Monday Prize Crossword / Dec 14, 2015
Enjoyable but very easy start to another FT week with lots of anagrams.
Most solutions went in straightaway. I was only held up by the correct parsing of 24ac.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | ANAESTHETIC |
Number in china tea set, cracked? (11)
(CHINA TEA SET)* [* = cracked] |
| 7 | ELF |
Dwarf in novel: Frankenstein (3)
Hidden solution, indicated by just ‘in’: [nov]EL F[rankenstein] |
| 9 | ANTON |
Boy and girl about to (5)
ANN (girl) around TO |
| 10 | SCOUNDREL |
Loner, “Scud”, rotten blighter (9)
(LONER + SCUD)* [* = rotten] |
| 11 | COLD STEEL |
Bitter, reportedly make off with knives, etc (4,5)
COLD (bitter) + STEEL (homophone, indicated by ‘reportedly’, of STEAL (make off with)) |
| 12 | NOISE |
Hooter I installed makes din (5)
I inside NOSE (hooter) |
| 13 | IMPETUS |
Representative put in new suite as motivation (7)
MP (representative) inside (SUITE)* [* = new] |
| 15 | YARN |
Long tale’s thread (4)
Double definition |
| 18 | OPUS |
Ring up over second musical work (4)
O (ring) + PU (reversal, indicated by ‘over’, of UP) + S (second) |
| 20 | TOMBOLA |
Also enthralling doctor, LA lottery (7)
{TOO (also) around MB (doctor)} + LA |
| 23 | VERSE |
Some of Hasenclever’s expressionist poetry (5)
Hidden solution, indicated by ‘some of’: [hasencle]VER’S E[xpressionist] Walter Hasenclever (1890-1940) was a German expressionist poet and playwright. |
| 24 | MOWED DOWN |
Curious about western women shot outside, killed indiscriminately in large numbers (5,4)
(WOMEN)* around {DDO (reversal, indicated by ‘about’, of ODD (curious)) + W (western)} [* = shot] |
| 26 | RIVERBOAT |
Brave trio adrift in craft (9)
(BRAVE TRIO)* [* = adrift] |
| 27 | MARIA |
Start of melodious song, song from West Side Story (5)
M[elodious] + ARIA (song) |
| 28 | EON |
Long period in east, working (3)
E (east) + ON (working) |
| 29 | THE THIRD MAN |
Article on fielder in film (3,5,3)
THE (article) + THIRD MAN (fielder, think: cricket) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | ANARCHIC |
Not regulated by law in China, car put together wrongly (8)
(CHINA + CAR)* [* = put together wrongly] |
| 2 | ANTELOPE |
Social worker, eastern European, turned up for animal (8)
ANT (social worker) + ELOP E (reversal, indicated by ‘turned up’, of E (eastern) POLE (European)) |
| 3 | SANDS |
Irish revolutionary from outskirts of Swords? (5)
The outskirts of S[word]S are the letters S AND S Bobby Sands (1954-1981) was an Irish Republican who died in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike. |
| 4, 5 | HOSTESS TROLLEY |
Stole hostelry’s unusual piece of mobile furniture (7,7)
(STOLE HOSTELRY’S)* [* = unusual] |
| 6 | CONUNDRUM |
CD broken by old woman in habit? Odd riddle (9)
{O (old) + NUN (woman in habit)} inside CD, followed by RUM (odd) |
| 7 | EARWIG |
I grew agitated holding a small insect (6)
(I GREW)* around A [* =agitated] |
| 8 | FALTER |
Fine to change flag (6)
F (fine) + ALTER (change) |
| 14 | TOP-SECRET |
Classified in “Post”, etc., circulated round about (3-6)
(POST ETC)* around RE (about) [* = circulated] |
| 16 | MONOGRAM |
Man with groom redesigned motif (8)
(MAN + GROOM)* [* = redesigned] |
| 17 | MAINTAIN |
Key volunteers once elected to carry on (8)
MAIN (key, i.e. most important) + TA (volunteers once) + IN (elected) |
| 19, 20, 21 | SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME |
My guardian angel’s song? (7,2,5,4,2)
Cryptic / Double definition Famous song written by George and Ira Gershwin for the musical Oh, Kay! Recorded by many many artists, from Judy Garland to Frank Sinatra, from Ella Fitzgerald to Sarah Vaughan, from Barbra Streisand to Elton John, from Alfie Boe and Susan Boyle to Amy Winehouse …. etc etc. |
| 22 | CRAVEN |
Yellow head of colourful bird (6)
C[olourful] + RAVEN (bird) |
| 25 | DEMUR |
Object reserved, not English (5)
DEMURE (reserved) minus E (English) |
This must have been my fastest all correct solve of the Sat/Mon FTs this year, Never stopped writing the answers in with only the odd pause for thought. Nevertheless it was nowhere near the 5 mins that the Times superstars take. While it is not all about speed, I just can’t see how you can read the clues, think about the answer and write it in and solve everything in 5 mins. Not saying it doesn’t happen but it must be to them that each clue is as simple as “Day after Monday” ans Tuesday.
Thanks Falcon and Sil
A pretty quick solve where I spent more time performing my final parsing check than filling out the grid. Read up again on Bobby SANDS (who took longer than he should have to recall, even with all of the crossers), read the synopsis of THE THIRD MAN and listened to the two songs on You Tube (recognised Maria, but the Gershwin song was a new one for me).
Also took a little while to see what was going on with MOWED DOWN.
The last couple were RIVERBOAT and CRAVEN.
Thanks Sil and Falcon.
A gentle start to the week with no hold ups other than to work out the parsing of MOWED DOWN and to recall Bobby Sands.
I fondly recall 19, 20, 21 from the Gershwin compilation musical – CRAZY FOR YOU.
Happy Christmas to all.