Monday Prize Crossword / Jan 25, 2016
This must be Gurney’s debut for the Prize spot.
Not very difficult but smoothly clued as we may expect from this setter (aka Raich, at the Indy).
Not much to add, really.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SQUARE | Unfashionable like 4 or 9 (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 5 | REST STOP | Protests about lay-by (4,4) |
| (PROTESTS)* [* = about] I did enter ‘rest spot’ here but Simon S’s suggestion @2 is clearly the one to go for. |
||
| 9 | VIOLATES | Fails to comply with a vote – is left in a mess (8) |
| (A VOTE IS + L (left))* [* = in a mess] | ||
| 10 | BRAZEN | Shameless, brutal to begin with, destroy town ultimately (6) |
| B[rutal] + RAZE (destroy) + [tow]N | ||
| 11 | CHEEKY | Impudent – disheartened Czech exile, kindly (6) |
| C[zec]H + E[xil]E + K[indl]Y | ||
| 12 | DRAW LOTS | Make choice as teams may if not winning or losing much? (4,4) |
| DRAW (as teams may if not winning or losing) + LOTS (much) It feels like the definition needs a bit more (to me, that is). |
||
| 14 | THE REAL THING | No imitation in that place – Iceland’s legislature (3,4,5) |
| THERE (in that place) + ALTHING (Iceland’s legislation, ie the Icelandic parliament) | ||
| 18 | NON-RESIDENTS | Set dinner son arranged for those not staying (3-9) |
| (SET DINNER SON)* [* = arranged] | ||
| 22 | TEMPESTS | Checks covering Eastern parliamentarian lead to storms (8) |
| TESTS (checks) around {E (Eastern) + MP (parlementarian)} | ||
| 25 | EXOCET | Missile former commander gets after shelling (6) |
| EX (former) + CO (commander, i.e. Commanding Officer) + [g]ET[s] | ||
| 26 | JAGUAR | In Hamburg I agree when daughter leaves to watch over feline (6) |
| JA (in Hamburg I agree, German word for ‘yes’) + {GUARD (to watch over) minus D (daughter)} | ||
| 27 | INITIATE | Start at home computers before I had breakfast? (8) |
| IN (at home) + IT (computers) + I ATE (I had breakfast) | ||
| 28 | RESEMBLE | Be like Ypres, emblematic to some extent (8) |
| Hidden solution, indicated by ‘to some extent’: [yp]RES EMBLE[matic] | ||
| 29 | GANDER | Look! Meeting at last with Queen (6) |
| [meetin]G + AND (with) + ER (Queen) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | QUICHE | Hurry as fellow’s replaced king’s flan (6) |
| QUICK (hurry) with K (king) replaced by HE (fellow) | ||
| 3 | ALL-SEATER | Stands in such a venue? Yes and no! (3-6) |
| In an all-seater venue there are stands (yes!) but none where one can stand (no!) | ||
| 4 | ENTRY FEES | In from France, hear flak initially – notice rising charges (5,4) |
| EN (in, in French) + TRY (hear) + F[lak) + EES (reversal, indicated by ‘rising’ of SEE (notice)) | ||
| 5 | RESIDUE | Material left for recycling I’d reuse (7) |
| (I’D REUSE)* [* = (for) recycling] | ||
| 6 | SABRA | Israeli held up in radar base (5) |
| Hidden solution, indicated by ‘held’: [rad]AR BAS[e] – then reversed, indicated by ‘up’ The solution was clear enough but I had to check that it really means ‘a native-born Israeli, not an immigrant’ (Chambers). |
||
| 7 | SMALL | Second shopping area limited in size (5) |
| S (second) + MALL (shopping area) | ||
| 8 | OVERTONE | Deliberate individual gets extra meaning (8) |
| OVERT (deliberate) + ONE (individual) | ||
| 13 | WIT | Ladies’ group with time for humour? (3) |
| WI (ladies’ group, i.e. Women’s Institute) + T (time) | ||
| 15 | LINGERING | Having new lead, identifying suspect hanging around (9) |
| FINGERING (identifying suspect, according to Chambers a slang term) with the starting letter changed (‘new lead’) | ||
| 16 | HISTORIAN | Past master? (9) |
| Cryptic defintion | ||
| 17 | COVERAGE | Press articles, 100 – beyond specified limit? (8) |
| C (hundred) + OVER AGE (beyond specified limit) | ||
| 19 | EYE | Viewer I overheard (3) |
| Homophone, indicated by ‘overheard’, of: I | ||
| 20 | DESPISE | Scorn drinks brought up in sea setting? Not entirely (7) |
| SPIS (reversal, indicated by ‘brought up’ of SIPS (drinks)) inside DEE[p] (sea, not entirely) | ||
| 21 | GENTLE | Somewhat indulgent, lenient, moderate (6) |
| Hidden solution, indicated by ‘somewhat’: [indul]GENT LE[nient] | ||
| 23 | PAUSE | We hear hands take short break (5) |
| Homophone, indicated by ‘we hear’, of: PAWS (hands) | ||
| 24 | SCRUB | Get rid of type of vegetation (5) |
| Double definition | ||
*anagram
Thanks Sil and Gurney.
All very straightforward and clearly clued as you say.
No big ticks or crosses.
Didn’t want you to think nobody was reading.
Thanks Gurney and Sil
In 5A I had REST STOP, which I think fits the definition equally well.
The puzzle is also a pangram.
Simon, no doubt you are right.
Much better – I will tweak the blog.
A pangram? Well spotted.
Thanks Gurney and Sil
A pretty benign puzzle which helps to tick over the volume of crosswords completed. Nothing really notable, although to DRAW LOTS in Aust does mean to make a choice – thought that the cryptic part was quite amusing. Missed seeing the DEEP as the sea – was wondering in what context the River DEE could be regarded as a sea.
Finished in the NE corner with THE REAL THING (my favourite Russell Morris song when growing up), ALL-SEATER (a new term for me) and VIOLATES the last ones in.
Completely missed the pangram.