Something strange is going on here…
…with a misspelt setter’s name, strange “special instructions”, and more misspellings in the clues, along with some apparent leftover editorial comments. Of course, today is April Fools’ Day, and all the clues – typos, comments and all – are completely sound. Great fun: many thanks to “Picaron”.
| Across | ||||||||
| 1 | ELOPED | Ran away with the Spanish [This needs work – ed.] (6) EL (Spanish “the”) + OP + ED |
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| 5 | INHERITS | Comes into home with heartless, reclusive people (8) IN (home) + HERmITS less its “heart” |
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| 9 | ATALANTA | Mythical hunter from America, in American capital (8) A in ATLANTA (state capital of Georgia). Atalanta is a hunter in Greek mythology |
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| 10 | LOSING | Latin song? [Needs rewriting, along with 1 Down] (6) Anagram of L SONG I |
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| 11 | TRAVEL WRITER | French composer and wife getting into more hackneyed, factual author (6,6) RAVEL + W in TRITER |
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| 13 | GIBE | Barrack and Michelle ultimately getting huge backing (4) Reverse of [michell]E BIG, with a deliberate misspelling of the former president’s first name |
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| 14 | TITICACA | Bird, one repeatedly around Lake (8) TIT (bird) + I + CA (circa, around) twice |
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| 17 | PETERLOO | Safe king avoids appearance in massacre (8) PETER (a safe) + LOOK less K |
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| 18 | I SEE | Expression of understanding [A bit imprecise – ed.] (1,3) Hidden in imprecISE Ed |
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| 20 | RADIO STATION | Energy emission stopped by east German broadcaster (5,7) OST (German “east”) in RADIATION |
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| 23 | COUNTY | Conservative, gutless Tory, hosts Posh and Berks? (6) U (upper-class, posh) in CON + T[or]Y, with Berks (abbreviation of Berkshire) being an apparent misprint of “Becks” |
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| 24 | LARBOARD | Pig covered in fat left for sailors (8) BOAR in LARD |
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| 25 | PRECLUDE | Rule out / what spin doctors do [Faulty clue – ed.] (8) PR (what spin doctors do) + (CLUE ED)* |
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| 26 | GAMBOL | Prance Harry blog probed by American (6) AM in BLOG* |
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| Down | ||||||||
| 2 | LATE | Departed After the scheduled time (4) Double definition |
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| 3 | POLYTHENE | Rogue openly wrapping article in packaging material (9) THE (definite article) in OPENLY* |
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| 4 | DUNCAN | Scottish king is able to follow horse (6) DUN (horse) + CAN |
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| 5 | I HAVEN’T GOT A CLUE | (1,6,3,1,4) There’s no denying this… |
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| 6 | HALF-WITS | Tailor Swift led by prince and idiots (4-4) HAL (prince) + SWIFT*, with another “misprint” |
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| 7 | RISHI | Tory Blair finally is given greeting (5) [blai]R + IS HI (and another) |
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| 8 | TENDENCIES | Trends of new boring scene [Fixed with edit] (10) N in (SCENE EDIT)* |
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| 12 | CINEMA-GOER | At intervals, action seems a viable plan for film buff (6-4) Alternate letters of aCtIoN sEeMs + A GOER (a viable plan) |
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| 15 | CAIRN GORM | Scottish mountain accountant’s climbing on amazing mornirg (5,4) Reverse of C[hartered] A[ccountant] + anagram of the misspelt MORNIRG. Although the Scottish mountain range is written as the single word Cairngorms, the mountain itself is two words |
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| 16 | BLESS YOU | Oddly bluesy cover of Satchmo giving good wish (5,3) Anagram of BLUESY + S[atchm]O |
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| 19 | OIL RIG | Where we get crude lass turning up after cry for attention (3,3) OI (cry for attention) + reverse of GIRL |
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| 21 | IONIC | I love mostly pleasant; architectural style (5) I O + NIC[e] |
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| 22 | DR NO | Navy party clothes for a Bond villain (2,2) RN (Royal Navy) “clothed by” DO (party) |
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Gotta love a clue with no words just enumeration.
Brilliant crossword
Thanks Picaroon and Andrew
I wonder how many other solvers checked other versions of crossword when they noticed garbled instructions.
I enjoyed this more than any other puzzle for a while. 5d was fun. It reminded me of CLUELESS in a puzzle long ago. Four I’d not heard of — DUNCAN, ATALANTA, PETERLOO & LARBOARD. Didn’t like “AM” for American in 26a.
Hi Andrew. Thanks for th blog. I think in CAIRN GORM, it should be a reversal of AC, otherwise you end up with ACIRN GORM by reversing CA.
Agreed, MN@1: the clueless clue was brilliant. As were many of the others: the misspelt Tony Blair for RISHI, and morning for CAIRN GORM, COUNTY, HALF-WITS… I could go on. Barrack in Oz means support (e.g. a footy team), not GIBE, but I got it. Lovely fun. Thanks, “Picaron” and Andrew.
But I never figured out the special instruction.
Well I laughed, especially at “I’m sorry I haven’t a clue”, sorry, IHGAC. The other favourite was DR NO.
A bit of a dig at the Grauniad? especially with 29354 in the special instructions for crossword 29345, not to mention Posh and Berks (LOL), Tailor Swift, Tory Blair, Barrack and Michelle, Prance Harry, Picaron and all the Ed’s comments. Genius.
Very strange! I was surprised to get close to finishing (had to reveal LOSING) despite a lack of faith in some of the clues which turned out to be fine e.g. the misspelt mornirg, and the brilliant I HAVENT GOT A CLUE. Worth doing for that one alone. Thanks Andrew and Picaro(o)n for the April Fool’s joke!
Yep a fun gambol in 1/4 time. Nicely done by The Prate, and ta Andew.
Great crossword, and like everyone else I loved 5d – so clever. But can someone help me out with the parsing for 26 please? I get it’s an insertion of AM into an anagram of BLOG, but does the AM stand for American? if so, where does Harry fit in? Probably being thick but I can’t see it.
Alison, Harry is the anagram indicator.
Brilliant puzzle. I must admit it had me completely fooled at first, and It wasn’t until I came here and read Andrew’s introduction that I realised what day it is. Then went back and thoroughly enjoyed finishing it! Many thanks Andrew and ‘Picaron’
@Geoff Down Under: Aah thank you. Not come across that one before but it makes sense now that I know.
Splendid puzzle. Very imaginative. And to think, sometimes commenters query whether there actually is a crossword editor at the G!!! Too many fun clues to pick favourites – just a fun romp for AFD.
Thanks Picaron and Andrew
Couldn’t make head nor tail of those special instructions (didn’t even see the error!) but ploughed on nonetheless – and I am so glad I did! What fun! All those misspellings, added and dropped letters made me smile broadly, despite my ongoing COVID blues. Favorites were TRAVEL WRITER at 11a and the much vaunted “clueless” clue at 5d, but honestly I loved it all, particularly the Editor’s intrusions!
Thanks so much to “Picaron” for his deft and playful puzzle and to Andrew for the explanatory blog.
I loved this, even though I now see I missed half the jokes. Thakns, Picaron, Andrew and the commenters!
Thanks Picaron and Andrew
Lots of fun. Many favourites. Special mentions to RADIO STATION and DR NO.
I can only join with the other plaudits for a fun start to the day, especially 5d and 23. Took me a bit to get the second part of 12 after CINEMA (not all cinema-goers are buffs, but can’t argue with such a neat puzzle). Thanks to ‘Picaron’ and Andrew.
Someone recently said Picaroon couldn’t set a bad puzzle if he tried … well, here’s the proof of that pudding!
This brought me joy. Many T Hanks to Picaron and to Andrew.
[Andrew – puzzle currently listed as “uncategorized”]
Crispy@3
CAIRN GORM
Looks like it’s CA climbing on top of IRNGORM (no reversal).
Thanks Picaron and Andrew! As PostMark@12 said, this puzzle was all fun!
KVa@18
You’re right. Not a reversal.
All done and correct, but I’ll have to leave the ‘Special Instructions’ to Bletchley Park. As always, superb stuff from ‘Picaron’, ‘May the farce be with you’.
Thank you, Andrew, for the blog, and for pointing out that it’s AFD, and thank you, Picaron, for a terrific romp of a puzzle – I’m still shaking my head in smiling admiration.
grantinfreo@7. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hugely enjoyable romp from beginning to end. I was really sorry to find that I’d finished it.
Very many thanks to Picaron for a brilliant start to the day and Andrew for a great blog (is the ‘uncategorized’ just you joining in the fun?).
Excellent entertainment. Took me a while to realise the significance of the day, which added to the fun, somehow. I even got most of the jokes, although I tried to construct a meaningful sentence from 29354 using the answers to the appropriate clues. Failed, obviously. Thank you Picaroon and Andrew.
grantinfreo@7
Loved your comment (Just read the surface like a novice. pdm@22’s emojis revealed the cryptic reading to me).
What great fun!
MN@1; I have to confess I clicked on the .pdf to check the puzzle was OK. So much to like; I particularly enjoyed the wordplays in ELOPED, LOSING, PRECLUED, and all the misspellings were laughable.
Thanks Picaron, Andrew and the editor.
Good fun and not difficult – a happy coincidence of 1 April and a Monday (though I have to admit that I missed some of the typos on first reading).
My favourites were the (unthemed!) RADIO STATION, LARBOARD and DR NO.
Anyone else remember a 1 April puzzle from Araucaria with the rubric: ‘The lights have nothing in common but the first of April’? All the crossers were A.
Once again, the Guardian app failed to give the pen name of the setter and I had to come here to find out who was responsible. (I always solve from my smartphone as it’s impossible to get the paper edition here on San Seriffe).
Thanks to the Pirat and Andrew
Like Eileen, I was sorry to finish this truly brilliant crossword. A thing of joy from start to finish. 5d was the star of the show
Many thanks to Picaron and Andrew
Oh, this was very tough! But slowly it became quite fun. The easier ones for me were the clues that had stuff in [ ] or deliberate typos like 15d etc.
New for me: LARBOARD; barrack = jeer/jibe/gibe.
Favourites: ELOPED, TRAVEL WRITER, RADIO STATION as well as 5d.
Thanks, both.
Speechless. Funnest crossword ever!
The most fun I’ve had in ages!
My first thought was aaaargh – then 5D hit me like a brick, and things progressed happily from there.
Clever and amusing, with appropriate digs at the Grauniad’s incessant typos.
There were host of other faves, though the best of the rest were ELOPED, HALF WITS, CINEMA GOER and LARBOARD – even though hardly anybody’s used that term since Nelson’s day, surely? (Too easy to mishear as “starboard”)
Thank you Andrew for the help completing the parsing to LOSING – and huge thanks to Picaron for the laffs.
Happy Easter, all!
Wellberk
What a fun start to the day, have never laughed out loud so much over a crossword! At first I was fooled by the instructions, thinking we were looking looking at a draft version of the puzzle. But that didn’t last long, and made the various typos so apt and enjoyable. Thanks to Andrew and Piceron
Anybody parsed the special instructions yet? Or are they just another joke?
Well that was a lot of fun and not too tough for this setter. I liked all of the misspelt names with HALF-WITS my favourite. Lots of laughs on a beautiful Easter Monday morning. Off to Kew Gardens now, in good spirits.
Ta Picaron & Andrew.
Very clever and so much fun!
Thanks Picaron and Android.
Lovely crossword.
But I’m a bit troubled by the apparently mistaken capitalisation (or lack of a full stop) in 2 down. Do people think it’s deliberate? It seems a more gratuitous error than the other, carefully placed, ones.
Gervase@28 in the app if you go to menu then crosswords you’ll find the setter’s name listed alongside the crossword link.
(Oh dear – others won’t like my comment, but honesty is the best policy and all that)
Seven minutes – though a Monday, could a Guardian cryptic be easier? So disappointing – clearly an April fool!
That doesn’t mean there weren’t some entertaining clues with fantastic surfaces….
But I was more amused by grantinfreo@7 I’m afraid (the ‘clueless’ clue didn’t feel original to me…, nor was the repeated use of ‘ed’ in parenthesised ‘insertions’ particularly joyful so much as a way of making repeated use of an anagram forming trope)
[Before others chide me for “showing off”, in the 10 years or so that I’ve been commenting here, I’ve never mentioned times before, but how else to make the point succinctly? And I’m not showing off – having solved cryptics daily for well over 50 years, it would be a poor show if it had been a long climb once I had a toehold!]
And it could have been so good …..
Thanks both and all
Yes, terrific! Thanks. Picaron and Andrew.
Thanks Picaron for the Monday mornirg fun, and Andrew for the blog.
With only one crosser in place I was convinced 24a must end in PORT, so the proper solution landed with a loud clang of tea tray hitting head. Favourites Tory Blair, Posh and Berks, the Latin song and Prance Harry. And 5d of course.
Terrific crossword – hilarious!
In the special instructions, are the “edcomments(2)” 18 across and 5 down – I SEE I HAVEN’T GOT A CLUE?
Eggscelent puzle, wunce i twiged wot woz goin an.
PICARON – it’s an APR 1 CON
Yes, yes, so much fun with this. Though I’m more familiar with a Cairngorm being a lovely silver plate with citrine brooch that holds together the Scottish plaid, an example of which I inherited some years ago. Last one in was GIBE. Does this wonderful puzzle vanish into thin air at noon, as the April Fools effect is meant to…?
But oh, dearie me, I see you can’t please everyone…
23a COUNTY – “Berks” can have a diiferent meaning in CRS, more appropriate to the”gutless” “Posh” Tories.
Just smashing, Picaro]o[n. And thank you FrankieG@42 – I’m sure you’re right. My only problem with Mr Brydon’s creations is that he is so good he makes you wonder EVERY BLOOMING TIME whether it’s worth trying…
[FrankieG @44
I’ve always wondered about “berk”. It’s supposed to be rhyming slang, but the pronunciation is wrong. (For US solvers, the first syllable of “Berkshire” is pronounced “bark”, unlike your Berkeley).]
Loads of fun. A speedy solve, but it’s Monday, and a very enjoyable conceit.
Thanks both.
grantinfreo@7 😉 and Gervase@28 😉
Great fun – 😀 – Thanks P&A
FrankieG@ 44 and Muffin@46 – the rhyming slang is Berkeley Hunt.
Simply fantastic. Thanks to Andrew and the brilliant Picaroon.
I think the special instructions refer to ed’s second comment, at 18ac: “A bit imprecise”.
[Goujeers @49
Doesn’t help – it’s still “bark”]
Thanks for the blog, very clever idea using the comments and carried off very well.
I think the instructions are just part of it, the crossword number and number in brackets are both wrong. HALF-WITS my favourite out of many .
Only LOSING earned a severe Paddington stare.
For LATE I wonder if the After is a genuine misprint for the capital A ?
Great fun indeed! I love the silliness of this.
FrankieG @42 – well spotted!
Re the “special instructions” – I’m guessing the editor provides feedback to setters on puzzles as a marked-up file with comments in square brackets and the file is named in this format. (I note the puzzle number is incorrect in the file name too, with two digits transposed.)
[edit: cross posted with Roz – I agree with her]
PETERLOO in a few times recently, anyone in Manchester should visit The Britons Protection , a classic old pub , the massacre happened just outside. It has a large mural inside showing it and a fantastic whisky collection . We always visit when we go to see the Halle.
Gojeers@49. To think I’ve reached 80 without knowing that. But it is still confusing unless it is US rhyming slang (is there such a thing?) as the Berkeley Hunt would be pronounced Barkly and berk is pronounced burk.
Thanks to Picaron and Andrew for the fun and brilliance.
Any Cockney (I regard myself as an honorary one, having been brought up in Bow), would know that Berkshire is pronounced Barkshire.
That wouldn’t be true of Berkeley, though. At university I had a San Franciscan postgrad friend from Berkeley, and wondered for a while “Why The Aylesbury” so many posh berks were pismronouncing it like the bank.
MikeB @56 – have you not considered the possibility that the Cockney pronunciation is different to the “standard” pronunciation? It’s really not such a stretch of the imagination.
@57 My “comment is awaiting moderation”, so here it is again in three parts:
Any Cockney (I regard myself as an honorary one, having been brought up in Bow). would know that Berkshire is pronounced Barkshire.
That wouldn’t be true of Berkeley, though. At university I had a San Franciscan postgrad friend from Berkeley, and wondered for a while…
…”Why The Aylesbury” so many posh…
…berks were pismronouncing it like the bank.
I’m reminded of the phrase “The most fun you can have with your clothes on”. Not technically true, but gets the idea across.
[Goujeers, FrankieG and muffin passim: I agree with muffin that the usual explanation for the derivation of ‘berk’ is unconvincing. Not only is the pronunciation wrong, but geographical rhyming slang expressions refer to London locations, as in Hampstead (Heath), Barnet (Fair), Hampton (Wick) etc, rather than an aristocratic event in Gloucestershire. And the non-rhyming part of the phrase is not usually abbreviated. I think the explanation lies elsewhere]
continued from @61 – …ie Barclay’s – [I banked at the Midland – it means the same in CRS]
Roz @53, I share your concern at the stray capital letter in the clue for LATE. All other “errors” in the clues serve a purpose, but as far as I can see, this one is gratuitous.
🙂
FrankieG – Who knows? My best guess… well, regional accents and pronunciation used to be a lot more varied, so it’s plausible that Cockneys would have once pronounced Berkeley to rhyme with burk even if they no longer do.
The origin of the slang seems to be well attested so that isn’t really up for debate. (I agree with Gervase that it sounds fishy but the OED seem happy with it.)
[FrankieG & Widdersbel: Surely even East Enders pronounce Berkeley Square in the approved manner, as per Vera Lynn 🙂 ]
[@66 Cockneys and East Enders are not the same thing!]
Brilliant! Loved 5 down.
Gervase@63 not impressed by Wiktionary or Jonathon Green (or even Roger (Mellie)’s Profanisaurus)?…
…How about oed,com?
I’d post the whole entry, but I suspect GeneratePress would send it into moderation again – even though it has some Latin in it –pudendum muliebre
Gervase – I can only speculate on the reasons for the pronunciation anomaly, but perhaps the popularity of the song is the reason why Cockney pronunciation fell into line with the standard? Pronunciation is becoming more standardised these days, and mass media is a large part of the reason for that.
What larks. The perfect puzzle for AFD. Thank you Picaroon and Andrew.
Brilliant puzzle from Picaron [and the Editor]
Just to add my thanks for a fun April fool. Had me going for a while until I saw how 1A worked.
This was excellent – not the toughest – are we meant to be thanking Pickers for this, or some interloper? I hope it’s the former!
First glance at the clues evoked thoughts of Mike H’s incisive feedback, which all Indy-setters will be well familiar with! But I did sense there was something April-foolery about this – and I wasn’t disappointed!
5d – has to be my favourite. Reminds me of a far inferior offering from the Times, aeons ago:
(7)
But this one beats that feeble offering hands down.
LOSING took me quite a while – I was wondering about misprints and whether “1 Down” should read “2 Down” or whatever. A big tick for that one too.
Any more favourites? Difficult to choose, they’re all so good. ELOPED, PETERLOO, and INHERITS perhaps.
Thanks to Picaroon (if it’s really you!) and Andrew
As many others have said, this was great fin, with lots of watty clues but not as difficult as it might have been: definitely a rump.
Thanks to Ron and Andrew
What a joy! Absolutely brilliant. One of the very best AFD jokes ever. As good as Richard Dimbleby’s spaghetti tree on Panorama many moons ago. Many thanks to this new setter Mr Picaron: wonder who he can be? Lots of larfs!
Very, very funny! Great fun to do and brilliantly constructed! (Posh and Berks! Love it)
Thanks Picaroon and Andrew
Absolutely great.
I confess to not quite finishing … I didn’t parse CAIRN GORM. Despite getting the joke of the whole crossword, I simply read the clue as “morning” and I never thought to check! Duh!!
Very witty and clever clueing. And yes my favourite was the brilliant 5 down (with a big smile at 1 down as well).
[Have to say, seeing TITICACA brought back memories of a trip to Pero some years ago, and a goat trip on that lake – visiting the famous bloating islands. But the latitude slickness was troublesome – the lake lies at over 3,000 heaters (drinking pate de cocoa helps). Anyone else been?]
[Laccaria @ 79: I’ve often wondered if French geography teachers try to avoid mentioning that lake, especially to classrooms full of small boys….]
[FrankieG passim: Still dubious for the reasons already given. The usual, and universally expressed, explanation seems like post hoc rationalisation. I suspect it may come from Polari]
Great fun. Loved 5d. Thanks Picaron and Andrew.
Enjoyed this. Couldn’t parse 20a, now it looks so evident, liked 10a which was LOI. Thanks to Picaroon and Andrew.
Loads of fun.
I didn’t notice the misspelled morning, so couldn’t make the anagram for CAIRN GORM come3 out right.
Thanks to Picaron and Andrew.
LOI was 13 across — “barrack” as gibe not a familiar usage in my part of the world. But the clue made it clear. Good fun all around. 🙂
Brilliant! That will take some beating for crossword of the year (and I’d forgotten about the date until I came here). So very good. Thanks all.
Gervase @81: Use your favourite search engine to search for “berk etymology”. You’ll get bored looking for anything that suggests “Berkshire Hunt” is not cockney rhyming slang for feminine intimate body parts.
Edit@ Doesn’t make it definitive obviously, but the evidence is pretty much overwhelming.
Great fun indeed – and everything works with the mis-spelled words. I liked TRAVEL WRITER very much – also the clueless clue.
Thanks Picaroon and Andrew.
I agree this was fun. At first it was a bit alarming, but then I saw what was going on. The literal for losing was quite impressive. The only thing I kind of didn’t know was Cairn Gorm, but somehow I came up with it. It was useful to have all the other knowledge – Peterloo, Atalanta, Titicaca.
[MarkN @87: I know! It’s called ‘conventional wisdom’. But where is the evidence for it? Are there any recorded instances of people being called a ‘berkeley’ rather than the strangely abbreviated version? And why does ‘berk’ have the specific and even affectionate meaning of ‘fool’, without any of the connotations of ‘despicable person’ which its putative rhyme has?]
Great fun. Best for weeks. For once my first response to most clues came right in 5down!
Eileen@24, Crypticsue @29: Can’t imagine I could be anything but delighted at successfuly finishing a crossword! Certainly did’t finish this one. Spent 15 minutes looking for the “special instructions” and not finding them decided just to attempt the ones without editors comments – pleased I got most of them. I’m afraid after 2 years of trying the Guardian crossword – usually on a Monday – see answer to 5 down! No of course I didn’t solve that one either.
Gervase @90, perhaps it doesn’t matter how Berkeley is pronounced. If one shortens it, it would surely be berk, not bark, and then berk could be pronounced the same as jerk, for instance.
I have to say I loved this crossword, and it really gave a boost to my mood today! Thanks so much to Picaroon, and to Andrew for the blog.
Laccaria @80 yes, I did that lake Titicaca trip too, and it extremely memorable. The islands were incredibly beautiful and interesting, but it was also memorable because the overloaded boat we were on almost capsized in a sudden storm that hit on our way back.
Brilliant.
It’s quite something to have constructed a puzzle with so many apparent gaffes and flaws, and for it to still be clued so beautifully and fairly. The many intentional spelling “mistakes” were quite brilliant, and there were a lot of good jokes.
Well done, Picaron, and thank you.
Does anyone else remember Araucaria’s un-numbered jigsaw on April 1st years ago where all the crossers were As?
Does anyone know of/listen to any cryptic crossword podcasts?
Beautiful. LPL!
Wonderful: a fun puzzle with added fun. This new setter could give Picaroon a run for his money.
Thanks to Panda.
Am I misremembering, or was 5d done by Araucaria some years ago?
Anyway, tremendous puzzle, such ingenuity. Ta to Picaron and Andrew
Brilliant crossword!
Thanks to Picaron [not to mention the Editor -ed.]
Brilliant tour de farce. Top ticks for RADIO STATION, the blank one, and my LOI LOSING (sorry Roz)
Cheers P&A
Gervase@28, Zoot@97: I also recall Araucaria’s AFD puzzle where all crossers were As. I regret I didn’t attempt it at the time, put off by the lack of clue numbers. When the answers were published, there was a setter’s note that the published solution and the other 106,000-odd possible solutions were all equally valid….
Thanks P & A!
Gervase @92 – rhyming slang has nothing to do with context. A “Ruby Murray” is a curry. A “Lady Godiva” is a fiver. “Apples and pears” are stairs.
The rhyming is the only thing that matters. So it doesn’t matter a jot how you pronounce “Berkshire”, because the rhyming part is all on the “Hunt”.
Steffen @100 – there’s only one I know of, called Off-Grid – and there’s a post about it pinned to the Fifteen Squared homepage currently 🙂
Utterly brilliant, and very much appreciated by this ex-Grauniad staffer 🙂
MarkN @105
Yes, but … why should the non-rhyming part be “burk” rather than “bark”?
We Antipodeans struggle with the concept that “er” could ever be pronounced “ar”. As a result most people pronounce Derby and Jervis Bay as they appear. But I don’t, as I’ve always enjoyed language’s little quirks.
A work of genius. Too many brilliant clues to list here. But Tailor Swift – unbelievably clever.
muffin@108 – I’m guessing when it got shortened to “berk” from Berkshire there was only one pronunciation available. “Barkshire” is actually the anomaly – it should be pronounced “Burkshire”.
But “Berk” has to be pronounced “burk” because there are no precedents for it being pronounced any other way (unlike “Barkshire). And people have forgotten where “Berk” comes from (as is evident here).
Doh! I forgot it was April Fool’s Day! And fell for it!
As everyone has said, delightful puzzle! Thanks Picaron and Andrew for the blog. I got stuck a bit by confidently entering CAIRM GORN but worked it out when I realized RADIO STATION had to be a crosser.
[TassieTim@4: This reminds me of when I was in Australia for a World Cup match and I naïvely told someone I was going to root for Australia. “You wish” was the response.]
[FrankieG@58/61: Cocking a skeptical eyebrow at that dictionary’s claim that “Aylesbury Duck” is rhyming slang for “I don’t give a damn”…]
@Tony G 52. Thanks for the explanation of ‘special instructions’ it was still niggling me after the job was done.
Like everyone else, I found this great fun, although as they say it was over too quickly, except that I failed to get PETERLOO. As an American I could plausibly claim that I hadn’t heard of the massacre, but in fact I have.
For some reason we call the plastic substance “polyethylene” rather than “polythene” on my side of the Atlantic, but fortunately I know the old Beatles song about Polythene Pam.
Much too late to post but simply had to. This was absolutely brilliant and a joy from start to finish. Picaron you are inspirational. Thank you for making my day. Also, thank you Adrnew for a great blog.
[BTW Ros is right about the Britons Protection – try it if you get the chance 🥃. Cheers 😎]
Absolutely delightful! Many thanks to Picaro(o)n and Andrew.
[Pauline in Brum@115/Roz@56: There is a threat to the interior of the Britons Protection, as the pub company that owns it wants to strip it all out and modernise it. The people who were running the pub started a campaign about two years ago and attempted to protect their position by continuing to pay rent after their lease had been ended. There’s a petition here if anyone feels strongly about it. There was a more up to date piece in the Manchester Evening News last week.]
[MarkN @111: muffin and I have long known the usual explanation for the expression – we haven’t forgotten it! But it doesn’t satisfy us. Slang is largely transmitted orally, not because we first see it written down and then adopt it, so that is not a good explanation for the pronunciation. Why use such an obscure phrase when there are plenty of well known people called Hunt? And why should the non-rhyming word be shortened, when it isn’t in any other cases? And ‘berk’ isn’t even used as a synonym for the word it is supposed to represent. There are several unusual features here, not just the pronunciation]
Perfect!
What an absolutely wonderful puzzle. A joy to solve. Add me to the list of those particularly loving 5d.
I tried a misspelt INDIANNA at 9a on my first pass. Seemed to fit the theme… and it more or less parsed.
Absolutely hilarious 😂
With recent issues on the app, I did do a double take and wonder whether this was yet another Grauniad moment but the online version was the same and once I got over the “this is wrong” mindset it was very enjoyable indeed.
RISHI best of the lot.
Thnaks to Pricano and Ardnew
Absolutely fabulous puzzle. Thanks to both. Lesson learned today is that Peter is safe, although the answer was easy for me as I think of Peterloo every time I hear the word massacre.
Simply wow! James at his very best! The clueless clue was genius.
FrankieG@44. Brilliant! I wonder if Picaron and Alan Conner (sic) thought of that.
Sheffield Hatter@118 , thank you so much for this , perhaps you could also post the links earlier one day in a blog or on General Discussion. I do not have the skills but I have signed the petition in person. It has also been under threat from a tower block proposal .
You probably know about Peveril of the Peak , just up the road, worth visiting just for the tiles.
[Sheffield Hatter@118. Please do post link tomorrow. I have signed. Ros – agree about the Peveril too… Thanks both 😎]
Took me all week (although I was doing other stuff), but finally managed it. The reason I persisted is because it was an absolute gem.
Sorry to be dense, but still haven’t decoded the ‘special instructions’ – is it just a self-effacing joke at the Grauniad’s expense, or is there a hidden meaning I’m not getting?
Just got round to this one.
Picaron take a bow, a fantastic set of clues, 5d was genius. You are so much better than that Picaroon guy, stick around please 🙂