Guardian Cryptic 26469 Paul

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(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)   About midway in difficulty level for a Paul puzzle, I thought. Thanks to Paul. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1    Way out in front, was ahead! (6)

BOWLED : BOW(the front of a ship or boat) + LED(was ahead, in a race, say).

Defn: In cricket one of the ways a batsman can be dismissed, or out.

4    Last of plant matter, organic material (6)

TISSUE : The last letter of(Last of) “plant” + ISSUE(the matter or topic at hand).

9    Manager, a stud (4)

BOSS : Double defn.

10    Fuzzy aphid requiring a sense that’s clear (10)

DIAPHANOUS : Anagram of(Fuzzy) APHID plus(requiring) A + NOUS(common sense;intelligence).

11    A second president recalled as brainless life form (6)

AMOEBA : A + MO(short for “moment”;a second, as in “wait a mo”, and “wait a sec”) + reversal of(… recalled) ABE(the nickname for former American president, Abraham Lincoln).

12    Artist’s medium, or impressively large, portrait for starters isn’t common (3,5)

OIL PAINT : The 1st letters, respectively, of(… for starters) “or impressively large, portrait ” + AIN’T(nonstandard term for;in common usage, “isn’t”).

13    Criminal hit copper – that’s ominous! (9)

PROPHETIC : Anagram of(Criminal) HIT COPPER.

15    Flirt offering a kiss after thirty seconds? (4)

MINX : X(letter indicating a kiss) placed after(after) MIN(half of “minute”, ie. 30 seconds).

16    View wimp, ultimately, as drip (4)

SEEP : SEE(to view) + the last letter of(…, ultimately) “wimp “.

17    Reporter putting five points to the nation (9)

NEWSWOMAN : N,E,W,S,W(abrrevs., respectively for five compass points) plus(to) OMAN(the Middle Eastern nation).

21    Half as much fun twirling moustache? (2,6)

FU MANCHU : Anagram of(… twirling) [half of the letters of(Half) “as ” + MUCH FUN].

Defn: …, named after the fictional criminal genius, Dr. Fu Manchu.

22    Far from bloody outstanding article – deservedly so? (6)

UNREAD : UN-RED(not red;far from bloody) containing(outstanding …) A(the grammatical article).

Defn: Perhaps;? descriptive of a written article, in a newspaper, say, that is far from being outstanding.

24    Antique objects found in battered raincoat after the last King George (10)

VICTORIANA : Anagram of(battered) RAINCOAT placed after(after, in an across clue) VI(the Sixth in full, to date the last King of the UK with the name George).

25    Freight’s seagoing, by the sound of it, for legendary ship (4)

ARGO : “cargo”(freight) minus(…going) “c”(pronounced as;by the sound of it “sea”).

Defn: … on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed in search of the Golden Fleece.

26    Anxiety shown by figure returning to collect mother, finally (6)

NERVES : Reversal of(… returning) SEVEN(figure;number) containing(to collect) the last letter of(…, finally) “mother “.

27    Dividing wall takes a month? I’m not sure (6)

SEPTUM : SEPT(short for the 9th month of the year) + UM(an expression of uncertainty;”I’m not sure”).

Defn: …, or membrane between 2 cavities in an organism’s body, eg. that between the left and right nostrils.

Down

1    Flour, say, for bread (7)

BLOOMER : BLOOMER[a flower, in turn, a homophone of(…, say) “Flour “].

2    Rubbish sci-fi film watched after promotion (5)

WASTE : Reversal of(… after promotion) [ ET(the Extra-Terrestrial, the sci-fi film) ] + SAW(watched) ].

3    Final moves by English celebrity to impress BBC chief (7)

ENDGAME : E(abbrev. for “English”) + NAME(a celebrity;a famous person) containing(to impress) D.G.(abbrev. for “Director-General”, the job title of the BBC chief).

5    Popular? Well I never did! (Clinton) (6)

INHALE : IN(popular;in fashion) + HALE(well;healthy and robust, as in “hale and hearty”).

Defn: As in this Bill Clinton quote in full: ““When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and didn’t like it. I didn’t inhale, and I didn’t try it again.”

6    A ninja, might you say, in Chinese republic (3,6)

SAN MARINO : { A N… + MAR[to injure, in turn a homophone of(might you say) “…inja”] } contained in(in) SINO-( a prefix used to refer to China).

Defn: …, smallest in the world, and surrounded by Italy.

7    Horse docked before bovine about 22 September? (7)

EQUINOX : “equine”(a horse) minus its last letter(docked) placed above(before, in a down clue) OX(a bovine).

Defn: About when the autumnal equinox in the northern hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the southern hemisphere, occurs.

8    Green council’s a real nightmare (8,5)

CAROLINE LUCAS : Anagram of(… nightmare) COUNCIL’S A REAL.

Answer: A Green Party of England and Wales MP.

14    American author, one trying to be a poor writer (9)

POETASTER : POE(Edgar Allan, American author) + TASTER(one trying;having a taste of).

Defn: … of insignificant or shoddy verse.

16    Nonsense of USA and Iran, prehistoric (7)

SAURIAN : Anagram of(Nonsense of) [ USA plus(and) IRAN ].

18    South African application that may be panned? (7)

SAUSAGE : S.A.(abbrev. for “South African”) + USAGE(application;employment).

Defn: What may be put in a pan prior frying.

19    Publication priest set up that’s mercurial? (7)

AMALGAM : Reversal of(… set up, in a down clue) [ MAG(short for “magazine”;a publication) + LAMA(a Tibetan priest) ].

Answer: An alloy of various metals including mercury, used as dental filling.

20    Rare shock, leader in competition getting held (6)

SCARCE : SCARE(a shock) containing(… getting held) the 1st letter of(leader in) “competition “.

23    Slam meat in the oven? (5)

ROAST : Double defn: 1st: To criticise.

(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)

42 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 26469 Paul”

  1. Thanks Paul, and also scchua for the blog.

    The first set of across clues (as far as 16) were pretty much write-ins which is unusual for Paul – it felt more like a Rufus or an Everyman – but then it became more difficult, especially the SE corner. I didn’t get 14d (which I’d never heard of), and I couldn’t parse 6d (which is a bit of a stretch IMHO).

    Not a typical Paul I felt.

  2. I found this puzzle quite challenging and not a lot of fun (= I usually get a few more laughs and chuckles when solving a Paul puzzle) but it was a good work-out nonetheless.

    New words for me were SEPTUM, BLOOMER = bread, CAROLINE LUCAS.

    I was unable to parse the ‘anmar’ in 6d, or ‘way out’ = BOWLED in 1a, and needed help to parse 2d and 3d as well.

    My favourites were NEWSWOMAN & ARGO.

    Thanks Paul and scchua

  3. Thanks scchua. Same as Aoxomoxoa only it was the green lady I’d never gear of – but still she went straight in. Needed you to explain the ninja bit in 6D. Still good fun though.

  5. Thanks sschua.

    All been said really, except that I failed on NEWSWOMAN. Ashamed that the reason I didn’t see it was probably sexist.

    Enjoyed VICTORIANA, INHALE & BOWLED.

    Thanks for the fun, Paul.

  6. Thanks Paul and sschua.

    I could not parse NEWSWOMAN, UNREAD or SAN MARINO. Extra thanks sschua for explaining INHALE.

    Liked EQUINOX. New word POETASTER.

    Caroline Lucas is the first ever UK green MP.

  7. Mostly I found this pretty easy but ,for some reason BOWLED, SEPTUM and FUMANCHU- the last of which was so easy, I could kick myself. But this was Paul and a lot to enjoy as usual. I liked CAROLINE LUCAS and POETASTER.
    Thanks Paul

  8. Thanks Paul & scchua.

    Some typically funny homophones – ‘inja’ and ‘seagoing.,’ for example. POETASTER a new word for me. I missed the ‘front’=bow.

    I liked the NEWSWOMAN and INHALE.

  9. Thanks scchua and Paul. A bit tricky here and there, less so than a usual Paul but still enjoyable.

    Favourite was CAROLINE LUCAS. An excellent clue, especially as her local council is the UK’s only Green-controlled one.

  10. Thanks scchua and Paul. But whatever the setter’s politics, it seems unfortunate that the anagrind ‘nightmare’ is used in 8d given that Caroline Lucas is the solution – just one possible and more appropriate alternative would be ‘revolutionary’.

  11. I have never found Paul so straightforward. Coming on the back of three of the less complex setters, I’m feeling in need of a challenge. Come back Pasquale and Enigmatist, all is forgiven! My only problem was hesitancy with SAN MARINO – like others, I needed you help in parsing this one, thanks scchua.

    There is though more going on in 8d. CAROLINE LUCAS is an MP for Brighton, as Cookie @6 says the first of her party in the UK. Most Guardian readers, myself included, no doubt feel pretty sympathetic towards her, and by all accounts she’s done a good job in parliament. But the Green-led Council in Brighton & Hove (never forget the Hove bit, my in-laws are there) has had, shall we say, its challenges, as this article discusses.

  13. You will find a challenge in The Indy 😀

    The Caroline Lucas clue strongly calls out for that anagram indicator I would say, so fair play. Assuming that ‘nightmare’ is intended as adjectival, I don’t really like it being post-positional.

  15. 3 Pauls into the new year already, and as always there was plenty to enjoy here, though it was a bit easier than the last one. Last in was UNREAD, my favourite was CAROLINE LUCAS (I’m guessing she may be Paul’s MP), and it’s always nice to see the word POETASTER (which reminds me of Joanna Newsom – must dig out my copy of the Milk Eyed Mender…)

    Thanks to Paul scchua

  16. An enjoyable, clever puzzle. Thank you to Paul, and to sschua for clear explanations and for going the extra mile with the photo quiz.

  19. Thanks Scchua and Paul

    An odd mixture of write-ins and hard clues. I guessed San Marino but could not parse it – got caught up with Japanese agents and greetings! In 11a I also got tangled up with Adams as second US president until I came to my senses.
    I liked 21 and 24 plus 5, 8, and 18.
    I hesitated over 16d because of the definition which seems to focus on lizards rather than prehistory.

  21. Thanks Paul and scchua
    Easy for a Paul, though I didn’t parse SAN MARINO or UNREAD (and I’m still not totally convinced that the latter works). My favourite, by a long way, was MINX – great surface.

  24. Tim Phillips @20, that must be why some people call it cotton easter. Actually the OCED gives

    -aster suffix 1 forming nouns denoting poor quality (criticaster, poetaster) 2 Bot. denoting incomplete resemblance (oleaster, pinaster).

    Cotoneaster is derived from the name cotone for quince and the suffix -aster

  26. A strange mixture of a puzzle as has been said.

    Almost all write-ins except for a couple in the SE corner. This excludes 8D and 14D both of which I’d never encountered.

    With the crossers 8D had to be CAROLINE so it must be LUCAS. Who???

    I finally worked out POETEASTER when I finally thought of POE as an American author!

    Was this really a Paul?

    Thanks to scchua and Paul

  27. Took quite a long time, but very enjoyable. I particularly liked AMALGAM, EQUINOX and FU MANCHU. Thanks to Paul and scchua.

  28. Brendan @ 26
    I don’t know what is says about me, but when I read “American author”, my first thought was POE (though, in fairness, I did have the P)

  29. Hedgehoggy was very kind tonight.
    He should have had some complaints about the only one we couldn’t parse (6d, SAN MARINO).
    “A ninja” (might you say, ie homophone) normally leads to “a mar”.
    As it turned out to be “an mar”, Paul apparently splits up n/inja.
    Thus far, Paul hadn’t joined Boatman, Philistine and the like in these things. Tonight, he has.
    I am not fully against these kind of ‘devices’ but for me ‘might you say’ is insufficient as an indicator.
    If you do it, do it right.
    This was just really poor …
    … in an otherwise fine but unremarkable puzzle with no bums & bottoms around.

  30. Muffin @28

    Not only did I have the “P”, I also had all the other crossers. For some reason I wasn’t thinking of an author as short as 3 letters. (Must do better 😉 )

    Sil @29

    Surely indicators such as “sounds like”, “might hear”, “might you say” etc refer to near homophones. It is just individual taste how “near” one will accept. True homophones are quite rare in puzzles nowadays. On this occasion the word “might” would actually make a true homophone incorrect.

  31. Brendan, it’s not about the indicator telling us it is a homophone, it’s more about the lack of an indicator that we have split “ninja” into “n/inja” – if that’s what it is.

    Nowadays in these situations, often, we aren’t told to make a split but Paul is, in my opinion, a setter who would have given us a bit more information.
    Unlike the Philistines and Boatmans of this world.

    The clue at 6d just doesn’t feel completely right.
    Which is very un-Paul.

  32. Got there in the end but not as much fun as a usual Paul. The parsing of SAN MARINO was completely beyond me – and I still don’t like it. Never heard of a BLOOMER loaf but one of the spinoffs from crosswords is finding new words.

    I was also a bit dubious about SEEP = drip as I thought seepage occurred first and then moisture coalesced into a drip but probably Chambers et al are against me. I had similar reservations with SAURIAN which I thought referred to a dinosaur-type lizard which although found in “prehistoric” times does not mean that prehistoric = saurian.

    This sounds a bit grumpy – thought VICTORIANA was brilliant!

  33. Sorry Sil, I still can’t see your objection.

    “A ninja” is a homophone for “an inja” which is a near homophone for “an injure”. There’s no need for any indication of a split. When we speak we don’t give physical indicators of word beginnings so why is it necessary in this case? (I would appreciate it if all you linguistics experts refrain from telling us that in fact we do give indications of word beginnings with stress, gaps etc. Language is still intelligible to a native speaker without these.)

  34. Yes, Brendan, “a ninja” is, as you say, a homophone of “an injure” hence of “a mar” and not “an mar”.

    If you say – and I see your point – this should be seen as “an” + “injure”, then I’d say there are two things going on here, not just the homophone.

    In my opinion, Paul changes “a ninja” into “an injure” (that’s fine, the homophone)) but then into “an mar” (a next step, leaving ‘an’ as it was but changing ‘injure’ into ‘mar’).
    This second step is not indicated.
    That was my point.

    Hedgehoggy, where are you? 🙂

  35. You’re right I think, Sil. It’s a two-step op with a one-step ind. Not very Paul. Naughty Paul. Bad.

    Brighton will always suffer unless you mend your ways.

  36. Thanks Paul and scchua

    Didn’t find this straightforward at all … had no idea on the parsing of SAN MARINO and made a mistake with my last one in, UNREAD (having unreal – unparsed also!). Didn’t know Caroline Lucas, but found her through the anagram fodder.

    Seen POEASTER before and it presented no problem. BLOOMER similarly.

    Couldn’t find any reference to SAURIAN equating to prehistoric – only to it relating to lizards !!

    A few really nice clues, including OIL PAINT, VICTORIANA and NEWSWOMAN

  37. Thanks scchua and Paul. Only finished this morning. Like others, I struggled with SAN MARINO but I also found a good deal to enjoy. Surprised no-one has commented on 11a, which amused me hugely. The parsing was straightforward enough but the surface (“second president”) made me think of George W Bush – a brainless life form?!!! Priceless!

  38. POETASTER? POE-what?! I tried everything I could think of. Poemantor (mythic beast?), Poemaster (literature scholar?), Predantor (precursor of the modern-day pedant?)….
    Agree with Paul B – naughty Paul, bad Paul. “He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty Paul!” – Monty Paulthon

  39. OK Sil, now I see your point.

    But didn’t Puck do something similar last week in 26459 without much complaint?

    20,23 Creator of Fantasy Island comic, according to Spooner (6,5)
    WALTER MITTY

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