Guardian 26,831 – Rufus

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Only two “pure” cryptic definitions from Rufus today, but a couple of double defs that only just count as double. Quite a few anagrams too, which helped to make this a very quick solve for me. Thanks to Rufus.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
9. BIG DIPPER American stars encountered in amusement park (3,6)
Double definition – Big Dipper is the American name for the constellation we call the Plough; paradoxically, it’s now a more British term for the fairground ride
10. HOIST Elevate one among many (5)
I in HOST
11. TEMPEST Storm created by Shakespeare (7)
Double defintion (just about), or maybe just an extended single definition
12. SHOPPED Skinhead frisked and betrayed to the police (7)
S[kin] + HOPPED
13. ANNOY Trouble caused by a small number in New York (5)
A + NO in NY
14. SHORT HEAD Winning measure from brusque school principal (5,4)
SHORT (brusque) + HEAD
16. TRAVELLERS’ TALES Exaggerated accounts submitted by salesmen? (10,5)
Definition with an extra hint
19. DISCREDIT Shame! Say it’s wrong (9)
Double definition (though again, only just)
21. BABEL Infant left in tower here (5)
BABE + L
22. MAUDLIN Sentimental girl takes nothing back (7)
MAUD + reverse of NIL
23. REGARDS Looks for a friendly word (7)
Double definition
24. RECAP Short summary concerning capital investment (5)
RE (concerning) + CAP (short for capital investment?)
25. ALMA MATER Graduate repeatedly brought in to reform old university (4,5)
MA + MA in ALTER
Down
1. ABSTRACTED It’s taken out in wool-gathering (10)
Double definition
2. EGOMANIA This can provide an image that includes love — for oneself? (8)
O in (AN IMAGE)*
3. LIVERY Left one extremely out of sorts (6)
L+ I + VERY – perhaps seen more often in this sense as “liverish”
4. SPOT Identify the precise location (4)
Double definition
5. ARISTOCRAT A strict, or a liberal, gentleman? (10)
(A STRICT OR A)*
6. RHEOSTAT It currently controls rose that is rambling (8)
(ROSE THAT IS)* – a rheostat is a device that provides variable electrical resistance, and hence varies the current
7. DIMPLE Cheeky, but attractive, feature (6)
Cryptic definition
8. STUD Boss to pore over books endlessly (4)
STUD[y]
14. SELF-DENIAL Christian virtue fills a need, somehow (4-6)
(FILLS A NEED)*
15. DISCLOSURE An opening revelation (10)
Double definition, though the “opening” meaning is probably obsolete (and in any case very close to “revelation”)
17. EARFLAPS Deerstalkers’ comedowns? (8)
Cryptic definition
18. LIBERATE Bear I let out — yes, let out! (8)
(BEAR I LET)*
20. SOURCE Spring changes course (6)
COURSE*
21. BIGAMY Great girl, marrying unlawfully (6)
The familiar BIG AMY
22. MORE Doctor about to get an increase (4)
MO + RE
23. RAMP Storm caused by parking on drive (4)
RAM (drive) + P – I was going to question the definition, but Chambers gives “to rage” as one of the meanings of RAMP

26 comments on “Guardian 26,831 – Rufus”

  1. Thanks Rufus and Andrew
    As usual, the Check button was called into action frequently. I tried NIPPLE for 7d and 23d might just as easily have been ROMP.
    I looked in Chambers for LIVERY too – it gives LIVERISH or LIVERY (old) in tis sense.
    I liked ALMA MATER and EGOMANIA.

  2. I do enjoy Rufus’s witty and relatively gentle introductions to the week. Particularly liked 12a; was also unaware of RAMP = rage, but it could perhaps give a different perspective to ‘ramp-up’, which I had always interpreted quite literally.

  3. Pretty straightforward from Rufus, with few dodgy clues. I also hadn’t heard of RAMP = anger; and agree with muffin @ 1 that ROMP (P on ROM computer drive) is a perfectly good alternative solution for 23d. I liked EARFLAPS and SHORT HEAD. Thanks to Rufus and Andrew.

  4. Thank you to Rufus and Andrew. This solve reassured me that I can complete a cryptic and gave me hope for the more challenging ones as the week unfolds. I liked “BIG DIPPER”, “MAUDLIN” and “DIMPLE”.

  6. Thanks Rufus and Andrew for a pleasant start to the week.

    At 23d the phrase “to RAMP and rage” came to my mind – I see it was probably first used in the introduction to the Canterbury Tales, perhaps Rufus had Chaucer in his mind at 16a.

  7. Thanks both.

    Unaware of BIG DIPPER without checking – nice clue once you know it.

    Didn’t know LIVERY or RAMP but all perfectly gettable.

    Liked TRAVELLERS’ TALES & MORE.

    Top work once again ny this tireless setter.

    Nice week, all.

    PS Any Scotsmen about? Wonderful result in the weekend’s rugby!

  8. Thanks for the blog. re 15d I took ‘disclosure’ as a humorous way of referring to the opposite of the act of closing something i.e. creating an opening

  10. In my journey back through the archives (I’m now into April, 2011),I’ve done this puzzle once before (though I can’t supply the date).

  11. Can someone explain the wool-gathering part of the double definition for ABSTRACTED.

    Regarding the ROMP/RAMP alternative, I’m less convinced by ROMP. “Ram” clearly means “drive” without the computer meaning, whereas I’m not sure that either ROM or RAM are really synonyms for “drive” in a computer. You can have a CD-ROM drive or a RAM drive, but in neither case is ROM/RAM a synonym for drive.

  12. Stephen @11 — abstracted can mean ‘lost in thought, preoccupied’, which is wool-gathering in its sense of daydreaming.

    ACD @10 — Rufus often gives one a sense of deja vu. The most occurrence of ALMA MATER (with a slghtly different clue) was two years ago (in Guardian Cryptic 23215).

  14. Quite a nice one from Rufus today I thought. Maybe it’s because there were few dds etc. Got lucky with RAMP, didn’t understand the wooly sort of ABSTRACTED till John E @12 did the decent thing.

  15. At my age I no longer trust my short term memory, so normally I would accept John E’s correction, but my reaction was not solely to ALMA MATER. Rather, when I started this puzzle I immediately “knew” or remembered, TEMPEST, BIG DIPPER, BABEL, HOIST, RECAP, BIGAMY, RHEOSTAT, and others. Perhaps those items came from different puzzles so that this one was a collection of blasts from the past (all-star line-up?), but ..,.,

  16. Stephen @11, quite right.

    Others above, it helps to know what the abbreviations mean. Read Only Memory, or Random Access Memory can be used to simulate a disk drive, but is not itself a drive.

  17. This was not a particularly good Rufus. I got LIVERY but I can’t say I liked it much and I was baffled by RAMP. I don’t remember ever having come across it used in the sense that it’s used in the puzzle. I accept that the meaning is perfectly OK but this did delay me more than somewhat. I liked ALMA MATER and MAUDLIN.
    Thanks Rufus.

  18. If my memory of the old Compline service is correct (and there is no guarantee of that), it includes the admonition “Brothers, be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the Devil goeth about like a ramping lion, devouring whom he may”. I had assumed that this was the KJV translation of 1 Peter 5:8, but it is not. Obviously rampage, and the heraldic lion rampant are connected. To turn to Mammon, as the holder of several mutual funds, I am familiar with small cap and large cap companies.

  19. I had doubts about RAMP, or possibly “romp”. I came to the conclusion that the similarity to “rampage” suggested RAMP was the answer, but I admit that I didn’t bother checking dictionaries. Like Andy Smith @8, I took the first part of 20d as a playful negative of CLOSURE/closing.

    A nice start to the week … thanks, Rufus and Andrew.

  20. Hello to all from the US…

    Love the Guaridan cryptics and this is my first post on this forum… As a yank, I have to occasionally do some Googling when the clues/answers are particularly British (but that helped today with Big Dipper, which I took for granted!).

    My question regards “ramp”. To me (am I wrong?), “parking on drive” would actually produce PRAM. I knew the right answer was ramp, but the construction of the clue would seem to need the P over the RAM (for it to be “on”). Happy to be told otherwise, if so…

  21. glennpb @20
    Welcome to the forum!

    Your interpretation would be the most common construction, but in this case try thinking of it as a short form of “add parking onto drive”.

  22. Welcome glennpb @20 Just got back from your side. jennyk is spot on, one would normally interpret this clue in the way you describe but both are quite common and one often has to test both to find the right fit for crossing letters.

  23. Thanks Rufus and Andrew

    Did this one during yesterday’s Labour Day holiday (in Melbourne anyway – it seems to change from state to state), but only got to do the final run and check it off tonight. Lucky that I didn’t rush, as originally I had entered ROMP at 23d and found that I couldn’t make it equal ‘storm’ in any sense. Eventually I re-acquainted myself with RAM drive, and the violent rush meaning of RAMP and was back on track.

    Finished in the NW corner with EGOMANIA (clever anagram), ABSTRACTED (a tricky double definition) and the to-me tricky ANNOY as the last one in

  24. I haven’t commented on this as it was the usual “same old same old” from Rufus 🙁

    However although it has already been mentioned I will reiterate that the RAM in 23D is almost certainly nothing to do with computer RAM. This would probably require a question mark or some other indication that this RAM was a particular type of drive.

    This “ram” is a simple synonym of the verb to drive. As in the SOED

    ram ? verb. Infl. -mm-. ME.

    ……

    2 verb trans. Force or drive by heavy blows; push forcefully or firmly. Foll. by down, in, into, up. e16.

  26. Thanks Andrew and Rufus.

    Quite a few barely-double definitions here (DISCREDIT, DISCLOSURE stand out) but reasonably precise no no cause for complaint.

    I did settle on ROMP at 23 dn on the basis of a CD-ROM drive and storm as an energetic party.

    So Rufus caught me out again!

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