Monday Prize Crossword / Sep 12, 2016
An enjoyable Dante crossword, once more one that I didn’t find as easy as recent Rufus puzzles (although it wasn’t that hard).
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BOARDING PASS | Living-in pupil’s exam success – needed for high-fliers (8,4) |
| Exam success (PASS) of a pupil who is ‘living in’ (BOARDING) | ||
| 10 | INEXACT | In-law embracing divorcee? That’s not quite right (7) |
| IN + ACT (law), together around EX (divorcee) | ||
| 11 | NOTABLE | Extraordinary refusal by the board (7) |
| NO (refusal) + TABLE (board) | ||
| 12 | TEETH | They come together to eat (5) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 13 | GLAD RAGS | Best clothes in tatters after having left to wander around (4,4) |
| RAGS (tatters) coming after L (left) with GAD (wander) around it | ||
| 15 | REFINEMENT | An improvement in culture (10) |
| Double definition | ||
| 16 | WHEY | Sounds like a plan for a bit of a junket (4) |
| Homophone [sounds like] of: WAY (a plan) | ||
| 18 | ARCS | They go round in circles (4) |
| Cryptic definition My last one in and one I am not happy with as it does not describe ‘arcs’, in my opinion. However, I can see what Dante is punning at. |
||
| 20 | CRYSTAL SET | Clearly determined to provide early radio programmes (7,3) |
| CRYSTAL (clearly) + SET (determined) It is not, er, crystal clear to me why ‘crystal’ = ‘clearly’. One’s an adjective, the other an adverb. |
||
| 22 | RESTLESS | Uneasy when lacking support (8) |
| Having no REST (support) | ||
| 24 | ABACI | Early summers? (5) |
| Cryptic definition One has to go back to 2700-2300 BC to find the first abacus (in Mesopotamia). In those early days the device wasn’t called ‘abacus’ yet. According to Wikipedia “the use of the word ‘abacus’ dates from before 1387 AD, when a Middle English work borrowed the word from Latin to describe a sandboard abacus”. |
||
| 26 | SHATTER | Surprise Mum with an unusual treat (7) |
| SH (mum) + (TREAT)* [* = unusual] | ||
| 27 | EPITAPH | Deadlines (7) |
| Cryptic definition A nice find. |
||
| 28 | DISCONSOLATE | Record playing in the small hours – Mood Indigo? (12) |
| DISC (record) + ON (playing) + SO LATE (in the small hours) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | ONESELF | One’s naughty spirit as an individual (7) |
| ONE’S + ELF (naughty spirit) | ||
| 3 | REACHING | Contacting everyone within call (8) |
| EACH (everyone) inside RING (call) | ||
| 4 | IOTA | One gets no thanks for this small item (4) |
| I (one) + O (no) + TA (thanks) Another one I liked. |
||
| 5 | GENTLENESS | Grub is put before the head – such indulgence! (10) |
| GENTLE (grub, as in a maggot for anglers) + NESS (head) Isn’t ‘indulgence’ a bit stronger than ‘gentleness’? |
||
| 6 | ACTED | Bill and Edward took part (5) |
| AC (bill) + TED (Edward, shortened) | ||
| 7 | SABBATH | Day when alumni go up to southern university (7) |
| Reversal [go up] of BAS (alumni, plural of BA) + BATH (southern university) | ||
| 8 | VICTORIA CROSS | The most admired decoration left her unamused? (8,5) |
| ‘We are not amused’ said VICTORIA when she was CROSS (unamused) | ||
| 9 | RED SKY AT NIGHT | Heavenly sight delightful to shepherds (3,3,2,5) |
| Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight Red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning |
||
| 14 | IMPRESARIO | Company director – one involved with Paris and Rome (10) |
| (I (one) + PARIS + ROME)* [* = involved] | ||
| 17 | PALATIAL | Homely, but in a really big way (8) |
| Cryptic definition The solution means ‘relating to a palace’, which explains it all. |
||
| 19 | CUSTARD | It may get upset over trifles (7) |
| Cryptic definition My penultimate one in and I cannot say I’m fully convinced. |
||
| 21 | SEA SALT | It may help to preserve the ocean sailor (3-4) |
| SEA ((the) ocean) + SALT (sailor) | ||
| 23 | LOTUS | Louts break up the plant (5) |
| (LOUTS)* [* = break up] | ||
| 25 | FEES | Understand head of finance goes over the charges (4) |
| SEE (understand) + F[inance] , together reversed [goes over] | ||
*anagram
Thanks Dante and Sil
Pretty much the same experience as you, including the quibbles … although at 19, I think that he is probably referring to the CUSTARD being set on top (up) of the sponge cake and jelly. This was one of a good lot of cryptic definitions in this puzzle, I thought.
Quite straightforward but an enjoyable solve.