Non-prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 26, 2020
I found this easier than the last Mudd but still tricky in parts. My favourites are 20ac (FORCEPS) and 6dn (WINDOW SEAT)
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | RELICT | Survivor fired up again about beginning of challenge (6) |
| C[hallenge] in (about) RELIT (fired up again) | ||
| 4 | CHOW CHOW | Dog eats and eats (4,4) |
| CHOW (eats) CHOW (eats) | ||
| 10 | CLOBBER | Club kit (7) |
| Double definition | ||
| 11 | RENEWAL | Awakening outlaw energised, somewhat knocked about (7) |
| Reverse (knocked about) hidden word (somewhat) | ||
| 12 | NOTE | So, for example, one’s written (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 13 | BLUEBOTTLE | Fly down onto vessel (10) |
| BLUE (down) + BOTTLE (vessel) | ||
| 16 | SEETHE | Notice the foam at the mouth (6) |
| SEE (notice) + THE (the) | ||
| 17 | BATSMAN | Shilling pocketed by superhero, might one be on strike? (7) |
| S (shilling) in (pocketed by) BATMAN (superhero) | ||
| 20 | FORCEPS | Gripping tool designed to pick mushrooms, quite possibly? (7) |
| FOR CEPS (designed to pick mushrooms, quite possibly) | ||
| 21 | CANCAN | Tintin’s kicking performance (6) |
| CAN (tin) + CAN (tin) | ||
| 24 | IMPREGNATE | Knock up designer range: time to impress Penny (10) |
| P (penny) in (to impress) anagram (designer) of RANGE TIME. ‘Knock up’ means to impregnate in American informal usage. | ||
| 25 | MEME | Idea spread by twin setters (4) |
| ME (setter) + ME (twin setter) | ||
| 27 | SIGNORI | Milanese men, say, of dubious origins (7) |
| Anagram (dubious) of ORIGINS | ||
| 29 | CARDIES | More than one top vehicle fails (7) |
| CAR (vehicle) + DIES (fails) | ||
| 30 | SABOTAGE | Damage sea boat struggling to keep going, initially (8) |
| G[oing] in (to keep) anagram (struggling) of SEA BOAT | ||
| 31 | KOREAN | Sacred book about European, Asian (6) |
| E (European) in (about) KORAN (sacred book) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | RACINESS | Saucy nature in caress after a massage (8) |
| Anagram (after a massage) of IN CARESS | ||
| 2 | LOOP THE LOOP | Fly round pothole, with Polo juddering (4,3,4) |
| Anagram (juddering) of POTHOLE POLO | ||
| 3 | CUBA | Baby on a large island (4) |
| CUB (baby) + A (a) | ||
| 5 | HORSEMAN | Famine, say, harms one that’s broke (8) |
| Anagram (that’s broke) of HARMS ONE
Famine is one of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Christian faith. |
||
| 6 | WINDOW SEAT | Air passenger’s request to relocate wino (wasted) (6,4) |
| Anagram (to relocate) of WINO WASTED | ||
| 7 | HAW | May has appalling weather, first of all (3) |
| H[as] A[ppalling] W[eather] | ||
| 8 | WOLVES | Eleven in pack? (6) |
| Double definition with the first referring to Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. | ||
| 9 | DRILL | Monkey training (5) |
| Double definition. There is a species of monkey called a Drill found mostly in Nigeria. They are closely related to the better known Mandrills. In spite of having spent time in Nigeria, I was unaware of them. | ||
| 14 | THATCHERITE | Mother hen in bird, tail of azure blue (11) |
| HATCHER (mother hen) in (in) TIT (bird) + [azur]E | ||
| 15 | CHICKEN OUT | Meat off? Say no! (7,3) |
| CHICKEN (meat) + OUT (off) | ||
| 18 | SPANKING | Fresh punishment (8) |
| Double definition. According to my Chambers, ‘spanking’ means fresh when applied to something like a wind. | ||
| 19 | ANDERSON | Shelter man and boy punched by queen (8) |
| AND (and) + ER (queen) in (punched by) SON (boy)
The bomb shelters that Brits built in their gardens during WWII were sometimes called Anderson Shelters after Sir John Anderson who came up with the basic design. He was lord privy seal in charge of air-raid precautions in 1938. |
||
| 22 | MISSUS | Wife, loveliest woman in the States? (6) |
| MISS US (loveliest woman in the States?) | ||
| 23 | STOCK | Ordinary part of a rifle (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 26 | TRIO | Group of patriots (4) |
| Hidden word | ||
| 28 | GIB | Lifting bumper, type of fastener (3) |
| BIG (bumper) backwards (lifting). The ‘gib’ in question is a wedge-shaped piece of metal that keeps another in place. | ||
Tackled this with the help of ‘im indoors to finally reach the finish line.
Like Pete, I enjoyed FORCEPS along with THATCHERITE and, my favourite of this week’s double definitions, WOLVES.
I also didn’t know DRILL or the ‘four horsemen’ but ‘broken’ suggested horse-training and then I spotted the anagram.
BLUEBOTTLE was the FOI (my Dad had a vessel called this) and CARDIES my last after much pencil-chewing.
A very interesting blog, Pete, as ever. I thought the ‘fresh’ part of 18d meant ‘new’ (brand spanking new) so is it a triple def? Meanwhile, isn’t 3d ‘A + CUB’?
Thanks to Mudd and Pete both.
Diane, You ask a good question about 18d. My first thought about 18d was that ‘fresh’ clued SPANKING in the sense of “brand spanking new” and I guess we cannot be sure that Mudd did not mean it like this. However I was uncomfortable enough with that to look up ‘spanking’ in my Chambers and that suggested what I take to be a better interpretation where ‘spanking’ means new all by itself.
Yes, Pete, I go along with that. Thanks.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Maybe not as hard as his previous puzzle, but there was certainly a lot going on in it – with a couple of general knowledge requirements in Sir John ANDERSON, the DRILL monkey and the HORSEMAN representing famine. The latter one that I failed to see until coming here.
Didn’t know of the ‘fresh wind’ context of SPANKING and had thought more of the new (hence fresh) approach, but now agree that the former is better.
Think that I liked the WOLVES clue the best, when it finally dawned. Finished in the SW corner with THATCHERITE, that CARDIES and ANDERSON the last few in.
Many thanks to Mudd and Pete as always.
My eChambers gives SPANKING as “(of a wind) fresh and brisk”. It was a usage I did not know either and I used the brand spanking new route as well.
I also looked sideways at the “knock up” clue, then remembered who Mudd is and that explained it nicely
I smiled a lot at THATCHERITE and CARDIES, but ANDERSON was the one I did not know at all.
I agree with Diane. 3d should be CUB + A, not CUB + L.
Thanks to MUDD and Pete.
I cannot imagine how I managed to get the explanation of CUBA as I did. Anyway, it is now corrected. Thank you.
Pete, seeing as you’re here (almost) is it just me or have we not seen a Rosa Klebb in the FT for much longer than any of us would want? Was it something she said?…
Kev, We have not had a Rosa Klebb in the Weekend FT for a year now. And, yes, that is way longer than any of us would want. I am told that Rosa is dealing with a family issue and I trust that she will be back at some point.