Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of August 25, 2012
For a variety of reasons, I am late in posting this blog entry. I apologize for the tardiness. Sorry.
I found the lower-right quadrant of this puzzle to be rather difficult, as I know some others did. I also had trouble with 1A since I have little knowledge of the needed parlance. I think Mudd has three excellent clues in 18A (EX-CON), 15D (DREAMBOAT) and 19D (CROCHET), while I have some concern about 26A (STITCH).
Across
1. BRAHMS – double/cryptic definition. The use of ‘Brahms’ to mean drunk comes from Cockney rhyming slang where ‘Brahms and Liszt’ is used, rhyming with ‘pissed’. Not that I knew this until I looked it up!
4. GROCER – homophone (“grosser”)
8. CAPRICE – CAP (hat) + RICE (grains)
9. BARCODE – COD (swimmer) in BARE (nude)
11. COMPLIMENT – anagram of LIP in COMMENT (remark)
12. NICE – double definition, the resort being Nice on the French Riviera
13. SUSHI – SUS (Texas, as South US) + HI (greeting). I am not sure I like SUS being clued this way but I have seen it before.
14. IN DETAIL – anagram of NAILED IT
16. DISPATCH – SPA (tub) in DITCH (channel)
18. EX-CON – cryptic definition
20. BULL – double definition
21. DISEMBOWEL – M (male) in anagram of BODIES + WEL[l] (not entirely healthy)
23. SPINACH – PIN (leg) in SAC (bag) + H (hot)
24. POCHARD – COP (policeman) backwards + HARD (tough). I don’t recall hearing of this bird before.
25. RARITY – R (river) + IT (it) together in RAY (marine fish)
26. STITCH – double definition. So the first is a by-example definition suggesting that STITCH is a kind of back. I find this hard to see. For me, BACK is more a kind of STITCH although I think even that would not stand as a firm definition by example. Unless I am missing something, always possible, I fancy Mudd compromised on the wordplay for what is certainly an excellent surface.
Down
1. BEANO – hidden word. I guessed this easily enough although I was unfamiliar with BEANO meaning party. I happen to be on holiday and do not have all my usual dictionaries at hand; the one that I do tells me that beano is a kind of party game rather than a party per se.
2. APROPOS – A (a) + PROP (rugby player) + OS (huge, i.e. Out-Sized)
3. MACHINIST – A (a) + CHIN (feature) together in MIST (film)
5. ROAST – double definition
6. COCONUT – COCO (Chanel) + NUT (aficionado)
7. REDUCTION – ED (journalist) in RUCTION (trouble). Here’s a useful word to know, ruction — which I happened to, vaguely.
10. FETISHIST – anagram of SHIFTIEST
13. SKI JUMPER – anagram of UMPIRES J[o]K[e]
15. DREAMBOAT – anagram of OR BAD MEAT
17. PILSNER – L[oving] + SN (partners, as in bridge) together in PIER (Brighton feature)
19. CROCHET – CRO[t]CHET (note wasting time)
21. DUCAT – A (a) in DUCT (canal)
22. EARTH – double definition
You obviously didn’t solve the DT cryptics back in the late 60s early 70s. The POCHARD was a regular visitor to the crossword, so much so that when I ever saw one, I used to refer to it as the crossword puzzle duck.
Tricky but nice – a perfect Saturday puzzle, thanks to Mudd and Pete
Hello crypticsue. Thank you for commenting. I may have tackled a very few DT cryptics back in the early 70s, probably without completing any clue for POCHARD.
For the “more disgusting retailer” at 4A, I had ICKIER which caused me no little trouble with the down clues.
Many thanks Pete & Mudd.
This was very enjoyable and, even though I had opted for BRAHMS in 1a, the double meaning of the clue escaped me.
Your research, as always, is impeccable.
Naughty but impeccable.
26ac seems to me to be OK, Pete: there are various types of stitch and one of them (I assume) is a back stitch, so to say ‘For example, back’ is to say ‘One example of a stitch is a back stitch’.
Where I went wrong was to assume in 4ac that a fowler (“fouler”) was a retailer, someone who sold fowl; but he’s really more someone who catches fowl, I think.
Wil, I think now that I was a bit mixed up about 26ac. Looking at it again in light of your comment it does seem more reasonable. Thanks.