Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of July 23
Cinephile is back with one of his themes, this time a minor one (watches and watchers) that does not have any cryptic meaning. I found this puzzle pleasantly challenging (especially 1D and 9A) but also found minor fault with several of the clues. If I have to cite a favourite or two, I guess I have to choose 27A (SPONGE) and 16D (BROOKLYN).
Across
1. SENTRY – SENT (dispatched) + RY (rail)
4. SCULPSIT – S (Southern) + PSI (Greek character) in CULT (religious group). Not a word I knew.
9. BIRDIE – double definition. Weak, I think, because surely you watch always “the birdie”.
10. SNUB NOSE – SNUB (little) + NOSE (tilted feature)
12. LEHR – LE (the French) + HR (time). A lehr is a glass-annealing oven.
13. ATTENUATED – AT TEN (time for the news) + anagram of A DUET. Also weak, in that “time for the news” could well clue TEN but I don’t see how it properly clues AT TEN.
15. SURVEILLANCE – SU (us turn) + R (right) + VEIL (cover) + LANCE (weapon)
18. SPEED CAMERAS – anagram of A MERCEDES ASAP. Clever!
21. COLLARBONE – [p]OLL in CARBON (C) + E (direction)
24. ERGOTISM – ER (Queen) + GOT (acquired) + ISM (system)
25. ATTLEE – hidden word. Nice one.
26. MONARCHY – anagram of CHARON in MY (setter’s)
27. SPONGE – double definition
Down
1. SUBCLASS – anagram of CLUBS + ASS (fool). So “sporting” is an anagram indicator? Took me a long time to figure that out and I am not happy with it.
2. NORTHERN – NOR (and not) + THE (the) + RN (fleet)
3, 22ac. RAINCOAT – anagram of CATRIONA
5. CONVEYANCING – anagram of NY GO VACCINE. “Housework” is a great cryptic definition here but “from [anagram fodder] available” makes a messy wordplay construction.
6. LABOUR CAMP – LABOUR (party) + CAMP (theatrical). An unfortunate clue for the time it was published perhaps considering what happened in Norway.
7. SMOOTH – MOOT (old assembly) in SH (be quiet)
8. TRENDY – END (goal) + TRY (four or five points). Hmm, I suppose one might say that a try is four or five points.
11. STELLENBOSCH – ST (canonized) + ELLEN (Terry) + BOSCH (Hieronymus)
14. TEAPLANTER – anagram of ALE PATTERN
16. BROOKLYN – BROOK (put up with) + L (student) + NY (US city)
17. AS IT WERE – A (a) + SIT (situation) + WERE (FT’s)
19. SCREAM – double definition
20. SLOGAN – SLOG (hard work) + AN (article)
23. STOP – POTS (what shouldn’t be watched) backwards
Many thanks Pete & Cinephile this was very enjoyable although SCULPSIT & LEHR were new to me.
We seem to be meeting Clement Atlee regularly these days even though he was one our least memorable Prime Ministers.
I found this trickier than usual for Cinephile. Ergotism and Lehr were new to me. I did not like Lehr because the wordplay gave me a choice of that and Lahr so I just had to go for the most likely German-sounding name. My least favourite answer was Sponge which, for me works neither as a CD or a DD.
Bryan, I like my Prime Ministers to be unmemorable if that means that they found the welfare state and the NHS and they don’t start any wars.
Lenny, Thanks for commenting. Lehr was new to me too. So was Ergotism but I knew Ergot which helped. I grant you that 27A (SPONGE) takes a liberty but I still like it.