Guardian Cryptic crossword No 29,874 by Harpo

Harpo is today's inquisitor in the Guardian.

One for the general knowledge buffs today. You need to know about geography, history, Bond villains, natural science, Scottish crime fiction, 19th century physics, etc to complete this puzzle today. Fine by me, as I like a bit of general knowledge in a puzzle, but some may find references to GELADA and LARGO obscure, especially when they cross as they do in the top left-hand corener of this puzzle. My LOI was NINE, a clever hidden, but my favourite was GUARDIAN ANGEL for its surface.

Thanks, Harpo.

ACROSS
1	GELADA	Baboon juvenile male breaks a great deal of equipment (6)
		LAD ("juvenile male") breaks [a great deal of] GEA(r) A gelada is a maned East African baboon.
4	DAGGER	Mark learned about limiting inane gaming (6)
		<=READ ("learned", about) limiting [inane] G(amin)G
9	LAIR	Abandoning front, dash in retreat (4)
		[abandoning front] (f)LAIR ("dash")
10	LAUNDERING	Washing articles abroad in middle of night (10)
		LA, UN + DER ("articles abroad" (French and German)) + IN + [middle of] (ni)G(ht)
11	PUT OFF	Gust around summit almost causes delay (3,3)
		PUFF ("gust") around TO(p) ("summit", almost)
12	RHODESIA	Raised extravagantly, bored by house in British colony once (8)
		(raised) [anag:extravagantly] bored by* Ho. (house) Rhodesia is the former name of Zimbabwe.
13	NEURALGIA	Disheartened indifferent US soldier with a nervous disorder (9)
		[disheartened] NEU(t)RAL [indifferent] + GI ("US soldier") with A
15	NINE	Square opening, partly round (4)
		Hidden backwards in [partly round] "opENINg"
16	ARID	Help to keep Rudolph’s nose dry (4)
		AID ("help") to keep R(udolph) ['s nose]
17	UNALIGNED	University somehow gained odd bits of land without any agreement? (9)
		U (university) + (gained ln) [anag:somehow] where LN is [odd bits of*] L(a)N(d)
21	GUNGA DIN	Bard finally enters piece to improve Kipling poem (5,3)
		(bar)D [finally] enters GUN ("piece") + GAIN ("improve")
22	TRIAGE	Sorting out gear – it’s daft (6)
		(gear it) [anag:daft*]
24	FRAUDULENT	Dishonest foreign wife with depression about guilt, off and on (10)
		FRAU (German for wife, so "foreign wife") with DENT ("depression") about (g)U(i)L(t) [off and on]
25	DEAN	Minister eschewing care of college fellow (4)
		DEA(co)N ("minister") eschewing c/o (care of)
26	AGENDA	Programme objective penned by Eastern commander (6)
		END ("objective") penned by AGA ("Eastern commander")
27	RELAID	Again deposited half of reference papers (6)
		[half of] RELA(tion) ("reference") + ID (identity "papers")
DOWN
1	GRANULE	Fine particle in sample lunar geologists picked up (7)
		Hidden backwards in [in…picked up] "samplE LUNAR Geologists"
2	LARGO	Mostly generous old Bond villain (5)
		[mostly] LARG(e) ("generous") + O (old) Emilio Largo was the baddie in the Bond book and movie Thunderball.
3	DOLEFUL	Blue duo fell out (7)
		(duo fell) [anag:out*]
5	AND HOW	Certainly, ‘name’ boards first-class Arab sailing vessel (3,3)
		N (name) boards A ("first-class") + DHOW ("Arab sailing vessel")
6	GARDENING	Age-old British pastime is good, getting tougher without husband (9)
		G (good) + (h)ARDENING ("getting tougher", without H (husband))
7	RANKINE	Scottish crime novelist joins European physicist (7)
		(Ian) RANKIN ("Scottish crime novelist") joins E (European) Ian Rankin is the creator of Scottish detective John Rebus, while Rankine most likely refers to WJM Rankine, a 19th century Scottish mathematician and physicist.
8	GUARDIAN ANGEL	Vigilante huntress stops violent gang rule (8,5)
		DIANA ("huntress", a Roman god) stops (gang rule) [anag:violent*]
14	RAIN GAUGE	Repeatedly aiming at the sides, urine damaged volume-measuring apparatus (4,5)
		(ag ag urine) [anag:damaged] where AG AG is [repeatedly] A(imin)G [at the sides*]
16	AQUARIA	Tanks in a former Arabic union checked by, at the very least, Qatar, Iraq and Afghanistan (7)
		A + UAR (United Arab Republic) checked by [at the very least] Q(atar), I(raq) and A(fghanistan) The United Arab Republic was a brief political union between Egpyt and Syria that lasted about three years.
18	LET IT BE	Title changed on cover of boogie-woogie song (3,2,2)
		(title) [anag:changed] on [cover of*] B(oogie-woogi)E
19	ENGLAND	Edgbaston extremely happy to host new national team (7)
		E(dgbasto)N [extremely] + GLAD ("happy") to host N (new)
20	EDMUND	One of two kings died charging English hill, not getting over (6)
		D (died) charging E (English) + M(o)UND ("hill", not getting O (over, in cricket))
23	INDIA	Country where diva hosts Victor? (5)
		DIA hosting V (Victor, in the NATO phonetic alphabet) would become DIVA so the V is IN DIA

11 comments on “Guardian Cryptic crossword No 29,874 by Harpo”

Ilan Caron

#1 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 06:52

thanks LP and H! My LOI was also NINE and actually didn’t see the rev hidden until you pointed it out. I wasn’t familiar with RANKINE – only RANKIN which just goes to show where my reading interests lie. Mostly.

gladys

#2 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 07:18

Likewise, Ilan Caron@1: I needed to Google RANKINE to check that he existed, the Bond villain was another unknown and I didn’t remember the UAR. Couldn’t parse INDIA either, having spent ages trying to think of countries with a V in the middle, and I still don’t understand how “inane gaming” means “first and last letters”.

Favourites GUARDIAN ANGEL, TRIAGE, LAUNDERING, ENGLAND.

Thanks Harpo and loonapick.

Loonapick

#3 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 07:21

Gladys@2 – inane means empty, so empty G(amin)G?

gladys

#4 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 07:30

Thanks loonapick: I only knew the “silly” meaning of inane.

Showaddydadito

#5 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 07:33

I bet this was a good crossword, and thanks to Harpo and Loonapick.
No complaints, I got most of it.
Dnk Rankine, but did know gelada and largo.
But somehow I just wasn’t in the groove today and couldn’t really raise any enthusiasm for it. Probably December blues, or age, or something.

Drdubosc

#6 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 08:02

Not convinced by the RELA of 27? But otherwise, lots of satisfying twists and turns, many, for me, solved forwards, rather than reverse-engineering the parse. A Good Thing, to have a fair share of those, IMO. Thanks, H&L.

paddymelon

#7 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 08:04

Thanks Loonapick. DAGGER (took me a while to find the “void” meaning for inane) is this from Wiki, I take it?
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus † is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used.[1] The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species or languages).[2] It is one of the modern descendants of the obelus, a mark used historically by scholars as a critical or highlighting indicator in manuscripts. In older texts, it is called an obelisk.

paddymelon

#8 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 08:27

Showaddydadito #5. My first response was similar. Initially I thought that this is a lot of work, for Harpo, and later for me, but not much fun. But I switched from desktop to phone with only a couple to go, and decided not to reveal all, but to go over each of the clues again, and found a lot to like.

Often I think there’s the “halo effect” on the Guardian site. Endorphins high, happy to have solved it. Done and dusted. Then you land here, with a bit of a time lag, happy hormones subsiding, and you find a different response.

Staticman1

#9 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 08:34

Other than the baboon and the Middle Eastern union I thankfully had the required general knowledge for this. RANKIN was the only Scottish crime author coming to mind this morning but GUNGA DIN was well down the list of my memorable Kipling poems.

Liked GUARDIAN ANGEL even if the parsing came after putting it in and EDMUND.

This seemed on Harpo’s tougher side but I imagine difficulty will be different for everyone on this type of puzzle.

Thanks Loonapick and Harpo

grantinfreo

#10 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 08:45

I like it that inane is used in its truer meaning — empty or vain (from which ‘silly’ is a more commonplace derivative) — although I didn’t get it at the time.
Enjoyable puzzle, thanks Harpo and loonapick.

Geoff Down Under

#11 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 08:46

Well, inane/empty was a surprise. Sure enough, they’re listed as synonyms in Collins.

Didn’t finish today, as my head was starting to hurt and I went over to Goliath in the FT.

I hadn’t heard of the two Scots Rankin or Rankine, so I was surprised that my guess (after solving the intersecting clues) was correct.

Ilan Caron

#1 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 06:52

thanks LP and H! My LOI was also NINE and actually didn’t see the rev hidden until you pointed it out. I wasn’t familiar with RANKINE – only RANKIN which just goes to show where my reading interests lie. Mostly.
gladys

#2 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 07:18

Likewise, Ilan Caron@1: I needed to Google RANKINE to check that he existed, the Bond villain was another unknown and I didn’t remember the UAR. Couldn’t parse INDIA either, having spent ages trying to think of countries with a V in the middle, and I still don’t understand how “inane gaming” means “first and last letters”.

Favourites GUARDIAN ANGEL, TRIAGE, LAUNDERING, ENGLAND.

Thanks Harpo and loonapick.
Loonapick

#3 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 07:21

Gladys@2 – inane means empty, so empty G(amin)G?
gladys

#4 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 07:30

Thanks loonapick: I only knew the “silly” meaning of inane.
Showaddydadito

#5 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 07:33

I bet this was a good crossword, and thanks to Harpo and Loonapick.
No complaints, I got most of it.
Dnk Rankine, but did know gelada and largo.
But somehow I just wasn’t in the groove today and couldn’t really raise any enthusiasm for it. Probably December blues, or age, or something.
Drdubosc

#6 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 08:02

Not convinced by the RELA of 27? But otherwise, lots of satisfying twists and turns, many, for me, solved forwards, rather than reverse-engineering the parse. A Good Thing, to have a fair share of those, IMO. Thanks, H&L.
paddymelon

#7 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 08:04

Thanks Loonapick. DAGGER (took me a while to find the “void” meaning for inane) is this from Wiki, I take it?
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus † is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used.[1] The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species or languages).[2] It is one of the modern descendants of the obelus, a mark used historically by scholars as a critical or highlighting indicator in manuscripts. In older texts, it is called an obelisk.
paddymelon

#8 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 08:27

Showaddydadito #5. My first response was similar. Initially I thought that this is a lot of work, for Harpo, and later for me, but not much fun. But I switched from desktop to phone with only a couple to go, and decided not to reveal all, but to go over each of the clues again, and found a lot to like.

Often I think there’s the “halo effect” on the Guardian site. Endorphins high, happy to have solved it. Done and dusted. Then you land here, with a bit of a time lag, happy hormones subsiding, and you find a different response.
Staticman1

#9 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 08:34

Other than the baboon and the Middle Eastern union I thankfully had the required general knowledge for this. RANKIN was the only Scottish crime author coming to mind this morning but GUNGA DIN was well down the list of my memorable Kipling poems.

Liked GUARDIAN ANGEL even if the parsing came after putting it in and EDMUND.

This seemed on Harpo’s tougher side but I imagine difficulty will be different for everyone on this type of puzzle.

Thanks Loonapick and Harpo
grantinfreo

#10 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 08:45

I like it that inane is used in its truer meaning — empty or vain (from which ‘silly’ is a more commonplace derivative) — although I didn’t get it at the time.
Enjoyable puzzle, thanks Harpo and loonapick.
Geoff Down Under

#11 - Wed 10th Dec 25, 08:46

Well, inane/empty was a surprise. Sure enough, they’re listed as synonyms in Collins.

Didn’t finish today, as my head was starting to hurt and I went over to Goliath in the FT.

I hadn’t heard of the two Scots Rankin or Rankine, so I was surprised that my guess (after solving the intersecting clues) was correct.

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11 comments on “Guardian Cryptic crossword No 29,874 by Harpo”

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