Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of August 17, 2013
I enjoyed this puzzle very much although I was stumped for a long time on 23A (PUNCHEONS). My top-rated clues are 16A (ENDGAME), 1D (BACALL) and 21D (ROSEHIP).
ACROSS
1 Issue complaint after incomplete solution (5,3)
BRING OUT – BRIN[e] (incomplete solution) + GOUT (complaint)
5 Jester found by Prince – Shakespearean, as well (6)
WITHAL – WIT (jester) + HAL (prince – Shakespearean)
9 Scottish historian audible in city (8)
CARLISLE – homophone (“Carlyle”)
10 Obsequious soldiers following sergeant-major (6)
SMARMY – SM (sergeant-major) + ARMY (soldiers)
12 Gay bishop quitting first place is able to move supply (5)
LITHE – [b]LITHE (gay, bishop quitting first place)
13 Unconscious learner – one getting clear round (9)
OBLIVIOUS – L (learner) + I (one) together in OBVIOUS (clear)
14 Fight not started by English PM (6)
ATTLEE – [b]ATTLE (fight not started) + E (English)
16 Quiet vessel expected at Land’s End? (7)
SUBDUED – SUB (vessel) + DUE (expected) + [lan]D
19 Beckett play with cast of aged men (7)
ENDGAME – anagram of AGED MEN
21 Old magistrates, terribly severe (6)
REEVES – anagram of SEVERE
23 Blow nose after rolling casks (9)
PUNCHEONS – PUNCH (blow) + anagram of NOSE. I had a lot of trouble with this one partly because the dictionary I have on my computer does not list PUNCHEON and partly because I could not see ‘after rolling’ as an anagram indicator. A puncheon is a cask with a capacity between 72 and 120 gallons.
25 Going west in Prufrock’s holiday destination? (5)
CORFU – reverse hidden word
26 Was party organiser initially methodical or casual? (6)
RANDOM – RAN DO (was party organiser) + M[ethodical]
27 Use a food processor, perhaps, that’s twice as quick (4-4)
CHOP-CHOP – CHOP (use a food processor, perhaps) + CHOP (that’s twice)
28 Dirty home was first to be so called (6)
STYLED – STY (dirty home) + LED (was first). Some pigs might take exception to their home being characterised as dirty!
29 Frank, I’d heard, is fully aware (4-4)
OPEN EYED – OPEN (frank) + EYED (homophone of “I’d”)
DOWN
1 Bogart’s first with a ring for his partner (6)
BACALL – B[ogart] + A (a) + CALL (ring). I was pretty sure but just verified that the incomparable Lauren Bacall is still with us.
2 Girl meets boy under Irish cross (9)
IRRITATED – IR (Irish) + RITA (girl) + TED (boy)
3 Studio assistant beginning to eat beef (5)
GRIPE – GRIP (studio assistant) + E[at]
4 Free French article about battle on the Western Front (7)
UNLOOSE – LOOS (battle on the Western front) in UNE (French article)
6 Male surrounded by a vile mob running fast (9)
IMMOVABLE – M (male) in anagram of A VILE MOB
7 Spear dropping on speechless brother (5)
HARPO – HARPO[on] (spear dropping on). This clue refers to Harpo Marx who always acted a mute although he was not actually one.
8 Non-professional team without a reserve (3,5)
LAY ASIDE – LAY (non-professional) + A (a) + SIDE (team)
11 Fiery saint’s removing old trees (4)
ELMS – ELM[o]S (fiery saint’s removing old). This refers to St. Elmo’s fire.
15 Disgusting form of schoolmate not first in class (9)
LOATHSOME – anagram of S[c]HOOLMATE
17 Find Laurel and Hardy ultimately weird (9)
UNEARTHLY – UNEARTH (find) + [laure]L + [hard]Y
18 Nazi embraces country star (8)
HESPERUS – PERU (country) in HESS (nazi)
20 Love having notes written up (4)
EROS – SO (note) + RE (note) all backwards
21 Fruit mostly spheroid – bananas? (7)
ROSEHIP – anagram of SPHEROI[d]
22 Useless cover for commencement of military exercises may be abandoned (6)
DUMPED – M[ilitary] + PE (exercises) together in DUD (useless)
24 Dickensian character who died in French city (5)
NANCY – double definition. Dickens’ Nancy was a character in Oliver Twist.
25 Gangster doesn’t finish bird (5)
CAPON – CAPON[e] (gangster doesn’t finish)
Thanks Pete for your comprehensive blog.
Just this: the setter is Cincinnus, not Mudd.
Mudd wrote last Saturday’s puzzle, so we’ll meet him in a week’s time.
Oops! That’s the second time I have misidentified the compiler. I have corrected the title now. Thanks for the tip.
This one has gone in my “Too hard -gave up” cabinet
5a,23a,16d were just unknown and didn’t know the loos-if this had been the Private Eye crossword I’m sure Cyclops would have clued it differently.
Blanks scattered throughout the grid -maybe I would have got a few more on a better day but would never have got close to completing it.
Those three you list are hard indeed. As I wrote above, I had a lot of trouble with 23a and guess I was lucky knowing of Carlyle (perhaps thanks to my being Scottish). 5a (WITHAL) is a word I am not sure I could have correctly defined if asked but it is a word I know of and, since ‘Shakespearean prince’ so often clues HAL, it was not hard to guess.
23 a. Isn’t the word for the anagram “rolling” which seems reasonable to me. The “after” relates to the position of nose anagrammed after “punch”. Not that I could work it out.
You bring up an interesting question. Thank you for doing so.
It seems to me now that “after” could make sense either as part of the anagram indicator or as a positional indicator. I would like to know which, if either, Mudd intended. Which of the two is cleaner? I find that hard to judge but gather you think the latter because, I presume, ‘rolling’ is sufficient by itself.