Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of November 15, 2014
I found this puzzle fairly easy and very good. My top clues are 1a (TOUCH DOWN), 17a (ARMPITS), 19a (MUMBLED), 1d (TOPIC) and 5d (NOMINEE). I also like 13d (THUMBSCREW) but consider it slightly faulty for the reason pointed out in comment 7.
ACROSS
1 Seek money from daughter to get possession of land (5,4)
TOUCH DOWN – TOUCH (seek money from) + D (daughter) + OWN (possession of)
6 Left son to go round in a bad mood (5)
STROP – PORT (left) + S (son) all backwards
9 Beginning to protest at his heartless ways (5)
PATHS – P[rotest] + AT (at) + H[i]S
10 Wrongly blamed IRA for being worthy of respect (9)
ADMIRABLE – anagram of BLAMED IRA
11 Appreciate non-selective school set back her goal (10)
COMPREHEND – COMP (non-selective school) + HER (her) backwards + END (goal). I went to one but I am not used to ‘comp’ as a short-form of comprehensive. Is this common?
12 Plenary starts with a petition (4)
PLEA – PLE[nary] + A (a)
14 You and I finally get space in the shower area (3,4)
WET ROOM – WE (you and I) + [ge]T + ROOM (space)
15 Just one found in the confused state (7)
ETHICAL – anagram of THE + I (one) + CAL (state)
17 Tramp is ill-treated in undesirable locations (7)
ARMPITS – anagram of TRAMP IS
19 Quietly spoken man fell apart after losing credit (7)
MUMBLED – M (man) + [cr]UMBLED
20 Unoccupied French island shelters half the party (4)
IDLE – D[o] (half the party) in ILE (French island)
22 Brightly coloured flower gets boy to return with money (10)
IRIDESCENT – ED (boy) backwards in IRIS (flower) + CENT (money)
25 Push off before I have followed directions (9)
OFFENSIVE – OFF (off) + ENS (directions) + I’VE (I have)
26 Non-standard parachute has no opening (5)
ROGUE – [d]ROGUE. A drogue is a type of parachute used to, for example, slow down a high-speed vehicle.
27 Say why announced exercise is in North Africa (5)
EGYPT – EG (say) + Y (why announced) + PT (exercise)
28 Otherwise, we imprison that woman in a different location (9)
ELSEWHERE – ELSE (otherwise) + HER (that woman) in WE (we)
DOWN
1 Subject of photo to stand at the front (5)
TOPIC – TO (to) + PIC (photo)
2 Last religious leader accepted union’s final terms (9)
ULTIMATUM – ULT (last) + TU (union) in IMAM (religious leader)
3 In early October, Irish could be affected (10)
HISTRIONIC – anagram of IN OCT[ober] IRISH
4 Sick woman ate last bits of sushi without thinking (2,1,4)
ON A WHIM – [sus]HI in anagram of WOMAN
5 Protesters’ opposition to excavations is supported by European candidate (7)
NOMINEE – NO (protesters’ opposition) + MINE (excavations) + E (European )
6 Active agent closes in on Resistance (4)
SPRY – R (resistance) in SPY (agent)
7 Implicated in obscure Belarussian revolt (5)
REBEL – hidden word
8 Priest subjected to abuse over article carried the day (9)
PREVAILED – P (priest) + A (article) in REVILED (subjected to abuse)
13 Means of getting information from a digital company (10)
THUMBSCREW – THUMBS (digital) + CREW (company)
14 Trying habit is nothing to me (9)
WEARISOME – WEAR (habit) + IS (is) + O (nothing) + ME (me)
16 Workmate has depression over extremely loathsome fever (9)
COLLEAGUE – COL (depression) + L[oathsom]E + AGUE (fever)
18 Sneer regularly at immorality that may occur in church (7)
SERVICE – S[n]E[r]R + VICE (immorality )
19 Height of folly to end up in a large crowd (7)
MADNESS – END (end) backwards in MASS (a large crowd)
21 High Latin frequently found in poems at the end of the century (5)
LOFTY – L (Latin) + OFT (frequently found in poems) + [centur]Y
23 Mexican leaders pursue the idea (5)
THEME – THE (the) + ME[xican]
24 Rate of progress by sea bird (4)
KNOT – double definition. There’s a sea bird called a knot? Yes, indeed, as I learned here.
Thanks Magwitch and Pete
As usual, saved this until today and also found bit a little easier than normal Magwitch puzzles. Did have a little trouble with WET ROOM – going through ‘wet area’ and ‘wet zone’ on the way to eventually getting the correct answer !
Had not previously heard of ARMPITS being an undesirable place before. It also took an age to properly parse ULTIMATUM. I liked THUMBSCREW but did not parse it.
Last couple in were WET ROOM (after I finally got it) and ON A WHIM.
thanks once more Pete.
Yes, comp is a common abbreviation in common parlance for a comprehensive school.
In 26a line 2 I think you need to drop the capital D – The answer is Rogue not Drogue. (I think)
It must have been easy as I finished it eventually
Malcolm, Thanks for pointing out my typo with DROGUE. I have fixed it now. And thanks also for confirming the use of comp.
To my amazement, I solved this in a reasonable time.
Only quibble is 19a Whispering Bob Harris of the Old Grey Whistle test may have been softy spoken but he certainly didn’t mumble -very clearly spoken and you picked up every word.
Magwitch’s puzzles are thoughtful and often full of intricate wordplay.
But I’d wish she would abandon things like “Plenary starts” for PLE or, to a lesser extent, “Mexican leaders” for ME.
She did it on earlier occasions but I still don’t like it.
I wondered about ‘excavations’ (plural) for MINE (singular).
Why would you like to clue it like that?
In the otherwise nice 2d, I think “union” for TU is a bit meagre.
Well, I got it but still.
Main complaint today, however, is 1d.
“Subject of photo to stand at the front”.
“TO stand at the front”?
TO stands or must/should stand at the front.
Wrong cryptic grammar.
That said, enough to enjoy for which thanks to Magwitch.
I suppose one could interpret “to stand at the front” as an imperative in which case it could work at a pinch but basically I agree with you. I take exception to such things when I notice them but often I don’t. Thanks, Sil, for pointing this one out.
Pete you say that the clue ‘Means of getting information from a digital company’ leading to THUMBSCREW is your top clue. I’d agree with you if it weren’t for the ‘a’, which is misleading and in my opinion wrong. I can accept thumbs = digital, and crew = company, but thumbs doesn’t = a digital. How can you account for that one-letter word? So far as I can see it’s only there for the surface, which actually wouldn’t be seriously weakened if ‘a’ were omitted.
Wil, This is a kind of thing I often miss and you pick up on. And I entirely agree with you and I must revise, or at least qualify, my rating of the clue. Thanks.