Guardian 26,384 by Paul

by

Great stuff from Paul…

…I was slow in getting into the theme, but was already smiling at 17ac, 26ac and 4dn.

Across
8 JOHN PEEL
3 can strip (4,4)
is a DJ. JOHN=can=lavatory, plus PEEL=”strip”
9 CHRIS EVANS
See 25
10 ESPY
Witness of crimes, Pythagoras (4)
=”Witness”. Hidden in “crimES PYthagoras”
11 JANICE LONG
Winter weather, possibly lasting for 3 (6,4)
is a DJ. JAN[uary] ICE=”Winter weather, possibly”, plus LONG=”lasting”
12,24 FATBOY SLIM
3 — eating nothing, it’s my flab that’s surprising? (6,4)
is a DJ. (it’s my flab)*, around O=nothing, and a surface that alludes to his stage name.
14 ILL-FATED
Allied forces primarily failing to catch terrorist leader, cursed (3-5)
=”cursed”. (Allied F[orces])*, around T[errorist]
15 MAHATMA
Wise man with two degrees taking in the Kentucky Derby, perhaps? (7)
=”Wise man”. MA and MA are “two degrees”, around HAT=”Derby, perhaps” – I think “Kentucky” refers to the fact that “Derby” for a bowler hat is an American term.
17 BASENJI
Dog that’s nosy, just inquisitive, heads after bottom (7)
an African dog. N[osy] J[ust] I[nquisitive], after BASE=”bottom”
20 PASTILLE
Though future perhaps healthy, given drug? Lozenge required (8)
=”Lozenge”. PAST ILL, “Though future perhaps healthy”, plus E[cstacy]=”drug”.
22 MOTOWN
Backing singer Jones has personal musical style (6)
=”musical style”. TOM “Jones” is the singer, reversed (“Backing”), plus OWN=”personal”
23 NORMAN COOK
12 24 across, one preparing a feast fit for a conqueror? (6,4)
aka FATBOY SLIM. A NORMAN COOK might have prepared a feast for William the Conqueror
24 FATBOY SLIM
See 12
25,9 CHRIS EVANS
3 carves his initial in nonsensical scrawling (5,5)
is a DJ. (carves his n[onsensical])*
26 HYDROGEN
Extremes in heavy drinker, overpowering even, producing gas (8)
=”gas”. The “Extremes” or outermost letters of H[eav]Y D[rinke]R O[verpowerin]G E[ve]N
Down
1 BOTSWANA
Nation first to tag bird among feathers round neck (8)
=”Nation”. T[ag] plus SWAN=”bird” inside BOA=”feathers around neck”
2 INDY
500 minute laps? Time must come off for motor race (4)
=”motor race”. D=”500″ in Roman numerals, with [t]INY=”minute” lapping around it, minus the T[ime]
3 DEEJAY
Bird going after runner, hit player (6)
=”hit player”, a player of hits. JAY=”Bird”, after DEE=”runner”=river
4 BLONDIE
Beach welcoming first of lovelies, the ultimate in Prince Harry’s group (7)
=Debbie “Harry’s group”. BONDI Beach in Sydney, around L[ovelies], plus [Princ]E
5 MEA CULPA
Paul a crackhead, Paul high — I’ll put my hands up (3,5)
=”I’ll put my hands up”. ME=”Paul” the setter, plus A plus C[rack] plus (Paul)*
6 PARLIAMENT
A number of owls climbing post to access the chick feeder? (10)
=”A number of owls” – the collective noun for owls. MAIL=”post”, reversed (“climbing”) and inside PARENT=”chick feeder”
7 USANCE
Hopeless cause, with investment of unspecified figure, is normal practice (6)
=”normal practice”. (cause)* around N=”unspecified figure”
13 BEAUTY MARK
Mole yet to negotiate with Mubarak (6,4)
=”Mole”. (yet Mubarak)*
16 MILANESE
Topless Europeans in the distance, Italian of sorts (8)
a sort of Italian. [d]ANES=”Topless Europeans” in MILE=”distance”
18 JO WHILEY
3 as absorbed by happiness (2,6)
is a DJ. WHILE=”as”, inside JOY=”happiness”
19 LESOTHO
Country sign bearing direction that avoids the centre (7)
=”Country”. LEO=star “sign”, around SO[u]TH
21 AT ONCE
Heavyweight punching wizard right here, right now! (2,4)
=”right here, right now” – also the name of a Fatboy Slim song. TON=”Heavy/weight”, around ACE=”wizard”.
22 MIKADO
Write up a novel, then fashion the subject of a comic opera (6)
=”subject of a comic opera”. A plus KIM=”novel” by Rudyard Kipling, all reversed (“Write up”), then plus DO=”fashion”
24 SNOG
Kiss record flipped over in the middle (4)
=”Kiss”. SONG=”record”, with its middle two letters flipped over i.e. interchanged

40 comments on “Guardian 26,384 by Paul”

  1. Very enjoyable – many thanks to both setter and blogger.

    How does Paul manage to stay so fresh whilst also being so prolific?

    2d has an extra layer because of the car race the Indy 500. Not being a follower of this sport I know that from the lyrics of the Beach Boys song Fun Fun Fun in which the lady in question who “got her daddy’s car and … cruised through the hamburger stand now” ended up making “the Indy 500 look like a Roman chariot race now”.

    Not quite sure how the “hamburger stand” bit works but it fits nicely.

  2. Thanks manehi. This sorted out the home sheep from us overseas goats. I got the theme halfway through, and all their first names: Google did the rest. Didn’t enjoy it as much as usual, but MEA CULPA was nice.

  3. Thanks Paul and manehi
    Not up my street, but I managed to dredge up all the names from somewhere. The SW “quarter-puzzle” took longest.
    RECORD = SONG in 24d was a bit loose, I thought. On the other hand I liked PASTILLE and BLONDIE, and I thought the clue for MEA CULPA was one of the best.

  5. Given I didn’t know a couple of the DJs – wasn’t Janice Long around 30 years ago when I used to listen to ‘Steve Wright in the Afternoon’ (‘Angry from Purley’ and all)? – I think I have to hand this one to the setter, as I managed a completion over a long lunch. ‘Record’ for ‘song’ is okay in my book, given ODO has it as ‘a piece of music’ and a song is a prototypical piece. Last in and favourite, like many others, MEA CULPA.

  6. Hi ulaca
    By “loose”, I meant that a “record” (even if it is recorded music) could be many other things than a song, and a song is very often not a record.

    What about “Kiss air flipped over in the middle” as an alternative?

  7. Thanks Paul/manehi. Wonderful stuff. Particularly many of the DJ clues – JOHN PEEL, JANICE LONG, and both versions of NORMAN COOK.

    On entering LESOTHO, I reflected that I should have got that quicker, since I used to live nearish to there. That should have given me the inspiration to get BOTSWANA, where I was actually living, but alas that was my last in.

  8. Thanks Paul and Manehi.

    I am one of the goats, and didn’t know any of these names, except BLONDIE (‘she’ of the comic strip). Just hope they don’t put this puzzle in the Guardian Weekly.

    Liked PASTILLE, HYDROGEN and PARLIAMENT

  9. What an excellent start to a holiday Tuesday in Lanzarote! Don’t know where the names came from, but somehow it all came together. Esp liked Mea Culpa. Thanks to both.

  10. I’m always delighted to see a Paul puzzle (my favourite since Araucaria’s death) but I too am one of the goats, and have been for over 40 years, so I decided to cheat for all the clues where “3” was the solution. From then on it was plain sailing and I had the pleasure of solving at least part of the puzzle.
    I loved MEA CULPA.
    Thanks Paul and manehi.

  11. Thanks for great puzzle and blog. Don’t understand all the complaints on the Guardian site about it being UK-centric or aimed at a certain age group. It IS a UK paper with UK readers as its target audience. I’m 62 and knew all the 3s, all of which could be deduced from the wordplay (if people could be ‘bothered’). My heart would sink if it was a subject that I was unfamiliar with such as The Archers (also UK-centric) or the works of Chekhov, but I’d give it a good go rather than immediately resorting to the ‘cheat’ button.

  13. crosser @10, I, too, decided to cheat where “3” was the solution, now having access to the net. Some Guardian Weekly readers probably don’t. Adhuc sub judice lis est until the next edition.

  14. Thanks Paul & manehi.

    My entry to the theme was FATBOY SLIM, and I managed to dredge up most of the names except JANICE LONG, who I had never heard of.

    I particularly enjoyed ILL-FATED and PARLIAMENT.

  15. Another enjoyable puzzle – I knew this theme too – but I think of the two P puzzles today, the Punk wins.

    Thanks to Paul and Manehi.

  16. I wasn’t sure I’d know all the 3s either but they all came out, roughly half by fitting a known name (JOHN PEEL first, natch) and the rest from wordplay. Which I guess is roughly what Paul would expect. Loved the 12,24 and 23 doubleton.

    Knowing that the setter reads this blog, I’m a bit worried by Aoxomoxoa @11. I too would have no chance with an Archers theme. Better get revising now.

  17. I’m another who didn’t know these people in spite of being b&b here and who worked them out from the word play without googling, so no need for complaints, I don’t think. All’s fair in love and crosswords.

    I loved William’s chef, the owls and I am always pleased to see Latin included.

    Thanks both!

  18. This was the best Paul for some time. I discovered accidentally that FATBOY SLIM is an anagram of FIAT SYMBOL. It did take me a while to see the theme – I needed JANICE LONG for that – the rest of the DEEJAYs were fairly straightforward once I remembered JO WHILEY, and last in was MAHATMA (the Kentucky Derby hat was new to me) after LESOTHO and BOTSWANA. Lots of favourites, particularly BLONDIE and MEA CULPA

    Thanks to Paul and manehi

  20. Thanks, manehi.

    I liked this a lot, and I was relieved to be able to bring all the 3s to mind without artificial aid, despite my relatively advanced age. CHRIS EVANS was my first, so I wasn’t sure whether they were TV presenters until I found JO WHILEY.

    Some nice surfaces here – I particularly liked the clue for BLONDIE. After some relatively polite Paul crosswords I was pleased to see the mildly lavatorial 17a.

    20a is a good example of the antonymic clue type, which is a trademark of this setter.

    I’m not sure whether the DJ 12,24 has ever worked in this capacity under his ‘real’ name 23a (which is not in fact his birth name either, though I believe he has changed it by deed poll).

  21. Never heard of any of the thematic people, and I can’t think why I should have. Got the anwers from the wordplay, but without the delightful sensation of seeing both parts of a clue come into focus together. Please stick to the works of Chekhov or something else interesting next time.

  23. beery hiker @18: I don’t think there is such a thing as a ‘Kentucky Derby’ hat – ‘Kentucky’ just serves to indicate that we are talking about the American name for a particular piece of headgear (as well as providing a misleading surface).

  24. Aoxomoxoa @11
    Far be it freom me to complain about a Paul puzzle – I certainly didn’t! But we all get our pleasures in different ways, and by using the cheat button I was able to get my pleasure more quickly. It takes all sorts so let’s not be too intolerant of other people’s foibles!

    Cookie @13
    I understand your apprehension, but surely they wouldn’t put this puzzle in the GW? As you say, it remains to be seen!

  25. Gervase @23 – thanks for the clarification – I wasn’t familiar with any kind of Derby hat. In my defence (defense?), Googling “Kentucky Derby hat” found plenty of matches, and was enough to convince me that MAHATMA was right. I’ll get MACOAT…

  26. @19. That is wrong, sorry. The Earl of Derby founded the Epsom race, and an American, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr, started the Kentucky Derby after visiting the Epsom one. He encouraged the wearing of hats by men and women as at Epsom. (A good clue for HAT).

  28. ulaca @22
    I have to agree about the improbability of a “Kiss air”, but you can “kiss air” (or at least “air kiss”), can’t you?

  29. Thanks manehi – great blog of an enjoyable puzzle, I needed your help in parsing INDY and had to dig deep into my memory for a parliament of owls. I didn’t know Fatboy Slim’s real name and have never come across Jo Whiley, but all fairly clued even for an ex-pat who was never big into the Deejay scene.

  30. beery hiker @25 – your punning parting shot reminds me that one of WC Fields’s many pseudonyms was Mahatma Kane Jeeves (though I prefer Filthy McNasty and Oublietta Haemoglobin).

  32. I’m too old to have heard of more than a couple of the DJs,nor did I know 23ac, so had to rely on the ‘check’ button after finding something plausible from the wordplay, but didn’t need to use the ‘cheat’ to be able to finish.:-)

  33. I liked this. The deejays were pretty easy once I’d got JO WHILEY-which I initially wanted to be JR WALKER as I suspected a MOTOWN theme. I got stuck on SNOG,which I couldn’t parse,and INDY,which I’ve never heard of,Beach Boy lyric notwithstanding,and which I guessed.
    Thanks Paul

  34. This was another Paul puzzle that I didn’t find particularly easy, but I enjoyed it. JANICE LONG was my way into the theme, but it still took me a while to get FATBOY SLIM and NORMAN COOK because I was still thinking radio DJ. PARLIAMENT was my LOI because I couldn’t remember the collective name for owls and I thought it was part of the wordplay rather than the definition. It was only when I looked at potential wordplay from a different perspective that the penny dropped.

    Absolutely no problem with song=record, although it still took me a while to get SNOG because I had initially read the wordplay as an instruction to put O (over) inside a reversal of a three-letter word for “record” (flipped). I could only think of “log” and “gool” obviously made no sense ………….

  35. Another vote from me in favour of this crossword. I agree with Aoxomoxoa @11 – this was an easier theme for me than many others. Chris Evans was my way in to the theme after which it was relatively easy but still enjoyable.

  36. Paul goes from strength to strength. Great to have a crossword where I didn’t need to Google check the answers after solving the clues (except, of course, basenji).

    Not my generation, but anybody (in the UK) who’s stayed half awake for the past thirty years should have felt at home.

    Especially liked 22ac.

  38. Sitting here in Australia,I solved 3d and saw all the references to it. I thought I was in for a pub quiz, or a Google fest. But I managed to solve all the references from the clues and the crossing letters with no electronic help at all.

    So that’s a tribute to Paul’s clueing.

  39. Thanks all
    Took me a while(?) but Jo got me going eventually.
    Failed to parse Lesotho.
    I thought ‘chick feeder’ was a brilliant move and ‘mahatma’ delighted.

  40. Got them all (DJs) but have only read about most of them. Paul’s clueing is that good! And I learned the meaning of mahatma after all these years. No outside help needed – the clues were sufficient for me.

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