Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 19, 2019
I found a few clues here to be tricky (including 1ac and 14ac). My favourites are 9ac (ARROGATE) and 17dn (SIBELIUS).
| Across | ||
| 1 | CARPED | Complained about unfilled pothole in road (6) |
| CA (about) + P[othol]E in RD (road) | ||
| 5 | COLOSSAL | Deficit in fuel is massive (8) |
| LOSS (deficit) in (in) COAL (fuel) | ||
| 9 | ARROGATE | Claim Yorkshire town lacks aspiration (8) |
| [h]ARROGATE (Yorkshire town lacks aspiration) | ||
| 10 | REMEDY | Prepared, with me going in for a treatment (6) |
| ME (me) replacing A in (going in for A) RE[a]DY (prepared) | ||
| 11 | PETREL | Reptile saving one exotic bird (6) |
| Anagram (exotic) of REPT[i]LE | ||
| 12 | INSTANCE | Fashionable point of view, for example (8) |
| IN (fashionable) + STANCE (point of view) | ||
| 14 | MASHED POTATO | Food that by implication could be too apt? (6,6) |
| Reverse clue (by implication): MASHED POTATO could clue (anagramwise) TOO APT | ||
| 18 | RISE AND SHINE | Turn out as the Sun is expected to do? (4,3,5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 22 | HEDGE-HOP | Tailless insectivore, first among perils for fly near the ground (5-3) |
| HEDGEHO[g] (tailless insectivore) + P[erils] | ||
| 25 | CASH IN | Realise murderer must keep quiet (4,2) |
| SH (quiet) in (must keep) CAIN (murderer) | ||
| 26 | TITIAN | Artist, a towering figure around Italy (6) |
| I (Italy) in TITAN (a towering figure) | ||
| 27 | IMPORTER | Troublemaker backed old- fashioned businessman (8) |
| IMP (troublemaker) + RETRO (old-fashioned) backwards (backed) | ||
| 28 | PSALMIST | Possibly last page is introduction to Michelangelo’s David? (8) |
| Anagram (possibly) of LAST P (page) IS + M[ichelangelo’s] | ||
| 29 | ERRATA | In time, traitor will make mistakes (6) |
| RAT (traitor) in (in) ERA (time) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | AGREED | A desire that’s excessive? Yes (6) |
| A (a) + GREED (desire that’s excessive) | ||
| 3 | PROGRAMME | Agenda against the ounce, presumably? (9) |
| PRO-GRAMME (against the ounce presumably) | ||
| 4 | DEADLY SIN | Sadly, end involved swallowing one’s pride? (6,3) |
| I (one) in (swallowing) anagram (involved) of SADLY END | ||
| 5 | CHEMISE | Boots perhaps mostly seen with European woman’s garment (7) |
| CHEMIS[t] (Boots perhaps mostly) + E (European). Boots is Britain’s best known pharmacy chain. | ||
| 6 | LORIS | See, teacher upset tree-dweller (5) |
| LO (see) + SIR (teacher) backwards (upset) | ||
| 7 | SAMBA | Not all glamorous ambassadors dance (5) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 8 | ABDICATE | Give up salt, a diet counsellor initially ordered (8) |
| AB (salt) + anagram (ordered) of A DIET C[ounsellor]. AB stands for able-bodied seaman. | ||
| 13 | TOO | Moreover, nearly all saw? (3) |
| TOO[l] (nearly all saw) | ||
| 15 | PRINCIPLE | Dictator’s supreme rule (9) |
| Homophone of “principal” (dictator’s supreme) | ||
| 16 | TREASURER | Money handler wants safe in back, after short time (9) |
| T (short time) + SURE (safe) in (in) REAR (back) | ||
| 17 | SIBELIUS | One composer or another wanting daughter to support sibling (8) |
| SIB (sibling) + [d]ELIUS (another wanting daughter) | ||
| 19 | ACE | One is evenly matched (3) |
| [m]A[t]C[h]E[d] | ||
| 20 | SOPHIST | It’s posh cooking, one argues plausibly (7) |
| Anagram (cooking) if ITS POSH. A sophist, in addition to being one of a group of Greek philosophers, is someone whose reasoning is subtle and often specious. | ||
| 21 | SILENT | Mum is retrogressing fast (6) |
| IS (is) backwards (retrogressing) + LEFT (fast) | ||
| 23 | GRILL | Restaurant or some bars? (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 24 | HANOI | Island hotel put up capital (5) |
| IONA (island) + H (hotel) | ||
*anagram
Thanks Alberich and Pete
Found this one a little easier than normal from this setter, but certainly no less entertaining.
Funny what one learns from years of doing crosswords – the unlikely LORIS was the first entry!
Had a slightly different interpretation of 15d – had it as a homophone (‘dictator’s’) of PRINCIPAL (supreme) to get PRINCIPLE (rule).
Finished in the SW corner with HANOI, PSALMIST (where I thought the definition was very clever) and SIBELIUS (where it took ages to parse and finally see DELIUS without the D).
Bruce, Thank you for your interpretation of 15d. I think now that my original interpretation was hopelessly wrong and I have corrected it.
Thanks, Pete. I too found it a little easier than usual — but thoughtlessly entered ‘harped’ in 1ac without any further thought. Thanks too Alberich
Thanks to Pete and Alberich
Not his most difficult but very good as always.