An enjoyable puzzle from Paul, with some typical Pauline clues – and this time I’m not talking risqué. I found it pretty straightforward, apart from the parsing of 16dn, which took about as long as solving the whole puzzle: there was a big clang – and groan – when the penny dropped.
Favourite clues were 9,25, 18ac, 22,21 and 20dn. Thanks to Paul for the fun.
Across
5 Couple of gifts not closed in error (3-3)
BOO-BOO
BOO[n] [gift, minus final letter – ‘not closed’] x 2
9,25 Team having odd fixture? No problem (6,6)
OXFORD UNITED
Anagram [problem] of ODD FIXTURE NO
10 Boy in a big boy like Uncle Sam (8)
AMERICAN
ERIC [boy] in A MAN [a big man]
11 Blade cutting through thick rissole (4)
KRIS
Hidden in thicK RISsole
12,6 Side of meat, strong and thin, perhaps? (10,6)
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Anagram [perhaps] of OF MEAT STRONG and THIN for another football team: this looked, worryingly, like turning into a theme but, mercifully, for me, at least, it didn’t.
13 Big old arm beginning to sweat after trip on public transport (11)
BLUNDERBUSS
BLUNDER [trip] + BUS [public transport] + S[weat]
18 H for “Headmaster” and “Headmistress”, but not at Harrow? (5,5)
RUGBY POSTS
Cryptic definition, referring to the H shape of rugby posts and academic posts at two public schools – still not headmistresses, I think.
22,21 Find me in a pond catching cold, I am drunk and disorderly! (8,4)
MANDARIN DUCK
Anagram [disorderly] of I AM DRUNK AND round [catching] C [cold] – what a lovely surface!
23 An owl that smells! (6)
HOOTER
Double definition – more like Rufus than Paul, I think
24 Queen, one in outrage, flipping (6)
REGINA
I [one] in a reversal [flipping] of ANGER [outrage]
Down
1 Big drop into the black stuff (8)
COLOSSAL
LOSS [drop] in COAL [the black stuff]
2 A model state? (6)
JORDAN
Double definition
3 First leg, perhaps, runner-up in pocket (8)
FORELIMB
Reversal [up] of MILER [runner] in FOB [pocket]
4 Hang loose, injecting drug using a needle (6)
SEWING
SWING [hang loose] round E [the familiar crosswiord drug]
5 More than one dog pants (6)
BOXERS
Double definition: these days, we’re more used to seeing ‘pants’ as an anagram indicator but ONE DOG didn’t look very promising fodder!
7 “Baa” surprisingly stifled by sheep that’s going to pot? (3,3)
TEA BAG
Anagram [surprisingly] of BAA in TEG [sheep]: Collins says this is a two-year-old sheep and Chambers and SOED a sheep in its second year. We’re more familiar with TUP for sheep, I think, and my first instinctive [unparsable, of course] thought was TEA CUP.
8 I was resting in a lazy manner, having a job taking orders (11)
WAITRESSING
Anagram [in a lazy manner?] of I WAS RESTING – this really made me smile, as I had several waitressing jobs as a student and I don’t remember much resting in a lazy manner!
14 Person wandering around hospital after medication, ultimately, for parts of the kidney (8)
NEPHRONS
Anagram [wandering] of PERSON round H [hospital] after medicatioN
15 Devon town in one direction, mid resorts (8)
SIDMOUTH
Anagram [resorts] of MID in SOUTH [one direction]
16 Live-in worker is in to food and booze, might you say? (2,4)
AU PAIR
The definition was obvious from the enumeration and the wordplay clearly indicated a homophone: I toyed with ‘eau’ and ‘pear’ but that, of course, was not worthy of Paul and the ‘food’ and ‘booze’ were the wrong way round. I went away and did something else and saw, when I came back, that there are two [or a pair of] ‘Os’ in food and booze – Doh! [‘m not happy with ‘in to’, though.]
17 Long speech where credit is in issue (6)
SCREED
CR [credit] in SEED [issue]
19 Wine cellar from which mature old Burgundy initially brought up (6)
BODEGA
Reversal [brought up] of AGED [mature] + O[ld] B[urgundy]
20 Setter of a puzzle hard to see in twist then that’s wrong (6)
SPHINX
H [hard] in SPIN [twist] + X [that’s wrong]: the riddle of the sphinx is commonly known as, “What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?” but there’s a lot more interesting stuff about it here.
Yes, yet another entertaining crossword from Paul. Probably not one of his more difficult ones, as I don’t remember any major hold-ups. As a somewhat lapsed Notts County fan I could have done without the reference to the old enemy! My favourite was WAITRESSING.
Thanks to Eileen and Paul
Thanks to Eileen for the blog. Once again you supplied explanations for answers I had but without the parsing.
I groaned at the owl that smells when I got the answer eventually.
I was still puzzled by AU PAIR until I read your description. I also groaned.
As mentioned in TftT, this was the one I solved in my sleep. I had all but 13 and 3, but couldn’t finish. I woke up at about 4 AM knowing ‘blunderbuss’ was the word I was looking for. I put it in the next morning, and ‘forelimb’ was at once obvious.
I do enjoy Paul’s puzzles, although I couldn’t parse the ‘au pair’ clue either.
Thanks Eileen. Agree with your comments, though my struggles with AU PAIR did not result in your revelation. Somehow I got the two football teams at first glance. One of the last in, with the due revelation, was RUGBY POSTS. My understanding of this was that at Harrow School they only play football with a sphere.
Or(having now checked) with a pie-shaped ball
Many thanks Eileen & Paul
Another very enjoyable puzzle.
I struggled with 2d – JORDAN – until I eventually recalled the model in question.
I know next to nothing about these sort of models.
Thanks Paul; enjoyable puzzle not too difficult for a Prize.
Thanks Eileen, especially for the parsing of AU PAIR, which I think I missed.
Favourite was MANDARIN.
I was confused by the parsing of AU PAIR and I think I still am. I had some trouble with MANDARIN DUCK but I loved HOOTER which was my FOI. Probably not Paul at his best but enjoyable nonetheless. Thanks Paul
Thanks Paul and Eileen.
I think 18a is referring to the posts used for Harrow Football, the are tall, like RUGBY POSTS, but there is no crossbar.
Needed help with some of the parsing, the AU PAIR and FORELIMB had me stumped. Extra thanks Eileen. Liked BLUNDERBUS and MANDARIN DUCK in particular.
It’s quiet here today. My comment last night was written after a few beers, and I had forgotten that I failed to parse AU PAIR, so thanks to Eileen for that. TEG was also guessed rather than known. Liked RUGBY POSTS too.
Thank you, Cookie.
I have never heard of Harrow football and so I could never have thought of researching it but when I did, just now, here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrow_football, I had to scroll down quite a bit to find that there is no crossbar – and could easily have missed it. But at least now molonglo’s comment @5 about a pie-shaped ball makes more sense! [It all sounds to me a bit like a Harrovian response to Rugby’s invention of rugby but Wikipedia doesn’t supply a date and I don’t want to start a fierce argument on this, of all things.]
I reckon to solve and blog [when it falls to me] the Prize puzzle when it appears and often forget that there is an annotated solution, which, I think, is scheduled to appear on Friday afternoon – but often doesn’t. I’ve just checked and, at the moment, there is none for this puzzle, so watch that space. I was quite happy with my parsing but, if there is this extra layer / alternative parsing, more kudos to Paul.
The parsing 18a is fine Eileen, as far as I can see. It was just that the little quip at the end of the clue rang a bell. Perhaps Paul put it in for that reason, to hint what he was getting at.
Just wondering whether “Molonglo” is a fellow Guardian crossword tragic from Canberra, Australia, since “Molonglo” is the river through Canberra
Thanks Eileen, I couldn’t see the Os in AU PAIR. Well done!
Thanks Eileen and Paul
An enjoyable puzzle. Like many others I was stumped by the parsing of ‘au pair’ – well done for seeing it!
Re 18a, I wondered if the clue might somehow refer to the all-boy intake at Harrow as against Rugby’s mixed entry.
tupu @15, the plot thickens, but quite a few Public Schools are now co-educational, Charterhouse, Stowe, Uppingham, Wellington, Westminster…
Hi tupu [I’m really pleased to see you commenting again. 😉 ]
You could well be right. As I said, I await the annotated solution – but they are not always terribly helpful!
I’m glad to see I am in such distinguished company when failing to explain 16 to myself.
Not many comments on this puzzle for a prize. It was pretty standard Paul prize fare so I had nothing extra to add and so didn’t bother! (Like many others apparently!)
Enjoyable puzzle nonetheless.
Just thought I’d comment on the Rugby Posts musings. Surely Eileen explained the mystery @11 so why the extra suggestions.
H = “H-shaped” as well as the letter which is indicated in the starts to Headmaster and Headmistress (a bit superfluous this bit!)
However the “rugby posts” use in Harrow Football (their form of rugby) don’t have the cross member so are not “H”s. So definition is “something normally H-shaped but not at Harrow”.
I do feel that a little Crossword Editor intervention was required here but that’s a little too much to expect really 😉
Thanks to Eileen and Paul
Actually, Brendan, that isn’t how I ‘explained’ 18ac. As I said @11, I didn’t know there was such a thing as Harrow football!
I don’t think my suggestion @9 about the Harrow posts has anything to do with the parsing, too obscure.
Thanks Paul and Eileen
Only did this yesterday and found it on the easy side for Paul that so often happens with his Prize ones for some reason. JORDAN was my last in – not really knowing her.
I did think of O pair at 16d, but didn’t make the next step – very clever … and well spotted ! Liked SPHINX, RUGBY POSTS and now AU PAIR.
For anyone who’s still interested, the annotated solution has now been published and gives “cryptic def [posts at Rugby not at Harrow; H = shape of rugby posts]”, which allows for either parsing, I think. 😉
Keep the ball rolling, Eileen…