Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 26, 2019
Another beauty from Rosa. My clue of the week is a fine double definition, 31ac (PEELER). Other favourites are 16ac (REALIST), 21ac (VENOSE), 24ac (AMERICANOS), 5dn (LADDERED) and 25dn (ELVIS).
| Across | ||
| 1 | SMALLS | Finally finds places to buy underwear (6) |
| [find]S + MALLS (places to buy) | ||
| 4 | BLACK SEA | Georgia’s neighbour is lazy worker, according to Spooner (5,3) |
| Spoonerization of SLACK (lazy) + BEE (worker) | ||
| 10 | MARSALA | Wine stains start to annoy the French (7) |
| MARS (stains) + A[nnoy] + LA (the French) | ||
| 11 | DENTINE | Antecedent in Essex possesses most of teeth (7) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 12 | TONK | Hit reef perhaps, travelling westward (4) |
| KNOT (reef perhaps) backwards (travelling westward). ‘Tonk’ is a colloquial term meaning to hit hard. I guessed the answer then had to look it up. | ||
| 13 | MORE OR LESS | Roughly chop some sorrel (4,2,4) |
| Anagram (chop) of SOME SORREL | ||
| 15 | MEADOW | Old wife on booze in field (6) |
| MEAD (booze) + O (old) + W (wife). There is a meadery in the little town where I live and I like its products! | ||
| 16 | REALIST | One with no illusions about top celebrities (7) |
| RE (about) + A-LIST (top celebrities) | ||
| 20 | BENTHAM | Philosopher twisted back of thigh (7) |
| BENT (twisted) + HAM (back of thigh). Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was an English philosopher, jurist and social reformer regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism. | ||
| 21 | VENOSE | Extremely virile conk with prominent blood vessels (6) |
| V[iril]E + NOSE (conk). A tribute to Leo McKern perhaps? | ||
| 24 | AMERICANOS | Coffees spreading nice aromas (10) |
| Anagram (spreading) of NICE AROMAS | ||
| 26 | MEWS | On the radio, inspirational female sounds catty (4) |
| Homophone (on the radio) of MUSE (inspirational female) | ||
| 28 | LEVYING | The imposition of taxes ultimately will cause strife (7) |
| [wil]L [caus]E + VYING (strife) | ||
| 29 | BONDAGE | Spy regularly argued for restraint (7) |
| BOND (spy) + A[r]G[u]E[d] | ||
| 30 | DISINTER | Dig up endless dirt about evil leaders of the Earth (8) |
| SIN (evil) + T[he] E[arth] togther in DIR[t] | ||
| 31 | PEELER | Old copper kitchen utensil (6) |
| Double definition. In the early days, policemen were often known as Peelers after Sir Robert Peel the statesman and prime minister who is regarded as the father of modern policing in Britain. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SOMETIME | Former Tommies bursting with energy (8) |
| Anagram (bursting) of TOMMIES + E (energy) | ||
| 2 | AIR-INTAKE | Briefly showing clutch and part of carburettor (3-6) |
| AIRIN[g] (briefly showing) + TAKE (clutch) | ||
| 3 | LOAN | Dictator’s solitary sub (4) |
| Homophone (dictator’s) of LONE (solitary). I do not recall seeing “dictator’s” as a homophone indicator before. | ||
| 5 | LADDERED | Afflicted by the runs? (8) |
| Cryptic definition. That’s laddered as in stockings. | ||
| 6 | CONTROLLED | Restrained Tory was abusive on line (10) |
| CON (Tory) + TROLLED (was abusive online) | ||
| 7 | SHIRE | Berks perhaps feeding heroin to father (5) |
| H (heroin) in (feeding) SIRE (father) | ||
| 8 | AVERSE | Hostile to state, subversive’s content to drop out (6) |
| AVER (to state) + S[ubversiv]E | ||
| 9 | BATON | It’s passed on from bachelor to knight (5) |
| BA (bachelor) + TO (to) + N (knight) | ||
| 14 | CONTRITION | Remorse of notary oddly accepted by Congress (10) |
| N[o]T[a]R[y] in (accepted by) COITION (congress) | ||
| 17 | STONEWALL | Responds to new allegations about delay in parliament (9) |
| Hidden word. So “about” can be an anagram indicator, an insertion indicator, a reversal indicator and now, here a hidden-word indicator. About as versatile as you can get! | ||
| 18 | HARANGUE | Dash across part of Scotland, missing last lecture (8) |
| ANGU[s] (part of Scotland, missing last) in HARE (dash) | ||
| 19 | MENSWEAR | Boxers, for example, answer me roughly (8) |
| Anagram (roughly) of ANSWER ME | ||
| 22 | PALLID | Forked out over £50 for pasty! (6) |
| LL (£50) in PAID (forked out) | ||
| 23 | LOBBY | Attempt to influence shy, loveless lad (5) |
| LOB (shy) + B[o]Y (loveless lad) | ||
| 25 | ELVIS | The King of the Fairies with onset of idea for drug (5) |
| ELVES (the fairies) with the ‘E’ (drug) replaced with an ‘I’ (onset of idea) | ||
| 27 | ANTE | Money for poker upset smoker (4) |
| ETNA (smoker) backwards (upset) | ||
All very fine again (but on the easier side of our lady’s spectrum).
Perhaps except for the very last clue (27d) which could have given ETNA, couldn’t it?
Personally I would try to avoid this kind of clue (with the indicator in the middle).
As to ‘about’ in 17d, I am not a big fan of it as a hidden indicator but the spider woman used it several times before. And so I was on the alert.
Many thanks Pete (for the blog) & Rosa K (who seems to be more prolific in the FT than where most solvers like to see her (in The Guardian)).
Another masterclass in setting.
Thanks Rosa Klebb and Pete
Nice puzzle that took a number of sittings to complete last Monday. She has a knack of interlacing a number of clues that really excel with her well-crafted, smoothly surfaced stock standard ones. Today it was the cleverly hidden STONEWALL, the humorous and cleverly misdirected LADDERED, the ‘Agggh, she got me again’ with the ‘king’=ELVIS, the neat Spoonerism with BLACK SEA and the exquisite PEELER.
Had to look up the philosopher after building him from the word play as my second last one in. LOAN (and it’s new to me definition of ‘sub’) was last.
Thanks to Pete Maclean and Rosa Klebb
I always enjoy Rosa’s puzzles, partly because she makes the effort to avoid nonsense surfaces, so I’ll have to disagree with you on 21a. If there is such a thing as a VIRILE CONK, I hope I never see it.
@25d i’m a little uneasy about OF THE, but otherwise – great stuff
I did this today having peeped at your preamble Pete – and what a treat it was. The surfaces (even with odd quibble) are superb and beautifully succinct. The clues already mentioned are stand outs for me as well, along with the three 4 letter ones that were my lois – LOAN MEWS and ANTE. LOAN took MrsW to point out that dictator’s was the homophone indicator – brilliant misdirection as I was only seeing it as an autocrat not someone who dictates. As Sil says we’d like to see more of her in her Guardian guise.
Thanks to both setter and blogger.
Sil, That’s a good point about 27dn (ETNA/ANTE). Thanks.
Dansar, My first thought about 25dn was that “of the fairies” clued ELVISH which then somehow had its ‘H’ removed. I actually needed a hint from someone else to set me straight.
Pete @7
I thought ELVISH too but the second half of the clue immediately ruled that out. I just thought it was a shame because the H might have been disposed of in any number of ways – loses his horse, lacks the heart, goes into rehab (a bit of a stretch) etc.
Thanks Rosa & Pete.
Dansar @4 & 7 and Pete @6
It may perhaps be a subtractive clue to be read as ELVISH (of the fairies) is ELVIS (the king) with Heroin (onset of idea for drug).
Well, that is exactly how I originally wanted to interpret it and I am gratified if you saw it like that too. But now, given the alternative, it is hard for me to see how this can be justified.