Guardian Prize 28,745 by Paul

77 comments on “Guardian Prize 28,745 by Paul”

1. I don’t often comment these days, but felt I felt the urge with this latest prize puzzle. As I solve clues I put ticks at the sides of those I consider to be truly worthy and original. For this puzzle more than 50% achieved this rating, and thereby set a personal record in recent history. So although the puzzle was not especially difficult, I was left with that pleasant feeling of wishing that it might go on for ever.
   I’ve noticed that Paul receives mixed reviews on these blogs, but for me he remains my clear favorite among the current setters. Thanks, Paul, and please keep up the high-quality work.
   PS: by coincidence, as I work through old puzzles, I just (almost) completed # 25,948 by Paul, from May, 2013 – similarly outstanding clues and truly challenging – in fact it defeated me via one long word (contemporary jargon from the year it was set, I suspect). I would never have solved it given an infinite time. So my hat off to anybody who solved it completely.

2. Thanks bridgesong. Something of a mixture again for me. The multi words went in quickly enough which was a help but I had to struggle with the last few clues. Not ever having heard of a posing pouch didn’t help and I took far too long with LOI 17d only getting there when & lit CAVE CANEM finally yielded. If I’d been asked about the spelling of the country I’d have omitted the final E so that didn’t help either. Still, I’d count those last two, 4,24 and 17 as equal CODs.

3. Thanks, Paul and bridgesong!
   My picks: CANDY, READY RECKONER, CAVE CANEM, AURORA, SURINAME and PITT.

   Lovely puzzle as well as a neat blog! Thanks.

4. I struggled to parse a few in this one. I guessed AURORA was correct even though it’s pronunciation in Chambers is ‘or-ora’. I’m not one who bothers much about needing ‘homophones’ to be exact so I bunged it in. CAVE CANEM had me wondering if Danger was doing double duty, so it can only be an &lit as Biggles @2 says.
   Favourite was CANDY. That x-and-x trick gets me every time.
   Thanks bridgesong and Paul for the usual challenge.

5. Me too re posing pouch, Biggles (the idea of which gives me ‘erk’), and I’d not heard the bard called Swan of Avon before. On The Road brought back memories (tho I remember finding the book a bit meh), and 8d reminded me of a naughty joke (the punchline of which is I’m thore too but I’m thatithfied).
   And agree re Paul in general, Rodshaw, he’s a venerable star, a candidate for Rev status. Following Valentine and Raider’s link on yesterday’s 225, I did an early Paul, from 20 years ago! It sparkled, as does today’s. Thanks so much Paul, long may you shine, and thanks bridgesong.

6. I loved it and wanted to thank Paul for such an enjoyable Prize puzzle. My particular favourites were the long ones: 11,16a TAKE THE LORD’S NAME IN VAIN and 25a,5d ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY [yes the latter brought back a strong reminder of Jack Kerouac and the Beat generation for me too, gif@5. The 60s and 70s weren’t the only generation who broke with some of the social conventions. BTW, grantinfreo, I knew that joke(8d) but it still raised a smile! And the 20d,10a POSING POUCH was also definitely an “ouch, yuk” moment for me.]
   Gratitude to bridgesong too for the thorough blog.

7. Thanks bridgesong. The OUCH in the naughty garment (never heard of) came early, the rest revealed itself later. Like TimC above I didn’t much like the setter’s first syllable for the 7D answer and so toyed with ‘Europa’ once the crossers were in. As with Biggles above, the multiword answers dropped in. WINTRY for no good reason did so last of all. As ever, Paul delivered brilliantly.

8. GIF # 6: a limerick, too –
   The thunder god went for a ride
   Upon his favourite filly
   “I’m Thor!” he cried
   The horse replied
   “You forgot your thaddle, thilly.”

9. Great puzzle, loved it all. As for the homophone in AURORA, try the substitution trick, you’ll find it works fine.

10. At first look didn’t like this one. Got ENAMOUR first, which I really liked, quickly followed by AURORA. Then after ages decided 1d must be PARTICULAR which gave me the first letters of the first and third words of the long clue which I thought must be an anagram. Decided it must begin with TAKE THE L . but it was not until I got READY RECKONER (another favourite) and decided that the third word must be LORDS that I got it. Can’t say that I liked that clue.

    Did like REPERTORY, PITT, PALERMO (for its misleading surface)

    LOI was A FAIR COP – so obvious once I got it.

    I had not heard of SWAN OF AVON

    Thanks Paul and bridgesong

11. While I never eschew Paul’s gentler alter-ego, Mudd, I seem to be in an approach-avoidance mode with Paul himself. I didn’t attempt this crossword until late in the week and I was overjoyed to get TAKE THE LORDS NAME IN VAIN with only two letters planted in the grid very early in my attempt. Things slowed to a crawl after that and I never did finish the puzzle. ENAMOUR, CANDY, WINTRY, and PALERMO, however, represent reasons why I can’t stay away. Thanks to both.

12. My last two in were CANDY and WINTRY, both of which seemed very obvious and very neatly clued once you got them, but took a while to spot. A very nice puzzle. I also liked CAVE CANEM, PITT, and a number of others, although I needed a lot of crossers before I got the long anagram. Thanks Paul and bridgesong.

13. Could not do any of this. Paul’s clues are in beyond me, unfortunately.
    Looking forward to the hints to tell me how stupid I am!
    Thanks both.

14. Thanks for the blog, agree with all the praise for this , I can remember doing Paul’s first puzzle ( new setters were rare then ) and even the first answer but not the clue.
    POSING POUCH and CANDY also on my list, also ENAMOUR simply for RUNE. Casting The Runes is my favourite M.R. James story.
    HYD@13 crosswords are about practice and perseverance more than anything else, and being stubborn , which is my major attribute.

15. Swan of Avon for Shakespeare comes from the Ben Jonson tribute to him.

16. molonglo@8
    This popular limerick rhymes abaab.
    Looks like the ‘rhyming aabba’ rule isn’t sacrosanct.

17. Took a couple of sessions as for some reason I was slow with the NW and 7d, AURORA. Having eventually got it, it amused me, as these dodgy homophones often do.
    11,16 TAKE THE LORDS etc – clever anagram but surface a bit clunky.
    13a CANDY took a while to click. These “something AND something” clues often do.
    22a HOSANNA Couldn’t quite see this completely. I thought Girl = HANNA; well set back = OS (so reversed) ; but where was inclusion the indicator. Thanks bridgesong for your explanation, though I’m still not sure about well = OH.
    4,24 CAVE CANEM Good surface. Amused by the thought of the ferocious chihuahua guard dog, but they do exist, see here.

    Thanks Paul for a very enjoyable puzzle and bridgesong for the blog.

18. me @17 the inclusion indicator

19. Much enjoyed. Thanks Paul and bridgesong. Got off to a flyer with the long anagram in 11, 16 but then it was slow-going for me until SLOWCOACH cracked. What a compact clue. CANDY too. Was on guard for some trademark innuendo when POSING POUCH appeared. If I’m enjoying the challenge too much, the parsing can get casual. Decided on a whim that EPER = Extra Pay for Extra Responsibility
    explained the “exalted originally” bit of REPERTORY. Reversing MENACE in CAVE CANEM … brilliant!

20. As bridgesong says, “impenetrable on first glance” but, somehow, it all falls into place. CAVE CANEM was great.

21. I found this a steady solve, with CAVE CANEM going in early, on my first read through. I enjoyed the way the puzzle slowly unfolded and the certainty of the solutions when untwisted, other than the OH of HOSANNA, but there was nothing else that fitted. I groaned at POSING POUCH, which I unfortunately knew. Hard to remember, but I think AMERICANO was my last in, as there was a nice bit of misdirection there.

22. Agreeing with rodshaw @1 – we’re very much fans of Paul, despite his detractors.
    Also I’d echo KVa @3 – thanks Bridgesong for a neat blog. I much prefer your style (a brief explanation of the parsing of each clue) to that of some other bloggers who practically write a dissertation. But others will disagree, of course!

23. Only filled in a few during the week but pleasantly surprised to complete it reasonably quickly this morning with TTLNIV helping considerably. Didn’t know Shakespeare’s nickname and thanks for the link, bridgesong. POSING POUCH and THOR also made me smile and I too know the joke gif@5 & JiA @6 🙂 HYD @13, I used to feel the same way about Cryptics set by the trickier setters but Roz’s advice holds true.

    Ta Paul & bridgesong

24. Not a lot to add to the plaudits already recorded above. CAVE CANEM my favourite for the lol in solution and POSING POUCH for the lol in surface. (Just a shame the latter was a wordy clue: I’m unable to say, POSING POUCH – very tight!)

    Thanks Paul and bridgesong

25. Entertaining crossword, although the long entries are rather daunting (until you get them!)

    I liked the deceptively simple SLOWCOACH for the surface, CAVE CANEM as a superb &lit, SPRAY CAN for the definition, and PITT for the surface.

    Thanks Paul and bridgesong.

26. Yes, a great puzzle.
    I wasn’t going to write anything, as it’s mostly already said, but, just as a response to Hoof @ 13, if (s)he is still here: you’re not stupid at all. I’ve been doing crosswords for .. er .. donkeys years and I too found it hard to get into. You just have to be a bit determined. I just stare at the clues until I do get a few, then the rest usually follow. And I failed to get HENRY FONDA completely. So don’t worry.

27. HoofItYouDonkey @13 – my mother used to be found with the paper crossword up throughout my childhood, but other than being given the clues she couldn’t solve to see if I could, I didn’t really get addicted to crosswords until I was a student, a group of us sitting along the bar, solving our own and discussing clues – all those back pages peppered with anagram circles and down clues written across around the crossword. Gradually, from persisting, and reading the answers published the next day, I improved, but it took a while. I never could solve a Bunthorne – I’d be glad if I could start, forget finishing – but with everyone else, loved Araucaria. Crosswords remained a habit on the commute until as a single parent I stopped taking a paper.

    I’ve only started solving again recently and it’s taken me a year or so of daily brain stretching to reliably solve the daily crossword and now the prize. It is persistence and practice, getting used to the devious tricks and word play, building the skills, remembering the abbreviations, and word splitting games – like the trick in CANDY.

    Paul usually has a clue or two that work as a way in, giving enough crossers to maybe solve a corner. I find reading all the clues and solving anything I can as I read through also gives me ideas that may be confirmed with crossers (here that included SLOWCOACH). It is maddening when Paul has linked half the crossword to one clue, but to be honest, I usually find I solve that one clue backwards, having completed the straight, unlinked clues around it. (Old trick was to pencil in the crossers. Using the app, I may fill in the crossers to show I have an idea for that clue, but I have to be able to parse it for it to go in fully.)

    Here, I started with the bottom left as I could see SURINAME, CAVE CANEM and REPERTORY fast, which gave me HOCK and SWAN OF AVON (which I did know) as a fairly straightforward anagram, and that led to ON THE ROAD, so it was working out what followed on from there.

28. Most of Paul’s clues were taxing for me as usual, but generally enjoyable except for ‘Posing Pouch’ (yuk) which had me perplexed for a while. Not keen on non-English answers unless the language is signposted somehow. Despite taking Latin O-level over 50 years ago, I didn’t know the injunction ‘Cave Canem’. However, it showed up in a very basic word filler, so it didn’t become an annoying timewaster. I then googled ‘Cave Canem’ out of curiosity, and found a famous mosaic at Pompei, so the clue had some educational value for me.

29. I googled ‘Posing Pouch’ to find out if such a thing existed. I hope that I don’t now start receiving targeted ads, courtesy of Google.

30. Rookie mistake JohnJB@29 😉

31. Agree JohnJB@29. I did the same and immediately regretted it. I think there should have been a ‘CAVE GOOGLE’ as a special instruction.

32. @29 @31 It’s a Paul puzzle. There’s bound to be something “saucy” somewhere in it. Best look it up in a “real” paper dictionary.

33. Yes my favourite puzzle for a while although a DNF in the NE because for some reason I convinced myself that I just wouldn’t know the goddess and that cast a shadow over adjacent clues.

    I mention this for the benefit of HIYD@13 – the plain fact is that the main obstacle to solving is our own perception of our solving capacities: in fact if we can solve anything we can solve almost anything else. But because of my prejudice towards AURORA a mental portcullis slammed down every time I glanced at the puzzle in latter days – perhaps that’s how you felt HIYD at the outset. I’ve found that staring at the clues and letting the mind wander can suddenly result in a light-bulb moment (and usually not where you are staring). Hope that helps.

    Thanks to Paul (much-deserved praise abounds here) and to bridgesong.

34. Seriously Crossbar@32. What ‘real’ paper dictionary has got an entry for POSING POUCH? I think that Hugh shouldn’t have let this one through, not because of sauciness, but as we are online, there is a real risk of unwanted links.

35. A great puzzle, as most of you have said. It took a while to get going – also to finish – but I liked the choice of words and phrases and the variety of clues throughout. My last two in were POSING POUCH (never heard of it) and HENRY FONDA.

    I’ve learned to accept that phrases like ‘did you say?’ indicate a sound-alike rather than an actual homophone, and I thought AURORA was ok.

    Thanks to Paul and bridgesong.

36. paddymelon @34 Chambers 13th edition 2014 POSING POUCH:

37. me @36 Oops….. a garment covering only the genitals, as worn by male artist’s models

38. [I know the clean version of the Thor limerick, as given by molonglo @8, but not the naughty one. Limericks are an amazingly rich art form, and I also know an old one that has the rhythm of a limerick but not the rhyme. It was written by W S Gilbert:

    There was an old man of St Bee’s
    Who was stung in the arm by a wasp;
    When they asked “Does it hurt?”,
    He replied “No, it doesn’t,
    But I thought all the while ’twas a hornet.”]

39. grantinfreo@5
    “Swan of Avon” reminds me of the old story from the days of the old actor manager who used to tour productions of Shakespeare. Imagine a plummy-voiced old ham.
    Old Ham, leaning on the curtain at the end of Macbeth (which he would always refer to as “The Scottish Play”):
    Thank you, thank you for your kind support. Next week we shall be essaying another work of the Swan of Avon. I myself will play the part of the moody Dane and my wife will play the fair Ophelia.
    Voice from the gallery: Your wife’s a rotten old drunk.
    Old ham, with emphasis on the first word:
    Nevertheless, she will play the fair Ophelia.
    Thanks to Paul, up to usual standard, and bridgesong

40. Crossbar@36. Really ? Oh well, not only do I not have Chambers, but I didn’t know the art reference. Thank you for the education.

41. HYD the challenge is the thing, sometimes the setter defeats us but we live to solve another day.
    You like your football I know, would you prefer to beat Manchester City 1 – 0 occasionally , or beat Millwall, QPR or Luton 10 – 0 every day ?

42. Thanks Paul and bridgesong. Very slow burner, this one, for me. Came here for some incomplete parsing. Excellent.

43. HYD @13: If you have access to a printer try a few crosswords by Mudd (Paul) in the FT. There’s one this Saturday in fact. These are great “training” for a Paul puzzle — they’re not write-in’s but I find them more penetrable and just as clever.

44. I finished a Paul puzzle! I got 2 or 3 in the lower half early on and persisted. Often with Paul I find I can get absolutely nothing on the first read-through and I give up. Towards the end I slightly cheated on ‘cave canem’ – I had ‘cave –n–‘ and did a filler lookup, this then helped me finish the rest of the puzzle.
    I was stuck on how to parse “bard of avon” until I realised the the anagram produced “swan”.

    What sheltered lives you have led to have never heard of a posing pouch! I found this much less yucky than other of Paul’s past clues ?

45. Enjoyed this greatly, partly because it took me most of the week, and also because at the bottom of each rabbit-hole lay a not-obscure word, so I found the penny-drops were more enjoyable. The Keraouc reference went right over my head, as I thought a book having its jacket ripped might be “On the road to re-cover [itself],” and I never looked back.

    It seems AURORA hasn’t brought out the homophone police (I grinned broadly), but I think Paul could have really ruffled feathers had he gone with a foreign homophone clue for 6 Down:
    “Tagger’s tool heard often before Sie Deutsch.“ 🙂

    Thanks Paul and bridgesong

46. That final question mark on my comment @44 was supposed to be a smiley.
    I don’t know why it hasn’t translated.

47. Lin @46 you have to key in the characters for colon hyphen close-bracket followed by a space. This app doesn’t recognise the emojis on phones or laptops.

48. Have a look in FAQ. It’s got a link there to his to do lots of emoticons. 🙂

49. [You’re welcome pm @40 I seem to have acquired various dictionaries over the years, but only the Chambers has the pouch. Not Collins, nor the very ancient Shorter OED (1973 version) which I can barely lift now ]

50. I agree with Choldunk@19 that the reversal of “Menace” in CAVE CANEM is brilliant, and … isn’t it doing double duty?

    bridgesong, thanks for parsing SPRAY CAN. I had the painter as “RA” instead of as part of the definition, and then tried to work “request” into SPY CAN somehow.

    Both O Henry and HENRY FONDA were American. Shouldn’t the setter tell us?

    Never heard of a READY RECKONER, it must be British (though we have them in the US). Never heard of a POSING POUCH either, and I consider my life to have been enriched by the ignorance.

    yehudi@45 uhhhh ,,, ?
    Opposite to Fiona Anne@10, I had the letters to the anagram laid out, and once I saw that the last word was _A_N it had to be VAIN and the rest was clear.

    Crossbar@37 Thanks for explaining “posing pouch.” If it’s for a practical purpose it makes the term slightly less repellent. I’d assumed it was for men showing off.

    Thanks, Paul and bridgesong.

51. [Crossbar @49: I hate to think what you’d find in the Shorter POSING POUCH 😉 ]

52. [Postmark @51. Let’s not go there 😉

    On a similar note I’ve just done a brief search of recent puzzles for “g-string” which seems to occur quite often, either as part of a string instrument and/or as the revealing garment. It is not described as improper. It seems to be generally enjoyed by the solvers, in contrast to the pouch. Now, why is that I wonder?]

53. Yehudi @45, a ? after Sie Deutsch might help the punters. (Reminds me of the one about Sean Ferguson)

54. Thank you bridgesong, nicely summarised and my progress was as yours (and quite a few others), as was my appreciation of the many great clues. My only complaint is that I don’t see any difference between the SLOW of SLOWCOACH and the whole answer.
    Yehudi@45: sehr gut gemacht!
    Valentine@50: i had CAVE CANEM as &lit if we accept some surface absurdity (and surely we do?). And I have come to expect unsignposted Americanisms from Paul almost as much as the sauce.
    Good to see the mighty rodshaw again (and thanks for the early Paul recommendation) and enjoyed the digressions above, hopefully all those afraid of inappropriate targeted marketing are frantically googling cardigans and slippers. Thanks Paul.

55. This was a struggle as I was not on Paul’s wavelength.

    Did not parse:
    13ac CANDY
    4d apart from VAC (initial letters of vicious, aggro, chihuahua

    New READY RECKONER table; SWAN OF AVON = Shakespeare; POSING POUCH; cave canem

    Thanks, both.

56. Generally speaking, I am not a huge fan of Paul’s style, but this was a lovely puzzle.

57. Sorry, Valentine @50, but no life is enriched by ignorance, only confined by it. A knowledge of posing pouches would not dilute the knowledge you have, but simply supplement it.

58. Many thanks for all your comments, I fare well with other setters, I just seem to have a mental block on Paul.
    PS Roz @41 I’m a huge Millwall fan!

59. [Hoofit @58: I strongly suspect that Roz’s digs at Millwall, QPR and Luton Town were not coincidental.
    Roz @14: would the first clue have been ‘Name sewn into footballer’s underwear’ (8) ?
    Valentine @50: my visits to 15² have frequently been enriched by your wry turn of phrase 🙂
    Pm @24/51: wot no medial majuscule??? ]

60. [ MrEssexboy@59 – entirely coincidental, I am as innocent as a spring lamb.
    Yes that would be the clue, possibly the first time I had seen knickers in a Guardian puzzle. ]

61. [Roz @41. “…would you prefer to beat Manchester City 1 – 0 occasionally , or beat Millwall, QPR or Luton 10 – 0 every day?” OK, so we lost 7-0 last Monday, but when it comes to scoring 10 goals in a game, a Luton Town player holds the record for scoring exactly that many: Joe Payne v Bristol Rovers in 1936. I don’t know how many of the spectators that day would have preferred to see a 1-0 v Man City. 🙂 ]

62. Thanks everyone! I’m frequently amazed by things people don’t know and things people do know. The poem about Thor and the horse is very amusing but surely not a Limerick?

63. Excellent stuff from Paul, my favourite setter. Fun and challenge in equal measure with many favourites – in particular AMERICANO and SWAN OF AVON. I guessed CANDY but couldn’t parse it (now so obvious). Thanks bridgesong for the blog.

64. Thanks to Paul for yet another very enjoyable puzzle, that had it all. That’s why he is one of our favourites among the current setters. My favourites clues were, AMERICANO, TAKE THE LORD’S NAME IN VAIN, ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY, REPERTORY, PITT, HOCK, and PALERMO
    Given that we share computer screen and kitchen table I totally agree with Candymandad54 @63
    Sunday Cheers to Paul, and bridgesong for the blog.

65. [Started writing this when there were 59 comments, so apologies for any repetitions.]

    Excellent puzzle. I, too, found it very hard to break into (only got REPERTORY on first pass) and found it very satisfying as the clues fell, one by one.

    In 14ac, SLOWCOACH, I thought of clocks to explain SLOW = early.

    In 22ac, HOSANNA, I felt very unsure about well = OH at first but it had to be.

    4,24 I didn’t know the phrase CAVE CANEM but once I’d thought of reversing ‘menace’, my schoolboy Latin got me there. Didn’t know about the mural.

    7dn AURORA. When I say it, it sounds just as if I’d said ‘a roarer’. Surprised to learn from TimC@4 that the OED doesn’t recognise that.

    In 23dn, PITT, I don’t think ‘hell’ is a definition-by-example (Hell — note capital, btw — isn’t just a type of pit). Maybe the QM is to excuse the fact that it should really be ‘The’ Pit?

    [Roz @14, If I remember correctly, it was (as I now see EB@59 agrees):

    Name sewn into footballer’s underwear (8)

    which I think I recall prompted Paul, in his memoir of that puzzle, to remark “start off as you mean to go on”.

    Btw, thanks for reminding me that the first time I ever heard the word ‘rune’ was in watching the Mystery and Imagination (Season 3, episode 1, 1968) TV adaptation of the James story.]

    Bridgesong@15, thanks for the link to the Johnson. I didn’t know the origin of SWAN OF AVON before. Also, the Pompeii link.

    [Alan@38, in the version I’ve read (in Verse and Worse, I think), I believe it was: “It’s a good job it wasn’t a hornet”.]

    Valentine@50, I don’t think it’s really important to indicate the nationality of famous people (although it can be helpful), but non-British linguistic usage is something I would prefer Paul to indicate.

    [grantinfreo@53, Sean Ferguson? Come on, out with it.]

66. [Tony @65
    I too have seen that version of the limerick. I’m not sure which is WSG’s original.]

    [AuntRuth @62
    You are quite right, of course, the funny verse about Thor is not actually a limerick but the rhymimg scheme has some similarities.]

67. Roz @41: I think as a QPR season ticket holder I may have been one of your targets, as spotted by the ever-astute essexboy, but I did chuckle. Off you spring…

68. (This Limerick discussion may draw cross words from our esteemed moderator but I feel that the form should be given licence to develop as it wishes. The original format involved a repetition of the first line – which was just a bore. (I wonder who first introduced the punchline. Someone will know.) I think the abaab scheme opens up possibilities for entertainment and gets applause from this party for one.)

69. Sorry AlanC@41 I must confess now. I have only seen three people on here confess to football allegiances and I never forget anything. My point though was to encourage HYD , solving one clue for certain setters may be more satisfying than 30 clues for other setters.

70. [ Tony@65 you are very lucky. That episode has a good reputation but is most famous for being wiped. Only about 3 minutes survive so I have never seen it. ITV made another version in the late 70s but it was “modern” and very poor. The BBC have never adapted it , they have used numerous M.R. James stories for their Ghost Story for Christmas series.
    Night of the Demon was a 1957 film version, pretty good but it had to have an American lead.]

71. Only got round to finishing this one yesterday, but just wanted to pop in to say thanks Paul and bridgesong (certainly needed the help with parsing a few).

    HIYD @58 – if you’re still reading, I really struggled with this one, if that’s any consolation. Even though I’ve been doing these things for many years, I do struggle to get on Paul’s wavelength sometimes. (I often had the same problem with Araucaria.)

    Crossbar @49 – you need more up-to-date dictionaries – the current Collins has POSING POUCH, as does the full OED.

72. Widdersbel @51 You’re right, but I’m running out of shelf space 😀 – probably because I never get rid of the old ones. My motto has been “You can never have too many dictionaries”

73. [Alan B@66, your comment led me to seek out my copy of Verse and Worse. (No easy task as it turns out it had removed itself to a hidden spot under a bedside cabinet.) Unfortunately, I found it doesn’t contain the limerick in question, after all!

    The good news is that my Penguin Book of Limericks does. In fact, in the introduction to that work (which would also help with the question about origins of the modern limerick), editor the late Eric Oakley Parrott writes:

    “Another parodist of Lear’s Nonsense limericks was W.S. Gilbert, whose limerick about the Old Man of St Bee’s (sic), the first unrhymed limerick, is given in the historical section of this book. The form clearly had its attractions for Gilbert, who used it in many of his lyrics and poems”.

    The full text of the limerick given (p.29) is:

    There was an old man of St Bees
    Who was horribly stung by a wasp.
    When they said: ‘Does it hurt?’
    He replied: ‘No, it doesn’t —
    It’s a good job it wasn’t a hornet!’
    SIR WILLIAM S. GILBERT (1836-1911)]

74. [Roz@70, thanks for the information. In fact, being able and unafraid to use the internet (how else did you think I was able to cite the full details?), I knew most of that. I can tell you that as a young teenager, I found that episode very chilling indeed.

    It’s a shame how much brilliant material of all sorts was thrown away by programme makers in those days, isn’t it?]

75. [Widdersbel@50, indeed, and the relief expressed by Valentine@50 will be short-lived when I point out that the example sentence given by Collins online is:

    a sequinned posing pouch in glittery blue and red
    ]

76. [ Tony @ 74 , I just assumed you had remembered the details or like me you had read it somewhere. The material was not actually thrown away, the tapes were wiped for re-use . Another instance of new technology leading to worse outcomes. It could not be done with film. ]

77. [Roz, bad move by the bean-counters. They thought they were saving money on tape and probably had no idea you could repeat stuff and people would watch it.]

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