Guardian 29,600 / Pangakupu

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Pangakupu rounds off the week with an enjoyable challenge.

A nice variety of clue types, with some ingenious constructions and witty surfaces and definitions. I had ticks for 11ac HIP REPLACMENT, 21ac SPRING CLEANING, 23ac ANIMATES, 25ac SATANISM, 3dn CASTRATO, 5dn IN FLAGRANTE, 12dn PICKPOCKETS and 15dn EPHESIANS

As usual, I’ll leave the spotting of the customary Maori Nina to those who have some idea of what they’re looking for.

Thanks to Pangakupu for the puzzle.

Definitions are underlined in the clues.

 

Across

1 Small guard required for small piece of carpet (6)
SWATCH
S (small) + WATCH (guard)

4 Players beginning to drink liquor? Just one in the percussion section (4,4)
SIDE DRUM
SIDE (players) + D[rink] + RUM (liquor)

9 Stop eating father’s food (6)
REPAST
REST (stop) round PA (father)

10 Old Fellows with a new lecturer? Not all the time (3,3,2)
OFF AND ON
O (old ) + FF (fellows) + A from the clue + N (new) + DON (lecturer)

11 Help pair out with adhesive for operation (3,11)
HIP REPLACEMENT
An anagram (out) of HELP PAIR + CEMENT (adhesive)

13 European figures about return of competition vehicles (6,4)
ESTATE CARS
E (European) + STATS (figures) round a reversal (return) of RACE (competition)

14 Classic ship in the past seen around river (4)
ARGO
AGO (in the past) round R (river) for Jason’s ship (hence Argonauts)

16 Woman’s throttling a judge (4)
HEAR
HER (woman’s) round A

18 Cadge trousers – they’re useful for travellers (6,4)
SPONGE BAGS
SPONGE (cadge) + BAGS (trousers) – a simple charade: I was momentarily misled by one of my favourite enclosure indicators not being one

21 Spa’s constant inclination for annual overhaul? (6-8)
SPRING CLEANING
SPRING (spa) + C (constant) + LEANING (inclination)

23 Galvanises return of vigour with injection of energy (8)
ANIMATES
A reversal (return) of STAMINA (vigour) round E (energy)

24 American satisfied about University lecturer’s charm (6)
AMULET
A (American) + MET (satisfied) round U (University) L (lecturer)

25 Ain’t Mass traduced in this? (8)
SATANISM
An anagram (traduced) of AINT MASS – &lit

26 Key argument in computer encryption process (6)
ESCROW
ESC (key) + ROW (argument)

 

Down

1 Kind hearts absent in brief (4)
SORT
S[h]ORT (brief) minus h (hearts)

2 A quiet fielder put in position (7)
APPOINT
A + P (quiet) + POINT (cricket fielder)

3 Scoundrel among performers with a bit of oomph is performer missing something (8)
CASTRATO
RAT (scoundrel) in CAST (performers) + O[omph) – amusing definition
I was briefly diverted trying to do something with ACTORS for performers

5 As it happens, that is accommodating new symbol of nationalist tirade (2,9)
IN FLAGRANTE
I E (that is) round N (new) FLAG (symbol of nationalist) + RANT (tirade) – more commonly seen in the phrase ‘in flagrante delicto’

6 Member of syndicate wearing the Spanish coat (6)
ENAMEL
NAME (member of syndicate, as in Lloyd’s Name) in EL (the Spanish)

7 Podcast’s studied expensive target of hunters? (3,4)
RED DEER
Sounds like (podcast) of read (studied) dear (expensive) – I remembered that there was pretty recent discussion of ‘podcast’ as a ‘sounds like’ indicator, the first time I’d come across it, but it took a few minutes to find: it was, in fact, in the Christmas Eve offering from this same setter

8 Stuns room, misbehaving: outrageous (9)
MONSTROUS
An anagram (misbehaving) of STUNSROOM

12 Those against scabs covering scar in nippers (11)
PICKPOCKETS
PICKETS (those against scabs, slang for strike-breakers) round POCK (scar)

13 Members of Biblical flock, as in ‘sheep’, possibly (9)
EPHESIANS
An anagram (possibly) of AS IN SHEEP – the recipients of an epistle from St Paul

15 Prison leading famous people to develop pseudonyms (3,5)
PEN NAMES
PEN (prison) + NAMES (famous people)

17 Emergency aid? One international link initially filling gap (7)
AIRLIFT
A (one) from the clue + I (international) + L[ink] in RIFT (gap)

19 Invalidate second and third of marriages with a ring (7)
ANNULAR
ANNUL (invalidate) + MARRIAGES

20 Very, very good to reside in pub, but pointless (2,4)
IN VAIN
V very) + AI (A1 – very good) in INN (pub)

22 Broadcaster finally dodging broadcast trouble (4)
STEW
ST[r]EW (broadcast) minus [broadcaste]R

66 comments on “Guardian 29,600 / Pangakupu”

  1. Double pangakupu day. What a treat.

    Lovely crossword

    Pokapu across the centre means centre (according to Google).

    Loved pickpockets and Ephesians

    Thanks Pangakupu and Eileen

  2. Thanks Pangakupu and Eileen
    The Nina is across the middle. POKAPU, Google Translate tells me, is CENTER (I suppose it means “centre”!)
    Easiest of the week. Favourite IN FLAGRANTE.
    What happens to the s from Pa’s in REPAST?

  4. I really enjoyed this and pretty much the same ticks as Eileen. TAPARIMU means pentagon, which I wondered was a nod to current events and POKAPU across the centre, means centre, so that was neat.

    Ta Pangakupu & Eileen.

  6. muffin @2 “Father’s” confused me for a while too, but I think in this case “‘s” indicates an abbreviation for “is”.

    18 held me up because bags=trousers and sponge bags both seem a little dated to me and so not in my usual vocabulary.

  9. Very enjoyable puzzle. I never look for the Maori word but a comment of the Guardian blog drew my attention to TAPARIMA/pentagon which I found via google.

    Favourites: ANIMATES, IN FLAGRANTE, SWATCH.

    New for me: ANNULAR.

    I could not parse 22d.

    26ac – what is the computer encryption bit of the clue for?
    6d – I did not really understand why does NAME = member of syndicate.

    Thanks, both.

    muffin@7 – I read the clue as ‘father’s food’ = possessive form

  10. I had the same ticks as Eileen plus SPRING CLEANING. My favourite was CASTRATO . I think “nippers” is a strange word for PICKPOCKETS. I wonder if “nickers” was what it should have said?

    Apart from that quibble, I thought this was a fun end to the week.

    Thank you Eileen and Pangakupu.

  11. A bit less chewy than we have come to expect from this setter. I share Eileen’s favourites. Something in the air led me to write in GALE for STEW (end of dodging+ homophone of ail). Thanks to setter and blogger.

  12. I was confused with PICKPOCKET = NIPPER, a new one for me. I have heard of DIPPER as a PP. Thanks to setter and blogger.

  13. michelle @9 ‘ – ‘computer encryption process’ is the definition: Chambers ‘an encryption system for which a third party has the key (computing)’.

    Pauline in Brum @10 – I had exactly the same thought, then found ‘nip (7) slang for steal in Collins. (I included SPRING CLEANING, too. 😉 )

  14. Eileen@13
    Thanks – my online version of Collins did not have that definition of ESCROW.

    Also, in 6d why is NAME a member of a syndicate? I don’t understand it

  15. michelle @14
    I was going to explain about Lloyds Names when I noticed that Eileen has already provided a link.

  16. I filled in the final solution to this (“pickpockets”, also confused by the definition) and then looked for the next clue only to find there wasn’t one! I was slightly sad as I’d enjoyed the transformation of several clues from “what on Earth?” to “ah, of course”, especially the charades, where the setter seems to be particularly strong at finding odd bits of words – “cement”, the reversed “stamina” and “stats” around “ecar” all come to mind.

    My sister-in-law has just had an 11ac so that was definitely in the air for me!

    “Escrow” confused me for a moment – I am familiar with an escrow account and it seems that concept has been carried over to the idea of securing a encryption key in a safe third place, held by neither the encrypting nor decrypting parties. Would “Key argument in account” not have worked as well, with the ambiguity of “account” meaning “story”?

    Many thanks Pangakupu – I now find it much easier to get on your wavelength – and to Eileen for the clear blog.

  17. Lovely puzzle, such a relief after yesterday.

    An amazing coincidence… only the other day, I clued HIP REPLACEMENT as Operation Phi?

  18. Very fun. CASTRATO for sure my favourite, as a clue that seemed impossible for me to parse morphing into one that made me laugh when the penny finally dropped.

    I also parsed AMULET as AM (American), UL (as above), ET (past tense of ‘eat’) and wasn’t sure about it, but A-MET makes much more sense, so that’s good.

    Very enjoyable end to the week. Thanks Eileen and Pangakupu

  19. Members of Lloyd’s insurance syndicates are called “names”

    I suppose whatever we got was going to seem gentle after yesterday.

    Nipper / pickpocket is in Chambers

    Cheers E&P

  20. I found this a little gentler than I usually find this setters puzzles, but very satisfying. Like Eileen, I don’t look for the Maori ninas.

  21. muffin @7: slightly surprised that you are surprised/confused by the construction in REPAST which you must have encountered before. It’s reasonably common practice for setters to utilise the two different senses of apostrophe S. At the surface level, it is the possessive sense giving ‘stop eating the food that belongs to father’. At the cryptic level it is the link between wordplay and definition giving stop (REST) eating (container) father (PA) is food (REPAST). Both make complete sense in their different ways.

  24. Bodycheetah @19 – please see muffin @15 re Lloyd’s names.

    Collins is my favoured dictionary, so I didn’t look for nip(per) in Chambers – thanks for that. (Collins didn’t have that meaning of ESCROW, though. 😉

    PostMark @21 – thanks for that!

    (Apologies for the delays: I’ve been having important phone calls.)

  25. I echo those initial comments of William@17, though I wondered for a while whether PICKPOCKETS equated to Nippers. Last two in were ESCROW, which I had to look up as it was a new one to me, and then STEW. Favourites today HIP REPLACEMENT and ANIMATES…

  27. I was going to say that EPHESIANS was anho for me and then I remembered Paul’s epistles. Not that I’ve read them but I knew one was to them.
    Very gentle for Pangakupo, I thought, but very enjoyable.
    Thanks both.

  28. Antipodeans fitted in quite nicely for 12D; however, not much to do with the clue and didn’t work anyway with the crossers. I liked the ‘return of vigour’ for ANIMATES, the definition for IN FLAGRANTE, the podcast homophone indicator for RED DEER, the ‘those against scabs’ in PICK-POCKETS, and the strew broadcast in STEW.

    Thanks Pang and Eileen.

  29. Well that was a surprise. After giving up yesterday, a handful of clues solved and no purchase on anything else, this was a breeze. And I often struggle with this setter too.

    Amused to see CASTRATO and IN FLAGRANTE side by side.

  30. Lots to like as usual with this setter including several amusing surfaces. 12D defeated me even though I twigged to the meaning of nippers.

  31. Relatively (surprisingly?) gentle, both for Pangakupu and for a Friday, but well constructed and satisfying.

    ‘Podcast’ seems to be supplanting ‘on the radio’ as a favourite homophone indicator (but Arachne’s ‘escaping from trap’ beats most others).

    Favourites: CASTRATO, IN FLAGRANTE, ANIMATES.

    Thanks to the Kiwi and Eileen

  32. I was unfamiliar with the computerised version of ESCROW, or IN FLAGRANTE without the usual DELICTO, or that there are swatches of carpet as well as more delicate fabrics. Possibly a bit easier than Pangakupu’s usual level, but very enjoyable, with PICKPOCKETS, EPHESIANS and CASTRATO favourites.

  33. PostMark @21 Yes indeed. I am late arriving today, and seeing muffin’s comment @7, I was going to offer the same explanation, but you did so very clearly. I had ready a favourite clue (I forget from where) as another example of the same construction: ‘I left Maigret perplexed, digesting the Parisian’s message (8)’.

  35. Bodycheetah@19 – thanks for explaining re NAMES. I never heard of that usage before.

    Eileen – sorry, I clicked on your link but did not read to the bottom of the first paragraph about Lloyd’s insurance etc.

  37. On the gentler side for a Friday and this particular setter, I thought. Although I revealed one out of impatience but kicked myself. Liked HIP REPLACEMENT, SPRING CLEANING, SORT, CASTRATO and IN VAIN.

    Thanks both!

  39. ESCROW was a Jorum for me, I knew it was a word, so I looked it up, but I only found the original meaning. I shrugged my shoulders and assumed it was another term appropriated by the IT community.

  40. Thanks to P and E. NHO of “SPONGE BAGS” — is that a European thing? Got the sponge but not the bags. And like others didn’t know the newer meaning of escrow, though it was clear it was the answer. Reference to Lloyd’s above reminds me of the song “We Will Altogether When We Go” which includes this lyric: “ No one will have the endurance to collect on their insurance, Lloyd’s of London will be loaded when we go.”

  41. Very enjoyable. Thanks to Pangakupu and Eileen.
    I got, but didn’t understand ESCROW and realise I didn’t parse STEW.
    I thought ANIMATES was clever. With the return of vigour with … energy, I wondered whether this could be a CAD, or is it just close to one. I’m not up on the finer points of solving.
    I also enjoyed CASTRATO, IN FLAGRANTE, HIP REPLACEMENT, PICKPOCKET.

  43. Nice to finish the week off with a completion.

    CASTRATO (last in but gave me a chuckle) and PICKPOCKETS. My parents used to call me “a little nipper” if I took anything without permission but rarely hear the word now.

    Thanks Eileen and Pangakupu

  47. muffin @45 Indeed. A huge loss to the rest of us when he retired from songwriting and went back to teaching math. I’m sure he’d have written interesting ditties about the current state of the world.

  48. I think this is the easiest Cryptic I can recall Pangakupu setting, I normally find them quite tricky. Agree with those who ticked HIP REPLACEMENT and ANNULAR. Bon weekend!

  49. This was a relief after Paul yesterday! Everything slotted in nicely, but I would argue that ESCROW itself is not part of a computer encryption process. There is the idea of KEY ESCROW where the encryption keys are held in a third party (escrow) account, but I think that the term itself is more general. I haven’t been able to find any support for the word alone in that usage. As a result, despite being a software engineer who deals with encryption regularly, it was my LOI.

    Otherwise, though, a wonderful puzzle that gave me a lot of smiles along the way. The image of EPHESIANS combined with IN FLAGRANTE is now indelibly etched on my memory.

    Thanks Pangakupu & Eileen

  50. Lechien @49

    I hold no brief for Chambers and ESCROW is not within my area of expertise but the definition I quoted @13 is practically verbatim.

  51. ravenrider@6 Your comment about “sponge bags” not being used currently made me think. I think of sponge bags as something that English people have in books, but didn’t really know what they were, so I googled it. Now I know.

    I don’t know a word of Maori, even ones that have appeared in previous puzzles, but I always look for the Nina anyway, because it’s usually the only row or column that isn’t an impossible jumble of consonants. For instance, in this puzzle, HTEESGTI wasn’t a candidate — I refuse to believe anybody says that in any language. Same for EIIOTN. In this puzzle, POKAPU and TAPARIMA were the only candidates, though NAIGLER might be one except for not looking Maori.

    Michelle@9 Father’s food in stop/rest would make RESPAST or REPASST.

    Always nice to see Tom Lehrer, a great gift to the world.

    Thanks, Pangakapu and Eileen for a delightful solving session and blog-reading one.

  53. Thanks Pangakupu and Eileen – my first Friday completion!

    Good fun -particularly enjoyed CASTRATO, HIP REPLACEMENT and ANIMATES. Hadn’t heard of 18a before. Tough ones for me were ESCROW and AMULET

    Looking forward to the next one 🙂

  54. Thanks P and E. Great stuff. William@13 re 11a – were you alerting us to Phi as the Independent alter ego of today’s setter? I thought that was an extra nice touch in this puzzle.

  56. muffin@45, thanks for the Tom Lehrer link. His stuff never pales.

    Some of today’s comments comparing this puzzle with yesterday’s Paul asserted that Paul’s was stodgy and lacked wit. I thought, like others, that many of Paul’s clues were convoluted and overly complicated, but they certainly were not lacking in wit. Whether his puzzles are satisfying or not – different strokes, etc… – they always have a large component of humour. Yesterday I didn’t enjoy the puzzle while failing to solve it, but I enjoyed seeing the humour on reading the blog.

    Today we got the best of both worlds – a fun puzzle to solve, and plenty of wit. Thanks Pangakupu and Eileen for the very satisfying experience on all fronts.

  59. My wife – originally a Brummie – always calls our toiletry bag a sponge bag, so I certainly didn’t think the phrase is obsolete. Very enjoyable crossie, though I constructed ESCROW long before I gave in and DDGed the word in conjuction with “computer”. Thanks, Pangakupu and Eileen.

  60. My Google search for the across Nina came up with “Bull’s Eye” as the translation, which I think makes it even better…
    Thanks to P & E; my first Friday completion although I also had, despite 50 years as a programmer, NHO ‘ESCROW’ used standalone, it’s always been used as ‘escrow key’.

  62. As Eileen said right at the beginning, a very enjoyable puzzle. I agree that there was a broad range of super clues, canvassed in the preamble and the comments. My solve was made all the richer by understanding some parsing more fully and reading the blog, so many thanks to our setter, our blogger and all contributors.

  64. Loving the pentagonal reference (though would never have spotted it), what an amazing mind this setter has. Yesterday’s Paul took me so long (no regrets) that, like Northern Line trains backing up in a signalling fault, this Pagakupu has only just emerged from the solution tunnel. Thank goodness it wasn’t as tricky as Paul on this occasion – otherwise I’m not sure ordinary service would have ever resumed. Thank you P&E!

  65. Thanks to Pang for a great puzzle with brilliant wordplay that didn’t need any esoteric general knowledge.

    Like Enigmatist, his pen name’s just one syllable too long though (one’s ideal, I can just about run to three) 🙂

    Cheers all.

  66. Completed and parsed. My last ones in were the same as ronald@25, ESCROW and then STEW

    Accidental Canadian reference: RED DEER, a city in Alberta

    A really delightful puzzle, made even more so by the wonderful blog and comments. Thank you all!

    I’ll also acknowledge, since no one else has, that this is a milestone puzzle, number 29,600. Thank you to the Guardian for all the fun and mental stimulation!

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