Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 11, 2020
This seems a tad lacklustre after Mudd’s previous gem but it is a very typical Mudd with, for example, lots of double definitions. My favourite clues are 16 (GRUBBY), 17 (BOUNDLESS), 18 (BETRAYAL) and 26 (ONCE).
| Across | ||
| 1 | BEFALL | Happen to see, finally, female during social event (6) |
| [se]E + F (female) together in (during) BALL (social event) | ||
| 4 | STEP ON IT | Hurry to convert set point (4,2,2) |
| Anagram (to convert) of SET POINT | ||
| 10 | CARD SHARP | Character, 13 across cheat (4,5) |
| CARD (character) + SHARP (13 across, i.e. accidental) | ||
| 11 | ORGAN | Newspaper that may be vital (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 12 | MOPE | Drop head in second exercise (4) |
| MO (second) + PE (exercise) | ||
| 13 | ACCIDENTAL | Unintended mark added to note (10) |
| Double definition | ||
| 15 | NEWPORT | Further left, somewhere in Wales (7) |
| NEW (further) + PORT (left) | ||
| 16 | GRUBBY | Dirty, like food perhaps? (6) |
| Double definition with the second worthy of the Uxbridge English Dictionary | ||
| 19 | ORCHID | Plant buried by huge mammal (6) |
| ORC (huge mammal) + HID (buried). It was a surprise to me but I found ‘orc’, in addition to ‘orca’, meaning killer whale in two dictionaries. | ||
| 21 | PROFUSE | Generous teacher taking employment (7) |
| PROF (teacher) + USE (employment) | ||
| 23 | INTERESTED | Curious trend, see it developing (10) |
| Anagram (developing) of TREND SEE IT | ||
| 25 | ODER | European river, stretch of Loire doubling back (4) |
| Reverse (back) hidden (stretch of) word | ||
| 27 | DUMBO | Nothing follows silent film (5) |
| DUMB (silent) + O (nothing) | ||
| 28 | INTENSELY | Popular figures see very much (9) |
| IN (popular) + TENS (figures) + ELY (see) | ||
| 29 | MISHEARD | Wrongly understood, his dream distorted (8) |
| Anagram (distorted) of HIS DREAM | ||
| 30 | VESSEL | Container ship (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BECOMING | Getting appropriate (8) |
| Double definition | ||
| 2 | FIREPOWER | Military might prefer, I suspect, to suppress cry of anguish (9) |
| OW (cry of anguish) in (to suppress) anagram (suspect) of PREFER I | ||
| 3 | LIST | Lean menu (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 5 | TOPPING | Wonderful garnish (7) |
| Double definition | ||
| 6 | PROSECUTOR | Court poser, fancy legal official (10) |
| Anagram (fancy) of COURT POSER | ||
| 7 | NIGHT | Listen to man when most are asleep (5) |
| Homophone (listen to) of “knight” (man) | ||
| 8 | TINGLE | Sense of excitement putting last of report on fire (6) |
| [repor]T + INGLE (fire) | ||
| 9 | MASCOT | Initially missile on course – is that lucky? (6) |
| M[issile] + ASCOT (course) | ||
| 14 | BOTHERSOME | Vexatious British, people elsewhere love me (10) |
| B (British) + OTHERS (people elsewhere) + O (love) + ME (me) | ||
| 17 | BOUNDLESS | Inexhaustible, like a lame kangaroo? (9) |
| BOUND-LESS (like a lame kangaroo?) | ||
| 18 | BETRAYAL | Barely treasonous at first, a criminal act that’s treasonous! (8) |
| Anagram (criminal) of BARELY T[reasonous] A | ||
| 20 | DOSSIER | Achiever filing two strong leaders and one report (7) |
| S[trong] S[trong] + I (one) together in (filing) DOER (achiever) | ||
| 21 | PRETTY | Relatively appealing (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 22 | DIADEM | Crown in sea, charity dredged up (6) |
| MED (sea) + AID (charity) all backwards (dredged up) | ||
| 24 | TOMES | Thousand in probably ten large books (5) |
| M (thousand) in (in) TOES (probably ten) | ||
| 26 | ONCE | 1/100 in days gone by (4) |
| ONE (1) in (/, i.e. divided by) C (100) | ||
This was at the easy end of his scale whereas the Paul Prize, on the same day was pretty much at the other.
Quite a contrast.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Was a little more mundane than the usual fare by JH with those higher number than usual double definition clues. Quickly wrote in PACKET for the first one of those at 30a and had to revisit it later on during the solve to get it right. Did like the play between 10a and 13a.
Finished in the bottom half with ORCHID, PROFUSE and PRETTY the last few in.
Many thanks to both. I found this relatively straightforward although not easy. While it is likely Mudd was referring to the Orca in 19a, the mythological monsters known as Orcs are usually portrayed as vaguely mammalian. I think we have run into the marine Orc in other crosswords too.
Thanks Mudd & Pete.
Even I found this weekend puzzle easy!
In 26 down the mathematics is ONE divided by C, not the opposite as the blog says.
D’oh! How did I manage to get that backwards? Now fixed. Thanks, psmith.