Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of November 10, 2018
Here is another impressive puzzle from Goliath. He may push the boundaries at times but comes up with plenty of clues that are inventive and intriguing but still easily solvable. My favourites this time are 1-4ac (DOUBLE ENTENDRE), 12-16ac (IRON MAIDEN), 29ac (SHOW-OFF) and 9dn (DYLAN). Thank you, Goliath.
| Across | ||
| 1, 4 | DOUBLE ENTENDRE | 28 from Paris? Hear hear! (6,8). Entendre is the French word meaning to hear. |
| Double/cryptic definition | ||
| 10 | AMENITY | Work any time for convenience (7) |
| Anagram (work) of ANY TIME | ||
| 11 | NOTABLE | Well-known justification for TV dinners (7) |
| NO TABLE (justification for TV dinners) | ||
| 12, 16 | IRON MAIDEN | Heavy metal band is torture for this prime minister (4,6) |
| Triple definition, the third referring to Margaret Thatcher | ||
| 13 | BACKGAMMON | Bits of pork and game (10) |
| BACK and GAMMON (bits of pork) | ||
| 16 | See 12 | |
| 17 | DEFUNCT | No more in-the-nude functions (7) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 20 | ANTI-WAR | It turned into Sadat’s kind of protest (4-3) |
| IT (it) backwards in (into) ANWAR (Sadat) | ||
| 21 | See 23 | |
| 24 | BILLET DOUX | Note d’amour en lit double, crumpled and sealed with a kiss (6,4) |
| Anagram (crumpled) of LIT DOUBLE + X (sealed with a kiss) | ||
| 25 | See 28 | |
| 27 | EXPLAIN | To clarify may be currently attractive (7) |
| EX PLAIN (formerly unattractive) | ||
| 29 | SHOW-OFF | Who’s a braggart? (4-3) |
| Reverse clue: “Show-off” would clue WHO’S | ||
| 30 | LANCELOT | Knight’s weapon and destiny (8) |
| LANCE (weapon) + LOT (destiny) | ||
| 31 | NORDIC | Neither Tom nor Harry between them sound Scandinavian (6) |
| NOR (neither) + homophone (sound) of DICK (between Tom and Harry) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | DEARIE ME | Expensive? That’s Goliath goodness (6,2) |
| DEAR (expensive) + IE (that’s) + ME (Goliath) | ||
| 2 | UNEMOTIONAL | Cold menu served up to a lion, perhaps? (11) |
| Anagram (served up) of MENU + anagram (perhaps) of TO A LION | ||
| 3 | LAID | Set call up (4) |
| DIAL (call) backwards (up) | ||
| 5 | NON-SKIER | Perhaps Isère and Louron ultimately no risk for him (3-5) |
| Anagram (perhaps) of [Isèr]E [Louro]N NO RISK. Val d’Isère and Val-Louron are both skiing centres. | ||
| 6 | EXTRAMURAL | Yet another artwork outside the institution (10) |
| EXTRA (yet another) + MURAL (artwork) | ||
| 7 | DEB | Debate has not worried this young person (3) |
| DEB[ate] | ||
| 8 | EXEUNT | Next EU problem and they walk out (6) |
| Anagram (problem) of NEXT EU | ||
| 9 | DYLAN | Andy Warhol finally turned poet (5) |
| Anagram (turned) of ANDY [warho]L | ||
| 14 | MICROSECOND | 31 comes off in a short time (11) |
| Anagram (off) of NORDIC (31) and COMES | ||
| 15 | DELIBERATE | Shop carpet is there for a purpose (10) |
| DELI (shop) + BERATE (carpet) | ||
| 18 | FANDANGO | Enthusiast with one desperate to leave dance (8) |
| FAN (enthusiast) + DAN (one desperate) + GO (to leave). Younger solvers may not know of Desperate Dan but I recall the character from my childhood. Borrowing some information from Wikipedia I can tell you that Desperate Dan was a wild-west character in the British comic magazine The Dandy and became the publication’s mascot. He made his appearance in the first issue, dated 4 December 1937. Dan is apparently the world’s strongest man, able to lift a cow with one hand. The pillow of his (reinforced) bed is filled with building rubble and his beard is so tough he shaves with a blowtorch. | ||
| 19 | BEATIFIC | Saintly rhythm provided in concert to begin with (8) |
| BEAT (rhythm) + IF (provided) + I[n] C[oncert] | ||
| 22 | ABSEIL | Is able to reconfigure descent (6) |
| Anagram (to reconfigure) of IS ABLE | ||
| 23, 21 | PUSSY GALORE | Many cats feature in Bond film (5,6) |
| PUSSY GALORE (many cats) | ||
| 26 | POLO | Sport left in motion (4) |
| L (left) in POO (motion) | ||
| 28, 25 | PUNGENT | Whiffy low-down in boat (7) |
| GEN (low-down) in PUNT (boat) | ||
Thanks Goliath and Pete
Like the way that this setter presents a puzzle that is that bit different – here it is the use of French in my favourite two clues at 1a-4a and 24a. Even with my schoolboy French, I was able to decipher the phrase at 24a which presented both the definition for the clue and a raucously humorous surface reading -loved it!
Wasn’t sure whether he meant Bob Dylan or Dylan Thomas at 9d, but on reading that the former had won the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature ‘for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition’, I presumed that it would be him – again the surface was excellent.
Finished in the NE corner with NON-SKIER (subtly defined with the &lit and a clever construction), EXTRAMURAL (which I had to use a word finder to get and then look up to see what it meant) and DEFUNCT (the fact that a hidden was last means that it was well hidden to me). A classy puzzle that I enjoyed a lot.
Yes, sheer class. I’m now battling with today’s