Lots of fun, but not Paul at his most difficult even with the longer clues only falling into place late on. I particularly liked 9, 12, and 19/4. 26 was completely new to me.
Across
1,16,19down Ploughman’s enquiry having sowed his seed? (3,3,5,4,3,3)
DID THE EARTH MOVE FOR YOU
Cryptic def, referring to literal or figurative seed-sowing.
4 Abstinent church admitted to wine consumption at first (7)
ASCETIC
=”Abstinent”. C[hurch of] E[ngland], inside ASTI=”wine”, plus C[onsumption]
9 Toilet rolls, about a thousand, providing theme (9)
LEITMOTIF
=”theme”. (Toilet)* around M=”thousand” in Roman numerals, plus IF=”provided”
10 Prepared to act? Start (5)
ONSET
=”Start”. An performer ON SET should be “Prepared to act”
11 See 14
ASTHECASEMAYBE
12 Control, say, put back (9)
REINSTATE
=”put back”. REIN=”Control” plus STATE=”say”
13 Rat or rat — it could be? (7)
TRAITOR
=”Rat”. (or rat – it)*
15 Sow seed, hoeing extensively, planting in gaps at each opening (3,3)
SHE PIG
=”Sow”. “opening” letters of S[eed] H[oeing] E[xtremely] P[lanting] I[n] G[aps]
17 Drive home, referring to signs at the borders on the way (6)
STRESS
=”Drive home”. RE=”referring to” plus S[ign]S=”signs at the borders”, all following ST[reet] i.e. “on the way”
19,4down Soldier back at the front — tasteless pretension matters overseas (7,7)
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
=”matters overseas”. rev(GI) =”Soldier back”, after FORE=”at the front”, plus NAFF=”tasteless” plus AIRS=”pretension”
22 French singer, singer keeping alive, surprisingly (9)
CHEVALIER
=”French singer” (Maurice Chevalier [wiki]). CHER=”singer”, around (alive)*
24 Brave attempt in the end to get lost (3,2)
HOP IT
=”get lost”. HOPI=”Brave” (a Native American tribe), plus [attemp]T
26 Chase fraudulent online buyer (1-4)
E-CASH
=”online buyer”. (Chase)*
27 Copy letters capturing passionate heart of relative (9)
PHOTOSTAT
=”Copy”. POST=”letters” around HOT=”passionate”, plus AT=”heart of relATive”
28 Furniture item, one in theatre? (7)
DRESSER
=”furniture item”; =”one in theatre”, someone who helps an actor to dress
29 The way builder’s helper joins police (6)
METHOD
=”The way”. HOD=”builder’s helper”, a trough for carrying bricks over the shoulder, after MET[ropolitan]=”Police”
Down
1 Mark out shop, then university (7)
DELIMIT
=”Mark out”. DELI=”shop”, plus MIT=”university”
2,7 Rare delivery is among one of seven on ship (5-6)
DAISY-CUTTER
=”Rare delivery” in cricket. IS, inside DAY=”one of seven”, plus CUTTER=”ship”
3 “Meat” misspelt “meet” or an abnormality in the extreme (6,3)
HAMMER TOE
=”an abnormality in the extreme”. HAM=”Meat”, plus (meet or)*
4 See 19 across
FOREIGNAFFAIRS
5,25 Pass out after injection into sensitive area, as one moaning (10)
CROSSPATCH
=”one moaning”, an ill-natured person. (Pass)*, injected into CROTCH=”sensitive area”
6 Compound contains iodine for conductor (9)
TOSCANINI
=”conductor” (Arturo Toscanini [wiki]). (contains I[odine])*
7 See 2
DAISYCUTTER
8 Most are rough to some extent, one looking hard (6)
STARER
=”one looking hard”. Hidden in “MoST ARE Rough”
14,11 Open or closed, perhaps (2,3,4,3,2)
AS THE CASE MAY BE
=”perhaps”. A case may be either open or closed.
16 See 1 across
DIDTHEEARTHMOVEFORYOU
18 Run, as one jumping (7)
SKIPPER
=”one jumping”. SKIP=”Run”, plus PER=”as”
19 See 1 across
DIDTHEEARTHMOVEFORYOU
20 No place for art, direct header scored (7)
NOTATED
=”scored”. NO plus TATE=”place for art” plus D[irect]
21 Belief under leadership of Salmond in diatribe (6)
SCREED
=”diatribe”. CREED=”Belief”, under S[almond]
23 Result of fire, bum full of gas (5)
ASHES
=”Result of fire”. ASS=”bum”, around HE[lium] “gas”
25 See 5
CROSSPATCH
Thanks Paul and manehi
After a slow start this went in very quickly, helped to a large extent by solving the long clue from the letter pattern and a few crossers – same old moan, though this example was at least amusing.
Last in, and favourite, was SHE PIG.
In 18dn, I had “skipper” as a verb, to “run” something. Yours makes sense too!
Thanks Paul and manehi
As you say, at the easier end of the Paul spectrum. In apparent contrast to yourself, 12, 22 & 1/16/19D were my first three, which unlocked 19A/4D & 9, then it was just a question of plugging away. Probably my fastest Paul yet 🙂
Thanks manehi. Same us muffin – SHE PIG last and best.
Completed
She-pig was my favourite too. STRESS also had nice misdirection. Daisy-cutter was my last in – not heard of the term before but very guessable from the clue.
As others have said, a relatively easy Paul. My favourite was ‘AS THE CASE MAY BE’.
Thanks, Paul and manehi.
Also had SKIPPER in the “running a cricket team” sense. Enjoyed Pannier yesterday bringing back memories of my Barnstaple youth.
Hillbilly @8
That was the market I was referring to yesterday.
Thanks manehi and Paul
Entertaining puzzle. I particularly liked 1a etc., 15a, 1d, and 14d.
1a is, if I remember rightly, a quotation from Hemingway’s ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’. I recall wondering how many people had thought of it a couple of years ago when there were midnight tremors from a minor earthquake in the midlands.
Before getting that answer, and aware of Paul’s scatological reputation, I briefly entertained the thought that 3d might somehow be ‘number two’.
She pig last for me too. Does anyone actually drink Asti anymore other than in crossword land?
marienkaefer @ 11
We always have a bottle (with smoked salmon on brown bread) on Christmas morning – old family tradition
Very enjoyable – lots of *s by clues today. My favourite has to be the SHE PIG.
Thanks to Paul and manehi.
Very good and lots of funny Pauline moments. However I don’t understand the parsing of 19,4 down. There is nothing to indicate that the IG comes after the FORE as in the explanation given. There is no “after” in the clue.
Thanks, manehi. An easy Paul, because he signposts all the definitions. (Except for the sublime SHE PIG!)
jaceris, the key word is “at” – indicating position.
Muffin it should be ide ling or eel, not salmon.
@ 16
LOL
Thanks Paul and manehi
A fun puzzle, and I usually take longer to finish a Paul than this. Had a blind spot on the parsing of 18d and 27a. I was a bit surprised at the spelling ‘Leitmotif’, as I was the other day by ‘whimsey’ – as far as I remember I’ve never come across either – but they’re both given as alternative spellings in the red book, so I suppose that’s all right.
I have finished staring at 15ac and finally worked it out. I’ve always thought ‘starters’ type clues as being among the easiest but when you come across a master of misdirection such as Paul the penny can take a very long time to drop. All the more rewarding when it does of course.
I look forward to Paul and he never fails to amuse and entertain. Great surfaces ( unlike some of the more contorted, meaningless offerings) wit and variety. When he is challenging it is always worth the effort. I don’t think he gets the praise he deserves.
Count me as another who found this on the easy side for a Paul puzzle, but it was still an enjoyable solve. SKIPPER was my LOI after STRESS. Even though I saw SHE PIG almost immediately I still thought it was a good clue.
A nice Paul to end the week.
I can’t really judge the difficulty as unusually the gogglebox was on in the corner of the room which proved a distraction to lucid thought!
For some reason I got held up on 17A and 18D which were my LOsI 😉
Like many others I liked 15A.
Thanks to manehi and Paul
Lovely, lovely crossword. Thanks, Paul.
I thought the “did the earth?” clue was absolutely brilliant.
Jovis @23, I agree. I laughed out loud at that one!
Finished this in the pub last night, and didn’t get round to commenting, so there’s not much to add. Last in were the SKIPPER and STRESS crossers – we parsed the run as run=captain=skip(per) but it took a long time to see that. Not sure I’d ever heard of HAMMER TOE or CROSSPATCH but the clues made those easy enough to see.
Thanks to mahehi and Paul.
Thanks Paul (and manehi). Very enjoyable. The earth didn’t move but I was left satisfied.
I see Paul’s allowed himself a bit more latitude in his customary style than we’ve seen of late. I’d thought old age might have been showing its hand, but happily not it seems.
Yes, to SKIPPER, as does one who runs a ship etc. works for me.
The usual jolly fun, but perhaps a bit brief for a Paul. 11a and 2d were favourites.
Thanks one and all.
tupu@10
Like you, I remember this concept from Hemingway, but my recollection is that it is not a direct quotation; it was the hero who felt the earth move, and he was not crass enough to ask his beloved if she had experienced it. However, it was at least fifty years ago, and I may be wrong.
malP@18
I am at present many miles away from my copy of the red book, and cannot imagine what alternative spelling is offered for LEITMOTIF.
Hi Mac R G @ 28
Thanks for your comment which has led me to dig out my copy of the book and find the passage.
Early in Chapter 13 (p154-5 in my Jonathan Cape 1952 editiion) Robert Jordan tells Maria ‘I feel as though I wanted to die when I am loving thee’. She replies ‘Oh I die each time. Do you not die?’ He replies ‘No. Almost. But did thee feel the earth move?’ To which she says ‘Yes. As I died’.
As you say, one’s memory is not wholly reliable. We must have read the book at roughly the same time. I had forgotten about the ‘thee’ usage, and there is a lot of discussion about it on the web. I assume H is wanting to stress that the singular familiar Spanish form is being used.
Die? “Go” I suppose, perhaps as in “tu vas et tu viens”, (Birkin et Gainsbourg), but more likely the oppositely meaning common expression, I’d say.
tupu, Martin P et al
Possibly ‘died’ as per the French ‘la petite mort’ which is a euphemism for orgasm.
@28
Leitmotiv. I remember being told off for “leitmotif” by my tutor (motiv is from German, motif from French).
Daisy cutter utterly baffled me, though I got it by partial clues. I need to buff up on cricket, I guess! (I’m American so it’s not in the air here.)
Curious Art – A lot of us have been baffled by daisy-cutters when batting. England’s players in the West Indies this week have struggled with spin……