A Prize puzzle with an ingenious, interesting and timely theme from Paul this week.
I was later than usual getting down to this. I had a cataract operation in the morning, so I’d heard the lunchtime news, with its account of thousands of Chinese people travelling home to celebrate the New Year, before I tackled the crossword, which meant that the answer to 13,20 leapt out rather more readily than it might have done. I was amused then when other associated answers cropped up at 17,9 2,5, 27, 2dn – where I learned a new expression – 7dn and 23dn.
I had quite a list of words prompting a bit of digging into the dictionaries and I’m not entirely happy with all of the definitions, as indicated below. (I did enjoy the ‘Elizabethan containers’ at 6dn!) I also quite liked 4ac ABACUS, 13,20, YEAR OF THE RABBIT, 17,9 WATERSHIP DOWN, 25ac TWIT 27,26a WARREN BEATTY, 14dn ROCK OPERA and 19dn ITALIAN.
Thanks to Paul for the puzzle.
Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Very round coin placed on back of bureau quickly (6)
SUBITO
SO (very) round [burea]U + BIT (coin)
An Italian music direction, from the Latin, which means suddenly or immediately, rather than quickly, both definitions given by both Collins and Chambers – although Chambers does add ‘in haste’
4 Old scorer with a header for Chelsea hugged by a coach (6)
ABACUS
A + C[helsea] in A BUS (a coach) – I was expecting to find a composer, so quite liked this
10 A peak around Northern Cheyenne, say (10)
AMERINDIAN
A MERIDIAN (a peak: Chambers gives ‘culmination or highest point, as of success, splendour, power, etc’ and Collins ‘the peak, zenith, the meridian of his achievements‘ round N (Northern)
11 In conversation, I see cunning pattern (6)
ARGYLE
Sounds like (in {non-rhotic} conversation) ‘Ah’ (I see) ‘guile’ (cunning)
12 Ire with steed unbridled — most likely to bend? (8)
REEDIEST
An anagram (unbridled) of IRE and STEED – I’d associate ‘reedy’ with ‘voice’ (Collins ‘having a tone like a reed instrument, a reedy voice’) but it also has ‘of or like a reed’ and we do have the expression ‘bend like a reed’, although the use of the superlative is rather pushing it for me
13, 20 New arrival, baby infant finally grabbing spiritual leader’s attention? (4,2,3,6)
YEAR OF THE RABBIT
[bab]Y [infan]T round EAR OF THE RABBI (spiritual leader’s attention)
The Chinese New Year began on January 22nd, the day after the puzzle was published – I liked the construction and surface of this
15 Non-starter, particular offensive (4)
ICKY
[p]ICKY (particular), not starting
16 Fix direction (4)
TACK
Double definition
17, 9 Trendy opening weakens book (9,4)
WATERSHIP DOWN
HIP (trendy) in WATERS DOWN (weakens) – I remember enjoying reading this book to my four children on a camping holiday – again, I liked the construction and surface
21 Fuddy-duddy had been observed by epicurean, we hear? (8)
DINOSAUR
Sounds like (we hear?) ‘diner saw’ (had been observed by epicurean) – I wouldn’t equate ‘diner’ (without ‘-out’, perhaps?) with epicurean
22 Amateur joins theatre for show again (6)
REPLAY
REP (theatre) + LAY (amateur)
24 Mashed blend, asset for bangers? (5,5)
STEEL BANDS
An anagram (mashed) of BLEND ASSET – as in banging on the drum, I suppose
25 Ass that is kicking out duck (4)
TWIT
T[o] WIT (that is) minus o (duck)
27, 26 Actor reporting telecommunications provider on the underground network? (6,6)
WARREN BEATTY
A whimsical ‘sounds like’ (reporting): WARREN (underground network) + B T (telecommunications provider)
Down
1 Curse company that’s invested in sudden increase (7)
SCOURGE
CO (company) in SURGE (sudden increase)
2,5 Like a cake with old chicken for a vixen (5,6)
BUNNY BOILER
BUN-NY (like a cake) – a characteristic Pauline device + BOILER (old chicken) – again, I’m questioning the definition: Collins gives, for BUNNY BOILER, ‘slang – a person, especially a woman, who is considered to be unstable and likely to be dangerously vengeful, from the 1987 film Fatal Attraction, in which a female character boils a pet rabbit to terrorise the family of the lover who spurns her’ and Chambers ‘slang – a woman who is likely to behave in a deranged and vindictive manner when spurned’ – without the derivation;
For ‘vixen’, Chambers: ‘a bad-tempered woman’; Collins: ‘a quarrelsome or spiteful woman’, which seem rather mild
3 Is this East End criminal strained? (3,4)
TEA LEAF
Cryptic definition: TEA LEAF is Cockney rhyming slang for ‘thief’
6 Bits of fish in Elizabethan containers (9)
CODPIECES
Another typical Paul clue: bits of fish = pieces of cod: see here for the Elizabethan container
7 Old detective whose partner was in smaller residence than 27? (7)
STARSKY
A cryptic definition (bordering on the unfair?), referring to the ’70s (hence ‘old’) TV detectives STARSKY and hutch – a hutch is a smaller residence for a rabbit than a WARREN (27)
8 Police document conflict in NHS, rat race ghastly (6,7)
SEARCH WARRANT
WAR (conflict) in an anagram (ghastly) of NHS RAT RACE
14 Pre-cook fresh crab essentially for Tommy, say (4,5)
ROCK OPERA
An anagram (fresh) of PRE-COOK + [c]RA[b] – see here
16 Get to load part of gun up — a revolver? (4-3)
TWIN-TUB
WIN (get) in (to load) a reversal (‘up’, in a down clue) of BUTT (part of gun)
18 Vast region, area is spread round capital in Uzbekistan (7)
EURASIA
An anagram (spread) of AREA IS round U[zbekistan]
19 European boxer punches giant after wiping brow (7)
ITALIAN
ALI (boxer) in [t]ITAN (giant) minus its initial letter (wiping brow)
23 Diminish 20 (5)
PETER
Double definition: I’d expect ‘peter out / away’ (as in Collins) for the first – here‘s the second
I liked the thematic topicality of what was a relatively straightforward puzzle for a Paul prize, though I was defeated by SUBITO and ARGYLE. The American pronunciation of BEATTY as Batey rather invalidates the BT clue, but I liked both BUNNY BOILER and STARSKY and the link with WARREN. Thanks as ever to Paul and Eileen. I’m a fan of both.
Thanks Eileen. I have found that recent prizes have been hard to start but that once established progress has been steady. This was hard to start all right but about a third of the way in I came to a grinding halt and it took another day or so to get any further. I pencilled in YEAR OF THE RABBIT quite early on but it took much too long to recognize the theme. The NW corner held out the longest and wasn’t helped by my failure to identify the book. LOI was BUNNY BOILER, I knew what the second word had to be but it’s a term I’d never encountered. Likewise ROCK OPERA.
One of the hardest I can remember.
lenmasterman @1 – I had the same thoughts (I don’t know why – perhaps ‘back of the mind’ as Bamber Gascoigne used to say) about BEATTY as you, so checked here fr=mcafee&type=E210GB885G0&p=pronunciation+of+Warren+Beatty, then double-checked with members of my family, who overruled me. I have to live with them.
I’ve stayed up, after coming home from RSC Stratford for a spectacular performance of ‘The Tempest’ – I can never go straight to bed after such an experience – to see if I’d been guilty of any glaring typos in the meantime. I’m signing off for now.
Link apparently didn’t work – will try again in the morning.
“Subito if nor sooner” was a frequent mrs ginfism, so definitely immediately rather than just quickly. Never saw the movie and nho bunny burner; glad there weren’t any of them in Watership Down, which we too, like Eileen, read to our kids (the farmed rabbits were dismal enough!). Yes, an enjoyable solve, some of which I was too dim to twig subito, like ‘bits of fish’, groan. Otoh, the rabbi’s ear jumped out, with a groan-grin. All good fun, thanks PnE.
Loved the rabbit theme. [My Watership Down story: while living near Oxford, my boys and I took a trip to Winchester in the holidays. I was reading WD to them at the time, and noticed we would pass through places mentioned in it. Found out that the book is set so exactly in the countryside that you can walk along paths while reading the book and see what the rabbits saw – even get to the site of their warren. Magical – probably my best book/real life intersection ever. Sorry for the diversion!] Thanks, Paul and Eileen.
I’m delighted to see that both grant and Tassie Tim (magical indeed) actually read this book to their children, too.
,,, ‘and so to bed’ – really, this time.
[An old mate had a vinyl of Elizabethan courtly profanity, in which ER I, after a new and very young courtier’s witticism, says “Now here’s a pretty chick, with a very pretty chirp; in time, thou wilt doubtless disport in many a downy nest, an thy codpiece be as handy as thy tongue.” I’d love to hear it again but the old mate, alas, has long gone to God].
“”Ah, guile”, pretty much sums up how I felt at the end of this quite challenging puzzle, as I finally gave up on the last remaining clue and had to fall back on a word finder to get ARGYLE. Given the struggle I had to get BUNNY BOILER (which I’d never heard of before, but then I’ve never seen Fatal Attraction) and SUBITO (which I was a little surprised to see, but which is in Chambers, so fair enough), it was a shame to fall at the final fence. But this was a puzzle full of clues which were hard to get but which seemed so obvious afterwards, which I think is a sign of really good clueing. I particularly liked the ‘ear of the rabbi’, and the fishy container, but there were lots more to enjoy.. So thanks, Paul, and thanks, Eileen.
I enjoyed Paul’s topical engagement with the Lunar New Year via this “YEAR OF THE RABBIT” puzzle. I certainly found it tough in places though. Thanks to Paul and Eileen, and contributors so far for your interesting posts. I was also stumped by 2,5d BUNNY BOILER – unfamiliar to me, but once I guessed “BUNNY” I found it almost straightaway in Chambers (a far preferable definition than the Collins one Eileen quoted, I have to say). The other “rabbit” references were fun especially “hutch” in the STARSKY clue at 7d which made me grin. I was okay with WARREN BEATTY at 27,26a as that’s how I pronounce that surname. Other favourites have already been mentioned.
[With best wishes to Eileen for a very positive outcome following cataract surgery – hopefully the outing to see “The Tempest” is an indication of rapid healing.]
There were a few clues that were a bit of a reach – does anyone keep score on an abacus? Starsky for ‘old detective’?
MACO89 @11 – Wikipedia: “The abacus remains in common use as a scoring system in non-electronic table games”. I thought Starsky/Hutch, in the context of the rabbit theme, very clever. And while I have never seen Fatal Attraction either, Eileen and KeithS @9, the incident from the film is surely one of those that has made its way into general folklore (at least, it made it to me, though it took a while to surface – again, the theme helped). That said, the NW corner was our last to fall.
TassieTim@12. Indeed, you’re clearly right about Fatal Attraction. When I finally guessed the answer – it finally occurred to me that, given the theme, **N** might be BUNNY, looked up BUNNY BOILER on the web and found it really was a thing – I mentioned it to my wife, no great film buff, who said she’d not seen the film, but “that’s where she boils the pet rabbit, isn’t it”. I felt seriously out of touch with recent history.
Eileen, you have missed out 8 down in your blog
Thanks, Eileen and Paul. (Hope your operation was successful, Eileen.)
I also think of Beatty as pronounced batey in the USA, but I was reminded of the old adverts for BT featuring Maureen Lipman as a grandmother called Beatty. And naturally the link to WARREN was inescapable.
The list of rabbit-related answers should also include PETER, of course, as the clue at 21 indicates.
All in all, a very enjoyable, topical puzzle.
Biggles A@2 summarises my own experience rather: except that it took me the full week and YEAR OF THE RABBIT was my last entry.
Some great clues but this was just too hard for me. Too many times I picked up the puzzle to leave it still three-quarters unfinished. My inklings were invariably wrong: e.g. ALGONQUIAN for 10A and TOP for the revolving bit of 16D.
No complaints though. The clues were all within my ambit. Just too much of a 25A to decode them. Took me ages even to get REEDIEST despite it being my superlative surname! I stuck at it and got there with full use of aids. But you won, Paul. Fair play!
I still have a copy of WD which the author signed for me. And to my great delight I was recently presented with a photo of Richard Adams, with the young Alton clutching that very book.
The theme appeared quickly and this was a fun solve. I also notice a Nina – “cues oot”, referring to the Masters? 😉
Thanks Paul and Eileen.
Thanks Paul and Eileen
If an Italian says SUBITO, she means “at once”.
PETER by itself is a term in the card game bridge; it means playing a higher card in a suit then a lower one next time, to indicate the player holds only two cards in the suit.
Woody @14 and sjshart @15
Apologies for the errors (I had listed PETER wrongly in my preamble as 23 -rather than 21dn – but gave a link to Peter Rabbit in the blog): both fixed now.
The op was completely successful, thanks.
Alton @17 – lucky you! 😉
muffin @ 18 – does that make PETER mean ‘diminish’?
I often try to get the long / double clues first as a help providing crosses and sometimes they jump out at me. But the “new arrival” did not. Since I was slow getting any in the top half I worked on the bottom half and once I had a couple of crosses I got YEAR OF THE RABBIT. Which I thought was great. Also liked the associated PETER.
The top took much longer especially the NW and I needed a lot of help, including looking up two answers. So a DNF for me.
But some lovely clues. And I managed to parse most of them, albeit sometimes after I had worked out the answer from the crosses.
Thanks Paul and Eileen
Another amused by the links to the YEAR OF THE RABBIT, with a very satisfying clue when the penny dropped. I found this took a while to get into then it steadily solved (albeit in dribs and drabs travelling to and from an emergency dentist). I ran out of crossword to cover my travel.
I spent some time reading vixen definitions online and they fell into broadly two groups, a foxy lady or a BUNNY BOILER. Although I haven’t seen Fatal Attraction, the water cooler conversations were memorable. I read WATERSHIP DOWN when it came out and bought and tried to read the following novels from Richard Adams (Plague Dogs we read but I don’t remember it, Shardik we couldn’t). I suspect I also read it to my daughter, as there was a cartoon when she was young, but not as memorably as other books.
We use a form of an ABACUS to score snooker when we put those balls out at youthwork sessions (quiet sessions with the pool mad boys to give them something different to do).
Thank you to Eileen and Paul.
Eileen @19. If something peters out, it fades away.
I found this rather tough overall but got there in the end. YEAR OF THE RABBIT was a superb construction. I liked the homophones too, as I know that Paul can be rather ‘loose’ with them, which adds a smile when the penny drops.
One area of crosswording I find fascinating is general knowledge — both in terms of my gaps (of which there are many that everyone else seems to know, mainly sport and geography) and the other way round, when other people haven’t heard of things that are write-ins for me (mainly pop culture to be honest). So STARSKY and BUNNY BOILER were a doddle for me but seem to have given others some issues 🙂
Thanks both!
Liked YEAR OF THE RABBIT.
New for me: MERIDIAN = peak of success; TEA LEAF = thief (Cockney slang)
Thanks, both.
I thought this was Paul on top form. Several laugh-out-loud PDMs plus a couple of groans at the outrageous homophones. Thank you, Paul!
And thanks for the blog, Eileen. I shared your reservations over “vixen” as a definition of BUNNY BOILER but the clue amused me none the less.
Pondering how long the phrase has been in use, I decided to check when the film came out – 1987, so 35 years ago!
Also had reservations over “cake” for “bun” but the distinction between cake and bread is a grey area, only of interest to keen bakers. Apparently, cake originally meant bread anyway.
Depends where you are in the country, iced buns conjures up fairy cakes to me, and wasn’t that what they were called in the Calendar Girls film? partly because I loathe the fingers of dough with icing.
Hi Widdersbel @25 – the date of the film was in the blog. 😉
I enjoyed this, though I agree with Eileen’s quibbles. [Eileen I assume you will now appropriately have Bright Eyes]
Crispy @22
Eileen is concerned about PETER meaning fade away without the “out”.
Eileen
Yes, my bridge example isn’t exactly “diminish”, though it does mean “get smaller”!
[Glad to hear your op went well!]
Agree with Widdersbel – Paul on top form, and entertaining as ever.
Now I don’t want to start a ‘thing’ but my twin tub all those years ago didn’t revolve. The tub stayed very still while the paddles revolved. The spin dryer alongside did revolve though. However it doesn’t quite work for me.
Thanks for the blog, Eileen, and pleased your op went well.
I was saddened that Paul drew on such a misogynist trope as bunny boiler.
Hi Petert @28 – thanks! I had some difficulty resisting providing that link.
trisincharente @30 – you’re quite right about TWIN-TUB, of course (but there is a question mark).
So it is, Eileen. I glossed over that detail while reading, sorry!
Warren Beattie and rabbits made me think of the nice story of the star and producer of Bonnie and Clyde pulling one out of the hat when the film was being criticised for its explicit depiction of violence.
In Scotland, for example, cinema managers were being inundated with complaints from horrified pensioners who had travelled in coach loads to see what they assumed was a pleasant little travel film about “the bonnie banks of Clyde” only to be confronted by a bloodbath of a movie about American gangsters.
The film’s UK distributors wired Beattie suggesting that for Scotland the film might be retitled “Bonnie and Clyde are Killers”.
Beattie wired back suggesting that for Scotland the film be retitled “Bonnie and Clyde are not Rivers”.
Thanks for that, lenmasterman @34!
I saw the theme for once, but even if we allow ARGYLE as a pun (passing over the irony of it being a Scottish word and thus rhotic), DINOSAUR is beyond the pale, not only omitting an R in one place but inserting one in another place. It genuinely made me cringe. The rest was good and even spotted BUNNY BOILER.
I found this quite difficult; either Paul’s getting trickier or I’m getting more senile (probably the latter).
Although I well remember seeing Fatal Attraction, I’d never come across BUNNY BOILER before. I liked the simple SUBITO, the ‘ear of the rabbi’, ‘waters down’, and WARREN BEATTY, despite the transatlantic difference in pronunciation.
Thanks Paul and Eileen (glad the op went well).
STARSKY made me laugh. Loved all the changes rung on the rabbity theme: I remember BUNNY BOILER though I’ve never seen the film, but is it now rather dated? Didn’t recognise an ABACUS as a scorer, and I agree with trisincharente about twin-tubs, but these are minor quibbles.
I’m with Robi @37. I like to think I can still rule out senile in my own case – no doubt others will be able to correct me if I’m wrong.
Too many definitions that I couldn’t get a handle on: ‘epicurean’=diner=DINO; ‘vixen’=BUNNY BOILER; ‘cunning’=guile=GYLE; ‘old detective’=STARSKY. When I see the word detective I tend to think of someone who uses his brain rather more than the character Starsky did, which no doubt demonstrates inflexible thinking on my part, an indication of advanced senility.
I did appreciate EAR OF THE RABBI and ‘Elizabethan containers’ though.
Thanks to Paul and Eileen.
Thanks Paul and Eileen. I word-searched my last-one-in, 11a ARGYLE, and was a little miffed because I probably would have got it if I had persevered. Never mind. I like a good pun. I like a bad pun even more.
I’ll say this–the BEETIE vs BATEY pronunciation difference isn’t entirely about the ocean–I’ve heard Americans say it both ways. The point, though, is that Warren Beatty pronounces it Batey, and doesn’t a guy deserve the last word on how to pronounce his own name?
I’m not going to complain about the other homophones, but I’ll just make this observation: of all the Guardian’s setters, Paul is the one who seems to have the biggest grudge against the letter R. It’s just not a Paul puzzle without a non-rhotic homophone somewhere. This puzzle had three–including two in the same clue!
Eileen — there’s still a mistake in the preamble — PETER is 23dn, not 21dn.
I’ll read the rest of the blog now.
Muffin @18 If an Italian says SUBITO, she means “at once”.
The original definition made me smile as, in my experience at least, if an Italian waiter says “Turno subito” (I’ll be back at once) s/he actually means “I’ll be back sometime, when it suits me”
Valentine @42
Oh dear – I corrected it from the blog (where I had it as 21dn – probably from correcting it!), rather than going back to the paper. I hope I’ve got it right now.
As you can see from my comment @7, I didn’t go to bed until nearly 2.00am -and, as you know, I’m very old!
I also now see that, @4, I promised to have another go at the link – I’ll do that now, but I think the pronunciation issue has been resolved.
Re Warren Beatty:
Thanks, mrpenney, for your input @41, which I think settles it.
I couldn’t find the link I had yesterday but here’s a different one: https://www.pronounceitright.com/pronunciation/warren-beatty-825 …
… but I also found this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knfkjJ__dms
And now I’m giving up. 😉
Mr Beaver @43
You’ve reminded me of Collins’ definition of ‘presently’, which has changed its meaning over the years, owing to human nature:
‘presently: 1 in a short while, soon; 2 at the moment; 3 an archaic (my emphasis) word for immediately.’
[Eileen @45, many thanks for your valiant attempts to get to the bottom of Warren Beatty. It seems from the second (YouTube) link that, in order to pronounce his name correctly, you have to say it sixteen times (and, for eight of those sixteen, you have to do it extremely slowly, savouring each gorgeous syllable). Could he really be that vain? 😉 ]
[eb @47
One of the great lines – almost paradoxical!
“You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you”]
[muffin @47 – when Carly Simon finally confirmed that the second verse was about Beatty, she was asked if he already knew – to which she reportedly replied “Warren thinks the whole song is about him!”]
I have ‘used’ fifteen squared’ for many years but never felt brave enough to leave a comment because of feeling so inadequate when I read that some of you ‘finish within an hour’. I usually print off the pdf version on Saturday and nearly always we run to the wire on Friday night. I think this is called the Parkinson’s Law. We work together over coffee, or tea and after dinner. Sometimes I am inspired in the middle of the night. The Guardian Prize and the Blog are the joys of the week.
This one was particularly so with Paul (I think we all still miss Arocaria with his precision) as the setter and Eileen as the Blogger. We love Paul’s naughtiness (eg Codpiece) and enjoy the fullness of Eileen’s blogs. The last few week’s have been rather frustrating with insufficient detail. So to boast a bit, we did not find this one particularly difficult but still only finished last night, as usual. We loved the Bunnies and have read both Peter Rabbit and Watership Down and also remember Brer Rabbit from schooldays. Rabbit was very clear very early but ‘Year of the’ was difficult to confirm. We had never heard of Bunny Boiler and our rule is not to look things up until we are sure – Bunny Boiler seemed dubious but lo and behold.
Thank you to all of you for livening up my Saturday mornings. How sad. Peter R but not Rabbit.
Thanks to Paul, and Eileen (best wishes with the post-op recovery).
This one was right up my street – literally, as I live very close to the Down; Richard Adams used to drink in my ‘local’ (The Bell Inn, Whitchurch, Hants); and both my kids have recently done bar work at the ‘Watership Down’ pub! I also have a French-Chinese sister-in-law, so the family chat had recently been full of references to CNY and rabbits…
I’m definitely in the Warren Bay-tee camp, but I just put it in and walked on past – it is Paul, after all…and STARSKY was my LOI (with a LOL), despite many hours of Saturday early evening watching in the late 70s(/early 80s?)
Oops! I put TAIL in for 25; I guess I didn’t try to parse it. That left me searching the unfinished clues for COTTON, given the presence of PETER.
Peter R @ 50
I’m glad that you’ve finally plucked up the courage to make a comment (I can still remember how long it took me 😉 ) but sad that you’ve felt diffident about doing so for so long. It has never been the policy on this site to publish solving times and I hope we’re wary of dismissing puzzles as ‘too easy’, for fear of putting off newer solvers: we all had to learn.
You’re fortunate to have a companion to solve with – and, if it takes the whole week, so what? (I gather you only do the Saturday Prize puzzle?) I’m just sorry that it took me seven years after the death of my husband, my solving partner for many years, to discover 15², which has been my lifeline ever since.
Now that you’ve broken the ice, I hope we’ll continue to hear from you. 😉
mc_rapper67 @51
I’ll say what I said @19 to Alton: ‘Lucky you!’ It’s been really nice to hear that others have happy family associations with that lovely book.
Posterntoo @52 – lovely!
A typical Paul for me – slow to start, put it aside, come back and get a few more, put it aside, etc. Then, when it’s all done, my reaction to most clues is “of course, why didn’t I think of that “. That is a sign of good clueing.
Widdersbel@25 notes that cake used to mean bread. Wasn’t that what Marie Antoinette supposedly meant?
poc@36, I don’t understand your point about the 21a DINOSAUR pun. Didn’t Paul omit the “r” from both diner and saur? In any event I prefer Graham@40’s approach – puns are good, bad puns are better.
Thanks Paul for the fun, and Eileen for the clear-sighted blog.
In Vietnam this LUNAR NEW YEAR is the YEAR OF THE CAT. I didn’t finish this, I meant to come back to it and forgot all about it. Wel lit was T?T Ch?c m?ng n?m m?í!
TET. Chuc mung nam moi. This blog doesn’t do dialectics.
Oh ,sorry cam on Eileen and Paul
Cellomaniac @56. “Didn’t Paul omit the “r” from both diner and saur?” I thought the point made by poc @36 was that ‘epicurean’ in the clue implies DINER whereas the answer is DINO (subtract an R-sound), while ‘had been observed by’ implies SAW whereas the answer is SAUR (add an R-sound). Yes, you could say that the R-sound has been “omitted” from both DINER and SAUR in order to make the puns work, but one is (implied) in the clue while the other is in the answer, so if we follow the natural route of the clue leading to the answer, one process is subtractive and the other is additive.
Thanks Eileen, i couldn’t see the parsing of 19d (got fixated on Vitali Klitschko being somehow involved) and had forgotten until coming here that I never went back to parse 13,20. Agree this was very tough but made it harder for myself by forgetting the existence of Peter R@50’s namesake despite my son being a big fan. I agree that some definitions were a little odd but had no problem with Starsky, he was plain-clothed which equates to ‘detective’ doesn’t it? Thanks Paul.
Cellomaniac @56 – If you’re still reading… Cake originally (going back 800 years) meant a “mass” or portion of bread, eg a bun or a loaf (also by extension a “mass” of other things, eg a cake of soap). Nowadays I would distinguish between cake (made with a thin batter) and bread (made with a stiffer dough) but as Shanne @26 says, there are also regional variations in usage (eg Scottish oatcakes). On reflection, I think Paul’s use of cake in the clue is absolutely fine and I withdraw my complaint!
Marie Antoinette supposedly said “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” – brioche is a highly enriched (ie expensive) bread and she was distinguishing between that and basic (ie cheap) bread. Brioche gets translated as cake because we don’t have a direct equivalent in English, although the famous Sally Lunn buns of Bath are close. Likewise panettone is often described in English as cake even though it’s really what I would call a bread.
Agree with trishincharente about TWIN TUB. As I recall a twin tub included a spin compartment which revolved but the tub didn’t.
Otherwise this puzzle took me ages to get into but glad I persevered….now
Thanks both
15ac ICKY offensive?
22ac DINOSAUR: ‘was observed’, surely?
23dn I also thought PETER needs ‘out’ to mean diminish.
I understood that Marie Antoinette was wrongly portrayed as callous for saying “Qu’ils mangent brioche”, because the law held that if a baker could not supply the (cheaper) common pain to a supplicant, they we obliged to offer brioche at the same price as pain. Absolutely no evidence to back this up, but it sounds plausible.
My French grammar slipped: ‘de la brioche’, as Widdersbel@61 has it is correct, I believe.
Peter R@50. Just ignore those folks who finish the Saturday Prize before breakfast. I like to dig into it on and off as a diversion over the week, and quite often have to put in a late effort on the Friday. I was away during the week of this puzzle, but I finished Picaroon’s puzzle during the past week earlier than usual, so I had a go at this as well. I got stuck half way for a while until I finally got the theme. I was very pleased to work out ‘BUNNY BOILER’, and then to confirm the expression using Google. I made one mistake, doubtfully putting in ‘TAIL’ for 23ac. Anyway, a good puzzle, I thought, along with many others above.
Sorry. 25ac, not 23ac.