Monday Prize Crossword / Sep 5, 2016
Another fine puzzle from Mudd – no surprises, just good clueing.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | GROUSE | Beef that can fly! (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 4 | OBERON | Shakespearean character close to one month on (6) |
| OCTOBER is the only month that ends in /OBER, therefore: [oct]OBER + ON | ||
| 8 | PORTRAY | Paint beam on the left (7) |
| PORT (the left) + RAY (beam) | ||
| 9 | DISROBE | Peel off debris scattered round front of office (7) |
| (DEBRIS)* around O[ffice] [* = scattered] | ||
| 11 | UNGENEROUS | Some scrounge, Nero usually tight-fisted (10) |
| Hidden solution [some]: scrounge Nero usually | ||
| 12 | BEAR | Put up with the grizzler? (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 13 | BALTI | In US city, Oliver’s request denied for Indian food (5) |
| BALTIMORE (US city) minus MORE (Oliver (Twist)’s request) | ||
| 14 | CONSTANT | Uniform on, get to one’s feet briefly in court (8) |
| ON + STAN[d] (get to one’s feet, shortened), together inside CT (court) | ||
| 16 | HARP SEAL | Marine mammal has pearl that’s fake (4,4) |
| (HAS PEARL)* [* = (that’s) fake] | ||
| 18 | CIGAR | Smoke coming from vehicle that’s covered in gelignite, for starters (5) |
| CAR (vehicle) going around IG (starting letters of: in gelignite) | ||
| 20 | SKIT | Go downhill reaching middle of routine in parody (4) |
| SKI (go downhill) + [rou]T[ine] | ||
| 21 | MASCARPONE | Cheese before pa’s haddock two? (10) |
| Earlier we might have had: MA’S CARP ONE | ||
| 23 | CATHODE | Initially checking out with death possibly terminal? (7) |
| (C[hecking] O[ut] + DEATH)* [* = possibly] | ||
| 24 | BIRETTA | Stiff cap tailored treat, bishop has one on (7) |
| (TREAT)* preceded by {B (bishop) + I (one)} Priests wear black birettas, cardinals go for red and bishops have purple ones. |
||
| 25 | LARGER | More spacious, particular German houses (6) |
| Hidden solution [… houses]: particular German | ||
| 26 | HEARTY | Jovial man then pretentious (6) |
| HE (man) followed by ARTY (pretentious) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | GROIN | Delicate area – nothing to smirk about? (5) |
| GRIN ((to) smirk) around O (nothing) | ||
| 2 | OATMEAL | Porridge – a lot cooked to impress me, heading for Aberdeen (7) |
| (A LOT)* around {ME + A[berdeen]} [* = cooked] | ||
| 3 | STATESIDE | Articulate team in America (9) |
| STATE (articulate) + SIDE (team) | ||
| 5 | BLISS | Composer in heaven (5) |
| Double definition Sir Arthur Bliss (1891-1975), well-known for his A Colour Symphony from 1922. |
||
| 6 | RAREBIT | Delicate fragment in dish (7) |
| RARE (delicate) + BIT (fragment) | ||
| 7 | NO-BRAINER | VIP overseeing one showering? It’s not worth thinking about (2-7) |
| NOB (VIP) above RAINER (one showering, whimsical definition [hence the question mark!]) | ||
| 10 | VOICELESS | Silent virginal captivating orchestra leader (9) |
| VICELESS (virginal, one might say) around O[rchestra] | ||
| 13 | BLACKBALL | Reject dismal party (9) |
| BLACK (dismal) + BALL (party) | ||
| 15 | NECTARINE | Square boxes are designed to include empty casket for fruit (9) |
| NINE (square, of 3) going around (ARE)* which goes around C[aske]T [* = designed] | ||
| 17 | PITCHER | Might one have been framed, did you say, in the jug? (7) |
| Homophone [did you say] of: PICTURE (something that might be framed) | ||
| 19 | GAP YEAR | Tackle outstanding pay when desperate for some time off (3,4) |
| GEAR (tackle) around (PAY)* [* = (when) desperate] | ||
| 21 | MIDGE | Perhaps not very bright, flipping tiny creature (5) |
| Reversal [flipping] of: E.G. (perhaps, for example) + DIM (not very bright) | ||
| 22 | NUTTY | Absurd as satay sauce? (5) |
| Double definition | ||
*anagram
I guessed 21a but I don’t get it. How does carp come before haddock in particular and how does ma come before pa?
Bamberger, it’s just one of these whimsical clues for which Mr Halpern is quite famous, surely written with a twinkle in his eyes.
There’s no logic other than pa/ma, haddock (a fish)/carp (another fish) and one/two being ‘related couples’ – in some way (or perhaps not).
Do not think about it too deeply, just look at Mudd’s face.
Thanks Mudd and Sil
Only a few of this 2016 backlog to finish off … and this was one of the enjoyable ones, albeit not one of Mudd’s more difficult assignments. Didn’t help myself by writing in CRUMBLE at 6d initially and spelling MASCARPONE incorrectly at my first attempt.
Sil, liked your expanded explanation to Bamberger above (sad that he ended up stopping to comment a little later on).
Finished with VOICELESS (that showed up the error with 21a), GAP YEAR and the corrected MASCARPONE the last few in.