Guardian Cryptic 28,181 by Nutmeg

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28181.

It takes me a while to get onto Nutmeg’s wavelength, so this was a slow but steady solve, but ultimately very satisfying.

ACROSS
9 LAGER LOUT Drunken rowdy lecturer dis­missed on sovereign’s return (5,4)
A charade of LAGER, a reversal (‘return’) of REGAL (‘sovereign’s,’ possessive) plus L (‘lecturer’) plus OUT (‘dismissed’).
10 LEASH Secure saddle as horse shelters (5)
A hidden answer (‘shelters’) in ‘saddLE AS Horse’.
11 TITULAR Official brutality exposed and condemned (7)
An anagram (‘condemned’) of ‘[b]rutalit[y]’ minus its outer letters (‘exposed’).
12 TODDIES Drinks rum during matches (7)
An envelope (‘during’) of ODD (‘rum’) in TIES (‘matches’).
13 ENTRY Record number of competitors (5)
Double definition.
14 SOCIOPATH Unsympathetic type, one com­mitted to very firm course (9)
An envelope (‘committed to’) of I (‘one’) in SO (‘very’) plus CO (‘firm’) plus PATH (‘course’).
16 PEDESTRIANISING Keeping any driver from parking bum in ringside seat (15)
A charade of P (‘parking’) plus EDESTRIANISING, an anagram (‘bum’) of ‘in ringside seat’.
19 GROUNDNUT Seed for cooking oil milled by devotee (9)
A charade of GROUND (‘milled’) plus NUT (‘devotee’). More commonly known as the peanut.
21 MOCHA Drink children fed to bird that perished (5)
An envelope (‘fed to’) of CH (‘children’) in MOA (‘bird that perished’ – dead as the dodo).
22 POTTIER After setback, leading bank’s less stable (7)
A charade of POT, a reversal (‘after setback’) of TOP (‘leading’) plus TIER (‘bank’).
23 WARLORD Eg shogun‘s promise to surround area on both sides (7)
An envelope (‘to surround’) of A (‘area’) plus RL (right and left, ‘on both sides’) in WORD (‘promise’).
24 SNIPE Clip tail of aggressive bird (5)
A charade of SNIP (‘clip’) plus E (‘tail of aggressivE‘).
25 LARGHETTO Such a movement with added energy could be altogether different (9)
An anagram (‘different’) of ‘altog[e]ther’ minus the E (‘energy’) – except the clue presents it the other way round.
DOWN
1 CLOTHES PEG One holding to line from the gospel translated by Catholic (7,3)
An anagram (‘translated’) of ‘the gospel’ plus C (‘Catholic’).
2 AGITATED Nervy old hosts backing mime artist (8)
An envelope (‘hosts’) of ITAT, a reversal (‘backing’) of TATI (Jacques, ‘mime artist’) in AGED (‘old’).
3 BROLLY Wind cutting through walker’s wet-weather gear (6)
An envelope (‘cutting’) of ROLL (‘wind’ with a long I) in BY (‘through’).
4 DOUR Unopened perfume’s grim (4)
[O]DOUR (‘perfume’) minus the first letter (‘unopened’).
5 STATECRAFT Cabinet needs this condition placed on shipping (10)
A charade of STATE (‘condition’) plus CRAFT (‘shipping’). “Cabinet’ in the governmental sense.
6 GLADIOLI Happy couple in Rome crossing banks of oriental flowers (8)
An envelope (‘crossing’) of OL (‘banks of OrientaL‘) in GLAD (‘happy’) II (‘couple in Rome’, i.e the Roman numeral).
7 MAXIMA Old-fashioned mum carrying nine spinning tops (6)
An envelope (‘carrying’) of XI, a reversal (‘spinning’) of IX (Roman numeral, ‘nine’) in MAMA (‘old-fashioned mum’).
8 THIS One particular therapy primarily for a man (4)
`A charade of T (‘Therapy primarily’) plus HIS (‘for a man’).
14 SPRING ROLL Two gymnastic manoeuvres to complete course in Beijing? (6,4)
Definition and literal interpretation
15 HIGH AND LOW Spooner’s to stay and work in garden extensively (4,3,3)
A Spoonerism of LIE (‘stay’) AND HOE (‘work in garden’).
17 SENTINEL Guard dispatched before brief communist uprising (8)
A charade of SENT (‘dispatched’) plus INEL, a reversal (‘uprising’ in a down light) of LENI[n] (‘communist’) minus the last letter (‘brief’).
18 INCHOATE Immature island cattle ultimately eating tall grass (8)
An envelope (‘eating’) of OAT (‘tall grass’) in INCH (‘island’) plus E (‘cattlE ultimately’).
20 OUTWIT Get the better of berk at Balliol? (6)
A charade of OU (Oxford University, ‘at Balliol’. I am sure some would object to Nutmeg’s choice of college, but do not count me among them) TWIT (‘berk’).
21 MARSHY Soggy pitch with damage on top (6)
A charade of MAR (‘damage’) plus SHY (‘pitch’).
22 PUSH Drive husband to drink, being contrary (4)
A reversal (‘being contrary’) of H (‘husband’) plus SUP (‘drink’).
23 WART Defect from regiment at last, post-conflict (4)
A charade of WAR (‘conflict’) plus T (‘regimenT at last’), with ‘post-‘ indicating the order of the particles.

 

image of grid

66 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28,181 by Nutmeg”

  1. PeterO’s opening comment nailed it for me, so thanks, both.

    I was most amused by 20d, and I was also wondering about Balliol, thinking that any OU college that didn’t share a name with a Cambridge college would do, until I realized that Boris Johnson went to Balliol, and it all clicked.

  2. That particular twit at OU escaped me, great clue. Indeed, Nutmeg is always a delight. The long one’s surface is just brill, a hoot, and my loi. The Spooner was 2nd loi, the g clinching them both (after earlier thinking something and toe). Gladioli always remind of the 4 enfants terribles we sent over there, Barry, Germs, Clive, and the other one, the radical litigious journo. Thoroughly enjoyable, thanks Nutmeg and PeterO.

  4. As observed above, after a flashy start (1D) nothing came easily. But after a steady grind came the final quiet satisfaction of my LOI (SNIPE) …  after being held up by that OU TWIT.

  5. Favourites were SPRING ROLL and SOCIOPATH.

    LOI was INCHOATE, an unfamiliar word vaguely remembered from a previous crossword.

    Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO!

  6. I enjoyed today’s offering. No theme that I could discern. First ones in were SENTINEL, LAGER LOUT and HIGH AND DRY.  My favourites were MOCHA, MAXIMA and especially the funny OU TWIT.  Last ones were OU TWIT and SNIPE.  Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO.

  8. I should have got 20D sooner, begause I’m just rereading all the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. His college was Balliol, and in the short stories in particular he often poses as an OU TWIT. For any fans of Dorothy L. Sayers, I also heartily recommend the follow-ups written by Jill Paton Walsh. Worthy of the originals!

  9. A great puzzle that took me almost forever to finish – stared at PEDESTRIANISING for a long time before it clicked. Didn’t stop to parse OUTWIT, but appreciate it now. Plenty of ticks, including LAGER LOUT, POTTIER and TITULAR. Many thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO.

  10. Exactly as Petero said – took a while to get on wavelength but once there slowly fell into place. Very nicely constructed clues. I particularly liked WARLORD and LARGHETTO.

  11. Blaise @21. You may enjoy the hilarious book Porterhouse Blue by Tom Sharpe, which has also been televised.  It’s set in Cambridge.

  12. Everything was tickety boo and parsed–and admiring the elegance of it all until the spanner in the works at 22-with some setters I would thing SET back plus TIER=TESTIER-good enough for some but not the Megster and then seeing that made the Balliol clue impossible to solve so a pit stop was in order-OK so  OU TWIT  so is it NUTTIER? NO! Then i read the small print -“after set back leading” stop there leading is TOP

    Thats what makes her a great setter and the deception for SNIPE-how many ;people looking for a word for aggressive  the can snipped

    Thanks for the parse of that and thanks Nutmeg for the doosra at the finish.

  13. Phew!  This challenge from Nutmeg certainly tested the grey matter this morning.  Unfortunately a DNF through oversight: only realised I hadn’t solved MAXIMA when reading PeterO’s helpful blog.

    Nutmeg’s clueing is always so clever and precise and some of the definitions are a delight.  “Keeping any driver from”, for example, is just brilliant.  (Although it’s a shame there exists such an ugly word as PEDESTRIANISING.  Almost as bad as canisterisation.)  “One holding to line” was another.

    I didn’t make the Boris connection in OUTWIT and LARGHETTO was new although I feel it shouldn’t be.

    Favourites included MARSHY, TITULAR, SOCIOPATH, CLOTHES PEG, BROLLY.  COTD was SPRING ROLL, not for its brilliance but it made me laugh.  Finally, lovely to see a mention of the incomparable Jacques Tati.  His ‘Jour de fete’ is a delightful comedy – dated for sure but I’d recommend it to anyone.  ‘M Hulot’s holiday” and ‘Trafic’ equally good.

     

    Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO

  15. Thanks, PeterO.

    Lovely puzzle, as ever – a bit more challenging than usual, as others have said, but oh so satisfying.

    My favourites today were PEDESTRIANISING (yes, ugly word but a brilliant anagram and surface), CLOTHES PEG, MAXIMA, SPRING ROLL and, of course, OUTWIT.

    Many thanks, Nutmeg, for brightening another grey day.

  16. This was slow going for me. Lots of clever misdirection. 16a PEDESTRIANISING was very good.

    I did wonder why MAMA in 7d was an “old-fashioned” mum, but perhaps it depends how you pronounce it. With the stress on the second syllable I suppose it does suggest a dated genteel use. But with the stress on the first syllable it’s how my young nephew currently refers to his mother! (On checking, I see that the ODE gives it as “dated or North American”, and Collins as “old-fashioned”.)

    Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO.

  17. Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO

    A slow start for me too. After quite some time I had the East completed but only 16a poking into the West.

    I tried OUTFOX first for 20d, remembering the rhyming slang meaning of “berk”, but SNIPE put it right and it became a favourite, along with LARGHETTO and CLOTHES PEG.

    [I second blaise on the Jill Paton Walsh Wimsey books – they’re very good.]

  18. I was rather slow getting into this and building a base from which to make decent progress, but this was as expected a quality puzzle throughout.
    I couldn’t quite ‘get the cryptic grammar in LARGHETTO. I very much like charades like SPRING ROLL and OUTWIT (my two favourite clues today), but those in GROUNDNUT (ground + nut) and STATECRAFT (state + craft) were less impressive.
    Thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO.

  19. Groundnut inevitably put me in mind of the disastrous post-war Groundnut Scheme and the wonderful Giles

    cartoon : One British overseer to another “Letter here from a lady in Cheltenham – says in view of the fact that

    we’re spending £25,000,000 of her taxes, can we let her have a few nuts for her cake.”

  20. Thanks to Nutmeg for a rewarding crossword, and to PeterO for sorting out BROLLY which I couldn’t see for toffee. I also couldn’t get past the idea that 22a involved set=PUT, and ended up revealing it. Grrr.
    But minor annoyances aside, this was a brilliant one to solve: loved CLOTHES PEG, LARGHETTO, PEDESTRIANISING and TITULAR – I knew how that worked for ages before finally sorting out the anagram. Also enjoyed the OU TWIT once I had stopped thinking the answer was OUTBID.

  21. First time caller (although frequent visitor).

    I do the puzzle on-line and – being lazy – just click on “reveal this” when I have (what I believe to be) the answer. Was wrong with 4d today, but what about this for an alternative?

    (s)poor = grim.

    As my crossword mentor would have said, “It [expletive removed] fits”.

    Or has my potato been bakin’ too long?

  22. Chip the Cockatiel @21: welcome on board as a fully fledged contributor.  Yep, a perfectly decent solution to the clue.  But, as your mentor would, no doubt, have continued “it doesn’t fit with the [expletive removed] crossers”.  I think you might have clicked on the reveal too soon, or, at least, before you’d had a go at 9/11 ac?

  23. Another I found difficult but ultimately very satisfying. I got left with the NE corner to unravel at the end. I fell into a number of elephant traps along the way. I also tried ‘outfox’ for 20D but it didn’t work.

    Lots of good clues; I particularly liked ‘one holding to line.’

    Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO.

     

  24. Mark @22; eh, what? Poor would fit in at 4D. It’s a nice idea and spoor could be scent, but I’m not sure it could be perfume?

  26. PeterO’s comment sums it up perfectly.  My fav was LARGHETTO which made me laugh, but also enjoyed SPRING ROLL and PEDESTRAINISING.  Did not know the BoJo Balliol connection and now that I do, OUTWIT also joins the favs list.

    Thanks to Nutmeg for the grey cell workout and the fun and to PeterO for the blog.

     

     

  27. Phew I found that hard work. I think I used up all my cunning doing the Genius last night – for those that have not tried it, it is a beast and seems unnecessarily complicated at first but it gets there. I think the past few have been set with the idea of stopping you using word finders!

    Anyhow, the surfaces gleamed here like Nutmeg had the whole of lockdown to polish them, and read so smoothly I went through the whole set of clues with only 2 entries and little idea how to parse any of the rest. Bit by bit things went in but slowly. At first I had “field” for the record entry (seemed to work as both a part of a database and the number of competitors), wasn’t sold on “craft” for “shipping” (can’t think of a way to swap them in a sentence) and also was surprised to find “mama” is outdated as my niece also says it. But still, lots of wit and invention, especially in the altogether larghetto, the rise of Lenin and OU twit.

    Bravo Nutmeg and many thanks PeterO – but surely one for Pierre to blog, what with the snipe and the moa?

  28. For a long time early on I feared a big failure, with barely a third of the grid filled in and no real way forward elsewhere. But the aha moment with PEDESTRIANISING led quickly to CLOTHES PEG and I made good progress thereafter. So great satisfaction on completion. Thank you Nutmeg for the tussle.

    My LOI was OUTWIT. I don’t know enough about Oxbridge to reliably ascribe Balliol to one or the other, and I generally assume OU = Open University. But now I see the PM connection I love it!

  29. Hmmm and blaise, yes, the wonderfully dark Tom Sharpe, eg Blott on the Landscape, with Geraldine James and David Suchet… (not to mention George Cole et al)…

  30. Lots of cunning misdirection proved challenging.   Though “by” is a synonym for “through” in some contexts, it doesn’t occur commonly in that usage in my phraseology, so I was blinkered and I didn’t parse 3D.  Thanks to PeterO and Nutmeg.

  31. Goodness me, tough and classy in equal measure. Thanks Nutmeg for the workout and the smiles and PeterO for the blog. The OUTWIT is surely CoD if not of the week – clean surface, amusing BoJo image and accurate clue – what more could we ask for Balliol is my alma mater so no trouble ascribing it to OU but I had a moment of hope that Balliol people might be Being described as WITs rather than TWITs. Oh well!

  32. I convinced myself that 22d was “path” as in driveway with tap = to drink, and this left me with the unparsed but pleasing  “twite” as the bird at 24a. I should have known that the crosser with outwit was too clumsy.

    Many thanks to Nutmeg for a bracing workout, and PeterO for explaining where I went wrong

  33. Yes, that was a tough one. Slow start and almost a collapse at the end. SNIPE was LOI. I thought a “sniper” might be considered aggressive, but “snip” is so much simpler!

    Thanks to Nutmeg for a thorough workout and to Peter O for the blog.

  35. Auriga@34: I always visualise (incorrectly, I’m sure) Nutmeg as a frightfully polite middle-class lady who doesn’t know what ‘berk’ means and gets frightfully sniffy about the ‘drunken rowdies’ that populate her town, probably describing everyone under 30 as a LAGER LOUT.

    A great workout today, though, definitely a bit trickier than her norm. First pass only saw three or four clues drop in, so I knew I was in for a struggle. But, as Nutmeg always is, it was rewarding and fair, and the answers dropped in at a regular pace. CLOTHES PEG my favourite, the topically-sharp TITULAR, and of course the Johnson-esque OUTWIT.

  36. After hammering away for a couple of hours and getting only a third of the answers I bailed. Much of this was impenetrable for me. Win some, lose some. Thanks to both.

  37. Another hugely pleasurable workout; TITULAR, SOCIOPATH, PEDESTRIANISING, LARGHETTO, CLOTHES PEG and of course OUTWIT all raised a smile. Nutmeg’s clues are beautifully natural, rarely sounding forced or contrived.

  38. I think “berk” is generally considered a relatively mild term of abuse – roughly equivalent to the TWIT in the answer for 20d – despite its rhyming slang origins.

  39. Why is Nutmeg getting harder rather than easier, the more we see her? It’s not just about getting on her wavelength. Every clue involved so much misdirection that there wasn’t actually anything hinting at the answer, just away from it. With 17 complete and 12 still to do after about two hours I went and did some different brain exercises – killer sudoku usually does the trick, but this time it was today’s quick crossword that broke the dam – it’s the synonyms, don’t you know. Suddenly almost everything that had previously been impenetrable was a write in, and they all fell in 10 minutes.

    “Cabinet needs this condition” leading to STATECRAFT was today’s most amusing moment, though the twit from Balliol ran it close. AT LEAST ONE FUNCTIONING BRAIN CELL BETWEEN THE LOT OF THEM would perhaps have been a more pertinent solution, though difficult to fit into the grid I suppose.

    Grateful thanks to Nutmeg, and to the compiler of today’s quick crossword too.

  40. Mark @25: I thought I’d had the brainstorm! “Poor” was an early (if incorrect) entry, at that time when I was struggling to get anywhere. I usually find that with Nutmeg I get the answer then have to think “But WHY?”. “Spoor” as “perfume” didn’t seem so far-fetched at the time. I mean, there are some strange people in this and other worlds.

  41. Came to this late today, and at first found it difficult to penetrate. But Nutmeg’s smooth surfaces meant that one solved clue led to another, and the only query was MAXIMA, which I looked at for some time as LOI before being satisfied.

  42. Chip @40: Glad you popped back in and my apologies to respond to your first posting with total nonsense of my own!  Not enough attention to detail, as my teachers used to complain.  It’s not that often that one comes up with a totally legitimate alternative to a setter’s intended solution – but it does happen.  I’ve never gone in for crossword competitions and assume they must check to ensure that all eventualities have been explored but I do wonder what they’d do if the poor/dour alternative popped up in such a situation?  Spoor and perfume certainly equate in that they are both scents and neither spoor nor odour would suggest particularly pleasant ones so it’s Hobson’s choice!

  43. Full of misdirections, as sheffield hatter @39 observes. Most clues turned me in every direction except the right one. I finally had to reveal LAGER LOUT (never heard the phrase) and bunged in PUTTIER at 22a (more like putty? Should have known better). Loved the creative anagrams for TITULAR and LARGHETTO, along with almost every other clue. Thanks to Nutmeg and PeterO.

  44. 13a Apparently “entry” is a collective noun “those who have entered.”  News to me.

    19a GROUNDNUT  Helene Hanff, whom I mentioned yesterday (you have gotten on the trail of “84 Charing Cross Road, haven’t you?) finally managed to visit London, which she recounts in “The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street,” and discovered that peanuts were called groundnuts, and that logically then, peanut butter was “ground groundnuts.”

    14d  I can’t think of any action that could be described as both rolling and winding.

    14d A spring roll is a complete course in a mighty skimpy meal.

    Thanks, Nutmeg and PeterO.

  45. Well, that took a while…  Found that pretty hard but got there in the end.  Nice to see LARGHETTO coming up.

  46. I seem to have been successfully misled a lot today eg expecting something biblical at 1d and then when it looked like PEG, perhaps a guy rope. Loved the final answer of course. And I always enjoy Spoonerisms. First in LARGHETTO. Last was OUTWIT which I failed to parse. Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO

  48. Valentine @44 and muffin @47: I, too, thought or rope, chain, cloth.

    Furthermore, though this may be a personal experience only, rolling around was one of the surprising ways our firstborn winded himself as a crawling baby so rolling and winding became synonymous for a while!

  49. I really thought that I was in for another tussle like yesterday’s but I gradually got going and the NW went in- doesn’t LAGER LOUT sound quaint now? -and the rest followed. I do agree with those that thought it was tricky to get on Nutmeg’s wavelength. Nice puzzle in the end though!
    Thanks Nutmeg.

  50. Once again I’m out of sync with most, as the NW corner was the last to fall for me. Some absolute gems, but 2o definitly the standout. Thanks Nutmeg & PeterO

  51. Valentine @44

    To add to the responses:

    Before the Roman came to Rye or out to Severn strode,
    The rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road.

    G.K. Chesterton

  52. Good offer, PeterO. Thanks for the correction – I always thought it was “o’er” rather than “out” (in fact, I think “o’er” would have been better).

    However a “rolling road” I think is more up and down than side to side?

  53. muffin @52 and PeterO @51: I wondered about that too and looked it up, hoping my recollection was incorrect and that Chesterton’s road wound rather than rolled.  You ask a fair question muffin but it’s challenging topography (is that the word) to reconcile the presumably lateral roll of the drunkard with the vertical roll of the road.

  54. It is always nice to come here late in the day and find I am not alone in my travails. On first attempt this morning I managed just one clue:LEASH. Thus I thought I was going to have to fail. Somehow a pot of tea this afternoon loosened up the old grey matter and I was pleased to finish and be able to parse everything. Wonderful misdirection and too many superb clues. Loved CLOTHES PEG. Was going to put in allegretto for 25 before seeing the error of my ways. Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO

  55. Thanks Nutmeg for a fun puzzle and PeterO for the parsing of BROLLY – I was thinking a ‘by’ at cricket could be a ‘walker’.
    TheZed 27: I had FIELD for a while too, but it is properly a part of a record.
    How about ‘Radar prevents collisions amongst shipping/craft in the Channel’.

  56. It’s not very often that I comment on Nutmeg’s crosswords.
    They’re always immaculately clued, in a way that’s not far off from Times puzzles.
    Her recent offerings I actually found a bit bland, just not really inspiring, certainly compared to setters like Picaroon and Vlad.

    Unlike many others, I raced through this one and so, apparently, I didn’t find it very difficult.
    But My God, so much misdirection, so many clever things.
    This was just brilliant (or was it just ‘my cup of tea’?).
    With CLOTHES PEG, TITULAR and PEDESTRIANISING taking the medals.

    Many thanks to Peter O for the blog & Nutmeg for the sheer quality.

  57. I have never posted before although have been doing thw Guardian Cryptics for years. It’s mostly because I play catch up at weekends because of work. Lockdown has afforded the luxury of trying daily. Favourite compiler remains Araucaria with Paul a close second. Loving some of the newer (as I think of them) compilers/ Find Nutmeg really hard but always fair. Love this website and so grateful to all who post the solutions because I am in the got the answer, sure it is right but can’t parse category most days. Finished this one at 22.30. First run through only got LEASH like Munromad@54. Like Julia@56 was stuck with biblical until I got PEG. Also, like Auriga@33 thought SNIPER but it got me there. I got LAGER LOUT second and decided there was a theme (probably wrongly) of DRINKS. This helped with TODDIES, MOCHA and SHUT. I think this is a great community and hope to have the temerity to post again.

     

  58. Lovely puzzle.

    Liked: GLADIOLI, CLOTHES PEG, SOCIOPATH, OUTWIT, BROLLY, TITULAR.

    Did not parse POTTIER, INCHOATE.

    Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO

  60. Like Trailman @28 for me OU means Open University. I must move in different academic circles from Nutmeg. Loved the crossword though. I think my favourite for its definition was Clothes peg.

  61. Re 15d… Know I’m v late to the party but – on Spoonerisms – is it generally acknowledged that, as long as the Spoonerised rendering works as a vocal clue – the spelling of said Spoonerism doesn’t have to be strictly correct? Hence why ‘LIGH AND HOW’ didn’t have to be ‘LIE AND HOE’

  62. Nick Stevens @61. In case you come back: Spoonerisms are a bit like homophones, in that it doesn’t matter at all what they look like, and that usually people will complain on here that they don’t sound much like one to them.

  63. [Pauline H – A belated but heartfelt welcome. And what a comprehensive first text! And it seems you bothered to read the posts. (You’d be surprised how many don’t; one or two don’t even read the blog!)
    I do agree with you about Araucaria/Paul. How do/(did) they manage to be so prodigious while remaining fresh? Poets the both of them.
    Looking forward to more of your temerity!]

  64. Catching up with crosswords missed while I had no access to the Guardian app I came here for help with parsing this, and received it. I am however puzzled by the blog entry for LARGHETTO as now that I see this (which I did not before) the clue seems to me to be exactly right: add E to the answer and you have an anagram of ALTOGEtHER, Otherwisr all very helpful from PeterO and another lovely puzzle from Nutmeg. Thank you both!

  65. Beobachterin @64

    My comment “the clue presents it the other way round” was perhaps confusing; it was not suggesting that the clue was in any way faulty, but that the wordplay is as you give it.

  66. Then I misunderstood, and this explains why no-one else had queried it. Thank you for your response so long after the blog!

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.