Great fun from Paul, as usual, though I found this quite tricky to finish: 18, 11 and 3, 7 – both very nice clues! – held me up for a long time, thanks to their well disguised definitions
Across
5. Get under someone’s skin, might it? (6)
NEEDLE
Cryptic definition: a needle (for an injection) might literally get under your skin
Definition: “Get under someone’s skin” (as in “to irritate / needle them”)
6. Painter related to darkest shade, as he used to say? (6)
RENOIR
RE = “related to” + NOIR = “darkest shade, as he used to say” (Renoir was French, and the French for “black” or “darkest shade” is “noir”)
Definition: “Painter”
9. Test buoyancy ultimately in fish (3,3)
TRY OUT
[bouyanc]Y = “buoyancy ultimately” in TROUT = “fish”
Definition: “Test”
10. Attack top and bottom (8)
HEADBUTT
HEAD = “top” + BUTT = “bottom”
Definition: “Attack”
12. Erect using poles etc, obvious long parts (5,1,4)
PITCH A TENT
PATENT = “obvious” around ITCH = “long”
Definition: “Erect using poles etc.” when camping. However, I feel it would be remiss of me not to point out the innuendo here: “pitch a tent” is also slang for a man being obviously aroused through their trousers, which the clue is clearly alluding to.
13. Where a bridge is bent (2,3,6)
ON THE FIDDLE
Double definition: “where a bridge is” (referring to the bridge of a violin) and “bent” as in “dishonest”
18, 11. Go on sponsored walk primarily, middle of week taken off (6,4,4)
POWDER ONE’S NOSE
(ON SPONSORED W EE)* – in the anagram fodder, W is from W[alk] = “week primarily” and EE from [w]EE[k] = “middle of week”
Definition: “Go” as in “to go the the loo” – “to powder one’s nose” is a euphemism for this
22, 21. Applies oneself, like a gorilla? (8,4)
KNUCKLES DOWN
Double definition: “Applies oneself” and “like a gorilla?”
23. One is oddly patchy (6)
UNEVEN
Double definition: “One is oddly” and “patchy” (or you could consider it a triple definition (“one is”, “oddly” and “patchy”)
24. Ticklish rear of lieutenant aroused (6)
THORNY
[lieutenan]T = “rear of lieutenant” + HORNY = “aroused”
Definition: “Ticklish” (as in a ticklish / thorny problem)
25. Ursine, might you say? Just about (6)
BARELY
“Ursine, might you say?” – BARELY is a homophone for “bearly”, which might mean “as a bear”
Definition: “Just about”
Down
1. Organ composition in fruit (8)
MELODEON
ODE = “composition” in MELON = “fruit”
Definition: “Organ”
2. Cunning clue for “dump illegally” (3-3)
FLY-TIP
FLY = “Cunning” + TIP = “clue”
Definition: “dump illegally” – bizarrely, I only learnt this sense of “fly tip” after learning about “fly tipping” in the context of working in a Drosophila research group, where it means to transfer fruit flies into a new vial of yeast (which needed to be done weekly). I didn’t understand my friends’ surprise when I said I’d have to head into work to do some fly-tipping!
3, 7. Getting frisky, Catherine dated bit of a looker after divorce? (8,6)
DETACHED RETINA
(CATHERINE DATED)*
Definition: “bit of a looker after divorce?” – a very good clue, I think
4. Ice has to remain in order (6)
SORBET
SORT = “order” around BE = “remain”
Definition: “Ice”
5, 20. Near catastrophe, question getting involved in hideous US-Korean war (6,6)
NARROW SQUEAK
Q = “question” in (US-KOREAN WAR)*
Definition: “Near catastrophe”
8. Matt, perhaps, in 5 20 (5,6)
PHOTO FINISH
Double definition: “Matt, perhaps” – a printed photo might have a gloss or matt finish – and “[NARROW SQUEAK]”
14. Little time in sport for speeding (8)
HURTLING
T = “Little time” in HURLING = “sport”
Definition: “speeding”
15. Damaged by run, boy runs indeed? (8)
LADDERED
LAD = “boy” + R = “runs” in DEED (read “indeed” as “in deed” – the question mark allowing for some people not liking this device, I suppose
Definition: “Damaged by run” – a run in a pair of tights is also known as a ladder
16. Poetry like this half-cut poet served up (6)
SONNET
SO = “like this” followed by TENN[yson] = “half-cut poet” reversed
Definition: “Poetry”
17. Wet under thatched roof of the rural gentry? (6)
TWEEDY
WEEDY = “wet” under T[hatched] = “thatched roof”
Definition: “of the rural gentry?”
19. Who could be in court loading a revolver? (6)
DOCTOR
CT = “court” in DOOR = “a revolver?” referring to a revolving door
Definition: “Who could be” – a reference to Doctor Who
Well, I’ve never heard of PITCH A TENT being slang for an erection. Perhaps I should get out more! I rather liked this with TWEEDY and NARROW SQUEAK being favourites.
Thanks Paul.
Thanks mhl. Near-perfect from Paul, for the lunch hour. I discerned 3,7 as an anagram but poor vision kept it blurry till right at the end. Likewise the glimpsed SONNET had me cutting and pasting Tennyson in vain before “like this” got my attention. 5A and D on the other hand went straight in. POWDER ONES NOSE was winsome. PITCH A TENT was deft enough even without the naughty bit, new to me.
A dnf as I cheated to get POWDER ONE’S NOSE as I saw “taken off” as an instruction to lose two es rather than an anagrind, and didn’t spot the Pauline “go” as the definition until after the event. Other than that I enjoyed it with chuckles at KNUCKLES DOWN and ticks by PITCH A TENT (didn’t think of the the alternative meaning), ON THE FIDDLE (who else had a question marked IN THE MIDDLE until 8d went in?) and PHOTO FINISH. Thanks Paul and mhl.
Thanks mhl. I’m not sure whether Paul is getting more difficult or if I’m getting slower but I had to spend quite a lot of time on this. The NE corner was the last to yield though looking back on it now it is all entirely fair and shouldn’t have taken so long. Still not quite sure about 23a, I probably tried to read more into it than is there but couldn’t get away from the notion that one is an odd number.
Thanks to Paul and mhl. This was one of those puzzles where I got almost nothing on the first pass, then, over the course of two days, gradually filled in the blanks. I wasn’t sure about MELODEON (I vaguely remembered the term) or the squeak in NARROW SQUEAK (I worked backward from PHOTO FINISH), and in many cases was parsing only after spotting the answer. My LOI was DETACHED REINA (a great clue) where, though I suspected it was eye-related, I took a long time solving even with all the crossers.
I really liked this one too, even thought it was officially a DNF. I had SLY-TIP at 2d, biffed in with “sly” for “cunning” and “tip” for “dump” – and concluding it must be a term I had not encountered (which turned out to be true for “FLY-TIP” anyway). Ticks for 10a HEADBUTT, 3d7d DETACHED RETINA, 8d PHOTO FINISH, 16d SONNET and 19d DOCTOR, and like WhiteKing@3 I was amused by 22a21d KNUCKLES DOWN. I also thought 18,11a POWDER ONE’S NOSE and 24a THORNY were hilarious. For a while I also started with “IN THE MIDDLE” for 13a, WK@3, though it felt wrong. I also must confess I could not fully parse 12a PITCH A TENT: I have clearly led a sheltered (!) life. Thanks for an enjoyable puzzle, Paul, and to mhl for a comprehensive blog.
I had quite a difficult time finishing the NE corner, which was very tricky. ‘Detached retina’ and ‘renoir’ were brilliant, but my LOI was ‘sorbet’, which I just got through an alphabet trawl and worked out retroactively.
Mega kudos to Paul and our esteemed blogger.
Almost exactly what you said, Julie in Oz @ 6; I too, had SLY-TIP, with just the same reasoning, although having seen the correct answer, I realise it is a term I’ve come across somewhere. I guessed PITCH A TENT very early on, but it ended up being my LOI because I couldn’t quite believe it was right. Oddly, once I actually wrote it in, I spotted how it worked – although the alluded meaning – obvious though it is – was new to me. (Unlike SORBET, which had to be right, but where I had to come here to see the parsing – thanks, mhl.) I did like the split in-deed that produced LADDERED, and I thought DETACHED RETINA was a lovely clue. Thanks, Paul.
Another IN THE MIDDLE here, but preferred the proper answer once I saw it. Found this very tough going and resorted to the anagram-o-matic for DETACHED RETINA. Didn’t know that meaning for PITCH A TENT. It took a long time to parse that one, and I never got there at all for POWDER ONES NOSE. Thanks Paul and mhl.
A very good puzzle, that kept me occupied for two days!! Many excellent clues, particularly 13 ac; 18,11; 3,7.
Not too sure about ‘the darkest shade’ bit of 6 ac. Why not just say ‘black’ ?
Thanks to Paul and to mhl.
I thoroughly enjoyed that. It did seem tougher than a usual Paul, though not in the league of difficulty of previous week’s Tramp.
Many clues fell into place with a satisfying ‘penny-drop’ moment, PHOTO FINISH, ON THE FIDDLE< POWDEr ONES NOSE, TWEEDY, to mention just a few, probably I could add the same again, these are just stand out. There was also a nice mix of pretty easy clues to ease the way in, a good combination for me !
As some others have mentioned the NE corner was very much the final frontier; almost all blank while everything else was filled in. I had to use the online version anagram helper to knock out the DETACHED RETINA. It is a brilliant anagram and a snappy, tabloid-esque surface reading. Maybe ‘divorce’ is not a great indicator of a medical accident though ? I think my very LOI was RENOIR, again a brilliant clue though I slightly quibble with ‘as he used to say; — lead me up the garden path somewhat. ‘As he might have said himself’ would surely have been just as a good on the surface and conveys the meaning more clearly.
Sorry if that sounds quibble-some, my overall impression was of pretty much non-stop entertainment within a challenging setting – as good as it gets really.
Thanks Paul and thanks mhl
Many decades since the tent allusion, school sports days, girls, sigh. Then the nose-powder euphemism, great contrast. Remembered fly=cunning (only from cw puzzles), but dnk fly-tip, a biff then lookup. Loved the lieutenant’s ticklish rear. Was woefully slow to add photo to finish, and ditto re doctor, despite the ubiquitous and perennial Who. [It was a nightly ritual when the kids were young: vegies gently steamed, run to kitchen to grill as soon as the final credits rolled, da da da dum, da da da dum, dah dah].
Lots of fun and memories, thanks Paul and Mhl.
Forgot detached retina, fiendishly clever, Genius level.
grantinfreo @ 12
We call it Wobble The Dog. Try singing along to the tune “wobble the dog, wobble the dog, a-wobble the dog, a-wobble the dog” etc…
Thanks to Paul and mhl. Thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle which I thought was not too easy, but also not too hard. Last ones were headbutt, sorbet and photo finish. Therefore another who get held up in the NE. Loved on the fiddle (though another who spent a while on in the middle) and powder ones nose, but lots of other fun clues. Thanks again to Paul and mhl.
Good facsimile, Simon S. The kids, now in their 50s, are still fans.
Hurrah! I was one of the five book-winners for this one. It was enjoyable enough at the time, but now my cake has been iced! 🙂
This compiler fails to follow the accepted rules of his occupation. I will no longer waste my time on these ridiculous distorted and often tediously seedy efforts. For those of you who have tuned in to his thought processes, then well done but I have had enough. I would welcome the Guardian dispensing with his services.