Guardian 27,888 / Puck

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A particularly Puckish puzzle this morning.

 

 

I think Puck has had fun exploiting his amusing theme, clearly indicated at 26ac, with his usual wit and ingenuity. I really enjoyed it and hope you did, too. I’ll leave you to name your favourites.

Many thanks, Puck.

Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1 Dating an old tennis champion’s cool (9)
COURTSHIP
[Margaret] COURT’S [an old tennis champion’s] + HIP [cool]

6 Neighbour displaying a 26 after sun comes out (4)
ABUT
A BU[s]T [a 26 across minus s – sun]

10 Accommodate going back and forth (3,2)
PUT UP
A palindrome

11 Roman official for and against Muslim ruler having no function (9)
PROCONSUL
PRO [for] + CON [against] + SUL[tan] [Muslim ruler, minus tan – function]

12 Potentially the cause of most damage inside a restaurant (7)
DEAREST
Contained in siDE A RESTaurant – we have to separate ‘inside’, to make the wordplay work: a reference to the expression, ‘What’s the damage?’ when asking the cost of something

13 White male husband, regularly drunk (7)
ALBUMEN
An anagram [drunk] of MALE [h]U[s]Ba]N[d]

14 ‘X’ on map might show whereabouts of this diabolical theatre’s curse (8,5)
TREASURE CHEST
An anagram [diabolical] of THEATRE’S CURSE

17 Live with a friend: British female one’s put up at the seaside (5,8)
BEACH UMBRELLA
BE [live] + A CHUM [a friend] + BR [British] + ELLA [female]

21 Around one hour in Paris? Sadly, it could fly by (7)
AIRSHIP
A reversal [around] of I H [one hour] in an anagram [sadly] of PARIS

22 Special quality that’s needed by female member of cast (1,6)
X FACTOR
X [by] + F [female] + ACTOR [member of cast]

24 One holding 26 in small room shows some intellectual capability (5,4)
BRAIN CELL
BRA [one holding 26] IN CELL [in small room]

25 Cut thread … half of which lost by hesitating? (5)
THRUM
THR[ead] [half lost] + UM [hesitating] – a thrum is ‘the end of a weaver’s thread, any loose thread or fringe’

26 Journalist thrown by boy band not working (4)
BUST
BUST[ed] [boy band]
minus [thrown] ed [journalist]

27 Withdraw from sun, with its required effect now lost on 26, largely (5,4)
STAND DOWN
S [sun] + TAN [its desired effect] + an anagram [lost] of NOW after DD [cup] – ‘bust largely’

Down

1 See way out of folly that’s greed (8)
CUPIDITY
C [see] + [st]UPIDITY [folly, minus st – way]

2 You sell feminist underwear, bottoms only, leading to end of bra? That’s radical (5)
ULTRA
Last letters [bottoms only, in a down clue] of yoU selL feminisT underweaR + the last letter of brA

3 An obsession, perhaps, with something found on the French Riviera? (7,7)
TOPLESS BATHING
Taking the first letter [top, in a down clue] from [b]ATHING gives us A THING [an obsession – the theme of the puzzle? 😉 ]

4 Like some trousers to appear hot on high priest (7)
HIPSTER
H [hot] + an anagram [high] of PRIEST

5 Experts backing spies’ routine (7)
PROSAIC
PROS [experts] + a reversal [backing] of CIA [spies]

7 A meal best canned in tin, say (4,5)
BASE METAL
An anagram [canned = drunk] of A MEAL BEST

8 Gift books coming under ‘Fiction’ (6)
TALENT
TALE [fiction] + NT [New Testament – books]

9 Was unsure about European wearing the French underwear as outer garments sometimes (6-8)
DOUBLE-BREASTED
DOUBTED [was unsure] round E [European] in [wearing] LE [the French] BRAS [underwear]

15 Show up with energy Mars Bars produced (9)
EMBARRASS
E [energy] + an anagram [produced] of MARS BARS

16 Extremely large number upset by a new dealer in Cheddar? (8)
DAIRYMAN
A reversal [upset] of MYRIAD [extremely large number] + A N [a new]

18 Unlucky, like chap that’s caught short (7)
HAPLESS
[c]HAP LESS [short of c – caught]

19 Jaw about everyone before nine in the morning (7)
MAXILLA
A reversal [about] of ALL [everyone] + IX [nine] AM [in the morning]

20 Bad smell around a wee stunted tree (6)
BAOBAB
BO [bad smell] round A + BAB[y] [wee, stunted]

23 Roots supply trunk (5)
TORSO
An anagram [supply – in a supple manner] of ROOTS

39 comments on “Guardian 27,888 / Puck”

  1. I totally failed to parse topless bathing, but it’s a good clue even though topless bathing isn’t really particularly associated with the French Riviera.

    I don’t get how c=see without a homophone indicator.

    All good fun, as Eaillen said.

  2. Thanks Eileen and Puck, really enjoyed this, which I thought was a fairly easy offering.

     

    Couldn’t explain CUPIDITY, TOPLESS BATHING and missed the MYRIAD part of DAIRYMAN.

     

    14ac reminded me of a (topless) calendar of that name I saw in Ankara in 1968, but I probably shouldn’t mention that!

  3. howard @1

    Chambers: ‘SEE: the third letter of the alphabet [C,c]’.

    I have to go out soon until mid – late afternoon, so will have to deal with any more queries, errors or omissions then.

  4. Yep lots of Puckish bras-and-boobs fun today and maybe it was this, plus a mood thing (glorious day here, and the first Test about to start), but I had a tick next to most clues. Even 9d passed the rule of thumb test, ie the more lego-ish the clue, the more amusing the surface needs to be to make the cut. For a bit more spice throw in a tilt or two (thrum the cut thread and Busted the band) and a dnp (bathing sans top, d’oh), and it couldn’t be better. Thanks so much Puck and Eileen.

    PS may the best team win; can’t wait to hear the Barmy Army lyrics welcoming our sandpaper trio back to the fold.

  5. Well I got there but several were unparsed, so thank you Eileen for explaining “X Factor”, “Stand Down”, “Topless Bathing” and “Hapless”. I thought a couple of these clues did not really work properly. In “Hapless” for example, I can see I take “c” off “chap” but where does “less” come from? “Short” is there to remove the “c” so would be doing double duty. Ditto in “thrum” where thread is part of the definition and wordplay.

    I thought it unfortunate that  both “pro” and “hip” appeared twice, crossing each other, too.

    Having said that, the theme was puckish, and I thought “cupidity”, “treasure chest” and the misleading stunted tree delightful. Many thanks all.

  6. Oh yes and the DD in 27 was a mystery too; know D-cup but not the double (thinking maybe bust=dud…shrug, bung in).

  7. Am I alone in seeing a theme of Love Island (no, and I never will)? Apart from the many bust references, we have CUPIDITY, BEACH, EMBARRASS, BRAIN CELL, COURTSHIP, TALENT, BASE, etc. No doubt the contestants are all failed applicants of X FACTOR!

  8. @TheZed I parsed HAPLESS as “caught short” is C (as in, C is short for caught, in both cricket and crosswords), so “like chap that’s [C]” is hap-less.

    I couldn’t parse BAOBAB, though tbh I didn’t spend long trying, there really wasn’t anything else it could be…

  9. We thought there was going to a clothing/underwear theme at first (from the clues) but as mentioned it turned into a breast thread (including 14a).

    I had some reservations noted already by TheZed.

     

  14. Thanks Eileen and Puck.

    TheZed, for 25a I found a dictionary which gives thrum as a verb meaning to trim. So the definition can be “cut”.

  16. Pedro@10, TheZed@11: I think the parsing given by Tom@8 works fine. Although ‘caught’ is often used on its own to indicate the letter ‘c’, in this case, ‘caught short’ is used, as explained by Tom. We are therefore being asked to compare ‘chap’ to ‘c’, ie how does the former become the latter. Answer – by making it hap-less. I think that’s what you meant, Tom?

    Thanks to Qaos for a fine puzzle, and likewise to Eileen for the blog.

  18. I came here with several unparsed, so thanks for the explanations, Eileen. TheZed, in the wordplay for 25a, “which” can stand in for “thread,” which (I think) avoids the double duty. I had the same question about HAPLESS, but I don’t want to focus on negatives in such an excellent puzzle. Many favorites as mentioned above. Thanks to Puck and again to Eileen.

  19. A couple of points …

    I couldn’t get bonsai to parse for 20D.

    I particularly enjoyed DEAREST, AIRSHIP and HAPLESS (which I thought was fine as explained by Eileen and elaborated by Tom@8  and greensward @16).

    Thanks Puck and Eileen.

  20. A very enjoyable crossword.  Favourites were 1a COURTSHIP, and 17a for its clever surface.

    I was puzzled by 18d HAPLESS along the lines set out by TheZed @5, but I think the explanation given by Tom @8, as clarified by greensward @16, works.  That is, “chap” that is “c” is hap-less.

    Many thanks Puck and Eileen.

  21. Yep, a ‘tits and bums’ spectacular! With a brain, hip and maxilla thrown in for good measure.Yeah, cupidity, is ‘see’, plus stupidity without the ‘way’.
    Topless bathing a mystery to me too. Thanks Puck and Eileen.

  22. Reading back the contributions so far, I see large quantities of both praise and befuddlement; curious, but not a bad summary of the puzzle.

    My own puzzlement today is with “Potentially” in 12a. It seems unnecessary for the surface and just plain wrong for the definition part. Dearest = most expensive = causing the most damage. All I can think of is that Puck was a little uncomfortable with the validity of the euphemism, but I’m not sure potentially is the way to indicate that.

    Thanks.

  23. Very enjoyable with the same ones as many needing Eileen’s help to parse. I thought HAPLESS was an excellent clue, THRUM and CUPIDITY were new to me, and COURTSHIP my cotd. Many thanks to Puck for the puzzle as well as Eileen for the blog.

  24. “Cut thread and thrum” is a line from “Pyramus and Thisbe”, the play within a play in Midsummer Night’s Dream. I always wondered what it actually meant.

  25. Thanks all for the elucidation on [c]hapless – it makes sense now, but it took a lot of working out after solving!

  26. Very different from Paul yesterday.I enjoyed it more.23d too easy for seasoned solvers. COD 18d.2d ?

  28. Enjoyed this. Took longer than it should because I’d forgotten the band BUSTed and I couldn’t parse DAIRYMAN. I’ve no idea what the former sounded like, and the latter is a lovely clue now I see it. I liked BRAIN CELL and I’ve learnt a lot about the word THRUM.
    Thanks Puck.

  29. Dr. Whatson@22 – I wondered about “potentially” as well at first, but Puck is spot on – an expensive item is only damaging if you go ahead and buy it.

    Thanks all.

  31. Thanks for all the comments – glad to see that, between you, you ironed out all the queries and that I don’t seem to have any typos this time.

     

  32. I enjoyed this but my brain is still aching from trying to get HAPLESS out of a caught short chap: a chap that’s short of caught is hap; a HAPLESS chap is c, which is short for caught, so caught short!

    I don’t recall TOPLESS BATHING being a thing on the Riviera so much as sunbathing of that nature.

    THRUM was today’s piece of new knowledge – I recently saw Midsummer Night’s Dream, but I missed the reference. Puck was there though!

    Favourites were DAIRYMAN and the hot HIPSTER priest. Thanks Puck and Eileen

  33. Hi 1961Blanchflower

    Re HAPLESS – thanks, I missed that one.  I think you’ve said what I was meaning to say [it was pretty early in the morning] but I misplaced my brackets: it should have been

    [c]HAP LESS [short of] c – caught.

  34. I was in agreement with Pedro et al., but after reading Tom @ 8’s explanation for the third time, I finally get it.

    If I may be presumptuous and extend the clarification:  Read the wordplay as “like chap [that has become] caught short”, i.e. “chap” has become “c”.

    In any case, a great puzzle. I couldn’t parse BAOBAB. Faves were DAIRYMAN, BRAIN CELL and PROCONSUL.

  35. BlueDot: I think you’ve finally nailed it for me. Brain de-knotted

    Also I can see  Eileen’s revision at 33 now.

    Thanks to all

  36. Joyfully parsed TOPLESS BATHING and added a tick, then further delight at Eileen’s square bracket addendum. Lots to enjoy, but I would have got there sooner if I remembered the existence of Busted. Eventually got there backwards having finally twigged the theme. Completed the puzzle but plenty I couldn’t parse, so needed Eileen’s help. Always look forward to a Puck puzzle, and enjoyed today’s blogfest as well. Thanks to all concerned.

  37. BlueDot @34:  Granted your bracketed phrase makes the clue for 18 work, the need to resort to clue additions, twisted reasoning, or other rationalizing devices to justify a clue’s soundness indicates to me a flawed clue rather than solvers’ failure of imagination. Eileen candidly admits that the wordplay for 12 is imperfect. Given this precedent, is it so wrong to think that 18 may be just another such case? Thanks to all.

  38. hfowler@37 – apologies for the delay in responding: I’ve been away for the weekend.

    “Eileen candidly admits that the wordplay for 12 is imperfect.” You have misunderstood my comment on the blog re 12ac: I was explaining the [quite common] ‘lift and separate’ device that Puck used, not criticising it. I liked the clue.

  39. My sincere apologies to Eileen for the misreading. Shows that anyone can make an error. So, notwithstanding mine, I maintain that my original comments re hapless are valid.

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