Alia is the setter of today’s Guardian puzzle.
An enjoyable puzzle which may have suited the Monday slot better. Most of the clues were straightforward, especailly those for the three long solutions, which then provided a plethora of crossers for the down answers. Although it wasn’t terribly challenging, it was still a fine puzzle. I found the two cryptic definitions (PERSONAL PRONOUN and LAW COURT) a bit obvious, but some commenters feel I was a bit harsh, so maybe it was just the way my mind works that made them appear so. My LOI was PAPA, which I thought quite clever.
Thanks Alia.
| ACROSS | ||
| 8 | ANIMATED CARTOON |
A mean dictator destroyed on South Park, perhaps (8,7)
|
| *(a mean dictator) [anag:destroyed] + ON | ||
| 10 | RESIN |
Sticky substance found in sycamores, inexplicably (5)
|
| [found in] “sycamoRES INexplicably” | ||
| 11 | NEURALGIA |
Complaint resulting from broken rule, again! (9)
|
| *(rule again) [anag:broken] | ||
| 12 | MONSOON |
Heavy rainfall starts to move over Newcastle before long (7)
|
| [starts to] M(ove) O(ver) N(ewcastle) + SOON (“before long”) | ||
| 13 | PAGEANT |
Show part of a book, then a collection of books (7)
|
| PAGE (“part of a book”) , then A + NT (New Testament, “a collection of books”) | ||
| 16 | SELF-RIGHTEOUSLY |
This feels ugly, or organised in a smug way (4-11)
|
| *(this feels ugly or) [anag:organised] | ||
| 19 | NOWHERE |
Presently present, or completely absent? (7)
|
| NOW (“presently”) + HERE (“present”) | ||
| 20 | CO-FOUND |
Jointly start puzzle that’s missing its first number? (2-5)
|
| CO(n)FOUND (“puzzle”) that’s missing its first N (number) | ||
| 22 | PROPAGATE |
Pass on report of decent attendance on match day (9)
|
| Homophone/pun/aural wordpplay [report of] PROPER (“decent”) + GATE (“attendance on match day”) | ||
| 24 | RECAP |
Extremely readable and better summary (5)
|
| [extremely] R(eadabl)E + CAP (“better”) | ||
| 26 | PERSONAL PRONOUN |
What she is is also what he is? (8,7)
|
| Cryptic definition | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | FAIR |
Just the place you might ride a Ferris wheel (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 2 | FITS IN |
Healthy sloth possibly doesn’t stick out (4,2)
|
| FIT (“healthy”) + SIN (“sloth, possibly”) | ||
| 3 | MAIN COURSE |
Part of meal I fed to a consumer messily (4,6)
|
| I fed to *(a consumer) [anag:messily] | ||
| 4 | LEAN ON |
Get support from the French soon (4,2)
|
| LE (“the” in “French”) + ANON (“soon”) | ||
| 5 | ORCA |
Sea creature netted in major catch (4)
|
| Hidden in [netted in] “majOR CAtch” | ||
| 6 | CONGRATS |
14 narcs got redeployed (8)
|
| *(narcs got) [anag:redeployed]
The 14 in the clue refers to the solution to 14 down. |
||
| 7 | INCA |
One-time Quechua speaker in California (4)
|
| IN + Ca. (California) | ||
| 9 | CRUMPET |
Cold alcoholic drink accompanying favourite type of airy cake (7)
|
| C (cold) + RUM (“alcoholic drink”) accompanying PET (“favourite”) | ||
| 12 | MASON |
Graduates working for someone in the building trade (5)
|
| MAs (Masters of Arts, so “graduates”) + ON (“working”) | ||
| 14 | GOOD FOR YOU |
Steak fried in butter may not be this well done (4,3,3)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 15 | TOYED |
Played at Holyhead regularly (5)
|
| (a)T (h)O(l)Y(h)E(a)D [regularly] | ||
| 17 | LAW COURT |
Place for a case? (3,5)
|
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 18 | GRENADA |
Island nation’s unstable danger area (7)
|
| *(danger) [anag:unstable] + A (area) | ||
| 20 | CHEAPO |
Two-bit firm securing great deal (6)
|
| Co. (company, so “firm”) securing HEAP (“great deal”) | ||
| 21 | UNCOOL |
Fuddy-duddy relative almost about to go, finally (6)
|
| UNCL(e) (“relative”, almost) about (t)O (g)O [finally] | ||
| 22 | PAPA |
Rubbish American party’s leader broadcast on the radio? (4)
|
| PAP (“rubbish”) + A (American)
Party’s leader is P, which is PAPA in the NATO phonetic alphabet, so on a military radio channel, say. |
||
| 23 | AVOW |
Declare a very obvious willingness at the outset (4)
|
| A + V(ery) O(bvious) W(illingness) [at the outset] | ||
| 25 | POND |
Group of whales crossing northern body of water (4)
|
| POD (“group of whales”) crossing N (northern) |
Great fun, and nothing too taxing. Plenty of clever clues. The only one I had to reveal was PAPA, but after I did it brought a big smile.
On the more straightforward side perhaps, but definitely engaging and enjoyable.
Even if was easy enough, I enjoyed the long clues, useful as loonapick states, to give lots of crossers. My favourites were CO-FOUND, GOOD FOR YOU, PROPAGATE and PAPA.
Ta Alia & loonapick.
Thanks Alia and loonapick
Very Mondayish, but also very pleasant.
I thought the weak clue was GOOD FOR YOU, which I got from CONGRATS.
I thought your “barely cryptic” descriptions were a bit unfair. The surfaces are attempting to lead you in a different direction in each case.
MONSOON describes what has happened to the Women’s Cricket in Colombo!
Good fun, PAPA was last in for me, but I appreciated the construction. Also felt I must be missing something for LAW COURT, seemed too straightforward so I waited for some crossers to confirm.
Enjoyed lots of these clues, but definitely on the easy side (I’ve had more difficulty with all the recent Monday puzzles!).
Thanks Alia & loonapick
I agree that this was a straightforward solve for the most part; for me it would have fitted better in yesterday’s Monday slot than the Philistine puzzle which I didn’t find as simple as most others seemed to.
The irony is that precisely the clues which our blogger found easy were the ones that held me up the most! That’s cryptic definitions for you 😅. PERSONAL PRONOUNS held out for a while even with almost all the crossers; I was glued to things like “unisex” and it took a while to parse it as what “he” is…. With LAW COURT I agree that it was easy enough to see that it was probably talking about a legal case rather than a suitcase, but the fact that both interpretations exist and that the suitcase one is presumably the one which comes first to mind makes me think it’s a little unfair to call it barely cryptic. Funny thing is, though, that it was my POI; it was clearly “LAW something” from the checkers but I’ve actually never heard the phrase “law court” I think. Court of law, court of justice, or just court, yes – but specifically “law court”? No doubt it’s just me!
PAPA seemed weird until the penny dropped – at which point it was a goodie – because we always have the “on the radio” stuff as part of the wordplay, so it took a while to realise that here it was part of the definition and that “rubbish American” wasn’t defining some Americanism. (And papa does sounds like it could be a cutesy word for trash.)
Certainly an enjoyable puzzle overall. Thanks both
I was looking for some more complicated wordplay in 14 with ‘goat’ for butter for example, so felt a bit let down when it turned out to be just a double definition. I didn’t think PERSONAL PRONOUN was weak, though, and PAPA was also my LOI in common with other commenters, as the definition was well hidden, I thought. I do agree that this was mainly gentle and would not have been out of place yesterday. Thanks to Alia and loonapick.
Apparently it’s International Animation day, so 8a is appropriate.
After finding yesterday a bit of a slog for a Monday, I found today light and breezy and appreciated it. You could say I’m into Alia. Eh? Eh!?
Like many have mentioned this would have fit the Monday slot.No personal favourites or doubts.Only had to reveal PAPA.
I have amended the blog in light of some comments about the cryptic definitions, although I did find them to be write-ins. Must be the way my mind works – slightly eccentric!
Not too taxing, and made easier by the benign grid which gave many helpful first and last letter crossers.
The only one I felt a little weak was LAW COURT, which gave me a really? moment before entering it.
PAPA was LOI and rather good.
Many thanks, both.
Enjoyable and straightforward.
Re: 13a – ANT is also used as an abbreviation for anthology, which could also be a collection of books.
I intended to do the Monday puzzle as I missed it yesterday, and only realised when reading the blog this was actually a Tuesday puzzle… Gentle for a non-Monday puzzle, but needed this site for parsing of papa (not familiar with pap meaning rubbish) and co-found (just didn’t see the confound). Thanks, Alia and loonapick
An enjoyable solve with a write in top half and slightly trickier bottom half.
Favourite 1d which although straightforward is a lovely surface.
I like this setter. This crossword fell into my comfort zone today.
Funnily enough, loonapick and others, 22d PAPA was also my LOI. Feeling silly about that, as I have learned the nautical alphabet by heart (including variations) due to being a sailor.
The former English teacher in me was most delighted by 26a PERSONAL PRONOUN, even if it was a clue less favoured by others. I do appreciate many of the other mentions of good clues by previous commenters, as I ticked several of them too.
Thanks to Alia and loonapick.
PAPA was a clever piece of misdirection, a double bluff in fact. COTD for me after having to reveal it. In my defence, I was annoyed by the crossing non-rhotic ‘PROPA’ and geared towards looking for something similar.
I enjoyed that. Unusually, I did it before dozing off last night. Except I had PIPS (for PAPA) as they are (still) broadcast on the radio but other than the P for party leader, I couldn’t get it to parse.
As we’ve often said, a crossword doesn’t have to be difficult to be enjoyable. This was over rather quickly, but almost all the clues repay looking at again to appreciate their clever construction and their smooth surfaces. I liked the reference in 8a to the recent lampooning of Trump by that show (not that I watch it! — but I’ve read about it).
Many thanks Alia and loonapick.
Good fun indeed. Are Tuesday’s becoming easier than Monday’s? Thans for the puzzle and parsing.
Julie in Oz: I didn’t know the alphabet was nautical…I always thought it was set by NATO and used by everyone spelling words on the radio.
epop@20 I think the idea that crosswords start easy on Monday and get progressively harder over the week is a myth.
Ticks for NOWHERE, CO-FOUND and RECAP
Cryptic defs often fall flat if you don’t notice the attempted misdirection, or, as I did with GOOD FOR YOU, try and solve them cryptically before realising you’ve been had 🙂
Cheers L&A
Very pleasant, and lots of neat surfaces, which is something I always admire
Seems I was not alone in having PAPA my LOI and entered reluctantly. I even toyed with APA sounding like “upper” which is vaguely leaderish in meaning, but of course it didn’t work. Really liked the clue when I read the blog.
Personally loved it. Nice to be able to complete one!
Quick and enjoyable.
PAPA the LOI. I remember PAP as my dad used to call Top Of The Pops, “mindless pap”.
Two easyish ones to start the week. I have the quiptic in reserve for Paul tomorrow.
Thanks both.
How does CAP mean better, please? Quite bemused!
‘Extremely readable and better summary (5) [extremely] R(eadabl)E + CAP (“better”)’
I’ll cap that means no better; no cap [= not lying for those not conversant with gen Z speak].
Yet another here who had PAPA as the last clue to yield today. Strange, that…
Having to consider and include both the two final O’s sandwiched in UNCOOL threw me for a while.
The long anagrams at 8, 16ac were a real gift and a treat…
Enjoyable solve; I always imagine Alia is a collection of setters but maybe I’m wrong.
I liked the long ‘uns, the puzzle in CO-FOUND, the good anagram for MAIN COURSE, LAW COURT, where LAW school didn’t fit in, and, unlike muffin @4 GOOD FOR YOU, which I thought had a pleasant, misleading surface.
Thanks Alia and loonapick.
Enjoyable puzzle, though I got a lot of the answers immediately just from the definition. I also admired 22d PAPA, as well as 19a NOWHERE (present or absent)
17d I’m embarrassed that I had LOW COURT (loi) instead of LAW COURT. I figured since there’s a High Court that there’d be a Low Court, but it turns out there’s only Lower Court, so no go
Thanks both
Balladeer@9, No I don’t think I’d say that! 🙂
James@28 CAP as a verb — “Can you cap/better my score?”
Mig @31, am now feeling foolish! Thank you
I was overthinking law court by trying to pronounce law as lower to fit lower case but turned out unnecessary. Oh well.
Lots of fun with this puzzle.
Tiny quiblet, loonapick. In 7d, Ca is the chemical symbol for calcium. CA is the abbreviation for California.
Thanks to Alia and loonapick. Is Alia new? If so, welcome.
Thanks both and a grand entertainment which screeched to a halt with PAPA – very clever.
But 19a NOWHERE raises the spectre of ‘presently’ being a synonym for ‘now’ when, as any skoolboy no, it means ‘in a short while’ and is sooo useful when deployed for that purpose, saving ink, time, energy, breath. Common usage is determined to prevail I suppose…. No doubt there are better advices out there.
Thanks both
AP@6 The Law Courts in the Strand is an interesting free place to visit if you have an hour to spare in that part of London.
James@32 Not at all! I eventually got it through my head after repeated failures in the past! It’s a crossword staple worth remembering
Tyngewick@36 thanks I’ll bear it in mind! Seems like it’s properly called the Royal Courts of Justice though. Not saying the term “law court” doesn’t exist (it surely does); but rather that I honestly don’t think I’ve ever heard it. Certainly, I’m not from London so that particular nickname doesn’t ring any bells to me.
Enjoyed this – thought GOOD FOR YOU was clever.
Very neat puzzle. Also had PAPA last, not surprisingly as it’s at the end of the puzzle and a little tricky (and a very good clue). Like muffin, I wasn’t very keen on GOOD FOR YOU, and unlike many others, it took me ages to see PERSONAL PRONOUN. Favourites MASON and CONFOUND, two nice surfaces.
Like many I struggled yesterday – about 6 clues solved – but today was much more like it. Didn’t get Papa until I came here (thanks Loonapick) – I always use “Polo” for P when I’m spelling out my postcode but I don’t think I would have got it anyway – looking for a homophone.
A confidence booster after yesterday – usualy rely on a Monday to give me some chance of completing but I found it harder than the average Philistine – or perhaps it was just me. Inter-alia – hope to see more of today’s setter.
AP@38, it’s an interesting point. In my pre-retirement life I sometimes had to attend the Royal Courts of Justice, and the building was often referred to as the Law Courts. But, now you mention it, I’m not sure that I’ve heard LAW COURT as a singular either. Chambers defines it simply as ‘ a court of justice’ but gives it as one word, not two.
Mig@31: I also had LOW COURT, with the same reasoning. For such a supposedly easy puzzle, there were quite a number who gave up on PAPA. 😁
I enjoyed this puzzle for its wit and innovation. It could easily have been made more challenging with slightly less obvious definitions, or with anagram indicators camouflaged. But easy makes a nice change sometimes.
Thanks to Alia and Loonapick.