Guardian Cryptic 28212 Crucible

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Thanks to Crucible for the themed puzzle. (I probably need correcting for one of the parsings.) Definitions are underlined in the clues.

The theme is “clothing”.

Across

9. Anonymous report about duke getting kitted out (9)

ACCOUTRED : “account”(a report/a description) minus(Anonymous /nameless) “n”(abbrev. for “name”)+ RE(about/with reference to) + D(abbrev. for “duke”).

Please correct me if I am (probably) wrong. Edit: I’ve been corrected, as above.

10. Some paint one animal (5)

COATI : COAT(some paint, on a surface specifically) + I(Roman numeral for “one”).

11. Clothes engineers wear to shock (7)

APPAREL : RE(abbrev. for the Royal Engineers in the British Army) contained in(wear) APPAL(to shock/to horrify).

12. Set off explosive without gel and died (7)

IGNITED : “gelignite”(an explosive in the form of a gel) minus(without) “gel” plus(and) D(abbrev. for “died”).

Defn: , say, an explosive device.

13. Nancy’s one place to sleep that has no beams? (5)

UNLIT : [UN LIT]{translated from the language of the town, Nancy in France, as “one(un) bed(lit)/a place to sleep.

Defn: of light, that is.

14. Where Durham divers go, making bloomers perhaps (9)

UNDERWEAR : Cryptic defn: Divers from Durham, North-east England may go under the River Wear which flows through that city.

Defn: of which bloomers are examples/perhaps.

16. Thoroughly like full-body scan (4,3,2,6)

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM : Double defn: 2nd: Reference to a medical scan of a patient’s entire body.

19. Coinage formerly found in swamp withdrawn (5,4)

NONCE WORD : ONCE(formerly/in a time before) contained in(found in) reversal of( withdrawn) DROWN(to swamp/to overwhelm).

Defn: A phrase or word specially coined for a single occasion to communicate a concept not otherwise describable, as in Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwock”.

21. Hide classical object of worship going west, then east (5)

SUEDE : Reversal of( going west, in an across clue) DEUS(classical Latin word for “god”/an object of worship) plus(then) E(abbrev. for “east”).

Defn: /leather made from the underside of an animal skin.

22. Embellish party gathering on ship (5,2)

DRESS UP : DUP(abbrev. for the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland) containing(gathering) [RE(on/with reference to/about) + SS(abbrev. for “steamship”, as used in the names of such craft)].

23. Society records over 50 regular constituents (7)

STAPLES : S(abbrev. for “Society”) + TAPES(records on audio or video, well, tapes) containing(over) L(Roman numeral for 50).

Defn: The regular/main or important constituents of, say, a diet, as in “Rice is a staple of Asian diets”.

24. Anticipated importing oddly less seafood (5)

DULSE : DUE(anticipated/awaited) containing(importing) 1st and 3rd letters of(oddly) “less“.

25. WI song so neglected in Brussels it upset oil suppliers (9)

EUCALYPTI : “calypso”(a kind of song or music originally from the WI/West Indies) minus( neglected) “so” contained in(in) [EU(abbrev. for the European Union, synonymous with Brussels, where the organisation’s headquarters is in) + reversal of( upset) IT].

Defn: Plural of the tree from which eucalyptus oil is extracted/supplied.

Down

1. Nasty ruffian collars school waif (10)

RAGAMUFFIN : Anagram of(Nasty) RUFFIAN containing(collars) GAM(a school of whales, porpoises or dolphins).

2. A top mobster kidnaps even members of public in Pacific resort (8)

ACAPULCO : A + CAPO(a top mobster/the head of a crime syndicate, especially the Mafia) containing(kidnaps) 2nd, 4th and 6th letters of(even members of) “public“.

Defn: on the west coast of Mexico.

3. Surrey without a fringe kept in dry tower (6)

TURRET : “Surrey” minus its 1st and last letters(without a fringe) contained in(in) TT(abbrev. for “teetotal”/abstaining from alcohol/dry).

4. Test gold with aluminium (4)

ORAL : OR(the colour, gold, in heraldry) plus(with) AL(symbol for the chemical element, aluminium).

Defn: conducted orally of students

5. Book senior hack and trendy medic into golf club (5,5)

EDWIN DROOD : ED(abbrev. for “editor”/a senior hack/journalist) plus(and) [IN(trendy/fashionable) + DR(abbrev. for “doctor”/a medic)] contained in(into) WOOD(a golf club with a head made of, used to be, wood, but now of other material too).

Defn: /novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, to give it its full name, by Charles Dickens.

6. Eg best case or worst case or wrought-iron case? (8)

SCENARIO : Anagram of(wrought) IRON CASE.

Defn: Possible outcomes of the development of events, examples of which are the best case or worst case.

7. Stole books collected by bloke (6)

MANTLE : NT(abbrev. for the New Testament, the collection of books in the Bible) contained in(collected by) MALE(a bloke/a man).

8. Secure gear climbing first in Dolomites (4)

GIRD : Reversal of( climbing, in a down clue) RIG(gear/equipment for a specific purpose) + 1st letter of(first in) “Dolomites“.

Defn: /tie, as with a belt or sash round the waist.

14. Like well-rehearsed actor needing no encouragement (10)

UNPROMPTED : Double defn: 1st: A well-rehearsed actor will not forget his lines, and therefore will not have to be cued during the actual performance.

15. Unruly imp with short trousers and onesie (6,4)

ROMPER SUIT : Anagram of(Unruly) [IMP plus(with) “trousers” minus its last letter(short )].

Defn: A garment in one piece, and hence a “onesie”.

A onesie: and a romper:

Synonymous?

17. Trophy remains under fire (3,5)

THE ASHES : That which has been burnt by and left under a fire.

Defn: that goes to the winner of the England vs. Australia cricket Test matches.

18. Clasps straps securing magazine (3,5)

TIE CLIPS : TIES(straps/fastens) containing(securing) CLIP(a magazine/a container of cartridges for a firearm).

20. An indicator of intense rivalry (6)

NEEDLE : Double defn: 1st: giving the reading in a (non-digital) meter; and 2nd: Hostility provoked by/indicative of .

(“An indicator” should be double-underlined)

21. Drawers maybe start to scribble a couple of lines in writing (6)

SMALLS : 1st letter of(start to) “scribble” + [A + L,L(a couple of the abbrev. for “line”) contained in(in) MS(abbrev. for “manuscript”/writing by hand rather than typed or printed)].

Defn: Underwear of which drawers are examples/maybe.

22. LA guys wanting English clothes (4)

DUDS : “dudes”(American slang for guys/men, as may be heard in LA/Los Angeles) minus(wanting) “E”(abbrev. for “English”).

23. Pull up floors, allowing in Charlie’s piledriver (4)

SOCK : Reversal of(Pull up, in a down clue) KO’S(slang for “knocks out”/floors/hits someone to unconsciousness) containing(allowing in) C(letter represented by “Charlie” in the phonetic alphabet).

Defn: /a punch as forceful, metaphorically, as a piledriver, and which will floor you.

Answer: Also a piece of clothing.

61 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28212 Crucible”

  1. Missed the theme – perhaps it might have helped. I seemed to limp through this one it was me not the setter, I am sure. I did like the long one at 16a FROM TOP TO BOTTOM and 22d DUDS, but had lots of clues where I filled in guesses based on combinations of word plays, crossers and definitions. So an unsatisfactory solve today, but then I often find I am more or less dense on different days and with different grids. Thanks nevertheless to Crucible for a puzzle that I found to be a bit of a challenge, and to scchua for explaining what for me were the clues I couldnt explain on my own. And special thanks to scchua for the pictorial accompaniment.

  2. Did eventually finish this, successfully it appears, but needed to refer to Scchua’s excellent blog to clear up some of the clueing…didn’t see the theme.

  9. Hello scchua, With apologies to anyone who beats me to it, I reckon 9A is report = ACCOUNT minus N (ie the account is then nameless = anonymous) then RE a D(uke) as you said. I didn’t get SUEDE so thanks for that and for parsing DRESS UP and explaining what a Gam is. Lowering the tone, both of your pictured garments bring romping to mind! I enjoyed this a lot despite not finishing and finding it very tricky in many more places, but all the more satisfying when clues like 19A and 24A finally clicked. My favourites though are 13 and 14a, both had me thoroughly bamboozled until the lightbulb moments arrived with a big smile. Thanks Crucible!

  10. Thanks Richard Wallis et al in the hive. I was absolutely fixed on “report” being an indicator. Doh! Blog corrected accordingly.

  11. I struggled to get the parsing of ACCOUTRED but thought it might be ACCOUNT (report) minus the N for name, making it anonymous.

  13. Thanks, sschua, fine blog.

    Is it fair to ask for a book but then require only part of its title? Hmm? The clue yielded readily enough so perhaps it’s OK and I enjoyed the surface, anyway.

    Wasted time assuming the “WI song” wasJerusalem in the EUCALYPTI clue.

    Oblivious to the them (of course) and not sure it would have helped.

    Favourite was IGNITED

    Enjoyable crozzie, many thanks, Crucible.

  14. 15 Romper suit. The term originally referred to a one-piece for a small child, before being used for an adult item

  15. I really enjoyed this from Crucible. Thanks. Getting 16ac as first one in was a useful bonus. I liked COATI, UNLIT, TURRET, THE ASHES and SMALLS. I did not know NONCEWORD or DULSE and had to look up the Durham rivers. Thanks to scchua for parsing those I could not.

  16. First reading only yielded one across answer, but about half the downs. Spotted the theme for a change. “Gam” was new to me and I parsed “coda” from the musical term. LOI was GIRD after trying unsuccessfully to justify BIND or TIED.I am uncomfortable with clues that require a knowledge of French, but apart from that, it was enjoyable.

    Thanks to Crucible and scchua.

  17. Crucible often leaves me scratching my head so I was pleased to find the brain cells tickled but not damaged too badly by today’s encounter. Saw the theme, eventually, and it helped a bit which is (I guess) what was intended. Like William @13 I was distracted by Jerusalem, as intended, though immediately saw that WI could be the Windies, just not the song part with it!

    And William @13, in answer to your question about whether it is OK to use only part of the title? It’s a mystery…

    many thanks scchua and Crucible.

  18. Offering to parse 9a seems to be a condition of membership today, but I’ll see if I can get away with not doing so.
    A rather tough puzzle, I thought, DRESS UP, DUDS, DULSE and SOCK giving me plenty to think about. But it was a well-crafted puzzle that gave me much to enjoy. I liked NONCE WORD and UNLIT best.
    Thanks to Crucible and scchua.

  19. That was a toughie. Favourites were EUCALYPTI, NONCE WORD (never heard the phrase) and SOCK. Didn’t know GAM in RAGAMUFFIN. Many thanks to Crucible and scchua.

  20. William @13 – I was of similar mind to you, as I had originally tried to list 5,5 books (Lorna Doone, Bleak House, i think I had another well known one and no doubt many more exist) and then back-parse the wordplay, and it took a few crossers for the penny to drop from IN/DR. But given the number of crossers available, especially the D—D, I doubt whether anyone would fall foul of this so I think it’s loose but allowable. I haven’t read the book itself, would it be fair to describe Drood as a “Mysterious character” which could replace “Book” as the definition part of the clue? (And maybe the character name has become the effective book title in use, as with Tristram Shandy.)

  21. A very pleasant puzzle I thought. I managed to spot the theme just after finishing, typical. But a plus was that I managed to remember GAM = school (1d).

    Like William @13 I initially considered Jerusalem for the WI song at 25a and wondered if the clue was something to do with artichoke oil! And when I had just the last letter of 10a I hoped that might be my favourite crossword animal the okapi. But COATI was very good.

    Clue of the day for me however was 6d SCENARIO – very clever.

    Many thanks Crucible and sschua.

  22. Thanks Crucible and Scchua.

    Lots of musical opportunities today, including ragamuffin dancehall reggae, Staples Singers and Suede, but I’ll use THE ASHES as an excuse to revisit The Duckworth Lewis Method for some Jiggery Pokery and their comic tale of Mike Gatting and Shane Warne’s ‘ball of the century’. Our Aussie friends should enjoy that one.

  23. re 16a – I would not be particularly happy to be promised a full-body scan and find that it stopped at my bottom.

  24. I too found this hard with a lot of use of google etc for things like DUDS, NONCE WORD and DULSE which I havent come across.
    Couldnt parse gam in RAGAMUFFIN or DRESS UP so all in all a bit of an unsatisfactory experience, though pleased when I saw the solution that I had everything correct.
    Thanks to scchua for an excellent blog and Crucible for the puzzle.

  25. I also enjoyed SCENARIO. A very smooth puzzle, I thought, which seemed to unravel without effort. No bumps in the road. Rather like Brendan’s recent Prize; more proof that some easy ones can still be enjoyable!
    Many thanks, both and all.
    (As my namesake might usually say – nice weekend all!)

  26. Filled the grid but not unsinged. Didn’t get account minus n; nho nonce word (tho it makes sense.. “for the nonce”, Henry IV, 1). Suede, dulse and scenario were neat, but gam for school was a nho. Mantle… cloak yes, stole/scarf hmmm. Needle..hmm again. A bit singed but not burnt, thanks both.

  27. Interesting, this ACCOUTRED point. I parsed it that way when solving, but had never seen that device before. Previous examples please? And The Mystery of Edwin Drood (is it a quibble to require full title, when “popular” names for works exist e.g. Amlie for the film with the long name and Marat-Sade for the play ditto?) was left unsolved, as pointed out by LTC Rolt in Red for Danger, largely because of Dickens’s involvement in the Staplehurst accident of 1865, to which he refers at the end of Our Mutual Friend. Another feature of that was the way Dickens strove to hide the fact that he had been travelling with Nell T at the time – see the wonderful biography by Claire Tomalin.

  28. Penfold @22 that really is splendidly divine comedy and will be joining Sherbet’s Howzat on my (not very long) cricket playlist.

  30. Thanks for the blog, scchua.

    A most enjoyable puzzle from Crucible but that’s no surprise.

    I have ten ticks, which means too many to list, so I’ll just pick out ACCOUTRED, EUCALYPTI and SCENARIO. I do always enjoy the Nice / Nancy clues, too.

    Many thanks, Crucible, for the fun.

  32. Found this harder than yesterday. Off to a slow start then had a rush of answers then slowed right down and couldn’t get the last three 14a 5d and 7d (kicking myself not getting 7d). Didn’t manage to parse them all so thanks to sschua. I did get account minus n tho’. My favourites were DULSE, IGNITED, SUEDE SOCK and UNLIT. I enjoyed the challenge – good for a (much-needed) rainy morning. Thanks to Crucible.

  33. Took us a long time today, due to distractions as well as finding the puzzle rather tricky.

    Birthday boy cobro spotted the theme.

    Favourites were APPAREL, TURRET and, as many others have also mentioned, SCENARIO

    Thanks Crucible and scchua!

  34. Van Winkle@23…am presently reading Kate Bassett’s wonderful 2012 biography of Jonathan Miller, “In Two Minds”. I have to day that your comment made me chuckle every bit as much as some of the hilarious reported quotations attributed to JM, especially from his early years…

  36. Oooh – Friday tough today. I completely missed the theme and made very heavy-weather of it. FOI was FROM TOP TO BOTTOM – LOI was just about everything else… Thanks Crucible and scchua!

  38. Very nice as usual from DA.

    Nice COATI pic .I’d like to see a better DULSE pic but a great clue to find a word I didnt know

    But the ONESIE pic made up for it. Made me feel 60 all over again.

    thanks all

  40. Penfold @22 – you can add COATI to the musical list. I knew the name from Coati Mundi, a member of Kid Creole & the Coconuts.

    As soon as I opened the blog and saw the word theme, I went back to look and there it was, as obvious as could be. Will I never learn to look?!! A good, tough (for me) puzzle.

    Thanks Crucible and scchua.

  41. keyser soze @40 Yes, I thought of Coati Mundi (and Going Loco Down in Acapulco) as I was completing the puzzle, but then forgot when I came on here.

  42. My only quibble with an otherwise satisfying solve is that the transition from GELIGNITE to IGNITED is not very cryptic and it’s essentially the same IGNITE in both.

  43. Im normally on Crucibles wavelength, but struggled with this a little after quickly filling in the NW. The surface reading of SCENARIO made me chuckle, and I thought there were some great cryptic defs scattered around.

  44. Thanks, scchua.

    Good stuff from Crucible. I especially liked the anonymous = nameless = minus N device at 9 across. I don’t think I’ve seen that before.

    Alan R @29: I had a similar thought. To go under the Wear, you’d need to dig a tunnel.

  45. I like “surrey without a fringe.”

    The Wear is one of many rivers that I know is somewhere in the UK but have no idea where. It worked, so I assumed it must be in Durham.

    I was another “Jerusalem”. What does the WI do these days?

    I had TOE CLIPS for 18d, the bicycling thingies, but couldn’t parse it, of course.

  46. Miche @44: AlanR @29 & 37: Alt0n @31: I agree going under ‘the’ Wear would require tunnelling but I took underWear in the same sense as underwater or undersea, neither of which mean beneath the bottom of the water but beneath its surface.

    Thanks for an enjoyable and often amusing puzzle, Crucible. Many of these brought a smile to my face. And scchua for the helpful blog.

  49. Mark@46, yes, you beat me to it. As in “She held his head under the water” – beneath the water level/with the water completely above.

  51. Same as most people with the things I learnt today. I knew NONCE as my dad often used it as in thatll do for the nonce but didnt know NONCE WORD. Lots of nice misdirection and having got the A and I in 10a I tried to get my favourite OKAPI to work.
    Thanks to Crucible for another excellent stretching puzzle and to scchua for the illustrated blog.

  52. I liked this a lot. The top half went in relatively easily but the bottom was much trickier, at least I found it so.I did see the theme but not until quite late in the proceedings- SMALLS gave it to me as I could see UNDERWEAR as I put it in. I thought UNDERWEAR quite excellent by the way. NONCE WORD was unfamiliar to me,as was DULSE. Lots of goodies here in fact I think this puzzle is the pick of the week for me.
    Thanks Crucible.

  54. I liked this one a lot. It didn’t give up its secrets too quickly but still yielded steadily. I enjoyed the Durham divers and the anonymous account. Also liked the hat-tip to the Oklahoma! song in 3. Never heard of DULSE but it was well clued.

    The only clue I didn’t take to was for THE ASHES, where the THE seems not really to be clued. Remains under fire only gives ASHES, IMHO. I would have preferred some indication to suggest the definite article. Not sure how to do this and retain the surface, but maybe something as simple as “Trophy remains under the fire”?

    Saw the theme only after completion, so no help with the solve for me 🙁 .

    Good tune-up for the prize. Thanks, Crucible & scchua.

  55. I’m sure I’m just being more than usually thickheaded, but I don’t understand the second definition in 20dn (NEEDLE).

     

  56. Ted @55

    I think its peculiar to British English (maybe Australian and NZ too, but not North American?)

    Intense rivalry, usually of the sporting kind, is referred to as needle see this for example, about the relationship between Chelsea and Spurs soccer fans.

    Ive usually come across it in the context of a needle match.

    By the way, its a bit late, but thanks Crucible, scchua and fellow contributors. Challenging but enjoyable puzzle.

  60. Finally caught up with the puzzles that I missed while on holiday – lucky I had room in my bicycle panniers for three days of the Guardian. (That’ll be why they were so heavy, then.) This one was the smoothest solve since last Saturday’s “prize”, but I warmed up on Pasquale and Qaos earlier this evening, and then found myself on Crucible’s wavelength. Having said which I didn’t bother trying to parse DRESS UP once I had the crossers, so thanks to sschua for that. I’m sure I’ve seen the anonymous=”take out N” trick before – in fact a quick search of this site shows that Maskarade used it at Easter.

    Lots to like about this one, so thanks to Crucible.

  61. A real slow treat. EUCALYPTI was my absolute favourite. For once I got the theme early but that didn’t help me think of COATI. I had CANID which fitted perfectly … not least my ego. Many thanks to the Crucible for keeping me entertained this weekend.

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