Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of July 8, 2017
I finished this clever and enjoyable Mudd in one easy sitting. My clue of the week is 22d (ENGELS) and I also especially like all of Mudd’s double definitions here.
| Across | ||
| 1 | LIMERICK | Poem with a citrus twist? (8) |
| LIME (a citrus) + RICK (twist) | ||
| 5 | HIATUS | America after success to bridge a gap (6) |
| A (a) in HIT (success) + US (America) | ||
| 9 | SERAGLIO | Where women were confined by gaolers, I suspect (8) |
| Anagram (suspect) of GAOLERS I | ||
| 10 | ECLAIR | Sweet thing in lacier pants (6) |
| Anagram (pants) of LACIER | ||
| 12 | ENJOY | Dig hole in the end farther back, interring judge (5) |
| [hol]E + J (judge) in YON (farther) backwards | ||
| 13 | KICK-START | Trigger thrills floosie (4-5) |
| KICKS (thrills) + TART (floosie) | ||
| 14 | RACKET | Dishonest scheme that’s handled in sport (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 16 | TRANCHE | Part hypnotised initially, in hynoptic state (7) |
| H[ypnotised] in TRANCE (hypnotic state) | ||
| 19 | COASTER | Wheel round old vessel (7) |
| O (old) in CASTER (wheel) | ||
| 21 | BITING | Keen to pump metal into giant (6) |
| TIN (metal) in BIG (giant) | ||
| 23 | RACEHORSE | One in a stable condition reaches to grab oxygen cylinder, finally (9) |
| O (oxygen) + [cylinde]R in anagram (condition) of REACHES | ||
| 25 | OATEN | Some fatso ate nothing like porridge (5) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 26 | AROUND | A number of holes in the vicinity (6) |
| A (a) + ROUND (number of holes, as in golf I presume) | ||
| 27 | EDITABLE | I debate furiously about end of novel – possible to rewrite? (8) |
| [nove]L in anagram (furiously) of I DEBATE | ||
| 28 | EXTORT | Exact legal error attributed to former lover (6) |
| EX (former lover) + TORT (legal error) | ||
| 29 | CRACKERS | Biscuits off one’s trolley (8) |
| Double definition | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | LESSEN | Drop first of leaflets on German city (6) |
| L[eaflets] + ESSEN (German city) | ||
| 2 | MARIJUANA | Girl with Spanish boy smuggled in drugs (9) |
| JUAN (Spanish boy) in MARIA (girl) | ||
| 3 | RUGBY | Wig on in accordance with sport (5) |
| RUG (wig) + BY (in accordance with) | ||
| 4 | CRICKET | Sport usually played in white jumper (7) |
| Double definition | ||
| 6 | INCESSANT | Constant crime around odd parts of Spain (9) |
| S[p]A[i]N in INCEST (crime) | ||
| 7 | TIARA | Crown I buried in fictional plantation (5) |
| I (I) in TARA (fictional plantation). Tara was the plantation in Gone With The Wind. | ||
| 8 | SPRITZER | Agents standing around hotel, drink (8) |
| RITZ (hotel) in REPS (agents) backwards | ||
| 11 | SCUT | Small incision in rabbit’s tail (4) |
| S (small) + CUT (incision). A scut is a small, erect tail. | ||
| 15 | KITCHENER | WWI leader needing equipment and support to protect platoon, ultimately (9) |
| KIT (equipment) + [platoo]N in CHEER (support) | ||
| 17 | CONSTABLE | An arresting artist? (9) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 18 | SCARFACE | Hood, muffler on one (8) |
| SCARF (muffler) + ACE (one) | ||
| 20 | RARE | Red in snooker, a red! (4) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 21 | BLENDER | Bank under better leadership – that should shake things up! (7) |
| B[etter] + LENDER (bank) | ||
| 22 | ENGELS | Red setters after headless chicken (6) |
| [h]EN (headless chicken) + GELS (setters). Ah, yet another thing that ‘setter’ can mean in crosswords! | ||
| 24 | CROAT | European habit to pinch bottom in particular (5) |
| [particula]R in COAT (habit) | ||
| 25 | OPTIC | Drinks dispenser pouring special stuff, Highland Scotch, every second (5) |
| [p]O[uring] [s]P[ecial] [s]T[uff] [h]I[ghland] [s]C[otch] | ||
Thanks Mudd & Pete.
I took more than one sitting to complete this, being held up by 9 across until Armonie used “The Seraglio” in a clue in the FT 15,598 puzzle three days later. After that it was plain sailing.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Did this one near the pubish-date across a couple of sittings. Unlike psmith@1, SERAGLIO was a glaring anagram get and was my first one in – it is one of those interesting words that has cropped up in a lot of crosswords over many years of solving.
The typical high quality entertainment value from JH with another clever device with OPTIC (which I’ve seen defined like that many times but the clever deception with ‘every second’ across five different words was good). Also thought that ENGELS was another excellent clue.
Finished in the SW corner with COASTER (had to check that it was a name of a sort of boat), SCARFACE (another clever clue) and AROUND (with the clever golf-based definition of ROUND).