The original puzzle may be found here.
Fed is not everyone’s cup of tea due to the sometimes arduous parsing that is required, but this was a bit less arduous than some, although I have been unable to parse TWENTY-FOUR-SEVEN. Since I overslept, I’m publishing without the parsing rather than wasting any more time trying to see it. There were a sprinkling of brand names in here that may not be familiar to some (NINJA and LYNX), although I suspect ESSO and FORD may be more universal.
Thanks, Fed.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | EMETIC |
Quote this writer – rolling it will make you sick (6)
|
| [rolling] <=(CITE (“quote”) + ME (“this writer”)) | ||
| 5 | BENEFITS |
Oddly Boeing suspect images released by police will generate profits (8)
|
| [oddly] B(o)E(i)N(g) + E-FITS (“suspect images released by police”) | ||
| 9 | TAG ALONG |
Accompany Filipino getting a little nipple piercing (3,5)
|
| TAGALOG (“Filipino”) getting [a little] N(ipple) piercing | ||
| 10 | NEEDED |
Another news report adds detailed advice taking just seconds as required (6)
|
| [taking just seconds] of (a)N(other) (n)E(ws) (r)E(port) (a)D(ds) (d)E(tailed) (a)D(vice) | ||
| 11 | FAST |
Fixed quickly (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 12 | STALACTITE |
Alice tattoos over old unwanted snakes – one points towards bottom? (10)
|
| *(Alice tatts) [anag:snakes] where TATTS is TATT(oo)S with O(ver) + O(ld) [unwanted] | ||
| 13 | ADHERE |
Stick of dynamite originally hidden in a present (6)
|
| D(ynamite) [originally] hidden in A + HERE (“present”) | ||
| 14 | GONE SOFT |
Become less demanding of used piano (4,4)
|
| GONE (“used”) + PIANO (“soft”, in music) | ||
| 16 | COMMUTER |
Laptop loses power for minute – one might need drive to work? (8)
|
| COM(p)UTER (“laptop”) losing P (power) for M (minute) becomes COM(M)UTER | ||
| 19 | MARAUD |
Everyone can see this cutting comedic drama, Loot (6)
|
| U (Universal cinema rating, so “everyone can see this”) cutting *(drama) [anag:comedic] | ||
| 21 | MAGNETISES |
Makes attractive new games set in … (10)
|
| *(games set in) [anag:new] | ||
| 23 | GASP |
… space, taking singular, short, sharp breath (4)
|
| GAP (“space”) taking S (singular) | ||
| 24 | FORGED |
Focus for one securing wings for Grease cast (6)
|
| FORD (Focus, for one) securing [wings for] G(reas)E | ||
| 25 | TRUELOVE |
Sweetheart’s flat has nothing (8)
|
| TRUE (“flat”) has LOVE (“nothing”) | ||
| 26 | ESPRESSO |
Son occasionally parked in petrol station to get coffee (8)
|
| S (son) + [occasionally] P(a)R(k)E(d) in ESSO (“petrol station”)
Other petrol brands are also available. |
||
| 27 | LARYNX |
Vacuous actor plugging body spray, gets speaking part? (6)
|
| [vacuous] A(cto)R plugging LYNX (“body spray”)
Other brands of body spray are available. |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | MEAT AND POTATOES |
Travelling man – he had toothpaste forgetting all hotels will provide basics (4,3,8)
|
| *(man e ad tootpaste) [anag:travelling] forgetting all Hs (hotels) in (h)E (h)AD TOOT(h)PASTE | ||
| 3 | TOASTIE |
Dish that is supporting good health for example (7)
|
| I.e. (“that is”) supporting TOAST (“good health, for example”) | ||
| 4 | CROW’S NEST |
Lookout boasts note is in French (5-4)
|
| CROWS (“boasts”) + N (note) + EST (“is” in French) | ||
| 5 | BIG BANG |
Critical report is, theoretically, what started it all (3,4)
|
| BIG (“critical”) + BANG (“report”) | ||
| 6 | NINJA |
Kitchen appliance brand delivered some cumin in jars (5)
|
| Hidden in [some] “cumiN IN JArs”
Other air fryer brands are available. |
||
| 7 | FIESTAS |
Officer seen intermittently when following street parties (7)
|
| (o)F(f)I(c)E(r) [seen intermittently] + AS (“when”) following St, (street) | ||
| 8 | TWENTY-FOUR-SEVEN |
This suggests it’s safe at all times (6-4-5)
|
| 15 | NUMBSKULL |
Dregs of society of no significance according to Spooner: twerp! (9)
|
| [according to Spooner] NUMBSKULL would come out as SCUM (“dregs of society”) + NULL (“of no significance”) | ||
| 17 | MANAGER |
Maybe pawn silver here with no limits for organiser (7)
|
| MAN (“maybe pawn”) + Ag (chemical symbol for “silver”) + (h)ER(e) [with no limits] | ||
| 18 | RISOTTO |
One takes stock as gentleman recalled bare bottom (7)
|
| <=SIR (“gentleman”, recalled) + [bare] (b)OTTO(m) | ||
| 20 | REGULAR |
Pull up in behind soldier (7)
|
| <=LUG (“pull”, up) in REAR (“behind”) | ||
| 22 | TIDES |
Time team cycling, identifying main changes? (5)
|
| T (time) + IDE-S (SIDE (“team”), cycling) |
8d: Chubb make a safe called No.247 – seems pretty obscure, but given the amount of product placement in this offering, its a possibility I suppose. I’m sure someone will be along with a better explanation.
14a: the tense is all wrong in this clue. Doesn’t work for me.
Fed remains on my less favourite setters list after this, mainly due to the excessive amount of product placement. Is he being sponsored, we wonder?
Felt more like a quick cryptic!
That said, EMETIC, FORGED and LARYNX were excellent.
MARAUD – the Universal film rating is a great gimmick.
Cryptor @1 – re GONE SOFT. If somebody has become less demanding, they have GONE SOFT
It took me a while to convince myself that 14a was OK, but ‘become’ is indeed the past participle of ‘become.’ I’m glad to see I’m not the only one mystified by 8d!
Thanks Fed and loonapick. I hope I can break my DNF streak tomorrow!
24-7 is ‘forged fiesta’ which suggests ‘it’s safe’ in the clue for 8d.
‘FIESTAS’! (missed the plural s)
Oh my goodness Rich@5, well done! Far too clever for me on a Tuesday morning.
#5 Yes, “fiestas” is an anagram of “it’s safe”.
Thanks Fed and loonapick
Still not convinced by the tense in 14. Crispy’s “has become” is past, but become by itself isn’t.
Why is TRUE “flat”?
Lots to like, though. Favourite TAG ALONG, though I expect some might not like “a little nipple” for N.
Bravo Rich @5 and Fed.
Loved his work as usual. Those proprietary names were sneaky and amusing. All parsed except 24/7.
Thanks Fed and loonapick – good decision getting the blog out promptly.
muffin@10 I’m justifying it to myself by saying ‘become less demanding’ could replace ‘gone soft’ after ‘she has.’ I don’t know if that convinces you!
Good fun. My only explanation for 8d is a simple literal one. It’s “safe” to organise a visit to a business if you’re sure it’s going to be open.
Also muffin@10 Chambers has ‘not bent or crumpled’ for ‘flat’, which might make it work, just about?
Thanks Tom. Again, it’s quite a long stretch to get from “not bent” to “true”!
Indeed muffin. I wasn’t thrilled about it, nor about the answer, which I think — although I need to confirm in my paper Chambers when I have it to hand later — ought to be enumerated 4,4 or 4-4 without an indicator that it’s US dialect.
A true surface is a flat surface. Thanks all.
Muffin@10 TRUE can be flat or even in builder-speak ‘the screed needs to be true or we have to do it again’ or ‘fit the recessed kitchen units true to the wall’.
I raced through this apart from the SE corner. And like most couldn’t parse 24/7.
I read true=flat as in woodworking, “I planed the flange until it was true to the sprocket”. I was never any good at woodworking.
I thought this was good. Failed on TAGALONG as it was too vaguely heard of to resurface in time. Tried ‘tap along’ in vain. Tx to Rich @5 for the very startling explanation of 24/7. Tx to setter and loonapick for the early blog.
A bit of a struggle. I had the same issues as have come up in the previous posts so I won’t repeat them. Not that enjoyable I’m afraid.
Liked TOASTIE though calling it a dish is a bit of a stretch. Also TAG ALONG and NUMBSKULL.
Thanks to Fed and loonapick.
I am not really on Fed’s wavelength and I’m not keen on product placement / brand names – too many in this puzzle today imo.
New for me: FORD = focus (for 24ac) and LYNX body spray.
I could not parse 10ac, the GONE bit of 14ac (my loi); 8d; and 15d took me ages to work out.
Rich@5 – thanks for explaining 8d and its connection to 24/7 forged fiestas / it’s safe.
Michelle @ 21 – Just wanted to clarify, and apologies if you’ve already understood the reason, but a Focus is a model of a Ford car.
That was fun. I was expecting the even letters of 24 across to mean safe. I liked how RISOTTO wasn’t a rustler. STALACTITE reminded me if how I can ironically never remember the mnemonic for which goes up and which goes down
I’m another unhappy solver re 14. Otherwise fine.
That was fun. Loved MEAT AND POTATOES.
The one that goes down has a C in it (for ceiling). The one that goes up has a G in it (for ground).
Is that the one?
Rich @5 and 6: congratulations. Brilliant. I missed that and was telling myself that TWENTYFOURSEVEN is sometimes used as an assurance such as “will always be there for you.” Knew uncomfortably that was not really adequate but opted for a quiet life instead of seeking the real meaning. Thought this crossword improved on acquaintance after a suspiciously easy start. Thanks all round.
The 24-7 clue is an oddity. Usually we pretend that def and word-play offer two ways to the answer, even if it’s often the case that one can only be worked out from the answer. This clue doesn’t pretend – there is only one possible way to the answer, the obvious definition (with enumeration). Even if you understand that it’s a reverse anagram type (a sort of clue that is nearly always solved then understood anyway) that doesn’t help you at all, because you have to have got the answer to know what it’s a reverse anagram of. The wordplay is all but pointless, except to provide an extra little puzzle for after you’ve finished.
I thought MEAT AND POTATOES was quite brilliant, as is TWENTY-FOUR-SEVEN once you spot the reverse anagram as Rich@5 did.
I don’t have a problem with 14a – “he’s gone soft” and “he’s become less demanding” seem to work grammatically. My (mild) gripe is with 24a where surely forged means bashed into shape while cast means poured into a mould. But that doesn’t spoil the enjoyment of a very fine puzzle. Yes, there’s a lot of product placement, but if obscure Italian painters are legitimate GK, why not cheap scent for adolescents or overpriced air fryers?!
Thanks to Fed and loonapick
Product placement is always a tad iffy – but at least I’d heard of all these ones.
I’m another who wasn’t wild about the tense in 14A, nor TRUE LOVE being classed as one word (but no doubt that blasted book will insist it’s acceptable).
Rich@5&6: you’re brilliant.
Loonapick: you are too.
Petert@23: the one I always use for differentiating between Stalactites and Stalagmites is: tights fall down, mites grow up.
Fantastic spot Rich @5, that has put a lot of solvers out of their misery. Another who thought that MEAT AND POTATOES was excellent and I also don’t care about product placement clues, they seem more true to life. Also worth mentioning that in MARAUD, Loot is a US comedy show that went out on Apple a few years ago. I used to work with a fella called TRUELOVE, so I presumed it was OK as one word. Very good puzzle.
Ta Fed & loonapick.
Wow – Impressed by Rich@5 & 6 re 8D as I would never have seen that.
Also agree with NeilH@28, re 24A as Cast means something formed by pouring whereas Forged requires pressure.
This went in fairly smoothly until the last three held me up for some time – NUMBSKULL, MARAUD and finally LARYNX. As for those brand names, NINJA was easier to get as it was a hidden word, though not remembering LYNX as a body spray was probably the reason that 27ac was the last one in. I thought GONE SOFT was the least impressive in a good set of clues today…
Thanks Fed and loonapick.
And I now know what a brilliant clue 8d is – thanks to Rich@5. I tip my hat!
(And I think FORGED is okay as the anagram indicator. A forged banknote might not look quite right.)
Surprised myself with how many I got on an initial pass, and really enjoyed this one overall. The reverse anagram for 8d was really quite impressive once pointed out, though I’d never have parsed it myself in a million years. Agreed with NeilH @28 regarding the general knowledge, everything will be considered obscure or common knowledge to somebody!
AlanC@30 I didn’t know about the US comedy show, my thoughts went to the Joe Orton play.
I too gave MEAT AND POTATOES a round of applause.
Thanks Fed and loonapick
Chapeaux to Rich @5 for 24/7…I wouldn’t have seen that in a month of Sundays.
Despite all the spirited defence of TRUE for flat, I’m still not convinced. In all the examples given, you would just say ‘flat’ rather than TRUE.
PeterT @23, I just remember that stalactites hang tight to the ceiling.
I think I had to drive a forged Fiesta before I could afford a proper Ford Focus… Fantastic link.
NINJA might be a bit more recent getting big but it’s a huge company (makes billions worldwide together with Shark). I have no idea how there are people who don’t know ESSO, Ford Focus or Lynx. I’d much sooner have crosswords that include names that are common to society than obscure species and self-indulgent references to the setter’s childhood in the 50s.
I see I’m not the only one to be non-plussed by 8d, though the explanation given (anag. of FIESTAS) cannot be accidental. I also wondered about TRUE=flat (Chambers Thesaurus doesn’t list either as equivalent to the other), and originally had GOES SOFT, then GETS SOFT for 14a. Most of the rest was pretty good though.
Chambers and Collins both include truelove as one word, but the SOED only has the hyphenated true-love. I had an idea that Robert Burns wrote
Green sleeves and tartan ties
Mark my truelove where she lies
but googling it I see that while some versions have it as one word, others have it as two. I don’t know what the original was.
Thanks Fed for the puzzle and loonapick and Rich for the explanations.
In 24ac “not cast” would have been a better definition.
I’m one who has NHO Ninja air fryers or Lynx body spray and only know Ford Focus from The Guardian, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the puzzle, esp the 24/7 Fiesta.
I was surprised to see two other mnemonics for identifying calcium cave growths. The one I have heard and used hundreds of times is Stalactites have to hang on tight, and Stalagmites might reach the roof. But all three do the job.
I had tentatively parsed 24-7 as ‘it’s safe’ to say TWENTY-FOUR’S EVEN (as are 2, 4, 6 etc…); I think the correct parsing is excellent. I had no problems with the product placement (though I don’t know if the specific Ford model, or Lynx, are brands used outside the UK), nor TRUE=flat, but I do agree that TRUELOVE would be better as 2 words, and that FORGED is not the same as cast. Overall a pretty good crossword from a setter I don’t always get on with.
Thanks Fed and loonapick.
Fed’s surfaces are getting better and better, MEAT AND POTATOES a classic. And bravo Rich@5,the brilliance of the 247 cluing forgives the need for retro-parsability imo. Geoff Down Under@12, you told yourself off for not reading previous posts yesterday, an empty promise? 😉
Aye-Aye @35: I thought of Joe Orton as well, either work as ‘cutting comedic dramas’.
Perhaps, 8 DN is the combination to open a safe? (Twenty to the right, four to the left, seven to the right.) ‘Twould hardly thwart a safecracker worth his salt, though.
“Product placement” implies the setter is being paid to promote brands – one of the least likely marketing strategies I’ve come across!
Thanks Fed, loonapick and Rich@5
Another skilfully crafted puzzle from Fed, which I found less tricky than usual. My favourites were EMETIC (FOI), TAG ALONG, ESPRESSO and the beautiful MEAT AND POTATOES. The wordplay for 24/7 is extremely clever – too clever for most of us, it seems. It’s unfortunate that the enumeration gave the solution away too easily.
I don’t have a problem with the names of commercial products, celebrities, or random boys and girls – or Italian painters for that matter (I’ve never actually come across one in a puzzle that I didn’t know, but we all have areas where our GK is relatively strong). They all make for variety and often help the surface.
Thanks to Fed and loonapick
Rich@5 That is a brilliant spot, and also to Fed a brilliant clue.
MEAT AND POTATOES is an excellent anagram.
I had no complaints about this, thank you Fed and loonapick
PS Congratulations to Rich @5,6
Thanks for the blog , good set of clues but a bit wordy for my taste , I have preferred recent puzzles from this setter that are more concise . FORGED was very neat , TAG ALONG has clever use of Filipino . I did not know NINJA in this sense so glad it was hidden .
TRUE=flat , surely anyone who has used a spirit-level will recognize this sense ?
Thanks, Judge@46. The image of a Guardian Crossword solver discovering (and using) Lynx is one that will remain with me. Excellent crossword, by the way, fulfilling the three necessary criteria – I thought I couldn’t solve it, eventually I could, and one brilliantly inventive clue (8d).
Petert @23 Our geography teacher told to remember that tights come down and mites go up….still works after 60 years.
I always enjoy a Fed.
As an FCIM, I fully endorse Judge’s comment on product placement at 46. I can’t imagine sales of Lynx Africa will be through the roof tomorrow on the back of this campaign. [I must say my Ninja electric outdoor grill did some valiant work this summer, whereas the second-hand Ford Focus I had for a while was never the most dependable].
I like that almost everyone today, even those who have clearly not read all the comments, has given kudos to Rich @5 (&6).
I also agree with various comments like Roz’s @50 and Rich’s (again) @17 that TRUE can mean flat. I’m not sure how that became a subject for debate.
Surely dregs sit at the bottom, while scum floats on the top?
Tim@52 Isn’t it the other way round?
Mites go up, tights come down
Thanks to Fed for the puzzle, loonapick for the blog and Rich #5&6 for the genius deduction of 8 down. I’m on the side of the objectors to the tense in 14ac – and totally agree with the mild criticism of Andrew #40 that FORGED is not CAST. Given the sensitivity of the contributors and (to me) the odd objections to the use of TRUE for FLAT, I’m surprised nobody else has picked this up! I’m going to add my own objection. Stock is not an essential ingredient of RISOTTO, so I feel a qualifier or question mark is needed for the clue to work.
Tim’s @52 – your teacher had nailed the fact that if it’s slightly rude or slightly silly teenagers will remember it.
Thus a brilliant maths teacher who made us chant, repeatedly, p-a-r-a-double ellee-ell. I’ve never forgotten the correct spelling.
Or the Latin teacher who ensured that his charges would never forget the gender of third declension nouns ending in -us or -men; “Us men are neuter…”
Peter B @57 (“I’m on the side of the objectors to the tense in 14ac”): you have to see “become” as a past participle — as in NeilH’s example @28, “he’s gone soft” = “he’s become less demanding”.
I’d have pitched this as a Thursday, not a Tuesday.
Yet another week where the last few prizes are easier to parse than Monday and Tuesday 🤦♂️
Fed joins the other setters who have their head up all too often their “this doesn’t need a cryptic clue” (4 letters)
Very interesting puzzle. Solved 24×7 but took a triple take with Rich #5’s help to figure it out. Was the Ford Fiesta a model available only in India? If not, it’s too much of a plug! But somehow, I was so happy getting the local ad references that I didn’t notice product placement too much.
Thanks Fed and loonapick
Thanks and glad to be useful. True thanks should go to Fed though.
I agree with James@27 about 24-7 I can’t see a way of parsing 8d unless you have the answer(s) already.
Lord Jim #59 – I think I have to be more specific in my objection. BECOME LESS DEMANDING is a legitimate cryptic for GONE SOFT – but it not a definition
Good puzzle. I’m another indebted to Rich for the 24/7 parse. I don’t agree however that needing the answer to parse the clue is a problem. All reverse anagrams are like this. What makes this different is that you need a second step after getting the answer to equate it with the associated lights for the reversed anagram. It’s just a clever clue. I imagine the rest of the puzzle was constructed around these entries.
I was in a hurry to finish, so botched my LOI: GUST (sharp breath), rather skating over the fact that GUT is hardly a synonym of space. So a DNF in the end. C’est la Vie.
Thanks, Fed and loonapick
phitonelly @64: I don’t agree that all reverse anagram clues require the solution before they can be parsed. The wording and the enumeration often give a strong hint to the clue type, which leads to the solution. Here the solver had to realise that the real clue was a composite of two separate solutions. Much trickier – not that having to retro parse is necessarily bad thing in a crossword.
Enjoyed that a lot, as I usually do with Fed. I seem to be on his wavelength even when I find the puzzles hard.
Like most, couldn’t parse 24/7, and fell down with the Spoonerism which I just couldn’t see.
I sort of half solved it from the clue . The word “this” always alerts me to a compound or reverse anagram . I had just done FIESTAS so – it’s safe – stood out .
Once I had looked at all the Downs I put in what I had and SEVEN stood out so then a quick search for a word to indicate the anagram .
TRUE is also sued for surfaces like a billiard or snooker table or a bowling green. It’s a bit more emphatic than the mundane ‘flat’ as the game is spoiled when the surface is not true.
Thanks Fed and loonapick and Rich @5,6 (great work!)
A fun solve, really enjoyed that.
Esso is an interesting one. It arose after the anti-monopoly breakup of American oil conglomerate Standard Oil; it’s just a spelling out of S.O. (Other daughter companies of Standard were also formed at that time.) The Esso brand disappeared from the US at some point (became Exxon, which is now also gone). Esso remained a brand in other countries, though; it’s a frequent guest in US crosswords, where it’s generally clued as Canadian. Of course, oil corporations eventually re-conglomerated, raising the question of what we accomplished by breaking up S.O. in the first place.
As for the other brands here: I own a Ninja air fryer; I have seen but never been in a Ford Focus; and I have never encountered Lynx body spray–the internet tells me it’s the same as the one sold here as Axe. Either way, a dumb name for deodorant.
Maybe someone had already said this but I remember stalactite by tits hang down
Just for the record, one of the definitions of ‘true’ in Chambers is ‘straight or flat’.
I don’t have a problem with ‘true’ either; to a carpenter it means ‘dead level’ so flat
I’m sure I’m not the only solver to be more familiar with everyday brand names, international footballers, and other aspects of popular culture than with, for example, Greek deities and the moons of Jupiter. So personally I welcome setters such as Fed and Paul who are prepared to reflect the modern world in their clues.
Thanks loonapick and Fed.
I’m with GeeDubya at #74. I think it’s fair to expect solvers to have heard of Ford Focus (a popular car in both Europe and North America manufactured for over 25 years) or Lynx (one of the best selling deodorant brands in U.K.). Perhaps moreso than crossword standards such priests called Eli or a moon called Io. But I know some like these old chestnuts so all to their own.
On the road today, so late commenting. Thank you Fed for another enjoyable puzzle! 2d MEAT AND POTATOES was especially fun. And thanks loonapick
I thought that this was a very good crossword.
Expressions which are normally expressed as numerals e.g. 24/7 – or AK47 – cause me a temporary stumble, and I also join the chorus of commendation for Rich’s spot at 5. To be fair to the setter it’s quite common to cross-reference clues/solutions in this way, and I’m not sure why it escaped so many of us on this occasion.
The trades routinely use “true” to mean “flat”.
Cheers everyone.
I would like to suggest that those people who like to complain about setters, for whatever reason, do so in the privacy of their own home, rather than whinging here.
@78 Hear, hear!
Etu@77 I was very surprised how many people missed 24/7 , just read FORGED FIESTAS .
Complaints – I have no problem at all , nobody is making me read these comments and it is a crossword site not a place of worship .