Monday Prize Crossword / Jan 30, 2017
Enjoyable and (as ever) elegantly clued crossword from Falcon.
That said, following my usual strategy i.e. working my way up from the SE (where 25ac was my FOI) to the North, I encountered a handful of clues that needed some checking. Last one in was 3d, didn’t know it was a real person (know his products, though).
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 9 | CONFIDENCE TRICK | Swindle loaded eccentric? Kind of (10,5) |
| (ECCENTRIC + KIND OF)* [* = loaded] | ||
| 10 | TEPID | Unenthusiastic in assembly about bringing in piano (5) |
| P (piano) inside a reversal [about] of DIET (assembly, esp. in Japan) | ||
| 11 | PRESENTED | Introduced tense editor (9) |
| PRESENT ((a kind of) tense) + ED (editor) | ||
| 12 | HARLEQUIN | Pantomime character spotted dog (9) |
| Double definition | ||
| 14 | SHRUB | Odd-looking brush plant (5) |
| (BRUSH)* [* = odd-looking] | ||
| 16 | IN THE SAME BREATH | Simultaneously hint beer has mate reeling (2,3,4,6) |
| (HINT BEER HAS MATE)* [* = reeling] | ||
| 19 | TAROT | Set of cards may provide sailor occupational therapy (5) |
| TAR (sailor) + OT (occupational therapy, abbreviated) | ||
| 21 | DUTCH BARN | Wife to lock new farm building (5,4) |
| DUTCH (wife, Cockney slang) + BAR (lock) + N (new) | ||
| 23 | STATIONER | Shopkeeper burst into tears (9) |
| (INTO TEARS)* [* = burst] | ||
| 25 | AITCH | A long letter (5) |
| A + ITCH (long) | ||
| 26 | FROM STEM TO STERN | Throughout most of term, terribly strict (4,4,2,5) |
| (MOST OF THEM)* + STERN (strict) [* = terribly] | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SCOTCH MIST | Fine rain put paid to start of match – sit frustrated (6,4) |
| SCOTCH (put paid to) + M[atch] + (SIT)* [* = frustrated] | ||
| 2 | SNIPER | One to pick off wading bird and rook? (6) |
| SNIPE (wading bird) + R (rook) | ||
| 3 | BIRDSEYE | Frozen food pioneer’s plant (8) |
| Double definition The plant is written as BIRD’S-EYE (and the food in the shops shows Birds Eye (two words, I’ve checked!)). Read about our ‘pioneer’ here: Clarence Birdseye (1886-1956) . |
||
| 4 | KEEP | Board in part of a castle (4) |
| Double definition ‘Board’ as in ‘to lodge or reside’, according to Chambers (usage: Cambridge University and US) |
||
| 5 | SCREEN TEST | Guard on Hampshire river in trial filming (6,4) |
| SCREEN (guard) + TEST (Hampshire river) | ||
| 6 | STRESS | Fancy woman missing M1 – it’s a worry (6) |
| MISTRESS (fancy woman) minus MI (M1) | ||
| 7 | VICTORIA | Woman falls in station (8) |
| Triple definition | ||
| 8 | SKID | Child under small slide (4) |
| S (small) + KID (child) | ||
| 13 | UP-AND-UNDER | Also down, after winning move in game (2-3-5) |
| AND (also) UNDER (down) coming after UP (winning) A Rugby League term: “A high kick forwards followed by a charge to the place where the ball lands” (Collins). Chambers tells us that it’s also called a ‘garryowen’. I’m not an expert. |
||
| 15 | BEHINDHAND | Giving support to worker in arrears (10) |
| BEHIND (giving support to) + HAND (worker) | ||
| 17 | TARRAGON | Herb found in most of Spanish region (8) |
| TARRAGON[a] (Spanish region, most of it) Tarragona is a region in the north-east of Spain, centred around the Mediterranean port of the same name. The region is renowned for its sweet wines. |
||
| 18 | REHEARSE | Tries again heading for express train (8) |
| REHEARS (tries again) + E[xpress] | ||
| 20 | THIRST | Longing change of T-shirt (6) |
| (T SHIRT)* [* = change of] | ||
| 22 | ANTHEM | Stan the Man’s uplifting song (6) |
| Hidden solution [‘s]: Stan the Man | ||
| 23 | SAFE | Reliable worker missing in Santa Fe (4) |
| S[ANT]A FE minus ANT (worker) Falcon likes his Santa Fe, the city also crept up in his previous puzzle not so long ago (FT 15,448). |
||
| 24 | RATE | Tear off, gaining speed (4) |
| (TEAR)* [* = off] | ||
*anagram
Thanks Falcon and Sil
Guess that it will just be you and I again to talk about the Monday puzzle.
Starting to find a bit of grist in the puzzles of this setter – there were some tough clues or at least required knowledge such as HARLEQUIN patterned dogs, BIRDS EYE plants and TARRAGONA in Spain. Started and finished in the NW corner with SNIPER the first in and BIRDSEYE the last.
Thanks Falcon and Sil.
Thought I’d pop by just to show you and Bruce are not alone.
This was a good solid puzzle. Maybe no stand-outs but equally no duffers.
Nice to be reminded about Clarence!