Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 14, 2017
An easier Mudd this week. Only the bottom-left gave me a little trouble, notably 21dn (SKIDOO) and 28ac (OWN). My clue of the week is 12ac (ORGAN) with 15ac (CHAR) the runner-up.
| Across | ||
| 1 | INCARCERATE | Lock up in box, care taken moving around inside (11) |
| IN (in) + anagram (moving around) of CARE in (inside) CRATE (box) | ||
| 7 | BUS | Not entirely occupied, passenger vehicle (3) |
| BUS[y] (not entirely occupied) | ||
| 9 | CLAMP | Grip affected, nail finally secured (5) |
| [nai]L in CAMP (affected) | ||
| 10 | ALEXANDER | A law accompanying Queen, great leader (9) |
| A (a) + LEX (law) + AND (accompanying) + ER (Queen) | ||
| 11 | BLIND SPOT | Area unseen behind lorry is notedly difficult, initially, to see (5,4) |
| B[ehind] L[orry] I[s] N[otedly] D[ifficult] + SPOT (to see) | ||
| 12 | ORGAN | Heart, perhaps, that’s stopped? (5) |
| Double/cryptic definition | ||
| 13 | TREMBLE | Singer set about Mozart’s first quaver (7) |
| M[ozart] in TREBLE (singer) | ||
| 15 | CHAR | Cook too much fish (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 18 | BOMB | A lot of money is mine! (4) |
| Double definition. The slang use of ‘bomb’ to mean a lot of money is new to me. | ||
| 20 | BLENDER | Primarily blaming bank, one getting things mixed up (7) |
| B[laming] + LENDER (bank) | ||
| 23 | KNEAD | Sound call for massage (5) |
| Homophone (sound) of “need” (call) | ||
| 24 | LIGHTS OUT | “Knackered hug slot” – it is bedtime! (6-3) |
| Anagram (knackered) of HUG SLOT IT | ||
| 26 | DAMNATION | Check and state oath (9) |
| DAM (check) + NATION (state) | ||
| 27 | REICH | English taking apart absurd Nazi state (5) |
| E (English) in (taking apart) RICH (absurd) | ||
| 28 | OWN | Don’t open dress – it’s private! (3) |
| [g]OWN (don’t open dress) | ||
| 29 | THIS AND THAT | Then not the other things? (4,3,4) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | INCUBATE | In Caribbean location, extremes of temperature required to keep warm (8) |
| IN (in) + CUBA (Caribbean location) + T[emperatur]E | ||
| 2 | CLARINET | Wine boxes in for a member of the orchestra (8) |
| IN (in) in (boxes) CLARET (wine) | ||
| 3 | RAPID | Express has to criticise one’s papers (5) |
| RAP (to criticise) + ID (one’s papers) | ||
| 4 | EXAMPLE | Old enough, for instance (7) |
| EX (old) + AMPLE (enough) | ||
| 5 | ASEPTIC | Development in space, it is free of contamination (7) |
| Anagram (development in) SPACE IT | ||
| 6 | ELABORATE | Explain, as complicated (9) |
| Double definition | ||
| 7 | BAD EGG | Rat that shouldn’t go in an omelette! (3,3) |
| Double definition | ||
| 8 | SPRING | March, perhaps – or jump (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 14 | BROADCAST | Thick actors getting put out (9) |
| BROAD (thick) + CAST (actors) | ||
| 16 | ADMONISH | A lovely outstanding day to tick off (8) |
| A (a) + MON (day) in (outstanding) DISH (lovely) | ||
| 17 | CROTCHET | There’s little time to get into needlework, note (8) |
| T (little time) in CROCHET (needlework) | ||
| 19 | BELLINI | Ring home, Italy, as Italian composer (7) |
| BELL (ring) + IN (home) + I (Italy) | ||
| 20 | BEGONIA | Flowering plant, variant of a big one (7) |
| Anagram (variant) of A BIG ONE | ||
| 21 | SKIDOO | Hurry off in a minute (shortly) to collect child (6) |
| KID (child) in SOO[n] (a minute shortly) | ||
| 22 | VERMIN | Found in hoover, minute mice perhaps? (6) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 25 | TIRED | Loveless editor, hopelessly exhausted (5) |
| Anagram (hopelessly) of EDIT[o]R | ||
18. “that costs a bomb” is an expression I grew up with so maybe it is Midlands slang. Yes an easier Mudd,but I still fell five short. Agree with you on both organ and char. 21. “Skidoo” is new to me; our slang is “skedaddle” to the same effect. I didn’t get it.
I should have noted that “skidoo” was new to me too. I had heard of Ski-Doo as a brand but had no idea there was an English word. Like you, I would use “skedaddle”.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Found this one of Mudd’s easiest for quite a while and was finished quite quickly in a single sitting on the way into work earlier in the week.
It’s a pity that SKIDOO wasn’t placed where KNEAD was as apparently the full US slang term is 23-SKIDOO, based on some fictitious address, that means to ‘get away quickly to avoid trouble’. I only knew of it as the snowmobile thing before.
The term “it cost a bomb” is/was used here to mean that something cost a lot of money – so had no issues with that one.
MARCH is the start of our autumn – so had to adjust hemispheres to get that one.
Finished in the bottom centre with the quirky THIS AND THAT, BELLINI and BOMB the last when that phrase dawned on me.
Bruce, you have awakened a very old memory in me that the SKIDOO clue did not. I now clearly remember hearing that very American slang phrase, “23 skidoo”. I imagine it must have been in my very young years and I have now been re-familiarizing myself with it using Wikipedia which tells us: