Monday Prize Crossword / Feb 8, 2016
Falcon – so it’s clear what you’ll get. A gentle, well clued crossword with a bit of film and music thrown in to it.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | COURTIER | Messenger outside rear of apartment finds attendant (8) |
| COURIER (messenger) around [appartmen]T | ||
| 5 | SWITCH | Whip first of sorceresses, hag (6) |
| S[orceresses] + WITCH (hag) | ||
| 10 | AISLE | Passage from Hiawatha is learned (5) |
| Hidden solution, indicated by ‘from’: [hiawath]A IS LE[arned] | ||
| 11 | CORIANDER | Carried on mixing a flavouring for food (9) |
| (CARRIED ON)* [* = mixing] | ||
| 12 | SMALL TALK | Follow round parade making light conversation (5,4) |
| STALK (follow) around MALL (parade) | ||
| 13 | SERIF | Dismisses, upon reflection, line added to letter (5) |
| Reversal, indicated by ‘upon reflection’, of: FIRES (dismisses) | ||
| 14 | VICTIM | Mark’s two little boys (6) |
| VIC (little boy) + TIM (another little boy) | ||
| 15 | SCHOLAR | Carol’s upset about husband, an academic (7) |
| (CAROL’S)* around H (husband) [* = upset] | ||
| 18 | HIGH-HAT | Noble: what women ignored aristocrat? (4-3) |
| HIGH (noble) + [w]HAT (the deleted W being ‘women’) | ||
| 20 | ALBUMS | Records a pound, extraordinary sum (6) |
| A + LB (pound) + (SUM)* [* = extraordinary) | ||
| 22 | DORIC | Cook almost all of staple food Greek-style (5) |
| DO (cook) + RIC[e] (staple food, almost all of it) | ||
| 24 | EMERGENCY | Crisis? Appear before head of corporation in New York (9) |
| EMERGE (appear) + {C[orporation] inside NY (NeW York)} | ||
| 25 | ORCHESTRA | Band of gold artist put round part of the trunk (9) |
| {OR (gold) + RA (artist)} around CHEST (part of the trunk) | ||
| 26 | DROWN | Unhappy about river in flood (5) |
| DOWN (unhappy) around R (river) | ||
| 27 | STRESS | Fancy woman losing note – it’s a worry (6) |
| MISTRESS (fancy woman) minus MI (note) | ||
| 28 | DECADENT | Self-indulgent act ended careers (8) |
| (ACT ENDED)* [* = careers] | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | COARSE | Rough plan, so it’s said (6) |
| Homophone, indicated by ‘it’s said’, of: COURSE (plan) | ||
| 2 | UPSTAGING | Putting in the shade, and winning – male, popular leader in golf (9) |
| UP (winning) + STAG (male) + IN (popular) + G[olf] | ||
| 3 | THE PLOT THICKENS | Picks tenth hotel out as circumstances are becoming more and more complicated (3,4,8) |
| (PICKS TENTH HOTEL)* [* = out] | ||
| 4 | EXCLAIM | Come out with demand to support former partner (7) |
| CLAIM (demand) coming after EX (former partner) | ||
| 6 | WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA | Bogart’s response when hassled? “Aw, beat it!”, he’d sigh, twitching (5,3,3,4) |
| (AW BEAT IT HE’D SIGH)* [* = twitching] | ||
| 7 | TUDOR | Trod carelessly round posh house (5) |
| (TROD)* around U (posh) [* = carelessly] | ||
| 8 | HEREFORD | County town – at this place on behalf of duke (8) |
| HERE (at this place) + FOR (on behalf of) + D (duke) | ||
| 9 | BRAKES | Checks thickets (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 16 | LEMON SOLE | Fruit? Only fish (5,4) |
| LEMON (fruit) + SOLE (only) | ||
| 17 | THE DOORS | Group racing hot rods round end of course (3,5) |
| (HOT RODS)* around [cours]E [* = racing] | ||
| 19 | TREATY | Deal with country at last in pact (6) |
| TREAT (deal with) + [countr]Y | ||
| 20 | AVERAGE | Mean to declare silver, English (7) |
| AVER (declare) + AG (silver) + E (English) | ||
| 21 | CYGNET | Small seal heard, and young swan (6) |
| Homophone, indicated by ‘heard’, of: SIGNET (small seal) | ||
| 23 | RECUR | Come back about worthless dog (5) |
| RE (about) + CUR (worthless dog) | ||
*anagram
There is always one that I can never get no matter how long I spend and this time it was 9d where I simply did not know that a thicket was a brake. Otherwise this was delightful Falcon and Everyman as it used to be.
Thanks Falcon and Sil
Actually did this one a few days ago – think I was looking for an easier setter on that day. Still enjoy solving a puzzle like this – it mightn’t take as long but still lots to enjoy and with WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA something new learnt – assume that it is a quote by Bogart’s character, Phillip Marlowe, in “The Big Sleep” but it was hard to track down.
Took a while to confirm that ‘mark’ was a VICTIM – hadn’t seen that before.
Finished in the NW corner with COURSE and UPSTAGING the last couple in.
Thanks Sil and Falcon.
Good quality. I enjoyed both the long down anagrams.
I suspect that THE DOORS might be a bit historic for younger solvers. Thinking of them for the answer probably marks me as a man of a certain age.