Monday Prize Crossword / Jul 4, 2016
A surprise attack from Mudd on a day I was expecting another Dante.
Lots of opportunities to make a solid start, especially in the top half.
However, ultimately, this puzzle proved to be far from a walk-over.
Some clues in the South took a while to crack (29ac, 22d, 23d)
[on the scale of Mudd, that is, as opposed to the scale of IO, for example].
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | HUMBER | Estuary a shade behind hotel (6) |
| H (hotel) + UMBER (a shade) In the NE of England, formed by the rivers Ouse and Trent. |
||
| 4 | BLOCKADE | Siege ordered to maintain grip (8) |
| BADE (ordered) around LOCK (grip) | ||
| 10 | GURNARD | Service at sea going in to protect fish (7) |
| RN (service at sea, Royal Navy) inside GUARD ((to) protect) I’d never heard of this swimmer but it was clearly clued. |
||
| 11 | UPRIGHT | Standing Tory proving honourable (7) |
| UP (standing) + RIGHT (Tory) | ||
| 12 | FATE | Fortune, large fee, ultimately (4) |
| FAT (large) + [fe]E | ||
| 13 | RED ADMIRAL | Married with lad, terribly delicate creature (3,7) |
| (MARRIED + LAD)* [* = terribly] The Red Admiral is, as one will know, a butterfly. Last week’s Radio Times told us: A much-loved continental summer visitor, with a small permanent population now resident in southern England. |
||
| 15 | VERILY | Chopped liver requiring last drop of gravy, certainly (6) |
| (LIVER)* + [grav]Y [* = chopped] | ||
| 16 | PUBLISH | Press covering temporary setback endlessly, put out (7) |
| PUSH (press) around BLI[p] (temporary setback, losing its last letter) | ||
| 20 | CATWALK | Course taken by a model accountant beginning to work during lecture (7) |
| CA (accountant) + { W[ork] inside TALK (lecture) } | ||
| 21 | ASHORE | Tree and rock away from the water (6) |
| ASH (tree) + ORE (rock) | ||
| 24 | IMPERSONAL | Distant monkey reaching New Orleans (10) |
| IMP (monkey) + (ORLEANS)* [* = new] | ||
| 26 | ADIT | Passage from Mongolia, and Gobi Desert, ends (4) |
| Last letters [ends] of: Mongolia and Gobi Desert An adit is a horizontal passage that leads into a mine. |
||
| 28 | CURSIVE | Breaking oath, four joined up (7) |
| IV (four) inside CURSE (oath) The word ‘cursive’ is used to indicate that text is written with the characters joined. |
||
| 29 | BRIDLES | Stable equipment left in the clutches of union members (7) |
| L (left) inside BRIDES (union members, that kind of union)) | ||
| 30 | ROYALIST | Solitary oddball in opposition to the Republic? (8) |
| (SOLITARY)* [* = oddball] | ||
| 31 | KENYAN | African understanding jerk, not entirely (6) |
| KEN (understanding) + YAN[k] (jerk, losing its last letter) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | HIGH FIVE | Gesture of a slapper, intoxicated figure (4,4) |
| HIGH (intoxicated) + FIVE (figure) | ||
| 2 | MORATORIA | Plan arising to secure speaker for periods of suspension (9) |
| Reversal [arising] of AIM (plan) around ORATOR (speaker) | ||
| 3 | ELAN | Dash from the middle of St Helens to the outskirts of Accrington (4) |
| EL (the middle part of St Helens) + AN (the outer characters in Accrington) | ||
| 5 | LAUDANUM | Obsolete medicine getting praise with an expression of uncertainty (8) |
| LAUD (praise) + AN + UM (expression of uncertainty) An alcoholic solution containing morphine, prepared from opium and formerly used as a narcotic painkiller (Oxford). |
||
| 6 | CARAMELISE | Cook until brown ale and cream is liquid (10) |
| (ALE + CREAM IS)* [* = liquid] | ||
| 7 | ANGER | Something suspended, lid off for incense (5) |
| [h]ANGER (something suspended, losing its first letter) | ||
| 8 | EXTOLS | Heading for escalator, tenth hole turning up in lifts (6) |
| E[scalator] + X (tenth) + reversal [turning up] of SLOT (hole) | ||
| 9 | ADDER | Dread getting drunk, one being legless (5) |
| (DREAD)* [* = getting drunk] | ||
| 14 | FLOWER GIRL | Iris, Rose or Lily? (6,4) |
| Reverse double definition … and Daisy, and Poppy … |
||
| 17 | SWORDPLAY | Art of a Samurai a joke, perhaps, under leadership of sissy (9) |
| S[issy] + WORDPLAY (a joke, perhaps) | ||
| 18 | BLOOMERS | Underwear slips (8) |
| Double definition | ||
| 19 | JETTISON | Aeroplane thus in metal to dispose of (8) |
| JET (aeroplane) + { SO (thus) inside TIN (metal) } | ||
| 22 | PINCER | First one in crab hampered, one missing another claw (6) |
| C[rab] inside PINER (one missing another) My last one in, mainly wrongfooted by the comma. |
||
| 23 | MAYBE | Perhaps tree has to remain (5) |
| MAY (tree) + BE ((to) remain) Surely, Mudd did submit this puzzle ages ago but it feels like a missed opportunity: May / Remain. |
||
| 25 | PARTY | Individual or group (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 27 | LIFE | Long sentence in novel, I feel (4) |
| Hidden solution [in]: novel I feel | ||
*anagram
Close but no cigar. I had flower name for 14d but didn’t realise that name was wrong as I couldn’t get 28a or 30a. Bit of catch 22 -couldn’t get them as I had a rogue letter in each and as I couldn’t get them, I didn’t realise name was wrong. Seemed a very plausible answer.
Also couldn’t get the intersecting 5d and 16a. Never heard of 5d
Adit comes up time and time again in crosswordland -is it ever used in the real world?
Thanks Sil and Mudd.
I just couldn’t parse BLOCKADE so thanks for that Sil – obvious when you know how!
PINCER was my last in too. It does seem a bit clumsy for MUDD. Surely the comma would be properly replaced by “by”.
Also wondered about a more current take on MAYBE/Remain.
Fun as ever.
Thanks Mudd and Sil
A more difficult than usual serving for a Monday, even if done some 9-10 months on ! Had a similar experience by getting the top half done and slowing up significantly in the SW corner where PARTY, PINCER and MAYBE were the last few in.
The usual humour and clever clues that makes one admire the originality in lateral thinking that JH continues to produce.