Guardian 23929/Paul — 24ac?
Posted by Colin Blackburn on November 21st, 2006
Solving time : 20-60 minutes (see below).
I spent a lot of time looking at this on the bus but at the end of a 40 minute journey I had just a few answers 15, 23 and 25. I picked the puzzle up again at lunchtime and rattled it off within 20 minutes. So, I’m discounting those first 40 minutes!
The puzzle is a classic Paul affair but with no long anagrams or cross-references, and no obvious theme. There are some groan-inducing clues and some clues which are delights.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | HI+JACK — could the inscription in the card have been, “Hello John”? |
| 9 | CABLE TELEVISION — it is neither the radio nor is it wireless. I got this answer some way into the puzzle and filled in television. I briefly considered STEAM TELEVISION as a slang term for radio amongst tellyphobes and radiophiles, sadly it is not in the dictionary but neither does it fit the clue. |
| 10 | O(KAY)ED — dictionary always suggests OED as a possibility. Here Funny Peter is Peter Kay, the northern English comic, originator of Phoenix Nights. |
| 11,26 | PRINTING ERRORS — of course the boobs (ERRORS) could be on any page but the cryptic definition here refers to the photograph of a topless model found on page 3 of some tabloid newspapers. |
| 18 | D+OLOROSO — heading for drink is D, a drink is OLOROSO (a sherry). The definition here is that little word at the end, sadly. Musical directions such as LARGO, LENTO, PRESTO and, of course, P, PP, F and FF, are usual in fodder but here the direction is the answer. |
| 22 | GALAXY — axes isn’t a verb but the plural of axis, X and Y are both axes. They sometimes occur, along with Z, as unknowns. |
| 24 | UNSOPHISTICATED — anag of (pain)T NUDES PISTACHIO. |
| 25 | SWEATY — anag of WET SAY, what joggers might so horribly get. Very nice clue, especially as a sweaty runner myself. |
| Down | |
| 1 | H(E+ARK)EN — not a word I’ve come across before but the word play is straightforward enough once you realise that a layer is something that lays (eggs.) |
| 7 | T+R+OUNCE — excellent surface alluding to the imminent Ashes contest. Oz = OUNCE rather than the Aussies. |
| 13 | UNDERT+ONE — Where are teeth filed? Not at the dentist’s but UNDER T (think filing cabinets.) |
| 16 | A(LUM)NUS — a LUM is a chimney (new to me) and as such it blows smoke. The hole is ANUS, making this rather a tits and bums crossword! |
| 18 | H(SIN)AD (rev) — Mussolini was hanged (or was it hung) upside down, as was the wordplay here. |
| 20 | SEXLESS — this is my mystery clue. ‘still a virgin’ is at least part of one definition. Is the word play, S(on) + EX (first relationship) + LESS (but) or is there something else going on?
See below: ‘in first relationship’ = EXLESS (Doh!) |
| 23 | LLANO — hidden in reverse. Simple enough but it is worth remembering this classic crossword word, a type of plain. |
November 21st, 2006 at 1:25 pm
20dn – I took “in first realtionship” to be “EXLESS” (ie having no exes).
November 21st, 2006 at 1:30 pm
Exless = not having any exes and therefore in first relationship
November 21st, 2006 at 1:32 pm
Thanks to both of you. It is amazing how the obvious can sail right past sometimes. Of course this being Paul exless is now groaningly obvious, though I daresay I’ll miss it again.
November 21st, 2006 at 1:38 pm
OK — i’ll chime in and say that I read this is as: S(on)+EX(“my ex” as in “my first wife”) and LESS (is a kind of mathematical relationship). Oh well…
as for
November 21st, 2006 at 1:54 pm
I particularly enjoyed ‘exless’, and also the use of ‘axes’ for x and y. Not sure about ‘it’s plain to see’ to define ‘llano’ – surely ‘it’s plain’ is enough, the rest is padding.
November 22nd, 2006 at 8:36 am
My solving experience on this one was the reverse of Colin’s – I cantered through 90% of the clues in about 15 minutes and then got stuck for the same amount of time on the last few. This happens to me quite a lot and it’s annoying as I would like to get my solving times down.
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:26 am
Cracking puzzle. I never realised Mussolini was hanged upside down. Very clever.