Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 13, 2018
Alberich gives us several interesting and fine clues here, my favourites being 1dn (HOTELIER), 13ac (THREADBARE), 16dn (NON-EVENT) and 20dn (ECLAIR).
| Across | ||
| 1 | HAMPER | The woman’s carrying a member’s basket (6) |
| A (a) + MP (member) together in HER (the woman’s) | ||
| 4 | TURANDOT | Playing truant, about to perform opera (8) |
| DO (to perform) in (about) anagram (playing) of TRUANT. Turandot is an opera by Giacomo Puccini. | ||
| 9 | THRUST | Force husband to embrace faith? On the contrary (6) |
| H (husband) in (to embrace, on the contrary) TRUST (faith) | ||
| 10 | CONCORDE | Rope in somebody on Charlie’s plane (8) |
| C (Charlie) + CORD (rope) in (in) ONE (somebody) | ||
| 12 | LENT | Fast pulse reduced by a third (4) |
| LENT[il] (pulse reduced by a third) | ||
| 13 | THREADBARE | The clothes are drab, scruffy and worn (10) |
| Anagram (scruffy) of ARE DRAB in (clothes) THE | ||
| 15 | ENTERPRISING | Get in using jemmy? That’s bold (12) |
| ENTER (get in) + PRISING (using jemmy) | ||
| 18 | CONSERVATORY | Minister to cut allowances initially pocketed by two politicians for greenhouse (12) |
| SERV[e] (minister to cut) + A[llowances] in (pocketed by) CON TORY (two politicians) | ||
| 21 | ACCUSTOMED | Male in charge meets old copper as usual (10) |
| TOM (male) in ACCUSE (charge) + D (old copper, i.e. denarius in LSD) | ||
| 22 | NERO | Passage from Beethoven Eroica or Emperor (4) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 24 | EMACIATE | Dined after I arrived, about to waste away (8) |
| I CAME (I arrived) backwards (about) + ATE (dined) | ||
| 25 | DURESS | Force second of nudists to wear clothes (6) |
| [n]U[dists] in (to wear) DRESS (clothes) | ||
| 26 | STRIKERS | They’re in and they’re out (8) |
| Double definition, the first referring to a player who is positioned to strike the ball in a ball game. | ||
| 27 | STATUS | Standing stone seen by Australian tours regularly (6) |
| ST (stone) + A (Australian) + T[o]U[r]S | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | HOTELIER | One in the role cast as Basil Fawlty? (8) |
| I (one) in anagram (cast) of THE ROLE | ||
| 2 | MARINATE | Steep price nursing home required to support old lady (8) |
| MA (old lady) + IN (home) in (nursing) RATE (price) | ||
| 3 | EASY | Effortless and simple? Yes, for starters (4) |
| E[ffortless] A[nd] S[imple] Y[es] which I guess counts as an &Lit. | ||
| 5 | UP ONES STREET | Perfectly suitable Rolling Stones EP? True (2,4,6) |
| Anagram (rolling) of STONES EP TRUE | ||
| 6 | ACCIDENTAL | In a manner of speaking, I had a large flat? (10) |
| ID (I had) in (in) ACCENT (a manner of speaking) + A (a) + L (large) | ||
| 7 | DURBAN | Last of rand belonging to city – this one? (6) |
| [ran]D + URBAN (belonging to city) | ||
| 8 | TIERED | Bored with European intervening in rows (6) |
| E (European) in (intervening) TIRED (bored) | ||
| 11 | SHARPSHOOTER | Marksman’s mum raps criminal on the nose (12) |
| SH (mum) + anagram (criminal) of RAPS + HOOTER (the nose) | ||
| 14 | BROOMSTICK | Book suite on credit? One may be hag-ridden! (10) |
| B (book) + ROOMS (suite) + TICK (credit). With a nice cryptic definition. | ||
| 16 | NON-EVENT | Not one to express disappointment (3-5) |
| NONE (not one) + VENT (to express) | ||
| 17 | SYNOPSIS | Run-down horse’s rearing over relative (8) |
| PONYS (horse’s) backwards (rearing) + SIS (relative) | ||
| 19 | CARESS | Is worried about son having stroke (6) |
| S (son) in (about) CARES (is worried) | ||
| 20 | ECLAIR | Missing Britain, Alberich mostly ordered cake (6) |
| Anagram (ordered) of AL[b]ERIC[h] | ||
| 23 | DUCT | Speaker’s avoided Tube (4) |
| Homonphone of “ducked” (avoided) | ||
Thanks Alberich & Pete.
Some ingenious clues I thought, very clearly explained. Amusing to see ECLAIR, a popular crossword cake, given a personal clue.
Thanks Alberich and Pete
Found this one pretty straightforward and had marked ECLAIR as one of the better clues along with HOTELIER and DURBAN.
Nothing much else of note – just clean crisp clues that I was able to get done in the one session.
Finished in the NE corner with ACCIDENTAL (always need to re-remind myself that it can be a musical note), CONCORDE and TIERED the last few in.
I did not originally include ECLAIR in my list of stand-out clues although I did consider doing so. After receiving these two comments I have added it. Thank you, psmith, brucew and Alberich!
Ah, I was going to ask why accidental meant flat, I wasn’t aware of the musical sense.
I disagree about eclair, I thought it was a bit of a clumsy clue using two different keys to removing letters. But it’s a matter of taste.
Ah, I should have explained about accidentals. I am not a musician myself but it is easy for me to remember the ‘sharp’ and ‘flat’ meanings of the word because there is a jazz group in the area where I live whose playing I often enjoy called The Accidentals.