Monday Prize Crossword / Nov 14, 2016
I was expecting a Crux, and a Crux was what I got.
Apart from an initial mistake at 9d, not many obstacles on the road.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SMALL FORTUNE | Lots of money but not much luck (5,7) |
| SMALL (not much) FORTUNE (luck) | ||
| 10 | EARFULS | Don’t start crying, son, they’re meant to tell you off (7) |
| TEARFUL (crying) without its first letter T, + S (son) | ||
| 11 | COWLING | Engine cover and clutch contain rotating tungsten ring (7) |
| CLING (clutch) around a reversal of {W (tungsten, chemical symbol) + O (ring)} | ||
| 12 | NEIGH | Name and number mostly coming from the horse’s mouth (5) |
| N (name) + EIGH[t] (number, mostly) | ||
| 13 | LANDLADY | Fifty-plus male seen with unknown woman of property (8) |
| L (fifty) + AND (plus) + LAD (male) + Y (unknown) | ||
| 15 | ON THE WAY IN | Why Etonian could be making an entry (2,3,3,2) |
| (WHY ETONIAN)* [* = could be] | ||
| 16 | THOU | You used to be grand (4) |
| Double definition The old form of ‘you’ [used to be], also short for ‘a thousand’ (hence: ‘grand’). |
||
| 18 | CAPE | Carbon copy for the head (4) |
| C (carbon, another chemical symbol) + APE (copy) | ||
| 20 | MARTIAL ART | Dan at No 10 is a master of one (7,3) |
| Cryptic definition A ‘dan’ is any of the ten degrees of proficiency in judo or karate. Therefore ‘No 10’ must belong to someone who is a master of MARTIAL ART. |
||
| 22 | MAIN DECK | Dine out in a raincoat here on board (4,4) |
| (DINE)* inside MACK (a raincoat) [* = out] | ||
| 24 | TOTEM | Such Poles used to build Shinto temples (5) |
| Hidden solution [used to build]: Shinto temples | ||
| 26 | NECK TIE | Brass fastener not required with t-shirt (7) |
| NECK as in ‘brass neck’ + TIE (fastener) | ||
| 27 | HEAVIER | Find out about rival having put on weight (7) |
| HEAR (find out) around VIE (rival) | ||
| 28 | SLOT-MACHINES | Cash lost in ‘em is extraordinary (4-8) |
| (CASH LOST IN ‘EM)* [* = extraordinary] – &lit | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | MARXIST | Spoil vote? It’s unusual for a left-winger (7) |
| MAR (spoil) + X (vote) + (IT’S)* [* = unusual] | ||
| 3 | LAUGHTER | Butcher’s first to go, causing tears – on the contrary! (8) |
| SLAUGHTER (butcher) without its first letter S What about ‘tears of laughter’? |
||
| 4 | FAST | Swift starts to fly after seeing them (4) |
| First letters [starts to] of: fly after seeing them | ||
| 5 | RACIALISTS | Satirical plays on society expose these bigots (10) |
| (SATIRICAL)* + S (society) [* = plays] | ||
| 6 | UNWED | Single French one goes over mid-week (5) |
| UN (one, in French) + WED (mid-week, Wednesday) If one’s ‘single’, that person’s probably UNWED – not sure about the other way round, though. |
||
| 7 | EPITAPH | Mine’s found in an untidy heap with an inscription (7) |
| PIT (mine) inside (HEAP)* [* = untidy] | ||
| 8 | REINFORCEMENT | Lead for building material – steel’s better for this (13) |
| REIN (lead) + FOR + CEMENT (building material) | ||
| 9 | UGLY CUSTOMERS | Troublesome types who would challenge a beautician (4,9) |
| Cryptic definition Having ‘ugly’ plus the other ‘u’, I initially went for ‘ugly ducklings’ – anyone else? |
||
| 14 | SALAD CREAM | Dressing that’s 50% slimming and 50% definitely not! (5,5) |
| Half of the solution may be ‘slimming’ (SALAD), the other half is ‘definitely not’ (CREAM) | ||
| 17 | PASTRAMI | Over-stuff one to make a spicy sandwich filling (8) |
| PAST (over) + RAM (stuff) + I (one) | ||
| 19 | PRINCES | Two royals perhaps need a second to make a third (7) |
| One prince and another are: PRINCES, and if one would add S (a second) one’ll get PRINCESS, royal no.3 Does this clue lead to PRINCES or to PRINCESS? |
||
| 21 | ASTRIDE | Eastern triads travelling on horseback (7) |
| (E (eastern) + TRIADS)* [* = travelling] | ||
| 23 | DITTO | It means the same party adopts it on time (5) |
| DO (party) around {IT + T (time)} | ||
| 25 | CHIC | With it a bird lacks perception (4) |
| CHICKEN (a bird) minus KEN (perception) | ||
*anagram
Thanks Crux and Sil
Enjoyable and straightforward puzzle without any holdups (including the ducklings, went straight for UGLY CUSTOMERS because I’d had the MARTIAL ART in by then). Although, even with the CEMENT part of 8d, it took a bit of working through to come up with REINFORCEMENT. Agree that he could’ve gone down the ‘tears of laughter’ path at 3d.
I think that it was the first time that I had seen the RACIALIST term in place of RACIST, so you still do learn something from the ‘easier ones’ !
Finished in the SE corner with CHIC and HEAVIER the last couple in.
9dn I did originally think ugly duckling like you Sil, but changed it when things didn’t fit. Thanks for the parsing of 20ac didn’t know Dan was a term used in martial arts, but managed to get the right answer anyway. Many thanks Crux and Sil.