Monday Prize Crossword / Jan 9, 2017
Only my first FT blog in the new year. At some point, I was expecting a Carte Rosee (like in previous years) but ….
…. firstly there was no FT on Boxing Day and secondly there was another gap on the Bank Holiday Monday after New Year’s Day.
The Prize was moved to the next day (Jan 3) and blogged by Grant Baynham a week ago.
So no special deliveries (other than a Gozo Christmas Jumbo which I haven’t done yet …..).
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | ASSURE | Make certain, as certain can be (6) |
| AS + SURE (certain) | ||
| 4 | PHYSICAL | Non-intellectual sort of exercise in the school curriculum (8) |
| Physical exercise is part of many schools’ curriculums, isn’t it? | ||
| 9 | DENOTE | Mean to silence a musician? (6) |
| Cryptic explanation: if you ‘de-note’ a musician, taking his notes away, then he will probably be silenced | ||
| 10 | MAVERICK | Michael about to declare his views are unorthodox (8) |
| MICK (Michael) around AVER (declare his views) | ||
| 12 | TREETOPS | Peter’s scrambled round to the highest branches (8) |
| (PETER’S)* around TO [* = scrambled] | ||
| 13 | ABSORB | Take in the sailor’s world (6) |
| AB’S (the sailor’s) + ORB (world) | ||
| 15 | ROCK | Lady’s dress topped off with diamond (4) |
| FROCK (lady’s dress) minus the first letter [topped off] | ||
| 16 | LOADED DICE | Charged a number in front of unjust magistrate for cheating (6,4) |
| LOADED (charged) + D (a number, 500) + {JUSTICE (magistrate) minus JUST} I think the definition is a bit weak or at least minimalistic. A ‘loaded dice’ is biased and can therefore be used ‘for cheating’. |
||
| 19 | ABSTAINERS | In bar seats, perhaps, but they won’t be drinking (10) |
| (IN BAR SEATS)* [* = perhaps] | ||
| 20 | EPIC | Heroic film showing in some picture-houses (4) |
| Hidden solution [showing in]: some picture-houses | ||
| 23 | LEADER | Article compiled from Franco/ Anglo/German articles (6) |
| LE (article, in French) + A (article, in English) + DER (article, in German) | ||
| 25 | OSCULATE | Big copper’s ex gets kiss (8) |
| OS (big, very big actually) + CU (copper) + LATE (ex) | ||
| 27 | WAR PAINT | Battle colours? (3,5) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 28 | ANCHOR | Moor in Arabian chorus (6) |
| Hidden solution [in]: Arabian chorus | ||
| 29 | DONATION | It’s a gift for people after a party (8) |
| DO (a party) + NATION (people) | ||
| 30 | CRISPY | Crunchy and freshly spicy, that’s about right (6) |
| (SPICY)* around R (right) [* = freshly] | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | AUDITOR | One who hears and sums up all the accounts (7) |
| Kind of double definition | ||
| 2 | SENTENCES | Condemns pieces of writing (9) |
| Double definition | ||
| 3 | ROTATE | To go up in price will cause a revolution! (6) |
| Reversal [go up] of TO inside RATE (price) | ||
| 5 | HEAR | Try to listen! (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 6 | SEEDBEDS | Grounds prepared for development (8) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 7 | CAIRO | The atmosphere in a small firm may be capital (5) |
| AIR (the atmosphere) inside CO (a small firm, i.e. company) | ||
| 8 | LIKABLE | I’ll bake a pleasing confection (7) |
| (I’LL BAKE A)* [* = confection] The order fodder-definition-indicator is quite odd. |
||
| 11 | APPOINT | Designate a quiet period (7) |
| A + P (quiet) + POINT (period) | ||
| 14 | ADDRESS | Direct speech? (7) |
| Double definition | ||
| 17 | IMPEACHES | I am introducing fruit charges (9) |
| I’M (I am) + PEACHES (fruit) | ||
| 18 | MADE FAST | Tied up and refused food (4,4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 19 | ALLOWED | Admitted, we all do badly (7) |
| (WE ALL DO)* [* = badly] I can appreciate a simple clue when it is so smooth as this one. |
||
| 21 | CLEARLY | Many in good time plainly seen (7) |
| CL (many, 150 (100,C+50,L) + EARLY (in good time) Perhaps, I should have made ‘seen’ part of the definition? |
||
| 22 | TURNER | Revolutionary artist? (6) |
| One who ‘turns’ can be called ‘revolutionary’ The famous JMW Turner (1775-1851). |
||
| 24 | APRON | The front cover? (5) |
| Cryptic definition Nice one! |
||
| 26 | INFO | News cut short (4) |
| Short for ‘information’ Cryptic? Not so cryptic? Take your pick. |
||
*anagram
Thanks Dante and Sil
This one did take longer than normal for this setter for some reason and did not fully parse LOADED DICE which was my last one in. Some nice clues including MAVERICK, LEADER and SEEDBEDS.