Monday Prize Crossword/May 13
An enjoyable Dante puzzle which confirmed his love for cryptic (and double) definitions. About half of the clues fell into that category. And then there was 15ac. Just two weeks ago I failed on the very same word. Not this time though. Won’t get fooled again :-).
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | RECOIL | Flinch from a backlash (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 4 | MARGINAL | Such a seat maybe alarming to MPs (8) |
| (ALARMING)*, the definition seems clear to me but hard to underline | ||
| 9 | SLEEPS | Is inactive in retirement? (6) |
| Double/Cryptic definition | ||
| 10 | AUDITION | Sound proof of what a performer can do (8) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 12 | MINISTER | Tend to have little rest for recreation (8) |
| MINI (little) + (REST)* | ||
| 13 | ASTHMA | Complaint about Ma’s hat (6) |
| (MA’S HAT)* | ||
| 15 | DUDS | They may be put on but don’t go off (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| Only two weeks ago the very same solution was my very first mistake in a blog. But I am a quick learner ….. This time DUDS are bombs that don’t go off. | ||
| 16 | DENOMINATE | When forced, mentioned a name (10) |
| (MENTIONED A)* | ||
| 19 | REPARATION | Traveller given a share as compensation (10) |
| REP (traveller) + A + RATION (share) | ||
| 20 | SPAR | A boom in shipping, perhaps (4) |
| Cryptic definition, perhaps | ||
| According to Chambers a ‘spar’ can be a general term for masts, yards, booms, gaffs, etc. And surely, we can’t argue about nautical terms with Dante, can we? | ||
| 23 | PIN-UPS | Stuck-up girls admired by servicemen? (3-3) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 25 | ISOTHERM | A hot line for the weatherman? (8) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 27 | OBITUARY | Life after death (8) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| The two CDs preceding this one weren’t my favourites, but I think this clue is very fine. ‘Life’ in its meaning of ‘a narrative of a life, a biography’ (Chambers Def. # 24 ….) | ||
| 28 | INDEED | Really popular action (6) |
| IN (popular) + DEED (action) | ||
| 29 | FIELDING | Was he never “in” as a writer? (8) |
| Double definition, the first one Cryptic (see John Newman’s comment) | ||
| Henry Fielding, British novelist (1707-1754). | ||
| 30 | HEAD-ON | Not how Anne Boleyn’s ghost may collide with you (4-2) |
| Double/Cryptic definition | ||
| I fear I liked this one, although it’s hard to underline the definitions appropriately. Therefore, I will not. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | RESUMED | Continued to give the total in a rush (7) |
| SUM (a total) inside REED (rush) | ||
| Dante is a setter who is very generous when it comes to using articles, also when they ideally shouldn’t be there. I have become immune to it but here the ‘a’ in front of ‘rush’ is really out of place, in my opinion. Of course, it’s there for the surface, but. | ||
| 2 | CLEANED UP | Put in order and gained financially (7,2) |
| Double definition | ||
| 3 | IMPOST | I’m given a job in charge (6) |
| I’M + POST (a job) | ||
| 5 | AGUE | Complaint that may be socially acceptable in time (4) |
| U (socially acceptable) inside AGE (time) | ||
| 6 | GAINSAID | Profit announced – and denied (8) |
| GAIN (profit) + SAID (announced) | ||
| 7 | NEIGH | Sound of denial – straight from the horse’s mouth? (5) |
| Homophone of NAYS (denial) | ||
| 8 | LINEAGE | The strain seen when a row takes a long time (7) |
| LINE (a row) + AGE (a long time) | ||
| And another ‘age’ (see 5d). | ||
| 11 | RESENTS | Takes offence at gifts not being opened (7) |
| PRESENTS (gifts) minus its opening letter P | ||
| 14 | SOLOIST | He won’t play with anybody (7) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 17 | APPREHEND | Fear capture (9) |
| Double definition | ||
| 18 | PROPOUND | Put the case for sterling (8) |
| PRO (for) + POUND (sterling) | ||
| 19 | REPROOF | Evidence follows about blame (7) |
| RE (about) followed by PROOF (evidence) | ||
| 21 | RAMADAN | Managed to hold the first man coming up fast (7) |
| RAN (managed) around MADA (reversal of ADAM (the first man)) | ||
| 22 | STANCE | Attitude a driver may take on course (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| One definition is just ‘attitude’, the other the clue as a whole. | ||
| 24 | NOISE | I pry about and find a racket (5) |
| I with NOSE (pry) around it | ||
| 26 | IRON | Club used in the evening (4) |
| Double definition, the second one slightly cryptic | ||
| Perhaps, for some ‘in the evening’ is a chestnut. I haven’t come across it thus far, so I liked this description of IRON. | ||
I had Freedman for 29a -what else could it be with f?e?d??? ?.
A freed man is never in is he?
Mr google comes up with several such authors so that was good enough for me
This left ?r?a for 26d which I couldn’t get.
Close but no cigar
Well, Bamberger, I too entered Freedman, only to find out that – as you say – 26d didn’t work.
With hindsight, I am not completely sure whether Freedman would have been just as acceptable.
You say “A freed man is never in is he?”.
Isn’t it so that a “freed man” was first in and then freed?
Yep, I was just as close as you, so no cigar for me either.
I don’t smoke anyway :).
Thanks Sil.
I couldn’t get 5D. In fact I have never heard of the word.
Although I wrote in IRON for 26D I couldn’t see what it had to do with being used in the evening. The penny will not drop. Can you help me, please?
You say that 29A is a double definition. Yes, but the first is cryptic isn’t it? I wrote Fielding and then stared at at, and stared at it and stared at it. Gave up trying to work it out. Then all of a sudden I realised the “in” was referring to batting in cricket. So if someone was always fielding he would never be batting – he would never be “in”. I think that this is one of Dante’s best crytic clues ever.
As this also gives me an excuse for thanking Sil again for his sterling work having to explain my clues, may I tell John that one uses an iron to “smooth things out”, or “make things even”, so “evening” could be “using the iron”.
Re my last FT puzzle reviewed by Sil. If, as an ex-crossword editor, I had a batch of crosswords from a setter, I wouldn’t necessarily select them for publication in the same order as submitted – there may be a slight question about a clue, for instance, whereas the next puzzle was straightforward. Anyway, there were only two puzzles of mine submitted before 2010 that were not used, discovered when Colin, the editor, wanted to cover being away for several weeks. These now seem to have been allocated, so duplications should not surface afterwards. I am sure if there are, you will see them!
I am full of admiration as I do tend to fool around a lot with the English language, yet you, as a Dutchman, manage regularly to explain them! Keep up the good work!
You asked how I was – In October I was diagnosed as having to have cataract operations on both eyes. The left eye was in early January and the right in late February. The left has settled down now and is excellent. The right is not so good but works well enough with its partner. For 2013 I am still straining to use the computer to compile, but I should be ready in a week or two to have new spectacles (hopefully just for reading as my long-distance sight is very clear and colourful now!). Best wishes!
Thanks for dropping by Rufus -it is always nice to have the setter saying a few words. I may be wrong but I don’t think we ever hear from Cincinnus or Crux.
Nice to hear from you again, R.
I hope you didn’t see my comments on the repetition of DUDS as criticism. I found it quite amusing to get the solution straightaway this time given my mistake two weeks ago. 🙂
Yes, I am a Dutchman, but the fact that I am is more or less irrelevant nowadays. After five years of solving crosswords (starting with an Araucaria in The Orchard in Grantchester, next to Jeffrey Archer’s home – how apt) in which I tackled about 10 a week, I don’t feel like a foreigner or a stranger anymore.
That said, I still learn from solving crosswords every single day. As you know, I am not a big fan of cryptic definitions (perhaps because I cannot write them myself :() but they surely helped me in getting a grip on the English language and culture.
Glad to hear that you are (relatively) well.
Thanks Rufus for your explanation. I would never have thought of that but of course that is what your cryptic clues are all about – seeing the peculiarities of the English language and how the same word can mean different things. In my peripetic life I have had a bit of a go at learning a wee bit of foreign languages. At the moment it is vietnamese and I cannot for the life of me get their way of saying “I” and “you” (it depends on the relative ages). I had a lot of fun joking with Serbs regarding their language. What has struck me though, is how on earth do foreigners learn english? When I get the obvious question “why do you say that?” “the other day you said that and it meant something completely different”, I can only smile. And of course “What does that word mean?” and all you can say is “it depends”. So, as you say, it is remarkable how Sil can be so good at solving english crowwords and explaining them so well.
I have been an ardent fan and player of cricket all my life – yet it takes me a while to see your cricket clues. I wonder why that is? In the FIELDING clue we were all looking at someone being inside somewhere. Do you think these up as you go along or do you have a data base of alternate meanings and search this when you are setting?
Anyway I love your cheeky sense of humour. Patella is my favourite which I am always relating to friends. Fielding will join my repertoire now.
Like Sil, I wish you the best with full recovery and many more years of fun setting.