I’m standing in as an FT locum for the first time, and I seem to have coincided with the debut of a new setter. Whether Magwitch is an ex-convict from whom I can expect Great Expectations remains to be seen, but he (?) has produced an interesting mixture of clues, ranging from the easy to the quite involved: there were a few cases where even after seeing the answer I needed a bit of thought to explain the cryptic construction. I was glad to see that he avoided using one of the badly-connected grids of which the FT has such a large selection.
My only criticism – a regular bugbear of mine – is of 6d and 14, which are charades where a major element is very closely related to the final answer. I really need to find a name for this type of clue.. That apart, I enjoyed the puzzle, so thanks and welcome to Magwitch.
Update: my sources tell me that Magwitch is female, but no further information at this time..
| Across | ||||||||
| 1. | ANOMIC | A N OM (homophone of “homme”, French “man”) IC. Adjective from “anomie”, meaning “a condition of hopelessness caused or characterized by breakdown of rules of conduct and loss of belief and sense of purpose”. A cheery start, then.. | ||||||
| 5. | SADISTIC | SA DI STIC[k] | ||||||
| 9. | IN TURN | Reverse of RUT (=mate, as in deer etc) in INN (pub, local) | ||||||
| 10. | OPULENCE | [z]UL[u] in OPEN (catholic) CE (church [of England]) | ||||||
| 11. | HAT TRICK | HAT (head covering) + TRICK (stunt), definition “three dismissals” (in cricket) | ||||||
| 12. | KILLER | E in KRILL* | ||||||
| 13. | TALC | Hidden in digiTAL Cameras | ||||||
| 15. | RARITIES | REGULARITIES less GLUE* | ||||||
| 18. | SIDEKICK | SIDE (point of view, as in “my side of the argument”) + KICK (give up, as in “kick the habit”), and Friday could be said to have been Robinson Crusoe’s sidekick. I was going to say that the expression “Girl Friday”, for a secretary or PA, has rightly been consigned to the circular filing cabinet of history, but maybe not. | ||||||
| 19. | EATS | Hidden in brasseriE AT Six | ||||||
| 21. | CASTLE | Double definition – chess piece, and this landmark | ||||||
| 23. | ROUND OFF | UNDO (reverse the effect of) in (“puncturing”) FOR< + F (forte, strong) | ||||||
| 25. | FINALISE | (IF ALIENS)* | ||||||
| 26. | PAID UP | AID in PUP | ||||||
| 27. | SMASH HIT | S[pecial] + MASH[ed potato] + HIT (batter) | ||||||
| 28. | DELUGE | LUG[worm] in DEE | ||||||
| Down | ||||||||
| 2. | NINJA | J in NINA (the only Nina in this puzzl;e, as far as I can see..). Ninjas are perhaps most often thought of as fighters, but they also did a lot of spying and similar work. | ||||||
| 3. | MOUSTACHE | O (band) in MUST ACHE | ||||||
| 4. | CANDID | CAN (prison) DID (was sufficient) | ||||||
| 5. | STOCKBROKER BELT | STOCK (animals) + BROKE (damaged) + R + BELT (strip). | ||||||
| 6. | DRUNKARD | DRUNK (wasted) + A RD (road, street). See notes above. | ||||||
| 7. | SMELL | S[quare] + ME[a]L + L | ||||||
| 8. | INCREMENT | INCLEMENT (merciless) with L changed to R. I think this is the most natural reading of the clue, but one could perhaps take it the other way round if the crossing letters demand it. | ||||||
| 14. | ANIMALISM | ANIMAL + IS M. See notes above. | ||||||
| 16. | TREADMILL | (TEAM DRILL)* | ||||||
| 17. | LIVE WITH | LIVE (burning) + WITH (affected by, as in “a man with a cold”); definition “stomach” as in “put up with” | ||||||
| 20. | DUMPED | DU (Dutch) + MP + ED [Miliband] | ||||||
| 22. | TEARS | TEA (meal) + R[epublican] S[tates]; definition “charges”, meaning “moves fast”, or “tears [rhymes with bears] about” | ||||||
| 24. | FLUNG | F + LUNG | ||||||
Thanks Andrew, and welcome Magwitch. I enjoyed this! I’m ashamed to say that I, as a fully bearded person, was quite slow to see 3d (MOUSTACHE) 😉
I enjoyed the new setter’s puzzle too.
MAG + WITCH versus ABEL … a female compiler did seem to be quite likely!
Thanks for the blog, Andrew. I hope someone comes up with a suitable name
for your bugbear. I wonder if my cheery start, ANEMIC, with EM for M(Monsieur) reportedly, is another possibility at 1ac?
mike04 – I did toy with the idea of ANENIC (and also with the non-existent A-NU-M-IC), until I dredged ANOMIE from my memory, but thought there was too much indirection in EM = M = Monsieur = Frenchman; also I think that the fact that it’s a US spelling would need to be indicated.
I too am delighted to see Magwitch’s first puzzle in the FT. Magwitch’s debut puzzle a couple of years ago was in “1 Across” magazine which I edit, after we had met at my second Crossword Event at Budock Vean Hotel near Falmouth in November 2011.
Tom Johnson, aka Gozo