Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of November 14, 2015
I surprised myself by dredging up MAENAD (29a) from some dark corner of my memory. My clue of the week is 4d (SPEARMINT) and I would also single out 14a (ALICE SPRINGS) and 10a (DRYADS).
| Across | ||
| 1 | EDICTS |
Post office ignored dreadful despotic proclamations (6)
Anagram of DES[po]TIC |
| 5 | MANITOBA |
Obsession about to be curtailed in Winnipeg area (8)
TO B[e] together in MANIA (obsession) |
| 9 | FORMLESS |
Amorphous mass taken in at lower cost (8)
M (mass) in FOR LESS (at lower cost) |
| 10 | DRYADS |
Doctor Finlay finally notices spirits (6)
DR (doctor) + [finla]Y + ADS (notices) |
| 11 | ALTAIR |
Stop musical for Cockney star (6)
[h]ALT [h]AIR (stop musical for Cockney) |
| 12 | AGREEING |
A timeless salutation in correspondence (8)
A (a) + GREE[t]ING (timeless salutation) |
| 14 | ALICE SPRINGS |
Special mobile phones somewhere in Oz (5,7)
Anagram of SPECIAL + RINGS (phones) |
| 18 | PEANUT BUTTER |
Behind lines a pure net clumsily spread (6,6)
BUTT (behind) in anagram of A PURE NET |
| 22 | SEA FEVER |
She’s heartless – a female always exhibiting Masefield’s work (3,5)
S[h]E + A (a) + F (female) + EVER (always). “Sea Fever” is a poem by John Masefield — not one I knew but had to look up. |
| 25 | SATEEN |
Half of coat in spotted material (6)
[co]AT in SEEN (spotted) |
| 26 | AVIATE |
Fly from Syria via Tehran (6)
Hidden word |
| 27 | LAID-BACK |
Easy-going dial? (4-4)
Reverse clue |
| 28 | ESPRESSO |
Are French reporters getting over drink? (8)
ES (are French) + PRESS (reporters) + O (over) |
| 29 | MAENAD |
European and American backing frenzied woman (6)
DANE (European) + AM (American) all backwards |
| Down | ||
| 2 | DOODLE |
Casually draw benefit, securing overdraft (6)
OD (overdraft) in DOLE (benefit) |
| 3 | COME AGAIN |
Pay another visit, eh? (4,5)
Double definition |
| 4 | SPEARMINT |
Small fruit with brand-new flavour (9)
S (small) + PEAR (fruit) + MINT (brand-new) |
| 5 | MISTAKE |
Bloomer discovered by end of term, I wager (7)
[ter]M + I (I) + STAKE (wager) |
| 6 | NADIR |
Low-water mark in cracked drain (5)
Anagram of DRAIN |
| 7 | THYME |
Occasion, we hear, for plant (5)
Homophone (“time”) |
| 8 | BADINAGE |
Chaff being ordered, one horse tucked in (8)
I (one) + NAG (horse) together in BADE (ordered) |
| 13 | ERR |
Skater rarely content to slip up (3)
Hidden word |
| 15 | POTASSIUM |
Metal container a girl overturned outside community centre (9)
POT (container) + A (a) + [comm]U[nity] in MISS (girl) backwards |
| 16 | IRRITABLE |
Blairite prepared to accept leader of Red Cross (9)
R[ed] in anagram of BLAIRITE |
| 17 | RESERVES |
Books about French porcelain turning up (8)
RE (about) + SEVRES (French porcelain) backwards |
| 19 | USE |
Trees reportedly providing exercise (3)
Homophone (“yews”) |
| 20 | UTRILLO |
Artist turning out frame for runner (7)
RILL (runner) in anagram of OUT |
| 21 | MERCIA |
Norman thanks a part of old England (6)
MERCI (Norman thanks) + A (a) |
| 23 | FLAIR |
Light, we hear, is bent (5)
Homophone (“flare”) |
| 24 | VIEWS |
Contend with Shakespeare’s opening scenes (5)
VIE (contend) + W (with) + S[hakespeare] |
Thsnks Cincinnus anf Pete.
18ac is BUTT in anagram of A PURE NET.
19dn I am sure you meant to put as homophone of yews.
Ah, yes, somehow I miscounted the letters in 18ac. And, yes again, I just flubbed the explanation of 19dn. Thanks very much for letting me know.
Thanks Pete and Cincinnus.
I only really know the Masefield poem from the Spike Milligan version:
I must go down to the sea again
To the sea and the lonely sky
I left my shoes and socks there
I wonder if they’re dry?
Favourite was PEANUT BUTTER
Ah, I was a great fan of Spike but don’t recall ever hearing that. I can however vividly imagine him reciting it. Thank you!
I only got 26 & 27a and 16d in the bottom half and had 10 & 11a and 8d missing from the top half.
Dryads, maenad, altair and utrillo were totally unknown to me and I’ve never come across Masefield which made that fairly ungettable.
For 28a , I think es = are French is tough as that is the second person singular and you could have had any of the other 5.
For 17d , I’d never heard of sevres
Too many obscurities for me but maybe there were well known to others.
Thanks Cincinnus and Pete
A workmanlike puzzle with a couple of clues bringing some new learning – the John Masefield poem and SEVRES porcelain. Maurice UTRILLO needed to be confirmed with references as the artist at 20d. Always good to see an Australian reference and ALICE SPRINGS did open the puzzle right up for me.
Liked the misdirection with RESERVES that was made that bit harder by not knowing the Parisian porcelain.
Finished in the SE corner with MAENAD and MERCIA before finding that I hadn’t fully corrected MISTAKE from the original MISLAID at 5d.
28ac. Isn’t there an “S” too many so should it be “O” for over?
Ah, yes. I have corrected 28a. Thank you, Malcolm.