Guardian Cryptic 26,897 by Rufus

41 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 26,897 by Rufus”

1. i liked solving this, loonapick. Sorry to disagree.

   Could not believe I took so long to get 1a SPRING. Proof that I am still a dillatente.

   Like you, loonapick, I enjoyed 12a NOBODIES, 13a SCARECROWS and 17a ACTRESSES.

   I also smiled at 3D NEPOTIC, but maybe that was, as loonapick says, too obvious if the solver is used to such clues.

   Thanks to Rufus for making my Monday solve easily do-able.

2. Thanks loonaphile, particularly for explaining 19d.
   I am a Rufus fan, finding that a gentle start on Monday morning is just what the verbal doctor ordered.

3. Thanks Rufus and loonapick

   I thought that this was a particularly good Rufus, and I really enjoyed it. Favourites were SCEPTIC and NEPOTIC (sorry, loonapick!)

   Although I had heard of the book, I didn’t know that TRILBY was a Parisian model, and I didn’t know the second meaning of DEADEYE (I wonder how many solvers did?)

   I’ve seen a very similar clue for REINFORCEMENT not that long agao – I expect that beeryhiker will be able to identify it.

4. I agree with loonapick’s preamble. I also thought 27A (ADVENT) was weak.

   It’s always good to learn something, though: I didn’t get the reference to the Parisian model in 5D (TRILBY). (I’m sure Julie got this, remembering her favourable comment on the literary theme on Friday.)

   I enjoyed the rest of this puzzle, though, especially 19D (ELEMENT), which fooled me. Instead of doing it justice and giving myself time to find the Helium reference I lazily came here to see what I missed – I regret that now.

   Thanks Rufus and loonapick.

5. Thank you Rufus and Loonapick.

   I loved this puzzle and thought it one of Rufus’s best. The ANIL plant was new to me, and I had to check NEPOTIC, my COED only gives “nepotistic”, so googled. I always panic when I see references to “rigging”, I knew the look of the DEADEYE, but not its name. ELEMENT was the last in and had me fooled, as it did Alan Browne.

   NOBODIES, SCARECROW, ACTRESSES and REINFORCEMENT were fun!

6. There are crosswords and there are crosswords and I am not sure why there are any quibbles about one style over another. I don’t mind quibbles over certain clues (at least two here weren’t cryptic at all, if you thought the way Rufus was thinking when you first read it) but the concept of there somehow being something ‘wrong’ with a Rufus or any other setter’s crossword is just nonsense.

   It’s a pastime, a diversion and most of us probably don’t even pay towards it. Rufus plays with language in ways that are always clever and often amusing.

   Contributors here would do well to remember that we are the minority of solvers, most solvers do not engage at our level of analysis and they do it for ENJOYMENT!!!!

   I doff my cap to all setters…thanks for the fun and interest you provide, thanks for allowing yourselves to be put under the microscope through this blog…and yes, I’ll still have a go when I think you have screwed up ;-}

7. I like Rufus, because I enjoy his puzzles and can usually solve them. The only clue I failed at today was 19d: and now I am kicking myself for missing the witty ambiguity of He.

8. Tim @6

   Well said. I no doubt needed to reminded of this. I’m also in awe of all setters and bloggers and have said so occasionally – to remind myself. Rufus’s knowledge of the language is something to admire beyond the fact that he is (reportedly) the most prolific crossword setter in the world.

   I always expect a certain type of crossword with Rufus, and this is one of them. He goes for neatness and simplicity, unlike all the other setters who try to be more complex and tricky but still strive for neatness.

   You also emphasise enjoyment, and again it’s good to be reminded that this is the point of it all. I’ve learned to do these daily puzzles only for enjoyment – I no longer try and get to the end if I’m not enjoying it, irrespective of how easy or difficult it is. I enjoy it most, by the way, if the puzzle is challenging (which is not how I would describe today’s puzzle) and if I’m taken in by a clever clue here and there. I really enjoy it when I see through a ruse, but I also have a good laugh if it defeats me.

   Thanks for your comment.

9. Anyone else start with ACTIVISM for 21a? I agree that some Rufuses can feel hackneyed, but this isn’t one of them, and I for one enjoy the round-the-corner definitions like 12a. I also thought it was NEPOTISTIC, and since chemistry was never my subject I’m grateful for the explanation of ELEMENT. Thank you Rufus.

10. Alan@8. Quite – and one could add that Rufus’s surfaces are very smooth and elegant.

11. Thanks for blogging, loonapick.

    I enjoyed this, but then I’m quite partial to a dd or a cd. ELEMENT was my favourite this morning.

    Rufus is never going to be everyone’s cup of tea, as we know from blogs passim. But if that’s the case, then wait 24 hours and another one will come along. I think it’s fair enough that the blogger can give his or her opinion on the puzzle as well as parsing it all for us (in my case, loonapick, thank you for explaining TRILBY). You don’t have to agree, and as Tim P says, it’s about enjoyment rather than running up the garden path with the solution in hand saying ‘Mummy, Mummy, I got 30 out of 30 today!’ It’s not an exam.

    Thanks to the red one for today’s crossword.

12. NEPOTIC wasn’t a write-in for me as I’d never heard it. Worked it out with all the crossers, as a back-formation from nepotism. DEADEYE was last, being unaware of the nautical usage; ELEMENT the favourite, though I’ve seen the trick used before.

13. You know what you are getting with Rufus, mostly easy but with the odd one like DEADEYE that requires obscure nautical general knowledge.

    Thanks to Rufus and loonapick

14. Thanks for the comments, and to clarify, if double definitions and cryptic definitions are your cup of tea, then Rufus is ideal as a setter. As I mentioned in the blog, but maybe didn’t emphasis enough, some of those today were good, and I pointed those out. Personally, I prefer more wordplay in my puzzles.

15. I found this for REINFORCEMENT from a Hectence Quiptic from 2013:
    Check for mortar support (13)
    There’s a more recent Picaroon clue, but it wasn’t as similar:
    Bridle because setter provides stress (13)
    Also this from Rufus in 2013:
    Check for mortar to be used in fortification

16. Thanks Rufus and loonapick

    One of the good things about the Guardian is the variety of puzzle that is presented each day – on a Monday we are most often served up with a more straightforward one which I personally look forward to after catching up on the harder ones over the weekend.

    Completed this a bit quicker than normal for him and also finished with the clever helium ELEMENT at 19d. The simplicity and surface elegance of TRILBY and OXEYE were excellent ! Sure you get the old chestnuts thrown in the mix but more than balanced out by the good ‘uns.

17. Some nice clues here esp 19d. Deadeye floored me though as I didn’t know either of the definitions.

18. Thanks Rufus and Loonapick
    i
    I (like AB @4) agree with loonapck’s opening comments. However, I do not turn away when I see his name. I often refer beginners to Monday.

    Unlike JiA, SPRING was my first in

    For 5d, hat was obvious, but the others went over my head (apologies for the pun).

    15a is becoming an old chestnut.

19. thanks to Rufus and loonapick. I never complain about Rufus because I can remember when his puzzles were the only ones I could finish. In this one I got the He-ELEMENT right away, did not know CROMER (though it was clear from the clues), and only paused over DEADEYE because I did not know the nautical connection. A quick solve but, as usual, enjoyable.

20. I enjoyed this puzzle, with my favourites being PLEBISCITE & DRAW.

    New words for me were ANIL and resort town of CROMER.

    I needed help to parse 19d.

    Thanks loonapick and Rufus.

21. Oh lots to mutter about today. Got trilby but no hope of parsing it apart from the hat ref. Can’t see how you’re supposed to get nobodies as a definition of a well planned murder: surely not getting caught is the point? Why is OX neat in 23? Ho hum. See you all soon.

22. Old fakir @21 Neat is an archaic word for an ox, a cow, a bull etc, mostly only seen in Crosswordland these days.

23. I thought this a very good Rufus. ELEMENT was excellent and so we’re OXEYE and NOBODIES- look at the latter two again Old Faker! Ox =neat Eye = looker,well planned murder= no bodies! What’s the problem?
    I didn’t know the nautical reference in 19dn so thanks to the blogger for that. Overall this was a goodie.
    Thanks Rufus.

24. Sorry, I meant Fakir!

25. Thanks Rufus and loonapick. Rufus is always an elegant cluer: I particularly liked 11,12ac and 7dn. 10ac was the best for me, reminding me somehow of the current referendum, Brexiteers in particular.

26. btw the novel “Trilby” introduced “Svengali” into the language.

27. Tim Phillips doesn’t seem to want to see any sort of criticism of puzzles. We are duty-bound to say that all puzzles are good and have nothing wrong with them. And yet, presumably, this is a criticism of anyone who would criticise.

    I am confused, and there is but one remedy. I am going to the pub.

28. Hi Paul B…

    Back from the pub! (me, not you…)

    Read what I said…a puzzle is a puzzle. No one has to do them.

    It’s not fair to criticise a setter for their style, it is what it is. Criticising poor clues…that’s different.

    Chin chin.

    Tim

29. TP @6

    Well said sir! Although I can’t for the life of me think why you bothered.

    What exactly do you believe is the purpose of this messageboard?

    I personally think this would be the perfect place to say something along the lines that this was a typical quickly thrown together Rufus without much thought for the solver. Loose cluing in abundance and several clues bordering on the non-cryptic. Certainly not much “ENJOYMENT!!” to be had there.

    But apparently this is not the place to say such a thing so I won’t.

    “I’ll get me coat”

30. 19d was a happy sequel to Gozo’s FT 15250 puzzle, also blogged by loonapick on May 26th.

31. Muffin@3 – only knew the second meaning of “DEADEYE” 16d because of sailing. We also use the term “Deadeye Dick” if we successfully swat a fly. No idea where that comes from.

    I loved the HE for Helium distractor in 19d, though I am not usually great on any science/maths references. However, yes Alan Browne@4 I did recall the George du Maurier novel for TRILBY 5d. Now just wondering about any connection to Daphne du Maurier?

    Really appreciated the observations from Tim@6 and Alan Browne@8. Both seemed to me to appreciate that criticism where warranted is a good thing, but that enjoying oneself rather than getting het up is the aim. Not an exam, as Kathryn’s Dad@11 says – or as we say in Australia “We’re not playing for sheep stations!”.

32. No, Julie, no BNTO, no Tim: here we see loonapick directly criticised for his opinion (and after all, he is our blogger for today) about Rufus’s puzzle for today. That’s BS.

    Just let a blogger express a view.

33. Re 25ac: Assuming the solution EWES to be a plural, methinks the clue should read “Sheeps'” (genitive plural) rather “Sheep’s”

34. Julie @31
    George was Daphne’s father. He was also a great friend of Henry James, when the latter lived in England.

35. @33:

    ‘Sheep’ is ‘quarters’; the apostrophe is an abbreviator, not a possessive.

    On reflection, I suppose what I have been trying to say is, by all mean say you don’t like a setter or an individual crossword, and by all means criticise particular clues, but I don’t see how you can criticise a style or setter. That’s like criticising perfectly good food that you don’t happen to like. Just don’t order it in the first place.

    I liked this dish and will gladly enjoy it once a week. Come Friday, I might fancy something more sophisticated.

36. All I said was that I am not a fan of his style (in the same way as a music reviewer may be asked to review a Katy Perry concert when he prefers Bruce Springsteen), and I followed up with a comment that I prefer more wordplay, in the way that a music reviewer may prefer better lyrics.

    I pointed out good and not-so-good clues, and then parsed the clues. That, after all, is what I’m here for. I don’t know in advance whose puzzle I’ll be solving, so don’t have the luxury of saying, “let someone who likes that setter blog the puzzle”.

    As an aspiring, but unpublished setter, I await the day when I will be overjoyed to have my puzzles critiqued by a blogger and by the general solving public, even if it is just as a learning experience, or if I just come to the conclusion that you can’t please all the people all the time.

37. Loonapick @36 – I admire you for sticking your head over the parapet. Many of us rarely criticise Rufus because he is such an institution. There are many Guardian readers whose only experience of crosswords is an occasional Rufus, and I don’t think we are going to change him now…

38. Thanks, beery hiker. I don’t want to change him. There’s a place for all kinds of setters.

    To continue my analogy, just because the music reviewer doesn’t appreicate Katy Perry, it doesn’t mean she’s rubbish – just not his cup of tea. He may even like a couple of her numbers, but he’s also going to criticise the ones he doesn’t like, and will probably do the same if he comes across a Springsteen song that he’s not keen on.

    Rufus is now well-established and successful, so he is obviously doing something right. Like some of the other people who commented, I would recommend him to a novice solver, but with the health warning that he is atypical, as he relies heavily on cryptic and double definitions. Other setters have too many anagrams, others too many charades, and I would point that out to a new solver as well.

    And to Tim Phillips@35. Of course I can criticise a style or setter. I’m not here to be a sycophant. The blog would be dull if we just explained the clues and robotically thanked the setter.

39. Sorry Loonapick – I wasn’t actually having a go at you and I agree with what you have subsequently written. I think when I wrote my first comment I was expecting the usual barrage from the usual suspects and I just find it weird (and actually rather amusing) that people sometimes are prepared to spend so much time slagging off something that is supposed to be a light diversion.

    This is a forum for discussion so of course anyone can say what they like, within reason. Which is what I did, I hope.

    Tim

40. That sounds like a retraction, if so, good. What a lot of silliness has been spoken about what people may and may not say. This is a discussion forum, and no-one should seek to kill the spirit of it.

    Thanks loonapick for your great blog, with its entriely justified opinions.

41. Thanks loonapick and Rufus.

    For a change I got through this without being caught by a typical curved ball.

    Yes, there were a couple of “is that it?” clues but also one or two very clever and the odd bit if new learning – as with TRILBY.

    I liked the idea of 19dn even if “colourless” is not one I the properties of Helium that I would usually recognise.

    I agree on the whole with loonapick’s summary. Not my favourite setter but huge respect – especially for his phenomenal output.

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