This month’s World puzzle by Peto is available to solve online or download and print at ft.com/crossword or via the FT smartphone app.
It’s the usual preamble:
A cryptic puzzle themed on one particular place in the world. Its name should be inserted at 25 Across/21 Across. Work out the place by solving the * asterisked clues, all undefined. Their solutions have some relevance to the place, such as landmarks and language.
Apologies to anyone expecting the blog yesterday – I was in my sickbed. But better late than never. I found this a tough one, partly due to lingering effects of illness, partly due to lack of knowledge in places but there were also some fairly tricksy clue constructions. All fell into place nicely in the end though.
Thanks for the challenge, Peto!
Definitions are highlighted in bold in the clues.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | CAPE TOWN |
* French king to confess (4,4)
|
| CAPET (Hugh Capet, 10th century French king) + OWN (to confess)
Legislative capital of South Africa. |
||
| 5 | MAFADI |
* Crazy hosting footballers before international (6)
|
| MAD (crazy) “hosting” FA (footballers) + I (international)
The highest mountain in South Africa. |
||
| 9 | ERNIE ELS |
* That’s after sailors tuck into fish (5,3)
|
| IE (that is) after RN (Royal Navy = sailors) “tuck into” EELS (fish)
South African golfer. |
||
| 10 | SEKOTO |
* Love having puffs on reefer in retreat (6)
|
| O (love) + TOKES (puffs on reefer) all reversed (in retreat)
Gerard Sekoto, 1913-1993, South African artist and musician, recognised as a pioneer of urban black art and social realism. |
||
| 12 | SHAKA |
* Earliest of studies on Maori war dance (5)
|
| First letter (earliest) of Studies + HAKA (Māori war dance)
Shaka kaSenzangakhona, aka Shaka Zulu, king of the Zulu kingdom, 1816-1828. |
||
| 13 | CHAKALAKA |
* Head of archaeology looking into analysis of chalk starts to admit key assumptions (9)
|
| First letter (head) of Archaeology “looks into” an anagram (analysis) of CHALK + first letters (starts) of Admits Key Assumptions
A South African spicy vegetable relish. |
||
| 14 | KONFYT |
* Vote against combat by the sound of it (6)
|
| Sounds like CON (vote against) FIGHT (combat)
A South African fruit preserve. |
||
| 16 | RED DEER |
Common stag about to join road back across river (3,4)
|
| RE (about) + RD (road) reversed (back) surrounding (across) DEE (river) | ||
| 19 | EISBEIN |
Living for the most part on Estonia’s principal island (7)
|
| BEIN[g] (living, for the most part) on the first letter (principal) of Estonia + IS (island)
The missing asterisk made this clue much harder to solve! A dish of cured ham hock – originally German but adopted and adapted by South Africans. |
||
| 21 | AFRICA |
[See Notes] (6)
|
| 23 | NORTH WEST |
* Work out net worth hiding liabilities at the end (5,4)
|
| Anagram (work out) NET WORTH “hiding” the last letter of liabilitieS
A province of South Africa. |
||
| 25 | SOUTH |
[See Notes] (5)
|
| 26 | GALGUT |
* Girl taking boat on the way back (6)
|
| GAL (girl) + TUG (boat) reversed (on the way back)
Damon Galgut, South African novelist and playwright who won the Booker prize in 2021 for The Promise. |
||
| 27 | KALAHARI |
* Meal in New Zealand interrupted by destructive mudflow (8)
|
| KAI (Māori word for food = meal in New Zealand) “interrupted by” LAHAR (destructive mudflow)
A large desert region that is partly within South Africa. |
||
| 28 | RETIEF |
* Restriction admitted by arbiter (6)
|
| TIE (restriction) “admitted by” REF (arbiter)
An Afrikaans family name and given name as in Retief Goosen, the South African golfer. |
||
| 29 | MELKTERT |
* Right after I object the Spanish knight enters (8)
|
| RT (right) after ME (I object – ie the first person singular pronoun in its object form), which EL (the in Spanish) + KT (knight) “enters”
A South African milk tart. |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CREASE |
Stop accepting rigidity primarily as a result of folding (6)
|
| CEASE (stop) “accepting” the first letter (primarily) of Rigidity | ||
| 2 | PENTAGONS |
Write label relating to first of several rectilinear plane figures for example (9)
|
| PEN (write) + TAG (label) + ON (relating to) + first [letter] of Several | ||
| 3 | THETA |
In those days largely getting thanks by letter (5)
|
| THE[n] (in those days, largely) + TA (thanks) | ||
| 4 | WILDCAT |
* Dishevelled jazz fan (7)
|
| WILD (dishevelled) + CAT (jazz fan)
A species found across Southern Africa. |
||
| 6 | ALEXANDER |
* Article featuring skater’s jump sent up by the German (9)
|
| AN (article) containing (featuring) AXEL (skater’s jump) reversed (sent up) + DER (the in German)
Neville Alexander, 1936-2012, political activist and former revolutionary who spent ten years imprisoned on Robben Island alongside Nelson Mandela. |
||
| 7 | AGORA |
Place of assembly for American soldiers in Georgia (5)
|
| A (American) + OR (soldiers) in GA (Georgia) | ||
| 8 | IDOLATRY |
Excessive admiration for the French attempt in support of artificial language (8)
|
| LA (the in French) + TRY (attempt) “in support of” IDO (artificial language) | ||
| 11 | FAIR |
Just // fine (4)
|
| Two definitions | ||
| 15 | FREE HOUSE |
At liberty to give lodging in a kind of pub (4,5)
|
| FREE (at liberty) + HOUSE (to give lodging) | ||
| 17 | ENCOURAGE |
Incite with anger over scout stripping off (9)
|
| ENRAGE (anger) “over” [s]COU[t] (stripping off = removing first and last letters) | ||
| 18 | TEENAGER |
Art Gene produced gripping English sixth-form student for instance (8)
|
| Anagram (produced) of ART GENE “gripping” E (English) | ||
| 20 | NEED |
Born and died in want (4)
|
| NÉE (born) + D (died) | ||
| 21 | ACTUATE |
Start working with agency’s top girl protecting you in Paris (7)
|
| First letter (top) of Agency + CATE (girl) “protecting” TU (you in Paris) | ||
| 22 | THEIST |
Tense before robbery of someone believing in God (6)
|
| T (tense) + HEIST (robbery) | ||
| 24 | RELIT |
Row about including Latin ignited again (5)
|
| TIER (row) reversed (about) “including” L (Latin) | ||
| 25 | SMACK |
Hit by fishing vessel (5)
|
| Two definitions |
Thank you for the blog, and hope you recover from the lurgy soon. I was sort of offering to do this blog instead if you couldn’t.
I couldn’t parse KALAHARI – didn’t know either part, got it from being something I actually knew in South Africa within the set of things chosen by Peto. And I reckoned there was a missing asterisk from EISBEIN too, when I solved it. I found this tricky because the parsing wasn’t that easy, and if you can’t parse a word into existence and don’t know that bit of South African culture, it’s difficult to get a foothold. I got in to this by working out MAFADI then looking it up because it’s not a mountain I know.
Thank you to Widdersbel and Peto.
This was a challenge . Although I had solved most clues I was stuck on 10, 14 and 29ac. All completely unknown to me.
Thanks Peto I enjoyed the puzzle and congratulations Widdersbel for the blog. Hope you are better soon.
Worth the wait Widdersbel, as I was in need of your explanations. As ALEXANDER was my first asterisked solution (I often do the downs first), I was a little confused about the location.