Monday Prize Crossword/Jan 28
Another Monday, another Dante? I am not sure. There were quite a few clues that I didn’t find particularly satisfying. Perhaps it was just me. If indeed so, I am happy to hear the comments from other solvers.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | ENDANGER | Cut short acrimony – compromise (8) |
| END (cut short) + ANGER (acrimony) | ||
| 5 | ORNATE | Decorated about noon, has to deliver speech (6) |
| ORATE (to deliver speech) around N (noon) | ||
| I think “about …. has to” is a very clunky way to describe the insertion. | ||
| 9 | FEASIBLE | Changing a belief’s not impossible (8) |
| (A BELIEF’S)* | ||
| 10 | GLOBAL | Going round the world is a smashing opportunity for a girl to take in (6) |
| GAL (a girl) around LOB (a smashing opportunity, think tennis) | ||
| 12 | TENSE | Worried for the future, perhaps (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 13 | POLYMATHS | College course for all-rounders (9) |
| POLY (college) + MATHS (course, something that can be read at university) | ||
| 14 | ASHORE | A horse being exercised on the beach (6) |
| A + (SHORE)* | ||
| 16 | AUDIBLE | Bail due for release, it’s heard (7) |
| (BAIL DUE)* | ||
| 19 | EASTERN | Point behind the ship towards the sun (7) |
| E (point) + ASTERN (behind) | ||
| Of course, it could be that I parsed this one wrongly, but I do not see where ‘the ship’ comes in. Moreover, I think the definition is dubious, certainly at 6pm 🙂 . | ||
| 21 | SALLOW | Sarah depressed, rather jaundiced (6) |
| SAL (short for Sarah) + LOW (depressed) | ||
| 23 | TEST DRIVE | Evaluate performance of stroke on the river (4,5) |
| TEST ((the) river) + DRIVE (stroke) | ||
| The solution as a verb. Chambers doesn’t give it, others do. | ||
| 25 | TAKER | He accepts Kate is upset, right? (5) |
| (KATE)* + R (right) | ||
| 26 | NORWAY | No right way to see the country (6) |
| NO + R (right) + WAY | ||
| The repeat of “R = right” is not very elegant, in my opinion. And then just giving both ‘no’ and ‘way’ away, well. Norway has so much potential for being celebrated with a great clue – this one wasn’t. | ||
| 27 | ALLEGORY | Go really wild with Pilgrim’s Progress for example (8) |
| (GO REALLY)* | ||
| 28 | LAMINA | Layer backs a horse, for example (6) |
| Reversal of ANIMAL (a horse, for example) | ||
| One of these ambiguous clues that I don’t like. The solution could just as easily have been ‘animal’. In fact, I think ‘animal’ would have been the better option. I hope that once there will be a Cryptic World without it – it’s so easy to avoid. | ||
| 29 | SHEPHERD | The lamb’s tender (8) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| Not my cup of tea. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | EFFETE | Spent two notes at the gala (6) |
| E, F (two notes) + FETE ((the) gala) | ||
| 2 | DIAGNOSIS | Ill-judgment (9) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| Got this one straight away and … I liked it. | ||
| 3 | NAIVE | Innocent one in church body (5) |
| I (one) inside NAVE (church body) | ||
| 4 | ECLIPSE | Obscure point repeated about prunes (7) |
| E,E (point, repeated) around CLIPS (prunes) | ||
| 6 | ROLE MODEL | In part, one sets a good example (4,5) |
| Straightforward definition with a cryptic ‘part’. | ||
| ‘Part’, of course, referring to acting. The more I look at this clue, the more I find it unsatisfactory. Don’t know what it is. Perhaps just me 🙂 . | ||
| 7 | AMBIT | A scholar rising, snapped – there are limits (5) |
| AM (reversal of MA (a scholar)) + BIT (snapped) | ||
| 8 | ENLISTED | Went into service? (8) |
| I cannot see anything cryptic here, but perhaps I am missing the point. | ||
| 11 | FLEA | It jumps and it’s said to run (4) |
| Homophone of FLEE (to run) | ||
| 15 | OVERDRAWN | Exaggerated account discredited (9) |
| Double definition | ||
| 17 | BLOCK VOTE | Veto using proportional representation? (5,4) |
| BLOCK VOTE (veto) or perhaps a reverse anagram for VETO (with ‘block’ as the indicator?) | ||
| 18 | SENTINEL | Guard ordered to breached line (8) |
| SENT (ordered) + (LINE)* | ||
| 20 | NAIL | To expose a lie it needs hammering home (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| Strictly speaking, the first definition is a bit incomplete as it refers to ‘to nail a lie to the counter’. That is, I guess – I am not British and didn’t know this expression. | ||
| 21 | STEALTH | The last sort of quality needed by cat burglars (7) |
| (THE LAST)* | ||
| 22 | X-RAYED | Provided inside information about a complaint (1-5) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 24 | SCRUM | Pushing forwards (5) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| ‘Pushing’ as an adjective, ‘forwards’ as a noun. Think Rugby. I liked this one very much. | ||
| 25 | TIE-UP | Tether that is restricting ram? Quite the contrary (3-2) |
| IE (that is) inside TUP (ram), instead of the other way around | ||
A Dante is usually a crossword that I can manage but apart from the NW corner I really struggled with this.
Thank you for the blog – I can see I should have done much better.
Like you I cannot understand 19A – it reads as if the point is ‘N’ but I can see no connection between ship and Easter.
Well I got nowhere with the NW corner!
Had no idea about 1a , guessed ??fair for 1d, would never have thought that nave was a church body, and didn’t associate tense with worried-nervous but not worried.
Apart from that failed on 7d, 18d (sent =ordered hmm) and 28a -what an awful clue.
Not one of Dante’s best imo
19a: The stern is the rear of a ship, so astern is literally “behind the ship.” You could argue that “behind” is sufficient, but “Point behind towards the sun” does not flow as well. Of course, I have to agree that “towards the sun” is not a good definition for EASTERN. A simple remedy could have been “towards the morning sun.” Even though Dante is the setter, mistakes like this should be caught by the editor, IMHO.
26a: Completely agree, Sil. A most underwhelming clue. How about this: “Neither path leads to the country”