Guardian Prize 26,424 by Paul

by

Thanks, Paul for an enjoyable and topical prize puzzle that was characteristically witty (but no lavatory humour this week!).

completed grid
Several ticks in appreciation of wit and style in my copy of the paper after solving the puzzle.  8 and 15 down were particular favourites.  It was perfectly suited to a slightly hungover Timon and myself; not sure we could have coped with the challenges presented by Picaroon the week before.  I am away on a singing weekend with limited time and internet access so may not be able to respond to any posts: apologies.
Across
1 CARACAL
Tailless fish and a tailless baby feline (7)
CAR(p) A CAL(f).  It’s a desert lynx.
5 MIGRANT
Drifting in front of juggernaut finally, lady perhaps exceeding 70 on the motorway (7)
M1 GRAN (juggernau)T.  Although “migrant” is strictly a noun, the phrase “migrant worker” is so common that the word seems to have acquired an adjectival status.
9 VALVE
Victory in bye for opener (5)
V(ictory) in VALE, from the Latin vale, meaning  farewell.
10 RIGHT BACK
One defending a possible clue for “raft”? (5,4)
R(ight) AFT (the back of a ship).  A reference perhaps to our former blogger rightback.
11 THERESA MAY
Politician — her purpose ultimately to go after Tory leadership, as about time for a general election? (7,3)
T(ory) HER (purpos)E AS(rev) MAY (the next General Election is to be held on 7 May 2015).  The whole clue has more than an & lit quality, and is well-timed, with Mrs May appearing on Desert Island Discs on 23 November as well as being more than usually in the news politically.
12,26 KAMA SUTRA
Text with the other illustrations (4,5)
Unless I’ve missed something, this is just a cryptic definition.  Although I’m no expert, Wikipedia says that the original text was not illustrated.
14 DISSEMINATE
Turn forward, getting home in time for broadcast (11)
MESSI (rev) IN in DATE.  Thanks to Timon for spotting Lionel Messi in there.
18 ETON COLLEGE
Where one finds only the cream consumed, say, with joint wrapped in cabbage (4,7)
Sounds like EATEN, LEG in COLE.  No doubt Paul intends this definition to be read ironically.
21,25 PINK ELEPHANTS
Wearing Y-fronts, I kneel befuddled in front of pub, a beastly drunken vision (4,9)
*(I KNEEL) PH in PANTS.  Highly appropriate for Timon and I who had been out celebrating his 65th birthday the previous evening.
22 STAGNATION
Lack of advancement, country in rut, perhaps? (10)
STAG NATION.  A nice play on the two meanings of “rut”.
25  
See 21
26  
See 12
27 ENTAILS
Results in conclusion not entirely the reverse (7)
EN(d) TAILS.  We originally put in ENTRIES, but on writing the blog I realised it must be wrong.
28 OARLOCK
Coral snakes in reasonable fixture on boat (7)
*CORAL in OK.
Down
1 CAVITY
Hole where rodent stores it (6)
IT in CAVY.
2 ROLLER
Car wheel? (6)
Double definition.
3 CLEVER DICK
Smart aleck fit to embrace daughter? Always going over the top (6,4)
EVER D in CLICK.
4 LARVA
Little wriggler runs inside red flower (5)
R inside LAVA.  It’s the singular of the more familiar larvae.
5 MAGDALENE
Publication with French article in European institution in Cambridge (9)
MAG, LE in DANE.
6 GUTS
Entrails in bottle (4)
Cryptic definition, or perhaps a double definition.
7 AGAR-AGAR
Setter lifting a couple of Hindu melodies (4-4)
RAGA RAGA (rev).  It’s a setting agent.
8 TAKE A PEW
Sit with chimp in garden under the arbour, initially (4,1,3)
APE in KEW after (under in a down clue) T(he) A(rbour).
13 FIRE-RAISER
Tree higher than one covered in rubber, that’s lighter (4-6)
FIR, 1 in ERASER.  Another down clue exploiting the geography of the grid with “higher”.
15 SPLIT ENDS
Possible reason for hair salon visit, as reconciliation occurs? (5,4)
Delightful cryptic or double definition.
16 BEL PAESE
Cheese spread please after bacon and egg starters (3,5)
B(acon) E(gg) *PLEASE.
17 DOWNBEAT
Private tucked into bed, quaking at a stroke of the baton (8)
OWN (private) in *BED, AT.
19 BISTRO
Restaurant writer munching spelt crusts (6)
S(pel)T in BIRO.
20 UNPACK
Lid held up by topless Adonis to remove clothes from suitcase (6)
CAP (rev) in ‘UNK.
23 GISMO
Device inserted into frog is modern (5)
Hidden in “frog is modern”.
24 THAI
National draw announced (4)
Sounds like “tie”.
*anagram

19 comments on “Guardian Prize 26,424 by Paul”

  1. Thanks bridgesong. A bit more of a challenge than usual from Paul I thought. I might take mild issue with MIGRANT=DRIFTING and FIT=CLICK and I’m still not sure about 12. I did find out about another sort of cheese though.

  2. Thanks bridgesong. In 12, you could take “illustrations” to mean examples rather than pictures. The clue’s a bit Monty Python (if you know what I mean…)

  4. Thanks bridgesong. Further to DuncT on 12, there’s a ‘bit of the other’ that Paul would want us to focus on. 17D was right up his ally, delightfully; the Messi clue was neat as well. I also guessed ‘entries’ before getting it, last of all.

  5. Thanks Paul and bridgesong
    Enjoyable and not too difficult.
    Although it made a great surface, “lady perhaps exceeding 70” isn’t a very accurate indication for “gran” – many grans are younger than 70; many ladies exceeding 70 aren’t grans.

  6. Thanks, bridgesong [and Timon] for a remarkably lucid blog, considering… I hope you’re enjoying your singing.

    I was all set to take issue with your comment about ‘migrant’ but I have been forestalled. However, I’ll add that my SOED, alone of my three dictionaries, correctly puts the adjectival use first. Coming from the present participle [migrans, migrantis] of the Latin verb migrare, migrant started its career as an adjective, like so many other similar words.

    And, muffin @5, I just loved this clue, which made me laugh out loud, as one who fills the bill on both counts [but I don’t drive!]. The ‘perhaps’ surely answers your objections?

    An enjoyable puzzle – thanks, Paul.

    [Was I alone in initially thinking, since this was a Paul puzzle, that 10ac might involve an anagram?]

  8. As always an enjoyable puzzle from Paul. One of the things I like about his puzzles is his use of the topical and THERESA MAY was a good example of this. Really nice.
    Thanks Paul

  9. Thanks Paul and bridgesong

    SPLIT ENDS and PINK ELEPHANTS were fun. Couldn’t parse DISSEMINATE.

    Like Eileen I laughed at the GRAN, it fits me too, but I do have to drive.

    [Yes, Eileen, and that would mean backfires. However, I was stuck on 4d with just the A at the end, and a Pauline idea came, *NEMEsiA.]

  15. Paul just keeps churning out high quality puzzles at a remarkable rate, and this one was no exception. After a week it’s not very fresh in the memory, but I do remember that I found it trickier than a lot of his, and that CARACAL was last in and least familiar.

    Thanks to Paul and bridgesong

  17. Thanks Paul and bridgesong

    Entertaining puzzle as normal from Mr Consistant – at a good level for a Prize.

    Finished up in the NE corner with AGAR AGAR the last in. DISSEMINATE remained unparsed and couldn’t envisage that I’d have ever got MESSI as a ‘turned forward’.

    KAMA SUTRA was a bit of a mystery – assumed that ‘the other’ referred to sex.

    CARACAL was a new word.

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