What a lovely puzzle – I particularly enjoyed 12ac, 23ac, 24ac, 2dn, and 7dn. Thanks to Picaroon
A very nice theme around 13ac, with all the other across solutions being examples of PORTMANTEAU words. […and I amused myself imagining Breakfast+Romance / Bro+Exit / British+Lunch]
| Across | ||
| 5 | BIOPIC | Writer pockets tenpence piece in the cinema (6) |
| portmanteau of BIOgraphical PICture BIC=brand of ballpoint pen=”writer”, around IOP=10P=”tenpence” |
||
| 6 | NAPALM | Ally in war zone shows weapon there (6) |
| portmanteau of NAPhthenic and PALMitic acids PAL=”Ally” in ‘NAM=Vietnam=”war zone” |
||
| 9 | BRUNCH | Group receiving right fare (6) |
| portmanteau of BReakfast and lUNCH BUNCH=”Group” around R (right) |
||
| 10 | TELETHON | Figure seizing hotel involved in fund-raiser (8) |
| portmanteau of TELEvision and maraTHON TEN=a number=”Figure” around (hotel)* |
||
| 11 | SEXT | Rude message arranged to include sign of affection (4) |
| portmanteau of SEX and tEXT SET=”arranged”, around X=written symbol for ‘kiss’=”sign of affection” |
||
| 12 | PERMAFROST | What’s always very cool way to follow hairstyles (10) |
| portmanteau of PERMAnent and FROST ST=street=”way”, following after PERM + AFRO=”hairstyles” |
||
| 13 | PORTMANTEAU | Left chap kind of cross about English classification of the across solutions? (11) |
| words made from parts of other words – see examples in the across solutions PORT=”Left” + MAN=”chap” + TAU=”kind of cross” around E (English) |
||
| 18 | STAYCATION | Guy with pet, one with leg break (10) |
| portmanteau of STAY + vaCATION STAY=”Guy” as in a ‘guy rope’ used to secure e.g. ship’s masts + CAT=”pet” + I=”one” + ON=”leg” side in cricket |
||
| 21 | BLOG | Speaker pens line, about to publish online (4) |
| portmanteau of weB + LOG GOB=mouth, “Speaker” around L (line); all reversed/”about” |
||
| 22 | BROMANCE | British country church, in which men bond (8) |
| portmanteau of BRO/BROther and ROMANCE BR (British) + OMAN=”country+ CE=Church of England |
||
| 23 | SITCOM | Porridge maybe in breakfasts it complements (6) |
| portmanteau of SITuation COMedy; Porridge [wiki] was a British sitcom hidden in breakfastS IT COMplements |
||
| 24 | BREXIT | Political crisis took hold, overwhelming monarch (6) |
| portmanteau of BRitish and EXIT BIT=”took hold”, around REX=king, “monarch” |
||
| 25 | GENOME | Ugly little creature welcomes electronic information about make-up (6) |
| portmanteau of GENe and chromosOME; information about an organism’s genetic make-up GNOME=”Ugly litte creature” around E (electronic) |
||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CORNETTO | Officer playing rotten old horn (8) |
| =an early wind instrument [wiki] CO=Commanding Officer + (rotten)* |
||
| 2 | MISHAP | Accident to an extent interrupting plan (6) |
| ISH as in ‘soon-ish’=”to an extent”; inside MAP=”plan” | ||
| 3 | MAIL CART | How post gets around vegetable market, according to Spooner (4,4) |
| Spoonerism of ‘kale mart’=”vegetable market” | ||
| 4 | PASTOR | Clergyman to go off with fool to the north (6) |
| ROT=”go off” + SAP=”fool”; all reversed upwards/”to the north” | ||
| 5 | BORNEO | Carried nothing in island (6) |
| BORNE=”Carried” + O=”nothing” | ||
| 7 | MAOIST | A boring wet lefty (6) |
| A boring/going inside of MOIST=”wet” | ||
| 8 | ETERNALISED | Aren’t diesel trains made to last? (11) |
| (Aren’t diesel)* | ||
| 14 | TRAIN OIL | During work, drops greasy product (5,3) |
| TOIL=”work”, around RAIN=”drops” | ||
| 15 | AMBITION | Drive in range, with ball cutting in (8) |
| AMBIT=”range”, with O=a circle=”ball” cutting into IN | ||
| 16 | ATHROB | Beating cheers up hard little boy (6) |
| TA=thank you=”cheers”, reversed/”up”; plus H (hard) and ROB[ert]=abbreviated boy’s name=”little boy” | ||
| 17 | MOROSE | Second sort of wine is sour (6) |
| MO=moment=”Second” + ROSÉ=”sort of wine” | ||
| 19 | YAMMER | Chatter about current leader with a stammer on the rise (6) |
| RE=”about” + Theresa M-MAY=”current [UK] leader” as if spoken “with a stammer”; all reversed/”on the rise” | ||
| 20 | NOSHED | Not a single compiler scoffed (6) |
| NO=”Not a single” + SHED=Guardian crossword “compiler” | ||
Apart from wondering why single is needed in noshed i thought this was very good. Napalm was neat. lots of good surfaces too.
A splendid treat of a crossword to brighten up a hay fever sufferer’s morning. I spotted the theme quite early on (yes, me, I spotted a theme!) and found the whole thing most enjoyable
Many thanks to Picaroon and manehi
Deep joy.
Don’t reckon the ‘Nam would like to be thought of as a war zone these days but hey ho, not a hanging offence. Portmanteau took all the crossers, and then I didn’t get the message…. thick! Have come across train oil, and with a quick search yes, it’s a thing, but as to why…? Eternalised is not a portmanteau, but is a bit thrown together, getting an ‘erk’ in the margin. But it was the Pirate’s day for his very neat theme, and thanks Manehi for the blog.
Picaroon is just so consistently excellent. It took me ages to see ‘genome’.
Chapeau!
Thanks Picaroon and manehi
Very clever, with PERMAFROST, STAYCATION and GENOME particular favourites.
Not totally satisfactory for me, though. I dislike Spooner clues unless both ways round are genuine expressions, and KALE MART isn’t (and “mail cart” isn’t in everyday use either). “Little boy” for ROB is loose, and why should Rob be a boy anyway? – I know several adults who are always called Rob. NOSHED is rather parochial – you would need to know that Shed is an (infrequent) Guardian compiler.
It took me a while to get on Picaroon’s wavelength this morning, but once I got going this was a really enjoyable puzzle. I didn’t spot the theme until I’d managed to solve the indicator @ 13a, by which time I only had one across clue left to find, but then again I’m lucky if I spot the theme at all most of the time (with the exception of a Qaos where I’m quite upset if there isn’t a theme).
Thanks to Picaroon and manehi.
I greatly enjoyed that, with the oddity of the across clues being improved by the knowledge that they were all portmanteau words. “genome” was last in and another of many clever clues. I found with this that solving was largely a question of piecing together the bits and the answer dropping out, rather than guessing the answer and then justifying it. The few that went that way round parsed readily and clearly, however. So overall very well judged clues and great surfaces.
I shared concerns (not least from muffin :7) about “single” and the use of “shed” in “noshed” and was a bit thrown by the “kale mart” (not what k-mart stands for I assume…) given it was a spoonerism and a homonym as well as ‘not a thing’. Mail carts I was familiar with as the item that gets pushed round a large office delivering internal mail. Also a pity about “train oil” being the answer to a clue which is preceded by one with “trains” in it. It made me hesitant to enter the answer and perhaps should’ve been picked up in editing.
Otherwise many smiles and a good feeling from this so thank you Pic, thanks manehi and I will still be smiling at perm, afro, and st for a while.
Very enjoyable.
My favourite was MISHAP.
Thank you Picaroon and manehi
I enjoyed this. Took a bit more brain power than the last few days but/so lots of fun. Agree with erk re eternalised, though. Favs were permafrost and Maoist. Thanks to Picaroon and to Manehi for the blog- thanks for taking the trouble to explain the portmanteaus.
@ Beowulf @1 – “NO”, is the call when a batsman is refusing to run a single in cricket
@ Beowulf @1
Sorry, that should be @Rewolf. Apologies. And thanks to the setter and blogger!
Thanks Jeff @12 – that’s really good. I had thought the “not a single” in 20d was a form of emphasis (as in “not a single one”; “not even one…”) but your explanation is much better (and I witnessed exactly that usage watching my husband play village cricket last night – he ignored the warning and got run out…)
Now, that WAS fun, tricky as always with Picaroon, 12 across a sparkling gem…
10.30am and there’s a solution and loads of comments before I have even got a hard copy Guardian. So, re yesterday’s 13d.(“It’s become posh in recent times to trap a boy,after all” solution, ultimately) The first two words are superfluous. Just there for surface. If a setter wishes to write a short story all well and good but there are conventions for cryptic crosswords. Misdirection via superfluity (I was wondering about an answer synonymous with gentrification) strays beyond the conventions.
Interestingly (I think) the clue could be re-parsed as a double definition sandwiching the building blocks. Though I do prefer “Perhaps it has become” as a somewhat less nebulous definition of ultimately. And then if the setter was so inclined he/she could drop “after all” completely. And have a great surface!
Could the geeks amongst you tell me if a double definition sandwiching the building blocks (a) has been done before (b) is legitimate clueing?
Thank you Picaroon and manehi.
What an enjoyable puzzle! Hopeful news today for people with AFRO etc. hairstyles but sad news on Monday as regards TRAIN OIL.
Thanks for the blog, manehi.
Superb puzzle! I didn’t know I knew so many 13ac words and how brilliant to fit them all into the grid.
My top favourite clues were PERMAFROST and SITCOM and the beautifully constructed PORTMANTEAU itself, which I guessed after BIOPIC, SEXT and TELETHON, confirmed by BROMANCE.
Hugely enjoyable – many thanks, Picaroon.
I love portmanteau words – they are so clever and such an intriguing part of language usage as it continues to grow and develop – so this puzzle gave me a great deal of pleasure.
Favourites (following what some others have said) were 6a NAPALM (dreadful weapon of war though), 18a STAYCATION, 22a BROMANCE and 24a BREXIT (aware the latter will be the least favourite of many UK posters).
Many thanks to Picaroon for a truly lovely puzzle and to manehi for an excellent blog.
Thanks to Picaroon and manehi. Well Picaroon always seems to make you work for the answers, and today was no exception. It took me ages to get into this, but when I did, like others, I found it very enjoyable with lots of “lightbulb moments”. Last ones were sext, cornetto and portmanteau. Like others l particularly liked permafrost, staycation, brexit and telethon (spent ages trying to fit an h in some sort of shape). Thanks again to Picaroon and manehi.
Finally here at a reasonable time! I like the idea of Beowulf being a crossword solver too. On the puzzle I’ve nothing to add, it was really good. Had to reveal 19d just to be sure. Thanks to setter and blogger.
I thoroughly enjoyed this.
It reminded me of the first clue I solved in a Ximenes puzzle, about fifty years ago.
His clue: Travelunk? (11)
Many thanks to Picaroon and manehi.
Not much to add except my praises for one of the most fun-filled puzzles in recent memory. Spotting the theme early helped with a few of the acrosses, although 25a kept me from finishing a Picaroon for once. Couldn’t see the gnome among the trolls and other ugly little creatures. Thanks to Picaroon and manehi.
This was wonderful. However I’m not entirely sure GENOME does come from gene+chromosome – it seems the chromosome part might be a bit fanciful (see e.g. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/genome). This may be why a few had trouble with it.
I agree – great puzzle!. I had to remind myself of the origin of the P word. Here’s a good summary, courtesy of Wikipedia:
The word portmanteau was first used in this sense by Lewis Carroll in the book Through the Looking-Glass (1871),[10] in which Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice the coinage of the unusual words in “Jabberwocky”,[11] where slithy means “slimy and lithe” and mimsy is “miserable and flimsy”. Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice the practice of combining words in various ways:
You see it’s like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.
In his introduction to The Hunting of the Snark, Carroll uses portmanteau when discussing lexical selection:
Humpty Dumpty’s theory, of two meanings packed into one word like a portmanteau, seems to me the right explanation for all. For instance, take the two words “fuming” and “furious.” Make up your mind that you will say both words, but leave it unsettled which you will say first … if you have the rarest of gifts, a perfectly balanced mind, you will say “frumious.
Thanks manehi and Picaroon.
As others have said, a wonderful puzzle! Nothing more to add. Many thanks to P & m.
Thanks to Picaroon and manehi. Great fun. i took a while figuring out YAMMER and ATHROB.
Another to add my praises. Slow on the uptake in identifying the theme but hard work was rewarded in the end when GENOME eventually yielded. The only slightly jarring note was ETERNALISED – like grantinfreo @4, I think it’s a pretty ordinary word. Still, more than made up for by so many excellent and witty clues.
Like several others, my favourites were SITCOM – fond memories of Norman Stanley Fletcher, PERMAFROST and I’ll also include YAMMER.
A big thanks to Picaroon and to manehi.
Yes, an excellent puzzle. I got the theme early on. As for many others, PERMAFROST was my favourite.
Thanks to Picaroon and manehi.
Haven’t commented here before but this was so good just had to say Thanks to Picaroon for the puzzle and manehi for the blog,
Superb puzzle and blog. Thanks to Picaroon & Manehi. Standing ovation from West Wales.
Fantabulous!
That was great. Gutted that my only one missed was GENOME, which turned out to be another cracking clue. I couldn’t get past trying to make ewok fit.
Can only echo the praise heaped on this puzzle with my favourites also being the brilliant NAPALM and PERMAFROST.
Thanks Picaroon and manehi for posting your blog in impressive time as I understand.
Great job both
NW corner was the way in, BORNEO FOI followed by CORNETTO. After getting BIOPIC, BRUNCH and then SEXT, the theme penny dropped immediately, making it easier from then on. Must say I did not really like GOB for speaker, a bit forced to get in BLOG I suppose. 19d with the allusion of May….current could have been left out, as it dates the puzzle.
My COD was MAIL CART…muffin @7 is it obligatory for both sides of a Spoonerism to have real meaning? If it is so then there should really be a question mark.
Excellent puzzle, what a relief from yesterday, thanks Picaroon and manehi.
Wonderful! Also the first where Yorkshire Lass and I twigged to the theme in time for it to help us. PORTMANTEAU went in quite early – after BREXIT and STAYCATION -and the penny dropped. Apart from time spent with my trying to make ‘cherub’ work for 16d went easily from there. That all the across answers were p-words is awesome, and I was not aware that NAPALM and GENOME were such. Very many thanks to setter and blogger.
Roberto @35
Obviously it isn’t obligatory for a Spooner to make sense both ways round; most don’t. However I don’t like them! The rare ones that do work both ways round are a delightful exception.
As l was explaining the meaning of BRUNCH & BROMANCE to someone who had never heard of them , it suddenly dawned on me that the theme was about portmanteau words LOI 3d. Standing ovulation to Picaroon for a cracker of a crossword.
* ovation he he he.
I got PORTMANTEAU quite early on from the wordplay,although I already had TELETHON which sort of confirmed things. Didn’t care much for MAIL CART and GENOME took ages. Nice puzzle.
Thanks Picaroon.
Everything Muffin said. Excellent but for the odd lapse that might easily have been tidied up. I thought it odd that yammer turned out to be the solution in a clue that contained the word stammer. I suppose I want the editor’s job. Quibbles. Best of the week by far.
Clearly too tough for me!
An aside but I find it amusing that a crossword made almost entirely of sandwiches or ‘add togethers’ , in which I counted just 1 anagram, 1 hidden and no cryptics, the one clue being subject to criticism is the single Spooner!
Clearly crossword experts prefer sandwiches!
Sorry I meant to add a smiley or something like, I am joshing!
Maybe I’m missing something but I don’t see why grantinfreo and Wordplodder (28) query ETERNALISED when its a down clue (and therefore not intended as a 13a).
Anyway, onto today’s puzzle…
Just realised I never commented on this yesterday. Got the theme very quickly, but the rest was still quite challenging. A tour de force.
Thanks to Picaroon and manehi
I’m so late that probably noone will see this (took us two evenings to solve), but I thought that NO in 20d was number – a number of something is more than one and hence not a single. But maybe the cricketing usage is what is intended.
Actually my wife has pointed out that not a single naturally means none at all. So a garden with no outbuildings could be said to have not a single shed, or to have no shed.