Guardian Cryptic 28325 Paul

by

Thank you to Paul for the seasonal offering.  Definitions are underlined in the clues.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, all.

Across

7. Drug, one fuelling a short run (7)

ASPIRIN : I(Roman numeral for “one”) contained in(fuelling) [A + “sprint”(run fast and short) minus its last letter(short …)].

8. Maverick adoring Zeus or Freyr? (4,3)

RAIN GOD : Anagram of(Maverick) ADORING.

Defn: …, the former in Greek, and the latter in Norse, mythology.

9, 17. Crime award inspiring small informal gathering (4-4)

SING-SONG : SIN(a crime/an offence) + GONG(informal term for an award/a medal) containing(inspiring) S(abbrev. for “small”).

Defn: … of people to, well, sing songs together.

10. Newton, for one, claims the ground (9)

ALCHEMIST : Anagram of(… ground) CLAIMS THE.

Defn: An example/for one, was Isaac Newton, man of many interests.

12. Heading off rats, bull (5)

HOOEY : 1st letter deleted from(Heading off) “phooey!”(like “rats!”, an exclamation of annoyance).

Defn: …/nonsense, the term originating from North America.

13. In this, essentially head’s torment (8)

NUTSHELL : NUT(slang for a person’s head)‘S + HELL(torment/suffering).

Defn:  “this” in the clue – from the phrase indicating a summary/a statement that gives only the essentials.

15. Ultimately ungulates best, Santa employing reindeer, say? (4)

STAG : Last letters, respectively, of(Ultimately) “ungulates best, Santa employing“.

Defn: …, or a male ungulate, perhaps employed by Santa to pull his sleigh.

Trivia questions: 1. Name Santa’s 8 original reindeer. Hint: Rudolph is not one of them. 2. What gender are they?

16. Runner in early event not starting back (5)

MILER : Reversal of(… back) “prelim”(short for “preliminary”/an early event, prior to the main one) minus its 1st letter(not starting).

17. See 9

18. Stay flexible also in motion (8)

PROPOSAL : PROP(a stay/a device used as a support) + anagram of(flexible) ALSO.

Defn: … in Parliament, say.

20. Sticky and coarse (5)

TACKY : Double defn: 1st: …, as with gum; and 2nd: Lacking style/vulgar.

21. Drink after drink — one attempting to lift another? (9)

SUPPORTER : PORTER(a dark brown bitter beer) placed after(after) SUP(to drink, especially in small amounts).

22. See 12 down

24. Teller of jokes — one of which in here? (7)

CRACKER :  Double defn: 1st: What you might call one who tells/cracks jokes; and 2nd: “here” in the clue, that which releases a joke (or toy or paper hat) when pulled apart, usually done during Christmas festivities.

25. See 2

Down

1. Drink in plaudits, audience standing (4)

ASTI : Hidden in(in) reversal of(… standing, in a down clue) “plaudits, audience“.

Not sure if the reversal indicator is sufficiently apt.

2, 25, 5. Christmas favourite, almighty drunken fight? (4,4,7,2,4)

DING DONG MERRILY ON HIGH : A DING-DONG(in slang, a fight/an argument) happening MERRILY(in a drunken state) ON HIGH(supreme/almighty).

Defn: …, carol that is.

3. Crime, through having bagged Yuletide threesome up (6)

BIGAMY : BY(through/using a specific means or agent, as in “he achieved fame through sheer luck”) containing(having bagged) reversal of(… up, in a down clue) MAGI(the Yuletide threesome/the 3 Biblical Magi/Wise Men who came to visit Jesu at Christmas).

Having married 3 women from the Xmas party?

4. Floosie put paper up to decorate spruce (8)

MANEATER : Reversal of(put … up, in a down clue) REAM(a quantity of sheets of paper) containing(to decorate) NEAT(spruce/trim).

Answer: …, she who perhaps “had him for breakfast”.

5. See 2

6. Kick–start (4)

BOOT : Double defn: 2nd: …, a computer, say, to be ready to process.

11. Romantic joiner confined to cell, panicking over sex (9)

CANDLELIT : AND(an example of a word joining/connecting words and clauses) contained in(confined to) anagram of(…, panicking) CELL placed above(over, in a down clue) IT(slang for sexual intercourse, as in “they were caught having it in the office”).

12, 22. Unpredictable choice between 24 and 20 down? (3-2-4)

HIT-OR-MISS : HIT(a success/a cracker, answer to 24 across) + OR(indicating a choice between 2 or more things) + MISS(a failure/a turkey, answer to 20 down).

14. Scrawny neck, but no stuffing, put in place (5)

LANKY : “neck” minus its middle letters(but no stuffing) contained in(put in) LAY(to place/to put on top of something).

16. Scrooge’s Boxing Day uplifting? That’s not the right word (8)

MISNOMER : MISER(a Scrooge/a stingy person, from Ebenezer Scooge in Dickens’s A Christmas Carol) containing(‘s Boxing) reversal of(… uplifting, in a down clue) MON(abbrev. for “Monday”).

17. Love collecting first of caterpillars in spring after climbing tree (8)

SYCAMORE : Reversal of(… after climbing, in a down clue) {[EROS(sexual love) containing(collecting) [1st letter of(first of) “caterpillars” contained in(in) MAY(the month considered the last one of the spring season)]}.

19. Upper limit raised in money for holy office (6)

PAPACY : Reversal of(… raised, in a down clue) CAP(the upper limit) contained in(in) PAY(the money you earn).

20. Country bumpkin (6)

TURKEY : Double defn: 2nd: An inept or unsophisticated person.

21. Father Christmas, I remembered stocking? (4)

SIRE : Hidden in(… stocking) “Christmas, I remembered“.

23. Only part of 6 (4)

SOLE : Double defn: 1st: One and only; and 2nd: …, the answer to 6 down, that is.

73 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28325 Paul”

  1. Yeah, first time I have been in a position to comment, after following 15×15 for years. Normally I print the puzzle and save it for nightshift, but today I did it as it came off the press. Lovely seasonal puzzle from Paul, and I needed Scchua for the parsing of sycamore. Thank you all, and best wishes for the season.

  2. Fun Christmas eve puzzle. Didn’t know Zeus had to do with rain, but then I spose he could do pretty much anything. And ditto Newton doing alchemy. Cracker was fun, and its mate hit or miss. Needed all crossers for maneater, thinking floosie a bit more lightweight. Sycamore was a bung and shrug, too lazy to ponder it. Much enjoyed, thanks both, and stay safe all.

  3. Anyone else surprised at floosie without a Z? A pedant would mention that the Magi are not a biblical threesome. Thanks to Paul and to Scchua.

  4. 3D reminded me of the limerick about the
    …old fellow from Lyme
    Who married three wives at a time.
    When asked “Why a third?”
    He replied “One’s absurd
    And bigamy, sir, is a crime”

  5. Tough today but we got there eventually. Took far too long to spot SIRE. Particularly liked NUTSHELL and MISNOMER.

    Thanks Paul and scchua! And Merry Christmas to all!

  8. Lovely Christmas fare. DING DONG….was very amusing, NUTSHELL and MISNOMER were my favourites. I also bunged in SYCAMORE and gave up trying to parse it. MANEATER held out the longest. Ta Paul & scchua and a Merry Christmas to all you entertaining bloggers.

  9. Not a bad puzzle overall in spite of a few tortured clues, but for me it suffers from being in the shadows of yesterday’s little gem. My FOI was, as is often the case, an in-your-face algorithm (ALCHEMIST), but I suspect not many know this aspect of the great Isaac, and I’ll wager the blog will have something to say on this. LOI was that wretched little floosie … fortunately I’m unfamiliar with the likes of her …

  10. Bit of a brain twister for me; took a while to wrestle to the mat, but got there eventually; parsed all but CRACKER defn 2 (which seems a tad tortured). Six months ago, would’ve been soundly defeated (& quite frustrated), so that’s progress… or at least greater patience! 🙂 Liked NUTSHELL, tho took ages (& most crossers) to get. COTD: SYCAMORE, which satisfied the plant nerd in me; emerged somewhat readily from crossers… took way longer to parse!

    Thx to Paul for a fun holiday workout, and scchua for a thorough blog. Good health & Merry Holidays to all…

  11. Just like Jeffrey Thompson @1, I failed to parse ‘sycamore’.
    Thanks to all setters, bloggers and commenters and best wishes to everyone for the best possible Christmas in the current circumstances, and a happier and healthy New Year.
    We are all hoping that the imminent vaccines will see us through the pandemic, and owe a great debt of thanks to the scientists who have worked so hard to produce them as well as to the medics who have improved treatments to reduce mortality in the meantime. I will be thinking of the families and loved ones of those for whom these developments have, sadly, come too late.

  12. Thanks scchua for explaining SYCAMORE. I was hung up on love = AMORE. Maybe I had too much ASTI, or maybe it was all those bells going DING DONG… or was it ting-a-ling-a-ling?

    Re your comment on BIGAMY (and blaise @4), wouldn’t 3 wives make it trigamy? You see, you know how to set me off, homophonically speaking. Possibly on a tangent.

    Congrats and welcome to Jeffrey T @1.

    brojo @5: SIRE would have held me up longer, but then I remembered that he lived a good league hence.

    Many thanks Paul and scchua, and happy Christmas everyone.

  13. Bit of a mixed bag this morning imo. Some beauties like CANDLELIT, NUTSHELL, SIRE, MISNOMER, RAIN GOD and BIGAMY. And, once the enumeration and a couple of crossers delivered up DING, DONG etc, it certainly raised a smile. I didn’t like (P)HOOEY – though that’s me being seasonally grumpy. I accept it’s a word and the clue is fair enough but neither part appears in my lexicon. TURKEY, ASTI and SOLE are a tad hackneyed and I wouldn’t equate floosie with MANEATER. MILER could appear in either camp: either very clever or requiring some very lucky/inspired deduction from the wordplay. Doubt I’d have got it without the crossers

    Thanks Paul and scchua. Merry Christmas and, hopefully, a better 2021 to all.

  15. I too was deflected by AMORE in the tree. Thanks, scchua, for putting me out of my misery!
    LOI was MANEATER which is vamp or siren to me, whereas a floozy is more like a flapper. Construct your own Venn diagram.
    I knew Newton practiced alchemy. He’s a hard character to like.
    Thanks to Paul and all contributors.

  16. The love that collects a ‘c’ after climbing a tree, that’s amore? (that’s amore?)

    That one got me too.

    Thanks to Paul and Scchua and condiments of the seasoning to one and all.

  17. Great fun but quite taxing, as Paul usually is. Thought MISNOMER, BIGAMY and CANDLELIT were particularly good. Many thanks to Paul and scchua, and season’s greetings to all.

  18. Took a while but got there.

    Can I be a bit grumpy about 12d/22a? I’ve always had the expression as “HIT AND MISS” not hit OR miss. Admittedly the OR variant makes more sense but when has that ever underlined our use of the language…

    Thanks Paul and Scchua.

    [Penfold @16 – I see we may share a love of the Good Count?]

  20. [bodycheetah @19: UGH! Some things once seen can never be unseen. I’m going to have nightmares about that – it’s almost as hideous as I find the whole bah humbug season.

    Beatus saturni all]

  21. Thanks Paul and scchua
    I had question marks against about half-a-dozen – most resolved by the blog, but I wouldn’t equate “floosie” with MANEATER (even in the feminine sense), and TURKEY for “bumpkin was totally unfamiliar.
    When I had just the H in 13a I confidently wrote in “writhing” – “torment”, and H in “writing” (“this”), so perfectly valid. The correct solution was one of my favourites though, along with PAPACY.

  22. Auriga @ 15, I was not too convinced either that maneater and floozie are synonyms, and would have said the former was a lot more sinister than the latter. Felt like a bit of a stretch, but the penny dropped quickly once I got spruce = NEAT so a fair clue in the end I think.

  23. All a bit strained for my liking but an enjoyable distraction from the Memsahib’s Christmas diktats.

    Eileen: If you’re around, a thousand apologies, I remember the clue I was thinking of yesterday…”Gluttons may have one, Alexander The Great didn’t”. Wrong hero, sorry.

    Happy Christmas, cruciverbalists, all.

  24. Some clever clues, favs NUTSHELL, MISNOMER, CRACKER. Agree with others that floosie/floozy doesn’t equate with maneater. Thanks to Paul ans scchua. And a merry Christmas to all

  25. MaidenBartok @18: Yes, I was troubled by this, too. Always said, “Tomorrow’s a bit hit and miss”.

    Also, not at all happy with floosie = MANEATER. Seems quite the wrong sense. Perhaps it’s in the dictionary??

  26. A few minor quibbles, most of which have already been pointed out. But today is The Big Day here in Finland, so I mustn’t be a grump.
    Thanks, Paul, my confidence is restored after Failing In A Major Way on your puzzle last Friday.

    Do have a very happy christmas, everybody and, as they say here, Hyvää joulua !

  28. Another lesson , or two, to not take clues too literally.
    Fooled by Father Christmas, and Boxing day not being paired together in each case …..
    and when I saw the answer for SOLE , it did not look familiar!
    I had not entered an answer so I hadn’t finished it :O)

    We live and learn. Thanks Paul and schuaa , I hope everybody has a good time over Xmas.

  29. Anna @26. Thank you for your message. It reminded me to send a greeting to a film-critic friend in Helsinki, so I have now emailed to wish him a Hyvää joulua. As I wish the same to you. Does the Finnish language lend itself easily to cryptic crosswords?

  30. [quenbarrow @ 29

    Be aware that wishes go in the partitive case. (The nominative is hyvä joulu – ‘a good christmas).

    An interesting question about the language. I am not entirely sure. I should imagine it does, specially with the large number of case suffixes and all the other suffixes that can be added after the case suffix. I don’t think I have ever come across a cryptic crossword in Finnish but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. I’ll have a look into it.]

  31. Yes, I was a bit puzzled with the implied contrast between CRACKER and TURKEY, but Scchua’s explanation just about covers it. Thought HOOEY a bit iffy, too. LANKY loi…

  32. I agree that some of the parsings here are quite obscure, but I did manage to get all the right answers in, despite not always being sure why. This wasn’t helped by having some great answers that fitted the definition and a couple of crossers, but which I couldn’t quite parse – mainly because they were wrong. Here’s three: 3d the crime PIRACY (which fits all the crossers), 11d a romantic joiner, the marriage CELEBRANT, 13a torment in a HELLHOLE (at least I was on the right track with ‘hell’). Then there were the ones I did parse correctly, but distrusted the parsing because it seemed quite a stretch (MILER, HOOEY). I’m also in the MANEATER does not equal floosie camp – though both are rather derogatory words for a woman that seem to have no male equivalent. Thanks for the parsing sschua, and Paul for the workout.

  33. William@24…I wonder whether that lovely word Cruciverbalists has ever been snugly fitted into a Cryptic Fifteen Squared grid by a setter on here. And I should have said earlier that I hope all who gather under this category are able to somehow make something good and positive out of this most unusual Christmas and New Year.

  34. Womaniser,TassieTim? But yes, agree with your sentiment…he’s as likely to be called ladies’ man, stud, Don Juan, Romeo etc…

  35. I think this is the first puzzle I’ve seen with both a SING-SONG and a DING-DONG.

    Regarding Floosie for MANEATER. Yes it’s a stretch to equate them, but there may be something else going on. Given its role in the clue, Paul could easily have used any other synonym. I think he might have chosen Floosie, and spelled it that way, because it looks like Flossie, capital letter ‘n’ all, and a first name would fit the surface well, and so be a misdirection.
    This justification may be as weak as the original synonym, but I thought I’d give it a go.

  36. Feel a bit ashamed of myself that I couldn’t resist equating “Ding dong merrily etc” with that other “Christmas favourite” the Eastenders Christmas special…
    Not really serious, but I assume there’s still a tradition of some punch-up or other in the Queen Vic, followed by a sentimental reconciliation because there’s nothing more important than “faym’lee” or something?

    Thoroughly enjoyed the crossword – thanks to Paul and Scchua and to all the setters and bloggers who’ve kept Mr SR and me going over the past year.
    Merry Christmas to all here and very best wishes for an improved New Year for all.

  37. I’m pleased that, for once, my GK was up to the task and I didn’t have to ferret around in reference sites/books (am never sure if that counts as cheating…)
    I knew about Newton’s interest in alchemy [if he’d devoted less time, and his great brain, to that and more to maths and physics, who knows what else he could have discovered?] and I knew Freyr had power over the weather – so guessed Zeus did too. (Both are working overtime here at the mo: I’m looking out at a soggy stretch of south-west french countryside. Thank heavens for vin chaud!)
    Like pretty well everyone else, I feel equating a floosie with a maneater is a bit of a stretch – but maybe that tells us something about Paul’s own life?
    BIGAMY makes me grin (the clue, not the practice) as does SOLE and I, too, needed help completing the parsing for SYCAMORE.
    Thanks to Paul for the seasonal fun, to Scchua for the explanations – and happy xmas to all commenters. Let’s hope 2021 is a decided improvement on its predecessor!!

  38. Who knew Newton was an alchemist? I thought alchemy was long gone by his time.

    The tree at17d hit my eye like a big pizza pie too, I was one more AMORE.

    Fine puzzle. Got a lot of it last night, most of the rest at 3 in the morning when I couldn’t sleep, and LOI MANEATER this morning. Yes, it’s sexist, there’s no male equivalent and it’s making a woman into a danger.

    Happy/Merry Christmas or the holiday of your choice to all.

    But oh, Father Christmas, if you love me at all, Please bring me a big, red India-ribber ball!

    I thought the big boss god would be too grand to tend to rain, and then remembered “Jupiter Pluvius.”

  40. Just popping in to say Merry Christmas to all. Heartfelt thanks to all setters and bloggers who have helped to keep our spirits up during this difficult year – and of course the contributors here.
    I enjoyed today’s puzzle, in between making mince pies. Laughed out loud at the idea of a celestial drunken brawl. Thanks especially for that one, Paul. But not sure that candlelit for romantic isn’t too loose.

  41. Thanks, Paul, for a fun Yuletide offering. MISNOMER was my favourite.
    Here’s a nice easy clue for you all:
    Many a sad heart can whisper my prayer, circulating seasonal message (1,5,9,3,1,5,3,4)

  46. Valentine @38: Isn’t the male equivalent WOMANISER? I know that it doesn’t have quite the chew-em-up-and-spit-em-out of MANEATER, but nonetheless…

  47. Daniel @42. Yes, flexible is the anagrind, motion is the definition. I was initially misled by the surface, looking for an answer meaning ‘stay’, with a short word meaning flexible, plus the letters of ‘also’ in motion at the end. (It looks like our blogger has ‘also’ been misled!)

    Dan Milton @43. Scrooge=MISER; Boxing=containment indicator; Day=MON; uplifting=reversed. MIS(NOM)ER.

  48. An enjoyable seasonal puzzle which got trickier after an easy start. Unusually the middle part held out longest.

    Thanks to Paul and scchua, Happy Christmas to all.

  49. Surely the male equivalent of Maneater is Ladykiller?

    Thanks to Paul and scchua and a festive time to all fifteen squared contributors

  50. Happy Christmas all wherever you are ( or which tier you’re in.)
    Perfect Christmas Eve puzzle from Paul. Thanks also Scchua.
    Answers emerged slowly around turkey collecting, sprout peeling etc.
    Thought 8ac might be Rain Man for a while with Tom Cruise connection to Maverick (Top Gun). Duh!

  51. Although I missed MANEATER and DING, DONG MERRILY ON HIGH (unknown carol to me) I found this crossword to be one of Paul’s gentler ones. I had many favourites including HOOEY, NUTSHELL, BIGAMY, CANDLELIT, and MISNOMER. Thanks to both.

  52. A Christmas miracle that I completed this! I was staring at 4D for at least 10 minutes at the end, convinced that it would be RAG (for paper) as the inverted container. But Nelly Furtado got me through. MISNOMER was my favourite I think.

    Thanks to Paul and Artexlen, and a merry Christmas to all.

  53. Bah humbug.. real mixed bag for me. Good start with 8a, 10a and “ding dong..’ going in fast to give me crossers but didn’t complete (or even like) 12a, 16a or 4d
    For 16d I locked myself up convinced the reference was to (alastair) sim for mis-….
    LOL ah well.
    Merry Christmas to all.

  54. I was initially foxed by ‘maverick adoring’ before realising ‘maverick’ was the anagrind for RAIN GOD. Paul is always a jump ahead of you even if you’re an experienced solver. Merry Christmas to you all.

  56. Anna@39
    No, ‘Jupiter Pluvius’ (Jupiter being the Roman appropriation of Zeus) was one aspect or function of Jupiter as the bringer of rain. I am better on Roman mythology than on Greek, so I cannot be sure if, as Zeus, he had this function in the Greek pantheon.

  60. Atlanta Dave @49 – ladykiller has connotations of the ladies swooning in admiration (as for James Bond). Maneater doesn’t. So I don’t see them as equivalents, and they illustrate the difference in moral judgement between common male and female slang terms for much the same behavior. Womaniser does come closer to having that moral disapproval.

  62. Happy Christmas!
    Here’s to all the setters, bloggers and posters for the entertainment throughout this strange year. Cheers and enjoy your 20d!

  65. People will put this down as just being the post of an incapable newbie but I find some of these puzzles ludicrously convoluted viz Misnomer. Boxing Day isn’t inevitably on a Monday and it isn’t even this year. Cracker – a word never actually used for someone who tells jokes. So while there are plenty (and who am I to gainsay them?) who consider Paul to be the Shakespeare of crosswords, I find his stuff frequently unsatisfying and, as the French have it, “tiré par les cheveux”. (Sorry if that sounds pretentious but the English translation doesn’t readily spring to mind.)

  66. Gliddofglood @65 – I’m sorry to hear that you don’t enjoy Paul’s offerings, but you haven’t parsed MISNOMER correctly: ‘boxing’ here indicates containing – nothing to do with Boxing Day being on a Monday! I think CRACKER is a pretty good clue. It does have a question mark at the end to indicate a rather dubious element to it.

    Chacun a son gout, as the French also have it. I trust there are other compilers whose offerings you do enjoy. Paul is certainly rather hard work at times.

  67. I also saved this until this evening. Part of the day spent on video calls with family and, in the absence of the paper, I decided that Christmas wouldn’t be complete without reading the 34 page summary of the Brexit agreement. How sad can one get?
    9a I didn’t know of Zeus as a rain god but I remembered that he had impregnated some unfortunate (Danae, mother of Perseus) disguised as a shower of golden rain – the mechanics of which I don’t understand and would rather not have explained.
    Thanks to Paul and scchua

  68. When I see isolated corners – like in this layout – and especially with a Paul, I balk. But then I realised that several long clues made them more sociable… phew! I always appreciate this thoughtfulness with setters. With sycamore, I got the crossing M and realised there was a C in it somewhere, shoved it in and moved on, like many an above commenter. Also like others, maneater totally stumped me and left me dejected with a DNF.
    Merry Christmas and happy whatever-you-celebrate to all.

  69. @drofle I actually enjoy pretty much anyone else. TBH, the moment I see a puzzle is by Paul I usually don’t even attempt it. I was surprised on this occasion to todo even half of it.

    Indeed, chacun à son goût, and I am happy that my lack of amusement at his offerings in no way impinges on the evident joy experienced by others.

  70. Well I enjoyed it over the while but I didn’t have too much time to give so I ended up revealing a few. Got a chuckle out of DING DONG… and also that Paul couldn’t resist HIT OR MISS to introduce an element of scatology.

    Thanks to Gaufrid, Paul, sschua and all setters, bloggers and contributors (especially Jeffrey Thompson@1 on his debut) for all the distraction from Covid etc and I hope you continue to enjoy these YZmas days.

  71. Another great puzzle from Paul – a joyful, and distracting friend throughout this funny old year. He is,without question, one of the top setters of all time.
    Many thanks Paul, and to sschua.

    Happy Everything to all of us!

  73. Can the tree be spelt as SICAMORE ? Love = amore and first of caterpillars in spring = cis which are then reversed (climbing in a down clue) = sic then amore collects them but is after = SICAMORE.

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