Magwitch gives us a nice entertaining puzzle, peppered with amicable clues mostly and the customary couple of mindbenders that prevents the grid from being a walk in the park. Thanks Magwitch, for a fitting end to what has been generally been a good week for FT solvers. I am sure a couple of parsings could be improved so look forward to inputs from folks out there.
I had mentioned last week that just out of curiosity, I was going to track who I have drawn from the setters for Friday FTs. The tally is as below ( I started on 13-12-13):-
Bradman (6) / Magwitch, Falcon (3) / Orense, Mudd (2) / Rosa, Peto, Gaff, Alberich, Wanderer, flimsy, sayang (1)
| Across | ||
| 1 | THROWN | Confused by the detailed argument at end of lesson (6) |
| TH (the de-tailed) ROW (argument) N (end of lessoN) | ||
| 4 | GO HALVES | To follow the Dutch method reduces energy by 50% (2,6) |
| GO (energy…) HALVES (… reduction by 50%) – going dutch | ||
| 10 | RAMPANT | Tirade about topless seductress running wild (7) |
| RANT (tirade) about vAMP (topless seductress) | ||
| 11 | CICADAS | Insects hatched from an acid sac (7) |
| Anagram of ACID SAC | ||
| 12 | SEND | Cause to go for slow, but not vulgar, death (4) |
| S(low, not vulgar i.e. without low) END (death) | ||
| 13 | WRAP UP WARM | Put on extra clothes and finish moderately hot (4,2,4) |
| WRAP UP (finish) WARM (moderately hot) | ||
| 15 | MUSEUM | Dam carries advantage for the British possibly (6) |
| MUM (Dam, referring to a mother, usually of cattle – from Chambers) carrying USE (advantage); reference to the British Museum. | ||
| 16 | BELATED | Free debate involving Middle England is overdue (7) |
| Anagram of DEBATE involving L (middle engLand) | ||
| 20 | BELIEFS | Doctrines misrepresent the facts marginally (7) |
| BELIE (misrepresent) FS (FactS marginally) | ||
| 21 | PLOUGH | Turn up at quiet lake (6) |
| P (quiet) LOUGH (irish for loch, lake) – “Turn up” here is used as in “turning up soil” , I thought this was a nice misdirection. | ||
| 24 | NONCHALANT | Uncaring prince engaged in pious platitudes after French denial (10) |
| NON (french denial) [ HAL (prince, multiple references – e.g. prince of Wales) in CANT (pious platitudes) ] | ||
| 26 | DAZE | Bewilder a setter after bringing forward initial deadline (4) |
| AZED (a setter, who needs no introduction if you are reading this) with D (initial Deadline) brought forward | ||
| 28 | OBSCENE | Disgusting smell from the back leads to a fuss (7) |
| OB (smell from the back = reversal of BO , body odor) SCENE (fuss) | ||
| 29 | RECEIPT | Delivery of powerless order giving one admission (7) |
| pRECEPT (order, powerless i.e. without ‘p’) admitting I (one) | ||
| 30 | MEDITATE | Think about backing foreign state after health checks are halved (8) |
| TATE (reverse of ETAT, french for state) after MEDI (health checks are halved – MEDIcal, as pertaining to a medical examination) – Anybody have anything better on this? | ||
| 31 | LEAN ON | Pressurise country to abandon Britain (4,2) |
| LEbANON (country, abandoning ‘B’ – Britain) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | TIRESOME | Morse is surprisingly into tie wearing (8) |
| Anagram of MORSE in TIE | ||
| 2 | REMINISCE | Have fond recollections about rodents catching snails regularly (9) |
| RE (about) [MICE (rodents) catching NIS (sNaIlS regularly] | ||
| 3 | WEAK | Undefended for several days in succession according to the radio (4) |
| sounds like week, several days in succession | ||
| 5 | OCCUPIED | In enemy hands from brief December coup I bungled (8) |
| Anagram of DEC (brief december) COUP I | ||
| 6 | ACCEPTABLE | Satisfactory bill for mushroom with a flat top (10) |
| AC (bill) CEP (mushroom) TABLE (flat top) | ||
| 7 | VODKA | Dvorak’s fourth missing composition shows spirit (5) |
| Anagram of DVOrAK (fourth missing) | ||
| 8 | SESAME | Seed which magically opens (6) |
| Cryptic clue, refers to the code for opening the treasure cave in Alibaba and the forty thieves [“Open Sesame”] | ||
| 9 | STORM | Pathologist or medic reveals violent assault (5) |
| Hidden in pathologiST OR Medic | ||
| 14 | PUNISHMENT | Beating wordplay is hard element to some extent (10) |
| PUN (wordplay) IS H(hard) MENT (eleMENT, to some extent) | ||
| 17 | EDUCATION | European professor goes round Utica recklessly providing instruction (9) |
| E (European) DON (professor) around anagram of UTICA (recklessly – anagrind) | ||
| 18 | AFFLUENT | Loaded condition with directions to be involved in a newspaper (8) |
| [FLU (condition) EN (directions, east north)] in A FT (a newspaper) | ||
| 19 | THREATEN | Warn of violence after heart is broken by a number? (8) |
| Anagram of HEART by TEN ( a number) | ||
| 22 | INFORM | Pass on knowledge during class (6) |
| IN (during) FORM (class) | ||
| 23 | INERT | Disinclined to act in English repertory theatre primarily (5) |
| IN E(nglish) R(epertory) T(heatre) | ||
| 25 | NOSED | After promoting relative, journalist is edged out (5) |
| NOS (relative – son, promoted – reversed) ED (journalist) | ||
| 27 | ACHE | Hurt a child easily at first (4) |
| A CH(ild) E(asily) | ||
*anagram
30ac: it’s half of ‘medicals’ – health checks.
There were some really neat misdirections which, as Turbolegs says, made a relatively easy puzzle very good fun (although I’m not convinced by 4ac where the logic seems contorted). Thanks to Turbolegs and Magwitch.