Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 19, 2015
This seems a fairly typical Mudd with a good number of double definitions including my clue of the week 23a (STRIKER). My other favourites are 10d (SAFETY PIN) and 17d (REMAINS) while my hardest solve was 9a (MACABRE).
ACROSS
1 American man, destructive type? (6)
BUSTER – double definition
4 On board ship, junk heading for unlikely position (6)
STATUS – TAT (junk) + U[nlikely] together in SS (on board ship)
8 Pair of stick-in-the-muds, that is, captured by sci-fi author (7)
WELLIES – IE (that is) in WELLS (sci-fi author, i.e. H.G. Wells)
9 Dark red initially embraced by Lincoln in a kilt? (7)
MACABRE – MAC (in a kilt!!!) + R[ed] in ABE (Lincoln). Never seen that before — “in a kilt” to clue MAC.
11 Giant mammal, possible variation in a Welsh cuckoo (5,5)
SPERM WHALE – PERM (possible variation) in anagram of A WELSH
12 Self-dedicated book? (4)
TOME – TO ME (self-dedicated)
13 Antipodean communist state (5)
MAORI – MAO (communist) + RI (state, i.e. Rhode Island)
14 Wind flower in Cambridgeshire city (8)
EASTERLY – ASTER (flower) in ELY (Cambridgeshire city)
16 God always beyond identification, probably (1,7)
I DARESAY – ID (identification) + ARES (god) + AY (always). ‘Daresay’ is a strange verb in that it seems to exist only in the first person singular of the present tense. Would you daresay otherwise?
18 Mark on the back of old statuette (5)
OSCAR – O (old) + SCAR (mark)
20 Picture frame is light mahogany, for starters (4)
FILM – F[rame] I[s] L[ight] M[ahogany]
21 Tories who failed to impress Conservative leader in complete U-turn (10)
SWITCHEROO – C[onservative] in anagram of TORIES WHO
23 Player in football match? (7)
STRIKER – double definition — and a sneaky one
24 Very aggressive continental backs into ancient Hindu spear (7)
JAVELIN – V (very) + [aggressiv]E [continenta]L together in JAIN (ancient Hindu). I am unsure how “ancient Hindu” clues JAIN. I know what Jainism is an outgrowth of Hinduism but, given that I have friends who are Jains today, I don’t see how it is ancient.
25 Blackpool, perhaps, again put in order? (6)
RESORT – double definition
26 Exclude housing accommodation that’s basic in Asian country (6)
BHUTAN – HUT (accommodation that’s basic) in BAN (exclude)
DOWN
1 High-pitched sound that’s shrill, ultimately, in sound of horn (5)
BLEEP – [shril]L in BEEP (sound of horn)
2 Deal with capital in Rome, certainly not a seaport in Campania (7)
SALERNO – SALE (deal) + R[ome] + NO (certainly not)
3 Plant is in Leeds, we gathered (9)
EDELWEISS – anagram of IS IN LEEDS WE
5 Find a particle (5)
TRACE – double definition
6 Snack, one of ten containing wine (7)
TOASTIE – ASTI (wine) in TOE (one of ten)
7 One making breakfast for a biker? (9)
SCRAMBLER – double definition
10 Fastener I fasten when bent, securing your pyjama tops (6,3)
SAFETY PIN – Y[our] P[yjama] in anagram of I FASTEN
13 Coldest period, suggestion of New Testament? (9)
MIDWINTER – reverse clue for NT (New Testament)
15 Owls trained to mentor a snail (9)
SLOWCOACH – anagram of OWLS + COACH (mentor)
17 Is left right? Then name is wrong (7)
REMAINS – R (right) + anagram of NAME IS
19 Mild cold allowed to grip people (7)
CLEMENT – C (cold) + MEN (people) in LET (allowed)
21 Completely transparent (5)
SHEER – double definition
22 Bulb illuminated more than once, one being screwed in (5)
ONION – I (one) in ON ON (illuminated more than once)
Thanks Pete – es, a typical Mudd.
As to 9ac, I think you should see this as R inside MacAbe (which might be ‘Lincoln in a kilt’) – question mark provided to indicate the playfulness.
Thanks Pete and Mudd.
I parsed MACABRE in the same way as Sil.
For some reason, I DARESAY and SLOWCOACH particularly appealed and nice to see the old SWITCHEROO!
Seems like we’re getting EDELWEISS at least once a week of late between here and the Grauniad.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
10dn: I think this is actually Y[our] P[yjama] in anagram of I FASTEN.
Sil and Hamish, I do not see a meaningful difference between my parsing of 9ac and yours.
Pelham, Thank you, you are right of course and I was just sloppy there when I wrote up the blog. I have corrected the explanation.
A game of two parts -solved all from 13a downwards apart from 14a and 21a . 21a is surely a made up word?
Got nothing of the other part except edelweiss. Regardless of how 9a is supposed to be parsed, it seems a it of a stretch to me.
Bamberger, I had the same sort of feeling about SWITCHEROO. I am familiar with the term but it somehow does not seem like it should be a fully accredited English word. And now that I happen to check, I find it is not in my Chambers although one other dictionary has it and defines it as “A sudden unexpected switch” (which is significantly different to Mudd’s definition).
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Found this a little harder than the normal JH offering in the FT – and not quite sure why. It’s reflected in having three clues where I either didn’t parse the answer at all or did it wrongly. Didn’t see the NT in 13d as mid wiNTer, didn’t see the clever ONION at all and was completely misdirected and lazily had taken the PY from pjamas instead of from Your Pyjamas!
Had no problem with SWITCHEROO – it’s often used in AUST and the online Oxford has it defined as “(US informal) A change, reversal, or exchange, especially a surprising or deceptive one.” – which is pretty close to how it’s clued here.
Finished down in the SW with MIDWINTER, RESORT (just didn’t know that Blackpool was one till looking it up) and the clever STRIKER
I sort of liked the cheeky MACABE (and do see a slight difference in how Sil called it than yours Pete) – still would work better if it had of made use of his surname MACLINCOLN somehow rather than his given name – still a nice idea – and didn’t hold me up.