A fun solve with some tricky clues…
…and a lot of references to the obvious theme around dogs. My favourites were 6ac, 18ac, 22ac, and 15dn. Thanks Paul for the puzzle
| ACROSS | ||
| 5 | BARKER |
Show advertiser dog (6)
|
| double definition: someone who advertises in a loud voice; a barking dog | ||
| 6 | BOXERS |
More than one dog pants (6)
|
| double definition: more than one boxer dog; or boxers as in boxer shorts, underwear/pants | ||
| 9 | CANNON |
Report of standard weapon (6)
|
| sounds like (‘Report of’): ‘canon’=”standard” | ||
| 10 | SANCTION |
Order contains coercive measure (8)
|
| anagram/”Order” of (contains)* | ||
| 11 | FLAB |
Fat dog on lead in fact (4)
|
| LAB (labrador, “dog”); after the lead letter in F-[act] | ||
| 12 | SPACE PROBE |
Cobra peeps out, seeing Rover? (5,5)
|
| definition: e.g. a lunar rover or a Mars rover
anagram/”out” of (Cobra peeps)* |
||
| 13 | TEACHER’S PET |
The cat peers out, studying spaniel? (8,3)
|
| for the definition, “spaniel” can refer to ‘a fawning person’ (as well as hinting at PET as spaniel is a type of dog)
anagram/”out” of (The cat peers)* |
||
| 18 | TEMPTINGLY |
Locum excited, so seductive? (10)
|
| TEMP=”Locum” + TINGLY=”excited” | ||
| 21 | CHOW |
Dog’s dinner? (4)
|
| double definition: CHOW can mean a breed of dog from China; or food / a meal | ||
| 22 | J P MORGAN |
Banker heading for jail with Sunak once and Johnson (1,1,6)
|
| definition: American investment banker [wiki]
heading / first letter of J-[ail]; plus PM (Prime Minister e.g. Rishi “Sunak once”); plus “Johnson” as slang for ‘penis’=ORGAN |
||
| 23 | MODIFY |
Paul’s holding dog back – temper! (6)
|
| definition: “temper” as a verb that can mean to adjust or modify
MY=this crossword setter’s=”Paul’s”; around/holding FIDO=name for a “dog” reversed/”back” |
||
| 24 | TALKER |
Yapper, lurcher’s head bitten by parasite (6)
|
| first/head letter of L-[urcher]; inside TAKER=”parasite” | ||
| 25 | TENNER |
Articulation of feeling for money (6)
|
| definition: a ten-pound note
sounds like (“Articulation of”): ‘tenor’=”feeling” |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | GRENOBLE |
Great sacrifices at imperial French city (8)
|
| GRE-[at] sacrificing at ; plus NOBLE=”imperial” | ||
| 2 | TENNIS |
Crime clear, set up for court action (6)
|
| definition: referring to action taking place on a tennis court
SIN=”Crime”, plus NET=”clear” (e.g. net profit, clear profit); all reversed/”set up” |
||
| 3 | POINTERS |
Clues: dogs (8)
|
| double definition: a pointer as in a hint/clue; or a type of dog | ||
| 4 | SETTER |
Dog cluer? (6)
|
| double definition: a setter as in someone who writes crossword clues; or a type of dog | ||
| 5 | BEAGLE |
Dog solver (6)
|
| not sure, perhaps a double definition: a beagle is a dog, and beagle can mean ‘a spy’ so an investigator/solver? | ||
| 7 | SCOOBY |
Clue: solvers’ dog (6)
|
| SCOOBY, as in ‘Scooby-Doo’, is rhyming slang for “Clue”
in television, Scooby-Doo is a cartoon dog who accompanies a group of mystery solvers |
||
| 8 | ESTATE AGENT |
Seller with key, say, a geezer (6,5)
|
| E (“key” in music) + STATE=”say” + A GENT=”a geezer” | ||
| 14 | CLINGIER |
Ceiling plastered with resin initially more sticky (8)
|
| anagram (“plastered” is slang for ‘drunk’); plus initial letter of R-[esin] | ||
| 15 | ENCODING |
Awfully nice dog nips rear of postman, getting letters mixed up? (8)
|
| anagram/”Awfully” of (nice dog)*; around rear letter of [postma]-N | ||
| 16 | SEXPOT |
Dog fed old cracker (6)
|
| definition: someone very attractive
SPOT=name for a “Dog”; around EX=”old” |
||
| 17 | WOOFER |
Dog lover has female kennelled (6)
|
| WOOER=”lover”, around F (female) | ||
| 19 | POODLE |
Dog, spaniel (6)
|
| double definition: a type of dog; and both ‘poodle’ and ‘spaniel’ can refer to a subservient person | ||
| 20 | YAMMER |
Complain loudly when first of youths ‘it ‘ard? (6)
|
| first letter of Y-[ouths]; plus [h]-AMMER=[h]-it [h]-ard when dropping aitches |
Woof woof! Great fun with our furry friends. Top ticks for SEXPOT & JP MORGAN
Cheers P&M
On the gentle side for Paul… But top marks for the efficiency of the clueing and the playfulness of the theme. JP Morgan – an absolute delight.
Good fun. I also wasn’t sure about the equivalence of beagle and solver.
Thanks to Manehi, Paul (and Bella?)
Spot the Dog started as children’s books, but is now a franchise.
I wondered about BEAGLE but apparently it means a detective too
This was fun – lots of tea tray moments.
Thank you to manehi and Paul.
It’s astonishing how, when faced with a theme, you think “can’t do this” then manage to dredge up associations. It was a relief, though, that none of the doggies were exotic breeds. I was greatly aided in solving 22ac by a vague memory of an internationally famous banker but mostly by knowing Paul’s predilections and recalling the smutty meaning of “Johnson.” Was similarly aided in cracking 16d. I had to check the BEAGLE detective as I half-remembered a children’s book or TV programme – there is and that seems to be the connection ion. My LOI was SCOOBY. I am pretty remote from that popular cartoon thingy but the rhyming slang for clue is fairly familiar to me. Enjoyed the dog’s dinner at 21ac and the very clever wordplay at 1d. Knew that SETTER was to be expected but felt fairly let down by the tame clue. Thanks all round.
Thanks for clarifying my ignorance in the parsing of J P MORGAN. I realise now I hadn’t gone back and parsed it. My heart sinks when I see a dog theme as I’m not well up on the obscure dog breeds, but thankfully Paul didn’t go down that route and CHOW and BEAGLE are breeds I have actually heard of. I’ve only ever heard of WOOFER as a type of audio speaker, though, but it’s on a par with BARKER, so fair enough, I suppose. Not sure about the second definition of BEAGLE, though. Enjoyed the challenge, so thanks to Paul and to manehi for the blog.
So with hindsight we seem to have at least 3 children’s progs/cartoony things referred to? Maybe more?
Definitely on the gentler side, this was lotsa fun, and despite being a non-dog lover, there were no obscure breeds to make it a difficult solve. I thought JP MORGAN was hilarious and I liked the similar peers and peeps out in SPACE PROBE and TEACHERS PET. Ticks also for GRENOBLE and TEMPTINGLY. Nina of NEW Y(ORK) on the right. Brendan did a similarly themed prized puzzle in February 2023-29003.
Ta Paul & manehi.
I’m another mystified by BEAGLE. I also think 18a has the wrong part of speech, with an adjective defining an adverb.
16d: EX can be used as a noun (‘my EX’ = ‘my EX-wife’), but I don’t agree that it can substitute for ‘old’ in any context. Here it doesn’t make sense.
poc@9, as I mention above I checked, via Google using “Beagle Detective”, and came up with some convincing material. As for EX I think it is used fairly often used in crossword land for “old” – that did not stop me from first hunting the embedded O, though.
poc@9: In 18a I read “so seductive” as the definition in the sense of “thus seductive” which I *think* corresponds to an adverb but I can see that it might not be for everyone. Certainly in Paul’s borderlands, which are pretty wide-ranging. But your point about “ex” is interesting – I think many of us just substitute it without thinking.
I’ve heard “I haven’t a scooby” many a time without thinking about the origin. Now I am enlightened. Anyone else immediately think “cents/sense” for the money/feeling. On seeing the letter count I then went for “dollar/dolour” but accept that “tenner/tenor” is better.
All good fun, though I don’t enjoy these multiple use puzzles as much as others seem to.
Thanks Manehi and Paul.
Agree with JOFT@11 about the adverbial SO in 18a
Chambers has;
EX=former=old
BEAGLE=spy (obsolete)
BARKER show advertiser. Someone who loudly advertises a show or event such as a carnival or fair.
SANCTION and BOXERS were clever.
I thought on the gentler side for Paul. Dogs are one of my stronger subjects so considered that might be why but he didn’t scrape the barrel of for the lesser heard of breeds.
Didn’t get some sides of the DDs (BEAGLE /BARKER etc) but it didn’t really slow me down.
Enjoyed SCOOBY and J P MORGAN
Thanks Manehi and Paul
Some chewy canines here, but with an O and a B in place, bunged in SCOOBY, though I had little idea why he deserved his place in the grid. Similar experience, with the G and an N already as crossers, that had to be J P MORGAN, but had no idea how that worked exactly. So many thanks, Manehi, for the clarity. (Didn’t quite get BEAGLE, either). Really liked TEMPTINGLY. Loi SEXPOT, good to see both Spot and Fido taking a bow this morning, too. Great fun, I thought…
Great stuff, I imagine Paul had a lot of fun curtailing his clueing.
Thanks to Paul and manehi.
Thanks Paul and manehi
Pity about the spaniel repetition and the similarity of the clues one after another at 12a and 13a.
Some neat tricks. “Great sacrifices at” in 1d the best.
Is there anything that isn’t slang for penis?
Gentle for Paul in the end as has been mentioned – was happy to be familiar with BARKER as a show advertiser from the musical Carousel in which Billy Bigelow is a carousel barker – BEAGLE went in last as, in common with others, I was struggling to see the “solver” connection – all good in the end…
I doggedly pursued this until it was finished. I liked the BOXERS, where pants wasn’t the usual anagrind, JP MORGAN (with the obligatory Big Lebowski reference), ESTATE AGENT, CLINGIER, ENCODING, and SEXPOT.
Thanks Paul and manehi.
Very enjoyable, as ever with this super setter, though I didn’t think it “definitely on the gentler side”! (AlanC@8, Staticman1@14) I think I’ve encountered at least as many Pauls that are more accessible than this as at his trickier end…
Still, it felt a little different but most rewarding
Many thanks both and all
Crossbar at 18:
I honestly thought Boris was an example, rather than any slang term for that organ.
It’s all been said, so I’ll just add my thanks to Paul and manehi.
MCourtney@22 😀
A nice puzzle to get my canines into!
I think EX=old is fine in any context, but if only I could remember it (get stuck on O, like TB@10).
I interpreted “so” as “in this way”, thus making an adverbial context, as others have said.
I was another a little puzzled by BEAGLE, but just moved onl
Same trouble as most people with the BEAGLE (and also the POODLE, and it took a while to add the studying to the spaniel for TEACHERS PET). Nice to see Spot, Fido and Rover putting in an appearance (does anyone these days actually have a dog with any of those names?)
Rhyming slang is alive and well and still coining new examples: I haven’t a SCOOBY is pretty universal now.
22A J P MORGAN: just for the record, there is a more decorous parsing. Johnson & Son of Massachusetts was a prolific maker of pipe organs.
I didn’t know Johnson was slang for penis=organ or that Scooby was rhyming slang for clue. Either they are specific to UK, or my street knowledge is lacking. I wasn’t sure about BEAGLE either, but put it in anyway.
I liked the misdirections in GRENOBLE – ‘great sacrifices at’ was very clever – and BOXERS, my LOI, where ‘pants’ was not an anagrind.
All great fun! Thanks to Paul and manehi.
PeterO @27
Well researched, but I’m fairly confident that it wasn’t Paul’s intention!
McCourtney @22 I too initially thought that was the intended reference and laughed out loud, then quickly remembered the US definition. Still a good clue 🙂
A romp in the park! I had as much fun as setters and woofers.
Thanks both for a lovely evening between scrabbling (parallel pastime) and scenting.
Any setter who manages to get in a dig at one of our worst Prime Ministers gets an upvote. J P MORGAN was brilliant (though a reminder that we didn’t deal with the bankers’ crash as well as the Icelanders).
Two or three whose parsing I didn’t fully get, but an enjoyable challenge.
Thanks, both.
[NeilH @32
I have a strong suspicion that BoJo wanted to become PM, but didn’t want actually to be PM.]
Pleased to have finished this one. Beagle was a guess.
The Unseen University organ was built by Bloody Stupid Johnson.
If NEWY is a nina, maybe it refers to Newfoundland, another dog?
My wife saw “(1,1,6)” and “heading for jail” and jumped to “H.M.Prison”.
We then noted that RIS ON back (“Banker” as in old trains on Shap?) applies to both Rishi and Boris.
But the “once” and the word order defeated us!
Sue @28 I thought Johnson was American slang. There was a film poster a couple of years ago that said “To fight crime you need a little Hart and a big Johnson” (Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson being the leads).
Fairly sure that the “Johnson” slang is American rather than British.
Went at like this like a terrier, and became quite a decent retriever of clues. No need to get cross (breeds) and glad to find no bull (dogs). Will now reward myself with a Yorkie or maybe something from Bassets.
Sorry, I’ve been thinking about dog breeds for a while now, so I must just in the mood.
Thanks Paul and manehi.
Muffin @33, 39 – I suspect you are right in both cases. But the American usage of Johnson became quite popular when people over here wanted to be rude about a man who (in addition to his other qualities) was notoriously priapic.
The creator of the MyCrossword site made joyous use of it in a superbly rude puzzle back in 2021. He started as he meant to go on with “Knob at the front of the cabinet (7)”. He got a remarkable number of upvotes.
NeilH @41
Qualities?
The roughly 1/3 I was able to complete was fun, but I just wasn’t on the wavelength for the rest. Shame, as a good number of the answers I revealed ought to have been within my solving capabilities, and I imagine the crossers would have helped with some of the remainder.
Medium-Paul, not gentle-Paul, for this BEAGLE, much enjoyed, thanks P&m
Initially wanted 25 to be ‘sense’ for ‘cents’ and was temporarily sidetracked………
Absolutely loved this – Paul on top form! We were on his wavelength today and parsed everything. Favourites SCOOBY, MODIFY, J P MORGAN, ESTATE AGENT and TEMPTINGLY. I first heard SCOOBY as a synonym for CLUE from a friend who grew up in West Ham, so always assumed it was Cockney rhyming slang … but I may be wrong. Thanks to Paul and Manehi.
NeilH @41 – that’s brilliant. Thanks for the link.
Muffin @42 – Well, Chambers defines “quality” to include that which makes a thing what it is; nature; character; attribute…
I’ll pass over the fact that another definition is “approximate penetrating power” because that is in the context of radiography, not the other.
Kandy @47 – if crosswords being rude about politicos is your bag, you might also like this one or this one
I had a feeling about BEAGLE and checked the thesaurus. No problem there. I knew POODLE had the lapdog meaning, I didn’t know SPANIEL did too. I learned a couple of things today.
JP MORGAN clearly the pick, I spotted that one quickly. SEXPOT not so much, it’s a crossword only word that never springs to mind. Well, it did eventually.
Auriga @23 I often think that, but post some wildly unoriginal dross anyway. It’s become part of the process for me.
Thanks Paul and manehi
Nice to see a banker be an actual banker for a change, instead of a river. JPM might be literally the only banker well-enough known to appear here, though.
[He has put in appearances (played by Bill Camp) in the current season of Julian Fellowes’s The Gilded Age. , most recently this week’s episode, so he was front of mind.]
Paul, take a bow. Wow!
For once, I figured out all the parsings for myself, so thanks too to manehi for confirming my smugness.
As ever, Paul a complete mystery.
Thanks both.
HoofIt@52: Turns out it was the janitor (see 7D)
I loved the inventiveness of this but a DNF as I was stumped by Boxers of all things. Good fun though
This is just a vague thought and I’m probably behind the curve regarding earlier comments from people more versed in rhyming slang and double entendres.
J Arthur Rank is rhyming slang for a certain type of activity much favoured by teenage males.
Is J P Morgan = banker = person indulging in this activity and by a knight’s move could Johnson be considered the definition of this clue?
Apologies, I’m just drivelling on…
Jovis @ 55 – If it involves being rude about bankers, drivel away. (And if involves being rude about a certain Old Etonian with a toddler haircut, fill your boots).
It has been suggested that the collective noun for a group of bankers should be a wunch.
And famously, Lord Justice Ward once commenced a judgment in the staid surroundings of the Court of Appeal with the words “This case involves a number of – and here I must not fall into Dr Spooner’s error – warring bankers.”
Mildly dubious def for 8d – although acting for them, and often doing sales patter on their behalf, an estate agent isn’t the actual seller of a property.
Late to the party, but does anyone else feel that crosswords (and Paul especially) are ruder during Private Eye week? (Thanks Paul and Manehi!)
Muffin @33 I am reminded of the Marina Hyde quote that Boris Johnson wanted to become prime minister, and wanted to have been prime minister, it was the bit in between he hadn’t thought about …
I’ve been away in the South Downs and was sufficiently distracted that it’s taken me until now to finish this. With such concise cluing I really struggled to get into it, and still had about half unsolved this morning. JP MORGAN and CLINGIER were early successes, and I managed dribs and drabs on the train home yesterday, but as I finished my lunch time cuppa today I had eight still missing, symmetrically placed around the four corners. My brain finally kicked in to post-holiday mode and got them all in 10 minutes. Phew!
So it was a surprise to find several people here telling me how easy it had been!
Thanks to Paul and manehi.
Got off to a good start, solving about a third of this one pretty quickly…and then nothing more! Many of them I should have solved, so kicking myself a bit