Monday Prize Crossword/Jul 1
Sometimes I struggle to finish Dante puzzles but not ‘today’ (which was Monday a week ago). I found this crossword actually very easy, yet a pleasant solve.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | OFFENDER | Criminal making final bid to get outside (8) |
| OFFER (bid) around END (final) | ||
| 5 | MEDDLE | Interfere with sound of gong (6) |
| Homophone (‘sound of’) of MEDAL (gong) | ||
| 9 | STRAIGHT | Honest view about retrograde art (8) |
| SIGHT (view) around TRA (reversal of ART) | ||
| 10 | RUFFLE | Very loud in order to annoy (6) |
| FF (very loud) inside RULE (order) | ||
| 12 | DENSE | Not very bright, needs to be properly organised (5) |
| (NEEDS)* | ||
| 13 | BUCHAREST | A butcher’s working capital (9) |
| (A BUTCHER’S)* | ||
| 14 | AGHAST | Confounded swindles having tag changed outside (6) |
| (TAG)* around HAS (swindles) | ||
| 16 | SLIPPED | Raced round the edge and made a mistake (7) |
| SPED (raced) around LIP ((the) edge) | ||
| 19 | ARTICLE | Object of broadcast recital (7) |
| (RECITAL)* | ||
| 21 | IGNORE | Neglect desolate region (6) |
| (REGION)* | ||
| 23 | PARASITES | As parties go wild, they need indulgent hosts (9) |
| (AS PARTIES)* | ||
| 25 | RADII | They have a central meeting place (5) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| The radii of a circle meet each other at the centre. | ||
| 26 | ORDERS | Sends away for books (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 27 | DYSLEXIA | Six delay treating word-blindness (8) |
| (SIX DELAY)* | ||
| 28 | SURELY | Certainly depend on American setback (6) |
| SU (reversal of US (American)) + RELY (depend) | ||
| 29 | GUERNSEY | Island off the Needles? (8) |
| Apart from being an island (and cattle) GUERNSEY may also be a knitted woollen pullover which might have come ‘off the needles’. Dante also uses The Needles with capital N in his clue. They are a rock formation near the Isle of Wight, though quite far away from Guernsey | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | ONSIDE | In the team, on the wing, not breaking rules (6) |
| Being in the team one’s perhaps ON SIDE (side = team), as a winger one’s operating on the side of the field and when the player is ONSIDE (s)he’s ‘not breaking rules’. So, more or less a triple definition | ||
| 2 | FORTNIGHT | Keep dark for a couple of weeks (9) |
| FORT (keep) + NIGHT (dark) | ||
| 3 | NOISE | Number one’s direction is sound (5) |
| NO (number) + I’S (one’s, 1’s) + E (direction, East) | ||
| 4 | EXHIBIT | Present some evidence at court (7) |
| Double definition: ‘to present (something)’ and (as a noun) ‘some evidence at court’ | ||
| 6 | EDUCATION | Development of action due to training (9) |
| (ACTION DUE)* | ||
| 7 | DEFOE | He wrote of French opposition (5) |
| DE (of, French) + FOE (opposition) | ||
| The writer here is, of course, Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) of Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders fame. | ||
| 8 | EVENTIDE | Slack water at dusk (8) |
| ‘Slack water’ or a slack tide is ebbing nor flowing, hence an EVEN TIDE | ||
| 11 | ACTS | Dramatic parts of the New Testament (4) |
| Double definition – with ‘parts’ doing double duty | ||
| 15 | ANCESTRAL | Describing one’s descent from Lancaster (9) |
| (LANCASTER)* | ||
| 17 | PARADOXES | Beef producer inside shows what may well be true (9) |
| OX (beef producer) inside PARADES (shows) | ||
| 18 | LAMPOONS | Makes fun of politician in saloon, drunk (8) |
| MP (politician) inside (SALOON)* | ||
| 20 | EATS | Is not any faster at splitting points (4) |
| AT is splitting E,S (points, East and South) – quite amusing if imperfect definition: if one EATS one’s not a faster | ||
| 21 | I ASK YOU | Do you agree? I don’t believe it! (1,3,3) |
| Double definition | ||
| 22 | LITANY | Prayer in New Latin, used at day’s end (6) |
| (LATIN)* +[da]Y | ||
| Strictly speaking the clue doesn’t need ‘New’ as ‘used’ is also an anagram indicator. | ||
| 24 | RIDER | One backing a horse, it may be added (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 25 | RULER | A master of many subjects (5) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
I got all out except for 29a ?u?r?s?y. I thought of knitting needles and thought of Jersey but despite having been to Guernsey several times and knowing that a Guernsey is an itchy woolly pully I couldn’t see it. Doh, doh ,doh