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An enjoyable solve, made a bit quicker by getting the very long clue early on. My favourites were 12ac, 13ac, 2dn, 7dn, 9dn, and 18dn. Thanks to Paul
| ACROSS | ||
| 1, 5 | BRITISH LIBRARY |
Institution in blender? (7,7)
|
| “blender” becomes B + lender, so BRITISH=’B’ + LIBRARY=’lender’ | ||
| 5 |
See 1
|
|
| 10 | AFAR |
Some distance into Palmyra, Fallujah the other way (4)
|
| hidden inside (into) [Palmy]-RA FA-[llujah], reversed (the other way) | ||
| 11 |
See 21 Down
|
|
| 12 | REPAIR |
Seller with express service (6)
|
| REP=a sales rep=”Seller” + AIR=’express” as in ‘air one’s grievances’ | ||
| 13 | RAINDROP |
A little water I required in relaxation before work (8)
|
| I (from surface) inside R AND R=R&R=rest & relaxation; before OP (opus, “work”) | ||
| 14 | CHECKED IN |
Registered arrival listening to the hubbub in Prague, say? (7,2)
|
| sounds like (“listening to”) ‘Czech din’=”the hubbub in Prague, say” | ||
| 16 | ANODE |
A knob in drawer, currently? (5)
|
| definition: part of an electrical device, that might ‘draw electric current’ i.e. a ‘draw-er’ of current
A (from surface) + NODE=”knob” e.g. as in a growth or swelling |
||
| 17 |
See 3 Down
|
|
| 19 | APATHETIC |
A quote recalled by the way, passionless (9)
|
| A (from surface), plus: CITE=”quote” reversed/”recalled” after PATH=”way” | ||
| 23 | SEEM FAIR |
Appear just if seamer proves unreliable (4,4)
|
| anagram’/”proves unreliable” of (if seamer)* | ||
| 24 | PILLOW |
Aussie crook having fed prisoner, one’s stuffed (6)
|
| to feel ILL is to be “crook” in Aussie slang; inside POW (prisoner of war) | ||
| 26 |
See 21 Down
|
|
| 27 | PAIL |
Vessel drained, did you say? (4)
|
| sounds like (“did you say”) ‘pale’=”drained” of colour | ||
| 28 | ALL TOLD |
Collectively, nothing more to say? (3,4)
|
| if ALL [has been] TOLD, there is “nothing more to say” | ||
| 29 | GRANDEE |
Currency banked by my lord (7)
|
| RAND=South African “Currency”; inside (“banked by”) GEE=”my” as an exclamation of surprise | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | REFRESH |
Upside-down person in bondage secured by that woman’s brace (7)
|
| definition: as in a ‘bracing’ or ‘refreshing’ breeze
reversal (“Upside-down”) of: SERF=”person in bondage” inside HER=”that woman’s” |
||
| 3, 17 | TERRAFIRMA |
Concern after extreme anxiety voiced, in need of a safe landing place (5,5)
|
| FIRM=”Concern” as in a business, after TERRA that sounds like ‘terror’ (“extreme anxiety voiced”), plus A (from surface) | ||
| 4 | SET FREE |
TV as a gift, delivered (3,4)
|
| for definition, ‘deliver’ as in ‘save’ or ‘rescue’
SET (a TV set) FREE=”as a gift” |
||
| 6 | IBERIA |
Peak overlooked in country somewhere in SW Europe (6)
|
| [L]-IBERIA=”country” with its first letter/”Peak” removed | ||
| 7 | RESIDENCE |
Villa, say: team in conference having missed the first half (9)
|
| for the surface, “Villa” can be read as a football “team” taking part in a “conference” competition
SIDE=”team” in [confe]-RENCE missing the first half of the word |
||
| 8 | REDWOOD |
Broadcast indicated might in giant chestnut tree (7)
|
| sounds like (“Broadcast”) ‘read’ + ‘would’ = “indicated” + “might”
‘read’ as in ‘showed’ or ‘displayed’ e.g. ‘the clock read 12:00’ or ‘the sign read NO EXIT’ |
||
| 9 | GEORGIE PORGIE |
Ogre, I repeated, messed with Peg in children’s rhyme (7,6)
|
| anagram/”messed” of (Ogre I Ogre I peg)* | ||
| 15 | CAMEMBERT |
Curve about me, soft ultimately, French food (9)
|
| CAMBER=”Curve” (of e.g. a road), around ME (from surface) + last/ultimate letter of [sof]-T | ||
| 18 | ICE COOL |
Calm and collected announcement of educational establishment in ‘ackney? (3-4)
|
| sounds like (announcement of) ‘high school’=”educational establishment”, with the leading ‘h’ dropped to sound ‘ackney | ||
| 20 | TOP GEAR |
Fifth shirt and jumper, say? (3,4)
|
| definition: to be in fifth is to be in the top gear in many cars
a shirt and a jumper are examples of clothes (gear) worn as tops |
||
| 21, 26, 11 | I DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE |
Pop star I bet OK playing end of tune: note in second track and first following every piece here in song (1,2,4,2,2,6,3,7)
|
| IDOL=”Pop star” + anagram/”playing” of (I bet OK) + end of [tun]-E + E=musical “note” in B-SIDE=”second track [of an album]”, and with A-SIDE=”first [track, ahead of the b-side]” following THESE=”every piece here” | ||
| 22 | CAVELL |
WWI nurse lifting some from hell, evacuated (6)
|
| Edith Cavell, the WWI nurse [wiki]
hidden (“some from”) and reversed (“lifting”) in [he]-LL EVAC-[uated] |
||
| 25 | LUPIN |
Bloomer in this setter short of a failing? (5)
|
| definition: the name of a flowering plant i.e. a bloomer
anagram/”failing” of (in Paul)*, minus “a” Paul is “this [crossword’s] setter” |
Only solved about three quarters, then revealed. Five of the revealed I couldn’t parse.
I was unaware that “crook” for “ill” was unique to my compatriots. Had to look up nurse Cavell. I got the big one (21d etc) eventually through intersecting clues but couldn’t be bothered parsing it. Could anyone? It would have to be in the running for Most Convoluted Clue 2024.
Thanks Paul and manehi
A bit more to ANODE, I think – it’s the positive terminal in a current-producing cell, so could be said to “draw” the negative electrons towards it.
I don’t like clues such as this long one. With a few crossers and the enumeration the answer was so obvious that I didn’t even attempt to parse it.
Favourite RAINDROP for the R and R.
Never heard “crook as a dog” GDU @1? Even this pommy bas***d has heard it. I agree about IDLTBBTS though. I got it but CQBA to parse it. All the youngsters will be complaining about GK of a song written in 1907. 🙂
All the criticism of Paul tend to fair but I still love his puzzles and he is my favourite Setter by some margin.
Thanks Setter and Blogger
And no – I didn’t bother parsing ” I do like …”
Paul written all over. A superb enjoyable puzzle. And a matching high class blog. Thanks Paul and manehi.
What GDU describes as the most convoluted clue this year, gave me the maximum joy. Tastes differ.
Top faves:
RAINDROP, ANODE, TERRA FIRMA, REDWOOD and above all I D L T B B T S!
Oh and I took blender to be b(ook) lender in BRITISH LIBRARY. Same difference.
That was quick for Paul, even though I left the long one a while. Surely no-one worked it up from the wordplay? My favourites were TERRAFIRMA and TOP GEAR. For LUPIN I was trying to work out how ‘failing’ is a reversal indicator but of course as manehi noted 25 can also simply be an anagram.
Thanks Paul and manehi.
I did bother to parse the long one, but I’m trying not to be lazy and leave all parsing to the 15^2 blog! But I got it from crossers and reversed parsed.
Lots of entertaining clues and brain twisting.
Thank you to Paul and manehi.
I’m usually on Paul’s wavelength but found that one tough. My congratulations to anyone who put in the long one early and without the crossers, I’m afraid I parsed that in retrospect. I also, unaccountably, failed to parse REDWOOD until coming here so thanks to manehi for that. Thanks also to Paul for the exercise. I thought BRITISH LIBRARY a brilliant device and liked the use of R&R in RAINDROP.
Tim C @ 3, of course I have. I was remarking that I was unaware that we Aussies “held the copyright”, ie that that meaning wasn’t more universal.
This felt like doing a jigsaw with a little bit here and there and use of the check button. I’m glad I persisted, as this was pure class. Loved BRITISH LIBRARY, GEORGIE PORGIE, LUPIN and the long one. Man’s a genius.
Ta Paul & manehi.
1 across. The British Library is not a “lender” – Books are not lent but must be read in the library.
…and REFRESH(ing) to see GEE for my, rather than cor, for a change.
GDU @10… In Pommy land crook would be a criminal or something bent. Chambers has crook as “(Aust and NZ inf) ill; unfair; wrong; dubious; not working properly; inferior; nasty; unpleasant”
Grim and Dim @12. I don’t think you read Blender as “THE” British Library. B gives you BRITISH, lender gives you LIBRARY, and BRITISH LIBRARY is the institution
Grim and Dim @12, so the British Library still lends you the book even if you have to stay on the premises to read it.
KO to Paul after ten rounds but a lovely puzzle now all has been revealed. I also liked R and R in the wordplay for RAINDROP, REFRESH for brace and ‘igh s’cool. I had l do love rather than I do like, not being a big fan of songs from the early 1900’s and couldn’t get PAIL. Thanks though.
I’m another who got the long one from crossers and enumeration, but I did (eventually) parse it. Mainly because I was wondering whether Paul had managed to cram every cruciverbal device except spoonerisms into a single clue.
Started well then got really held up by the south east corner. Did not think of GRANDEE as a lord, and totally forgot the old chestnut MY. Maybe I should keep a notebook of these small but easily forgotten words with so many meanings! Thanks Paul, I really liked the song and rhyme, library, the safe landing place and the chilled out cockney, among others that also made me smile.
And thanks manehi for the parsing.
Enjoyable enough though I’m in the camp that found IDLTBBTS annoying, didn’t parse it, and having seen the parsing here am no less irritated. Also, I don’t really see where ‘chestnut’ fits in the clue for REDWOOD, which is a type of sequoia – but I have now learned about the interesting and sad story of the American Chestnut which was apparently known as the ‘redwood of the east’; I’m not sure that fully justifies ‘chestnut’ in the clue, though. Favouites include RAINDROP, LUPIN, CHECKED IN and PILLOW.
Thanks Paul and manehi.
Argh! No matter how many times Paul pulls that B-lender trick, it nearly always catches me out. I did go to the trouble of parsing the long one post hoc and glad I did – enjoyed the use of B-side and A-side. Overall, lots of fun. Thanks, Paul and manehi.
For compact elegance and precision (noting Crispy at 15), 1&5 across is a thing of real beauty. Definite favourite for me.
21d; got I DO and guessed it, couldn’t have parsed it in a million years!! As for the rest, very good, thanks.
Pace Lord Jim, it was nice to see MY not being COR for once. The reverse parsing can be fun, though the pop star did help me choose between I do and I go.
I did actually parse IDLTBBTS with a pen and paper once I’d finished the puzzle, but entered the clue after seeing IDOL and the enumeration. Lots of (enjoyable) groans at the homophones as usual, and smiles at the surface of 2d. Lots of fun. Thanks to Paul and manehi.
Wrt the song, just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s not known. After his retirement to St Annes on sea, my grandfather would sing it me on our way to buy the newspaper, and I sang it to all our kids, and no doubt they will sing it to theirs….
It would impoverish the crossword if we only have things in it that young people have experienced?
Things are crook in Tallarook, but in cwland they’re ok. Liked the puddin’ ‘n’ pie chap, and the one in bondage. Ta Pnm.
Grim and Dim @12 and Tim @16. The British Library most definitely lends books. They are delivered to the reader via another library, commonly one at a university.
Petert @24: me @13, I’ve never been called a Lord before but thx 🙂
1a has been shared with my chum who is a strictly Times only solver. He, like me, was a big fan.
Thanks to both manehi and Paul. ((I was another CQBA).
Re IDLTBBTS, A and B are sides of a single 45 record rather than consecutive album tracks. Not that it makes any difference to the parsing, as one conventionally precedes the other. Like many others here I couldn’t be bothered working out the parsing, although as always in these cases I feel a bit guilty about not doing so.
Is ‘chestnut’ tree just referring to its colour?
Baggins@22: it is if you consider TERRA and ‘terror’ to be homophones. Some of us don’t, so I took ages to get this.
I don’t think the clue is suggesting that the British Library lends books. The definition is “Institution” and the wordplay is B = British and “lender” = LIBRARY, ie a library in general that could be a lender as indicated by the question mark.
I did of course initially think that the “my” in 29a would be COR! (AlanC @13 and Petert @24.)
Thanks Paul and manehi.
Hovis@32
Quite likely. Thanks.
The long one evaded me for a long time, then I guessed and back parsed ít and laughed out loud. ICE COOL and CHECKED IN also produced a chuckle. I failed to parse BLENDER so thank you maheni for that and Paul for this puzzle
Some songs are perennial and I think IDLTBBTS is one is one of them.
Hovis@32 – maybe, but I think the word is unnecessary and the clue would be better without it.
[AlanC@13 and 29. Sorry. I don’t know how I missed your post]
beaulieu @37
My guess is that Paul is aware of “the redwood of the east” chestnut and threw that in as a bit of misdirection – “giant tree” on its own leads a bit too obviously to the solution.
I, too, biffed the long one once I’d got a few crossers in to make it guessable. I wish Paul wouldn’t do this so often. If the fundamental principle of a clue is that it should lead the solver towards the solution, then this one fails completely: in fact, the solution leads the solver back to the clue. [sigh] Yes, I know that many here will find the latter intellectual exercise to be fun and worthwhile (like doing a sudoku or a Wordle) but for me this isn’t quite what a cryptic crossword clue should be. There were lots of really good clues, too! e.g. those for APATHETIC and REPAIR … or the witty ICE-COOL/high school.
As is often the case with Paul, I spent some time at the very start gazing at an empty grid before the penny gradually dropped here and there. Then first one in APATHETIC, followed by quite a few I struggled to parse – IBERIA, CAVELL, PILLOW. I’ve also always thought of the BRITISH LIBRARY as a place where you sit and become a bit overawed by your surroundings rather than borrow a book, strangely enough. Did wonder too whether there was a typo in 25d, with “failing” more exactly supposed to be “falling”. Quite a ride of twists and turns this morning. And perhaps not a day to be rejoicing about being beside the seaside with the present weather here in the UK, certainly in East Anglia…
This was fun – CHECKED IN and BRITISH LIBRARY made me grin.
Like so many others I guessed the song but cba to parse it. Well, I made a start, then decided life’s too short.
Been humming it ever since, though….
Thank you Paul for the fun and manehi for explaining the convoluted parsing
What a mixed bag from Paul today. I loved CHECKED IN but there were lots I couldn’t do, and then didn’t think much of. Usually have such a laugh when Paul’s the setter, so maybe the weather’s got me down.
I’m another one who didn’t bother parsing the song. Like ronald@41 I think that ‘failing’ might have been a misprint for ‘falling’ otherwise I don’t see a reversal indicator. Also took a long while to get RAINDROP as I didn’t expect ‘relaxation’ to be a clue for ‘rest and relaxation’ – perhaps ‘a break’ would have been better? Thanks Paul and Manehi.
Typically Pauline with some good clues, but I’m not a fan of overly long ones. I didn’t actually get this one until I had quite a few crossers. Even that didn’t help with the recalcitrant SE corner.
I liked the wordplays in PILLOW, RAINDROP and GRANDEE (LOI). I also enjoyed the ‘igh school.
Thanks Paul and manehi.
Oops. Was about to claim that (S)iberia isn’t a country!
ronald @41: I had the same thought about BRITISH LIBRARY at first, once I read the parsing here (one of many that I got without parsing completely) but on further reflection, I think it works. The wordplay needn’t refer to the British Library specifically. B = British + lender = (any) library. The definition “institution” is what refers to the British Library in particular.
Solved, but I found that much harder than Paul’s previous. It took me a lot of revisits today.
REFRESH was probably my favourite clue. I couldn’t parse the song at all, but the other letters gave it away. GRANDEE was my LOI.
Charles@9 – I couldn’t parse REDWOOD either until I came here. Maybe this was a two coffee crossword.
I loved the long one, even though I had to get It from the crossers and parse it back to the clue, as often happens. I know such clues annoy some, but I for one enjoy the challenge and fun of them – especially when it’s Paul, who makes me laugh.
Thanks Paul & Manehi. Always thought that a service is to keep a working system going, whereas a repair is to get a broken system working again.
Another top offering from Paul. Got the song pretty quickly as I do ……is very relevant as Mr H lives in Brighton. Worthy of a Saturday competition crossword. Yes some of the parsing was hard but that’s half the fun of doing crosswords. Thanks S and B
AlanS@46: Quite a few people on the Guardian thread complaining that S(IBERIA) isn’t a country, so you’re not alone: took me a while to think of the real one.
An appreciative OUCH for the Czech din and the ‘igh skool. CAVELL was delayed by thinking the WW1 nurse was a VAD – which did at least give me a useful V. Last two in were TOP GEAR/GRANDEE.
No, I’m not sure what chestnut is doing in the REDWOOD clue, and no, I didn’t parse the song, though I got it with only two crossers in place.
So was it just me who saw Paul was the setter and confidently entered PENIS as 16a before checking (I’d love to claim the crossers proved me wrong but they escaped me too) to find it was wrong?
I always understood R&R to mean rest and recreation not relaxation.
I thought the second R was “recuperation”!
Not a fan of Paul at all, largely due to his habit of linking clues, and usually I don’t bother with his offerings. I guess I had more time today, and the puzzle all went very smoothly. The song was clear to me from enumeration as soon as I saw it and was my first one in. I parsed it as far as I DO L, and moved on. Thanks to our blogger for unravelling the rest of it, which I couldn’t be bothered with.
I’ve never heard the song, and it didn’t help that all but three of the fifteen crossers were E, I or O.
Thanks for the puzzle, Paul, and manehi for the much-needed help.
SE corner blank. Parsed SEASIDE but it really it was rubbish as a clue. Once again I find myself regretting having started a Paul crossword.
jeceris@54 – +1
Alans@46 – I also forgot about Liberia, but reasoned that Siberia is almost entirely country as opposed to town, so the clue worked – but the Liberia parsing is much better.
R&R can obviously stand for any of the three suggestions but, given its military origins, Recuperation seems likely to be the original. Relaxation is perhaps the least satisfactory as it means much the same as Rest and so adds little to the meaning. Thanks to Paul for another fine offering.
I`m with W @21. I`m sure (probably) all of us have heard the song a thousand times.
How may of us though have ever thought of B-sides and A-sides when doing so?
Cheers P&m
Me @61
We had double albums, but was there ever a double single release?
If so we might have had the C-side and the D-side (coast and riverbank)
Wellcidered @62
Wasn’t the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour released as a “double single”?
Muffin, double EP I think. There were six tracks. In UK anyway. I am sure there are examples of double singles when many kinds of novelty were used. I shall ponder.
Bless you fifteen squared. The comments make me feel less of a failure for having had to resort (seaside) to the reveal button.
C-sides and D- sides. Chris Rea’s “On the Beach” was released as a limited edition 2 x 7-inch single in UK. There must be others.
I uded to work for the British Library Lending Division and can assure you it lends vast numbers of books. Didn’t help me though!
I’m another of those 60 year old youngsters that has never heard of that song. I had to reveal it along with PILLOW. I thought it was going to be something about seasons. Faves were REFRESH and GRANDEE.
I wasn’t keen on the long clue, but it was the only one that required retrospective parsing for me today – unusually for a Paul. I thought both homophones were excellent, I liked the devious definition in TOP GEAR, the fine surface for RESIDENCE, and thought BRITISH LIBRARY a bit of a classic. Paul on good, and accessible, form in recent weeks.
I asked my daughter, who’s in her 30s, if she knows I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside – and she does, because it’s on the tail-end of the Seven Seas of Rhye in the film of Bohemian Rhapsody, released 2018. (I probably sang it to her as a child too, because we did.)
Didn’t Reginald Dixon always open with it from the Tower Ballroom at Blackpool? Mind you, that was probably over 50 years ago as well!
Muffin@71. Oh yes, Reginald Dixon and the organ that came out of the floor. Only got the song from the crossers and didn’t get BRITISH LIBRARY, TOP GEAR, PILLOW or GRANDEE. It was fun trying though.
I absolutely love Paul. Favourite today: Raindrop. Funniest: Ice cool
You know you’ve reached peak 225 when you read someone claiming the British Library doesn’t lend books
Thanks to an online meeting during which ten minutes of content was squeezed into an hour, I was able to tackle this much earlier than usual. I found it slightly easier than the typical Paul. I didn’t parse the seaside and wrote the word “ouch” underneath 1a when realisation finally dawned. Thanks Paul & Manehi.
R&R means rest and recovery, to me at least!
The song went in without parsing and without any crossers – the 3-letter word was almost certainly THE, the first word had to b A, I or O, and if it was I, DO seemed a likely second word … the enumeration gave the rest.
I read 8d as a triple-part clue: a homophone (“Broadcast indicated might”) as per manehi; a charade (“chestnut” = RED, “tree” = WOOD); and a definition (REDWOODs sometimes called ‘giants of the forest’). I’m not totally happy with it though. Thanks P and M.
The SE proved to be a real struggle for me today. Finally got there this evening. Thanks Paul for another lovely challenge. And manehi for the blog.
Shanne@70, it was also on the original version of Seven Seas of Rhye on Queen II in 1974.
PILLOW reminded me of one of my favourite Australian political cartoons, when Malcolm Fraser’s Treasurer, Phillip Lynch, was hospitalised.
“I’m a little crook Mal”
“We don’t think you’re a little crook Phil”.
muffin@71
If I remember correctly Reginals Dixon was “at the keyboard of the Mighty Wurlitzer” which always sounded impressive.
20d My perfectly ordinary 2018-registered Ford Fiesta has 6 forward gears. Just saying.
BigNorm @56: this was a superb crossword. Your comment was very strange.
AlanC@81 it was indeed a superb crossword, but Bignorm’s comment stands scrutiny; a lot of solvers do not like puzzles where half the clues refer to one another, whereas my twisted mind regards them as a challenge to be enjoyed.
I do think that “fifth” for TOP GEAR is rather dated though – widely true in the 80s and 90s but far less so now. My current car has seven gears, but thankfully it chooses for me !
Good points from jeceris@54, muffin@55 and MikeB@60. Both recuperation or recreation are listed in dictionaries along with relaxation (and perhaps recovery should be too) so no doubt Paul was thinking of one of those.
Perhaps we will get all the song in a random order . In December we had TIDDLY-OM-POM-POM .
18d was a cool clue, 23a seemed fair to me, I liked 13a when the penny dropped, 19a was anything but pathetic, but the long one had me beside myself. Time for me to Czech out and go to bed. Thanks P&m.
JerryG@78 (not 45 or 33) – “Seven Seas of Rhye(45) on Queen II(33) in 1974.” – a double golden anniversary.
Here’s the last 20 seconds, where I DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE fades in.
[The BSIDES were See What a Fool I’ve Been (UK) and The Loser in the End (Japan)].
“Your comment is awaiting moderation.” Here it is again without the links:
JerryG@78 (not 45 or 33) – “Seven Seas of Rhye(45) on Queen II(33) in 1974.” – a double golden anniversary.
Not sure anyone will read this … huge thanks to Paul and to Manehi for the blog.
I loved the long seaside clue and especially ‘igh school. LOI Iberia thought I didn’t manage to parse it, so thanks for the blog. I think the parsing above of 7D is slightly more complicated than it needs to be – it’s just SIDE=’team’ in [confe-]RENCE (‘taking part in “conference” competition’ isn’t necessary).
I got the homophone clues! ? a lot of that was too hard without check button and didn’t manage about 1/4. Still enjoyed it tho!
I used to like Paul’s puzzles but now can never finish them without help. 21 26 is so complicated!
Am catching up but had to pop by to praise yet another great offering from this wonderful compiler. We are so very fortunate to be solving in the days of Paul ….. his puzzles are always delightful and fresh ….
Many thanks (and to manehi for his excellent blog)