(Easter) Monday Prize Crossword / Apr 17, 2017
Armonie’s puzzle was mostly (but not fully) straightforward. Enjoyable, too.
4d had me almost stumped but (I hope) I got there in the end.
As usual many charades and envelopes, and no cryptic definition in sight.
I counted seven clues in which the construction was: ‘one letter’ + ‘something else’, quite a lot.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | RADISHES | Painter commonly spoils vegetables (8) |
| RA (painter) + DISHES (spoils, informally / commonly) | ||
| 5 | SPONGE | Sulphur’s the bad smell oriental found in the bathroom (6) |
| S (sulphur) + PONG (bad smell) + E (oriental, Eastern) | ||
| 9 | ROTATORY | Going round to corrupt a politician (8) |
| ROT (corrupt) + A + TORY (politician) | ||
| 10 | HEIGHT | Prominence of Hungary’s rowers (6) |
| H (Hungary) + EIGHT (rowers) | ||
| 12 | LASER | Earl’s built an optical device (5) |
| (EARL’S)* [* = built] | ||
| 13 | CARPENTER | Worker is to find fault with log (9) |
| CARP (to find fault) + ENTER (log) | ||
| 14 | BARRIE | Playwright is desolate without scripture (6) |
| BARE (desolate) around [without] RI (scripture, Religious Instruction) Sir J.M. Barrie, Scottish playwright, most famous for Peter Pan (1904). |
||
| 16 | SEVERAL | A number cut in front of a learner driver (7) |
| SEVER (cut) + A + L (learner driver) | ||
| 19 | RIPOSTE | Is toper reformed, Sally? (7) |
| (IS TOPER)* [* = reformed] The definition is falsely capitalised which is fine. |
||
| 21 | ADDICT | One who trips often did badly in play (6) |
| (DID)* inside ACT (play) [* = badly] | ||
| 23 | EIDERDOWN | Duck below the cover (9) |
| EIDER (duck) + DOWN (below) | ||
| 25 | PAPAL | Father’s confidante comes from Rome (5) |
| PA (father) + PAL (confidante) If one takes as definition just ‘from Rome’ the word ‘comes’ is a bit odd. |
||
| 26 | LIEBIG | Tell a story to eminent scientist (6) |
| LIE (tell a story) + BIG (eminent) Justus, Baron von Liebig (1803-1873) was a famous German chemist. |
||
| 27 | DRIPPING | Penny’s splendid spread (8) |
| D (penny) + RIPPING (splendid) | ||
| 28 | ESTATE | English attitude to rank (6) |
| E (English) + STATE (attitude) | ||
| 29 | REARREST | Once more hold back support (8) |
| REAR (back) + REST (support) I liked the fact that one has to split hold / back. That is what I call ‘lift & separate’ and many others don’t. |
||
| Down | ||
| 1 | RARELY | A queen enters bank hardly ever (6) |
| A R (queen) inside RELY (bank) | ||
| 2 | DATE STAMP | An ordeal in the rain makes a timely impression (4,5) |
| A TEST (an ordeal) inside DAMP ((the) rain) | ||
| 3 | SITAR | Knight receives thanks for instrument (5) |
| SIR (knight) around TA (thanks) | ||
| 4 | EARACHE | Pain given by gunman in every way (7) |
| RA (gunman, i.e. a member of the Royal Artillery) inside {EACH (every) + E (way, direction, so e.g. East) This was my LOI, not because of the solution but because of the parsing. E meaning ‘way’ in the sense of ‘a direction’ is the best I can come up with. |
||
| 6 | PRESERVED | Maintained parking’s booked (9) |
| P (parking) + RESERVED (booked) | ||
| 7 | NIGHT | Darkness is a terrible thing (5) |
| (THING)* [* = terrible] | ||
| 8 | ENTIRELY | See about inert compound in every way (8) |
| ELY (see) around (INERT)* [* = compound] | ||
| 11 | URNS | Vessels in waterways start off (4) |
| BURNS (waterways) minus the first letter [start off] | ||
| 15 | RESTRAINT | Work out in lounge showing self-control (9) |
| TRAIN (work out) inside REST (lounge) | ||
| 17 | RECEPTIVE | Hear about gym that’s accessible (9) |
| RECEIVE (hear) around PT (gym, physical training) | ||
| 18 | TRUE-BLUE | Committed to the party but unswervingly offensive (4-4) |
| TRUE (unservingly) BLUE (offensive) | ||
| 20 | EROS | Upset angry archer (4) |
| Reversal [upset] of SORE (angry) | ||
| 21 | AINTREE | Trainee prepared course (7) |
| (TRAINEE)* [* = prepared] | ||
| 22 | PLIGHT | Difficulty getting power to lamp (6) |
| P (power) + LIGHT (lamp) | ||
| 24 | DWELT | Lived and died on smack (5) |
| D (died) + WELT (smack) | ||
| 25 | PAPER | Couple about to copy publication (5) |
| PR (couple, short for ‘pair’) around APE (to copy) | ||
*anagram
Thanks Armonie and Sil
A nice and easy Easter Monday puzzle that I got to in our afternoon down here.
Finished with AINTREE (which took a while to associate course to a racecourse), PAPAL and DRIPPING (which I haven’t seen as a spread for a very, very long time – we were always threatened with just bread and dripping if we made too much fuss about eating our vegetables as kids!)