Guardian Cryptic 26,977 by Paul

by

The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26977.

Having missed Arachne by a day, I was more than happy to be allotted Paul. He continues to produce intriguing puzzles, which do not seem to me to get any the easier – indeed, at one time I thought I could breeze through one without much difficulty, but I feel that his puzzles at least are more difficult than they used to be. Still, they yield in the end, which is as it should be. In all, Paul is a master setter, and his consistency and volume of output is remarkable.

Across
1 CAT’S PAW Tool, one used to catch mice? (4,3)
Definition and literal interpretation.
5 SAPIENT Wise getting pet in, as barking (7)
An anagram (‘barking’) of ‘pet in as’.
9   See 19
10 TIMESHARE Accommodating agreement, rival losing to Guardian tortoise? (9)
TIMES HARE (‘rival losing to Guardian tortoise’, an ingenious reference to Aesop’s fable), with a cryptic definition.
11 OLIVE GREEN Disappointing conclusion in West End show, even in colour (5,5)
An envelope (‘in’) of G (‘disappointinG conclusion’) in OLIVER (‘West End show’) plus E’EN (‘even’).
12 HIYA Casual greeting, more lofty on the telephone? (4)
Sounds like (‘on the telephone’) HIGHER (‘more lofty’).
14 AMBISINISTER A politician catching balls initially is clumsy with both hands (12)
An envelope (‘catching’) of B (‘Balls initially’) plus ‘is’ in ‘a’ plus MINISTER (‘politician’). A new one for me, but obvious: if “ambidextrous” is equally skillful with both hands, AMBISINISTER is equally clumsy.
18 AWE INSPIRING Wonderful Guardian popular — hopeful about it (3-9)
An envelope (‘about it’) of WE (‘Guardian’) plus IN (‘popular’) in ASPIRING (‘hopeful’).
21   See 4
22 MONKEY SUIT Something unwanted on one’s back, case for a tuxedo? (6,4)
A charade of MONKEY (‘something unwanted on one’s back’) plus SUIT (‘case’).
25 STERILISE Tireless working to keep one clean (9)
An envelope (‘to keep’) of I (‘one’) in STERLISE, an anagram (‘working’) of ‘tireless’.
26 AT SEA A ship’s heading into the drink — here? (2,3)
A charade of ‘a’ plus TSEA, an envelope (‘into’) of S (‘Ship’s heading’) in TEA (‘the drink’), with an extended definition.
27   See 17
28 LADETTE Lager-swilling female somewhat regretted alcoholism, on reflection (7)
A hidden (‘somewhat’) reversed (‘on reflection’)  answer in ‘regrETTED ALcoholism’
Down
1 COSMOS All out there, Greek doctors? (6)
A charade of COS M.O.s (‘Greek doctors’, COS being a Greek island). Life, the universe and everything.
2   See 24
3 PEPPERMINT Sweet confection’s ultimate in licence for vitality? (10)
An envelope (‘in’) of N (‘confectioN‘s ultimate’) in PEP PERMIT (‘licence for vitality’).
4, 21 WATER MAIN  Pipe takes a period of time to fill cart (5,4)
An envelope (‘takes … to fill’) of A TERM (‘a period of time’) in WAIN (‘cart’).
5 SOMMELIER Ordering rosé? Me, I’m left to translate! (9)
An anagram (‘ordering’ or ‘to translate’ or both) of ‘rose me I’m’ plus L (‘left’), with an extended allusive definition.
6 PEST Capital half lost — that’s a nuisance (4)
[Buda]PEST (‘capital’ of Hungary, which was formed by the union of Buda and Pest on opposite sides of the Danube) minus its first four letters (‘half lost’).
7 EMACIATE English friend carrying American agency’s waste away (8)
An envelope (‘carrying’) of  CIA (‘American agency’) in E (‘English’) plus MATE (‘friend’).
8 THESAURI References can be seen by everyone wearing the Asian garment (8)
An envelope (‘wearing’) of U (UK film rating, ‘can be seen by everyone’) in ‘the’ plus SARI (‘Asian garment’).
13 DISNEYLAND World of entertainment, Mickey Mouse deadly sin inspiring revulsion in the end (10)
An envelope (‘inspiring’) of N (‘revulsioN in the end’) in DISEYLAND, an anagram (‘Mickey Mouse’) of ‘deadly sin’.
15 IMPLOSION Collapse, seeing rascal thus eaten up by wild animal (9)
A charade of IMP (‘rascal’) plus LOSION, an envelope (‘eaten’) of OS, a reversal (‘up’ in a down light) of SO (‘thus’) in LION (‘wild animal’).
16 RAP MUSIC Hit songs stirring up racism (3,5)
An anagram (‘stirring’) of ‘up racism’.
17, 27 PERI-PERI CHICKEN Fairies on yellow dish (4-4,7)
A charade: PERI (‘fairy’) plus PERI (another of the same) plus CHICKEN (‘yellow’, cowardly). I must try this recipe sometime.
19, 9 SUNSET STRIP Provocative evening performance somewhere in Hollywood (6,5)
Definition and literal interpretation. Sunset Strip is a portion of Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.
20 ETHANE Beginning to erupt, chief of clan producing gas (6)
A charade of E (‘beginning to Erupt’) plus THANE (‘chief of clan’).
23 KNEEL Diamond, did you say? Prepare to propose! (5)
Sounds like (‘did you say’) NEIL (‘Diamond’, singer-songwriter).
24, 2 DICK TURPIN  Old criminal, man spotted then shot, routine having backfired (4,6)
A charade of DICK (‘man spotted’, referencing the pudding Spotted Dick) plus TURPIN, a reversal (‘having backfired’) of NIP (‘shot’ of whisky, say) plus RUT (‘routine’).
completed grid

40 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 26,977 by Paul”

  1. Very enjoyable and satisfying to have solved. AMBISINISTER held me up – yes, obvious once it was finally written out, but a new word and I kept trying to fit in ‘MP’ for ‘politician’. THESAURI was my last in – forgot about U as a film classification. My favourite was the ‘… rival losing to Guardian tortoise’ in 10 and I also liked DICK TURPIN.

    Sorry, I’m being picky, but you haven’t included the L for ‘left’ in SOMMELIER.

    A big thanks to Paul and to PeterO.

  2. Thanks Peter. My take was exactly as WP’s first para above. Didn’t know the chicken dish but it had to be. Disagree strongly that 16D = “hit songs” but ditto, and a nice anagram. Mickey Mouse was an apt anagrind. Great stuff.

  3. Thanks Paul and PeterO

    I enjoyed this even though I failed to parse 11a, 28a and 24/2

    My favourites were COSMOS, KNEEL, PEPPERMINT.

  4. After the first run through I almost gave up but persevered and gradually the clues started to fall, albeit slowly. I did have to cheat on COSMOS and there were also a few checks. KNEEL was my favourite for its corniness.

  5. Thank you, PeterO; you’ve put into words exactly how I feel about Paul’s puzzles.

    Enjoyed this, favourites were 19,9 & 23d. 14ac is a new one for me but easily gettable from the wordplay (like it, will try to use it in future!). Thank you, Paul, keep them coming!

  8. Parsing of 4, 21 should be “… A TERM…”

    Thanks for the review, favourite and least-favourite clues were together:
    – RAP MUSIC debatable definition, unless it’s a play on HIT = RAP?
    – PERI PERI CHICKEN great, especially as I went to Nando’s on Monday night for my son’s birthday!

  10. MALCOLM @7. Apparently not:the adjectival ending can be either. Incidentally ambisinistrous/er isn’t as far as I can see in Chambers.

  11. Thanks, PeterO.

    I remember the line “He shuffled the cards with a sinister dexterity”, but I don’t know where it comes from.

  12. In total agreement regarding your affirming words about Paul, PeterO. He remains my favourite setter.

    This was taxing, but I did have the usual enjoyment on the way, albeit to an incomplete solve (for me, 14a)…

    I bunged in “ambiminister” at said 14a, derived from the crossers and never having heard of AMBISINISTER. I thought it made some sense because of the politician idea in the clue.

    Totally enjoyed solutions such as 8d THESAURI, and the dish at 17,27d, PERI-PERI CHICKEN.

    Speaking of dishes, we in Australia find “spotted dick” a really amusing and antiquated name for a foodstuff from the “Old Country”, so there’s always some fun for us in spotting a DICK like DICK TURPIN at 24d, 2d. Still, it’s an odd thing that we know your highwaymen, while you would probably not know our famous bushrangers.

    I have to say I found 13d DISNEYLAND a bit contrived, but that is offered hesitantly as I think I am not very qualified to advance such a criticism.

    Always grateful for setters, solvers and the forum.

  13. Julie @ 12:

    Dick T is probably the only highwayman most people in the UK could name.

    I think we nearly all could name Ned Kelly. I seem to remember a Jack Donaghue also.

  15. Thank you Paul and PeterO.

    Lovely puzzle – IMPLOSION, AMBISINISTER, TIMESHARE, MONKEY SUIT, WATER MAIN and SOMMELIER, among others, were fun!

  17. Lots to like here as always with Paul, but I had never heard of AMBISINISTER. I was also wrong-footed by 6d, giving the answer PITA (initialism for Pain In The Ass/Arse – entirely plausible for a Paul puzzle :-).

  18. Thanks to Paul and PeterO. I got THESAURI without knowing the U film rating and took a while catching Mickey Mouse as an anagram indicator. I managed to work out AMBISINISTER and knew LADETTE from previous puzzles. Last in was PEPPERMINT where the MINT was clear but I had trouble with PERI which I should have caught much earlier. Great fun, as usual with Paul.

  19. Edward Halliwell @8, that’s how I interpreted RAP MUSIC — rap = hit and music = songs.

    Several appreciative groans in this one, including TIMESHARE and COSMOS. I had never heard of peri peri chicken (we don’t have it in Boston, according to Chowhound) — time to fire up the barbecue!

  20. Probably the easiest Paul for a few months, but none the less enjoyable for that. AMBISINISTER was new to me but quite guessable (my quiz team once used ambisinistrous as part of a name and we thought we had invented the word).

    Thanks to Paul and PeterO

  21. It has been a really good day for cryptic crosswords today (and yes, I have done them all) – thank you to Paul for the fun and PeterO for the explanations. Must find an opportunity to fit AMBISINISTER into a conversation sometime soon.

  22. Thanks to Paul and Peter0. Not too difficult for a Paul and as witty and ingenious as ever. With reference to the ongoing correspondence about the difficulty of Guardian crosswords, and your comment, Peter0, when I started doing them Paul seemed impossible: I don’t think he has changed much, but he is definitely a setter where once you get on the wavelength of a particular puzzle, and you have more solving experience, he yields more readily.

    I will tell my militant left handed younger daughter about ambisinister. I don’t think she’ll be impressed.

  23. beery hiker, I agree that this was relatively easy for a Paul. I wondered if the current letters in the Guardian were having an effect?

    It was still enjoyable. Favourites were CATSPAW and TIMESHARE.

  24. Marienkaefer @22, I thought AMBISINISTER (the word, not the clue) was a bit unfair on left-handers too. We use ‘gauche’ (French for left) in a similar way. And don’t get me started on the political connotations…

    An enjoyable Paul today, with some clever clues. RAP MUSIC, TIMESHARE and COSMOS were all good examples of his style.

  25. Thanks Paul and PeterO

    I enjoyed this more than most Paul puzzles – I must find an excuse to use “ambisinister”! I didn’t parse OLIVE GREEN, and I hate the expression HIYA (everyone around here – except our family – says it).

    I’d only come across PIRI PIRI (which predominates also on Google), but it was a nice clue too.

  26. Why the 16d confusion? Hit = rap and songs = music. It even works without the anagram. Very enjoyable solve – never wondered what peri peri meant but now I know

  27. Great stuff as usual from Paul. Have to agree it was one of his, shall we say, less difficult ones. Wonderful stuff for a warm afternoon on the Island. Thanks everyone.

  28. Trailman @ 24 – the irony is that most left handed people are much more skilful with their right hands than right handers are with their left: in a right handed world they have to be.

  29. I didn’t think this was especially easy but perhaps that’s because I allowed myself to be misled by AMBISINISTER- I was sure this started AMP, and HIYA-I put in HIGH which made 8dn TEESHIRT which couldn’t be right. It took far too long to correct 8dn but once I had THESAURI was easy. I liked SOMMELIER,MONKEY SUIT and PERI PERI CHICKEN.
    This setter is truly inventive!
    Thanks Paul.

  30. Another wonderful Paul. I’m surprised by how many found this to be Paul on the easy side. Personally his last fell much more easily for me. I found this one tough, though as much fun as always. I enjoy how unscientific these questions of difficulty are and will presumably always remain.

  31. Thanks Peter and Paul.

    I found this reasonably straightforward, apart from the last few.

    I interpreted RAP MUSIC as logophile @19 and bodycheetah @26 did, which makes it more than just an anagram + definition.

    Quite a few animals around in clues and answers – don’t know if this was deliberate.

    peri-peri chicken so obvious once I abandoned custard for yellow.

  34. There has been deserved praise already for Paul’s handiwork, and I will heartily add to it. This was perfectly pitched for me, and I can’t go along with those who say it was easy! I had to think as I made progress through the puzzle, and also had to admire several of the clues (I ticked 10 that were excellent). This was by some distance superior to the last Paul I tried exactly a week ago.

    Like Julie (and I think Epeolater too), I thought 13d DISNEYLAND wasn’t brilliant. It is perhaps the only time I’ll see Mickey Mouse as an anagrind! In 28a LADETTE ‘alcohol’ could have replaced ‘alcoholism’ and made an even better surface. I didn’t get 23a KNEEL, even though I guessed it quickly given only the ‘L’ at the time. I should have remembered the singer!

    Huge thanks to Paul, and thanks also to PeterO for a blog that explained other little details besides the singer at 23d.

  35. Good stuff. I thought the clue for DICK TURPIN had a mistake in it, as I clued TURPIN as an anagram of ‘routin’: routine ‘shot’, having back (‘e’) fired!! Loved AMBISINISTER, LADETTE and RAP MUSIC – although the cluing is rather odd, as there isn’t really a definition in the conventional sense.

  38. Many thanks Paul and PeterO. Ambidextrous = right handed with both hands, ambisinister = left-handed with both hands. In this language right is right, and left is wrong.

  39. Sorry to come back so late, but thanks Meic @ 13 and Grim and Dim @ 14 for sharing knowledge of Aussie the bushrangers – I should not have made such a broad generalisation. Yes, Mick Jagger may be responsible in part for knowledge of Ned in the UK. However good to hear that “The Wild Colonial Boy” (Jack Duggan aka Jack Doolan aka Bold Jack Donahue) is known beyond our shores, though he was actually born in Castlemaine in Co Kerry, Ireland. Ned also of Irish descent but born in Australia.

    In fact I was hard pressed to name any others from the UK than Turpin, except for the infamous trio, Tom, Dick and Harry…

  40. Thanks Paul and PeterO

    Belatedly agree with the praise for Paul, whom I much prefer in this persona than the Mudd puzzles that he sets in the FT that I predominantly do these days. (Tried unsuccessfully for ages to do two in a day … but was taking too much time so now I just plod through the occasional older Guardian a long time after publication).

    I kind of liked the style of his RAP MUSIC which to me had two word plays (a charade and an anagram) with an allusive definition by the former. Lots of really interesting ways of deriving the cryptic answer with his own inimitable style.

    PERI-PERI CHICKEN came quite easily over here – it is the stock standard offering from the fast food chain, Nandos.

    Like many others, the unusual AMBISINISTER was the last in.

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