Tricky and fun from Paul, if not quite living up to the surface of 21dn today. Favourites were 8ac, 10ac, 22/26, 13dn, and 21dn
There are a few surfaces and solutions that are roughly linked to the climate crisis or the end of the world – I’m not sure if there’s a more specific theme.
| Across | ||
| 8 | CHOO CHOO | Something online for minors, I say, drinking liquor (4-4) |
| definition: a train is something that runs “on [a railway] line”, and might be called CHOO CHOO by children/”minors” COO=exclamation of surprise=”I say”; around HOOCH=”liquor” |
||
| 9 | See 7 | |
| 10 | OMEN | Warning of mass extinction, now all kicking off (4) |
| all the starting/”kicking off” letters from Of Mass Exctinction Now | ||
| 11 | NEVIL SHUTE | Something sinister locked in extremes of nature for post-apocalyptic writer (5,5) |
| Nevil Shute wrote post-apocalyptic novel On the Beach [wiki] EVIL=”Something sinister” + SHUT=”locked”, all inside the extreme letters of NaturE |
||
| 12 | SCONCE | Light bracket formerly placed behind sack, oddly (6) |
| ONCE=”formerly” after odd letters from SaCk | ||
| 14 | COVENANT | Relative bound by fancy contract (8) |
| NAN=”Relative” in COVET=”fancy” | ||
| 15, 3 | CLIMATE CHANGE | Terrible mistake detailed about one reaching end of game, extreme temperatures — with this? (7,6) |
| CLANGE[r]=”Terrible mistake”, de-tailed with the final letter removed; around all of: I=”one” plus MATE=”end of [chess] game” plus C+H=Cold and Hot=”extreme temperatures” | ||
| 17 | ELLIPSE | Figure is covering page in magazine (7) |
| IS around P (page), both in ELLE=”magazine” – edit thanks to Valentine in the comments | ||
| 20 | GLISSADE | Ballet move: sweep featuring sliding over of booty (8) |
| GLIDE=”sweep” around reversal/”sliding over” of ASS=”booty” | ||
| 22, 26 | THE MAN UPSTAIRS | In fiendish Satan’s triumph, hope’s ending for God (3,3,8) |
| (Satan’s triumph)* around hopE | ||
| 23 | DRY AS A BONE | Parched, so a brandy mixed with last of lemonade (3,2,1,4) |
| (so a brandy)* plus lemonadE | ||
| 24, 2 | HIGH NOON | Critical time off: no, quite the opposite (4,4) |
| HIGH=”off” as in food going off; plus NO; plus reversal/”opposite” of NO | ||
| 25 | See 1 | |
| 26 | See 22 | |
| Down | ||
| 1, 25 | CHEMICAL AGENT | Substance producing effect, bringing about 15 3 (8,5) |
| anagram of 15 3, CLIMATE CHANGE | ||
| 2 | See 24 across | |
| 3 | See 15 | |
| 4 | CONVICT | Send down rook, queen half hidden (7) |
| CON=swindle=”rook” + VICToria=”queen half hidden” | ||
| 5 | SEA LEVEL | Not quite everything contained by flood barriers after a rise — in this? (3,5) |
| AL[L]=”not quite everything” inside LEVEES=”flood barriers” reversed/”after a rise” | ||
| 6 | PREHENSILE | Capable of grasping vacuous ideas, help ne’er arranged (10) |
| (i[dea]s help ne‘er)* | ||
| 7, 9 | WHAT ON EARTH | Very much that’s heartbreaking with empty pockets, oh my Lord! (4,2,5) |
| A TON=”very much”, breaking into HEART, all pocketed inside an empty W[it]H | ||
| 13 | NAMES NAMES | Punched by Mafia’s leader, Irishman doubled up is an informer (5,5) |
| Mafia inside SEAN=”Irishman”, twice and reversed/”up” | ||
| 16 | TEA PARTY | Social affair thus far coming up, cut by a fraction (3,5) |
| YET=”thus far” reversed/”coming up”, with A PART=”a fraction” cutting inside | ||
| 18 | STAGGERS | Hackney’s condition is surprising (8) |
| double definition: for the first, a “Hackney” is a horse, and STAGGERS is a horse illness/”condition” | ||
| 19 | DECORUM | Bang on about Italian author’s good manners (7) |
| DRUM=”Bang on” around Umberto ECO=”Italian author” | ||
| 21 | LARVAL | Promoting toilet humour ultimately, Paul regularly immature (6) |
| Reversing/”Promoting” upwards all of: LAV=”toilet” + humouR + regular letters from PAuL | ||
| 22 | THEISM | Belief in 22 26 is hard in worrying times (6) |
| H (hard) in (times)* | ||
| 24 | HEAT | With gas on, a temperature warmer? (4) |
| HE=Helium gas + A + T (temperature) | ||
Thought the same about 15,3 at first, then wondered whether “I’m at e” wasn’t the intended filler of clange[r].
Lots of good fun here, a self-deprecating poke in 21dn (“I wish I was better at self-deprecating humour…”) and a lovely anagram in “chemical agent”. I was not totally sold on “bang on” = “drum”, but the clever use of “levees” in “sea level” more than made up for any other minor quibbles. Thank you Paul, and manehi.
… I’m at e ch
Very good from Paul. Thanks for explaining STAGGERS (still not convinced though)
Different parsing for NOON in 24/2. I read it as NO ON (opposite of “off”).
Yes, amusing reflexive Paulism in 21 in a fun puzzle that took a bit of nutting out. Sconce, dry as a bone, theism and prehensile on a first scan, then the NE and most of the rest, with the SE last to fall. Chemical agent/climate change was clever, and decorum was slow to come (thinking Fo instead of Eco), as was sea level (couldn’t think of levees pre-solve). Had ‘hmm’ next to high noon, wasn’t sure whether ‘on’ was the opposite of ‘on’ or ‘off’, the latter doing double. Whatever, nice one Paul and thanks Manehi.
Just read your comment @3, gratinfreo. Never considered that parsing for 15,3 but it makes sense.
I was unable to parse 1/25 CHEMICAL AGENT and 18d STAGGERS.
New word for me (even though I studied ballet for many years): GLISSADE, but I was able to solve this because I remembered glissé.
My favourites were COVENANT, HIGH NOON, LARVAL.
Thanks Paul and manehi.
Many thanks to Paul and manehi. I thought CLIMATE CHANGE/CHEMICAL AGENT was brilliant. Couldn’t parse WHAT ON EARTH, thank you for that, manehi. 10 across: I thought ‘mass extinction’ = 0 (NO) MEN, and wondered what the last 4 words of the clue were for 🙂
Same parsing for HIGH NOON as Hovis@5.
Am I the only one who (thanks to all the climate change stuff here) had COAT at 24 down at first (with carbon monoxide rather than helium as the gas)? It fits the clue just as well, and fits the puzzle better.
It was a good puzzle. Thanks for explaining STAGGERS, which I hadn’t parsed.
mrpenney’s right, the puzzle has a gestalt if not a theme of climate change, more in the clues than the answers. Well done, Paul, and thanks manehi for the explanations. I three words last night and the rest this morning, with slight help of the check button. You’re up absurdly early in Chicago, earlier than me in New England.
manehi at 17a ELLIPSE, it’s IS around P not plus P — or you’d get ELLISPE.
I wonder how many people aged under 30 have ever heard of 11 across. I do, but he wasn’t much cop as a writer, IMHO.
Sorry, “I do remember him”
Agree re Nevil Shute Geoff W; the On The [Oz] Beach connection, and my age, helped.
‘Coat’ seemed a good answer for warmer. Couldn’t get past this so missed the obvious which is a favourite film. Do not forsake me oh my brain.
More brilliance from Paul. Thoroughly enjoyed this.
I was held up a bit by confidently bunging in CHIN-CHIN at 8ac.
Thank you Paul and manehi for explaining STAGGERS.
Good challenge with several in the “haven’t a clue” parsing category so thanks for the explanations. I liked NEVIL SHUTE (he’s appeared in crosswords a few times this year), both for the wordplay and for the reminder of “On The Beach”. I’m probably in the minority these days, but I enjoyed his books when I read them years ago.
My favourites among many good clues were NAMES NAMES and CHOO-CHOO.
Thanks to Paul and manehi
I for one disagree with the denigration of Shute – on the basis of recent reading or re-reading, not just old memories. Many of the books stand up pretty well (but I haven’t re-read the post-apocalypse one).
Thank you Paul and manehi.
Another COAT here, agree about CO and global warming…
I read A Town Like Alice when I was 10 or 11 years old, and have re-read it since – it was The Book of the Month in 1951 (?) and is included among “The 1000 novels everyone should read: the definitive list” published by The Guardian in 2009.
It’s rare that I can’t fully parse a Paul in the end, if I’m persistent but I was defeated. Happily so seeing manehi’s welcome exegesis. Same ones others mention here. Thanks Paul, that was a wonderful midweek challenge. I was up for it today. You won.
Quite a struggle but just got over the finishing line with GLISSADE and LARVAL. Favourites were CHOO-CHOO, LARVAL and CONVICT. I didn’t know that Nevil Shute’s real surname was Norway! Many thanks to P & m.
Took me a while to get a proper foothold on this one, but the last few fell pretty smoothly, and overall it was one of Paul’s better ones. DECORUM was last in – I went through far too many other Italian writers before remembering the right one.
Thanks to Paul and manehi
I loved slide rule by NS norway – explains why he became a writer
DNF for me as I also had coat at 24d and didn’t question it not getting 24,2. Good puzzle though. Read On the Beach in my teens, the ending of which I still find haunting.
… on this our wedding day… well referred Oofy.
Some tricky bits of parsing here but very satisfying to complete all the same. Thanks very much, Manehi and others, for the explanations behind “What on earth.” I wrote it in from all the crossers and could see part of it as anagram but I didn’t see “a ton.” “Climate change” looked almost certain from crossers and the theme but again I needed the help here to understand its justification completely.
I’d also offer some words in defence of Nevil Shute. His novels aren’t “great literature,” I accept, and he is of his time. (died 1960) But he wrote some very good stories. I have them all. Particularly if you have an interest in flying and its earlier days, which I do, most of them still repay reading very well. A Town like Alice, Requiem for a Wren, Pied Piper, Pastoral are all novels I’ve read with pleasure 2 or 3 times. On the Beach, the post-apocalypse one referenced here is not one of his best IMHO, but it is still a chilling read.
I was another with coat for 24D at first.
I liked CHOO-CHOO, THE MAN UPSTAIRS, SEA LEVEL and LARVAL.
Thanks Paul and manehi.
In 24D I didn’t think carbon monoxide was a greenhouse gas so wouldn’t fit with the theme anyway. Thanks to Paul for the challenge and to Manehi for the parsing that was beyond me.
I’m confused by choo choo, online only means on the internet? Did paul mean on line instead?
George @29 He is using a similar device to “heartbreak” where the wordplay requires you to read it as two separate words. It’s there to deceive and confuse. As is most of the puzzle to be fair!
We thought we were in for a DNF, but Yorkshire Lass then got HIGH NOON (my MELT DOWN was not working) and the last few went in. Took us a while to parse GLISSADE, but then remembered it was a Paul, so there would be some gleeful smutty puerility – which we greatly enjoy, I hasten to add. Did not parse WHAT ON EARTH, so particular thanks to manehi for that. SEA LEVEL was favourite.
A dnf as we gave up without getting HIGH NOON STAGGERS DECORUM or
LARVAL with no excuse for the last two other than brain not working. Also several unparsed but plenty to enjoy otherwise – one of Paul’s best in my opinion – a pity I wasn’t up to it. Thanks to him and manehi.
One of several who had coat for 24d, and not very impressed by the cluing of staggers for 18d….
STAGGERS defeated me, but I see nothing wrong with it. I also had COAT for 24d and didn’t bother to check it before giving up on HIGH NOON, so a multiple dnf. Several brilliant clues, however, so no complaints. Thanks to Paul and manehi.
Thanks to Paul and manehi.
All has been said and an enjoyable struggle. In a spirit of self-deprecation have to admit that I came here to see the complaints about the non-cryptic nature of CHEMICAL AGENT only to discover that I had missed the COD completely. When will I ever learn? [and where have all the flowers gone? and bankers too….]
I thought this was wonderful, thanks Paul, Manehi, and all the solvers above for your input. I read fifteensquared every day and, I think, am becoming a better solver as a result. I hardly remember On The Beach (and probably read it 30 years ago), but I notice that almost all new YA fiction is post-apocalyptic. Would imagining a bright future be too boring for a novel?
Thanks Paul for a good challenge and Manehi for the blog.
I’m not sure though that 7,9 quite works – isn’t the H used twice – once as part of heart and once as part of the empty “with”?
Sorry ignore my last comment. I have seen how it works now. My mistake looking at the one H and not seeing that it had to count twice!
Paulus @36 Not just YA stuff…I recall an interview with Iain Banks in which he said he decided to write about a resource-rich future society in which everyone can choose perfect health as a response to the amount of dystopian science fiction on the shelves.
Paulus @ 36 – I don’t think too boring, just too unrealistic, sadly, for the YAs who have to face all the difficulties that Paul has pointed out in this puzzle.
I’ll join in with praise for this puzzle. I was defeated by HIGH NOON and STAGGERS and could not parse a few others but it was a comfort compared to the beating that I took from Paul last week. THE MAN UPSTAIRS of all things was my LOI. If I hadn’t cheated on STAGGERS, I never would have gotten it.