Guardian 28,703 / Paul

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I haven’t blogged about a Paul in a little while, so this was a nice treat! Particularly notable for me was the number of very nice double definitions here. Thanks, Paul!

Across

5. Bend towards fish’s tail, course taken by hawk? (7)
WARPATH
WARP = “Bend” + AT = “towards” + [fis]H = “fish’s tail”
Definition: “course taken by hawk?” (referring to hawks and doves in politics)

10, 1. Part of Scotland, area into cultivation of thistle now (4,7)
WEST LOTHIAN
A = “area” in (THISTLE NOW)*
Definition: “Part of Scotland”

11. Artistically combined elements I made? (5,5)
MIXED MEDIA
This is a reverse clue: “I made?” could be clued by MIXED MEDIA (mixed being an anagram indicator)
Definition: “Artistically combined elements”

12. Day carrying that Italian bag (6)
SACHET
SAT(urday) = “Day” around CHE = “that Italian” (i.e. the Italian for “that”)
Definition: “bag”

13. Deeply affected by emotion in defeat? (8)
OVERCOME
Double definition: “Deeply affected by emotion” and “in defeat?”

16. One side politically correct (5)
RIGHT
Double definition: “One side politically” and “correct”

17, 27. Gossip giving chase round shopping centre (5,4)
SMALL TALK
STALK = “chase” around MALL = “shopping centre” – I read it with “giving” as a link word here
Definition: “Gossip”

19. Launch newspaper, opening beside fashionable street (9)
INSTIGATE
I = “newspaper” + GATE = “opening” beside IN = “fashionable” + ST = “street”
Definition: “Launch”

23. Quantities for drinking game (8)
DRAUGHTS
Double definition: “Quantities for drinking” and “game”

24. Rank behind leader on cargo ship (6)
CUTTER
UTTER = “Rank” (as in “a rank outsider”) after C[argo] = “leader on cargo”
Definition: “ship”

26. Abandoned ten after one, good meeting on the whole? (10)
INTEGRALLY
(TEN)* after I = “one” + G = “good” + RALLY = “meeting”
Definition: “on the whole?”

28. Dancer given part in Carmen, yet no fun looking back (7)
FONTEYN
Hidden reversed in [carme]N YET NO F[un]
Definition: “Dancer”, referring to Dame Margo Fonteyn

29. Scent outrage (7)
INCENSE
Double definition: “Scent” and “outrage”

Down

2. State shortly importing an aromatic plant (7)
OREGANO
OREGO[n] = “State shortly” around AN
Definition: “aromatic plant”

3. Knotty problem? (5)
HITCH
Cryptic definition: a problem is a hitch, but a hitch is also a type of knot

4. Measurer of current force maintained by a sea of Frenchmen? (7)
AMMETER
MET = “force” (police force, as in The Met, referring to the Metropolitan Police Service) in A + MER = “sea of Frenchmen”
Definition: “Measurer of current”

6. Count ushered off (6)
ADDLED
ADD = “Count” + LED = “ushered”
Definition: “off”

7, 25, 14. Lecture evidently a waste of time, hope chattering sorted out? (9,2,3,9)
PREACHING TO THE CONVERTED
HOPE CHATTERING is an anagram of PREACHING TO THE, so both the subsidiary indication and the answer have the same form (fodder + angram indicator) with the same fodder. I’m not quite sure how to classify this one! It’s not quite a classic reverse clue, nor a straightforward anagram clue. Nonetheless, I’m happy that it’s fair.
Definition: “Lecture evidently a waste of time”

8. Sensation hot after one dons ruff (7)
TRIUMPH
This was our last one in, thinking “but nothing ends M-blank-H!” for too long 🙂 H = “hot” after I = “one” in TRUMP = “ruff” (bridge terminology)
Definition: “Sensation” (as in, “it was a triumph / sensation!”)

9. Flash of lightning initially seen, see winds circling around by post office (6,7)
EXPOSE ONESELF
A quite involved construction: (OF L SEEN SEE)* – (the L is from “lightning initially”, “winds” is the anagram indicator) – this is around (“circling around”) X = “by” (as in multiplication) + PO = “post office” Update: thanks to everyone who corrected my parsing of this one!
Definition: “Flash”

15. Book opening, inside which golden pastry (3-2-4)
VOL-AU-VENT
VOL (Volume) = “Book” + VENT = “opening” around AU = “golden”
Definition: “pastry”

18. Battle of Cologne ramped up (7)
MARENGO
Hidden reversed in [col]OGNE RAM[ped] – “of” indicates the hidden answer, “up” indicates it’s reversed, since this is a down clue
Definition:

20. Chat about that hypothetical particle (7)
TACHYON
(CHAT)* + YON = “that”
Definition: “hypothetical partical”

21. Gear finally in order is training equipment (7)
TRELLIS
[gea]R = “Gear finally” in TELL = “order” + IS
Definition: “training equipment” (as in training climbing plants)

22. Short — like an upper garment? (6)
SHIRTY
Double definition: “Short” (as in “irritable”) and “like an upper garment?” (i.e. like a shirt)

37 comments on “Guardian 28,703 / Paul”

  1. Thanks mhl. In 9, the ‘of’ can provide the F, so no need for Flash to be doing double duty.
    A fun challenge, thanks Paul.

  2. Thanks mhl. Another typically good test I thought with the NE corner the last to yield. I never did connect I with newspaper but now guess it might be the Independent, not familiar to all overseas solvers. In 9d I thought F O L came from ‘of’ and the first letter of lightning, saves ‘flash’ doing double duty.

  4. The top half went in quite quickly and then I slowed right down. Finally got the rest of them except 22d.

    Favourites were: WARPATH, INSTIGATE, INTEGRALLY, FONTEYN and I liked the surface of ADDLED

    Thanks Paul and mhl

  5. I must make some solving notes at the time of doing the Saturday puzzle.
    I always enjoy the reverse type of clues, and the other favourite was CUTTER.

  6. When I came to look at this after solving it quite quickly last Saturday, I couldn’t remember the parsing of 9d, though I knew I had got it at the time. Like Biggles A @2, I see the fodder as (OF + L (lightning originally) + SEEN SEE) around (X + PO). As you say, mhl, this is a “quite involved construction”! (BTW, in your explanation of DRAUGHTS as a double definition you have simply repeated the clue, which needs splitting into “quantities for drinking” (more than just a draught of beer, for example) and “game”.

    I thought PREACHING TO THE CONVERTED was worth the entry fee on its own.

    Thanks to Paul and our blogger.

  7. Nice puzzle, nice blog.

    I agree with mhl that classifying 7,25,14 is a bit of a puzzle iitself. If the clue lost the “sorting out”, but retained the “?”, the wordplay would work as a reverse clue. Now (and this is a bit of a stretch), using the notion that if two things are equal to a third thing they are equal to each other, both PREACHING TO THE CONVERTED and “hope chattering sorted out” are equal to “peach hottering” (or any other anagram of said letters), so they match each other. Well, I tried!

  8. Yes enjoyable. The parsing of 14d includes French sea of course.

    Thanks Paul and mhl

  10. 7/25/14 or are ‘converted’ and ‘sorted out’ just simply meant to be synonyms? like changed for a different end result.

  11. Some nice double definitions, as you say, mol, and I thought FONTEYN was very nicely hidden. I’m afraid I saw PREACHING TO THE CONVERTED as just an anagram (sorted) of ‘hope chattering’ followed by CONVERTED as a slightly weak synonym for ‘out’. Having seen the blog it’s much neater than that, but in a way that’s a little hard to qualtify. Anyway, it was clearly right, so I moved on to the Flash of lightning, and – possibly with TACHYON in mind – wasted time thinking about the physics of what initially triggers such an event. Then I realised who set this. Nice one, Paul, and thanks for the blog, mhl.

  12. Thanks for the blog, a lot to enjoy her. I thought RIGHT was very neatly done, simple and clever. EXPOSED ONESELF complicated and cleverly misleading.
    Nice to see TACHYON much theorised about. Travel faster than light and so have imaginary rest mass and go backwards in time. Various reports of detection, none peer-reviewed or verified, various rumours of messages from the future .

  13. This took me the week but much enjoyed. Thanks, Paul. One of many blind alleys was thinking that 5A was HAIRPIN (bend). AIRPIN sounded a possible term for a direct flight-line. And then there was the parsing. Thought (initially!) that the X of EXPOSE was clued by “lightning initially”, as in Xpress. The semi-synonyms of STALK = CHASE and COUNT = ADD did not hold me back too long, and I guess made me realise that Paul was on top form in making for a tough solve. Many thanks mhl for explaining the parsing of the longest entry.

  14. A very enjoyable solve. FOI was 9d. The complicated word play wasn’t a problem: seeing the first word and knowing Paul’s style made this a write-in.

  15. Paul used to be my favourite setter, but recently I’ve found some of his puzzles to be a bit clunky. But I have no complaints about this one. Favourites already mentioned, especially PREACHING…
    BigglesA@2 – the “i” (spelt thus, in lower case) is a newspaper – originally spawned as a sort of cut-down Independent, but now under separate ownership.
    Thanks Paul and mhl.

  17. Another treat from my favourite compiler. This was clever, funny and fair with something to admire in pretty well every clue. Managed to complete reasonably quickly for me (ie in a couple of hours rather than a week), and uniquely the blogger’s LOI happened to be my first . Bridge players immediately equate ‘ruff’ with trump rather than neckwear. Since this was a Paul puzzle,’ flash’ was always going to be the definition, so EXPOSE ONESELF also went in easily. And plaudits for TRELLIS as training equipment, a solution that provoked an audible snort of appreciation.
    Thanks to both Paul and mhl.

  19. EXPOSE ONESELF in such a prominent position in the grid may be Paul’s signalling of his frequent cluing of parts of the body, bodily functions and sexual references etc. But it was a giveaway with the definition, letter count and a couple of crossers, and hardly worth working out the wordplay. The surface is almost nonsensical, lacking in humour, very prosaic and mundane (winds around the Post Office!), and the wordplay convoluted, maybe deliberately so? I get the feeling Paul is taking the mickey, in which case it is very funny after all.

  21. Crossbar @20 – Agreed; but if the story of the flasher picking absolutely the wrong victim and being met with the considered response “It looks like a penis. Only smaller” is correct, it may lead to humour.
    I did wonder whether 3d could be BENDS, referring to the problem divers experience in ascending too quickly from depth, and to sheet bend/carrick bend, etc.
    An enjoyable affair, with particular praise for MIXED MEDIA, INSTIGATE, the very ingenious PREACHING TO THE CONVERTED, TRELLIS and, yes, EXPOSE ONESELF.
    Thanks to Paul and mhl

  22. An enjoyable romp.

    Good to see TACHYON.

    KeithS@11’s solution sort of works but did anyone get PREACHING TO THE CONVERTED from the wordplay? It was obvious from the crossers and the wordplay was there for confirmation, as is always the case, for me, of reverse clues.

    Thanks both.

  23. Nice to see an unpresidential TRUMP. TRELLIS was my favourite and sent me looking in vain for a “I’m Sorry I haven’t a Clue” theme.

  24. That’s the trouble, NeilH @21. Women are often brought up to laugh these things off as though they don’t matter. Not something I want in a crossword.

  25. Liked FONTEYN, RIGHT, ADDLED (loi).

    New: TACHYON.

    I only partly parsed 8d I in TRUMP + H and did not know why TRUMP = ruff. My ‘bridge terminology” is sadly lacking.

    Thanks, both.

  26. Good fun.

    The wordplay for PREACHING TO THE CONVERTED is over-generous if anything: ‘sorted out’ is not needed – if I want to get the answer all I have to do is to ‘convert’ “hope chattering”.

    Thanks both.

  27. I think the definition of VOL-AU-VENT is just “pastry,” not “golden pastry.” AU (golden) is part of the anagram fodder and isn’t doing double duty — vol-au-vents aren’t golden, are they? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one.

    Thanks for the puzzle, Paul, and for the sortings out, mhl.

  28. Thanks Paul for a nicely crafted crossword that hit my sweet spot in terms of difficulty. I couldn’t figure out SHIRTY, a strange word to my ears and I needed a look-up for TACHYON but all else eventually fell into place. I particularly liked MIXED MEDIA, the surface of RIGHT, INSTIGATE, and ADDLED. Thanks mhl for the blog.

  31. NeilH @21 covers it nicely for me. My bridge terminology also sadly lacking michelle @25.

    Ta Paul & mhl

  32. Thanks Paul and mhl. I only got round to looking at this today, so at least it’s all still fresh in my mind. A nice job overall, pretty much in the Goldilocks zone for me. Enjoyable.

    beaulieu @15 – no longer independent, and barely even deserving of being called a newspaper.

    paddymelon @19 – I think you’ve summed it up nicely. Once I had a few crossing letters, the solution became obvious, but beyond spotting the PO for post office, I really couldn’t be bothered to break it down fully.

    Crossbar @20 – But it’s in Chambers!!! (That’s how it works, isn’t it?)

  33. [ The i is owned by the Daily Mail , can you possibly have worse owners? Oh wait a minute , the Independent is owned by Lord Lebedev of Perugia and the Saudis, can anyone beat that . ]

  34. An enjoyable challenge. I liked the ‘reverse anagram’ for MIXED MEDIA once I saw it, but I think the clue for PREACHING TO THE CONVERTED definitely fell between two stools. If “sorted out” indicates an anagram of “hope chattering” then there’s nothing to point to CONVERTED. If, otoh, it’s a reverse anagram with CONVERTED as indicator, then “sorted out” is redundant and should be dropped … but then the surface wouldn’t make sense.

    I couldn’t call up MALL for “shopping centre” at first and thought “gossip” was a poor def for SMART TALK. The penny dropped eventually, though.

    In 15dn, AU is the chemical symbol for the metallic element gold, but does it also mean ‘golden’?

  35. Roz@33, Lord Lebedev of Hampton & Siberia, surely? One thing to note about the i is that it carries (or at least, used to carry) hard-copy versions of the excellent online-only cryptics which appeared on the Independent website a few years earlier. A good reason why you might want to pick a copy up (as long as it has, for example, been left on a train so you don’t have to help enrich its current owners). Sadly, the setters don’t get repeat fees, having had to sign over all rights upon their puzzle’s initial publication.

  36. [ You are quite correct Tony but Perugia is far more appropriate, I am sure you could find out why if you really wanted to. Thanks for the tip but i would not dirty my hands on a crossword from either publication in any way, shape or form . ]

  37. Thank you mhl and nice to know I was not the only one to find PREACHING TO THE CONVERTED not quite right. that aside I thought it was a fine continuation of Paul’s recent run of form so thanks to him.

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