Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 8, 2018
I find several delightful clues in this puzzle but also a couple that I have misgivings about. My clue of the week is 10ac (ELONGATE) which has not only a fine surface but also a brilliant topicality. Honourable mentions to 13ac (BOREAL), 29ac (BONSAI), 31ac (MOOLAH) and 17dn (GUNMETAL).
I completed the puzzle fairly quickly down to a last three in the bottom left corner: 28ac, 30ac and 22dn. The first of these (LOCUTION) may be the most difficult clue in the crossword but it works well. I find both of the others (FILL-IN and NOSELESS) a bit awkward.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BOUNCE | Head nurses united in spring (6) |
| U (united) in (nurses) BONCE (head) | ||
| 4 | FURBELOW | Ruffle hair down there (8) |
| FUR (hair) + BELOW (down there) | ||
| 9 | WASHER | Laundry worker used to be female (6) |
| WAS (used to be) + HER (female) | ||
| 10 | ELONGATE | Drag out scandal involving Tesla CEO? (8) |
| ELON-GATE (scandal involving Tesla CEO) | ||
| 12 | OUTRIGHT | Unqualified, I got hurt doing acrobatics (8) |
| Anagram (doing acrobatics) of I GOT HURT | ||
| 13 | BOREAL | Shaft almost all of the north (6) |
| BORE (shaft) + AL[l] | ||
| 15 | EELY | Reportedly see like a fish (4) |
| Homophone of “Ely” (see) | ||
| 16 | IRKUTSK | Get one’s goat to clean out unkempt shack in Russian city (7) |
| IRK (get one’s goat) + U[nkemp]T S[hac]K | ||
| 20 | PURITAN | Killjoy chewing a turnip (7) |
| Anagram (chewing) of A TURNIP. What an appropriate anagram indicator! | ||
| 21 | PARR | Salmon caught by sparrowhawk (4) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 25 | IN LAMB | Sheepishly expecting to convert Milan bishop (2,4) |
| Anagram (to convert) MILAN B (bishop). A pregnant ewe is said to be “in lamb”. | ||
| 26 | FOR A SONG | Dispose of organs cheaply (3,1,4) |
| Anagram (dispose) of OF ORGANS | ||
| 28 | LOCUTION | Half-heartedly revealing one leg, it’s said (8) |
| LO[w]-CUT (half-heartedly revealing) + I (one) + ON (leg, as in cricket) | ||
| 29 | BONSAI | The art of making miniature planes? (6) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 30 | NOSELESS | Setter unsighted, mute and unable to smell (8) |
| NOISELESS (mute) with the ‘I’ (setter) removed (unsighted). | ||
| 31 | MOOLAH | Low pound starts to affect holiday cash (6) |
| MOO (low) + L (pount) + A[ffect] H[oliday] | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BOWL OVER | Greatly impress archery fanatic (4,4) |
| BOW LOVER (archery fanatic) | ||
| 2 | UNSETTLE | Rattle and shake lunettes (8) |
| Anagram (shake) of LUNETTES | ||
| 3 | CLERIC | Uncle Richard strangling vicar? (6) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 5 | UGLI | Cross, discontented underdog on lithium (4) |
| U[nderdo]G + LI (lithium). An ugli (or ugli fruit) is a hybridization (‘cross’) of grapefruit, orange and tangerine. | ||
| 6 | BANJOIST | Musician is prohibition supporter (8) |
| BAN (prohibition) + JOIST (supporter) | ||
| 7 | LEADEN | Cloudy ale had men scratching heads (6) |
| [a]LE [h]AD [m]EN | ||
| 8 | WEEKLY | I’m afraid wife advanced extremely lustily on regular basis (6) |
| W (wife) + EEK (I’m afraid) + L[ustil]Y | ||
| 11 | GHERKIN | Last of strong female relatives in a pickle (7) |
| [stron]G + HER (female) + KIN (relatives) | ||
| 14 | CURATOR | Person in charge of dog on Dartmoor oddly disappearing (7) |
| CUR (dog) + [d]A[r]T[m]O[o]R | ||
| 17 | GUNMETAL | Am gluten-free and kind of grey (8) |
| Anagram (free) of AM GLUTEN | ||
| 18 | CAROUSAL | Drinking song about America (8) |
| USA (America) in (about) CAROL (song) | ||
| 19 | PRIGGISH | Greedy bears run like 20 (8) |
| R (run) in (bears) PIGGISH (greedy) with the definition referring to 20ac (PURITAN) | ||
| 22 | FILL-IN | Deputy chiefs of foreign intelligence lately picking up nothing (4-2) |
| F[oreign] I[ntelligence] L[ately] + NIL (nothing) backwards (picking up) | ||
| 23 | SLACKS | Son needs trousers (6) |
| S (son) + LACKS (needs). I am rather sure we have seen this clue before. | ||
| 24 | BAROLO | Sailor overturned sweet Italian wine (6) |
| AB (sailor) backwards (overturned) + ROLO (sweet). Rolo is the brand name of a British sweet. | ||
| 27 | LOIS | Girl left Love Island (4) |
| L (left) + O (love) + IS (island) | ||
Another fine (Arachne Lite) crossword from Spiders Tower.
I’m sorry but I cannot see what is ‘awkward’ about 30ac (NOSELESS) and 22d (FILL-IN). These clues seem perfectly all right to me.
Anyway, many thanks to blogger (Pete) & setter (Rosa Klebb).
Thanks Rosa Klebb and Pete
Found this one a little more difficult than her recent ones and being held up more in the opposite corner where my last few in were FURBELOW (with it’s risqué surface), BANJOIST (which took ages to see JOIST as a support) and BOREAL (which shouldn’t have waited until last).
Really liked BANJOIST after finally seeing the logic, the BOW LOVER concept at 1d and LOCUTION because it took a fair while to see the LO[W] CUT part which was very clever. NOSELESS was an unusual word for being ‘unable to smell’, but was clearly enough clued.
IRKUTSK was opportune as I’d recently read an interesting Russian novel, “The Third Truth” that was set near there.
MOOLAH is a new word to me, as is FILL-IN as a Deputy. Couldn’t work out the Russian City. LOCUTION foxed me.
Pete, you have omitted the explanation for 9ac., though it is pretty obvious.
Some harder ones here (a bit more like a calorie replete Arachne for me), including the ‘Musician’ in 6d, the Russian city in 16a and the ‘it’s said’ def. in 28a. I ultimately failed on the ‘Italian wine’ as I chose the ‘sweet’ with the ‘P’ rather than the ‘R’.
I liked the idea of the ‘Killjoy chewing a turnip’ in 20a, the ‘half-heartedly revealing’ part of the wordplay for 28a and the word MOOLAH in 31a.
Thanks to Rosa Klebb and to Pete
Thanks Pete and Rosa Klebb.
10a was my top fav, too, and thanks for parsing NOISELESS.
Thanks Rosa & Pete.
I too was unable to parse NOSELESS.
In 28 across the definition is also part of the wordplay I think: Lo-cut is a homophone of low-cut with it’s said as the homophone indicator.
Or is cut doing double duty, indicating that low must be shortened but also being part of the solution?
Hi psmith … I think that you may be over complicating it.
As Pete’s blog indicates, the definition is ‘it’s said’ = LOCUTION.
The word play then is LOW CUT (revealing) with half of it’s heart (middle two letters – the WC) removed (i.e. the W) and then I (one) and ON (leg).
Hope that helps … 🙂
Thanks Bruce.
Thanks Malcolm for pointing out the missing explanation of 9ac. (I was having some trouble with my tools but should have noticed that omission.) Now (belatedly) corrected.
Very late as usual. Agree with Sil@1 that there seems nothing wrong with 30ac and 22dn.
The FT continues its run of dreadful grids. Four answers with nasty 50% checking in the centre, leading to four separate crosswords if you solve them.