A relatively accessible puzzle for Monk which I made hard for myself by entering in a couple of wrong answers.
Monk puzzles always have a nina of some sort and I am learning to spot them! Initally I went wrong even here by noticing a phase in the middle of the top row which seemed very Monk-like (or not at all monk like?).
Thanks Monk, another great puzzle.
| Across | ||
| 1 | STOPCOCK | Valve’s copper ring kept in store (8) |
| PC (copper) O (ring) in STOCK (store) | ||
| 6 | OUTLAW | Bar where French dance returns endlessly (6) |
| OU (where, French) WALtz (dance, endless) reversed (returns) | ||
| 9 | PREDILECTIONS | Gender politics eschewing good, then bad, tastes (13) |
| (gENDER POLITICS)* missing G (good) anagram=bad- read as ‘first remove good then make it bad’ | ||
| 10 | INCISE | Zinc is, effectively, partially cut into (6) |
| part of zINC IS Effectively | ||
| 11 | FIENDISH | Perhaps carp about close one that’s extremely cruel (8) |
| FISH (perhaps carp) contains (about) END (close) I (one) | ||
| 13 | NOVA SCOTIA | Where you might find vacation so unusual? (4,6) |
| (VACATION SO)* anagram=unusual – definition is &lit. The Nova Scotia tourist board beg to differ! | ||
| 15 | NISI | Into backing both sides in semi final? Not at all (4) |
| IN (into) reversed (backing) SemI (both sides of) – not to take effect immediately | ||
| 16 | GENE | Medical unit contributing to hostage negotiations (4) |
| found in hostaGE NEgotiations | ||
| 18 | VITAL SIGNS | Measurements taken by country almost stopping rude gestures (5,5) |
| ITALy (country, almost) inside (stopping, like a cork) V-SIGNS (rude gestures) | ||
| 21 | LISTERIA | Bacterium found in roll – a type of killer is uncovered (8) |
| LIST (a roll) sERIAl (a type of killer) without exterior letters (uncovered) | ||
| 22 | SQUAWK | Complain just about having to leave work (6) |
| SQUAre (just) with RE (about) missing (to leave) then WK (work) | ||
| 23 | LADY OF THE LAKE | Heady folk tale’s naughty poem (4,2,3,4) |
| (HEADY FOLK TALE)* anagram=is naughty – poem by Sir Walter Scott | ||
| 25 | ESTERS | Compounds in which bullocks shifted a little bit (6) |
| STEERS (bullocks) with one letter (a little bit of) moved (shifted) | ||
| 26 | ENTREATY | Request to dine in doorway (8) |
| EAT (to dine) in ENTRY (doorway) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | TAP INTO | Take advantage of a tinpot criminal (3,4) |
| (A TINPOT)* anagram=criminal | ||
| 3 | PREDICAMENT | Spot decrepit man becoming unstable (11) |
| (DECREPIT MAN)* anagram=becoming unstable | ||
| 4 | OVINE | Sheepish individual must cuddle a girl (5) |
| ONE (individual) contains (must cuddle) VI (a girl) | ||
| 5 | KEEP FIT | Look up suitable exercises (4,3) |
| PEEK (look) reversed (up) then FIT (suitable) | ||
| 6 | ON THE BALL | Where dance promoter might be alert (2,3,4) |
| double/cryptic definition | ||
| 7 | TWO | Pair up anything in the north (3) |
| OWT (anything, in the north) reversed (up). I entered |
||
| 8 | ASSISTS | Helps to assemble films with censored introductions (7) |
| mASS (assemble, of a crowd) mISTS (films) missing first letters (with censored introductions) | ||
| 12 | DENTICULATE | Following depression, one copper recently nicked? (11) |
| DENT (depression) then (following) I (one) CU (copper) LATE (recently) | ||
| 14 | CAVERNOUS | Dark sort of explorer suppresses common sense (9) |
| CAVER (sort of explorer) on top of (suppresses) NOUS (common sense)- Chambers gives ‘huge and dark’ for cavernous. I’m not convinced that ‘dark’ works just on its own, but I’m not complaining. | ||
| 17 | EDIBLES | Wait around, getting not as much unfinished food (7) |
| BIDE (wait) reversed (around) with LESs (not as much) unfinished | ||
| 19 | TOASTIE | Runs from cook having endless row about fast food (7) |
| rOAST (cook) with R (runs) removed (from) inside TIEr (row) endless | ||
| 20 | NEW LEFT | Radicals felt as this? (3,4) |
| an anagram (NEW) of LEFT would make ‘felt’. I originally had NEO LEFT here, which made the bottom right corner a struggle | ||
| 22 | SWEPT | Searched son, greeted north of the border (5) |
| S (son) WEPT (greeted, cried Scottish) | ||
| 24 | DUE | Tribute left out at the end of a fight (3) |
| DUEl (a fight) with L (left) missing at the end | ||
*anagram <br />definitions are underlined
Very enjoyable – definitely user-friendly-Monk today.
I am delighted to report that, continuing with my New Year’s Resolution, I did spot the helpful Nina.
Thanks to Monk and PeeDee too.
A fine puzzle but certainly one of the easier Monks.
How else can one explain that I got the top half plus the far SW straightaway on the first pass?
The Nina was immediately clear and was helpful for the remainder.
I hesitated about SQUAWK (22ac) as I couldn’t parse it – so, thanks for that (and more!) PeeDee.
I assume you entered OWT (and not TWO) initially in 7d – which is indeed one of those infamous ambiguities.
No pangram this time.
Over all too quickly but enjoyable stuff nonetheless (as ever from Monk and for which many thanks).
Yes, I’m normally assailed by palpitations when it’s a Monk day, but today he was being almost benign. I don’t really applaud WK for Work in 22ac (someone please tell me it’s standard). But thanks for a good jaunt, Monk, and you too PeeDee (well done to you and everyone else who saw the nina. I didn’t.
I’ve just noticed that I have filled the grid incorrectly.
It should read PREDILECTIONS and KEEP FIT, not PREDELICTIONS and KEIP FIT.
Hornbeam @3 – according to Chambers it is a recognised abbreviation for both work and week.
I too misspelt 9a at my first attempt. Odd. Just one of those words I guess.
Thanks PD and Monk. I once spotted an unfortunate sequence of letters in a Monk grid which definitely not intended here….
How did the term “nina” come about?
I think Nina was the name of a setter’s daughter, I can’t remember who it was. The chap used to hide her name in his crosswords form time to time.
Yves see the FAQ link for the answer. Perhaps a setter should name his/her daughter Nina though…
A rare Monk finish for me today. It helped that I was looking for a nina. Without it I don’t think I would have got squawk. It also helped that I was sipping a calvados which put me in the right frame of mind for the nina.
Thanks flashling. Setter, cartoonist – whatever!
Thanks Monk and PeeDee
My first Monk which I enjoyed a lot. If this is the easy side of him, I look forward to one of his tougher ones. Didn’t spot the nina – but will be on the look out for next time.
I must say the large variety of setters at the FT certainly throws up fresh challenges to be up against … like it a lot!
For 24d I’m sure that PeeDee meant to underline tribute rather than fight as the definition. A stiffish challenge, this one, I thought.
So he did ernie… thanks, and fixed now.