Non-prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 16, 2021
My first-in was 2 but that stood alone for a time as I went on to complete the top-right quadrant then the bottom-right, leaving the bottom-left for the end with 17 my last-in. My favourites are 9 (GLASSY), 25 (WEEVIL) and 19 (HOGMANAY). I am not clear on the parsing of 30.
ACROSS
1 Sounding like seafood, beef! (6)
MUSCLE – homophone (sounding like) of “mussel” (seafood)
4 Dark fuel: oxygen in cleaner state (8)
CHARCOAL – O (oxygen) in (in) CHAR (cleaner) + CAL (state)
9 Fifty bubbly bottles — how might one describe them? (6)
GLASSY – L (fifty) in (bottles) GASSY (bubbly)
10 One bitten by dog, lean fighter (8)
PUGILIST – I (one) in (bitten by) PUG (dog) + LIST (lean)
12 Total wrong, just (8)
OUTRIGHT – OUT (wrong) + RIGHT (just)
13 Swimmer put on the radio? (6)
PLAICE – homophone (on the radio) of “place” (put)
15 Couple bumped into individual going the other way (4)
ITEM – MET (bumped into) + I (individual) all backwards (going the other way)
16 Trader who arranges first half of load badly (7)
FLORIST – anagram (badly) of FIRST + LO[ad]
20 Heir so excited with first of medals for valour (7)
HEROISM – anagram (excited) of HEIR SO + M[edals]
21 Shocker catching zip at first —idiot (4)
BOZO – Z[ip] in (catching) BOO (shocker)
25 All its legs left on little insect (6)
WEEVIL – WEE (little) + VI (all its legs) + L (left)
26 Documented perfectly, awfully brave little boy? (8)
VERBATIM – anagram (awfully) of BRAVE + TIM (little boy)
28 Caribbean island group welcoming big noise back (8)
TRINIDAD – DIN (big noise) backwards (back) in (welcoming) TRIAD (group)
29 Bird‘s egg sheep knocked over (6)
MARTIN – NIT (egg) + RAM (sheep) all backwards (knocked over)
30 Get present then? Yes! (4,4)
HEAR HEAR – ???. I am unsure about this one. It could be a homophone (get) of “here” (present) but that would leave ‘then’ to clue the second HEAR. Or ‘get’ could clue the first HEAR but I do not see how ‘present then’ would clue the second.
31 Smart, fuzzy covering in mole (6)
SNAPPY – NAP (fuzzy covering) in (in) SPY (mole)
DOWN
1 Road stretching for miles, a motorway going uphill, blooming thing! (8)
MAGNOLIA – AI (road, i.e. the A1) + LONG (stretching for miles) + A (a) + M (motorway)
2 Shocked to find pie in slipper! (8)
STARTLED – TART (pie) in SLED (slipper!)
3 Female clown in story (6)
LASSIE – ASS (clown) in (in) LIE (story)
5 Head off up road initially for some time (4)
HOUR – H[ead] O[ff] U[p] R[oad]
6 Sunny perhaps? Silly doffing cap (8)
RAINLESS – [b]RAINLESS (silly doffing cap)
7 Old doctor overseeing home birth (6)
ORIGIN – O (old) + RIG (doctor) + IN (in)
8 Offspring produced rubbish (6)
LITTER – double definition
11 Superficial broadcast about chamber (7)
SHALLOW – HALL (chamber) in (about) SOW (broadcast)
14 Chest in danger, stake having caught it (7)
BRISKET – RISK (danger) in (having caught it) BET (stake)
17 Abominable crime fox has admitted (8)
DEVILISH – EVIL (crime) in (has admitted) DISH (fox)
18 Soft-top (convertible) stuffed with last bit of luggage, boot going down? (8)
FOOTSTEP – [luggag]E in (stuffed with) anagram (convertible) of SOFT TOP
19 Give few things away then about a Scottish celebration (8)
HOGMANAY – A (a) in (about) HOG MANY (give few things away then)
22 A yearning for Cornwall? Move! (6)
SWITCH – SW (Cornwall) + ITCH (a yearning)
23 Sovereign a country tossed up (6)
REGINA – A (a) + NIGER (country) backwards (tossed up)
24 Get to move on a bit (6)
OBTAIN – anagram (to move) of ON A BIT
27 Epic military commanders on the rise (4)
SAGA – AGAS (military commanders) backwards (on the rise)
A particularly witty grid from Mudd this weekend, though one which required some rolling up of the sleeves to finish.
Though some answers like MUSCLE and HOGMANAY were write-ins, I found others very elusive, finishing in the SW corner with SWITCH.
I’m embarrassed at how long it took me to grasp REGINA – it was hardly the best camouflage I’ve seen! Think I was too caught up in the ‘country’ aspect of this clue.
VERBATIM, RAINLESS and BOZO were favourites, with ticks also for MUSCLE, LITTER and GLASSY.
As for 30a, I’m afraid I only arrived at that answer from the enumeration, crossers and definition.
Anyway, thanks to Mudd for his reliably entertaining style and to Pete as ever.
This was quite a struggle and I stared at several clues for long periods over a couple of days.
In 25 across, I managed to get WEE and L quite easily but it was only on the third day that I realised what VI means. Who knew all insects have six legs? I was quite embarrassed at how long it took me to get MARTIN – at least I learned that NITs are eggs. Even 1 ac was a challenge – it took some time to see past the fact that not all beef is MUSCLE.
I, too, like BOZO and WEEVIL, while PUGILIST was another favourite. I join Pete and Diane in having a big question mark next to 30 a. I thought “get” represents the first HEAR, but can offer nothing beyond that.
Thanks to Pete for the blog and thanks to Mudd for the enjoyable puzzle – a difficult, but satisfying challenge.
Thanks Mudd, entertaining as usual. Liked PUGILIST, LITTER (great surface), and MARTIN. Thanks Pete for the blog, I don’t get HEAR, HEAR either.
Pete, Martin, and Tony re 30a HEAR HEAR, how about this: ‘Get’=hear (as you say). Then ‘present’=here. ‘Then’ the whole clue is ‘hear’ (homophone indicator) ‘here’, all = HEAR HEAR. A very clever construction for a clue that yields the answer easily, but not the parsing.
A very nice crossword, Mudd, for which much thanks, and thanks Pete for the blog. My favourite was the non-Pauline 25a WEEVIL.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Did find this a bit tougher than the last couple of puzzles by JH. Agree with cellomaniac@4, where ‘get present’ gives HEAR HERE with the ‘then’ instructing to generate the HEAR HEAR solution – quite an innovative device.
Martyn@2, I think that ‘beef’ in this case is the slang term for MUSCLE, as in a bodybuilder’s physique.
I also finished in the SW corner with WEEVIL (another clever word play), DEVILISH and TRINIDAD (which took longer than it should have to work out).
Thanks for the explanations Pete.
I had 30a as a homophone where the answer describes the clue. You hear “here” for present now. That gives the HEAR HEAR answer.
The rest was the usual enjoyable exercise. Thanks for that Mudd
We crossed Brucew.
Thank you for all the comments and especially the various takes on the HEAR HEAR clue. I remain unconvinced.