(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.) This was an enjoyable offering from Paul, with lots of fun teasing out the answers. Thanks Paul. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Gun torture for fun remains for downed British companions (7,3,4)
BANGERS AND MASH : BANGER(something that makes a bang, say, a gun) + [S AND M](S&M;abbrev. for “sadomasochism”, the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation;to its practitioners, torture for fun) + ASH(remains after burning).
Defn: The 2 main components of a food dish downed by many in the UK,.
8 Felon primarily after article, one getting nicked? (5)
THIEF : The 1st letter of(primarily) “Felon ” placed after(after, in an across clue) [ THE(the definite article) containing(… getting nicked) I(Roman numeral for one) ]. A WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition) clue.
9 Useless gaffe that’s faced by pubertal boys? (8)
BUMFLUFF : BUM(useless, as in “bum advice”) + FLUFF(a gaffe;a blunder).
Defn: The soft and fluffy first growth of hair on the faces of pubertal boys.
11 Do kill (7)
EXECUTE : Double defn.
12 Albert distanced from royal muse confused for royal spouse (7)
SEYMOUR : Anagram of(confused) “royal muse ” minus(… distanced from) “Al”(short for the name Albert).
Defn: …, one of King Henry VIII’s.
13 No girl, not entirely — the reverse, a boy (5)
SIMON : Reversal of(the reverse) [NO + “miss”(a young girl) minus its last letter(not entirely)].
15 Tubes out of shape, I go beyond circle (9)
OESOPHAGI : Anagram of(out of) SHAPE, I GO placed after(beyond) O(letter representing a circle).
D0 Plural of the tube connecting the pharynx to the stomach;the gullet.
17 Improving on subject, need less stuffing (2,3,4)
ON THE MEND : ON + THEME(a subject;a topic) + “need ” minus its 2 inner letters(less stuffing).
20 Very big heads in our bankrupt economy spoiling everything (5)
OBESE : The 1st letters, respectively, of(heads in) “our bankrupt economy spoiling everything ”
21 Cat — or shark, by the sound of it? (7)
CHEETAH : Homophone of(by the sound of it) “cheater”(a shark, figuratively)
23 Ring the companion of an inventor, we hear? (7)
GROMMET : Homophone of(we hear) “Gromit”(the doggy companion of Wallace, inventor in the cartoon series and films).
Defn: … to reinforce an eyelet.
25 Wee-wee, then sound of explosion dropping rear for baby’s amusement (8)
PEEKABOO : PEE(to urinate;wee-wee in baby language) plus(then) “kaboom”(imitative of the sound of an explosion) minus its last letter(dropping rear).
26 Red queen hearts? On the contrary (5)
HENNA : Reversal of(On the contrary) [ANNE(former English queen) + H(abbrev. for suit of hearts in card games) ].
Defn: … dye.
27 False prophet’s decree, something said, looking back (8,6)
REPORTED SPEECH : Anagram of(False) PROPHET’S DECREE.
Down
1 Fudge-coated voices, premier of choirs is sweet (12)
BUTTERSCOTCH : BOTCH(to fudge;to falsify) containing(coated) [ UTTERS(voices) + the 1st letter of(premier of) “choirs ” ].
2 Green brought over into blue via navy (5)
NAIVE : Reversal of(brought over) and hidden in(into) “blue via navy “.
3 Blind partner and uncle dancing merengue ultimately is filth (9)
EFFLUENCE : EFF(as in “eff and blind”;to use obscene language) plus(and) anagram of(dancing) UNCLE + the last letter of(… ultimately) “merengue “.
Defn: Waste product.
4 Unknown quantity in terribly sore bum, almost freezing (3-4)
SUB-ZERO : Z(symbol for an unknown quantity in algebra) contained in(in) anagram of(terribly) “sore bum ” minus its last letter(almost).
Answer: … temperatures.
5 Flipping source of life is plague (7)
NEMESIS : Reversal of(Flipping, in a down clue) SEMEN(the source of life, strictly, the liquid medium for one half of the source of life, or is that being too technical) + IS.
Answer: Any agency of retribution, like what the plague was once considered to be.
6 Fish in weed (5)
MOLLY : Double defn: 1st: A species of fish; and 2nd: Slang in the US for pure MDMA, the chemical component of the drug ecstasy, mixed into marijuana;weed, by some users. The equivalent British slang is “Mandy”.
7 Kill rowing team from Ipswich, say? (9)
SUFFOCATE : Homophone of(say) “Suffolk eight”(competitive team of 8 rowers from the county of which Ipswich is the county town).
10 Path rather difficult claiming benefits in the end for poor Americans (7,5)
TRAILER TRASH : TRAIL(a path) + anagram of(difficult) RATHER containing(claiming) the last letter of(… in the end) “benefits “.
Defn: … derogatively, derived from the trailer parks they live in.
14 In memo there’s extremely infantile language (9)
MOTHERESE : Hidden in(In) “memo there’s extremely “.
16 Under leader in paper, ring round rubbish as features editor (9)
PHOTOSHOP : 1st letter of(leader in) “paper ” placed above(Under …., …, in a down clue) HOOP(a ring) containing(round) TOSH(rubbish;nonsense).
Defn: Software to edit the features of a digital image. Nicely misdirecting definition.
18 Old clip seen after middle of this show (7)
EXHIBIT : EX-(prefix denoting “old”;former) + [ BIT(a clip;a little part that is cut off) placed below(seen after, in a down clue) the 2 middle letters of(middle of) “this ” ].
19 Tree as source of bark? (7)
DOGWOOD : Cryptic defn.
22 Capital overly protecting the state (5)
TOKYO : TOO(overly;in excess) containing(protecting) KY(abbrev. for the US state of Kentucky).
24 Day trip eventually starts in game (5)
MONTE : MON(abbrev. for “Monday”) + the 1st letters, respectively of(… starts) “trip eventually “.
Defn: … played with cards.
(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)
Thanks Paul and scchua
I spent a long time looking at a grid with only 3 solutions written in; then a spurt, followed by an equally painful finish (not quite, in fact – I hadn’t heard of either definition of MOLLY, so gave up on that one).
Several parsings escaped me as well. MOTHERESE was a new term for me too.
Hardest of the week – I wonder what tomorrow’s Prize standard will be?
Thanks scchua
Regarding 6dn, a MOLLY is another term for a milksop (a soft, unadventurous, effeminate man) or, in other words, a ‘weed’ (a weak, ineffectual or unmanly man) and I think this is what Paul probably had in mind (definitions from Chambers).
Gaufrid @2
I found a lot of references to MOLLY= WEED = MDMA by Googling (most seemed to involve Mile Cyrus as well).
I meant to mention PHOTOSHOP as a “top-down” only solve – i.e. guess the answer, then try to see how it works. I do prefer clues that could potentially be solved in either direction.
Thanks scchua, brilliant Paul. Eff the blind partner! B&M the downed Brits! I thought they would be Biggles’s mates. Luckily 10d jumped out. Marvellously deft anagrams – 12a, 27a, 10d. Some extremely infantile language of course (never heard of MOTHERESE) but what the heck it’s Paul.
Well done, scchua! A great blog of a puzzle that I found really tough [although I’m in Gaufrid’s team for MOLLY. 😉 ]
I struggled through this on and off during a working day – how I wish we could go back to this level of puzzle being assigned to the weeekend! That doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy the “torture for fun” though!
Completed
Thanks Gaufrid. You’re undoubtedly right – call it between a double and a triple then? 🙂
So much fun to be had here: ‘downed British companions’, ‘false prophet’s decree’ (almost a definition in itself), ‘features editor’. Must be my lucky day; I even hazarded a correct guess at last one in MOLLY.
Thanks Paul and scchua
Like most Paul puzzles for me I couldn’t see a single answer to start with and then they started to come very slowly. I put in quite a few answers without fully getting the wordplay, but in all a very enjoyable puzzle. Molly and Bumfluff stumped me. The Ipswich rowers clue was my favourite I think.
Thanks for the blog, scchua. Very enjoyable puzzle from Paul! I liked all the definitions mentioned by ulaca @8.
MOTHERESE was my first one in and MOLLY (a guess) was my last. I liked the variety very much.
Excellent puzzle. Struggled with the NE but 7d is a beauty.
Thanks Paul.
Splendid thank you Paul and scchua. Lots of ‘favourites’ today.
Didn’t get molly – I had guessed “mully” thinking of mullet. I liked THIEF and SUFFOCATE.
In my day “Mandy” referred to Mandrax, not ecstasy & cannabis
Thanks Paul, pretty tough but I got there in the end.
Thanks scchua; I couldn’t make out the parsing of BANGERS AND MASH. I think Gaufrid’s correct about MOLLY; otherwise, a US indicator would seem to be needed.
I’m not sure with M?N?E why Paul would opt for MONTE, which apparently is another word for Mountebank. Perhaps others knew of this but I thought it was quite obscure.
Usual Paul humour, and I liked PEEKABOO and the Ipswich rowing team.
Thanks scchua.
Entertaining puzzle from Paul, typically lavatorial.
I took MOLLY to mean ‘weak and ineffectual man’, as Gaufrid.
Lots of fun clues: 1a (big smile here, despite the rather clunky surface), 17a (nice construction), 20a (great surface), 27a (surprising anagram), 16d (good surface and cryptic def).
Thanks scchua and Paul. I thought this a fine puzzle too. I was particularly struck by THIEF, clever stuff.
I seem to be at odds with most people above who seem to whizz through Paul usually. I found this one of his easier Xwords, getting about five on the first time through, and then most of the rest on the second. BANGER, SEYMOUR and MOLLY held me up at the end.
I gave up with 6d and couldn’t parse 1a or 1d so thank you scchua for the explanations. I’m a bit doubtful about “botch” in 1d though. To me a botch is a bad result produced by a lack of skill, whereas a fudge is a desired result produced by dishonest means.
Thanks, Paul for a super puzzle with plenty of laughs. Thanks to scchua, too.
I was on the wavelength today. Loved SAUSAGE AND MASH. LOI was MOLLY.
Giovanna xx
Hard for me, but got there.
There’s one word in there that I’ve always had my reservations about, to whit EXECUTE. What is executed is the sentence of death, the victim is simply killed. So why do we say he was executed when it was the sentence that was executed? Are we just squeamish about direct reference to death related words?
Thanks to Paul, scchua, Gaufrid. Very tricky in parts and quite enjoyable to solve. Agree with
David Mop @18 regarding BOTCH. New words for me today included MOTHERESE, BUMFLUFF and MOLLY –
any of the definitions!
Cheers…
Re Derek @20: I don’t know, but I do remember a foreign exchange pupil being strangely reluctant to get on the coach for a school trip. The wording on the side of the coach promised “Executive Travel”.
I’m with David Mop on the ‘botch’ bit of 1d but that apart this was a typical and rewarding Paul puzzle. Rather a late start but it rolled through nicely, with crackers like BANGERS AND MASH and SUFFOCATE to help me on my way. What a good week – last week had one or two puzzles that were a little over my head, but this week has been just right.
Been in the garden pruning the DOGWOOD so we’ve only just finished. I would say it is a shrub rather than a tree, which delayed me filling it in. Needed your help sschua for the parsing of several of the solutions. MOTHERESE was a new word for us. My Mum solved BUMFLUFF and we had a really good laugh at that! A very enjoyable solve.
Re botch/fudge, I had the same reservation while solving it, but sort of justified it when writing the blog by “botch=spoil;mess it up” and “fudge=mess it up by playing around with it”. I know, it’s stretching it, maybe.
Another very enjoyable Paul puzzle that I thought was slightly harder than some of his others. I didn’t have a problem with botch/fudge but that doesn’t mean I’m right. MOLLY was my LOI with fingers crossed. I didn’t know, or had forgotten, the fish, and the milksop definition of molly only rang a faint bell.
‘Motherese’ is now no longer politically correct and has been renamed’ child-directed speech’ . Shame on you, Grauniad….
It’s so bizarre, because my daughter’s name is Molly Seymour.
Having never seen either name in a crossword in 35 years, there they both are, intersecting in the same crossword – on the day she is coming back home from university.
What a strange world we live in!
A super puzzle
Too many good clues to mention, but bumfluff and suffocate really stand out.
Thanks to Paul for so much to enjoy. Very generous. (Apart from mean little MOLLY.)
Solved 7d shortly before leaving home to visit grandchildren in Ipswich, their parents being wannabe crossworders and quite sporty. Much mirth.
The hardest Paul for a long time. (For me anyway)
A slow start followed by slow progress and finally a very slow end. Perhaps I was having a bad day.
Anyway I only just finished it this morning! LOI TRAILER TRASH
Thanks to Scchua and Paul
I’m obviously in a minority of one here. Didn’t like this at all. The usual poor surfaces that make almost no sense and the usual Paul smut. I just don’t understand why he inspires such devotion in bloggers here. Incidentally I’ve been doing the Graun cryptic for almost 40 years now, so I’m no neophyte. Ah well, chacun . . . etc.
Having just commented on last Saturday’s prize, this was at the other end of the Paul scale in terms of difficulty (i.e. one of the harder ones). Finished it in the pub – last in was MOLLY and we were stuck on that for ages, and none of us knew the MDMA usage. Didn’t help myself by writing DOGROSE instead of DOGWOOD, but that became clear once we had the REPORTED SPEECH anagram. Apart from MOLLY the SE corner was the last to crack. Another enjoyable challenge.
Thanks to Paul and scchua
Limeni says:
“What a strange world we live in!”
==
It can indeed seem that way. I once found myself following the same model of car I was driving, and realised my reg followed consecutively too, neither of us being anywhere near the town of registration. That prompted me to reflect, that the number of possible coincidences is so vast, it’s perhaps unsurprising that they happen all the time. Doctors sometimes forget that there are so many rare conditions, that they can expect to come across one quite often, by the same apparent paradox.
I’ve been fascinated too, by many a crossword’s coincidental connections, and it’s an added diversion.
I thought this was a typical Paul puzzle, a decent challenge and so no grumbles. I don’t think his minor indelicacies really warrant comment, and I notice quite a few other setters using them too lately.
I’m in the MOLLY= milksop =weed school also.
Many thanks all.
Sorry, Martin P – didn’t see your comment.
I know what you’re saying about coincidences, but I still think there is something odd about this one. ‘Seymour’ is a very odd thing to clue – no crossword-filling software would suggest it, so it seems that Paul must have intended to put it in from the beginning…and then Molly links so neatly onto the ‘Y’.
If I can work out how to contact Paul…I think I need to ask him!