Thanks to Paul for today’s puzzle – my favourites were 12ac, 16ac, 13dn and 17dn. Merry Christmas, all.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | ROTAVATOR |
Rust on a tank, if not reversible farm machinery (9)
|
| ROT=”Rust”; plus A VAT = “a tank”; plus OR=”if not”
“reversible” is a separate/additional indicator that ROTAVATOR is a palindrome and reads the same if the order of letters is reversed |
||
| 6 | KEBAB |
Honey and last drop of milk poured over Middle Eastern dish (5)
|
| BABE=term of endearment=”Honey” + last letter of [mil]-K; all reversed/”over” | ||
| 9 | QANON |
Those who’ll believe anything that’s soon beyond question (5)
|
| definition refers to QAnon members as believers of conspiracy theories [wiki]
ANON=”soon” after/”beyond” Q (short for “question”) |
||
| 10 | TOGA PARTY |
Function apparently of Romans to break Bohemian (4,5)
|
| definition: “Function” can mean a party, and those at a TOGA PARTY would look like (hence “apparently”) Romans
TO (from surface) + GAP=interruption, pause=”break” + ARTY=”Bohemian” |
||
| 11 | EMU |
Bird hearing sound of cat on the internet? (3)
|
| sounds like (hearing) ‘e-mew’=”sound of cat on the internet”
‘mew’ for the sound of a cat; and e- as a prefix meaning ‘electronic’ indicating “on the internet” (e.g. e-mail) |
||
| 12 | SHED LIGHT ON |
Explain possible indication of inventor at work? (4,5,2)
|
| an inventor at work in a garden shed/workshop might have their SHED LIGHT ON | ||
| 14 | THEREBY |
Your cups spilling beer then (7)
|
| THY=”Your” around/cupping an anagram/”spilling” of (beer)* | ||
| 15 | ADAMANT |
A builder of nest behind barrier, firm (7)
|
| A (from surface); plus ANT=”builder of nest” behind DAM=”barrier” | ||
| 16 | SOLOIST |
Player mightily confused, one snookered (7)
|
| SO LOST=”mightily confused”; with I=”one” snookered/trapped inside | ||
| 19 | TIERING |
Arrangement of lines where circle meets square (7)
|
| RING=”circle” meeting TIE=to make even/equal=”square” | ||
| 22 | HIPPOPOTAMI |
Could I be on stylish river vessel – to see African natives? (11)
|
| AM I=”Am I…?”=”Could I be…?”; after/on all of: HIP=”stylish” + the river PO + POT=”vessel” | ||
| 23 | EGO |
So, fragile thing ultimately requiring a massage? (3)
|
| definition refers to massaging a fragile ego
wordplay: anagram/”a massage” of (O E G)*, as the last letters (“ultimately”) taken from [s]-O [fragil]-E [thin]-G |
||
| 24 | LANZAROTE |
Tenor learning technique in holiday destination (9)
|
| Mario LANZA the “Tenor” [wiki]; plus ROTE=”learning technique” | ||
| 26 | GLEAM |
Sparkle back in vogue, glittering dresses (5)
|
| GLAM=”glittering” goes around/over (“dresses”) the last letter (“back”) of [vogu]-E | ||
| 27 | ROOMY |
Large Australian bouncer, I say! (5)
|
| ROO=Kangaroo, animal that bounces=”Australian bouncer”; plus MY=exclamation of surprise=”I say!” | ||
| 28 | EYES RIGHT |
Order number checked by fine inspector in the end (4,5)
|
| definition: ‘eyes right’ is an order given during military drills
EIGHT=”number” around all of: YES=I agree=”fine” plus the end of [inspecto]-R |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | REQUEST |
Proposal, that offered by Picasso during siesta (7)
|
| QUE=”that” in Spanish i.e. as spoken by Picasso; inside REST=”siesta” | ||
| 2 | TONSURE |
Brother’s style in fashion without a doubt (7)
|
| definition: a hair style associated with monks, and a monk may be known as ‘Brother’
TON (as in ‘bon ton’)=”fashion” + SURE=”without a doubt” |
||
| 3 | VENUS DE MILO |
Damaged piece, world half lost, half lost (5,2,4)
|
| definition: an ancient sculpture missing its arms [wiki]
VENUS=”world”; plus DEMI=”half”; plus LO-[st] i.e. “LOST [with] half lost” |
||
| 4 | TOTTERY |
Unsteady – like a calculator? (7)
|
| a calculator ‘tots’ things up, it might be called a ‘totter’, so ‘totter-y’ could mean ‘like a calculator’ | ||
| 5 | REGALIA |
Tackle skin on rare type of melon (7)
|
| definition: regalia and tackle can both mean something like ‘gear’/’equipment’/’paraphernalia’
the outer letters (“skin”) of R-[ar]-E; plus GALIA=a “type of melon” |
||
| 6 | KIP |
Confinement to bunk, I presume? (3)
|
| hidden/confined in [bun]-K I P-[resume] | ||
| 7 | BIRETTA |
Milliner turned up where cap missing, bishop needing one on top? (7)
|
| definition: a type of cap worn by clergy
[h]-ATTER=”Milliner”, reversed/”turned up” and with the first letter/”cap” missing; with B (Bishop, chess abbreviation) and I=”one” going first (“on top”) |
||
| 8 | BAYONET |
Speculation about article that is kind of fitting? (7)
|
| definition refers to bayonet as a type of fitting for light bulbs
BET=”Speculation”, around both of: A (indefinite “article”) + YON=”that” |
||
| 13 | GRAVEDIGGER |
Musician performing concert tours was dancing wildly – one getting down and dirty? (11)
|
| GIGGER=”Musician performing concert” goes around (“tours”) RAVED=”was dancing wildly” | ||
| 16 | SCHOLAR |
Academic mark cut by half, or less initially (7)
|
| SCAR=”mark”, with the initials of H-[alf] O-[r] L-[ess] cutting inside | ||
| 17 | LEPANTO |
Blanche Neige et Les Sept Nains in battle? (7)
|
| definition refers to the battle of Lepanto [wiki]
“Blanche Neige et Les Sept Nains” is French for Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs a pantomime adaptation of this might be referred to in French as ‘le panto’ (the panto) |
||
| 18 | TWO-TONE |
Music genre wife introduced to child and I (3-4)
|
| definition: a music genre [wiki] associated with the 2 Tone Records record label
W (wife) introduced into/inside: TOT=”child” + ONE=”I” |
||
| 19 | TRAPEZE |
Flier: ruse seen essentially where unknown number posted? (7)
|
| TRAP=”ruse”, with Z (a maths variable, “unknown number”) posted inside central/essential letters of [s]-EE-[n] | ||
| 20 | ICEBERG |
Two at bottom of Pacific, diver, having surfaced, leaves (7)
|
| definition refers to iceberg lettuce leaves
“Two” letters from the end/”bottom” of [Pacif]-IC, plus GREBE=diving waterbird=”diver” reversed upwards (“having surfaced” i.e. having moved upwards) |
||
| 21 | GROMMET |
Small device, inventor’s best friend on audio? (7)
|
| definition: grommets are rings inserted into e.g. curtains [wiki]
sounds like (“on audio”) ‘Gromit’ from Wallace & Gromit [wiki], best friend of the inventor Wallace |
||
| 25 | ANY |
Some tea in caddy, the latest bits (3)
|
| the end letters (“latest bits”) from [te]-A [i]-N [cadd]-Y |
Fabulous festive fun from Paul. QANON a contender for clue of the year 🙂
Cheers P&M
No Christmas spirit from Paul on display today as I found this on the hard side. However, as always with Paul you can slowly tease them out in a joyous rather than laborious way.
Not sure where QANON came from in my brain. It must have entered there during the US election coverage.
Liked HIPPOPOTAMI (although I’d never pluralise it as such) and the silly SHED LIGHT ON.
Couldn’t parse LANZAROTE other than to see it had the letters of tenor in there which turned out to be coincidental.
And a long time in the SE corner thanks to an incorrect EXIT RIGHT.
Thanks Paul and Manehi.
Loved QANON, VENUS DE MILO and of course LEPANTO, which provoked a groan and a grin! Excellent festive fare from Paul, thanks to him and to Manehi.
Second half completed this morning with the SE empty for ages. Agree with manehi’s favourites plus QANON, TOTTERY, LANZAROTE and ICEBERG. Paul’s clues are so unique with synonyms that require very lateral thinking.
Ta Paul & manehi.
The French panto was a jolly good Christmassy clue. I was less impressed by the string of dubious equivalences (proposal=request, ruse=trap, regalia=tackle, trapeze=flier, tie=square), but — heigh-ho — it is a Paul crossword.
Similar sentiments to Staticman1 @2, except the teasing out was laborious rather than joyous.
Fabulous crossword as always from Paul. Agree that Qanon is up there for best clue of the year, but it was Lepanto that made me laugh out loud. A real pleasure. Thank you.
One of those Paul puzzles that, to me, was a fine demonstration of his wit and sense of linguistic fun. I don’t always get on with him, by any means, but this one was lovely, especially LANZAROTE, LEPANTO, SHED LIGHT ON and GROMMET. Thanks to P & m, and merry Xmas to all.
New for me: 5d GALIA melon (= a cross between cantaloupe and honeydew) which was created in Israel in the 1970s; ROTAVATOR; GROMMET = small device; and also Wallace & Gromit TV show.
I could not parse 19ac TIE = square; 8d; 20d.
LEPANTO got a groan from me.
Pp2@5 Will you marry me? A proposal and a request
Chambers has several definitions for trap that would match ruse e.g “trickery”
And a you could square or tie a sports match or series. Unless you’re the England cricket team
Has anyone got any ideas about the Christmas Special by Ludwig which has appeared on line today, but not in print format.
Is there going to be a blogger for this?
Thanks
[Shirley @11
It was in the Saturday Magazine, with the answers on the next page, as I remember.]
The thing about cryptics is that you can get most clues either of two ways (wordplay or definition). The thing about Paul puzzles is that there are often clues that you can only get one way (and then confirm, with some difficulty), which puts them on the hard side, but I suppose that is the trade-off for the quirky humour. Well, I enjoyed it.
I parsed “where circle meets square” as circle=tie, as in a rope circling/tying a person, and square=ring as in boxing. Certainly manehi’s circle=ring and square=tie fits better, but I found the symmetry amusing. Thank you manehi and Paul.
(First time poster after half a dozen years of daily reading. Hello world!)
Brilliant fun and ingenuity. I agree with manehi’s pick of the top clues.
LEPANTO just brilliant
Thanks Paul and manehi
Absolutely no clue about any of this.
Thanks for the explanations.
A lot of time wasted looking for the xxAxEYE bird and not seeing the EYES in 28a.
LANZA was a guess for me.
I found this reasonably hard as I didn’t get much help from crossers in the order I solved the clues.
Thanks Muffin#12 – I missed that.
That took a while! Quite a few needed the parsing working out, to confirm I’d guessed right after a “maybe? ” answer was plonked in: HIPPOPOTAMI for one. (A regular army of them, no doubt.)
Top marks for SHED LIGHT ON and LEPANTO. There were many other high spots, but these two were outstanding.
Paul’s puzzles are always tough but fair, with a sideways sense of humour. Thank you!
Thanks also to manehi for shedding light on some of the more recondite constructions.
I really am beginning to dislike anything by Paul
At around 3.00 a.m., when my solving hour normally begins, I saw it was Paul and just closed it down. I always do this if it is Enigmatist or Vlad. and sometimes with Paul, depending on how alert I feel. Some crosswords require a full night’s sleep, and if one is too stimulating I cannot get back to sleep. This certainly needed it. I’m glad not to be the only solver who found the SE corner tough. As a reluctant three-time visitor to Disneyland Paris, Blanche Neige was only too familiar, but yes, it was a terrific clue. As a piece of trivia, Miguel de Cervantes was severely wounded at the Battle of Lepanto, which is mainly how I remembered it.
Very much enjoyed this–tough, but exceptionally clever and fair IMO. I did bung-and-check TOOTING for 19ac because I thought it might be a cryptic reference to something on the Underground, but I guess that’s what the surface was meant to invoke? For 5d I eventually remembered there was an Israeli melon I’d seen in a previous crossword and looked it up. Thanks Paul and manehi!
I actually won the Price Crossword set by Araucaria when he was alive.
Absolutely flumuxed by this Paul installation, but I guess I enjoy the torture. Excellent blog, manehi, thank you. I made such little headway on this one I instead bore witness to a new gospel, with the first line – “Paul will be revealed”
[Calabar Bean@14 – welcome! I started posting only recently, having lurked for some years. It’s now a daily incentive to finish the crossword to then be able to join in the discussions here.]
I love a clue that makes me chuckle 17dn did that, thanks.
Typical Paul, i.e. great fun.
Thanks both.
Thanks Paul for another friendly puzzle with lots of entertaining clues but workable clues. Thanks manehi too for the blog.
Just because I feel I need to quibble, I’m not a fan of the convoluted 23 ac – combining anagram with last letters – esp. with the stretched definition “requiring a massage” linked back to the part of the cryptic clue – “fragile”, but it was simple enough given the crossers – before I got to the down clues it had me wondering whether EGA or OEG was a form of massage that I hadn’t heard of!
This was a bit on the chewy side for me, but I enjoyed it and got there in the end. Another vote for ‘SHED LIGHT ON’ & ‘LE PANTO’.
Thanks Paul and Manehi
It took me two sessions to solve this, so I’ve only just finished, but I thought it was excellent – no complaints at all. I found the NE the hardest. I thought almost all the clues were great but if forced to pick favourites they’d include VENUS DE MILO, EMU, TOTTERY.
Thanks Paul and manehi.
Very chewy for me too. Had to reverse engineer LEPANTO – I only know two battles ending in O, and it couldn’t have been Waterloo. Favourites were SHED LIGHT ON and HIPPOPOTAMI. All in all lots of fun as always from Paul – a very merry Christmas to him, and to all.
Took me a while to get going but then a nice relaxing cword.
I LOLled at SHED LIGHT ON.
Not happy with 20 down clue unless you put a ? after leaves.
Thanx P and m
Tx P and m. I found this tough but mostly enjoyable. Failed on 19a: I had TEERING (T-square). There is such a word but it didn’t make much sense. TIE for square was tricky.
Not many comments at 8.00. Do people just give up on Paul? I might save him for later (as at #21) , but I don’t give up. There is much brain-teasing and pleasure to be had.
Thought I’d take my time today and try and give it the full fifteen rounds (or is it only twelve these days?) with Paul and hope to eventually have a points win. But thoroughly KO-ed halfway through the contest with barely half of the grid filled, so reluctantly resorted to the Reveal Button just now, and even then needed Manehi to explain things with quite a few. Yet another learning experience for me, found this a toughie…
I only just finished Balfour. I was toiling in the South East. I never down tools with Paul though, it’s always worth sticking around.
Early on, I really liked QANON and TOTTERY. SHED LIGHT ON is lovely, it reminds me of Rhubarb the dog hammering and sawing through the night, voiced by Richard Briers.
I hadn’t thought of Snow White as the panto it so obviously is. I looked up battles beginning with L and the answer leapt out immediately. TIERING, GLEAM and GROMMET were my last three.
I liked the whole thing.
Thanks Paul and manehi.