Monday Prize Crossword / Aug 31, 2015
Some might say ‘just another Dante’ but this crossword took me a bit longer than usual (mainly due to the SW).
On a couple of occasions (7d, 17d) the setter gave us some ‘food for thought’.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | DISCOVER |
Hear of a record surplus (8)
DISC (a record) + OVER (surplus) |
| 6 | MENACE |
Troops master the threat (6)
MEN (troops) + ACE (master) |
| 9 | LOTION |
It’s a great deal to charge for skin treatment (6)
LOT (a great deal) + ION (charge) Some might say that an ion is a particle that’s charged and not just ‘charge’. |
| 10 | GOLD RUSH |
Large scale migration for those seeking earthly riches (4,4)
(Not so) Cryptic definition |
| 11 | BYES |
They may help cricketers to win by two points (4)
BY + E,S (two points, i.e. East and South) |
| 12 | GOING CHEAP |
Travel bargain offer? (5,5)
Cryptic definition, perhaps, but pick your own here! |
| 14 | WET-NURSE |
What’s needed for developing wee runts? (3-5)
(WEE RUNTS)* [* = developing] The clue as a whole is meant to be the definition which then points in the direction of a noun. However, the hyphenated version of ‘wet-nurse’ is a verb. |
| 16 | VAIN |
One in a leading position is full of himself (4)
I (one) inside VAN (a leading position) |
| 18 | GAGA |
Lady in a senile and repetitive state? (4)
GA (a state, Georgia) + one more GA Lady Gaga [is she still around, now that it’s all Taylor Swift?] and a second definition That said, I feel that the words ‘in a’ are now somewhat floating around, especially ‘a’ doesn’t feel comfortable – to me, that is. So I am still not sure whether my original idea, ‘state’ doing double duty, should be binned. |
| 19 | TRAINEES |
New Aintree’s apprentices? (8)
(AINTREE’S)* [* = new] |
| 21 | WIDESPREAD |
Liberal feast available to lots of people (10)
WIDE (liberal) + SPREAD (feast) |
| 22 | WEPT |
Was unhappy parking in the rain (4)
P (parking) inside WET (the rain) |
| 24 | STAGNATE |
Animal that’s hunted with a net when out – to go to pot (8)
STAG (animal (that’s hunted)) + (A NET)* [* = out] |
| 26 | NARROW |
Raced back to the line with not much room to spare (6)
NAR (reversal, indicated by ‘back’, of RAN (raced)) + ROW ((the) line) |
| 27 | ADAPTS |
Commercials about smart fashions (6)
ADS (commercials) around APT (smart) In what sense can ‘apt’ be replaced by ‘smart’? See post #2. |
| 28 | DEAD SHOT |
He’s unlikely to be found missing (4,4)
Cryptic definition Both Dante and Rufus used a similar clue not so long ago to ‘define’ MARKSMEN. |
| Down | ||
| 2 | IRONY |
Sarcasm from the club youth leader (5)
IRON (club) + Y[outh] |
| 3 | CRIMSON LAKE |
A shade smaller than the Red Sea? (7,4)
CRIMSON is ‘red’ and a LAKE is ‘smaller than the sea’ ‘Crimson Lake’ is indeed a lake [in Alberta, Canada]. However, here it is another name for ‘carmine’ – a bright-red pigment. |
| 4 | VINEGARY |
It can make a gin very bitter (8)
(A GIN VERY)* [* = (it) can make] |
| 5 | REGAINED THE LEAD |
Got back to front (8,3,4)
(Not so) Cryptic definition |
| 6 | MALIGN |
Defame a large number and get into a row (6)
M (a large number, a thousand) + ALIGN (get into a row) |
| 7 | NOR |
This way for the fjords (3)
NOR/way is where the fjords are I would like to underline the definition but there isn’t one! A bit odd, even if I like Dante’s idea (which was good enough for Hamish @1). |
| 8 | CAST ASIDE |
Players one team dropped (4,5)
CAST (players) + A (one) + SIDE (team) |
| 13 | HAVING WORDS |
Possessing the vocabulary for quarrelling? (6,5)
HAVING (possessing) + WORDS ((the) vocabulary) |
| 15 | EMACIATED |
Came up with a diet change for the undernourished (9)
EMAC (reveral, indicated by ‘up’, of CAME) + (A DIET)* [* = change] |
| 17 | SARDINIA |
Island doctor turns up to be imprisoned in Asia, unexpectedly (8)
RD (reversal, indicated by ‘turned up’, of DR (doctor)) inside (IN ASIA)* [* = unexpectedly] It feels like we’re missing one more ‘in’. That little word is needed for the containment indicator but also for the anagram fodder. Unless one reads the clue as ‘(with) RD to be imprisoned, (IN ASIA)*’. A bit of a stretch, perhaps, but it would work ultimately. |
| 20 | SPRAYS |
Recite the rosary when on board jets (6)
PRAY (recite the rosary) inside SS (on board) |
| 23 | PHOTO |
Snappy sort of finish (5)
Double / Cryptic definition |
| 25 | GYP |
College servant in pain (3)
Double definition A gyp can be a college servant at the universities of Cambridge and Durham. |
Thanks Sil and Dante.
Mostly enjoyable.
I did write ‘not again’ by 28ac for the same reason as you did.
I think that 18ac is a triple covering the eponymous lady, senile, and also Georgia (GA) repeated.
I thought that ‘Nor’ is fine as a direction in 7dn. I believe that seamen often use the shortened form – and I gather that the setter has a nautical bent!
In 17dn, I just concluded that ‘in’ was doing double duty. I shared your concerns about ‘apt’ for ‘smart’ in 27 – but we both got the answer so it can’t be too bad.
Thanks again.
Thanks Dante and Sil
This did have a slightly harder degree of difficulty than is the norm for this setter.
The online Oxford dictionary lists smart as a synonym to APT – as in quick to learn, e.g. ‘she was an apt student.’
Sort of liked his cryptic definitions in a funny way at 10a, 12a (where I initially put in an unsatisfactory GOING AHEAD) and 5d. Missed the repetitive GA’s at 18a for some reason – so it becomes a clever triple definition as Hamish calls out.
Hated it. Couldn’t work out what I was looking for in a fair few number of clues. Thank you all for showing me how the clues work!!!