Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of June 9, 2018
I sailed through the left half of this puzzle and then took ages to complete the right half. My clue of the week is 23ac (BIGAMIST) and I also like 22ac (GROTTO) and 19dn (BANG UP).
| Across | ||
| 1 | BUDAPEST | Capital, dude, a nuisance (8) |
| BUD (dude) + A (a) + PEST (nuisance) | ||
| 5 | SPINET | Plugging sink, secure instrument (6) |
| PIN (secure) in (plugging) SET (sink, as in what the Sun does) | ||
| 9 | REVERSAL | Several switches on back of dimmer switch (8) |
| [dimme]R + anagram (switches) of SEVERAL | ||
| 10 | GOTCHA | You’ve been caught cold in Batman’s home, for the most part (6) |
| C (cold) in GOTHA[m] (Batman’s home for the most part) | ||
| 11 | TANGIBLE | Solid piece of furniture no good, one breaking (8) |
| NG (no good) + I (one) together in (breaking) TABLE (piece of furniture) | ||
| 12 | AS IT IS | Already in transit, I sail westward (2,2,2) |
| Reverse hidden word | ||
| 14 | IMPRUDENCE | Cheek concealing Republican indiscretion (10) |
| R (republican) in IMPUDENCE (cheek) | ||
| 18 | LACERATING | Score onto delicate material for cutting (10) |
| LACE (delicate material) + RATING (score) | ||
| 22 | GROTTO | Not entirely unpleasant, old cave (6) |
| GROTT[y] (not entirely unpleasant) + O (old) | ||
| 23 | BIGAMIST | Epic film about a criminal lover (8) |
| BIG (epic) + A (a) + MIST (film) | ||
| 24 | TONGUE | Go with tune composed for organ (6) |
| Anagram (composed) of GO TUNE | ||
| 25 | GANGSTER | Hood gets adjusted before beginning of race after horse going backwards (8) |
| NAG (horse) backwards + anagram (adjusted) of GETS + R[ace] | ||
| 26 | YORKER | Delivery from royal house, Tudor or Windsor? (6) |
| YORK (royal house) + ER (Tudor or Windsor). The definition refers to yorker as a delivery in cricket when a bowled ball pitches just under or just beyond the bat. The ‘ER’ part of the wordplay refers to both Queens Elizabeth, the first of whom was a Tudor and the second a Windsor. I originally did not interpret this wordplay correctly and thank Andrew for his explanation (see comments below). | ||
| 27 | HEN PARTY | Ample bottles needed promptly, primarily for ladies’ event (3,5) |
| N[eeded] P[romptly] in (bottles) HEARTY (ample) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BERATE | Rogue shackled by queen, perhaps, scold (6) |
| RAT (rogue) in (shackled by) BEE (queen perhaps) | ||
| 2 | DIVING | Like to consume French wine for sport (6) |
| VIN (French wine) in (to consume) DIG (like) | ||
| 3 | PERMIT | Authorise what to do with straight hair for a change? (6) |
| PERM IT (what to do with straight hair for a change) | ||
| 4 | STABLEMATE | Colleague heading for breakdown in no-win situation? (10) |
| B[reakdown] in STALEMATE (no-win situation) | ||
| 6 | POOLSIDE | Pocket billiards team about to make a splash, perhaps? (8) |
| POOL (pocker billiards) + SIDE (team) | ||
| 7 | NICOTINE | Hooker I bed in baseball team? (8) |
| I (I) + COT (bed) together in (in) NINE (baseball team) | ||
| 8 | TRANSFER | After shuffling round both poles, start to really move (8) |
| NS (both pole) and R[eally] in anagram (shuffling) of AFTER | ||
| 13 | FRANGIPANE | Canine drinking last of water, one glass for cream (10) |
| [wate]R in (drinking) FANG (canine) + I (one) + PANE (glass). A frangipane is a pastry having a creamy almond-flavoured filling. I did not previously know this and knew frangipane only as a tree. | ||
| 15 | SLIGHTLY | Somewhat clever boxing match (8) |
| LIGHT (match) in (boxing) SLY (clever) | ||
| 16 | SCHOONER | Vessel holding – and in – the drink? (8) |
| Double definition | ||
| 17 | PROTRUDE | Stand out, as decay in moralist (8) |
| ROT (decay) in PRUDE (moralist) | ||
| 19 | BANG UP | Reversible dog collar put away (4,2) |
| PUG (dog) + NAB (collar) together backwards (reversible). ‘Bang up’ can, I find, mean a considerable number of things: to put away (as here), to demolish, to impregnate and, in an adjectival context, first rate. | ||
| 20 | LITTER | Refuse all babies (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 21 | STARRY | Not showing head, badger below street lit at night (6) |
| ST (street) + [h]ARRY (badget not showing head) | ||
I don’t understand Tudor or Windsor in 26Ac. It has been bothering me on and off for over a week. Obviously Tudor and Windsor are royal houses and so was York (more properly Plantaganet but Shakespeare did have Richard III refer to “these sons of York”) but how do they relate to yorker?
26A. Perhaps it is Andrew, Duke of York who is “from the House of Windsor”.
It’s YORK (royal house) + ER (Queens Elizabeth I and II, who are Tudor and Windsor respectively)
Oh, thanks Andrew, very well spotted. I’d given up on parsing the obvious solution to 17Ac in the later FT 15,886 but, inspired by your example will return to it reinvigorated!
I couldn’t complete this because for some reason I’d thought that score = ration in 18ac, so gave up on 13dn. Silly of me.
And why is pool = pocket billiards in 6dn?
Otherwise all very nice, as usual with Mudd.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
A puzzle that took longer than normal for this setter with the bottom right hand corner providing the most challenge. Finished with FRANGIPANE (a new word for me – thought that the tree was a frangipani), BIGAMIST (not sure why that was so late in) and BANG UP (another new term for me).
Thank you Andrew for the full explanation for the ‘Tudor or Windsor’ bit of YORKER – makes it a really nice clue !
Also liked GOTCHA (took too long to see the GOTHAM bit though) and GROTTO.
Will, ‘Pocket billiards’ is a US term for the table game of pool or eight ball.
Yes thanks Andrew 26A had bothered me as well and it now makes perfect sense. Not totally sure about Pete’s definition of a Yorker in cricket but I’m Scottish so what do I know.