Monday Prize Crossword / Aug 1, 2016
While Mudd usually is a bit Paul in a lower gear, I thought this one was excellent.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | COBALT | Horse, key element (6) |
| COB (horse) + ALT (key) It doesn’t happen very often that 1ac is my first one in. Today it was. |
||
| 4 | LEAPFROG | Game bound with fastener (8) |
| LEAP (bound) + FROG (fastener) | ||
| 10 | APLENTY | Penalty, though not fine, a lot (7) |
| (PENALTY)* [* = (though) not fine] | ||
| 11 | TRIBUTE | Bottom finally scratched during banal eulogy (7) |
| BU[m] (bottom, minus the final letter) inside TRITE (banal) | ||
| 12 | POPE | American author punched by quiet English poet (4) |
| P (quiet) inside POE (American author) | ||
| 13 | DOWNLOADED | Miserable and rich, made a transfer online (10) |
| DOWN (miserable) + LOADED (rich) | ||
| 15 | ORIGIN | Source found by old doctor at home (6) |
| O (old) + RIG (doctor, as a verb) + IN (at home) | ||
| 16 | CARDIFF | Character providing food primarily for British city (7) |
| CARD (character) + IF (providing) + F[ood] | ||
| 20 | OTHELLO | Play the fool ultimately in game, having missed header (7) |
| THE + [foo]L, together inside [p]OLO (game, without the first letter) | ||
| 21 | CANINE | Bamboo kennels popular for dog (6) |
| CANE (bamboo) around IN (popular) | ||
| 24 | NAIL-BITING | Very tense, keen on arrest (4-6) |
| NAIL (arrest) + BITING (keen) | ||
| 26 | CYAN | Shade of democracy, anarchic (4) |
| Hidden solution [of]: [democra]CY AN[archic] | ||
| 28 | POST-WAR | Mix soap and water, oddly, following action (4-3) |
| (SOAP + W[a]T[e]R)* [* = mix] I liked this one. |
||
| 29 | PRIMATE | Lip bitten by head clergyman (7) |
| RIM (lip) inside PATE (head) | ||
| 30 | RIESLING | White lies circulating in gang (8) |
| IESL (the letters of LIES ‘circulating’, the L moving ‘backward’, rather than just an anagram) inside RING (gang) | ||
| 31 | GANDER | Look for bird (6) |
| Double definition Mudd loves his double definitions but not today. This is only the first one – much appreciated! |
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| Down | ||
| 1 | CHAMPION | Horticulturalist initially cutting plant back (8) |
| H[orticulturalist] inside CAMPION (plant) Mudd is around for donkey’s years but can still come up with a smoothie like this. |
||
| 2 | BALLPOINT | Social event the salient thing for a writer (9) |
| BALL (social event) + POINT (the salient thing) | ||
| 3 | LING | Topless affair for swimmer (4) |
| FLING (affair) minus its first letter | ||
| 5 | ESTONIAN | European student eating seconds (8) |
| ETONIAN (student) around S (seconds) Not sure whether ‘student’ is enough to define ‘Etonian’ but we had this many times before – so I won’t complain. |
||
| 6 | PRIMORDIAL | Formal face on receiving gold for first (10) |
| PRIM (formal) + DIAL (face), together around OR (gold) | ||
| 7 | ROUND | Plump for a serving of sandwiches (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 8 | GREEDY | Acquisitive guy that’s heartless smuggling grass (6) |
| G[u]Y around REED (grass) | ||
| 9 | SYNOD | Ecclesiastical meeting unknown among revolutionary lecturers (5) |
| Y (unknown) inside a reversal [revolutionary] of DONS (lecturers) | ||
| 14 | DISEMBOWEL | Gut has mildew, so be worried! (10) |
| (MILDEW SO BE)* [* = worried] | ||
| 17 | FAIRYLAND | Just Dylan created a magical setting (9) |
| FAIR (just) + (DYLAN)* [* =created] | ||
| 18 | FLATIRON | Smoother rookie into tart (8) |
| TIRO (rookie) inside FLAN (tart) | ||
| 19 | REINDEER | Animal has come down, too high, say? (8) |
| Homophones [say] of: RAIN (come down) and DEAR (too high) Both partial definitions are a bit minimal but hey, there is a question mark. |
||
| 22 | SNIPER | Standing on legs, hidden marksman (6) |
| Reversal [standing] of: RE (on) + PINS (legs) ‘Standing on legs’ – what a great find (if it is an original Mudd idea, that is). |
||
| 23 | INAPT | Fresh paint is unsuitable (5) |
| (PAINT)* [* = fresh] Simple but so effective – could have been a Rufus/Dante clue. |
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| 25 | ISSUE | Paper with no time for publication (5) |
| TISSUE (paper) minus T (time) | ||
| 27 | VISA | Pass through, taking in Swedish capital (4) |
| VIA (through) around S[wedish] | ||
*anagram
Thanks Sil and Mudd.
Excellent, elegant, creative.
Mudd must be one of the most accomplished regular setters.
Thanks Mudd and Sil
Another backlog one done and slowly getting through them. Enjoyable puzzle with his customary clueing and wit.
Funny how we are different – that top right corner was the last bit to be done with COBALT (as easy as it was in retrospect) one of my final answers !