Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 5, 2013
This is probably only the second or third Dogberry I have done. I got through it fairly easily except for 4A (although in hindsight it is hard to see why that was such a problem) but did use help for a couple of obscure references in the lower-left corner. My favourite clues are 21A (ISOBAR), 6D (METABOLISM) and 18D (BESTRIDE).
ACROSS
1 Zone in which alternative cult comes first (6)
SECTOR – SECT (cult) + OR (alternative)
4 Reportedly see a king getting into feather-light confectionery? Hardly (4-4)
PLUM-CAKE – C (reportedly see) + A (a) + K (king) all together in PLUME (feather). I had a strange time with this clue. Early on I saw PLUM-CAKE as a candidate but decided it could not be the right solution. So I went on a wild goose chase that ended up convincing me that nothing else would fit and bringing me back to PLUM-CAKE which then suddenly made perfect sense. By the way, according to my Chambers ‘plum-cake’ can refer to any type of fruit cake; it does not have to have plums in it.
10 Immunity-booster, one swallowed by stray gannet (7)
ANTIGEN – I (one) in anagram of GANNET
11 Take out girl’s weapon (7)
CUTLASS – CUT (take out) + LASS (girl)
12 River to shift fast (4)
DART – double definition
13 Stuff bishop put into catapult, getting flying forces going (10)
SCRAMBLING – CRAM (stuff) + B (bishop) together in SLING (catapult)
15 University residences outside in wind (6)
FLATUS – U (university) in FLATS (residences). For those who may not know, ‘flatus’ means a reflex that expels intestinal gas through the anus. I knew the word and that it was related to farting but could not have defined it precisely.
16 Slogan for Liberal in stew (7)
TAGLINE – L (Liberal) in TAGINE (stew). I had a couple of delicious tagines in Morocco last year.
20 Cut down tree impeding winter transport (7)
SLASHED – ASH (tree) in SLED (winter transport)
21 Forecaster’s line – “I cried a river” – updated? (6)
ISOBAR – I (I) + SOB (cried, updated [to the present tense]) + A (a) + R (river)
24 Release ceremonial liquid without hesitation (10)
LIBERATION – ER (hesitation) in LIBATION (ceremonial liquid)
26 Charge for food (4)
FARE – double definition
28 Japanese artist’s “Fish devouring America”? (7)
HOKUSAI – USA (America) in HOKI (fish). This hoki is a rather obscure fish, no? I understand hoki is another name for the blue grenadier. So what’s a blue grenadier?
29 Capital gold received by Ranger’s sidekick (7)
TORONTO – OR (gold) in TONTO (Ranger’s sidekick)
30 Outlaws – fishy fellows – crossing line (5,3)
MERRY MEN – RY (line, as in railway line) in MERMEN (fishy fellows)
31 Swarthy bride bearing outcome of miscegenation? (6)
HYBRID – hidden word
DOWN
1 Employees holding eccentric don in deadlock (5-3)
STAND-OFF – anagram of DON in STAFF (employees)
2 Howl as hood fills with water, top to bottom (9)
CATERWAUL – ATERW (water, top to bottom) in CAUL (hood)
3 Gyrator gyrating – partial to wild party? (4)
ORGY – hidden word
5 Fall short by 24 hours, alas (8)
LACKADAY – LACK (fall short) + A DAY (24 hours)
6 Bodily functions induced by team’s limbo-dancing (10)
METABOLISM – anagram of TEAMS LIMBO
7 Floor covering stuffed into top-notch violin (5)
AMATI – MAT (floor covering) in AI (top-notch)
8 Not initially harmless, securing second standard (6)
ENSIGN – S (second) in [b]ENIGN (not initially harmless)
9 1,000 fast food containers upended to get fast food (5)
SNACK – K (1,000) + CANS (fast food containers) backwards
14 Composer – strong-smelling, disgusting – turning up inside (10)
MUSSORGSKY – GROSS (disgusting) backwards in MUSKY (strong-smelling)
17 Newton’s airborne solution to simple question (2-7)
NO-BRAINER – N (newton) + anagram of AIRBORNE. That’s newton as in a unit of force.
18 Is French newly-wed about to get leg over? (8)
BESTRIDE – EST (is French) in BRIDE (newly-wed)
19 Property to keep off here in crease (8)
FREEHOLD – anagram of HERE in FOLD (crease)
22 Poet’s meat that’s past its sell-by date (6)
OLDHAM – OLD (past its sell-by date) + HAM (meat). That must be John Oldham, a 17th-century English poet.
23 Youth seizing books as plunder (5)
BOOTY – OT (books, i.e. Old Testament) in BOY (youth)
25 Rider with kilo aboard corpse-carrier (5)
BIKER – K (kilo) in BIER (corpse-carrier)
27 Go without a platter (4)
TRAY – A (a) in TRY (go)
Thanks Pete for the blog, and Dogberry for the puzzle.
I also struggled with 4a. I ultimately went with CLAM-BAKE, as C plus AK in LAMBE. Of course, I couldn’t make sense of LAMBE, but I was too tired to pursue it further.
28a should be USA in HOKI. I recall seeing a special exhibit on Hokusai’s Great Wave of Kanagawa a couple years ago at the British Museum.
I’m curious why Dogberry didn’t just go with “I cry a river” in 21a; it would have avoided the odd “updated” construction.
Ah, thanks Keeper, I have fixed the explanation of 28a.
CLAM-BAKE was my first idea for 4a.
Regarding 21a, I figure it is because “I cried a river” is a lyric of a well known song. “I cry a river” seems to be also some kind of song title or lyric, but not as well known.
This appeared on the same day as the blog http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/10/05/guardian-prize-puzzle-26065-by-shed/ .As I’d never knowingly tackled a Dogberry which is Shed’s alter ego, I thought it was going to be too hard. In the event the NW fell first followed by the SE then the NE. I was very lucky to get 14d because I used to own the ELP version of Pictures at an Exhibition.Otherwise I cannot imagine that I’d ever have heard of him. Couldn’t get 28a as I’d never heard of Hokusai or Hoki.
Nice to see that some setters can tone down their level of difficulty.
I had lost track of the fact that Dogberry and Shed are the same compiler. But I don’t recall ever doing a Shed. (Nothing against Guardian puzzles, just a choice of where to put my time.) I saw ELP in concert once but don’t remember their version of Pictures at an Exhibition.
Being Canadian, I lament at how few know that the capital of Canada is Ottawa. Giving Dogberry the benefit of the doubt, Toronto IS a capital, albeit of the Province of Ontario. My beef being, aren’t there enough possible country capitals? Most setters would say State capital or Departement capital, if they were drilling down to that subset.
toneyvr, I feel awkward now that I did not pick up on this at the time of the blog. I am perfectly aware that Ottawa is Canada’s capital. I have visited the city several times. Thank you for making your comment.