Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of December 29, 2018
I found this puzzle more difficult than most Mudds but just as enjoyable if not more so. My clue of the week is 21dn (THEFT) and I also especially like 1ac (CONSPIRACY) and 3dn (PECKING ORDER).
| Across | ||
| 1 | CONSPIRACY | Plot the crime of a criminal? (10) |
| CONS (of a criminal) + PIRACY (the crime) | ||
| 6 | LAPP | One’s used to the cold drink, did you say? (4) |
| Homophone (did you say?) of “lap” (drink) | ||
| 9 | DODECAGONS | Accountant into fiddling ends with good figures (10) |
| CA (accountant) in (into) anagram (fiddling) or ENDS GOOD. A dodecagon is, of course, a 12-sided polygon. | ||
| 10 | ITEM | Article: that thing takes me back (4) |
| IT (that thing) + ME (me) backwards (back) | ||
| 12 | LITTLE FINGER | One of five left, it stumbling in last (6,6) |
| Anagram (stumbling) of LEFT IT in (in) LINGER (last) | ||
| 15 | INAUGURAL | First in river after summer (9) |
| IN (in) + AUG (summer) + URAL (river) | ||
| 17 | CANON | Clergyman collected works (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 18 | DEMUR | Object reserved briefly (5) |
| DEMUR[e] (reserved briefly) | ||
| 19 | INDONESIA | Nation elected complete idiots in the end – perfect looking back? (9) |
| IN (elected) + DONE (complete) + [idiot]S + AI (perfect) backwards (looking back) | ||
| 20 | CONVERSATION | Exchange rate trimmed in transformation (12) |
| [r]AT[e] in (in) CONVERSION (transformation) | ||
| 24 | TWIG | Eventually grasp stick (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 25 | LACERATION | Limited amount of material for cutting (10) |
| LACE RATION (limited amount of material) | ||
| 26 | DUKE | Noble island nation in midst of ordeal (4) |
| UK (island nation) in (in) [or]DE[al] | ||
| 27 | BLITHERING | Flexible lead’s caught – damn! (10) |
| LITHE (flexible) in (caught) BRING (lead). My father used to frequently use the word “blithering” in the adjectival sense of “damn”, that is to put emphasis on something. For exactly, “this blithering thing never works!” | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CODA | Mock a noted conclusion (4) |
| COD (mock) + A (a) with a cryptic definition | ||
| 2 | NODE | Bowels of volcano definitely swelling (4) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 3 | PECKING ORDER | Animal Farm hierarchy, where pig reckoned to be barbaric dictator, ultimately (7,5) |
| Anagram (to be barbaric) of PIG RECKONED + [dictato]R | ||
| 4 | RIGHT | Just one side (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 5 | CANCELLED | Beaten subversive group’s broken, wiped out (9) |
| CELL (subversive group) in (broken) CANED (beaten) | ||
| 7 | ANTAGONISE | Cause opposition to turn against one (10) |
| Anagram (to turn) of AGAINST ONE | ||
| 8 | POMERANIAN | Beginning to panic, old queen bitten by vicious dog (10) |
| P[anic] + O (old) + RANI (queen) in (bitten by) MEAN (vicious) | ||
| 11 | DISCONSOLATE | Low temperature in Iceland, so doubly shivery! (12) |
| T (temperature) in anagram (shivery) of ICELAND SO SO | ||
| 13 | VINDICATED | Vice initially shown to be justified (10) |
| V[ice] + INDICATED (shown) | ||
| 14 | SALMON PINK | Shade on lamp tossed into scuttle (6,4) |
| Anagram (tossed) of ON LAMP in (into) SINK (scuttle) | ||
| 16 | REINSTALL | Straps unlikely to be put in again (9) |
| REINS (straps) + TALL (unlikely, as in a tall story) | ||
| 21 | THEFT | This is pilfering! (5) |
| THE FT (this) | ||
| 22 | MIDI | Some vivid imagination to lift skirt! (4) |
| Reverse hidden word | ||
| 23 | SNAG | Profits up, not one problem (4) |
| GA[i]NS (profits…not one) backwards (up) | ||
Thanks Mudd and Pete
A good level puzzle which was a little higher up the Mudd difficulty scale than normal.
Liked the surface reading of the clue to PECKING ORDER and wondered if he had considered marrying up 14d and 21d at any point.
Finished mainly in the SW where DUKE took longer than it should have as did VINDICATED. Had initially written in GRIP at 24a (which nearly works) and is probably what caused the pain with VINDICATED – it took a while to then twig to TWIG. BLITHERING was my last one in and took an age to parse – even after seeing LITHE for flexible, it took time to equate BRING to lead.
Thanks to Mudd and Pete. I too had trouble with BLITHERING, my LOI, and INAUGURAL (“first in” got me on the wrong track) but I enjoyed THEFT (have we seen this one before?).
Bruce, It struck me as interesting that Mudd did not use any reference to the FT in 14dn.
My LOI was also BLITHERING and I can tell you that, of five solvers I am aware of, all had this as their LOI. I think BLITHERING was easier for me than for most for the reason I mentioned but it still was not a piece of cake.
A quick search does not turn up another instance of “This is pilfering!” as a clue for THEFT but there have been several clues that used the same mechanism including one in a Goliath that I blogged a few years back: http://www.fifteensquared.net/2015/05/14/financial-times-14920-by-goliath/