Monday Prize Crossword/Nov 18
I am one of those solvers who find it harder to complete a Dante/Rufus than a Loroso or an Alberich (to name two highly regarded FT setters at the other end of the spectrum). However, this one was not particularly problematic.
I am quite sure that the main reason for it was the lack of cryptic definitions. Having said that, I was held up in the SE because of a (justifiable) alternative for 26d.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CARROT | Incentive to reveal vehicular rust (6) |
| CAR ROT (vehicular rot) | ||
| 4 | PLEASURE | Joy, Sue, Pearl, Dotty (8) |
| (SUE + PEARL)* | ||
| I think this is a really nice clue. | ||
| 10 | MISCREANT | Criminal worker found after awful crimes (9) |
| ANT (worker) coming after (CRIMES)* | ||
| 11 | MECCA | Holy city came about within a century (5) |
| (CAME)* with C ((a) century) inside | ||
| 12 | OINK | The sound of a pig at home in agreeable surroundings (4) |
| IN (at home) inside OK (agreeable) | ||
| 13 | MOTIONLESS | Still waiting for proposals? (10) |
| When one’s waiting for a proposal (MOTION) and it didn’t come, well, one’s MOTIONLESS | ||
| 15 | EASE OFF | Change of fee as required to relieve tension (4,3) |
| (OF FEE AS)* | ||
| 16 | ENSURE | Guarantee Rex is about to succeed? Quite the opposite (6) |
| R (Rex) inside ENSUE (to succeed), opposite to what the first part of the clue tells us | ||
| 19 | UNISON | Wrongly spelt noun one’s found in agreement (6) |
| I’S (one’s) inside (NOUN)* | ||
| 21 | TREASON | After start of trial, argue cause of crime (7) |
| T[rial] + REASON (argue cause (of)) | ||
| 23 | OUTPATIENT | Unconscious and long-suffering with travelling case (10) |
| OUT (unconscious) + PATIENT (long-suffering), but also: OUT (travelling) + PATIENT (case, think hospital) | ||
| I think there’s not really a proper definition, am I right? That said, there is a hint of an &lit. Looking back at it after comment #4, I am happy with ernie’s suggestion of taking “travelling case” as the (cryptic) definition – I have underlined it now. | ||
| 25 | UNDO | Free from any sound of noise pollution (4) |
| Hidden solution (‘from’): [so]UND O[f noise pollution] | ||
| There is certainly some pollution here as the last two words of the clue can be seen as ‘padding’. | ||
| 27 | ATOLL | Everybody is about to read Coral Island (5) |
| ALL (everybody) around TO | ||
| 28 | HANDCUFFS | Worker strikes result in restriction of movement (9) |
| HAND (worker) + CUFFS (strikes) | ||
| 29 | HELIPORT | Her pilot circles round the landing platform (8) |
| (HER PILOT)* | ||
| 30 | ADDLED | Confused tot given guidance (6) |
| ADD (tot) + LED (given guidance) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | COMPOSED | Collected and wrote notes (8) |
| Double definition | ||
| 2 | RISING SUN | Dawn of Japanese standardisation (6,3) |
| Double definition, the second cryptic as Japan is sometimes called “The Land of the Rising Sun” and, moreover, as Keeper @1 made clear, Dante probably refers to the Japanese flag | ||
| 3 | OARS | Means of propulsion on a Roman ship, originally (4) |
| First letters (‘originally’): O[n] A[] R[oman] S[hip] | ||
| 5 | LATTICE | Window in the French garret (7) |
| ATTIC (garret) inside LE (the, French) | ||
| 6 | ADMINISTER | Publicity given to official run (10) |
| AD (publicity) + MINISTER (official) | ||
| 7 | UNCLE | Relative takes the pledge (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| The second one is “someone who takes the pledge” – a pledge can be a deposit of personal property as a security for a debt. As Rishi @3 liked me to add: UNCLE is slang for ‘pawnbroker’. | ||
| 8 | ELAPSE | England’s first slip gets run out (6) |
| E[ngland] + LAPSE (slip) | ||
| 9 | PAY-OFF | Take revenge in the denouement (3-3) |
| Double definition | ||
| 14 | CODSWALLOP | Swimmer’s given beer? Rubbish! (10) |
| COD’S (swimmer’s, think fish) + WALLOP (beer) | ||
| 17 | RESENTFUL | Taking ill, the new nurse left (9) |
| (NURSE LEFT)* | ||
| 18 | ENDORSED | Object about wrongdoers being supported (8) |
| END (object) around (DOERS)* | ||
| A ‘device’ familiar to Guardian solvers: ‘wrongdoers’ should be split into two parts: indicator and fodder. | ||
| 20 | NEITHER | Not one of two or three in disorder (7) |
| (THREE IN)* | ||
| I am pretty sure I have seen a thing this before – but nice it is. | ||
| 21 | TENANT | Temporary shelter in which there’s an occupant (6) |
| AN inside TENT (temporary shelter) | ||
| 22 | POTASH | Chemical result of smoking cannabis? (6) |
| POT (cannabis) ASH may be the result of smoking a substance | ||
| 24 | TROLL | Monster fish? (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 26 | ACID | Keen to help a number inside (4) |
| AID ((to) help) with C ((a) number, 100) inside | ||
| This clue could just as easily lead to AVID (AID around V (five)). Actually, that was what I initially entered, making 28ac something of impossible to find. | ||
Thanks, Sil & Dante. In 2d, I took “standardisation” to be a cryptic reference to Japan’s military flag: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_Flag
Sil
I entirely agree with you that a possible answer that is perfectly justifiable for 26d is AVID.
Would the setter have noted it but still left the clue as it is for the solver to determine which answer is correct after getting crossings? Or would he have not seen it?
Crossword setters break up a word and write a clue for it. Do they always re-examine the wordplay to see if the clue is capable of leading to an alternative answer?
In chess problems an alternative but unintended solution is called ‘cook’. Is there any such term in crosswords for a clue that may yield a dual answer?
Sil
7D: You might mention that ‘uncle’ is a slang term for pawnbroker.
In Tamil the term for ‘uncle’ is ‘mama’. And a slang meaning for the word is ‘pimp’.
Is it that first obliging persons are endearingly addressed by the kinship term and then over the years it acquires the extra meaning?
re 23A I took the definition as ‘travelling case’ as an outpatient has to travel to the hospital etc for their treatment.
I note from my copy that I had made a change at 26D so I must have had ‘avid’ originally.
Thanks to Sil and Dante
I couldn’t get
23a , 25a (aaarg missing a hidden answer) and 17d Is resentful the same as taking ill? I thought it was more along the lines of “I asked to stay behind for 10 minutes to finish something off but he was very resentful”