Fifteensquared » mhl

Guardian 25075 / Orlando

mhl — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:07:12 +0000

I’ve mentioned a couple of grumbles below, but overall I thought this was an enjoyable (and mostly quite easy) solve

Across
9.	IMPEL	I = “one” + M = “mile” + PEL[t] = “move rapidly, being short of time”
10.	DRAG RACES	DR = “Doctor” + A = “Arnold first” + GRACES = “Thalia and her sisters”
11.	SUNDOWNER	S = “Pole” + UND = “and German” + OWNER = “proprietor”
12.	DORIS	Two definitions (“Girl” and “area of Greece”) + hidden “mainlanD OR ISland”
13.	LORELEI	LORE = “learning” + LEI = “flower arrangement in Hawaii” – a nice clue. (LORELEI is often defined as “rock singer” as well :))
15.	WILHELM	WILL = “is going to” + M = “mass” around HE (“- he’s impressed”)
17.	BASIS	B = “front of building” + AS IS = “unchanged”
18.	SIM	Double definition: “Smart card” as in the SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card in a phone, and Alistair SIM – I don’t like “first name indicates surname” much…
20.	ORDER	[f]OR = “(not loud) for” + RED reversed = “socialist revolution”, referring to the Speaker of the House of Commons calling for order
22.	ADDISON	IS in ADD-ON = “accessory”
25.	GENERAL	Double definition; I assumed the surface referred to the 1992 film, but it turns out there are other possibilities
26.	RECAP	REDCAP = “MP” (Military Policeman) without D = “Democrat”
27.	BYZANTINE	N = “Carmen’s last” in (ANY BIZET)*
30.	DAY RETURN	(READY)* + TURN = “Go”
31.	AUGER	A [h]UGER = “A much bigger”. Even with the question-mark, I don’t like that the apostrophe (indicating the dropping of the H) is in the definition – it should be in the corresponding word in the subsidiary, surely – this certainly made the clue much more difficult to solve for me. I’ve edited that comment to make it more clear.
Down
1.	BIAS	First letters of “being intransigent and shaking”
2.	UP IN ARMS	U = “half of us” + PIN ARMS = “apply bear hug”
3.	ALSO	Hidden in “meALS-On-wheels”
4.	ADENOIDS	(DON IDEAS)*
5.	BARROW	Double definition or cryptic definition, depending on how you look at it, referring to Barrow-in-Furness and a burial ground
6.	BRIDAL GOWN	(BAD ROWLING)*
7.	SCARCE	SCAR[fa]CE = “Gangster” without FA = “Fanny Adams”
8.	ASPS	AS = “Like” + P[oisonou]S = “extremely poisonous”
13.	LIBRA	LIBRA[ries]
14.	LAST SUPPER	LASTS = “What cobblers need” + UPPER = “part of shoe”; the pedant in me is always happy to see “Leonardo” instead of “da Vinci” :)
16.	MOREL	MORE = “Extra” + L = “large”
19.	MAGAZINE	GAZ[e] = “Unfinished look” in MAINE = “state”
21.	DARLINGS	Double definition: the first referring to the Darling family in Peter Pan
23.	DACTYL	ACT = “Work” in YD = “yard” reversed + L = “left”; the definition is “foot”, referring to the metrical foot in prosody
24.	NABLUS	NAB = “Arrest” + L = “Latin” + US = “American”
26.	RIDE	RID = “Free” + E = “easy start”
28.	NEAT	N + “man’s last” + EAT = “to scoff”
29.	EARN	Sounds like “urn” (“vessel”)

Guardian 25070 / Enigmatist

mhl — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 07:40:22 +0000

As usual, a tough but entertaining and clever puzzle from Enigmatist. ~~I can’t parse a couple of them, I’m afraid, so please help out in the comments below if you understand them.~~ (Resolved now, thanks!) Thanks to Andrew for pointing out that the long clues here relate to a happy annoucement elsewhere here!

Across
5.	A TRIFLE	A = “advanced” + TRIFLE = “sweet”
9.	RELIC	RC = “catholic” around ELI = “Biblical teacher”; the definition is “What’s old”
10,24,1.	HAVING ONE WIFE TOO MANY	(HONEYMOONING FATWA IVE)*; referring to the quotation attributed to Oscar Wilde: “Bigamy is having one wife too many, monogamy is the same”. The first of the two long clues, both relating to (rather sexist) epigrams about marriage. In case you missed this in the preamble, the joke is that Enigmatist himself is getting married today :)
11.	CAPRICORNS	CS = “Gas” around APRICO[t] = “endless fruit” + RN = “service”; the definition (“babies at Christmas”) is nice, but rather tricky
12.	SAME	SA = “It” + ME = “Enigmatist”; a nice joke that both parts of the clue are the same as well
14.	WEDDING CAKE	(KNEW ID CADGE)*
18.	ZOOPLANKTON	(LOOK TO ZAP + N + N)*; the two Ns are “News”; the definition is “drifting life forms”
21.	MOON	MO = “Second” + ON = “leg” (in cricket); “to moon” is “to expose one’s buttocks”
22.	BELORUSSIA	(BLOUSE SARI)*
25.	THALIDONE	(INHALED TO)*; I’ve never heard of this, but apparently it’s a drug that can control blood pressure (“BP”)
26.	CHUTE	Sounds like “shoot”
27.	SHYNESS	SHY = “attempt” + NESS = “head”; the definition is “Bashful’s quality”
28,15,7,20.	THE MOST DANGEROUS FOOD A MAN CAN EAT	(AMUSEMENT ARCADES FANDANGO TOO HOT)*
Down
1.	THRACE	~~I don’t get this one, I’m afraid: “In this old region you can’t see the death of the nation”~~ I’m obviously not with it today – thanks to sidey who points out that this is just TH[e] = “you can’t see the death of the” + RACE = “nation”
2.	OXLIPS	XLI = “Forty-one” in OPS = “[operating] theatre jobs”
3.	ARCTIC WOLF	A = “One” + (CWT FROLIC)*
4.	YAHOO	Double definition, “Means by which to search” referring to the website Yahoo
5.	ADVENTIST	A DENTIST = “person with a drill” around V = “this number” (it’s clue 5d)
6.	RING	Double definition
8.	EXEGESES	G[u]E[s]SES = “Estimates losing us” after EXE = “southwest banker”
13.	AGONY UNCLE	(CLEAN YOUNG)*
16.	AZIMUTHS	A ZIT = “a spot” around MU = “letter” + H[a]S = “has extremist”; the definition is “angles from the Observer’s point of view”
17.	MONOGAMY	~~I don’t understand the subsidiary, I’m afraid: “high record flipped”~~ Thanks to aloo2 for pointing out that GAMY = “high” and MONO = “record”; I wondered about the latter, but haven’t heard MONO to mean a record before…
19.	PSEUDO	DUES = “subscription” in OP = “work” reversed
23.	OVERT	OVER = “in the course of” + T = “time”

Guardian 25,060 / Rufus

mhl — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:49:13 +0000

A very nice crossword, with Rufus’s usual wit and smooth surface readings. The only difficulty was one word (11a) that was unknown to me, and difficult to guess from the anagram fodder.

Across
1.	SCRATCH	Double definition; playing off a zero handicap in golf is known as SCRATCH
5.	MONOCLE	Cryptic definition
10.	APSE	APE = “Primate” around S = “Sunday”
11.	MEERSCHAUM	A new word to me: (EACH SUMMER)*
12.	FIDDLE	Double definition
13.	RESERVES	Double definition
14.	RESIDENCE	(DECREE NIS[i])*
16.	FIRST	Double definition, which gives me a weak excuse to add a link to Wikipedia’s note about slang terms for degree classifications
17.	SPASM	SPA = “Resort” + SM = “sergeant major”
19.	LOST HEART	Double definition
23.	BOUNCERS	Cryptic definition
24.	NEWTON	NEW = “fresh” + TON = “weight” for Isaac Newton who described the laws of motion used in classical mechanics
26.	VOL-AU-VENTS	Very nice: (OVEN VAULTS)*
27.	IOTA	I + TO reversed + A
28.	REVERSE	Double definition
29.	MASTERY	(ARMY SET)*
Down
2.	CAPSIZE	Double defintion; the latter cryptically refer to CAP SIZE
3.	AHEAD	A + HEAD = “teacher”
4.	COMPETE	COME = “Enter” (as in what you might say in reponse to someone knocking on your door) around PET = “favourite”
6.	OBSESS	(BOSSES)*
7.	OTHERWISE	(WHITE ROSE)*
8.	LAURELS	Cryptic definition; LAURELS are bay leaves
9.	ZEBRA CROSSING	Cryptic definition
15.	INSINUATE	Lovely surface: (ANNUITIES)*
18.	PROPOSE	Cryptic definition
20.	TUNISIA	(A UNIT IS)*
21.	ROOSTER	ROSTER = “Roll” around O = “nothing”
22.	LEAVES	Double definition
25.	WAIST	Cryptic definition: apparently “vital statistics” are the combination of bust, waist and hip measurements, listed in that order, so WAIST is the “centre”

Guardian 25,056 / Paul

mhl — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:07:27 +0000

I found this tough compared to most of Paul’s puzzles – fun to solve, though. ~~I’m afraid I don’t understand how 6 down works and I’m not sure about my explanation for 26, 21, but I’m sure someone will be able to help…~~

Across
1.	AMBUSH	[h]AM BUSH; an entertaining idea :)
4.	UPSHOT	Cryptic definition
9.	DEMO	Hidden answer: [pan]DEMO[nium]
10.	CARLA BRUNI	CAR = “Model driven” followed by I = “one” after LAB = “party” + RUN = “rule”
11.	QUANGO	QUA = “As” + NG = “no good” + O = “nothing”, for a QUasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organization
12.	FRENETIC	[y]ETI = “hairy monster lacking leadership” in FRENC[h] = “as Sarkozy, short”
13.	SLOW TRAIN	LOW = “Reduced” in STRAIN = “pressure”
18.	SWORDPLAY	[pretentiousnes]S + WORDPLAY = “crossword setter’s art”
22,23.	HOW’S YOUR FATHER	Cryptic definition: referring to the expression “a bit of the other” as slang for sex.
25.	MOTHERWELL	Very nice: instead of “HOW’S YOUR FATHER?” on the other “side” of the family it might be “MOTHER WELL?” Update: MartinLp points out that “side” here refers to Motherwell being a football team
26,21.	GOLF COURSE	GO = “Crack” ~~[?]~~ (have a go / have a crack – thanks, Shuchi!) + (CLUES FOR)*
27.	TITFER	FT = “Paper” reversed in TIER = “row”; TITFER, apparently, is rhyming slang for “hat”, from “tit-for-tat”. (Rhyming slang, or obscure slang, seems to be a mini-theme of this puzzle.)
28.	USURER	If it’s “me who’s less certain?” then perhaps U SURER?
Down
1.	ASEXUAL	EX = “Old lover” in CASUAL = “informal” (inclusion indicated by “clothes”); “topless” then removes the first C – an unusual ordering, perhaps
2,16.	BROWN BREAD	Double definition: more rhyming slang BROWN BREAD = “dead”
3.	SUCCOUR	Sounds like “sucker” (“dope”)
5,15.	PRAYER WHEEL	PR = “Concern with image” + (WEARY)* + HEEL = “scoundrel”: I like the definition: “revolver in Tibet”
6.	HORSEWHIP	~~I don’t get this: “Possession of rider, whose charger finally beaten with it” – it’d be HIP around (WHOSE [charge]R), but I don’t see how to get HIP~~ Thanks to Shuchi for pointing out that HIP = “with it”, so it’s: (WHOSE [charge]R) + HIP = “with it”
7.	TONTINE	IT reversed in TONNE = “metric weight”; a TONTINE is “A form of investment in which, on the death of an investor, his share is divided amongst the other investors.” (wiktionary)
8.	TRAFFIC WARDEN	Took me ages to work out the wordplay here: TEN = “Figure” around F F = “fines” in (CAR I)* + DRAW reversed = “park up” Update: I’m not very happy with the lattermost part – there’s some discussion in the coments
14.	WHAT’S WHAT	W = “wife” followed by S[a]W = “saw, article disappearing” between HAT and HAT (“[TITFER]s”)
17.	ROOT OUT	ROO = “Aussie bouncer” + TOUT = “one dealing with aggression?” (dealing as in “trading”)
19.	RUFFLES	FUR = “hair” reversed + SELF = “nature” reversed
20.	AREOLAR	AR[m] + (OR A LE[g])*
24.	TIGER	Double definition, the latter referring to Tiger Woods

Guardian 25,050 / Araucaria

mhl — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:15:10 +0000

Sorry for the late (and very rushed) post – I knew I was blogging today but didn’t make much progress on the way into work and then promptly forgot about it. I wish I’d had more time to enjoy this one – lots of nice clues, but pretty tough, I thought.

Across
9.	INLAND SEA	(ANNIE’S LAD)*
10.	ADORN	ADO = “trouble” + RN = “sailors”
11.	KARAKUL	KK = “Kings” around ~~A RA~~ ARA (Associate of the Royal Academy) – thanks, Peter Owen = “painter” + U = “turn” + L = “left”
12.	MACBETH	MATH = “an American subject” ~~around BET = “award” (?)~~ Oops, as Peter Owen and mike point out below, this is MATH around CBE = “award”; I understood this at the time, but looked at the wrong letters when writing the post…
13.	DUST	Double definition; references to “dust to dust” and to “a dust up”
16.	HEAR OUT	HE = “Man” + ROUT = “a heavy defeat”
17.	FRESHET	FRET = “Worry” around SHE = “woman”
19,7.	BARCHESTER TOWERS	CHEST = “Box” in BARER = “wearing fewer clothes” + TOWERS = “drawers” (“to tow” and “to draw”)
22.	UNDO	Hidden ~~reversed~~; I thought this must be a hidden ~~reversed~~ answer, but it still took ages to see… Update: thanks to Peter Owen for the correction
24.	CHATHAM	CHAT = “Talk” + HAM = “food”
25.	LIBERAL	LIBEL = “remarks that are defamatory” around RA = “artist”
26.	EMOTE	E = “quarter” + MOTE = “bit of [DUST]“
27.	EAVESDROP	Double definition; “water falling from roof” my be a DROP from the EAVES
Down
1.	KICKED THE BUCKET	Double definition
2.	CLARISSA	CLASS = “Pupils” around RI = “religious instruction” + A
3.	SNAKE	Double definition; snakes glide along the ground, I suppose? (Some even glide through the air.) “scotched, not killed, by [MACBETH]” refers to the line “We have scotch’d the snake, not killed it” from that play
4.	PSALMIST	ALMOST = “Not quite” with I for O = “love” after PS = “second thoughts”
5.	WARMTH	Double definition
6.	CAMCORDER	Very nice: CA = “accountant” + MC = “compère” + ORDER = “to get things straight”
8.	ANTHONY TROLLOPE	HON = “[HONORARY]” + Y = “unknown” + TROLLOP = “slut” in ANTE = “before”
15.	LOCH SHIEL	(HIS CELLO H)*
17.	FREE LOVE	LOVE = “Nothing” + FREE = “for nothing”
18.	HONORARY	HOARY = “being old” around NOR = “not”
20.	REASON	RE = “Concerned with” + AS = “Roman coin” + ON
21,14.	SAMUEL RICHARDSON	SAMSON = “Strong man” around (CRUEL I)* + HARD = “tough”
23.	ABASH	A + BASH = “party”

Guardian 25,046 / Enigmatist

mhl — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 06:17:17 +0000

A great puzzle from Enigmatist – as always, some of the wordplay is difficult to parse, but with the help of my partner I think I’ve got them all. One of the aspects of this puzzle that I think we don’t applaud often enough (although it’s a strong feature of the Guardian crossword) is the breadth (if not depth :)) of cultural references. Anyway, great fun, I thought.

Across
1.	WYSIWYG	SI = “Yes, European” (Spanish for “Yes”) in “more than one” W[a]Y = “way leaking a” + G = “gallon”. WYSIWYG is an acronym for “What You See Is What You Get” (pronounced “whizzy-wig”) used in computing to describe, for example, a wordprocessor where the screen display closely corresponds to the printed output. I imagine this might have caused some problems ;)
5.	SET UPON	(ONE’S PUT)*
9.	ILEUS	Cryptic definition: an ileus is a painful obstruction of the intestine (or “food course”)
10.	JEFFERSON	Double definition; the first refers to the band Jefferson Airplane
11.	PRESIDENTS	P = “parking” for RESIDENTS might be “private parking?”
12.	DORÉ	DO and RE are the “first notes” of the solfège
14.	GREEN PAPERS	GREEN = “eco” + PAPERS = “press”
18.	PLUTOCRATIC	PLUTO = “Planet” + ARCTIC = “very cold”, but with the first half reversed (“with over half”) to give CRA TIC
21.	COHO	OH! = “I say” in CO = “business”
22.	GLITTERATI	(GILT ATTIRE)*; “wearing” as in “eroding” for the anagram indicator
25.	ROOSEVELT	(RESOLVE TO)*; I like the “(6 12)” giving “THEO DORE”
26,17.	MOUNT RUSHMORE	“A whip” could make a MOUNT (horse) RUSH MORE
27.	MEERKAT	E’ER = “always poetically” + K = “grand” (as in 1000) in MAT = “rug”
28.	LINCOLN	Triple definition: “Green” / “city” / Abraham Lincoln
Down
1.	WHIPPY	W = “women” + HIPPY = “somewhat broad in the beam?”
2.	SKEWER	Double definition
3.	WASHINGTON	WAS ON = “Is now off, presumably” around (NIGHT)*
4.	G I JOE	JIG = “Quick steps” reversed + O = “old” + E = “English”
5.	SAFETY NET	A nice definition: “In emergency one catches”; TYNE = “banker” in (FEAST)*
6.	THEO	“The Ring” is the “Wagner opus”, which might be represented by THE ‘O’; THEO can be a shortetened form of Theodore, Theodora, etc.
7.	PUSHOVER	PUS = “Matter” + HOVER = “to brood over?”
8.	NONSENSE	NONE = “love” around SENS = “nurses”
13.	HATCHET MAN	CHET = “Baker” in HAT MAN = “milliner”
15.	ENROLMENT	In ET = “film”, LORN = “lost” reversed + MEN = “personnel”
16.	SPECTRUM	PEC = “muscle” in STRUM = “play on guitar”
19.	CARUSO	CAR = “It’s driven” + US + O = “round”; the definition is a homphone, unusually: a tenor = “a tenner, as quoted”
20.	KITTEN	KIT = “Christopher” + TEN (the answer to 10a) = “Jefferson”; the definition is “Beastly young”
23.	TOTAL	T[eam] + (A LOT)*
24.	BERK	Hidden in “Micawber knew”

Guardian 25,036 / Rufus

mhl — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:53:00 +0000

As usual, good stuff from Rufus – smooth surface readings, clever constructions and plenty of smiles from the cryptic definitions. (Apologies for any errors – I’ve had to do this post very fast today due to transport problems.)

Across
7.	BOUNDLESS	Double definition
8.	CREAM	CRAM = “stuff” around E = “East”
9.	ATTITUDES	(A DUETTIST)*
10.	ACTOR	[f]ACTOR = “Agent”
12.	DEPOTS	DE = “of the French”, which I read as “of (the French)” + POTS + “vessels”
13.	ENMESHED	END = “the outcome” around ME + SHE = “a girl”
14.	LANYARD	Cryptic definition: a lanyard is a rope (line) that you’d wear around your neck and might be tied to a whistle. (I had to look up this word, but it did make me laugh when I did…)
17.	BINDING	Double definition
20.	MALADIES	MA = “Mother” + LADIES = “other females”
22.	MISHAP	M = “Many” (as in 1000) + (A SHIP)*; Roman numerals for “many” are noted as “regarded as unsound by some Ximeneans” in the wording of Don Manley’s abbreviations list, if I remember right
24.	QUIET	(QUITE)*: a strong candidate for easiest anagram ever :)
25.	GLADIATOR	(A DOG TRIAL)*
26.	ASIDE	Double definition: an “aside” is spoken to the house (audience) in a play, and “A SIDE” is “one of the parties”
27.	BELLICOSE	Cryptic definition
Down
1.	BOTTLE	Double definition: referring to a bottle bank, of course
2.	ANTIMONY	(INTO MANY)*
3.	CLOUTS	Double definition: not sure about “patches” – perhaps someone with a dictionary could help out?
4.	USHERED	USED = “Nothing new” around HER
5.	PRECIS	Very nice: PRE Commonwealth of Independent States
6.	JACOBEAN	JEAN = “girl” around A COB = “a horse”
11.	IMPI	I’M PI = “Self-righteous declaration”; “pi” as in “pious”, an abbreviation now only seen in crosswords
15.	AT A GUESS	T = “time” in (SAUSAGE)*
16.	RUIN	I in RUN = “race”
18.	DISTANCE	DI = “I’d take up” + STANCE = “position”
19.	PSALTER	SALT = “A seaman” in PER = “by”
21.	AGENDA	A + G = “note” + END = “finish” + A
22.	MODULE	U = “university” + L = “student” in MODE = “form”
23.	AROUSE	A + R = “king” + OUSE = “river”

Guardian 25,032 / Orlando

mhl — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 06:40:58 +0000

A very enjoyable puzzle – mostly not too hard, and there are a few brilliant clues, I think – 28a and 20d in particular for me

Across
1.	KIPPER	Cryptic definition: “out” as in “asleep”
4.	SUSPEND	US = “American” + PEN = “jail” in SD (South Dakota) = “Midwestern state”
9.	CONTAINER	(OR ANCIENT)*
10.	BREAM	BRAM = “Stoker” + [coars]E
11.	OUSEL	A tricky clue: [car]OUSEL = “musical with car not starting”
12.	ON THE SPOT	Double definition; presumably “there” as in “he’s there/on the spot”
13.	FLUSTER	(RESTFUL)*
15.	HIRING	H = “husband” + I = “one” + RING = “token of commitment, perhaps”
17.	PATENT	PATE = “Head” + N[o]T
19.	DECORUM	DRUM = “instrument” around ECO = “Italian novelist”; I’m not sure why the question mark is needed here – perhaps because of the defintion (“What’s proper”)?
22.	RELATIONS	Double definiton
24.	ELLEN	Hidden answer
26.	GUYED	Sounds like “guide” = “Conductor”
27.	IDENTICAL	(IN DIALECT)*; I like the definition: “With entire correspondence”
28.	ENDURES	END = “stop” + URE = “river” + S[almon]
29.	FRIEND	Double definition: Quakers are members of the Society of Friends, and “China” is Cockney rhyming slang for “mate” (“china plate”)
Down
1.	KICK-OFF	KICK = “to give up” + OFF = “feeling unwell”
2.	PANTS	Double definition: the latter as in “that’s pants/garbage”
3.	EPAULETTE	E = “European” + PAULETTE = “woman”
4.	SCRATCH	Double definition: Google tells me that Old SCRATCH is slang for “The devil”, and “improvised” as in “a scratch/improvised orchestra”
5.	SABLE	S = “Small” + ELBA reversed
6.	EYE-OPENER	EYE = “Regard” + OPENER = “leading batsman”
7.	DIMITY	TIMID = “apt to shrink” reversed + [lorr]Y
8.	ON-TOUR	Nice: [c]ONTOUR[s] = “Lines”
14.	UNALLOYED	UNA = “girl” + [sw]E[et] in LLOYD = “boy”
16.	ROCHESTER	Double definition; referring to Mr Rochester in Jane Eyre
18.	TWO BITS	T[o] + W = “with” + OBITS = “passing references”; the definition is “American ready” – “ready” as in “money”
19.	DOSSER	DOSS[i]ER
20.	MINGLED	Brilliant: before Nick Clegg, the Lib Dems were MING [Campbell] LED
21.	PRAGUE	AGUE = “~~spring~~ fever” after P[olitical] R[eforms]. Update: thanks to Gaufrid and Eileen for pointing out that this is a reference to the Prague Spring, so the definition is “Capital that had spring”
23.	TUDOR	ROD = “Staff” + U[pse]T reversed
25.	LOCKE	LOCK = “from Yale, perhaps” + E[mpiricism]

Guardian Genius 83 / Araucaria

mhl — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 00:01:25 +0000

We found it tough to get going with this puzzle, but once we’d got the theme of 7-letter characters from Shakespeare, and, I’m afraid to say, resorted to using Wikipedia’s lists from A to K and L to Z, progress was pretty quick. The 20 of these themed answers are packed into the grid with impressive density. In some senses it wasn’t too hard to guess the answers for this puzzle, but there are quite a number (particularly in the South East corner) where the clues were very difficult to parse. I’m indebted to Gaufrid and others for suggesting readings for some of these clues.

I’m sorry that this post isn’t more authoritative – I’ll be interested to see whether the official annotations agree on quite a number of points!

Across
1.	CAMILLO	“Infirm” or “in firm” means CO around the outside, with the inner part being AM ILL = “that’s me”
5.	CALIBAN	TALIBAN = “the enemy” with a “new leader”
9.	PIU	Sounds like “pew” (“seating for audience”); the definition is “More”: PIÙ is the Italian for “more”. (This is the first a number of clues where non-English words or phrases are used without indication, which I think would attract complaint in a non-”Genius” puzzle.)
10.	MACBETH	[Ernst] MACH = “sound fellow” (of the Mach number, indicating multiples of the speed of sound); BET = “Stake”, so “Stakeholder” indicates BET in MACH
11.	BERTRAM	BER = “End of months” (e.g. novemBER, decemBER) + TRAM = “transport”
12.	COASTAL	OAST = “Hot spot” in CAL = “state”
13.	RENEWED	RENE = “Frenchman” + WED = “unionised”
14.	IDI	IDI[ot] with “to back off”; the African of the definition is Idi Amin
15.	NERISSA	NERI‘S = “St Philip’s” + SA (sex appeal) = “it”
18.	PROTEUS	In Greek mythology, PROTEUS could change form to avoid capture, thus being something of a “Chameleon” – this gives us the adjective “protean”
21.	COSTARD	“shared top billing” might be CO-STARRED, or “Briefly”: COSTAR’D
25.	LAVINIA	LAV = “John” IN IA = “state” (Iowa)
29.	RUE	Double definition; RUE is the French for street or “way”
30.	PERDITA	(PIRATED)*
31.	ORLANDO	Ghana used to be known as the Gold Coast, so perhaps OR LAND, followed by O = “(old)”
32.	LEONATO	LEO = “Sign” + NATO = “alliance”
33.	TYRRELL	TYR[one] “Power one abandons” + RE = “about” + LL = “evens” – I think that must be from 1/1 looking like two lower-case Ls? Thanks to sidey for pointing out that LL is 50-50
34.	NYE	Double definition; the politician is Aneurin or “Nye” Bevan and a nye is also a nest of pheasants (? – perhaps someone with Chambers could confirm…) Update: thanks to Tom_I for confirming: “Chambers does indeed give NYE as a variant of nid or nide, which is “a pheasant’s nest or brood”.”
35.	THESEUS	THESE = “People on this side” + US = “the paper”
36.	SLENDER	S = “bob” LENDER
Down
1.	COMECON	COM’E = “How’s” (in Italian) + CON = “with” (in Italian); COMECON was a group of communist states (“red brigade?”)
2.	MACHAIR	The definition is “Links”: MACHAIR is ground typical of a links course in golf; MA (Master of Arts) and a CHAIR are both “academic achievements”
3.	LAERTES	SET = “games” + REAL = “Madrid” (as in the football clue, Real Madrid) all reversed
4.	OPHELIA	“… kin”, since LARTES and OPHELIA were siblings; “essays read aloud” indicates a homophone of Charles Lamb’s Essays of Elia
5.	CUB TRIP	(BRIT)* (“Britpop”) in CUP; a cub trip is an expedition made by the cub scouts
6.	LORENZO	LOO = “John” around “rendering” (or return) of ER (Edward Rex) and NZ = “country”
7.	BEROWNE	ROW = “Line” in BENE = “well” (in Italian)
8.	NOMADES	NOES = “opposition” around MAD = “bananas”; an unusual spelling of “nomads”, I assume
16.	EGO	Hidden in [th]E GO[ndoliers]
17.	SIR	A (somewhat) reversed clue, I think: RISK = “Danger” is SIR reversed (“in retirement”) with K; the definition is just “K”, sometimes used to refer to a knighthood
19.	RIA	AIR = “wind” reversed
20.	UNI	“Ban Ki-moon” is number 1 at the U.N., so perhaps UN 1; “at scene of 2?” refers to the subsidiary parts of 2d: at a UNIversity you’d find MAs and CHAIRs
21.	CAPULET	C[at]APULT = “Weapon, lost at” around [battl]E
22.	SCROOGE	EGO = “16″ + ORCS = “killers” (from The Lord of the Rings) reversed; “Subject of carol” refers to A Christmas Carol Update: Tom_I adds “while the Compact OED gives the Tolkien origin of ORC, Chambers gives it as “a killer whale or orca; a fierce sea monster (mythol); an ogre”"
23.	ANIMATE	AN + MATE = “ally”, with I “put in”
24.	DRAGONS	DONS = “[UNI] people” around RAG = “paper”
25.	LEONTES	I had trouble parsing this – was “time” going to be EON, T or even EON + T? Was it L = “Latin”, or should “Latin kings” to be treated as a unit? The best interpretation I’ve heard is T = “time” in LEONES = “Latin kings”, assuming that LEONES (lions) are “kings” as in “Kings of the Jungle” or “King of Beasts”
26.	VALERIE ~~(VALARIE?)~~	I’m rewriting this explanation in light of the revealed answer and the comments below. Everyone seems to agree that “possible 21st” is VALERIA, and that same name is also indicated by: VALE = “farewell” RIA, which might be said in response to “([RIA] leaving?)” However, then there seem to be two lines of thinking: (a) the answer is VALERIE, with “from” meaning “derived from (etymologically)” or (b) the answer is VALARIE, with “from” as an anagram indicator for the indirect fodder (VALERIA). I’m still without dictionaries for another couple of weeks, and while VALARIE appears in an number of word lists I have, it apparently isn’t in Chambers. That spelling seems to be fairly common in the U.S., however, and is also ultimately derived from Valeria On the other hand, an indirect anagram of this kind would be considered rather unfair. It sounds as if we’re all awaiting the annotated solutions on the Guardian’s site with anticipation :) Update: the annotations say for this clue “Valerie VALERI(a/E)”, which means that the intention cannot have been option (b), and that VALERIE was the correct answer*
27.	NUNHEAD	Reverse clue: NUN HEAD in a cryptic reading would give N, and NUNHEAD is in S. London
28.	A DOLLAR	“hundreds” also has a sense of “hundredths” , so the definition part is “100 hundreds”. I think that the subsidiary “lie-abed in rhyme” refers to the “lie-abed” or “lazy person” in the nursery rhyme, “A diller, a dollar”. Another suggestion was that this is meant to rhyme with “a loller”, but I think I prefer the nursery rhyme allusion as an explanation

Guardian 25,027 / Paul

mhl — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 07:21:05 +0000

It’s always a pleasure to do a post here about one of Paul’s puzzles. Some excellent clues here, my favourites are hopefully obvious from the post below. I didn’t find this too difficult – the toughest for me was 1d.

Across
8.	CONFETTI	Excellent clue: (OFTEN)* + I[ndiscretions] in CT = “court”; the definition is “Paper over couple”
10.	SWAY	YAWS = “twists” reversed; the definition is “power” as in “to have power/sway over something”
11.	OCTANGULAR	(COAGULANT)* + R[eminiscent]; an unusual word, but quite guessable from the anagram
12.	CIRCLE	CIRCE = “bad speller” (“speller” as in “one who casts spells”) around L
14.	RABBITED	Brilliant: RABBI rather than “Father” TED, referring to the excellent sitcom
15.	PENALTY	T = “time” + LANE = “way” reversed in P[art]Y
17.	BLUE TIT	BLUE = “unhappy” + TIT = “useless person” (rather rude slang)
20.	ROUSSEAU	(OUR)* around US = “American” + SEA = “waters”
22.	BANTAM	MAT = “something on the floor” + NAB = “nail” all reversed
23.	HALF-WITTED	HALTED = “Stopped” around FIT = “suit” around [colesla]W
25.	AGREED	A + GREED = “need to feed and feed”
26.	RAINCOAT	(CROATIAN)*
Down
1.	BOBWHITE	BOB = “duck” + (WITH)* + [dov]E; it took me a long time to see the anagram of WITH in this clue..
2.	IFFY	[j]IFFY
3.	STRODE	(DORSET)*; “out of” as in “made out of” for the anagram indicator
4.	BITTERN	BITTER = “drink” + N = “pole”
5.	CANNIBAL	NIB = “Point of writer” (remembering that “writer” is often a pen in crosswords) in CANAL = “passage”; another entertaining defintion: “might he put you away?”
6.	ADZUKI BEAN	(IN A DAZE BU[c]K)*
7.	PHRASE	Sounds like “frays”
13.	CLASSIFIED	Outrageous but entertaining: C[hap] + LASSIFIED = “given sex change, might you say?” (i.e. “turned into a lass”)
16,9,24across.	THE BIRDS AND THE BEES	The “other six” are the “Creatures” in 17, 22, 1, 4, 22a and 22d, all birds beginning with Bs (bees); “the birds and the bees” is a euphemism for sex and reproduction, perhaps “for discussion?”, since this is often used to refer to awkward discussions that parents have to have with their children. Thanks to Gaufrid for a better reading of this: “I read ‘the other’ in 16,9,24 as the definition (ie sex) with the wordplay starting at ’six …..’.”
18.	I DARESAY	(YEAR SAID)*; a nice definition (“it seems likely”), but perhaps a slightly awkard surface reading
19.	BUSTARD	BUD = “Friend” around STAR = “principal”
21.	ORANGE	A nice &lit: O = “round” + RANG = “called” + TANGERIN[e]
22.	BUDGIE	I = “one” in BUDGE = “shift”
24.	BACK	Double definition: “the end/back of something” and “to finance/back something”