It’s been a while since we had an FT Monday crossword. The last one, before Christmas, marked a farewell to Dante. This one, the first in 2018, seems to mark a farewell to Monday Prize puzzles.
Many will welcome Armonie on a Monday, including me. That said, I found this offering somewhat harder than the usual output of this setter.
| Across | ||
| 1 | EVEN SO | Oscar quits first, nevertheless (4,2) |
| O (Oscar) preceded by EVENS (quits) | ||
| 4 | MALINGER | Swing the lead making parent hang around (8) |
| MA (parent) + LINGER (hang around) | ||
| 10 | UNIT TRUST | Investment requires detachment and faith (4,5) |
| UNIT (detachment) + TRUST (faith) | ||
| 11 | PUT UP | Build in either direction (3,2) |
| A palindrome [in either direction] | ||
| 12 | PROW | Quietly paddle in front of boat (4) |
| P (quietly) + ROW (paddle) | ||
| 13 | SOMNOLENCE | Drowsiness comes on Len unexpectedly (10) |
| (COMES ON LEN)* [* = unexpectedly] | ||
| 15 | EPITHET | Descriptive term for him hit Pete badly (7) |
| (HIT PETE)* [* = badly] | ||
| 16 | DEMISE | Failure of half the Home Counties (6) |
| DEMI (half) + SE (the Home Counties) | ||
| 19 | PLACID | Charlie wears Scottish cloth still (6) |
| PLAID (Scottish cloth) around C (Charlie) | ||
| 21 | PANACHE | Criticise a guerrilla for dashing style (7) |
| PAN (criticise) + A + CHE (guerrilla) | ||
| 23 | TIDDLYWINK | Counter drunken amorous gesture (10) |
| TIDDLY (drunken) + WINK (amorous gesture) | ||
| 25 | FAIR | Just fine (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 27 | RIGHT | Just falsify height (5) |
| RIG (falsify) + HT (height) | ||
| 28 | GRAPESEED | Pip is longing to capture primates (9) |
| GREDD (longing) around APES (primates) | ||
| 29 | ELSINORE | Shakespearean setting relies on production (8) |
| (RELIES ON)* [* = production] | ||
| 30 | AUNTIE | A loose family member (6) |
| A + UNTIE (loose) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | EQUIPPED | Employers’ leader cracked, having been fitted up (8) |
| E[mployers] + QUIPPED( cracked) | ||
| 2 | EDITORIAL | “I led a riot” – revolutionary leader (9) |
| (I LED A RIOT)* [* = revolutionary] | ||
| 3 | SATE | Old Bob had a meal in gorge (4) |
| S (old bob, shilling) + + ATE (had a meal) | ||
| 5 | ATTUNED | Accustomed to being wrongly taunted (7) |
| (TAUNTED)* [* = wrongly] | ||
| 6 | IMPALEMENT | One trapped in device for capital punishment (10) |
| A (one) inside IMPLEMENT (device) | ||
| 7 | GET ON | Hit it off board (3,2) |
| Double definition | ||
| 8 | RAPIER | Artist gets support from weapon (6) |
| RA (artist) + PIER (support) | ||
| 9 | PUT OUT | Anger extinguished (3,3) |
| Double definition | ||
| 14 | SHACKLETON | Explorer has crude shelter to give away (10) |
| SHACK (crude shelter) + LET ON (give away) Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922 [the year my dad was born]), Antarctic explorer. |
||
| 17 | SACRAMENT | Driven to protect a crowd in ceremony (9) |
| SENT (driven) around {A + CRAM (crowd)} | ||
| 18 | BEGRUDGE | Resent, for example, redhead wearing shift (8) |
| EG (for example) +R[ed] (redhead!), together inside BUDGE (shift) | ||
| 20 | DOWAGER | Manage venture for widow (7) |
| DO (manage) + WAGER (venture) | ||
| 21 | PINDAR | Mean to entertain Indian poet (6) |
| PAR (mean) around IND (Indian) A Greek lyric poet (c 518-438 BC), apparently famous for his odes. At school I was taught classics – never heard of this poet, though. |
||
| 22 | STARVE | Look round very fast (6) |
| STARE (look) around V (very) | ||
| 24 | DEGAS | Painter departed and wise man turned up (5) |
| D (departed) + reversal [turned up] of SAGE (wise man) | ||
| 26 | BEAU | Lover said to be a violin player (4) |
| Homophone [said] of BOW (a violin player – well, sort of) Brian @5 is surely right when he says that the homophone fodder is ‘to be a violin player’. I should have seen that (but I didn’t). |
||
*anagram
I found this a mixture of the R&W and the ‘have to think a bit’ – I hadn’t noticed it wasn’t a prize until Sil pointed that out
My particular favourite in this one was the ‘drunken amorous gesture’
Thanks to both setter and blogger
I used to complete them with ease:
The Monday FT was a breeze.
It seems the demise
Of that simple prize
Requires a bit more expertise.
Nick
Thanks Armonie & Sil.
Not every clue was harder than usual. Armonie had TIDDLYWINK in the prize crossword four weeks ago.
Gosh, you’re right, psmith.
With exactly the same clue. And I blogged it, and I didn’t even remember ….. So, Armonie is also a setter who at times repeats himself.
I’m thinking that the homophone fodder in 26d is “to be a violin player” rather than simply “a violin player” — that is, to “bow” (verb) rather than a “bow” (noun, sort of).
Thanks Armonie and Sil
Enjoyable puzzle from Armonie. The thing that I most admire with him is his ability to neatly put together the less common meaning of words into a charade, with all of the associated misdirection, that gives the answer.
Was a good accompaniment to lunch on Monday. Finished with the clever BEAU and SHACKLETON (which strangely didn’t come until I had all of the crossing letters).
Never heard of gredd meaning longing! Thanks Armonie and Sil
Dictionaries concur, so that’s agreed!