Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 26, 2019
Not much to say about this puzzle. It was perhaps a bit harder than Mudd’s usual. My favourite clue this week is 7dn (AUNTIE) and I also like 29ac (VANISH).
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SHTICK | Criticism about hospital routine (6) |
| H (hospital) in (about) STICK (criticism). The use of ‘stick’ to mean criticism may be very British. | ||
| 4 | CARD GAME | Character ready for war, perhaps? (4,4) |
| CARD (character) + GAME (ready). The definition refers to the card game known as War. I am not much of a card player and I had never heard of this War. | ||
| 9 | RUNNER | Athlete in the groove? (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 10 | FLAMINGO | Cursed, old bird (8) |
| FLAMING (cursed) + O (old) | ||
| 12 | POLE STAR | European * leader? (4,4) |
| POLE (European) + STAR (*) | ||
| 13 | FLYING | Brief avian activity (6) |
| Double definition, the first as in a flying visit | ||
| 15 | EDEN | Some recollection of mine, delightful garden (4) |
| Reverse (recollection) hidden word (some of) | ||
| 16 | SHARING | Garnish in a stew for dishing out equally (7) |
| Anagram (in a stew) of GARNISH | ||
| 20 | WINNING | Fetching up (7) |
| Double definition | ||
| 21 | ALSO | Centre of wall, very much on top (4) |
| [w]AL[l] + SO (very much) | ||
| 25 | AT HOME | In the moat, not all swimming (2,4) |
| Anagram (swimming) of THE MOA[t] | ||
| 26 | CLAYMORE | Sword put by leader of Macdonalds into heart (8) |
| LAY (put) + M[acdonalds] together in CORE (heart) | ||
| 28 | TRIANGLE | Variation of Elgar, it includes new instrument (8) |
| N (new) in (it includes) anagram (variation of ) ELGAR IT | ||
| 29 | VANISH | Go like a trading vehicle? (6) |
| Double definition with one maybe coming from the Uxbridge English Dictionary! | ||
| 30 | PLATELET | Bloody little thing behind fifty favourite dresses (8) |
| L (fifty) + LATE (behind) together in (dresses) PET (favourite) | ||
| 31 | NEWEST | North-eastern direction most fresh (6) |
| NE (north-eastern) + WEST (direction) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | STRAPPED | Short of money in bonds, perhaps? (8) |
| Double definition | ||
| 2 | TANGLIER | More complicated, relating to dance (8) |
| Anagram (to dance) of RELATING | ||
| 3 | CREASE | Tuck remarkable skirts into bag (6) |
| R[emarkabl]E in (into) CASE (bag) | ||
| 5 | ALLY | Mate matey, though not at first (4) |
| [p]ALLY (matey, though not at first) | ||
| 6 | DUMPLING | Offload fish in food parcel (8) |
| DUMP (offload) + LING (fish) | ||
| 7 | AUNTIE | Oddly, a mum not like – her sister? (6) |
| A[m]U[m] N[o]T [l]I[k]E | ||
| 8 | ENOUGH | Adequate figure raised, I’m disgusted (6) |
| ONE (figure) backwards (raised) + UGH (I’m disgusted) | ||
| 11 | DASHING | Stylish running (7) |
| Double definition | ||
| 14 | FRANKLY | Shocking in race, to be honest (7) |
| RANK (shocking) in (in) FLY (race) | ||
| 17 | DIAMANTE | Sparkly girl on volcano, climbing? (8) |
| MAID (girl) + ETNA (volcano) each backwards (climbing) | ||
| 18 | FLUORINE | Line four switched for nine on the periodic table (8) |
| Anagram (switched) of LINE FOUR | ||
| 19 | SOMEWHAT | I don’t care about me? Not entirely (8) |
| ME (me) in (about) SO WHAT (I don’t care) | ||
| 22 | LAPTOP | Computer fitting in dock (6) |
| APT (fitting) in (in) LOP (dock) | ||
| 23 | SHEILA | Female boxer standing for Victoria’s girl? (6) |
| SHE (female) + ALI (boxer) backwards (standing). Does the definition refer to the use of ‘sheila’ to mean a girl in Australia? | ||
| 24 | AYE-AYE | Primate OK to repeat (3-3) |
| AYE (OK) AYE (to repeat) | ||
| 27 | BLUE | Low, shade on the right? (4) |
| Triple definition | ||
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Found this quite tough, taking quite a number of sessions to finally nut it out.
The answer to 23 is yes … it’s a term that is rarely used nowadays – it was actually a female name once upon a time !! Pronounced with a full Strine accent, of course ! Victoria referring to the state in which I live !
Liked the clever FLUORINE and the surface / construction of AUNTIE. Was pleased to remember the rare little AYE-AYE. Didn’t know of the POLE STAR term as leader and TANGLIER was harder to unravel than it should have been. Noticed the DASHING, WINNING and SHARING all crossing in the middle – wonder if he was looking for another -ING word to round it out.
Started with the gimme EDEN and quite a while later finished off with WINNING and DIAMANTE.
And what was the male equivalent of ‘sheila’? Aha!!
Never heard of 4ac the card game War, nor 21ac on top meaning also! Thanks to Pete and mudd.
I find it hard to come up with a sentence in which ‘also’ and ‘on top’ are interchangeable but the sense is definitely there as in, say, “It is the right shape and the right size. On top of that, it looks good.”