Monday Prize Crossword / Nov 28, 2016
It’s Monday, it’s Dante, and guess what …..
….. no cryptic definition in sight! Apart from the second definition in 13ac perhaps.
Instead, loads of charades (and envelopes), a handful of double definitions and not too many (full) anagrams.
I was a happy solver.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | RIGHTS | A man’s entitled to them, but they’re not left to his son (6) |
| RIGHT (not left) + S (son) I am not sure what to think of the definition. Let’s say, a bit old fashioned, to keep it positive. As to the clue itself, ‘his’ should really not be there (other than for the surface). |
||
| 4 | IMPLYING | The little devil! Telling stories and making insinuations (8) |
| IMP (little devil) + LYING (telling stories) | ||
| 9 | TIMBER | Deal possibly involves the doctor in a row (6) |
| MB (doctor) inside TIER (row) | ||
| 10 | CARAPACE | Vehicle quickly becomes a hardtop (8) |
| CAR (vehicle) + APACE (quickly) | ||
| 12 | OILS | Rings about the Italian art exhibits perhaps (4) |
| OS (plural of O (ring)) around IL (the, in Italian) | ||
| 13 | SNOBS | Pretentious persons have jobs at last (5) |
| Double / Cryptic definition The second definition is a bit cryptic: snobs being ‘shoemakers’. |
||
| 14 | CEDE | Sounds a good player – give up! (4) |
| Homophone [sounds] of SEED (a good player, think: tennis) | ||
| 17 | APPREHENSION | Fear arrest (12) |
| Double definition | ||
| 20 | KEEP ONE’S WORD | Fulfil a promise to retain just a single weapon (4,4,4) |
| KEEP (retain) + ONE (just a single) + SWORD (weapon) | ||
| 23 | AURA | Girl student leaves an atmosphere (4) |
| LAURA (girl) minus L (student) | ||
| 24 | MINSK | Fur-clad Soviet leader in capital city (5) |
| S[oviet] inside MINK (fur) | ||
| 25 | FELL | Tumbled down hill? (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 28 | INFRA-DIG | It could be daring, if demeaning (5-3) |
| (DARING IF)* [* = it could be] | ||
| 29 | MUGABE | African politician set upon Lincoln (6) |
| MUG (set upon) + ABE (Lincoln) Let’s not talk Mugabe. |
||
| 30 | ALTER EGO | Get a role as someone’s double (5,3) |
| (GET A ROLE)* [* = as] The shortest anagram indicator I’ve seen so far in my crossword life. |
||
| 31 | CHEEKY | Forward the making of a revolutionary key, perhaps (6) |
| CHE (a revolutionary) + (KEY)* [* = perhaps] ‘The making of’ probably just means the solution can be found by doing this. |
||
| Down | ||
| 1 | RATIONAL | Helping a student is reasonable (8) |
| RATION (helping) + A + L (student) | ||
| 2 | GYMSLIPS | Girls start and end with simply designed school tunics (8) |
| (G[irl]S + SIMPLY)* [* = designed] | ||
| 3 | TIED | Bound to have equal scores (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 5 | MEAN BUSINESS | Be deadly serious about usury (4,8) |
| Double definition | ||
| 6 | LOAF | Idle, like many an awkward lout (4) |
| L (many, 50 in Latin) + OAF (an awkward lout) | ||
| 7 | IMAGED | Fancied being one thousand years old (6) |
| I (one) + M (thousand) + AGED ((years) old) | ||
| 8 | GEEZER | A warm spring, we hear, for this old man (6) |
| Homophone [we hear] of GEYSER (a warm spring) | ||
| 11 | ENTERPRISING | Go ahead to join quiet revolution (12) |
| ENTER (join) + P (quiet) + RISING (revolution) | ||
| 15 | BETEL | Stake attached to the Spanish climbing plant (5) |
| BET (stake) + EL (the, in Spanish) | ||
| 16 | HOIST | Give a lift to one in the army (5) |
| I (one) inside HOST (army) | ||
| 18 | TOLERATE | Endure – strange to relate (8) |
| (TO RELATE)* [* = strange] | ||
| 19 | ADULTERY | Audrey in trouble, embracing naval officer in extra-marital affair (8) |
| (AUDREY)* around LT (naval officer, lieutenant) [* = in trouble] | ||
| 21 | LAMINA | Mounted horse, for example, gets a plate (6) |
| Reversal [mounted] of ANIMAL (of which a ‘horse’ is an example) | ||
| 22 | PROFIT | In favour of suitable financial advantage (6) |
| PRO (in favour of) + FIT (suitable) | ||
| 26 | LAIR | Look on the pound as an animal refuge (4) |
| AIR (look) attached to [on] L (pound) | ||
| 27 | LUSH | Prolific drinker (4) |
| Double definition | ||
*anagram
Thanks Dante and Sil
I had also noted that it was a pretty straightforward puzzle with a number of double definitions but not too many cryptic ones and a lot more charade / anagram type clues in it. The trickiest of the dd’s was SNOB – either hadn’t heard of the shoemaker definition or had forgotten it if I had. No other real holdups and all completed in a single relatively short sitting. Finished in the SW corner with ALTER EGO and INFRA DIG the last couple in.
It felt more like the Dante of old … I mean from the 1990’s.