Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of December 5, 2015
I praised Mudd last time I blogged one of his puzzles and wonder if he was inspired by that to give us an especially good one. Whether so or not, I am delighted by his steady run of fine work and very much enjoyed this weekend’s. My clue of the week is 15d (LIBRARIES) and I also especially like 29a (CHELSEA TRACTOR), 6d (ASIA MINOR) and 18d (DOCTOR WHO).
| Across | ||
| 1 | RECORD-BREAKING |
Best ever, as is ace in lap? (6-8)
A (a) in LAP is breaking LP (record). Very tricky wordplay, I’d say. |
| 10 | CUTIE |
Two characters, we hear? One’s appealing (5)
Homophone (“Q T”) |
| 11 | TRADITION |
Custom: broadcaster screening it in empty town (9)
IT (it) in RADIO (broadcaster) in T[ow]N |
| 12 | ORBITER |
One circling gold tooth? (7)
OR (gold) + BITER (tooth?) |
| 13 | HOMAGES |
Tools penning glossy tributes (7)
MAG (glossy) in HOES (tools) |
| 14 | STILL |
Calm, however (5)
Double definition |
| 16 | EUMENIDES |
Vengeful goddesses appearing nude – I seem discombobulated! (9)
Anagram of NUDE I SEEM. Eumenides, a term I did not know, are mythological snake-haired monsters. |
| 19 | EXHIBITOR |
One showing first of items in box with their rubbish (9)
I[tems] in anagram of BOX THEIR |
| 20 | RECAP |
Horse has to go over – or go over again? (5)
PACER (horse) backwards |
| 22 | DEFLATE |
Reduce level in river (7)
FLAT (level) in DEE (river) |
| 25 | LECTORS |
Readers – those voting to dispense with leader (7)
[e]LECTORS (those voting to dispense with leader) |
| 27 | MAURITIUS |
Last thing on menu, tiramisu ordered for island nation (9)
Anagram of [men]U TIRAMISU |
| 28 | VOWEL |
I perhaps swear especially loudly for starters (5)
VOW (swear) + E[specially] L[oudly] |
| 29 | CHELSEA TRACTOR |
Dodgy character stole vehicle in London (7,7)
Anagram of CHARACTOR STOLE |
| Down | ||
| 2 | ESTABLISH |
Tight belt and sash I found (9)
Anagram of BELT SASH I |
| 3 | OVERT |
Open up part of theatre voluntarily (5)
Reverse hidden word |
| 4 | DETERGENT |
Check fellow is cleaner (9)
DETER (check) + GENT (fellow) |
| 5 | ROACH |
Fish that’s been smoked? (5)
Double definition |
| 6 | ASIA MINOR |
Romania is mistaken for Anatolia (4,5)
Anagram of ROMANIA IS |
| 7 | ICING |
In cakes it’s necessary, generally, with all toppings? (5)
I[n] C[akes] I[t’s] N[ecessary] G[enerally] |
| 8 | GENESIS |
Beginning of a book is covered in make-up? (7)
GENES (make-up) + IS (is) |
| 9 | ACROSS |
A short over (6)
A (a) + CROSS (short) |
| 15 | LIBRARIES |
Overlapping signs in quiet places (9)
LIBRA overlapping ARIES |
| 17 | MORALISER |
Preacher has spoken, uncharitable type admits (9)
ORAL (spoken) in MISER (uncharitable type) |
| 18 | DOCTOR WHO |
Show how if you do this? (6,3)
Reverse clue (doctor WHO to get HOW) |
| 19 | ENDEMIC |
Indigenous mice mutating beyond death (7)
END (death) + anagram of MICE |
| 21 | PESTLE |
Crusher brings pain to heads of Little Englanders (6)
PEST (pain) + L[ittle] E[nglanders] |
| 23 | FLUKE |
Lucky thing, a sucker (5)
Double definition |
| 24 | EVITA |
Show mother doing a topless handstand? (5)
[n]ATIVE backwards (‘mother’ cluing NATIVE as in native land/motherland) |
| 26 | CIVIC |
City that may rise and fall (5)
Palindrome |
Simply too hard for me with the NW devoid of any answers . It would have helped if I could have got 1a but I couldn’t.
I think cu tie is hard and I while I knew 16a was an anagram, I didn’t know where to put the unchecked letters.
I wanted 12a to be incisor but couldn’t get the incis bit
Thanks Mudd and Pete.
Enjoyable as ever. I agree with you Pete about favourites. RECORD BREAKING was particularly clever.
As so often with Mudd, it took a while to get going with EXHIBITOR my first in.
I had to look up the sucker definition of FLUKE and needed your help to parse EVITA – obvious when you know how.
I wasn’t quite convinced by the clue for CIVIC which is purely the possessive of city. Should there have been an “of” in there?
I had cutie for 10a as did Bamberger.
I haven’t come across the spelling ‘cutee’ before.
Thanks as always to Pete
Thanks Mudd and Pete
10ac: I think CUTIE works if you think of the answer as a single homophone, rather than separate homophones of Q and T.
7dn: I think the whole clue is the definition here.
I agree 10a must be CUTIE and I have edited the blog to make it so. Thanks all for pointing this out.
I wondered about CIVIC too.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Re 26, how about CITY HALL / CIVIC HALL? Close enough for me! But then I’ll cut Mudd a load of slack in his various guises for the sheer amount of amusement he brings.
I finished, as I am starting to do with MUDD, but only after a week of trying which is about normal. Guessed 1ac from the letters I had. How you worked it out from the clue and explained it is phenomenal, Pete, though having done it I can now get it. CUTIE and ACROSS were the last clues in.
Malcolm, I thank you for your kind words but have to acknowledge that I took a little outside hint to help me understand 1ac.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Only got to do this one today … and found it quite hard going early on, as is often the case with this setter. Eventually was able to get the top half solved by coming across from the NE corner – still took a while to parse the tricky 1a though. Could see in his Guardian persona presenting 13a quite differently with an alternate to implements.
Was pleased to remember CHELSEA TRACTOR (we call them Toorak tractors here for similar reasons). Lots of clever tricks with my favourites being VOWEL, EVITA and RECORD BREAKING. Finished in the SE corner with PACER and PESTLE the last couple in.