Monday Prize Crossword / May 2, 2016
Slightly harder than Falcon’s previous puzzle, two weeks ago.
But all fair, and enjoyable.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | LAVA LAMP | Former French PM, and member, plugging in a decorative novelty item (4,4) |
| LAVAL (former French PM) + MP (member), together going around A More information on Pierre Laval (1883-1945) can be found here . |
||
| 6 | SPRING | Get out of prison early in the year (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 9 | UTOPIA | More work wanted (6) |
| Cryptic definition A nod to Sir Thomas More. |
||
| 10 | BOOT CAMP | Centre for juvenile offenders affected by return of further bishop (4,4) |
| BOOT (reversal of TOO (further) B (bishop)) + CAMP (affected) | ||
| 11 | BRNO | City in the Czech Republic showing Born Free? (4) |
| (BORN)* [* = free] Off topic, I just wonder why in the UK there is a distinction between towns and cities while any foreign place is nearly always called ‘city’. |
||
| 12 | BLITHERING | Foolish, thoughtlessly indifferent group (10) |
| BLITHE (thoughtlessly indifferent) + RING (group) | ||
| 14 | LABRADOR | Live rough abroad, on river, with dog (8) |
| L (live) + (ABROAD)* + R (river) [* = rough] | ||
| 16 | MIME | I am contracted in Maine to produce a play without dialogue (4) |
| I’M (I am, contracted) inside ME (Maine) As ‘mime’ is also a verb, I could have taken ‘produce’ as part of the definition. |
||
| 18 | SAGA | Flag associated with a roman- fleuve? (4) |
| SAG (flag) + A | ||
| 19 | LANGUISH | Suffer deprivation in Libya’s capital, and mental torture (8) |
| L[ibya] + ANGUISH (mental torture) | ||
| 21 | COLE PORTER | Man responsible for standards in small firm, left journalist right away (4,6) |
| CO (small firm) + L (left) + [r]EPORTER (journalist, leaving out the first R) Nice definition for this musical giant . |
||
| 22 | HIDE | Conceal Welsh identity, to some degree (4) |
| Hidden solution: [wels]H IDE[ntity] | ||
| 24 | ALFRESCO | Caught wearing scruffy loafers outside (8) |
| C (caught) inside (LOAFERS)* [* = scruffy] | ||
| 26 | DESERT | Leave course, having lost heart (6) |
| DES[s]ERT (course, leaving out the S in the middle) | ||
| 27 | CHANGE | Convert put to death in church (6) |
| HANG (put to death) inside CE (church) | ||
| 28 | SIGHTSEE | Visit places of interest, two spots (8) |
| SIGHT (spot, no 1) + SEE (spot, no 2) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | ALTAR | Communion table set up in minster, at last (5) |
| Hidden solution: [minste]R AT LA[st], then reversed | ||
| 3 | APPROPRIATE | Suitable nick (11) |
| Double definition Two different pronunciations. |
||
| 4 | ADAM BEDE | A noble lady’s describing plot for novel (4,4) |
| A DAME (a noble lady) around BED (plot) First novel written by George Eliot whose real name was actually Mary Ann Evans. Adam Bede was first published in 1859 when the author was already 39 years old. |
||
| 5 | PUBLIC RELATIONS | Leading family members in promotion of goodwill (6,9) |
| PUBLIC (leading?) + RELATIONS (family members) | ||
| 6 | SOOTHE | Very old article brings comfort (6) |
| SO (very) + O (old) + THE (article) | ||
| 7 | ROC | Diamond, perhaps cut for fabulous bird (3) |
| ROC[k] (diamond [definition by example], with the last letter removed) | ||
| 8 | NAME NAMES | Awfully mean celebrities – say who they are (4,5) |
| (MEAN)* + NAMES (celebrities) [* = awfully] | ||
| 13 | RUMOUR HAS IT | Story is sexy, they say (6,3,2) |
| RUMOUR (story) + HAS IT (is sexy) I can’t help thinking of that thumping Adele song with the same title, from her album 21. |
||
| 15 | AYATOLLAH | Nursemaid brings in a ring for religious leader (9) |
| AYAH (nursemaid) around A TOLL (ring) | ||
| 17 | INFRA DIG | Beneath one, DI faring badly (5,3) |
| (DI faring)* [* = badly] | ||
| 20 | MOUSSE | Creamy dessert – seconds accepted by timid type (6) |
| S (seconds) inside MOUSE (timid type) | ||
| 23 | DIRGE | Lament what’s dreadful about opening in game (5) |
| DIRE (dreadful) around G[ame] | ||
| 25 | RUN | Manage to stand (3) |
| Double definition ‘To stand’ as in ‘to run for president’. |
||
*anagram
This was the hardest Falcon I can ever remember and indeed I wonder if was Falcon.
I wonder how many have heard of laval, ayah, roman -fleuve and adam bede -certainly not me.
Had it not been a wet bank holiday , it would have been less than half finished.
Thanks Falcon and Sil.
Wow! That was a challenge for a Monday.
I must say that I found it thoroughly engaging and enjoyable.
Pierre Laval is I think somewhat obscure and it was indeed my LOI once I had the crossers.
My only query is at 9ac – do you know what “wanted” is adding to the clue? I assumed that we all want some form of Utopia but I suspect that there must be something else.
Cities and towns are always an interesting question (re 11). I was always taught that a city had to have a cathedral and hence form the hub of a diocese – so greater London is three I suppose (London, Westminster and Southwark). Although if you go to the US in particular there are a few one-horse towns that call themselves cities. Whatever, I suspect that there’s no real question about BRNO.
My top clues were BLITHERING and COLE PORTER – the latter being a very classy oblique definition.
Thanks, and one of the toughest I’ve ever seen. I think I filled in about 4 and was never really confident of any of them.
Thanks Falcon and Sil
Glad that it wasn’t only me thinking that this setter had ratcheted up the difficulty meter to his usual offerings. It took at least twice as long as normal to do it and that just made it doubly enjoyable!
Did’t help myself by writing a couple of wrong ‘uns in at 6a and 10a initially (an unparsed PAROLE and BOY’S CLUB). ‘Roman-fleuve’ was the only new word for me. Can’t recall where I’d heard of the collaborator, Pierre LAVAL before, but I had. BRNO was the first one in – a curious name for a city and an obvious anagram.
Finished in the NE corner with the clever NAME NAMES and the eventually repaired SPRING.