Guardian Cryptic 26,783 by Rufus

by

The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26783.

Even for Rufus, the CD quota (nine of them) is high. At least it made for an easy solve.

Across
1 IRONSIDE Puritan club team (8)
A charade of IRON (golf ‘club’) plus SIDE (‘team’).
5 DISOWN Row about pig — say it isn’t yours (6)
An envelope (‘about’) of SOW (‘pig’) in DIN (‘row’).
9 HALF MAST Standard position for mourning (4,4)
Cryptic definition.
10 PAMELA She provides father with cooked meal (6)
A charade of PA (‘father’) plus MELA, an anagram (‘cooked’) of ‘meal’.
12 LIT UP Having had a lot of drinks, started to smoke (3,2)
Double definition.
13 ROTTER DAM Port gives mother a bad character, initially (9)
A charade of ROTTER (‘a bad character’) plus DAM (‘mother’).
14 COMMANDMENTS Holy orders? (12)
Cryptic definition.
18 ASH WEDNESDAY Start to fast (3,9)
Cryptic definition.
21 TEA FOR TWO Far too wet to go out; share a drink instead? (3,3,3)
An anagram (‘to go out’) of ‘far too wet’.
23 SALVO Shots of Surrey opener stir the Oval (5)
A charade of S (‘Surrey opener’) plus ALVO, an anagram (‘stir’) of ‘oval’.
24 ON HIGH Above being under the influence of drugs? (2,4)
Double definition.
25 COMEDOWN Humiliating return from a summit meeting? (8)
Cryptic definition.
26 DOSING Giving medical treatment to stray pet held (6)
An envelope (‘held’) of SIN (‘stray’) in DOG (‘pet’).
27 HEATHENS They don’t believe he requires foreign capital (8)
A charade of ‘he’ plus ATHENS (‘foreign capital’).
Down
1 INHALE Have an inspiration? (6)
Cryptic definition.
2 OBLATE Shaped like the earth, but able to change (6)
An anagram (‘change’) of ‘able to’.
3 SEMAPHORE Army signalling? (9)
Cryptic definition.
4 DISCRIMINATE Show bias, possibly, as I am in credit (12)
An anagram (‘possibly’) of ‘as’ plus I’M (‘I am’) plus ‘in credit’.
6 IMAGE I am a long time getting the likeness (5)
A charade of I’M (‘I am’) plus AGE (‘a long time’).
7 OVERDONE Twice concluded that it is exaggerated (8)
A charade of OVER plus DONE (‘twice concluded’).
8 NEAR MISS Narrow escape from mean girl (4,4)
A charade of NEAR (‘mean’) plus MISS (‘girl’).
11 STANDS TO LOSE What the unpopular candidate does? (6,2,4)
Cryptic definition.
15 MEANS TEST Statesmen arranged financial review (5,4)
An anagram (‘arranged’) of ‘statesmen’.
16 FAST FOOD What to eat during Lent? (4,4)
Cryptic definition.
17 THRASHES Lays on parties (8)
Double definition, neither of which seems very apposite to me.
19 ALCOVE Small space where Capone stood at bay (6)
A charade of AL (‘Capone’) plus COVE (‘bay’).
20 POUNDS Cash reserves (6)
Double definition.
22 ORGAN An ear for music? (5)
Cryptic definition.
completed grid

43 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 26,783 by Rufus”

  3. I’m stepping up from quiptics to Rufus and the change in style is quite noticeable – many more cds and dds than I’m used to. Some comments suggest today’s quiptic was harder, but I had 5 cheats for this Rufus and none for the quiptic. Slowly getting onto the right wavelength. Good fun – thanks Rufus and PeterO.

  4. It’s a while since I did a Rufus. Forgotten how much I enjoyed some of the cryptic definitions. 18, 24 and 25 a all made me smile.

  5. Thanks Rufus and PeterO

    I enjoyed this, with particular favourites being TEA FOR TWO, SALVO, COMEDOWN and MEANS TEST.

    Is substituting “I’m” for “I am” in the anagram fodder for 4d fair? He could just as easily have put “I’m” in the clue.

    I can’t see anything cryptic about SEMAPHORE – am I missing something?

    Why is Capone “stood” in 19d? Wouldn’t this normally indicate a reversal?

  6. Interesting how one person’s fav is another’s annoyance… 18,24,25,and esp 3. I am often not sure if I have the answer for the weaker CDs ; more a ‘might be that’..so I do Rufus in pencil whereas other setters I do in ink. However, I still enjoy most of it and appreciate that an easy start to the week is a good thing.

  7. Didn’t know 2D. SEMAPHORE might look like a non-cryptic definition, but the ARM-Y is supposed to refer to the limbs you use to wave the flags around.

  8. Thanks Jason – that makes sense.

    Anyone else remember the semaphore version of “Wuthering heights” on Monty Python’s Flying Circus?

  9. matrixmania @3

    I am happy to see you expanding your range. I think there are more CD clues here than most people would expect. I have not looked at the quiptic yet, so cannot make the comparison.

    Barrie, Remuera @4

    It’s good to see you here – probably few people know of the delayed NZ contributions to Everyman.

    muffin @5

    I also wondered why Rufus did not use I’m in the clue to 4D. I think the point of 3D SEMAPHORE is the play on ‘army’ – using the arms.

    I note that more recent editions of Chambers give party as a definition of thrash; but I am still not convinced about ‘lays on’ rather than lays about or lays into.

  10. Thanks for the usual Rufus fun and PeterO’s blog. I particularly liked FAST FOOD.
    I must be having a mental block in 8d, but in what sense does NEAR mean ‘mean’?

  12. Jason @7

    We crossed – I was held up by removing remarkable quantities of cat hair from my keyboard.

    muffin @8

    Indeed I remember the sketch – it is remarkable how much of Monty Python remains fresh in my memory.

  13. I made a mess of things by initially having TWO FOR TEA rather than vice versa, but all in all I thought it an even easier Rufus than usual – sometimes he’s quite tricky. I thought POUNDS rather weak, but liked FAST FOOD, DOSING, ALCOVE and SALVO. Thanks to Rufus and PeterO.

  15. 8d took me back to the school song of my educational establishment: the first 2 lines referred to its skinflint founder, thus,
    ‘Now the seventh King Henry to memory dear
    Was in matters of money a little bit NEAR’

  16. Thanks Rufus and PeterO.

    Entertaining puzzle with smooth surfaces, as ever. LOI was POUNDS. I thought these were ‘any confined spaces’ [BRB] whereas reserves are ‘tracts of land’ [BRB,] which seem to be opposing definitions, or have I misunderstood?

  17. Thanks Rufus and PeterO. I liked most of this. Had to laugh at “tea for two”.

    Didn’t see owt wrong with THRASHES maybe because I was reminded of:
    “Lay on, Macduff,
    And damn’d be him that first cries, “Hold, enough!”

    – frequently misquoted (as most will know) as “Lead on, Macduff…”

  18. Thanks Rufus and PeterO

    A double dose of Rufus cryptic definitions today, which I found quite enjoyable. Done in three short stints where I could grab them throughout the day.

    Initially had trouble equating iRONSIDE to ‘Puritan’, but see that Cromwell was defined as an ‘independent puritan’, so I guess his troops by association would also be.

    Didn’t have a problem with THRASH being an informal name for a noisy party (although had not heard of it before). Could only find ‘lay (it) on’ or ‘lay into’ to mean THRASH (from a physical hitting perspective). It was my last in after POUNDS.

  20. Regarding 4d, no it is not right that you should have to sustitute im for i am, i think its just mistake surely?

  21. Thanks Rufus and PeterO

    I find it more surprising than somewhat that folks are getting lathered up about changing “I am” to “I’m” in 4D, but no one seems to have a problem with it in 6D. Curious!

  22. Simon S @21

    I think that there is a difference. In 4d the “IM” is part of the anagram fodder; in 6d it’s just a charade.(I know that “IM” is included in DISCRIMINATE, but there is no inclusion indicator, so I think it should just be treated as an anagram).

    I suspect “mistake” is the most likely explanation.

  25. muffin @22

    Like you, I just assumed it was a simple mistake in 4D (DISCRIMINATE). If it was meant as an ‘indirect anagram’ (I AM for IM) then it’s very ropy.

    Mistakes do occur occasionally in Guardian crosswords.

    Oh, I also noticed a space and a rectangle replacing the letters ‘fl’ of ‘influence’ in the clue for 24A – in the printed edition. Just a typo.

    In spite of this, I enjoyed the crossword as a whole. It was what I would expect from Rufus, and I got through it quite quickly. There were some good cds, and 16D (FAST FOOD) was my favourite of these.

    Thanks Rufus and PeterO

  27. Thanks to Rufus and PeterO. A very quick solve, though I had to pause over THRASHES (until I found a link to “parties”) and initially missed the “sin” = “stray” in DOSING. Lots of Monday fun.

  28. I found this a bit unsatisfactory. I got stuck on STANDS TO LOSE for ages. I expected the answer to be a phrase in common usage and, because I couldn’t think of one, I resorted to this. I was rather surprised to find it was correct! I suppose there’s nothing wrong with it but—.
    Oh well!
    Thanks Rufus

  29. Does the ? in 24ac justify “on high” rather than “high on” (being under the influence of drugs)? Or am I missing something?

  30. logophile @29

    I had the same doubt as you about 24A (ON HIGH). My answer is that the clue doesn’t quite work. The definition points to HIGH, not ON HIGH. (‘On a high’ is something else.) ON is not indicated in the clue, hence my conclusion.

  31. Alan Browne @30
    I think that “on high” is OK for “above” (he looked down from on high?); I agree that the second definition is a bit iffy, though.

  33. Dutch@32
    Is it? It’s passed me by if it is. I’m not saying it doesn’t make sense but I wouldn’t have said it.
    Still, more important things to worry about.

  34. muffin @31
    Exactly. I meant to say the second definition points to HIGH rather than ON HIGH. The first definition, ‘above’, is fine.

  35. P Aspinall @32

    I think it makes more sense as a transitive verbal phrase, no? As in, if he’s really unpopular, he stands to lose his deposit.

    (second attempt at posting … clearly don’t know my nine times table!)

  36. Dutch @32

    Good point. 11D (STANDS TO LOSE) happened to be my last one in, and I think that might have been because although it makes sense it is not a recognised phrase. In fact Rufus clued it with just a cryptic (and ironic) definition.

    Chambers has the phrases ‘stand to win’ and ‘stand to gain’ but not ‘stand to lose’. A dictionary has to make a judgement with so many such phrases on whether they are worth inclusion, and perhaps they have got it right.

    My point is that when you join three words together to make a meaningful, sensible phrase, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is worth its own special definition, separate from the meaning you get when you utter those words for the first time – or the umpteenth time.

  37. I meant to address my post @36 as much to Peter Aspinall as to Dutch. Still, we are all in the same sub-plot.

  38. Malagachica @35

    Absolutely. The meaning of the phrase in “he stands to lose his deposit” is its usual (literal or idiomatic) meaning, which was not clued. The meaning “he stands in order to lose” (intransitive) is its ironic meaning – its cryptic definition in this type of clue.

    There are other ways of looking at this, but the ‘?’ leads us to the apparent or ‘other’ meaning of the answer rather than the real or literal one, which we then decide is correct even though it is not clued directly (but that’s what we accept in a cd).

  39. Usual Rufus fare with too many CDs and DDs and not much fun!

    Very surprised that nobody has complained about 18A. This doesn’t qualify as a CD in my book. It’s a straightforward non-cryptic definition. The fact that the phrase could mean something else doesn’t make it a “cryptic” definition for ASH WEDNESDAY!

    Thanks to PeterO and Rufus.

  41. Bit late – but Lays on parties (19d) had me thinking ‘bashes’ for parties and ‘lashes’ for lays on – as in naval punishment. Couldn’t get to thrashes. 3D asmiler!

  42. Very late, sorry. If you ask of someone, “What is he on?” you mean what drugs has he taken. High also means on drugs as well as above, so it’s a triple whatsit. Don’t know the technical term.

  43. Thanks Rufus and PeterO.

    I did the FT Dante immediately before this so was in the right ‘zone’ – but still – plus ca change, tous c’est la meme chose.

    I put a big cross against SEMAPHORE but now realise that it’s quite a neat clue.

    But of course muffin has reminded us all about what I consider to be the finest ever episode of the Flying Circus. From the attempt at man-powered flight right through to the desperate bus journey to the Old Bailey (via Wuthering Heights in Semaphore and the smoke signals version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), the Spanish Inquisition episode must rank as the best ever!

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