After two – in my opinion – slightly quirky Monday puzzles, the FT put the more familiar Armonie on its menu today.
Nothing too difficult but all very neat and precise. There were times that I found crosswords by Armonie (aka Chifonie somewhere else) too one-dimensional and unexciting. Nowadays I appreciate his style a lot more (and rightly so, I think).
Enjoyable crossword!
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | UNEDUCATED | Ignorant of a French coin, Edward? (10) |
| UNE (a, in French) + DUCAT (coin) + ED (Edward, shortened) | ||
| 7 | NEST | Gang of spies in The Thirty Nine Steps (4) |
| Hidden answer [in]: The Thirty Nine Steps | ||
| 9 | MINT | Plant in perfect condition (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 10 | RUMINATION | Thinking of motorway in disrepair (10) |
| M (motorway) inside RUINATION (disrepair) | ||
| 11 | CHARGE | Bill gets sudden attack (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 12 | ENTIRELY | Hospital department I trust without reservation (8) |
| ENT (hospital department) + I + RELY (trust) | ||
| 13 | CRESSIDA | Unfaithful lover is scared off (8) |
| Anagram [off] of IS SCARED Daughter of a priest, Calchas, she was – in Trojan wartimes – faithless to her lover Troilus who was the son of Priam, king of Troy, and Hecuba. Cressida was also the name of an obscure early Seventies band that I was quite fond of. Both their albums, Cressida and Munich, are in my record collection. |
||
| 15 | FADE | Craze with drug in decline (4) |
| FAD (craze) + E (drug) | ||
| 17 | RIDE | Spain backs free travel (4) |
| E (Spain) coming after RID (free) | ||
| 19 | EXACTING | Late performance making undue demands (8) |
| EX (late) + ACTING (performance) | ||
| 22 | FLAUBERT | French writer depressed about taxi firm (8) |
| FLAT (depressed) around UBER (taxi firm) Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) |
||
| 23 | ADAPTS | Changes inclined to cut publicity (6) |
| APT (inclined) inside ADS (publicity, plural of ‘ad’) | ||
| 25 | ESPADRILLE | “Shoe is damaged”, replies lad (10) |
| Anagram [damaged] of REPLIES LAD | ||
| 26 | TALE | Report of Tory leader meeting porter (4) |
| T[ory] + ALE (porter, beer) | ||
| 27 | IDLE | Liberal tucked into fish and fritter (4) |
| L (Liberal) inside IDE (fish) | ||
| 28 | PSYCHOPATH | Heartless spy gets cut to pieces when in way of lunatic (10) |
| S[p]Y + CHOP (cut to pieces), together inside PATH (way) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | NEITHER | First of injections in bottom? Not at all! (7) |
| I[njections] inside NETHER (bottom) | ||
| 3 | DETER | Does keeping time put one off? (5) |
| DEER (does, female deer) around T (time) Nowadays I am alert when seeing ‘does’, and therefore this was my first one in. Some might take ‘one’ as part of the definition, I didn’t which is perhaps a bit odd. |
||
| 4 | CORDELIA | Essayist holds up string for Shakespearean (8) |
| ELIA (essayist) having CORD (string) placed above ‘him’ Elia was the pen name of Charles Lamb (1775-1834) . And Cordelia is, of course, of King Lear fame. |
||
| 5 | TEMPERAMENTALLY | Harden attitudes initially in the mind like a prima donna (15) |
| TEMPER (harden) + A[ttitudes] + MENTALLY (in the mind) | ||
| 6 | DONATE | Spanish gentleman devoured present (6) |
| DON (Spanish gentleman) + ATE (devoured) | ||
| 7 | NET PROFIT | Capture supporting position? That’s the bottom line! (3,6) |
| NET (capture) + PRO (supporting) + FIT (position) | ||
| 8 | SPOILED | Betting on drunk being wrecked (7) |
| SP (betting, Starting Price) + OILED (drunk) | ||
| 14 | SPECULATE | Rob supports old Bob in gamble (9) |
| S (old bob, shilling) + PECULATE (rob) | ||
| 16 | NAZARETH | Tarzan! He rebuilt place of pilgrimage (8) |
| Anagram [rebuilt] of TARZAN HE | ||
| 18 | ILL-USED | Improperly sullied and badly treated (3-4) |
| Anagram [improperly] of SULLIED | ||
| 20 | NOTELET | Brief letter allowed, supporting climbing school (7) |
| Reversal [climbing] of ETON (school), followed by LET (allowed) | ||
| 21 | LET RIP | Speak angrily of the French excursion (3,3) |
| LE (the, in French) + TRIP (excursion) | ||
| 24 | ACT UP | Bill’s sheep giving trouble (3,2) |
| AC (bill) + TUP (sheep) | ||
Thanks to Armonie and Sil. A very enjoyable exercise from one of my favorite setters.
Thanks Armonie and Sil
A clinically smooth puzzle in which each clue has no ambiguity as to what the answer will be – and usually wrapped up in a sensible surface reading. That ‘Does’ = DEER trick continues to get me until the last minute when the penny drops (again). I think it was my second last in with CHARGE being last and in retrospect, I wonder why.