Guardian Cryptic 26380 Paul

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(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)   As I usually find with Paul, few pickings initially, but one can count on all being revealed, bit by enjoyable bit.  Thanks to Paul.  Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1    Clothing a couple of unknowns, tailor had a stylistic mode of floral design (4,5,6)

LAZY DAISY STITCH : Anagram of(tailor) HAD A STYLISTIC containing(Clothing) [Z,Y](a couple of symbols for unknown quantities in mathematics).

9    See 26

10    The cracks in slippery surface required further assessment (7)

RETHINK : Anagram of(… cracks) THE contained in(in) RINK(the slippery surface for ice skaters).

11    Stuffed in general election, bitter (3)

ALE : Hidden in(Stuffed in) “general election “.

Defn: Beer with a high hop content, with a slightly bitter taste.

12    Those charging club, perhaps, as one selling pork pies? (11)

BULLSHITTER : BULLS(animals renowned for charging at you) + HITTER(thing that hits, whimsically;perhaps, a club).

Defn: One telling pork pies;Cockney rhyming slang for “lies” can be said to be selling them, figuratively.

13    Series of bars as animal restraint, ultimately – walker free? (6,4)

CATTLE GRID : CAT(an animal) + the last letter of(…, ultimately) “restraint ” + LEG(what’s used to walk with, whimsically, a walker) + RID(to free of something).

15    Illegal drugs in clothing (4)

GEAR : Double defn: 1st: In slang.

18    Beauty got to her feet? (4)

ROSE : Double defn: 1st: A symbol of beauty.

20    There’s silence after one’s pushed flexible tube into sheep (4,6)

MUTE BUTTON : Anagram of(flexible) TUBE contained in(into) MUTTON(sheep, or their meat).

23    Attitude in US puritans abandoning lake for capital city (6,5)

BUENOS AIRES : AIR(an attitude;a bearing) contained in(in) “bluenoses”(a US term for “puritans”;prudes) minus(abandoning) “l”(abbrev. for “lake”).

25    Fish, one in a warm stream? (3)

RAY : Double defn: 2nd: A beam in a stream of warm sunlight.

26,9 A god involved in heinous act as entering bar, not a ripple to be seen (4,2,1,7)

FLAT AS A PANCAKE : { [A + PAN(the Greek mythological god) ] contained in(involved in) anagram of(heinous) ACT AS } contained in(entering) FLAKE(a flakey chocolate bar from Cadbury).

27    Hole provided between gold diamonds (7)

ORIFICE : IF(provided;conditional upon) contained in(between) [OR(in heraldry, the colour of gold) plus(and) ICE(slang for the precious stones, diamonds) ].

28    Surgeries’ tender, qualified as medical worker (10,5)

REGISTERED NURSE : Anagram of(…, qualified) SURGERIES’ TENDER.

Down

1    Cavalryman admitting first parts of puzzle difficult, attempts the teaser (3,6)

LAP DANCER : LANCER(a calvary soldier armed with, well, a lance) containing(admitting) the 1st letters, respectively, of(first parts of) “puzzle difficult, attempts “.

Defn: … or tease.

2    Liquorice flavouring (seedless) in relish, most nutty (7)

ZANIEST : “aniseed”(the seeds with the liquorice flavour) minus(…less) “seed” contained in(in) ZEST(relish;gusto).

3    High table with odd locking device (8)

DEADBOLT : Anagram of(High) [TABLE plus(with) ODD].

4    Thought control in the end proving visionary (5)

IDEAL : IDEA(a thought) + the last letter of(… in the end) “control “.

5,21 Entering bar, there is drunk with bishop and right little yapper! (9,7)

YORKSHIRE TERRIER : [ Anagram of(… drunk) THERE IS
plus(with) RR(abbrev for “Right Reverend”, a title for an Anglican or Roman Catholic bishop) ] contained in(Entering) YORKIE(a chocolate bar from Nestle) plus(and) R(abbrev. for “right”).

6    Shape-shifter tries to shift after a little time (6)

TETRIS : Anagram of(… to shift) TRIES placed below(after, in a down clue) the 1st letter of(a little) “time “.

Defn: The video game where the shape at the bottom of the screen keeps changing.

7    Symbol of the British nation, not that it will crumble, all may conclude? (7)

THISTLE : THIS(as opposed to;not “that”) + the last letters, respectively, of(…, all may conclude) “it will crumble “.

Defn: … or country, Scotland.

8    Fresh start for rider, as pedestrian (5)

HIKER : “biker”(a motorcycle rider) with its 1st letter replaced(Fresh start for …).

14    Salt, surfeit going over a friend (9)

GLUTAMATE : GLUT(a surfeit;an overabundance) placed above(going over, in a down clue) A + MATE(a friend).

Defn: … of glutamic acid.

16    Where King John’s powers were diluted with weak alcoholic drink, say? (9)

RUNNYMEDE : RUNNY(flowing more easily, and therefore, for liquid substances, an indication of being diluted or weakened in concentration) + homophone of(…, say) “mead”(an alcoholic drink from fermented honey and water).

Answer: The meadow on the south bank of the Thames where King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta.

17    Might one be popped in quotes, perhaps? (8)

QUESTION : Anagram of(…, perhaps) IN QUOTES.

Defn: …, as a marriage proposal.

19    Novel on crack, the whole thing? (7)

SHEBANG : SHE(the novel by Rider Haggard) placed above(on, in a down clue) BANG(a crack;a loud sudden noise, eg. when a gun is fired).

21    See 5

22    Those crowned heads in outrageous leotards entering bar (6)

MOLARS : The 1st letters, respectively, of(heads in) “outrageous leotards ” contained in(entering) MARS(a chocolate bar, the deep-fried version originating from Scotland).

23    Service industry job ends up in a class of its own (2,3)

BY FAR : Reversal of(up, in a down clue) [ RAF(abbrev. for the Royal Air Force, a service branch of the British military) + the last letters, respectively, of(… ends) “industry job “] .

24    River, perfect river (5)

RHONE : R(abbrev. for “river”) + HONE(to perfect;to figuratively sharpen, as in “to hone one’s skills at …”).

(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)

37 comments on “Guardian Cryptic 26380 Paul”

  1. Good slow burner for me and nice blog scchua but where’s the ……. ….?

    I’m hardly going to mention it explicitly having been urged twice in red ink not to.

    Can’t read the words Magna Carta without thinking of both Tony Hancock (Did she die in vain?) and the Eton-Oxford-PPS PM who on Letterman, didn’t know the meaning at all.

    So why did King John sign Magna Carta anyway – was she deaf?

    Many thanks both.

  2. Not sure about ‘high’ as an anagram indicator; surprised 12ac was allowed. But an enjoyable solve if somewhat demure for Paul!

  3. If my memory serves me well, in Tetris it’s the shape arriving at the TOP of the screen that keeps changing, and you have to shift it so it fits.

  4. Thanks scchua. Paul really tests, he amuses, and he can generally be finished well within the hour: so he’s number 1. Though I didn’t know the stitch or the blue noses reference or what yorkie meant it was all doable without aids: and checking afterwards taught me handy things. Loved 12 and 20A.

  7. Thank you Paul and especially scchua, I found this hard going but the blog was enlightening.

    There are an awful lot of bars in this, the confectionary ones I do not know. Have to think about it.

  8. Just the thing to brighten up the day of someone at home with a lurgi! I had to check that 12a was in Chambers as I too thought ‘surely that can’t be allowed’ but it is.

    Thanks to Paul for cheering me up and scchua for the explanations.

  9. Thank you Paul and Scchua.
    28a is beautiful.
    Can never think of Tetris without thinking of the woman in the TV documentary about the game’s Russian inventor. She’d played so often that, whenever she talked to someone, she saw the words coming out of their mouth in little Tetris shapes.
    Wonder what happens if you do too many crosswords …

  10. Thanks Paul & Scchua
    In 12 when I saw __s_itter I thought no way could the missing letter be an H. Maybe I should have thought, “But this is Paul”.

  11. Thank you OneLook Dictionary for giving me 1a (never heard of it). Thank you scchua for parsing 1a, and 22a, and 26,9: and several others. I’ve not been on Paul’s wavelength recently I fear.

  12. Sorry Sschua, but I disagree with your definition of ale. The vikings made ale 500 years before hops entered the UK. Origin is “eol”, norse for a piss-up.
    To this day, brown ale and winter ale contain far less hops than (bitter) beer.

    But thanks for the blog!

  13. So I always moan when the crosswords here are bad, but this is pretty good. The inconsistency of The Gurdian is the worry I suppose, with others calling it ‘a variety of styles’. Haha.

    Liked the bars.

  14. I found this a bit of odd one, to be honest, but Yorkie brought back memories of my days as a rep visiting the dear old RACS. Of course in those days, Yorkie bars were made by Rowntree’s, while my lot supplied Dairy Crunch and the Milky Bar, not to mention the powdered milk to Africa…

  15. As with Tim @2, not sure about ‘high’ as an anagrind, but maybe that’s because I didn’t spot it until I came here. But numerous joys … BULLSHITTER, MUTE BUTTON, THISTLE and the last in but very wonderful MOLARS. Why this was last in when Mrs Trailman has just had the dental work alluded to heaven only knows.

  16. Newell White@12. I wasn’t defining “ale”, but expanding on “bitter”, the definitional (underlined) part of the clue, thus “Defn: …..”

  17. Found this fairly straightforward, but entertaining in places – only LAZY DAISY STITCH was unfamiliar, and the crossers made that easy enough to guess. Last in was WEAR – like paulw @5 I contemplated WEAR but war = illegal seemed too much of a stretch. I find that because Paul likes to use helpful crossers, a lot of the answers suggest themselves before parsing – I didn’t / forgot to parse BUENOS AIRES and CATTLE GRID. Liked HIKER (well I had to say that), TETRIS and MUTE BUTTON.

    Thanks to Paul (and thanks for dropping in, though Nantwich is too far for a weeknight) and scchua

  19. That horse is actually dead. It’s had to be put down because of its injuries. couldn’t you have found a nicer picture of a cattle grid?

  21. It’s hardly the verification of the century, but in the sixth form back in the late seventies my French master, one John McKinley, used the word “bullshit” and told us that it was okay to use it, because it wasn’t swearing, it was a real word. This could either have been true, or complete bu…

  22. I knocked most of this off quite quickly but I got stuck on TETRIS,which I’d never heard of, and MOLARS which I didn’t get because I couldn’t parse it. So easy once it’s pointed out-thanks for that by the way- I guessed ROYALS because of CROWNED HEADS. I know,I know!
    Thanks Paul

  23. Nice one – and thanks Paul for not making 20ac a Spooner clue. And loved 7dn – set after the referendum result perhaps?

  24. Thanks Paul and scchua
    I found this the hardest for ages (including Prizes) and was beaten by 1ac (despite having all the crossers) and MOLARS. There were also several that I correctly guessed the answer but was unable to parse.
    I liked MUTE BUTTON and 28a.

  26. Thanks to Paul for an enjoyable puzzle – that had me reaching for the biscuit tin – and to scchua for the blog.

    To all the 3 down naysayers: Chambers gives several meanings for ‘high’ that are suitable as anagrinds – angry; violent; tempestuous; drunk; over-excited – so I think it’s fair enough. Although I must admit I was unconvinced before I looked it up.

  27. I’m pretty sure the sense for high as used here is ‘off’ as in (partially) decomposed. Seems a winner to me.

  28. There is a clear distinction between a bullshitter and a liar. A liar knows that he/she is not telling the truth but a bullshitter does not give a shit. A person may be both a liar and a bullshitter of course.

  29. I found this trickier than a lot of Paul’s recent puzzles, but I also thought it was excellent. I found the bottom half a lot more accessible than the top half, mainly because I needed quite a few checkers before I saw the previously unknown 1ac. BULLSHITTERS was my LOI after TETRIS.

  31. Re jollySwagman @1, John didn’t actually sign Magna Carta, he sealed it. Pedantic, I know, but aren’t we all on this site?
    Love and peace.

  32. Here’s another one (two, in fact) that had WEAR instead of GEAR.
    Otherwise once more a very good Paul puzzle.
    I do not often comment on his crosswords anymore as there is hardly any reason to say a thing from a cryptic point of view.
    And sharing a LOL moment because of the presence or absence of bums, bottoms and loos is not part of my agenda.

    That said, we “only” had BULLSHITTER today.
    My PinC made the same remark as Tom Hutton @28 but the dictionaries that I have tell me that a bullshitter is intending to deceive. So fine by me (the bastard!).

    Strange that no-one today made a remark about a THISTLE being “symbol of the British nation” as, in my perception, it is clearly Scottish.
    As a Dutchman, however, I do not have an opinion …. 🙂

    I like clues like 13ac in which the imagery is in line with the solution of the clue. Parfait as the French say.

    Indeed, a lot of bars (three of them being entered).
    I am certainly not against using brand names in crosswords, although preferably within the construction, not as the solution.
    My PinC has a slightly different take on that.
    However, she found 26,9 very clever as in the world of Cadbury Flakes there were apparently also Galaxy Ripples to rival them.
    Something that gave the clue an extra dimension.

    No problems with “high” as an anagram indicator. Every now and then people seem to object (just as with “up”, which is also perfectly OK).

    Very enjoyable puzzle.
    With, apart from the ones mentioned above, a special plus for the blue noses in 23ac.

  33. Thanks Paul and scchua

    Paul in top form here – I do like it when he ratchets up the difficulty level a notch as he did in this one. One can appreciate his tight clueing and wit as well as coming out the other side knowing that you’ve passed a good challenge.

    Last few in were MOLARS (I was in the ‘royals’ camp too – just couldn’t parse the ‘ryas’ bit!), BULLSHITTER (also surprised to see it in, but glad that it was. Originally had BILLSTICKER with stick (club) inside biller (those charging) – but nagged by the pork pies, non-plural and a K in 7d that just wouldn’t work!) and then THISTLE last in.

    Missed the anagrams at 3d and 17d.

    Did like unravelling the logic with LAZY DAISY STITCH, CATTLE GRID and YORKSHIRE TERRIER. Also with both MOLARS and THISTLE when I got them.

  34. Sil @32
    I think THISTLE was a gentle dig at the fact that the Scots voted to remain a “British nation”.

  35. Sil and Muffin, I took “British” to have its true meaning: “of the British isles”, not as one of the many shorthand phrases for “of the UK of…”. Meaning no matter which way the referendum went, Scotland is a British nation, just as Cuba is a Caribbean one.

    Another one-word loss at “royals” here. Lovely puzzle.

    Thanks to scchua and Paul!

  36. muffin @34
    “I think THISTLE was a gentle dig at the fact that the Scots voted to remain a “British nation”.”
    Setters submit their puzzles weeks, often months, before they are due to be published. I fear, your point isn’t a point.

    Huw Powell @35.
    “Meaning no matter which way the referendum went, Scotland is a British nation”.
    As I said, I am a Dutchman having no opinion on this matter, but whoa I wouldn’t want to say that to a Scot.
    Do you?

  37. Finished the bottom first. Never heard of the Yorkie bar, being a foreigner. And got stuck for a while with cattlestop as we called it when I used to milk the cows. Only failed on molars.

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