Non-prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of May 16, 2020
Redshank came up with some impressive anagrams in this puzzle, notably 9ac (ENTENTE CORDIALE) and 16ac (BOTANICAL GARDEN). I also especially like 18dn (AVERAGED) and 22dn (RAPIER);
| Across | ||
| 9 | ENTENTE CORDIALE | Nation re-elected lunatic making cross-channel pact (7,8) |
| Anagram (lunatic) of NATION REELECTED | ||
| 10 | PAPER | Printer’s error in Standard or FT, say (5) |
| PE (printer’s error) in (in) PAR (standard) | ||
| 11 | MAKE SENSE | Be reasonable: seek changes in minister’s house (4,5) |
| Anagram (changes) of SEEK in (in) MANSE (minister’s house) | ||
| 12 | CHECKMATE | Stop couple finishing move on board (9) |
| CHECK (stop) + MATE (couple) | ||
| 14 | PLAZA | Priest left street directory on a square (5) |
| P (priest) + L (left) + AZ (street directory) + A (a) | ||
| 16 | BOTANICAL GARDEN | Can’t dig on arable ground? One can here (9,6) |
| Anagram (ground) of CANT DIG ON ARABLE | ||
| 19 | EARLY | Almost losing head, like some peers? (5) |
| [n]EARLY (almost losing head) | ||
| 21 | RARE EARTH | Blue Planet’s unusual element? (4,5) |
| BLUE (rare, as in a lightly cooked steak) + EARTH (planet)
This meaning of ‘blue’ is worth remembering. It stems from some raw meat having a bluish hue. I live next to the Blue Ridge Mountains so-called because, while forested and so basically green, they also have a bluish hue. |
||
| 23 | NEPHRITIS | Tyneside alarm is reportedly swelling organs! (9) |
| [ty]NE + PHRITIS (homopone of “fright is”). ‘Tyneside’ could equally well clue NE as in North East — maybe even better. | ||
| 25 | APPAL | A reindeer herder perhaps repelled revolt (5) |
| A (a) + LAPP (reindeer herder perhaps) backwards (repelled) | ||
| 26 | ACKNOWLEDGEMENT | Thanks Ken endlessly in a fix (15) |
| KNOWLEDGE (ken) in (in) A (a) CEMENT (fix) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | DESPICABLE | Desirable mansion houses taxi base (10) |
| DES (desirable) + CAB (taxi) in (houses) PILE (mansion). I guess ‘desirable’ must clue DES but this abbreviation is new to me. | ||
| 2 | STEPPE | Plain small place to drive around very quietly (6) |
| S (small) + PP (very quietly) in (around) TEE (place to drive) | ||
| 3 | UNBROKEN | Constant peacekeepers sanction spiking gun (8) |
| UN (peacekeepers) + OK (sanction) in (spiking) BREN (gun) | ||
| 4 | GERM | General manager catches royal bug (4) |
| ER (royal) in (catches) GM (general manager) | ||
| 5 | BOOKSELLER | Dealer in volumes to reserve basement by phone (10) |
| BOOK (to reserve) + SELLER (homophone of “cellar”) | ||
| 6 | ADDS UP | Notice duke drink tots (4,2) |
| AD (notice) + D (duke) + SUP (drink) | ||
| 7 | BARNYARD | Block a road skirting New York part of farm (8) |
| NY (New York) in (skirting) BAR (block) A (a) RD (road) | ||
| 8 | CEDE | Some face defeat and give up (4) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 13 | ACCURATELY | Spot on honey badger cutting plant up (10) |
| RATEL (honey badger) in (cutting) YUCCA (plant) backwards (up). I have heard of honey badgers but had to resort to Wikipedia to find this other name for them. | ||
| 15 | ANNIHILATE | Whitewash a thin line with a compound (10) |
| Anagram (compound) of A THIN LINE A | ||
| 17 | TURNPIKE | Fish below bend in toll road (8) |
| TURN (bend) + PIKE (fish) | ||
| 18 | AVERAGED | State matured, got mean (8) |
| AVER (state) + AGED (matured) with a clever cryptic definition | ||
| 20 | YARROW | Concern about to mothball a plant (6) |
| A (a) in (to mothball) WORRY (concern) backwards (about)
Yarrow is a flowering plant that I have had in my garden. I also know someone with the surname Yarrow. |
||
| 22 | RAPIER | Gumshoe in stern stood up and pointed weapon (6) |
| PI (gumshoe, for Private Investigator) in (in) REAR (stern) backwards (stood up) | ||
| 23 | NEAP | Rhine apparently shows least variation in height (4) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 24 | SIDE | Team credentials accepted in Sussex perhaps (4) |
| ID (credentials) in (accepted in) SE (Sussex perhaps, meaning the southeast) | ||
Stylish puzzle, I agree, and those anagrams were indeed cute.
Hadn’t seen ‘mothball’ for ‘keep enclosed’ (or whatever) but it’s a neat trick.
And, yes, DES is or was stock estate-agentese for ‘desirable’, as in ‘a 4-bed des res’, from the time when classified ads charged by the letter. ‘Des res’ became a pejorative for the houses of what we call Yuppies theses days.
Thanks to both.
Not met “PE” as meaning Printers Error before. “Des Res” still well known as a phrase so no problem there. got Steppe but couldn’t work out why. I was fixated on ST for street as a small place to drive.
Grant, Thank you for enlightening us about DES. My memory is very cloudy about it but I think I may have come across “des res” in the distant past.
Thanks Redshank & Pete.
In 10 across “Standard” is doing double duty as part of the definition, referring to the London Evening Standard. In 23 across I automatically read “Tyneside” as Northeast, just as “Sussex perhaps” in 24 down suggested Southeast; but your first parsing is original and neat. Bookseller is popular with setters it seems — Monk had it yesterday.
aw, didn’t get STEPPE, thanks for resolving!
It’s a nice surface, but I wasn’t sure you’d be all that welcome to go digging up a botanical garden…
Quite enjoyable — favorites included MAKE SENSE, STEPPE, and the very clever RAPIER. Thanks Redshank and Pete for parsing.
psmith, My first impression of 10ac was that ‘Standard or’ was part of the definition but I later decided otherwise. It certainly could be that ‘Standard’ is intended to be doing double duty and Redshank is a setter who is known for such devices but I do not see how you can say this with any certainty. The clue works without double duty and that would be the more conventional way of interpreting it. Am I missing something?
No, you don’t (in my opinion).
Standard has a capital S in the clue.
Indeed, psmith, true but so-called ‘false capitalisation’ is OK , even for Ximeneans.
Thanks, Sil. I was not familiar with false capitalisation but will be on the lookout for it in future!
I’m not great at crosswords but managed to do this one within a few hours. Thanks Redshank for a good puzzle.
Thanks Redshank and Pete
Falling behind a bit lately and only got around to checking this one off tonight. Actually found this on the easier end of this setter’s difficulty spectrum, finishing it off in a few shortish sessions. Two of the long anagrams fell quite early so that helped a lot.
Even though Standard is not doing double duty, it adds something to the surface by being capitalised, and as Sil states, quite within the rules.
Ended up with NEPHRITIS, YARROW and then back over to ANNIHILATE (which took a while to unscramble and then equate to the sporting term).