26146 Love it or hate it, product placement is here to stay

Author   ZabadakPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Actually, it might be difficult to get too worked up about this mild and (mostly) inoffensive number. True, there’s one or two clues that belong in the Christmas cracker school of settng, and one answer that, at least for me, is in the great mist of words I know but would find hard to define precisely. There is also one answer which I have not yet parsed to my satisfaction. Maybe light will dawn. 14.50 was my time. Oh, and this time, there really isn’t a “hidden”.
Here’s what I know. About this crossword, obviously, not the sum total of all that I have learned and can still remember.

Across

1 SWEARWORD  Curse
Opinion is divided as to whether this is one word or two, or hyphenated, Doesn’t matter who’s right, here it’s one. Symbol of authority is SWORD, insert WEAR for diminish
6 DECAF  Coffee
Not sure I see the point, since surely the whole purpose of coffee is to get caffeine into the system (and make lots of money for Starbucks™) . Dealt with is FACED, “pass” it back.
9 AVERAGE mean
Wasted time trying to remember the names of the furies and only being able to remember Billy. AVE from ‘ave Maria, prayer. Fury is just RAGE. Assemble.
10 MIDWIFE  One’s present at birth
Oh, ok, now I get it. IF is found mid-wIFe. Simples
11 NANNY STATE  overprotective government
Pretty much a write-in from the overgenerous definition, but just to make sure, Issue tender is NANNY (one who tends your issue, duh), and say, STATE
12 TEES  river
Sounds like tease, kid
14 CELLO  Instrument
Do as the clue says and attach a O to a hexagon of honeycomb. That’ll be a CELL, then.
15 CASSOWARY  One can’t take off
75% of money is CASh. So is – um – SO. Careful is WARY. Splice.
16 WHOLESALE  Indiscriminate
As in murder, for example. Our swimming sole produces OLES, feed it to a WHALE
18 GIMME  shot conceded
A gimme is, in golf, a short putt that one’s opponent is sportingly excused from playing, there being little likelihood of missing it. Here’s the most famous (and wonderful) example. Yours truly is ME, and a Russian fighter is the one that is not a Sukhoi, going backwards or “reeling”
20 ROOK nest builder
Or (chess) man
21 PANJANDRUM potentate
PAN the god, JAN the month, beat the DRUM. Lego® instructions don’t come clearer
25 INFANTA Princess
Especially if Spanish. In is – um – IN, cooler, FAN, and a hat without a head heading West is TA
26 MATTING  coarse fibres.
Joining together MATING, insert the ultimate in carpeT. Sort of an &lit
27 EARTH  Fox’s home…
…and planet.
28 CROTCHETY  given to crankiness
And a piece of paper with lots of notes of the value of half a minim thereon might whimsically be so described

Down

1 SPAIN  Country
S(mall) plus PAIN, of which baguette is an example.
2 ETERNAL  Constant
E(mbarrassment) and the R(oyal) N(avy) appearing in TEAL, shade not duck
3 READY MONEY  Wonga (if you add the .com it’s ©)
“Wonga” might confuse the Oz contingent, who apparently use it for trees, pigeons and beaches. Otherwise it’s a) romany for coal/money; b) of unknown origin; c) an apparently legal means of saddling people with £1,500 of debt for a £100 loan so that at least someone can sponsor Newcastle United even if their new kit gets the logo wrong; d) Greece’s only hope of rescue, same as c) really. To our purpose, a “funny” version of EVERY MONDAY without the V(ery).
4 OVERT  (that’s) clear
Minister, or REV, is held “up” in the grip of the O(ld) T(estament), a religious text
5 DEMITASSE  Cup
“Spill” MISSED and TEA. As the French suggests, a small cup, usually of coffee. Again, what’s the point?
6 DIDO Queen of Carthage
Failed to act: DID 0. Probably from a 1950’s Christmas cracker when most people who could afford crackers would know who Dido was.
7 CHIMERA delusion
Harmonise gives CHIME, and here the god of choice is RA
8 FREESTYLE  crawl
As in swimming, and a “worn” version of TYRES FEEL
13 MORGANATIC  leaving nothing to poor relations
Mostly relating to a swathe of European royal marriages (and Genghis Khan) in which the commoner spouse gets a dowry but inherits nothing else. Mrs Franz Ferdinand was one such. It’s an anagram of TRAGIC MAN with 0, zilch, included.
14 COWARDICE  puslilanimity
Another Lego® type clue. Business CO; fighting WAR; bones DICE.
15 CHARABANC Old means of transport
Came up as recently as May 5th when the clue was (and I quote) “Endless opportunity to secure horse for coach once”. In the interests of similar economy, I quote Topicaltim’s explanation. ARAB (horse) in CHANC{e}
17 ON OFFER up for grabs
For want of better, my favourite. There are here two possibilities for a switch, ON and OFF. Add the monarch, ‘ER in Windsor.
19 MARMITE Pot
As featured on a jar of Marmite (surprisingly not ™, ® or ©). It’s like Vegemite only not as salty. Stain provides MAR, and little one MITE. The advertising slogan, “love it or hate it”, has brought marmite into the language as something  about which there is no shade of opinion.
22 JUMBO  aircraft
Definitely tumbled out of a cracker.  I don’t thnk I want to explain further.
23 MUGGY Close
Changed my mind, this is my favourite. Like a vessel, “MUG-GY”. Ouch.
24 INCH Small amount
Not if it all falls on Dorset in 15 minutes, it’s not. Take the top from CINCH, that sort of piece of cake

40 comments on “26146 Love it or hate it, product placement is here to stay”

  1. … through in less than a cup of coffee. As noted, a great puzzle for the biffers. Classic was NANNY STATE: but that turns out to be quite clever on retro parsing.

    FYI Z8 — Marmite, 4.3g/100g sodium; Vegemite, 3.45g/100g. But let’s not start a culinary Ashes eh?

    1. Though clearly Marmite has measurably more sodium, Wiki says “the Australian Vegemite…is saltier in taste”. How clever of the Australians.
  2. With MAR likely, and given my mindset, I was looking for a different pot; MARMITE didn’t make sense to me, but MAR did and MITE did, so wotthehell. DNK wonga, but somehow READY MONEY came to mind from a few checkers; so I got it right without solving. I’m not proud. DIDO struck me as a giveaway, the Aeneid and all being pretty GKish still, I hope. Or ‘The Tempest’ (‘widow Dido’). LOI was 12ac: had other kids in mind, and couldn’t think of a T//S river for a while. I think I’d go for 17d as COD.
  3. 29 minutes, with more than half of those spent in the SE corner, where being only vaguely familiar with the testamentary word (and that only through crosswords), not knowing my favourite spread (nothing like the other stuff, by the way) was named after a pot, and failing to get much further than a a CHOR- start for 28a combined to slow me down like an Aussie quick in the principality.

    Play of the day to MUGGY.

  5. Excuse me.

    It’s like Vegemite!! Really! What a lack of discernment.

    Marmite is bliss! LOVE IT – Vegemite (Oz) is quite disgusting!HATE IT! Marmite (NZ) is actually Vegemite!! SNEAKY!

    When I was a boy in Lincolnshire, many moons ago, we had neither -the local spread was ‘Splendo’ – it tasted just like Marmite – and came in a little, flat glass tub with a green tin lid.

    Anyone remember?

    Horryd – Shanghai

      1. And “Outraged of Shanghai” really should do his homework. NZ Marmite is a proprietary recipe of the Sanitarium company — a massive capitalist enterprise that pays no tax because it’s the 7th-Day Adventist Church in disguise. It’s on sale here in Australia and bears only a vague comparison to Vegemite or pommy Marmite. However, because Sanitarium own the brand name locally, we have to smuggle in real Marmite. (Confession: I like both!) Or else get it under the counter at Indian grocers. For a while the pommy recipe came in under the brand name “OurMate”!

        Anyone for Promite?
        http://www.bitesizedthoughts.com/2011/11/vegemite-marmite-and-promite.html

        Edited at 2015-07-09 09:24 am (UTC)

    3. Yes, I remember Splendo, too. Only got it when we visited my aunt in Kent in the late forties/early fifties – we lived in the Midlands.
      Wonder what became of it? What a memory you have, I don’t remember the packaging.
    4. Splendo was brilliant – loved it ! I thought I had imagined it because nobody remembered it – not even my parents! I just emailed a museum in London who confirmed it and described it exactly as I remember it (in Sussex) about 64 years ago !
  6. A cheery puzzle that raised my spirits a notch or two. The marmite pot appears in the logo on the label of the yeast extract so should be familiar to to those who eat it. Its intense salty flavour is remarkably similar to the meat product, Bovril, which is also delicious spread on hot buttered toast.
  7. …and I knew there was something wrong with DEMATISSE as I entered it. Oh well.

    Never heard of wonga in any context (beach? tree? pigeon?). Also never heard of MORGANATIC and didn’t know MARMITE was a pot, but the checkers and the wordplay sorted them out.

    Can’t imagine life without vegemite. What on earth would you put on your toast when nursing a hangover?

    Thanks setter and blogger.

    2. Wonga pigeon, so good they named it twice. Wonga beach, Queensland. I may have been misled about the tree, but there is a wonga wonga vine (again, note the enthusiastic doubling), and just across the narrow strip of water that separates the two nations, New Zealand has Wonga Wonga Bay.
  8. Enjoyed this one: possibly because I was able to do it in 28 minutes. Loved the “Issue tender” idea and the CASSOWARY definition.
    LOI Tees – and I know the NE of England really well too.
    If you want a match made in heaven, try marmite with cream cheese.
  9. Really enjoyable. I liked the “baguette” to french bread to “pain” link. And a hearty chuckle over “crotchety” too.
  10. 10:14 … terrific blog. Thank you, Z. How fitting that the page you link for the Nicklaus / Jacklin story should turn out to be selling something!

    I may be unusual in having no strong feelings about Marmite. I’m aware that for many Marmite is like Marmite — you either love it or hate it (Dave Gorman did a wonderful piece on ‘Modern Life is Goodish’ about the redundancy in that cliché).

    ON OFFER — first rate clue

    1. I feel the same about Marmite, and I don’t think we’re particularly unusual. The fact that Unilever have managed to foist this myth on all of us is a marketing triumph. A really irritating marketing triumph.
  12. 20:52 finishing with the two unknowns PANJANDRUM and MORGANATIC.

    Amazing that sotira, keriothe and I are the three people who are ambivalent towards marmite and we are all posting here.

  13. Very elegantly clued, and all the knowledge met my definition of general, so an enjoyable sub-10. The next time I’m feeling rich enough to upgrade my kitchen equipment, the Le Creuset marmite is certainly on my wish list.
  14. 13 mins. Count me as another who isn’t that bothered either way about MARMITE, although I admit the answer went in from the wordplay. ON OFFER was my LOI after INFANTA. Although the puzzle did indeed lend itself to a lot of biffing I made sure I understood the answers before I entered them (I’m still annoyed with myself for the mistake I made a couple of days ago), and while it extended my time slightly it did make me appreciate some of the cluing, such as “issue tender” for NANNY and the whole clue for 3dn.
  15. 12m. Not difficult, but a very enjoyable puzzle.
    I knew that a MARMITE was a pot, from French I expect.
    I didn’t know (had forgotten, I think) MORGANATIC. It was my last in and for a while I thought it was going to be one of those impossible-to-be-sure-of anagrams, but then it wasn’t.
  16. Easy puzzle, excellent blog

    SWEARWORD-DECAF sums up my feeling very well and I feel for people who eat MARMITE and its variations because they prevent the palate from enjoying more subtle flavours.

  17. 18:27. Defeated by MORGANITIC… I knew CONGENETIC wasn’t right. 10a my favourite, not 19d – I am in the ‘hate’ camp. I fear that, if we have any Marmite, it is much neglected (thanks ulaca). It is an ingenious use of leftover brewer’s yeast. In my nanobrewery I just wash it down the drain.
  18. Anyone who prefers Marmite to Vegemite is, quite frankly, deranged. Once you go over to the other side there is no going back.
      1. I love Marmite, I am not so impressed by Vegemite, but above all, – i LOVE Bovril on my toast. Am I even more deranged?
        Cheddar and Marmite sandwich = perfect 10th tee snack.
        1. For me, preparing for a walk in Hong Kong’s beautiful countryside, it’s always a question of whether to pack cheese and Branston or cheese and Marmite.

          Edited at 2015-07-10 03:09 am (UTC)

  19. 9:24 finishing with the unknown Morganatic, thrown in with fingers crossed based on a likely looking jumble of what I took to be the fodder despite a serious doubt that it was an actual word.

    Ticks for the economy of the clue for demitasse and its amusing surface and also for the on off switch thing. Muggy was straight out of ISIHAC.

    For the sake of balance I should say that I love Marmite, and I’m willing to volunteer to kiss the girl in the advert.

    Nice blog Z, thanks.

  20. Relatively simple solve, all but the SE and TEES completed on the rattler, then interrupted by several hours of real work before wrapping it all up in, I estimate, less than 40 mins total – not bad for a duffer like me. I love the stuff (UK variant) and had it for breakfast. Biffed NANNY, but now think that is clever – thanks for the enlightenment. LOI TEES.
  21. Nice puzzle. A1 blog thank you Z. I knew “petite marmite” (a sort of soupy stew or vice versa) from a summer in France when I was 14. Delicious if you didn’t inquire too closely into the provenance of the ingredients. You and me both on the Le Creuset Tim! Bovril is my go-to broth-maker when recovering from the flu. Marmite so-so. Have yet to try Vegemite et al but I’m quite willing.

    We had WONGA sometime in the last year or so when it was new to me and I confused it with something Berlusconi might have been up to.

    I think Edward VIII tried to swing some sort of morganatic dodge with Mrs. Simpson but was told – we don’t do that sort of thing in England. 11.47

  22. The Lego instructions didn’t stop me from hazarding that there could be a potentate named PANJUNERAM. Oh well, good thing it wasn’t my turn.
  23. About 15 minutes, ending with MARMITE after a spin through the alphabet. I know of it vaguely as the spread product because it’s been mentioned here. I don’t think it’s commonly available in the US but I could be wrong, maybe it is, but I’m rather sure it’s not commonly eaten. And I certainly didn’t know it was a pot, but it fit the wordplay, as did READY MONEY for the unfamiliar Wonga. Regards.
  24. Quick solve. Pleasant puzzle, although the clue for MIDWIFE was perhaps a little clunky.
  25. A rare finish unaided, so pleased. Nice to get one under my belt again. Regards
    Andrew K
  26. Oh phooey! Everything was going so well, with the possibility of breaking 6 minutes looking distinctly likely – until I hit the wall with my last three clues: 26ac, 19dn and 23dn.

    I had a ghastly senior moment with 23dn: I could see exactly how the clue worked, but just couldn’t think of the answer. Eventually I got MATTING for 26ac, at which point MUGGY leapt out from where it had been hiding at the back of my mind. But MARMITE still took me another few minutes, with MAR as a possible (probable?) start leading me to wonder if the answer was some variant of MARIJUANA which I didn’t know. In the end I took a deeply depressing 11:38.

    Did anyone else bung in PLANE for 22dn? At least it was easy to correct once I came to 21ac, PANJANDRUM being a word I’ve known from when I was introduced to Samuel Foote’s “So she went into the garden …” at a very early age.

    A delightful puzzle. I completely disagree with harmonic_row over 10ac (MIDWIFE), which is my COD.

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