Monday Prize Crossword /Jan 9
It’s been a while since I’ve last blogged a crossword, but I’m back in town. Many thanks to Duncan [easily the most detailed blog around] and scchua [who was very delighted to take the honours] who both helpfully stepped in when the FT decided to have some Tuesday Prize Crosswords. Anyway, a fresh restart for me with an overall gentle Dante .
| Across | ||
| 1 | CLOUTS | Patches cuffs |
| Double definition | ||
| 4 | ESTRANGE | Alienate sergeant in mess |
| (SERGEANT)* | ||
| 10 | SOTTO VOCE | It lowers the tone, so to speak |
| Not so very cryptic definition | ||
| 11 | SATYR | Spirit often drunk in ancient times |
| Cryptic definition, punning on two meanings of ‘spirit’: within the surface an alcoholic drink, in the answer one of the lustful and wine loving companions of Pan (that might be called ‘spirits’) | ||
| 12 | ORFE | Forecast for fish |
| (FORE)* | ||
| One of these clues in which you need a pair of scissors to separate the fodder (‘fore’) from the indicator (‘cast’). | ||
| 13 | UNDERSCORE | Stress that it’s less than twenty |
| UNDER (less than) SCORE (twenty) | ||
| 15 | ELOPERS | They dash off to an away match |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 16 | SHANTY | Sea air |
| Cryptic definition, in which ‘air’ should be seen as ‘melody’ or ‘tune’ | ||
| 19 | IMPELS | Urges some simple modification |
| (SIMPLE)* | ||
| It looks to me that the word ‘some’ is superfluous. | ||
| 21 | JACKPOT | Kitty puts flag on vessel |
| JACK (flag) + POT (vessel) | ||
| 23 | CHARTREUSE | Green plan to recycle |
| CHART (plan) + REUSE (to recycle) | ||
| Beautiful surface in a clue for which the solution sounds like an expensive French wine. In fact, it is a pale green or yellow liqueur named after La Grande Chartreuse. Written without cap as ‘chartreuse’ it can also mean the greenish-yellow colour that Dante had in mind. | ||
| 25 | PLAN | Blueprint of factory nearing completion |
| PLANT (factory) minus (nearing completion) the T at its end | ||
| 27 | DHOTI | Loin cloth can make a number very warm I conclude |
| D (a number) + HOT (very warm) + I | ||
| 28 | PREJUDGES | Shows bias before court officials |
| PRE (before) + JUDGES (court officials) | ||
| 29 | CULINARY | Clay urn, one used for cooking |
| (CLAY URN + I (one))* | ||
| 30 | KEPT IN | Restrained and punished a schoolchild |
| Double definition | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CUSTOMER | Maybe more cuts will attract one |
| (MORE CUTS)* | ||
| Will more cuts attract customers? Bit of a funny surface to me. | ||
| 2 | OUT OF FORM | In poor shape and not playing well |
| Double definition | ||
| 3 | TOOT | Blow up and down |
| The answer (definition: ‘blow’ (eg a horn)) is a palindrome (up and down) | ||
| 5 | SKEWERS | They get stuck into pieces of meat |
| Cryptic definition, but when you take the clue very literally, it is not so cryptic anymore | ||
| 6 | RESISTANCE | Insects are developing immunity |
| (INSECTS ARE)* | ||
| 7 | NOT SO | Two Poles about to set up job centre? Untrue |
| N,S (two poles, North and South) around OT (reversal of ‘to’) + [j]O[b] | ||
| One of the few clues based on more advanced construction and for me (perhaps, therefore) the COD. On top of that a splendid surface, a real bonus! | ||
| 8 | EARNER | Novice loses head as a breadwinner |
| [l]EARNER | ||
| 9 | POUNDS | Cash reserves |
| Double definition | ||
| This was my last entry. Although I knew that it had to be POUNDS, I did not make the link to a ‘pound’ meaning a ‘compound’ or ‘enclosure’. I kept on thinking of money reserves (in combination with ‘cash’). So, actually, a fine (misdirecting) double definition. | ||
| 14 | PEDESTRIAN | Uninspired footman |
| Double definition | ||
| 17 | TOP-FLIGHT | Highest stairway leading to penthouse flat? |
| TOP (highest) + FLIGHT (stairway) | ||
| 18 | STANDS IN | Substitutes a man that’s good with bad |
| ST (a man that’s good, a ‘saint’) + AND (with) + SIN (bad) | ||
| Just recently, Tees had exactly the same idea in his excellent Independent crossword (7864). But then, Great Minds think alike. | ||
| 20 | SLEEPER | Earring found on the railway |
| Double definition | ||
| That a SLEEPER can be found on the railway, comes as no surprise, however the ‘earring’ connection was new to me [Chambers: “a small gold hoop worn in a pierced ear to prevent the hole from closing up”]. | ||
| 21 | JASPER | A man of stone |
| Double definition | ||
| For those who do not know what JASPER looks like: get it here . | ||
| 22 | ACIDIC | Sharp detectives in rising US intelligence organisation |
| CID (detectives) inside the reversal of CIA (US intelligence organisation) | ||
| 24 | ATOLL | As you can see, it forms a ring |
| A + TOLL (ring) – when you look at an ATOLL from above, this coral island will reveal its circular shape [&Lit?] | ||
| 26 | DUPE | Fool wanting to be paid to admit parking |
| DUE (wanting to be paid) around P (parking) | ||
Hi Sil, glad you’re back – with a blog well-done. Thanks too to Dante with his trademark cluing.
Attempting to answer your question about 1D CUSTOMER – you might have had it in mind, but if not – price cuts would generally attract customers. Many shoppers buy because, the more they buy, the more “savings” they get from discounts – so much for the “rational consumer”!
Another delightful Dante, I thought. I really don’t know how he keeps doing it. I thought that 15A ELOPERS and 24D ATOLL were paricularly fine clues.