Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of November 3, 2018
The slick surfaces (“Stone me, she gets about in style!”). Intriguing surfaces (“Work – tire – eat – repeat”). Juicy clues like 29ac (“…unrestrainedly wild, illicit sex“) and 18dn (“Barmen stripped after women’s party got livelier”). Clues so good that it is hard to select any best-of. It could only be Rosa. We are so blessed.
| Across | ||
| 1 | MAJESTIC | Glorious adult joke captured by microphone (8) |
| A (adult) + JEST (joke) together in (captured by) MIC (microphone) | ||
| 5 | VICTIM | One suffering grimly at heart after winner loses gold (6) |
| VICT[or] (winner loses gold) + [gr]IM[ly] | ||
| 9 | MATERIEL | Ship’s officer hands round case of impressive military equipment (8) |
| MATE (ship’s officer) + I[mpressiv]E in (round) R L (hands, i.e. right and left) | ||
| 10 | PLIERS | Walks on water across lake, gripping tool (6) |
| L (lake) in (across) PIERS (walks on water) | ||
| 12 | ERECT | Standing up in court after regularly ignoring decree (5) |
| [d]E[c]R[e]E + CT (court) | ||
| 13 | ANALGESIA | Performing seal again feeling no pain (9) |
| Anagram (performing) of SEAL AGAIN | ||
| 14 | STROVE | Small store struggled (6) |
| S (small) + TROVE (store) | ||
| 16 | MALEFIC | Camel, if ill-treated, causing destruction (7) |
| Anagram (ill-treated) of CAMEL IF | ||
| 19 | AIRPORT | Bearing wine for Charles de Gaulle? (7) |
| AIR (bearing) + PORT (wine) | ||
| 21 | HEYDAY | They’d a yearning to preserve golden age (6) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 23 | MINOR SUIT | Unimportant match for clubs? (5,4) |
| MINOR (unimportant) + SUIT (match). In bridge terminology, clubs (along with diamonds) is considered a minor suit. | ||
| 25 | INGOT | After cycling, entered bar (5) |
| GOT IN (entered) with words switched around (after cycling) | ||
| 26 | DODDER | Stranger following driver’s initial progress uncertainly (6) |
| D[river] + ODDER (stranger) | ||
| 27 | DECEMBER | Glower after Washington restricts Ecstasy for 31 days (8) |
| E (ecstasy) in (restricts) DC (Washington) + EMBER (glower) | ||
| 28 | PERISH | Pass away – for each is, primarily, human (6) |
| PER (for each) + IS (is) + H[uman] | ||
| 29 | ADULTERY | Dissolute sinner excluded from unrestrainedly wild, illicit sex (8) |
| Anagram (wild) of UNRESTRAINEDLY with the letters of (dissolute) SINNER removed (excluded from) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | MEMBER | Don’t forget to ditch repulsive, gutless parliamentarian (6) |
| [re]MEMBER (don’t forget to ditch R[epulsiv]E | ||
| 2 | JET-SETTER | Stone me, she gets about in style! (3-6) |
| JET (stone) + SETTER (me) | ||
| 3 | SPRAT | Swimmer beginning to soap buttocks (5) |
| S[oap] + PRAT (buttocks) | ||
| 4 | ITERATE | Work – tire – eat – repeat. (7) |
| Anagram (work) of TIRE EAT. Why does this clue end in a full stop? | ||
| 6 | ILLEGALLY | Perhaps supporting sick friend in a way the law forbids (9) |
| ILL (sick) + EG (perhaps) + ALLY (friend) | ||
| 7 | TEENS | Oddly send up sincerest youngsters (5) |
| S[i]N[c]E[r]E[s]T backwards (send up) | ||
| 8 | MISMATCH | Optimism at Chequers disguising conflict (8) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 11 | PALM | Balearic port cut lifeline here (4) |
| PALM[a] (Balearic port cut) | ||
| 15 | ODOURLESS | Unscented old roses lead to unusual stir (9) |
| Anagram (stir) of OLD ROSES U[nusual] | ||
| 17 | FRANGIBLE | Mad gerbil fan liable to go to pieces (9) |
| Anagram (mad) of GERBIL FAN | ||
| 18 | WARMED UP | Barmen stripped after women’s party got livelier (6,2) |
| W (women’s) + [b]ARME[n] + DUP (party, i.e. the Democratic Unionist Party) | ||
| 20 | THUG | Thin, ugly, half-cut brute (4) |
| TH[in] UG[ly] | ||
| 21 | HOTHEAD | Impetuous type roasting nut (7) |
| HOT (roasting) + HEAD (nut) | ||
| 22 | STOREY | Extremely sexy nurses rent floor of building (6) |
| TORE (rent) in (nurses) S[ex]Y | ||
| 24 | NADIR | One had an upset on river bottom (5) |
| I’D AN (one had an) backwards (upset) + R (river) | ||
| 25 | IDEAL | Archetypal males leaving mid- meal (5) |
| [m]ID [m]EAL | ||
Thanks Rosa Klebb and Pete
The solve is one thing with a Rosa puzzle – to sit back and admire the surfaces of the clue as a whole or just the quaint way that a definition or part of the wordplay is delivered is worth doing the crossword. ‘Walks on water’ = PIERS is just a gem !!
I think that 4d is just a play on the phrase – work, eat, sleep, repeat … quite brilliant and was probably my clue of the day – in a photo finish with about 20 others.
The actual solve didn’t end up taking very long – but the looking back over what had just been finished was worth it. Finished in the SW corner with the clever MINOR SUIT and the even cleverer AIRPORT as the last two in.
Thanks, Pete – you and bruce @1 have just about said it all.
To ‘Stone me’ and ‘walks on water’ I’d add the performing seal.
The hidden answer in 8dn is one of the best I’ve seen – and such a brilliant surface!
We are indeed blessed – huge thanks, as ever, to Rosa.
Very good. My favourites were the ‘Mad gerbil fan liable to go to pieces’ in 17d and the destructive camel in 16a. Both answers were interesting words too
One of life’s little coincidences, but looking at 29a, uncanny that the blog for this puzzle should come out on the same day as 15a in today’s Paul in the Guardian.
Thanks to both setter and blogger.
Bruce, Are you suggesting that, with 4d, the whole clue could be taken as definition? I missed that and it makes sense.
WordPlodder, Thanks for commenting. “Mad gerbil fan…” is indeed a gem.
Hi Pete
Nope … the way that you parsed it is how I thought it would be. I think that the clue is just another great example of Rosa’s surfaces using what I think is a common-ish phrase (was actually a song by that mega band “Neverstore” in 2013 – (no, I’ve never heard of them either !)) and so don’t reckon that she would need to put a question mark after it – maybe an exclamation mark if she wanted !
Thanks, Pete. As you say, a treasure. I completed in good time, but had to rely on you for three explanations. And thanks of course to the miraculous Rosa.
Thanks to Rosa Kleb and Pete. A master class in setting. Sheer delight, especially the mad gerbil.