Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 22, 2016
It was good as always to have a puzzle from Rosa. My clue of the week is 7d (WEEPIE) closely followed by 4a (NEWLY-WED). I also especially like 20a (UNDO), 28a (CHEETAHS) and 3d (REASON).
| Across | ||
| 1 | DEMURE | Raise objection before finally retiring (6) |
| DEMUR (raise objection) + [befor]E | ||
| 4 | NEWLY-WED | Just married, extremely naive wife lay awed, without answers (5-3) |
| N[aiv]E + W (wife) + L[a]Y + [a]WED | ||
| 9 | FUNGAL | Jolly lass like Candida? (6) |
| FUN (jolly) + GAL (lass) | ||
| 10 | STURGEON | Fish gone swimming following recurrent periods of randiness (8) |
| RUTS (periods of randiness) backwards (recurrent) + anagram (swimming) of GONE | ||
| 11 | AUTHOR | Removing clothes, man cuts short writer (6) |
| [m]A[n] [c]UT[s] [s]HOR[t] | ||
| 13 | SMALLISH | Fairly minor success nursing bad back (8) |
| ILL (bad) backwards (back) in SMASH (success) | ||
| 14 | NABOB | Potentate and aristocrat embracing sailor (5) |
| AB (sailor) in NOB (aristocrat) | ||
| 15 | CURT | Dog which is scruffy, tense and snappish (4) |
| CUR (dog which is scruffy) + T (tense) | ||
| 17 | SERVILE | Fawning, repulsive gentleman reportedly advancing (7) |
| SER (homophone of SIR) + VILE (repulsive) | ||
| 20 | UNDO | Loose gundog bounds away (4) |
| [g]UNDO[g] | ||
| 24 | ENNUI | Boredom leads to exceptionally nosy neighbour upping interference (5) |
| E[xceptionally] N[osy] N[eighbour] U[ppping] I[nterference] | ||
| 26 | OUTBURST | Bust our butts in explosion of emotion (8) |
| Anagram of OUT BUTTS | ||
| 27 | MOROSE | Ill-tempered elk circling capital of Russia (6) |
| R[ussia] in MOOSE (elk) | ||
| 28 | CHEETAHS | Fast runners chase the wind (8) |
| Anagram of CHASE THE | ||
| 29 | TICKLE | Light touch of aristocratic kleptomaniac (6) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 30 | TONE DOWN | Beginning to tackle crossword clue in temper (4,4) |
| T[ackle] + ONE DOWN (crossword clue) | ||
| 31 | SEARED | Branded discontented slave a revolutionary (6) |
| S[lav]E + A (a) + RED (revolutionary) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | DEFIANCE | Opposition intended to support end to wind energy (8) |
| FIANCE (intended) + [win]D + E (energy) | ||
| 2 | MINATORY | Threatening a Conservative after 60 seconds (8) |
| MIN (60 seconds) + A (a) + TORY (Conservative) | ||
| 3 | REASON | Why “About a Boy”? (6) |
| RE (about) + A (a) + BOY (son) | ||
| 5 | ENTOMB | Boatmen trashed a shed in Bury (6) |
| Anagram (trashed) of BO[a]TMEN | ||
| 6 | LORDLY | Blood-red clay regularly extracted in August (6) |
| [b]L[o]O[d] R[e]D [c]L[a]Y | ||
| 7 | WEEPIE | Little Prince? That is perhaps a book to make you cry (6) |
| WEE (little) + P (prince) + IE (that is). The book referenced is of course The Little Prince but this is still a prize clue. | ||
| 8 | DINGHY | Little boat scudding hypnotically about (6) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 12 | RAVEN | Black Knight chasing storm (5) |
| RAVE (storm) + N (knight) | ||
| 13 | SOLVENT | In the black water off Cowes swallows start to vanish (7) |
| V[anish] in SOLENT (water off Cowes) | ||
| 16 | ALBUM | LP Hartley’s second novel ultimately no good (5) |
| [h]A[rtley] + [nove]L + BUM (no good) | ||
| 18 | ONLOOKER | Spectator occupying throne with king and queen (8) |
| ON LOO (occupying throne) + K (king) + ER (queen) | ||
| 19 | BONEHEAD | Wally, of unfixed abode, keeping pecker up (8) |
| HEN (pecker) backwards (up) in anagram of ABODE | ||
| 21 | LOW-CUT | Revealing what cows do on canal (3-3) |
| LOW (what cows do) + CUT (canal) | ||
| 22 | STREWN | Covered back-to-front trousers with top of nightie (6) |
| TREWS (trouisers) with ‘S’ moved to the beginning (back-to-front) + N[ightie] | ||
| 23 | OUSTED | Got rid of love duets in performance (6) |
| O (love) + anagram (in performance) of DUETS | ||
| 24 | ESCHEW | Shun champ after last of dope tests (6) |
| [dop]E + [test]S + CHEW (champ) | ||
| 25 | IODINE | I moon, by Jupiter, over reactionary Miss Blyton! (6) |
| IO (moon by Jupiter) + ENID (Miss Blyton) backwards. I is the chemical symbol for iodine. | ||
Thanks Pete Maclean and Rosa Klebb!
Enjoyed this. Too many great clues to list.
Thanks Rosa and Pete
The way I read 4ac, the “extremely” applies only to “naïve”, then “wife” is abbreviated by the single letter W, after which “lay awed” appear without As (answers). Your parsing has an extra E.
Thanks, Pete.
Another great puzzle from Rosa. I must learn to take notes for FT Prize puzzles, with such a long time-lag between solve and blog. All I have to go on are my ticks, which were for NEWLY-WDS, STURGEON, SOLVENT, ALBUM, ONLOOKER and IODINE – but I know that, as always, there could have been more.
Many thanks to Rosa
Why is IO moon by Jupiter? Thanks all.
Karen@4: From Wikipedia, “Io is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter.”
Pelham, Thanks for pointing out my overage of ‘E’s. Now corrected!
I thought this was the best of all the FT Saturday and Monday xwords this year . Not a loose definition anywhere.
Thanks Rosa and Pete
Typically entertaining puzzle which I found a little gentler than she can be. Almost a mini-theme in the variety of ways that she wanted us to extract single letters and groups of letters in the word play of numerous clues.
That, together with her silky smooth surfaces and clever play on words – none better than IODINE – made for a very pleasant solve.
Finished in the top left hand corner with the clever FUNGAL, DEFIANCE and CURT the last few in .