Monday Prize Crossword/Aug 29
I am pretty sure that Bryan will qualify this crossword as ‘very enjoyable’. And if so, I fully agree with him. Not as many cryptic definitions as on some other occasions, but all the same a very typical Dante.
| Across | ||
| 1 | HEDONIST | The trouble about a Spaniard is he puts pleasure before work |
| (THE)* around DON (a Spaniard) | ||
| 5 | IMPISH | Mischievous Zulus quiet |
| IMPI (Zulus) + SH (quiet) | ||
| 9 | ARTISTIC | It turns its back in a curve, in an aesthetic way |
| {TI (reversal of ‘it’) + STI (reversal of ‘its’)} inside A C (curve) | ||
| 10 | ODDS-ON | The single boy in a family is very much a favourite |
| ODD (single) + SON (boy) | ||
| 12 | TONGS | Grasping secret societies? |
| Double definition, more or less | ||
| 13 | GREATNESS | A big-head celebrity |
| GREAT (big) + NESS (head) | ||
| 14 | TISSUE | Sit out with a girl in gauzy fabric |
| (SIT)* + SUE (a girl) | ||
| 16 | NATURAL | Unsophisticated old city in part of S Africa |
| UR (old city) inside NATAL (part of S Africa) | ||
| 19 | RONDEAU | Poem, an ode concocted in game |
| (AN ODE)* inside RU (game – Rugby Union) | ||
| 21 | RUSSIA | Country where you may see us in exotic sari |
| US inside (SARI)* | ||
| 23 | PARAMEDIC | One might aid camper that’s collapsed |
| (AID CAMPER)* | ||
| 25 | AWFUL | Legitimate student expelled with dire result |
| LAWFUL (legitimate) less L (student) [the first L, that is – although Dante didn’t tell us] | ||
| 26 | IN GEAR | Dressed up and ready to go? |
| Double definition with cryptic elements | ||
| 27 | STAIR-ROD | Bar on a flight |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 28 | GANDHI | He was partly known for his fasting and his leadership |
| Hidden answer: [fastin]G AND HI[s] | ||
| 29 | FLANNELS | Provides soft soap and face cloths for the cricket team? |
| Triple definition | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | HEALTH | Often drunk; too much is bad for it |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 2 | DETENTION | It need not give rise to punishment |
| (IT NEED NOT)* | ||
| 3 | NOSES | They may be held in revulsion |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 4 | SHINGLE | Here one comes close to the main form of English |
| (ENGLISH)* | ||
| 6 | MEDITATES | Thinks the current recession divides friends |
| EDIT (reversal of ‘tide’ (current)) inside MATES (friends) | ||
| 7 | ISSUE | Publish and I p-prosecute |
| I + S-SUE (stammer like p-prosecute) | ||
| 8 | HONESTLY | Fairly good around the home |
| HOLY (good) around NEST (home) | ||
| 11 | PEON | Farm labourer cut flower |
| PEONY (flower) less the last letter | ||
| 15 | STEAM BATH | Doctor seen in unusual haste at the sauna |
| MB (doctor) inside (HASTE AT)* | ||
| 17 | REINFORCE | Check the impulse to increase support |
| REIN (check) + FORCE (the impulse) | ||
| 18 | DRIPPING | Fat, and very wet |
| Double definition | ||
| 20 | UNDO | Ruin a French party |
| UN (a, French) + DO (party) | ||
| 21 | RECITAL | Article about a concert |
| (ARTICLE)* | ||
| 22 | BLADES | They cut some of the grass |
| Double definition | ||
| 24 | REGAN | Wild anger of Lear’s daughter |
| (ANGER)* | ||
| 25 | ALIEN | A right that’s legal but unacceptable |
| A + LIEN (right that’s legal) | ||
Sil
I had all these answers too, but unless I am missing something, the canvas does not read right for 12A, 13A, 1D and 4D.
For eg Here one comes close to the main. OK so shingle is found on a beach which is close to the sea. But we are looking for a place aren’t we? Here…………where?
cheers
John
Failed on TONGS, even after having T_N_S. Never heard of a tong as a secret society.
I had a different problem from John Newman on SHINGLE: I was convinced the answer was ESTUARY, which also parses — “Here one comes close to the main” = a river’s estuary is where it reaches the sea; and ESTUARY ENGLISH is a form of English…. this held me up for a long time.
HEALTH and NOSES stood out as clever cryptic definitions.
Thanks Sil and Dante.
First one in was 4d as for Wanderer. When I came to 1a that had to be hedonist. So one of them was wrong but I was convinced both were right.I think shingle is a very very weak answer.
I thought the NW corner was hard/not good -tongs, noses, health were tricky.
Many thanks for those who commented (not the expected Bryan this time …. :)).
Unlike John @1 I did/do not have many problems with (the surfaces of) 13ac and 1d. That said, I had to think about HEALTH for a while and wondered why ‘Often’ was there. But I think one can justify it in the first part of the clue, while it suits the second part very well.
My last entry was TONGS (12ac). I needed a dictionary for the Chinese connection, and was not completely happy with just ‘grasping’ to define the other meaning. However, TONGS is/are an instrument that may be ‘grasping’ something, and I think the clue should be read like this. Perhaps, it was saved by the question mark at the end?
Seeing the comments on SHINGLE (4d), I wondered why I accepted this clue as “nothing wrong with it”.
Probably (but I don’t know anymore), I took the surface like this: “Here [in the puzzle] (is) one (that) comes close to the main”, which is IMO acceptable.