Monday Prize Crossword/Apr 7
A Dante crossword with exactly the same grid as the previous prize puzzle (by Crux). A mixture of elegance, nice finds, over-familiar devices and some incredibly easy anagrams. Many thanks to Dante for accompanying me during breakfast and coffee.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | USURPERS | Soft-hearted money-lenders making pretence a reality (8) |
| USURERS (money-lenders) with P (soft) at its heart | ||
| Definition: “people”making pretence a reality. | ||
| 5 | HOT-ROD | Stolen gun and car (3-3) |
| HOT (stolen) + ROD (gun) | ||
| 9 | DRAUGHTS | Checkers of medical doses (8) |
| Double definition | ||
| A board game and a dose of liquid medicine. | ||
| 10 | HEROIC | Undaunted, he leads or retreats in command (6) |
| HE + RO (reversal (‘retreats’) of OR) + IC (in command) | ||
| 12 | KEATS | Poet takes orders (5) |
| (TAKES)* | ||
| How easy can an anagram be? Effective, too. | ||
| 13 | ROYAL NAVY | Sailors in two shades of blue (5,4) |
| ROYAL (shade of blue) + NAVY (and another one) | ||
| 14 | THOMAS | He had doubts and got zero in maths revision (6) |
| O (zero) inside (MATHS)* | ||
| 16 | ON OFFER | Small number return present – now available at reduced price (2,5) |
| ON (reversal (‘return’) of NO (number, small)) + OFFER (present) | ||
| 19 | AUDITED | Checked the accuracy of others’ accounts? (7) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| Well, not really very cryptic. | ||
| 21 | ASSAYS | Chump about to declare in tests (6) |
| ASS (chump) around SAY (to declare) | ||
| 23 | PRECEDENT | Past example to go in front of book (9) |
| PRECEDE (go in front of) + NT (book, New Testament) | ||
| Normally, NT is clued by “books” (plural) but I have seen it like this. The surface needs the singular form and I do not want to argue with Dante anyway. | ||
| 25 | PUNCH | Drink provided for horse (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 26 | PRESTO | Preston North End exited rapidly (6) |
| PRESTON minus N[orth] (one of the ends of ‘North’) | ||
| Cryptically speaking the clue doesn’t need “End” but the idea is nice. Even if the solution is rather obvious. | ||
| 27 | RECEIPTS | Set price being fixed, proceeds (8) |
| (SET PRICE)* | ||
| 28 | RATING | Grade scrap metal inside (6) |
| RAG (scrap) with TIN (metal) inside | ||
| 29 | INSTANCE | An insect’s metamorphosis, for example (8) |
| (AN INSECT)* | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | UPDIKE | US writer rising to Holland’s defence (6) |
| UP (rising) + DIKE (Holland’s defence, against the tides) | ||
| John Updike (1931-2009), American writer. | ||
| 2 | UNABASHED | A bilingual graduate dropped but still confident (9) |
| {UN + A (a, bilingual – article in two languages)} + BA (graduate) + SHED (dropped) | ||
| One of the articles (A) is equal to the definition (A) being both the English version. A bit odd but all right, I guess. | ||
| 3 | PAGES | Hotel employees a long time in extra thought (5) |
| AGE (a long time) inside PS (extra thought) | ||
| 4 | RETURNS | Sends back the proceeds (7) |
| Double definition (proceeds, again!) | ||
| 6 | OVERLOOKS | Superintends, but misses something (9) |
| Double definition | ||
| 7 | RIOJA | Wine jar I smashed when empty (5) |
| (JAR + I)* around O (when empty, taken literally: with nothing in it) | ||
| Nice way to clue a very familiar word. | ||
| 8 | DOCKYARD | Reduce police force in naval establishment (8) |
| DOCK (reduce) + YARD (police force) | ||
| 11 | TYRO | Novice Tory is replaced (4) |
| (TROY)* | ||
| After 12ac another extremely easy anagram. | ||
| 15 | MOTH-EATEN | Looking shabby, he meant to reform (4-5) |
| (HE MEANT TO)* | ||
| 17 | FRYING PAN | There’s worse to come out of this (6,3) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| Out of the frying pan into the fire. | ||
| 18 | BAGPIPER | Note smoker in pub is a musician (8) |
| {G (note) + PIPE (smoker)} inside BAR (pub) | ||
| 20 | DUEL | Expected to end in mortal combat (4) |
| DUE (expected) + [morta]L | ||
| 21 | ACTAEON | Old Greek hunter made to work to a great age (7) |
| ACT (to work) + A + EON (great age) | ||
| I had to look this one up. | ||
| 22 | CHASTE | In class it’s hard to be virtuous (6) |
| H (hard) inside CASTE (class) | ||
| 24 | ELECT | Choose to take part in college lectures (5) |
| Hidden solution (‘to take part in’): [colleg]E LECT[ures] | ||
| 25 | PLEAT | Leapt out from the crease (5) |
| (LEAPT)* | ||
| Finally, very easy anagram no.3. At least the EA in both words is pronounced differently. | ||
26a Preston North End is of course a famous old English football club.
18d There is a typo here – should be bagpiper.
Thanks to Sil & Dante
Also, I think, it should be G (note).
Thanks ernie & Rishi for pointing out the errors in 18d, now corrected.
Re @1: I do know that Preston North End is a football club. Therefore I found the idea really nice. But when you look at what is going on here cryptically, it is (IMO) a pity that the construction isn’t a bit more complex. That said, I did like it!