Guardian 28,942 / Paul

85 comments on “Guardian 28,942 / Paul”

1. CALIGULA
   U (leader of Unscrupulous) +GILA (gila monster-a reptile) —reversed in CLA(n)

2. ‘contrary’ being the reversal indicator

3. Thanks, KVa – I should have looked up GILA. 🙁

4. As with many Paul themes this one was used to take you in various different directions. It wasn’t easy but I did enjoy it. 20ac was a straightforward FOI and the SE came together quite quickly. Breaking out from there was tougher even though 7ac was an early solve. Thanks to Paul and Eileen for a super blog.

5. Eileen – minor typo in your intro, WIZARD is 7d not 7a.

6. Where is everyone? I’m usually so late finishing there’s no point in commenting!
   Is it Ali G the Sacha Baron Cohen character in CALIGULA?

7. Thanks, Rob T – fixed now.

8. I do like Paul, one of my favourite setters. As usual making progress in this relied on unlocking the key clue, and it took a good 10 minutes for that penny to drop. The rest was surprisingly plain sailing after that, although I didn’t parse all the wordplay in every clue, and needed external help for MINOAN.

   One minor eyebrow twitch: how does ‘Yorkshiremen’ equate to LEEDS? Is it acceptable crossword practice to make a place a synonym of its inhabitants? The clue would have worked equally well using ‘city’ or similar. Am I missing something?

   But a very small thing that didn’t dent my enjoyment at all.

   Many thanks both.

9. RobT @8 maybe LEEDS is a reference to the football club? Not sure how many of that team would qualify as yorkshiremen though

10. Yep, not the monster emperor (though he was) but the gila … probably via Attenborough that that surfaced in the ginf brain. But what a cast! Rabbis and mad emporers among wizards in legend and in fiction from kid lit, and big kids’ lit to the Bard himself. A fun jaunt, ta Eileen and Paul.

11. Rob T and bodycheetah – I took it as WAR in LEEDS = ‘fighting between Yorkshiremen’.

12. I thought that the clue for 6d had been created by a random word generator, but it finally dawned on me that it referred to cricket.

13. I read it the same as you, Eileen, though I’m unhappy with Leeds meaning Yorkshiremen, which I think is what Rob T is saying. Ta for the blog.

14. If we’re going to be pedantic about 14a, surely the war is among the inhabitants of Leeds, not between them. Thought it was a neat clue, anyway.
    Yes, CALIGULA was a monster, though rather as with Richard III (the last legitimate king of England, some say), the stories about him were written by his opponents after his death. But “Caligula” is actually a nickname – his name was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. He was given the nickname, which he loathed, when as a child he accompanied his father on military campaigns and put on little replicas of the soldiers’ footwear, the caliga. So the soldiers nicknamed him “Little Boots”. Probably the best translation, conveying the slight tone of derision, is “Bootikins” (thank you to spouse with degree in classics)
    Paul up to his best, I thought; and thank you to Eileen also for the blog (including allowing me a slight punch of the air for having worked out 8a…).

15. Crispy – surely the question mark indicates a definition by example?

16. Eileen @11 – aaah that actually now makes sense as a rebus-style clue – thanks! Eyebrow now returned to its normal position!

17. NeilH – of course you’re right about ‘among’, which did make me wince a bit.

18. Fun. And surely the easiest Paul for a long long time. We don’t usually finish him till we return to the crossword after dinner.

19. NeilH@14!
    As there were only two sides LEE and DS (Yorkshiremen A and B!!!), (the) war was ‘between’ them (not ‘among’ them)!
    🙂

20. Eileen @ 15. Yorkshiremen implies the people, whereas I feel Leeds doesn’t. No doubt I’m in a minority, I usually am.

21. I shared Rob T’s qualms about LEEWARDS until I saw Eileen’s comment@11: now I like it.
    Getting WIZARD early helped, and so did knowing that MERLIN and DUMBLEDORE must surely be around somewhere (it took me a disgracefully long time to spot GANDALF). I know DUMBLEDORE as the big clumsy flying beetle also known as a cockchafer or doodlebug (hence the name of the WW2 flying bombs). Though bumblebee makes sense too.
    I couldn’t parse CALIGULA either, and took a while to see why SAKE=good.
    As a child, I used to come home from a day at the beach covered in SANDHOPPER bites.

22. Crispy @20 – that was my original gripe but I now understand Eileen’s clarification @11 – the word ‘in’ is misdirecting… I originally read it as ‘WAR in the word LEEDS’ and had the quibble… but the reading that parses is ‘WAR (taking place) in LEEDS’ – which is where the fighting Yorkshiremen come in 🙂

    Does that make sense?

23. Eileen @11 that makes perfect sense 🙂

24. Crispy @20 – you’re not wrong but you’re misreading the clue (and Eileen’s explanation). It’s a typically tricksy bit of Paul indirect reverse wordplay – LEEWARDS could be read as “WAR in LEEDS”, and another way of saying that might be “fighting between [or among] Yorkshiremen”.

    Well, I liked it anyway! In fact, I found it a thoroughly enjoyable puzzle overall. Thanks for the fun, Paul, and for the super blog, Eileen.

25. Thanks for spelling it out for me Eileen@11, as well as the rest of the blog.
    And thanks to Paul for a fun puzzle.

26. Thank you Eileen.
    Took me a while to get WIZARD because I thought the D was the ‘head’ of ‘different’, and it crossed with LEEWARDS, so what reptile ending in D could I think of except LIZARD, and that didn’t mean ‘great’, or even a 5 letter reptile + D.

    I liked the switching of synonyms, but caught out by TOPPING, as that meaning isn’t all that familiar to me. I see in dictionaries it’s ‘chiefly British’. And I would never think of ‘anchovies’ as TOPPING. Not inclined to let Paul off with the question mark. I suppose it’s a pizza thing. I love anchovies and do enjoy them on pizzas, only I add extra, so it’s more like the main item in my pizzas, sandwiches, crackers, salads ….. or straight.

27. Eileen, shouldn’t the number of the puzzle be 28,942 not 28,954?

28. Like HarpoSpeaks @18, I thought this was probably the easiest Paul, I’ve ever completed, which for a Friday was somewhat surprising. However, it was great fun and I was thinking Leeds FC before Eileen’s explanation put me right. Also thanks to KVa for parsing CALIGULA and NeilH @14 for the potted history. SOHO makes yet another appearance.

    Ta Paul & Eileen.

29. Agree pdm, topping is fraffly Boys’ or Girls’ Own, and yes anchovies great on pizza (and in steak and kidney pud if ur a fan of Pie In The Sky).

30. bridgesong @27, of course it should. Goodness knows what happened there – fixed now, thanks.

31. Rather stumbled through this, without quite the joie de vivre while solving that I normally associate with a Paul Puzzle. Last one in after a bit of umming and aahing was MINOAN. Did anybody ever read the WIZARD comic in its day? Can’t say I ever did….

32. The Wizard of Id is pretty funky…

33. A relief that we weren’t bounced around the grid with lots of linked clues; I enjoyed this more than some of Paul’s recent ones.

    I got the ‘SUPER’ in 3 early on, which misled (mizzled) me as I thought all the answers would be great etc. I then took too long to see the WIZARD. I knew GANDALF and DUMBLEDORE despite never having read any Potter books – must have been osmosis from the TV. I did like the clue for GANDALF with the ‘and’ = for good measure, and ABERRATION, where I’m always on the look out these days when helping is in a clue.

    Thanks Paul and Eileen.

34. I usually find Paul’s oeuvres rather tricky & so I’m really chuffed to have completed this one without too much difficulty: a pleasing end to the week. It was good fun & also educational: I had no idea DUMBLEDORE was a noun What a delightful alternative name for a bumblebee!
    Once I had that and WIZARD, I’m afraid I scribbled down a list of wizards and actively set about looking for places where they would fit – although I couldn’t parse GANDALF at all, so that was what I call a CFE (Crossed Fingers entry).
    Thank you Paul for the fun, and thank you Eileen for an ever-helpful blog.
    I just wish I didn’t have Wizzard’s Tiger Feet going round & round in my head…

35. Wellbeck @34: I think that was Mud, the band, not your comment 🙂

36. Wellbeck, a blog poster in another place calls your CFE a “bung and pray” which, as a crusty old atheist, I kinda like.

37. Wellbeck @34: some saw mud, some saw Christmas – at least no one’s given a link to Just One Cornetto 😉

38. Wellbeck@34. That would be Mud’s “Tiger Feet”. Wizzard wished it could be Christmas every day, and wanted you to see their baby jive.

39. oops

40. Much as I hate* to be a pedant, Wellbeck, the name of Roy Wood’s band was Wizzard with two Zs and Tiger Feet was by Mud (not Mudd with two Ds, which is one of Paul’s alter egos). The song Wizzard were arguably most famous for is the seasonally appropriate I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day.

    Ronald @31 – Wizard comic was before my time, but there were a whole load of British comics of similar vintage** with vaguely synonymous names, including TOPPER. There was also Beezer, Whizzer, and not forgetting Dandy and Beano. I’m sure Paul had them in mind when compiling this one.

    *for some values of “hate”
    **this would make a great question on Only Connect

41. Bzzzt! Repetition, as Nicholas Parsons would say. Sorry, too slow typing.

    Essexboy @37 – I resisted the temptation but I admit it crossed my mind

42. It’s very neat the way that (if I have counted right) the eight ‘Wizard’ answers divide equally: four variations on ‘super’, four magicians. And the reversed monster in 1ac does have a place in popular culture, alongside the Gorgos and Godzillas – I recall being sheltered from seeing this film in youth (maybe others did see it?) and there have been later versions:
    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052846/reference/

43. sorry, 8ac not 1ac

44. I enjoyed this, which fell out rather quickly also for me. I only solved the keyword WIZARD after spotting DUMBLEDORE, having been looking for ‘great’ rather than ‘magician’ words.

    Thanks to those who parsed the emperor in the caligulae, which I also failed to do. I’m comfortable with the clue for LEEWARDS but I’m not happy with ‘circular diagrams’ as a definition for ZODIACS – these are horoscopes, surely, rather than the constellations in the sky which correspond with the plane of the solar system (and for which a plural form is illogical).

    Favourites were GANDALF and the concision of PEDESTRIAN. LOI was the archaic haut bourgeois TOPPING (like paddymelon @26 I enjoy anchovies on pizza, though it’s not autentico).

    Thanks to Paul and Eileen

45. Paul is one of my favourite setters but this was him in more straightforward mode, which for me was not such a great thing.

    I think Eileen @11 is spot on about 14a, war in Leeds would likely involve fighting Yorkshiremen.

    My faves were the neat PROSPERO and equally succinct PEDESTRIAN

    Thanks Paul and Eileen

46. I don’t anyone’s mentioned it. But it’s now or never, so I’ll mention it. One classic, one cover ( tune ) and one advertisement. Neapolitan ice cream has three flavours and three Neapolitans were composers/lyricist.

    Funnily enough, although mislaid I have both Roy Wood’s and Nicholas Parsons’ autographs!

    Thanks Paul and Eileen.

47. After 75% of the puzzle solved, I still had not cracked 7d and the clues relating to the version of the word meaning the chaps with the pointy hats. So I revealed it and was so disgusted with myself when I saw the answer that I gave up in a temper.
    Similar to last weekend prize where I still have no idea what 16a’s COUSIN means.
    I am in the same club as Eileen in being unable to parse CALIGULA.
    Thanks both, at least I have the quiptic left for the rest of the day.

48. Ah. Mud – not Wizzard. Thanks to the host of folk putting me straight.
    In my defence, I was extremely young at the time and a fair number of those cheesy 70s bands have clearly merged in my infant memories…
    (Slade had a Christmas single, too, didn’t they?)
    I still have an earworm of blasted Tiger Feet, though!

49. Wellbeck@48. That’s neat, that’s neat, …

50. Flea@46…by the by, I have a letter somewhere in my (chaotically arranged) family history files written to a great aunt of mine in the late 1960’s by Nicholas Parsons. Replying to her and debunking her hopeful theory that somehow his and our families might be related to one another…

51. Crispy at 49: that’s right, that’s right…

52. [essexboy @37: ‘Cornetto’ is the usual name in central and southern Italy for a croissant (called ‘brioche’ in the north) but the proprietary ice cream cone is also widely available under the same appellation, confusingly 🙂 ]

53. A DNF for me, as I had MAGE for 10a (certainly a wizard, but not a club) and SAKI (inexplicably) for 24a. I got to 7d through 3d, and so thought for a while the key was synonyms for SUPER, before the penny dropped. Thanks, Paul and Eileen.

54. […and with reference to Flea @46, nobody from Naples would recognise what we know as Neapolitan ice cream. I don’t know who named it, but the three colours do represent the Italian flag, including the weird green layer, which tastes nothing like pistachio ]

55. 8a conjured up a memory of John Hurt’s brilliant portrail of the said emperor in I, Claudius.

56. Tassie Tim@53, yes I had first mistakenly inserted Saki instead of SAKE. I believe a Saki is a rather striking white-faced monkey living in South America.

57. Indeed, HoofItYouDonkey!

58. Like Gervasse I only got WIZARD after getting DUMBLEDORE from the checkers. I’ve never read any Rowling & vaguely remember seeing the first film in the series but knew the character name though not the bumblebee connection. Other than a failure to parse CALIGULA a problem free brisk solve – certainly easier than his savoury prize puzzle (similarly all linked to one clue) that’ll be reviewed tomorrow.
    Thanks both

59. Surprisingly straightforward, helped by getting the theme clue quickly, a first for me. On the whole I’ve found the end of the week much easier than the beginning.

60. A Gila monster is aNorth American reptile

61. I’ve been thinking of adding Paul to my “do not attempt” list for some time. He used to reward us with the odd flash of humour (and yes, sometimes the humour was very odd). Then he started getting obscure. I know a lot of people on 225 think “obscure” = “a challenge”, but when I have to start entering ETAONIRSH and the check button just to get a vague idea, it becomes significantly less entertaining.

    Perhaps I’m getting Alzheimer’s in spite of my attempts to stave it off by doing crosswords. Sorry, Paul

62. [DeepThought @61 I’m intrigued by how much confirmation bias of our preconceived notions is in play when we see who the setter is. I’ve been toying with the idea of doing the crossword blind i.e. not knowing who the setter is. I could ask my partner to redact the name from the paper but she tends to get up a lot later than me 🙂 So I’ve installed a Chrome extension (User CSS) that lets you modify the content of a web page – in this case hide the setter – it will be interesting (if perhaps to me only) to see how that goes and whether I can guess the setter]

63. I didn’t know SANDHOPPER and took ages to get NEIGHING. Yorkshire men and women are Loiners of course… LEEDS clue not yet unriddled to my liking..
    Thanks Paul and Eileen

64. Bc@62 re confirmation bias. I raised the question here a few years ago whether people would be able to identify the setter if the paper didn’t announce it. Some said yes. I think puzzles like this one fairly point the finger at Paul, but I’m not so sure about the rest.

65. Was helped by the theme but I could not parse 8ac; 13d as ‘insect of old’; 22ac.

    Thanks, both.

66. DeepThought@61 – I wonder to what extent the obscurity comes from Paul trying to cram as many thematic entries as possible and then being forced to fill with odd words? I thought today’s was pretty reasonable though, with O SOLE MIO and SANDHOPPER being the only NHOs for me and pretty clear from the wordplay.

    Honestly I always enjoy Paul and he’s probably the single setter I look forward to most. The cluing always feels very fair (ignoring the odd absolute nonsense homophone) and I like the absurd element of cramming thematic elements wherever possible – the “car” puzzle a while back cracked me up.

    Loved today’s. My only query is about MACE – I take “grand” to mean “thousand pounds” rather than “thousand”, so I’d expect K or G but not M. I left MACE till last and didn’t feel confident entering it at all. I assume Chamber’s has Paul’s back though.

    Thanks a lot Paul and Eileen

67. Thanks to Paul for enjoyable puzzle with a nice balance of clues. Getting the Key clue 7d early was very helpful, but we took an age to get SANDHOPPER. Thx to Eileen for the blog.

68. Eileen — in the blog (not the intro) for 10a MACE you still refer to WIZARD as 7a, but it’s 7d. For 26a you have (neighingG) instead of (worseninG).

    And thanks for parsing VICE VERSA, I hadn’t a hope. I couldn’t figure out MINOAN either, being stuck on Minos (who was Cretan, not Greek).

    6d hasn’t much of a surface. Seems to me Paul missed a beat by not making 10a “mage.” Oh, it’s cricket? I give up.

    Crispy@13 A war in Leedst would indeed be between or among Yorkshiremen. (Yorkshirewomen would have more sense.)

    Thanks to Paul for a wizard puzzle (is that as public-school as it sounds?) and to Eileen for a super blog.

69. Nice easy one, and perhaps Paul’s taken note of Eileen’s continued requests for fewer multiple-light solutions.
    Just came to say what McBeak @66 already has, about grands. Chambers only gives grand as being a thousand pounds or dollars. M is not a grand, and like McBeak I couldn’t solve the clue. I suppose grand was used so that the clue said Grand Wizard (which I’m sure everyone knows is a KKK rank)

70. Thanks, Valentine @68. How did I get away with it for so long? Fixed now.
    Sir Arthur Evans, who excavated the palace at Knossos, coined the name for the Minoan civilisation from the mythical king, Minos.

71. Eileen @70: indeed – because the statues and frescos of men leaping over bulls which he excavated brought to mind the legend of the Minotaur

72. Wot! A complete Paul grid with neither bedroom nor bathroom references (unless 2d VICE counts)? Almost disappointed.

    Many thanks, P and E

73. [Valentine @68, I think that use of ‘wizard’, as in ‘what a wizard idea’, was originally RAF slang. (It does sound a bit ‘bally Jerry’-ish.) But in the post-war years it was more widely popular, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if you came across a few ‘wizard schemes’ in public school stories. I thought I could imagine it being used in the Jennings prep school stories (from which I believe I’ve quoted too many times before), but I may be confusing it with ozard.]

74. I spent the entire enterprise waiting to be told not to look at the man behind the curtain, or at a green horse of a different colour, or at ruby slippers, or at yellow bricks. But no luck

75. Oooh I did enjoy that. Perfect for a frozen Friday (and still a few left in last Saturday’s prize!).

    All has been said so I feel moved to pull on grantinfreo@32 by offering (for your amusement) my favourite ‘wizard’ cartoon.

76. Thanks Eileen as I was feeling quite dense today and failed to parse a couple (was there once a president somewhere called Pedestri?) but enjoyed thinking back to reading my dad’s old Jennings books, as suggested by essexboy. Also a welcome Black Sabbath earworm, so thanks Paul.

77. Can anyone help me with an explanation of why sake = good?

    I’m sure it’s obvious to everyone but me…

78. For the sake of your health, try not to worry too much 😉

79. For the good/sake of the nation (says someone who got the answer wrong).

80. Great link, Alphalpha @75. Interesting that he went from being so quirkily zen to born-again …

81. Ronald@30.
    I used to take the Champion but read a friend’s Wizard. It was where the exploits of the remarkable athlete, Wilson, could be found.
    timthetoffee@63
    The term Loiners is restricted to people from Leeds (I’m one). It doesn’t apply to all Yorkshiremen.

82. very enjoyable. thanks paul and eileen

83. 13d (in the non-JK Rowling sense) is used by Thomas Hardy

84. … see http://www.poetryatlas.com/poetry/poem/565/molly-gone.html

85. Thanks grantinfreo andTassieTim.

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