Monday Prize Crossword/ May 19
Another Falcon crossword that didn’t disappoint. Nothing too tricky with – not for the first time – some literature thrown in.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | ANTELOPE | Hartebeest, perhaps, may cause worker to run away (8) |
| ANT (worker) + ELOPE (to run away) | ||
| 5 | TRIP UP | Cause to stumble at university, on excursion (4,2) |
| TRIP (excursion) + UP (at university) | ||
| 9 | BROWNING | Poet, bachelor, arguing about name (8) |
| B (bachelor) + {ROWING (arguing) around N (name)} | ||
| 10 | SCHOOL | Group in coach (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 12 | RULER | Monarch – one responsible for a line? (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 13 | CAMEMBERT | Representative feeding domestic pet cheese (9) |
| MEMBER (representative) inside CAT (domestic pet) | ||
| 14 | AVIARY | A change required to protect one enclosure for birds (6) |
| A + {VARY (change) around I (one)} | ||
| 16 | STEPHEN | Boy – he spent unwisely (7) |
| (HE SPENT)* | ||
| 18 | TURNS IN | Goes home and goes to bed (5,2) |
| TURNS (goes) + IN (home) | ||
| 20 | PUT OUT | Pulled up solicitor, annoyed (3,3) |
| PU (reversal (‘pulled’) of UP) + TOUT (solicitor) | ||
| 22 | IVY LEAGUE | Brown is one of its members, climber some distance behind (3,6) |
| IVY (climber) with behind it LEAGUE (some distance, about 3 miles) | ||
| Brown University is one of the eight private institutions of education that form the Ivy League. | ||
| 23 | SOBER | Flowing robes, muted in colour (5) |
| (ROBES)* | ||
| 24 | PLACID | Cool about wearing tartan (6) |
| PLAID (tartan) around C (about) | ||
| 25 | LAME DUCK | Ineffectual type made out, coming into fortune (4,4) |
| (MADE)* inside LUCK (fortune) | ||
| 26 | REFUGE | Say no? Good for son finding sanctuary (6) |
| REFUSE (say no) with the S (son) replaced by G (good) | ||
| 27 | DEFENDER | One on team put back to guard goal (8) |
| DEFER (put back) around END (goal) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | AUBURN | Reddish-brown and gold stream (6) |
| AU (gold) + BURN (stream) | ||
| 2 | TOO CLEVER BY HALF | Play: shrewd, but flawed by excessive complexity (3,6,2,4) |
| There’s a definition and the rest is surely cryptic | ||
| This is a comedy play by Aleksandr Ostrovsky. | ||
| 3 | LONER | There’s no mixer in cocktail, one remembered (5) |
| Hidden solution (‘in’): [cocktai]L ONE R[emembered] | ||
| Very nice clue. | ||
| 4 | PANICKY | Cut in wages may make one very nervous (7) |
| NICK (cut) inside PAY (wages) | ||
| 6 | RECUMBENT | Lying down, ugly bum coming in late (9) |
| (BUM)* inside RECENT (late) | ||
| 7 | PROMETHEUS BOUND | Capital, the American bishop in hit play (10,5) |
| {ROME (capital) + THE + US (American) + B (bishop)} inside POUND (hit) | ||
| An ancient Greek tragedy that is attributed to Aeschylus. | ||
| 8 | PALATINE | Hill damaged a pit lane (8) |
| (A PIT LANE)* | ||
| 11 | AMOS | Prophet captured by Grandma Moses (4) |
| Hidden solution (‘captured by’): [grandm]A MOS[es] | ||
| 15 | ANSWERING | Acknowledging a call involving bad news (9) |
| (NEWS)* inside {A + RING (call)} | ||
| I liked this one. | ||
| 17 | STRIPPER | By entrance to shore, see tourist, one removing clothes (8) |
| S[hore] + TRIPPER (tourist) | ||
| 19 | NIGH | Almost dark? Almost (4) |
| NIGH[t] (dark, almost) | ||
| 20 | PRELATE | Chatter about the Spanish clergyman (7) |
| PRATE (chatter) around EL (the, Spanish) | ||
| 21 | BROKER | Runs after penniless agent (6) |
| R (runs) coming after BROKE (penniless) | ||
| 23 | SIEVE | Colander is put up by girl (5) |
| SI (reversal (‘put up’) of IS) + EVE (girl) | ||
I usually get there or thereabout with Falcon but nowhere near with this one.
7d I have never heard of this and I would never have thought of pound for hit.
20a Never thought of tout
25a I thought of luck loads of times but couldn’t make the leap.
20d A double failure. Had neither come across prate or prelate.