Guardian Cryptic 27,709 by Paul

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27709.

Vintage Paul, inventive and witty, but I, at least, found myself on his wavelength, and came close to breezing through it.

Across
1 CAPOTE Numbers etc in head, American writer (6)
An envelope (‘in’) of OT (‘Numbers etc’, books of the Old Testament) in CAPE (‘head’), for the American writer Truman Capote
4 MASSIF State whether it’s high and rocky (6)
A charade of MASS (Massachusetts, ‘state’) plus IF (‘whether’).
9, 25 LEFT OVER Certainly not right under, a survivor? (4,4)
Definition and literal interpretation (by negation).
10 MOUTH ORGAN One’s played blooming hard, pirate claims (5,5)
An envelope (‘claims’) of OUT (‘blooming’) plus H (‘hard’) in MORGAN (Sir Henry, 17th century ‘pirate’).
11, 27 STRIKE A LIGHT Test match, I say! (6,1,5)
Definition and literal interpretation.
12 TURNPIKE Barrier long gone, go and dive (8)
A charade of TURN (‘go’) plus PIKE (‘dive’). Chambers TURNPIKE: … a tollgate or a road with a tollgate (hist). The word survives in American usage.
13 WHILE AWAY Spend during holidays? (5,4)
Double definition.
15   See 16
16, 15 POND LILY  Wet plant drooping originally, floater almost gobbled by equine (4,4)
An envelope (‘gobbled by’) of D (‘Drooping originally’) plus LIL[o] (‘floater’) minus its last letter (‘almost’) in PONY (‘equine’).
17 BIOLOGIST Drunk is too big to catch learner, student of life (9)
An envelope (‘to catch’) of L (‘learner’) in BIOOGIST, an anagram (‘drunk’) of ‘is too big’.
21 APOSTASY Renouncing faith, a job say to convert? (8)
A charade of ‘a’ plus POST (‘job’) plus ASY, an anagram (‘to convert’) of ‘say’.
22 TATTOO Trash unduly beating event (6)
A charade of TAT (‘trash’) plus TOO (‘unduly’), with either one or two definitions.
24 CATALOGUER Actual gore spilt, one putting things in order (10)
An anagram (‘spilt’) of ‘actual gore’.
25   See 9
26 DELETE Key with a tenant, runner collects (6)
An envelope (‘collects’) of LET (‘tenant’; Chambers does not give this, but it seems reasonable) in DEE (‘runner’ – any of several rivers)
27   See 11
Down
1 CHEETAH Fast predator, shark reportedly? (7)
A homophone (‘reportedly’) of CHEATER (‘shark’).
2 PUTTI Angelic kids, stroke one (5)
A charade of PUTT (‘stroke’ at golf) plus I (‘one’), for cherubic infants in art.
3 TEMPERA Improve the consistency of a type of paint (7)
A charade of TEMPER (‘improve the consistency of’) plus ‘a’.
5 ASHORE Last of water in a pump, say — drying off perhaps? (6)
An envelope (‘in’) of R (‘last of wateR‘) in ‘a’ plus SHOE (‘pump say’).
6 STRIPLING Shy hosts outing young man (9)
An envelope (‘hosts’) of TRIP (‘outing’) in SLING (‘shy’, verb, to throw).
7 FRANKLY Mosquito bites disgusting, if you ask me (7)
An envelope (‘bites’) of RANK (‘disgusting’) in FLY (‘mosquito’, example).
8, 16, 19 PUT THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT A quid? There! (3,4,2,4,4,3,5,2)
A ‘quid’ is a plug of chewing tobacco, but I suppose that the answer is an alternative way of using it.
14 LAND SNAIL Gastropod comes down on spike (4,5)
A charade of LANDS (‘comes down’) plus NAIL (‘spike’).
16   See 8
18 LATERAL After all, not entirely like a branch? (7)
A charade of LATER (‘after’) plus ‘al[l]’ minus its last letter (‘not entirely’).
19   See 8
20 MAP OUT Plan in the morning to get up, then fish (3,3)
A charade of MA, a reversal (‘to get up’ in a down light) of AM (‘in the morning’) plus POUT (‘fish’).
23 THONG Strap gripped by teeth, on gums (5)
A hidden answer (‘gripped by’) in ‘teeTH ON Gums’.
completed grid

48 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27,709 by Paul”

  1. I agree, this was pretty easy for a Paul, for which I thank the setter, as I wanted to finish quickly before going to bed.  I did nearly put ‘shell away’, but thought that was too unlikely even for a UK slang expression and tried again.    Once you see the big answer, it all yields very quickly.

  2. The old grey cells made a bit of a meal of this while watching India amass runs again. Had to do the alphabet to get putti, though familiar, and, not sussing quid (doh), ditto re smoke to get the long’un. Also slow to unscramble the cataloguer fodder and, despite immediately thinking “Bible” for “numbers etc”, didn’t swtch to OT, doh again. Not to worry, quite fun anyway.

    Thanks Paul and PeterO.

  3. I’m not sure 23d works properly, because of different ways A can be in B. This is a bit subtle, and I’m not trying to nitpick, but I think it’s important. One way A can be in B is if A is a part of B; another is if A is a separate entity and enclosed by B. The clue words “gripped by” have the second meaning, but for the cryptic operation to work we need the first.

    I think a useful criterion for a good clue is whether, when you are explaining cryptic crosswords to someone, you would use it as an exemplar. This one I wouldn’t. Also, I doubt that mosquito=fly, or, like PeterO, that a quid will go in a pipe.

    On the other hand, I think 1a shines because of the unobvious but entirely fair use of Numbers etc. Thanks and HNY to everyone.

  5. PeterO, I think the “let” in DELETE comes from “with a tenant” rather than just “tenant”.

    A steady solve for me, the NE corner being the last to yield.

    Thanks, Paul and PeterO.

  6. Managed to finish, which I don’t often do with a Paul puzzle. At first thought 24a might be COAGULATER – rather appropriate given the clue. Many thanks to P & P.

  7. Enjoyed this..thanks to Paulus yesterday for suggesting changing to chrome for the online version.
    Could not parse MOUTH ORGAN so thanks PeterO for the explanations.
    FOI was STRIKE A LIGHT. Thanks, Paul.

  8. Finished in under an hour, which is good for me, especially against Paul! Some very subtle touches which were pleasing. My favourite clue? The last one in – MOUTH ORGAN.

  9. Perhaps Dr.Watson (or Dr. Whatson) could shed some light
    on QUID in the context of a pipe. I remember Watson being slightly
    repelled by Holmes’s habit of collecting PLUGS and DOTTLES
    – remnants of smoked tobacco- in a pot by the fire to use again,
    But I don’t recall QUID.
    Thank you Paul and Peter O; WHILE AWAY whiled away some time.

  10. Thanks Paul and PeterO (FYI you’ve missed out the cape in capote).

    I agree that you definitely cannot put a quid in your pipe and smoke it and I parsed 26 the same way as Chris in France.

  11. If I were a sailor in the 17th century and had been given a QUID of tobacco,
    I might find an excuse to wander to the galley (the only place where smoking
    was permitted) to smoke it. Otherwise, I’d have to chew it, being careful to spit
    out the vile juice into the buckets on deck for that purpose.

  12. Thanks Paul and PeterO. A quick solve slowed down slightly in the NE. Isn’t PIKE a position that can be adopted in a dive rather than the dive itself?

    [il principe…@9 – thanks for the Radio 4 link you posted last week – very good]

  13. Thanks both,

    At first I thought this was going to be difficult, but it yielded steadily. A bit less quirky than some Paul’s and no ribald humour that I could see. While I agree ‘with a tenant’ work for ‘let’ in 26a (when will I learn key is not always musical?), OED also gives ‘tenant’ as a transitive verb meaning ‘let’.

  15. Dunc T,
    I’m glad you enjoyed it. Another astronomer, il principe Fabrizio Salina, featured
    in Archibald Colquhoun’s superb tranlation of The Leopard on New Year’s Day.
    In what promises to be a politically interesting year, someone at the BBC chose
    a very pertinent book. The snippets of opera are fascinating too; Bellini’s ‘Prendi
    l’anel ti dono’ from La Sonnambula, famously directed by Visconti in 1955, who also
    made a film of the book.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001tym

  16. gladys @14, a pond lily apparently is a “water lily having large leaves and showy fragrant flowers that float on the water,  of temperate and tropical regions” –  I think it is more a US term, so “not at home”.

  17. Thanks to Paul and PeterO. Typical Paul solve for me, little on first pass, but then unpacked readily. As with Chris@5 the NE was the last to to fall. Putti a new word for me, but I liked while away, map out, and massif. Thanks again to Paul and PeterO.

  18. Like PeterO said I thought this was vintage Paul with lots of inventiveness –
    ASHORE being a great example. Like others the NE was the slowest to go in – although the loi was DELETE as I too failed to see the now prevalent interpretation of key. Whilst I can see the quibbles mentioned above none of them bothered me during the solve and I thoroughly enjoyed it even though the quid clue filled in much of the grid at one go.
    Many thanks to Paul and PeterO.

  19. Must admit that the long one went in from enumeration, definition and a few crossers – that meaning of QUID was unfamiliar to me, but it’s fair enough once you see how it works. That was the key to solving this one, because once the rest of the crossers from that were in place, the remaining ones cracked pretty quickly, but getting to that point took me far too long.

    Thanks to Paul and PeterO

  20. Thanks to Paul and PeterO. I needed help parsing MOUTH ORGAN, but for some reason I did associate quid with tobacco.

  21. Thanks PeterO, I seem to have made more of a meal of this than most, taking a long time to complete.

    With ASHORE, I’ve not come across this meaning of drying off.  Only ever heard it used for cows whose milk yield is falling.

    Thought TEST MATCH a bit weak and Trash unduly beating event is another of those bonkers collection of words which don’t really make sentence but which Paul is tempted by quite often.

    Failed to find let = tenant anywhere but it seems reasonable I suppose.

    Much else to admire, though, although I’m with those who don’t think a quid can be put in a pipe.

    Many thanks, Paul.

  22. My experience was similar to PeterO’s – as straightforward a Paul solve as I’ve managed, at least in recent times. Varied and enjoyable clueing, no quibbles worth mentioning.

    Turnpike is, as Peter says, nowadays live only in the US, but very familiar to those of us raised in North London, by virtue of Turnplke Lane station on the Piccadilly Line, one of Charles Holden’s classic designs. And my mother was born in a house on the lane itself.

    Thanks to Peter and Paul.

  24. So there has been some discussion of whether the LET in DELETE comes from “tenant” or “with a tenant”. I think there are two reasons why it has to be the latter. (1) It’s semantically and syntactically correct, with no need to resort to a dictionary entry that does not correspond to common practice, and (2) The best clues have a minimum (preferably none) of words left over – glue words, stopwords, however you want to consider them.

  28. DELETE was last in and I’m kicking myself for not seeing the obvious. I didn’t know POND LILY or PUTTI but I can’t fault the wordplay. I did know QUID from somewhere or other so the long answer wasn’t that hard. I liked STRIKE A LIGHT and MAP OUT.
    I made heavier weather of this than most of you seem to have done but looking back at the puzzle I can’t see why.
    Thanks Paul.

  29. Thanks both.  I find that ‘quid’ is related etymologically to ‘cud’ (as in ‘chewing the cud’).

  30. My first crossword of 2019, and an excellent one!  It was nothing like a breeze, but I was glad of that, and glad also to get the long phrase from eight of its crossers, trusting that it was the solution to such a minimal clue.  MOUTH ORGAN was my favourite among many good clues.

    Thanks to Paul and PeterO.

  31. Thanks Paul and PeterO

    My problem was with POUT being a fish (I still haven’t looked it up).

    I got the long on equite early from the S?O?E crossers. BIOLOGIST was afvourite.

    Am I the only one who thinks the expression should be “wile away” (as in a windy street)?

  32. William @ 21, re ‘drying off’, I think it’s in the sense of drying off (ashore) after a swim.

    I enjoyed this, though didn’t get delete or ashore and couldn’t parse FRANKLY.

    Thanks Paul and PeterO.

  33. Well, no breezing through it for us today! Paul’s crosswords just seem like unrelenting and not very rewarding hard work these days. Having looked at reactions here though, must be worth continuing? I’ll let you know.

  34. I found an older definition for TURNPIKE, which is probably what Paul had in mind by “Barrier long gone”:

    Historical:  a spiked barrier fixed in or across a road or passage as a defense against sudden attack.

  35. Muffin@31. I checked with Chambers (1988) and you are right about “wile away”. I think that I would probably have used Paul’s version without thinking but I would have been wrong, though Chambers acknowldges that the confusion exists.
    16,15. I think that “floater,ie lily, almost” would be OK as a clue for LIL in, say, SLILY but not as part of LILY in the complete answer.
    I’m another who thought that a quid only applied to chewing tobacco.
    Thanks to Paul as usual, though I didn’t think this was one of his best, and to Peter O.

  36. Yes, this was the easiest Paul we had in recent weeks (perhaps, months).

    All perfectly fine and enjoyable but the enumeration in 9,25 , shouldn’t that be (8) instead of (4,4)? [since the definition is a noun]

    Many thanks to PeterO and Paul.

  37. Muffin and Pino @31 and 35, Collins Dictionary on line gives “If you while away the time in a particular way, you spend time in that way, because you are waiting for something else to happen, or because you have nothing else to do.
    Miss Bennett whiled away the hours watching old films”.

  39. Pino@35 – the floater is a lilo, not a lily. (If you’re not British, “lilo” may not be familiar. It’s an inflatable mattress, often used as an informal (and potentially dangerous) raft, named from a brand of such things.

  40. 16,15 – this being Paul, I did get sidetracked with “floater almost” and the first two letters of 16ac !

  45. Enjoyed this and had no quibbles. As PeterO says the long answer could be an alternative way of using a quid. It, plus strike a light, was my favourite clue. Cant understand Dr Whatson’s problem with 23d. Thong is ‘gripped’ by ‘teeth on gums’. A classic fun Paul. Thank you.

  46. Thank you, DuncT, for commenting on my query.

    Your Chambers 11th Ed. has ‘left over’ [two words] describing a noun? My 13th Ed. hasn’t [nor do Collins & Her Friends].

  47. Sil

    I’ve just checked and the entries for leftover are identical in the 11th and 13th editions of Chambers. I think the confusion has arisen because Chambers prints it left’over which can easily be misconstrued as two words in poor light or if ones eyesight is like mine.

  48. Hi Sil, sorry, second look showed that the gap I read between the words is just there to fit the stress indicator. Sadly more evidence of my decaying middle-age eyesight.

    So yes, I agree that the enumeration was wrong.

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