We normally complete Paul’s crosswords pretty quickly, but this one took ages! That’s a bit surprising in retrospect since there’s nothing very obscure here. A high quality puzzle, as ever – thank-you, Paul!
One thing I noticed is that with several clues I’d basically parsed it correctly and thought of the answer, but wasn’t convinced enough to put it in. This happened with BARBITONE (which I didn’t know), INELASTIC (wasn’t sure about “character upright” for I) and FOUR-EYED (see below).
Across
1. French writer reversing endless nonsense on theology (6)
SARTRE
TRAS[h] = “endless nonsense” (“trash” / “nonsense” is not a synonym I would have thought of, but Chambers supports it) + RE (Religious Education) = “theology”
Definition: “French writer”
4. Bricks exist to stop possible splashback? (6)
ADOBES
BE = “exist” in SODA = “splash” reversed – Chambers gives “a little soda water tonic, etc. (with a spirit) as one definition of “splash”
Definition: “Bricks” (an adobe is a brick made of mud and straw and dried in the sun, or a house made of them)
10. Polish sign features in books (10)
GLOSSARIES
GLOSS = “Polish” + ARIES = “sign” (of the zodiac)
Definition: “features in books”
11. Local love in action, how alluring you are! (6)
PHWOAR
PH (Public House) = “local” + O = “love” in WAR = “action”
Definition: “how alluring you are!” – this definition of such a crude expression made us both laugh
12. Current times in pieces one’s read (4,4)
NEWS ITEM
NEW = “Current” + (TIMES)* (“in pieces” is the anagram indicator)
Definition: the whole clue – this is a semi-&lit
13. Character upright, as client awfully stiff (9)
INELASTIC
I = “Character upright” (!) + (AS CLIENT)*
Definition: “stiff”
15, 9. Looking troubled, like Mississippi, might you say? (4-4)
FOUR-EYED
There are four Is in Mississippi – “might you say?” indicates the I / EYE homophone
Definition: “Looking troubled” – people who wear glasses are sometime pejoratively referred to as “four-eyed”. I think this should be read as “Looking troubled” = “Seeing impaired”, say. I don’t think this is a great definition – I thought of this early on, but didn’t feel confident enough to put it in on that basis.
16. Denounce grand sporting feat (4)
SLAM
Double definition: “Denounce” and “grand sporting feat” – many sports have a concept of a “grand slam” consisting of winning multiple games or tournaments
17. Rig out sweetheart with very old dresses, getting upset (9)
AGGRIEVED
(RIG)* + [sw]E[et] = “sweetheart” + V, all in AGED = “old” – “dresses” indicates inclusion
Definition: “upset” (getting is a link word)
21. Person setting light rocks around a very heavy rock (8)
MEGALITH
ME = “Person setting” (i.e. the crossword setter) + (LIGHT)* (“rocks” is the anagram indicator) around A
Definition: “very heavy rock”
22. A boring cocktail? (6)
GIMLET
Cryptic definition: as well as being a cocktail (gin and lime cordial, which I’ll always associate with “The Long Goodbye” by Raymond Chandler) a gimlet is a hand tool for boring holes
24. After tramp, father separated to find second mother, say? (4-6)
STEP-PARENT
STEP = “tramp” + PA = “father” + RENT = “separated” (as in “rent asunder”)
Definition: “second mother, say?”
25, 3. Nature observes possible sign-off? (4,7)
KIND REGARDS
KIND = “Nature” + REGARDS = “observes”
Definition: “possible sign-off?”
26. Old player finding minimum of peace in dove … (6)
COOPER
P[eace] = “minimum of peace” in COOER = “dove”
Definition: “Old player” – “player” as in “actor”, presumably referring to Gary Cooper
27, 23. … as dog circling tree caught by artist (6,5)
BARREL MAKER
BARKER = “dog” around ELM = “tree” in RA = “artist” (Royal Academician)
Definition: [the previous clue, indicated by the ellipsis]
Down
1. Witnessed female drinking last of Chardonnay — how much? (3,4)
SAY WHEN
SAW = “Witnessed” + HEN = “female” around [chardonna]Y = “last of Chardonnay”
Definition: “how much?” (when you’re asking someone to tell you when to stop pouring a drink)
5. Reject is punching floor (6)
DISOWN
IS in DOWN = “floor” – I think this is because in the verb sense to “down” or to “floor” someone is to knock them out (or to the floor, at least).
Definition: “Reject”
6. Cradling baby initially, voice calmer (9)
BARBITONE
BARITONE = “voice” around B[aby] = “baby initially”
Definition: “calmer” – a thing that calms – BARBITONE is a barbiturate
7. Huge female goddess inhabiting tiny island, briefly (3-4)
SHE-BEAR
HEBE = “goddess” in SAR[k] = “tiny island, briefly”
Definition: “Huge female”
8. Bedtime exercise making a difference on submissive types (8,5)
COUNTING SHEEP
COUNTING = “making a difference” + SHEEP = “submissive types”
Definition: “Bedtime exercise” – amusing surface reading of this clue, even if it reads a bit awkwardly
14. Dog has head on armchair in comfortable place like that (5,4)
LHASA APSO
HAS + A[rmchair] = “head on armchair” in LAP = “comfortable place” + SO = “like that
Definition: “Dog”
16. Poisoned cups clean originally, I doubt (7)
SCEPTIC
SEPTIC = “Poisoned” around C[lean] = “clean originally”
Definition: “I doubt”
18. Sports event, on gun this always starts (7)
REGATTA
RE = “on” (as in “about”) + GAT = “gun” + T[his] A[lways] = “this always starts”
Definition: “Sports event”
19. Constant lack of leadership in one winger tackling another (7)
ETERNAL
The “wingers” here are birds: TERN in [t]EAL
Definition:
20, 2. Taken off air twice, opted for clandestine transmitter (6,5)
PIRATE RADIO
(AIR AIR OPTED)* – the anagram indicator
Definition: “clandestine transmitter”
It also took me a while to get going but then went in steadily and finished up being typical Paul with some stretched (or very clever) definitions like FOUR-EYED where I didn’t see the visually impaired interpretation and others like BARBITONE where calmer was reminiscent of number, and drier in yesterday’s puzzle. I like these misdirections where words are used as a different part of speech than their usual context, and Paul is a master of it. I also liked ADOBES and unusually for a Paul I didn’t have any unparsed – apart from part of FOUR-EYED.
Thanks to Paul and mhl.
Paul at his brilliant best. 1 down and 1 across were write-ins but then it was a long struggle gradually chipping away at it before the dictionary gave me Lhasa Apso to complete with a sense of achievement
Thanks mhl. Nice stuff here, from the first-in Mississippi answer through to the lubricious PHWOAR. Never heard of the dog breed but the crossers got it. Finished with the old player, guessing Gary, with the eliding dots confirming LOI 27,23.
After Dr Whatson’s nice disquisition on Thursday’s Boatman, here we have an example where the ellipses are in fact instrumental, cooper leading to barrel maker.
With the left in all bar the dog, stared blankly at the rest before cheating and entering g….aries in a finder, just as a punt. Gloss–d’oh, obvious. After that it all unwound, still bar the dog which I also looked up. D’oh again: just do precisely what the clue says to do, as with barbitone which too was a gettable dnk. Lots to enjoy, with phwoar, aggrieved, megalith, kind regards and pirate radio (innovative clue) raising smiles.
Many thanks Paul and Mhl.
Thanks to Paul and mhl. I struggled with some of the clues already mentioned (though I was familiar with LHASA APSO) but had everything in place by Sunday except for 11ac. Even with all the crossers I could not figure it out, However, late in the week I finally did the parsing and discovered that PHWOAR was indeed an expression (though exactly what it expresses is beyond me)..
mhl – 100% agree your opening para. After some first-pass success Inthe spent ages looking at a blank grid making no progress and convincing myself this was a super hard puzzle. Once, eventually all was done though, few of the clues are really difficult.
COOPER:BARREL-MAKER took some brain power, and the O to finish the dog got me the very obscure LHASA APSO (via a list — I would never have known that)
The rest seemed surprisingly obvious though there were some tricky ones. SHE-BEAR isn’t an obvious def and the goddess and the small island both pretty obscure. I liked FOUR EYED (wearing specs for >40 years), no pejorative intent offence taken but again a fairly left field def.
Also liked MEGALITH PIRATE RADIO SAY WHEN. + COUNTING SHEEP a write-in in retrospect but for me LOI
Thank you Paul – much entertainment and to mhl for explaining it all so well.
Thanks Paul and mhl.
In 4ac I took SODA to be a “possible splash” (one of the splashes you can add to a drink).
11ac brought Carry On films to mind – how many Sid James impersonators does it take to change a lightbulb?
Just a small point re 20,2: Isn’t the anagrind “taken off”? A great puzzle – didn’t win the prize – but thanks a lot Paul and mhl.
Well you defeated me this time! I got all the top half comfortably but only about half the bottom despite 22ac. being my FOI and 16, 20 & 24 slotting in fairly easily. I got a couple of the others but hate to fill anything in til I can parse them. Utterly defeated by 14 – I could have looked at it for ever and still not got it. Never heard of a Lhasa Apso and, it’s not being English, I couldn’t even have guessed it. Sigh. But thank you Paul, as ever, and thank you Mhl for the blog.
No excuse for not getting 8, mind you.
Enjoyable as ever from Paul. His humour (and not just the ‘potty’ kind) always raises a titter or two. Grant @4: Yes, good to see ellipses used in this way, and not only do they link the definitions, but the ‘dove… …as dog’ link neatly suggests that if dove = cooer, then dog = barker. Definitely my favourite clues. DuncT @7: love the Sid James joke. I can picture/hear him now, probably with Barbara Windsor as the object of his ‘affection’.
Thank you Paul and mhl. Great work both.
Defeated by LHASA APSO, ADOBES and SLAM. Soda for splash was a blind spot for me (more into beer than spirits). “Denounce” didn’t come close to hinting at slam (denounce: “condemn; inveigh against”; slam: “censure; harshly criticise”; hmm), and I would have used the A in slam to get me a bit nearer to recalling lhasa apso from some deeply inaccessible part of my brain. Of course, I could have looked it up in a dictionary or in a list of dogs, as some have cheerfully admitted, but I consider that just as much a defeat as leaving the light unfilled.
Well done, Paul.
I too queried I = “character upright” at 11a as there are other upright letters, though I is the most obvious. Had the clue begun “upright character” I might have thought that Paul was boasting.
I didn’t think of player = actor at 26a and assumed that Paul was referring to Terry Cooper who played football for England.
Thanks to Paul and mhl.
…or Alice Cooper (Welcome to my Nightmare, a favourite of one of my young cousins in Goth stage back then)…
Not at all surprised to see Paul come up with such a splendidly civilised definition for PHWOAR. I was more surprised to find the word (I’ve always thought of it as more of a sound than a word) included in Chambers – although they really should consider adopting Paul’s definition.
Other than that, what others have said; this didn’t seem to be Paul at his easiest, and I’m also going to own up to eventually finding LHASA APSO in a list of dogs. I don’t mind that, I like it when a crossword leads me to find out something I didn’t know before. I think we all set ourselves different challenges. I particularly liked the combination of COOPER and BARREL MAKER.
Nicely set, Paul, and very nicely blogged, mhl.
Thanks to Paul and mhl. A typical Paul solve for me. As usual started off quite slowly, but then it all began to unpack quite readily. However, got held up by convincing myself that the first word of 8 was changing, which consequently got me held up with glossaries. This meant the last ones were megalith, glossaries and counting sheep. I particularly liked kind regards and say when and of course phwoar made me smile. I seem to recall Paul having a double phwoar in one of his puzzles which resulted in a lot of debate here. Thanks again to Paul and mhl.
LHASA APSO was new to me and I had to look it up. The rest went in steadily with some lovely Pauline clues. PHWOAH and FOUR EYES were brilliant especially the latter which was LOI and made me smile once I finally got it.
Most enjoyable.
Thanks Paul.
Agree with all the previous compliments to both setter and blogger. Mischievous, clever and, as always, accompanied by some lovely surfaces.
Almost a DNF: BARREL MAKER being last to go in. I ended up pondering that one whilst walking the dogs and found myself coming back to those two words as the answer but couldn’t for the life of me, equate them with a definition. “If only Cooper had been in the clue…” I found myself thinking. And then, of course, looked again at the grid having returned from walk and there was Cooper, staring me in the face. An absolute relief! Not surprisingly, my COTD.
Unfortunately I didn’t get BARREL MAKER, even though I’d entered the definition, COOPER (also understood as Gary by me too) and I thought this one was somewhat unfair: having the two words cross on the grid effectively meant there was an 11-letter answer required with only four crossers to help (plus the extra information that the fourth and eleventh letters were the same). This was compounded by complex wordplay and the unusual method of defining it, which was far from clear as ellipses don’t necessarily indicate any connection between the answers. I don’t think this is just sour grapes, although everyone else seems to have got it ok. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough after deciding that these factors made it unfair?
I did get lucky with LHASA APSO, however, as an aquaintance has one, and even thought I couldn’t quite remember what it was called, I knew it was the answer, confirmed by LHASA and my acquaintance’s story that these dogs were originally bred by Tibetan monks as sentinels for their acute hearing.
Loved PHWOAR even though it hadn’t been accepted by Chambers in 1986 when my dictionary was published (but Collins online confirmed it as a ‘proper word’).
Never heard of PHWOAR — we must have something similar this side the pond but I don’t know what.
I got stuck on the old player looking for a performer on a krumhorn or a psaltery. Gary not nearly so old!
Thank you mho for such a comprehensive blog. I needed your help with parsing 7d SHE-BEAR.
This was enjoyable but I was slow. I was almost over the line, but still had 27a,23d blank. Much like Mark@18 and Tony@19, I couldn’t just could not see the solution – and that was despite the fact that I had also solved “COOPER” at 26s, the “linked by ellipses” clue. So I turned off my bedside light feeling very miffed, and within 3 seconds, BARREL MAKER came to me. The light was off but the light bulb in my brain came on!!!! In the end I thought that LOI was clever rather than unfair.
I actually liked FOUR-EYED at 15,9a, although I have always thought that it was a bit mean to refer to someone wearing glasses as “Four Eyes”. But I liked it for the “Mississippi” part of the clue -it is a word I learned to spell quite young, and one that I always used for counting seconds when I was a child – “One Mississippi, Two Mississippi” etc. Not sure where that time measurement method came from…or indeed how reliable it is???
Other favourites were 11a PHWOAR as already discussed and 8d COUNTING SHEEP.
Very much appreciated as ever, Paul. Thanks also to previous contributors for sharing your thoughts.
[Sorry mhl for mistyping your appellation]
For those not familiar with PHWOAR try googling Monty Python’s iconic Nudge Nudge sketch (although there it seems to be pronounced without the P, but I’m pretty sure it’s the same word).
A new low. These ‘mischievous’ efforts are in fact distortions of any rational definitions and use of language. To the Guardian: find a prize compiler who can follow rules of the art and of English language.