The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/30036.
I have not had a Paul crossword to blog since … last week. Not that I am complaining – this is another funfest – definitely not a snooze. I suspect that the pairing of 25A CONSTABLE and 26A/1A GAINSBOROUGH has been done before, but if so it is well worth repeating.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 |
See 26
|
|
| 5 | SINATRA |
Frank discussions in a trade-off digested (7)
|
| A hidden answer (‘digested’) in ‘discussionS IN A TRAde-off’. | ||
| 9 | TULIP |
Clue about bulb, essentially? (5)
|
| An envelope (‘about’) of UL (‘bULb essentially’) in TIP (‘clue’), with an &litish definition. | ||
| 10 | ROOSEVELT |
A few missing artist in essence, US president (9)
|
| An envelope (‘in’) of SEVE[ra]L (‘a few’) minus RA (‘missing artist’) in ROOT (‘essence’), for either Franklin D or Theodore. | ||
| 11 | LOCAL DERBY |
See Yorkshire flower near Sheff U v Sheff W, say (5,5)
|
| A charade of LO (‘see’) plus CALDER (‘Yorkshire flower’ – yes, another river) plus BY (‘near’). ‘Sheff U’ and ‘Sheff W’ are the two soccer teams in Sheffield, Yorkshire – United and Wednesday. | ||
| 12, 24 | MEAT STEW |
Last of ham we taste mixed up – in this? (4,4)
|
| An anagram (‘mixed up’) of M (‘last of haM‘) plus ‘we taste’. | ||
| 14 | SOLID GROUND |
Land idols in trouble? (5,6)
|
| Wordplay in the answer: an anagram (GROUND) of SOLID is ‘idols’. The reinforcing anagrind ‘in trouble’ in the clue would seem to be superfluous, but I think does no harm. | ||
| 18 | WITHERSPOON |
US actress, how might she cause a stir in speech? (11)
|
| With a little elision or a trip to East London, sounds like (‘in speech’) WITH HER SPOON, for the actress Reece Witherspoon.. | ||
| 21 | HEAP |
Groovy chassis on a jalopy (4)
|
| An envelope (‘on’) of ‘a’ in HEP (‘groovy’). | ||
| 22 | SNOOZEFEST |
Sense of outrageous theatre initially dressing Australian in drag (10)
|
| An envelope (‘dressing’) OZ (‘Australian’) in SNOEFES, an anagram (‘outrageous’) of ‘sense of’ plus T (‘Theatre initially’). Did you try to fit EDNA in there somewhere? | ||
| 25 | CONSTABLE |
Boy in Blue artist … (9)
|
| Double definition. In the original just ‘Boy in Blue‘ is in italics. | ||
| 26, 1 | GAINSBOROUGH |
… gets quarter (12)
|
| A charade of GAINS (‘gets’) plus BOROUGH (‘quarter’). As the ellipses indicate, clue 25A provides the definition; The Blue Boy is perhaps Gainsborough’s best known painting. | ||
| 27 | SCREW IT |
Team getting stuffed in flop, I give up! (5,2)
|
| An envelope (‘getting stuffed in’) of CREW (‘team’) in SIT (‘flop’). | ||
| 28 | AIRLESS |
Close, as Mexican dog in East London? (7)
|
| A dropped h (‘in East London’) in [h]AIRLESS (‘Mexican dog’ – the Xoloitzcuintle has a form known as the Mexican hairless dog). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BOTTLE |
Pluck item from the wine rack? (6)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 2 | RELICT |
Survivor brightened up again having caught cold (6)
|
| An envelope (‘having caught’) of C (‘cold’) in RELIT (‘brightened up again’). | ||
| 3 | UNPOLISHED |
Rough tongue in nude rogue (10)
|
| An envelope (‘in’) of POLISH (‘tongue’) in UNED, an anagram (‘rogue’) of ‘nude’. | ||
| 4, 23 | HORSE OPERA |
Western Samoa discontented here with poor supply (5,5)
|
| An anagram (‘supply’ – if you have not come across this usage before, make a note of it for the next time; the adverb from supple) of SA (‘SamoA discontented) plus ‘here’ plus ‘poor’. | ||
| 5 | SCOOBY-DOO |
Animated solver’s clue? (6,3)
|
| Cryptic definition. | ||
| 6 | NOEL |
Christmas movie cut, cut for Christmas! (4)
|
| A subtraction: NOEL[le] (‘Christmas movie cut’ – cut as a noun, a particular version of a film) minus its last two letters (‘cut’ as a participle). | ||
| 7 | THEREOUT |
Hawker steals present from that place (8)
|
| An envelope (‘steals’) of HERE (‘present’) in TOUT (‘hawker’). | ||
| 8 | ALTITUDE |
A cap in use tilted badly, level up (8)
|
| An anagram (‘badly’) of ‘a’ plus U (‘cap in Use’) plus ’tilted’. with a cryptic definition. | ||
| 13 | PRINCE IGOR |
That said in support of stinker, describing nicer comic 23 down (6,4)
|
| An envelope (‘describing’) of RINCE, an anagram (‘comic’) of ‘nicer’ in PIG (‘stinker’) plus (‘in support of’) OR (‘that said’ – the sense of “despite that” is somewhere close). The OPERA (’23 down’) – not comic – is by Borodin. | ||
| 15 | LOSING BET |
Chance gone, lots being wasted? (6,3)
|
| An anagram (‘wasted’) of ‘lots being’. | ||
| 16 | AW SHUCKS |
Expression of embarrassment while burying head in whelk shell (2,6)
|
| An envelope (‘burying’) of W (‘head in Whelk’) plus SHUCK (‘shell’, verb) in AS (‘while’), with a delightfully bizarre surface. | ||
| 17 | STRAINER |
Riddle from Sphinx’s first teacher (8)
|
| A charade of S (‘Sphinx’s first’) plus TRAINER (‘teacher’). | ||
| 19 | PETITE |
Little bird in leak (6)
|
| An envelope (‘in’) of TIT (‘bird’) in PEE (‘leak’). | ||
| 20 | STASIS |
Force once applied to opening in sink blockage (6)
|
| A charade of STASI (‘force once’ – East German secret police) plus S (‘opening in Sink’). | ||
| 23 |
See 4
|
|
| 24 |
See 12 Across
|
|
NOEL
My take:
For the surface, the first cut is a noun.
For the cryptic reading, two cuts indicate the removal of
the last two letters from Noelle ((a) Christmas movie).
SCOOBY-DOO
Took it as a DD.
Def 1 Animated solver
Def 2 Clue (CRS)
The CONSTABLE-GAINSBOROUGH combo was excellent.
Thanks Paul and PeterO.
Great puzzle, ta PnP. No doubt someone will say what the X is about…
Agree with KVa on Scooby doo
For Noel, I had Elf as the movie title, cut to be EL and then it was cut again so there was NO EL(f) – maybe a bit convoluted but it got me there!
One of those tricky Paul crosswords that seems impossible at first glance but slowly unravels.
Thanks PeterO for the blog
I’m with KVa @1 for Scooby Doo – it’s well-established rhyming slang for “clue” (“haven’t a Scooby” – havent a clue).
Hadn’t thought of Elf for the Christmas movie, but I think Alex @3 is right – if the Christmas movie has been cut, then there’s “No Elf” (the movie), and then that’s cut again to give NOEL.
No idea about the “X” instruction – maybe just a Graunism?
Thanks both.
Didn’t get SNOOZEFEST, possibly because of an attempt to forget the dishonest Old Etonian slob with the bad hair who used to refer to Kier Starmer as “Sir Crasheroonie Snoozefest”. Yes, there was a time when we were relatively polite about KS…
A couple of parsings I didn’t get, for which many thanks, PeterO. A pleasant start to the day with just a little trademark Paul smuttiness. Ta, both.
Tough but never a snoozefest. The SE corner taking the most time.
Another who enjoyed the CONSTABLE/GAINSBOROUGH pairing.
My only explanation for the special instruction x is that someone accidentally typed in a box they shouldn’t have.
Thanks PeterO and Paul
X is a typo, I guess.
Although it is the CTRL+ for a cut that is needed twice with the Elf problem, and elsewhere.
I see the special instructions ‘x’ have been removed online. There was me wondering whether to interpret it as a cross, times, ten…… Clearly, just an error. A fun puzzle, not easy but all fair. Thanks Paul and many thanks PeterO for help with some parsings.
Quite a number of people on the site saying how difficult this is – it often seems to me that when that’s the case, I find it relatively benign (and vice versa). I didn’t actually realise this was a Paul until a good few clues in. I still didn’t complete it, throwing in the towel on being stuck in the SE and revealing AIRLESS, PETITE and STASIS.
This was a struggle and took some time – but every clue was worth it once the parsing was achieved. PeterO thanks so much for pointing out the clever adverb at at 4/23. I totally missed that – simply thinking it meant “you get this from the supply of these letters”. How brilliant and, yes, one to watch out for in future.
The CONSTABLE and GAINSBOROUGH combination was great.
I took WITHERSPOON as a soundalike of “with a spoon” (rather than “with her spoon”). It reminded me of one of my all-time favourite clues (also by Paul), “Actress was less inclined to sketch Robin and Maurice Gibb, but…? (4,9)”.
Many thanks Paul and PeterO.
Lord Jim@11
WITHERSPOON
Agree. That sounds better.
Wading in to the great WITHERSPOON debate – I think PeterO was right, but I’d have said it’s a rendering (rather than a soundalike) of WITH ‘ER SPOON, otherwise the east London reference is unused.
Agree with cryptor about SCOOBY being rhyming slang for ‘clue’, and therefore a DD as per KVa @1.
I was another who went down the NO EL[f] route, not having come across the movie Noelle. Be interesting to know what Paul had in mind.
Overall I thought this was a lot of fun, which is not something I often say about Paul puzzles. So thanks to him and to PeterO for teasing out a couple of the trickier parsings that eluded me.
22 – yes, I did try to fit EDNA in! LOI, by guess’n’check, but what a fabulous clue.
I was another who had Noel(f), thanks Paul for a really fun solve.
Lol like others I too was trying to work Edna and Average into the answer somehow. It held me up for a bit. Tick for that clue. Also enjoyed Horse Opera. Never heard that term but can appreciate it. Couldn’t parse Roosevelt or Noel though. Thanks all.
The ability to spot, for example, that a famous painting (The Blue Boy) by one famous English artist (Gainsborough) could just as easily have been called “Boy in Blue”, which would be the singular form of a well known idiomatic expression for policemen (“boys in blue”) and therefore give the name of another famous English artist (Constable) is, I sometimes think, what separates great setters such as Paul from mere mortals.
(Please pardon that garbled explanation – best I could do!)
So much to admire in this crossword, including the brilliant concealment of a famous American artist, in 5 across.
Thanks also to PeterO – I needed your help with the parsing of ROOSEVELT and AW SHUCKS. Thanks also to AlexinSG@3 for explaining NOEL.
I’d never heard the lovely expression HORSE OPERA before!
Nho the NOELLE movie, so parsing 6d was beyond me, though the answer was pretty clear.
I liked CONSTABLE and GAINS BOROUGH.
I feel that the Elf parsing of Noel is more satisfactory as Noelle feels a bit same-sidey. Another who tried to work in Edna.
I also solved NOEL via the movie ELF. Don’t think it is that convoluted if a few people had the same idea. NOELLE feels too similar and is not a widely known Christmas movie being released straight to streaming. Who knows what goes through Paul’s mind though!?
After doing quite well on the previous Paul, this was a return to my usual struggles. HORSE OPERA was new to me, as was THEREOUT, but got there with the crossers.
I could have stared at ROOSEVELT until the next Paul came around without figuring out the parsing so thank you, PeterO. As for NOEL, both of the competing explanations have my head spinning!
A slow solve, but not as impenetrable as it looked first. I needed this blog to complete some of my incomplete parsings. I interpreted noel as noelle cut twice, but that was not very satisfactory. The consensus on this blog appears to be that the movie is Elf, not Noelle. I missed that the Boy in Blue is part of the clue for 26 (I just thought it was artist); PeterO’s explanation makes the 5,26 combination even better. Snoozefest my LOI, as I had not heard that word before. I saw the oz for Australian, but completely missed that there is an anagram of “sense of” in it.
I’m firmly a NO EL(f) solver. I am absolutely NOT a ‘Christmas person’ but was married to a Christmas fanatic, so the film is very familiar and is probably the only ‘festive’ movie which I have ever enjoyed. With apologies to Peter O, it seems self-evidently the correct solution to the wordplay. I’m glad that, at 2.00 am, I just left this to the morning and turned back over, because I was slow on it even then. Huge chapeau to Paul for the double-painter clues, linked by a ‘proper’ ellipsis.
Thanks for the blog , what X ??
The STASIs would have a tough time today trying to stop people from oversharing , perhaps we need an anti-STASI .
29D has to be my favourite .
If Balfour appears you need to look at the FT puzzle today , a certain bear appears as well . A rare double coincidence . Right on cue , I was too slow typing .
Roz@24 You have a very cryptic favourite… There is no 29D
I figured out most of the answers somehow or other and enjoyed the challenge. I revealed SNOOZEFEST – surprised no one has commented that it’s ‘not in Chambers’ (on my app anyway). Didn’t come up on Crossword Solver either but it’s a good word and must be in another dictionary. I liked SCREW IT and AW SHUCKS. I rarely find Paul’s cryptics fun. Either I’m improving or I was just on Paul’s wavelength today.
When I got LOCAL DERBY right off the bat (sorry, wrong sport), I thought this was going to be easy, but it wasn’t, but it wasn’t terrible either.
Interesting discussions above, but I’ll stick to expressing my admiration for CONSTABLE.
I must be dim but my paper copy shows no special instructions or anything about x so don’t understand the comments .
Another gem from Paul! Loved SCOOBY-DOO
Thanks Paul and PeterO
Christmas (4) is generally NOEL, but I toyed with tree because they’re cut for Christmas and if you take a chainsaw to Miracle on 34th Street, it’s in there somewhere!
I had gaps in my general knowledge today ( HORSE OPERA, PRINCE IGOR) but I got there. The South East took an eternity. All good though. I forgot my headphones today but had this to do.
Liked WITHERSPOON, PETITE, SCOOBY DOO & SOLID GROUND
Thanks to P&O (Mr O)
This was no cruise.
I’ve never heard of either Christmas movie, so waited for a crosser to give the correct choice between NOEL and YULE.
Wouldn’t Reece be WIVVERSPOON in the East End?
Thanks Paul and PeterO.
I thought the GAINSBOROUGH and CONSTABLE clues were brilliant, and as Balfour@33 points out, with appropriate use of ellipsis. COTDs for me.
I went with ‘Elf’ for the Christmas movie NO EL(f). Nho the other one.
I also admired:
LOCAL DERBY despite being a non UK solver (Yorkshire river?),
the well hidden SINATRA,
and SNOOZEFEST for great misdirection and tricky wordplay.
HORSE OPERA was a new expression for me and THEREOUT a new word but both could be worked out.
Thanks Paul for a fun challenge and PeterO for a helpful blog as usual.
So clever. I used to find Paul puzzles impossible but I’m obviously getting better at them. I struggled through having to use the check button as many of the parsings were beyond me. So I just bunged in NOEL, LOCAL DERBY, SNOOZEFEST and ROOSEVELT relying on PeterO’s excellent blog to explain. I enjoyed this very much.
Many favourites including SINATRA, SCOOBY DOO, AIRLESS and the blue boy double clues.
Nho THEREOUT, HORSE OPERA(but got it from PRINCE IGOR) or the River Calder.
Thanks Paul and PeterO
Are people mixing up 18A and 28A because there’s no reference to the East End in the clue for Witherspoon?
It’s just “how might she cause a stir?” – “with a spoon”
Enjoyed 11 as a fan of one of those football clubs.
It reminded me of an Enigmatist Saturday puzzle of many years ago which was nicely themed around a set of such encounters.
I thought this one of Paul’s easiest offerings for a while; always interesting how reactions differ – it’s at least as common for me to struggle with puzzles that most people find to be on the relatively easy side.
Definitely Elf for me. Christmas movie cut = NO ELF, then cut once more for NOEL.
As bristle points out @34, there is no mention of the East End in 18a. I went with “with a spoon”.
A very enjoyable Paul.
I thought 6d was:
Christmas movie cut (no Elf) cut (no El) for Christmas (definition).
Easiest of the week for me, but not particularly enjoyable as copious use of the check button.
Thanks both.