Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of July 15, 2017
As usual Goliath gives us a slew of clever clues and a couple of tough ones. My clue of the week is the delightful and brilliant 5 down (STANDOFFISHNESS) and I also applaud 1,6 (ACHILLES TENDON) and 22,26 (TOWN CENTRE).
| Across | ||
| 1, 6 | ACHILLES TENDON | Hellenic son, tad weak here? (8,6) |
| Anagram (weak) of HELLENIC SON TAD | ||
| 9 | CARPET | Complain across the channel and criticise (6) |
| CARP (complain) + ET (across-the-channel and) | ||
| 10 | AS IT WERE | Before adjusting waist first, so to speak (2,2,4) |
| Anagram (adjusting) of WAIST + ERE (before) | ||
| 11 | EMIR | Prince in the mirror (4) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 12 | MIDDLE EAST | Desperately did shelter having broken mast in troubled area (6,4) |
| Anagram (desperately) of DID + LEE (shelter) together in (broken) MAST | ||
| 14 | COCA LEAF | Contempt of court as felon starts drinking beer with drug provider (4,4) |
| ALE (beer) in C[ontempt] O[f] C[ourt] + A[s] F[elon] | ||
| 16 | LOOP | Kitty goes round in a circle (4) |
| POOL (kitty) backwards (goes round) | ||
| 18 | KEPI | Some take pity on legionnaire head (4) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 19 | IRRIGATE | Water and fire grip endless spectators (8) |
| [f]IR[e] [g]RI[p] + GATE (spectators). I guess ‘gate’ here refers to the number of people attending, say, a match. | ||
| 21 | ONE-MAN SHOW | Means no trouble at 25 giving solo performance (3-3,4) |
| Anagram (trouble) of MEANS NO + HOW (25, that is 25 down) | ||
| 22, 26 | TOWN CENTRE | Urban area that hurts clue? (4,6) |
| Reverse clue: “Town centre” would clue OW (that hurts) | ||
| 24 | FISHWIFE | Harridan’s wish to move into region of Scotland (8) |
| Anagram (to move) of WISH in FIFE (region of Scotland) | ||
| 26 | See 22 | |
| 27 | LEEWAY | Give small returns in place (6) |
| WEE (small) backwards (returns) in LAY (place) | ||
| 28 | SAW-EDGED | Not happy about squeeze having teeth (3-5) |
| WEDGE (squeeze) in SAD (not happy) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | CHARM | After tea, the marines march off to capture a trinket (5) |
| This clue has two definitions and two sets of wordplay: CHA (tea) + RM (the marines) and anagram (off) of MARCH. I failed to fully understand this clue in the original version of this blog and thank Pelham for his explanation in the comments. | ||
| 3 | IMPERIALISM | One politician misuses air miles seeking world dominance (11) |
| I (one) + MP (politician) + anagram (misuses) of AIR MILES | ||
| 4 | LETS MEET | Invitation to get together and settle problem involving compiler (4,4) |
| ME (compiler) in anagram (problem) of SETTLE | ||
| 5 | STANDOFFISHNESS | Remote nature of appropriate sales outlet on loch? (15) |
| STAND OF FISH (appropriate sales outlet, for a loch that is) + NESS (loch). This clue may actually violate accepted practice in that “on loch” serves two purposes but I hope we can overlook that. | ||
| 6 | TRIFLE | Sweet little thing (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 7 | See 25 | |
| 8 | ORRISROOT | It’s three times or otherwise a perfume ingredient (9) |
| Anagram (otherwise) of ITS and three ORs. Orris root (usually written as two words, I believe) is used to refer to the roots of certain kinds of iris and is used in making certain perfumes. | ||
| 13 | ENLIGHTENED | Aware of broken leg in the end (11) |
| Anagram (broken) of LEG IN THE END | ||
| 15 | ONE IN FIVE | May be Julian, if famous, gets 20% (3,2,4) |
| Double definition with the first referring to one of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five. I started fishing around for an answer related to Julian dating but finally ‘famous’ tipped me off to the correct reference. I read several of the Famous Five books as a young boy 60+ years ago but had to check if one of them was Julian. (The only name I remembered was George.) | ||
| 17 | See 25 | |
| 20 | ENMITY | Bulk discounting or causing antagonism (6) |
| EN[or]MITY (bulk discounting or) | ||
| 23 | WORSE | Inferior living in a bungalow or semi (5) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 25, 7, 17 | HOW NOW BROWN COW | The way present and past prime minister intimidate is an exercise in elocution (3,3,5,3) |
| HOW (the way) + NOW (present) + BROWN (past prime minister) + COW (intimidate) | ||
Thanks Goliath and Pete.
2dn is a four part clue: two lots of wordplay (CHA + RM then anagram of MARCH) followed by two definitions (to capture; a trinket).
Thanks to Goliath for another excellent crossword, to Pete for the blog and to Pelham for the explanation for 2d. I see what you mean about 5d – didn’t think about it at the time – but now that I do it does explain why Goliath puts a question mark at the end.
Pelham, thank you very much for completing the explanation of 2dn.
Hovis, thanks for commenting. A question mark can indeed hold subtle but powerful implications about how a clue should be interpreted.
Thanks Goliath and Pete
Nice puzzle that took the 35 minute train trip into work and then a few minutes more a bit later to finish it off. The usual clever and innovative stuff from this setter and a couple that did give me a bit of trouble as well. Saw the two word plays of 2d, but didn’t see the second definition. Embarrassingly, my arithmetic was initially wrong at 15d where I wrote in ONE IN FOUR before remembering the Enid Blyton books that gave me a lot of pleasure as a young fella not that many years short ago than Pete.
Finished in the SW corner with FISHWIFE, LEEWAY and the clever ENMITY the last few in.
Everyone I look up says the same thing: ‘enormity refers to something monstrous or wicked, such as a massacre, not big’ (David Marsh in ‘For Who the Bell Tolls’). It does not refer to bulk, as in 20dn. But Chambers allows it, and so does Collins in an informal sense, so if the dictionaries allow it then there we are.
However, in my curmudgeonly way I still feel that Goliath would have been better to avoid this.
Thank you, Pete. Is your reading of 14 Across that COC is an abbreviation (I may be misinterpreting your explanation), or, as I read it, it is the starting letters of of all five words, COCAF, with ale inside?
Darn! I think you are reading my original interpretation correctly. It was however an interpretation that I was unsure about at the time and had meant to check. I have now done so and am satisfied that it was wrong — COC works are an abbreviation for a lot of thing including chain of custody but not contempt of court. I have modified the explanation of the clue accordingly. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.