J (Jack)

3. Or ILL (harm, noun) considering ‘coming to’ as link words.

4. Geoff Down Under @1. I also got stuck on USER before twigging ABUSER. I needed to come here to parse RABBIT, but it has been long used here in cricket circles, sort of. Daryll Cullinan was often described as Shane Warne’s bunny.

5. Well spotted, KVa. 😉

6. Thanks Brendan for a pleasant Monday surprise. As usual there were many ticks — CHRISTOPHER, ROBIN, REVENGED, ORTHODONTIST (nice surface), BRAY (nice definition), SUPEREGOS, NAIVE, and OTTO (clever surface). Dumb bunny that I am I couldn’t fully parse RABBIT. I parsed JILL as KVa did. Thanks PeterO for the blog.

7. Thanks to Brendan for a pleasant solve and to PeterO for an early and clear blog.

   I couldn’t parse RABBIT at all which seems silly now I have PeterO’s explanation. I solved 23d as KVa @2 did, with similar thoughts (see @3). Great minds and all that!
   Until the crossers confirmed 8d as TOES I was prepared to change it to TOWS as I found the clue a trifle ambiguous.
   Favourites were CHRISTOPHER and SALTPETRE because I like the words although I really enjoyed the whole lot. Good start to the week.

8. When I saw today’s setter was Brendan rather than Vulcan I was a bit worried but this turned out to be not too difficult, with the exception of the NE where I had trouble with RABBIT (no problems with the second def GDU @1 – think Glenn McGrath), ABSTRUSER (same as GDU @1 & GFO @4), BRAY and even ESTATE. Good to have a theme on a Monday.

   Highlight was the semi-&lit JILL, parsed as per KVa @3; another reminder of early childhood reading.

   Thanks to Brendan and PeterO

9. No need for vinegar and brown paper today, a nice little Monday stroll, although I did need the cricket hint from a g-threader to get rabbit. Thanks to Brendan and Peter.

10. Another victim of RABBIT – my knowledge of cricket is that of an 11 yo boy.

11. Well I confidently entered in Monkey as my FOI at 5 across thinking that an “ai” (part of tail) was a monkey (it’s not, it’s a sloth). Maybe I was confusing it with a “sai”. RABBIT ended up fitting but I couldn’t parse that or it’s connection with a theme (what theme?!).
    I also wondered what “robbed” was doing in SALTPETRE so thanks for explaining both PeterO.
    Favourite was POOHPOOH (theme? what theme?!)

12. Thank you Peter O.
    I think there may be other themed words here including OPTIMIST and RITES OF PASSAGE.

13. And Freudian SUPEREGO.

14. I’m not very into sport either, but Collins says that that use of “rabbit” is British informal.

15. Well this was a wonderful Monday surprise to have a Brendan to tackle! Thanks Brendan. I enjoyed it from start to finish. Lots to like. Thanks for the blog and most of all for those lovely nuances on the A.A. Milne theme, PeterO. I only saw the obvious ones like POOH in POOH-POOH, RABBIT, CHRISTOPHER ROBIN and OWL in OWLISH, and thought Eeyore when I solved 7d BRAY. [Geoff Down Under@1 and 14, interesting that Paul Kelly uses that term “rabbit” for a cricketer in his epic ballad “Bradman” (well worth a listen I reckon, whether one is into cricket or not)
    Now big Maurice Tate was the trickiest of them all
    And a man with a wisecracking habit
    But there’s one crack that won’t stop ringing in his ears
    “Hey, Whitey! That’s my rabbit”
    Bradman never forgot it]

16. Julie in Australia@15
    Loved the ballad. Thanks.

17. Nice puzzle. Thanks to Brendan and PeterO.
    I thought the definition for 20 across was Land in country, otherwise the “in country” seems redundant.

18. ESTATE (10 ac)
    Crispy@17
    I agree with you.

19. At a stretch 11d is related to the theme as the Pooh books were illustrated by Ernest Shepard. Not that I was aware of the theme whilst doing the puzzle. Enjoyable and a pleasant change for a Monday. Thanks PeterO and Brendan

20. South African cricketer Cullinan was Shane Warne’s bunnie

21. Cricket alert!!
    Re Darryl Cullinan. Technically, not a rabbit. A Rabbit is a tailender, typically batting at 9, 10 or 11 (or, in England’s case pre-Bazball, any where from 7 onwards), whereas Cullinan batted 5 or 6 I seem to recall.
    End of cricket stuff.

22. Lovely stuff, but embarrassed to have missed the theme… never think to look. Don’t expect it would have helped much, as everything was carefully clued.

    Had to come here for the explanation of list=wish and also the robbed aspect of SALTPETRE.

    Many thanks, both.

23. Much as I hate to rain on the Pooh parade, Christopher is not a saint: He was bounced from the pantheon years ago.

24. Tomsdad@19 Thanks for the reminder to the shepherd connection – at the time I solved the clue I was convinced there was a connection to the theme but couldn’t recall it.

    Thanks also to PeterO and Brendan: no struggle with the last few today, except I didn’t know the cricket meaning of rabbit.

25. Different spelling but, E H Shepard was the illustrator.

26. Brendan? On a Monday? However, this was a Monday puzzle and relatively gentle despite not spotting the theme. The NE took the longest with 5ac a bit of a struggle. Thanks Brendan and PeterO.
    (Following the references to Shane Warne can I recommend Jiggery Pokkery by The Duckworth Lewis Method, a hilarious take on his famous ball to Mike Gatting.)

27. [of course, a really bad batsman is a “ferret”, as he goes after the rabbits]

28. Robbo@23. It depends who is keeping the list. I can think of dozens of Cornish saints unknown to Rome.

29. A fun start to the week. Perhaps slighly harder than the usual Monday offering. The one clue that defeated me was PARBOILING. Also, I’m sure this has been raised before, but whatever a dictionary may say ROB and BURGLE are not the same things (19 A). It is possible to burgle by means a tresspass with intent to steal something (though it is not limited to that), whilst robbery involves an assault which may have no connection with a trespass. With thanks to Brendan and PeterO.

30. Favourites: REVENGED, PARBOILING, POOH-POOH, PEDICURIST, TOES, BRAY.

    I could not parse:
    – 5ac apart from ‘tail is part of one’ = RABBIT but I should have seen the cricket reference.
    – WISH = list in the past (26ac) but I guessed that wish might be an old term for list/lean (my online dictionary gave no info re the biblical usage of the word).

    Thanks, both.

31. Thanks Brendan and PeterO
    Mostly great. I didn’t parse the “list” bit of OWLISH, also thought 8d was ambiguous, and that “certain animals” in 3d was clumsy
    Favourite JILL.

32. Yes, what a pleasant surprise to see Brendan on a Monday. Agree with Crispy @17. Held up in the NE corner and was hoping to fit Piglet in somewhere. My only minor quibble, is that burgle and rob are not synonymous, the latter involving the use or threat of violence. All good fun.

    Ta Brendan & PeterO.

33. Nuntius @29, we crossed 🙂

34. Nice to see RABBIT clued without reference to Jewish scholars or talking too much. I think of rabbit in cricketing terms as a player who is particularly weak against a certain bowler, but that must derive from a general sense of being a poor batsman. A very pleasant puzzle.

35. I wonder if we would say David Warner is Stuart Broad’s bunny/rabbit? Obviously not a tailender though.
    I enjoyed this very much and for once found the theme. Thanks Brendan and PeterO.

36. [Petert @34
    A player who has difficulty against a certain bowler is the bowler’s bunny rather than rabbit – see earlier posts. Obviously related, though!]

37. AlanC@32: there are “little piggies” in the clue for TOES – which I think is as close to Piglet as we’re going to get.

38. I still don’t really get 5a and 26 a. List in past? Some were very easy but some I still struggle with.

39. RABBIT
    Cottontail Rabbit: any of several small brownish-gray rabbits with a fluffy tail that is white on the underside.
    ‘tail’ is part of one (one type of rabbit).
    The second sense of ‘RABBIT’ has been an interesting discussion point today. You may read the comments above.

    OWLISH
    list (Collins)
    Archaic
    to wish; like; choose.
    Hence ‘list in past’.

40. I’ve done enough crosswords by now to know about cricketing rabbits, but didn’t realise it was a UK-exclusive term. Failed to parse OWLISH (tough clue for an otherwise gentle puzzle) and missed the significance of “robbed” in SALTPETRE and the (AB) USER in ABSTRUSER.
    Favourites POOH POOH and ORTHODONTIST (I have to visit Dr.Tooth as soon as possible as a crown is loose and needs re-cementing).

41. Some interesting connections in Brendan’s offering today…a ferret is a batsman even less competent than a RABBIT, and a JILL is a female one.

    I’ll get my coat.

42. The anagram clue for ORTHODONTIST was excellent, I thought. The cricketing rabbit was unknown to me, but the checkers secured the solution anyway. And I enjoyed the “list in the past” as a very smart bit of wordplay. It looked like Brendan set out really trying to be Monday simple (with his theme, too) in the top half and then, as he worked down the grid, got into his more usual trickier groove with some tougher clueing and neglecting the Milne theme.

43. A friendlier, gentler leg up than usual from Brendan coz it’s Monday. Some lovely smooth clueing, especially liked SUPEREGOS amongst several others. My godmother had twins in the early 50’s and named them CHRISTOPHER and ROBIN. (A boy and a girl). Not entirely sure how in vogue A.A.Milne was at the time. Though I do know he was a frequent member of J.M.Barrie’s cricket team as told in “Peter Pan’s First XI” by Kevin Telfer. As the cricket seems to be centre stage in the news at the moment…

44. Just a thought. Isn’t 11d Shepherds – people using crooks – followed by p – little money – and ie – namely?

    Thanks to Brendan and PeterO

45. Togo@44
    SHEPHERDS PIE
    Yes. That’s what PeterO says in the blog as well. The ‘pie’ bit comes with the package. Some more GK and an additional piece of wordplay.

46. A nice themed surprise – thank you to Brendan and PeterO

47. A very pleasant surprise this morning. Apart from one or two constructions (OWLISH, particularly) the level of difficulty was suitably Mondayish, but with more interesting and entertaining clues.

    Favourites were ORTHODONTIST and the &lit JILL (which I parsed as KVa @2. I was pleased to see SALTPETRE defined as ‘part of explosive mixture’ and not ‘explosive’ as egregiously happened recently.

    Time for a smackerel of something….

    Thanks to S&B

48. KVa@45 No he didn’t. He made a reference to an obsolete and obscure Indian unit of currency. I parsed it as Togo did.

49. MAC089
    Yes he did! – and then offered an alternative reading.

    Too late to offer anything significant (except some explanations of ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_rob_Peter_to_pay_Paul

    Many thanks to Brendan and PeterO.

50. Robbo @23 I didn’t know canonised people could be fired but I suppose it makes sense 🙂 Anyway a Saint CHRISTOPHER is also a type of pendant so I think Brendan’s off the hook

    Nice gentle start to the week

    Cheers B&P

51. MAC089 (Eileen@49 agrees with me)
    Back to SHEPHERDS PIE
    The line under discussion from the blog:

    …P (pence. ‘little money’) plus I.E. (id est, ‘namely’).

    Ignoring ‘namely’, PIE could be ‘little money’, at one time, in India.

52. Robbo@23 and bodycheetah@50 – Saint Christopher is indeed still a saint. He no longer has a date dedicated to him on some religious calendars, having been removed from the worldwide catholic calendar in 1970, but he remains a saint.

53. Togo @44
    As has already been pointed out, the parsing you gave matched mine. If you found my post confusing, try adding: “Alternatively, ignoring ‘namely’ …”.

54. Thank you for explaining the “robbed” in 18A and the second meaning of RABBIT.

    4D was my favorite

55. Knowing now the archaic meaning of “list”, I will never look at the word “wishlist” in quite the same way again.

56. Having solved CHRISTOPHER, ROBIN and RABBIT early on, the theme revealed itself, although I did forget the cricketing rabbit.

    I liked the reversal in REVENGED, the good anagram for ORTHODONTIST, the crooked SHEPHERDS, and the low-level PEDICURIST.

    Thanks Brendan and PeterO.

57. I think its all been said but I’d like to add my praise for the witty concise clues that Brendan supplies.
    Thanks all

58. Otto the Great, king of the Germans and Holy Roman Emperor, is probably a better fit than Bismark, who was not technically a ruler.

59. Totally missed the theme, despite the double mention at 1a. Take to B&PO.

60. Ta*

61. Bolb @59
    You should have been the most likelt to see the theme!
    I missed it, of course – once I have written in an answer, I forget it.

62. Hats off to Brendan for creating a puzzle straightforward enough for a Monday, while remaining witty and bright. I understand it can be trickier, in some ways, to create a puzzle that’s easier to crack than to set at one’s usual level
    In any case, a lovely surprise to see Brendan’s name …..
    And, of course, a very pleasant and enjoyable solve

    Many thanks

63. Thanks both and I was defeated (by 3 wickets? (PACKS, RABBIT and BRAY)) but enjoyed the tussle.

    For PACKS I had ‘pucks’; knowing Brendan’s hiberno-origins I thought we were in Killorglin for Puck Fair and ‘pucks’ means ‘lots’ (in Ireland at least (eg ‘pucks of cash’)) and at the fair the unfortunate ‘puck’ (male goat) is hoist aloft in a ‘container’ wherefrom he rules over the 3-day revels.

    As to RABBIT and BRAY, the definitions were just ABSTRUSER than I could fathom. So it goes betimes.

    (I’d propose that Eeyore also makes an appearance in RITES OF PASSAGE as the ‘donkey in part of book’.)

    (And the wordplay for PARBOILED has given me an ‘eyeworm’ [(c) cellomaniac].)

64. I’m not sure I would call Bismarck a “ruler of Germany” as he was chancellor of Prussia and served the Prussian king. But there were several Holy Roman Emperors called Otto and the Empire included all of modern Germany.

65. Fenman @58: I agree that the OTTO in the puzzle is the Holy Roman Emperor.

    St CHRISTOPHER is still venerated in the Orthodox tradition. He isn’t the only early saint to be dropped from the Roman Catholic calendar: St Valentine is another, though he remains officially a saint because he is listed in the Roman Martyrology (despite being probably equally mythical).

66. Slightly puzzled by the comment of “rabbit”. It’s a general term for a keen but not very capable player of a game, and not restricted to UK or cricket, or even English first language speakers. The Austrian chess grandmaster Karl Robatsch, explaining the somewhat eccentric opening named after him, used to say “I’m a rabbit, so I dig a hole for myself”.

    I found this a typical Brendan puzzle: clever construction, perfect cluing, and practically a write-in.

67. Gentle, fun and funny – an utter delight from start to finish, especially POOH-POOH.
    Thanks to PeterO and Brendan

68. Very good, very Monday-ish. The theme whistled over my head despite its self-announcement at 1a. I liked JILL, ORTHODONTIST, ESTATE, TOES and SHEPHERDS PIE. The second meaning of RABBIT was new to me (as are most things about cricket) but I shall attempt to file it away.

    Thanks both!

69. Thanks for the blog, I see that OTTO has escaped from the Everyman , last time he was a Holy Roman Emperor. ABSTRUSER was neat , abuser a nice variation on the typical user.
    AlanC @30 rob and burgle can mean the same in a sporting sense as you should know better than anybody.

70. Like many groaned when I saw Brendan,s name on a Monday but soon started to make progress. Lovely puzzle thank you. (Don’t know if the puzzles are getting easier or I am improving but third consecutive Monday finish!)
    I thought the second part of 5ac referred to the Tail of Peter Rabbit – I must improve my spelling.

71. Thanks to PeterO for excellent analysis and to the collective for the kind of interesting details and wordplay that bring me here. Nobody, however, mentioned Kanga and Roo. According to some sources, Jack and Jill are names for male and female kangaroos.

72. A rare finish and an even rarer Brendan finish and I even spotted the theme too.
    Interesting to see our esteemed setter mentioned kanga and roo. I was looking for them and even a woozle and hefalump but they would have been a stretch too far, I think.
    Thanks both equally good puzzle and blog.

73. I really don’t want to yet again write the post about how rob and burgle are not synonyms. But that pet peeve was my only quibble with this fine, fun, perfectly Mondayish offering.

74. Not too bad but the NE corner defeated me. 5A, 7D and 8D impenetrable to me. 1A my favourite.

75. [Roz @69: ouch and that was malicious wounding under the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861].

76. Like others, I found this fairly gentle… until I reached the final two, which took me *mumble mumble*

    In hindsight, having heard plenty of comments about Broad sending Warner back to his hutch recently should have tipped me off to RABBIT rather quicker than I actually managed. It was only when I very belatedly spotted the theme that I had any certainty. My best guess was that there was some sort of a hunt known as a tail involving an unfortunate bunny. For some reason BAY for horse and BRAY for an asinine pronouncement also eluded me until the last, and there were multiple plausible-ish ways to parse the surface (pronouncement as a homophone; a double definition involving some sort of a monarch birthed by a horse; an R K or QU either above or inside a horse), which added to my general bafflement.

    Anyway, a very nice puzzle overall, although my overriding sense upon completion is one of relief!

    Thanks both.

77. [ AlanC I came across this football report – Last night Northern Ireland carried off another heist, burgling 3 points from the mighty San Marino in another display of floodlit robbery. The team coach was left behind as the squad escaped in a fleet of getaway cars. Interpol are investigating.
    It does seem that burgle and rob are equivalent in the sporting sense. ]

78. [Brilliant Roz, you just struck the fatal wound with the ‘mighty San Marino’ 🙂 Now it’s Murder under s1 of The Common Law Act]

79. [ Very sorry , I get all my football jokes from my students , they seem to spend all their time thinking up ways to insult rival teams. ]

80. Theologically speaking, hope refers to a repudiation of despair (and, relatedly, apathy & cynicism), rather than an OPTIMIST’s rose-eyed expectation that things will turn out for the best.

81. 19ac I have to take issue with Rob and Burgle they are not the same thing one is a crime against a person the other a crime against property (it may be aggravated if a crime against a person takes place during the burglary)

82. [David @81
    It used to be the case – not sure if it still is – that burglary only took place when it was dark; if it was light, the offence was “housebreaking”.]

83. A very nicely pitched Monday cryptic. Many thanks to Brendan and to PeterO, whose blog shone light into some Pooh Corners.

84. David @81: see comments @29 & 32.

85. A minor transgression surely in so great a puzzle.

86. Far too late to add anything useful, but just had to thank brendan (and PeterO, of course) for two special things.

    Firstly, the robbed Saint being PETER – filed for future reference, and

    Secondly , the reminder of the wind blowing where it listeth. Utterly gnomic without it’s context, but actually part of a lovely, humane Jesus story (says committed atheist who happens to have a KJV Bible App – go figure!)

    !

87. And – to any puzzled – you need to read on a bit to get to JC and the Samaritan Lady. Not great with chapter and verse – sorry!

88. I am not looking at the blog…

    I am stuck on 1a.

    Repeatedly bear ridicule….I know it’s the same word twice, but I cannot fit MOCK, JINE or JEER.

    AM I CLOSE.

    I think it will allow me more letters for other clues.

89. Think childrens book bear repeated.

90. Thank you p!

91. I’m down to 5, 10, 18 and 26 a.

    Also 6,7,8d.

92. I was amazed to learn there was a theme! Missed it yet again! Thanks for an enjoyable solve, Brendan.

93. mrpenney@73 You didn’t have to yet again mention rob and burgle, several people already have. It seems to have generated comment after comment from people who didn’t read the other comments first.

    Thanks to Brendan and PeterO. Delightful theme — how could I have missed it?

94. Perhaps I will henceforth eschew attempts at synonymity except for “furze” and “gorse:.

95. You’ll still get someone taking issue Brian @94

96. Brian@94 ….if one only caters for Zoilists, what stagnancy may ensue? Is it not the rulebreakers who bring forth, and appreciate, creative delight….?

97. Late thanks PeterO and Brendan, got stuck in NE where spotting theme would have helped with the wonderful riddle RABBIT. Very enjoyable as usual and nice to sit on my moral high horse for the rob/burgle debate and recall how annoyed I once was at mass and volume being equated in a clue. Forensically detailed knowledge can be a dangerous thing!

98. Brian Greer@71. Yes, Jack and Jill for male and female kangaroos, but some/many Aussies would be more familiar with the (derived) terms Jackaroo and Jillaroo for rural/outback station workers.

99. Burglary is in the first half dozen synonyms for robbery in my Oxford Thesaurus. I wish people commenting on synonyms and definitions would first check in their dictionary or thesaurus, or at least have the courtesy to read the previous comments before posting.

    Brian@94 – please use ‘burgle’ for ROB at least once in every puzzle you set, until these comments cease. And good luck with furze and gorse!

100. Fell down in the NE corner. I wondered if there was a theme with PEDICURIST and ORTHODONTIST. I liked RITES OF PASSAGE.

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