Guardian 29,403 – Brendan

91 comments on “Guardian 29,403 – Brendan”

1. I gave up on 22, 24, 25d and having seen the answers, I think I would have taken a month of Sundays to get them.

   A bit unfair, methinks.

2. I suppose CULLER should have alerted me to Brendan’s clever riffing on homophones, but I couldn’t see the theme. Nho BEARCLAW, but it all slotted in once I got started.
   Thanks to Brendan and to Andrew for a couple of parsings I couldn’t fathom

3. What a Friday treat this was. Not as tricky as Brendan can be and, for a while, I was wondering what trick he would be pulling. I think the penny dropped with PLUMB, at which point I realised I had four other homophonic CULLERS and the pleasure increased from that point on. SION was tricky to get my head around and I misinterpreted the homophone in 25 and entered ROSE as my solution before being disabused by OBESE. I smiled at GOALED – an ugly word and rarely used in a rugby context these days but certainly valid. And CULLER, whilst a sad concept, is a very amusing element of the theme. I’m glad Andrew also considers TOPE to be a themer. Splendid puzzle.

   Thanks Brendan and Andrew

4. I thought there were 2 definitions plus wordplay in PLUMB: “what sounds like desirable” as a pun on Plum for the wordplay and the 2 definitions being “job description?” as in a Plumber Plumbs, and “Exactly” as in ‘that’s plumb’.
   Two favourite for me were the slightly offbeat wordplay in YEATS and BLEW.

5. Thanks Brendan and Andrew
   I usually like Brendan’s puzzles, but not this one. I’ve highlighted 12 clues that I didn’t care for, for various reasons. I won’t list them all, but GOALED in particular grated; the expression is “converted”.
   I did like BLEW.

6. Missed the theme, of course, despite being alerted to one, after I’d finished, by the comments on the Guardian site and staring at the answers hopefully. Now feel stupid. My experience was the same as Andrew’s, with nothing for the across clues until I got to HEW, but not for the first time, for me the down clues came to my assistance. Never heard of BEAR CLAW, so had to google to confirm my answer, and despite being a rugby fan, I’ve never heard GOALED for a successful conversion, but it makes sense. SION was my LOI, though it was clearly clued. Liked EXIST for the cleverly hidden definition. Thanks to Brendan and Andrew

7. I have watched rugby for 50+ years and have never heard someone who has conversed a try as having goaled. Both my OED and Collins only have goal as a noun.

8. Tim C@4
   PLUMB
   Didn’t see that extra bit. Thanks.
   With the ? in place, the seeming part of speech mismatch is taken care of, I think.

   SION
   An interesting clue (difficult to categorise-I go with the blog)

9. I didn’t like YEATS very much, though (even as I write) I realise that EATS has to be taken as a noun. Hm, yes, alright.
   I still don’t like the fact that the definition comes in the middle of the clue. Is there a hard and fast rule about this?

   Got BEAR CLAW from the wordplay but had never heard of it. Anything with ‘bear’ in it here is usually something bad. (eg: karhunpalvelus – a bear service for a disservice).

10. GOALED
    I feel the same way as muffin @ 5. As he says, you ‘convert’ a try, you don’t ‘goal’ it.

11. In Brendan’s defence, Chambers on GOAL:

    transitive verb (rugby)
    To convert (a try) into a goal

    A couple of references from OED:

    1900
    The visitors got on a passing run, a fine effort culminating in a try, which was not goaled.
    Royal Cornwall Gazette 4 January 6/7Citation details for Royal Cornwall Gazette
    1922
    Bennett..intercepted a pass and scored a try, which Tebbutt goaled.
    Weekly Dispatch 29 October 10Citation details for Weekly Dispatch
    1954
    Saxton made a magnificent blind-side burst which put Sherratt over for a second try, which Cook goaled.
    J. B. G. Thomas, On Tour 138Citation details for J. B. G. Thomas, On Tour
    2015
    Loughborough..winning a penalty goaled by John Hargreaves.
    Blackpool Gazette (Nexis) 5 September

12. Certainly not Brendan at his trickiest, though a few clues did hold me up a while, the NE quadrant being the last to yield, apart from GOALED, my LOI. Like Andrew I tried various ways to deconstruct the clue for CHATTER, thanks to the deceptive ‘about’, before the solution hit me. For once, I spotted the CULLERS theme, but only on completion…

    I ticked YEATS, BLEW, CULLER, STAIRWELL and the &lit SION.

    [Why is ‘taupe’ used as a pretentious word for ‘beige’ when moles (‘taupe’ in French) are usually dark grey?]

    Thanks to Brendan and Andrew

13. Don’t like homophones in general and this had too many…didn’t like most of the others either, some of which I thought were terribly clued…
    Left 3 undone in SW corner after somehow getting “Goaled” which I thought was particularly bad.
    I think I gave up in protest.
    Thank you to Brendan and to Andrew

14. I was delighted to spot the poet theme almost immediately 🙂

    I thought using “echoed” to add an E to GREEN was genius but Andrew’s much simpler explanation is undoubtedly correct. So weirdly, the clue goes down in my estimation!?

    Loved the subtractions in BLEW and the misdirection in OVERTRUMP

    I’ve never heard GOALED in my 5 decades of playing and watching rugby but there it is in Chambers

    Cheers A&B

15. Frankie The Cat, I did find GOAL as a verb on Onelook.

    The theme was much more uplifting l than I’d imagined. I thought with the central column, BEAR CLAW and CULLER , and a couple of others, that it was about the sad practice of killing bears for their claws. The clue for BEAR CLAW could have worked with both the pastry and the bear claws being ”inviting to consumers”. I do think the pastry should change its name though.

16. GOALED?

17. I have never come across ‘goal’ used verbally, so it was a late entry, but it didn’t surprise me – sportspersons are much given to linguistic medalling 🙂

18. Thank you for the brilliant blog Andrew. I think PALATE is another theme word. I suspect the theme to be tongue in cheek bearing in mind the frequent debates on this blog about ‘words that sort of sound alike (depending where you are from)…’ 😉 My favourites were NEWSAGENTS and STAIRWELL. Thanks Brummie, very funny 😎. Wishing everyone a great weekend.
    I can think of many earworms. I’ll wait to see what others offer. I certainly won’t inflict Lady in Red on anyone.

19. KVa @8, I thought the ? was more related to the whimsy of describing “plumb” as a ‘job description’.

20. Is it just me, or are there more specifically American-isms in the Grauniad XW these days? Bear Claw a good example: not found on the east of the Atlantic. I just seem to be noticing that I have to have esoteric American knowledge more than in days gone by. Maybe there’s been a diktat to make things less UK-centric.
    Difficult puzzle today, but good and good blog. Thanks

21. All was hunky dory until I arrived at the SW corner, and wasn’t at all certain about the provenance of each of SION, ROES, or loi GOALED. Which I then felt slightly spoiled an otherwise excellent puzzle for me. Until I read that they were all part of the general theme. BEAR CLAW an unknown, but did like CHATTER and EXIST, with the word Be almost hiding there with its relevant meaning.
    Had thought that this might be some kind of poetic tribute at first with Keats and Yeats and Gray in the early mix, but of course I had completely missed the much more subtle theme of homophonic hues/hews…bravo Brendan as per usual, and many thanks Andrew for the various explanations this morning.

22. BEAR CLAW American? I thought it was Danish 🙂

23. James G @ 20
    The Guardian (mostly) worships america and uses american whenever it possibly can.
    I regard the newspaper as abhorrent.
    I am not saying here anything which I haven’t written to the Guardian itself.
    They don’t care, of course.
    I can just about accept an answer in american, provided it is indicated in the clue.
    And, yes, of course it’s all by diktat. america/NATO/EU, they are all part of the same american plan. And the language is gradually going to replace the national languages of Europe. (Helsinki is a disgrace).

24. Tim C@19
    PLUMB
    You are right. Whimsy-yes! I didn’t contest that.
    I thought there was a part of speech mismatch between the ‘job description’ and PLUMB (ideally PLUMBing is a job description. Right?). So I thought this aspect was also addressed by the ?
    Maybe I was overthinking.

25. Whatever the politics we really enjoyed the crossword, laughing out loud as each of the “homophones” became apparent. Pab@18 we also thought Brendan had his tongue firmly in cheek, and we are of the school that finds them more hilarious the more stretched they are.
    Thanks as always to Brendan whose name cheers our start to the day when we see it at the top of the page. Thanks also to Andrew

26. Thanks Brendan and Andrew

    While ‘goaled’ is an ugly word per se, in the context of a puzzle revolving around (dodgy) puns I think it deserves applause.

27. Always look forward to Brendan’s puzzles but this left me cold, although the theme was clever. GOALED is obviously valid, but it made me groan and the SW was just like pulling teeth. More INTRIGUED by Anna’s comment @23.

    Ta Brendan & Andrew.

28. KVa @24, yes, I don’t think we’re in disagreement. I could just imagine the conversation….
    Plumber: “What’s my job description?”
    Boss: “You plumb”

29. I concur with Muffin@5. This was a good deal less enjoyable than Brendan’s usual efforts. I’ve only ever heard of BEAR CLAW in an American context. The pastry is of Danish origin but the name is American and I think this should have been signalled. At least none of the (too many) homophones were objectionable.

30. Very clever as always from Brendan. I was once teaching French to fashion students and was asked “What’s French for taupe?”

31. Add me to the what the heck vote for GOALED. I also think BEAR CLAW is American usage, but I’m sure someone will find it used in a 1900’s British novel.
    Still, always a pleasure to be reminded I’ve got a Tiramisu in the fridge.
    Thanks Brendan and Andrew.

32. Go Anna @23…. That phrase (go anna) reminds me of a piece of Australiana 😉

33. [Trivia corner: TIRAMISU (along with ciabatta) is a relatively recent Italian invention, not a traditional one. It translates as “pull me up”.]

34. I am a little red not to have seen the colourful theme, but thoroughly enjoyed it in retrospect.
    I also failed to convert 22d from my initial GO = try and A = top.
    Loved ‘Be unfair’, the painful OVERTRUMP and ‘Eco echoed’.
    Thanks Brendan & Andrew.

35. Tim C@28
    PLUMB
    Noted

    In this context, I remembered a clue appearing in another publication earlier this week.
    The first part of it is Perhaps critic’s brief summary of work

36. I enjoyed everything apart from GOALED, which felt forced. My clipped Northern vowels mean that it’s not a homophone for me, so I only understood the parsing when I came here. Other than that, many clues were delightful: STAIRWELL, NEWSAGENTS and BLEW to name just a few.

    Without getting too much into politics (which I generally abhor), I have noted some Old World snobbery when it comes to crossword clues. References to Latin, French and Italian pass without a murmur, but clues about something American cause a furore. Admittedly, I’ve never seen a BEAR CLAW for sale in my local coffee shop, but the cluing was fair and I have heard of the pastry even I don’t know exactly what one is.

    Thanks Brendan and Andrew.

37. Thank you Brendan. I’d just like to add that SION is a (near?) homophone for cyan, a word probably never used before people of my age learnt about (then) colour television technology via Trade Test films in the 1960s, and discovered what the primary colours (of light) really were. What fun watching all those colour films on a black and white set. I loved OVERTRUMP (if only the deluded cultists were!) but had never met BEAR CLAW – would be delighted to encounter one, though perhaps in a Bath tea-shop rather than the High Tatras.

38. Brendan, I understand, lives in Portland, Oregon, and may have forgotten that BEAR CLAWs are ‘US English’ and can’t be bought in Tesco’s. A Boo-Boo.

39. Tough. I failed to solve 8d and I could not parse 20d or 22d apart from GO = try.

    I did not pick up on any theme – tbh I am no longer interested in themes in puzzles but the setters seem to enjoy them a lot, I guess that it makes their job more interesting 😉

    Favourites: OVERTRUMP, STAIRWELL.

    New for me: trunks = LEGWEAR – I only knew of swimming trunks and never considered them to be legwear, but what would I know lol; BEAR CLAW; LANCERS = a quadrille for eight or sixteen pairs.

    Thanks, both.

    James G@20 – sometimes I have trouble with Brendan’s puzzles because I feel like I am doing a puzzle by an American setter and I find it difficult.
    FrankieG@38 – thanks for the info.

40. CHATTER was lovely but if you are wearing trunks on your legs you haven’t pulled them up enough.
    The other day someone here pointed out that there are other schools than Eton, so nice that Harrow got a nod.
    I know zip about rugby (other than the school) so I wasn’t ever going to get that – I had GO for try so bunged in GOADED, how I felt. 😉 All’s fair in love and crosswords though, and how much better to be OVER than UNDER the orange one – here’s hoping. Thanks to all, and have a good weekend.

41. Well, that theme was hiding in plain sight! I hadn’t seen it at all. Doh! Very clever, Brendan.
    I liked the puzzle but my enjoyment would have been enhanced by spotting the theme.
    I don’t understand the fuss about BEAR CLAW. It’s just a pastry, a filled danish with slits along one side, so it spreads out on one side to resemble the shape of a claw. They are in our local bakery (filled with chocolate and custard) here in Canberra.
    I liked SCIENCE, STAIRWELL, BLEW, GREENE, NEWSAGENTS.
    Thanks for the puzzle, Brendan and the enlightenment, Andrew.

42. [muffin @33: Quite right about TIRAMISÙ – which came from the Veneto region, though the exact origin is disputed – but the more idiomatic translation would be ‘pick-me-up’]

43. Yep agree that goaled is a pinch; it’s really converted [played a bit as a kid, without distinction]. But the theme, now that I’ve been told what it is, is a bit of a hoot, culminating hew and culler [reminds of that old movie when the crim says Where’s me cheller (the heist dosh was in a cello case)]. All good fun, thanks AnB.

44. Good Brendan, although I searched for the theme I thought it was something literary with YEATS, KEATS, GREENE, GRAY and ECO, doh!

    I hadn’t heard of BEAR CLAW, but I see it’s on sale in the UK, so maybe the setter’s off the hook. I really liked the clever wordplay for BLEW, and that for LARGE, STAIRWELL and NEWSAGENTS. I also liked the surfaces for LEGWEAR and OVERTRUMP, and the good dd for LANCERS.

    Thanks Brendan and Andrew.

45. Enjoyed this until I got stuck in SW with four intersecting incompleted. I guess the ugliness and rarity of GOALED is forgivable with the colour theme but I’d missed the theme. Oh well.

46. [Gervase @42
    Yes, it’s often given as “pick”, but tirare is definitely “to pull”.]

47. [muffin @46: Che cosa ti fa pensare che io non sappia questo? 🙂 ]

48. I found this tricky but enjoyable. I think the fact that it’s a Friday puzzle tends to alter my expectations and I feel less frustrated if it’s a difficult one. Can appreciate some of the quibbles mentioned but they didn’t stop it being a fun solve for me. I revealed two – SION, completely new to me and, frustratingly (because it’s clued cleverly and fairly and should have been gettable) EXIST.

49. [Gervase @47
    Ovviamente lo fai!]

50. I never remember that Brendan always has a theme, and it wouldn’t have done me a bit of good if I had.

    Andrew — in your wordplay for BEAR CLAW you have it as BEAR + C + ACT, should be BEAR + C + LAW.

    if anyone want to see what a bear claw looks like, click here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_claw

    Thanks, Brendan and Andrew.

51. I not only know of BEAR CLAWs, I’ve had them and like them. They’re usually filled with almond past and covered with slivered almonds and powdered sugar. I wish I had one now.

52. GOALED: In case it hadn’t been clarified earlier.

    A ‘try’ is scored and worth 7 points.

    If the ball is then successfully kicked between the posts but above the bar the 5 point ‘try’ is converted, (hence it being called a conversion) into a 7 point goal.

    It’s technically not a 5 points try with 2 points for the conversion – but a 7 point goal.

    (Rugby union)

53. Thanks both and I thought STAIRWELL was a hoot, although it was my NLOI – which is to say it defeated me (along with ROES, which seems to be getting an easy ride here).

    PLUMB: – isn’t the definition ‘What sounds’ as in plumbing/sounding the depths? No? (Don’t you hate that when someone asks a question and then gives an answer before you can?).

    Oh, and I had ‘hunters’ for the dance – I’m sure someone can justify it – so no BEAR CLAW (nho) rather ‘bear show’ (also nho).

54. Oooh oooh and I had absolutely no problem with GOALED – I recall it from when Rugby ‘football’ was available only in black and white (or fifty shades of grey to be accurate). (A part of me wants to associate it with Eddie Waring‘s commentaries on Rugby League – anybody? No?)

55. Beginner @ 52

    I see your logic, but doesn’t that mean that a 5-point penalty try, which used to be followed by a can’t-miss conversion attempt, should now be called a penalty goal, as it’s automatically 7 points these days?

56. I thought I was off to a flyer, spotting the obvious theme when I got YEATS and GRAY as my first two. Oops. I ended up, after much difficulty, having to reveal SION and GREENE. ( I didn’t spot “echoed” as a homophone indicator). Liked STAIRWELL, NEWSAGENTS, and HORSEBOX.

57. [Originally a “try” didn’t score any points, just the right to “try” a conversion. This law didn’t last long.]

58. Great puzzle except for GOALED!!
    NHO BEAR CLAW
    Thank you

59. Eddie Waring “Up and Underrrrr”

60. Enjoyed it as always with Brendan. Indeed Brian Greer does reside over the pond although he is an expat. I remember he was on one of John Halpern’s zoom shows (Paul). Fascinating character with quite a bit of wit. Thanks for the blog. I needed it at the end with roes and goaded!

61. Couls I remind posters that this is a crossword forum not a political soapbox.

62. jeceris @61: little danger of any conversions today …

63. I am very aware of the need to avoid, or at least signal, Americanisms. My online dictionary generally alerts me, but BEAR CLAW was a lapse. I apologize.
    For GOALED I do not apologize, and some of the comments are inappropriate.

64. BG @63 would signalling BEAR CLAW as US have helped the people who’ve never heard of it? And for those who have, the lack of a signal wouldn’t really matter?

65. Another one I didn’t like was SCIENCE. Why define it as “school subject”? It’s much more than that, and, in fact, neither the school I went to nor either of the ones I taught in had “science” on the timetable – biology, chemistry, and physics were taught separately.

66. BG @63 – Any chance of apologising as well as apologizing, just to keep everyone happy? Thanks in anticipation.

67. 🙂

68. Very tricky but good fun – thanks very much Brendan. All very gettable but l had Stow for 24 down. I know, Stow-on-the-Wold is a town. “It was the act of a desperate man Your Honour!” Thanks very much Andrew for the excellent explanations.

69. I agree that this should not be a place for political arguments. Anyone interested in my political positions can get a good sense of it from my academic publications — go to Google Scholar and enter “Brian Greer mathematics education”. (Paulo Freire: “Education is politics”)

70. Is there any reason why in READ there are essentially two different wordplays? “money, top-sliced” and “80% of cash”. I’m not sure I’ve seen this before.

71. Thanks for the blog, happy to miss the theme and just enjoy the clues which were very good today. CHATTER is very neat , OVERTRUMP a devoius definition , STAIRWELL is so clever, SION a bit obscure but the wordplay was very fair.
    ROES is ambiguous , I am glad it was a Down clue , I would have put ROSE in for an Across clue.
    SCIENCE hmmm not convinced that Particle Physics is a school subject .

72. Thanks Brendan for an enjoyable crossword. I recognised the large number of homophones and figured that was part of a theme but I went no further. I liked many of the clues including YEATS, ARROWHEAD, SCIENCE, STAIRWELL, EXIST, and GREENE. I missed HORSEBOX and LANCERS, both unknown to me. While I think GOALED is an unusual word it has strong dictionary support so I can’t complain. Thanks Andrew for the blog.

73. Yup, bear claws are pretty common in the U.S. I had them often as a child, because our neighborhood bakery in Minnesota made them.

    Online Chambers has GOAL as a verb.

74. Jimbo @70,
    I believe Philistine used to have a penchant for Definition + 2 wordplay clues, though not so much lately.
    Strangely, with this one, I saw the 2 wordplay elements but thought it was BREAD minus top and 80% of BREAD. Thanks to Andrew for supplying READY as the fodder for the second element, which is much more satisfying.
    Thanks for the fun, Brendan, and thanks for popping in.

75. seems to me that “palette” is thematic (symmetrically paired with CULLER, and all of them are so paired — which substantiates for me that SHEAR isn’t intended)

76. Very clever and enjoyable. With Brendan you always know there will be something going on, though sometimes it takes a while to see what it is, as was the case for me today. In retrospect I’m not sure how I didn’t notice GRAY, BLEW, GREENE and READ in the first few down answers.

    Anna @23: I’m sorry to hear that you find the Guardian abhorrent. My view is almost the complete opposite. The reason I’ve always done the Guardian crossword is that the Guardian has always been my paper. I frequently don’t agree with things I read in it, but its liberal outlook, the range of views it contains, and its high editorial standards (embodied in its editorial code of practice and guidance) make it in my opinion by far the best British national newspaper.

    Many thanks Brendan and Andrew.

77. I wonder if the Guardian online is very different to the paper , I can’t bear to look to compare, maybe they are appealing to an international audience, perhaps just trying to survive. I do get very annoyed when the letters page refers to articles that are just online. The lifestyle and fashion stuff drives me mad but I still love the paper and the fact it is not owned by a billionaire , right wing , tax dodging criminal. Apart from the FT , I would not dirty my hands on any other UK apology for a newspaper.

78. Easier than usual from Brendan, SW corner took some thought.
    GOALED was horrible.
    Thanks both.

79. Brian Greer @63
    Thank you so much for dropping in on this forum.
    I would like you to know that I spent a very enjoyable half hour looking up a recipe for these tasty looking bear claws (which of course I had never heard of) and have put the ingredients on the shopping list. That is the great thing about crosswords, they’re not just puzzles, you learn things.
    Still trying to spot the inappropriate political comments though – drat!
    Many thanks to blogger Andrew and to you.

80. Odd that someone complained about too many homophones when homophones of the cullers or hews of the palate was the theme.

    Brendan likes to be symmetrical when he can, and that helped me with some of the tougher clues. Having got BLEW GREENE and READ in the top right corner, I was looking for colours in the corresponding bottom left places. Incidentally, that resolved the ROSE/ROES issue at 25d.

    Like Bodycheetah @14 I parsed 7d GREENE as eco=green plus E for echo. Unlike Bodycheetah I’m guessing that that was what Brendan had in mind, and so I still think it was a brilliant clue.

    Thanks Brendan for the colourful fun, and Andrew for the fine blog.

81. Lord Jim and Roz – Hear, hear!

82. Me Too!

83. Zoot @ 81, ditto. But I think they need a new editor! This one just does not make it for me. Have similar list of yawns as Roz, and that double spread photo – why? Half a page would be just fine. How about interesting little NEWS items instead? Crossword is still great though ….

84. BG@63 nothing to apologise for, in my opinion. Thanks for a great puzzle. I struggled with GOALED, but I admit that homophones aren’t the same for everyone.

    muffin@65 the high school I attended back in the 80s had Science as a subject until 3rd year when it was split into Chemistry, Biology and Physics. I wanted to like Chemistry, but I failed at the first hurdle of elemental valency.

    Lord Jim@76 and Roz@77 I couldn’t agree more.

85. Did this late so only got to the blog this morning (Aussie time). Lovely theme, lovely puzzle. Many thanks to Brilliant Brendan and Awesome Andrew.

86. I’m late too so will just echo the comments of Julie@85. Thanks to Brendan and Andrew and the many commentators.

87. Nope. Abject failure. Got about half of them, and seeing the solutions I am not particularly embarrassed by that.

88. Roz @ 77

    Like the late Professor Higgs, I think that Private Eye beats all UK newspapers, but The Guardian is better than the rest of those, I think.

    We didn’t have ORANGE expressly, but the TRUMP part of OVERTRUMP takes care of that quite well if you ask me.

    Thanks everyone.

89. Etu @88 I do like Private Eye but it is not a newspaper as such so not a fair comparison. Cyclops is a very funny puzzle, the blog is on here once a fortnight, Always delayed a week because it is a Prize but easy to find.

90. A great puzzle from Brendan with a broad mixture of clues, and some lovely creativity. Absorbing and satisfying …. eventually (I found myself to be worryingly slow in a couple of quarters, but I’ll congratulate Brendan for that – rather than blame myself) The theme was a pleasant bonus, not interfering with the overall fluency

    Many, many thanks for your terrific work, Brendan

    And bless you, Andrew, for working through the solve so well, and generously

91. [Etu@88 – agreed; if only time to read one publication, I wouldn’t consider Private Eye a bad choice]

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