Monday Prize Crossword / Mar 14, 2016
A bit of an unexciting Dante crossword. No surprises (unlike last time), many double and cryptic definitions.
That may be a cliche in a Dante blog but, in particular, today’s cds were not Dante’s best.
Nevertheless, an enjoyable solve.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate
| Across | ||
| 1 | FLUENT | Complaint NHS department is well able to explain (6) |
| FLU (complaint) + ENT (NHS department) | ||
| 4 | NAMESAKE | Possibly seek a man – of the same denomination? (8) |
| (SEEK A MAN)* [* = possibly] As ‘namesake’ is a noun, we need a bit more than ‘of the same denomination’ for the definition. That is why I underlined ‘a man’ – however, as one may know, I don’t like double duty very much. |
||
| 9 | IDEALS | Various ladies show high principles (6) |
| (LADIES)* [* = various] | ||
| 10 | ALLOWING | Admitting the whole sum is due (8) |
| ALL OWING may mean ‘the whole sum is due’ | ||
| 12 | GROW | Develop argument after midnight (4) |
| [ni]G[ht] + ROW (argument) | ||
| 13 | WAIFS | Is no longer providing accommodation for homeless children (5) |
| IF (providing) inside WAS (is no longer) Just adding ‘accomodation’ to justify the insertion? Not for me. |
||
| 14 | GIFT | Present capacity (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 17 | ACCOMPLISHED | Expert carried out (12) |
| Double definition | ||
| 20 | INCANDESCENT | Of Peruvian ancestry? Brilliant! (12) |
| INCAN ((of) Peruvian) + DESCENT (ancestry) I quite liked this one. |
||
| 23 | SITE | It’s something to build on (4) |
| Cryptic definition The kind of cd you can only crack when you have at least one crosser. It could easily have been ‘plot’, for example – or whatever. |
||
| 24 | ALIEN | A right outsider (5) |
| A + LIEN (right) | ||
| 25 | HYMN | An air of sanctity (4) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 28 | AIRBORNE | Tune carried aloft (8) |
| AIR (tune) + BORNE (carried) Another ‘air’ after the previous clue. |
||
| 29 | ATHENS | Hasten to supply foreign capital (6) |
| (HASTEN)* [* = … to supply …] | ||
| 30 | ESPRESSO | Coffee in cupboard, key and note outside (8) |
| PRESS (cupboard) inside a combination of E (key) + SO (note) | ||
| 31 | DEPLOY | Make extensive use of troops? (6) |
| Double definition in which both definitions work together to make a proper surface | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | FOIS GRAS | This goes into tasty paté that is consumed by obscure artists (4,4) |
Is it tasty? |
||
| 2 | USE FORCE | Refuse CO agitating to send the troops in (3,5) |
| (REFUSE CO)* [* = agitating] | ||
| 3 | NILE | Flower, blue and white in parts (4) |
| Cryptic definition There is a Blue Nile and a White Nile. |
||
| 5 | ALL OF A SUDDEN | Novel, alas, unfolded unexpectedly (3,2,1,6) |
| (ALAS + UNFOLDED)* [* = novel] | ||
| 6 | EROS | Love that’s tender, mounting (4) |
| Reversal, indicated by ‘mounting’, of: SORE (tender) | ||
| 7 | ACIDIC | Sharp detectives in US agency intelligence set-up (6) |
| CID (detectives) inside AIC (reversal, indicated by ‘set-up’, of CIA (US agency intelligence)) | ||
| 8 | EIGHTY | Score less than a hundred (6) |
| Eighty is one hundred minus ‘twenty’ (score) | ||
| 11 | RAILWAY LINES | Train-bearers (7,5) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 15 | OMENS | The point in some strange portents (5) |
| N ((the) point) inside (SOME)* [* = strange] | ||
| 16 | LEASE | Accommodation contract puts student at ease (5) |
| L (student) + EASE | ||
| 18 | VERY WELL | Fit as a fiddle? If you say so (4,4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 19 | STANDS BY | Awaits instructions for supports (6,2) |
| Double definition | ||
| 21 | ESTATE | Set out and had a meal of what’s left (6) |
| (SET)* + ATE (had a meal) [* = out] | ||
| 22 | STIR UP | Rouse the prison to be ready for action (4,2) |
| STIR ((the) prison) + UP ((to be) ready for action) | ||
| 26 | CODE | Laws that can only be broken by an expert (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 27 | STYE | Number not in style, a real eyesore (4) |
| STYLE with L (number, 50) missing | ||
*anagram
Thanks Dante and Sil.
I found this relatively annoying.
13ac – syntax doesn’t work
23ac – as you say Sil – so this was last in
30ac – the note is almost always spelled SOL – the “L” often gets lost in the following LAH
31ac – barely cryptic
3dn – is this a quiz-word?
8dn – hardly cryptic
16dn – there’s easy and there’s taking the piss
But some redemption. I thought both FOIE GRAS and ALL OF A SUDDEN were good quality.
Thanks, everyone. I agree
1 down should be foie gras (ie – that is – inside fog and ras) so in fact “that” is part of the wordplay and not just a link word
Thanks Alan for putting me right.
Now corrected.
Thanks Dante and Sil
You can be in the wrong frame of mind to tackle a Dante / Rufus puzzle – looks like Hamish was with this one ! 🙁 I look forward to his puzzles to help with the catch up of my backlog … and now just take care to make sure that there are no gotchas in them.
Took the entire half hour train ride into work yesterday (which is longer than normal) to complete, except for the VERY WELL (where I initially had WELL WELL) and HYMN (which gave me a lot more trouble than SITE to work out) crossers. The last two surrendered within a minute of next looking at them.
Actually liked EIGHTY. Must agree that a few of the other clues have been seen once or twice before …
First one in ages that I solved without any missing so obviously it was immaculately clued -or perhaps I had a lucky day fro once.