Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of July 13, 2013
I found this puzzle fairly easy and very satisfying. My favourite clue is 23A (DEFINITION) with runners up 28A (RELAY RACE), 29A (BEFUDDLE), 17D (INTRICATE) and 18D (ADULTERY).
ACROSS
1 Serious setback, as a married couple brought into question (6)
WHAMMY – A (a) + MM (married couple) together in WHY (question)
4 Final drink going to one’s head? (8)
NIGHTCAP – double/cryptic definition
10 Tear book in class depicting home of the vole (9)
RIVERBANK – RIVE (tear) + B (book) in RANK (class). ‘Rive’ is an old word for ‘tear’ (meaning to rip); it is rarely encountered these days except in the past participle, riven.
11 Prize money clear, shilling pocketed (5)
PURSE – S (shilling) in PURE (clear)
12 Steer boat twice, say, to find ferry (2-2)
RO-RO – homophone (“row row”)
13 Nerve-wracking filthy habit (4-6)
NAIL-BITING – double definition
15 Heroism that’s real, getting behind supporter (7)
BRAVERY – BRA (supporter) + VERY (real)
16 Retreating knight, lowlife, seeking the flower of Iraq (6)
SIR (knight) + GIT (lowlife) all backwards
19 Talk about builder of a tower that’s a beauty (6)
EYEFUL – homophone (“Eiffel”)
21 Damned bottom visible in cot (7)
BLASTED – LAST (bottom) in BED (cot)
23 What’s notified in cryptic part of a clue (10)
DEFINITION – anagram of NOTIFIED IN
25 Note the statement of money owed (4)
BILL – double definition
27 English shrink in fear, one stripped, seeing uniform (5)
EQUAL – E (English) + QUA[i]L (shrink in fear, one stripped)
28 Event rarely bothered expert (5,4)
RELAY RACE – anagram of RARELY + ACE (expert)
29 Take on role of Bugs Bunny character with short leg for puzzle (8)
BEFUDDLE – BE (take on role of) + FUDD (Bugs Bunny character, i.e. Elmer Fudd) + LE[g]
30 Impudent description of the gluteus maximus? (6)
CHEEKY – double definition
DOWN
1 Fighting over brick, roof gone, looter finally going in for furniture item (8)
WARDROBE – WAR (fighting) + [loote]R in [a]DOBE (brick, roof gone)
2 Opponent, say, raved about having caught race leader (9)
ADVERSARY – R[ace] in anagram of SAY RAVED
3 Old money symbol (4)
MARK – double definition
5 Smudge it on, black, extract account, then make sense of it (7)
INKBLOT – anagram of IT ON BL[ac]K
6 Furious as a unipod? (7,3)
HOPPING MAD – double/cryptic definition
7 Little dog, not entirely gigantic or ginormous (5)
CORGI – hidden word
8 Promise to put first of papers on shelf (6)
PLEDGE – P[apers] + LEDGE (shelf)
9 Many stars happy once to admit loose (6)
GALAXY – LAX (loose) in GAY (happy once)
14 Recent requirement to wrap tooth in wool when hollow (10)
NEWFANGLED – FANG (tooth) in W[oo]L in NEED (requirement)
17 Certain it’s complex? That’s what it is! (9)
INTRICATE – anagram of CERTAIN IT
18 Affair where real duty abused? (8)
ADULTERY – anagram of REAL DUTY
20 Side, after all, not finished (7)
LATERAL – LATER (after) + AL[l]. (I originally had a botched explanation of this clue.)
21 Celebratory drink covering reveller’s head – might this keep him dry? (6)
BROLLY – R[eveller] in BOLLY (celebratory drink). ‘Bolly’ refers to Bollinger champagne.
22 Perhaps stupidly, minister turning up in bad dicky (6)
ADVERB – REV (minister) backwards in anagram of BAD
24 The fuzz making a blooper (5)
FLUFF – double definition
26 A passage of barmy things in story (4)
MYTH – hidden word
For reasons that would have made perfect sense at the time, 29a was bewilder meaning that 24d had to be screw which meant that 23a and 27a were ungettable.
Couldn’t get 20d either.
Bad week
I had trouble with 20d too as I was unfamiliar with ‘laterally’ meaning ‘after all’. In fact I have yet to be convinced that it actually does have this meaning.
Thanks Pete.
20d should be LATER (after) + AL[l] (all, not finished).
That is, in my opinion.
Which makes a lot more sense, doesn’t it?
Sil, I think you have it right! Many thanks. I will edit the blog.
Thanks Pete
I think there is another correction. 2D – if it is as you say, then what is the having caught race leader all about? I think there is a fault in the clue. The anagram is of RAVED. And then SAY is around race leader – r. But where are we told to put ADVER first and SARY second?
4D puzzles me a little too. Nightcap = final drink. I think it can also = final. This may be what Mudd means and then you have the cryptic “drink going to one’s head”. But it is only cryptic because nightcap contains the word CAP = head. You’d expect the answer to be something being a drink followed by the word CAP.
23A. I struggled over this until defintion was the only word that fitted cross letters. I didn’t see the anagram indicator. But now we are left with “What’s”. It is dangling a bit isn’t it?
My favorite is 6D. I had a good chuckle when I finally saw it.
Ah Pete! You are right, it is an anagram of SAY RAVED but you forgot to add the putting R inside what you get after you do the anagram!
John,
Thanks for the correction for 2D which I have fixed. That was an oversight when I wrote the blog.
Now you mention it, I agree that “What’s” is slightly awkward in 23A.