Monday Prize Crossword from 18 April 2011
Not as many cd’s and dd’s as we have been accustomed to seeing in a Dante puzzle. Of these, I liked 11 across the best.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | APLOMB PA (dad) reversed + LO (see) M.B. (doctor) |
| 4 | MYOPIC MY OP[us] (work) I.C. (in charge) |
| 8 | CROWING CR[edit] (a little credit) OWING (due) |
| 9 | RAIMENT AIM (object) in RENT (torn) |
| 11 | PEDESTRIAN dd I like the way the two definitions fit together into a natural phrase. |
| 12 | LOOT O (nothing) in LOT (much) |
| 13 | GUSTO GUST (a blow) O ([Oscar] Wilde’s initial) |
| 14 | LOADSTAR LOADS (charges) TAR (sailor). Couldn’t this equally (but for the crossing letters) have been POLESTAR? “Poles” in that case meaning the charges on a magnet. Once I realised POLESTAR was not intended I still had some trouble, because I was familiar only with the spelling LODESTAR. |
| 16 | ALFRESCO LA (the, French) reversed + *(FORCES) |
| 18 | EXEAT cd. The clue reads “pass out of college”, with the ostensible meaning of leaving a college after completing a degree and the real meaning of a permission to leave campus temporarily. However, “Pass out at college” would have been much more entertaining and, I think, justifiable (a “pass out” one receives while “at college”). |
| 20 | TANG hidden in EasT ANGlia |
| 21 | SCRATCHING dd |
| 23 | STAMINA *(AT MAINS) |
| 24 | CROUTON cd |
| 25 | YANKED *(KEY AND) |
| 26 | TSETSE *(SET) twice |
| Down | |
| 1 | AGREE RE (about) in AGE (time) |
| 2 | LAWLESS *(WALES) in L, L (the 50s). Liked this device. |
| 3 | MONSTROUS dd |
| 5 | YEARN E (end of “shuttle”) in YARN (thread) |
| 6 | PIMPLES MP (a politician) in PILES (loads of money) |
| 7 | CONSONANT cd. Took me a while to see this! |
| 10 | BILLBOARD BILL (account presentation) BOARD (directors) |
| 13 | GALLANTRY ALL (everyone) in GANTRY (high-level operation) |
| 15 | APERTURES *(SUPER RATE) |
| 17 | REGIMEN REGIMENT (the troops) minus T (tea, say) |
| 19 | EXHAUST dd |
| 21 | SENSE S, E, N, S, E are each points of the compass, hence “many ways” |
| 22 | NOOSE O (ring) in NOSE |
Thanks, Agentzero. I really ought to use a tick scheme to help with remembering favourites.
Like you, I didn’t enter LOADSTAR for quite a while, convinced that LODESTAR was the only spelling. I like your idea for EXEAT – more appropriate and humorous.