A pleasant diversion this week from Philistine, with one characteristic anatomical term.
Philistine is a surgeon by profession, so we have come to expect the occasional medical term, and this puzzle was true to form with EPIGASTRIUM being hidden in a clue which, to be honest, made little sense in its surface reading. There was nothing else which caused Timon and I to reach for our dictionaries. We particularly liked the & lit clue for REFOREST, and the camping reference in the clue for TESTAMENTS. We didn’t fully understand the clue for TANDOORI, but no doubt others did, so I look forward to the explanation.
I notice that there is a sort of Nina, in that the letters ABC are at the top of the rather unusual grid, but this may just be a coincidence.
| ACROSS | ||
| 4 | HECKLE |
Show disapproval of what may be flipping lucrative if lacking content (6)
|
| HECK (flipping) L(ucrativ)E. | ||
| 6 | CELERIAC |
Each half circle cultivated to produce vegetable (8)
|
| *(EA (ch)CIRCLE). | ||
| 9 | DANISH |
And I somehow keep quiet, being European (6)
|
| *(AND I) SH (keep quiet!). | ||
| 10 | PLETHORA |
Request to include god’s abundance (8)
|
| THOR (god) inside PLEA (request). | ||
| 11 | EPIGASTRIUM |
Bit of belly of Vietnamese pig as triumphant slice (11)
|
| Hidden in “Vietnamese pig as triumphant”. An anatomical term from the surgeon. | ||
| 15 | OEUVRES |
Sue over vandalised artistic works (7)
|
| *(SUE OVER). | ||
| 17 | GESTATE |
Carry a baby, say, back and forth (7)
|
| Two ways (backwards and forwards) of saying “say”: EG (rev) and STATE. | ||
| 18 | FRATRICIDAL |
Half of France hearing about police officers being murderous, relatively speaking (11)
|
| FRA(nce), CID (police officers) inside TRIAL (hearing). | ||
| 22 | TAVERNER |
Old publican gets free rent, state-protected (8)
|
| AVER (state) inside (“protected” by) *RENT. | ||
| 23 | ACROSS |
An angry clue, like this one (6)
|
| A CROSS. | ||
| 24 | PARASITE |
Next to soldier, place tick? (8)
|
| PARA (soldier) SITE (place). The question mark denotes the definition by example. | ||
| 25 | MOVIES |
Pictures in which Salah competes (6)
|
| MO (Salah) VIES (competes). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | ALASKA |
In the style of music from the Caribbean state (6)
|
| A LA (in the style of ) SKA (Caribbean music). | ||
| 2 | BELL RINGER |
Jingle maker of Pretty Woman receives call: Roy’s number one! (4,6)
|
| RING (call) inside BELLE (pretty woman), R(oy). | ||
| 3 | CENTIMES |
Oddly clean paper money (8)
|
| Odd letters in ClEaN, TIMES (newspaper). | ||
| 4 | HEDGEHOG |
Animal hospitals with built-in advantage return? (8)
|
| EDGE (advantage) inside H(ospital) H; GO (rev). To go back is to return. | ||
| 5 | CONTINUE |
Carry on opposing Unite disruption (8)
|
| CON (opposing) *UNITE. | ||
| 7, 8 | IRONCLAD |
As four in five, absolutely guaranteed (8)
|
| IV (four in Roman numerals) inside FE (iron). This took us ages to parse. Strangely, the metaphorical sense of this term, as used in the clue, is not to be found in Chambers, which only gives its literal sense. Collins and the ODE both have the metaphorical sense, which is now more common than the literal. | ||
| 8 |
See 7
|
|
| 12 | TESTAMENTS |
Witness reports unruly mates camping (10)
|
| *MATES inside TENTS (so camping!). | ||
| 13 | TANDOORI |
Cooked with lids down at indoor clay oven? (8)
|
| *(AT INDOOR); I can’t explain what “with lids down” is doing. | ||
| 14 | CELLISTS |
First imprisoned musicians (8)
|
| IST (first) inside CELLS. A bit similar to the device used for TESTAMENTS. | ||
| 16 | REFOREST |
Work for trees (8)
|
| *(FOR TREES) and an & lit (the whole of the clue is both its definition and the wordplay). | ||
| 19 | COCOON |
Working with Chanel to make a silk wrap (6)
|
| COCO (Chanel) ON (working). | ||
| 20, 21 | STOPOVER |
Pots break during journey (8)
|
| STOP over, or reversed, is a break during a journey. I think that you have to read “break” as doing double duty; it’s part of the definition and also an instruction to reorder the letters of POTS. | ||
| 21 |
See 20
|
|
TANDOORI is a bit odd. I think the oven itself is a tandoor, so I concluded that the whole clue is the definition, with hidden wordplay in the middle: AT INDOOR with lids going down in each word = T(A) NDOOR(I).
HEDGEHOG probably works better as an across clue with the GO back implication. GESTATE was my favourite; beautifully constructed. IRON CLAD also very nicely done.
Thanks, loonapick and Phil.
Enjoyed this, as I always do Philistine. Thanks to setter and blogger.
I too struggled with Tandoori, but the penny finally dropped, I think. The “lids” of (A)T and (I)NDOOR go down, to give TA and NDOORI. Oops just beaten to it!
Very straightforward for a prize. IRONCLAD is stunning.
I thought BELL RINGER was an awful surface but so what. Ta Philistine & loonapick
Thanks bridgesong, esp. for 11A, where I’d missed the hidden device. Actually, for STOPOVER, I don’t see “break” doing double duty. I think it’s an inverse reversal where the answer generates the non-definition part of the clue: “stop over” ==> “pots”. Great stuff from Philistine.
STOPOVER: I don’t read “break” as doing double-duty. The reversal indicator is implied because “pots” is “stop” backwards, or, as a down clue “over.”
Oh, I see Coloradan@5 and I have crossed.
Don’t understand either 22A or 13D. Got both, but just couldn’t parse them satisfactorily.
There is a lot of extraneous verbiage in both.
In 22A what exactly is “gets free”? Is that some kind of an indicator?
In 13D, I concur with what’s said in the blog!
Shafar@7 – in 22ac ‘’free” is an anagrind, Bridgestone uses * as its shorthand. 13d is explained by jbking@2
Thanks bridgesong. Like you, ‘with lids down’ in 13d eluded me so thanks to #1 and #2 for the explanation. Otherwise I worked my way through steadily enough; LOI was the very clever IRON CLAD but I made that hard for myself with a spelling mistake for CELERIAC – got the i and the a transposed.
IRON CLAD was definitely the piece-de-resistance!
Thank you Philistine. This one came together satisfyingly over a couple of days. Many neat meta-devices, 17a “say, back and forth” = GE-STATE, 4d “return” = OG, 7/8 “As four in five” = IRONCLAD, 12d “camping” = (in) T_ENT, 14d “imprisoned” = (in) CELL_S, 21/22 “Pots” = STOP-OVER
25a MOVIES, using the names of footballers in clues makes me long for more cricket references
Many thanks to bridgesong for an excellent blog
4ac Isnt HECK “what may be flipping”, rather than just “flipping”?
Thanks bridgesong and P.
That’s what I thought DE @12, as in flippin’ ‘eck [like my great uncle Jimmy used to say; very Chapel, didn’t like real swearing 🙂 ]
Managed to solve the top half on Saturday morning but four in the SE and four in the SW were unsolved. Got the four in the SE later in the day but the four in the SW took me ages.
Finally got a foothold when I realised 16d was an anagram REFOREST and then was able to get 24a PARASITE – which was so obvious once I got it.
Then got STOPOVER which I think is brilliant.
Also liked: HECKLE (agree with DE@12), PLETHORA, BELLRINGER, CENTIMES
Thanks Philstine and bridge song
I could see the IV in the IRON CLAD clue but needed the vegetable before the rest revealed itself.
Agree re other comments above about other clues.
Enjoyed it.
Thanks both.
Thanks for the blog , great puzzle , Mig@11 has a list of my favourites , will just add HEDGEHOG .
We have not seen this setter for three months so a good time for my biennial clue , do not give away the answer too soon please .
Famous follower of the penis ( 8,4,3,5 ) .
I was surprised how many of these clues I found myself ticking. Mig11’s list, and I also liked FRATRICIDAL for the definition, A LA SKA because the state seems to have so little to do with the Caribbean, and REFOREST, which was just so neat. The top left corner sat half-complete for a while, with the well-concealed body part and the way HECK fitted in (thanks, DaveE@12 for the explanation, there), but in the end a first-rate puzzle. Thanks Philistine, and bridgesong.
Good fun and a fairly leisurely stroll.
I liked HECKLE and CENTIMES among other amusing clues.
Thanks philistine and bridgesong
Surprisingly easy for a philistine.
I think TANDOORI must be an attempted &lit, because the oven is definitely a tandoor. Not convinced it works, though.
Enjoyable puzzle once I stopped my usual overthinking of some clues. There were a few chuckles with BELL RINGERS, STOPOVER and GESTATE. Mig #11 TAVERNER at 22ac only hit my radar because of MCC’s Lord’s Taverners and would have been nice if cricketing reference could have been used in clue.
Thanks to all as usual especially with TANDOORI and IRONCLAD filled in but not fully understood until now.
Unlike AlanC @4 I liked tge surface for BEll RINGER.
With the song writer(jingle maker) receiving a call to hear that Roy(Orbison) had taken his song “Pretty Woman” to No One in the charts.
Good puzzle. Thanks Philistine and bridgesing
I think TANDOORI is not quite a genuine &lit, with the whole clue providing the definition, but the wordplay involving either of ‘cooked’ (=anagram) or ‘with lids down’ operating on ‘at indoor’. Perhaps it’s a slight weakness that many tandoors are outside, but I wouldn’t want to quibble about such a brilliant clue.
Like Peter@21 I liked the Roy Orbison reference in the clue for BELL RINGER. HEDGEHOG and IRONCLAD were also impressive, and the whole solve was very enjoyable.
Thanks to Philistine and Bridgesong.
PeterS @21: for some reason, I was thinking of the Julia Roberts film rather than Roy Orbison, so I stand corrected. Also apologies to bridgesong for thanking the wrong blogger.
IRONCLAD, STOPOVER, HEDGEHOG, ALASKA, GESTATE all very nice. I agree with AlanC@3 that the puzzle was not difficult (although, like the blogger, I didn’t see the device in TANDOORI). But it was fun. Thanks Philistine and bridgesong
Lovely stuff. Thank you for solving IRON CLAD, which is brilliant. I got it, and was pretty confident of it, but found it a sort of Cable St commemoration: They shall not parse. I saw the “iv” but missed “fe”; then I wondered about golf clubs.
I really liked reforest having the whole clue as wordplay and definition.
I shot myself in the foot by spelling oeuvres wrong, and despite making a mental note that I probably got it wrong forgetting by the time I got to the down clues.
Thanks Philistine and bridgesong. Took a couple of sittings to finish this one, and, of course, had to resort to a dictionary to check 11a.
[Roz@16: looking forward to the next one, but I no longer plan two years ahead.]
Pleasant puzzle this week.
nho flippin’ ‘eck, so I biffed in HECKLE from the definition.
There is a song about Paul Cezanne by the Five Chinese Brothers with the line “His oeuvre’s in the Louvre,” pronounced as “His oover’s in the loover.”
Thanks Philistine and bridgesong.
Roz@16, 4d HEDGEHOG was in my list, so we’re right in sync today
Hastings Honey @20, footballers and cricket references in the same puzzle would have been too much happiness!
Thanks, bridgesong. Moment of madness at 1, sorry.
Very nice puzzle, not too difficult.
Liked IRONCLAD and REFOREST
Thanks Hector @28 , inspiration might strike sooner . An old clue of mine you might have seen , very unfair but to make a specific point .
This provoked resistance (8,7) .
Mig@30 your hedgehog was too curled up . I do not follow your football reference for MOVIES ? MO Salah is a quantum physicist .
Did you solve my earlier clue ? You have a leading role in the solution .
Roz: inspiration had struck when I posted earlier. It’s the 2028 clue I’m less confident about. Re 2026, perhaps I can just say that I’m more of a Ximenean – probably an age thing – than a physicist.
Sorry Hector , I meant inspiration for a new clue might strike ME before 2028 .
I saved the clue today for a Philistine blog , he uses this idea a lot , especially as Goliath in the FT .
With all humility and claiming nothing other than wavelengths-in-sync, I completed this one in what was, for me, record time. In vain I looked for a way to submit my entry as a Prize candidate, as I do not have international fax capability, nor was I under any illusion that a paper entry could make it to Birmingham in time. For future reference, is there any other way to submit electronically, should lightning strike twice?
Thanks to Philistine and bridgesong for IRONCLAD work on this particular STOPOVER!
Zed622 @36: congratulations on completing the puzzle. The Guardian doesn’t seem to offer electronic entry for its Prize Cryptic puzzles, and I doubt that they would be willing to pay international postage on the prize! However, you could always try the monthly Guardian Genius puzzle, which is online only, and offers a cash prize.
Roz@33, Ah of course — I was mixing him up with Mo Salah the football player. An easy mistake to make. We definitely need more quantum physicist references…
Yes, I solved your earlier clue right away, but didn’t want to spoil it for others. I’ll wait for you to post the solution first. Without giving too much away, it has to do with Philistine and even-numbered years. I’ll keep pondering, though, as time allows, in case another solution comes to mind…
Thank you, bridgesong…I may well give it a shot!
Thank you, Philistine, bridgesong and everyone!
This is my second Prize completed.
I didn’t fully parse HECKLE and TANDOORI. Thank you, jkb_ing@2, for the explanation of ‘lids down’. I also agree with those who say that it must be an attempted &lit, because TANDOOR is an oven and TANDOORI is a method of cooking.
IRONCLAD and REFOREST are my favourites today.
LunaLo@40: I’d say TANDOORI is a semi-&lit — a recognized clue type. Whole clue is the definition; only part (preferably most) of the clue constitutes the wordplay.
[Roz, got it for real this time! I finally paid attention to your hint @35. Appropriate that the penny dropped @42]
Well done Mig , @42 gives you the answer to everything .
I am intrigued by your earlier answer , did it fit the enumeration ?
Thank you, Coloradan @41.
Roz @16 & elsewhere. By Jove, I think I’ve got it. Very nicely done.
[Roz@43, No, I didn’t really have another answer. I did spend some time looking for a reverse anagram, and wondered if STEPHENI, WILD AND CRAZY was one of the lesser-known apostles. Hint to others: it’s not a reverse anagram]
Another gem from Philistine. Lots of great clues, including 7,8 IRONCLAD, but 14d is absolutely guaranteed to be my favourite, of course.
Another favourite is Roz’s rather cocky clue at #16. Yes, a typical Goliastine device as noted.
Thanks Philistine and bridgesong and Roz for the delightful diversion.
Lovely puzzle, though I didn’t have time to attempt it until this weekend.
Just wanted to add, further to Coloradan@41, that TANDOORI works beautifully as a semi-&lit despite its unconventional tokenization. I think you have to interpret it as “Cooked with – lids down, at indoor – clay oven” so the the core definition is “cooked with clay oven”, the extended definition (and hence CAD) is the whole surface, and the part that isn’t the core definition (which, unconventionally, it splits) is the wordplay “[with] lids [moved] down, ‘at indoor'”, i.e. AT INDOOR with first letters dropped to the end}. I think it’s legitimate, and very creative.
Thanks all for puzzle, blog and entertaining comments.
To add context to my above thinking: it seems to me that there are two types of semi-&lit that work satisfactorily. The first is when the wordplay covers everything except a short qualifying phrase – things like “… – like this?”, “Where …”, “…? Quite the opposite!”, and so on. I tend to put these is the same basket as pure &lits because they’re as exhaustive as you can make them.
The second type is when the surface can be read as an extended definition and can be tokenized into a core definition and a remainder, and the remainder is the wordplay. [If the wordplay doesn’t fit that pattern, for example by incompletely overlapping the core def or only consuming part of the remainder, then the clue feels unsatisfactory.] The TANDOORI clue is of this type – and feels valid despite the somewhat torturous cryptic reading!
Might I er be a bit late on the scene, Roz @16?
The Philistine puzzle was stupendous. Managed to solve it without aids for once, though I only half-parsed GESTATE. The stand-outs have been rightly applauded. I also rather liked CELERIAC though have never managed to grow a respectable one.
Many thanks, Philistine and bridgesong.