Monday Prize Crossword/Oct 14
Enjoyable crossword by Crux who, for me, is in the same league as Falcon/Everyman.
That said, while I particularly like Crux’s surfaces I must also admit that Falcon is the more precise of the two (in my opinion, that is). In this puzzle there were indeed once more one or two things that I would have liked to avoid (eg in 9ac and 23ac).
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CRAFTY | It’s deceitful to weep over a newspaper (6) |
| CRY (to weep) around A FT (newspaper) | ||
| 4 | PARTISAN | Power craftsman has, on one side only (8) |
| P (power) + ARTISAN (craftsman) | ||
| 9 | UNREST | Only one river in Turner’s troubled state – exactly! (6) |
| (TU[r]NER’S)* – one river (R) being deleted | ||
| The construction and the definition overlap and I am not sure whether I like that here. | ||
| 10 | GAOLBIRD | Prisoner’s possible goal – to take a hobby, say (8) |
| (GAOL)* + BIRD (a hobby, say – it’s a kind of falcon) | ||
| Even if goal/gaol was obvious, I liked the surface. | ||
| 12 | SOLVENTS | What you like to do with 50% grants (not to be sniffed at!) (8) |
| SOLVE (what you like to do) + [gra]NTS (50% grants) | ||
| 13 | STAFFS | Poles located in the Midlands (6) |
| Double definition, the second one short for Staffordshire | ||
| 15 | LOOP | In which you’re kept informed when bank goes west (4) |
| Reversal (‘goes west’) of POOL (bank, eg like in ‘blood bank’) | ||
| 16 | RAIN CLOUDS | Portents of depression that may dampen growth (4,6) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 19 | VOLUNTEERS | Lover’s tune adapted for the Home Guard? (10) |
| (LOVER’S TUNE)* | ||
| 20 | SPAR | Strikes back with a length of wood (4) |
| Reversal (‘back’) of RAPS (strikes) | ||
| 23 | VIOLET | Colour that’s fiery but lacks a name (6) |
| VIOLENT (fiery) without N (name) | ||
| What I do not like here is the use of ‘a’ in front of ‘name’. | ||
| 25 | ESOTERIC | English drunkard, a man of rarefied tastes (8) |
| E (English) + SOT (drunkard) + ERIC (a man) | ||
| However, in this clue I am fine with ‘a’ in front of ‘man’ even if the clue doesn’t need that little word. | ||
| 27 | LOOSEN UP | Relax in bathroom, taking stewed prunes right away! (6-2) |
| LOO (bathroom) + (P[r]UNES)* – R (right) taken away | ||
| 28 | ADVICE | A daughter’s weakness, like 1 down (6) |
| A D (daughter) + VICE (weakness) – ‘1 down’ is ‘counsel’ which is the definition | ||
| 29 | IDENTITY | Kind of crisis a passport should resolve (8) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 30 | TENSES | Perfect present, for instance (6) |
| Perfect tense and present tense are two examples of TENSES | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | COUNSEL | Guidance on clues that takes some beating (7) |
| (ON CLUES)* | ||
| 2 | APRIL FOOL | Joker’s springtime victim (5,4) |
| APRIL (springtime) + FOOL (victim) | ||
| 3 | TASTER | She samples treats after cooking (6) |
| (TREATS)* | ||
| Nice surface (but then Crux has a lot of nice surfaces). | ||
| 5 | ALAS | Medal a soldier conceals, unfortunately (4) |
| Hidden solution: [med]AL A S[oldier] | ||
| 6 | TELL-TALE | Blabbermouth featuring in heroic William’s story (4-4) |
| TELL (heroic William – yes, that one) + TALE (story) | ||
| 7,17 | STIFF UPPER LIPS | Facial assets in times of austerity (5,5,4) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 8 | NUDISTS | Inhabitants of colony in state of 14 (7) |
| 14 (down) is ‘undress’ so there you are | ||
| 11 | STEAMER | Navigate around America, like the African Queen! (7) |
| STEER (navigate) around AM (America) | ||
| The African Queen must be a boat hence I couldn’t be bothered to visit our friend Google. | ||
| 14 | UNDRESS | Doctor’s orders before check-up, perhaps (7) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| While I have a soft spot for Crux’s puzzles in general, I am not a big fan of his cryptic definitions. Here’s another, in my opinion, weak one [linked to another weak clue at 8d]. | ||
| 18 | INTEREST | Fashionable street could be just your thing (8) |
| IN (fashionable) + (STREET)* | ||
| 19 | VIVALDI | Composer of Long Live Aladdin! (ignoring the odds) (7) |
| VIVA (Long Live!) + [a]L[a]D[d]I[n] | ||
| A pity that there is no such thing like Long Live Aladdin but the clue’s OK. | ||
| 21 | RACKETS | Dodgy schemes heard? Very likely! (7) |
| Kind of double definition | ||
| 22 | STODGE | For example, points go up for starchy food (6) |
| Reversal (‘to go up’) of {EG (for example) + DOTS (points)} | ||
| 24 | OZONE | Fabulous land has one that’s under threat (5) |
| OZ (fabulous land) + ONE | ||
| 26 | BUST | Smash and grab in a police raid (4) |
| Double definition | ||
11d
The clue is presumably referring to the classic film ‘The African Queen’ starring Bogart & Hepburn. It was set on a steam-boat which was called the African Queen.