Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of July 5, 2014
I found this a thoroughly decent puzzle. My favourite clue is 29a (PREGNANT) and I also like 23a (AIR MARSHAL) and 6d (UZBEKISTAN). And, as Sil kindly pointed out in a comment, it’s a pangram!
ACROSS
1 Mouse fighting to get through fish (6)
COWARD – WAR (fighting) in COD (fish)
4 Having failed, underdog not allowed out (8)
GROUNDED – anagram of UNDERDOG
10 Someone’s speciality, Nottinghamshire town (9)
MANSFIELD – MANS (someone’s) + FIELD (speciality)
11 Fighting dog? (5)
BOXER – cryptic definition
12 Obey the reprobate (4)
HEEL – double definition
13 Ungainly to criticise requirement aloud (5-5)
KNOCK-KNEED – KNOCK (criticise) + KNEED (homophone of “need”)
15 Paper in folder easily torn? (7)
FRAGILE – RAG (paper) in FILE (folder)
16 Case of saxifrage and similar plant (6)
SESAME – S[axifrag]E + SAME (similar)
19 Spaced out in defined areas, king entering (6)
ZONKED – K (king) in ZONED (defined areas)
21 District in two bits? (7)
QUARTER – double definition. The American 25-cent coin, normally referred to as “a quarter”, is also called “two bits”.
23 Flying officer finds atmosphere on planet, 37.5%? (3,7)
AIR MARSHAL – AIR (atmosphere) + MARS (planet) + HAL (37.5%). 37.5% (or three eighths) is three quarters of HALF!
25 Smart, Marx? Not entirely (4)
CHIC – CHIC[o] (Marx not entirely)
27 Pale easily picked up (5)
LIGHT – double definition
28 Keep going by grave (9)
PERSEVERE – PER (by) + SEVERE (grave)
29 Expecting punishment (capital only), ruling follows (8)
PREGNANT – P[unishment] + REGNANT (ruling)
30 Top – or lower? (6)
JERSEY – double/cryptic definition
DOWN
1 Engineer has fact about top of major engine part (8)
CAMSHAFT – M[ajor] in anagram of HAS FACT
2 Vehicle we bang on about, one clamped (9)
WINNEBAGO – I (one) in anagram of WE BANG ON
3 Collar hoodlum, say? (4)
RUFF – homophone (“rough”)
5 Cuts secured after a reshuffle (7)
REDUCES – anagram of SECURED
6 Cycling, aunt bikes around two sharp bends in the country (10)
UZBEKISTAN – Z (two sharp bends) in anagram of AUNT BIKES
7 Something spotted about team for the southern states (5)
DIXIE – XI (team) in DIE (something spotted)
8 Mock turtle ultimately awful, beginning to dry up (6)
DERIDE – [turtl]E + DIRE (awful) + D[ry] all backwards
9 Bloke smuggling drug that is a brute (6)
MEANIE – E (drug) in MAN (bloke) + IE (that is)
14 Detective overcomes skill in good old solver (4,6)
DICK BARTON – DICK (detective) + ART (skill) in BON (good). Dick Barton was a fictional detective who flourished around the middle of the last century. I had heard the name but has to look it up to confirm.
17 Standing alone, unable to light a cigarette? (9)
MATCHLESS – double definition
18 China giving introduction to country garden (8)
CROCKERY – C[ountry] + ROCKERY (garden)
20 A brush with this funny stand-up? (7)
DUSTPAN – anagram of STAND UP
21 Victim, the blasted thing? (6)
QUARRY – double definition
22 Beer – or punch? (6)
WALLOP – double definition. ‘Wallop’ is a Scottish slang for beer.
24 Part of hero guesting as villain (5)
ROGUE – hidden word
26 On this page, try broadcast (4)
HERE – homophone (“hear” — as in hear a case)
And it’s a Pangram – very unusual for this setter (in whichever disguise).
It helped me to find ZONKED (19ac) as I thought there wasn’t a Z yet. But actually, there was already one in UZBEKISTAN which I overlooked. Lucky me!
Good puzzle with some inventive clueing (indeed 23ac, for example). Having said that, once more a lot of Double definitions – I counted 8 (including 11ac).
Thanks Pete.
Hi Sil, Thanks for noticing and pointing that out. Looking at it now it seems likely to me that Mudd intentionally made it a pangram. Do you think so?
I liked ‘the blasted thing’ as a cryptic definition of quarry (21D).
Thanks to Pete and Mudd.
A thoroughly enjoyable Mudd (as usual). Thanks, Pete, for explaining the ‘Hal’ of 23zc Marshal. It made me feel very thick.
Dick Barton was a nightly 15 minute slot on the BBC Home Service, replaced by The Archers, which was written by the same people. Thrills never to be forgotten by those of us, like me, now fast approaching the exit door.
I couldn’t get 26d or 30a . I has also didn’t know that a quarter was two bits -I wonder how many non US persons (aliens when I used to fill in visa applications pre ESTA) knew that?
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Enjoyed this a lot … typical interesting diversity of clues. Thought that AIR MARSHAL was the stand out when I eventually figured what the 37.5% was doing – very clever!
Last one in was DICK BARTON who I hadn’t heard of before … and still took some thinking to unravel the logic behind how he was derived. WALLOP as a name for beer was new too … but I see that it was maybe the basis of Codd’s wallop which was a slang term for wea or, gassy beer :)) – I’ve seen that spelt as codswallop down here!
Conrad, Thanks for commenting. I am old enough to easily remember the BCC Home Service (and the Light Programme) and even Mrs. Dale’s Diary but not Dick Barton.
bamberger, I am a card-carrying alien myself! (I am referring to what is usually called a “green card” but is also an alien-registration card.)
Bruce, I had not made the codswallop connection. Thanks for that!