Guardian Cryptic 26,813 by Rufus

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26813.

A Rufus with the usual CDs and DDs, and in particular several allusive indications.

Across
9 DOMINICAN Party dress container found to be in order (9)
A charade of DO (‘party’) plus MINI (‘dress’) plus CAN (‘container’).
10 INNER Victor loses head going round the bull (5)
[w]INNER (‘victor’) minus its first letter (‘loses head’), ‘the bull’ being on a darts board, say.
11 EARNEST Dedicated a Sterne novel (7)
An anagram (‘novel’) of ‘a Sterne’.
12 ACTIONS Deeds brought before a judge (7)
Double definition (or, like 5D and maybe others, definition and allusion).
13 TALON Claw used in fight, along with teeth (5)
A hidden answer (‘used in’) in ‘fighT ALONg’. The ‘with teeth’ is just along for the ride, which is widely regarded as poor form.
14 CLEANED UP Put in order and gained financially (7,2)
Double definition.
16 STAGE DIRECTIONS Rules of play? (5,10)
Cryptic definition.
19 REMBRANDT Old master takes class in new term (9)
An envelope (‘in’) of BRAND (‘class’) in REMT, an anagram (‘new’) of ‘term’.
21 CREAM The best Religious Education received in academic stream (5)
An envelope (‘received in’) of RE (‘Religious Education’) in CAM (the river flowing through Cambridge, ‘academic stream’).
22 VERTIGO It makes people unfit for high positions (7)
Cryptic definition. Like the film, ‘Vertigo’, the loss of the sense of balance, is used where acrophobia would be more accurate.
23 ADMIRER A lover — married, unfortunately (7)
An anagram (‘unfortunately’) of ‘married’.
24 SLANG Abuse in common parlance (5)
Double definition (slang, verb: to scold, vituperate).
25 MANHANDLE Knock around chap with title (9)
A charade of MAN (‘chap’) plus HANDLE (‘title’).
Down
1 ADVERTISER He announces drivers’ tea break (10)
An anagram (‘break’) od ‘drivers tea’.
2 UMBRELLA Handy personal cover? (8)
Cryptic definition.
3 UNSEEN Nun wanders around diocese without being observed (6)
An envelope (‘around’) of SEE (‘diocese’) in UNN, an anagram (‘wanders’) of ‘nun’.
4 SCUT Rabbit’s tail trimmed to a point (4)
A charade of S (‘a point’) plus CUT (‘trimmed’). ‘to’ serves to indicate the order of the particles.
5 ENGAGEMENT Battle that led to union? (10)
Double definition.
6 DISTINCT Separate — that’s abundantly clear (8)
Double definition.
7 UNLOAD Put in charge? Quite the opposite (6)
Cryptic definition (the ‘charge’ applying to a weapon).
8 ARMS Prepares to fight artist about manuscript (4)
A charade of AR, a reversal (‘about’) of RA (‘artist’) plus MS (‘manuscript’).
14 CAIRNGORMS Scrambling on crag’s rim — here? (10)
An anagram (‘scrambling’) of ‘on crags rim’, for the Scottish mountains indicated loosely by an extended definition.
15 POSTMORTEM A stiff examination (10)
Cryptic definition.
17 EARNINGS The wages of sin — and anger (8)
An anagram (‘of’) of ‘sin’ plus ‘anger’.
18 OVERRIDE Cancel order I’ve put out (8)
An anagram (‘put out’) of ‘order ive’.
20 MORTAR May help in building a house, or destroying it (6)
Double definition (bricks and …, or the armament) – or this time, doulbe allusion.
21 COMBAT Struggle for doctor getting into his overall (6)
An envelope (‘getting into’) of MB (‘doctor’) in COAT (‘his overall’).
22 VISA Pole enters by way of a special permit (4)
An envelope (‘enters’) of S (south ‘pole’) in VIA (‘by way of’).
23 ACNE Teenage trouble spots? (4)
Cryptic definition, except that the answer leapt out at me immediately.
completed grid

50 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 26,813 by Rufus”

  3. Thank you to Rufus and PeterO. Confidence restored with a quick solve today after struggling with all last week’s puzzles. Favourites were 22ac, 15d and 28d. 14d was a new UK place name for me, but anagram was helped by crossers.

  4. Audrey, I just assumed it was an allusion to “Nature red in tooth and claw” (Tennyson) to make the clue a bit more interesting?

  5. Thanks Rufus and PeterO

    I liked REMBRANDT and CREAM. The clue for UNLOAD seems odd, though I can’t quite put my finger on why.

    POST MORTEM is surely two words?

  6. Did a bit of a double take over CLEARED UP vs CLEANED UP, as both expressions can have both meanings, but otherwise a good Rufus. Favourites were REMBRANDT, EARNINGS and CREAM (now the CAM bit has been explained). Many thanks to Rufus and PeterO.

  7. Very gentle even by Rufus standards, but pleasant enough. UNLOAD took a little longer that the rest.

    Thanks to Rufus and PeterO

  8. Thank you PeterO.

    This setter deserves a medal in my book – astonishing to be able to produce this standard week after week.

    Loved CREAM, ADMIRER, ENGAGEMENT, CAIRNGORMS, & POSTMORTEM.

    Not sure about ‘of’ as the anagrind in EARNINGS but so getable to be fair enough.

    Thank you, Rufus.

    Nice week, all.

  9. Thanks Rufus and PeterO

    Interesting … this took twice as long as the usual Rufus. Always seem to struggle with cryptic definitions for UMBRELLA and definitely did with UNLOAD which was the last one in!

    Didn’t know the abusive definition of SLANG. Liked the ‘academic stream’ at 21a.

  10. brucew @9: SLANG in that sense is probably best known in the context of a slanging match.

    muffin @5: Postmortem has been clued twice before:
    Orlando 22842: Stiff examination (10)
    Araucaria 24295: Letters to me, Mister? Possibly, like most of our creators’ work (4-6)

    so (4,6) would have been a first

  15. Thanks Rufus and PeterO.

    A most enjoyable puzzle. I agree with William @8, Rufus is marvellous, at least he has his own Wiki page, better than a medal.

    I liked STAGE DIRECTIONS, last one in, along with REMBRANDT, MANHANDLE, ENGAGEMENT, UNLOAD, MORTAR and many others.

  16. Two points of note.

    1. Happy Birthday, Rufus! Big Dave’s site has a nice banner up, though I think it may have been for yesterday.
    2. I was sure that I’d seen 15d before, and found it again in this interview:

    Q17. What is your favourite clue or puzzle, by another setter?
    Roger: One clue that I think sparked off my love of cryptic definitions in my early days was one originally by Alec Robins (Custos in the Guardian) in the ’70s, viz.
    “A stiff examination” with the solution POST MORTEM.

    It does seem a fitting day to bring it back for the latest generation of solvers to have a crack. Many thanks.

  19. Happy returns Rufus!

    Like others, struggled with UNLOAD, so I’m just a tad less full of bonhomie towards the setter than I might otherwise have been …

  21. Happy Birthday Rufus & thanks to PeterO.

    Like drofle @6, I thought of CLEARED UP for 14A. I guess ‘alongside’ could have been used in 13, omitting ‘with teeth,’ although the surface is then a bit strained.

    The parsing for UNLOAD above is no doubt correct; I just thought both ‘put in’ and ‘charge’ meant ‘load,’ which is how I reached the solution.

  22. Audrey @2

    I think that perhaps you are asking the wrong question. I make no claim to being a setter, but if I were, and I came up with this idea for a clue to TALON, while Robi @21 has come up with an improvement, I think I would have abandoned the idea altogether, and looked for another way to clue the word.
    If I think this clue is weak, it does not detract from the impressiveness of hiss prodigious output, and the pleasure he gives to so many people. Happy birthday, Rufus.

  23. An enjoyable puzzle and blog. Surely the ‘inner’ is the bull itself? What goes round the bull is the ‘outer’.

  24. A pleasant diversion for me in the middle of a busy day. I know what to expect with Rufus, and I got it.

    I’m with PeterO (@22) on 13A (TALON). I do set puzzles occasionally and would have recast the clue because of the verbiage it produced for the sake of the surface. However, Rufus did it his way and I have no gripes.

    I solved 7D (UNLOAD) but didn’t really get it until I came here. As a ‘cryptic’ or ‘vague’ definition, though, I can see that it works.

    17D (EARNINGS) was straightforward enough, but I can’t remember seeing ‘of’ as an anagrind before. It can mean ‘from’, which mentally you can expand to ‘from the letters of’, so it is not difficult to explain or justify.

    I too raised an eyebrow at 22A (VERTIGO): ‘precarious’ instead of ‘high’ might have done it for me.

    In the same vein as what others have said, it is astonishing how Rufus continues to produce so many crosswords of a consistent quality at the easier end of the spectrum. I do wish him a happy birthday, but I don’t think he comes here (surely he doesn’t have the time?!).

    Thank you Rufus, and thank you PeterO for your explanations.

  25. Thanks to Rufus and PeterO. I took a while seeing UMBRELLA and, even with all the crossers, had to experiment to get CAIRNGORMS (new to me), but I much enjoyed the process. When I first started with Guardian cryptics in the early 1980s during my brief UK trips I looked forward to Rufus puzzles and still do. Happy birthday.

  26. beery hiker @10

    Thanks for your explanation concerning 24A (SLANG). PeterO had it absolutely right, but it didn’t register with me until you came out with the familiar ‘slanging match’.

  27. I think 7dn is a strangely worded clue because the question mark after ‘put in charge’ relates solely to wordplay in the clue (as opposed to ambiguity in the solution). This type of clue wording works best for solutions that can have two opposite meanings (e.g. the word ‘screen’). ‘Unsold’ would be a valid alternative solution to the 7dn clue here.

  28. tyngewick @23

    Chambers gives:

    inner: that part of a target next to the bull’s-eye

    and the OED much the same. “Target” suggests shooting or archery rather than darts (although Wikipedia says that the term bull’s-eye is not used in archery). As for darts, the bull seems to be the entire inner circle, divided into inner and outer; so you appear to be right there.

  29. Not one of the birthday boys best. The cluing was OK but somehow the puzzle didn’t work for me. UNLOAD was LOI and I stared at the clue for far longer than I should have. Interesting that others had some trouble with it.Looking at it again,it seems a perfectly good clue and not untypical of this setter.
    I’m probably making too much of this!
    Thanks Rufus.

  30. Thanks Rufus and PeterO, and Happy Birthday to the former. Nice to see some appreciative comments, as Rufus does sometimes come in for a bit of criticism on this forum. My late father loved Rufus – he said he always raised a smile on a Monday morning, and this gentle solve does just that: the wandering nun, the lover and the lovely academic stream.

  32. RCWhiting @31
    I was the same as you regarding ‘brand’ and ‘class’ in 19A (REMBRANDT). The clue’s surface is so smooth that this little inequality must have been irresistible.

  33. I’m with Peter @29. Not one of Rufus’s best and even easier than usual.

    Lots of old chestnuts in here so perhaps Rufus was trying to beat his record time for setting a puzzle? It certainly wouldn’t have detained him for very long. (The same would apply to an experienced solver of course 😉 )

    Thanks to PeterO and Rufus

  34. Thanks to Rufus. I look forward to Monday’s crossword. As a newcomer to cryptic crosswords, puzzles by Rufus are a pleasure to tackle. Can anyone recommend other Guardian compilers that are suitable for those of us who are beginners?

  35. Lots to like in Rufus’ puzzle today, although it took me longer than usual, which added to the enjoyment.

    I thought 17 D was very clever and read ‘wages of’ as doing double duty, definition and anagram indicator, in the sense of the consequence of doing something wrong.

  38. Colin @ 34

    I’d suggest not moving up via ‘easiness’ stages. The setters are all human, though with different vocabularies and experiences (and deviousness). Tackle each and every one of them, being prepared to accept that you will get further sooner with some than with others. And so your solving skills will grow and the extent to which you solve each puzzle will too.

    In my view, if you start with an ‘easy’ setter and move on to a ‘slightly less easy’ setter and so on, you will take longer to start to understand the setting tropes and clueing devices that are out there, which will slow the overall development of your skills.

    hth

  40. Colin

    Regarding what puzzles to tackle next: I very much endorse Simon’s advice (try them all!) because that’s exactly what I did not all that long ago and found that I got further and further over time, increasing my enjoyment of the puzzles as I went along and finding that the harder puzzles were getting easier. This site definitely helped and is good fun.

  41. Thanks PeterO. Rufus – very happy birthday wishes and thanks for the puzzle.

    I knew I’d seen ‘Postmortem’ clued as ‘(a) stiff examination’ before and I actually thought it was a Rufus puzzle where I’d seen it. Nice to see it was Orlando – one of my favourite setters; thanks beery hiker @10, although it seems it was first used by Custos (thanks cyborg @16.)

    I was intrigued by Araucaria’s clue – “Letters to me, Mister? Possibly, like most of our creators’ work. (4-6)”

    The wordplay was clear but I wondered why The Rev had used “our creators” in the plural – so I looked it up in the archive – and found the puzzle, with typical brilliance, had a theme of authors/characters involved with murder mysteries.

  42. PGreen @41 – thanks for that – it does make much more sense in context, doesn’t it!

    That is why I always try to quote the puzzle numbers – the Guardian archive is an amazing resource, but obviously the Guardian crossword had a very long and hard to research history before the start of it – 1999 is too late for Custos.

  43. Colin @34

    Re who to tackle next? I would recommend that any beginner tackles any compiler other than Rufus as soon as possible. Rufus has a style of his own which relies heavily on Cryptic Definitions and Double Definitions. These are thrown together with a few trivial clues and the odd non-cryptic clue for a little piquancy! There are the occasional good cryptic clues but they are the exception. This “style” is very unlike nearly all other setters on the Guardian and to be honest is not the best training for “real” cryptics. (A lot of experienced solvers might have phrased the last sentence a little more harshly! 😉 )

    Just tackle all the setters each day and then come on here and see how the clues were parsed and solved. It’s a low process.

    I personally now solve every puzzle every day but it did take me 25 years of attempting Guardian puzzles befoire I actually completetly solved my first! (Perhaps I was thick and of course “Fifteensquared” wasn’t around then.)

    Once you start seeing Rufus as a “dinosaur” you’ll know you’re making progress. ( I’ll probably get lots of abuse for this post. But to save all you Rufusophiles the effort please don’t mistake me for someone who actually cares what you think. 🙂 )

  45. Thanks to Ralph, Muffin, Simon S, Alan Browne and Brendan (not that one ) for your advice. I can see the sense in having a go at the cryptic crossword every day, regardless of the compiler. I just hope it doesn’t take me 25 years to be able to solve the puzzles that haven’t been set by Rufus ?

  46. Colin

    This is so late that you may not see it, but let me say I’m glad you replied positively to our advice. I’m writing this mainly to counteract the, er, pessimism that Brendan might have imbued you with!

    Brendan’s 25 years of attempts might well be historically true, but I honestly think it can only have taken him one or two years to master this art from when he seriously started trying to complete the puzzles. That’s how long it has taken me, and I nearly always complete them now. (I usually attempt 4 a week, occasionally 5).

    I don’t speak for Brendan, of course, but anyway I have passed on my factual story and I wish you all the very best.

    I have only very recently begun to see clear distinctions in style (and other things like quality) between the different compilers – apart from Rufus who stands well apart from the rest. Personally, I find the difficulty levels vary as much between different compilers as between crosswords by the same compiler, although I don’t think there is a great range of difficulty levels. Others’ views may of course differ from mine!

    Again, good luck.

  47. I just came here to say exactly that. I like to alternate my crossword struggles with visits to my dartboard. They complement each other well, although I’m not very good at either.

  48. Colin

    Another late response you may not see, but in my opinion a lot of the “difficulty” issue is about styles. Some people find some types of clue more difficult than others, so if a particular compiler favours that type, those solvers will find those puzzles more difficult. Also, some compilers include more ‘general knowledge’ solutions than others, so a solver’s classical or ‘popular’ cultural knowledge can be a relevant factor too. You’ll often see comments here about not being on a compiler’s wavelength. If you try the crossword of the day regardless of compiler, you’ll get to know whose puzzles you personally find easier or harder.

    If you decide some puzzles are too tough for you at the moment, use the blogs here to understand the clues, asking questions if necessary, and you’ll learn as much as you would by struggling with them for hours but with much less frustration. On the other hand, don’t give up on a puzzle too quickly. One which seems impenetrable on first pass may fall relatively quickly once you get a toehold.

    Good luck with your efforts to widen your range!

  49. henry

    I’m probably better than you at crosswords, then. But I won’t take you on at darts, despite what you say, as I’m quite capable of missing the dartboard altogether.

  50. Thanks PeterO and Rufus.

    A gentle start to the week – even if I am a week behind.

    Rufus is Rufus in all his glory with his very own style – fortunately I survived without having to write over “obvious” write-ins.

    As usual, we can all carp about some of the cryptic definitions – as I have done myself. But at the end of the day, Rufus’s output is phenomenal so congratulations to the birthday boy.

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