Monday Prize Crossword/Apr 30
Another charmer by Crux, a compiler who is high on my List B of Favourite Setters [B only referring to the grade of difficulty] because of (a) the splendid – albeit mostly non-topical – surfaces (5ac, 1d, 6d, 8d, 18d, 21d being some of the very best ‘today’), (b) the lightness of touch and (c) – not unimportant – the precision of his clueing. A big Thank You to Crux for this puzzle .
Definitions are underlined wherever appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | COMANCHE | Indian love story about hospital with Charlie, not Romeo |
| COMANCE (i.e. ROMANCE (love story) with the R[omeo] changed into C[harlie]) around H (hospital) | ||
| 5 | ASHRAM | A “Keep Quiet!” sign in religious retreat |
| A + SH (keep quiet) + RAM (sign, i.e. sign of the Zodiac, Aries) | ||
| This clue reminded me of an episode of Blackadder (II) in which a naive Lord Percy stated: “Vow of silence? Tell me about it” 🙂 | ||
| 9 | FINE LEGS | Fielders with mixed feelings |
| (FEELINGS)* | ||
| How apt can an anagram indicator be! | ||
| 10 | SPASMS | Fits in well with texting service |
| SPA (well) + SMS (texting service) | ||
| 12 | EATEN | Consumed by ecstasy, given a perfect score |
| E + A + TEN (perfect score) | ||
| I hope I parsed this clue correctly as I feel slightly uncomfortable with ‘by’ (and ‘consumed’ could also be ‘ate’). Moreover, is 10 a perfect score? Well, in Dutch schools (for years my working place) a 10 is indeed the best a pupil can achieve. But in the UK? Thought a score was 20. | ||
| 13 | WALK ON AIR | Go broadcasting to feel wonderful |
| WALK (go) + ON AIR (broadcasting) | ||
| 14 | LEGACY | Will support a heartless clergy |
| LEG (support) + A + C[lerg]Y | ||
| Splendid use of the word ‘will’. | ||
| 16 | GOODMAN | Healthy island for a jazz player |
| GOOD (healthy) + MAN (island) | ||
| Benny Goodman, clarinettist, of course. | ||
| 19 | AVERRED | A small number slipped up, as stated |
| A + V (small number, 5) + ERRED (slipped up) | ||
| 21 | CRECHE | Odd bits of currency he found in the nursery |
| C[u]R[r]E[n]C[y] + HE | ||
| 23 | IPSO FACTO | By that very deed, coming from the lips of actors |
| Hidden solution: [the l] IPS OF ACTO [rs] | ||
| It took a while to see that this was a hidden, so I would say: cleverly hidden. | ||
| 25 | TURBO | Tailless fish still has source of power |
| TURBOT (fish) minus the final T | ||
| 26 | ORDAIN | Admit to being a priest |
| Double definition or cryptic definition? Or not so very cryptic definition? Take your pick | ||
| 27 | NEUROSIS | Wicked sin hoarding money – could be an obsession |
| (SIN)* around EUROS (money) | ||
| 28 | EVELYN | Boy’s (or girl’s!) flat, extremely lovely interior |
| L[ovel]Y inside EVEN (flat) | ||
| Evelyn Waugh (boy) or Evelyn Waugh (girl, Evelyn’s first wife – phew!), for example. Don’t know why there is an exclamation mark in the clue. Perhaps, my example has something to do with it. | ||
| 29 | GASOLINE | Driving force from which Americans take the lead |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| ‘Gasoline’ is the American word for ‘petrol’ (from which lead can be taken such that it is lead-free). | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | COFFER | Chest of heavy smoker, by the sound of it |
| Homophone of COUGHER (heavy smoker) | ||
| Initially I had here COFFIN, a homophone of ‘coughin(g)’ and a much more macabre solution. | ||
| 2 | MONOTREME | Metronome-shaped primitive mammal |
| (METRONOME)* | ||
| Never heard of a ‘monotreme’, don’t know what a metronome-shaped mammal looks like either! | ||
| 3 | NYLON | Cable support leaks power – replace with new material |
| PYLON (cable support) with the P (power) replaced by N (new) | ||
| Just a week ago we had both ‘pylon’ and ‘nylon’ in Dante’s Prize Crossword. | ||
| 4 | HIGHWAY | Such robberies can get you stoned on the street |
| HIGH (stoned) + WAY (the street) | ||
| 6 | SOPHOMORE | US student hopes room is free |
| (HOPES ROOM)* | ||
| Another word I had never heard of, but (once more) a splendid surface. | ||
| 7 | RASTA | A ruler raised to be Jamaican? |
| Reversal of A TSAR (a ruler) | ||
| 8 | MISPRINT | Road race could make sinners of the winners! |
| MI (road, the M1) + SPRINT (race) | ||
| Probably my Clue of the Day for both construction and definition alike. | ||
| 11 | FLAG | Iris or Jack |
| Double definition | ||
| 15 | AIRY-FAIRY | Bearded elf going topless? Now that’s fanciful! |
| HAIRY (bearded) minus the H at the start) + FAIRY (elf) | ||
| 17 | MAHARISHI | Religious teacher of Amish with hair specially styled |
| (AMISH + HAIR)* | ||
| 18 | BARITONE | He can sing (apart from one false note) |
| BAR (apart from) + I (one) + (TONE)* | ||
| Another contender for Clue of the Day – splendid! | ||
| 20 | DUCE | Italian leader about to be excluded from contract |
| REDUCE (contract) minus RE (about) | ||
| 21 | CHOLERA | Puncture in wrecked car could kill you |
| HOLE (puncture) inside (CAR)* | ||
| Another one of these great surfaces (even though it is not a nice image). | ||
| 22 | MOUSSE | Maureen uses revolutionary hair product |
| MO (Maureen) + (USES)* | ||
| 24 | SEDGE | Grass is an advantage after summer starts |
| S[ummer] + EDGE (an advantage) | ||
| 25 | TORSO | Rubbish turns up like this in a trunk |
| Reversal of ROT (rubbish) + SO (like this) | ||
Many thanks, Crux and Sil.
EATEN: I parsed this as you did, Sil. Here in the UK, the phrase ‘ten out of ten’ means
‘a perfect mark’. A score is twenty of course, but nowadays it’s more often used in the
sense of ‘about twenty’ in the singular or ‘large numbers’ in the plural.
ORDAIN: I pick “not so very cryptic definition”!
EVELYN: Does Crux do risque clues? If so, this might explain the ! before ‘flat’!
Huge gaps in my grid.
2d,8d (too cunning) , 10a, 14a , 19a ,18d (too clever for me) ,26a ,28a.
26a & 28a not helped by having sisal for 24d s is a l(ead). I never know when l can be the abbreviation for a word beginning with l.
Thanks for the enlightenment.