Puzzle from the Weekend FT of May 25, 2024
Here we have another fine and fairly easy puzzle from Pedriock. My favourites are 3 (TART), 11d (DIFFERENTIAL), 12 (ALGA) for its fine surface (and which was my first-in), 15 (ABSENT FRIEND) and 16 (FOREHAND).
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | COYOTE |
Ugly animal shy to return with energy (6)
|
| COY (shy) + TO (to) backwards (return) + E (energy) | ||
| 4 | ICEBOUND |
Heading for hard water? Stuck in it (8)
|
| ICE (hard water?) + BOUND (heading) | ||
| 9 | SQUARE |
It’s as broad as it’s long (6)
|
| This strikes me as a totally non-cryptic clue. Am I missing something? | ||
| 10 | IMITATOR |
Copycat discovers limit to cheap gold (8)
|
| [;]IMI[t] + TAT (chat) + OR (gold) | ||
| 12 | ALGA |
Part of natural gas plant (4)
|
| Hidden word (part of) | ||
| 13 | DISALLOWED |
Unfortunate Des laid low having been rejected (10)
|
| Anagram (unfortunate) of DES LAID LOW | ||
| 15 | ABSENT FRIEND |
Quaker who is not here (6,6)
|
| Cryptic definition — the Quakers being also known at the Society of Friends | ||
| 18 | CHARING CROSS |
Tea circle angry at the end of the line (7,5)
|
| CHA (tea) + RING (circle) + CROSS (angry) | ||
| 21 | PALM SUNDAY |
Adjusted sunlamp 24 hours before Easter! (4,6)
|
| Anagram (adjusted) of SUNLAMP + DAY (24 hours) | ||
| 22 | BEAT |
Attend club (4)
|
| BE AT (attend) | ||
| 24 | NEW LATIN |
Modern version of something said to be dead (3,5)
|
| I suppose that this is a cryptic definition given that Latin is said to be a dead language while there is a well defined version of it called Neo Latin or New Latin | ||
| 25 | CLEAVE |
About to abandon split (6)
|
| C (about) + LEAVE (to abandon) | ||
| 26 | THROTTLE |
Suppress the endless tripe let out (8)
|
| TH[e] + ROT (tripe) + anagram (out) of LET | ||
| 27 | BRIDGE |
Game cut short before American leaves (6)
|
| [a]BRIDGE (cut short before American leaves) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CASTAWAY |
Stranded actors had an established routine (8)
|
| CAST (actors) + A WAY (an establish routine) | ||
| 2 | YOUNGISH |
Fairly youthful unknown organising housing (8)
|
| Y (unknown) + anagram (orgainising) of HOUSING | ||
| 3 | TART |
Biting some pastry (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 5 | COMPANIONWAY |
Friend on course to find staircase (12)
|
| COMPANION (friend) + WAY (course) | ||
| 6 | BOTTLENECK |
Courage and insolence restricted outlet (10)
|
| BOTTLE (courage) + NECK (insolence) | ||
| 7 | UPTOWN |
Put about before being won over in residential area (6)
|
| Anagram (about) of PUT + anagram (over) of WON | ||
| 8 | DERIDE |
Scoff at Deirdre possibly losing one of her rights (6)
|
| Anagram (possibly) of DEI[r]DRE | ||
| 11 | DIFFERENTIAL |
Gear skilled worker feels he is entitled to (12)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 14 | ENTHUSIAST |
Fan sun’s heat, it dissipated (10)
|
| Anagram (dissipated) of SUNS HEAT IT | ||
| 16 | FOREHAND |
Front drive in SW19? (8)
|
| Cryptic definition with “SW19” referring to the “All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club” better known as Wimbledon. | ||
| 17 | AS IT WERE |
In a kind of way becoming sweatier (2,2,4)
|
| Anagram (becoming) of SWEATIER | ||
| 19 | SPINET |
Long to get in the way of instrument (6)
|
| PINE (LONG) in ST (the way, i.e. street) | ||
| 20 | GLOWER |
Angry look from head of gardeners farther down (6)
|
| G[ardenders] + LOWER (farther down) | ||
| 23 | BLUR |
Be leaving rubble creating confused impression (4)
|
| Anagram (creating) of RU[b]BL[e] |
SQUARE
Other than the obvious, I am guessing this…
Square means broad as in square-shouldered?
Square means long in the sense of old-fashioned (looks unlikely) or in some other sense?
NEW LATIN
Couldn’t think of anything better. Doesn’t sound cryptic enough.
(‘something said’ is an indicator towards a language? Then the cryptic grammar doesn’t seem to work)
Thanks Pete for the blog and Thanks Rosa for the puzzle.
I have little to add to the excellent blog. I share favourites and doubts with Pete and add CHARING CROSS as a clue that made me smile. I feel for the COYOTE – is it really ugly?
Thanks Pedrock and Pete
Didn’t get “New Latin”, so DNF.
Now I feel I was looking for the cryptic in a clue which isn’t very cryptic…
Liked “Beat” and”Charing Cross”.
Thank you to Pedrock and Pete
A funny of mixture of clues some of which I could straightaway see how to construct and others that I needed all the crossers for. Top half much quicker than the bottom with COYOTE my FOI.
Liked ABSENT FRIEND, IMITATOR, THROTTLE, BOTTLENECK, AS IT WERE, FRONT DRIVE
Thanks Pedrock and Pete
Thanks for the blog, good set of neat clues and a friendly grid.
COYOTE ugly was a film but like Martyn@2 I find it a bit unfair on the animal.
SQUARE , there is an old saying- It’s just as broad as long – meaning two ways of doing something are equally difficult. Perhaps that is meant to be the cryptic distraction.
DERIDE was very precise losing just one right.
Thanks Pedrock, I enjoyed this with CHARING CROSS, PALM SUNDAY, BEAT, YOUNGISH, ENTHUSIAST, and AS IT WERE being my top picks. Thanks Pete for the blog.
[Martyn/Roz: Regarding ‘coyote ugly’ — I found this online:
“Other than the popularization of the term from the movie of the same name, I believe it derives from the behavior of coyotes, which (among other canines), when caught in a trap will gnaw off a leg in order to escape death. It describes a person (usually a woman) who is so undesirable that her partner (usually a guy) is willing to gnaw off the limb she is sleeping on in order to escape rather than waking her. The guy will usually find himself in this situation when, after a night of heavy drinking, he wakes up the next morning in the bed of a woman he does not remember meeting and has no desire of getting to know better.” ]
Thanks Tony. Boy, I am really getting a rounded education from this community.
Tony@6 , thank you but it makes me so glad that I never look at anything online.