[If you’re attending York S&B please see comments 32&33] - here
Monday Prize Crossword/Feb 24
An enjoyable Crux in his familiar style. Somewhat more double definitions, perhaps, and a mini-mini theme linked to 1 Across (which, unfortunately, I cannot fully explain).
The puzzle contained quite a few words that I was unfamiliar with, eg tuna (for cactus), strine, Gods (as a theatre gallery), fallen arch and Saddhu (though I know what a saddo is …..)
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | ALIGHT | Get out or staying in? (6) |
| Probably a double definition | ||
| I am not confident about this, although the solution is surely right. | ||
| 4 | HOLSTERS | Composer of famous suite “Queen’s Arms” located here (8) |
| HOLST (composer of famous suite, ie “The Planets” or “St Paul’s Suite”) + ER’S (Queen’s) | ||
| 10 | REPAPER | Decorate walls again about the same (7) |
| The solution is a palindrome (‘about, ie when reversed, the same’) | ||
| 11 | DECIDED | Marked document blocked by detectives (7) |
| CID (detectives) inside DEED (document) | ||
| 12 | GODS | Gallery displays heads of government outside Downing Street (4) |
| Starting letters (‘heads’) of: G[overnment] O[utside] D[owning] S[treet] | ||
| 13 | FALLEN ARCH | Collapsed taking a bow – results in foot fault! (6,4) |
| FALLEN (collapsed) + ARCH (a bow) | ||
| 15 | NANSEN | Arctic explorer Anne confused with the Poles (6) |
| (ANNE + N,S (the Poles, North and South))* | ||
| 16 | EMIRATE | Arab state up in arms after Middle East revolution (7) |
| IRATE (up in arms) following EM (reversal (‘revolution’) of ME (Middle East)) | ||
| 20 | GET EVEN | Throw a twenty, say, to settle the score (3,4) |
| Double definition, the first one alluding to the fact that twenty is an even number | ||
| I hope I parsed this right, or is there more to it? | ||
| 21 | STRINE | Pressure for Eastenders to acquire Aussie English (6) |
| Cockney homophone (‘for Eastenders’) of STRAIN (pressure) | ||
| 24 | ARCTIC TERN | Rent possibly frozen, firstly, for long-distance migrant (6,4) |
| (RENT)* preceded by (‘firstly’) ARCTIC (frozen) | ||
| 26 | BURN | Set 1 across in a northern stream (4) |
| Double definition, the first one being ‘set alight’ as the solution to 1 across is ‘alight’ | ||
| 28 | UNCHAIN | Free meal, without a starter – Scotland’s own (7) |
| UNCH (meal, ie LUNCH, without its starter (L)) + AIN (own, Scottish) | ||
| 29 | BIG GAME | FA Cup match featuring the Lions? (3,4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 30 | EPICYCLE | Small circle of heroic Young Conservatives take on the French (8) |
| EPIC (heroic) + YC (Young Conservatives) + LE (the, French) | ||
| 31 | JEKYLL | This good doctor’s associate sounds obscure (6) |
| The associate of Dr Jekyll is Mr Hyde, Hyde being a homophone (‘sounds’) of HIDE (obscure) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | ARROGANT | Superior yet out-and-out own goal is intercepted (8) |
| ARRANT (out-and-out) around OG (own goal) | ||
| 2 | IMPUDENCE | Romeo out of folly displays bad manners (9) |
| IMPRUDENCE (folly) minus R (Romeo) | ||
| 3 | HYPE | Promotion of extremely healthy exercise (4) |
| H[ealth]Y + PE (exercise) | ||
| 5 | OLD FLAME | Former lover still 1 across, it seems (3,5) |
| Double / Cryptic definition, just like 26ac referring to the solution of 1 across | ||
| 6 | SECOND-RATE | Doesn’t care about being poor (6-4) |
| (DOESN’T CARE)* | ||
| 7 | ELDER | Bush could be a church leader (5) |
| Double definition, perhaps even triple as Bush may be seen as a plant but also as George W’s dad | ||
| 8 | SADDHU | Indian holy man, being dead, had us all bewildered! (6) |
| (D (dead) + HAD US)* | ||
| 9 | TRIAL | Hearing test (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 14 | VETERINARY | Change involves entire retraining for such surgeons (10) |
| VARY (change) around (ENTIRE)* | ||
| 17 | TRIBUTARY | Secondary flower (9) |
| Not so Cryptic definition, with ‘flower’ being a river (and here one that flows into another) | ||
| Unless someone thinks this is one more double definition. | ||
| 18 | SENTINEL | Watch what’s posted on line when drunk (8) |
| SENT (posted) + (LINE)* | ||
| 19 | MEAN WELL | Aim to please with tight fit (4,4) |
| MEAN (tight) + WELL (fit) | ||
| 22 | NATURE | Mother Earth’s temperament (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 23 | BRIBE | Key ingredient of cheese is the sweetener (5) |
| B (key, musical note) inside BRIE (cheese) | ||
| 25 | CACTI | Some chance this, regularly, to find tuna, for example (5) |
| Odd letters (‘regularly’) of: C[h]A[n]C[e] T[h]I[s] | ||
| Tuna is fish, of course, but here it is a prickly pear cactus. | ||
| 27 | OGRE | Monster therefore is overthrown (4) |
| Reversal (‘overthrown’) of ERGO (therefore) | ||
‘Saddhu’ is a spelling variant of ‘sadhu’. It’s not only in Chambers but also in other dictionaries, including those published in the U.S. I am sure crossword pattern search software will throw it up. So, ostensibily, there can be no objection to its use in a crossword grid.
But no Indian newspaper will use the spelling variant. When I saw the word in the preamble, I did not immediately think it meant ‘holy man’ and wondered whether it was a word from a non-Indian language meaning something else.
(The protagonist in R. K. Narayan’s novel Guide is mistaken by villagers for a holy man and the spelling that the author uses is sadhu.)
During pre-Independence days the rulers in India imperiously pronounced words from what they would call ‘vernaculars’ in many peculiar ways and the dictionaries recorded them and continue to do so.
I think present-day dictionary editors must reconsider the spelling variants of Indian words and eliminate those that are not current and may not find favour with ‘native speakers’.
The second ‘d’ in ‘saddhu’ alters the pronunciation of the word and may not be recognisable immediately as the word meaning ‘holy man’.
Until the dictionaries catch up, what crossword setters can do is avoid the spelling variants and use only those that are recorded as headwords with meanings given alongside.
This applies probably to spelling variants in other non-English languages too.
May I comment on 1ac?
When we alight from a train, we get out of it.
When a plane alights at an airport, it lands there and settles, stays (until the next takeoff).
I think these two meanings are combined in the clue.
However, the -ing ending in the second definition is confusing. Perhaps there is a better explanation that eludes me.
Agree with Rishi
I agree with Rishi
As for SADDHU, I totally agree with Rishi.
Sadhu is the most commonly accepted version.
I thought that the second bit of 1A was referring to a fire staying in (ie not going out) and therefore alight.
Thanks, ernie!
If that is the explanation, then the -ing termination in “staying in” is right.
“Stay in” in the sense of “remain at home” is familiar to me. But of a flame still burning, I had not come across before in my reading.
Thanks everyone for commenting, on 1ac in particular.
The second part of the clue eluded me but I guess ernie has the solution.
Interesting to read about Sad(d)hu from a non-dictionary point of view!