Non-prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of April 23, 2022
I found a few clues here challenging, especially 17 (HEARTIES), while some others are gems, notably 14 (IBERIAN), 16 (BLUBBER) and .24 (METEOR)
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | CURATE |
Reminder to arrest cad, a parish priest (6)
|
| RAT (cad) in (to arrest) CUE (reminder) | ||
| 4 | MASSAGED |
Army over the hill pressed hard (8)
|
| MASS (army) + AGED (over the hill) | ||
| 9 | OUTLAW |
Ban Disney film classification, nothing repellent (6)
|
| WALT (Disney) + U (film classification) + O (nothing) all backwards (repellent) | ||
| 10 | BECHAMEL |
Sauce maybe chameleon eats? (8)
|
| Hidden word (eats?) | ||
| 12 | CRACKING |
Splendid decoding (8)
|
| Double definition. I have a slight concern about the second definition: one cracks a code by determining the algorithm used to encode (and thereby decode) an encryption system but one decodes an instance of encryption using that decoding method. | ||
| 13 | CO-HOST |
Price to invest I see in fellow presenter (2-4)
|
| OH (I see) in (to invest) COST (price) | ||
| 15 | OVER |
Some deliveries done (4)
|
| Double definition with the first referring to cricket | ||
| 16 | BLUBBER |
What comes from whale’s wail (7)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 20 | WESTERN |
Picture back on website after vacation (7)
|
| W[ebsit]E + STERN (back) | ||
| 21 | SARI |
Seen in tatters, a ribboned Indian garment (4)
|
| Hidden word (seen in) | ||
| 25 | NOTARY |
Form on tray for legal official (6)
|
| Anagram (form) of ON TRAY | ||
| 26 | WAVERING |
Uncertain gesture taking toll (8)
|
| WAVE (gesture) + RING (toll) | ||
| 28 | TSARINAS |
Empresses train with SAS, (8)
|
| Anagram (???) of TRAIN SAS. The hanging comma suggests that the anagram indicator got lost somehow | ||
| 29 | NETHER |
Under fourth of stones, three rocks (6)
|
| [sto]N[es] + anagram (rocks) of THREE | ||
| 30 | HANDSOME |
Lovely and generous (8)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 31 | BRIDLE |
Control panel finally grasped by wife (6)
|
| [pane]L in (grasped by) BRIDE (wife) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CHOP-CHOP |
How meat’s served at the double? (4-4)
|
| CHOP CHOP (how meat’s served) | ||
| 2 | RETRACED |
Found again, misplaced crate in crimson (8)
|
| Anagram (misplaced) of CRATE in RED (crimson) | ||
| 3 | THANKS |
Cheers, as last of Scotch fills vats (6)
|
| [scotc]H in (fills) TANKS (vats) | ||
| 5 | AMEN |
Briefly change conclusion of worshipper? (4)
|
| AMEN[d] (briefly change) | ||
| 6 | SCHOONER |
Vessel more readily passed around church (8)
|
| CH (church) in (passed around) SOONER (more readily) | ||
| 7 | GAMBOL |
Caper landing doctor in prison (6)
|
| MB (doctor) in (landing…in) GAOL (prison) | ||
| 8 | DILUTE |
Thin bonnet lifted on antipodean vehicle (6)
|
| LID (bonnet) backwards (lifted) + UTE (antipodean vehicle). “Ute” is an Australian abbreviation for a utility vehicle. | ||
| 11 | INFLATE |
Swell occupying fifth apartment? (7)
|
| IN (occupying) + FLAT E (fifth apartment?) | ||
| 14 | IBERIAN |
One man who was not the Messiah touring Spain – Portuguese, perhaps? (7)
|
| I (one) + E (Spain) in (touring) BRIAN (man who was not the Messiah). The Brian in question is, of course, the one in “Life Of …” | ||
| 17 | HEARTIES |
Sailors catch ropes (8)
|
| HEAR (catch) + TIES (ropes) | ||
| 18 | VANISHED |
Vehicle I dropped off, went (8)
|
| VAN (vehicle) + I (I) + SHED (dropped off) | ||
| 19 | LINGERIE |
Underwear to hang out on line, odd bits scrubbed (8)
|
| LINGER (to hang out) + [l]I[n]E | ||
| 22 | SNATCH |
Grab a little music (6)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 23 | ATTAIN |
Get a vessel full of tea that’s empty (6)
|
| A (a) + T[e]A in (full of) TIN (vessel) | ||
| 24 | METEOR |
Measure old plugs – one in the shower? (6)
|
| O (old) in (plugs) METER (measure) | ||
| 27 | FARM |
Holding weapon, female going over the top (4)
|
| F (female) + ARM (weapon) |
Thanks, Mudd and PM!
CRACKING: I share your concern.
Liked BLUBBER, SCHOONER and LINGERIE.
I got through this fairly efficiently, but then the wheels fell off. I spent a week staring at 20a and 17d
CRACKING I too share your concerns. I share your challenge with HEARTIES, and I actually solved WESTERN a number of times during the week, but could not convince myself WESTERN = picture. I also wonder about SNATCH meaning a little music, but am happy to give Mudd the benefit of the doubt.
Enjoyable as always – thanks Mudd. My favourites were pretty simple this week: COHOST, SARI and of course IBERIAN for its monty python reference
Thanks Pete as always and thanks again Mudd
Thanks for the blog, TSARINA was a bit of a mystery and I am sure you are right, wonder if it was corrected online ?
Chambers gives CRACK = Solve the mystery of ( a code etc ) so it is not really decode as you say.
Martyn@2 SNATCH = A fragment of song . WESTERN = Picture = Film, going to the pictures was once a common phrase for a cinema visit and every other film seemed to be a Western.
Agree with IBERIAN for the very naughty boy and METEOR for the shower.
HEARTIES for me came from Captain Pugwash.
We thought this was a CRACKING puzzle and we’re not going to split hairs over definitions.
Thanks, Mudd and Pete.
Ah, yes,, Captain Pugwash! I remember. now.
Captain Pugwash a classic of my childhood. There are numerous urban myths associated with it, none of them true.
Like Roz @4. I meant to write “TSARINAS, I share you concern”. I was actually OK with CRACKING. Sorry about that
And thanks for the Captain Pugwash reference – sorry to hear @6 that the myths are untrue
Thanks Mudd for an enjoyable crossword. I found this much more accessible than the last Mudd offering with favourites including OUTLAW, BECHAMEL, NOTARY, BRIDLE (nice to see wife as something other than the letter “w”), METEOR, and FARM. I needed outside assistance for HEARTIES. Thanks Pete for the blog.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Was one of this setter’s puzzles that I got through pretty quickly this week, hastened by using a word finder for HEARTIES as the last one in before the clock struck midnight last night.
Didn’t think hard enough about CRACKING / ‘decoding’ – just rushed over with ‘cracking the code’ being good enough at the time.
Thought that IBERIAN was the best and didn’t mind METEOR and INFLATE as well.