Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of July 13, 2019
My first-in was 5dn (ORIEL) and I quickly got all the down clues starting in the top row. However it took me a considerable time after that to spot 1ac (QUOTATION MARKS) with its clever but subtle cryptic definition. My top favourite is 16ac (OPTICIANS) and others are 1ac, 18dn (AGINCOURT) and 19dn (GOALIES).
| Across | ||
| 1 | QUOTATION MARKS | Those covering a passage, say? (9,5) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 10 | IMPEL | Force in Metropolitan Police evacuating London, initially (5) |
| I[n] M[etropolitan] P[olice] E[vacuating] L[ondon] | ||
| 11 | GOING-OVER | Thrashing, falling down (5-4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 12 | TORRENT | Rush to invest Russian capital in property available? (7) |
| R[ussian] in (to invest…in) TO RENT (property available) | ||
| 13 | LIBERAL | Ample misrepresentation around outsiders in Romania (7) |
| R[omani]A in (around) LIBEL (misrepresentation) | ||
| 14 | REALM | Sphere in concrete ending on platform (5) |
| REAL (concrete) + [platfor]M | ||
| 16 | OPTICIANS | Where to go when caption is blurred? (9) |
| Anagram (blurred) of CAPTION IS. Normally I would not think much of ‘blurred’ as an anagram indicator but in this splendid clue I am ready to accept it. | ||
| 19 | GREATNESS | Majesty abandoning sergeants (9) |
| Anagram (abandoning) of SERGEANTS | ||
| 20 | SHIFT | Move woman’s garment (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 22 | ASEPTIC | Clean space, it has been tidied up (7) |
| Anagram (has been tidied up) of SPACE IT | ||
| 25 | ARTICLE | Item left covered in diamonds behind paintings, say? (7) |
| ART (paintings, say) + L (left) in (covered in) ICE (diamonds) | ||
| 27 | INCARNATE | Perhaps driving north, goddess appearing in the flesh (9) |
| IN CAR (perhaps driving) + N (north) +ATE (goddess appearing). Ate in Greek mythology is the goddess who personifies ruin, folly, and delusion. | ||
| 28 | TAUPE | A shade uncomfortable at first in video (5) |
| U[ncomfortable] in (in) TAPE (video) | ||
| 29 | SENTIMENTALITY | Schmaltz in broadcast, one way of thinking (14) |
| SENT (broadcast) + I (one) + MENTALITY (way of thinking) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | UPPER CASE | Capital drug investigation (5,4) |
| UPPER (drug) + CASE (investigation) | ||
| 3 | TILDE | Turner capturing Latin leader, Spanish character (5) |
| L[atin] in TIDE (turner) | ||
| 4 | TIGHTROPE | Performer balancing on this has to grip the elastic (9) |
| Anagram (elastic) of TO GRIP THE | ||
| 5 | ORIEL | In error, I electrified window (5) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 6 | MEGABUCKS | County after game to fix for a lot of money (9) |
| Anagram (to fix) of GAME + BUCKS (county) | ||
| 7 | RIVER | Flower club doesn’t open (5) |
| [d]RIVER (club doesn’t open) | ||
| 8 | SURPLUS | Half of county gone, something positive remaining (7) |
| SUR[rey] (half of county gone) + PLUS (something positive) | ||
| 9 | BITTER | Freezing cold pint? (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 15 | METATARSI | Walk-on parts at times difficult, actor extremely restricted (9) |
| A[cto]R in (restricted) in anagram (difficult) of AT TIMES with a cryptic definition. The metatarsi are the bones of the mid-foot. | ||
| 17 | TESTAMENT | Will trial mean different result, ultimately? (9) |
| TEST (trial) + anagram (different) of MEAN + [resul]T | ||
| 18 | AGINCOURT | A spirit to cultivate for battle (9) |
| A (a) + GIN (spirit) + COURT (to cultivate) | ||
| 19 | GOALIES | Those required to save stories from Western India? (7) |
| GOA (Western India) + LIES (stories) | ||
| 21 | THEMED | Where Rhodes and Majorca are similarly grouped? (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 23 | EX-CON | Criminal once old and blue (2- 3) |
| EX (old) + CON (blue) | ||
| 24 | CRANE | Winger getting stick tackling back in error (5) |
| [erro]R in (tackling) CANE (stick) | ||
| 26 | TOTAL | Unqualified, might one be running? (5) |
| Double definition | ||
I found this quite a low key effort from Mudd – no strange devices, although perhaps that’s more of a Paul hallmark, and nothing “obscure” by way of answers. I remember working my way through this at a leisurely pace with nothing really sticking in the mind. Like you Pete, I enjoyed both 16A and 19D – the latter in particular bringing a smile to my face.
Thanks to both Pete and Mudd.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Did this one on Wednesday and after a couple of quickie looks, settled down to it at lunch time and had to mop up TAUPE (will I ever remember that colour off the top of my head?) and TOTAL (a clever double definition) on the train ride home.
Ended up making the error by writing in SKIRT (‘move around’ / woman’s garment) which nearly works – not as well as the correct answer though.
Get a bit confused with where the Mediterranean finishes or what it includes – technically Rhodes is in the Aegean, which I see in Wiki is defined as ‘an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea’ so I guess it is alright.
Add to the list of ‘like clues’, the cute definition of METATARSI and also liked the construction of INCARNATE.
Yes, TOTAL has a fine double definition. As I have often noted, double definitions seem to be Mudd’s forte and there’s a couple more fine examples in his current FT puzzle (16.230).