Thanks to Paul for the puzzle, with several that took a little while to work out – my favourites were 19ac, 24ac, and 5dn.
| ACROSS | ||
| 9 | CONSTRAIN |
Study air pressure (9)
|
| definition: CONSTRAIN=to compel, to force=to “pressure”
CON=archaic word meaning to learn, to “study” + STRAIN=a melody, a piece of music=”air” |
||
| 10 | RAITA |
Educated character fed a refreshing side dish (5)
|
| definition: a side dish of yoghurt, often served alongside spicier dishes to refresh the palate
RITA=”Educated character” – reference to the play and film Educating Rita [wiki]; around A (from surface) |
||
| 11 | TIE-IN |
Link that is apparently like spam? (3-2)
|
| I.E. (id est, “that is”), put inside TIN “like spam”, as spam meat [wiki] can be found in tin cans | ||
| 12 | LILY-WHITE |
Pure flower with foul fragrance, ultimately (4-5)
|
| LILY=”flower” + W (with) + HIT=to make contact with, to collide with=”foul” + last/ultimate letter of [fragranc]-E
edit thanks to Sagittarius and Andy in Durham in the comments: anagram/”foul” of (with)* is a much neater parsing of the -WHIT- part of the clue |
||
| 13 | PISSOIR |
Capital in Paris is at the end of the day in France – go there? (7)
|
| definition: ‘to go’=to urinate, so “go there?” indicates a place to do this
P (Capital letter of Paris) + IS (from surface) + SOIR=French word for ‘evening’=”end of the day in France” |
||
| 14 | GNASHER |
Tooth that’s new in cutter? (7)
|
| N (new) in GASHER=something that makes a gash, something that cuts=a “cutter?” | ||
| 17 | MANGO LASSI |
See 28
|
| 19 | JAY |
Bird with 14 mentioning celebrated baker? (3)
|
| JAY + GNASHER (from 14ac) sounds like ‘Jane Asher’
Jane Asher is known for her cake-making books and business, alongside her acting career [wiki] |
||
| 20 | LORRY |
Author Lee articulated – something like that? (5)
|
| definition refers back to the word “articulated”, as in an articulated lorry [wiki]
sounds like (articulated) ‘Laurie’, as in Laurie Lee the author [wiki] |
||
| 21 | ROMANOV |
House where fellow in groovy clothing undressed (7)
|
| definition: a former Imperial house in Russia
MAN=”fellow” inside [g]-ROOV-[y] with its outer letters (clothing) removed/undressed |
||
| 22 | DEHISCE |
Pop is attending church: he had relapsed earlier (7)
|
| definition: to rupture, to break open
IS (from surface) + CE (Church of England); with HE’D (he had) reversed/”relapsed” placed in front (“earlier”) |
||
| 24 | FRANGLAIS |
Amusing language in which the following might sound like laughter? (9)
|
| definition: a mixture of French and English, often used for comic effect
L’AFTER could be a Franglais mix of ‘le’ (‘the’ in French) + ‘after’ in English, as a way to say ‘the after’ or “the following”, and this might be pronounced like “laughter” |
||
| 26, 4 | BINGO CALLER |
House visitor for whom knock at the door comes after 4? (5,6)
|
| a bingo caller might call out ‘knock at the door’ following the number 4
“House” is slang for BINGO; plus CALLER=”visitor” |
||
| 28, 17 | MANGO LASSI |
Imported into Vietnam, Angola’s simple fruit drink (5,5)
|
| hidden in [Vietna]-M ANGOLA’S SI-[mple] | ||
| 29 | LOWESTOFT |
Central European fliers circling on the occidental side of English port (9)
|
| LOT Polish Airlines=”Central European fliers”; around/circling WEST OF=”on the occidental side of” | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SCOT |
Old payment of course skimmed off? (4)
|
| definition: an old word for a payment e.g. a tax
[A]-SCOT=horse racing “course”, with the top letter “skimmed off” |
||
| 2 | ANGERS |
Gauls reportedly in French city? (6)
|
| “Gauls” sounds like ‘galls’=irritates=ANGERS | ||
| 3 | STENTORIAN |
Booming ace in tennis, or tennis’s first shot (10)
|
| A (for “ace” in playing cards), in: anagram/”shot” of (tennis or t)*, with one t being t-[ennis’s] first letter | ||
| 4 | BINGO CALLER |
See 26 Across
|
| 5 | ENOLA GAY |
Bomber, a girl I sent up ending in atrocity (5,3)
|
| definition: name of the first bomber aircraft to drop an atomic bomb
A (from surface) + GAL=”girl” + ONE=”I”, all reversed (“sent up”); plus end of [atrocit]-Y |
||
| 6 | DRAW |
No-win situation The Guardian’s responsibility to turn around? (4)
|
| WARD (a guardian takes responsibility for their ward), reversed (to turn around) | ||
| 7 | FINISHER |
One crossing the line in entering shipping forecast area (8)
|
| definition refers to e.g. crossing the line to finish a race
IN (from surface) entering into FISHER=”shipping forecast area” [wiki] |
||
| 8, 25 | MAKE GOOD |
Rectify state of mind guzzling a barrel of beer (4,4)
|
| MOOD=”state of mind” around A KEG=”a barrel of beer” | ||
| 13 | POLAR |
Average outside cold, with coat off – freezing! (5)
|
| PAR=”Average” around [c]-OL-[d] with its outer letters (coat) taken off | ||
| 15 | ALL THE BEST |
Lethal whipped cream – take care! (3,3,4)
|
| anagram/”whipped” of (Lethal)*; plus BEST=”cream” (e.g. the cream of the crop) | ||
| 16 | RHYME |
Mode of ode, say? (5)
|
| “Mode” is a rhyme of “ode”, and a reference to rhymes used in poetry | ||
| 18 | SAMBAING |
Big man, as dancing, doing just that? (8)
|
| definition refers back to “dancing” e.g. samba-ing
anagram/”dancing” of (Big man as)* |
||
| 19 | JOVIALLY |
Marine’s carried through in cheerful manner (8)
|
| JOLLY=slang for a royal marine, around/carrying VIA=”through” | ||
| 22 | DISOWN |
Reject is blocking sink (6)
|
| IS (from surface) inside DOWN=”sink” | ||
| 23 | SENIOR |
One is doddery, right? (6)
|
| anagram/”doddery” of (One is)*, plus R (right) | ||
| 24 | FAME |
Musical combination of two notes (4)
|
| definition: Fame is the name of a musical [wiki]
FA and ME are two musical “notes” (do re ME FA…) |
||
| 25 | MAKE GOOD |
See 8
|
| 27 | OATH |
Curse of Portillo, a Thatcherite (4)
|
| hidden in [Portill]-O A TH-[atcherite] |
Thanks Paul and manehi
Excellent clue for ENOLA GAY. Clever hidden for MANGO LASSI. I didn’t spot Jane Asher!
Excellent puzzle. Super blog.
Thanks Paul and manehi.
My faves: TIE-IN, GNASHER, JAY, LORRY, FRANGLAIS, ANGERS,
BINGO CALLER, JOVIALLY and SENIOR.
Brilliant puzzle, ENOLA GAY, JAY GNASHER, FRANGLAIS and PISSOIR, just some of my favourites. DEHISCE was a nho, as I suspect it will be for others.
Ta Paul & manehi.
I think 12A is an anagram (foul) of With, plus the E from Fragrance.
I interpreted the middle of LILY-WHITE as an anagram (foul) of WITH.
(sorry to repeat Sagittarius, you beat me to it at typing!)
The usual Paulian playbook: a slow start, accelerating through the main body and a couple of tricky ones at the end. On a day when Guardian wasn’t “us” and flower wasn’t a river.
I hadn’t heard of DEHISCE or STENTORIAN, but got them via fair means. I realise I hadn’t fully parsed FRANGLAIS once I knew the answer, good work manehi.
I liked MAKE GOOD, RAITA, TIE IN and ENOLA GAY amongst others.
Andy @5 I had it like manehi, but that’s neater for LILY WHITE.
Excellent stuff. Thanks Paul and manehi.
That was an excellent puzzle (though I had no idea Jane Asher was a baker… I had a vague idea of her as an actress and sometime squeeze of another Paul)
[A lot of posters on the Guardian site hadn’t heard of DEHISCE either. I’m surprised, as it would be covered in Biology. If you want to see it happening very rapidly, touch a ripe seed pod of Himalayan Balsam, though this has the unfortunate side effect of dispersing this thug.]
DEHISCE was new but I was pleased to piece it together. I didn’t know Jane Asher was a baker so couldn’t parse that one or FRANGLAIS. Thanks to setter and blogger.
I’ll cop to a few bung-it-in-and-hopes today. Got there in the end but couldn’t parse Franglais and didn’t know DEHISCE, though the wordplay and crossers got me there. A very pleasant groan at JAY GNASHER once the penny dropped.
Found this at the tough end of Paul’s range but quite a bit I didn’t know. The airline LOT, Jane Asher (as a baker), DEHISCE and a few other bits.
Enjoyed FRANGLAIS after the penny dropped.
Thanks Paul and Manehi
This was one of those occasional puzzles that remind me of when / why Paul used to be one of my favourite setters.
Some really super clues, ENOLA GAY being the pick of the bunch. Many other smiles: JAY took ages – I was fixated with Dennis the Menace! – and the clever PISSOIR raised a laugh, along with the wonderful FRANGLAIS. I was a huge fan of Miles Kington and still miss his wit. If you’re not familiar with his oeuvre, have a read of ‘How to speak Franglais’, here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-22655534 which I was chuffed to find just now – it delayed my arriving here for quite a while.
Other ticks were for RAITA, LORRY, ROMANOV, DEHISCE, DRAW, LOWESTOFT – and ANGERS, which I finally convinced myself does work.
Many thanks to Paul for a lot of fun and to manehi for an excellent blog.
Paul being very tricksy indeed. Failed to parse TIE-IN and I also missed the “with foul” in LILY WHITE. Wasted a lot of time trying to make GNASHER be INCISOR (and then once I’d got the answer, I didn’t know about Jane Asher’s baking career, though JAY couldn’t be anything else). Wasted a lot more time trying to fit the “one-two, buckle my shoe” nursery rhyme into the BINGO CALLER’s repertoire, and then kicked myself for not seeing how RHYME works. In other words, a lot of fun. Favourites FRANGLAIS, PISSOIR, the “educated character” in RAITA. Thanks Paul and manehi.
[muffin@8: if you don’t want to spread Himalayan Balsam, the trick also works with Busy Lizzies – their Latin name of Impatiens refers to their eagerness to pop/DEHISCE their seed pods.]
Looks like Paul’s been for a curry.
Yes Eileen: Paul is a bunch of different setters, and this is the one I enjoy.
I knew dehisce from a Guardian crossword in the seventies. I wonder if anyone else remembers it.
Fun puzzle. I also parsed LILY WHITE like Sagittarius. I particularly liked TIE IN, PISSOIR, STENTORIAN and the grimly &littish ENOLA GAY. I don’t always find that Paul’s soundalikes raise a smile rather than eyebrows, but JAY GNASHER did. Interesting that ANGERS relies on homophony for the wordplay rather than the definition, as is more usual.
As muffin says, DEHISCE should be familiar to anyone with an interest in botany (sorry Jacob), though usually encountered as an adjective rather than a verb: fruits are described as dehiscent (breaking open when ripe to release the seeds) or indehiscent.
A pat on the back to Paul for describing LOT as Central European. The ex Warsaw Pact countries are often labelled as Eastern Europe, but past Poland there’s a hell of a lot of Russia before you get to the Urals.
Thanks to Paul and manehi
[muffin and gladys: Himalayan balsam isn’t just dehiscent, it’s described as ‘explosively dehiscent’]
PS I agree completely with Eileen’s first paragraph @12
Really great puzzle with all Paul’s trademarks.
As a Biology graduate (about a 100 years ago), I knew DEHISCE. The Jane Asher connection took ages to drop!
Faves were PISSOIR and SENIOR
Thanks Paul and manehi
I had vaguely heard of DEHISCE, but didn’t know Jane Asher as a baker. LORRY is good, though I missed it as I could only think of Harper Lee and Lee Child. The rest was fairly gentle by Paul’s standards.
Bunged FRANGLAIS without parsing it. Chacun à son goût.
poc @20 – sorry to hear about your gout. 🙁
Very enjoyable. It probably shows my age that Archie was the first educated character that came to mind, though Rita wasn’t far behind.
I took missed Lorry/Laurie and was down the Harper and Child rabbit hole.
Bunged them all in except LORRY (NHO the author or an articulated lorry on my side of the pond), and definitely needed parsing help for some. It isn’t clear to me how the clue for TIE-IN indicates that the i.e. goes inside the TIN — what am I missing? FRANGLAIS reminds me of the book “Fractured French” by F.S. Pearson, a vintage (1950s) book with witty illustrated “translations”. Some examples: “carte blanche” = “Blanche has had too much to drink” and “Mise en scene” = “There are mice in the river”.
I needed quite a bit of assistance with all the GK so this puzzle was a lot like playing Trivial Pursuit 😉 New for me: FAME the musical (but I knew of the film); SCOT = a payment corresponding to a modern tax, FISHER sea area = shipping forecast area (for 7d); DEHISCE; LOWESTOFT fishing port; knock at the door bingo call (for 26/4).
I could not parse 24ac and 16d.
Had absolutely no idea how 19 tied in with 14 ac. Only knew Jane Asher from her association with a member of The Beatles, or was it The Rolling Stones back in The Sixties. But no other bird could possibly fit with a J in place. (Jay, not Ms Asher, I hasten to add). I also remember a comic strip from my childhood that involved Dennis The Menace and a studded collared brute of a dog called GNASHER.
But I am finding Paul much more straightforward to unravel recently. Maybe I/ we are getting more used to his quirky, always entertaining ways…
…and I was lucky enough to meet Laurie Lee, who was one of the judges at a presentation award for young short story writers in 1970, where he even came over and had a word with me. Apologies for the name dropping…
Should have enjoyed this but found it frustrating with much checking of wordplay needed. DEHISCE is a new one on me, as is CON for study.
Bah.
Nakamova@24
Spam (spiced ham) is, or perhaps was, invariably in a tin (can, to you?), so that “ie” is in tin.
michelle @25: SCOT might be familiar from the expression ‘scot free’, which literally means ‘without charges’
Jane Asher and Laurie Lee were both new to me, so I missed both puns. (I entered JAY without parsing, and cheated on LORRY right at the end.) This says more about me than about the puzzle.
Not long ago we had two different regular commenters named Jay. I haven’t seen either of them in recent months, but I wonder if either will drop by to acknowledge the name drop.
wrows @28 CON = study came up only last Friday at 5d in Pangakupu’s puzzle. It is pretty much a crossword staple. Some time back, on an occasion when it was questioned here, I recall another contributor quoting from chapter 2 of Ulysses, where Stephen Dedalus remembers his time spent in Paris and in “the studious silence of the library of Saint Genevieve where he had read, sheltered from the sin of Paris, night by night. By his elbow a delicate Siamese conned a handbook of strategy.”
Protase @17: Indeed, the botany link unsurprisingly escaped me, although I was able to construct DEHISCE from the wordplay – something that I think makes an obscure word acceptable. On the plus side, I had heard of a LILY!
Otherwise this was a typical Paul for me: a few Aha! moments, many more decoded after the fact, and a couple not parsed at all (thank you manehi).
Like a few others, I only knew of Jane Asher as Paul McCartney’s long time girlfriend and eventual fiancée before she broke it off on live TV. As well as the baking, I learn she also has a distinguished acting career. Anyway, the pun is very clever in hindsight.
Like some others I hadn’t heard of DEHISCE. And I didn’t twig the WHIT in LILY-WHITE, so thanks for the explanations.
It was nice to see that “educated character” RITA, an old favourite. But the standouts for me were JAY GNASHER (very amusing), and ENOLA GAY with its rather chilling suggestion of a clue-as-definition.
Many thanks Paul and manehi.
I found this challenging, to a large extent due to my lack of general knowledge. I had raita pretty early on, as a (refreshing) side dish with the letter a in it, but had not heard of Educating Rita, so could not parse it. Hadn’t heard of dehisce (as not having attended School in the UK), the baker Jane Nasher (I knew it had to be a homophone of Jay Gnasher), the fliers lot (though I saw “west of” in the guessed solution), jolly for marine. I had parsed 12a as manehi, but agree that Sagittarius’s and Andy in Durham’s parsing is better. I thought that the fruit drink was very well hidden! Thanks Loiner #29 for the explanation why ie is inside tin (for 11 across). I could not see the envelope indicator, but I understand it now.
Thanks, Paul and Manehi
Eileen@12 – and why Paul is still one of my “top favourite” setters 😇
Yes, I agree with those opining that Paul can be more tortuous – but any straightforwardness here is more than made up for by the crisp, scintillating wit of his creative, coruscating, clever cluemanship! TIE-IN, PISSOIR, JAY, FRANGLAIS are great examples of this creativity. (I needed you, manehi, for the “l’after”) And so many others deserving of ticks, and double ticks, among his more classical clueing
Is SENIOR an &litt I wonder? I think it just makes it…
I’ve said it before, and will again – how does he do it? We are truly fortunate to live in the time of Paul
[Muffin@8 – typical Guardian illiterati! Yet I’ve a hypocritical feeling that I learnt/first met DEHISCE in a Guardian puzzle! It’s one of those words that one only needs to hear once to immediately retain (and it sounds as what it describes, in the similar way that “glove” feels, sounds and fits…. well, like a glove! The Germans call it a foot sock!)]
Frank Male @16 …and much more recently I feel!
Many thanks, both and all
Shut out of a lot of this one (much of the RS), and (correctly) guessed a few others. Missed 14a, 20a, 26a, 29a, 2d, 7d, 23d — too many nho’s. At least I did get 22a DEHISCE because of the unavoidable wordplay that led me kicking and screaming to the solution. I might have persisted, but letting go was the right choice this time
24a A lot of FRANGLAIS in Canada (solved from the definition, unparsed)
Top favourite was 15d ALL THE BEST (“Lethal whipped cream”, and misdirecting “take care” definition — brilliant)
…I should also mention 28/17 MANGO LASSI as a favourite. Not difficult, but cleverly hidden…
SCOT last one in; didn’t know definition.
LORRY very difficult; but very nice in the end.
My first thought for the musical combination was FADO but it didn’t stand the test of time. I had trouble parsing FRANGLAIS (trying to relate it to BINGO) and LOWESTOFT (was fixated on WEST rather than WEST OF). ENOLA GAY and PISSOIR were good. Like Mig, my favourite was ALL THE BEST because of the tight parsing and great surface. Enjoyed LILY-WHITE as a Spurs fan.
Thanks, Paul and manehi.
I looked up dehisce and immediately remembered the balsams in our yard when I was a child. The pods popped delightfully and were a tactile treat. We were about a thousand miles south of the Himalayas though! A very vivid memory indeed!
Thanks Paul for a lov.ely puzzle and Manehi for your scrupulous parsing.
Another challenging and enjoyable puzzle. Slow and steady progress with a few grins to mark the penny drop moments. A special guest appearance by JAY GNASHER was only revealed to me by our blogger.
I knew dehiscent, so DEHISCE had to be a word – the alternative DEHATCH clearly wasn’t! Last one in was the galling French city, and I had to write down the letters and spaces horizontally before I got it. Doh!
I particularly enjoyed PISSOIR and LORRY, but the whole thing was bursting with wit and innovative cluing.
Thanks to Paul and Manehi.
Great stuff, which made me laugh out loud several times. As Martin @6 said, very much a Paul in that at first it looks inpenetrable, then a few toe holds giving a rush of filling in, then the last few hold-outs needing a second bite.
I was not helped by having first, GIGI, and then MIMI instead of FAME. After which LOI FRANGLAIS fell in without my being able to parse it – well done manehi for sorting that out!
PISSOIR and JAY GNASHER were top notch and typical Paul, to whom thanks for the fun challenge.
Loved this: in particular pissoir! I reckon Paul”s the only setter who can up with this clue. As to his homophones Jane Asher is simply brilliant. Mr H on top form! Ta also for the blog .
No idea about any of this, as usual.
Thanks both.
Fine crossword, though I don’t appreciate the assertion that all seniors are doddery … .
Nice puzzle – thanks Paul, and Manehi, especially for Franglais – which frankly is the kind of Paul clue where the parse still makes me groan. (Frankly, I find it a bit of a stretch – but acceptable when the solution is fairly obvious.) TIE-IN my favourite with lots of other smiles, e.g. PISSOIR.
William F P @ 36, the German for “glove” is “Handschuh”, literally “hand-shoe”. I can’t see, hear how “glove” sounds like what it is.
I do wish the name of the blogger of the day were written in bigger font. It’s far too small as is.
Thanks very much, Manehi, for that very clear blog.
Like some other posters, this is the Paul I love. I hope he’s back to stay. Thanks to him, too.
That was tough. Took me a while.
Not to be picky but the musical note is ‘mi’, not ‘me’.
Missed the Jane Asher link, but it has brought memories of the surge of jealousy in my fourteen year old self because she was Paul McCartney’s girlfriend ( I was soooo in love) . And she had such beautiful long red hair, I used to have to iron mine.
Love this Paul too.
[Chardonneret@51 – Ironing your hair? How does that work (ignorant male here)? Do you have to put your head on the ironing board and get someone else to do it, or be somewhat double-jointed? The mind fairly boggles.
lanw@5o – that’s why I had MIMI initially…]
Tricky but fun.
Ianw@50 “Mi” is the third note on the scale when it is a whole step above “re”, making a major scale, and “me” is that note when it’s flatted, making a minor scale.
nho Jane Asher, Laurie Lee or the musical Fame.
I must have met “dehisce” and “Lowestoft” somewhere, because they filtered into my consciousness somehow. Dunno where I got ’em.
Although a Yank, I’m familiar with the shipping areas from having spent time in UK waters living on a sailboat, tuned to BBC long wave. I do think that “Cromarty, Forth, Tine and Dogger” sounds like a law firm.
Thanks to Paul and manehi.
David@48. I agree with the OP about “glove”. To me it’s got a comfortable, snug feeling/sound to it. The German “Handschuh” feels much more technical, artificial and probably cold.
Having spent the day in London I didn’t start the puzzle until after 5 and amazed myself by finishing it relatively quickly. There were several “could it possibly be – oh yes of course it is” like LORRY and BINGO CALKER. ENOLA GAY particularly brilliant
DerekTheSheep#54 No, you lay out your long hair between two sheets of paper and iron it on the ironing board. It involves a crazy degree of contortionism and a cooperative best friend. Looks fantastic until you go out in the rain, when it all just frizzes up and would probably look fantastic to a sheep? It’s the sort of thing you do when you are adolescent. Now they have electric straighteners which have the same effect but less painfully.
Like Ianw and DtheS @ 50&52, I initially entered MIMI at 24d, thinking that opera was the original musical.
Nakamova@24, my favourite Fractured French example was “voici l’anglais avec son sang-froid habitual”, translated as “here comes the Englishman with his usual bloody cold”. Thanks for the memory.
And thanks Paul and manehi for the excellent puzzle and much needed blog. A toughie, but one of Paul’s best, IMHO.
Failed on LORRY and needed some parsing help from this blog but I thought this was great. Am pleased to see Paul gets some full throated endorsements here and curious to know why others feel this was somehow different/ a return to form of sorts.
Not sure if it’s Franglais or Fractured French, but I know that coup de grâce was “lawnmower”…
The dictionary has ME as an anglicised spelling of mi.
Martin @60
Sorry, that’s just wrong. The note has always been MI, but Valentine @53 has justified ME as the flattened note.
Don’t shoot the messenger. I realise you consider yourself a higher authority than dictionaries. I don’t suffer that delusion.
It’s not often I’m as much on Paul’s wavelength as I was today (apart from DEHISCE, of which I’d never heard).
Thanks P & M.
Enjoyed this, thanks for parsing Jay Gnasher/ Jane Asher. After a little light Googling, I found that by chance Jay Baker is a Rugby Union player for the Ospreys on the wing, so number 14! Close but no cigar, but it worked for me!
David Mansell@48 – of course, “hand shoe”. Still horribly prosaic compared with “glove”, which was my point (rather than showing off my knowledge of German, of which I have virtually none, unlike your clever self) I’m sorry you can’t feel how just saying the word “glove” is like slipping a well-fitting glove on one’s hand; it’s the subtle, sonorous secret of great poetry
Sheffieldhatter@54 – thanks. English is exceptional in a number of ways [How come the dissenter gets named, yet I – a 15² stalwart since Araucaria was still among us – am just an ‘OP’? 😥]
I still don’t get the deal with clues like 27d (oath)…
Shouldn’t the clue indicate in some way that the answer is to be found within the larger
text string??
MJ@66 Yes. For 27d, the containment indicator is “of”! For “of” Chambers includes “from among; out from; belonging to; among”, etc…
I wasn’t looking hard enough!!
thank you, I feel much better now
Well, that was great fun. Thanks to Paul and Manehi (l’after, brilliant, hadn’t seen that), and to all the posters for the lols, as my son would say, particularly Cellomaniac@57
William@65. OP is just a succinct way of referring to the “original poster”. David @48 had already referred to you by name and post, so when I responded to David it was normal to address him but refer to you as the OP. I’m sorry if you found it distressing. 😢
I hadn’t previously thought about the sound of the word glove fitting “like a glove”, so thank you for that!