Guardian 26,114 – Rufus

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Another Monday, another Rufus – not much more to be said, really!

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
1. DESERTION Leaving — one’s tired out (9)
(ONE’S TIRED)*
6. CHOP Cut down on meat (4)
Double definition
8. ASPIRATE Record the sound of Beethoven’s fifth (8)
The fifth letter of “Beethoven” is H, whose sound is an ASPIRATE. “Record” seems to be redundant, unless perhaps you read it as an instruction to write down the answer
9. VELETA Let Eva twirl in the dance (6)
(LET EVA)* The veleta or valeta is a dance in waltz time
10. NYMPHS New York politician seen with his extremely beautiful girls (6)
NY + MP + H[i]S
11. AIRCRAFT They are empowered to go over our heads (8)
Cryptic definition – I originally guessed AIRLINES, which I think fits the clue just as well
12. SCORED Hit orchestrated (6)
Double definition
15. DRIFTERS Vessels off course? (8)
Drifters are fishing boats using drift nets, and if you’re drifting you’re off course. I won’t call this a double definition, as “off course” doesn’t define the answer, so a definition-and-a-half, or a seqsuidef.
16. TRADE WAR Exchange hostilities in commercial confrontation (5,3)
TRADE (exchange) + WAR (hostilities)
19. DOGGED Pursued in a persistent way (6)
Double definition
21. LECTURES Reprimands for rules etc being broken (8)
(RULES ETC)*
22. VANDAL Old German destroyer still active today! (6)
Another sesquidef -the 5th-6th century Germanic tribe, and their metaphoric modern counterparts
24. STRING Horses used in a racket (6)
Double definition – Chambers has “(of horses, camels etc) a drove or number” as its 19th definition of “string”, and strings are used in a tennis racket
25. UNDERPIN Support in setting up dinner (8)
(UP DINNER)*
26. BYES They are not achieved off one’s own bat (4)
Cryptic definition, byes being runs scored in cricket where the ball has not been hit by the bat
27. TARPAULIN Sailor man in waterproof material (9)
TAR + PAUL + IN
Down
1. DISHY Little Diana, modest but very attractive (5)
DI + SHY
2. SKIPPER Master taking PE? (7)
Yet another sesquidef – skipper=ship’s captain=master, and PE ight involve skipping
3. ROADS Used by cars and ships in a Greek island, say (5)
Homophone of “Rhodes”
4. IRELAND It’s partly a republic, ie country without a king (7)
R in IE LAND. The Republic of Ireland is a part of the island.
5. NEVER MIND Words of consolation always matter (5,4)
If it’s “always matter” then it’s “never mind”
6. CULPRIT One likely to be a responsible person? (7)
Cryptic definition
7. OUT OF TRUE Not straight, with future too unsettled (3,2,4)
(FUTURE TOO)*
13. CARPENTRY Knock on a door, perhaps, or the woodwork? (9)
CARP (knock, criticise) + ENTRY
14. DOWNRIGHT Not functioning properly, being unqualified (9)
DOWN (not functioning) + RIGHT
17. DETAINS Doesn’t let go — sets free instead (7)
INSTEAD*
18. RESCUER He lets loose and is about to curse badly (7)
RE (about) + CURSE*
20. GENERAL Officer showing intelligence and real potential (7)
GEN (information, intelligence) + REAL*
22. VODKA It’s still produced in Russia (5)
Cryptic definition
23. ALIEN A right to be different from others (5)
A + LIEN (property right)

31 comments on “Guardian 26,114 – Rufus”

  1. Thanks Rufus and Andrew.

    Some really neat little touches amongst the usual Rufus fare, I thought. Particularly liked ASPIRATE (which was my last in), NEVER MIND and CARPENTRY.

    And now I’ve got plenty of time to concentrate on getting through Monday as well.

  2. Thanks Andrew and Rufus
    Very easy, so I was a bit careless. I put VALETA instead of VELETA, as it was the word I knew (and I failed to check the anagram carefully!) Also I was held up by writing in PRICE WAR instead of TRADE WAR, again rather thoughtlessly.
    I didn’t see what “Record” was doing in 8a either.
    I found the Quiptic quite a lot trickier!

  4. Thanks, Andrew and Rufus.

    I agree with Mitz about the neat touches. My ticks were for ASPIRATE, NEVER MIND, DETAINS and [favourite] IRELAND.

  5. Muffed like muffin on ‘veleta’, but I think it was the kind of puzzle that almost encourages lack of concentration. No excuse really.

  6. Thanks Andrew and Rufus

    Mostly very straightforward but some very good clues as others have noted.

    I read ‘record’ as ‘aspirate’ in the sense of to make an ‘h’ sound e.g. before a vowel. I was held up for a time over this one which is one of my favourites in the puzzle. I also ticked 17d.

    I liked 5d which reminded me of Bertrand Russell’s comment that the attitude he encountered towards philosophy in his childhood was ‘What is matter? Never mind’ and ‘What is mind? No Matter’

  8. I saw the anagram fodder at 9ac but plumped for “valete” as another spelling of “valeta” rather than VELETA. Not the greatest of clues IMHO. Of course, I could always have checked it before I entered it, but where would be the fun in that …………

  9. Pretty straightforward with some nice touches.

    Thanks Andrew; I particularly liked ASPIRATE and CARPENTRY. I was another careless VALETA at first.

  10. Avoided being careless with VELETA only by checking all possible combinations of EEA in V?L?T? Hardly the spirit of great solving but it will do.

    Quite enjoyed DETAINS so there were compensations.

  12. Thanks to Andrew for the blog. I was totally head-scratching on 17d because I read it as a double definition with ‘sets free’ to be the second definition. Silly me ðŸ™

    On 11a I was thinking of overhead wires for trains but could not make them go in. Eventually I saw the right answer.

  13. Why on earth does anyone want to dig up a 19th century definition of string, implying some sort of obscurity on the part of the setter, when that is still a very much alive and kicking usage in both the equine and gambling worlds? (not to mention umpty books by various authors who have referenced these activities and sundry films and plays ditto)

  14. Thanks, Andrew.

    I ground to a halt, in the B RHS, after a swift start, but it resolved after being put aside for a few hours.

    17d my favourite because it was an anagram well camouflaged.

    I counted at least twelve clues today with extraneous words, such as “in” in 16, 27, 25a and 3d. I know I have mentioned this before and others have replied it is for the surface. However, as a matter of curiosity I checked last week’s Picaroon, and he had possibly no more than one clue with redundant words. He has a multitude of others with words which at first glance may seen redundant, but they are partly for the surface, and always used with meaning. As one example, the “for” in “Turn back for nibbles” (NIPS).

  17. FWIW, Chambers online has this for string: 4 a group of similar things • a string of racehorses. (Certainly not a usage familiar to me.)

    A bit of grammatical pedantry: If 19a is a dd, the second definition can’t be “in a persistent way,” as that’s an adverbial phrase (= doggedly), whereas dogged is an adjective. So either the second definition is simply “persistent” (Dogged is a “way” of saying persistent, perhaps?), or it is what Andrew refers to as a sesquidef.

    Nits aside, this was an enjoyable solve, with the cd in 22d a slight favourite. And my study of cricket terms paid off in 26a.

  19. As RCW has already stated the usual Monday fare!

    Why is it that when Rufus serves up barely cryptic, dodgy clues with redundant words that people bend over backwards to find some excuse for him? The same people will certainly berate the far superior efforts of other setters?

    Almost back to his worst. IMHO of course 😉

    Thanks to Andrew and Rufus

  20. Regarding 8a “Record”: There apparently was a pirate called ‘Cord Widderich’, so is Rufus offering us

    Re Cord = AS PIRATE ?

    But we don’t think of ‘Re’ as synonymous with ‘As’ though, do we?

    BTW, a “string” of polo ponies is quite normal and current usage.

    Thanks Andrew, and all who contribute to this lovely place.

  21. Brendan @19: I’m not sure who you think the Rufus apologists are here. (Clearly not Dave Ellison @14!) I, for one, haven’t been at this long enough to form opinions about the various setters (and even if I’d been doing this longer, I’m just not that observant). I respect what these setters do week after week, so I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, unless there’s no wiggle room, in which case I’m happy to call them (or their editors, as it may be) to the carpet – in equal measure, regardless of identity.

  22. Keeper @21

    Well we’ve already had at least 3 people today trying to justify “Record” in 8a when it’s clearly redundant AND misleading.

    Nobody has even mentioned another of my pet hates which is quite common with Rufus’s DDs. 6a has at least 2 possible answers! CHOP and CROP. If you’re going to clue DDs at least make sure obvious duplicates like this don’t occur.

    You seem to think I should be grateful to these kind setters for “giving” me their puzzles. Well in a sense I am but I am also aware that they are paid for their efforts.

    Anyone who publishes work of any kind in the public domain should expect praise and criticism in some measure. It’s what I would expect certainly.

    As I’ve said before my comments are not a personal attack on “Rufus” himself , or whoever the setter may be that day, but merely relevant comments on his work. I’m sure he’s a tremendous chap.

    Finally this is a messageboard and in its own words welcomes “your comments and feedback”.

  23. Keeper @21

    I sympathise. I think he’s just saying he hates Rufus and wishes everyone else did.

    Unsurprisingly, he did not win me to his camp. Rufus is one of my favourite setters in fact, and not as easy as some people say. He seems to have a writer’s mind and is genuinely surprising and funny.

  24. Sorry – cross posting. Brendan has explained. Although not persuasively, to my mind. Brendan, your “crop” point doesn’t seem to fit the clue. How is crop “meat”? And your interpretation of what Keeper “seems to think” you should do is somewhat creative.

  25. PS
    Re 8a I thought “aspirate” was a verb and the clue should have had a question mark. To record the sound of an “h” you’d have to aspirate. Now I think about it, there are other ways of taking ” record” eg “register” (chambers) that also work. But I’m sure the answer is the verb form and the whole thing is the definition.

  26. Hi anon

    I agree (see 6). Both ‘record’ and ‘aspirate’ are verbs here. Brendan has IMHO failed to understand the clue.

  27. Hi all:

    Does this tickle anyone’s fancy:

    “record” as in Guiness Book Of Records, something aspired to, an aspirate?

    Thanks Rufus, Andrew and posters.

  28. Sorry, I’ve been out.

    Just thought I’d put the record straight.

    I don’t particularly care what anybody else thinks of Rufus’s crosswords or indeed do I wish to influence those views. This is a forum to express one’s own opinions which is exactly what I do.

    Of course I “understand” 8A.

    I still believe that Tupu’s explanation of “record” and “aspirate” as verbs to justify the clue is at best tenuous. Of course someone must aspirate if the sound of an “h” is to be recorded but this is not defined by “record an h”?

    Also my dictionaries seem to suggest that “aspirate” is from aspiratio and has no meaning in English relating to aspiration in the sense of wanting to achieve.

    Anyway please feel free to believe what you wish and freely express it on here. I will only contradict you when your comments seem to assign motives to my comments which were not intended.

  29. thanks again rufus for a pleasurable hour in your company. i don’t know how ‘crop’ relates to meat either? shome mistake surely? some people should get out more. keep up the fine work rufus!!

  30. Brendan:

    Ah, dictionaries again.

    This passage from Middlemarch suggests a usage of “aspirate” to me meaning “a thing aspired to”:

    “Some slipped a little downward, some got higher footing: people denied aspirates, gained wealth, and fastidious gentlemen stood for boroughs; some were caught in political currents, some in ecclesiastical, and perhaps found themselves surprisingly grouped in consequence; while a few personages or families that stood with rocky firmness amid all this fluctuation, were slowly presenting new aspects in spite of solidity, and altering with the double change of self and beholder…”

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