Monday Prize Crossword / Jun 26, 2017
A pleasant Falcon crossword but also one that I found extremely easy.
When I put my last one in (forgot which one it was, though), I hadn’t even finished my breakfast …..
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | ALACRITY | Speed of a non-professional penning short review (8) |
| A + LAY (non-professional) around CRIT (review, short for criticism) That kind of speed. |
||
| 5 | APPEAL | Beauty of a soft pedal little daughter ignored (6) |
| A + P (soft) + PE[d]AL, the deleted D being ‘daughter’ | ||
| 10 | CONFINE | Intern beginning to come on very well (7) |
| C[ome] + ON + FINE (very well) | ||
| 11 | ABANDON | Give up completely on a group at the front (7) |
| ON preceded by A BAND (a group) | ||
| 12 | DWARF | Happy, perhaps, participating in cold war film (5) |
| Hidden solution [participating in]: cold war film This is perhaps the clue I liked the most. |
||
| 13 | IN GENERAL | Usually home ahead of army officer (2,7) |
| IN (home) + GENERAL (army officer) | ||
| 14 | ORGAN-GRINDER | One producing notes by a crank? (5-7) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 18 | TICKET TO RIDE | Record label editor misspelled (6,2,4) |
| TICKET (label) + (EDITOR)* [* = misspelled] Of course, The Beatles’ classic No 1 released April 1965. There is also a board game with the same name but that’s not what it is here. |
||
| 21 | ECCENTRIC | Unconventional English Cricket Club certain to change after losing away (9) |
| E (English) + CC (Cricket Club) + (CERTAIN minus A (away))* [* = to change] For those who question A = ‘away’, it is sports terminology (just like H = ‘home’ or L = ‘lost’). |
||
| 23 | NEPAL | The French female writer retired here, high in the Himalayas (5) |
| LA (the, in French, its female form) + PEN (writer), together reversed [retired] | ||
| 24 | KNEECAP | Bone in neck ape fractured (7) |
| (NECK APE)* [* = fractured] | ||
| 25 | ARSENIC | As found in medicines raved about (7) |
| Hidden solution [found in]: medicines raved, then reversed [about] ‘As’ is the chemical symbol for arsenic. |
||
| 26 | RAMSEY | Lewis certainly hurt back? (6) |
| YES (certainly) + MAR (hurt), together reversed [back] For some, perhaps, a bit obscure but I think this is Ramsey Lewis, one of the most successful American jazz pianists. With his Ramsey Lewis Trio he conquered the world in the Sixties with big hits like ‘The In-Crowd’ and ‘Hang on Sloopy’. |
||
| 27 | IMPAIRED | I’m married, and spoiled (8) |
| I’M + PAIRED (married) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | ARCADE | Unwisely raced round a shopping precinct (6) |
| (RACED)* around A [* = unwisely] | ||
| 2 | ANNUAL | Declare invalid must check blood group yearly (6) |
| ANNUL (declare invalid) arouns A (blood group) | ||
| 3 | REINFORCE | Strengthen check on violence (9) |
| REIN (check) + FORCE (violence) | ||
| 4 | THE MISANTHROPE | Article on mixed metaphors in a Molière play (3,11) |
| THE (article) + (METAPHORS IN)* [* = mixed] Molière whose real name was Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, saw his famous play premiered in late Spring 1666. Read more about it here. |
||
| 6 | PLAIN | Simple map I found enclosed (5) |
| I inside PLAN (map) | ||
| 7 | ELDORADO | Criminal drooled about a place of great riches (8) |
| (DROOLED)* around A [* = criminal] This is the sixth clue in which the letter A forms an essential building block for the construction! |
||
| 8 | LANDLORD | Publican left with master (8) |
| L (left) + AND (with) + LORD (master) | ||
| 9 | BAGGAGE RECLAIM | A cig lame beggar lit in area within airport (7,7) |
| (A CIG LAME BEGGAR)* [* = lit] | ||
| 15 | INDONESIA | Ones imprisoned by country, Asian republic (9) |
| ONES inside INDIA (country) | ||
| 16 | STREAKER | One running out of gear? (8) |
| Cryptic definition Falcon hardly ever does cryptic definitions but this is already No 2! |
||
| 17 | ICE CREAM | Best supplied after diner finally leaves rice dish served cold (3,5) |
| CREAM (best) coming after {RICE minus [dine]R} | ||
| 19 | OPENER | First of series of games is key (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 20 | PLACID | Still cold wearing tartan cloth (6) |
| C (cold) inside PLAID (tartan cloth) | ||
| 22 | NICHE | Hot during pleasant recess (5) |
| H (hot) inside NICE (pleasant) | ||
*anagram
Thanks Falcon & Sil.
For 1 across the crossers (A , A, R & T) convinced me. that the solution must contain an anagram of AMATEUR (non-professional), which is perhaps the misdirection that Falcon intended. Apart from that, my only problem was with 26 across which is, as you say, obscure; some reference to jazz might have helped.
Thanks Falcon and Sil
As you say, pretty straightforward – but it actually took longer to do than the Saturday Mudd from the same weekend which is pretty unusual.
No real standouts – the As trick for ARSENIC has been used a few times recently so as soon as it was spotted in the reverse, there were not too many issues with that. Hadn’t heard of the jazz player at 26a, but again it was pretty easy to deduce and a quick check in Wiki to confirm that there was such a character.
OPENER was my last in for no particular reason.