Monday Prize Crossword/Feb 25
Most of this Dante puzzle went in very quickly but, not for the first time, I had some real trouble to fully finish a crossword by this setter. The North-West (1d, 2d, 8ac – all linked) puzzled me for a long long time. Dark clouds hanging in the air. Well, I got there in the end and I am quite sure now that my entries are correct. Yet, these final moments gave me Blood Sweat & Tears.
Apart from that, a lot of typical Dante. That said, two clues (13ac, 17d) showed Dante at his very best!
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SNATCH | Pluck shown in American kidnapping (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| ‘American’ is there because the word ‘snatch’ is probably more used by Americans than Brits when it comes to napping kids. | ||
| 4 | EARWIG | Girl from near Wigan – a sixfooter (6) |
| [n]EAR WIG[an] – with Nan being the girl taken ‘from’ it | ||
| This could have been just a hidden solution, but Dante wants us to remove a girl called Nan. It’s mainly an American name (think of the famous opera singer Nan Merriman), very familiar to Chinese too. Not sure about people in the UK. Wikipedia says that it is short for Anna or Agnes. | ||
| 8 | BOYCOTT | He earned a name for exclusive treatment in Ireland (7) |
| Double definition, perhaps | ||
| I could find the solution only after changing 1d from ‘space’ into ‘scope’. The ‘exclusive treatment’ (BOYCOTT) is named after an Irish land agent (Cpt Charles C Boycott (1832-1897)) who had a conflict with the Irish Land League. | ||
| 9 | TRAITOR | He may be prepared to sell his land (7) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| Another one that took some time to fall in place. One should see ‘to sell’ here as in ‘to sell your soul’. | ||
| 11 | REVELATION | No relative may make such a telling statement (10) |
| (NO RELATIVE)* | ||
| 12 | PATH | Irishman hot on the trail (4) |
| PAT (Irishman) + H (hot) | ||
| 13 | FISTS | What pacifists have but don’t use (5) |
| [paci]FISTS | ||
| Great clue. For me, everything pointed in the direction of a cryptic definition. It took a while to see what pacifists ‘have’. | ||
| 14 | REDSTART | Bird seen in a colourful spring (8) |
| RED (colourful) + START (spring) | ||
| 16 | FLARES UP | Gets angry when signs of distress are seen? (6,2) |
| Double definition, one without and one with hyphen – but very close together | ||
| 18 | ABETS | Helps beast in distress (5) |
| (BEAST)* | ||
| 20 | BEAM | Wide smile gives support (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 21 | MATCH-POINT | Decisive moment in game as striker takes position on the field (5-5) |
| MATCH (striker) + POINT (position on the field) | ||
| 23 | CORRODE | Rust found in the central shaft (7) |
| ROD (shaft) inside CORE ((the) central) | ||
| This is a kind of construction I do not like. Dante means: “shaft found in the central”, so the other way around. I know, some setters do this and it can indeed be justified but I would like to keep it far away from me. Just a matter of taste, I guess. | ||
| 24 | OUTINGS | Excursions from Tunis go free (7) |
| (TUNIS GO)* | ||
| 25 | DWELLS | Lives well in the outskirts of Dallas (6) |
| WELL inside D[alla]S | ||
| 26 | CYGNET | The sound of a seal or swan (6) |
| Homophone of SIGNET (seal) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SCOPE | Room with a view? (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| Initially, I was pretty sure that this had to be ‘space’. I think it can be justified when seeing the second part of the clue as being cryptic – more space etc. Yes, SCOPE is much better after I saw the ‘view’ bit. SCOPE can mean ‘to scan’ as a verb and it is short for eg ‘microscope’, ie ‘something with a view’ (question mark). | ||
| 2 | ARCHERS | They draw back before going for gold (7) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| This one took a while to fall in place. It was clear that it had to be ‘archers’ but I think ‘going for gold’ is a bit unfortunate within the context. Perhaps, it’s me missing something. By the way, I am really scared of this kind of weapon / sports gear. Perhaps, because one can see the lethal arrow coming one’s way. | ||
| 3 | CATHARSIS | Purge has racist components (9) |
| (HAS RACIST)* | ||
| 5 | APRON | Expert clad in an item of protective clothing (5) |
| PRO (exper clad) inside AN | ||
| 6 | WHIPPET | Nick has a favourite dog (7) |
| WHIP (nick) + PET (a favourite) | ||
| 7 | GOOD TURNS | Favours seeing only high-class acts (4,5) |
| GOOD (high-class) + TURNS (acts) | ||
| 10 | DISREPUTE | About to become involved in quarrel – shame! (9) |
| RE (about) inside DISPUTE (quarrel) | ||
| 13 | FALSEHOOD | Treacherous outlaw in fiction (9) |
| FALSE (treacherous) + HOOD (outlaw, Robin) | ||
| 15 | DEATH DUTY | Late payment? (5,4) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 17 | REMORSE | Ruth Rendell’s first English detective (7) |
| R[endell] + E (English) + MORSE (detective) | ||
| A lift & separate clue. Very unusual in a Dante puzzle (more the Alberich stuff) and once more an indication to the fact that Dante can act on a different (read: higher) level if he wants to. Fine surface too. | ||
| 19 | EMOTION | Feeling I’m one to get pushed around (7) |
| (I’M ONE TO)* | ||
| 21 | MODEL | Fashion prototype (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 22 | NIGHT | The fall that followed Eve (5) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
Gold is the very centre of an Archer’s target, I believe.
I just couldn’t get 1a.
I also had 1d as space
Couldn’t get 8a or 23a
Thanks for blog
‘Flares up’ doesn’t need a hyphen.