Independent Prize Puzzle 8728 / Nestor – 4/10/14

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This was definitely a Prize puzzle in our opinion!

 

We were very pleased to parse (to our satisfaction anyway!) all of the clues.

Thanks Nestor for a very enjoyable solve!

Across
8   Beard of a beatnik might be something great
THE CAT’S WHISKERS The beard of a beatnik might be described as ‘THE CAT’S WHISKERS’
10   Not embarrassed or retiring, tucking into dessert
PROUD OR reversed or ‘retiring’ in PUD (dessert)
11   Prepared like game song, any number from a Eurovision country
HUNGARIAN HUNG (prepared like game) + ARIA (song) + N (any number)
12   Reducing severity of X10, U18 in rough reports
EXTENUATING Sounds like (‘in rough reports’) EX TEN U EIGHTEEN
14   Woman’s brief version of spacewalk
EVA  Double definition. EVA is an abbreviation (‘brief version’) for Extra-Vehicular Activity (spacewalk)
15   I must drive out resistance in hospital capacity for work, backing cleanliness
HYGIENE H (hospital) + ENErGY (capacity for work) reversed or ‘backing’ with the ‘R’ (resistance) replaced or ‘driven out’ by I
18   Positive or negative reception of old southern country by emperor
NON-ZERO O (old) NZ (New Zealand – southern country) in, or ‘received by’ NERO (emperor)
19   District evicting leader of Rat Pack
WAD WArD (district) with R (first letter or ‘leader’ of Rat) omitted or ‘evicted’
20   Stop before data transfer speed is to tail off
DETERIORATE DETER (stop) + IO (input /output – data transfer) + RATE (speed)
23   Provoke brat when boy chokes one
IMPASSION IMP (brat) + AS (when) + SON (boy) around or ‘choking’ I (one)
25   Flounder don’t thrive around lake
FLAIL FAIL (don’t thrive) round L (lake)
26   Agricultural advances suggested by Emil or Trev?
GREEN REVOLUTION Reversal, or REVOLUTION of Emil and Trev produce Lime and Vert – both shades of GREEN
Down
1   Trapping domestic and wild birds, intervene with good scientist
STEPHEN HAWKING HEN (domestic bird) and HAWK (wild bird) in, or ‘trapped by’ STEP IN (intervene) + G (good)
2   Disgust admirer over time
REVOLT LOVER (admirer) reversed or ‘over’ + T (time)
3   Assistant stopping man he’d manipulated in Berkshire town
MAIDENHEAD AIDE (assistant) in or ‘stopping’ an anagram of MAN HE’D – anagrind is ‘manipulating’
4   Temperature in niqab with edges trimmed leads to breathing problem
ASTHMA T (temperature) in yASHMAk (niqab) with the first and last letters or ‘edges’ removed or ‘trimmed
5   Hot Gossip welcomed by massive mostly from part of Africa
GHANAIAN H (hot) ANA (gossip) in GIANt (massive) with the last letter omitted, or ‘mostly’
6   Bit of fracas sometimes, climbing mountain in Greece
OSSA Hidden (‘bit of’) and reversed (‘climbing’) in fracAS SOmetimes
7   Knight to exhibit variety, shunning society
BEDIVERE BE DIVERsE (exhibit variety) with the S (society) omitted or ‘shunned’
9   Are small openings left in choral work’s spirited mix?
SINGAPORE SLING A (are) PORES (small openings) L (left) in SINGING (choral work)
13   Scots to go away with this country’s disgraced advisers?
GANG OF FOUR GANG (Scots for ‘go’) + OFF (away) + OUR (this country’s)
16   To travel, departs on drug – have a nice trip!
GODSPEED GO (travel) + D (departs) + SPEED (drug)
17   Forester plied with drink, in a twist?
ENTWINED ENT (Forester, as in Lord of the Rings) + WINED (plied with drink)
21   Money for recovery trickled down a little? Not quite!
RANSOM RAN (trickled down) + SOMe (a little) with thelast letter omitted, or ‘not quite’
22   Storied fighter, as you (almost), I and he have to be
ARAMIS This relates to the conjugation of the verb ‘to be’ – you ARe (with the last letter omitted or ‘almost) I AM, he IS
24   Broadcasting with Heart going off air
SONG SOwiNG (broadcasting) with the middle letters or ‘heart’ omitted

 

5 comments on “Independent Prize Puzzle 8728 / Nestor – 4/10/14”

  1. Just the right level of challenge. I made good, steady progress with this but then got stumped on 7D and 22D. 7D fell after a bit of cheating, looking up the Arthurian knights, but whilst ARAMIS seemed the most likely answer it wasn’t until a few days later that the reason for it popped into my mind on the journey home from work. Dastardly.

  2. I couldn’t parse 7dn – a bit too much of a leap for me – so thanks for the explanation.

    Am I the only one to see straight off that in 8ac, “Beard of a beatnik” has exactly 15 letters and then spend some time trying to work out what was obviously an anagram?

  3. Another enjoyable puzzle. No problem with the Arthurian knight or the parsing of it, but my last two, ENTWINED and ARAMIS, went in from the definitions unparsed. I’m annoyed with myself for not getting ENT=forester because I’m a huge Lord of the Rings fan, but I had convinced myself that “plied with drink” meant that WINE was inside the answer even though ENTD didn’t make sense. Muppet. I’m not sure I’d ever have parsed ARAMIS, although I concede it was very clever.

  4. 17dn had to be ENTWINED but I couldn’t parse it being almost totally ignorant of Lord of the Rings. BEDIVERE was easily parsed once I got it from a word finder, but not ARAMIS.

    Dormouse @2: No, I went off up that blind alley, too. And a facepalm moment when crossing letters gave me the answer.

    Thanks, Nestor and B&J

  5. One knows it was enjoyable when one remembers it ten, or more, days later…..though it helps to find two clues ticked! They were THE CAT’S WHISKERS (incidentally hyphenated in my 1995 Chambers) and EXTENUATING. Not sure why I didn’t tick ARAMIS as it was very neat.
    Nicely blogged B&J – and thanks and admiration to Nestor

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