Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of December 9, 2017
Another brilliant and delightful puzzle from Rosa. My favourites are 10ac (TENDERISE), 11ac (BACKSLASH), 13ac (YACHT), 27ac (TANNERY), 14dn (TOOTHACHE) and 20dn (HESSIAN). What a treat! Thank you again, Rosa.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SIBERIA | Part of Russia is revolting and reportedly less than sober (7) |
| IS (is) backwards (revolting) + homophone (reportedly) of “beerier” (less than sober) | ||
| 5 | TO SPARE | Surplus kept by Otto’s parents (2,5) |
| Hidden expression | ||
| 9 | UNLET | Available to rent, ultimately you can still purchase it (5) |
| [yo]U [ca]N [stil]L [purchas]E [i]T | ||
| 10 | TENDERISE | Soften up last pair of climate change deniers (9) |
| [clima]TE + anagram (change) of DENIERS | ||
| 11 | BACKSLASH | Left-leaning character is in favour of corporal punishment (9) |
| BACKS (is in favour of) + LASH (corporal punishment) | ||
| 12 | WONGA | Money came first, introductions to grandees after (5) |
| WON (came first) + G[randees] A[fter] | ||
| 13 | YACHT | Luxury purchase set back your old checking account (5) |
| AC (account) in (checking) THY (your old) backwards (set back) | ||
| 15 | DIFFICULT | Awkward end of Edward II, impaled by fellows and followers (9) |
| [edwar]D + FF (fellows) in (impaled by) II + CULT (followers) | ||
| 18 | PUSHOVERS | Pet bears hang about for pieces of cake (9) |
| HOVER (hang about) in PUSS (pet) | ||
| 19 | FIFTH | Couple short of place fit to accommodate fine horse (5) |
| F (fine) in (to accommodate) in FIT (fit) + H (horse). I take it that the nicely cryptic definition refers to betting on horse races where a horse ‘places’ if it is one of the first three (usually three) over the finish line. | ||
| 21 | GNASH | Talked about origin of hunger strike together (5) |
| SANG (talked) backwards (about) + H[unger] | ||
| 23 | PEIGNOIRS | Reposing, I rearranged flimsy clothes (9) |
| Anagram (rearranged) of REPOSING I. A peignoir is a woman’s loose dressing-gown. | ||
| 25 | ADDICTIVE | Extra ingredient contains cocaine, getting people hooked (9) |
| C (cocaine) in ADDITIVE (extra ingredient) | ||
| 26 | HAITI | Regularly cut wheat in this country (5) |
| [w]H[e]A[r] I[n] T[h]I[s] | ||
| 27 | TANNERY | Judge admits princess hides here (7) |
| ANNE (princess) in TRY (judge) | ||
| 28 | STUN GUN | Weapon wounded left-wingers of unimpeachable niceness (4,3) |
| STUNG (wounded) + U[nimpeachable] N[iceness] | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | STUBBLY | Butt and odd bits of belly in need of shave (7) |
| STUB (butt) + B[e]L[l]Y | ||
| 2 | BALLCOCKS | Lavatory fixtures in Spooner’s telephone kiosk (9) |
| Spoonerism of “call box” (telephone kiosk) | ||
| 3 | RITES | Customs of outspoken authors (5) |
| Homophone (outspoken!) of “writes” (authors) | ||
| 4 | ASTRADDLE | Dotty sat on wobbly ladder with leg on either side (9) |
| Anagram (dotty) of SAT + anagram (wobbly) of LADDER | ||
| 5 | TENCH | Fish head leaving terrible smell (5) |
| [s]TENCH (terrible smell, head leaving) | ||
| 6 | SKEW-WHIFF | Crooked partners, wife and husband, on board boat (4-5) |
| EW (partners, as in bridge) + W (wife) + H (husband) together (on board) SKIFF (boat) | ||
| 7 | ALIEN | Remove coat of most important foreigner (5) |
| [s]ALIEN[t] (most important with “coat” removed) | ||
| 8 | ELEGANT | Gracious, short lament over member of colony (7) |
| ELEG[y] (short lament) + ANT (member of colony) | ||
| 14 | TOOTHACHE | Steaming hot chocolate banishing depression and pain (9) |
| Anagram (steaming) of HOT CHO[col]ATE (“col” being the depression banished). I have a reservation about ‘steaming’ as an anagram indicator but love this clue in spite of that. | ||
| 16 | FISHINESS | Motor sport is brilliant source of status for shady character (9) |
| FI (motor sport, i.e. Formula 1) + SHINES (is brilliant) + S[tatus] | ||
| 17 | UNFAILING | In gainful work, for sure (9) |
| Anagram (work) of IN GAINFUL | ||
| 18 | PAGEANT | Rampage antisocially over parade (7) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 20 | HESSIAN | Sackcloth and ashes in Barking (7) |
| Anagram (barking) of ASHES IN | ||
| 22 | ADD-ON | An absorbing review of unusual peripheral (3-2) |
| ODD (unusual) backwards (review of) in (absorbing) AN (an) | ||
| 23 | PRICY | Extremes of polar cold costing one dear (5) |
| P[ola]R + ICY (cold) | ||
| 24 | NEHRU | Are you texting to support rising female Indian leader? (5) |
| HEN (female) backwards (rising) + RU (“are you” texting) | ||
Thanks Pete and Rosa Klebb. Liked the same ones you mention.
Didn’t get PUSHOVERS and was toying with PASSOVERS imagining some connection to cakes…
Also, could not parse FIFTH.
Oill give it foive
Also struggled with FIFTH. I took it to mean Gold, Silver and Bronze to be the three placings and fifth to be a couple shy of this.
Good as ever. Fifth was nice. I took it to mean that if a horse is fifth then it is a couple of positions away from a place, in the sense that in most races betting to place is betting on the first three. (By long convention first four in a handicap of 16+ runners, and we now see all manner of esoteric offers and markets where place is more widely defined, but at correspondingly less generous odds).
Tenderise was my favourite
Thanks Rosa & Pete.
In 19 across I think you are alluding to North American usage whereas, as Hovis and Andrew B say, in Britain “placed” describes the first three horses in a race.
Ah, thank you, psmith. I was not intentionally alluding to North American usage but may well have done so unwittingly. (I have bet on a horse race only once in my life. And that was in Britain.) I shall adjust the description of this clue.
Thanks Rosa and Pete
Another entertaining puzzle from Rosa Klebb with her usual smooth surfaces and mix of word play in her clues. Like the way that she provides a couple of gentle starters before applying her deviousness throughout the rest of the puzzle.
Thought that BACKSLASH was the best of a very good lot of clues.
Finished in the SW corner with GNASH, PUSHOVERS and ADD ON the last few in.