Monday Prize Crossword/Dec 2
Solvers often say that Dante’s crosswords are full of cryptic and double definitions. Well, here is a clear example of that.
While I am not a big fan of these devices, often leaving me with one or two unsolved clues before turning to resources, I did not have any problem at all this time to finish the puzzle. Many thanks to Dante for a crossword in which 1d stood out, in my opinion.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | MERGER | Absorbing business transaction? (6) |
| Doublish definition | ||
| 4 | PORTRAIT | A personal representation (8) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 10 | SAMARITAN | A good man known for giving first-aid (9) |
| Double definition | ||
| The second one is referring to the Samaritans as an organisation helping people who are in trouble and need someone to talk to. | ||
| 11 | LHASA | Lash out, going to a foreign capital (5) |
| (LASH)* + A | ||
| 12 | ERNE | The main type of eagle (4) |
| Plain/Cryptic definition | ||
| This bird is also called ‘sea-eagle’ which is why Dante uses ‘the main’ (sea) in the clue. | ||
| 13 | BARBERSHOP | Suitable music for the hairdresser’s ball? (10) |
| BARBER’S (hairdresser’s) + HOP (ball?, a dance) | ||
| 15 | LETITIA | A title I adapted for a girl (7) |
| (A LITTLE I)* | ||
| 16 | SATIRE | It’s a possibility concerning caricature (6) |
| (IT’S A)* + RE (concerning) | ||
| 19 | ASHORE | Timber and mineral found on land (6) |
| ASH (timber, ie wood) + ORE (mineral) | ||
| 21 | STORIES | Store is to reorganise accounts (7) |
| (STORE IS)* | ||
| 23 | ALTOGETHER | Completely nude? (10) |
| Double definition | ||
| 25 | ASTI | It’s a wine making a comeback (4) |
| Reversal (‘making a comeback’) of IT’S A | ||
| 27 | BINGO | Refuse holder a turn in the game (5) |
| BIN (refuse holder) + GO ((a) turn) | ||
| 28 | TRATTORIA | Pudding sent back leads to a riot breaking out in foreign restaurant (9) |
| TRAT (reversal (‘sent back’) of TART (pudding)) + (A RIOT)* | ||
| 29 | CITY DESK | London bureau providing financial news (4,4) |
| CITY (London) + DESK (bureau) | ||
| 30 | CHASTE | Pursued, we hear, but remained virtuous (6) |
| Homophone (‘we hear’) of: CHASED (pursued) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | MASTERLY | Re my last solution – it is brilliant! (8) |
| (RE MY LAST)* | ||
| Indeed, it is brilliant! | ||
| 2 | RUMINATES | Considers a terminus needs restoration (9) |
| (A TERMINUS)* | ||
| 3 | EZRA | Time to introduce final character in book (4) |
| ERA (time) around Z (final character) | ||
| 5 | OMNIBUS | Carrier gets U-boat in an instant to surface (7) |
| Reversal (‘to surface’) of: SUB (U-boat) + IN + MO (an instant) | ||
| 6 | TOLERATION | Indulgence shown to drunk relation (10) |
| TO + (RELATION)* | ||
| 7 | ABASH | A party put down (5) |
| A + BASH (party) | ||
| 8 | TRAMPS | Wanderers of the sea-lanes? (6) |
| Double/Cryptic definition | ||
| Tramps are, of course, ‘wanderers’ but what I didn’t know was that a ‘tramp’ can also be a cargo boat with no fixed route. | ||
| 9 | STRATA | Odd start to “A” Levels (6) |
| (START)* + A | ||
| As someone who is very familiar with A levels, the quotation marks look a bit odd to me. | ||
| 14 | STRONGHOLD | Keep a firm grip (10) |
| STRONG (firm) + HOLD (grip) | ||
| 17 | REINSURES | Maintains the same policy? (9) |
| Cryptic definition – think: insurance policy | ||
| 18 | ASPIRATE | Record the sound of Beethoven’s fifth (8) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| The fifth letter of Beethoven is an H and pronouncing the sound of H is called ‘aspirate’. Not sure why Dante chose the word ‘Record’ in this clue. | ||
| 20 | ESTATES | People leave them in cars (7) |
| Double definition | ||
| 21 | SEESAW | Notice saying “playground equipment” (6) |
| SEE (notice) + SAW (saying) | ||
| 22 | IAMBIC | Describing a foot in metres (6) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| A iambus (with adjective: iambic) is – according to Chambers – “a foot of two syllables, a short followed by a long, or an unstressed followed by a stressed”. We are talking about poetry here. One of the definitions of ‘metre’ is: “the rhythm of a piece poetry, determined by the number and length of feet in a line” (ODE). | ||
| 24 | TENET | Conviction that can be reversed? (5) |
| The solution is a palindrome (‘that can be reversed’) | ||
| 26 | UTAH | State university has rising capital investment (4) |
| U (university) + TAH (reversal (‘rising’) of HAT (capital investment, ie headgear) | ||
Yes, thanks to Dante from me too…I enjoyed this puzzle.
Didn’t complete the bottom left hand corner though.
I initially had INSIGHTFUL for 23 across, but realized this wasn’t right with TENET and SEESAW.
So at the end was left with 22d and 23a (as well as 18d)
JohnH
Many thanks Sil and Dante.
I enjoyed this but I failed to solve 18d ASPIRATE.
I have always suspected that Beethoven was a Pirate as it is evident that he ‘borrowed’ a lot of his stuff from George Gershwin and Jerome Kern.
I thought 18d sounded familiar, and, sure enough, Dante (as Rufus) used the same clue for ASPIRATE in Guardian 26,114. (FYI, there was quite a bit of discussion about that clue on the blog for the Guardian puzzle it appeared in.)
Thanks for your comment, Keeper.
I know that Rufus and Dante exchange clues every now and then.
Usually I remember them instantly, however not in this particular case.
I re-read the Guardian comments and I think there’s no need to make a renewed fuss of it here.
Everything’s already been said at the Other Place.