The monthly geographically themed crossword. Solve online or download and print from the FT website.
The standard preamble:
A cryptic puzzle themed on one particular country. The name of the country should be inserted at 16 across. Work out the name of the country by solving the * asterisked clues, all undefined – their solutions have some relevance to the country, such as its places, famous people, culture, language.
Quite a tricky one – none of the wordplay was especially troubling but with a very broad range of thematic solutions ranging from sport to art to politics to fictional characters to a couple of things that only seem to have a tenuous connection to the country in question, the lack of definitions certainly added to the difficulty.
All good fun, though. Thanks, Peto!
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | DEMOCRAT |
* Protest about strike-breaker (8)
|
| DEMO (protest) + C (about) + RAT (strike-breaker)
Supporter of one of the two main political parties in America. |
||
| 5, 25 across | DONALD TRUMP |
* Dump lard not used (6,5)
|
| Anagram (used) of DUMP LARD NOT
American businessman, former president and criminal. |
||
| 9 | CHRYSLER |
* Councillor describing her sly manoeuvring (8)
|
| CR (councillor) going around (describing) an anagram (manoeuvring) of HER SLY
American car manufacturer. |
||
| 10 | MOTOWN |
* Cut down clutching books (6)
|
| MOWN (cut down) containing (clutching) OT (Old Testament = books)
American record label. |
||
| 12 | MAINE |
* Piece of acrylic boarding belonging to me (5)
|
| A (“piece” of acrylic) inserted in (boarding) MINE (belonging to me)
America’s easternmost state and its 12th largest by land area. |
||
| 13 | TOM CRUISE |
* Book falling short on gangs I hear (3,6)
|
| TOM[e] (book, “falling short”) + CRUISE (sounds like CREWS = gangs, I hear)
American actor and pseudoreligious cultist. |
||
| 14 | HELLER |
* Fashion magazine cutting personnel department (6)
|
| ELLE (fashion magazine) inserted in (cutting) HR (personnel department)
American author Joseph Heller (1923-1999), most famous for his novel Catch-22. |
||
| 16 | AMERICA |
[See Setter Notes] (7)
|
| The place in the world that the asterisked clues relate to. | ||
| 19 | HOT DOGS |
* Fresh troubles (3,4)
|
| HOT (fresh) + DOGS (troubles)
Traditional American delicacy. |
||
| 21 | BOSTON |
* Against interrupting ship’s officer (6)
|
| TO (against) inserted in (interrupting) BOS’N (short for boatswain, a ship’s officer)
City in America, capital of the state of Massachusetts. |
||
| 23 | SPIDERMAN |
* Version of Priam’s end (9)
|
| Anagram (version) of PRIAM’S END
Web-slinging American superhero, aka Peter Parker. |
||
| 25 |
See 5
|
|
| 26 | LAWYER |
Sides separated by area near river in brief (6)
|
| L + R (left and right = sides) separated by A (area) + WYE (river) | ||
| 27 | BASEBALL |
* Singer heard at gathering for dancing (8)
|
| BASE (sounds like BASS = singer heard) + BALL (gathering for dancing)
Popular American bat-and-ball game based on the traditional English game rounders. |
||
| 28 | RUN OFF |
Scarper with hooligan reportedly maintaining denial (3,3)
|
| RUFF (sounds like ROUGH = hooligan reportedly) containing (maintaining) NO (denial) | ||
| 29 | MANATEES |
* Troublesome men at sea (8)
|
| Anagram (troublesome) of MEN AT SEA
Sea mammals mainly found in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico, off the south coast of America. |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | DECAMP |
Make off with diamonds and ceremonial staff lifted by page (6)
|
| D (diamonds) + reversal (lifted) of MACE (ceremonial staff) + P (page) | ||
| 2 | MERRIMENT |
Fun run with yours truly surrounded by mythical creatures at the start (9)
|
| R (run) + I (yours truly) surrounded by MERMEN (mythical creatures) + T (first letter of The = the start) | ||
| 3 | CASTE |
Rejected Spain’s class system (5)
|
| CAST (rejected) + E (Spain) | ||
| 4 | ABETTER |
Answer more suitable from someone assisting in crime (7)
|
| A (answer) + BETTER (more suitable) | ||
| 6 | ODOURLESS |
Unscented roses could run riot without a bit of care (9)
|
| Anagram (run riot) of ROSES COULD less the C (without “a bit of” Care) | ||
| 7 | AIOLI |
Creamy sauce with bison regularly eaten by old boxer (5)
|
| Alternate letters (regularly) of bIsOn inserted in (eaten by) ALI (old boxer) | ||
| 8 | DUNCE CAP |
* Brownish-grey headgear seen around church (5,3)
|
| DUN (brownish-grey) + CAP (headgear) containing (seen around) CE (Church [of England])
Not sure of the particular American significance of this term but it’s a cap traditionally worn by schoolchildren as a punishment for being foolish. |
||
| 11 | EMMA |
Contents of dream meaning upset for novel’s heroine (4)
|
| Hidden in (contents of) dreAM MEaning, and reversed (upset) | ||
| 15 | LOOSE-LEAF |
Relaxed page’s way of selling tea (5-4)
|
| LOOSE (relaxed) + LEAF (page) | ||
| 17 | INOCULATE |
Perform vaccinations working over in ICU recently (9)
|
| ON (working) reversed (over) and inserted in ICU + LATE (recently) | ||
| 18 | WHISTLER |
* Whizz through the air over river (8)
|
| WHISTLE (whizz through the air) + R (river)
James McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903, American-born painter. Also a town in the American state of Alabama and a mountain in the state of Washington. |
||
| 20 | SOME |
A little French river Matisse at first ignored (4)
|
| SOM[m]E (French river) less one of the Ms (Matisse “at first” ignored) | ||
| 21 | BANDANA |
Kind of neckwear for legal representative not available after prohibition (7)
|
| DA (district attorney = legal representative) + NA (not available) after BAN (prohibition) | ||
| 22 | SPILLS |
Firelighters in shed at back of stables (6)
|
| SPILL (shed) + last letter (back) of stableS | ||
| 24 | IOWAN |
* Lover of Zeus lacking enthusiasm (5)
|
| IO (lover of Zeus) + WAN (lacking enthusiasm)
Demonym for a person from the American state of Iowa. |
||
| 25 | THETA |
During arrest he talked of a letter from Greece (5)
|
| Hidden in (during) arresT HE TAlked |
Thoroughly enjoyed the puzzle. Thanks Peto!
Excellent blog as usual. Thanks Widdersbel!
In common with Widdersbel, I found this tough because America is such a huge country / topic there are so many options anything could be, especially when this was more thematic than geographic.
Thank you to Peto and Widdersbel.
I like the World puzzles, because, at least in theory, they make you focus on the word play, rather than spotting the definition and parsing afterwards. I found this one quite tricky, though. Great blog as always.
There is apparently a book entitled “The Dunce Cap; why America deserves the stool in the corner.”
Chambers shows dunce’s cap, not dunce-cap. It’s dunce’s cap in UK and duncce-cap in US.
Fun puzzle. Ta to both.