Monday Prize Puzzle/Dec 19
This was a Dante crossword full of cryptic and double definitions.
As ever I did like it (being a real fan of Mr Squires), however I put some question marks to one or two clues. Surely, someone will stand [up] and deliver [an answer]. If indeed so, please remember that I will not be able to respond to any comment before the end of year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
| Across | ||
| 1 | BEAUTY | Buy tea loose, it delights the senses |
| (BUY TEA)* | ||
| 4 | TRAPPIST | One ordered to be silent |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 9 | LOOTER | He takes things the wrong way |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 10 | I DARE SAY | I’m not afraid to speak – probably! |
| Double definition | ||
| 12 | DIAMONDS | Quarter-deck cutters |
| Two definitions, the first one slightly cryptic (referring to a deck of cards) | ||
| 13 | DETEST | Loathe endless study before exam |
| DE[n] (study, minus the last letter) + TEST (exam) | ||
| 15 | GAIT | Pedestrian walkway? |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 16 | VEGETARIAN | Five are eating fresh vegetables and fruit |
| V (five) + (ARE EATING)* | ||
| Great anagram fodder, great anagram indicator. But what a pity that VEGETARIAN is so similar to ‘vegetables’. Probably, Dante wanted this to work as an &Lit, but neither VEGETARIAN as a singular noun or an adjective does that trick for me. | ||
| 19 | JUNGLE BOOK | Kipling’s game forest and reserve? |
| JUNGLE (game forest) + BOOK (reserve) | ||
| I was not very taken by ‘game’ in this clue, although some might define a jungle, figuratively, as a place where one’s never safe (and therefore will be hunted). | ||
| 20 | SPUR | Incentive to provide a branch road |
| Double definition | ||
| 23 | DIEPPE | Port required to finish university course |
| DIE (to finish) + PPE (university course – Philosophy, Politics and Economics (esp at Oxford)) | ||
| 25 | OUTSTRIP | Run faster in striking football kit |
| OUT (striking, ie on strike) + STRIP (football kit) | ||
| 27 | INTENDED | Set upon one’s fiancée |
| Double definition | ||
| 28 | BOLEYN | Be only involved as a second wife to Henry |
| (BE ONLY)* | ||
| 29 | MANITOBA | Aim to ban corruption in the province |
| (AIM TO BAN)* | ||
| 30 | PELTED | Ran fast when bombarded |
| Double definition | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BULLDOG | Sort of clip found at the end of a lead |
| Two definitions – one normal, one cryptic | ||
| 2 | ADORATION | Commercial address indicates high esteem |
| AD (commercial) + ORATION (address) | ||
| 3 | TREMOR | Quake in the centre, more or less |
| Hidden solution: [cen]TRE MOR[e or less] | ||
| 5 | RUDE | Healthy dislike may make one so |
| Double definition | ||
| 6 | PARMESAN | Grating that goes on top, of course |
| Cryptic definition, in which the comma after ‘top’ should be ignored | ||
| 7 | ISSUE | Lives with a woman and one’s offspring |
| IS (lives) + SUE ( a woman) | ||
| 8 | TRY IT ON | See how far one may go to test a new suit |
| Double definition | ||
| 11 | ADVERBS | They tell us how to write endless bad verse, perhaps |
| (BAD VERS[e])* | ||
| Just like 16ac, this looks like another attempt to write an &Lit, but I am (again) not convinced. Moreover, to make ‘endless’ work, one has to see ‘bad verse’ as one. Not sure whether that’s fair or right. | ||
| 14 | DECORUM | Edward lifts firm with spirit and dignity |
| DE (reversal of ED (Edward)) + CO (firm) + RUM (spirit) | ||
| 17 | IMPERFECT | Tense – and that’s not good |
| Double definition | ||
| 18 | SLIP-KNOT | Undergarment has difficulty for Granny, say |
| SLIP (undergarment) + KNOT (difficulty) – a ‘granny’ being an example of a knot | ||
| 19 | JUDAISM | Bone-idle excluded from organised diamond jubilees of monotheistic faith |
| Anagram of (DIAMOND JUBILEES) minus (BONE IDLE) | ||
| 21 | REPINED | Regretted planting tree in the shade |
| PINE (tree) inside RED ((the) shade) | ||
| 22 | ASHORE | Wood and metal container on the beach |
| ASH (wood) + ORE (metal container, ie a mineral containing metal) | ||
| 24 | EATEN | We hear public school is absorbed in the system |
| Homophone of ETON (public school) | ||
| 26 | WEBB | Flycatcher first became an English Channel swimmer |
| WEB (flycatcher) + B[ecame] | ||
| Some might criticise ‘first became’ leading to B. The WEBB here is Matthew Webb (1848-1883), who was the first person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids [whatever that means]. | ||
Thanks Sil.
Grateful if you could explain STRIP being a football kit. And I thought the word CONTAINER was superfluous in 22D – added to the difficulty.
Like you I always enjoy DANTE but question a couple of things. Is red really a shade or just a colour?
Happy New Year
John
John @1 -are Newcastle playing in their black and white stripes or have they got their away strip on?
You boy, get that strip on and stop messing about -you’re kicking off in 5 minutes.
Thanks Bamberger. Something new to me. I am sure my son would be ashamed of me. Gee Dad!?
I realize I’m posting rather late here, so I’ll be surprised if anyone reads this. Nevertheless, I have a minor quibble with 18d. From what I recall from my Boy Scout days, a granny knot is not a slip-knot. I believe it is, rather, a binding knot (albeit an inferior one).
Well, Keeper, I am still there.
I have no opinions on knots whatsoever, and therefore I will not argue with you about this topic.
However, Chambers tells us that a granny knot is “a knot like a reef knot, but unsymmetrical, apt to slip or jam”.
So, perhaps, Dante has a point?