Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 2, 2017
Lots to like, I think, in this puzzle from Redshank. My clue of the week is the hidden-word &lit. 15ac (TYRE). I also especially like 10ac (BACKGAMMON), 2dn (NO-SHOWS), 7dn (KAMA SUTRA) and 18dn (TRICEPS).
| Across | ||
| 1 | INDUSTRIAL | River Test suitable for factories? (10) |
| INDUS (river) + TRIAL (test) | ||
| 7 | KIST | Did 13, as stated, box? (4) |
| Homophone of “kissed” (did 13, as in 13 across ‘osculate’). A kist is a box used for storing clothes. I do not recall coming across this word before. A dictionary indicates that it is used in Scotland and South Africa. | ||
| 9 | PSST | Noisy drunk that attracts attention (4) |
| Homophone (noisy) of “pissed” (drunk) | ||
| 10 | BACKGAMMON | Two slices of pork or game (10) |
| BACK (one slice of pork) GAMMON (another slice of pork) | ||
| 11 | TOERAG | Despicable guy brought back, given time inside (6) |
| ERA (time) in GOT (brought) backwards | ||
| 12 | NAMESAKE | Seek a man out who’s confused with someone else (8) |
| Anagram (out) of SEEK A MAN | ||
| 13 | OSCULATE | Pay lip service to very big copper behind schedule? (8) |
| OS (very big, i.e. out-sized) + CU (copper) + LATE (behind schedule) with a cryptic definition (‘osculate’ can mean to kiss) | ||
| 15 | TYRE | City Remoulds supply it (4) |
| Hidden word &Lit. | ||
| 17 | STET | Leave this way, about to be expelled (4) |
| ST[re]ET (way, about to be expelled) | ||
| 19 | ULULATED | Singer, upset with worried daughter, wailed (8) |
| LULU (singer) backwards (upset) + ATE (worried) + D (daughter) | ||
| 22 | BIATHLON | Book one Irish town briefly for contest (8) |
| B (book) + I (one) ATHLON[e] (Irish town briefly) | ||
| 23 | GROUCH | Marx doesn’t finish beef (6) |
| GROUCH[o] (Marx doesn’t finish) | ||
| 25 | DEPRESSION | Prof passes round English papers – I slump (10) |
| E (English) + PRESS (papers) + I (I) all in (passes round) DON (prof) | ||
| 26 | NAPE | New primate has some neck! (4) |
| N (new) + APE (primate) | ||
| 27 | USED | Second-hand American edition (4) |
| US (American) + ED (edition) | ||
| 28 | DELIVERIES | Consignments food shop confirms, no doubt (10) |
| DELI (food shop) + VER[if]IES (confirms, no doubt) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | NO-SHOWS | They don’t appear to eat or wash regularly (2-5) |
| NOSH (to eat) + O[r] W[a]S[h] | ||
| 3 | UTTER | Complete idiot needing no introduction (5) |
| [n]UTTER (idiot needing no introduction) | ||
| 4 | TOBOGGAN | Boat going off? I dumped sledge (8) |
| Anagram (off) of BOAT GO[i]NG | ||
| 5 | INCONSEQUENTIAL | Fiery Toscanini hosts irate queen by lake, fiddling (15) |
| Anagram (irate) of QUEEN in anagram (fiery) of TOSCANINI + L (lake) | ||
| 6 | LEGUME | Two birds regurgitated seeds (6) |
| EMU (one bird) + GEL (another bird) all backwards (regurgitated). ‘Gel’ is an informal term for girl and ‘bird’ is another (in British usage). I wonder about how ‘seeds’ being plural is justified here. Maybe it is because ‘legume’ can refer to a pod containing multiple seeds but it still seems a bit loose. | ||
| 7 | KAMA SUTRA | Position textbook? (4,5) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 8 | SNOOKER | Game sister tackles it after I quit (7) |
| NOOK[i]E (it after I quit) in SR (sister) | ||
| 14 | UNTUTORED | Guide turned out to be lacking instruction (9) |
| Anagram (guide) of TURNED OUT. I am not crazy about ‘guide’ as an anagram indicator. | ||
| 16 | TURGENEV | Doctor brought up nurses to encourage new writer (8) |
| URGE (encourage) + N (new) together in (nurses) VET (doctor) backwards (brought up) | ||
| 18 | TRICEPS | Practise wrestling without one? Unlikely (7) |
| Anagram (wrestling) of PR[a]CTISE &Lit. | ||
| 20 | ESCAPEE | He takes flight in case fresh relief needed (7) |
| Anagram (fresh) of CASE + PEE (relief needed) | ||
| 21 | CLOSED | Muggy day stopped trading (6) |
| CLOSE (muggy) + D (day) | ||
| 24 | OWNER | Proprietor’s 25, heading off (5) |
| [d]OWNER (25, heading off) referring to 25 across (DEPRESSION) | ||
We seem to be getting very lax about anagram key words: “fiery” – really ? I also don’t like “nookie” as the meaning of “it” or have I stumbled unwittingly into a Carry On film ?
Derek, Thank you for commenting. I bemoan the use of ever more lax anagram indicators but, so as not to sound like a parrot, mention examples only seldom. (There’s one coming next week.) Certainly, I am not keen on ‘fiery’. I am okay with ‘it’ cluing ‘nookie’ but know that you are not alone in disliking this.
Thanks Redshank and Pete
A puzzle that gave me a bit of trouble – ending up getting KIST wrong (had KISS not properly parsed and with the wrong tense) and didn’t properly parse all of SNOOKER (not seeing SR for sister).
Had trouble down in the SW corner where I finished – eventually prising out STET (originally had thought it was SCAT), BIATHLON (probably the hardest clue of the lot) and TRICEPS (where I initially tried to get the anagram of ‘practise’ without the I instead of without the A). TURGENEV also took an age to unravel the word play.
Did like GROUCH and TYRE.
I had KISS for a while too. Until, in fact, someone pointed out to me that it had to be wrong.
Thanks Redshank & Pete.
Like Brucew @3 I thought that wrestlers would prefer to practise on CARPETS, wrestling doing double duty in the clue. Consequently unable to solve STET and BIATHLON, but doubt if TRICEPS would have been any more help, so I prefer my solution!
As for KIST, not a hope.
There were some easy ones and some were nigh on impossible for anyone who’s not an Irish proofreader. Add me to the it = nookie frowner-onners.
Got KISS not Kist. Couldn’t see how triceps fitted and didn’t get biathlon but otherwise ok. Happy with IT = NOOKIE; both slang for the same thing.
No one commenting about PSST two weeks running? Must be quite a coincidence. I’ve met it before so had no trouble with it.