Monday Prize Crossword / Mar 13, 2017
After leaving his Everyman career, Falcon has now become one of the main Monday Prize setters for the FT.
I found this pretty easy ….
…. and have not much to say about this puzzle that is really substantial.
Although I must admit that my (two) last one ins had to be checked.
I was unfamiliar with the dessert of 2d and guessed the right answer.
However, for the opera company at 8d I needed to google, even after having all the crossers.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate
| Across | ||
| 1 | POP-UP | Father on horseback in 3-D picture book (3-2) |
| POP (father) + UP (on horseback) | ||
| 4 | MAGIC WAND | Spelling aid? (5,4) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 9 | PROTEST | In favour of international demo (7) |
| PRO (in favour of) + TEST (international – cricket, of course) | ||
| 10 | OVERTLY | Revolt affected yobbos’ leader, clearly (7) |
| (REVOLT)* + Y[obbos] [* = affected] | ||
| 11 | IN SHORT SUPPLY | At home, soon to imbibe drink, drop of port not easily obtainable (2,5,6) |
| IN (at home) + SHORTLY (soon) around {SUP (drink) + P[ort]} | ||
| 14 | ITEM | On the way back, came across one courting couple (4) |
| Reversal [on the way back] of: MET (came across) + I (one) | ||
| 15 | INTER ALIA | In winter, a liaison, among other things (5,4) |
| Hidden solution [in]: winter a liaison | ||
| 18 | SHOWPIECE | Who’s redesigned still, we hear, is the best exhibit? (9) |
| (WHO’S)* + a homophone [we hear] of PEACE (still) [* = redesigned] | ||
| 19 | HEAT | Warm up for race (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 21 | CHERRY PICKING | Choosing the best from Chekhov’s orchard? (6-7) |
| The second part of the clue is referring to Chekhov’s 1904 play The Cherry Orchard | ||
| 24 | ASSAULT | A sailor on the radio in storm (7) |
| Homophone [on the radio] of: A SALT (a sailor) | ||
| 26 | ASTRIDE | A big step up? (7) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 27 | SCAPEGOAT | Patsy, first to see about two animals (9) |
| S[ee] + C (about) + APE (one animal …) + GOAT (… and another one) | ||
| 28 | RATTY | Bad-tempered lines written about a tense time (5) |
| RY (lines, short for ‘railway’) around {A + T (tense) + T (time)} | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | PIPE | Star, English, brings wind instrument (4) |
| PIP (star, of an army officer) + E (English) | ||
| 2 | PROFITEROLE | Unusually poor trifle put on end of table for dessert (11) |
| (POOR TRIFLE)* + [tabl]E [* = unusually] | ||
| 3 | PLEASE | Satisfy publican, initially, with tenancy agreement (6) |
| P[ublican] + LEASE (tenancy agreement) | ||
| 4 | METEORITE | Rocklike object, weird to eremite (9) |
| (TO EREMITE)* [* = weird] | ||
| 5 | GHOST | Good landlord, in spirit (5) |
| G (good) + HOST (landlord) | ||
| 6 | CHEQUERS | Draughts in country house retreat (8) |
| Double definition | ||
| 7 | APT | Suitable in a small part (3) |
| A + PT (part, ‘small’ i.e. abbreviated) | ||
| 8 | D’OYLY CARTE | Opera company may give CD yearly to eccentric (5,5) |
| (CD YEARLY TO)* [* = eccentric] Richard D’Oyly Carte was a British impresario and an advocate of the works of Gilbert & Sullivan. There’s an opera company named after him. |
||
| 12 | POLTERGEIST | Supernatural being got reptiles jittery (11) |
| (GOT REPTILES)* [* = jittery] | ||
| 13 | FIRST-CLASS | Excellent form for one starting school? (5-5) |
| When a kid starts school, it will be in the FIRST CLASS | ||
| 16 | TRENCHANT | Ditch worker, maybe, being incisive (9) |
| TRENCH (ditch) + ANT (worker) | ||
| 17 | APERTURE | Rupert working in A&E: an opening (8) |
| (RUPERT)* inside A,E [* = working] | ||
| 20 | BITTER | Very cold beer (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 22 | PATIO | A pot I ordered in courtyard (5) |
| A POT I)* [* = ordered] | ||
| 23 | DENY | Reject, years after study (4) |
| DEN (study) + Y (years) | ||
| 25 | SPA | Short petty argument in health resort (3) |
| SPA[t] (petty argument, shortened) Initially I thought, perhaps the solution is an acronym for S[hort] P[etty] A[rgument]. It wasn’t. |
||
*anagram
As you say Sil (if the familiar diminutive is ok) pretty straightforward with clean clueing throughout, although the surface for 4d is pretty iffy. I liked TRENCH-ANT. I didn’t realise Falcon was Everyman but that explains the similarities – and I’m often grateful for the more direct style of Everyman crosswords if there’s been a particularly challenging Saturday prize. Thanks to Falcon and SvdH.
Thanks Falcon and Sil
Not too many problems with this one – except that at 25d, I didn’t get past the unconvincing thought that it was the acronym – makes much more sense now ! It was my second to last in with SCAPEGOAT the last.
The Gozo Christmas Special puzzle was themed on the D’Oyly Carte company, so that went in quite early – and a heartening confirmation that the short term memory hasn’t completely failed as yet.
8D brought back wartime memories as my family were great G&S fans and we gathered around to play and sing the songs. It is a pity that they are not more popular today.
D’Oyly Carte built the Savoy Theatre where most of the operas were first performed and are popularly known as the Savoy operas and hence also the name of the company.
Many thanks to you both.