The puzzle may b found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/30029.
Maybe it’s allergy season, or maybe this was particularly tough for a Paul – anyway, I struggled, but finally was left with just 26A RHONE unparsed. I’m sure that the wordplay will be supplied as soon as I post. Apart from that, the puzzle is stuffed full of excellent clues.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | WHAT FOR |
Why it’s hard to open where a gap is unclosed (4,3)
|
| An envelope (‘to open’) of H (‘hard’) in WATFOR[d] (‘where a gap is’; Watrord Gap is a low-lying area which has provided a convenient link from the south-east of England to the Midlands, from the Roman Watling Street to the M1 The Gap is named for a nearby village) minus its last letter (‘unclose’). | ||
| 5 | GARAGED |
Kid pushed over, veteran shut up (7)
|
| A charade of GAR, a reversal (‘pushed over’) of RAG (‘kid’, verb, make fun of) plus AGED (‘veteran’, adjective). | ||
| 9 | ORGAN |
For example, brain that’s stopped (5)
|
| Double definition, the second being an oblique reference to the musical instrument with organ stops. | ||
| 10 | BREAK EVEN |
Neither profit nor gain from holiday flat (5,4)
|
| A charade of BREAK (‘holiday’) plus EBEN (‘flat’). | ||
| 11 | PRESENT DAY |
18 needs to be anything but neanderthal (7-3)
|
| An anagram (REFORM, from ’18’) of PARTY (‘the rest of ’18’) plus ‘needs’. | ||
| 12 | BAKU |
Defended by Cuba, Kuwaiti capital (4)
|
| A hidden answer (‘efended by’) in ‘CuBA KUwaiti’, for the capital city of the Republic of Azerbaijan. | ||
| 14 | MADEIRA CAKE |
Sponge back in shower with a bar of soap, having created one earlier (7,4)
|
| A charade of MADE (‘created’) plus I (‘one’) plus R (‘back in showeR‘) plus ‘a’ plus CAKE (‘bar of soap’). | ||
| 18 | REFORM PARTY |
Concerned with supporting Leave (my, that’s extreme) – and now this! (6,5)
|
| A charade of RE (‘concerned with’) plus FOR (‘supporting’) plus MPARTY, an envelope (‘that’s extreme’) of PART (‘leave’) in ‘my’. The Reform Party – Reform UK, that is – was founded as the Brexit Party; hence the capital L ‘Leave’. | ||
| 21 | SOUP |
Ergo ready for liquid lunch? (4)
|
| A charade of SO (‘ergo’) plus UP (‘ready’). | ||
| 22 | WATER NYMPH |
Flier with orbital course, a measure of speed and spirit (5,5)
|
| An envelope (‘orbital’) of TERN (‘flier’) in WAY (‘course’) plus MPH (‘a measure of speed’). | ||
| 25 | ON THE WING |
Flying weight non-negotiable? (2,3,4)
|
| An anagram (-‘negotiable’) of ‘weight’ plus ‘non’-. | ||
| 26 | RHONE |
European river runs where white castle initially located? (5)
|
| A charade of R (‘runs’) plus HONE (H1 – ‘where white castle initially located?). At the start of a game of chess, one of the white rooks (aka castles) resides in the square designated H1; the other is at A1.
I woke up in the wee hours, and the answer came to me out of nowhere (as has happened to me before), but thanks to David @1 who got there first. |
||
| 27 | FARADAY |
Scientist’s spirit broken by school of players (7)
|
| An envelope (‘broken by’) of RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, ‘school of players’) in FAY (‘spirit’, fairy). | ||
| 28 | THERAPY |
18 and he gets counselling (7)
|
| An anagram (REFORM from ’18’) of PARTY (the rest of ’18’) plus ‘he’. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | WHOOPS |
Doctor oversees surgical procedures that went a bit wrong (6)
|
| A charade of WHO (‘Doctor’, long-runnung television programme) plus OPS (‘surgical procedures’). | ||
| 2 | ANGLER |
Riverside waiter, earring perhaps, with shaved head? (6)
|
| A subtraction: [d]ANGLER (‘earring perhaps’) minus its first letter (‘with shaved head’). | ||
| 3 | FINGERMARK |
Smear bit of fish with virus onto vessel (10)
|
| A charade of FIN (‘bit of fish’) plus GERM (‘virus’) plus MARK (‘vessel’). | ||
| 4 |
See 19
|
|
| 5 | GRENADIER |
Guard on visits reading novel (9)
|
| An envelope (‘visits’) of RE (‘on’) in GNADIER, an anagram (‘novel’) of ‘reading’. | ||
| 6 | RAKE |
Romeo in drag? (4)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 7 |
See 24
|
|
| 8 | DENTURES |
A victory proving elusive in daring feats – trap set? (8)
|
| A subtraction: [a]D[v]ENTURES (‘dating feats’) minus A and V (‘a victory proving elusive’), with a cryptic definition. | ||
| 13 | BANYAN TREE |
Nearby supply cut by carpenter, say, European and Asian wood (6,4)
|
| A charade of BANYANTRE, an envelope (‘cut by’) of ANT (‘carpenter, say’) in BANYRE, an anagram (‘supply’ as in supple) of ‘nearby’; plus E (‘European’).. | ||
| 15 | DEPRAVITY |
Absence of moral rectitude with which 18 vied (9)
|
| An anagram (REFORM, from ’18’) of PARTY (‘the rest of ’18’) plus ‘vied’. | ||
| 16 | BRUSH-OFF |
Slight boo-boo at first, skedaddle (5-3)
|
| A charade of B (‘Boo-boo at first’) plus RUSH OFF (‘skedaddle’). | ||
| 17 | AFLUTTER |
Nervous say after a fall, stuffing knocked out (8)
|
| A charade of ‘a’ plus FL (‘FalL, stuffing knocked out’) plus UTTER (‘say’). | ||
| 19, 4 | I’M NOT A ROBOT |
It really is me in motorboat at sea! (2,3,1,5)
|
| An anagram (‘at sea’) of ‘in motorboat’. | ||
| 20 | CHEEKY |
Forward – as one’s behind? (6)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 23 | EIGHT |
Cube, elevation skimmed (5)
|
| A subtraction: [h]EIGHT (‘elevation’) minus its first letter (‘skimmed’). | ||
| 24, 7 | DEAD GIVEAWAY |
Easy clue: ‘Funeral director’s special offer?’ (4,8)
|
| Definition and literal interpretation |
H ONE is h1 on a chessboard
My faves: WHAT FOR, ORGAN, REFORM PARTY, WATER NYMPH,
RHONE, I’M NOT A ROBOT and DEAD GIVEAWAY.
Thanks Paul and PeterO.
Not too bad. 24, 7 was funny
Tough but fun. One of the few times I have enjoyed seeing REFORM PARTY and glad it was used to clue DEPRAVITY.
WATER NYMPH, MADEIRA CAKE and GARAGED took some thinking.
Also enjoyed WHAT FOR, RHONE (chess is one of my other hobbies) and the two split clues.
Thanks Paul and PeterO
David @1
You beat me to it, so thanks. I have added the wordplay to the blog.
I started this last night to try and break its back but just kept going because it was so good. I thought the linked clues from REFORM PARTY were just sublime but my favourites were MADEIRA CAKE, ANGLER, DENTURES, BRUSH OFF and the superb I’M NOT A ROBOT. I also took ages to parse RHONE.
A couple of typos in your Watford Gap and BREAK EVEN.
Ta Paul & PeterO.
I think the vessel in 3d is ARK.
Thanks Peter and Paul.
I agree with PeterO, not at all easy. But, on the other hand, did not take very long. I often find this with Paul puzzles. The answers come along regularly, especially once a few crossers are in place, and the parsing comes much later, if at all. Favourites were DENTURES and DEAD GIVEAWAY, both of which raised a smile. Thanks PeterO and Paul
I found this an easier – as distinct from ‘easy’ – Paul, at least in the sense that I completed it. But that completion has its caveats: I needed help with a good few, and came here for much of the parsing. A look at the blog above reminds me just how much I’m not on this setter’s wavelength in many respects, but this was one of his that was enjoyable and worth tackling.
Tough but fair, and very enjoyable; like Staticman @4 I liked seeing REFORM PARTY linked to DEPRAVITY.
You wait ages for one chess related clue… on the repeat of Victoria Coren’s Only Connect the other evening, a team of chessplayers failed to spot the sequence QR QN QB and Q.
Thanks to Paul and PeterO.
Fabulous fun. As is often the case, the last two in were my favourites; DENTURES and WATER NYMPH
Cheers P&P
Tough puzzle. As usual I was not on this setter’s wavelength and I usually avoid doing his puzzles as the enjoyment factor for me is always very low. I know he has many fans though. Chacun à son goût.
I could not parse 1ac, 9ac, 8d, and 3d apart from ARK=vessel / typo in blog where the last bit should read ‘plus ARK (vessel).’
Surely 10a should be “neither profit not loss“, rather than gain?
Thanks PeterO and Paul
I’ve enjoyed reading the blogs and comments here for several years and thought it about time I showed some appreciation. So I add my thanks to Paul and PeterO for today (and my general thanks to all setters and bloggers). I’m a big fan of Paul and found this one particularly entertaining and satisfying (even though not fully parsed). Blog was helpful as ever. I had completely missed Watford for the parsing of 1ac. I fixated on “mind the gap” on the tube and was trying somehow to get the ATFOR bit from the middle of “platforms”.
Paul in top form again and a brilliant puzzle. Like Staticman@4, I usually don’t want to see mentions of the Reform Party in clues, but this time, linking it to ‘depravity’, ‘Neanderthals’ and ‘in need of therapy’ was an exception.
Did anyone else guess THERAPY first (from a couple of crossers) and then deduce the depraved right-wingers? I did…
Finished faster than usual with Paul. Thanks for the parsing of water nymph.
Having decided recently not to bother with any more of Paul’s puzzles, I managed to complete this one (with much mumbling and grumbling) and now have to admit to rather enjoying it. Like all the best crosswords it seemed impenetrable at first and then the answers began to trickle in until, with enough crossers to help, all was revealed. Thanks to Peter and Paul.
Great puzzle as always from Paul. Like MikeStockport@13 I noticed the error in the clue for BREAK EVEN. Hard work from beginning to end but loadsa fun.
Blaise @16 Me too, by virtue of having opened my account with I’M NOT A ROBOT and developing the SE corner from there rather than the NW. I didn’t get to 18 and the other related clues until a bit later.
Blaise @16 – yes, I did! Though I didn’t have many crossers at that point, I bunged in THERAPY rather hopefully, and then solved 18a from there. Loved the linked clues – this was all round an excellent crossword. My last ones in were the crossing ANGLER and ORGAN, though once solved I couldn’t really see why they’d taken me so long. I was very proud of parsing Rhone seeing that I’m not a chess player and know nothing of its notations, but guessed that’s what it must refer to.
Thanks to Paul and PeterO.
I found this to be much more tractable than most of Paul’s offerings, perhaps because I biffed REFORM PARTY early and recognised the “anagrind and anagrist in a solution” trick which Paul likes to use — and so THERAPY, DEPRAVITY and PRESENT DAY fell in soon after.
And I really don’t think a “Romeo” is a RAKE.
Lots of fun this morning.
Pserve_p2 at 22, we don’t think it’s Shakespeare’s Romeo in person. We read it in the context of: ‘He’s a bit of a Romeo / Casanova etc,’ for a man of questionable integrity: a rake.
A tricky Wednesday, but we made sense of it in the end.
Thanks to Paul and PeterO.
I almost got there, but not quite – needed help with the parsing of WATFORD GAP, WATER NYMPH and RHONE.
The clue for I’M NOT A ROBOT is great – very clever.
But I agree with pserve_p2@22 – a Romeo is not a RAKE. The same coin, maybe, but opposite sides.
I hadn’t realised before that there were two Watfords – one with a Gap and one with a Junction.
But then, in my defence, I am from north of the north.
Like several others above, I fought my way through this with much sighing. I almost gave up, as I usually do with Paul, but persevered because I had some time. I enjoyed WHOOPS, I AM NOT A ROBOT and CHEEKY but was irritated by WHAT FOR. Does Watford Gap regularly feature in crosswords? I can see that the clues relating to 18 were ingenious – couldn’t work them out though.
Thank you for the parsing. I liked a lot of this crossword, but TERN within 22a seems like a word that you could only parse from the completed clue rather than it actually leading you to the answer. (Flier being such a broad category.)
As a relative newcomer to the cryptic puzzle world, is there a term for this sort of thing? Is it a generally acceptable approach or a reason to grumble?
Clyde@25 Both Watfords are on Watling Street, the Roman road from London to Northwest England (now the A5). It is not really surprising that two fords over that road should have both been named after it.
Thanks for the blog , pretty good overall and not too much jumping around . I enjoyed working out WATER NYMPH , DENTURES and BANYAN TREE .
Agree with MikeS@13 .
North of Watford Gap is a common phrase meaning civilization .
Not one for a beginner!! I solved a few, guessed a couple, came here for the rest! Thank you PeterO and Paul.
Very clever, using REFORM PARTY to often reform ‘party’ in other clues.
I agree that to call Romeo a rake is rather harsh. I don’t think a rake would have topped themselves, but moved on quickly instead.
And yes, DifferentAlanC, I agree that TERN = flier is wildly ambiguous.
Is it what you call the ‘surfaces’ that made this so difficult? When clues are explained, they make sense, but I just can’t break into the underlying components, instead always distracted by the wordplay… alas!
REFORM PARTY really a private company funded by very dodgy people to promote the interests of Trump , Putin and their cronies .
I do have sympathy for their views on migration – those Beaker People should sod off back to where they came from .
Nic@30 , do not “read” the clue , just read each word with suspicion , pause after the first word and before the last . TERN is always the second bird I try in wordplay .
Well, I found this a lot less taxing than the experience a good friend of mine has had supporting Watford F.C. recently. Otherwise known as The Hornets or The Horns. Really enjoyed the puzzle and the clues that required 18ac as a linking hint. Lots of healthy humour involved today, too. A steady solve for me, which is often not the case with Paul the setter…
This was a great challenge that has really affected my work today as I was determined to finish. I was pleased to do so with small parsing gaps at WHAT FOR and RHONE. I also wondered about whether neither profit nor gain was an error, not that it affected the solve. I was unsure about RAKE and considered toke as a drag that fit for a while, but it was otherwise unparsable.
I really liked the linked clues. I also liked I’M NOT A ROBOT, FARADAY (FOI), WATER NYMPH and FINGERMARK but I could list a lot of them.
Thanks PeterO and Paul.
DifferentAlanC@27: “TERN within 22a seems like a word that you could only parse from the completed clue rather than it actually leading you to the answer. (Flier being such a broad category.)” — Yes, indeed! This setter, Paul, is known to be “difficult” and often because he constructs many clues which operate in that reverse way: the solution has to be biffed (= BIFD = ‘bunged in from the definition’) or from the definition + enumeration + crossers, leaving you to post-parse the clue to work out how the wordplay works. The clue hardly leads you to the solution. Many people find that approach entertaining and satisfying to solve. Some don’t.
Thanks both but not for this bear.
‘Flyer’ as ‘tern and ‘carpenter’ as ‘ant’ requires a level of clairvoyance that I cannot achieve. Combined with watery definitions (‘shut up’, ‘that’s stopped’ (I could go on (‘now this’))) I was never at the races. My bad I suppose but I’m frustrated by a Paul that I could never have completed. A pastime becomes a wast(e)ime on days like these.
Roz@31: Ever the entertaining educator. TILT: ‘Beaker People’
I can sometimes struggle with Paul, but found this one comparatively user-friendly (apart of course for the ‘flier’ in 22a). Thanks to him and PeterO.