Guardian29,826 / Brendan

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I was surprised (and delighted) to see a Brendan puzzle this morning, so soon after his recent Prize offering.

This, too, was worthy of the Prize slot, being yet another tour de force from the master, revolving around the deftly woven into the grid 1,4 and 10,13, PLUS ÇA CHANGE PLUS C’EST LA MEME CHOSE, which I hope is familiar enough not to cause too many complaints: the wordplay makes it gettable, I think.

As usual with Brendan’s puzzles, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, with many of the clues involving anagrams, palindromes or some other rearrangement of letters, along with witty references throughout to change and/or being/staying the same. Apart from my admiration for the brilliant exploitation of the theme, my favourite clues were 12ac PROSPERO, 16ac STET, 17ac STATUETTE, 21ac AMARETTO, 24ac ALL THE SAME, 6dn NOSEPIECE, 7dn ENLARGE, 8dn SUPPOSITIONAL and 14dn EXECRATED.

Many thanks to Brendan for a most enjoyable and absorbing puzzle.

Definitions are underlined in the clues.

 

Across

1, 4 Good thing, an end of fighting in store? That implies no fundamental shift (4,2,6)
PLUS ÇA CHANGE
PLUS (good thing) + AN [fightin]G in CACHE (store)

9 Exchange notes to begin with and perform differently (4)
REDO
DO RE (beginning notes of the scale, exchanged)

10, 13 It completes 1 and 4 across, together with modification of 11, 15, and 23 (4,4,2,4,5)
PLUS C’EST LA MEME CHOSE
PLUS (together with) C’EST LA ( an anagram – modification – of CASTLE {11ac}) + MEME (15ac) + CHOSE (23dn)

11 Move king to safety, as last resort, inside church (6)
CASTLE
An anagram (resort) of LAST in CE (Church of England) – a chess move, explained here

12 Exiled duke introducing son to appropriate circle (8)
PROSPERO
S (son) in PROPER (appropriate) + O (circle) – the exiled duke in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest; my friend and I already have tickets for Kenneth Branagh‘s return to Stratford in this role next May

15 Child’s plea for attention as superspreader? (4)
MEME
ME ME (child’s plea for attention)

16 Rearrange test or keep exactly as is (4)
STET
An anagram (rearrange) of TEST – Latin for ‘let it stand’

17 For Oscar, say, act in sci-fi movie? Au contraire (9)
STATUETTE
ET (sci-fi movie) in STATUTE (act) – in the opposite order from the clue

21 Semiaquatic mammal, a mother, back in drink (8)
AMARETTO
A reversal (back) of OTTER (semiaquatic mammal) + A MA (a mother)

22 Produce same thing again, poorly accommodating conclusions of the critic (6)
RECOPY
ROPY (poorly) round [th]E [criti]C

24 Nevertheless, like happy families in novel start? (3,3,4)
ALL THE SAME
Double definition: the opening line of Tolstoy’s novel ‘Anna Karenina’ is ‘All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’

25 Colleague unaffected by reversal (4)
OPPO
A palindrome – military slang for opposite number, which I remember as a child my father using

26 More like cardinal? Moving left, just the same (6)
REDDER
And another

27 Best or worst of French accomplishment (6)
DEFEAT
DE (of French) + FEAT (accomplishment) – best and worst both as verbs and auto-antonyms

 

Down

1 Strive to see maturity in group of equals? (7)
PEERAGE
PEER (strive to see) + AGE (maturity)

2 Perturbed about wartime menace (1-4)
U-BOAT
An anagram (perturbed) of ABOUT

3 Replace two letters in a speech to become understood? (7)
CAPEESH
A SPEECH, with the C and S replaced – slang from Italian capire, to understand

5 Other changes, including about bully (6)
HECTOR
An anagram (changes) of OTHER round C (about)

6 Recognizes truce, we hear – that could help to save face (9)
NOSEPIECE
Sounds like (we hear) knows (recognises) peace (truce) – ‘a piece of armour, especially part of a helmet, that serves to protect the nose’

7 Adjust one aspect of photo or make alterations in general (7)
ENLARGE
An anagram (make alterations in) of GENERAL

8 After wee dram, take seat on island in curtailed ballot? That’s speculative (13)
SUPPOSITIONAL
SUP (wee dram) + SIT (take seat) + IONA (Scottish island) in POL[l] (ballot, curtailed)

14 Judged following suit, totally condemned (9)
EXECRATED
EXEC (‘suit’) + RATED (judged)

16 Line the writer inserted in stuff is shown up as not very original (7)
SIMILAR
A reversal (up, in a down clue) of L (line) + I (the writer) in RAM (stuff) + IS

18 Re-enter after revolution of earth (7)
TERRENE
An anagram (after revolution) of RE-ENTER

19 Position of leader no different after overthrow (3,4)
TOP SPOT
Another palindrome

20 Name of goddess or just vowels in name (6)
ATHENE
A THEN E – the vowels in nAmE

23 Conservative replacing first of those elected (5)
CHOSE
C (conservative) replacing [t]HOSE

60 comments on “Guardian29,826 / Brendan”

  1. Wonderful puzzle, the most enjoyable I have seen for some time (I don’t do the Prize). PROSPERO, ENLARGE, AMORETTO, and NOSEPIECE were among my favourites too, and I would add CAPEESH (a favourite of gangster movie scriptwriters). I didn’t get the parsing of ATHENE, but Eileen’s suggestion looks good. Thanks Eileen and Brendan.

  2. Did this last night when I saw Brendan’s name, thinking it was worth a late night and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Filled in the bottom half first and then got lucky with PLUS ÇA CHANGE which led on to the rest. The theme was simple but delightful. I agree with Eileen’s favourites and I also especially liked the double MEMEs and CHOSEs along with CASTLE. Another tour de force.

    Ta Brendan & Eileen.

  3. Enjoyed this but needed Eileen’s help for the parsing of 17, 20, and 22, which I had bunged in as “recipe”. Particularly liked 21 amaretto and 12 Prospero, although it took me some time to break my anchoring to a more contemporary exiled royal. Pity about the deux choses.
    Thanks Brendan and Eileen

  4. Very clever, though some will no doubt complain that MEME and CHOSE appear in the grid twice (as I wrote at a time when this would have been the first comment – chapeau to Apteryx @3 for immediately reassuring me!!).
    Congratulations to Brendan for having the self-control not to clue “ME! ME!” by reference to Trump.
    Thanks to Brendan for a neat puzzle and Eileen for, as ever, an early and workmanlike blog which explained the two bits of wordplay I hadn’t been wide enough awake to work out.

  6. Yes I think 20d is one of those, like Bay extremely bowlegged (5), etc. And, well I don’t know about prize level, as after the French saying, itself assez claire, it was all pretty cruisy. Elegant and enjoyable though, merci B et E.

  7. @3 & 4: I thought that their may quibbles about MEME and CHOSE but surely it’s acceptable if both words mean something different. Anyway, I thought it was very clever.

  8. Although I enjoyed the theme, I suspect I’m going to be a lone voice when I say that the puzzle didn’t really do it for me, overall. While I liked the exposition of some curiosities of the language, such as palindromes and the equivalence of best/worst, I felt that some of the cryptic readings indicating those were too direct, leading to strangely obvious answers in some places and producing some bland surfaces in others. I also thought the long connected entry was odd; I enjoyed the first part, but the second was a write-in which then gave away either the other MEME or the other CHOSE depending on which you already had solved and hence spotted the idea. Also, I assume that for those who didn’t know tthe phrase, a fair chunk of the puzzle was inaccessible.

    STATUETTE was also weird; why the French? I liked the construction and correctly surmised what was required of us, but I spent a long time thinking of French actors called Oscar, especially given there was so much French already. Perhaps it was an intentional misdirection but it just seemed unnecessary to me.

    Of course, it’s a rare thing that nothing good be found, and indeed I enjoyed U-BOAT, DEFEAT and AMARETTO – the latter being especially nice because it wasn’t at all clear whether the animal or the drink was going to be the definition.

    LOI was SUPPOSITIONAL.

    Thanks both

  10. Now that the mêmes choses are explained to me, I agree that their duplication and interaction is very clever

  12. Yes, AlanC @7, given the theme, having a pair each of memes and choses, with pair-members differing in meaning, is a touch of Brendan genius.

  13. I loved this one – it was just ideal for me, as I have a decent level of French, and even knew the Tolstoy reference (a sentiment with which I deeply disagree: there are many different ways for a family to be happy). So it was quite a quick solve for me but still very satisfying. Thanks, Brendan and Eileen!

  14. I totally agree with everything Eileen has written, a touch of mid-week magic.
    I also like that STET is sort of hidden in STATUETTE as it stands, statuesque.
    Thanks to Brendan and Eileen

  15. Not being au fait with French, the ‘PLUS ÇA CHANGE PLUS C’EST LA MEME CHOSE’ anchor was totally lost on me, but I thoroughly enjoyed Brendan’s cleverness throughout.

    Big thanks to Brendan (of course) and to Eileen for the excellent blog.

  16. Very clever as usual from Brendan. A “meme chose” meme, as it says across the middle, with REDO, RECOPY, SIMILAR, ALL THE SAME and so on. I do agree with AP @8 that 10,13 was a write-in once you’d got the first clue, but I don’t think that matters in the scheme of things.

    Many thanks Brendan and Eileen.

  18. Lucky you Eileen, and thank you for your blog with the extra details, par excellence, d’habitude. I enjoyed the repetition of même chose. I thought that was the point!

  19. I am another who liked the double meme chose. I solved the French saying in the wrong order when I was well into the puzzle, which probably made for a better solving experience, as well as the fun if racking my brain for Tempest quotes about change.

  21. A thoroughly enjoyable puzzle throughout, as one would expect from Brendan.

    Unrelated to the puzzle, the ‘word’ CAPEESH really sets my teeth on edge. Is it really so hard to write Capisce?!

    Thanks Brendan and Eileen

  22. I loved that “meme” in 15A and “chose” in 23D are both the same and not the same (either in sound, significance or language) as their counterparts in 13A. This is a veritable tour de force. Merci, Brendan. Thank you, Eileen.

  23. AP @8 @ 8.48. (Lucky numbers). Re the French ‘au contraire’ in STATUETTE. I know/remember that, in certain circles, people would use that phrase even when speaking in English. I think it’s just Brendan’s little joke and a nod to the French in the theme. It made me laugh.

  24. Lucky Eileen, indeed. A delightful puzzle from start to finish and I enjoyed spotting and then teasing out the themed items. So very clever. CASTLE, AMARETTO, PROSPERO, CAPEESH, ENLARGE and ATHENE were faves but, as Eileen says, it’s the whole thing that really takes the biscuit.

    Thanks both

  25. VG puzzle, but a dnf as I don’t recall seeing CAPEESH in print before – I’ve heard the word in movies etc, but if I’d ever had to write it, I’d have used the Italian spelling.
    Favourites CASTLE and ATHENE.
    I didn’t look for or spot the theme, but it is clever.
    Thanks Eileen and Brendan.

  26. O-level French was worth it after all. The crossers made CHANGE jump out. I did think surely there’ll be complaints about so much foreign!
    I’m familiar with STET from old fashioned typesetting correction where you undo a correction by writing stet.

    Great stuff and thanks both.

  29. Whenever I see how members lavish praise on a setter and his works,it makes me think:”Am i missing out on a secret code,or I’m just a gatecrasher at an all-exclusive party”?I could only do 11a,16a,21a,7d and 23d,the rest were just too difficult to grasp.

  30. Balfour @27
    There is the episode where Bart is sent on an exchange visit to France and comes back fluent in the language.

  31. The Outsider @29

    I don’t recognise your pseudonym so, if this is your first time to comment, welcome to the site – and my apologies if not. We aim to be totally inclusive and don’t regard any contributors as ‘gatecrashers’. 😉

    Was the blog any help at all in explaining the clues you had difficulty with?

  34. After giving up in despair yesterday when I solved only a handful of clues, this crossword restored my confidence. I think it’s one of the most enjoyable cryptics I’ve done since I started on the Quick Cryptics eighteen months ago. So neat, funny and clever without being clever-clever. Doesn’t Del Boy say ‘au contraire’, with no understanding of its meaning?

  35. Plus ca change etc simply whizzed in as it’s a phrase I often sprinkle into my day to day English. And therefore most of the top half of this wonderful latest Brendan offering fell into place quite swiftly. Thereafter found things chewier in the nether regions of the grid, with a struggle to parse a few. Loi the Greek goddess, and a penny dropping moment when I realised how that one cleverly worked. Many thanks Brian and the eternally enthusiastic and upbeat Eileen…

  39. I don’t think I knew that there was a legitimate English spelling of CAPEESH – ugly, isn’t it. I liked the repetition of the MEME CHOSE as individual words: it’s a deliberate part of the arrangement, not a careless accident. But once all that French was in, clever as it was, the puzzle was more or less over. Speaking of careless accidents, I had an unparsed RECIPE for RECOPY.

  40. I’m glad I made time for this puzzle by one of my top two setters (the other being Philistine who compiled the latest Prize). My experience went along the lines of what my near-namesake (AlanC) reported @2: I filled in the bottom half before tackling the most interesting bits in the top half. I was a tad lucky to recognise PLUS C’EST LA MÊME CHOSE from four of its checked letters (and no doubt also from its enumeration), making the rest of the puzzle more straightforward. CAPEESH was completely new to me and was my LOI. All in all, a super puzzle, as I hoped and expected.

    Many thanks to both Brendan and Eileen.

  41. A great puzzle, as always with Brendan. The theme was more or less clear, mais je ne savais pas the French phrase, so DNF… Thanks Brendan and Eileen!

  42. Not a complete waste of time. Only cracked 6 clues.
    It’s hard enough doing some of these crosswords in English, let alone French

  43. After feeling battered and bloodied by the Paul-Mog one-two yesterday this was a genuine pleasure. Liked the Anna Karenina and amaretto and it just seems cleverer and cleverer after reading through today’s comments.

  44. What fun! I missed the theme, though, so thanks to Eileen for explaining it and then to Lord Jim @16 for the “meme chose” meme.

    ginf@6 — explain please?

    Eileen — your blog for SIMILAR leaves out the “is,” which is needed to complete the word.

    ARO@21 “Capisce” would be pronounced with three syllables. “CAPEESH” gives the colloquial pronunciation in English.

    What a grand romp. I finished the whole puzzle last night, though a few words at a small-hours wake up.

    Thanks, Brendan and Eileen.

  45. Hi Valentine @44

    Eileen — your blog for SIMILAR leaves out the “is,” which is needed to complete the word.

    I don’t think so! – ?

  46. Thank you Eileen.Nothing wrong with your explanations.Its perhaps a big leap for me as my daily go to is Times Quick Cryptic which I solve reasonably well.
    Disclaimer:I’m not a mole for Times or endorsing Times Cryptic.

  47. “Capeesh” is the colloquial pronunciation in English because it is the standard pronunciation in Sicilian and Neapolitan. (Except that the initial c is a sound we don’t have initially in English, i.e. unaspirated, making it something between a K and a hard G.)

  49. This solve overflowed from its lunch spot and into my afternoon. Les pires choses arrivent.

    I enjoyed the puzzle, though I wouldn’t gush about it like most commenters have today. I don’t remember seeing TERRENE before, but as we were in a gallic mood today, it came easily. At one point, there was more reversing than on a forklift truck test, but I see how it all comes together and, as Eileen says, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

    Thanks Brendan, Eileen and bravo à tous!

  50. I agree with Eileen that Brendan’s whole is often greater than the sum of its parts but I’m not sure I see that as an inherently good thing. If there is to be some clever conceit or overall construction I’d prefer it was the icing on the cake rather than the sponge. I know I’m in a tiny minority so I’ll leave it there. Chacun à son goût

    Cheers E&B

  52. Pulled teeth to get the last few. Only a few months ago I wouldn’t have been able to finish this one. Really stuck with seven to go, then broke the dam by entering 24a ALL THE SAME unparsed (thanks for enlightening, Eileen!). LOI 12a PROSPERO (oh, “exiled duke” is the definition!). A lot of great clues

    3d I would spell CAPICHE, but it seems CAPISCE, CAPISCHE, and CAPEESH are all acceptable variants

    14d EXECRATED, I don’t think I’ve seen “suit” for EXEC before — very good. Took a while

  53. I’m with The Outsider @29 and 46. Just too much of a stretch for me this one but many thanks to Eileen for the, as always, excellent blog and explanations which never fail to teach me something.

  54. I rarely hear the second half of PLUS ÇA CHANGE (more often people leave it at that, pronouncing it with an ellipsis and a shrug), and I’ve said many times that I don’t speak French. So I couldn’t remember what the last word of the second half was. So the extra CHOSE was helpful!

  56. Tremendous fun from Brendan, comme toujours, something of a piece de resistance, with entertaining clues aplenty and a clever theme.

    A-THEN-E was probably my favourite for a neat variation on the -AND- device, plus ENLARGE as I always like a one-word anagram.

    I thought “replace two letters” in the CAPEESH clue was a bit loose as the letters in question were neither swapped for each other nor replaced by others in the same position, but that’s just my opinion: chacun a son gout, as they say.

    Thanks to the dream team of Brendan and Eileen

  58. DJR @55 – many thanks: I am mortified. I was never taught that handy mnemonic but I do know better than that – mea culpa. I have done my corrigenda and given myself 100 lines and a detention. 🙁

  59. I seem to be in a minority finding this a loveless slog for the most part of today. The top half of the grid was absolutely dominated by what was basically one long clue – I hope those who castigated Paul for his duplications yesterday applied a similar standard here. I ended up getting CASTLE MEME and CHOSE all before finally breaking 1&4, and then 10&13 immediately as you would, and then the rest of the grid flowed with minimal trouble from there. That was late in the afternoon however.

    Lots of clever bits, and palindromes, and thematic executions once the top half fell apart. Lost on me a tad by then. Thanks Brendan and Eileen.

  60. If I had known that 10, 13 was like that I’d never have started it. Never heard the expression.
    Shame, I usually enjoy Brendan’s offerings.

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