Guardian Cryptic 29,245 by Fed

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/29245.

It has happened that I have blogged the previous two Fed contributions to the Guardian Cryptics, and here we are again, which is fine by me. It seems that some find Fed hard going, but this one has plenty of straightforward clues to help things along. Perhaps the difficulty is in his style, which sometimes requires careful reading of the cryptic syntax. Anyway, I found this definitely enjoyable.

ACROSS
1 CHAPERON
Man in power-sharing arrangement with former dictator reveals Guardian (8)
CHAP (‘man’) plus PERON (Juan, of Argentina, by some regarded as ‘former dictator’), with the two Ps merged (‘in power-sharing arrangement with’).
6 MISLAY
Lose example of big road kill (6)
A charade of MI (i.e.M1, ‘example of big road’) plus SLAY (‘kill’).
9 FECUND
Prolific in French, occasionally and in German (6)
A charade of FEC (‘FrEnCh occasionally’) plus UND (‘and in German’).
10 TRIBUNAL
Fish bone inside loaf initially leads to court (8)
A charade of TRIBUNA, an envelope (‘inside’) of RIB (‘bone’) in TUNA (‘fish’); plus L (‘Loaf initially’).
11 CORKSCREW
Psychedelic rock band on front of stage for opener (9)
A charade of CORK, an anagram (‘psychedelic’) of ‘rock’ plus S (‘front of Stage’) plus CREW (‘band’), with ‘on’ giving the order of the particles.
13 ABASE
Humble sailor sea swimming (5)
A charade of AB (able-bodied ‘sailor’) plus ASE, an anagram (‘swimming’) of ‘sea’.
15 COUPLE
Two partners in firm using prime locations exclusively for introductions (6)
A charade of CO (‘company, ‘firm’) plus UPLE, first letters (‘for introductions’) of ‘Using Prime Locations Exclusively”. In Guardian Cryptic 29215 of October 31 last (which I also blogged), Fed used ‘prime locations’ to indicate locations 2,3,5,7,11,13,17 in a phrase, an ingenious device which suffered from (apparent) overuse, as pointed out by commenters, including Fed. Its different use here is surely a response to that. Nice one, Fed.
17 RELISH
Sunak briefly embracing Musk without touching stomach (6)
An envelope (’embracing’) of EL[on] (‘Musk’) minus ON (‘without touching’) in RISH[i] (‘Sunak’) minus the last letter (‘briefly’).
18 EXCISE
Musk’s company invested in city with tightwad eschewing banks and tax (6)
An envelope (‘invested in’) of X (‘Musk’s company’) in EC (postcodes, ‘city’ of London) plus [m]ISE[r] (‘tightwad’) minus the outer letters (‘eschewing banks’).
19 WING IT
Comic holding in good ad-lib (4,2)
An envelope (‘holding’) of ‘in’ plus G (‘good’) in WIT (‘comic’).
21 STOUT
Small market for drink (5)
A charade of S (‘small’) plus TOUT (‘market’, verb).
22 THROWBACK
A more primitive type of project getting support (9)
A charade of THROW (‘project’) plus (‘getting’) BACK (‘support’, verb).
25 PARADIGM
Model soldier first to march on trench (8)
A charade of PARA (trooper, ‘soldier’) plus DIG (‘trench’, verb) plus M (‘first to March’).
26 TROUPE
Group of performers using figure of speech to inspire you in audition (6)
An envelope (‘to inspire’) of U (‘you in audition’) in TROPE (‘figure of speech’).
28 HEREBY
As a result of this blasphemy making second book (6)
HERESY (‘blasphemy’) with the S changed to B (‘making second book’).
29 STRIKING
Beautiful out (8)
Double definition.
DOWN
2 HOE
Building American shed for garden (3)
A subtraction: HO[us]E (‘building’) minus US (‘American shed’), with an allusive definition.
3, 16 PLUCK UP COURAGE
Gather the nerve and plug our cupcake ingredients for a change (5,2,7)
An anagram (‘ingredients for a change’) of ‘plug our cupcake’.
4 RADICALISE
Artist laid back about copyright is ultimately sure to become more controversial (10)
A charade of RA (‘artist’) plus DICAL, an envelope (‘about’) of C (‘copyright’) in DIAL, a reversal (‘back’) of ‘laid’; plus ‘is’ plus E (‘ultimately surE‘). The answer may mean make or become more radical.
5 NUTMEG
Maybe go past an opponent in football season with this? (6)
Double definition; if you are not familiar with the first, try here.
6 MAIL
Rejecting some parliamentary post (4)
A hidden (‘some’) reversed (‘rejecting’) answer in ‘parLIAMentary’.
7, 23 STUMBLING BLOCK
Hurt leg, say cycling within group creating problem (9,5)
A charade of STUMBLING, an envelope (‘within’) of MBLI, a ‘cycling’ of LIMB (‘leg,say’) in STUNG (‘hurt’); plus BLOCK (‘group’).
8 ANAESTHETIC
Number ten is a cheat, somehow (11)
An anagram (‘somehow’) of ‘ten is a cheat’.
12 ORCHESTRATE
Taylor finally in line for game of darts – set out to secure right score (11)
A charade of ORCHE, an envelope (‘in’) of R (‘TayloR finally’) in OCHE (‘line for game of darts’); plus STRATE, an envelope (‘to secure’) of R (‘right’) in STATE (‘set out’).
14 HELICOPTER
The Police out on tour at last – it might take off (10)
A charade of HELICOPTE, an anagram (‘out’) of ‘The Police’; plus R (‘touR at last’).
16
See 3
20 THAMES
The morning’s breaking over source of Snake River (6)
A charade of THAME, an envelope (‘breaking’ – Fed is fond of this kind of word order) of AM (ante meridiem, ‘morning’) in ‘the’; plus (‘over’ in a down light) S (‘source of Snake’).
23
See 7
24 TINY
Very small object in your trousers (4)
A hidden answer (‘trousers’) in ‘objecT IN Your’.
27 PAN
It might be used to fry prawns every now and then (3)
Alternate letters (‘every now and then’) of ‘PrAwNs’.

picture of the completed grid

72 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 29,245 by Fed”

  1. Thank you Peter O.
    I laughed out loud at 15a COUPLE with the non primary numbers, and as you say, it’s probably Fed’s response. I love the way he shared the joke, although if you weren’t a wake-up, the joke’s on us.
    NUTMEG, in the football sense, I learnt from cryptics. Good to see our dear Nutmeg’s name in such a prominent position, at this time of year, or any time.
    A chuckle also for the way Fed clued that old cryptic chestnut, number for ANAESTHETIC.

  3. TINY was very well hidden. I had it in mind but did not see it until after it was obvious. Perhaps the wit of the clue threw me. HEREBY took a while. I even entered it, but was pronouncing it like heresy until it clicked, A lot to like, thanks Petero and Fed.

  4. Thanks Fed, brilliant as usual. My top picks were FECUND, TROUPE, the very clever HOE, and the well-built STUMBLING BLOCK. I failed with NUTMEG and had no hope of parsing ORCHESTRATE. I incorrectly parsed CORKSCREW thinking “cork crew” was a rock band unknown to me. Thanks PeterO for clearing things up

  5. I loved the whole thing.

    “In audition” seems to be a favorite of Fed’s (at least up to now), and sometimes it has struck me as being a little awkward, but in 26a TROUPE today it seems very natural and almost a misdirection.

    Thanks Fed and PeterO

  7. Thanks, Fed and PeterO!
    Liked COUPLE (As PeterO and pdm@1 say, a sweet response from Fed-a composite one, if you may like to say), ANAESTHETIC (someone must be downing it with a pinch of salt) and TINY (a small cue for pocket billiards?).

    HOE (a minor observation)
    Will it not be adequate to underline ‘garden’ (as a verb) as the def?

  8. PARADIGM and HEREBY were my LOIs, and probably my favourites once I saw them. As PeterO says, careful reading of the clues is a necessity. CORKSCREW was guessed from the crossers and it took a while to work out the parsing as I’ve not seen ‘psychedelic’ as an anagrind before, so thought there was a gap in my pop knowledge. Thanks to PeterO and Fed.

  9. Quite brilliant. Hard to pick favourites from such an excellent set of clues but COUPLE and TINY did make me laugh.

    Thanks, Fed and PeterO.

  10. Having zero, or possibly negative, interest in football, all I know about it is derived from crosswords. Usually, the clues are not actually about the sport at all, but this morning speciallist knowledge was required, thus NUTMEG was LOI just relying on the definition. Even Aurighetta (who knows about these things) had nho the term in relation to sport.
    I do find Fed quite hard, but always enjoyable, so thanks to him and to PeterO.

  12. NUTMEG as a football term was new to me, though it could only be that. So much to like here. Favourites included ORCHESTRATE and PARADIGM. This hit the spot: by no means easy, though all gettable with some thought. With thanks to Fed and PeterO.

  14. I agree with Rodney@13 – a brilliant puzzle. Fed’s cluing is really great, and somehow rather original, it seems to me. Favourite was my LOI, CORKSCREW. Many Thanks to F & P.

  15. For 15a I naturally tried looking at the prime-numbered letters of “Two partners in firm” which didn’t seem to produce anything. Then the penny dropped. A very clever response to the previous comments about the prime number device becoming obvious. Brilliant.

    KVa @7: that’s how I understood HOE and I think it’s a better definition.

    Many thanks Fed and PeterO.

  16. Thanks Fed and PeterO
    Not hard, but a lot of fun. Favourites CHAPERON (for “power-sharing”), PARADIGM, HOE, ORCHESTRATE (Phil “The Power” Taylor was a very succesful darts player), and HELICOPTER.
    I didn’t parse 7d.
    Perversely I saw the football meaning of NUTMEG but missed “season with this”!

  17. brutally difficult for me. I got nothing.

    The writing was on the wall when I thought CHOCCA was a hidden answer in 9a.

  18. I really enjoyed this. Clever and inventive cluing everywhere.

    One TINY gripe… not keen on STUMBLING BLOCK whereby I’m asked to think of a synonym for leg and then make an anagram of it, and then insert it into another deuces word.

    Didn’t spoil the fun, though, many thanks both.

  22. I’m beginning to make Fed m favourite setter despite failing last time with the prime numbers. Brilliant throughout, almost all solved through the wordplay, the only exception for me was NUTMEG which My SinCam got while eating breakfast and unable to tell me for several seconds! Thanks Fed and PeterO

  24. I had the NW filled in early and with P(L)UCK, NUTMEG, FE(CUN)D, (CORK)SCREW and ‘shed’ in 2d in place, I thought there was going to be a convoluted setter theme. However, apart from PAN in the opposite SE corner, that pursuit was soon exhausted. Favourites were the hilarious TINY, TRIBUNAL and WING-IT. I missed Fed’s clever response with COUPLE. The consecutive, odious smelling Musk clues were good as well. Brilliant all round.

    Ta Fed &

  25. It is traditional for the crowd to shout ‘Nuts’ when a player is nutmegged and it is usually humiliating for the victim.

  28. CORKSCREW, ORCHESTRATE and COUPLE were the stand-outs in what I thought was an excellent puzzle. As a NUTMEG is an elegant way to bamboozle an opponent in football, it made a great pseudonym for a setter.

  30. Heavily reliant on 225 for several parsings this morning. Failed with NUTMEG as I know very little about football, so thank you PeterO for the link and the rest of the explanations. Groaned at ANAESTHETIC = number … Having failed to merge the Ps in CHAPERON, I assumed that the dictator was Nero: I was grumbling bitterly about the indirect anagram and I agree with William@18 about LIMBS in CLIMBING.
    Quite a challenge, thank you Fed.

  31. Winged rather too many of these through the definition, then looking for how the parsing went. Saw a rather nice NUTMEG at the weekend in one of the Premiership games, so that came quickly to mind at 5d. ANAESTHETIC rather good. TINY well hidden. Loi HEREBY. Thanks Fed and PeterO…

  32. Thanks to Fed and PeterO. I needed the blog to help parse 18a EXCISE, 7,23d STUMBLING BLOCK and 12d ORCHESTRATE, though I had managed to solve them using parts of some wordplay and/or crossing letters.
    I enjoyed 1a CHAPERON, as did some other solvers above.
    Isn’t FECUND at 9a a lovely word?
    Like Tomsdad@8, I wondered if we had “psychedelic” as an anagram indicator before. I loved its use in 11a CORKSCREW, as it was a new one on me.
    I agree with paddymelon@1 – there was a wistful smile on my face when I solved NUTMEG at 5d.

  34. Good fun (especially TINY 🙂 ). I liked the ‘power sharing’ and the lift-and-separates: ‘road kill’, ‘fish bone’, ‘football season’. The clues for ORCHESTRATE and HELICOPTER have great surfaces (unlike that for PLUCK UP COURAGE!). The misleading ‘prime locations’ is nicely self-referential.

    The definition for HOE is ‘garden’, surely, with ‘for’ as a linker. Not allusive – another great clue.

    My quibbles are that HERESY is not ‘blasphemy’ and the indirect anagram of LIMB is VERY naughty! (‘Hurt limb when cycling…’ would have sufficed).

    Thanks to Fed and PeterO

  35. Entertaining with some nice tricks.

    I liked the power-sharing in CHAPERON, the psychedelic rock band, the non-prime locations, the model soldier, the good anagrams for ANAESTHETIC and HELICOPTER, and the very well-hidden TINY.

    We have discussed before about ‘indirect cycling’ – here I don’t think it is an indirect anagram, but a cycling of (li)MB to form MBLI. Somewhat difficult, but possibly kosher.

    Thanks Fed and PeterO.

  36. Crazy to see so many people who have never heard of NUTMEG as a term, a very common terminology from the world’s most popular sport. Most here wouldn’t bat an eyelid at a clue referencing some obscure Cricket commentator or plot-point from a television show that stopped airing in the 70s. An interesting insight into the demographics that cryptic crosswords attracts.

  37. I’m definitely warming to Fed’s style and this was a steady and enjoyable solve, with ticks for CHAPERON, CORKSCREW and HELICOPTER. I was happy to get STUMBLING BLOCK from the crossers; it was too much faff to parse. Technically a DNF as I needed the check button to turn HERESY into HEREBY but once seen I liked it. Many thanks to Fed and PeterO.

  38. I found this hard, not helped by thinking dick in 24d! It was ages before I saw the hidden word. Heresy is not blasphemy. Otherwise this was a very cleverly constructed puzzle and I am grateful to PeterO for explaining 15a and 12d neither of which I could parse.

  39. Congratulations to Fed on the neat dummy (or was it a nutmeg?) that he sold me with 15a. COUPLE. In the world of football he would have been through on goal, but fortunately for us solvers here in Cruciverbia we always get second chances. Maybe Fed should now do something with the composite numbers although it might be even more tricky as he would need to find expressions with usable runs of 3 consecutive letters (8, 9, 19 and 14, 15, 16). Thanks to PeterO for the blog and thanks once again to Fed for another enoyable puzzle.

  40. Very slow start. Eventually completed but last one in was an unparsed HERESY. Probably a bit tired by then. Thanks both.

  41. Thanks PeterO and thanks all.

    There are normally a few people who take issue with a ‘cycling’ indicator – when it’s applied to a synonym – but I think it is widely used in that way and not regarded as an indirect anagram. It does have far fewer possibilities after all.

    LIMB can cycle to IMBL, MBLI or BLIM but not to IMLB, IBLM, IBML, ILBM, ILMB, MBIL, MLIB, MLBI, MIBL, MILB, BLMI, BMLI, BMIL, BILM, BIML…

    Gervase @34 – I’m surprised to see you labelling it an indirect anagram as I know you’ve encountered such clues before without complaint. You commented on Jack’s puzzle that contained ‘Brand behind cycling’ which asks you to cycle ARSE and on Vlad’s which contained Lack of variety cycling – correct? Let me think which asks you to cycle EDIT.

    On both occasions there was some discussion of the device and I’m inclined to side with Alphalpha @74 on Jack’s.

    My intended parsing for 2D was as suggested by KVa @7 and I’m delighted to see so many of you enjoy the prime locations clue – an in-joke for those who know, but hopefully not one that sticks out making anyone who wasn’t in that previous conversation feel left out.

    Auriga @10 – I feel exactly the same about cricket – and am always happy to be learning.

    Cheers!

  42. Very nice crossword today. Took me a bit longer than usual.
    Had a bit of trouble with parsing a few long ones like ORCHESTRATE, although the words went in easily from the clues. Thank you Fed and Peter.

  43. Highly enjoyable and somewhat easier than previous Feds (or have I become accustomed to this style?)

    I liked the in-joke, but favourites were CHAPERON for its power sharing, NUTMEG, ANAESTHETIC, ORCHESTRATE and EXCISE.

    Thanks Fed and PeterO

  44. Thanks PeterO. Definitely enjoyable. In fact one of the most enjoyable puzzles in my memory. I was defeated by HEREBY, having bunged in a hopeful‘heresy’ and hit check. Needed confirmation that stomach = RELISH but I’m still not sure why. I think of the former as‘putting up with’ and the latter as ‘enjoying very much’. I’m sure that someone here can enlighten me. Thanks Fed for the fun.

  46. Yes, I agree with those who say Fed needs careful reading – still getting used to his “different” style. Loved CHAPERON, also ORCHESTRATE and, unlike some, more than happy with the cycling of LIMB in 7,23.

    I love my football (CLARET!), but felt NUTMEG a tad unfair on those who don’t. Mrs CLARET would never have got it and been quite annoyed.

  48. Took me a while to pick up on Fed’s stylings, after that it was very enjoyable picking apart the surfaces. 10A was LOI as any mention of fish makes me anxious and I leave it until I have some crossers. In this case, anxiety was misplaced as it was a very common species.

    Thank you PeterO for the parsing of 1A where I could not parse beyond CHAP, and to Fed for the puzzle.

  49. Fed @41: ‘Cycling’ may give fewer possible solutions but it’s still an anagram because the letters have been rearranged! Jack’s clue, though not really kosher, was just for a four letter word without any further elaboration, and the two crossing letters helped the solver to find a solution and then parse it. But it’s unlikely that many people solved it simply by following the instructions. The word ‘cycling’ works well in your clue because it creates a great surface, but the modified word is then embedded in a charade – ‘hurt limb cycling…’ would have achieved the same effect without making the clue too transparent.

    Liked the puzzle, though 🙂

  50. My only real complaint about “cycling” clues is that I usually fail to spot them – and in fact although I did get STUMBLING BLOCK from def and crossers I failed to parse it. I didn’t find this as hard as previous Feds – perhaps I’m getting used to the click click click of all the little bits falling into place. But Fed can also be original (like the power-sharing). Liked that, and FECUND and TINY and the psychedelic rock band.

    No, matematico – no composite number clues, please. I don’t even know what they are (and I do know about the NUTMEG).

  51. Thanks for the blog, really enjoyed this. Power-sharing in Chaperon is very neat and the prime bluff in COUPLE is a nice touch.
    I am folding the paper to play guess the setter this week and I am two from two.
    Cycling n letters gives only n-1 possibilities , an anagram, assuming no repeats , gives ( n factorial ) -1 . The factorial grows very quickly.

  52. [ AlanC@24 , three entries in the 20s not enough but your mini theme deserves a point which is doubled in December so it is now 63 v -12 .
    @25 , I never knew that football crowds were so amusing, positively Swiftian in its rapier-like wit ]

  53. [Roz @52: you just don’t know what you’re missing at stadiums. Incidentally, for any footy fans on here, I met Roberto Carlos last night at KPR Academy and he shook my hand with the outside of his. (Ask your students Roz about the reference) ].

  54. [ AlanC @53 Sprog3 is here for tea later, he is very impressed. Left-back, Brazil and Real Madrid , very famous apparently. I am sorry that it is my role in life to mock football fans, blame my students, their blind allegiance to 11 men diving around in silly coloured nylon shirts means I have to make fun of them . ]

  55. Gervase @49 the Vlad clue – which you also took no issue with – was similarly complex and while you might think ‘hurt limb cycling’ would have sufficed it would be the sort of surface that annoys me. It would be cryptically sound but can you imagine anyone ever saying it in real life. A doctor might say to students, “when dealing with broken limbs we need to do A, B & C” but nobody would ever say. “I hurt my limb cycling the other day” – they would obviously say which limb!

  56. Fed @55: Granted it doesn’t roll off the tongue quite so easily – although crossword clues don’t usually sound like sentences that you would utter in conversation. And, at least in my universe, I can’t imagine anyone saying ‘Gather the nerve and plug our cupcake ingredients for a change’! 🙂

  57. Liked this a lot. Fed has become one of my favourite setters this year, and either he’s being increasingly gentle with us or I’m getting on the wavelength more regularly. It’s a tiny, insignificant detail but I do like it when multi-light solutions follow the same row or column, like PLUCK UP COURAGE and STUMBLING BLOCK did here.

    Favourite clue was HELICOPTER for the nice coincidence that earlier on today I “impressed” my wife with the fascinating fact that the etymology of the word is the combination of two words derived from Greek, but not as one might expect HELI and COPTER but HELICO and PTER. But I bet you all knew that 🙂

    Thanks both!

  59. paul@44 I had the same question about RELISH.

    Steffen@17 Your proposed answer shows that you’ve obviously learned Cryptic conventions — a mistake with an instructive message. Congratulations, you’re on the right track.

    Thanks to Fed and PeterO.

  60. Rob T@57 I was having the same thought about HELICOPTER. English words are not allowed to begin with PT but Greek words are (along with other odd combinations, not only PN but PHTH and CHTH and more). Another example (also of modern assembly) is “Pterodactyl,” or “wing finger.”

  61. Attempting to keep Fed’s cockles warm today, and gave this one a try.
    I was defeated by a few, but smiled at many including TINY, NUTMEG and CHAPERON.
    Lovely to see a darts clue in there too.
    Thanks to Fed, and to PeterO for the blog.

  63. I really liked this although I didn’t fully parse STUMBLING BLOCK – and I should have as I’ve seen that cycling device a few times before – more often in the Indy or FT than the Guardian, and I forget to look for it in setters who set for several different cryptics. But it was the only one I didn’t fully parse.

    As everyone else has said, CHAPERON was very neat, and I also looked for prime locations before twigging in COUPLE, really liked PARADIGM when I spotted it.

    Thank you to Fed and PeterO.

  64. Some really great surfaces here. Particularly, the ones for CHAPERON, FECUND, CORKSCREW, STRIKING, HOE and of course TINY.
    I thought the 13 clue would have been a bit nicer as “Humble sailor at sea swimming”. I think at is an acceptable word to indicate a joining of two particles.
    I also failed on the parsing of STUMBLING BLOCK, but I think it’s fine. Just a bit complicated.
    Lots of fun,
    Thanks, Fed and Peter.

  65. Very much enjoyed today, 1 shy on 25a.

    I’m always slightly surprised on here about what setters expect people to know and what is found tricky – Eratosthenes clued using Erato seemed to generate a lot less mention that ‘Nutmeg’ today, or indeed ‘double dipping’ recently. I’m glad Fed has many more modern references and less expectation that we all had a 1950s classical education. If cryptic setters want to attract a ‘younger’ audience the reliance on words that only exist in crossword land needs to die.

  67. [paddymelon @66: Thanks for the link. I never heard the term used in sports and I’m a big fan of ice hockey. It does make sense.]

  68. Thanks Fed & PeterO. This took me a long while to finish. I must be one of those who takes a long time to warm up to Fed’s syntax/grammar. I had no problem with cycling LIMB, indeed once I got the B crosser, the word quickly became obvious. I knew nothing about its history, but prime locations was my favourite clue.

  69. My stumbling block with STUMBLING BLOCK was to spend ages searching for the clue for the “K”, having assumed that a “group” was a BLOC.

  71. As soon as I started, with the joyful “power sharing” of clue for CHAPERON I knew I was going to enjoy this puzzle
    And so I did
    Very much
    From start to finish
    Nice one, Fed – many thanks

  72. Valentine@59 we don’t yet have an answer so perhaps it’s just that ‘enjoy a lot’ and ‘put up with/ bear with’ are near enough synonyms in crosswordland.

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