Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of June 25, 2016
I found this an easier Mudd than the previous two and a puzzle clued with some fine surfaces. My clue of the week is 3d (CAGE) and I also would pick out 5d (LITERATE). I would also mention 13a (PERRY MASON) which is clever but, I believe, also slightly flawed in its definition.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CLINCH | Picnic sandwiches left for seal! (6) |
| L (left) in CINCH (picnic) | ||
| 4 | GLAD RAGS | Top Gear – jokes involving juvenile humour in the extreme (4,4) |
| LAD (juvenile) + [humou]R together in GAGS (jokes) | ||
| 10 | SENEGAL | Date outstanding northern lass in the country (7) |
| N (northern) in SEE (date) + GAL (lass) | ||
| 11 | TUSCANY | American penitentiary in outskirts of tawdry Italian region (7) |
| US (American) + CAN (penitentiary) together in T[awdr]Y | ||
| 12 | RARE | In snooker, a red is very red! (4) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 13 | PERRY MASON | Eye drink with mother and child (5,5) |
| PERRY (drink) + MA (mother) + SON (child). If, as I assume, ‘eye’ is intended as a definition in the sense of private eye then this clue is faulty. Perry Mason was a lawyer, not a [private] eye. He used the services of a private eye by the name of Paul Drake. | ||
| 15 | TOUPEE | Rug beginning to open up, secured by peg (6) |
| O[pen] + UP together in TEE (peg) | ||
| 16 | STROPPY | Left reclining in the embrace of James Bond, say, quick to take offence (7) |
| PORT (left) reversed in SPY (James Bond, say) | ||
| 20 | LEGALLY | In the proper manner, one supporting members? (7) |
| LEG ALLY (one supporting members) | ||
| 21 | SECTOR | Area that’s dry rock (6) |
| SEC (dry) + TOR (rock) | ||
| 24 | GOBSTOPPER | Silencer as sweet? (10) |
| Double definition | ||
| 26 | GONG | Corrosion ultimately breaking giant instrument (4) |
| [corrosio]N in GOG (giant) | ||
| 28 | CRUMBLE | Fall apart, observing corgi’s first growl! (7) |
| C[orgi] + RUMBLE (growl) | ||
| 29 | LACIEST | Most delicate elastic breaks (7) |
| Anagram of ELASTIC | ||
| 30 | PEROXIDE | Cuckoo expired having guzzled old bleach (8) |
| O (old) in anagram (cuckoo) of EXPIRED | ||
| 31 | LESSEN | Drop something learned aurally (6) |
| Homophone LESSON (something learned aurally) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CASTRATE | How much actors get paid to perform a delicate operation? (8) |
| CAST RATE (how much actors get paid) | ||
| 2 | INNER TUBE | Item pumped full of air, entire bun exploding! (5,4) |
| Anagram of ENTIRE BUN | ||
| 3 | CAGE | American behind bars in prison (4) |
| Double definition (with the first referring to the American composer John Cage) | ||
| 5 | LITERATE | Able to read leader in Liverpool Echo (8) |
| L[iverpool] + ITERATE (echo). There really is a paper called the Liverpool Echo. | ||
| 6 | DISEMBOWEL | Some outsiders upset with incomplete Wimbledon draw (10) |
| S[om]E in anagram of WIMBLEDO[n]. ‘Draw’ is used in the sense of “hang, draw and quarter”. | ||
| 7 | ADAMS | US president into communism adapted after a U-turn (5) |
| Reverse hidden word | ||
| 8 | SAYING | Saw always cutting grass (6) |
| AY (always) in SING (grass) | ||
| 9 | ELDER | Tree of greater age (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 14 | PENALTY BOX | Part of the field spotted? (7,3) |
| I initially wondered whether this is meant as a double definition or a cryptic definition. Now, based on comments here, I am settling on the latter. Since I am not a sports fan I had to inquire about its workings. I learned that a football field has an area called a penalty box and that the spot is where the ball is placed for a penalty kick. (Thanks, Hamish!) | ||
| 17 | PATRONESS | Transpose impromptu for female benefactor (9) |
| Anagram of TRANSPOSE | ||
| 18 | SLAPHEAD | S? One perhaps requiring a 15 across? (8) |
| Reverse clue | ||
| 19 | BRIGHTON | Direction taken to access good French resort (8) |
| RIGHT (direction) in BON (good French) | ||
| 22 | EGGCUP | Something on the breakfast table, say, dog on hind legs grabbing first of chipolatas (6) |
| EG (say) + C[hipolatas] in PUG (dog) backwards | ||
| 23 | BELLE | Ring with gem in the middle is a beauty (5) |
| BELL (ring) + [g]E[m] | ||
| 25 | BLUER | Smear around ultramarine, finally – that’s more like it? (5) |
| [ultramarin]E in BLUR (smear) | ||
| 27 | ACME | Peak – one describing top of Matterhorn (4) |
| M[atterhorn] in ACE (one) | ||
Thanks Pete and Mudd.
I had 14dn as cryptic rather than double. The “Penalty Spot” being where the ball is placed for a penalty kick.
I thought a few of the clues were more like Mudd’s alter ego, Paul. Particularly the cheekily defined CASTRATE and also SLAPHEAD and TOUPEE.
Not too tough but a fun solve.
Unlike you Pete I found this the hardest Mudd for ages. Didn’t get even half of it. Never met “cuckoo” as an anagram word. Agree with you about “Perry Mason” though it was one of those I got. Liked. 16ac.
Thanks, Hamish, for filling me in on the penalty spot.
Defeated mainly in the SE
Did not know that a tor was a rock -thought it was a hill ,didn’t know that a gog was as giant .
Bamberger, I commiserate. The common meaning of tor is a conical hill and I had to look it up to confirm that it can also mean a rock. Gog and Magog are biblical characters (who are not giants) while Gogmagog was a legendary Welsh giant. There seems to be some confusion between them but I fancy I have seen Gog come up before as a giant in a crossword so it’s a good one to remember.
Never heard of a SLAPHEAD, so put in SKINHEAD for 18d (after all, who needs a toupee more than…?).
This got me into all kinds of trouble, with BESPOKE for 20a, which I won’t try to justify, and LEOPARD BOX for 14d, which made sense for a “spotted” clue, and I figured was some sort of a cricket thing – dash you Brits and your colourful sports terms! With all that, I never had a prayer to get 24a.
Yes, Perry Mason was a mouthpiece, never an eye – and I don’t think anyone ever used plain “eye” to mean “private eye”. Giant fumble! Dante, you’re sacked!
Oops, that should be “Mudd, your name is Mud”!
I thought 13AC was rubbish as a clue!!!!! I disliked 3dn as well, really don’t follow why ‘an American behind bars’ has anything to do with an American composer? 18dn what does reverse clue mean? What is a slaphead? I gave up on this and have decided that mudd is always a wishy washy crossword.
Karen, if you think of the sort of bars used in musical notation, then Cage the composer could be “behind” (responsible) for them.
Yeah, I don’t get the explanation for 18d, and never heard of the word “slaphead”. I used to know what ‘reverse def.’ meant but please Pete do tell us!
Thanks, Pete: as I’ve said before, I adore Mudd, and much enjoyed this one (although I found it a bit more difficult than usual). Who cares whether Gog was really a giant, P Mason an eye, or tor a rock. We got the answers, didn’t we? Thanks again, Mudd.
Della Street cares. (A big fan I’m told.)
Peter, SLAPHEAD is slang for a baldie. The head of the word “slap” is S, so SLAPHEAD is a clue for “S”, hence reverse definition.
Thanks Pete and Mudd. Pete, your 6d explanation seems off (SE isn’t reversed really, and you’ve not mentioned the removal of N).
I don’t understand 20ac. OK the definition is ‘In the proper manner’ but why is a leg ally one supporting members? Surely it’s leg = one supporting and ally = members. But is it really? How is ally = members?
Wil, I cannot be sure that my interpretation is what Mudd intended but the way I see it is as I described. I see no way to make it work taking ‘one supporting’ and ‘ally’ separately. I believe one has to consider the entire phrase ‘one supporting members’, then treat that as ‘one supporting legs’ and conclude that something that supports legs would be a leg ally. I do not mean to suggest I think this is clever or particularly good — I don’t — but I think it does, uh, have a leg to stand on (but could do perhaps with a leg ally itself to be really stable!).
Steve, Thanks for pointing out the trouble with my explanation of 6D. I did make rather a mess of it, didn’t I! I have corrected it now but am left thinking that the anagram indicator is very awkwardly place.
I think it’s just a case of the indicator telling us to pull in two different sources. I’m often caught out by that but I guess it’s legitimate. I’m happy that “fodder1 anagrind with fodder2” can mean to rearrange just fodder1 or both fodder1 and fodder2, but “fodder1 with anagrind fodder2” binds the indicator to fodder2, if you see what I mean.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
This one all went in rather straightforwardly – a welcome relief in the backlog (of what were obviously the harder puzzles that I had been dodging at the time !!)
Did have a double take with PERRY MASON being a detective … but it was only a minor hiccup – it just had to be him ! Didn’t get the composer part of CAGE, even though I have come across him in other crosswords previously. Lot of his usually witty clues with a good variety of devices used throughout.
Finished in the SE corner with GONG (which drew an ‘aha’ when it finally dawned), PATRONESS (clever anagram – of the ‘wrong word’) and SECTOR (again a clever structure in a very concise clue).