Well, I’ll be doggone! Not sure if last Saturday was ‘International Dog Appreciation Day’ or something, but Brendan has woven an impressive number of doggie references into the clues for this puzzle…
…not to mention dogs and related items in the answers as well, along with some misleading references to ‘canines’ of the tooth variety.
And, rather cruelly, there is a lone FELINE sitting in the bottom right corner, not sure whether to fight or flee!
Once I’d twigged the dog theme – which was pretty clear after reading the first few clues – I made good progress, and as a contest this was over in pretty quick order…maybe too quick for a Prize puzzle(?), but there was lots of fun along the way… GROMIT as an ‘animated beagle’; the ‘maltreated peke’ for KEEP; the POLICE DOGS ‘lodged with cops’; the ‘dis-abbreviation’ of Lab to LABRADOR; the ‘setter’ attached to his clue for LEAD…
13A was maybe a little unfair on non-aficionados, who might not know that Brendan is Irish (I think I remembered seeing that in a blog or comment somewhere?) but, given the Irish connotations of the name ‘Brendan’ and the dog theme, not to mention the enumeration and five crossers, it was pretty gettable without knowing that.
Several clues that might or might not be double definitions…I have flagged some and maybe not others, and I’m not sure how to classify 22A DOGFIGHT as a clue type. I’m sure there will be assistance below.
I think my LOI was FELINE – maybe I wasn’t expecting that in a dog-themed puzzle!
(NB. I’ve noticed that I haven’t highlighted PACK above, or the up-flowing WOLF, but I don’t have the bandwidth to go back and re-do the animation!)
My thanks to Brendan, and I hope I haven’t missed any more thematic material. And I should state for the record that I am more of a cat person – so much less demanding!…(cue howls of derision from the dog lovers amongst you…)
| Clue No | Solution | Clue (definition underlined)
Logic/parsing |
| 5A | STAYED | Was an obedient dog, still unusually steady (6)
anag, i.e. unusually, of STEADY |
| 6A | BOXERS | Pugs run in packs (6)
BOXE_S (packs) around R (run, cricket scoring) [a pug being a specific dog breed, but also short for pugilist, or boxer!] |
| 9A | STERNA | Parts of chest, back and front of Alsatian (6)
STERN (back, rear, naval) + A (front letter of Alsatian) |
| 10A | OVERTIRE | Exhaust Rover, moving his head inside tether (8)
OVER__R_ (rover with the first letter, or head, moved to the end, within TI_E (tether) = OVERTIRE! |
| 11A | LEAD | Clue to which setter may be attached (4)
double defn?. – a LEAD can be a clue, or hint; and a setter, of the canine type!, might be on a LEAD |
| 12A | KENNELLING | Knowing about old measure that’s accommodating dogs (10)
KENN_ING (knowing, to ken, mainly Scottish usage) around ELL (obsolete, i.e. old, measure of cloth) |
| 13A | IRISH SETTER | Hunting companion for Brendan, say (5,6)
Brendan is Irish, and sets crosswords, so could be an IRISH SETTER! [Maybe a double defn?…] |
| 18A | POLICE DOGS | Helpers with law enforcement I lodge with cops, possibly (6,4)
anag, i.e. possibly, of I LODGE with COPS |
| 21A | KEEP | Don’t abandon maltreated peke (4)
anag, i.e. maltreated, of PEKE |
| 22A | DOGFIGHT | Highly dangerous combat for 6? (8)
a DOGFIGHT is a dangerous, usually aerial, i.e. high-ly(!), type of combat; and 6 – BOXERS – also fight in the ring, but not the canine type, usually… [not entirely sure how to classify this, or how much is the definition!] |
| 23A | GROMIT | Animated beagle’s strength of character securing award (6)
GR_IT (strength of character) around (securing) OM (Order of Merit, award) [the animated beagle being Wallace’s trusty companion] |
| 24A | EMOTED | Scholar’s book returned by editor — was barking mad or whined, perhaps (6)
EMOT (tome, or academic volume, returned) + ED (editor, abbreviation) |
| 25A | PAWNEE | Part of dog originally named after American people (6)
PAW (part of a dog) + NEE (née, originally known as) |
| Down | ||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue (definition underlined)
Logic/parsing |
| 1D | LABRADOR | Lab fully extended in part of Canada (8)
dis-abbreviation! – Lab fully extends to LABRADOR, which could be a dog or a part of Canada! |
| 2D | REPACK | Make adjustments in case about hounds (6)
RE (legal, in the matter of) + PACK (group of hounds) |
| 3D | FOREFEET | At a cost, over time, covering European dog’s front paws (8)
FOR_FEE (for a fee, at a cost) around (covering) E (European) + T (time) |
| 4D | DENTAL | Sort of care canines get from student also (6)
hidden word in, i.e. from, ‘stuDENT ALso’ [different sort of ‘canines’ here!] |
| 5D | SITTER | It’s easy to catch obedient dog? (6)
double defn – in sport, e.g. cricket, a SITTER is an easy catch; and an obedient dog will SIT on request |
| 7D | SPRINT | What greyhounds do, producing small paw mark (6)
S (small) + PRINT (paw mark) |
| 8D | HOUNDSTOOTH | Check pattern of canines with another, maybe (11)
HOUNDS (canines, of the dog kind) + TOOTH (e.g. a different type of canine!) [hound’s-tooth – hyphenated in Chambers – being a textile pattern of broken checks] |
| 14D | SLEIGHED | In dog-drawn vehicle, most of crew travelled across snow (8)
SL_ED (dog-drawn vehicle) around EIGH( |
| 15D | ELKHOUND | Deerstalker led OK hunt, endlessly excited (8)
subtractive anag, i.e. excited, of LED OK HUN( |
| 16D | COYOTE | Wild dog’s withdrawn, having turned up to eat, initially (6)
COY (shy, withdrawn) + OT (to, turned up) + E (initial letter of Eat) |
| 17D | FELINE | Alternative to pet dog for fine English family (6)
F (fine) + E (English) + LINE (family, ancestry) |
| 19D | INFLOW | Lots of people arriving home upset member of dog family (6)
IN (at home) + FLOW (wolf, member of dog family, upset) |
| 20D | SIGNAL | Noteworthy dog whistle, for instance (6)
double defn. – something noteworthy can be SIGNAL, adjective; and a dog-whistle can be a SIGNAL, noun |
FOI was Irish Setter, and feeling pleased with myself, set off like a greyhound, but eventually ground to a halt, especially the top half and ended up with a DNF!
So thanks for the explanations, and the amusing animated grid!
Thanks mc_rapper67. Like you I found the theme quite quickly and was a little disappointed that it was all over so soon. I needed confirmation for GROMIT after initially trying to justify Snoopy. I thought DOGFIGHT was simply a double definition, one in the Battle of Britain context and the other a scrap between canines.
Masterful as always from Brendan — dogs in every clue without compromising the surfaces — I liked many including OVERTIRE, EMOTED, PAWNEE, HOUNDSTOOTH, COYOTE, FELINE, and INFLOW. I missed REPACK and couldn’t fully parse SITTER. Thanks to both.
My overall reaction was just as BigglesA@2 said. Also, if anyone here is an authority on DOGFIGHTs, it should be Biggles.
There were some nice clues of course as expected with Brendan, but I personally like it better when the Prize puzzle is chewy enough to spread over several days, or at least several sessions.
Thanks both.
FOI was OVERTIRE (a favourite) although I parsed it incorrectly at first.
Although I am a greyhound owner and dog lover found this really tough and in the end, like Ant @1, DNF with a few in the top half unsolved.
Favourites included: SPRINT (of course) INFLOW, PAWNEE, SLEIGHED
Thanks Brendan and mc_rapper67
Gromit took all the crossers, as I know of that particular cartoon but only just. Still, the pooches were quite fun, thanks both.
Thank you mc_rapper67 for your brilliantly illuminated grid.
Lots to like. Almost every clue has a in inbuilt chuckle. Tick for HOUNDSTOOTH. I do remember that, but I’ve found it predates me, believe it or not.
Brendan at his very best – an obvious theme reflected in every clue, without compromising the quality of the clues. Brilliant. Favourite among many was 3d REPACK – a very deceptive surface.
HoofItYouDonkey, if you see this. You commented@73 on Tuesday’s Matilda puzzle that she and Brendan were among your least favourite setters. They happen to be two of my top 5 setters. That’s one of the things I like about this hobby – the variety of setters and the variety of responses to them. Vive la difference.
Thanks to Brendan for the beautifully constructed fun and mc_rapper67 for the excellent and colourful blog.
This was a lot of fun. Quick to fill once I’d picked up the scent. My only query/quibble is 6 across. Is a pug a boxer? I thought they were completely separate breeds.
Jolt @9: A boxer, one who fights in a ring, is a pugilist. Boxers could be “pugs” in that sense.
Ah, I did not know that. Thanks Tony @10.
Or rather, I know boxers are pugilists, but I’ve never heard them called pugs for short.
I must have found this easy, because I finished it in one session, almost unheard of for me, especially with a prize puzzle. But it was all fun, with lots to grin at, and I’m amazed at how Brendan managed to stick to the dog theme so tenaciously. PAWNEE was a particular favourite. I did wonder if DOGFIGHT went deeper than just than boxer dogs fighting being a dogfight but couldn’t see a more aerial reference. I’m rather a fan of GROMIT, but realised I’d never thought to ask what breed of a dog he was. And I didn’t actually know Brendan was Irish, but he clearly might be, so that didn’t trouble me. Thanks, Brendan, and thanks for the blog, mc_rapper.
And I can’t remember now whether I thought of pugs as pugilists, or simply didn’t realise pugs and boxers might be different, but I remember thinking boxer shorts were sold in packs, and missed the ‘run’ reference entirely.
A sheer delight. Great thanks, Brendan. I’m not a pet person but couldn’t fault the puzzle at all. What a phenomenal construction!
As Tony Santucci @10 highlights, fisticuff boxers are pugilants, so we don’t need to argue whether a boxer dog is/isn’t a pug.
For once I got all the parsing right … except for 2D: a clue I got wrong. I read the definition as just “make adjustments” and wrongly plumped for an unparsed REHACK.
Thanks for all the smiles, Brendan and mc_rapper67.
Thanks for a great blog and amazing grid.
Pug is a different breed to boxer but Tony@10 is correct about pugiliist . It is in Chambers but hard to find, under PUGIL.
I did enjoy this despite my aversion to themes, especially themes in the clues.
Neat,precise,elegant clues and I noticed several opportunities for homophones that were ignored.
I had GOODIE for GROMIT once SNOOPY wouldn’t fit.
GO strength of character
ODIE the dog
GOODIE the reward
It just didn’t quite work and now I have seen the light.
Thanks to Blogger and Brendan.
I often have a challenge to recall my solving experience a week on from the Saturday puzzle; but not this time. I’m firmly in the ‘loved it’ camp. I accept that a surface theme can be intrusive but when it is done as smoothly as this, it becomes a joy and I spent a very happy hour deciphering pooches of all varieties from clues of all varieties. So no complaints whatsoever from me. SPRINT, SITTER and STERNA were my podium. Biggles A @2: you were not the only one to initially plump for Snoopy. I’ve always known him to be a beagle but had not appreciated Gromit was another of the same breed.
Thanks Brendan and MC
Fun puzzle. The theme made some clues easier for me.
Liked OVERTIRE.
New for me: PUG = boxer’ GROMIT = animated beagle.
* LIke Biggles A and ForestFan, initially I was thinking of Snoopy for 23ac but could not parse it so I gave up on that.
Thanks, both.
I loved this, sailed through this quicker than usual for a prize having spotted the dogs early.
I did have a couple of queries where I’d thought “is that all?” for SITTER and STEADY, and had to check GROMIT was a beagle when I’d parsed that one, but other than that, all done, parsed and dusted.
Thank you mc_rapper667 and Brendan.
Like others my Voyage of the Beagle was from an unparsed SNOOPY to GROMIT. Is it the ears that make the breed popular with animators? LEAD was ahead of a long list of favourites. Thanks both.
I enjoyed this, though it was noticeably more accessible than the usual Prize fare. A few of the recent weekday puzzles were tougher.
Add me to the list who started with SNOOPY before crossers put me right.
Cheers both.
Not interested in dogs but this was a lot of fun, although like others, over too quickly. Like Ant @1, IRISH SETTER was foi and the theme clicked soon from there. I was surprised that LABRADOR was the answer as it looked so obvious, but that’s my only quibble.
Ta Brendan & mc for the colourful blog
This was clever but too easy. Had difficulty with the Woolfhound. Clearly not RED, not BROWN or even GREEN then IRISH came out of the depths. I did not know that this Brendan is Irish but did know of Brendan the Irish Saint but still did not make the connection. I too was not sure that a BOXER is a PUG. Ridiculously got stuck with PAWNEE. We saw PAW and NEE early on but did not connect them until the very end. Poor me.
Thanks for all the comments so far – much appreciated, as usual. I will be out all day at yet another university open day – Cardiff this time – but I’m sure any queries or quibbles will be mulled over and responded to by others below.
Today seems to be another ‘dog day’ – my Collins Android app offered up ‘rabies’ as the ‘word of the day’, and a BBC news item about dogs in Chernobyl having their DNA adapted by the radiation, or rather to cope with the radiation(?)
Anyway, have to admit I never even thought of Snoopy – maybe I already had enough crossers by then.
Will annotate my parsing of BOXERS – I have learned something new, as I thought ‘pug’ was a generic term for any dog, rather than a specific make/model, and I missed the pugilism connection!
If DOGFIGHT is a double defn., it must be an overlapping one, with ‘combat’ serving double duty? Dr WhatsOn at #4 – agreed, Biggles must be the authority there!
Right – I’m off to Cardiff…
– how do you get to Wales in a Mini? One in the front, one in the back…
– how do you get two whales in a Mini? Down the M4 and across the Severn Bridge…
I’ll get my coat!
This was a super crossword. What struck me most was the economy of the clues, a quality that I have encountered before with Brendan. I also admired the neat, sometimes descriptive but precise definitions, like ‘Was an obedient dog’ (STAYED). IRISH SETTER (a clue of 5 words) was a favourite, along with SITTER, DOGFIGHT, SPRINT, BOXERS and the aforementioned STAYED.
Thanks to Brendan and mc_rapper67.
Brendan is catnip to me, one of my top three setters, so I was delighted to see his name on this Prize puzzle.
I found this typically ingenious and enjoyable, but was helped by the fact that many parts of the solutions were words already mentioned in other clues (PAW,SETTER, PACK, HOUND, DOG).
I enjoyed the misdirection of PUGS and BOXERS, neither relating to dogs, but intuitable via pugilist. And whilst the canine/ tooth misdirection was also clever, it made DENTAL simpler when it was used a second time.
GROMIT was my LOI and a favourite .
So a straightforward solve in an hour or so but hugely enjoyable nevertheless.
Thanks to Brendan and mc_r for the excellent blog.
I failed on Gromit and feline. Both clues seem fair enough in retrospect, except how would anybody know Gromit is a beagle? It’s solvable without knowing that, but is it an established fact?
Good doggy puzzle with Brendan’s characteristic, impressive grid-filling.
Roz @16 is right that pug for boxer is in Chambers:
pug4 /pug/ (informal)
noun
A boxer
ORIGIN: Shortened from pugilist (see under pugilism)
I’m another who particularly liked OVERTIRE with a neat trick, and REPACK for the unexpected definition, where I thought ‘case’ was part of the wordplay.
Thanks Brendan and mc.
Enjoyed the theme & the animated blog. Is it just me that when clues have ‘producing’ or ‘for’ (7D,17D) or similar, I always assume (wrongly here) that the definition part is on the right hand side?
Forgot to solve this last Saturday. Usually I’d have completely forgotten solving it – a week is a long time in CrosswordLand – but it’s fresh in my mind.
The experience was much as mc_rapper67’s – “over in pretty quick order…maybe too quick…but…fun”.
The central HOUNDSTOOTH is very fine – both kinds of canine, Doggy & DENTAL. Strangely Collins only seems to allow it accompanied by CHECK.
Nice to see GROMIT and his and Wallace’s 3 Oscar & 5 Bafta awards alluded to at 23A. Snoopy is more famously a beagle, but here’s some photographic evidence 🙂
https://downthetubes.net/gromit-reads-the-beagle/
An ELKHOUND is a deer stalker, but a deerstalker is Sherlock’s hat. Nice misdirection.
Similar thing with with DOG FIGHT & DOGFIGHT.
Around it my were my favourites: SIGNAL, PAWNEE and my loi FELINE.
I Forgot to solve this last Saturday. Usually I’d have completely forgotten solving it – a week is a long time in CrosswordLand – but it’s fresh in my mind.
The experience was much as mc_rapper67’s – “over in pretty quick order…maybe too quick…but…fun”.
The central HOUNDSTOOTH is very fine – both kinds of canine, Doggy & DENTAL. Strangely Collins only seems to allow it accompanied by CHECK.
Nice to see GROMIT and his and Wallace’s 3 Oscar & 5 Bafta awards alluded to at 23A. Snoopy is more famously a beagle, but here’s some photographic evidence 🙂
https://downthetubes.net/gromit-reads-the-beagle/
An ELKHOUND is a deer stalker, but a deerstalker is Sherlock’s hat. Nice misdirection.
Similar thing with with DOG FIGHT & DOGFIGHT.
Around it my were my favourites: SIGNAL, PAWNEE and my loi FELINE.
Oops sorry. I don’t know how that happened.
As many have already commented, this was great fun but not in the way that a prize often is – providing a challenge – but in giving us a chance to appreciate playful and witty cluing.
Or so I thought part way through what was looking like my quickest ever Saturday solve, but then I ground to a halt in the SE corner with four hold outs. Others have mentioned FELINE and GROMIT, but I also found SIGNAL tricky, and I really only got going again when I saw the PAW in 25a at exactly the same moment that I remembered the name of those ‘American people’. Not so much a penny drop moment as a foot fall.
Thanks to Brendan for the entertainment and to our blogger for providing an appropriately witty and playful commentary.
Always a treat to have a crossword from Brendan and one with a theme that even I could spot
My favourite was, of course, the IRISH SETTER
Many thanks to Brendan and mc_rapper
An enjoyable solve with some very clever clueing, already mentioned above. Quibble about 24a: to me mad=angry=emoted but barking mad=insane which doesn’t involve emotion.
There’s been quite a bit in the papers recently about how unfair it is to breed brachycephalic dogs because of the breathing difficulties it entails. There’s even been an attempt to get the insurers, Churchill, to stop using a bulldog in their ads. I assumed, wrongly, that, as well as being a specific breed, “pug” was used generically for this type so thanks for the pug/pugilist clarification.
Thanks to Brendan and mc_rapper67
Fun puzzle (although I am no cynophile) with excellent use of a pervasive theme in clues and solutions – Brendan is a master at this. Gentle for a Prize, as most of us have remarked, but no less enjoyable.
Snoopy was also my first idea for the beagle but GROMIT fits ‘animated’ much better.
I thought the clue for LABRADOR was rather weak, but the rest I found very good and varied. Favourites were POLICE DOGS, HOUNDSTOOTH and IRISH SETTER (I presume Brendan took this pseudonym because he moved from Ireland to the USA; according to legend St Brendan also sailed across the Atlantic).
The trope of Holmes always leaving Baker St wearing a DEERSTALKER is not justified by the text – only in the country would he ever use such head covering.
Thanks to S&B
Thanks Brendan and mc. I am ashamed to say that GROMIT didn’t occur to me at all. I had FELINE and SIGNAL ready to go in as soon as I could convince myself that a misspelled GOOFIE was even a dog, let alone a beagle, never mind the parsing. I prefer wild birds so no to cats.
I’m not sure about STERNA in a chest – we only have one sternum, so the chests need to be plural too.
Like many others, I knew Snoopy was a beagle, but had never considered what breed GROMIT might be. Where is this documented?
As usual with our IRISH SETTER, a tour de force of setting, but not as difficult as he can be. I liked the inclusion of SITter and STAYed, the LEAD and the KENNEL. Favourites the POLICE DOGS, PAWNEE, HOUNDSTOOTH and the maltreated Peke. But I feel sorry for the poor FELINE.
I thought “lab” totally weakened that clue. Maybe “retriever” would have rendered it more cryptic?
mc_rapper67 Whether or not solvers know that our setter is Irish, Saint Brendan certainly was.
Enjoyed the critters. Now I’m waiting for a cat puzzle. Bet muffin is too. Astonishingly, he hasn’t posted today. I thought he posted every day.
Thanks, Brendan and mc_rapper67.
Valentine @42: Brendan’s crossword #28,948 from late last year has a cat theme. It’s worth a look.
I have to agree with the first paragraph of Sheffieldhatter@34’s comment and with the many others who thought this fun and elegant while noting the alacrity of solve. Still, I have noticed in life that some of the best things, like the old Chambers chestnut éclair, are indeed short in duration…
Many thanks to the creative and generous polychromatic mc_rapper67; and to our own, delightful as ever, Irish setter!
STERNA has additional dogginess as ‘stern’ can mean (OED) ‘The tail of an animal, esp. of a sporting-dog or a wolf.’ Or an Alsatian…
Being a late starter I lacked patience to get PAWNEE and not heard of HOUDSTOOTH but guessable.
Just a minor point: aren’t the two meanings of SIGNAL really the same? Something is only SIGNAL (adj) because it’s a sign towards something.
Thanks Brendan and Mr Rapper
Tim@46 I just thought a dog whistle is a signal (noun) not usually important, but SIGNAL = noteworthy (adj) is simply descriptive of something important . this clue took me the longest.
Another lovely puzzle which I attacked in my usual “45 minutes at bedtime” manner, which for some reason seems to be when my brain works best. Not sure if the dog theme made it easier – I’m more of a cat person – but I certainly sailed through it. Thoroughly satisfying, and no need to return to it on Sunday. This weekend’s Paul is a little chewier ! Thanks to mc_rapper67 and to Brendan.
I was unable to solve 24ac & 16dn and left them blank until yesterday (Saturday) morning when I had another look and got, first, 16dn COYOTE (after thinking of ‘coy’) and then 24ac EMOTED.
18ac, POLICE DOGS: There was an incident in my home town of Stevenage a few years ago where a policeman in hot pursuit of a youth set a police alsatian on him. The dog proceeded to bite the youth’s leg and since he (ahem!) happened to be carrying a large knife, he stabbed and slashed at the dog to try and make it release him — without success. The dog suffered a punctured lung and a slash across the head and the policeman a cut on the hand. It’s not totally clear exactly why the boy was being chased and what the justification was for wounding him in the course of an arrest. He was never charged with any offence except those arising from his defending himself against an armed attack by the officer. If I remember correctly, the boy, an out-of towner, had run from a house where drugs were allegedly being sold. Anyway, no one had any sympathy for the boy but feeling for the dog, named Finn, ran so high in the wake of a huge media campaign backed by Hitchin MP Oliver Heald, that the events gave rise to one of those laws carried through Parliament on a wave of emotion which get named after someone, in this case, “Finn’s law”. It is now illegal to defend yourself from being savaged by a service animal. Finn McCool was, of course, a legendary Irish king.
22ac, DOGFIGHT: Mc, You think dogs don’t fight? It’s illegal to arrange fights between dogs but it still happens and probably happens spontaneously even more often.
5dn, SITTER: “will SIT on request“?!. Even people who love their dogs, issue commands to them, rather than requests. I don’t believe even the politest dog owner addresses their pet in terms like “Rover, I wonder whether you’d mind awfully sitting?”.
Mr Womble@30, I think what you say is right, although it’s a principle that is fairly often breached, especially for the sake of a good surface.
I just love seeing Brendan’s name above a crossword. I know it’s going to be fun, and usually challenging in places, but always possible to get a toehold to get started. Shall always think of him as our Irish setter from here on. Only quibble was with 1d that seemed a bit too obvious, but maybe being a Canuck by choice helped.
Sorry mc_rapper67 to come out on the side of the dog lovers, but the dog fanatic in me just wants to echo all the plaudits above for this fun puzzle. Very many thanks to you as blogger and to our fantabulous Irish setter, Brendan [you two are probably the only ones who might read this post so late in the piece]. My favourite clues in this puzzle were far too numerous to list, and I found it was just at the right level of challenge to suit me.
Tony Collman@49
Sergeant Wilson: “Would you mind awfully falling in, please?”
Dad’s Army @52, haha. Yes, I reckon Sgt Wilson probably would have issued requests to his pet dogs, if any .