Posted by jetdoc on August 3rd, 2008
A challenging solve, especially for those unfamiliar with Paul’s somewhat libertarian approach; but plenty of fun, and I got through it pretty quickly once I’d solved about four.
All answers begin with the letters W,O,R,D, in four groups of seven. The clue at each location gives a definition of the answer to be entered. The subsidiary indication for each answer, minus its first letter, is given in another clue in the same group.
My main quibble is that, given the format, too many of the subsidiary indications are additional definitions; a few more like those for REMOVAL MAN or OUTBIDDING would have made this a better puzzle for me. And I think that a few of the definitions, though obvious enough in context, are a bit questionable (e.g. 9a, 22a). But please feel free to disagree.
Also, I don’t seem to have picked up on any of Paul’s usual risqué references (or, as Tilsit puts it, the ‘nudge-nudge-wink-wink’ factor). ‘Urine/pee’ seems a bit tame. Have I missed something — for example, in the wordplay at 22a, for 6d?
|8||WIRELESS||On which was heard
I’m not sure about this as a definition, but I suppose, given the wordplay and the checking letters…
|25a: IRELESS = ‘Calm’. Double definition? Hmm…|
Not a great definition, I think.
|12a: OARS= ‘essential to Oxford and Cambridge’, i.e. the Boat Race.|
|10||DRIP||Something wet||5d: ‘late message’ = RIP. Double definition|
|11||REMOVAL MAN||shift worker||3d: M = Middlesex opener; OVAL = test venue (a cricket ground in Kennington, South London; also in the names of other test cricket gounds, e.g. in Barbados and Adelaide); in NAME, reversed = ‘call for retreat’.|
|12||RETORT||Answer||14a: E = ‘people’s conclusion’; TORT = wrong.|
|14||ROWDIEST||Most loud||19d: DIES = stops; inside TWO = figure, reversed (‘backing’).|
|15||DISTURB||Shake||10a: IS; BRUT (= dry) reversed (‘on the contrary’).|
|17||DYNAMOS||Energetic types||1d: SO MANY (‘masses’) reversed (‘to the left’).
Already, I seem to be writing ‘reversed’ rather a lot here, though with a variety of indications for it
|20||DOMINATE||control||2d: [n]OMINATE = ‘suggest, rubbing out leader’.|
Chambers gives: ‘(vi) to take short steps and sway from side to side in walking, as a duck does; to move in a way suggestive of this; (n) the act of waddling; a clumsy, rocking gait’. To me, that doesn’t make ‘duck’ a valid definition for ‘waddle’, but maybe someone can enlighten me.See comments
|23a: ADDLE = go off. Double definition.|
|23||WINDOW SILL||the edge, domestically||22d: *(is down) ‘doctor’ being the anagram indicator; ILL = sick|
|24||OPAL||stone||24d: PAL = person liked. Double definition.|
|25||WINDY||[Calm] — or not?
The ‘Calm’ here does double duty, as an implied part of the definition, and as the subsidiary indication for 8a.
|8a: motor racing. Double definition — ‘a form of motor racing in which cars complete many laps of a high-speed oval circuit; a motor race of this kind’. So ovals aren’t just for cricket.|
See also 22d: where does the ‘is’ fit in?
|6d: HACKING = using axe. Double definition.|
|1||DISRAELI||Old Tory||20a: ISRAELI = National. Double definition.|
|2||DEEP||Low||15a: EEP = ‘pee’ reversed.|
I’m not sure where the ‘showing’ fits in.
|9a: EGRET = bird. Double definition.|
|4||OSTMARK||old money (the standard monetary unit of East Germany, before German unification).||13d: M = thousand; in STARK = total.|
|5||DRIVEWAY||Postman’s approach||17a: RAY = beam; about IVE = this setter’s; W = wife.|
|6||WALL LIZARD||Climber scaled (i.e. with scales)||22a: I’m not sure about this — the subsidiary part is ‘heading off to eat Taylor, as it goes’. ‘Taylor’ gives LIZ, but I can’t quite work out the ALL…ARD bit. Maybe a road goes… I’m sure someone will explain how obvious this is, in a way that makes me feel silly.See comments|
A slightly weak definition, maybe? But valid enough…
|4d: SCARS = defaces. Double definition.|
|13||OUTBIDDING||Offering more than||21d: UT = hut (shed) minus its first letter (‘scalping’); BIDING = staying; D = end of crossword. Shed is also another Guardian crossword setter, so the initial capital gives additional surface reading.|
|16||ROADWAYS||Routes||11a: O = round; *(was day).|
|18||OIL PAINT||medium for colours||24a: I L = one pound (L being the symbol for ‘pound’ in pre-decimal UK currency); PINT = measure (we still have those, especially for beer but also for Pimm’s); about A.|
|19||REVIEWS||reports||16d: VIE = compete; in EWS = three directions (east, west, south). The first clue I solved from the wordplay. It took me a while to find a definition; ‘reports’ just about fits the bill.|
|21||OJIBWA||Native American||18d: JIB = part of crane; WA = ‘was almost’.|
|22||WALLAH||Indian businessman||26a: ALLAH = God… presumably, double definition, Where does the ‘is’ fit in (see above)?|
|24||OIKS||dislikeable people||7d: IKS = ‘ski’ (runner) reversed.|