Guardian 26,599 / Imogen

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With only five entries after my first pass through the clues I thought this was going to be a tough solve, and I wasn’t wrong. However, perseverance led to a completed grid, albeit relatively slowly. For me, the sign of a good puzzle is when I look back and think “that’s obvious, why didn’t I see it earlier”, something which happened regularly today.

There is only one clue, 21ac, that gives me cause for concern in that I’m not sure that the plural can be justified, but that didn’t detract from what was otherwise a most enjoyable challenge.

Across
1 After prayer, I have growing concern for socialist experiment (10,4)
COLLECTIVE FARM – COLLECT (prayer) I’VE (I have) FARM (growing concern)

8 One night in Quebec for this Canadian (5)
INUIT – I (one) NUIT (night in Quebec {where they speak French})

9 Nurses’ leader notes one’s worrying condition (8)
NEUROSIS – N[urse] (nurses’ leader) EUROS (notes) IS (one’s)

11 In country house, endless draught (7)
CHEQUER – CHEQUER[s] (country house, endless)

12 Percy‘s resistance to push for change in advance (7)
HOTSPUR – an anagram (for change) of TO PUSH plus R (resistance)

13 Had a chance to secure a place in the country (5)
DACHA – hidden in (to secure) ‘haD A CHAnce’

15 Extra rules around initialised Short Message System (5,4)
MORSE CODE – MORE (extra) CODE (rules) around S[hort] (initialised Short)

17 Carer‘s surname mistakenly given to papers (9)
NURSEMAID – an anagram (mistakenly) of SURNAME plus ID (papers)

20 Finally retired, challenge to return for former county (5)
DYFED – [retire]D (finally retired) DEFY (challenge) reversed (to return)

21 Gets down article with one’s knowledge (7)
ALIGHTS – A (article) LIGHTS (one’s knowledge) – Chambers gives ‘knowledge’ as one definition of ‘light’ but I’m not sure that the plural is applicable because that would surely lead to equating with the non-word ‘knowledges’

23 Lazy, but is successful and extremely happy (7)
WORKSHY – WORKS (is successful) H[app]Y (extremely happy)

25 Glow from off-peak heater nice — one’s out of it (8)
RADIANCE – RADIA[tor] (off-peak heater) N[i]CE (nice — one’s out of it)

26 Animal‘s bone found in bits (5)
ORIBI – RIB (bone) in (found in) OI (bits) – 0 and 1 are the two states that a bit can have in computing etc.

27 Unmixed drink quite horrible, unless air is circulated (7,7)
TEQUILA SUNRISE – an anagram (horrible) of QUITE plus an anagram (is circulated) of UNLESS AIR

Down
1 Curiously random occurrence blocking fuel (12)
COINCIDENTAL – INCIDENT (occurrence) in (blocking) COAL (fuel)

2 Wretch in peasant garb removing top (5)
LOUSE – [b]LOUSE (peasant garb removing top)

3 Parent’s half as old as us — following? (9)
ENTOURAGE – [par]ENT (parent’s half) OUR AGE (as old as us)

4 Beat given by instrument, no favourite, creating a storm (7)
TANTRUM – TAN (beat) TRUM[pet] (instrument, no favourite)

5 One answering for / token (7)
VOUCHER – double def.

6 War zone that is right away from country’s boundary (5)
FRONT – FRONT[ier] (that is right away from country’s boundary)

7 Poor infrastructure not affected by storms (9)
RAINPROOF – an anagram (structure) of POOR INFRA

10 Hence unlucky casualties from the smiling assassin? (8,4)
FRIENDLY FIRE – cryptic def.

14 Opening menu, I don’t go first for gristle (9)
CARTILAGE – I LAG (I don’t go first) in (opening) CARTE (menu)

16 Duck out of sight, perhaps, in cover (9)
EIDERDOWN – EIDER (duck) DOWN (out of sight, perhaps)

18 Learns a remarkable stock of insults (7)
ARSENAL – an anagram (remarkable) of LEARNS A

19 From pills, died in front of shareholders (7)
DOWNERS – D (died) OWNERS (shareholders) – the definition could be as indicated, ie the results of taking the pills or simply the pills themselves with ‘from’ just being padding for the surface

22 Poem from WWI leader almost upset country (5)
HAIKU – HAI[g] (WWI leader almost) UK (country) reversed (upset)

24 Some terrific stories turned up in this (3-2)
SCI-FI – hidden (some) reversal (turned up) in ‘terrIFIC Stories’ with an extended def.

46 comments on “Guardian 26,599 / Imogen”

  1. Thanks Imogen and Gaufrid

    Lots to enjoy. I particularly liked 1a, 12a, 15a and 3d.

    I was happy with “lights”, as in the expression “according to my lights”, which means “in my knowledge”. I wondered about the “unmixed” in 27a, but apparently the trick in making one is to form layers.

    I didn’t like the “from” in 19d, and I don’t think 10d works as a cryptic definition – what’s the assassin got to do with it?

    Science fiction fans don’t like the abbreviation “sci-fi” – it’s almost always referred to as “SF”.

  2. Thanks Imogen and Gaufrid.

    This was hard going but enjoyable. DOWNERS took a while to understand. I did like COLLECTIVE FARM, INUIT, WORKSHY, TANTRUM, VOUCHER and FRIENDLY FIRE among others.

    16a, “with one’s knowledge”, “according to one’s lights”?

  3. Thanks muffin and Cookie, ‘according to my/one’s lights’ is not a phrase I’ve come across before, or if I have it didn’t register. I withdraw my reservation.

  4. 19d is unusual.
    We have come across WP from Def and also Def from WP. Here it’s different. The def is not at the beginning or the end.
    ***
    As I ran my eyes over the clues and solved some of them (I must confess that I haven’t sat down with the puzzle and completely solved it), I too was surprised by the use of the singular ‘knowledge’ for the plural ‘lights’.
    I find that the use has been defended by some above and I respect their opinion.

  5. Thanks, Gaufrid.

    For once, you didn’t look far enough in Chambers! ‘According to one’s lights: as far as one’s knowledge, spiritual illumination, etc enables one to judge’.

    Like you, I had only a handful on the first run through but having 1dn among them was a good start on the second round and it fell quite steadily from then.

    Lots of nice clues, with only one obscurity in 26ac, which I guessed would be an antelope – they usually are!

    {I quite often thank setters for starting my day with a smile on my face. With this one, I was brought up sharply at 10dn, as I’ve always found this phrase offensive and shudder every time I meet it in the news. I can’t imagine how anyone could ever have come up with such an expression or why it was ever adopted. So, thank you, Imogen, for an elegantly clued puzzle, as ever, but it has left me with a nasty taste, I’m afraid.]

  6. Thank you Imogen and Gaufrid

    I enjoyed this puzzle although I failed to solve ORIBI.

    My favourites were 7d, 1d, 3d, 8a, 4d and 11a (LOI).

    I needed help to parse 25a, 9a, 6d and 12a.

  7. [Eileen @5, don’t misunderstand me when I said I liked FRIENDLY FIRE, what I liked about the clue was that it interpreted the term as assassination, there is no such thing as “friendly fire”, nor should there be any other sort of “fire”. My day usually starts with a nasty taste since I first read the news headlines, and at the moment they are very sinister.]

  8. Thank you Gaufrid & Imogen.

    I thought this was a fine puzzle which gave up its secrets reluctantly.

    Muffin @1 I agree with your ‘lights’ interpretation and also your reservation re ‘from’ in DOWNERS 19d. But I took the ‘assassin’ part of the FRIENDLY FIRE clue is simply a whimsical way of expressing that concept and I was OK with it.

    There were some lovely surfaces all over the place, favourites included CHEQUER & ENTOURAGE, and I particularly liked the ‘off-peak heater’ in RADIANCE.

    Wasn’t quite sure why ARSENAL should refer to insults but Chambers gives “a stock of anything considered of analogous power or potential”.

    Nice week, all.

  9. thanks, gaufrid, my experience was much as yours.

    My “I had only a handful on the first run through” was just the last clue, SCI-FI!

    muffin @1 I read the assassin as being FIRE, showing friendliness by smiling

  11. Thanks, Gaufrid.

    Did find this one tricky, but it came together in the end after a second coffee. LIGHTS for ‘knowledge’ I’d never come across; but I wonder if it’s the basis of the expression PUNCH YOUR LIGHTS OUT? ‘Listen, mate, do that one more time and I’m going to punch your lights out.’

    I didn’t have the visceral reaction to FRIENDLY FIRE that Eileen had, but I didn’t think it was a great clue. Some very good stuff elsewhere, though, so thank you to Imogen.

  12. K’sD @11 Nice idea but I think ‘lights’ in that context is just a reference to eyes. (As in peepers, mince pies etc)

  13. @KD
    In the idiom ‘to scare the daylights out of someone’, I think ‘daylights’ means ‘eyes’.

  14. That makes more sense, William. English is a language rich in words that have more than one meaning, though, isn’t it? Which is why there’s plenty of material for compilers to get their teeth into and why most contributors here are happy bunnies most mornings.

  15. @KD

    I agree that the English language with plethora of synonyms is highly amenable to crossword clue writing.

    Attempts have been made by some in India to compose cryptic crossword puzzles in Tamil, Hindi, etc., imitating the English clueing technique, but it is just the case of “It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all” as Johnson said famously in some context.

  16. I’m also of the opinion that this was a fairly tricky puzzle, although I enjoyed it and the only slight quibble I have is the use of “from” at the start of the clue for DOWNERS, which was my LOI after WORKSHY. I waited for all the checkers until I was happy to put in ALIGHTS.

  17. Rishi, the occasion was when Boswell told Johnson that he had heard a woman preaching at a Quaker meeting, to which the Grand Cham replied:
    “Sir, a woman’s preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all”.

  19. Thanks Imogen for a challenging puzzle with customary, largely precise, cluing.

    Thanks Gaufrid; I assume the rather clumsy surface for DOWNERS is because some people don’t like wordplay ‘from’ definition. Otherwise, it could have been turned around as: ‘ Died in front of shareholders from pills ‘ I don’t really have an objection for the latter construction but it would be interesting to hear what other, more seasoned, solvers think of it.

    Many good clues including those for RADIANCE, ENTOURAGE and FRONT

  20. I had good luck with this puzzle until I was stalled on DYFED (I did not know the former county and missed the return of “defy”) and ORIBI (until I finally put in “rib”). I saw RADIANCE as the solution but needed Gaufrid’s help parsing “radiator” minus “tor.” Overall, a good exercise. Thanks to Imogen and Gaufrid.

  21. If pills bring your mood down, couldn’t downers (of mood) be what you get from them “From pills” then being the definition?

  22. I understand it as ‘answer from wordplay’ or ‘wordplay for answer’ so even ‘from pills’ can be questioned.

    Funnily enough I found some of this annoying even though the clues are mostly very good.

    HH

  23. Thanks Gaufrid and Imogen. I normally find Imogen quite tough, but getting 1 across and then 1 down gave me a good start.

    As an 18dn supporter, not so sure of the “stock of insults” definition …

  24. Thanks all
    Less difficult than usual Imogen, but enjoyable.
    I doubt arsenal definition.I failed to parse oi= bits.

  25. This was a fine effort, in my Goldilocks zone in terms of difficulty, and giving way at a satisfying pace. Last in was ORIBI, which was vaguely familiar from a previous crossword but didn’t occur to me until all the crossers were in place – FRIENDLY FIRE took me a long time too. Liked ENTOURAGE and HAIKU.

    Thanks to Gaufrid and Imogen

  26. Thanks all
    Less difficult than usual Imogen, but enjoyable.
    I doubt arsenal definition.I failed to parse oi= bits

  27. Thanks Imogen and Gaufrid

    Enjoyable puzzle from Imogen today which gave me a bit of a workout across a number of different sittings. Didn’t know of the Prime Minister’s country house, so couldn’t fully parse CHEQUER and didn’t know LIGHTS as knowledge before coming here.

    Finished with DOWNERS and WORKSHY.

    Found a lot of clues where the answer went in and then had to spend a lot of time trying to work how the cryptic part of it went !

  28. Excellent puzzle – real slow burner and a very enjoyable solve. I agree completely with the preamble.

    21a I read “with one’s knowledge” as with one S LIGHT – hence LIGHTS

    Otherwise “one’s” or “with one’s” is spare.

    Many thanks to setter and blogger.

  29. Thanks Imogen & Gaufrid.

    I had no problem with the use of “lights” for knowledge. Lights can also refer to the internal organs of an animal, and I’ve always taken them, rather than the eyes, as what are referred to in the term, Kathryn’s Dad @11. Was your using the word “visceral” in your second paragraph intentional, or was it sheer chance, by the way?

  32. Late in starting this and I expected this to be difficult. Surprisingly it yielded relative easily,at least after I’d got COLLECTIVE FARM which was very well clued. Indeed, I thought the cluing pretty good throughout.
    I may have said disparaging things about this setter in the past but I rather liked this.
    Thanks Imogen.

  33. [Muffin @31: of course you’re right. I had the “viscera”, of which the lungs are part, in mind when I typed!].

  34. I found this very difficult too, indeed for a long while didn’t expect to finish. Just picked it up for the third time and managed to put the remaining letters into blank spaces on the RHS (the two number ones went quite early which helped masses with the left).

    Looking back, I’d been thinking ‘Harry’ for Percy but not HOTSPUR. DYFED didn’t cross my mind as I thought it was a current county. So all those distractors did their job.

  35. I have a very vague memory of hearing that meaning of COLLECT, but as someone who has absolutely no interest in the RC or C of E religions it wasn’t a usage which sprang to mind. Thank goodness for software gadgets!

  36. Article is what gives the A, so ‘one’s knowledge’ MUST be the definition for LIGHTS. And whether or not you like the apparent superfluity, er, that’s it.

  37. Thanks to Imogen for another cracking puzzle – it took me a long time to tune in, and even then I found it difficult. And thanks to Gaufrid for the blog – I didn’t equate notes to EUROS. I also had to smile at the phrase “Quebec {where they speak French}” – a Parisian would beg to differ.

    We could always think of knowledge as a collective noun, for which we have learnt a number of subjects. I didn’t have a problem with the pluralisation, but it is a dodgy definition for me

  38. Hi Freddy

    I didn’t mention it but I jibbed at EUROS = notes, since single euros are coins. I don’t think a setter could get away with cluing pounds as notes these days – but at least they were once.

  40. Thanks Imogen for an enjoyably strenuous Tuesday struggle. Very few went in at first glance. Oribi was a guess (and I see it has attracted a red underline as I type it): rib was clear but oi, the bits defeated me! First in was the objectionable ars*nal; fortunately, hotspur made up for it!

    Last one in, accompanied by a smack to the head, was tequila sunrise. Many pleasures including neurosis, draught, entourage and the cleverly hidden dacha.

  41. Eileen @38: I didn’t even think of that – I was more regretting my shortfall in lateral thinking.

    Paul @39: Yes, it’s there, a synonym for understanding. I have seen the lighgt. I was looking for a pin-for-pin replacement.

  42. Gem! – no.1 compiling (6) …..to whom many thanks for a very enjoyable puzzle and thanks, as ever, to Gaufrid.

  44. I failed to get TEQUILA SUNRISE, but I know a bar where I can correct that lapse. All in the interest of improving my crossword skills, of course.

  45. I too started slowly but then made steady progress.

    I finally finished but was severely delayed by the distraction of the dreaded “telly”.

    I have no objections or sour tastes relating to the phrase FRIENDLY FIRE as it is merely a factual description of an unfortunate but inevitable consequence of war.

    see SOED for “friendly”

    c Military. Of troops or equipment: of, belonging to, or in alliance with one’s own forces. e20.

    My objection to the clue was that I was not convinced by the use of “hence”, although the crossers made the answer obvious.

    Thanks to Gaufrid and Imogen

  46. I can’t see much wrong with including FRIENDLY FIRE. It’s a well-known phrase that describes an apparently rather frequent, if unfortunate occurence, but surely it can’t be described as offensive per se. Related adjective is BLUE-ON-BLUE. Pretty words for ugly things maybe, but there we are.

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