Monday Prize Crossword / Aug 14, 2017
Dante with a characteristically friendly opening of the FT week.
Despite my criticism of too many superfluous articles being used and one or two indicators, there were no major hold-ups.
But 23d almost defeated me – almost.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | ACCURATE | A copper-lined box made carefully and precisely (8) |
| CU (copper, the element) inside A CRATE (box) I took ‘made’ as being part of the definition, otherwise the part of speech is not right. |
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| 5 | CRATER | Hole made by a tracer? (6) |
| (TRACER)* [* = made by (a)] One of quite a few clues in which Dante used an article (here: a), something I wouldn’t have done. |
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| 10 | RUMMY | An odd card game (5) |
| Double definition Here’s number two: why ‘an’? |
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| 11 | REALISTIC | Recital is a composition that’s unsentimental (9) |
| (RECITAL IS)* [* = composition] And number three. I’m not willing to consider ‘a’ being part of the anagram indicator. |
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| 12 | APOLOGIST | Advocate appearing as a famous explorer gains essential point (9) |
| A + POLO (famous explorer, Marco Polo) + GIST (essential point) Here we really need the ‘a’! |
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| 13 | END UP | Finish on your head, maybe (3,2) |
| Double / Cryptic definition When you’re standing on your head, your ‘end’ (feet, perhaps) will be ‘up’. |
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| 14 | MURDER | Killing the return of revolutionary spirit (6) |
| Reversal [the return] of: RED (revolutionay) + RUM (spirit) No racehorse in sight! |
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| 15 | SCHERZO | Half the school get zero, unusual for music (7) |
| SCH[ool] + (ZERO)* [* = unusual] A ‘scherzo’ is a lively, playful composition, often part of a symphony or string quartet. |
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| 18 | SEETHES | Observes the intrusion and is furious (7) |
| THE inside SEES (observes) I do not like just ‘intrusion’, put behind the fodder, as a container indicator. Main reason is that it’s a noun. There are setters and solvers alike who do not like nounal indicators anyway. They would even reject the anagram indicator used in 11ac. |
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| 20 | CASHED | Realised that the bounder has embraced the girl (6) |
| CAD (bounder) around SHE (girl) Dante loves his articles, doesn’t he? |
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| 22 | URBAN | City game to back embargo (5) |
| Reversal [to back] of RU (Rugby Union), followed by BAN (embargo) ‘City’ in its adjectival form. |
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| 24 | CELEBRATE | Take the car, beetle off and whoop it up (9) |
| (CAR + BEETLE)* [* = (take) … off] Another ‘the’ that stands in the way – for me, that is. |
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| 25 | GOLF LINKS | Connections to a course for drivers? (4,5) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 26 | ELITE | The very best from France (5) |
| ELITE is originally a French word That’s all there is, I’m afraid. |
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| 27 | DESERT | Walk out on the sands (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 28 | AESTHETE | He has good taste to eat these when cooked (8) |
| (EAT THESE)* [* = when cooked] | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | ABROAD | Where you may find the sailor on the way (6) |
| AB (sailor) + ROAD (way) Probably, the clue as a whole should be seen as some kind of definition. Bit loose but OK, I think. Did I say something about articles? |
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| 2 | COMPOSURE | Company representative certain about nothing, but shows aplomb (9) |
| CO (company) + MP (representative) + SURE (certain), together around O (nothing) | ||
| 3 | RAYMOND CHANDLER | Cherry and almond pie made by a writer (7,8) |
| (CHERRY AND ALMOND)* [* = pie (made)] | ||
| 4 | TERRIER | One who volunteers to fight, but he’s not a boxer (7) |
| Members of the Territorial Army (‘volunteers’) were called ‘terriers’, and for dog lovers a ‘terrier’ is not a boxer | ||
| 6 | RAISE THE SUBJECT | Knight to bring up topic for discussion (5,3,7) |
| Cryptic / Double definition I think ‘knight’ should be taken as a verb, indicating: to give a subordinate (‘subject‘) a higher place in a hierarchical system. |
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| 7 | TOTED | Carried infant – little Edward (5) |
| TOT (infant) + ED (Edward, shortened) | ||
| 8 | ROCK POOL | Music game on the seashore (4,4) |
| ROCK (music) + POOL (game) The answer is something ‘on the seashore’. |
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| 9 | MANTIS | This insect makes a chap sit up (6) |
| MAN (chap) + reversal [up] of SIT Also called ‘praying mantis’. |
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| 16 | RE-EXAMINE | Check again about the test in English (2-7) |
| RE (about) + EXAM (test) + IN + E (English) Why ‘the’? [I know I’m picky today]. |
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| 17 | ASSUAGED | Satisfied when sausage mash is set before a number (8) |
| (SAUSAGE)* + D (a number, 500) [* = mash] | ||
| 19 | SECOND | Short-lived supporter (6) |
| (Sort of) Double definition When something (or someone) only lives for a ‘second’, it will be very very short-lived. I assume that is what the first part of the clue tries to tell us. I had to check that ‘second’ can mean ‘someone who supports’, e.g. in boxing. |
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| 20 | CELESTE | Ordered select eastern instrument (7) |
| (SELECT)* + E (eastern) [* =ordered] | ||
| 21 | RENEGE | Withdraw from the general uprising (6) |
| Hidden answer [from]: the general , then reversed [uprising] Now here, we really cannot do without ‘the’! 🙂 |
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| 23 | BELLS | Those on the other leg? (5) |
| Pull the other one, it’s got bells on A phrase expressing disbelief, I believe. Last clue of the set and my LOI. |
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*anagram
Thanks Sil Van Den Hoek and Dante.
Wouldn’t have got 23d in a million years.
Thanks Dante and Sil
Pretty smooth sailing apart from ACCURATE (for a short time) twisting the logic from C – A CRATE – U or A C-C-RAT-U-E which is how I kept reading ‘copper-lined’ and BELLS (for a much longer time) as my last one in … and only got by googling BELLS and ‘other leg’ to find the phrase – it was a very hard cryptic definition.
Remember thoroughly enjoying this one – must have done, as I kept the print-out to remind me to comment.
Plenty of humour along the way with my favourite being a dead-heat between 6&23d.
Many thanks, Dante, and thanks to Sil for confirming the parsing. 23d caused me no problems at all, it’s a phrase I’m very familiar with.