Guardian Cryptic 27733 Paul

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This was a bit daunting at the beginning. Thanks Paul. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1 Rider went, doing a backflip, one that’s out of this world (4,5)

DEEP SPACE : Reversal of(…, doing a backflip) [ PS(abbrev. for “postscript” from the Latin “post scriptum”/in writing, an afterthought/possibly a qualification to what’s been written/a rider) + PEED(urinated/went as in “he went all over the floor”) ] + ACE(one, from the playing card with one pip on it).

6 Articulate call for work in a bakery? (5)

KNEAD : Homophone of(Articulate) “need”(to call for, as in “this calls for immediate action”).

9 Set to trap Lancashire opener, old spinner a long way off? (5)

PLUTO : [ PUT(to set/to place on) containing(to trap) 1st letter of(… opener) “Lancashire” ] + O(abbrev. for “old”).

Defn: A dwarf (not a full-fledged) planet/spinning body in outer space.

10 Same couple hiding imperfection with short name (9)

IDENTICAL : II(Roman numeral for 2/a couple) containing(hiding) DENT(an imperfection in an otherwise smooth surface) plus(with) CAL(short for the name, Calvin).

11 Trump’s extremely furious with free side of Europe (4,6)

REAL MADRID : REAL(Trump’s/an American’s term for “extremely”, as in “That was real cool, dude”) + MAD(furious/extremely angry) plus(with) RID(to free something of, usually, an unwanted something).

Defn: Spanish football team/side.

12 Black mini’s heading off (4)

INKY : “dinky”(miniature as in the brand name “Dinky Toys”) minus its first letter(…’s heading off).

14 Loose packaging is heading for bin, item flatly thrown away? (7)

FRISBEE : FREE(loose/not attached) containing(packaging) [IS + 1st letter of(heading for) “bin” ].

15 Try to bury first of remarks that was hurtful, wit long gone (7)

GROUCHO : GO(a try/an attempt) containing(to bury) [1st letter of(first of) “remarks” + OUCH!(exclamation expressing that something was hurtful)].

Answer: … Marx, late comedian and wit.

17 Ring in year hugging umpteen lasses, initially (7)

ANNULUS : ANNUS(year, as in “annus mirabilis” and its reverse “annus horribilis”, famously said by QEII of 1992) containing(hugging) 1st letters, respectively, of(…, initially) “umpteen lasses“.

19 A comedown for transport chief admitting rudeness (7)

HELIPAD : HEAD(chief/the top man or woman) containing(admitting) LIP(rudeness/disrespect, as in “Give me no lip!”).

Defn: A place for a means of transport, specifically a helicopter, to come down/land on.

20 See 5

22 Trill around wood in the Land of Nod? (10)

SLUMBERING : SING(to trill, as a canary does) containing(around) LUMBER(wood sawn or split into planks, boards, etc.).

25 Panicky, as windows wound down in the carwash? (2,1,6)

IN A LATHER : Literally, as one would be sitting in a car with the windows down whilst in a carwash.

26 Buzzer, physician buzzing? (5)

DRONE : DR(abbrev. for “doctor”/a physician) + [ON E](one on/using the drug ecstasy would be buzzing/in a state of pleasure or excitement).

Defn: One of a caste in a society of bees/buzzers.

27 Knockout award in return for work on computer? (1-4)

E-BOOK : Reversal of(… in return) [ KO(abbrev. for “knock out” used in boxing lingo) + OBE(abbrev. for “Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire”, an award of honour from the British monarch) ].

Defn: Electronic version of a literary work.

28 Painter really missing friend, kind to replace one in Monet? (9)

REMBRANDT : “really” minus(missing) “ally”(a friend/a supporter) + BRAND(a kind, say, of a marketed product) replacing(to replace) “one” in “Monet“.

Down

1 One acting to restrain prisoner at first, someone administering drug (5)

DOPER : DOER(one who acts/does) containing(to restrain) 1st letter of(… at first) “prisoner“.

2 Time to accept motorbike is right for children? (9)

EDUCATION : EON(a very long period of time) containing(to accept) DUCATI(brand of motorbikes manufactured by Italian company Ducati).

Defn: That which …

3 One with skis shuffling elbows in to nick second (10)

SNOWMOBILE : Anagram of(shuffling) ELBOWS IN containing(to nick) MO(short for “moment”/a second in time).

4 Legendary royal butt raised in support of performance by Callas, say? (7)

ARIADNE : Reversal of(… raised, in a down clue) END(butt/bottom end) placed below(in support of, in a down clue) ARIA(example/say, of a song performed by opera singer Maria Callas).

Defn: In Greek legend/mythology, a royal, specifically a Cretan princess.

5, 20 Though sporting wager fails, it’s smart (7,4)

EVENING WEAR : EVEN(though – though I thought the synonym was “even if”, as in “Even if you do this, you’re not going to get that”) + IN(sporting/wearing) + anagram of(… fails) WAGER.

6, 24 Equipment maker extra­ordinary — sign of quality (8)

KITEMARK : KIT(equipment/gear) + anagram of(… extra­ordinary)MAKER.

Defn: … on products and services, as certified by the British Standards Institution.

7 One’s time is up: with cross to bear, European Community functioning (2-3)

EX-CON : X(letter representing a cross/a mark indicating that which is incorrect) contained in(with … to bear) EC(abbrev. for the European Community) + ON(functioning/working, as with, say, an electrical appliance).

Defn: …, time in prison, that is.

8 Toy club for country park? (9)

DOLLYWOOD : DOLLY(as a child would call a doll, a toy in the shape of a human) + WOOD(a club for golfers).

Defn: A theme park owned by, surprise! surprise! country and western singer Dolly Parton. I surmise that “country” indicates that it is out in the Tennessean mountains, and that the park features country music in addition to the usual park amusements.

13 American ice hockey player, male perhaps, keeping a lot out? (10)

GOALTENDER : GENDER(one of which is the male sex) containing(keeping) anagram of(… out) A LOT.

Defn: In American ice hockey, the player who is equivalent to the goalkeeper in (field) hockey.

14 Halfwit ordered tea, forgetting a coffee (4,5)

FLAT WHITE : Anagram of(… ordered) HALFWIT + “tea” minus “a“.

Defn: … with milk but without froth.

16 Sign up Republican in party under Ford in the ’70s? (9)

CAPRICORN : [ R(abbrev. for “Republican”, member of the Republican Party) contained in(in) CON(abbrev. for the Conservative Party) ] placed below(under, in a down clue) CAPRI(a model of Ford cars in the 70s).

Defn: Astrological sign in the zodiac, from the constellation of stars, Capricornus.

18 Stinker with flipping hard heart in journo (7)

SULPHUR : Reversal of(… flipping, in a down clue) PLUS(with/and) + H(abbrev. for “hard”) + middle 2 letters of(heart in) “journo“.

Defn: A chemical element that stinks like hell.

19 Ordinary smell with cylindrical container (7)

HUMDRUM : HUM(a foul smell) plus(with) DRUM(a cylindrical container/a barrel, as in “a drum of oil”).

21 Mission in Indo-Malaysian uprising (5)

ALAMO : Hidden in(in) reversal of(… uprising, in a down clue) “Indo-Malaysian“.

Defn: A building or group of buildings used by a group on a mission to spread their Christian faith, specifically one in Texas.

23 Big jar, by the sound of it? (5)

GREAT : Homophone of(…, by the sound of it) “grate”(to jar one’s ears/to sound unpleasant).

24 See 6

47 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 27733 Paul”

  1. I thought there was a theme at first with 1a, 9a and 4d.

    Couldn’t parse the REAL in 11a.

    Really enjoyed this!

  2. Thanks Paul and scchua

    I couldn’t parse IDENTICAL or SULPHUR, and the definition for the latter is wrong too. It has a faint odour, but by no means stinks. He is probably thinking of the compound HYDROGEN SULFIDE – not currect spelling! – which does stink.

    Favourites were GROUCHO and FLAT WHITE.

  5. As is often the case with Paul I found this a mix of elegant (e.g. 26a) and nonsense (e.g. 3d) clues. Apart from DRONE I also liked HELIPAD SLUMBERING DOLLYWOOD and GOALTENDER. I missed PS again in 1a and didn’t get the PLUS bit of SULPHUR. And will GREAT be a first – a homophone that we all agree on?
    Having done and thoroughly enjoyed my first Klingsor yesterday (thanks for your comment Eileen) I see he appears as Alberich in the FT today so I’m going to give that a go now whilst enjoying the snow scene.
    Thanks to Paul and scchua for the illustrated blog.

  7. Thanks, Paul and scchua. Loved the photos!
    Liked the misdirection to cricket in spinner and Lancashire, and Ariadne. Didn’t know Dollywood…not very appealing to me, I’m afraid, but gettable from the parts with the crossers to help – it had to be doll(y) or ball. The same for goaltender. Thanks for parsing INKY – had to be black but didn’t get DINKY.
    A fun week and some great blogging. Thanks all.

  9. Was going to say much easier than Vlad’s but then found I’d bunged in friable unparsed for 14a and had not parsed a few, e.g. sp + ace, dent in II, on E as buzzing, in = sporting (chestnut!), and Ford Capri. So, did better with the harder Glad after all. Hey ho, fun anyway, Ta Paul and Scchua.

  10. Thanks scchua and Paul.

    Hi WhiteKing @5 – I agree with your first sentence and your favourites. I also liked the construction of GROUCHO.

    I’m glad you spotted today’s Alberich puzzle, https://www.ft.com/content/3a0b5980-1d0b-11e9-b126-46fc3ad87c65 which I would heartily recommend to all readers here. 

  12. SULPHUR is a bit of mishmash of a clue and as blogger says, negligible (smell-wis ) compared with what happens when it combines with other elements, AND being next to HUMDRUM.

    Otherwise a fun and challenging puzzle but not quite up to the standard of the last two days which has ben SO good.

  13. Thanks scchua and Paul.

    I needed the blog to parse SPACE (DEEP was obvious enough), and IDENTICAL. Also I had KNEED for 6a, on the basis that “call for work in a bakery” could be “Knead!”, a homophone of “kneed” as in possessing a knee; something (i.e. a leg) with a knee would articulate. The grammar doesn’t quite work, and the correct answer and parsing is much better.

     

     

  15. Well, I got there in the end, which was fun – so thanks, Paul. But it was hard to parse the answers – so thanks also to scchua.

    No, technically a dnf as DOLLYWOOD involved overuse of the “check” button, since I am neither American nor a fan of the said Ms Parton.

    Re 10a, I saw CAL as the short name for the state of CALIFORNIA. Well, it worked…. but not being American, perhaps I shouldn’t have thought of that!

    Couldn’t (and still can’t) figure out what “up” is adding in 16a. Unless it means “in the heavens”. But it seems unusually precise to define a zodiac sign this way – other setters don’t bother….

  20. Thanks to Paul and scchua. I thought this was going to be a typical Paul solve for me, slow beginning and then gradually unpacking. However I found the last bit needed a bit of grinding our and a DNF for me. I put annulum for 17a (which sort of made sense) and that meant I could not see sulphur. That said enjoyable as ever from Paul and i liked Rembrandt and the real mad clue, which made me chuckle. Thanks again to Paul and scchua.

  22. I thought “American” was odd in 13D–do they call the goaltender something else in other places? I’m pretty sure Canadians use the same term, and it’s their national sport, not Americans’.

  23. An enjoyable challenge which fairly quickly divided into 4 separate puzzles with a couple unsolved in each corner. Application of the belt sander slowly ground the corners off (or something equally subtle) and I had not fully parsed “deep space”, “snowmobile” (“mo” for second seemed a bit of a push for me), “dollywood” (having fixed on doll as the toy), or “sulphur” (more properly sulfur these days…). Also was thrown by “up” in 16d. Thank you scchua for explaining the unexplained.

    Much cleverness in 28ac – how do you look at “rembrandt” and think “hmm, really without ally then monet without one and add in brand – yeah that’ll do”?. Loved the ducati too (having seen the u and i and thought suzuki for a while), and many other lovely constructions with smooth surfaces. He does know how to put a puzzle together this man…thank you Paul.

    Random off-topic nod to the passing of Jeremy Hardy – will be much missed by lovers of Radio 4 comedy.

     

  24. This was quite slow going for me but I enjoyed it.  I particularly liked 19a HELIPAD and 8d DOLLYWOOD.  Re the latter, Arachne had a very similar play on “country” just last week, in a clue for NASHVILLE (puzzle 27,724).

  25. Yep, it’s been a good couple of days. Should have got Groucho more quickly. Just been reading his wondrous letters. I was looking for something archaic for a wit, like a grubsaw! Had an anagram of was in there. All wrong. I was the half-wit of 14ac!
    19 ac and 19 dn my favourites. Thanks Paul. And great pics Scchua, especially the Capri and the flying dog!

  26. Thank you for parsing IDENTICAL. If nobody can agree on what CAL is supposed to be short for (my money is on CALL) then that’s a rather poor clue. I hate those “think of a synonym and shorten it” clues anyway.

    I usually enjoy Paul, but some of these did feel rather stretched – DEEP SPACE and REAL MADRID come to mind – my reaction too often was “well, I suppose so” rather than “oh yes!”

  27. I missed Hedgehog’s, WhiteKing’s and PeterM’s entries on the first scan for “call.”  Credit to you all.

    I’d never heard of DUCATI (Italian),  KITEMARK (British) or even DOLLYWOOD (American).

    I also completely missed INKY/DINKY.  And for GROUCHO I put R into GO and then was stuck with GRO_ _ _ _.  Not a distinguished performance.

    But it was one from Paul and scchua — and thanks for your regular supply of wonderful photos, scchua!  They always make the blog fun to read.

     

     

  28. Found this a little easier than most of Paul’s recent ones, which have been at the tougher end of his range. This had more easy entry points but was still challenging in places, particularly a couple of the parsings (I didn’t understand Trump=Real, so thanks for that).

    Thanks to Paul and scchua

  30. Thanks Paul and scchua

    Re 5, ‘even’ can *just about* be made to work. If you’re advised against a course of action, you might reply “I’ll do it, even”. It’s very vernacular, but as near as dammit gets there.

  31. PS I also meant to comment on 4d ARIADNE.  For the surface reading, is “butt” supposed to suggest a wine cask?  You can of course raise a glass, but a whole cask?  However knowing Paul, he probably just intended it to be read as backside, though that does summon up rather a bizarre image.

    (That clue also reminded me of Eileen’s comment a while ago that if she ever set crosswords she would use the name ARIADNE.  Any progress on that Eileen?)

  33. Thanks to Paul and scchua. Like Valentine@27 I struggled with KITEMARK, INKY, and Ducati and also FLAT WHITE, but I did know DOLLYWOOD.

  34. One of Paul’s harder ones–ooh missus–but I,sort of, got there. EDUCATION was LOI and a guess because I’ve never heard of the motorcycle. I did know CAPRI from my days in the motor trade but it still took me some time to see CAPRICORN and I wasn’t at all sure about IDENTICAL. Oh,and I had to look up GOALTENDER which I don’t think I’ve come across before. I liked DOLLYWOOD and REMBRANDT.
    Thanks Paul.

  35. Peter @34 My LOI, too; I was trying EQUAD.ION?, and ESUZUKION for a time.

     

    muffin @ 2 “not currect spelling!”  Are you continuing the theme from a couple of days ago? Did you mean “note correct spelling”; or “not current spelling”; or “not correct spelling”, I wonder?

     

    Thanks scchua and Paul

     

     

  36. David Ellison @35

    I was trying to type “note current”, but was also thinking “correct” – best (worst?) of both worlds?

    The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry settled on the “sulfur” spelling a few years ago. I must admit that it still looks odd to me!

  37. Couldn’t see goaltender at all and put goalkeeper, which gave me ph (physician) on E. Phone = buzzer. Did anyone else do this?

  38. 11@ Probably too late to expect a response but is “trump” used as an adverb in America? To use scchua’s example would anyone say “that was trump cool, dude”? New to me if so.
    Thanks to Paul who seems to expect his countrymen to pick up on more American references by the week (dollywood, forsooth) and to scchua

  39. Pino @ 38

    Not sure where you’re coming from.

    “Trump’s extremely” = as scchua said, a US (ie/eg Trump’s) expression for ‘extremely’, hence ‘real’. “I’m real/extremely annoyed about that”.

  43. Finally got here to 15^2 “the day after”. Pino @38 & 42, I think you didn’t backtrack far enough, so you are still down the wrong path on 11ac. The point of the “Trump” part of the clue was to imagine how the current US presidisgrace might be expected to say he was “extremely furious”: he might say he was “real mad”. [I do not agree, by the way, that that is the way that most Americans would express that idea. In fact, I think Trump speaks that way because he thinks that’s what the people in his base of support will like.]
    BTW, it appears I may be in the minority on this one, but I took “short name” in 10a to mean a nickname, so I got CAL(vin) the same way that scchua did.
    I enjoyed the puzzle, but I lazily put in “friable” at 14ac (like Grant Wignall @9), meaning to come back to try to parse it later, and forgot to do so until I came here and saw the frisbee catching dog. A forehead-slapping moment there, for me. I also, like PetHay @20, had “annulum” at 17ac initially, which held me up on finally seeing SULPHUR. Favorite clues today … err, yesterday, included SNOWMOBILE, HELIPAD, and GOALTENDER.
    Many thanks to Paul and scchua and the other commenters. Have a nice weekend, all.

  44. Pino @38 –
    To clarify further, in addition to my comment above: NOBODY here in the US uses “Trump” as an adverb. Plenty of people, however, might use it as an expletive.

  45. sschua – Wot! No puzzle? Still, a stupendous blog – as always. Were your blogs, and the internet, around fifty years ago I would have become proficient at cryptics even sooner!
    Another fantastic crossword from this master – how does he keep doing it?! DRONE my favourite.

    (I never can understand arguments like that made by trimegistus@15 who states that the reason he couldn’t solve 8dn was because he is “neither an American nor a fan of said Ms Parton” since neither attribute is needed to solve the clue. (Indeed, I usually ignore the surfaces when deducing the solutions; obviously, there are exceptions, CDs for example). I enjoy a good surface, of course, but see it as a bonus rather than a necessity. I would mention that, unlike one or two who complained here, I had no concerns with the surface of 3dn which makes perfect sense as a description of the last moments of a ski race.)

    Very enjoyable – many thanks, both and all.

  46. ALMOST got all the answers eventually, but I too put FRIABLE for FRISBEE without knowing why (one reason I’m here now). Many excellent clues but not quite as satisfying as some of Paul’s. I realised II must be ‘couple’ without really understanding why; but fortunately CAL was no problem as I had been thinking about someone of that name shortly before! I agree ‘even’ doesn’t seem quite right in 5d. Parsed the others eventually, sometimes quite a while after filling them in!

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