Monday Prize Crossword on 16 November 2009
dd = double definition
dud = duplicate definition
cd = cryptic definition
rev = reversed or reversal
ins = insertion
cha = charade
ha = hidden answer
*(fodder) = anagram
What a pleasant surprise to get a Saturday regular entertaining us on a Monday. Cincinnus followed the norm and gave us all a gentle start to the FT week.
ACROSS
1 CROSSWORD Damn is a word said when you are cross; thus cross word
6 SUNNI SUN (paper famous for its Page 3 girls) NI (rev of IN, first and last letters of Iran)
9 THEIR T (first letter of Trojans) HEIR (succeeding one)
10 INITIATED *(dietitian)
11 HALL PORTER H (hour) ALL (everyone) PORTER (drink)
12 SNAG S (first letter of sea) NAG (horse)
14 PERSIAN *(Napier’s)
15 SPINOZA Ins of OZ (Australia) in *(Spain)
17 IN SIGHT Sounds like INN SITE (location of tavern)
19 AT HEART A THE (indefinite and definite articles) ART (skill)
20 CLAY Remember Cassius Clay, “floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee”?
22 ON THE WAGON Tichy way to disguise AA (Alcoholic Anonymous rather than Automobile Association) This made me smile
25 POP SINGER *(nippers go)
26 SHARD S (small) HARD (solid)
27 LUCKY Ins of K (King, high card) in LUCY (girl)
28 TEDDY BEAR Cha of Teddy (boy) Bear (as in “stomach his nonsense”)
DOWN
1 CATCH dd
2 OVERLORDS Over (in charge of) Lords (cricket ground)
3 STRIPLINGS Ins of TRIPLING (multiplying) in SS (middel letters of BruSSels)
4 OMICRON O (love) MICRON (short measure)
5 DRIVERS dd
6 SLIP Allusion to Freudian slip (an error or unintentional action, esp a slip of the tongue, supposed to reveal an unexpressed or unconscious thought) In cricket, any of several fielders (eg first slip, second slip, etc) positioned in a row next to the wicketkeeper on the offside
7 NOT ON cd
8 INDIGNANT IN DIG (excavation) N (northern) ANT (worker)
13 WISHY-WASHY Wish (desire) *(say why)
14 PRINCIPAL dd
16 ORANGEADE In the words of the poet: “Order a drink” (9) I reckon it’s order=RANGE (in its vt. sense of classifying or arranging) + A (in) the words of the poet=ODE, so O-RANGE-A-DE. “drink” is the def. of course.
18 TONIGHT Ins of ON in TIGHT (mean)
19 ADHERED *(redhead)
21 ASPIC AS (like) PI (constant) C (cold)
23 NADIR *(drain)
24 LILY Likely minus two middle letters
Although I have become a great admirer of Cincinnus, I found this crossword not one of his best.
Usually he produces very good surfaces, but this time – I thought – it was just a bit disappointing. Like in 18d , where TONIGHT was too obvious.
Or 13d, in which the word for ‘desire’ (WISH) was the straightforward beginning of the solution in a hardly cryptic way.
And the anagram in 14ac is just too cheap (even pointless) – very un-Cincinnus.
But I liked 17ac (the pairing of audible and visible).
And 16d, ORANGEADE, with the fine ‘order a + drink’ combination.
Another favourite was 7d (NOT ON), not a cd, but NOTION (idea) without the I (one).
With two clues I have some problems.
The ‘drink’ in 11ac is PORTER, but I only know know ‘port’.
Therefore I was looking for the ‘er’ bit.
I do understand it now, but I don’t like words like HALL PORTER being clued separately, so as HALL + PORTER.
And in 28ac I don’t get the apostrophe.
boy=TEDDY and stomach=BEAR – that would be enough for ‘Toy’,
I guess.