Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of August 8th, 2015
I believe this is the first Alberich puzzle I have solved. I found it difficult and, to some extent, unpleasantly difficult although I find it hard to be sure whether this was because it is intrinsically demanding or because I am just not familiar with the style.
One thing that especially made a couple of clues challenging is Alberich’s having wordplay then apostrophe-S and then definition (as in 10a and 15d). One has to read the apostrophe-S as belonging to the entire wordplay and not the single word to which it is attached. I think this is acceptable but it is not something I am used to. Another tricky thing was his use of rather obscure single-letter abbreviations such as ‘acting’ for A, ‘baron’ for B, ‘contralto’ for C, and ‘earl’ for E.
The puzzle does include some very clever clues. My clue of the week is 1a (BONNIE AND CLYDE) and I also very much like 4d (ECONOMIST).
| Across | ||
| 1 | BONNIE AND CLYDE |
Criminal pair from Yorkshire heartlessly conned a blind invalid (6,3,5)
Anagram of Y[orkshir]E CONNED A BLIND |
| 10 | AVERT |
King cutting a doctor’s head off (5)
R (king) in A (a) VET (doctor) |
| 11 | OBSERVANT |
Old baron needs flunkey to be attentive (9)
O (old) + B (baron) + SERVANT (flunkey) |
| 12 | PLACEBO |
In lead, fifty-one to nil? It has no effect (7)
L (fifty) + ACE (one) together in PB (lead) + O (nil). “It has no effect” is, I think, an acceptable definition in a crossword although, strictly speaking, a placebo is something that has a psychological effect rather than a physiological one. |
| 13 | LIAISON |
Hero capturing capital – capital of Soviet Union (7)
AI (capital) + S[oviet] together in LION (hero) |
| 14 | SWING |
Rock or jazz music (5)
Double definition |
| 16 | INDULGENT |
Generous, popular fellow will be after flat shortly (9)
IN (popular) + DUL[l] (flat shortly) + GENT (fellow) |
| 19 | CONCERTOS |
Ravel score not containing contralto pieces (9)
C (contralto) in anagram of SCORE NOT |
| 20 | DRIVE |
Spin doctor’s a kind of drip with energy (5)
DR (doctor) + IV (a kind of drip) + E (energy) |
| 22 | BRAN TUB |
But arrest’s set back, securing right hiding place for the present? (4,3)
BUT (but) + R (right) in NAB (arrest) all backwards. I think the definition here is poor. “Hiding place for presents” would be better, no? |
| 25 | ENTWINE |
Marshal in Spain went for braid (7)
Anagram of IN E (Spain) WENT |
| 27 | CHIHUAHUA |
Dog is companion I ditch when going round a couple of universities (9)
CH (companion) + I (I) + U and U (a couple of unversities) in HAHA (ditch) |
| 28 | ORATE |
Nothing gets one out of angry harangue (5)
O (nothing) + [i]RATE (one out of angry) |
| 29 | ELECTRA COMPLEX |
Lear etc cryptically represented problem relating to parents (7,7)
Reverse cluing for LEAR ETC |
| Down | ||
| 2 | OPERATION |
Leading lady acting in alternative theatre performance (9)
ER (leading lady) + A (acting) together in OPTION (alternative). I understand that A is used as in abbreviation for ‘acting’ in military ranks. |
| 3 | NITRE |
Explosive ingredient is undisturbed, oddly ignored (5)
[u]N[d]I[s]T[u]R[b]E[d] |
| 4 | ECONOMIST |
Taking care of monies, could be expert ultimately? (9)
Anagram of CO (care of) MONIES + [exper]T |
| 5 | NASAL |
Not all listen as alarm’s sounded from hooter (5)
Hidden word |
| 6 | CURTAILED |
Dog with a part cut off? That’s docked (9)
CUR (dog) + TAILED (a part cut off) |
| 7 | YEATS |
One poet or another exchanges krona for yen (5)
KEATS (another poet) with ‘K’ (krona) replaced by ‘Y’ (yen) |
| 8 | EXTINCT |
Put out flame once metal has constant temperature (7)
EX (flame once) + TIN (metal) + C (constant) + T (temperature) |
| 9 | PAMPAS |
More than one plain maiden pops round (6)
M (maiden) in PAPAS (pops). This was difficult for me because I was not used to thinking of PAMPAS as a plural word. But plural it is. |
| 15 | GREAT-AUNT |
Relative lost rag about Earl’s mocking comment (5-4)
E (Earl) in nagram of RAG + TAUNT (mocking commend) |
| 17 | DESPERADO |
Criminal suspect posed entertaining challenge, on reflection (9)
DARE (challenge) reversed (on reflection) in anagram of POSED |
| 18 | ELIMINATE |
Priest gets minister put away for murder (9)
ELI (priest) + MIN (minister) + ATE (put away) |
| 19 | CUBICLE |
Speaker’s three-dimensional compartment (7)
Homophone (“cubical”). ‘Cubical’ means like a cube. Now a cube is certainly one of the most fundamental three-dimensional objects but does “three-dimensional” properly define ‘cubical’? |
| 21 | ELEVEN |
Still supports English league team (6)
E (English) + L (league) + EVEN (still) |
| 23 | ABIDE |
Stomach is tender in casualty? (5)
BID (tender) in A[&]E (casualty) |
| 24 | BOHEA |
What? Old boy turned up with Australian for tea? (5)
EH (what) + OB (old boy) together backwards + A (Australian). Bohea is a poor grade of black tea — and a word I did not know. |
| 26 | TROOP |
Bad time to withdraw soldiers (5)
POOR (bad) + T (time) all backwards |
Thanks Pete Maclean! It was a tough solve; could not get 9d and 10a. Thanks Alberich!
Thanks Pete and Alberich.
Tough but doable in 3 sittings.
I agree with you about unusual abbreviations. C for contralto in 19 was particularly questionable but the answer was obvious so I suppose I have no right to gripe.
Strangely, I thought the clue for BONNIE AND CLYDE was a bit poor. I have difficulty when I see Heartlessly used to indicate the first and last letters only. Surely that would suggest taking away the central letter only. Wouldn’t ‘outskirts’ or something similar have been more appropriate?
OMG! I must be turning into Hedgehoggy. Help!
Thanks
Ugh. Worst ever. I guessed Bonnie and Clyde on my third run through. It was he first clue I got, and a guess. Eventually managed nitre, curtailed, yeats swing bran tub and great-aunt , and that was it.
Just two comments on actual clues:
28ac: why is “orate” harangue? I thought it was to address or speak.
8d. Why is “put out” extinct? Surely the answer to put out is extinguish, expel, or similar. Extinct means died out??
Chambers gives put out as first definition for extinct, and orate as the first definition of orate.
Sorry I mean harangue as first definition of orate.
Well, this was a real Weekend challenge from a setter considered to be at the harder end of the FT spectre.
I am very familiar with the style of Alberich (aka Klingsor in the Independent).
Something he often does is using partially indirect anagrams.
Today it wasn’t different: 1ac, 25ac, 4d.
And, as always, references to the world of music (of which 19ac is a splendid example).
In 19d, ‘cubical’ defined by ‘three-dimensional’ raised my eyebrows (just like it did yours, Pete) but I’ll give Alberich the benefit of the doubt.
It is a bit of a strange word anyway, ‘cubic’ is usually the one to go for.
In 10ac: is a vet a doctor? Well, for me (s)he is but years ago someone criticised me n I wanted to use ‘vet’ that way.
You weren’t happy with the definition in 22ac, Pete, but I actually found it clever.
As it is formulated here it serves the surface very well, leaving us with ‘for the present’ meaning ‘for the time being’.
In the surface one has to split ‘hiding place / for the present’, for the solution one needs to connect them.
Which, by the way, is as such another feature of Alberich’s style.
It may be clear that I thoroughly liked this crossword.
Very precise clueing, no padding – as ever with this much admired setter, I would say.
Many thanks to Alberich & Pete.
“In 10ac: is a vet a doctor? Well, for me (s)he is but years ago someone criticised me when I wanted to use ‘vet’ that way”
It may be true that ‘heartlessly’ is a bit overused and even more so that it does not clearly mean to completely gut a word (yes, ‘outskirts’ is better) but, in 1a here, it leads to such a beautiful surface that I am happy to accept it.
‘Extinct’ is most usually used to refer to a species that has died out but my dictionary confirms that it is also okay to say that something like a fire is extinct when it has been put out.
I don’t much like ‘doctor’ being used to clue ‘vet’ but I do think we have to accept it. My first off-the-cuff definition of a vet would be an animal doctor.
Sil, I see your point about 22ac. I had not read the surface the way you pointed out. Maybe I will come to admire Alberich but I am far from doing so at the moment.
Rather belatedly, I’m with Sil. Alberich/Klingsor is in my opinion one of the very best setters. Yes ‘heartlessly’ in 1ac is perhaps not as accurate as ‘outskirts of’ but as you say it does make for such a good surface. Acting/Baron/Earl/contralto are all in Chambers. Yes cubical for three-dimensional is a bit of a stretch but OK I think. In 22ac Alberich’s ‘for the present’ suggests something that ‘for presents’ doesn’t, and it is I think perfectly sound. Extinct = put out (‘put’ in the passive mood) strikes me as rather good. As Sil says, ‘precise cluing, no padding — as ever with this much admired setter’.
Thanks Alberich and Pete
I’m another Alberich admirer – and this was a good ‘un !! Very late to post, though!
Agree with Sil’s assessment of the clues that he discussed – particularly around the BRAN TUB one. I didn’t pick up the homophone with CUBICAL. I wondered if the 3-dimensional was not more along the mathematical CUBE, Wondered about EXTINCT meaning ‘put out’ – but think that the fire example nails it.
Finished with CONCERTOS, CUBICLE, BRAN TUB and ABIDE as the last few in.