Paul is back again, with a quite challenging puzzle, which I really enjoyed …
… in fact, this is one of those that I could say remind me of why Paul used to be among my favourite setters. I started ticking answers as I went through – there were lots of smiles and ‘ahas’ – but soon gave up: as often, I’ll leave it to you to name favourites.
Many thanks to Paul – I loved it!
Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 A scream from hospital colleague? (7)
COMEDIC
Double definition, the second a CO-MEDIC
5 Cowboy film actress? (7)
BULLOCK
Double definition: cowboy Richard and film actress Sandra
Edit: or, perhaps more probably – see early comments – bullock = cow boy
9 Notes exactly as quoted by Greek character (5)
MUSIC
MU (Greek character) + SIC (exactly as quoted)
10 Vacuous really, there’s McGonagall’s initial, shocking versifier (9)
RHYMESTER
An anagram (shocking) of R[eall]Y + THERE’S + M[cgonagall) (‘shocking versifier’ – see here and here‘s his famously egregious poem – my husband was a Dundonian and he would have loved this one, as I did
11 Auntie introducing brother-in-law, bighead in two minds? (10)
BEEBLEBROX
BEEB (Auntie – both slang for the BBC) + BRO (brother) in LEX (law) for the character from The Hitch -hiker’s guide
12 Branch in tree cut down with blade, originally (4)
LIMB
LIM[e] (tree) + B[lade]
14 If for film, almost all of the data falsified (8,4)
PROVIDED THAT
PRO (for) + VID (film) + an anagram (falsified) of almost all of THE DAT[a] – great to see If as the definition, when we’re so used to bunging in ‘if’ as soon as we see ‘provided’
18 Flighty type introducing bishop to area of jazz? (12)
SCATTERBRAIN
B (bishop) in SCAT TERRAIN (area of jazz) – I liked the construction and the surface
21 Review of current depravity (4)
EVIL
A reversal (review) of LIVE (current)
22 Pretty essential publishing material in backward filthy gossip – OK for Rupert Murdoch? (4,6)
FAIR DINKUM
FAIR (pretty) + INK (essential publishing material) in a reversal (backward) of MUD (filthy gossip) – this was definitely a favourite
25 European part of 23 down in reversible collars (9)
SLOVENIAN
OVEN (part of range – answer to 23 down) in a reverse of NAILS (collars)
26 Complete trash (5)
TOTAL
Double definition
27 Winger heading for Everton put on Liverpool strip, say? (3,4)
RED KITE
RED KIT (Liverpool strip, say) + E[verton] – super surface
28 Blunted article buried in prehistoric material (7)
EARTHLY
TH[e] (blunted article) in EARLY (prehistoric) – neat definition and surface
Down
1 Get right hand of bride held by groom: marry finally (4,2)
COME BY
E (right hand of [brid]E in COMB (groom) + [marr]Y
3 Slow jerks are elected (10)
DECELERATE
An anagram (jerks) of ARE ELECTED
4 Partial uprooting of baobab, or a Christmas tree (5)
CAROB
A hidden reversal (uprooted, in a down clue) in baobaB OR A Christmas
5 Robin flying by, one word for it? (3,6)
BOY WONDER
An anagram (flying) of BY ONE WORD
6 Number of Germans committed perjury (4)
LIED
Double definition
7 26 wrong – or not? (8)
OUTRIGHT
OUT (wrong) + RIGHT (or not): the definition is ‘total’ – answer to 26dn)
8 One held by cocktail stick on island, Micronesian nation (8)
KIRIBATI
I (one) in KIR (cocktail) BAT (stick) + I (island)
13 Distribute five-hundred little daisy chains (10)
ADMINISTER
D (five hundred) + MINI (little) in (chained by) ASTER (daisy) – nice surface
15 Handy lever I used, with day for installation (9)
VERSATILE
SAT (day) in an anagram (used) of LEVER I
16 A sibilant sound interrupted by conclusion of magistrate or judge (8)
ASSESSOR
A SSSS (sibilant sound) round [magistrat]E + OR
17 Parent supported by doctor, withering flower (8)
MARIGOLD
MA (parent) + RIG (doctor) + OLD (withering)
19 Rough seas at first on boat (6)
SKETCH
S[eas] + KETCH (boat) – think of ‘rough’ as a verb
20 Yes, I’m cheerful ultimately – that represented? (6)
SMILEY
An anagram (represented) of YES I’M + [cheerfu]L – and a smiley represents cheerfulness
23 Called ‘scope’, basically – is it? (5)
RANGE
RANG (called) + [scop]E (‘basically’) – the definition is ‘scope’ but I can’t quite get my head round expressing it
24, 2 Fool to admit stupid, a powerful thinker (4,6)
JEDI MASTER
JESTER (fool) round DIM (stupid) + A
Thanks Paul and Eileen
Several references to fairly contemporary culture; fortunately I knew most of them. I hadn’t heard of the cowboy BULLOCK, and justified it by thinking a bullock is a “cow boy”!
SLOVENIAN was very clever.
I think “assessor” needssss another sibilant ‘s’ and in “scatterbrain” the jazz is “scat” not “sca”.
A lovely chewy puzzle with great surfaces and many thanks to Paul for the challenge and Eileen for the deciphering. I had not heard of Richard Bullock (though “deadeye dick” was familiar as an expression) so parsed this as something like a “cow boy” would be a bull and possibly a bullock if it was castrated – is that a lift and separate? (ouch…)
“Range” is either a go at a clue-as-definition or just Paul playing with the rules. I mean, it’s gettable, it has all the right elements of a cryptic clue, just not necessarily how we might expect them so it works for me.
Thanks Eileen.
Richard Bullock?????
Couple of minor corrections – SCATTERBRAIN is B in SCAT TERRAIN – scat is jazz.
I think ASSESSOR needs E in SSSS, otherwise you’re an S short.
Ditto on BULLOCK, muffin.
Muffin @ 1 – Like your thinking on BULLOCK.
JOFT @2 – You type quicker than me!
Thanks, JoFT and crispy (and any others who may jump in while I am typing) for pointing out my careless typos: I was late waking up this morning! – corrected now.
This was fun, when I got started which took a getting a few, so I had crossers, it all started falling into place. All in and all parsed.
Another one who hadn’t heard of Richard BULLOCK but had heard of Dead-Eye Dick.
Thank you to Paul for an amusing puzzle and Eileen for an enlightening blog.
Thanks Paul and Eileen.
Top faves: BEEBLEBROX, SCATTERBRAIN, EARTHLY, BOY WONDER, RANGE and SMILEY.
I enjoyed that more than usual for a Paul, but I’d have to class is as a dnf as I filled the grid but couldn’t parse a few, so thanks Eileen. Administer was a bit tortuous for me. I wrongly but happily parsed bullock the same way as Muffin. It’s a very short Wikipedia entry for someone as well known as Dead Eye Dick.
Not one for me. I’m surprised that I got as near to completing as I did.
One of my favourite moments in crosswords is when you have guessed two answers that you’re not convinced about individually but they mutually confirm one another. I’m thinking of RANGE and SLOVENIAN.
A couple of minor points
BULLOCK – I thought the same as muffin for ‘cowboy’ ie boy cow.
SCATTERBRAIN – Agree with Crispy and Joft. Jazz is SCAT.
JEDI MASTER – ‘a’ is part of the word play rather than the definition ie JESTER round DIM and A.
Delightful puzzle from Paul and a lovely blog from Eileen. Thanks to both.
Oh, and big thanks to you Eileen. Although I found the crossword quite amusing my LOL moment of the morning was reading your two McGonagall links… “Shakespeare never wrote anything like this” indeed.
I also think that a BULLOCK is a boy cow.
Great puzzle, thanks Paul and Eileen
A hidden connection: in The hitch hiker’s guide to the galaxy (featuring Zaphod BEEBLEBROX), Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are forced to listen to poetry by the Vogon captain, reckoned to be the second worst poet ever. I think McGonagall was rated third worst!
Thank you SueM 48 – other careless error, which I’ll correct.
You’re probably all right about cow boy bullock – but ‘ ‘Deadeye Dick’ (if you followed the link) also fits quite well!
I think 24 2 can be got from the way Yoda a jedi master in star wars speaks ‘ fool to admit stupid. So a sort of doubly defined clue
me @16 – an other careless error!
I really struggled with this one and eventually gave up. It’s a pity because there are many great clues I missed.
I often have to stop myself from being too picky with clues I couldn’t get due to sour grapes. In this case I was thinking if cowboy=bullock, it needs a space. In retrospect it’s a great clue because there are three ways to get it: one technically incorrect but accessible (cow boy), one reasonably accessible (I didn’t recall Sandra but if I recognise the name the person is probably reasonably famous) and an obscure (to me, but recognised by some here) long dead person.
I’m particularly annoyed with myself for not spotting Zaphod, and for failing to unscramble “are elected”, which might have opened up the rest of the grid.
Well done Eileen; while I often complete the crosswords after many years practice, I am in awe of the fact that you (and the other bloggers) are never beaten.
Apologies if I repeated what others wrote. There was a delay with my earlier post.
My favourites include PROVIDED THAT for the easy to overlook definition, SCATTERBRAIN, FAIR DINKUM (lol), SLOVENIAN, ADMINISTER for the lovely surface and KIRIBATI to draw attention to a nation at risk of being wiped out by rising sea levels. (A Kir is nice as well.)
Thank you Paul and Eileen.
What’s all this about deadeye dick – it was deadwood dick in Eileen’s link. I am sure many would not want to chase up deadeye dick and his friend Mexican Pete in google.
Thanks Eileen needed you for several clues. Thanks Paul too for another great challenge
I agree entirely with Eileen’s introduction – Paul at his best and most entertaining.
I also went for BULLOCK = boy cow, though bullocks are castrated bulls of any age, so Richard B is the better parsing, whichever was originally intended.
Too many favourites to list them all, but my first prize goes to ADMINISTER.
Thanks to Paul and Eileen
Eileen put it more succinctly than I will, but I felt this was a move in the direction of Paul of old. They’re still not the smoothest of surfaces, but infinitely more enjoyable than some of his recent offerings.
I justified RANGE reasoning that E was the basis of ‘scope’.
Never heard of the cowboy so bifd in BULLOCK.
Many thanks both.
ravenrider @18
“I am in awe of the fact that you (and the other bloggers) are never beaten.” – oh, come on! 😉
(I always quite like it when I have to ask for help: it rebuts the idea that we’re the ‘experts’, rather than solvers who are willing to put their heads above the parapet for the day.)
Sue @20
I’m with you re KIR – Kir Royale, which I had for the first time – in France, on my birthday, Bastille Day! – is even nicer. 😉
Dave Ellison @ 21: That was me (at first) but it is listed in the Wiki article as another of Bullock’s nicknames, so it isn’t wrong at least. I don’t know about the other references you made but the expression “dead-eye Dick” was familiar to me, is in the OED (a skilled marksman) and it’s also a Kurt Vonnegut novel so it’s not an uncommon expression – certainly I’d never heard the term “Deadwood Dick” before although Wiki tells me it was a common nickname to a number of people. Not part of my GK until now.
Anyhow, apologies for starting the trend with the wrong(ish) nickname
Defeated by BEEBLEBROX, knowing nothing about Hitchhiker, but otherwise loved it! Agree that FAIR DINKUM is a top clue, also COME BY.
William @23 – that’s what I meant by ‘basically’ but you’ve made it clearer.
Dave Ellison @21 and JoFT @25 – (me @ 16: I must have read what I expected to see in my link – I’ve never heard of Deadwood Dick, either.) That makes the cow boy interpretation even more likely!
What Eileen said. Chewy from Paul but most enjoyable. I wasn’t aware of Ms BULLOCK but the wordplay was clear. And I needed Eileen’s clarity to finish parsing the excellent PROVIDED THAT. I think BEEBLEBROX and SLOVENIAN were my favourites, but there really was a lot to like about this.
Thanks to Paul and Eileen.
If I hadn’t seen his name, I’m not sure I would have known this was a Paul-puzzle: Low on naughty references and linked clues, plus I was able to finish it in one go (rare for me). Thanks Paul and Eileen (esp for the Mcgonagall info!)
Kir is named after Félix Kir, the mayor of Dijon, who popularised it after the Second World War, but before that it was simply known as vin blanc-cassis. (It’s even better with crème de mûre (blackberry) rather than crème de cassis (blackcurrant)).
I agree completely with Eileen, for me the best PAUL in a long time. Very chewy but I didn’t help myself by initially having UTTER instead of TOTAL in 26, after getting OUTRIGHT. Thanks both.
Ground this one out, as is usual for me with Paul’s puzzles.
COMEDIC is an adjective, so I’m not sure why it’s a scream, although maybe one could say:
“he’s a scream/COMEDIC (?) I got my knickers in a twist by thinking the film in PROVIDED THAT was VIDE(o), but Eileen’s put me right. I liked SCATTERBRAIN, SLOVENIAN, BOY WONDER and MARIGOLD.
Thanks Paul and Eileen.
11ac – Beeblebrox – never heard of it. I got as far as BEEB = auntie/BBC then found it in my online dictionary and parsed the full answer after solving.
Also never heard of strip = kit (for 27ac) or the cowboy Richard Bullock – I assumed that Paul was making a joke about a “boy cow” = bullock. I have heard of Sandra though.
Sheer delight from beginning to end! The Jazz area was brilliant, as was the boy cow and hospital colleague.
But my favourite had to be FAIR DINKUM for the Murdoch surface.
Thanks Paul and Eileen
Robi@32, exactly that: the arguments of two predicate phrases using the same verb are fair game if they’re synonymous. So if “is a [noun]” and “is [adjective]” mean essentially the same thing then its fine to use one of “a noun” or “adjective” as the definition and the other as the answer.
Note that the “a” is important here; if it were just “noun” then, as you say, we’d be dealing with different parts of speech, which would be a no-no (unless the noun were also to have an adjectival interpretation, such as “orange”; indeed setters frequently play with words which which have different such interpretations, most commonly misdirecting us to think a noun is a verb or vice versa to hinder us in determining the exact definition!)
‘I come to praise Paul and not to bury him…’ Superb puzzle and a super blog, thank you both.
Tough, but the usual fun to be had with Paul. Though a DNF as I would never have got BEEBLEBROX in a month of Sundays ( well, let’s say Tuesdays) as I have never been any where near the Hitchhikers Guide…
Looks like I am on Eileen’s wavelength today with several of her ticks being clues I particularly enjoyed. SCATTERBRAIN for the surface and very Pauline ‘jazz area’ = SCAT TERRAIN, FAIR DINKUM for the very believable surface, RED KITE for the smoothness and the ‘red kit’ spot, ADMINISTER again for the surface and the rather sweet SMILEY. KIRIBATI, on the other hand, which is a strange choice of word to include, has one of Paul’s rather odd surfaces – not sure what image he is trying to convey there.
Thanks Paul and Eileen
[Stamp @38: Kiribati may seem a strange choice of word but it is a pub-quizzer’s mainstay being the only country which occupies all four hemispheres of the world (it crosses both the equator and the 180 degree meridian, though not the international date line) and, being on GMT+14, is also the first place to see in the New Year.]
[earworm from Eileen’s link for cowboy Richard BULLOCK: “His quick-shooting deeds working on the Deadwood stage…”]
Eileen pretty much said it all for me in her blog.
I think what she and William@23 are saying re: RANGE is that the E is the support in a vertical answer. Well, if they’re not, I am, but I think they are.
Thanks Eileen for lots of the parsing. I want to give a shout out to ASSESSOR as my favourite. Thanks Paul.
Dr WhatsOn @41- yes, that’s what I meant.
FrankieG @40 – thanks for the earworm. Seeing or hearing DD always makes me feel cheerful.
I too learned about Kir (the blackcurrant kind, didn’t know about the blackberry kind) when I lived in France. I also met the “perroquet,” which is white wine with green creme de menthe.
When I lived in France, I got there, with a friend, in his KETCH, in which we later returned to the US.
This puzzle has things in it that I’d forgotten I knew, such as KIRIBATI.
Thanks to Paul for the puzzle and Eileen for both the blog and the returning to join in the conversation.
Valentine @45 – your perroquet (a new one on me) sounds good! Google found me this recipe, which also sounds worth trying https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/1512/perroquet
– I love pastis!
Not so keen on the idea of blackberry Kir.
[Valentine @45 — way off topic but here in the south of France a “perroquet” is a pastis mixed with mint syrup and water! It’s something I partake of quite often myself, being a combination of my favourite spirit and my favourite soft drink!]
EDIT: crossed with Eileen @46! Another amateur de pastis here!
Many thanks to Paul and Eileen. Meanwhile Félix Kir was a man of many parts; he was not only Mayor of Dijon, he was also a Roman Catholic priest and a resistance hero. Plus he apparently pioneered the twin-town movement after WWII.
judygs – thanks for that. An altogether good egg, then! 🙂
Looks like the same recipe, Rob T!
I was hoping in vain to finish this, but was (enjoyably) defeated with SMILEY and the RANGE, SLOVENIAN, MARIGOLD group remaining unsolved – no complaints about the clues. I don’t know if I would have got BEEBLEBROX, because unfortunately I accidentally revealed it: I think I probably wouldn’t.
Quite a lot of popular culture today with the aforesaid Zaphod, Robin the BOY WONDER and the JEDI MASTER. I enjoyed SCATTERBRAIN, EARTHLY and RHYMESTER.
I was a huge fan of H2G2 when it first appeared on Radio 4 in 1977 or 1978 (not sure which, but I was definitely in the Lower Sixth at the time, so one of those certainly). Even so, Zaphod BEEBLEBROX just didn’t occur to me. And I would never have found JEDI in a month of Sundays. But a very enjoyable puzzle from a setter who usually gives me a problem or three, and nice to see one of Paul’s in which half the solutions don’t all hang from one or two other clues. I liked SLOVENIAN and RED KITE especially. Thanks to Paul and Eileen.
This is the Paul that I first fell in love with when I started solving – great puzzle!
The one thing I still don’t get – even after googling – is what Liverpool strip is, but whatevs.
[Sandra @ 20, Eileen @ 24, Gervase@ 30 et al, You should try Kir Normande: Champagne, Creme de Mure, and a dash of Calvados for the full apple and blackberry experience. Served to us in a Normandy hotel which needed to mollify us after screwing up our booking.]
BlueDot @52: ‘strip’, from Chambers:
A lightweight uniform, esp one displaying the club colours, for running, football, etc
It’s just the usual name for what they wear when playing. And Liverpool FC play in red.
I had EDIT as the answer for 21ac. I took ‘review’ to be the definition, with ‘depravity’ an instruction to anagram/muck about with/reverse the letters of TIDE, which is a synonym of ‘current’. I reckon this works OK, and fits the crossers, too.
Michelle @33, BlueDot @52:
All I Want for Christmas is a Dukla Prague Away Kit
I really needed Eileen’s help to complete some of the parsing – but it was worth the entrance-fee for LIED, ADMINISTER and BEEBLEBROX.
Thank you Eileen and Paul.
Redrodney @26, Michelle @33 & ronald @37: The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy is well worth tracking down online, for it’s delightfully daft and, like Alice In Wonderland, its characters and turns of phrase will stay with you forever.
It’s also deliciously funny.
They made a film version in the early Noughties, and a BBC TV series sometime in the 80s – but the original Radio series from the late 70s is the best of all.
And the deadpan back-announcements from the Radio 4 announcer are a hoot.
BEEBLEBROX, BOY WONDER, and JEDI MASTER a mini theme? Possibly with Sandra BULLOCK loosely associated (via “Gravity”).
Only spotted these thanks to Gladys@50 naming all of the first three in one sentence in her comment.
Wellbeck @57 – You speak truly concerning the incomparable Mr Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide.
From which I remember the inhabitants of Earth being devastatingly summed up in two words – Mostly Harmless.
And the wonderfully lugubrious Marvin, declaiming Life, life, don’t talk to me about Life! Loathe it or ignore it, you can’t like it! Perceptive android, Marvin…
Dudfoot@55: I made the same error, but it’s undoubtedly an error. “Depravity” does not mean reversal, and I thought as I wrote it in that Paul was getting slipshod. As so often when one thinks a setter is being careless, the actual carelessness is ours!
Still can’t quite believe I finished this but it was a great crossword with the solutions slowly unravelling bit by bit although can’t claim to have parsed everything. Loved seeing BEEBLEBROX in there too. A pleasure from slow beginning to satisfying conclusion. Thanks Paul & Eileen
A DNF for me, as I was defeated by BEEBLEBROX. I’m quite embarrassed about this, as I loved the Hitchhiker’s Guide books in my youth and recently rewatched the TV series.
I agree that this puzzle reminds me of why Paul is one of my favorite setters. I loved figuring out that a BULLOCK was a “cow-boy”, among numerous other delightful clues.
Bear of little brain @ 58, I wondered the same, but had Jedi and Master as two themed answers (Master as The Doctor’s antagonist).
I believe Richard Bullock was Deadwood Dick, not Dead-Eye Dick. He got the nickname from riding shotgun on the Deadwood stage. Dead-Eye Dick, however, was a main character in The Ballad of Eskimo Nell (used to be a popular recitation at post game rugby parties in the states).
Hardest setter of all, in my opinion.
Thanks for the blog.
Wow.
Not close to getting any of these clues.
Not even close-that would be Enigmatist
Fair dinkum. Took ages to finish. Tried harder than usual having heard Paul on the radio recently.
Jay @64
Thanks – I’ve admitted @27 my misreading of the link that I gave and there have been several more comments throughout the day.
Steffen @65 – I continue to admire your perseverance! As I said, this one was quite a tough challenge, as others found it, too.
I know you’ve said in the past that you like to try to solve by yourself, without any reference to the blog, which is admirable – but do you then go through the blog, clue by clue, to get some idea of how they work? I think you may find it helpful – that’s what it’s here for, after all. 😉
@68
I go through every clue, every day. It reinforces that I am clueless (literally).
I tortured myself today…i normally don’t even attempt Paul crosswords.
It certainly keeps a person humble!
Sorry, Steffen – I wasn’t meaning to patronise.
Please keep trying – I’m sure you know we’re all here to help you.
Thanks Eileen!
No offence taken…ever.
Every day is a school day (or a kindergarten day, in my case).
If I ever complete a cryptic crossword, I will buy everyone on this blog a bottle of fine claret from ’82 or ’89.
Bless you, Steffen.
I’m sure we’ll all keep you to that! You might need a second mortgage, 😉
Well, I have to take my hat off to anyone who says this was a delight from beginning to end.
It doesn’t help that I never read the Hitchhiker books – I bunged in an unparsed BEETLEBROW, which has the merit of being a real word, though otherwise is totally wrong, or OUTRIGHT – and struggled to remember KIRIBATI (got there eventually), but I just couldn’t get on Paul’s wavelength for things like ‘OK for Rupert Murdoch’, until a very undramatic penny drop (the clue just looks clunky to me, rather than praiseworthy), and probably not helped by also watching the snooker and worrying about pending root canal surgery.
And of course I’ve never watched any of the Star Wars films – a proud achievement – so JEDI MASTER remained blank to the end, even though I had speculated ‘stupid’=DIM, and the second word looked like MASTER.
Probably too late in life to brush up on “popular culture since I turned 25”, so might have to join Steffen in cryptic kindergarten. I’m sure he’ll be good company.
Thanks (I think) to Paul and (definitely) to Eileen.
Just a quirk report.
Mrs. E pencilled in WOLF for 21 a, which I think works perfectly, i.e. reversal of “flow” and the sort-of metonym (tell me the proper word, someone) for such a person, like “he’s a depravity”, “he’s a disgrace”.
Cheers to setter, blogger and posters.
Etu@74, I quite like that!
Hi AP,
(If you’re still following this thread)
Mrs. E and I appreciate your comment.
Having read some of yours, it’s evident to me that your fluency in the terminology of grammar and linguistic logic greatly exceeds my own, and hence my reply.
I can get by in French, Italian, and German, and I know what you need in such matters to do that. However, I’m tackling Welsh atm, but having well-and-truly broken the seal on my eighth decade, I foresee the white flag being hoisted on that campaign in due course…
I’m probably too late for anyone to see this but fair dinkum doesn’t mean ok. It means sincere or genuine.
NeilH@59 and Eileen, who may be the only one to read this — I once heard Douglas Adams (it must have been in a radio interview) say that Marvin’s literary ancestor is Eeyore.
Thanks Paul and Eileen. I wondered if (Doctor) EVIL was part of the scattered SFFH characters mini-theme too.
A bit late in the day – we’re “Weekly” solvers… Came on here to parse BEETLEBROW like Sheffield Hatter @73 and TOTAL which we still don’t get! Double definition? Total = complete obviously but Total=trash? Eh? Any enlightenment much welcomed!
I think it’s an American usage. To TOTAL a car, for example, is to destroy it totally, so it is a total write-off. (I am here well past the event and my bedtime, because I missed this puzzle for some reason and have been scrolling down in a feeble effort to be completist.)