I commented only last week on Paul’s fortnightly appearances in the Prize slot – and this week he pops up in the Friday slot instead [?]. [PS: I’d temporarily forgotten that it’s a Bank Holiday puzzle tomorrow, which usually upsets the schedules.]
An enjoyable straightforward puzzle, but for one bit of parsing – thanks, Paul.
Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
8, 24 down Train’s hour late, extremely annoying – the usual reason? (8,4)
SOUTHERN RAIL
An anagram [annoying] of TRAINS HOUR L[at]E – for overseas readers, there are some explanations here
9 It’s briefly about a particular case, gripped by disease (6)
APPROX
A + P[articula]R in POX [disease]
10 God in fallen idol making a comeback (4)
ODIN
Hidden reversal [making a comeback] in falleN IDOl
11 Stars wonderful, though the first eclipsed in constellation (10)
LUMINARIES
[p]LUM [wonderful] + IN ARIES [constellation]
12, 3 Man bandaging cuts, his wares often thorny? (6,6)
FLOWER SELLER
FELLER [man] round [bandaging] LOWERS [cuts]
15 Initially raking in money, half of this ancient city (7)
CORINTH
R[aking] in COIN [money] + TH[is]
17 Teacher regularly catching head turning, concentrate (7)
ESSENCE
tEaChEr round a reversal [turning] of NESS [head]
20 Old actress eating only cream cakes? (8)
DIETRICH
DIET RICH
22 Cool in deep space (3,3)
FAR OUT
Double definition
23 Scenario unfolding on busy route, somewhere in the north-west Pacific (10)
MICRONESIA
An anagram [unfolding] of SCENARIO after MI [busy route]
24 Sound wheel part (4)
ROLE
Sounds like roll [wheel]
25 Wife hasn’t provided wicked little pest (6)
WEEVIL
W[if]E [minus if- provided] + EVIL [wicked]
26 Most desperate youth retrospectively securing passes (8)
NEEDIEST
A reversal [retrospectively] of TEEN [youth] round DIES [passes]
Down
1 Reportedly far from excited with topless greeting in house of ill repute (8)
BORDELLO
BORD [sounds like – reportedly – bored {far from excited}] + [h]ELLO [greeting
2 School where every Tory of note starts (4)
ETON
Initial letters [starts] of Every Tory Of Note – not quite &lit: some of them go to Harrow et al
4 Fire a colleague from Belfast? (7)
ANIMATE
A NI [Northern Ireland] MATE [colleague]
6 Tracksuit perhaps fits uphill runner (10)
SPORTSWEAR
A reversal [uphill] of STROPS [ hissy fits] + [river] WEAR [runner]
7 Nerves of steel? I think not! (2,4)
NO FEAR
Double definition
13 Social gathering in competition with divers at sea (5,5)
WHIST DRIVE
An anagram [at sea] of WITH DIVERS
16 Complex relationship ending in disaster, one in imbroglio (8)
TRIANGLE
[disaste]R + I [one] in TANGLE [imbroglio]
18 Unaware your challenge can’t be completed (8)
CLUELESS
Having no clues would be one reason for not finishing a crossword
19, 5 Delusional activity, drink evil stuff in whisky with violin players (7,8)
CHASING RAINBOWS
CHA [drink] + SIN [evil stuff] + GRAIN [whisky] + BOWS [violin players]
21 Painting is about to come up (6)
IRISES
IS round RISE [to come up] for Van Gogh’s painting
22, 14 1970s’ fashion, flaming dull clothes exciting people (6,8)
FLARED TROUSERS
I guessed this immediately from the enumeration alone – but I can’t quite work out the parsing: FLARED could be flaming and TROUSERS exciting people but I can’t see the middle bit – help, please [Edit: please see comments 1 and 2 – I knew help would be readily available]
Thanks both. RED in FLAT plus ROUSERS
FLAT (dull) ‘clothes’ RED (flaming) and then ROUSERS (exciting people) follow
Thanks Paul and Eileen.
8, 24 was great. I was trying to solve it on the platform at Harrogate station and was convinced the answer had to be NORTHERN RAIL. I tried to make this work for a while before the penny dropped.
Many thanks, Shirl and crypticsue [I thought it might be one of you two. 😉 ]
Eileen @4 – we aim to please
We seem to be seeing more of Paul than anyone else these days, but I’m not complaining. Thank you to him for the crossword and Eileen for nearly all the explanations 😉
In my rush to post my parsing of 24d I omitted to mention that I couldn’t see how 6d worked for love nor money. Many thanks for that Eileen
Fair exchange, Shirl. 😉
18d reminds me of the most cryptic clue I have seen many years back in this publication (pity I can’t recall the setter, but it was possibly the late great Araucaria) :-
1a (1,6,3,1,4)
That was it, nothing else. One straight line across the top of the puzzle. I remember I hooted with joy when the penny dropped.
Thanks Eileen, and to Paul for the usual fun and ingenuity. I had a sense of deja vu about DIETRICH, having seen a similar take on the name not too long ago.
Bullhassocks @ 9: it was Imogen in September last year.
As one who used to commute via 8, 24 I cheered aloud when I solved that one. My clue of the year so far.
Thanks to Paul and Eileen. As a US solver I did know SOUTHERN RAIL (I was in London a year ago when the major construction started) but did not know WHIST DRIVE and needed help parsing FLARED TROUSERS and SPORTSWEAR (I did not catch wear = runner). My LOI was APPROX, even with all the crossers.
Nearly didn’t finish as I had initially entered FAN OUT for 22a. Reasoning as FAN (cool) + OUT (in deep) and FAN OUT meaning ‘space’ as a verb. Eventually saw SPORTSWEAR for 6d and corrected my error.
Thanks Paul and Eileen
I had a slightly different take on 18. I saw “Clue less” as a challenge to Paul, and the second part of the clue as his response.
I had a hard time with this one. I had to use “check” for individual letters on a good many, though I never had to go as far as “reveal.”
When I worked out CHASING I thought it might be “phantoms”, but that didn’t work with the parsing, just with the two checkers I had. I don’t think “chasing phantoms” is a common phrase anyway. What would you do if you caught one?
I had worked out FLARED TROUSERS, but Shirl and crypticsue were ahead of me. I got the answer because I remember them from the 70s, but in the US we called them “bell bottoms.” An old naval term on both sides the pond, I think.
Very nice. Thanks Paul and Eileen. I read 19,5 slightly differently and made ‘stuff in whisky’ grain, though I know grape and grain are also words for wine and spirits.
NORTHERN instead of SOUTHERN led me astray as well. Enjoyable, and unusual for a lack of rudeness in a Paul puzzle. I suppose there’s BORDELLO & TRIANGLE.
xjpotter@16 – I think you’re probably right: I was thinking of ‘Grape or grain but never the twain’ – but see here:
Thanks to Paul and Eileen. Maybe just having a bad day, but generally found this tough. Very little on first couple of passes, but eventually got a toe hold. SW corner last to fall with triangle last. That said lots of nice clues and I liked far out, Dietrich and chasing rainbows. Thanks again to Paul and Eileen.
Thank you Paul and Eileen.
Quite hard going, but enjoyable. It took me a while to get the parsing for FLARED TROUSERS, I expected some of Paul’s lavatory humour at first.
We see Paul so often that it is difficult to come up with fresh comments. After Imogen and Tramp this inevitably felt a bit humdrum, but neither of them comes close to matching Paul’s productivity. APPROX was last in.
Thanks to Paul and Eileen
Just posted but it has disappeared so this time I’ll just say thanks all round.
WhiteKing @22 same thing has happened to me (a glitch@), but also can someone please put me out of my misery with 1a (MinQ @ 8). Thanks Paul and thanks Eileen!!
Oh dear that should read (a glitch?)
Beery hiker @ 21: nothing humdrum for me of a crossword that can satirise so cleverly the dreadful SOUTHERN RAIL.
S. Panza @23
I haven’t got a clue 😉
Re the views on Southern v Northern Rail- both awful-remember that Paul lives in Brighton the epicentre of railway grief for ages.
Guafrid @26: many thanks, that IS quite brilliant. Surely it MUST be the late lamented Araucaria.
I am still hoping someone can help me with the setter of HIJKLMNO (5). Thanks in anticipation!!
Another apology that should read Gaufrid!!! I better take a siesta.
S Panza
H to O = water
Ah yes Jeff L I knew that, but who was the setter please? You see my Dad told me about this clue years ago and I just can’t find out who set it and where it first appeared.
Bullhassocks – what is the answer to that Imogen clue please?
S. Panza @28 – I looked for it earlier but couldn’t find it. I do think it was Araucaria. I can’t find the setter of the other one, either.
I’m reminded of the time, several years ago, when I couldn’t find radio CDs in HMV. The [very young] assistant asked which one I was looking for. I looked him straight in the eye, grinned and said, “I’m sorry, I haven’t a clue”. Fortunately, he did know what I was talking about and laughed, too.
Thanks to the setter and Eileen. Here in Barbados,I do not get the puzzle on line until 7 pm (our time) and it was only in preparing for bed thatI finally twigged “clueless” . “Ignorant” was my first instinct.
Thanks Simon S @ 10 for the pointer to the earlier DIETRICH occurrence. Clearly my memory is better (or worse!) than I thought.
Pipsqueak @ 32: the clue to DIETRICH that time was “Why film star may get fat?”
Eileen, I like your answer to the shop assistant and the radio programme very much. I fear I will go to my grave not knowing the origin of HIJKLMNO and now 1a. I do remember that Araucaria was the author of Of of of of of of of of of of (10). These three along with GESG (9,4) are my pick of all time classic clues. But there must be others out there? Someone once mentioned, Mad crazy lovers (7). Perhaps 225 should organise a vote for the best clue ever. Perhaps it has already been done! I wouldn’t mind betting that Paul would have a few in the top ten!!
S. Panza @28: I’ve heard different versions of this including ”ABCDEFGPQRSTUVWXYZ” (10), answer DEHYDRATED. I wonder if some of them are fictional clues like the famous GEGGS (9, 4).
(That should be GEGS)
Hmm maybe Lord Jim. I do remember DEFGHIJKLMNO (5,5) was made up, as a follow-up to Water.
A favourite clue of mine, from about 40 years ago, though I do remember seeing it (I think!) is
B – O – U – N – D (10)
I too wrote a comment earlier that disappeared when I hit the ‘Post Comment’ button – second time this week. I didn’t bother rewriting it but it was on the lines of crypticsue @5 in that I needed Eileen’s blog to parse a lot of this.
S. Panza @28: It must be a riddle in its own right now as I’ve known non-cruciverbalists to ask it but I’m pretty sure Eileen is right and that it was Araucaria originally – must be at least 40 years ago.
Simon S (or someone): I give in! Its not coming to me.
Pex
Try SPELLBOUND 😉
One of the best clues I saw was many years ago in private eye. I can’t remember the detail but the gist of the clue was constipation and the answer was NNNNN.
Approx my last one in too…
To those whose comments have disappeared on posting – when this happens to me I press the return arrow at the top of the screen on the left and my original post reappears, whereupon I submit it again – but I am on an ordinary computer, not one of those little things, not sure if this will work for them …
We didn’t actually find this croswords much easier than others in this Guardian week.
Perhaps, we talked too much. Perhaps, it was the wine.
But if a setter, after decades of setting, can still come up with an absolute gem like 8, 24d , well, then he’s a star.
Many many years ago, I sent a clue to Paul’s Cryptica clue competition of which he said “I’d wish I’d written that”. Now here’s one in return. Brillaint!!
Many thanks Eileen & Paul.
Thanks Gaufrid.
Cookie (@45): I just wrote to say I would try that next time and blow-me! it happened again. The return arrow took me back, but to before I actually wrote it. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Is everyone happy with the geographical location of MICRONESIA?
John @48 well it’s north of the Equator, and west of the International Dateline, so technically correct I suppose.
Thanks Paul and Eileen
Mrs. Muffin and I have been away since Tuesday without any Internet. We have still managed to finish all the puzzles, with just a couple of parses to check since returning home.
However, I’m really surprised that no-one has commented on how silly the definition for FLOWER SELLER is! (We both agreed that this was out least favourite of the week – not a surprise for those who know that Paul isn’t my favourite compiler, but Mrs. Muffin concurred.)
…I’d accept “sometimes”, but “often”?
Gaufrid, Simon S – I think you gave away too much in your ‘clue’. I seem to recall the original clue was “J – U – M – P (10)” rather than as you posited – better, and a clever clue rather than a giveaway.
I enjoyed SOUTHERN RAIL though it was somewhat understated – had I clued it, it wouldn’t have been publishable!
**[It took ages to find blog – finally realised it’s numbered incorrectly!]**
Many thanks, both and all!
William F P
Thanks for the heads-up re the incorrect numbering. Now rectified.
WFP @ 52
I’m not so sure. To may way of thinking, your clue would give SPELLJUMP, given the way the clue works. Again to my way of thinking, yours is saying “Condense J – U – M – P, find a synonym for it, split that and work out the implication of what that means. Too convoluted for me, and probably for a lot of Ximeneans, bearing in mind that the clue was set at a time when Ximenes’ principles were much more closely followed.
No argument, just stating a view.
Simon S – (sorry tardy) Your reasoning is admirably sound. I may have been thinking of a Paul (ironically) prize crossword from August 2011 (25,402). His clue there was:
“Make J – U – M – P in wonder (10)”
which clearly must have impressed me but I rushed too quickly to association. My apologies.