Guardian Prize 26,507 / Paul

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This was one of those puzzles which, at first glance, with all the cross-references, cause the heart to sink a little and, at first glance, the two XXs looked a little daunting, too – but, in fact, the ingenious theme clue at 15,22 fell pretty quickly and the rest unravelled quite steadily and without too much bother. This is Paul in squeaky-clean mode – although 18dn conjures up an interesting picture. 😉

Unusually for a Paul puzzle, I think, I looked askance at one or two of the definitions but the answers were clear enough and I’m not really complaining.

On behalf of the British tourist industry, I have provided links to all of the 15 22s.

Thanks, as ever, to Paul for an enjoyable solve.

Eileen apologises for the late appearance of this post. She lost the ability to format the clues part way through editing the draft yesterday evening. I have now completed the embellishment. Gaufrid

Across

8 Bloody PC, 15 22 across (8)
BRIGHTON
B [‘bloody’] + RIGHT-ON [PC – Politically Correct] – Paul gets in his home town, with a witty clue, to start us off

9 XX 15 22 across (5)
TENBY
X [ten] + X [the mathematical sign for ‘times’ or ‘by’] for this Welsh resort

10 Arrogant fool beyond witless, ultimately (4)
SMUG
[witles]S + MUG [fool]
I’m not happy with this definition: I was quite prepared to be proved ‘wrong’ by Chambers – but it gives neither word as a definition of the other: the nearest equivalence was ‘self-important’ [arrogant] and self-complacent [smug], which doesn’t work at all for me

11 Two 15 22 acrosses, one less 3, requiring English singer (5,5)
BARRY WHITE
BARRY [a second Welsh seaside resort + WHIT[stable] , an English one,  minus ‘stable’ [the answer to 3dn] but then we need to put  the E back again – ‘requiring  English’]

12,25 Cheat on XX (6-5)
DOUBLE CROSS – which is XX,  isn’t it?

14 22 across as Minehead, Southend and Cork for growth in Ireland (8)
SHAMROCK
22 across is RESORT, so we”re asked to re-sort AS + M [first letter – head – of MINE] + [sout]H [end of south] + CORK – a cleverly constructed clue

15,22 Disease — that flourishes in the summer? (7,6)
SEASIDE RESORT
A reverse anagram: ‘disease’ is SEASIDE ‘re-sorted’ – I sort of felt there must be a better definition but, of course, I couldn’t think of one!

17 Stick around island that’s sweet (7)
GLUCOSE
GLUE [stick] round COS [island]

20 Established in fashion, this industry? (3,5)
RAG TRADE
TRAD [established] in RAGE [fashion] – &littish

23 Study, can he? That’s possible (10)
CONTINGENT
CON [study] + TIN [can] + GENT [he?]

24 Paintings, works initially wiped (4)
OILS
[t]OILS [works]

26 Punishment imprisoning unknown character in 15 22 across (8)
PENZANCE,  for the Cornish resort I’ve visited many times
Z [unknown character] in PENANCE [ punishment]

Down
1 Yellow border, dull stuff around it (8)
PRIMROSE
PROSE [dull stuff? – this time, Chambers does justify but …] round RIM [border]

2 Very excited? Past caring in the end (4)
AGOG
AGO [past] + [carin[G]

3 Racehorses unlikely to fall? (6)
STABLE
Double definition – an old favourite but it’s needed for 11ac.

4 French artist heading for stage door (7)
INGRESS
INGRES [French artist] + S[tage] – we’re much more used to this clue the other way round!

5 Salt, I say, desperate for a flapper at sea (8)
STAYSAIL
Anagram [desperate] of SALT I SAY

6 So cooler to be destitute? (2,3,5)
ON THE ROCKS
A drink served on the rocks [with ice] would be cooler – but I’m not entirely happy with this

7 Wand in Paul’s hands not quite delivering magic (6)
MYSTIC
MY [Paul’s] STIC [not quite STICk – wand] – definition?

13 Boat isn’t about to tour America — this the end of the journey? (3,7)
BUS STATION
Anagram of BOAT ISN’T round [to tour] US [America]

16 Identify the problem — gain ground feeding prescribed medicine (8)
DIAGNOSE
Anagram [ground] of GAIN in [feeding] DOSE [prescribed medicine]

18 Improperly placed relics up a clergyman’s vestment (8)
SURPLICE
Anagram [improperly placed] of RELICS UP

19 Part in middle of contract written up as proof of transaction (7)
RECEIPT
Reversal [written up] of PIECE [part] in [con]RT[act]

21 Now divide one by a hundred (2,4)
AT ONCE
This, stupidly, took longest of all to parse: I was fixated on C [ a hundred] in ONE and couldn’t account for the AT – but, of course, it’s ACE [one] divided by TON [a hundred]

22 Heavy barrel secured by cane (6)
ROTUND
TUN [barrel] in ROD [cane] – again, I’m not entirely comfortable with the definition: both Collins and Chambers give ‘grandiloquent’, which is the nearest I can see, but it doesn’t quite do it for me

24 15 22 across ends up in Latin America, superb archipelago (4)
OBAN
Reversal of last letters [ends up] of [lati]N [americ]A [super]B [archipelag]O: a Scottish resort to end on – perhaps a pity we couldn’t have had a Northern Irish one [Bangor, maybe, where I lived for a while many years ago, or Portrush?] to complete the tour of the UK’s attractions

39 comments on “Guardian Prize 26,507 / Paul”

  1. Thanks Paul and Eileen
    I found this fun, though I did have the same reservations as you did, Eileen, and I also didn’t see PC = RIGHT ON (are they equivalent?).
    I particularly liked RESORT also meaning RE-SORT.

  2. Thanks Eileen. I particularly enjoyed the clues for TENBY and BARRY WHITE. The crossword made me think about summer holidays, which seem a long way off…!

  3. P.S. I think my FOI was SHAMROCK, which told me that the second part of the key clue could be read as an anagram indicator.

  4. Thanks to Eileen for the blog.

    I also found that some of the definitions did not work properly e.g. 7d and 22d.
    I also do not remember S as meaning stage in 4d.

    However, the meanings were always clear so the solution did not take a long time. I wish I could say the same about his effort of 05-Mar! That one took much longer to solve.

  5. Thanks Paul and Eileen

    I took ROTUND to be the ‘plump’ aspect, and if you’re plump you could well (diplomatic, moi?) be overweight, or heavy.

  6. I forgot to add that it took me quite a long time to see, and understand, the second part of 15,22. Then groan.

  7. I couldn’t get PRIMROSE for ages but, like Eileen, AT ONCE took me the longest to parse. SMUG doesn’t work for me either, however many of the on line dictionaries, including Oxford, have arrogant and SMUG as synonyms. The same goes for ROTUND and heavy.

    I did like TENBY, RAG TRADE and CONTINGENT among others.

  8. I enjoyed this- as I usually do with Paul’s puzzles. Quite a quick solve although I can’t say my parsing was spot on. I don’t see a problem with RIGHT ON= PC. It was certainly that which led me to the answer.
    Blog was informative as usual so thanks for that.
    And, of course, thanks to Paul.

  10. I enjoyed this puzzle. I agree that there are enough dictionaries out there that define ROTUND and SMUG the way Paul did for him to get a pass. I didn’t need any checkers for TENBY because I went on holiday there with my parents when I was young and it has always stuck in my mind, and the same goes for BARRY because I met a girl from there on a Spanish holiday many moons ago.

  11. Peter Aspinwall @8

    I can’t find an online reference supporting RIGHT ON = POLITICALLY CORRECT – do you know one?

    Chambers gives:
    right-on: absolutely correct; trendy, belonging to or in keeping with the latest social, moral, political etc. ideas or fashions

    The second part is sort-of related, but not really the same as PC, is it?

  14. Thanks Eileen,

    An enjoyable puzzle from Paul that took me many days to finish. It took ages to get OILS and finally OBAN which I should have seen sooner.
    I have never thought of Oban as a seaside resort.

    Chas @4, you say “I also do not remember S as meaning stage in 4d.”
    The S is from heading for stage, ie the first letter of stage.

    Thanks Paul.

  15. I never did complete 1 & 2 down. That was because I had SASS instead of SMUG at 10a. Nevertheless, a highly enjoyable solve.

    Thanks to Paul and Eileen.

  16. Thanks all. I went for SASS at first as well.

    Eileen – I hope you have a speedy recovery of your abilities!

  19. Thanks, DuncT @16 – I think I’m well on the road to recovery. 😉

    And a very big thank you to the gallant Gaufrid for sorting me out, as I had to be out quite early this morning.

    Apologies to everyone for the late[ish] blog – it was written last Saturday!

  21. I was pretty pleased with myself for finishing this without the aid of a map. I’d heard of only Penzance (thanks to the Pirates thereof) and Brighton. Oban I know as a whisky, not a resort. And since it took me until more than halfway through before I got “seaside resort,” I was pretty baffled for a while about what the heck whiskey and a town in Cornwall (the two I got first) had in common!

    Not having heard of Barry White didn’t help either. That was my LOI.

    Lots of clever clues here, though all have already been highlighted by Eileen and others. I always like Paul puzzles, mostly because I dig his sense of humor.

  22. Brotherbristol @20: The setter didn’t use the compass heading for the S because that would make the surface of the clue not work nearly as well. There are many ways of cluing an S, and this one works because it results in what seems to be a little story about a performer leaving a theatre.

  23. I always enjoy a Paul crossword and solved this quickly (for me).

    The one thing I didn’t understand is why bloody = “B” in 1a. Is it because of the blood group, perhaps?

  24. Hi mrpenney @21

    I was wondering what you would make of this 😉 – in fact, I nearly included a comment about ‘parochialism’ but if I, as a UK solver of a crossword in a UK paper, need to know , as I did in a blog the other day, that ME + Maine … Anyway, well done on completing – and in such good humour.

    My late Scottish husband loved his malt whiskies but Oban is not one I’ve heard mentioned. [Bless you twice over for the correct spelling. 😉 ]

    As I hinted in the preamble, I hope that, far from being exasperated by the theme, solvers outside our time zone might be tempted to sample some of our resorts.

    I see that, while I’ve been typing this, you’ve responded to brotherbristol’s query. There’s also the point that the clue has ‘heading for stage’.

  27. Hi muffin

    Whisky not being one of my tipples, I can’t comment but Talisker was definitely on my husband’s list, along with other peaty island ones. People would often ask him what was his favourite malt and his reply would always be, ‘The one I’m drinking now.’

    In order to relate this to crosswords, I know that I often refer to ‘my top favourite half dozen setters’ but I would dread anyone pinning me down to name them. 😉

  28. [Hi Eileen
    I can identify with ‘The one I’m drinking now.’, although there are one or two (or three or four) that I really don’t like.]

  29. [P.S. I would be prepared to state my favourite (living) compiler …………. but I wouldn’t like to embarrass her!]

  30. I think you’re in good company there, muffin!

    But I’m glad you said ‘living’. Coincidentally, I was searching the archive yesterday, because the ‘Barbara Castle’ clue rang a bell or two, and turned up this page: http://www.fifteensquared.net/?s=barbara+castle
    I just had to watch the Newsnight clip again. And cry – again.

  33. I got Oban first. It is definitely a tourist town by the sea, which in my book counts as a resort. The malt whisky is long established and very fine but the great joy of Oban, apart from being the point of departure for Mull, is its seafood: there is a shack on the pier selling oysters and all manner of lovely things*, and the hotels do magnificent crab sandwiches.

    Thanks to Paul for a great puzzle – loved the central definition and the ingenious use of XX. And thanks to you too Eileen.

    * not ide though – a great disappointment

  34. Thanks Eileen. I may have misunderstood you but in 6d I thought COOLER was a noun, as in a tall drink, rather than an adjective.

  35. It has been such a week of memorable and challenging crosswords that I’d almost forgotten this one, but as always with Paul there was plenty to enjoy and admire. Found this fairly straightforward mainly due to getting the themes early.

    Thanks to Eileen and Paul

  36. [I can’t resist joining the whisky conversation – I’m very much an Islay man – I like the peaty ones – Ardbeg and Caol Ila being favourites, but I like Laphroaig too]

  37. [bh @ 36
    Laphroaig very much the Marmite whisky (though I would take it rather than Marmite every time!]

  38. Typically enjoyable puzzle again from Paul, with a well-integrated theme throughout (took about half way through to see it).

    Couldn’t properly parse BRIGHTON, AT ONCE or RAG TRADE.

    TENBY was last in with the two clever meanings of X in XX to be nutted out.

  39. Couldn’t post until now as I was away and my comments were on the PC at home. (I always write them as I finish the puzzle)

    A pleasant enough puzzle from Paul with some elegant cluing.

    At first this seemed a little tough as the 5,22 keyword was very important.

    However STABLE and ON THE ROCKS were fairly easy which soon led to BARRY WHITE at 11A from the enumeration and the two crossers.

    It was a fairly simple job then to reverse engineer SEASIDE RESORTS.

    Plain sailing from then on as the resorts came quickly. Just about enough of a challenge for a Prize.

    I don’t understand the complaints about RIGHT ON = PC. Surely the complainants must have heard people describing someone as being “right on”?

    Thanks to Eileen and Paul

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