Prize Weekend puzzle from the FT of April 15, 2017
This puzzle was published online as if it were in the Friday edition of the paper. However I understand that the FT did not publish on Good Friday, unsurprisingly, and the crossword appeared as usual in the Weekend edition.
My clue of the week is the amusing 4a (CATACOMB) and I would also pick out 13a (FRANCK), 29a (RAINLESS) and 30a (GENEVA). Mudd gives us an unconventional clue in 16a (BROOMSTICK) which has no definition but two sets of wordplay. Then again, maybe he intended the homophone more as a cryptic definition.
| Across | ||
| 1 | MUPPET | Idiot happy with parking in force (6) |
| UP (happy) + P (parking) together in MET (force). Having been a big fan of Jim Henson’s Muppets at one time in my life, I find I do not care for use of the word to mean an idiot. But it is right there in my Chambers. | ||
| 4 | CATACOMB | Underground network not giving dog a brush then? (8) |
| CAT A COMB (not giving dog a brush then?) | ||
| 9 | AT LAST | Titan ending in court, finally (2,4) |
| ATLAS (titan) + [cour]T | ||
| 10 | HAMILTON | A poet on the far side of loch in Scottish town (8) |
| [loc]H + A (a) + MILTON (poet) | ||
| 12 | DIAZEPAM | Amazed, I fancy, to inhale soft drug (8) |
| P (soft) in anagram (fancy) of AMAZED I | ||
| 13 | FRANCK | He scored with honest talking (6) |
| Homophone (talking) of “frank” (honest). The cryptic definition refers to a composer of music. | ||
| 15 | RAIL | Perch for bird (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 16 | BROOMSTICK | Which carrier did you say requires space to fix on first of baggage? (10) |
| This clue has no definition but two sets of wordplay as follows: Homophone of “witch carrier” B[aggage] + ROOM (space) + STICK (fix) |
||
| 19 | MUMBO-JUMBO | Mother and son, perhaps, not entirely great – that’s nonsense (5-5) |
| MUM (mother) + BO[y] (son perhaps not entirely) + JUMBO (great) | ||
| 20 | STOP | Second, then first – go no further! (4) |
| S (second) + TOP (first) | ||
| 23 | NICKER | Money thief (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 25 | KNOCKOUT | Result of last punch, a beauty! (8) |
| Double definition | ||
| 27 | TRAVAILS | Possible call to get a grip on endless party woes (8) |
| RAV[e] (endless party) in (get a grip on) TAILS (possible call) | ||
| 28 | AUTUMN | The fall of Richard Nixon? (6) |
| Cryptic definition. Americans tend to refer to autumn as the fall. | ||
| 29 | RAINLESS | Dry, Sun god out more then? (8) |
| RA (Sun god) + IN LESS (out more then?) | ||
| 30 | GENEVA | Wilder state, conventional city? (6) |
| GENE (Wilder) + VA (state, i.e. Virginia) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | MEANDER | Wind, average a shade up (7) |
| MEAN (average) + RED (a shade) backwards (up) | ||
| 2 | PALLADIUM | Rare element in London theatre (9) |
| Double definition | ||
| 3 | EASTER | Time to parade last of maggots in apple (6) |
| [maggot]S in EATER (apple) | ||
| 5 | AJAR | Ascendant king letting in a little light? (4) |
| RAJA (king) backwards (ascendant) | ||
| 6 | APIARIST | Sanctimonious nob briefly subordinate to a workers’ supervisor? (8) |
| A (a) + PI (sanctimonious) + ARIST[o] (nob briefly) | ||
| 7 | OFTEN | Stuffed with paper, one forced in many cases (5) |
| FT (paper) in anagram (forced) of ONE | ||
| 8 | BANGKOK | Grand in deposit, adequate capital (7) |
| G (grand) in BANK (deposit) + OK (adequate) | ||
| 11 | HAIRCUT | Bob, perhaps, has to show contrition at first, entering small dwelling (7) |
| AIR (show) + C[ontrition] together in HUT (small dwelling) | ||
| 14 | COMBINE | Marry – discard income? (7) |
| BIN (discard) in (in) COME. I had some trouble seeing this wordplay and must thank one of my cohorts, Bob, for his help with it. | ||
| 17 | INTRODUCE | Present doctrine designed to impress university (9) |
| U (university) in anagram (designed) of DOCTRINE | ||
| 18 | DOVETAIL | Come together when vote cast in Irish parliament (8) |
| Anagram (cast) of VOTE in DAIL (Irish parliament) | ||
| 19 | MONSTER | Very big day before relaxing rest (7) |
| MON (day) + anagram (relaxing) of REST | ||
| 21 | PETUNIA | Colourful flower in taupe, surprisingly (7) |
| Anagram (surprisingly) of IN TAUPE | ||
| 22 | SCOUSE | Soak, assuming cold stew (6) |
| C (cold) in SOUSE (soak) | ||
| 24 | COATI | South American animal, fur on one (5) |
| COAT (fur) + I (one) | ||
| 26 | ALAS | Somewhat cynical, a senator, unfortunately (4) |
| Hidden word | ||
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Remember that this puzzle was originally published on-line on Good Friday but later shifted to its normal Saturday time – the FT has historically not been printed on Good Friday.
A typically enjoyable crossword by this prolific setter with his trademark wit and clarity of clues. For some reason, I missed the homophone in the clue for ‘witch carrier’ although that was obviously the intent of the clue.
Thought that both AUTUMN and HAMILTON were very clever. The last few in were AJAR, that HAMILTON and APIARIST (which I found quite difficult to parse for a while).