Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of February 27, 2016
I found a good number of fine clues in this puzzle, all down ones: my clue of the week 1 (BASILICA) plus 2 (SUPERBUG), 5 (MARSEILLAISE) and 18 (BLOOMERS).
| Across | ||
| 1 | BUSTLE | Hurry about, one supporting Queen Victoria, say? (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 4 | EMOTICON | Computerised image I study on book, moving backwards (8) |
| TOME (book) backwards + I (I) + CON (study). “Computerised image” may be a slightly questionable definition for ’emoticon’ but I had no trouble solving the clue. | ||
| 9 | SUPINE | Column about leader in uprising, passive (6) |
| U[prising] in SPINE (column) | ||
| 10 | FRICTION | Story about the end of inner conflict (8) |
| [inne]R in FICTION (story) | ||
| 12 | LORD | In recital, praise God (4) |
| Homophone (“laud”) | ||
| 13 | UNWED | Wife in nude abandoned – like she used to be? (5) |
| W (wife) in anagram of NUDE | ||
| 14 | BAKE | Some pleb, a keen cook (4) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 17 | CHURCHILLIAN | Statesmanlike mission suffering in a broadcast (12) |
| CHURCH (mission) + ILL (suffering) + anagram of IN A | ||
| 20 | BLACK AND BLUE | Bruised – in shades? (5,3,4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 23 | LEEK | Vegetable some ship from the east (4) |
| KEEL (some ship) backwards | ||
| 24 | FEAST | Dine well – it’s an accomplishment to eat seconds (5) |
| S (seconds) in FEAT (an accomplishment) | ||
| 25 | POOL | Water polo is swimming! (4) |
| Anagram of POLO | ||
| 28 | THORACIC | God starts to act childishly in casually referring to a body part (8) |
| THOR (god) + A[ct] C[hildishly] I[n] C[asually] | ||
| 29 | TUREEN | Deep vessel, vase almost nicked by youth (6) |
| UR[n] (vase almost) in TEEN (youth) | ||
| 30 | SEDIMENT | Delivered with money enclosed, matter settled? (8) |
| DIME (money) in SENT (delivered) | ||
| 31 | LESSER | Subordinate in Nazi police poking eyeball (6) |
| SS (Nazi police) in LEER (eyeball) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BASILICA | Lamb’s comment about element that’s lost on place of worship (8) |
| SILIC[on] (element that’s lost on) in BAA (lamb’s comment). Basilica is an interesting word. Originally it referred to a style of architecture used by the ancient Romans, specifically a building designed around two rows of columns. Most older cathedrals adopted this design and it has come to mean a place of worship. | ||
| 2 | SUPERBUG | Drunk urges pub to find resistant bacterium (8) |
| Anagram of URGES PUB | ||
| 3 | LENT | Strait of water, not so fast (4) |
| [so]LENT (strait of water not so) | ||
| 5 | MARSEILLAISE | Only the French would stand for it (12) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 6 | TACT | Diplomacy nailed, by the sound of it (4) |
| Homophone (“tacked”) | ||
| 7 | CLIMAX | Cold over capital city, cross peak (6) |
| C (cold) + LIMA (capital city) + X (cross) | ||
| 8 | NANTES | French city where nougat originally stuffed into cheeks (6) |
| N[ougat] in NATES (cheeks). ‘Nate’ is a little-known word for buttock — certainly one that I did not know. | ||
| 11 | INDISCRETION | Doctor is in credit, no mistake! (12) |
| Anagram of IS IN CREDIT NO | ||
| 15 | SCALE | Climb peaks in Swiss cantons and, lastly, Everest (5) |
| S[wiss] C[antons] A[nd] L[astly] E[verest] | ||
| 16 | PADDY | Fit tot between sides of potty (5) |
| ADD (tot) in P[ott]Y | ||
| 18 | BLOOMERS | Underwear for boobs (8) |
| Double definition | ||
| 19 | BERLINER | German pilsner bottles right and left at home (8) |
| R (right) + L (left) + IN (at home) all in BEER (pilsner) | ||
| 21 | FLATUS | Wind out of tune with middle section of percussion (6) |
| FLAT (out of tune) + [perc]US[sion] | ||
| 22 | SECOND | Silver tick (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 26 | MAAM | Queen’s address written either way? (4) |
| Palindrome | ||
| 27 | CUBE | Solid baby on drugs (4) |
| CUB (baby) + E (drugs) | ||
I enjoy MUDD but didn’t get the SW corner this time. 11dn I got fixed on looking for a Doctor as the answer to the anagram. 3dn I’m not convinced by. Lent is a time of fasting, not a fast as such: it doesn’t work as a noun, a lent? nor a verb, to lent? 21dn I though of flatus as in flatulence but hadn’t met the word so it didn’t go in.
I always enjoy Mudd. Malcolm’s stricture may be correct, but there’s enough clue to see the point. I wonder if this is the first crossword to feature ’emoticon’? — vile phenomenon. Thanks as usual Mudd, for the entertainment, and Pete for the blog.
Malcolm, I agree that Lent is, strictly speaking, a time of religious observance that typically involves fasting rather than a fast per se. However using one to clue the other is done in crosswords so much that I think we have to let it pass.
Hornbeam, I see new fangled words such as ’emoticon’ in puzzles more and more but don’t recall seeing this particular one before.
Thanks Pete and Mudd.
I do recall seeing EMOTICON within the last year between the FT and GUARDIAN so spotted that straight off.
I too had MARSEILLAISE as a favourite – along with PADDY and FLATUS.
I was a bit uncomfortable with BUSTLE – which supports part of a dress rather than supporting a (Victorian) person. For clarity I mean a person from that era as opposed to someone like Brucew from Melbourne!
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Enjoyable puzzle as usual from JH which took up all of the train ride into work and most of lunchtime last Thursday. Interesting grid in that one needed the four long clues to join (or get a starting point at least in) each of the quadrants.
Always have trouble spelling MARSEILLAISE for some reason – never remember the first I.
Finished in the NW corner with BASILICA (which I had to guess as the answer and work back from the word play), BUSTLE (similar initial misgivings as Hamish -thanks for the call out – 🙂 – and apologies to Hornbeam, but finally got my head around what was meant) and LORD as the last one in.
BERLINER was my favourite with the clever misleading surface of ‘German’ as an adjective.
PS Pete, a small typo at 29a where you would have meant UR(n) rather than UR(e) – just wanted to show that I do read your blog !
It is rare that I complete a Mudd but not a Dante but that happened this weekend. Only one I couldn’t parse was 8d as I had not heard of nate either.