Monday Prize Crossword / Oct 5, 2015
Good crossword from Mudd, enjoyable as ever (despite an annoying typo in 1ac).
Everything went well until I reached the SW corner.
Much of it stayed blank for a long time (except 23d, 25d, 30ac).
However, unraveling 22d (PISCES) caused a domino effect and provided a happy ending.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | FINISH |
Swimming boxing in the end (6)
FISH (swimmer, of course, not ‘swimming’ – mistake or typo) around IN |
| 4 | DIAMANTE |
Animated, shimmering material (8)
(ANIMATED)* [* = shimmering] |
| 10 | ARMENIA |
Pieces inspired by song for the nation (7)
MEN (pieces, think: chess) inside ARIA (song) |
| 11 | PINE NUT |
A number bite around seed (4,3)
Reversal, indicated by ‘around’, of: TUNE (a number, think: music) + NIP (bite) |
| 12 | JERK |
Yank is a dunce (4)
Double definition |
| 13 | OBLITERATE |
Destroy role, beat it senseless (10)
(ROLE BEAT IT)* [* = destroy] |
| 15 | CUTTER |
Film editor heading for cinema, say (6)
C[inema] + UTTER (say) |
| 16 | SECONDS |
Time for some more food (7)
Double definition |
| 20 | BRIOCHE |
Soft loaf cook cut with vigour for starters (7)
CHE[f] (cook, cut) preceded by BRIO (vigour) |
| 21 | PARSON |
Standard issue for clergyman (6)
PAR (standard) + SON (issue) |
| 24 | INFLICTION |
Where to find stories about the end of corporal punishment (10)
IN FICTION (where to find stories) around [corpora]L |
| 26 | SOFT |
Yielding just like that, this organ (4)
SO (just like that) + FT (organ, this newspaper) |
| 28 | CHEETAH |
Reportedly unfaithful type, a wild thing (7)
Homophone, indicated by ‘reportedly’, of: CHEATER (unfaithful type) |
| 29 | TAMARIN |
Monkey at home alongside river (7)
TAMAR (river) + IN (at home) |
| 30 | SCARCITY |
Shortfall in a marked metropolis? (8)
SCAR CITY might be a ‘city with a scar’ or a ‘marked metropolis’ [hence the question mark] |
| 31 | COHERE |
Commander on these pages getting stick (6)
CO (commander, Commanding Officer) + HERE (on these pages) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | FLAPJACK |
Beat standard cake (8)
FLAP (beat) + JACK (standard, a flag) |
| 2 | NUMERATOR |
Superior figure mature, no larking about then right? (9)
(MATURE + NO)* + R (right) [* = larking about] The definition is cryptic. In a fraction the upper (‘superior’) number (‘figure’) is called the numerator. |
| 3 | SINK |
Offend king in decline (4)
SIN (offend) + K (king) |
| 5 | IMPAIRED |
Demon broadcast, defective (8)
IMP (demon) + AIRED (broadcast) |
| 6 | MINNESOTAN |
In a particular state of tension, man exploding (10)
(TENSION + MAN)* [* = exploding] |
| 7 | NINJA |
Mercenary spy ending in prison, in prison not half! (5)
[priso]N + IN + JA[il] (prison, only the first half) |
| 8 | ESTHER |
Passage taken from Cervantes, there’s a book! (6)
Hidden solution, indicated by ‘passage taken from’: [cervant]ES THER[e’s] |
| 9 | MAYBE |
Spring on mattress shortened, perhaps (5)
MAY (spring, the Month of May) + BE[d] (mattress, shortened) |
| 14 | HEDONISTIC |
Lecturer in ethics, I suspect, far from being a puritan? (10)
DON (lecturer) inside (ETHICS I)* [* = suspect] |
| 17 | DISCOURSE |
Club rues improper conversation (9)
DISCO (club) + (RUES)* [* = improper] |
| 18 | CHIT-CHAT |
Couple detained by spiteful type, gossip (4-4)
HITCH (couple) inside CAT (spiteful type) |
| 19 | INSTANCE |
Case that’s in position (8)
IN + STANCE (position) |
| 22 | PISCES |
Raise dry drink, the last of twelve (6)
Reversal, indicated by ‘raise’, of: SEC (dry) + SIP (drink) The definition could have pointed in a lot of different directions but it’s about the twelve signs of the Zodiac here. |
| 23 | POTTY |
Daft target in training? (5)
Double / Cryptic definition |
| 25 | FREYA |
Goddess held upside down by bricklayer, frantic (5)
Hidden solution, indicated by ‘held by’ in [brickl]AYER F[rantic] – then reversed, indicated by ‘upside down’ |
| 27 | AMMO |
Bullets heading off delicate flier before uprising (4)
COMMA (delicate flier, a butterfly) minus the first letter C, indicated by ‘heading off’ – then reversed, indicated by ‘uprising’ |
Sol, for posterity, I think you underlined the wrong word by mistake in 13 across.
Or even Sil.I really dislike predictive text.
Thanks Sil for the explanations. Wasn’t sure about 1d, but as nothing else made sense I did go with finish. Failed on 22d I had pieces and just couldn’t work it out! 27d I had never heard of comma butterfly until now and didn’t realise what flier meant in this context, but I keep learning new bits. As you’ll realise I’m very much a beginner and do appreciate all the people who help to work it all out. Thanks once again Sil and mudd.
Thank you, David @1 – now corrected.
But do I understand the second part of your second post?
Not sure.
Got it now, David ….
Call me a dinosaur but I don’t like phones.
So, didn’t make the link.
Thanks Sil and Mudd.
Glad it wasn’t just me thinking that SWIMMING should be SWIMMER in 1ac.
Not sure why PISCES is the last sign of the Zodiac, but the only horoscopes I read are in the Daily Mash!
Thanks Mudd and Sil
Finished this earlier but just got to check it off now … from memory, it was a pretty gentle puzzle from Mudd. Ended up in the NW corner with the clever NUMERATOR, ARMENIA and MAYBE as the last few in.
A rhetorical question at this stage, perhaps, but would the FT really be regarded as an ‘organ’? Thought that the term was more for a publication of a specific movement or group rather than a disseminator of general news.