Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of May 14, 2016
As usual with Alberich, I found this puzzle a bit challenging but also very satisfying. My clue of the week is the ingenious 2d (TENNESSEE) and I also like 1a (HIT THE ROOF), 14d (BREATH TEST) and 20d (RUFFIAN).
| Across | ||
| 1 | HIT THE ROOF | Husband’s crazy for hottie – will his wife do this? (3,3,4) |
| H (husband) + anagram of FOR HOTTIE | ||
| 6 | ECHT | Contribution to speech therapy is genuine (4) |
| Hidden word. ‘Echt’ means not fake or counterfeit. | ||
| 10 | CANON | Cleric provides a series of prayers (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 11 | COAGULATE | Set in stone, union laws originally started by firm (9) |
| CO (firm) + U[nion] L[aws] in AGATE (stone) | ||
| 12 | BERI-BERI | Disease that’s transmitted orally put one in grave situation twice (4-4) |
| Homophone “bury” (put one in grave situation) repeated (twice) | ||
| 13 | CAPER | After Kelvin’s gone back once more fill skip (5) |
| REPAC[k] (once more fill, after Kelvin’s gone) backwards (gone back) | ||
| 15 | RESPECT | Secret police at first resolved to show consideration (7) |
| Anagram of SECRET P[olice] | ||
| 17 | AGA-SAGA | Type of book that will be returned undamaged? (3-4) |
| Palindrome. I had to look up ‘Aga-saga’ | ||
| 19 | ABETTER | One who incites abstainer to crack a drink (7) |
| TT (abstainer) in A BEER (a drink) | ||
| 21 | COLETTE | French writer suffered, hiding in shelter (7) |
| LET (suffered) in COTE (shelter). A ‘cote’ is a small shelter for domestic animals (as sheep or pigeons). | ||
| 22 | HERON | One bird or another seen around river with duck (5) |
| R (river) + O (duck) together in HEN (another [bird]) | ||
| 24 | FANATICS | Extremists are jerks with freak as leader (8) |
| FAN (freak) + A (are) + TICS (jerks). ‘Are’ as used in the cryptic reading refers to an old measure of land area. I did not originally see this and interpreted the clue as FAN (freak) + A[s] + TICS (jerks) which does not work so well. I have one of the commenters to thank for clarifying this (see below). | ||
| 27 | EXPLETIVE | Its characters often become stars (9) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 28 | QUOTE | Refer to question Goethe oddly dismissed (5) |
| QU (question) + [g]O[e]T[h]E | ||
| 29 | TUNA | Fish and cask ale for starter (4) |
| TUN (cask) + A[le] | ||
| 30 | IN ANY EVENT | Whatever happens, heartless nurse still stops it (2,3,5) |
| NA[n]NY + EVEN (still) together in IT (it) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | HACK | Blowing top, hit journalist (4) |
| [w]HACK (blowing top, hit) | ||
| 2 | TENNESSEE | Seventeen soprano works without introduction from Vaughan Williams? (9) |
| Anagram of SE[v]ENTEEN S (soprano) | ||
| 3 | HANOI | Hospital on island raised capital (5) |
| H (hospital) + IONA (island) backwards | ||
| 4 | RACIEST | Intolerant sort swallows pill to become most spirited (7) |
| E (pill, ecstasy presumably) in RACIST (intolerant sort) | ||
| 5 | OCARINA | Rocky Marciano initially abandoned wind instrument (7) |
| Anagram (rocky) of [m]ARCIANO | ||
| 7 | CHAMP | Cold meat that’s soft to chew (5) |
| C (cold) + HAM (meat) + P (soft) | ||
| 8 | TIEBREAKER | What decides winner of cup after match? That’s about right (10) |
| TIE (match) + R (right) in BEAKER (cup) | ||
| 9 | PUB-CRAWL | Boozy event at university reflected by fighting outside clubs (3-5) |
| UP (at university) backwards (reflected) + C (clubs) in BRAWL (fighting) | ||
| 14 | BREATH TEST | Beer that’s drunk by motorist ultimately shown in this? (6,4) |
| Anagram of BEER THATS + [motoris]T | ||
| 16 | EXTENDED | European vote’s inclined to be prolonged (8) |
| E (European) + X (vote) + TENDED (inclined) | ||
| 18 | ARTICHOKE | Knack one needs to suppress plant (9) |
| ART (knack) + I (one) + CHOKE (to suppress) | ||
| 20 | RUFFIAN | Reportedly violent fellow? (7) |
| Homophone (“rough Ian”) &Lit. | ||
| 21 | CANTEEN | Is youngster able to find place to eat? (7) |
| CAN TEEN (is youngster able to) | ||
| 23 | RIPON | Cathedral city’s epitaph for cricket side? (5) |
| RIP (epitaph) + ON (cricket side) | ||
| 25 | TOQUE | Old queen’s wearing extremely terrible hat (5) |
| O (old) + QU (queen) together in T[erribl]E | ||
| 26 | PERT | Saucy material turns up on time (4) |
| REP (material) + T (time). Rep is a fabric with prominent rounded crosswise ribs. | ||
Thanks Pete and Alberich.
A good solid puzzle and I agree with your favourites Pete – and also liked EXPLETIVE.
TOQUE was readily solvable from the clue but I had to look it up to check.
I’m still not sure about 24ac. In what sense is a FAN a freak? And is “leader” doing double duty – take the lead letter of “as” and also put FAN A in front of TICS? I think that we’re missing something.
Hamish, I think that the A comes from A = are (unit of land measurement) and the “as leader” bit just puts FAN first. A cricket fan could also be said to be a cricket freak.
Thanks all.
Thanks, Pete, I agree with you and the others. Superb puzzle as usual, but I really don’t think much of Aga-Saga. I’d never heard of it, and will never hear it again. A perfect crossword should be solvable in 50 years’ time.
I was not completely happy with 24ac although I did manage to convince myself that the clue worked satisfactorily as I described it. I do not care for the use of ‘freak’ to mean a ‘fan’ in the sense of a person with a consuming interest in something but I must admit to having used it myself in the distant past. Thank you, cruciverbophile, for pointing out the ‘are’ cluing ‘A’ possibility which I now suspect is correct.
I sympathize with you, Hornbeam, regarding Aga-Saga but I have to acknowledge that the term is to be found in my Chambers which defines it as “a popular novel in a semi-rural middle-class setting”.
I have never heard of aga saga and even with all a?a ?a?a still couldn’t do it. And I loathe 20d, but expletive I thought was brilliant. Thanks all.
Thanks Alberich and Pete
Did this one on Friday and found it one of my quickest solves of this setter that I have achieved – must have been right on his wavelength.
I think that I’ve come across AGA SAGA at least once (and I think twice) this year – an interesting term and I thought a very clever clue here. Had parsed 24a the same as the blog, but cruciverbophile has nailed it. And Pete, question needs to give the QU in 28a.
Agree that TENNESSEE was the best of a good lot and I thought that CAPER was very clever as well.
Finished with that AGA SAGA (so my previous experience obviously didn’t help me all that much !) and PUB CRAWL as the last one in.
Ah, yes, I missed the ‘U’ in 28a. Thank you, brucew.