Guardian 26,911 by Shed

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Apologies for the delay in today’s blog. I normally rely on Paul Drury’s excellent facility to assist in formatting these blogs, but at the time of writing, today’s Guardian has not been loaded on to his website, so this will not look the same as my normal blogs.

Most of Shed’s puzzle was straightforward, and in the main, the surfaces are clean and simple, although not always inspiring.  As I started slotting in some of the answers in the top half, I was thinking that it would make a good starter puzzle for novice solvers, but the bottom half was more difficult, and included a word I have never come across (KATHODE as an alternative spelling of CATHODE), and I have a quibble with 25ac (see below).  I’d also want to check that my novice solver was OK with certain allusions in the puzzle 🙂

For a while, I wondered if there was a theme, with places like READING, UPPSALA, LIEGE and MANHATTAN all appearing on the left-hand side of the grid, but that is probably coincidence. Robi (see comment #9 seems to think there may be a cycling theme.

ACROSS

1 Race round with Freud maybe entering dreamy state (4,2,6)
TOUR DE FRANCE – *(0 Freud), where the 0 is indicated by “round”, “entering” TRANCE (“dreamy state”) I initially missed the 0 from the anagram so thought that “race round” was a slightly cryptic definition as the Tour de France could be described as a race round France. Now I have had my error pointed out, I see that the definition is simply “race”.

8 UK university and what one might be doing there (7)
READING – Double definition. One may be “reading” (i.e. studying) a subject at Reading University.

9 Preventing corruption of backward spooks receiving 30 days (7)
ASEPTIC – CIA ((“spooks” = spies) backward) “receiving” SEPT (a month with “30 days”).

11 Paul’s a pothead, stoned somewhere in Sweden (7)
UPPSALA – *(pauls a p) where the “p” is indicated by “pothead” (Ximeneans, look the other way!)

12 Those people accepting blame for healing (7)
THERAPY – THEY (“those people”) “accepting” RAP (“blame”)

13 Porky, say, returning to Belgian city (5)
LIEGE – LIE (“porky”) + <=E.G. (“say, returning”)

14 Purpose to keep sibling nagging (9)
INSISTENT – INTENT (“purpose”) “to keep” SIS (“sibling”)

16 Fellow putting lid on brown cocktail (9)
MANHATTAN – MAN (“fellow”) + HAT(“lid”) + TAN(“brown”)

19 Language of medic (a junior) (5)
CAJUN – Hidden in “mediC A JUNior”

21 Girl carrying builder’s tool to terminal, alternatively (7)
KATHODE – KATE (“girl”) “carrying” HOD (“builder’s tool”) I hadn’t come across this spelling before, but the clue is fair in that it does say “alternatively”.

23 Concerning privates, affable sergeant’s conclusion’s welcomed (7)
GENITAL – (sergean)T “welcomed by” GENIAL (“affable”)

24 Name-dropping Dubliner shattered and put back together (7)
REBUILD – *(dublier) i.e. Dubliner without the N (“name” having been “dropped”)

25 Diggers of hot girls outside pub (7)
GOPHERS – GOERS (“hot girls”) outside PH (public house, ergo “pub”). I don’t think “hot girls” is synonymous with “goers”, which indicates that girls are “easy” rather
than “hot”, and may in fact may be quite the opposite!

26 Cowardly cow supplying cover for leader of 1 across (6,6)
YELLOW JERSEY – YELLOW (“cowardly”) + JERSEY (a breed of “cow”). I actually got this before I got 1ac, making the latter a gimme.

DOWN

1 Walk all over male animal wearing shabby pelt <7)
TRAMPLE – RAM (“male animal”) “wearing *(pelt)

2 Wee Tina, drunk, plunged into river (7)
URINATE – *(Tina) “plunged into” URE (“river”)

3 Sticker for rules to follow a tribal leader into haze (9)
DOGMATIST – DOG (“follow”) + A T(ribal) in MIST (“haze”)

4 Exploit involving second blowout (5)
FEAST – FEAT (“exploit”) “involving” S

5 Extremely old, turning in, dress elegantly (7)
AGELESS – Hidden backward (indicated by “turning in”) “dreSS ELEGAntly”

6 Cheese pie? (7)
COTTAGE – Referring to “cottage cheese” and “cottage pie”

7 Time with successful Russian business person, “one causing unrest (12)
TROUBLEMAKER – T + ROUBLE MAKER. A successful Russian business person certainly would make roubles.

10 Growth involving track exercise with obsessive code-breaker (12)
CRYPTANALYST – CYST (“growth”) involving RY (railway = “track”) + PT (physical training = “exercise”) + ANAL (“obsessive”)

15 Religious establishment putting misdemeanour on tenterhooks, reportedly (9)
SYNAGOGUE – “Reportedly” indicates a homphone of SIN (“misdemeanour”) + AGOG (“on tenterhooks”)

17 Famous toff receiving thanks (7)
NOTABLE – NOBLE (“toff”) “receiving” TA (“thanks”)

18 Put out, is a local not initially unfriendly? (7)
ASOCIAL – *(is a ocal), where “ocal” is “local” without its initial (“not initially”)

19 Star may work (7)
CANOPUS – CAN (“may”) + OPUS (“work”). Canopus is a supergiant star about 650 million light years (not miles, as I originally typed) from here. My primary school teachers would have kittens with “may” and “can” being interchangeable, as I was often rebuked for asking “Can I…?” when I should have been asked “May I…?”

20 Nervous, gutted, Johnny’s drinking beer with no head (7)
JITTERY – J(ourne)Y (“Johnny, gutted”) “drinking” (b)ITTER

22 Present goal preceding cry of pain (5)
ENDOW – END (“goal”) + OW (“cry of pain”)

36 comments on “Guardian 26,911 by Shed”

  2. In 1A, I don’t think ’round’ is part of the definition, but instead supplies the O in TOUR.

    Thanks to setter and blogger.

  3. Pretty straightforward,though I didn’t much like 6d. Is that even cryptic? Thanks to Shed and Loonapick.

  4. Thanks Shed and loonapick

    I found this pretty easy (especially compared with Pan’s Quiptic, which, due to the delay, I only attempted this morning – what is going on with the Guardian crossword page?), though I didn’t parse CRYPTANALYST, and I too had never come across the KATHODE spelling (is it German? I’ll try to remember to ask the German friend staying with us when she comes back in).

    Is AGELESS “extremely old”? “Ageless” is “without age”, so it can’t be said if it is old or not (not entirely serious here!)

  5. I agree with Robi and penzephyr re the O = round, and RACE is the def.

    I solved 26a thanks to google/wikipedia as I am not familiar with yellow jerseys @ tour de france etc.

    My favourites were MANHATTAN, URINATE, TOUR DE FRANCE, TROUBLEMAKER, CRYPTANALYST, ASEPTIC.

    I am not sure that this is the perfect puzzle for a beginner, but I enjoyed it a lot!

    Thanks loonapick (I always wonder if you are the man or the woman in that photo!) and Shed.

  6. Thanks loonapick, still loafing by the pool?

    Enjoyed this although it ended rather quickly once I sorted out an idiotic mistake at 1d. I went for TINA* in DEE and happily wrote in DAINTEE for ‘wee’!

    Loved the GENITAL & TROUBLEMAKER clues.

    Don’t really share your misgiving over ‘hot’ girls. Pretty get-able so OK in my book.

    Many thanks, Shed, wish we saw more of you.

    Nice week, all.

  8. Thank you to Shed and loonapick.

    Glad to get the full solve today.

    I liked 15d SYNAGOGUE.

    I am sure I have seen 16a MANHATTAN clued this way or something like it before…

  9. Thanks Shed & loonapick.

    Fairly gentle solve, except LOI KATHODE. I know it’s in Chambers but a medical dictionary gives it as obsolete, which I think is correct – so, maybe, old terminal or old terminal, alternatively.

    I enjoyed the anal code-breaker and the Russian businessman.

    There seems to be a JANE NINA in the central column – reference to Chris Froome’s mum or coincidence? UPPSALE, LIEGE & MANHATTAN all seem to be connected to cycling.

  11. Missed the “o” in 1ac – thanks, all. I’ll edit.

    Michelle – I am the man, the lady is my gorgeous wife of nearly 20 years (I know, she doesn’t look old enough to have been with me for 29 years, but she has maintained her youthful looks much better than her husband)

    William – no, I’m back in bonnie Scotland

  13. Solved with barely a blink. Shed has been a bit more of a challenge in the past, I believe. I vaguely remember KATHODE with a K not C from chemistry classes, but why the German spelling might sometimes be used in preference I have no idea (though a better representation of its coinage from Greek).

    The (T)ROUBLE MAKERS were quite fun.

  14. Trailman @13
    If you go back far enough, chemistry was much influenced by German – indeed the generation before me had to learn German in order to study it. However, although I taught it for nearly 30 years, I never saw the K spelling.

  15. One definition that Chambers gives for “hot” is “sexually excited or lustful”, so a hot girl could be a GOER.

    A very nice puzzle – my LOI was the excellently hidden AGELESS.

  16. loonapick @11 Welcome home. I’m not a universal fan of all modern technology but isn’t it wonderful to be able to pursue one’s favourite things on the move. The other day I was leaving the US and was able to upload a model to my 3D printer at home and the print was ready for me when I got home! Astonishing, really.

  17. Though practically 5 now I still enjoyed slightly below the belt 2, 23 and 25. Newish to Guardian crosswords and enjoying them thoroughly.

  19. One of the easiest Shed’s in living memory. I liked the successful Russian businessman.

    Thanks, Shed and loonapick. Canopus seems to be awfully close to us these days! 😉

  21. Straightforward and with some of the gentle smut we no longer seem to get from Paul. Good fun and all fine by me!
    Thanks Shed and Loonapick

  22. Isn’t it time to put Reading/University out to grass? It seems to pop up with boring irregularity. Or maybe I’m just aging badly. Always like Shed though.

  23. I quite enjoyed this but it was one of Shed’s easier ones. I agree that COTTAGE is a bit off but I thought GOPHER was Ok. I rather liked TROUBLEMAKER and YELLOW JERSEY,and KATHODE was new to me but fairly obvious -especially as my wife’s name is Kate!
    Thanks Shed.

  24. Thanks to Shed and loonapick. I too got YELLOW JERSEY early on so that 1 across followed and the rest fell into place quickly. I paused over FEAST as blowout, and last in was ASOCIAL. Lots of fun.

  26. Hypothesis: this was an easy Shed. Evidence: I finished it without major trauma. Conclusion: good puzzle.

    Not keen on KATHODE (mainly because I couldn’t see it) but enjoyed GENITAL and GOPHERS. For the latter, watch this …

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGrvQ1c5khU

    … and then decide. Sorry to those who aren’t fans of Monty Python.

    Thanks to S&B.

  28. The affable sergeant in 26 across is surely Dixon of Dock Green, who ended episodes with a catch phrase of G’night all, or ge- nit- al phonetically. What a fantastic surface

  30. Yes, easier than I expect from Shed, but still very enjoyable. Favourites include UPPSALA, REBUILD, URINATE and TOUR DE FRANCE.

    Thanks, Shed and loonapick.

  31. Thanks all. Apart from the connection between ‘Tour de France’ and ‘yellow jersey’, no cycling theme was intended but I’m impressed that some of you managed to find one. And Peter neville @28-29, I did watch Dixon of Dock Green as a boy but no connection was intended there either (at least not consciously). As for 21ac, I spelled KATHODE with a K purely because when I was composing the grid I found myself needing K_T_O_E, and was greatly relieved to discover that such a word existed and was attested in Chambers.

  32. Re KATHODE, it has been used before, almost certainly for the same reason, but it was back in 2002, and yesterday’s clue did at least rule out the normal spelling, thanks to “alternatively”

    Gordius 22688: Lines written to a girl at a terminal (7)

  33. Thanks loonapick and Shed.

    Enjoyed this with no hold-ups.

    I think “hot” behaviourally works at 25ac in a skanky sort of way – and we all knew what Shed meant so no problem really.

    And a couple of giggles for good measure.

  34. Thanks Shed and loonapick

    Finished this in Rufus-like time, so he must have turned down the hard-ometer when he set this one. Good fun all of the same !

    In dictionary.com it had the derivation of CATHODE (C19: from Greek kathodos a descent, from kata- down + hodos way)

    Took me about 8-9 clues to finally see YELLOW JERSEY down the bottom which immediately gave me TOUR DE FRANCE across the top and then the puzzle really peeled open.

    Finished in the bottom right with GOPHERS and SYNAGOGUE the last couple in.

    Nice to get an easier Tuesday happening, albeit one week late …

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