Monday Prize Crossword / Sep 19, 2016
A typical offering from Armonie.
Loads of envelopes, plus a handful (or two) of other standard devices.
No cryptic definitions, of course, because Armonie doesn’t do them.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BESTRIDE | Straddle finest horse (8) |
| The ‘finest horse’ may give you the BEST RIDE | ||
| 5 | LASSIE | Girl to tell a tale about fool (6) |
| LIE (to tell a tale) around ASS (fool) | ||
| 9 | NEAR MISS | Tight young woman’s lucky escape (4,4) |
| NEAR (tight) + MISS (young woman) | ||
| 10 | BRAISE | Head of bakery to promote cook (6) |
| B[akery] + RAISE (promote) | ||
| 12 | SALLY | Charge old Bob’s friend (5) |
| S (old bob, a shilling) + ALLY (friend) | ||
| 13 | ON IMPULSE | Spoil menu stupidly and thoughtlessly (2,7) |
| (SPOIL MENU)* [* = stupidly] | ||
| 14 | BLIGHT | Ruin bishop’s day (6) |
| B (bishop) + LIGHT (day) | ||
| 16 | SOLICIT | Very genuine proposition (7) |
| SO (very) + LICIT (genuine) | ||
| 19 | AUDITED | Car Edward checked over (7) |
| AUDI (car) + TED (Edward, shortened) | ||
| 21 | MASCOT | Standard-bearing company may bring good luck (6) |
| MAST (standard) around CO (company) | ||
| 23 | DEPRESSED | Poverty-stricken doing without jam (9) |
| DEED (doing) around PRESS (jam) | ||
| 25 | ENEMA | Medical procedure shown in hygiene manual (5) |
| Hidden solution [shown in]: hygiene manual | ||
| 26 | RUSTIC | Doctor is curt and unrefined (6) |
| (IS CURT)* [* = doctor] | ||
| 27 | CAFE NOIR | Set out for a nice drink (4,4) |
| (FOR A NICE)* [* = set out] | ||
| 28 | PLEDGE | Promise Penny a shelf (6) |
| P (penny) + LEDGE (shelf) | ||
| 29 | REASONED | Logical study about singular individual (8) |
| READ (study) around {S (singular) + ONE (individual)} | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BANISH | Throw out Northern Ireland leaders found in party (6) |
| N[orthern] I[reland] inside BASH (party) | ||
| 2 | STABLE LAD | Groom arranged ball’s date (6,3) |
| (BALL’S DATE)* [* = arranged] | ||
| 3 | RUMMY | Game for a drink? Blimey! (5) |
| RUM (drink) + MY (blimey!) | ||
| 4 | DISH OUT | Deal makes detective buy a round (4,3) |
| DI (detective, Detective Inspector) + SHOUT (buy a round, of drinks) | ||
| 6 | ACROPOLIS | A group put up storage tower in the citadel (9) |
| A + CROP (group) + a reversal [put up] of SILO (storage tower) | ||
| 7 | SPILL | Bridge player has medication causing upset (5) |
| S (bridge player, South) + PILL (medication) | ||
| 8 | ELEMENTS | Fundamental principles of weather (8) |
| Double definition | ||
| 11 | NIPS | Pinches small quantities of booze (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 15 | GATHERING | Crowd sees Georgia boxing (9) |
| GA (Georgia, one of the US of A) + THE RING (boxing) I think is this what Armonie intended but I I do now [didn’t know this use of ‘the ring’ – should have looked in the dictionaries …..] |
||
| 17 | CLOSE DOWN | Near to getting depressed? Gets wind up! (5,4) |
| CLOSE (near) + DOWN (depressed) | ||
| 18 | SAND TRAP | Joiner wears tie on the golf course (4,4) |
| STRAP (tie) around AND (joiner) | ||
| 20 | DOSE | Beastly female snatching son’s prescription (4) |
| DOE (beastly female) around S (son) | ||
| 21 | MEDIATE | Partner embraces English girl to restore harmony (7) |
| MATE (partner) around {E (English) + DI (girl)} | ||
| 22 | HATRED | Dislike tangled thread (6) |
| (THREAD)* [* = tangled] | ||
| 24 | PASSE | Wally goes through gym on the way out (5) |
| ASS (wally) inside PE (gym, physical education) The solution is passé (with an accent on the last letter). |
||
| 25 | EVENS | There’s half a chance girl’s to embrace man (5) |
| EVE’S (girl’s) around N (man, in chess: short for ‘knight’) This is the third time that I have seen Armonie (or Chifonie) using this indirect abbreviation. So, I was alerted – but I don’t like it at all. I’m not even sure whether this is fair. |
||
*anagram
Thanks Armonie and Sil
A very straightforward puzzle comprising of his usual number of charades with the liberal use of single letters in them. Similar thinking with the N=man device, but as you say he has used this numerous times before.
I am pretty sure that the sport of boxing can be referred to as THE RING (or just RING), so that clue is fair enough.
Nothing else that stood out apart from finishing with EVENS and taking a little while to remember that N=man trick.
lots not to understand. The ring, N for chess, 17d ?