Normally we charge through Paul puzzles, but for some reason this one seemed harder than usual. Anyway, it was very enjoyable solve – thanks, Paul!
Across
1. Bread Irish pub rejected in place of buns? (4,5)
BARA BRITH
IR = “Irish” + BAR = “pub” reversed in BATH = “place of buns?” (referring to Bath buns
Definition: “Bread”
6. No longer green, somewhat blue? (4)
RIPE
Double definition: “No longer green” (e.g. a ripe tomato) and “somewhat blue?” (e.g. if someone’s using ripe language, it might mean it’s a bit obscene)
8. Order prohibited at the last minute (8)
TABULATE
TABU = “prohibited” + LATE = “at the last minute”
Definition: “Order”
9. Streaks about to happen for artist (6)
RUBENS
RUNS = “Streaks” around BE = “happen” (“when will the concert be?” / “when will the concert happen?”)
Definition: “artist”
10. Three-quarters of men making some fast moves? (3-3)
CHA-CHA
The men might be CHAP and CHAP, so three quarters of them would be CHA and CHA
Definition: “some fast moves?”
11. Duty to protect or deliver from evil? (8)
EXORCISE
EXCISE = “Duty” around OR
Definition: “deliver from evil?”
12. Big name almost sure to avoid relegation (4,2)
STAY UP
STA[r] = “Big name almost” + YUP = “sure”
Definition: “to avoid relegation” (e.g. in football leagues)
15. Arrest in Australian newspaper written about, seedy American thing (8)
GARBANZO
NAB = “Arrest” in OZ = “Australian” + RAG = “newspaper” all reversed (“written about”)
Definition: “seedy American thing” – this is a US term for the chickpea
16. Cover featuring stunner, smeared (8)
LIBELLED
LID = “Cover” around BELLE = “stunner”
Definition: “smeared”
19. Fears, Caribbean style? (6)
DREADS
“Caribbean style?” refers to “dreads” being short for “dreadlocks” – by no means exclusively Caribbean (thus the question mark, I suppose?) but dreadlocks are a style often associated with reggae music and Jamaica
Definition: “Fears”
21. Children’s book in minor novel (3,5)
THE IDIOT
HEIDI = “Children’s book” in TOT = “minor” (someone under age the age of majority – way younger in this case!)
Definition: “novel”
22, 1 down. Somewhere in Brighton where I sunbathed audaciously, catching cold (6,5)
NUDIST BEACH
(I SUNBATHED)* around C = “cold”
Definition: “Somewhere in Brighton”, apparently! – the brilliant surface reading here making this a semi-&lit
24. Country — one hosting race at its centre (6)
MONACO
MONO = “one” around [r]AC[e] = “race at its centre”
Definition: “Country”
25. Not entirely equipped to host opera that’s unusual (8)
ABNORMAL
ABL[e] = “Not entirely equipped” around NORMA = “opera”
Definition: “unusual”
26. Subject of selfie repeatedly in shared image (4)
MEME
ME = “Subject of selfie” twice (“repeatedly”)
Definition: “shared image” – not in the original Richard Dawkins sense, but the newer derived sense of “An image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by Internet users, often with slight variations.”
27. US comedienne possibly not scratching old bottom (9)
FUNDAMENT
FUN DAME = “US comedienne possibly” + NOT without O = “old”
Definition: “bottom”
Down
2. Hot meal without starter in fish (7)
RAUNCHY
[l]UNCH = “meal without starter” in RAY = “fish”
Definition: “Hot”
3. Crow going over a Portuguese city (5)
BRAGA
BRAG = “Crow” over A
Definition: “Portuguese city”
4. Hazard floating in crosses initially, winger ascendant (7)
ICEBERG
I[n] C[rosses] = “in crosses initially” followed by GREBE = “winger” reversed (“ascendant” in this down clue)
Definition: “Hazard floating”
5. Held man had to cover up something shady (9)
HARBOURED
HE’D = “man had” around ARBOUR = “something shady”
Definition: “Held”
6. Book on old server, reportedly? (7)
REBECCA
RE = “on” + BECCA sounds like (Boris) Becker, a “server” – one who serves, as you do in tennis
Definition: “Book”
7. Wee, around 568ml? (4-5)
PINT-SIZED
Double definition: “Wee” (as in “small”) and “around 568ml?” (which is roughly a pint)
13. Body part malodorous, black in colour (5,4)
THIGH BONE
HIGH = “malodorous” + B = “black” in TONE = “colour”
Definition: “Body part”
14. Succeed in pronouncing fanciful name of Russian hen? (4,2,3)
PULL IT OFF
You really have to want this one! Sounds like “pullet-ov” – a “pullet” being a hen and “ov” being a common suffix in Russian surnames (although -ov is a masculine ending, so not appropriate for a hen…)
Definition: “Succeed”
17. Dubai, say — Uncle Sam finally losing it (7)
EMIRATE
[uncl]E [sa]M = “Uncle Sam finally” + IRATE = “losing it”
Definition: “Dubai, say”
18. Rat den I set alight (7)
DETRAIN
(RAT DEN I)*
Definition: “alight” – I love these public transport verbs, for some reason – “embus” is another favourite…
20. Back ’urdler, say, champion (7)
ENDORSE
END = “Back” + ‘ORSE = “‘urdler, say”
Definition: “Champion” (as in “to champion “)
22. Norse goddess UN leader once exalted (5)
NANNA
ANNAN = “UN leader once” reversed (“exalted” in this down clue)
Definition: “Norse goddess” – not one I knew of before…
23. Small handle for beam (5)
SHAFT
S = “Small” + HAFT = “handle”
Definition: “beam” (e.g. a beam of light / a shaft of light)
Thanks to Paul and mhl. I did not parse the becca-Becker in REBECCA, took a while catching on to the parsing of EMIRATE, and ANNAN was new to me too. So was BARA BRITH (my LOI) so only later in the week did I parse it, then look it up. Overall, a challenge for me but worth the effort.
Well I had a different experience to mhl and was going to ask if Paul is getting easier or am I becoming more adept at solving his puzzles.
I thought THE IDIOT (paradoxically) very clever, I loved the surface of NUDIST BEACH and laughed out loud at PULLITOFF.
Thanks to setter and blogger
New word BARA BRITH
I was unable to parse 6d REBECCA.
Thank you Paul and mhl
This would have been quite easy if I had heard of ‘bara brith’ It did take a while to get it from the cryptic, but it is possible.
I like Paul puzzles, but this one was a little on the easy side for a prize. His cluing here is as brilliant as every, but it is just a little too easy just to put in the obvious answer.
Thanks Paul and mhl
Never heard of BARA BRITH but eventually got it from crossers..
Cound not parse 21a 6d 17d.
Re 8a, I thought the only acceptable spelling in English was TABOO. I know it derives from a Polynesian word, which in Fijian is pronounced TAMBOO and written TABU (courtesy of a spelling system developed by the missionaries).
Thanks mhl. We shouldn’t get picky with Paul who always delights. The outlandish (for me) BARA BRITH and GARBANZO (eventually got) were joyfully set against the fun dame and the pull-it-off; the use in 4D, a fortnight after Pan had it, of the bird flying up the iceberg, and the Monaco answer which seemed barely cryptic quite forgiven. This was excellent for a Saturday.
I think 1a would have been many solvers’ LOI.
Nice to see Paul on good form for a Prize
Thanks to him and mhl for blog.
Thanks mhl. I thought it was a bit harder than usual too. Like the others I eventually got BARA BRITH and Garbanzo through the crossers and had to resort to Google for confirmation. I flirted with TOBAGO for 24a, Togo being another country but couldn’t connect BA with RACE. I know someone will tell me Tobago is only part of a country but I thought some licence was possible.
Thanks Paul and mhl
The Irish reference in 1A made me think of BARM BRACK and from there it was only a short mental/Culinary leap to BARA BRITH.
Greatly appreciated NUDIST BEACH, FUNDAMENT, PULLITOFF (groan..),DETRAIN (I like those transport verbs too)
Struggled with GARBANZO (picky corner Chick-pea is surely a pulse not a seed?), TABULATE ((fair but unusual variant of taboo) and REBECCA (homophones catch my Irish ear out, in Ireland -a endings sound like Ah and not like er ! I actually reverse parsed this as a reference to the biblical REbekah (server at Well ?)
Surely the explanation of 24A is simply the country which holds a grand prix car race in it’s centre?
Thanks Paul and mhl
I had a good start as my Welsh grandmother used to give me BARA BRITH!
Thanks both. I found this hard. I liked the surface of MONACO because of course it hosts the Grand Prix in its centre which is a Formula One motor race.
@10. We crossed: I’m a slow typist!
Woof @10. It wouldn’t be cryptic and “at it’s centre’ would be redundant at best.
Held up by confidently entering an unparsed Barm Brack at 1 and having to go back when 4 & 5 proved impossible. Otherwise enjoyable and fairly straightforward although 26 made me a little melancholy about how quickly words and ideas are being dumbed down these days.
Thanks Paul & mhl.
Thanks Paul and mhl
Epeesharkey @ 9: Chambers gives pulse (2) as “The seeds of leguminous plants as food collectively, beans, peas, lentils, etc”.
hth
@ mhl – there’s an argument that it’s your misgivings about ‘ov’ which not appropriate. You could argue about whether cockerelov or cockerelova would be correct but there’s no basis for either pulletov or pulletova being correct (other than as a valid fanciful indicator).
which are not
Nice puzzle of middling difficulty. PULL IT OFF was excellent and I enjoyed FUNDAMENT. I did knew BARA BRITH but GARBANZO was new to me- lovely word though.
Thanks Paul
Thanks to Paul and mhl. I found this mostly quite straightforward, but held up by the last few. A DNF for me because I failed on meme and nanna, neither of which I have come across before. That said still an enjoyable challenge and thanks again to Paul and mhl.
Having been travelling for a while, this was a fun Paul to come back to. A appreciative groan at the Russian hen when I finally got it. BARA BRITH would surely have been my LOI, but I got it early on by accident, having guessed at ‘Bara biker’ which seemed a unlikely type of bread but just possible, so I googled it and got directed to the correct answer, which hadn’t been my intention, but does suggest Google is better at this than I am. (I had spent a while thinking ‘buns’ might be another bottom reference, but it seems I misjudged Paul there.) Lots there to like, thanks Paul, and thanks mhl.
1a, BARA BRITH, which I hadn’t heard of, was LOI for me too, though I had Bath for “place of buns” fairly early (having first considered the meaning of “buns” referred to by KeithS above).
15, GARABANZO, was a word I vaguely recognised when parsing suggested it, confirmed with BRB.
24, MONACO is also (as well as the brilliant 22,1d, NUDIST BEACH) a semi &lit, which is what led some to regard it as non-cryptic (including me, at first). I also had TOBAGO in mind for quite a while before getting it.
Had to consult a list of Portugese cities to get 3d, BRAGA. I was actually looking for GARBA, having wrongly understood “going over” in the clue.
Hadn’t heard of NANNA (22d) before, but remembered Kofi Annan.
Favourites were 11,EXORCISE; 21, THE IDIOT; 22,1d, NUDIST BEACH and 14, PULL IT OFF.