Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 9, 2016
Not much to say about this puzzle. My clue of the week is 20 down (MOUNTIE) and I also like 3 down (POINT OF NO RETURN).
| Across | ||
| 1 | RINGPULL | Opener giving call before cricket shot (8) |
| RING (call) + PULL (cricket shot). The answer identifies the thing one pulls to open a “self-opening” tin. As best I can determine it is usually called a RING PULL or a RING-PULL and not a RINGPULL. I was unaware of PULL as a cricket shot and had to look it up. | ||
| 5 | OFFISH | Unapproachable Piscean? (6) |
| OF FISH (Piscean?) | ||
| 10 | RECTI | Muscles in armpit certainly rotating (5) |
| Reverse hidden word | ||
| 11 | CHARACTER | Particular quality in icon (9) |
| Double definition | ||
| 12 | FRACTIOUS | Cross court, as if beaten (9) |
| Anagram of COURT AS IF | ||
| 13 | HORSE | Might one be up on this drug? (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 14 | PIFFLE | Bunk in mansion with a couple of fellows tucked in (6) |
| FF (a couple of fellows) in PILE (mansion) | ||
| 15 | CARMINE | Red Ferrari, say, a source of wealth (7) |
| CAR (Ferrari, say) + MINE (a source of wealth) | ||
| 18 | ONEROUS | Difficult emperor in residence, not taking sides (7) |
| NERO (emperor) in [h]OUS[e] (residence not taking sides) | ||
| 20 | MINUTE | More than a few ticks, microscopic (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 22 | SURGE | Surfer primarily longing for a large wave (5) |
| S[urfer] + URGE (longing) | ||
| 24 | FOURSCORE | Number finally put in of course wrong – it’s eighty (9) |
| [numbe]R in anagram of OF COURSE | ||
| 25 | FLATULENT | Short of air, uranium fast producing gas (9) |
| FLAT (short of air) + U (uranium) + LENT (fast) | ||
| 26 | EVENT | Dalliance ultimately opening affair (5) |
| [dallianc]E + VENT (opening) | ||
| 27 | YEMENI | Arab troops dividing solver and setter (6) |
| YE (solver) + MEN (troops) + I (setter) | ||
| 28 | TEETOTAL | Sheltered by duck, bear flipping dry (8) |
| TOTE (bear) backwards in TEAL (duck) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | RAREFY | Thin light surrounding judge (6) |
| REF (judge) in RAY (light) | ||
| 2 | NECTARINE | Figure eating peach (odd bits discarded), sticky thing – this fruit? (9) |
| [p]E[a]C[h} + TAR (sticky thing) together in NINE (figure) | ||
| 3 | POINT OF NO RETURN | Crunch not for pine nut, or nuts (5,2,2,6) |
| Anagram of NOT FOR PINE NUT OR | ||
| 4 | LACTOSE | Sugar said to be down in digits? (7) |
| Homophone (“lack toes”) | ||
| 6 | FEATHER ONES NEST | Exploit bird, having seen off good man to line one’s pockets (7,4,4) |
| FEAT (exploit) + HERON (bird) + anagram of SEEN + ST (good man). I originally failed to fully understand this wordplay and thank Sil and other commenters for enlightening me. | ||
| 7 | INTER | Bury one side of Milan (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 8 | HARDENED | Set point held by redhead, converted (8) |
| N (point) in anagram of REDHEAD | ||
| 9 | PARSEC | Distortion of space carries first of Russians an astronomical distance (6) |
| R[ussians] in anagram of SPACER | ||
| 16 | INTROVERT | Mouse in races overcoming dog (9) |
| IN (in) + ROVER (dog) in TT (races) | ||
| 17 | HORSEFLY | Parasite, having squeezed heart of blood, freshly treated (8) |
| [bl]O[od] in anagram of FRESHLY | ||
| 19 | SOFTEN | Temper beginning to show again and again (6) |
| S[how] + OFTEN (again and again) | ||
| 20 | MOUNTIE | Officer in the saddle, flash and loose (7) |
| MO (flash) + UNTIE (loose) | ||
| 21 | VESTAL | Pure meat embodying Atkins Diet, both may conclude (6) |
| [Atkin]S [die]T in VEAL (meat) | ||
| 23 | REALM | Fifty paper circles, making sphere (5) |
| L (fifty) in REAM (paper) | ||
*anagram
6d:
FEAT (exploit) + HERON (bird) + (SEEN)* + ST
Thanks Pete and Mudd.
I had the same parsing as Sil for 6dn.
Particularly enjoyed FRACTIOUS, HORSE, FLATULENT and LACTOSE.
Good quality throughout and thoroughly enjoyable.
Thank you for the correction, Sil.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
This one started off looking pretty inpenetrable, but slowly broke open into a workmanlike Mudd puzzle. Started off with INTER, and it only struck me much later that ‘one team in Milan’ referred to Inter Milan being one team and AC Milan, of course, being the other – doh!
Seemed like a lot more double definitions than usual, which is something that he can do from time to time.
Finished in the SE corner with TEETOTAL, FOURSCORE (which took a little while to see the cryptic part) and MOUNTIE (which also did).