Monday Prize Crossword/Jan 27
Mudd on a Monday, a welcome change. As one might expect from this setter another good crossword – even if there were, once more, quite a lot of double definitions.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CATERPILLAR | Provide support for potential beauty? (11) |
| CATER (provide) + PILLAR (support) | ||
| 7 | PAN | God rejects time in the arms of Morpheus (3) |
| Reversal (‘rejects’) of NAP (time in the arms of Morpheus) | ||
| 9 | IDEAL | Agreement by upstanding character just right (5) |
| I (upstanding character) + DEAL (agreement) | ||
| 10 | SIGHT-READ | Long walk to study when you don’t know the score? (5-4) |
| SIGH (long) + TREAD (walk) | ||
| 11 | CARTRIDGE | Bear on edge, in case (9) |
| CART (bear) + RIDGE (edge) | ||
| 12 | OCTET | Turnover of company, twenty oddly becoming eight (5) |
| OC (reversal (‘turnover’) of CO (company)) + T[w]E[n]T[y] | ||
| 13 | ATELIER | Retailer not quite trained for workshop (7) |
| (RETAILE[r])* | ||
| 15 | STAB | Go mad, flipping (4) |
| Reversal (‘flipping’) of BATS (mad) | ||
| 18 | EPIC | Eraserhead, movie classic (4) |
| E[raser] (Eraserhead, the first letter of Eraser) + PIC (movie) | ||
| 20 | WEEK-OLD | Young with a little sniffle, we hear? (4-3) |
| Homophone (‘we hear’) of: WEE (a little) COLD (sniffle) | ||
| 23 | FATSO | One’s huge cost a financier holds back (5) |
| Reversal of OSTAF which is hidden in [c]OST A F[inancier] – indicator: ‘holds back’ | ||
| 24 | MENAGERIE | Beastly lot I agree, affected by crew (9) |
| MEN (crew) + (I AGREE)* | ||
| 26 | STRAPPADO | Prod and tap as ordered, as method of torture (9) |
| (PROD + TAP AS)* | ||
| 27 | ENNUI | Feeling of boredom as unspecified number doubles in the midst of queuing (5) |
| NN (unspecified number, doubled) inside [qu]EUI[ng | ||
| 28 | TRY | Hear crack (3) |
| Double definition | ||
| 29 | UNSPEAKABLE | Is the world’s most difficult tongue-twister so awful? (11) |
| Double definition | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CHIT-CHAT | Gas a problem to inject into animal (4-4) |
| HITCH (a problem) inside CAT (animal) | ||
| 2 | THEORIES | So either to be taken off the premises? (8) |
| (SO EITHER)* | ||
| 3 | RULER | Queen, perhaps, one going straight? (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 4 | INSIDER | Mole partial to scrumpy, they say? (7) |
| Homophone (‘they say’) of: IN CIDER (partial to scrumpy, ie cider) | ||
| 5 | LEGLESS | Drunk as a worm? (7) |
| Double/Cryptic definition | ||
| 6 | RATIONALE | Share drink, showing justification (9) |
| RATION (share) + ALE (drink) | ||
| 7 | PRETTY | Somewhat pulchritudinous (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 8 | NUDITY | Sound of contemporary song in natural state (6) |
| Homophone (‘sound of’) of: NEW (contemporary) + DITTY (song) | ||
| 14 | IMPROMPTU | I should be on time, you should be spontaneous (9) |
| I’M PROMPT (I should be on time) + U (you) | ||
| 16 | DOORKNOB | Handle oaf keeping nothing in head (8) |
| {O (nothing) inside DORK (oaf, a stupid person)} + NOB (head) | ||
| 17 | ADHESIVE | I have design half built – glue required (8) |
| (I HAVE DES[ign])* | ||
| 19 | COMPASS | Range where all points considered? (7) |
| Double/Cryptic definition | ||
| 20 | WINSOME | Lose or draw a few then, when engaging? (7) |
| When you WIN SOME, you will also ‘lose or draw a few then’ | ||
| 21 | OFFSET | Rotten lot achieving balance (6) |
| OFF (rotten) + SET (lot) | ||
| 22 | STURDY | Articles removed from one of seven that’s solid (6) |
| SATURDAY (one of seven (days)) minus both As (articles removed) | ||
| 25 | GREEK | European techie touring Russian capital (5) |
| GEEK (techie) around R[ussian] | ||