Monday Prize Crossword / Feb 15, 2016
Dante – the perfect remedy for those who dislike a Rufusless Monday.
Not much to complain about but – it has been said before – this setter’s puzzles always have a ‘last one in’ which, for me, often means: a very last one in.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | HEARTH | Fire station? (6) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 4 | STUDIOUS | Academic bosses admit financial liability (8) |
| STUDS (bosses) around IOU (finanicial liability) Some solvers do not like ‘admit’ because they think in cryptic language it should be ‘admits’. Same objection later on in 14d (‘accept’). I agree because I am one of those. |
||
| 9 | CASKET | Deadman’s chest? (6) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 10 | QUIPSTER | Aggrieved rep quits, a wisecracker (8) |
| (REP QUITS)* [* = aggrieved] | ||
| 12 | SCRUTINY | Crooked city runs investigation (8) |
| (CITY RUNS)* [* = crooked] | ||
| 13 | POUNCE | Penny puts on weight in spring (6) |
| P (penny) + OUNCE (weight) | ||
| 15 | WAIT | Intelligence required to get round a delay (4) |
| WIT (intelligence) around A | ||
| 16 | FLEA MARKET | Source of cheap jumpers? (4,6) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 19 | AGGRAVATED | Annoyed, having made things worse (10) |
| Double definition | ||
| 20 | ADAM | Female married the first man to appear (4) |
| ADA (female) + M (married) Nice surface |
||
| 23 | POTATO | Crisp material? (6) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 25 | STALWART | Determined to begin with new law being introduced (8) |
| START ((to) begin) with inside (LAW)* [* = new] | ||
| 27 | ACID RAIN | Pollution caused by a Channel Islands sewer (4,4) |
| A + CI (Channel Islands) + DRAIN (sewer) | ||
| 28 | KEEP IN | Restrain and punish a pupil (4,2) |
| Double definition | ||
| 29 | SIDE DRUM | Was partial to unusual instrument (4,4) |
| SIDED (was partial to) + RUM (unusual) | ||
| 30 | STARVE | Five have a good look round, but go hungry (6) |
| STARE (‘have a good look’) around V (five) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | HACKSAW | Trite adage, but has a cutting edge (7) |
| HACK (trite, as ‘hackneyed’?) + SAW (adage) The tool that is the solution ‘has a cutting edge’. |
||
| 2 | ABSORBING | Taking in and finding very interesting (9) |
| Double definition | ||
| 3 | TWENTY | Score is two love (6) |
| ‘Twenty’ = 20, a 2 (two) and a 0 (nothing, love) | ||
| 5 | TRUE | West end street in Paris? That’s right! (4) |
| [wes]T + RUE (street, in Paris) | ||
| 6 | DIPLOMAT | Negotiator’s award displayed by leader of team (8) |
| DIPLOMA (award) + T[eam] | ||
| 7 | OFTEN | Frequently cuts off half the score (5) |
| OF[f] (off, cut) + TEN (half the score, half of 20 – see 3d) | ||
| 8 | SERPENT | A reptile makes an unusual present (7) |
| (PRESENT)* [* = unusual] | ||
| 11 | UNCLEAR | One of the family assumes a right which is questionable (7) |
| UNCLE (one of the family) + A + R (right) | ||
| 14 | MAJESTY | May accept a joke with dignity (7) |
| MAY around JEST ((a) joke) | ||
| 17 | KIDNAPPER | Child sent to head as a serious offender (9) |
| KID (child) + NAPPER (head) Another simple but nice surface. |
||
| 18 | FALTERED | Female getting changed hesitated (8) |
| F (female) + ALTERED (changed) | ||
| 19 | APPEARS | Makes an entry, an afterthought about fruit (7) |
| A PS (an afterthought) around PEAR (fruit) | ||
| 21 | MATINEE | Cast meet in a theatre production (7) |
| (MEET IN A)* [* = cast] | ||
| 22 | ALBERT | Man in watch? (6) |
| Double definition An ‘albert’ is not really the watch itself but the watch chain (as far as I know). |
||
| 24 | TRIAD | Time to organise raid to expose criminal gang (5) |
| T (time) + (RAID)* [* = to organise] | ||
| 26 | LIEU | Place to use deception at university (4) |
| LIE (to use deception) + U (university) | ||
*anagram
Thanks Sil and Dante.
Not much to say really. HEARTH, POTATO and KEEP IN all generated an “is that it?” And I had the same thought about ALBERT.
Surely 21dn should have been “performance” rather than “production” – but this is Dante so we should expect such things.
But all in all, a gentle solve so thanks again.
Thanks Dante and Sil
Agree that this was exactly what we have come to expect of Dante … it lasted the entire train ride home after a very busy weaker work.
It’s strange, but I reckon that I’ve probably seen the construct for the clue for UNCLEAR several times – and just couldn’t see it for the life of me yesterday !!! It was the only one to required finish off the puzzle this morning.
The obligatory two that I couldn’t get were 22d (never in a month of Sundays) and 28a.