For some reason unbeknown to me, Uncle Yap hasn’t posted his scheduled blog so here is an analysis of the clues. No commentary from me because I cannot remember back to the beginning of last week.
Across
9 TEAR APART TEAR (rent) A PART (character)
10 FLUSH F (fine) LUSH (heavy drinker)
11 MONEYED MON[day] (half a day) EYED (with viewers)
12 EGO TRIP hidden in ‘languagE GOT RIPer’
13 SIN SI[g]N (notice abandoning good)
14 IMPEDIMENTA IMPEDIMENT (obstruction) A[merican]
17 POSIT I (one) in POST (mail)
18 ANN A N (new) N (name)
19 DOUGH dd with ‘need’ a homophone of ‘knead’
21 DEAD RINGERS DEAD (late) ER (sign of hesitation) in RINGS (calls)
23 PUT PU[n]T (bet with no name)
25 SAMURAI [p]UR[e] in *(MASAI)
27 SCOURGE S[how] COUR[a]GE (bravery dropping a)
28 ANDES hidden in ‘libyAN DESert’
29 FORECOURT FORE (warning) COURT (tribunal)
Down
1 STUMPS dd
2 EARNINGS [y]EARNINGS (executing wishes)
3 BABY-SITTER AB (rating {sailor}) in BY (times {multiplication}) SITTER (model)
4 PAID I (one) in PAD (flat)
5 ATTENDANCE AT TEN (after nine) DANCE (ball)
6 AFRO *(FOR A)
7 FUN RUN FUN[d] (most of finance) RUN (manage)
8 WHIPLASH WHIP LASH (couple of cats)
15 PLAINTIFFS (FIT IF PLANS)
16 MIDAS TOUCH cd
17 PEDESTAL *(SET) in PEDAL (cycle)
20 UPPERCUT UPPER (speed {drug}) CUT (reduced)
22 ARMADA ARM (supply weapons) A DA (an American lawyer)
24 TWENTY T (time) WENT (passed) [centur]Y
26 RUSH dd
27 SIRE SIR (teacher) E (key)
Hi Gaufrid – thanks for the blog. I know how difficult it is to cast your mind back a week or more, with so many puzzles in between, particularly if you don’t know you’re going to have to blog.
To expand just a little: as far as I remember, I thought this was a bit of a mixed bag and, as is often the way, a rather easier prize puzzle than those in the Guardian or Indy.
Thanks for 20dn: I knew UPPERCUT must be right, because it’s a blow and it fitted but, although I’ve learned quite a lot about drugs from crosswords, I didn’t know that meaning of UPPER [and it still didn’t occur to me to look it up in Chambers, where – I see now – it lurks, quite cannily hidden, as ‘a drug producing a stimulant or euphoric effect’!
I quite liked the surfaces of 10, 19 and 28 ac and 6, 15 and 24 dn.
I thought perhaps ‘cycle’ in 17dn should indicate a reversal rather than an anagram but perhaps that’s being too picky.
9 and 29ac and 8dn were very obvious charades [for a prize puzzle].
The really weak clue, for me, was IMPEDIMENTA, the [Latin] plural of IMPEDIMENT[um] – thing[s] which impede[s] progress – a brave attempt at a surface but not at all cryptic, I’m afraid.
Thanks, Gaufrid, for stepping in.
Maybe Uncle Yap was confused by the fact that it was Orense who set the crossword instead of our regulars Dante and Crux.
To be honest, I had to adjust myself too – being so familiar with the aforementioned setters’ styles. So, it took a while to get into it.
I think it was a crossword like many other FT’s.
Well-constructed, entertaining but not very special [if that’s what we want].
For the n-th time we had ‘punt’=’bet’, which I think should be banned for the next three years.
I do not completely agree with Eileen on 14ac, although I see what she means.
IMPEDIMENTA is a word in its own right meaning “military baggage”.
[although the origin of it surely must be related to its inconvenience]
That said, I am completely wíth Eileen, when looking at her Choices of the Day.
Eileen’s perception of FT prize puzzles being different (read: they are or should ultimately be more challenging), I do not share.
The Dantes, Mudds, Cinephiles, Cincinni and Cruces are 9 out of 10 times – in my opinion – nót substantially harder than the midweek ones (which doesn’t say anything about their quality).
I suspect these setters have their spots just for contractual reasons – wonder at the same time how many people really submit solutions.