Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 28, 2012
Here is another impeccable and highly enjoyable puzzle from Cincinnus. My top-ratings go to 25A (FLEECE), 28A (ATHERTON), 7D (STOMA), 16D (KILLER BEE) and 17D (SOMEWHAT). There were several references that I had to look up to complete it (for 27A, 28A and 2D).
Across
1. GAMBIT – hidden word
5. ENVISAGE – ENV[y] (sin, not entirely) + I (one) + SAGE (wise)
9. INITIATE – “IN IT (i.e. trattoria) I (the setter) ATE”
10. ROOKIE – ROOK (fleece from 25A) + IE (that is)
11. CLIENT – LIEN (right) in CT (court)
12. ADENAUER – N (new) in anagram of AREA DUE. Konrad Adenauer was German Chancellor from 1949 to 1963.
14. FOR ALL WE KNOW – anagram of POOR OR NEW FOLK
18. HOLY MACKEREL – HOLY (homophone of ‘wholly’) + MACKEREL (something fishy)
22. DECIPHER – anagram of H[a]RD PIECE
25. FLEECE – double definition
26. CHISEL – HIS (man’s) in CEL[l] (room wanting last)
27. TROUBLED – ROUBLE (bread in Moscow) in TD (Irish member). I had not come across this TD before but guessed that it is the Irish equivalent of MP. It stands for Teachta Dála meaning a member of the Dail, the lower house of the Irish parliament.
28. ATHERTON – anagram of HATTER NO. I gather this refers to Mike Atherton, a cricketer I had not heard of.
29. THE END – THEE (you) + N[ee]D. Nice to have this as the last clue in the puzzle.
Down
2. ARNOLD – R[ugby] in AN (an) + OLD (elderly). I had to look up this Victorian headmaster who turned out to be one Thomas Arnold.
3. BUTTERFLY – double definition
4. TRATTORIA – AIR (display) + OTT (outrageous — over the top) + ART (paintings) all backwards
5. EYEBALL – homophone (“I bawl”)
6. VERSE – V (five) + ERSE (Gaelic)
7. STOMA – hidden word
8. GUIDE DOG – GUID (good Scots) + DO (party) in EG (say)
13. NEE – N[i]E[c]E
15. WARM FRONT – W (with) + ARM (weapon) + FRONT (battle zone)
16. KILLER BEE – anagram of REBEL LIKE
17. SOMEWHAT – [flaming]O in anagram of WEST HAM
19. MOP – double definition
20. KERATIN – anagram of A TINKER
21. SCREEN – C[avalie]R in SEEN (spotted)
23. ISSUE – double definition
24. HOLST – L[ondon] in HOST (army)
Thanks Pete. Agree with you again about this puzzle. Actually 2D deserves a mention as Cincinnus has got Rugby into the clue where Arnold was. I was stuck for a long time in the top left corner and in fact didn’t really understand why for INITIATE until your blog.
A couple of typos – HIS not HES in 26A and 11A is LIEN = RIGHT in CT = COURT.
I have some difficulty with 5 down, EYEBALL. Is that really in orbit? I had EYEWALL which is certainly in orbit but I don’t recall WALL sounding like shout or cry. WAIL is the nearest – I thought maybe you Americans pronounce it worl?
cheers
John
Hi John, Thanks for pointing out those errors of mine. HIS not HES was indeed a typo. The explanation of 11A was not! I took that clue as a double definition since there actually is something in legal practice referred to as a “client’s right in court”. I like your explanation much more though and have little doubt but that it is what Cincinnus intended.
I do think that 5 down works well. ‘Orbit’ can refer to the cavity in the skull in which the eye sits.