Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of August 10, 2013
I found this Mudd puzzle moderately easy and very good. My favourite clues are 10A (FACE CARD) and the brilliant 17D (FORTY-FIVE).
ACROSS
1 Old vehicle cut into flier (6)
JALOPY – LOP (cut) in JAY (flier)
4 11, where perfect girl starts to run backwards, backwards (8)
BRASILIA – AI (perfect) + LISA (girl) + R[un] B[ackwards] all backwards. ’11’ is the definition referring to 11 down, CAPITAL.
9 Poison that’s copper red (6)
CURARE – CU (copper) + RARE (red)
10 Queen, perhaps, has to confront joker (4,4)
FACE CARD – FACE (confront) + CARD (joker)
12 Grinder ending in flour east of Palermo, perhaps (8)
PREMOLAR – anagram of PALERMO + [flou]R
13 Bill has arrived, secure (6)
ADHERE – AD (bill) + HERE (arrived)
15 Double double-u preserved? (4)
TWIN – W (double-u) in TIN (preserved?)
16 Sci-fi stuff, weird hand-to-hand combat (10)
FISTICUFFS – anagram of SCI-FI STUFF
19 Story to squeeze in, not entirely clear (10)
FATHOMABLE – AT HOM[e] (in, not entirely) in FABLE (story)
20 Pull tie (4)
DRAW – double definition
23 Garrulous type while bragging initially, breaking silence (6)
GASBAG – AS (while) + B[ragging] together in GAG (silence)
25 February stone replacing the May stone (8)
AMETHYST – anagram of THE MAY + ST (stone)
27 Plant a vessel in that manner (8)
ACANTHUS – A (a) + CAN (vessel) + THUS (in that manner)
28 Mother of Argentina, name recollected for mother (6)
NATIVE – EVITA (mother of Argentina) + N (name) backwards
29 Shame about port, right? It’s one’s first concern (8)
PRIORITY – RIO (port) + R (right) together in PITY (shame)
30 Stroke nurses before introduction of sister (6)
CARESS – CARES (nurses) + S[ister]
DOWN
1 Lift shirt up to reveal the best prize! (7)
JACKPOT – JACK (lift) + TOP (shirt) backwards (up)
2 Criminal dressed in scarlet (9)
LARCENIST – anagram of IN SCARLET
3 Clergyman’s quiet crime (6)
PARSON – P (quiet) + ARSON (crime)
5 Horse extracting the pith from tree (4)
ROAN – RO[w]AN (extracting the pith from tree)
6 Bird kept in drain (8)
SHELDUCK – HELD (kept) in SUCK (drain)
7 Let loose initially, then relax (5)
LEASE – L[oose] + EASE (relax)
8 Deal with personal details (7)
ADDRESS – double definition
11 Hamilton, perhaps, excellent (7)
CAPITAL – double definition. Hamilton is the capital of Bermuda.
14 Egyptian ruler dismissing staff from employment before going insane (7)
PTOLEMY – anagram of EMPLOY[men]T
17 Number over fifty? Wrong! (5-4)
FORTY-FIVE – anagram of OVER FIFTY
18 What’s in a vacuum? It’s not important (2,6)
NO MATTER – double definition
19 Dandy carrying sophisticated type of light (3,4)
FOG LAMP – GLAM (sophisticated) in FOP (dandy)
21 Some horse fades (7)
WITHERS – double definition
22 A pastry’s rising layers (6)
STRATA – A (a) + TARTS (pastry’s) all backwards
24 Hindu leader floated over Iranian leader (5)
SWAMI – SWAM (floated over) + I[ranian]. My sense is that ‘swami’ refers to a mystic or an instructor more than a leader.
26 Sculpture reduced to rubble? (4)
BUST – double definition