Guardian 28,991 / Paul

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I found this trickier than a typical Paul, I think, not because there was anything obscure, but there were lots of clues with very good misdirection. Anyway, a very high standard of clues, as usual – thank you, Paul!

Across

1. Equine and ovine attached to a tool I use (7)
ANAGRAM
NAG = “Equine” + RAM = “ovine” after A (“attached to a”)
Definition: “tool I use”

5. Language basic, I await your call! (7)
PHONEME
PHONE ME! = “I await your call!”
Definition: “Language basic”

10. NY baseball team’s backstop (4)
STEM
Imagine backstop divided into two words here: METS = “NY baseball team” reversed “[i]s back”
Definition: “stop”

12, 11. A tax haven ignored foolishly, bear a grudge (4,2,3,2,5)
HAVE AN AXE TO GRIND
(A TAX HAVEN IGNORED)*
Definition: “bear a grudge”

13. Story and information about parent, vassal (8)
LIEGEMAN
LIE = “Story” + GEN = “information” around MA = “parent”
Definition: “vassal”

14. O for one damned exercise that involves little time (5,4)
BLOOD TYPE
BLOODY = “damned” + P.E. = “exercise” around T = “little time”
Definition: “O for one”

16, 17. One lifting stones? (5,5)
JEWEL THIEF
Cryptic definition: “lifting” as in stealing and “stones” as in gems

19. Ceremony in honour of African country, stuffing knocked out of Turkey! (9)
FORMALITY
FOR = “in honour of” + MALI = “African country” + T[urke]Y = “stuffing knocked out of Turkey!”
Definition: “Ceremony”

24. Leech in cat’s paw? (6)
SUCKER
Double definition: “Leech” and “cat’s paw”

26. Alaskan animal with dark beak, I gathered, visited by duck (6,4)
KODIAK BEAR
(DARK BEAK I)* around O = “duck”
Definition: “Alaskan animal”

27, 23. Artist: I paint modern shapes (4,8)
PIET MONDRIAN
(I PAINT MODERN)*
Definition: “Artist”

28. Uniform, novel colour shown (7)
USHERED
U = “Uniform” + SHE = “novel” + RED = “colour”
Definition: “shown”

29. Producing match in laboratory, stick masks on (7)
CLONING
CLING = “stick” around (“masks”) ON
Definition: “Producing match in laboratory”

Down

2. All the green bottles put up before party game (7)
NETBALL
TEN = “All the green bottles” (from the song “10 green bottles, sitting on a wall”) reversed (“put up”) + BALL = “party”
Definition: “game”

3. Putting gift in bog, I’m mean (5)
GIMME
Hidden answer: [bo]G I’M ME[an]
Definition: “Putting gift” – “putting” as in what you do with a putter in golf. In golf a GIMME is when the ball is so close to the hole that it’s polite not to make your opponent actually hole out.

4. VAT restricting profits? (7)
AGAINST
Another clue where the defintion/subsidiary split happens within a word: AT around GAINS
Definition: “V” (as in “versus”)

6. US president, a 24? (6)
HOOVER
Double definition: “US president” and “a [sucker]?”

7. Conductor giving brass little room (5,4)
NERVE CELL
NERVE = “brass” + CELL = “little room”
Definition: “Conductor” – electrical impulses run through nerve cells

8. Sequence of pictures on label tucked in by me (7)
MONTAGE
ON + TAG = “label” in ME
Definition: “Sequence of pictures”

9. Beautifully furnished place enclosed by remarkably deep wall (4-9)
WELL-APPOINTED
POINT = “place” in (DEEP WALL)*
Definition: “Beautifully furnished”

15. Gear required with reference to tee shot (9)
OVERDRIVE
OVER = “with reference to” (I think? Some of the definitions in Chambers are close to that) + DRIVE = “tee shot”
Definition: “Gear”

18. Gangster, initially offensive, often swearing, curses (7)
HOODOOS
HOOD = “Gangster” + O[ffensive] + O[ften] + S[wearing]
Definition: “curses”

20. Current suspension, test failing to start (7)
MISTRAL
MIST = “suspension” + [o]RAL = “test failing to start”
Definition: “Current”

21. Check beneath article in that place (7)
THEREIN
REIN = “Check” underneath THE = “article”
Definition: “in that place”

22. Rough edges on large cutting tool (6)
SICKLE
SICK = “Rough” (as in “feeling a bit rough/sick”) + L[arg]E = “edges on large”
Definition: “cutting tool”

25. Cock leg beyond limit (5)
CAPON
ON = “leg” (in cricket, the left side as the batsman looks up the wicket is the on-side) after CAP = “limit”
Definition: “Cock”

38 comments on “Guardian 28,991 / Paul”

  1. Thanks mhl. If anything I thought this was not quite as tricky as I had expected when I saw Paul’s name. A pleasant interlude though and, like you, I found the misdirections clever, especially AGAINST. I had to seek Google assistance with PIET MONDRIAN but that was only down to my ignorance of modern art. LOI was 16,17, I was fixated upon the ‘One’ meaning that it was an anagram somehow or other. A purist might hold there is a difference between a cock and a capon.

  3. My FOI, HAVE AN AXE TO GRIND was very helpful in getting me started.

    LIEGEMAN was a favourite both for the word and the clue. Likewise THEREIN

    Also liked BLOOD TYPE , SUCKER, CLONING, JEWEL THIEF, AGAINST

    Thanks Paul and mhl

  4. I can’t remember having much trouble with this. I’d noted 4 favourites, ANAGRAM, CLONING, GIMME and AGAINST (for the definition).

  5. I also enjoyed solving the self-referential ANAGRAM (1a), BLOOD TYPE (14a) and 4d AGAINST (those “hidden in plain sight” definitions in the latter two were lovely). Many thanks to Paul. Needed you to help me to understand 3d GIMME, mhl, so I am grateful (as always) for your thorough blog.

  6. The bear type and Mondrian’s forename, having sort of spelt themselves, were then dimly remembered. Some neat ones here, like phone me, the blood type, and V = against. Thanks Paul and mhl, now for a bit of Tramping.

  7. I obviously didn’t find this too difficult finishing in just a couple of sessions, but I really enjoyed it. I had to look for a few explanations, eg, not knowing cat’s paw = sucker, and knowing which artist Paul meant but not being able to recall his name. I tried all kinds of combos but couldn’t make the leap. But I don’t mind having to look up stuff. I discover so much.

    Thank you, Paul, for yet another fine puzzle and thank you, mhl, for a clear concise blog that explained my parsing gaps.

  8. Yes, pretty easy for a Paul. I liked the two golf clues, the nag and the ram, and the brilliant phone me! Fortunately, I knew Piet Mondrian. I solved the VAT clue easily enough, but I am not a fan of word-splitting, which seems to be becoming more prevalent in Guardian puzzles.

  10. I thoroughly enjoyed this, but I had a bit of trouble finishing it, and I’ve been thinking Paul has been getting harder recently. However in this case I shot myself in the foot with my first entry, when I put in METS (thinking it was a remarkably obvious definition, even if it was a U.S. reference, compared to what I took to be the wordplay involved in ‘backstop). That meant that fast progress with the various anagrams – and I really liked PIET MONDRIAN – all came to a full stop in the top left corner. Finally I realised 2d just had to be NETBALL, put in STEM, and it all fell out. Also really liked: LIEGEMAN (not a word used a lot nowadays), PHONEME (so obvious after the event), ANAGRAM (my LOI), and AGAINST (so short a clue, so devious). Thanks Paul, thanks mhl.

  11. I quite enjoyed this, some clever clues, some good surfaces, e.g. KODIAK BEAR, FORMALITY, PHONEME, PIET MONDRIAN, and of course a few with strange surfaces. But no complaints.

    Our blogger didn’t find the sought definition for OVER (15d) in Chambers, but online Collins has “in reference to”, which is clearly close enough.

    Thanks both

  12. Thanks for the blog , I thought BLOODTYPE was very good with the O at the front like a poetic plea. Double Playtex from STEM and AGAINST , the second being very concise. PIET MONDRIAN an elegant clue and anagram.
    Not much jumping around for once, only really 23Ac where I had to wait (not for long) before getting the opening part.

  13. 14a was my LOI, but I had: PE = exercise; L = little; T = time and (apparently – new to me) BOODY:
    1. (intransitive). to be silent and resentful because of a wrong done to one (Collins English Dictionary):
    Thanks for a great blog. My solving buddy and I are always pleased to see Paul on a Saturday.

  14. We always enjoy Paul’s work, usually at our limit of difficulty and well within our level of humour. This one was not too difficult and we finished it on a train on the way to Birmingham on Thursday. Perhaps we are improving because of the incentive of this exercise. Particularly liked ANAGRAM and also AGAINST. We knew Mondrian and eventually remembered Piet and had to check the bear which was good education. Thank you.

  15. I found this fairly straightforward from my time solving it, finding the misdirection in BLOOD TYPE and JEWEL THIEF amusing, when I spotted them. I saw METS/STEM early (reading through clues in number order), but didn’t enter it until I had some crossers. I needed the crossers to see AGAINST, which was very neat.

    Thank you to manehi (does the title need to say it’s the Prize) and Paul.

  16. Jemma Q@13
    ‘Bloody PE’ came easily to me since it’s what I used to say every week as a schoolboy. I think the definition you have is for one of the meanings of ‘broody’.
    Like others, I found this easier than usual from Paul with more answers going in first time through, including some of the longer answers
    Like Keith@10 iI thought that METS was a gimme, a mistake which held me up too until NETBALL just had to go in. When I was studying in the States in the 60s the Mets had a cult following, loved for their comedic value with fielders crashing into one another one minute and allowing the ball to fall between them the next. Their first baseman was a Yogi Berra type character famous for his hilarious mistakes. His first name was Marv, and one of the biggest selling T-shirts at the time simply said,’MRAV IS MARVELLOUS’.
    Thanks to Paul for all of the fun and mlh for the (too) many clues I couldn’t parse.

  17. Some cracking clues. Thanks, Paul.
    Much enjoyed.

    I read 2D a different way initially: ALL with TEN put up before (B) but eventually realised I was using ‘before’ twice and ‘party’ barely at all.

    Had fun with the tricks in 10A and 4D … but it’s a fine line between funfair and unfair.

  18. I thought that half of this puzzle was quite easy.

    Needed google for a list of US presidents to solve 6d which at first I had guessed to be Grover (Cleveland ) but that didn’t work!

    Liked FORMALITY, AGAINST, BLOOD TYPE, ANAGRAM.

    I did not parse 20d MISTRAL.

    Thanks, both.

  19. A very satisfying puzzle to finish. I particularly liked the neat, and neatly hidden, definitions that others have highlighted already. The clues I liked best were those for ANAGRAM, PHONEME, BLOOD TYPE and AGAINST.

    Thanks to Paul and mhl.

  20. Very tricky and misleading indeed! I’m not sure VAT being split into the V and AT was very fair, but enjoyable when the penny finally dropped. ANAGRAM was my favourite and FOI.

  21. I always enjoy an &littish anagram, so PIET MONDRIAN was my favourite. I agree with Biggles A@1 that CAPON should have been defined as “Cock, once”

  22. A good workout from Paul – getting stuck several times over the week but very pleased that I saw the last 3 this morning with my cup of tea. LOI FORMALITY – one of those where I’ve convinced myself the clue works a particular way & stubbornly refuse to rethink it.

  23. An enjoyable test from Paul. Favourites already mentioned.
    Last week I commented that I didn’t like clues like novel=KIM, which could be too vague if they hadn’t become cliches and Valentine suggested that I stow SHE away because it often crops up. How right she was! The same day 28d arrived and on the following Tuesday Pasquale set “Oxford maybe has novel about love (4)” which has 3 cliches in one four-letter clue.
    Thanks to Paul and mhl.

  24. I prefer this sort of Paul puzzle to the one’s like yesterday involving leaping around the grid, but I still found this difficult (but rewarding when solved).

    I thought ‘A tax haven ignored’ was a lovely anagram for HAVE AN AXE TO GRIND. I also particularly enjoyed CLONING where the masks were on in the laboratory and AGAINST with the sneaky definition.

    Thanks Paul and mhl.

  25. Pino @23
    A shout out for Valentine’s post last week from me too. Immediately after reading it I went to Paul’s Prize and USHERED went straight in. Some coincidence.

  26. Hmm

    I noted the canonical list of novels from Valentine last week. However USHERED was still staring blankly at me when I v came to check the blog this morning.

    Other than that it was fun and agreeably tough in places.

    Thanks mhl for explaining it so well and to Paul for setting such a well-crafted challenge.

  27. Much better than yesterday’s Paul, with no linking clues, good surfaces and a welcome dearth of questionable homophones.

  28. Thanks Paul and mhl. It’s all been said, I think. I didn’t know SUCKER, and will probably promptly forget it. Last one in was the NW corner and STEM.

  29. Some easy anagrams quickly gained me a foothold in the grid – HAVE AN AXE TO GRIND was obvious from the ennumeration, and PIET MONDRIAN was almost an &lit and very easy for anyone familiar with his work. Try this for a ‘paint[ed] modern shape’. ‘Alaskan animal’ was another write in for me – usually Paul’s definitions and synonyms have me pummeling my brain for several days until the penny drops.

    I was held up for a while with THEREAT unparsed in the SE corner, until correctly interpreting ‘producing match in laboratory’ as CLONING, and the very clever PHONEME seems much more obvious in retrospect than it ever did prior to solving. Nice to see ‘African country’=MALI and ‘novel’=SHE both back in fashion. Favourite was maybe ‘putting gift’ for the amusement when the penny dropped.

    Thanks to Paul and mhl.

  30. I find that, for the Mondrian clue, ‘shapes’, while a bona fide anagrind, suffers as a result of the colon’s use, and possibly the word order. Really, of course, i+paint+modern ‘shapes’ the artist. Not quite convinced on that one, thinking about it, but Paul is always good value.

  31. Yorkshire Lass and I were puzzled by MISTRAL, believing this to be a wind rather than a current, but no-one else has mentioned this. Otherwise very enjoyable – thanks both.

  33. I found this rather more straightforward than yesterday’s Paul, though that is of course relative as neither were easy in absolute terms.

    Liked PIET MONDRIAN, CLONING and the lift-and-separates in STEM and AGAINST.

    Thanks both.

  34. Irishman@31
    I thought the same as you and Yorkshire Lass about MISTRAL being a wind rather than a current, having been caught by one on a sailing holiday off the South of France, but eventually, grudgingly, reached same conclusion as Graham @33.

  35. Late to the party, having gone to a memorial service and an after-gathering, then come home for a nap. And now I see myself mentioned several times as a useful guide! Nice little unbirthday present. What fun!

    Never heard of “Ten green bottles.” Our US version is “Ninety-nine bottles of beer on a wall,” counting down to zero.

    I guess with GIMME golf joins cricket as a game with a lingo that’s beyond me.

    Enjoyed the puzzle, though I had a lot of blank space in the lower half till I got to the check button. Thanks to Paul and mhl.

  37. poc@27, I would suggest that yesterday’s (i.e., Friday’s) Paul puzzle did not contain any dodgy homophones. There were a couple of clues with witty aural wordplay (such as the outrageous spoonerism) but Paul did not say they were homophones.

    I do agree with you though, that this “Prize” puzzle was better than the previous one, for the same other two reasons you mentioned. I especially liked 1a ANAGRAM, 5a PHONEME and the other two that everyone liked (the bloody actor cast against type).

    Thanks Paul for the fun and mhl for the help, especially with 2a NETBALL – I’m another 99-bottles-of-beer man.

  38. Didn’t get STEM. I think I have heard of the Mets, now you mention them. I think I was just annoyed at being expected to know the name of a baseball team since I was pretty sure I didn’t know any.

    Broteas recently set what I thought was a better surface for PHONEME, based on the same wordplay, in TLS 1463:

    6dn Short but distinctive sound that tells you to use your mobile? (7)

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