Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 1, 2018
My clue of the week is the splendid 19dn (THATCHER) and I also especially like 13ac (AMIDST) and 25ac (AT HOME) which share the definition “in”. I am puzzled about the wordplay in 30ac (FOR SHORT).
| Across | ||
| 1 | SHABBY | Keep mum and baby terribly poor (6) |
| SH (keep mum) + anagram (terribly) of BABY | ||
| 4 | SLAPDASH | Hit-and-run careless (8) |
| SLAP (hit) + DASH (run) | ||
| 9 | MEADOW | Field cut, elk and deer all beginning to enter (6) |
| E[lk] A[nd] D[eer] in MOW (cut) | ||
| 10 | HEAR HEAR | That woman’s caging a bird? Absolutely! (4,4) |
| A (a) + RHEA (bird) together in HER (that woman’s) | ||
| 12 | HUMPBACK | Whale to carry home (8) |
| HUMP (to carry) + BACK (home) | ||
| 13 | AMIDST | In a film, deception initially involved (6) |
| A (a) + D[eception] in MIST (film) | ||
| 15 | RING | Group call (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 16 | HUMERUS | Back physically stable after vibration in bone (7) |
| HUM (vibration) + SURE (physically stable) backwards (back) | ||
| 20 | GRIMACE | I’m caught by very old cricketer, producing scowl (7) |
| IM (I’m) in (caught by) GRACE (old cricketer, referring to W.G. Grace) | ||
| 21 | YEAH | Certainly scrappy with Singapore, India and Bangladesh all at the back (4) |
| [scrapp]Y [singapor]E [indi]A [banglades]H | ||
| 25 | AT HOME | In a book, hotel besieged (2,4) |
| A (a) + H (hotel) in (besieged) TOME (book) | ||
| 26 | CRACKPOT | Senseless taking two drugs (8) |
| CRACK (one drug) + POT (a second drug) | ||
| 28 | STRAIGHT | Open hand (8) |
| Double definition | ||
| 29 | PAUNCH | Strike overwhelming a corporation (6) |
| A (a) in (overwhelming) PUNCH (strike) | ||
| 30 | FOR SHORT | Foreign Office abbreviated (3,5) |
| While I easily solved this clue, I was unable to make much sense of the wordplay. Now, in a comment, Sil suggests that it is a kind of reverse clue where “for short” would clue FO (the well known abbreviation for Foreign Office). I cannot come up with anything better. | ||
| 31 | REPAIR | Delegate tune to fix (6) |
| REP (delegate) + AIR (tune) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SAMPHIRE | Edible plant with a measure of speed gobbled by father (8) |
| A (A) + MPH (measure of speed) together in SIRE (father) | ||
| 2 | ALARMING | Marginal changes causing consternation (8) |
| Anagram (changes) of MARGINAL | ||
| 3 | BLOBBY | Vaguely messed up criminal finally arrested by rozzer (6) |
| [crimina]L in (arrested by) BOBBY (rozzer) | ||
| 5 | LIED | Song deliberately wasn’t accurate (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 6 | PARAMOUR | Gush about a male lover (8) |
| A (a) + RAM (male) together in POUR (gush) | ||
| 7 | AMENDS | After this, PM begins changes (6) |
| AM ENDS (after this PM begins) | ||
| 8 | HERETO | Wife having left, he wrote contrary to this (6) |
| Anagram (contrary) of HE [w]ROTE | ||
| 11 | SCRUMMY | Tasty dishes ultimately lousy (7) |
| [dishe]S + CRUMMY (lousy) | ||
| 14 | MERCURY | Copper in jolly metallic element (7) |
| CU (copper) in (in) MERRY (jolly) | ||
| 17 | FRUMPISH | Unattractive bottom pinched by swimmer (8) |
| RUMP (bottom) in (pinched by) FISH (swimmer) | ||
| 18 | RED PANDA | Himalayan animal unfortunately paraded around Nepalese capital (3,5) |
| N[epalese] in anagram (unfortunately) of PARADED | ||
| 19 | THATCHER | Politician, Tory leader and mother hen, perhaps? (8) |
| T[ory] + HATCHER (mother hen perhaps) | ||
| 22 | MASSIF | Service providing range (6) |
| MASS (service)+ IF (providing) | ||
| 23 | SHARER | Generous type, she right to welcome a Republican? (6) |
| A (a) + R (Republican) together in SHE R (she right) | ||
| 24 | OCTANE | Acetone almost mistaken for a hydrocarbon (6) |
| Anagram (mistaken) of ACETON[e] | ||
| 27 | THOR | Blunted spike for god (4) |
| THOR[n] (blunted spike) | ||
I had a discussion with my solving partner about this and she convinced me that it is: FO = ‘for, short‘.
Sort of reversed clue.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
A mostly straightforward solve although I didn’t understand the way FOR SHORT worked as well – thanks to Sil, it all makes perfectly good sense now.
Although it was one of the first to go in, didn’t really know of SAMPHIRE and I don’t think that it would be in the top 100 plants that I’d have on my menu ! Also wasn’t aware of the term ‘rozzer’ for a policeman either (as apparently my auto word checker hadn’t either !). THATCHER would have been one of my favourites.
Finished in the NE corner with PARAMOUR, AMIDST and HERETO which now seems odd as they all looked pretty easy in retrospect.
Some nice clues in this one. I particularly liked 21.
A fine challenge, well worth waiting for the assurance of Pete’s post that I’d gotten it right.
With regard to 3, this crossword offers yet another argument – as if any were needed – for the regular study of the Gospel According to Plum. To fervent fans of P. G. Wodehouse, “rozzer” = “bobby”.
Thanks Pete and Mudd.
I was waiting for your take on 30a…having scribbled an expletive against it…
Thank you, Sil, I am satisfied that the explanation you offer for 30 must be correct. Seems a lot of people were foxed by it.