Guardian Prize 2,981 / Paul

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A puzzle at the more straightforward end of Paul’s range, I think, especially for a Prize, made easier by the four long answers, which went in pretty readily. There seem to be rather a lot of clues requiring us to take first, last or alternate letters of [or off] clue words, eg in 11, 22,8, 3, 7, 9, 18, 19 [twice], but with some nice indicators, eg ‘reduced’ [cost] and [duck stuffed with] ‘trimmings’. I enjoyed it [especially 13 [easy, but I liked the definition], 17, 22,8, 24ac and 2, 9 and 15dn]. Many thanks, Paul.

Across

1 Murky ratholes housing black anteater
SLOTH BEAR
An anagram [murky] of RATHOLES round [housing] B [black]

6 A game breeder
STUD
Double definition

10 Eighteenth channel, perhaps, running back from an organ
RENAL
Reversal [running back] of LANE R: if the first channel is A, the eighteenth will be R

11 See mistake, reduced cost next to nothing
BISHOPRIC
BISH [mistake] + O [nothing] + PRIC[e] cost reduced

12 Privileged individual in communist is revolutionary
INSIDER
IN + reversal [revolutionary] of RED [communist] IS

13 Getting all those in attendance into shelter, one succeeds
LEGATEE
GATE [all those in attendance – eg at a football match] in LEE [shelter]

14 US concert venue, Spooner’s pit for all-singing, all-dancing entertainment?
HOLLYWOOD BOWL
I’m no fan of Spoonerisms and this, BOLLYWOOD HOLE [all-singing, all-dancing entertainment], was not a particularly good example, I thought

17 Boycott’s indomitable spirit, perhaps, that keeps Bradford’s roads passable in winter?
YORKSHIRE GRIT
Double / cryptic definition, referring to professional Yorkshireman, Geoffrey Boycott

21 Why the punishment?
WHAT FOR
Double definition, as in ‘You’ll get what for!’

22,8 Duck stuffed with trimmings of roast deer cooked for a stickler for naval etiquette?
QUARTERDECKER
QUACKER [duck] round [stuffed with] RT [first and last letters – trimmings – of RoasT] and an anagram [cooked] of DEER, for a term I’d never heard of. Chambers, alone of my dictionaries, lists it, as naval slang for a stickler for naval etiquette, so I’m not sure of the need for the question mark in the clue

24 Perception of physical attributes failing to impress Amy, I suspect?
BODY IMAGE
BODGE [failing] round [to impress – nice containment indicator, exploiting its second meaning] an anagram [suspect] of AMY I

25 Fashionable to write crosswords as a secondary newspaper feature?
INSET
IN [fashionable] + SET [write crosswords]: just the day before this puzzle appeared, Picaroon had given us ‘What yours truly does after wearing gussets (6)’. Again, is the question mark really necessary?

26 Get some stick?
TWIG
Double definition

 27 Damage is down to a tree
SATINWOOD
An anagram [damage] of IS DOWN TO A

Down

1 Reliable hand
STRAIGHT
Double definition, a straight being a hand in poker, which I only vaguely knew – and the other definition didn’t spring readily to mind, either

2 Napoleon’s speech in breaking sanctions
OINKS
IN in [breaking] OKS [sanctions]: Napoleon is the pig based on Stalin in ‘Animal Farm’.

3 Surgery on thyroid and facial features primarily cause of congestion?
HOLIDAY TRAFFIC
An anagram [surgery] of THYROID and FACIAL + F[eatures]

4 Restriction that’s overturned nothing to excite me
EMBARGO
Reversal [overturned] of O [nothing] + GRAB [excite] + ME

5 Corrosion was in the van, so took stock
RUSTLED
RUST [corrosion] + LED [was in the van] – clever surface

7 Detail the villain squeezing lightly at first, as strangler
THROTTLER
TH[e] [‘detailed’] + ROTTER [villain] round L [first letter of L[ightly]

9 Paul helping to support Central African area, welcoming opening of land mass
CONGLOMERATION
ME [Paul] + RATION [helping] after [to support, in a down clue] CONGO [Central African area] round [welcoming] first letter [opening] of L[and] – I liked ‘Paul helping’ [I gather that I have several fellow-devotees of ‘Pointless’, who will relish this one.  😉 ]

15 Natural sunblock ideally in jars
LEYLANDII
An anagram [jars] of IDEALLY IN for x Cuprocyparis leylandii, which, as a Guardian article says, translates as “tree most likely to annoy your neighbours”  – like this

16 Wind I treated, repeated!
ITERATED
A rather obvious anagram [wind] of I TREATED – but an amusing surface

18 Better proposition under squire, every so often
SURPASS
Alternate letters [every so often] of SqUiRe + PASS [proposition]

19 Hearing top foreign number, undaunted, Eurovision songstress timidly starts
INQUEST
[c]INQ [foreign number ‘topped’] + first letters [starts] of Undaunted Eurovision Songstress Timidly

20 Singer’s inspiring front lifted, appearing cheap
TWO-BIT
TIT [singer] round [inspiring] a reversal [lifted] of BOW [front]

23 Chain exhibited in magistrates’ court
TESCO
Hidden in magistraTES COurt

19 comments on “Guardian Prize 2,981 / Paul”

  1. Thanks Eileen. BODGE (cf BOTCH) and BISH were new to me but readily enough apparent. I share your reservation about 14.

  2. Thanks Eileen. I agree: this was dead easy for a prize, though 18d at the end troubled me until the ‘every so often’ light bulb went on.

  3. Thanks for the blog, Eileen. I needed your help to parse 20d & 10a.

    I liked 3d, 2d, 26a, 22/8, 4d, 9d.

    New words for me were LEYLANDII, QUARTERDECKER, BISH.

  4. Thanks, Eileen. I agree this was easy for Paul and certainly for a prize (whatever that may mean!)

    It helps, of course, to be familiar with his ways – “Napoleon: in a Paul puzzle, must be the pig” for instance. 😉

  5. Many thanks Eileen & Paul for a very enjoyable puzzle.

    I’d never heard of QUARTERDECKER before and I had wondered what it was.

    And now I have great pleasure in presenting Paul with a real Quarterdecker for the best ever clue in any Puzzle:

    (Roll of Drums)

    For OINKS

    Well done Paul!

    As I also live in Brighton & Hove, I’ll pop round to your place later. Please have your butler ready a Jerobaum of 1990 Dom Perignon for me plus another one for you – if you’d like to join me in the celebrations.

  6. Thanks to Eileen for a great blog of a lovely crossword – thanks to Paul for a nice Saturday diversion.

    Biggles@1 – you obviously didn’t read the Jennings Books by Anthony Buckeridge – young Jennings was always making a ‘bish’ of things.

  7. Thanks Eileen and Paul

    Enjoyed this. Ticked 11a, 22,8, 2d, 3d, 9d and 19d.

    Having got used to distinguishing in academic contexts between inheritance and succession, I was first slightly uncomfortable with the definition of 13a, but I agree that there is no problem in everyday language and it is a nice clue.

    3d was an unlikely anagram.

  8. Thanks Eileen.

    I read 10 differently – ‘Eighteenth’ signifying the position in the alphabet and the ”channel running backwards’ being a lane (as in ten pin-bowling, say). I think that was my working-out because I was surprised that I had to letter-count so far into the alphabet – but I thought I’d come across it before in a Paul.

  9. Sorry Eileen –

    I really must read more carefully – I realise you’re saying the same thing differently. My point was – how deep the count had to go. I had separated the LANE + R, where you had yoked them.

  10. Me again –

    I thought the twinkle from Paul was BOLLYWOOD WHOLE (tather than HOLE) so the wink was in supplying the missing W. I realise this fails to explain the ‘pit’ which I thought was rather muddying the Spoonerism. I concluded we were somewhere between BOLLYWOOD (W)HOLE which is a little convoluted.

  11. Thanks to Paul and Eileen. I enjoyed this relatively easy puzzle. I love Spoonerisms and can’t see anything wrong with this one. Surely Bollywood is indeed an all singing, all dancing place, and pit is a hole!!

  12. Re 14, er, what? There sheems to be shomething of a mishundershtanding here as to what a Spoonerism actually is. 10 too, as LANE/ R all reversed, doesn’t seem to me to require all that much in the way of deep contemplation. But, if you really must, then we must endure.

  14. Real examples of Spoonerisms are fun. A Scottish Band called Biffy Clyro (Tramp might be able to help us out with more details) have always insisted that their name came about because one of the members owned a Cliff Richard pen, i.e. “Cliffy Biro”, which was accidentally spoonerised on a drunken night out.

  15. crypticsue @ 6. Guilty. I may be dating myself but I would have been more familiar with the vernacular employed by Richmal Crompton or Arthur Ransome.

  16. Thanks Paul and Eileen

    Was easier than a normal for Paul puzzle to me. Finished with RENAL which brougt a smile when the LANE R light went on.

    YORKSHIRE GRIT didn’t sit entirely well for me – I understood from references that grit on a road near Bradford could be termed that and is ratified with the mention of the gritty Boycott. But doesn’t Yorkshire grit specifically refer to a kind of stone that is used to polish marble? Is it the same stuff?

    Other than that, enjoyed the rest of the clues including the visual of the Bollywood hole !

  17. Yes an easy Paul but an enjoyable one I thought.

    The usual discussions on here by the usual suspects but it’s all part of life’s rich tapestry etc. I suppose we’d be worried if nobody had “misgivings”.

    As far as Yorkshire grit goes, I’m sure I’ve heard the term used to describe Mr Boycott and Brian Close. I am also sure that the large depot outside Bradford has a very large pile of rock salt or whatever they use for gritting the roads these days. I am equally sure that the “UK Ombudsman for Road Safety” would very likely refer to this pile as “Yorkshire grit” without any fear of contradiction or shaking of heads!

    Thanks to Paul and Eileen

  18. bruce @16: Reasoning that any kind of grit applied to marble would do serious damage I Googled about a bit. ‘marble polish’ confirmed my suspicions. But ‘Yorkshire grit’ led to gritstone bouldering. Truly gripping.

  19. Thanks gents

    What you say makes sense … just that this definition from Wordsense and Webster did raise my query:

    Yorkshire grit (English)
    Noun:
    archaic – A kind of stone used for polishing marble, and copperplates for engravers.

    Am sitting a little ‘weller’ now.

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