Guardian Cryptic 28,630 by Paul

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28630.

Fun and games from Paul. The gateway clue, 2D, is neither too hard nor used too confusingly (but note that it does not appear in 22D!), so that this comes out at the easier end of Paul’s puzzles

ACROSS
8 HULA HOOP
Ring: circle in two dances (4-4)
An envelope (‘in’) of O (‘circle’) in HULA and HOP (‘two dances’).
9 ENROL
Sign on back of door, only reversed on the outside (5)
An envelope (‘on the outside’) of R (‘back of dooR‘) in ENOL, a reversal (‘reversed’) of LONE (‘only’).
10 IDLE
Out-of-work comedian? (4)
Punning reference to Eric of that ilk.
11 TANGERINES
Fruit brown, green is unlikely (10)
A charade of TAN (‘brown’) plus GERINES, an anagram (‘unlikely’) of ‘green is’.
12 GROUSE
2 complaint (6)
Double definition.
14 HARMISON
Bowler is in agreement, almost (8)
An envelope (‘in’) of ‘is’ in HARMON[y] (‘agreement’) minus the last letter (‘almost’), for Steve Harmison.
15 IN STOCK
Ludicrous cost in writing material available for sale (2,5)
An envelope (‘in’) of STOC, an anagram (‘ludicrous’) of ‘cost’ in INK (‘writing material’).
17
See 1
20 PHEASANT
Boor tackling hard in 2 (8)
An envelope (‘tackling’) of H (‘hard’) in PEASANT (‘boor’).
22 BOGGLE
Brief joy on loo — 2 (6)
A charade of BOG (‘loo’) plus GLE[e] (‘joy’) minus its last letter (‘briefly’).
23 BACKGAMMON
2, itself unfinished entering second day (10)
An envelope (‘entering’) of GAM[e] (‘itself’, ie. the answer to ‘2’) minus the last letter (‘unfinished’) in BACK (‘second’) plus MON (‘day’).
24 SNAP
Lose one’s cool in 2 (4)
Double definition.
25 TAUPE
Walls of temple retaining a cheerful colour (5)
An envelope (‘retaining’) of ‘a’ plus UP (‘cheerful’) in TE (‘walls of TemplE‘).
26 SARDINES
2 swimmers (8)
Double definition.
DOWN
1, 17 MURDER IN THE DARK
2, ignorant crows? (6,2,3,4)
Definition and literal interpretation, depending on the collective “murder of crows”.
2 GAME
Go for one, ready to try it? (4)
Double definition – or, at least, the first being an announced indication by example.
3
See 4
4, 3 SPIN THE BOTTLE
Drink in best hotel prepared for 2 (4,3,6)
An envelope (‘in’) of PINT (‘drink’) in SHEBOTTLE, an anagram (‘prepared’) of ‘best hotel’.
5 RESEARCH
Look into first of rooms: see drunken principal (8)
A charade of R (‘first of Rooms’) plus ESE, an anagram (‘drunken’) of ‘see’; plus ARCH (‘principal’). for quite a while I was convinced that ‘principal’ was the definition.
6 PRAIRIE DOG
Rodent with plain tail (7,3)
A charade of PRAIRIE (‘plain’) plus DOG (‘tail’).
7 CLUEDO
One of these, party 2 (6)
A charade of CLUE (‘one of these’) plus DO (‘party’).
13 UNTHANKFUL
Foul in the extreme, hunk cavorting with aunt showing no appreciation (10)
n anagram (‘cavorting’) of FL (‘FouL in the extreme’) plus ‘hunk’ plus ‘aunt’.
16 CHARADES
2 where she requires a card to play (8)
An anagram (‘to play’) of ‘she’ plus ‘a card’.
18 RELOADED
50% off rent, wealthy charged again (8)
A charade of ‘re[nt]’ minus the last two letters (‘50% off”) plus LOADED (‘wealthy’).
19 ITEMISE
I seem discombobulated after computer systems break down (7)
A charade of IT (Information Technology, ‘computer systems’) plus EMISE, an anagram (‘discombobulated’) of ‘I seem’.
21 HEARTS
2 centres (6)
Double definition.
22 BINARY
Dispose of a line of 2 (6)
A charade of BIN (‘dispose of”) plus ‘a’ plus RY (railway ‘line’). This time ‘2’ does not mean that clue.
24 STIR
Can use spoon (4)
Double definition, the first being slang for prison.

picture of the completed grid

73 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 28,630 by Paul”

  1. I do not like these crosswords where one clue is essential, so try solving all the others first. That was fine until a 20 minute power cut meant I couldn’t check HARMISON for a while. Then I tried HULA-HULA for 1a which got me in a spin later.
    Given all that, I enjoyed it in the end.
    When I finally finished I do not think my solving time was longer than normal, with the power cut accounted for, so I guess I agree that it wasn’t at the extreme end.
    Thanks for the work out Paul and the sorting out PeterO.

  3. I think PeterO fell into the trap of “easy for me therefore easy for everyone”. Like spudjacket above, I had to get some games before I got GAME, but doing it the hard way was still fun.

    My first themer was CHARADES, which is a cryptic device, so I was briefly wondering if the theme was cryptic crossword terms, but no. But wouldn’t that be wonderfully meta?

  5. CHARADES my first that led to GAME, which I couldn’t parse. GO is an example of a game, I take it?

    MURDER IN THE DARK I did not know, and I had forgotten the name Steve Harmison.

    I like crosswords with a theme word, in this case not too difficult to find. We haven’t had many of them recently until Paul re-introduced them in the last few months.

    Thanks Paul and PeterO

  6. I did not solve theme word 2d until I got to 7d CLUEDO. Solved SE corner last.

    Failed 24d STIR.

    New for me: bowler Steve HARMISON, card game HEARTS, BOGGLE game.

    Thanks, both.

    Dave@5
    Go is a Japanese board game of territorial possession and capture.
    I only know it from previous crosswords.

  7. Didn’t know HARMISON (been in exile for a lot of years) but got it from the wordplay (or as they used to say subsidiary indication) and it looked right. Also didn’t know MURDER IN THE DARK but again the wordplay suggested it and it sounded like a GAME.
    Favourites were CLUEDO for the self reference and BINARY for the deception of “2”.
    Dave @5, Go is similar to Reversi or Othello.

  8. Go is the oldest board game in existence, well worth a play. It was only recently that a computer AI was able to best a human player. Astonishingly simple rules, very complex strategies.

  9. Paul can be a little bit Marmite but today was a good day – though that doesn’t mean I found it as approachable as PeterO. Another of those occasions where the heart sinks on first glance: 2 was used a lot and, seemingly, in different forms meaning my first pass left me utterly bewildered. Fortunately HULA HOOP and TANGERINES both intersected with and, thus, gave me SPIN THE BOTTLE and GAME was solved. Only for PHEASANT to pop up to open my mind to other uses of the theme word. And then the brilliantly misdirectional BINARY in case we all thought it was getting too easy. This is Paul at this most entertaining, imho, and a thoroughly enjoyable outing – even HARMISON and BOGGLE eventually came to mind. I share a liking for CLUEDO with Tim C @7 and spent an age looking at 24d – my last but one – thinking “it’s Paul – can has to mean toilet” before the penny dropped, as it were.

    Two thoughts in closing: TANGERINES – Tangerine Dream are releasing a new album. Astounding to find the band still going though no original members since 2015. And, finally, UNTHANKFUL could lead anyone who’s interested into some interesting research and web-surfing. ‘Unthank’ is a place name as well as a surname and has several slightly less obvious meanings.

    Many thanks Paul and PeterO

  10. Clever variations on a theme, with BINARY, a lovely misdirection. Luckily, I got GAME early after foi, SPIN THE BOTTLE. MURDER IN THE DARK was new but guessable. Nice to see one of my favourites, Eric IDLE, although during the 1990s this may have been an apt description after dismal reviews, but thankfully he bounced back. HARMISON held out longest.

    Ta Paul & PeterO

  11. I always worry with Paul that I’m not going to find a route in to one of his themed puzzles but as usual there’s normally one clue that unlocks the rest. Today it was Pheasant for me. Based on recent experience I assumed that Game would be used in various ways and I wasn’t disappointed. I remembered Steve Harmison after almost entering Holdings when I only had the H, on the basis that the former was much less well known. I suspect Boggle and Eric Idle will be unknown to quite a few.
    Thank you Paul for another lovely challenge and to PeterO.
    (Those using the old-fashioned paper copy today may have noticed a letter in the same Journal from someone in Unthank, Cumbria as per Postmark @9’s comment. Coincidence?)

  12. I do regret the apparent demise of Paul’s inner sniggering schoolboy. However this was a classic from the master of the linked clue theme. Always a pleasure when that crucial clue drops, and enough variation on it to prevent a total theme collapse.

    With charades I think there’s a little more going on with an &litish surface or at least a cad.

    Thanks Paul and PeterO.

  13. Thanks Paul and PeterO
    Zero at first reading, then I saw HULA HOOP, guessed MURDER, and it all went very quickly from there. I didn’t know BOGGLE as a game, but it was clearly clued.
    HARMISON was easy enough for me, but will prove obscure to many, I expect.
    Unsurprisingly, I don’t like the “in” in20a.
    Favourite BINARY for the misdirection.

    The Unthanks are a north-eastern folk group. Here is an example.

  15. Although I’m sure Go is intended as the Japanese game, I remember it from childhood as a Waddington’s board game where you had to travel around a map of the world and collect souvenirs. We used to play it a lot as a family.

  16. Does anyone else remember a Paul puzzle from about 10 – 20 years ago where he used the same device? Like today there was game = play, game = wildlife, game = willing, but I also remember game = gammy.

    It stuck it in my mind for some reason – probably because I was insufferably pleased with myself for having completed it, after much struggle (and it was in the days before I’d come across 15²).

    Today’s went much more smoothly, though whether it’s because I’ve got better or Paul’s gone soft I’m not sure. Either way, I enjoyed it – thanks to him and PeterO.

  18. It took me a while to get into this, unlike our esteemed blogger. MURDER IN THE DARK was my first themed entry, but its significance was lost on me. The penny dropped with SPIN THE BOTTLE and the rest fell out quite easily.

    Some nice constructions here, as usual for Paul. Disappointingly smutless though! LOI was STIR – I spent too long putting the caesura in the wrong place (Can use/spoon).

    COTD: BINARY, for a lovely misdirection.

    Thanks to S&B

  19. Just to reassure those who lament Paul’s apparent reform there is a scent of his lavatory humour in 22ac… All great fun. I got held up in the NE by the bowler (but followed the instructions and got there) and oddly enough by 5d which was so well misdirected. Thanks all round.

  20. I like Paul, and can usually get on his wavelength pretty quickly, but I found this one really tough going for quite a long time.
    But very enjoyable once I had worked out that both GROUSE and GO were GAME.
    I thought 9a was very neatly done, and 22d was really clever. And of course, it wouldn’t have been Paul without 22a.
    14a was a blast from the past. Steve H was a decent player and it’s sad that he will probably be remembered for one ball he bowled at the start of the 2006 Ashes which ended up in the hands of second slip.
    Thanks both.

  21. Thanks everyone – do join me for our last Zoom of the year tonight 7.30 to discuss today’s puzzle and to share your favourite clues of the year. Subscribe to johnhalpern.co.uk for a Zoom link. Merry Christmas to you all – and thanks for all your feedback – I try to take it on board!
    Take care, and keep well.
    John aka Paul

  22. Re: 22d. I don’t know if this is relevant at all but there is a Binary Game powered by Cisco Systems.

    Given that Paul also included 2 game birds so not just games, I suspect Peter O’s parsing is the correct one

    Thanks all

  23. Any clue which requires me to know the name of an individual footballer or cricketer is a clue I am going to have trouble solving, so HARMISON was a non starter.

    BOGGLE was my first themed clue, quite a long way into the session, after which things got a lot easier. Thanks for parsing SPIN THE BOTTLE – I had anagrammed “in best hotel”, and then couldn’t find the T or the P…

    Liked MURDER IN THE DARK, ,but BINARY was just too clever by half (for me, anyway).

  24. TANGERINES was first in (after several minutes of frustration trying to get the key clue at 2d), which gave me a crosser to secure MURDER IN THE DARK; then it must be GAME(s) and from then on a fairly swift solve. I do understand the misgivings expressed by some who find this “gateway” clue/theme device tiresome.
    In the context of the parlour games theme, I thought BINARY was a brilliant bit of misdirection from the setter.

  25. I’ve seen Go used to signal GAME before so that was my FOI.

    Like others I did not know Steve HARMISON or MURDER IN THE DARK but managed to work out the latter after I referred to a list of collective nouns I have been compiling since I started doing crosswords – I hadn’t heard of many of them before.

    I liked the double definitions: STIR, GROUSE, SNAP

    Thanks Paul and PeterO

  26. Good use of themed material. When I see crows in a crossword, I always think of murder, so after MURDER IN THE DARK went in, I solved the gateway GAME – and then went from strength to strength.

    I liked CLUEDO, BACKGAMMON and BINARY. GROUSE always reminds me of the chestnut seen in pubs with low beams, saying: ‘Duck or grouse’.

    Thanks Paul and PeterO.

  27. Definitely on the easier end of Paul’s oeuvre for us today. GAME was our FOI, which helped no end. Though kept looking for games that weren’t there, especially Monopoly, which held us up a bit.

  28. several@

    WRT GAME, thanks – I must not have expressed my meaning very well. I know of GO as a game from many years ago (a good test of some classical AI algorithms).

    What I was trying to express was that I hadn’t understood Go for oneas saying that Go is an instance of a game.

  29. Really enjoyed this after initial oh no not again moment on seeing all the references to 2. But like others I guessed SPIN THE BOTTLE and I was away.
    But I feel so sorry for those who never played MURDER IN THE DARK as a child. It was a bit like SARDINES for me, but better as someone was actually the murderer. And my childhood began in New Zealand until age 12 so those enjoying summer have no excuses!
    Thank you, John aka Paul, and sorry I can’t join your zoom tonight, I’d love to, but it is the last night of choir for this year, and due to exponential Omicron expansion it has been curtailed to 1 hour followed by bring your own mince pie and drink outdoors. So I can’t bear to miss it, it might not happen at all in the coming year.
    And thanks PeterO for those I did not parse – stir being one of them D’uh oh indeed!

  30. The classic Paul experience of a slow start, a moment of despair, and then it all coming together. Like others, I enjoyed MURDER IN THE DARK and BINARY. I really struggle with clues like SARDINES, where my brain freezes in the attempt to recall fish.

  31. I enjoyed this. Did my usual trick of reading the clues in order and got a few across clues in, but was beginning to stall at all the references to 2, just reassuring myself that it was an early down clue, to look at it blankly. Then I solved Murder in the dark and Spin the Bottle without much difficulty, even parsing them, so 2D was easy and most of the rest went in steadily. I’m another who can’t do sportsmen, so Harmison was a bit of a bung, guess and check. I came here to parse Research, that looking now, I was just too lazy to work out.

  32. I saw “crows? and 6 letters so I quickly thought Murder in the dark and googled and found it was a book but it soon appeared that that wasnt the theme
    Anyway I cant wait to play Sardines-is it based on Tokyo subway?
    Quidditch would have been a nice addition
    But I did like the brevity of STIR
    Thanks all.

  33. Thanks PeterO, although I made harder work of this than you and it was a very blank grid until SPIN THE BOTTLE got me going, as it seems to have done for many. Couldn’t quite believe HARMISON until I eventually parsed it, thought BINARY and PRAIRIE DOG very clever, and enjoyed reminders of some games I haven’t played in ages (and one I have never played: i-Go, a “sort of decelerated chess” popular in Vermilion Sands). Also nice to be reminded of Unthanks and Tangerine Dream, quite different but well worth a listen. Not unthankful to Paul for the fun.

  34. The menu for Paul’s Christmas party? HULA HOOPs, PHEASANT, GAMMON and SARDINES washed down with a BOTTLE of famous GROUSE. The mind BOGGLEs 🙂

  35. No hope of getting HARMISON. It’s not a name I’ve ever seen, though I did try “Harrison” hoping there was a bowler of that name. Harbison? Harkison? nope. Never heard of MURDER IN THE DARK either, and got “in the dark” for “ignorant,” but didn’t remember the crows bit for a while.

    In 22, I was thinking of MON as the “second day,” which left BACK unaccounted for.

    In the US, CLUEDO is just “Clue,” which may have confused some.

    All in all, lots of fun. Thanks, Paul and PeterO.

  36. I’m with Petert @30. Stared at this blankly for a few minutes, went away, got a cup of tea, and saw GAME straightaway. Bit by bit the rest fell into place surprisingly easily.

    Favourites were RESEARCH and STIR.

    I sympathise with those who’ve never heard of Steve Harmison, the great bowler who will be forever remembered for bowling the worst opening delivery of an Ashes series.

    Thanks to Paul and PeterO

  37. My crossword time has been seriously curtailed by this year’s Advent of Code, a series of daily programming puzzles. Perhaps because of this, my favourite was BINARY with it’s mischievous misdirection.

    I think I’m cured of my Paulophobia, having started attempting them a couple of months ago. There’s even no trepidation when I see multiple references to a clue, like today. I realised, at the last occurrence, that I could just ignore clues with a reference until the reference became clear! Today, however, I got GAME quickly and that made the rest of the puzzle easier. There were a few games I’d not heard of (although the wordplay sufficed) and I checked them afterwards: SARDINES, HEARTS, MURDER IN THE DARK.

    HARMISON (I don’t follow cricket) and PRAIRIE DOG were new but that’s what I like about Paul: he keeps a straight bat 😉

    AlphaGo – The Movie (the whole film) is available online and very watchable even if, like me, you don’t know the game. It’s the story of how a computer did what was considered impossible: it beat the best Go player in the world. There’s a moment when AlphaGo makes a move that has never been made before and the world champion is in awe of its beauty. The ending is incredible poignant.

  38. [One of the annoying things about commenting here is that you can’t edit your comments. It would be nice to have a five minute window so that when you see you’ve written “it’s” instead of “its”, you can correct it 🙂 ]

  40. When the first one I solved was PHEASANT, and with Crows mentioned in 1,17 down I rather unconvincingly thought that keyword 2 down might be Bird. So I was severely stuck after that until I realised the greater subtlety as always involved here with Paul. MURDER IN THE DARK was the one that blindly led the way. Last one in was SARDINES, and made me smile as the last time I played that I found myself breathless in the dark in a bedroom wardrobe in the house of the 10 year old girl whose birthday party it was, hoping never to be discovered.
    Feel sympathy for those who wouldn’t have a clue about HARMISON, though he seems to be on the present BT Sport cricket coverage on the Ashes at the moment, and (in)famously delivered the very first ball of the last series Down Under to second slip instead of towards the stumps…

  41. Dr. W @3 – there’s a real dilemma when posting comments that you (one) might sound more authoritative than you are or be speaking for more people than yourself. Consequently, do you then litter your comments with IMO, IMHO, “for me”, etc? I think PeterO, to be generous, is probably speaking just for himself in declaring the puzzle “at the easier end of Paul’s puzzles”.

    All, of course, IMHO.

    Oh, and I forget to thank Paul for another excellent puzzle and PeterO for the blog.

  42. Thanks for the blog, a traditional theme referring to a clue number which Paul seems to like.
    Like MrEssexboy@16 I remember a puzzle, in fact several, using GAME as a theme with more variety of meanings than today. Glad to see SARDINES which was always my favourite, HARMISON was well clued for those who do not know the cricketer.
    Paul once had a CLUEDO theme for a whole puzzle , perhaps 25 years ago so hard to find. I do remember the very last clue, I think I have got it right.
    Its Paul! Right, die horribly. A stab in the back. (8)

  43. [muffin @39 – thanks! It’s funny how these things — inconsequential in the long run if not now — can be so annoying 🙂 And I’ve just seen I wrote “incredible” instead of “incredibly”!]

  45. Lovely puzzle. Some great clues, and I laughed far too hard at the idea of bog glee.

    pdp11 @ 37: Thanks for the link – I’ll give that a watch. I’ve only ever played Go once against a human, and I’ve never felt so out of my depth before. Such a simple set of rules, but such a big board, and so many possibilities…

  46. [pdp & muffin: I comment via my iPhone and the autocorrect seems to prefer ‘it’s’ to ‘its’ irrespective of the context 🙁 ]

  47. Agree with PeterO enjoyable fun and games with Paul today, who was a bit mischievous with 22d.
    1/17dMURDER IN THE DARK was a good start and once we had 2d the theme was clear.
    bodycheetah @ 34 I think you have the measure of this setter 🙂
    Thx to Paul [see you later] and PeterO for blog.

  48. Roz @42

    epidural? – please put me out of my misery and tell me if it is correct – can’t see how it relates to Cluedo unless it’s the stab in the back as the murder…. with the dagger – hopefully in the library

  49. Well done Fiona Anne, quite right. It was not explicitly part of the Cluedo theme but it was the last clue with the murder taking place.

  50. Roz @42 & 49 and Fiona Anne @48: I have been struggling with that for ages – because I read the It’s Paul! as YOUR warning to us – to expect something lavatorial or similar. So I read the clue as beginning with the word Right. Which means I’ve been coming with some very odd possible solutions.

  51. Sorry but I did put it all on a new line. There is also an exclamation mark and of course I would never use one unless I was quoting directly.

  53. Did anyone else make the mistake that being “almost” in agreement means “almost” HEAR! HEAR!, changing the middle R&H to D&G to HEADGEAR, meaning a bowler?

  55. I got 2D immediately but all the double definitions meant I nonetheless DNF. Although usually I like Paul’s offerings, I found this one a chore. I suppose I rely more on the algebra of a clue’s construction to give me hints, but with a double definition there is none.

  56. First time I’ve got one of these multi-reference-from-one-clue jobs, not a favourite of mine but I appreciated the misdirection of BINARY. HARMISON was put in on a punt, pleasantly surprised to be right!

  59. Indeed you are! Many thanks Roz, that’s exactly the one I remember.

    For those who would like to have a go, here it is. It’s great fun, and 1ac is just beautiful.

    And here’s the 15² blog, rushed out by Uncle Yap barely an hour after the puzzle went live online. I’m glad to see the comments were overwhelmingly positive (although I must admit my pride was slightly dented when I saw that Andrew found it “one of the easiest Pauls for a long time”! Never mind, at least Sil thought it was a toughie 😉 )

  60. It is all due to my famous IT skills, I have a device called a Personal Electronic Notemaker and a storage device called a Daily Information Aid Recording Yearly. They are very advanced and top secret, , just prototypes at the moment.

  61. [Your secrets are safe with me 😉 Clearly they are both powerful weapons in the hands of a skilled operator.]

  62. [They do not need any batteries or power supply, no software or hardware, they can immediately transfer my thoughts into a hard copy. Unfortunately they are far too advanced for the current version of the internet and they need more of a snappy name before going into production. ]

  63. Roz – I think perhaps credit is also due to your Big Random-Access Inventory Notation System.

    Thanks for the links, EB

  64. Enjoyed it but failed on a couple. HARMISON would be a bit obscure as he was in action 15 years ago. Liked BINARY. PEASANT = boor isn’t in my vocabulary.
    Thanks both.

  65. Re Stadium puzzle – ICED is ICE D both Diamonds or diamond at a push, D is used to indicate a particular card in bridge, ” I should have played a diamond before leading hearts “. Hence baseball.
    Second clue I do not know any, probably ends in PARK .

  66. Roz @65 – my thoughts exactly 🙂 Hopefully matt w will confirm, either here or on the 22 Dec Paul blog.

    Thanks also for confirming D could be diamond in the singular in bridge – that was my query. I also thought the slang use of ICE was for diamonds in the plural, but I now see Wiktionary says ‘one or more diamonds’ (don’t know about Chambers?)

    So it looks like my sing./pl. quibble was unjustified – apologies to matt.

    You’re right about PARK (assuming I’ve got the correct answer).

    I then thought: we need a three-letter drug ending in P, and insert X, Y, Z or N. Unfortunately my narcotics/baseball knowledge is limited, so I googled US stadia, and voilà!

    So a very nice challenge, thanks again to matt, and a good mirror image of what it must be like for an American to solve a UK GK-heavy cryptic.

    My one remaining quibble is about the surface – it would have been good if ‘vessel containing unknown drug’ had worked rather than vice versa, but of course it doesn’t. How about ‘Drug contains unknown animal reproduction factor 12’?

  67. PCP was slang years ago, peace pill I think, but like most of these, lots and lots of names.
    Does not work unless first name is ridiculous. PCX PARK etc ….

  71. Sounds good to me, at last. Final thoughts from Chambers, ICE = DIAMOND(s) . PCP is actually in as well – hallucinogenic drug , “angel dust ” . Think it was also called Pixie Powder.

  72. PNC Park is correct! And yes, it’s that obscurity is in the eye of the beholder; PNC Park is the home of my beloved and utterly hapless Pittsburgh Pirates, but it would be pretty well known to a US baseball fan as one of the thirty major league stadiums (and one that’s had the same name for twenty years, unlike… oh dear, they just changed O.co to RingCentral?) And of course the letters seem like a nonsensical jumble if you’ve never heard of it.

    Sorry for putting you through a hard time on this one, Roz!

  73. I like hard clues and as EB says it is fair game if it is well known to you. It was just awkward because the drug and the stadium contain just consonants. Also my own fault, I am far too stubborn to look anything up until I have got it.

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