Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of February 2nd, 2013
This is a typical Cinephile puzzle with looseness and liberties taken in a few clues that some people may object to but, for appreciators of John Graham, it is, I think, a rather good one. Okay, we have one of those barely readable long, winding anagrams (2,7,21) but one with, unusually, some misdirection in the form of words to be anagrammed that one might easily take to be anagram indicators (‘out’ and ‘novel’). My favourite clues are 5A (OLD LAG), 10A (DENVER), 23A (IDIOM) and 20D (HEY WAIN).
Across
1. MITIGATE – MITI (homophone of “Mitty”) + GATE (standard suffix for scandal). Not an exact homophone, I believe.
5. OLD LAG – [g]OLD + L (left) + AG (silver)
9. RYEBREAD – homophone of “Rye bred”
10. DENVER – hidden word
12. SLOTH – double definition
13. CLOSE-KNIT – INK (liquid) backwards in CLOSET (cupboard). Ink these days is very often not a liquid.
14. TRIFLE – double definition
16. DELIVER – double definition
18. PREVIEW – REV (vicar) + I (first) in PEW (his seat)
20. HUNGRY – HUNG[a]RY (article taken from country)
22. OLFACTORY – OL[d] + FACTORY (workplace)
23. IDIOM – ID (I had) + MOI (myself) backwards
24. KOREAN – E (one [oriental]) in KORAN (holy book)
25. BARNARDO – anagram of A BRAND OR. The definition, home provider, refers to Barnardo’s, a charity that provides homes for vulnerable people, primarily orphans.
26. TREATY – AT (at) in TREY (three). A card with three pips is sometimes called a trey.
27. ENTRENCH – [c]ENTRE (taking head from heart) + CH (church)
Down
1. MORASS – OR (gold) in MASS (lump)
2, 7, 21. THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH – anagram of MISFORTUNE DROVE THE CURSED HERO OUT NOVEL
3. GIRTH – anagram of RIGHT
4. TRANCHE – T (time) + RANCH (cattle station) + E (energy)
6. LLEWELLYN – WELL (source of water) in LLEYN (his peninsula). Lleyn is the name of a peninsula in Wales.
8. GYRATORY – anagram of GRAY + TORY (possibly conservative)
11, 19. GOODWOOD – GOOD (applause for) + WOOD (bowler)
15. FLIP CHART – anagram of CHAP in FLIRT (philanderer)
17. SPROCKET – SP[ace] + ROCKET (traveller). Hmm, is ‘space’ intended to do some double duty here? I think he could easily have improved this clue.
20. HAY WAIN – homophone for “Hey, Wayne”. ‘Constable’ here refers of course to the British painter John Constable one of whose best known pictures is “The Hay Wain”.
23. INNER – INN (local) + ER (monarch). With an obscure definition: The concentric circles on a “bull’s eye” target are, from the centre: bull, inner, magpie, and outer.
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