Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 4, 2014
This Mudd has a few outstanding clues but also one that I am not too happy with. Top of the heap must be the semi-&lit 24a (SPOOL). I also applaud 1a (LOCUST) with its fine cryptic definition, 31a (SPIDER) which also has a clever cryptic definition and some snazzy wordplay, 8d (CATNIP), 11d (NORWAY SPRUCE) and 16d (WHITE). I have reservations about the indicators in 25a (YETI).
ACROSS
1 Place has last of paint stripper (6)
LOCUST – LOCUS (place) + [pain]T
4 Private drinker, man stuck on booze in the end (8)
ESOTERIC – [booz]E + SOT (drinker) + ERIC (man)
9 Can no teacher start to play around? (6)
PRISON – NO (no) + SIR (teacher) + P[lay] all backwards
10 Pop takes share as legendary adulterer (8)
LANCELOT – LANCE (pop) + LOT (share)
12 Second sucker (4)
TICK – double definition
13 Saw too much in a flash (5)
MOTTO – OTT (too much, i.e. over the top) in MO (a flash)
14 Drink doubling sexual allure? On the contrary! (4)
ASTI – IT (sexual alure) + SA (sexual allure, i.e. sex appeal)
17 Embarrassing characterisation initially worrying the cast (12)
CRINGEWORTHY – C[haracterisation] + anagram of WORRYING THE
20 Synthetic material upon leathery cracks (or treating your elephant?) (12)
POLYURETHANE – anagrams of UPON LEATHERY and YOUR ELEPHANT!
23 Country where I once was president? (4)
IRAN – I (I) + RAN (once was president)
24 On which a thread coils around (5)
SPOOL – LOOPS (coils) backwards
25 Monster returning, bite your nails! (4)
YETI – reverse hidden word. The surface reading is great but I don’t much like ‘nails’ as a hidden-word indicator, especially given its position in the clue. However people with a better sense of such things than I have convinced me that it is generally considered okay. (See comment #1 for one.)
28 Loudly complain about wood in shop (8)
BOUTIQUE – homophone (“boo teak”)
29 Most central parts of Brunei, Mauritania and Sweden in agreement (6)
UNITED – [br]UN[ei] + [maur]IT[ania] + [sw]ED[en]
30 Wanting to be beaten (8)
STRAPPED – double definition
31 Web designer beginning to poke inside back of computer (6)
SPIDER – P[oke] in SIDE (side) + [compute]R
DOWN
1 Impertinence and criticism, cosmetic (8)
LIPSTICK – LIP (impertinence) + STICK (criticism)
2 Double feature is toast (4-4)
CHIN-CHIN – double definition
3 Notice zit (4)
SPOT – double definition
5 Unbreakable short tape for breaking (12)
SHATTERPROOF – anagram of SHORT TAPE FOR
6 Course it’s a pin! (4)
TACK – double definition
7 Appreciate sweet pickle (6)
RELISH – double definition
8 Cold milk brought over that attracts felines (6)
CATNIP – C (cold) + PINTA (milk) backwards
11 Christmas tree certainly not tidy – that’s about right! (6,6)
NORWAY SPRUCE – R (right) in NO WAY SPRUCE (certainly not tidy)
15 Roof off huge private chamber, house in sub-zero temperatures (5)
IGLOO – [b]IG (roof off huge) + LOO (private chamber)
16 A little English wine unlike claret (5)
WHITE – WHIT (a little) + E (English)
18 Fast pace finally comes in a bit – that’s brilliant (8)
TALENTED – LENT (fast) + [pac]E in TAD (a bit)
19 Puzzle, don’t be as tame? (8)
BEWILDER – BE WILDER (don’t be as tame)
21 59 seconds up for cloud? (6)
NIMBUS – SUB-MIN[ute] (59 seconds) backwards
22 Pacific island endlessly in conflict, one’s spotted (6)
JAGUAR – GUA[m] (Pacific island endlessly) in JAR (conflict)
26 In oral I’m pretty slack (4)
LIMP – hidden word
27 A game that’s a match (4)
SNAP – double definition
Thanks Pete for an another good blog.
I must admit that I actually cannot remember too much of me solving this puzzle but reading the blog I once more detected too many double definitions (seven).
My last one in was LANCELOT.
Had to be him, of course, but I didn’t know he was an adulterer.
I’m just not reading the right books!
A little typo in 22d where “conflict” is not WAR but JAR.
Perhaps, you should also mention the reversal device in 14ac.
Unlike you, I thought YETI was quite good.
The word “nails” is OK to indicate that something goes inside.
I’ve seen it more than once.
The monster here is, when returning, something that’s nailed by “bite your”.
Great surface with “bite your nails”.
Quality puzzle but not outstanding.
The thing is, I think, John Halpern is not capable of writing inferior crosswords.
Thanks for that, Sil. I have correctly the typo. I still don’t like ‘nails’ much but you and a couple of other people have okayed it. I had not known that Lancelot was an adulterer either.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Really enjoyable puzzle that I only got to today. Some cracking surfaces along with the usual clever, numerous cryptic twists.
I don’t have issues with the number of dd clues used by this setter because he still creates interest in the surface or provides doubt whether it is initially just a dd. For example, 3d provides a homophonic ‘notices it’, my first take on 6d was a cd for FLAG on a golf course, 7d could have led to a charade made up of two of the words to generate the third, etc. I agree that Dante style dd clues can lead to “Agh, that’s too many!”
Didn’t spot the second anagram in 20a and missed the reversed LOOPS in 24a. Last couple in were ASTI and CATNIP.