Monday Prize Crossword/Feb 27
We (= my PinC and I) thought this was a 3E crossword. First E for ‘Easy’, another E for ‘Elegant’ and the final one, deservedly so, for ‘Enjoyable’. We do need some help, though, for the Last of the Horizontals and the First of the Verticals. Even so, Crux, many thanks for the Entertainment – providing one more E !
Definitions are underlined where applicable and/or relevant.
| Across | ||
| 1 | OUTSHINE | Eclipse to give more light, paradoxically |
| A straightforward definition plus a cryptic one | ||
| 5 | SPEECH | Address may show where you’re from |
| Double definition | ||
| 9 | ALERTING | Put out triangle as warning |
| (TRIANGLE)* | ||
| 10 | CLIENT | Patron contributes to clinic and hospital department |
| CLI (a contribution to the word ‘clinic’) + ENT (hospital department) | ||
| 12 | GLAND | Girl donates heart and liver, for example |
| G[ir]L (girl donating, ie giving away, her heart) + AND | ||
| 13 | LIE ON OATH | To commit perjury may get you into a hole |
| (INTO A HOLE)* | ||
| 14 | DELTAS | Having lasted remarkably some flowers form them |
| (LASTED)* – the ‘flowers’ here are the other ‘flowers’, the ones containing water, also the ones that can make up to one or two DELTAS | ||
| 16 | DRIBLET | Possibly swallow the wrong way? Allow a little water |
| DRIB (reversal of ‘bird’ (possibly swallow)) + LET (allow) | ||
| 19 | TOTALLY | To agree completely |
| TO + TALLY (agree) | ||
| 21 | WEEPIE | Very small turnover, perhaps, could have you in tears |
| WEE (very small) + PIE (turnover, perhaps) | ||
| 23 | MAELSTROM | Two thousand houses are lost, destroyed in fearsome current |
| MM (two thousand) around (cleverly indicated by ‘houses’) (ARE LOST)* | ||
| 25 | CAUSE | Produce audible bird calls |
| Homophone of ‘caws’ (bird calls) | ||
| 26 | EMPLOY | Take on just half of them – a clever move |
| [the]EM (just half of ‘them’) + PLOY (a clever move) | ||
| 27 | INCIDENT | Episode in The Detectives, possibly ten to follow |
| IN + CID (The Detectives, possibly) + (TEN)* | ||
| 28 | SOLDER | Fighter doesn’t need one to join up |
| SOLD[I]ER, seen as SOLDIER (fighter) minus I (one) | ||
| 29 | SYNONYMS | They convey much the same, in other words |
| Cryptic definition – but to be honest, we need some assistance to fully grab this one | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | ORANGE | Dutch house in Blenheim? No, surprisingly |
| Double definition, perhaps? The Royal House is clear, but despite there is something like a Blenheim Orange, we were stumped by what the last part of the clue really meant – help! | ||
| 2 | THE LATEST | Worst timekeeper, maybe, has breaking news |
| Double definition | ||
| 3 | HATED | Unexpected death viewed with hostility |
| (DEATH)* | ||
| 4 | NONPLUS | Cause dismay giving almost zero bonus |
| NON[e] (almost zero) + PLUS (bonus) | ||
| 6 | POLONAISE | Rod grabs Sonia roughly for a dance |
| POLE (rod) around (SONIA)* | ||
| 7 | ENEMA | Sudden emasculation – it’s partly for your own good! |
| Hidden solution: [sudd]EN EMA[sculation] | ||
| 8 | HATCHETS | Lid on chest designed to display tools |
| HAT (lid) + (CHEST)* | ||
| 11 | LEAD | Pub’s empty – could indicate some kind of poisoning |
| Cryptically, an empty Pub is Pb. In Chemistry that’s LEAD. And of course there’s also a thing called LEAD poisoning. | ||
| 15 | TELESCOPE | Glass box with compass |
| TELE (box) + SCOPE (compass) | ||
| 17 | LEISURELY | Lie around, definitely relaxed |
| (LIE)* + SURELY (definitely) | ||
| 18 | STAMMERS | Dancing m-masters show these impediments |
| (M-MASTERS)* | ||
| 20 | YARN | Tall story leads to your arrest – reveal nothing! |
| The leading letters of Y[our] A[rrest] R[eveal] N[othing] | ||
| 21 | WOMANLY | Ladylike, yet mostly masculine |
| The word WOMANLY is mostly MANLY – didn’t like this clue | ||
| 22 | HEATHS | Old PM’s country acres |
| HEATH (old PM) + S | ||
| 24 | EXPEL | Reject old footballing legend? Not entirely |
| EX (old) + PEL[e] | ||
| 25 | CAIRO | Capital’s a vital element in business |
| AIR (a vital element) inside CO (business, company) | ||
Sil
Thanks for the blog. You’ve done an excellent job.
As for 29ac, it’s not a great clue and I think there’s little to be said.
As you know, a synonym is a word having the same (or very nearly the same) meaning. Again, as you know, we use the phrase “in other words” when having just said something we try to put it in a different way to make ourselves more clear and more precise.
The setter combines these two ideas in the clue.
However, the phrase “in other words” will almost always precede our second way of expressing an idea.
I think the second part of the clue to 1dn may be based on the Blenheim Orange being a type of apple rather than an orange. I’m not quite convinced the clue really works, though.
Yes, Pandean, that is indeed how we looked at it too.
An orange in Blenheim? Oh, gosh, surprise surprise, it’s not an orange (but an apple).
Well all I can say is that I thought this was the hardest Crux I have ever attempted and even with aids I completed less than half.
Easy? I think John Mcenroe had an expression that covers this. It begins with “You” and ends with “serious”
1a Didn’t help that I was convinced it was over??n? so I thought 2d started with e.
5a I think this was first in and was confidently put in as accent. That somewhat ruined my chances of 6d -or maybe not as I’d never had got polonaise and 8d
10a I don’t think I’ve ever seen the contributes to trick.
23a I think I’ve come across maelstrom but unitl now I didn’t know what it meant.
6d Never heard of this
15d I couldn’t get box= tele and I still don’t see what scope has got to with a direction finder.
Thanks for the blog
Bamberger
Compass can mean range as well as an instrument.
And range = scope
Ernie at 5 . Sorry I’m struggling here -the building was within cannon range works but the building was within firing compass doesn’t. I’m sure you are right but could you please give an example?
Bamberger
An example would be ‘within compass of someone’s voice’ to denote the range of notes or tones within its capacity.
Chambers gives the meaning of compass as:
limit
range of pitch of a voice or (musical) intrument.
Cheers