I always enjoy getting a Gozo crossword to blog, and this week was no exception.
Gozo grids are always themed – this time all the definitions are geographical locations. I think this is the third geography themed grid from Gozo that I have blogged. There is a good mix of familiar and lesser know places, though none so obscure that they could not be guessed at. Thank you Gozo.
| Across | ||
| 1 | MAPUTO | MAP (chart) and OUT* |
| 4 | SCHWERIN | WInCHEStER* with NT (note) removed – capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
| 10 | CASTILE | I (island) in CASTLE (fortress) |
| 11 | SANDOWN | AND (joiner) in SOWN (scattered) |
| 12 | IVER | rIVER (something with banks) missing the first letter (tip) |
| 13 | DONAGHADEE | Duke with (GONE AHEAD)* |
| 16 | ARAGON | A RAG (Joplin composition) ON (playing) |
| 17 | MESSINA | MESS (forces canteen) IN (at) A – offhand I can’t think of an example usage where in=at, but this is given in Chambers, so must be right |
| 20 | FAREHAM | FARE (food for the table) HAM (cooked meat) |
| 21 | GENEVA | A (amateur) VEN (venerable, title for clergyman) EG (say) reversed |
| 24 | HISPANIOLA | (OAPS IN HAIL)* anagram=storm – island forming Dominican Republic and Haiti |
| 25 | OMSK | SMOKe* with E=east missing, anagram=billowing |
| 27 | ROSSETT | Dante Gabriel ROSSETTi (Pre-Raphaelite) short=not finished |
| 29 | IWO JIMA | Japanese Institute inside I (1 Roman numeral) WOMAn (female) missing N=name |
| 30 | KILKENNY | sounds like “kill Kenny” – a ‘Kilkenny cat’ is a tenacious fighter |
| 31 | GREECE | sounds like “Grease” – 1978 musical film |
| Down | ||
| 1 | MICHIGAN | (MA I CHING)* |
| 2 | PAS-DE-CALAIS | DECAL (sticker) and AI (A1=top, the best) inside PASS (to hand out) |
| 3 | TAIN | TArpaulIN (empty=middle missing) |
| 5, 28 | COSTA DEL SOL | (CLASS LOOTED)* |
| 6 | WINCHESTER | make of rifle and a type of early computer disk |
| 7 | RIO | tRaItOr (regularly=every other letter) |
| 8 | NANTES | ANTE (stake) in N and S (bridge partners) |
| 9 | DEVON | DE (from, French) and VON (from, German) |
| 14 | DUNFERMLINE | DUN (dusky) Fleck (first letter of) and Lecturer (abbrev) in ERMINE (white) |
| 15 | DODECANESE | DO (make) CANES (slender rods) inside DEE (river) |
| 18 | HAMILTON | HA (laugh) with MILTON (author), Lewis Hamilton (Formula One champion 2008) and town in Ontario |
| 19 | PARK LANE | ARK (coffer) in PLANE (aircraft) |
| 22 | THIRSK | R (abbreviation for recipe, ‘take’ in Latin) in THIS with hacK (final letter) – I am unconvinced that recipe=take in English, but the abbreviation is in the dictionary. I know this is a long established crossword tradition, but I would be interested to know of some examples of real-life uses of this abbreviation. |
| 23 | ELGIN | NIGgLE (trivial criticism) missing G=German, reversed |
| 26 | SOAR | SOLAR (of the sun) missing L=left – river in Leicestershire |
| 28 | See 5 | |
*anagram
Hold mouse over clue number to read a clue.
Many thanks for the blog. Another fun mystery tour from crosswords greatest public transport fan.
Re 30a – Wikipedia has a page on “Kilkenny cat” which explains things very well, but I got it from an old Pogues song “Wild Cats of Kilkenny”. I imagine the boy Kenny is the anorak-clad serial victim in South Park.
Thanks Thoma99, blog updated. I had not heard of a Kilkenny cat before and din’t know any Pogues songs either. I’m paying the price for not mis-spending my youth.
Thanks PeeDee – re 22d, one definition of recipe is for a medical prescription, however this is normally abbreviated as Rx, e.g. Rx aspirin 75mg.
Thanks for the analysis – it was all straightforward and quickly solved.
But you ask for example of “R” meaning “Recipe”. All doctor’s prescriptions begin with a flourished capital R (at least they always used to). It is an instruction (mediaeval dog-Latin) for “recipe” = “take” the stated amounts of drugs etc.
I don’t often call at this site – more often on the guardian line under the name of “Dragoncel” – hope you’ll forgive my intrusion.
Thanks Brian and Steve. I will look next time I need a prescription. Prescriptions from our local surgery have been printed by computer for a long time now, so it will be interesting to see if the ‘R’ tradition is continued.
I am never sure about whether I am a fan of a crossword that is a geography lesson too which for me made it slightly more difficult than straightforward. Thanks to PeeDee and Gozo.