I was struggling on this puzzle for a while. Then I remebered Paul’s style and once I got on his wavelength again answers started jumping into the grid. Thanks Paul for a fine puzzle.

Across | ||
1 | PITTANCE |
Prime minister, one eating first of nuts, peanuts (8)
William PITT (prime minister) then ACE (one) containing (eating) Nuts (first letter of) |
5 |
See 24
|
|
9 | STICK EM UP |
Rock music kept for request at crime scene? (5,2,2)
(MUSIC KEPT)* anagram=rock |
11 | TENTH |
Ordinal, eighth in camp? (5)
TENT H would be the eigth tent in the camp: tent A, tent B, tent C, … |
12 | HETEROSEXUAL |
Mend outstanding circuitous routes, assuming formerly straight (12)
HEAL containing (outstanding, going outside) ROUTES* anagram=circuitous containing (assuming) EX (formerly)EX |
15 | ONYX |
Stone‘s past history in theatrical performance, loosely speaking? (4)
put ONYX after (past) HISTORY and it sounds like (loosely speaking) histrionics (theatrical performance) |
16 | ROPE WALKER |
Balancing acrobat, weak pole wobbling in the midst of horror (4-6)
(WEAK POLE)* anagram=wobbling in hoRRor (the midst, middle letters of) |
18 | REAPPRAISE |
Order paper with increase in salary for judge again (10)
PAPER* anagram=order with RIASE (increase in salary) |
19,1down | LAST POST |
Sad call girl welcoming work, client ultimately laid back, heading for Thailand (4,4)
LASS (girl) containing (welcoming) OP (work) with clienT (ulitimate letter of) both reversed (laid back) then Thailand (first letter, heading for) |
21 | ONOMATOPOEIA |
Emerge where a cat might have sat, did you say — for miaow, perhaps? (12)
ON O MAT OPOEIA sounds like (did you say) “on a mat appear” (emerge where a cat might have sat) – “the cat sat on the mat” is the architypal learning to read phrase in the UK. Is this also known in the US and other places? |
24,5 | TOUGH COOKIE |
Cough took off, that is, for resilient type (5,6)
(COUGH TOOK)* anagram=off then IE (that is) |
25 | SUPERGLUE |
Girl having incarcerated heartless girl in the country, there’s no escaping it? (9)
SUE (a girl) containing (having incarcerated) Girl (heartless) in PERU (the country) |
26 | RESIDE |
Lie in chair, head off it (6)
pRESIDE (chair) missing first letter (head) |
27 | FRISBEES |
Flying toys, those following Thur’s wasps? (8)
FRI’S BEES – Friday’s bees might follow Thursday’s wasps |
Down | ||
1 |
See 19
|
|
2 | TAIL |
Dog story recited (4)
TAIL sounds like (recited) tale (story) |
3 | ANKLET |
Soldier shackling animal up, chain over a foot? (6)
ANT (soldier ant) containing (shackling) ELK (animal) reversed (up) |
4 | COMMEMORATORS |
Those honouring the dead, such as in Dunkirk, a thousand speakers (13)
COMME (such as, French, in Dunkirk) M (a thousand) ORATORS (speakers) |
6 | ON THE WAY |
Unfortunately not always supporting hack — getting there! (2,3,3)
NOT* anagram=unfortunately AY (always) contains (suppporting) HEW (hack) |
7 | KENTUCKIAN |
Knowledge put to bed about a statesman (10)
KEN (knowledge) TUCK IN (put to bed) containing (about) A |
8 | EXHILARATE |
Cheer as West Indian cricketer cuts shot into river (10)
Brian LARA (West Indian cricketer) inside (cuts) HIT (shot) in EXE (river) |
10 | POOPER SCOOPER |
Waste of a setter in this magician, propose changes up top (6-7)
Tommy COOPER (magician) following (with…up top) PROPOSE* anagram=changes – a setter is a dog |
13,23 | FOUR POSTER BEDS |
Chambers features a rewrite of profuse rot on county (4-6,4)
(PROFUSE ROT)* anagram=a rewrite of on BEDS (Bedfordshire, county) |
14 | SYNAGOGUES |
Places of worship where adulterer, say, attempts to suppress God’s umbrage, for starters (10)
SYNA sounds like (say) sinner (adulterer) then GOES (attempts) containing (to suppress) Gods Umbrage (first letters of, for starters) |
17 | SPLASHED |
Cut round page covered with liquid (8)
SLASHED (cut) containing P (page) |
20 | TIGRIS |
Knight and fool up river (6)
SIR (knight) and GIT (fool) all reversed (up) |
22 | BLUE |
Sound blasted down (4)
BLUE sounds like “blew” (blasted) |
23 |
See 13
|
definitions are underlined
Thanks PeeDee. Yes, when you’re on Paul’s wavelength answers like FRI’S BEES just jump out; ones like histri-ONYX jump out but the Aha! comes later. Loved the acrobat wobbling in the midst of horror,LOI.
Very many thanks, PeeDee & Paul. This was very enjoyable.
My favourite was POOPERSCOOPER because I’m old enough to remember TOMMY COOPER (1914-1984) and I saw him die during a television show:
https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=tommy%20cooper%20died
And here are some images of the item itself:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=pooperscooper&espv=2&biw=853&bih=560&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=2IVyVZKWAdPH7AbIn4KQDw&ved=0CGAQ7Ak
A pretty work-a-day puzzle from Paul this weekend.
All pretty fairly clued with a few minor quibbles but no stand out clues or the usual Paul humour. Perhaps it was me?
Not sure why Friday’s bees should follow Thursday’s wasps but there is a question mark.
Spent ages trying to parse ONYX which was obvious from the crossers as a stone. A very big DOH moment when I finally saw HISTORYONYX. I’m sure there will be wails of horror from certain quarters about the wordplay and use of “past” but it did make me laugh. Unusual that this was the only amusement in a Paul.
Thanks to PeeDee and Paul
I enjoyed this puzzle despite failing to finish it. Rope walker was simple to solve but with a very pleasant surface. Last post and Kentuckian – the definition is subtly hidden etc. Stick (‘)em up is amusing, even if it is an imperative rather than a request (and the ‘ is missing in word count ?)
That said, I failed to fill in pooper scooper, again the definition is well concealed if a little misleading (could be waste of any dog not just a setter !), and superglue (I’m still not sure how ‘no escaping it ‘ becomes a fair definition for superglue ?
But overall good fun
I couldn’t parse ONYX, though the definition was clear so I had no hesitation about entering it. Favourite clues were 9a, 12a, 21a, 27a and 14d.
Thanks, Paul and PeeDee.
Another enjoyable Paul puzzle for me. ONOMATOPOEIA appeared in another puzzle not too long ago so it was relatively fresh in my mind. Count me as another who biffed ONYX, although I realised how it was parsed post-solve.
I couldn’t parse ONYX either. It certainly makes me laugh now I see it. This was a lovely puzzle, I thought, and, while not as amusing as Paul often is- as Brendan points out- well up to Paul’s high standard. Most enjoyable.
Thanks Paul
Thanks Paul for yet another enjoyable puzzle.
I could not parse ONYX either, thanks Pee Dee. I did like ONOMATOPOEIA and FRISBEES among many others.
Today’s Guardian prize puzzle has a clue worthy of Paul. Are Paul and Philistine related?
Thanks PeeDee and Paul. Worth it for 10 dn alone. I spent ages trying to work in “Potter” – the usual crossword magician.
Thanks all
David@9, certainly not in any crossword sense!
I failed to find any word that fitted k?n?u?k?a?,
Thanks peeDee for parsing 15.
Like others, I could not parse ONYX. I also had trouble parsing EXHILARATE because I misspelled it (-lira-) but did finally (to my surprise) catch LARA as cricketer. I’m too far removed from the action to know if “cat sat on the mat” is used widely in the US, so I’ll have to check with my granddaughter currently finishing grade 1. I enjoyed FRISBEES and (as a long time dog owner) POOPER SCOOPER. Thanks to Paul and PeeDee.
david @ 9 That would be 24, 20, no doubt. I laughed out loud and chuckled for ages.
Thanks PeeDee and Paul – enjoyed this
david @9 and Dave E @14
14a’s “wobbly bottom” struck me as a bit Paul-ish too.
Thanks Paul and PeeDee
Finished this one in well under an hour, which is very unusual for a Paul – but it was in the ‘witching hour’ after midnight !!!
Maybe not a lot of humour, but certainly a lot of lateral twisting required to get many of the definitions, let alone the answers. Finished down in the SE corner with SUPERGLUE, TIGRIS and FRISBEES the last few in.
Sort of half-parsed 15a, thought that it must have something to do with ‘on ix’ or ‘on ics’, but couldn’t go the last bit and think to put ‘history’ in front of it!
RCW – I was in your corner with KENTUCKIAN for ages – looking for a politician – eventually was able to piece the cryptic bits together to get the ‘aha’ twist to statesman.
I especially like the clues such as TENTH and FRISBEES at which Paul is a master.
Very enjoyable but finished a little too quickly.
Thanks to Paul and PeeDee
Can anyone explain why blue = down? (I’m okay with the rest of the clue!)
If you have the blues then you are feeling down.
ACD@13 The American equivalent of the cat sat on the mat is the cat in the hat, a Dr Seuss opus. Just as I, as a Brit, am familiar with the American term, I imagine people in America will have heard of the cat sat on the mat.
Doh! Thank you PeeDee.
Seems like what a crossword is supposed to be, to me.
Thanks PeeDee and Paul.
Thoroughly enjoyable once – like you – I got on Paul’s wavelength. Still needed your help to parse Onyx. But what a great clue.
And what a terrific puzzle. Lots of clever constructions and plenty of ‘aha’s!
Another example of clever clever rather than flowing proper rules. Onyx and Frisbees scraping the bottom of the barrel. In fact the latter has no place in a crossword and should have been edited out.