Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 16, 2017
Oh what a lovely puzzle. Beautiful surfaces, long but precise clues for short words (something I admire), clever cryptic definitions. Hard to pick a winner but maybe 25ac (STROMBOLI) for its cryptic definition and slick surface. Other gems: 22ac (GRAND OPERA), 26ac (TANGA — a word I did not know), 6dn (FIREPROOF), 13dn (FLAT-FOOTED), 14dn (TEA CHESTS), 16dn (LOOSE ENDS) and 18dn (EARWORM). Thank you Rosa!
| Across | ||
| 1 | BILLABONG | Shocking no-ball I belted back across stagnant pool (9) |
| Reverse hidden word | ||
| 6 | THIEF | Acting heads of iffy hedge funds earn trillion nicker (5) |
| Anagram (acting) of I[ffy] H[edge] F[unds] E[arn] T[rillion] | ||
| 9 | A-LIST | Very famous reporter is half-cut (1-4) |
| [journ]ALIST (reporter is half-cut) | ||
| 10 | FREE-TO-AIR | I refer to a play that everyone can watch (4-2-3) |
| Anagram (play) of I REFER TO A | ||
| 11 | STUBBORNLY | Obstinately unshaven guards love sailors (10) |
| O (love) + RN (sailors, i.e. Royal Navy) together in STUBBLY (unshaven) | ||
| 12 | CLAP | Applaud evacuation of central Antwerp (4) |
| C[entra]L A[ntwer]P | ||
| 14 | TOE-HOLD | Tiny step in the direction of European dominance (3-4) |
| TO (in the direction of) + E (European) + HOLD (dominance) | ||
| 15 | GALILEO | He observed heavenly bodies of female stars on island (7) |
| GAL (female) + I (island) + LEO (stars, as in constellation) | ||
| 17 | ANY TIME | Use amenity whenever you like (3,4) |
| Anagram (use) of AMENITY | ||
| 19 | SETS OFF | Extremely saturnine posh chap devours seconds and explodes (4,3) |
| S[aturnin]E + S (seconds) in (devours) TOFF (posh chap) | ||
| 20 | HALE | Initially hoping beer is healthy (4) |
| H[oping] + ALE (beer) | ||
| 22 | GRAND OPERA | He drugs old ladies, a niche interest (5,5) |
| GRAN DOPER (he drugs old ladies) + A (a) | ||
| 25 | STROMBOLI | Italian smoker from Bristol prancing round home unclothed (9) |
| [h]OM[e] in anagram (prancing) of BRISTOL | ||
| 26 | TANGA | Georgia Brown swapped briefs (5) |
| TAN (brown) + GA (Georgia) swapped. I had never heard of Tanga briefs. | ||
| 27 | SLANG | Liberal dons tweeted in the vernacular (5) |
| L (Liberal) in (dons) SANG (tweeted) | ||
| 28 | MELODISTS | Films about Berlioz oddly ignored last of old tunesmiths (9) |
| [b]E[r]L[i]O[z] + [ol]D together in MISTS (films) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BRASS | Orchestral players start to swear, wearing women’s underwear (5) |
| S[wear] in (wearing) BRAS (women’s underwear) | ||
| 2 | LEISURELY | Dropping new name, Lenin no doubt relaxed (9) |
| LE[n]I[n] (dropping new name, Lenin) + SURELY (no doubt) | ||
| 3 | ANTIBIOTIC | It fights infection in short and underdeveloped bone of the ear (10) |
| AN[d] + TIBI[a] (underdeveloped bone) + OTIC (of the ear) | ||
| 4 | OFFERED | Provided unlimited coffee and wine (7) |
| [c]OFFE[e] + RED (wine) | ||
| 5 | GREYLAG | Dismal delay for airborne migrant (7) |
| GREY (dismal) + LAG (delay) | ||
| 6 | TUTU | Regularly removing trustful dancer’s clothing (4) |
| T[r]U[s]T[f]U[l] | ||
| 7 | IN ALL | Finally getting rid of banks altogether (2,3) |
| [f]INALL[y] | ||
| 8 | FIREPROOF | A third of fitted carpeting is non- flammable (9) |
| FI[tted] + REPROOF (carpeting) | ||
| 13 | FLAT-FOOTED | Unimaginative lot fated to wander around Foreign Office (4- 6) |
| FO (Foreign Office) in (around) anagram (to wander) of LOT FATED | ||
| 14 | TEA CHESTS | Leaves boxes of pine to be engulfed by matches (3,6) |
| ACHE (pine) in (to be engulfed by) TESTS (matches) with another clever cryptic definition | ||
| 16 | LOOSE ENDS | Unfinished business observed by policeman behind WC (5,4) |
| LOO (WC) + SEEN (observed) + DS (policeman) | ||
| 18 | EARWORM | Repetitive strain injury of Mr A Rowe (7) |
| Anagram (injury) of MR A ROWE with a brilliant cryptic definition. An ‘earworm’ is something like a fragment of a song that plays over and over in one’s mind. I originally took ‘injury’ to be part of the definition but thanks to a comment from trenodia (see below) am now clear that it is the anagram indicator. | ||
| 19 | SUNDIAL | Watch predecessor put students up (7) |
| NUS (students) + LAID (put) all backwards (up) | ||
| 21 | LARVA | Grub of spectacular variety (5) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 23 | AMASS | Collect idiot’s confession (5) |
| “AM ASS” (idiot’s confession) | ||
| 24 | SMUG | Self-satisfied fools moving closer to summit (4) |
| MUGS (fools) with ‘S’ (closer) moved to the start (to summit) | ||
Thank you, Pete, for a great blog – lucky you!
As you say, a lovey puzzle: I had ticks all over the place, favourites coinciding with yours and then some – too many to mention. There just isn’t a dud clue in there. And so many laughs!
I think the definition of EARWORM is simply ‘repetitive strain’, with ‘injury’ as the brilliant anagrind.
This is a very minor point but 1dn is S[wear] in [wearing] BRAS.
Many thanks, Rosa, for all the fun – I loved it!
‘Lovely’, not ‘lovey’, of course. 😉
18d. I took INJURY as the anagrind and not part of the definition.
A great puzzle.
Eileen. Sorry, I am a slow typist.
> This is a very minor point but 1dn is S[wear] in [wearing] BRAS.
Ah, yes, I simply missed that. Thanks, Eileen.
> 18d. I took INJURY as the anagrind and not part of the definition.
Yes, it sure works better that way. Thanks, trenodia.
Thanks Rosa Klebb and Pete
Must admit that I was initially going to be negative with this puzzle because of the repetitiveness of extracting letters, removing letters and indicating specific letters from words (6a, 12a, 19a, 20a, 25a, 28a, 1d, 4d, 6d and 7d), but you guys are right the silky smooth surfaces and clever definitions (particularly 15a, 14d and 18d) more than made up for it.
Found it on her gentle scale and finished down in the SW with two of them (TEA CHEST and the brilliant EARWORM) as well as SUNDIAL (which I thought was a bit of a stretch to define it as a watch).