The Don has often given us intriguing and truly enjoyable Friday challenges – today however, has to be overlooked in that list.
This grid like yesterday’s FT fare, is good for beginners as a morale booster. My general gripe is I felt that there wasnt much in many clues to truly make it cryptic.
FF:6 DD:6
| Across | ||
| 1 | BOSOMED | Not all cuddled by fellow will be possessed of female features? (7) |
| SOME (not all) in BOD (fellow) | ||
| 5 | PITCH IN | Long leg’s about to get involved (5,2) |
| PIN (leg) around ITCH (long) | ||
| 9 | RABID | Mad British in aggressive action (5) |
| B (british) in RAID (aggressive action) | ||
| 10 | SLOW MATCH | Contest sending spectator to sleep, one leading to something explosive? (4,5) |
| cryptic clue, a slow match would send a spectator to sleep; refers to a slow burning rope used to light explsoives | ||
| 11 | TAIWANESE | Twee Asian, eccentric island native (9) |
| TWEE ASIAN* | ||
| 12 | APPAL | Supplication to ban drug brings outrage (5) |
| APPeAL (supplication, without E – ecstacy, drug) | ||
| 13 | NUCLEAR PHYSICS | Princely cash US distributed for branch of scientific research (7,7) |
| PRINCELY CASH US* | ||
| 18 | ANTIPERSPIRANT | It may be enough to make someone dry up (14) |
| cryptic clue | ||
| 20 | DODGE | Daughter, say, taken aback by party trick (5) |
| [D (daughter0 GE (say = EG, reversed)] after DO (party) | ||
| 22 | CHEERLESS | Reel around in game that’s depressing (9) |
| REEL* in CHESS (game) | ||
| 24 | BOARD GAME | Directors, having willingness to act, go for one (5,4) |
| BOARD (directors) GAME (having willingness to act) – go is the name of a game | ||
| 25 | SUPPE | Evening provisions not right for composer (5) |
| SUPPEr (evening provisions, without R – right) – franz von suppe, austrian composer, had to google this. | ||
| 26 | SET FREE | Release from group available for nothing (3,4) |
| SET (group) FREE (available for nothing) – not particularly cryptic and a touch out of place in this crossword | ||
| 27 | RETIRED | Soldiers suffering from long day stopped working? (7) |
| RE (soldiers) TIRED (suffering from long day) – again, not particularly cryptic | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BERATE | Half the money refunded for upsetting lecture (6) |
| [REB]ATE – (money refunded, with first half being reversed {upsetting } ) | ||
| 2 | SOBRIQUET | “Bro’s” quite new label to give to someone (9) |
| BRO’S QUITE* | ||
| 3 | MEDEA | Imprisoned in home, dear princess (5) |
| hidden in “..hoME DEAr…” | ||
| 4 | DISREPAIR | Show contempt for agent with manner conveying shabbiness (9) |
| DIS (show contempt for) REP (agent) AIR (manner) | ||
| 5 | PROLE | Lowly worker having quiet part to play (5) |
| P (quiet) ROLE (part to play) | ||
| 6 | TOM SAWYER | Boy hero involved in steamy row (3,6) |
| STEAMY ROW* | ||
| 7 | HOT UP | Group of workers in dance to become more lively (3,2) |
| TU (group of workers, trade union) in HOP (dance) | ||
| 8 | NIHILIST | Sort of philosopher in DUP territory greeting tilt to one side (8) |
| NI (DUP territory) HI (greeting) LIST (tilt to one side) | ||
| 14 | LIP READER | Spooner’s to tear apart boss – one can see what’s said (3,6) |
| spoonerism of RIP (tear apart) LEADER (boss) | ||
| 15 | PUPPETEER | Performer is cheeky youngster, a favourite always (9) |
| PUP (cheeky youngster) PET (favorite) EER (ever, always) | ||
| 16 | INNKEEPER | Finnegan is such a host (9) |
| cryptic clue – FINNEGAN contains INN (thus INN-KEEPER) | ||
| 17 | BAD DEBTS | Bishop needing sum, stupid bets bringing financial problem (3,5) |
| B (bishop) ADD (sum) BETS* | ||
| 19 | OSTEND | East-end party giver has to finish port (6) |
| hOST (party giver, east end would make it ‘OST) END (finish) | ||
| 21 | DEALT | Distributed timber, last bit from forest (5) |
| DEAL (timber) T (last bit of foresT) | ||
| 22 | CHAFE | Bother in hospital in refreshment lounge (5) |
| H (hospital) in CAFE (refreshment lounge) | ||
| 23 | RESET | Adjust again, take it easy to acquire energy (5) |
| REST (take it easy) containing E (energy) | ||
*anagram
A quick and easy solve but I enjoyed it. Whilst solving, I noted that, for me, relatively few answers were guessed from the definition and then parsed afterwards but instead were built from the cryptic fare. I also had not heard of Suppé.
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
I’m not too sure how you parsed 16dn, Turbolegs.
I read it as a very neat & Lit. Clue.
(INN)KEEPER: ‘F(inn)egan is such a host’.
A gentle sorbet between the excellent Brummie and the frightening Phi.
Thanks Turbolegs – not as challenging as some of the Don’s but I enjoyed it anyway.
I think the correct parsing of 19d may be that an east-ender (Cockney) would drop the ‘h’ in host.
A well-checked grid always makes a puzzle easier! My FT puzzles are very much ‘as they come’, I’m afraid. With my other puzzles I have a wider feel for the non-blogging community — don’t have any chums who solve this one. Still, I have long been of the opinion that a variation in difficulty is no bad thing. If blogs prove any maxim true, it is that one man’s meat is another man’s poison. Thanks anyway for the bit of feedback I do get here.
Steve@4 – I did parse 19dn the same way as you did.
Bradman@4 – Thanks for stopping by. I think there is a lot to do with expectations, on how one views his/her solving experience – to your point of meat and poison. I cant agree more – too many occasions when the common view of the fraternity here has been that a puzzle was easy/hard and I had a diametrically opposite view. 🙂
Regards,
Turbolegs
Well I enjoyed it!
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
SUPPE was my second or third entry – had to look him up to check, but was quite obvious from the word play. Did find this at the easier end of this setter’s difficulty spectrum but nothing wrong with that – still enjoyed it.
Like Hovis@1, I did find that I was working out the cryptic part of most clues and then checking off the definition – not often that that happens in puzzles !
Finished in the NE corner with PROLE, TOM SAWYER and SLOW MATCH the last few in.
I’ve only recently started taking to cryptic crosswords, and happened to pick the FT up on Friday. As such, I actually felt challenged by this puzzle? in a good way.
Experience, what?