Guardian Cryptic 29,445 by Picaroon

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/29445.

A puzzle squarely in my Goldilocks zone, with a timely theme for the upcoming Olympics.

ACROSS
8 POCHARDS
They swim and dive daily in groups of swimmers (8)
An envelope (‘in’) of CHAR (‘daily’) in PODS (‘groups of swimmers’); for various ducks.
9 LARRUP
Beat the Parisian in the lead, lapping gutless runner (6)
An envelope (‘lapping’) of RR (‘gutless RunneR‘) in LA (‘the Parisian’, feminine) plus UP (‘in the lead’).
10 STRAIN
Practises cycling, getting muscle injury (6)
TRAINS (‘practises’) with the S moved to the front (‘cycling’).
11 ALCOPOPS
Playing polo, chaps save horse some drinks (8)
An anagram (‘playing’) of ‘polo c[h]aps’ minus the H (‘save horse’).
12 PEATY
Periodically, gantry behind sports ground may be so (5)
A charade of PE (‘sports’) plus ATY (‘periodically gAnTrY‘).
13 STAGE LEFT
Part of race abandoned, which is right for spectators (5,4)
A charade of STAGE (‘part of race’) plus LEFT (‘abandoned’); in stage directions, STAGE LEFT is on the audience’s right.
16 TIEPOLO
Italian who drew one game, then another (7)
A charade of TIE (‘one game’) plus POLO (‘another’). Giovanni Battista also painted a bit. His sons, likewise.
18 OLD ROSE
Solder damaged boxing ring that’s a pinkish colour (3,4)
An envelope (‘boxing’) of O (‘ring’) in OLDRSE, an anagram (‘damaged’) of ‘solder’.
20 WHITE MEAT
E.g. Turkey’s swimming team with inspiring energy (5,4)
An envelope (‘inspiring’) of E (‘energy’) in WHITMEAT, an anagram (‘swimming’) of ‘team with’.
21 SPITZ
Where players sit close to Alcaraz after intro from Sue Barker (5)
A charade of S (‘intro from Sue’) plus PIT (‘where players sit’ eg in an opera house) plus Z (‘close to AlcaraZ‘ – not necessarily missing a t).
24 ABETTING
Helping sailor, say, around racing event? Cool! (8)
An envelope (‘around’) of TT ( time trial, ‘racing event’) plus IN (‘cool!’) in AB (‘sailor’) plus EG (‘say’)
26 ENDEAR
Make charming rogue angered, after golf’s lost (6)
An anagram (‘rogue’) of ‘an[g]ered’ minus the G (‘after golf’s lost’).
27 SLIP-ON
Blunder with running shoe type (4-2)
A charade of SLIP (‘blunder’) plus ON (‘running’).
28 SKI MASKS
Quickly read through demands for sportswear (3,5)
A charade of SKIM (‘quicky read through’) plus ASKS (‘demands’).
DOWN
1, 7 FOR THE HIGH JUMP
Pro activity 15 compete in, sure to get punished (3,3,4,4)
A charade of FOR (‘pro’) plus THE HIGH JUMP (‘activity 15 compete in’ OLYMPIANS).
2 THWART
Extremely tough skill, fencing with foil (6)
An envelope (‘fencing’) of W (‘with’) in TH (‘extremely TougH‘) plus ART (‘skill’). Excellent clue.
3 CRANE
Weight-lifter caught drug smuggling legged it (5)
An envelope (‘smuggling’) of RAN (‘legged it’) in C (‘caught’) plus E (compiler’s favourite ‘drug’).
4 ESPARTO
Spear thrown in the direction of grass (7)
A charade of ESPAR, an anagram (‘thrown’) of ‘spear’ plus TO (‘in the direction of’).
5 BLACK GOLD
Crude British want highest goal for 15 (5,4)
A charade of B (‘British’) plus LACK (‘want’) plus GOLD (‘highest goal for 15’ – OLYMPIANS); for ‘crude’ oil.
6 GRAPPLER
Wrestler from Greece right to eat healthy food (8)
An envelope (‘to eat’) of APPLE (‘healthy food’) in GR (‘Greece’, IVR) plus R (‘right’)
7
See 1
14 FAST-TRACKS
Son entering big race venues speeds up (4-6)
An envelope (‘entering’) of S (‘son’) in FAT (‘big’) plus TRACKS (‘race venues’).
15 OLYMPIANS
Revered figures – 12, 21, 23 and 25, say (9)
Various gold medal winning Olympians, all world record holders: Adam PEATY (’12’), Mark SPITZ (’21’), Carl LEWIS (’23’) and Usain BOLT (’25’)
17 PIT STOPS
Worst and best features of races (3,5)
A charade of PITS (‘worst’) plus TOPS (‘best’); the races being the motor kind.
19 WAGGISH
Funny desire to bag silver, heading for games (7)
An envelope (‘to bag’) of AG (chemical symbol, ‘silver’) plus G (‘heading for Games’) in WISH (‘desire’).
22 PEDLAR
Maybe one selling dope for cyclist, we hear? (6)
Sounds like (‘we hear’) PEDDLER PEDALLER (‘cyclist’). However, Tom Lehrer’s song is The Old Dope Peddler.
23 LEWIS
Climbing skilfully, mostly, by one small Scottish island (5)
A charade of LEW, a reversal (‘climbing’ in a down light) of WEL[l] (‘skilfully’) minus its last letter (‘mostly’); plus I (‘one’) plus S (‘small’)..
25 BOLT
Run away from flipping shot put’s finale (4)
A charade of BOL, a reversal (‘flipping’) og LOB (‘shot’) plus T (‘puT‘s finale’).

picture of the completed grid

87 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 29,445 by Picaroon”

  1. Thanks Picaroon & PeterO!

    Nice surfaces with every clue alluding to some sporting activity.
    Subtle humour as well.

    Liked many. Faves: TIEPOLO, WHITE MEAT, FAST TRACKS and BOLT.

  2. This has been a good week, puzzle -wise, with very few problems…got through today fairly quickly. For once, guessed the theme pretty early which was helpful.

    Nothing unfamiliar except 8a which was LOI.

    Liked “Pit Stops” and “Thwart” very much.

    Thank you to Picaroon and PeterO

  3. Nice puzzle, Goldilocks for me too.

    I was a little confused by 1,7d which I read at first to say that the individuals referenced in 15d were high jumpers (which they are not), but then realized it was just referring to Olympians abstractly.

    The Olympics may officially start tomorrow (relative to my time zone as I’m writing this) but I’ve already watched two of the football games. Stretches the meaning of “upcoming” a bit!

    Thanks P&P

  4. I’ve just spotted the Olympic rings in the middle of rows 7 and 8.
    Favourite for me was PIT STOPS. I’d never thought of the adjacent antonyms before.

  5. Brilliant spot by Tim C of the five rings. Thanks to Picaroon for a great puzzle, and to Peter O for quick and expert annotation – but in 22d should the cyclist not be PEDALLER?

  7. Many thanks to Picaroon and PeterO. I greatly enjoyed this. Tim C you just added the icing to the 🍰. Favourites were FOR THE HIGH JUMP and PIT STOPS. The latter really is very clever.

  8. Pure gold, thanks Picaroon and PeterO.
    No hurdles, I loved all of it, especially THWART and CRANE for their wordplay, and the neat Olympic rings.

  9. Confirmed the theme by guessing 15 down when I had a couple of crossers and then fretted that my ignorance would catch me out, but the competitors were all clearly clued and I even remembered the swimmers’ names. Agree it was all clever stuff from Picaroon, particularly fitting in the rings in the middle, though reasonably straightforward to solve. My favourites have all been mentioned, and I would also add the word LARRUP which was my FOI. Thanks to Picaroon and Andrew

  10. Splendid. I didn’t spot the Olympic rings: just another indication of Picaroon’s genius. Always a gold medal setter.

  11. This was one of the few themes I did get! There were more than usual “lexicon expanders” — ESPARTO, FOR THE HIGH JUMP, LARRUP, SPITZ, POCHARDS, TIEPOLO. Hadn’t heard of Lewis island. Didn’t solve ABETTING.

    Didn’t notice the Olympic rings till Tim C pointed it out — well spotted!

    My favourite was PIT STOPS. Good fun, thanks Picaroon & PeterO.

  12. Tough puzzle which reinforced my preference for non-themed puzzles. I failed 12ac – never heard of an Olympian named PEATY.

    New for me: Isle of LEWIS; LARRUP, ESPARTO GRASS; for the high jump = to be punished; POCHARDS.

    Favourite: PIT STOPS; THWART.

    Thanks, both.

  13. I thought THWART was a brilliant clue.

    I feel CRANE could work just as well without the legged it. C + RAN E for drug smuggling.

    Great to see BOLT as an answer. My favourite athlete of all time. The Olympics aren’t the same without him.

  14. thanks to the 2Ps — anyway, clever olympic rings nina which I didn’t spot. And PEATY is our friend Adam who has broken the 100M breaststroke record over and over (that was my poison when I swam — 30′ slower!)

  15. Thanks Picaroon and PeterO
    I saw a theme! Favourite PIT STOPS.
    I think the cyclist is a PEDALLER rather than peddler.

  17. I had CHAMPIONS for 15d to start with, until I got TIEPOLO. I had realised that we were talking Olympic Champions, but it took a while.
    Thanks both, after reading the blog I realised I had not parsed everything, so ta muchly.

  18. Thanks Picaroon and PeterO

    Great themed puzzle with highlights and no grumbles. Seems familiar today

    I didn’t spot the olympic rings but having had it pointed out I must say that it is very clever.

  19. Agree just the right level for a daily crossword. I don’t think I’d heard of TIEPOLO – Italian artists are a bit like composers – there are so many of them that a non-specialist will never know them all. Generally I’m left cold by ninas and similar cleverness but I do like the Olympic rings (which of course I didn’t spot).
    Point of pedantry: LEWIS is not an island – it’s only part of the island of Lewis and Harris; it’s sometimes called the ‘Isle of Lewis’ but not the ‘Island…’.
    Fvaourites include SPITZ, ABETTING, PEATY.
    Thanks both.

  20. Earworm for 5d – The Beverly Hillbillies theme (1962-71):
    ‘Come and listen to a story ’bout a man named Jed | Poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed.
    Then one day he was shooting for some food, | And up through the ground come a bubbling CRUDE. | (Oil that is, BLACK GOLD, Texas tea)’
    TimC@4 Great spot! 😉

  21. nicbach@17. I plumped for CHAMPIONS too. Perfect fit for 3 out of 4 crossers and perfect fit for both definition and wordplay. It was only after I’d spent more time trying to work out 16 than on the rest of the puzzle that I remembered the check button and saw the error of my ways.

  23. No particular problems today – but that doesn’t mean that it was too easy or I didn’t enjoy it. ABETTING was fiddly, PITSTOPS was clever, and the gentle theme of sporting references running through all the clues never got in the way. I’d probably have taken longer to spot the PODS in POCHARDS if we hadn’t had a GAM so recently in Vlad’s crossword.

    Missed the Olympic rings of course. Nicely done, Picaroon.

    PS: Yes, FrankieG, the BLACK GOLD brought that to mind for me too.

  24. Harris and Lewis are contiguous. Strangely, there’s a very narrow neck at Tarbert, but this isn’t where the distinction is made; some of Harris is north of this neck.
    Tiepolo specialised in painting ceilings!

  25. OLYMPIANS fell quickly after PEATY gave me the way in. This was such a pleasure to solve with THWART my favourite. Shame that France’s rail network is currently being sabotaged with arson attacks.

    Ta Picaroon & PeterO.

  26. FrankieG @20, I must admit that the second thought that came to mind immediately after getting BLACK GOLD was “Texas Tea” and I don’t think I actually watched a lot of that series.

  28. I really enjoyed this, with PEDLAR my last in. It’s in Chambers as a travelling salesman, carrying his stock, so a variant of peddler.

    Great spot of the five Olympic rings TimC

    Thank you to PeterO and Picaroon.

  29. If you want to know how to write cryptic puzzles, study this: a masterclass in crossword setting.

  30. What George said @10.

    Might Denise get a look-in at 23dn?

    Many thanks to Picaroon, PeterO and Tim C.

  32. Took care to leave 15d OLYMPIANS till last. Ended up with just it and 12a PEATY to get. It’s a clever L&S of “sports ground”, (like yesterday’s “Soccer ground”).
    Then solved 15d: AdamP, MarkS, CarlL, and UsainB – all multiple Olympic gold medal winners – but PEATY gets COTD.
    Thanks P&P

  33. Lovely puzzle. Clever clues… Pit Stop, Thwart, Black gold and others. Thank you Pic and Peter. A good warm-up for the event itself.

  34. A masterclass in how to produce a surface theme!

    Have to keep this short as I’m taking a short break from my long journey home and need to get back on the road. But really enjoyed doing this over an early coffee before setting off. Very polished.

    Thanks both

  35. A slow but steady solve for me that seemed almost impossible to start with.
    I gave up on 16 though having got as far as *i*polo. Far too many possible three letter synonyms for game, each one of which I would have had to google to see if it matched an obscure Italian artist I’d never heard of.

  37. Very good, though I hadn’t heard of Mr. PEATY (I don’t follow sport) and had to work him out from first principles.

  41. Very nice, very timely. And the Olympic rings as well, though I wouldn’t have noticed them if Tim C@4 hadn’t pointed them out. A tour de force in every way…

  42. Beautifully crafted puzzle. Bravo TimC for spotting the Olympic rings – the icing on a very well-baked cake.

    Favourites for me were THWART, SPITZ, PIT STOPS and TIEPOLO (there are many more Italian artists far more ‘obscure’ than he, ravenrider @35 🙂 ).

    Interesting to see a different use of lift and separate for the phrase ‘sports ground’ from that of Tramp yesterday.

  44. 10/10 from this judge. Once again proof that a puzzle can be fun without being mind-bendingly difficult. Fair, amusing, the odd sideways look needed and such glorious surfaces. Thank you.

    In terms of “upcoming” I think the timing is perfect as the publication date (pace those who live in distant time zones) is the day of the opening ceremony, so I don’t think it could be better placed.

  45. Picaroon one of our favourite setters provided a gentle enough work out particularly after the week we have had. I was about to say my only quibble was that he could not have wangled one woman into the four Olympians. Apologies to Denise and Picaroon.

  46. Picaroon, one of our favourite setters, provided a gentle enough work out – particularly after the week we have had. I was about to say my only quibble was that he could not have wangled one woman into the four Olympians. Apologies to Denise and Picaroon. Just also seen that Eileen @30 else mentions Denise. Should have read comments before posting.

  47. Thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle–thanks Picaroon! Now looking forward to watching some Olympic competitions.

  48. Only managed 5 answers before giving up. Maybe I lack sports GK but I didn’t even get to the point where it would have been useful. Disappointing.

  50. What Tramp @29 said; I was admiring the brilliance, added to by Tim C @4’s revelation of the NINA. Like Alan C @25, PEATY with lovely wordplay led me to the OLYMPIANS. I also liked the wordplays for WHITE MEAT and ABETTING, and the surfaces for THWART, SPITZ, CRANE and BOLT.

    What a treat before the start this evening (local time)!

    Thanks Picaroon and PeterO.

  51. I thought THWART was a masterclass in its own right – not hugely difficult but so neatly done

    I was a bit grumpy about the theme initially but remembered I’d been saddened by some of the curmugeonly responses to Paul’s recent election theme so snapped myself out of it 🙂

    FrankieG @20 that’s an absolute classic theme tune – right up there with Mr Ed and the Addams family

    And bonus points to Picaroon for avoiding the use of “medal” as a verb 🙂

    Cheers P&P
    Cheers

  52. Brilliant puzzle.
    [Maybe have a spoof crossword where every answer is Spitz. In memory of QoS.]
    Thanks Picaroon and PeterO.

  53. What Tramp said @29

    Another splendid crossword from one of my favourite setters

    Many thanks to him and PeterO

  55. I really enjoyed this brilliant, gentle puzzle, as well as the blog and comments.
    I missed the very clever Olympic rings and POCHARDS, LARRUP and ESPARTO were all new for me.
    My favourite clue was STAGE LEFT for the lovely misdirection. I also liked PIT STOPS, THWART and CRANE, among others.
    Thanks P and P.

  56. Thanks to Picaroon for this timely puzzle. We started slowly, then got slower. But we ‘bolted’ once we figured out 15 down and its related clues. Enjoyed the misdirections and found a new word, POCHARD. Lots of favourites esp BLACK GOLD. Well done also for the Olympic rings construction in lines 7 and 8 – spotted by TimC@4. Thanks also to PeterO for the usual accomplished blog.

  57. Eileen @30
    In addition to Denise Lewis, there is also Hayley Lewis (and a few other Olympian Lewises). I went with Carl for his multiple medals (Hayley also) and world records, which fitted with the others.
    quenbarrow @5
    Mistake corrected.

  58. The pirate at the very top of his game: and the five rings-wow!
    (Postmark – did the little beasties get you?)

  59. Thanks, PeterO @57 – fair enough: Denise Lewis was just the first to spring to my mind – but I have heard of Carl (!), who is probably the intended one, although it doesn’t actually matter, since Picaroon didn’t specify.

  60. I thought this was great fun, despite being a dnf for me – I had to reveal POCHARDS having never heard of the ducks. Can someone enlighten me as to why CHAR = daily?

    LARRUP was also new to me, but very clearly clued.

    Lovely surfaces throughout, but my favourite was CRANE for the combination of surface and wordplay.

    Thanks Picaroon and PeterO

  61. Thanks PeterO.

    Some of us like to grumble occasionally, so I have to give credit to an impeccable set of clues and a superb, non-intrusive theme. Well done, Picaroon.

    Ps imagine trying to clue Peaty, then marvel at the elegant clue.. at least I did

  62. TTP @60 It’s an abbreviation of CHARWOMAN: A char or chare was a term (of work) in the sixteenth century, which gave rise to the word being used as a prefix to denote people working in domestic service. The usage of “charwoman” was common in the mid-19th century, often appearing as an occupation in the UK census of 1841.

  65. I agree with all the praise. Perfect puzzle for me — five left blank last night, all filled in this morning.

    There are actually six O’s in the center, so I’m assuming we’re supposed to leave out the first O in TIEPOLO. The remaining five make a nice symmetrical W shape.

    Thanks to Picaroon and PeterO.

  66. This was a very satisfying solve. It took two sittings (and therefore two cups of tea), but it unfolded beautifully. Everything was so neatly clued that I really can’t fault it. After a lovely Tramp puzzle yesterday, this was wonderful.

    I’d never heard of TIEPOLO, but the clue gave it to me, so that’s my TIL. It must have taken an incredible feat of setting to get the Olympic rings in the centre of the puzzle and to have a theme that was clearly present, but in no way invasive.

    Thanks so much, Picaroon and PeterO.

  67. Not much to add to what others have said. New to me were 8A, 4D, 9A, 16A, and 21A other than Mark. Remarkably good surfaces.

    And after solving I forgot to review who the people referenced in 15D were.

    But at least I got the theme for once 🙂

  69. Favorite was probably SPITZ, since that clue is a very tennis-y way to get you around to a swimmer. (And I’m sure that Sue Barker has in fact introduced Carlos Alcaraz her share of times!) SPITZ was also my way into OLYMPIANS, because unlike the other ones I already had at that point (PEATY and BOLT), the word evokes for me the person first and its other meaning as only a distant second.

    [I had heard of Adam PEATY, but he’s not famous here. Olympic coverage in the US is heavily tilted towards Americans, although Usain BOLT transcended that to become the rare exception. The current most-famous Olympian here is probably Simone Biles, who is back this year, probably for her final go.]

  70. [Me @69: most famous Olympian not counting basketball players, I should have said. Not that basketball doesn’t count–it’s just that the Olympics isn’t its biggest platform, so (say) LeBron James is better known for his four NBA titles than his two gold medals.]

  71. For me the ‘revered’ in 15d also implied gods (as in the gods of Olympus), giving me even more confidence to write it in as my first answer

  72. E. Foster @63: I think it’s a nod to our antipodean demographic… ( after all in the antipodes (are there ‘propodes’?) the moon is ‘upside down’).

  73. Re the number of OLYMPIANS mentioned above, perhaps every word in this puzzle might be the name of an Olympic competitor, somewhere, somewhen?

    OK perhaps not TIEPOLO, I think he was a bit early in the game. 🙂

    TIEPOLO was the one I failed to get – I know the names of lots of the Old Masters but not this one. The POLO part went in easily enough – especially since it’s also in the clue to 11a – but I tried GIN and NIM for the first part, to no avail.

    The rest went in smoothly. I have to agree that THWART has to be among the best – superb surface! Also liked POCHARDS, ALCOPOPS (yuck! I suppose some folks like ’em), STAGE LEFT, SKI MASKS, FOR THE HIGH JUMP, PIT STOPS, BOLT, FAST TRACKS. Have I left any out?

    Thanks again to the ‘P’s – Pickers and Peter.

  74. Lovely puzzle! Particularly enjoyed the clever charades for PIT STOPS, SKI MARKS, and TIEPOLO, and many other great surfaces as well–occasionally a theme can lead to a lot of awkward cluings but Picaroon did it very well. Thanks Picaroon and PeterO! And well spotted with the rings TimO.

  78. JayinPgh@76. I vaguely remembered POCHARDS, which fitted the wordplay better than my initial Mrs-Mop-inspired thought of pilCHARds (I know they swim, so I suppose they can dive) , which didn’t even fit the space available.

  79. Very much enjoyed this. But a DNF for me, there is no Italian composer called TIGPOLO.
    Thanks Picaroon and PeterO. And Tim C!

  80. When I see BLACK GOLD, I’m minded of “The Beverly Hillbillies”, where the intro described the Clampitt family of striking oil…”Black Gold, Texas Tea…”.
    A Tuesdayish feel to today’s crossword, which was welcome due to my annual trip to Seaford Head to see the Kittiwake colony.
    Thanks both…

  83. A dnf for me because I had never heard of Pochards, Tiepolo or Alcopops ( we call them Coolers). Otherwise it was a lovely puzzle so thanks Picaroon and Peter0 for the education.

  84. I had a different problem with 15d.
    The first crosser I got was the M, the first of the four was SPITZ, so I spent a good deal of time trying to expand SWIMMERS to 9 letters.
    But got there in the end.

  85. Agree Brendan Lyons @45. It was disappointing to find only male athletes in the grid, especially after my marathon effort in completing the crossword, in a field where I have very little interest. But I had fun anyway, and admired Tramp’s skill.

    E.Foster@ 63. The rings are upside down?

  86. paddymelon @85
    As Eileen pointed out, Lewis could as well be Denise or, with a nod in your direction, Hayley.

  87. Oh, Ok, thanks PeterO@86. Woke up too early watching the opening ceremony (3.30am our time) and didn’t read through all the posts. Now I’m the one making assumptions! 🙁

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