Monday Prize Crossword/Jan 12
Exactly the same grid as last week’s prize puzzle, different setter yet more or less similar level, quality and enjoyment. For which many thanks to Crux.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BULLETIN | What duelling pistols had, indicated in report (8) |
| “What duelling pistols had”, was (often) just one BULLET IN them | ||
| I am not sure why Crux uses the past tense here (‘had’) – perhaps because we’re not allowed to do these things anymore? | ||
| 5 | CATNAP | Possibly a queen’s favourite time to relax (6) |
| Cryptic / Double definition | ||
| 9 | BLOW AWAY | Shoot dead to really impress (4,4) |
| Double definition | ||
| One more violent surface (after 1ac) – don’t like it very much. | ||
| 10 | JUDOGI | Just half join party with soldier in martial costume (6) |
| JU[st] + DO (party) + GI (soldier) | ||
| New word to me – I knew Judo and Judoka but not this one. And hurrah, more fighting …. | ||
| 12 | LOTUS | Many don uniform in Yogi’s position (5) |
| LOTS (many) around U (uniform) | ||
| 13 | TEST PILOT | Unlikely top titles for one occupying 21 (4,5) |
| (TOP TITLES)* [* = unlikely] | ||
| Very nice anagram fodder. | ||
| There are actually two 21s in this puzzle but Crux wants us to take 21d (COCKPIT). | ||
| 14 | SMILEY | Spymaster sounds cheerful (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| It looks like Crux is up for a homophone (‘sounds’) but it’s not really one as the adjective is also written SMILEY (with ‘smily’ only the alternative spelling) | ||
| The spymaster is George Smiley, character in novels by John Le Carré such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. | ||
| 16 | UGANDAN | Extremely understanding, as well as an African (7) |
| U[nderstandin]G + AND (as well as) + AN | ||
| 19 | FOREVER | Till hell freezes over, or is consumed by heat (7) |
| OR inside FEVER (heat) | ||
| 21 | CHEEPS | Free speech, as exemplified in some tweets (6) |
| (SPEECH)* [* = free] | ||
| 23 | LIKE MAGIC | Supernaturally, as the Wise Men came, initially (4,5) |
| LIKE (as) + MAGI (the Wise Men) + C[ame] | ||
| 25 | SEWER | Tailor who features in more Westerns from the east (5) |
| Hidden (‘features in’) in: [mo]RE WES[terns], then reversed (‘from the East’) | ||
| 26 | EXISTS | Is showing discrimination, first to last (6) |
| SEXIST (showing discrimination) with the S at the start moving to the end | ||
| 27 | SPIRITED | Vigorous spider weaves with it (8) |
| (SPIDER + IT)* [* = vigorous] | ||
| 28 | TEETHE | Get through the first set, maybe (6) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| My LOI – I would never have found this without the crossing letters but then it’s a crossword, isn’t it? | ||
| 29 | AT ANCHOR | An oil carrier’s said to be this when in port (2,6) |
| Probably meant to be a homophone (‘said’) of: A TANKER (an oil carrier) … | ||
| … but I prefer to see this as: A (an) + TANCHOR (homophone of ‘tanker’ because of the pronunciation of the A at the start. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BUBBLE | Boil turning blue, black and brown, primarily (6) |
| (BLUE + B[lack] + B[rown])* [* = turning] | ||
| 2 | LION TAMER | Brave circus performer like Daniel was (4,5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 3 | EXAMS | A male involved in weird sex tests (5) |
| {A + M (male)} inside (SEX)* [* = weird] | ||
| 4 | INAPTLY | Unfortunately in confusing play about time (7) |
| IN + {(PLAY)* around T (time)} [* = confusing] | ||
| 6 | AQUAPLANE | Water pressure on road causing skid (9) |
| AQUA (water) + P (pressure) + LANE (road) | ||
| 7,8 | NO OIL PAINTING | Portrait in water colours? Not much to look at! (2,3,8) |
| Double definition, the first one by example | ||
| 11 | ESAU | Man out of Genesis takes part in Beatles’ audition (4) |
| Hidden solution (‘takes part in’): [beatl]ES AU[dition] | ||
| 15 | LOVE MATCH | There’s nothing to equal romantic marriage (4,5) |
| LOVE (nothing, as in tennis) + MATCH ((to) equal) | ||
| 17 | DIP SWITCH | Uses ducking stool? One lowers beam with it (3,6) |
| DIPS WITCH (uses ducking stool) | ||
| A ducking stool is/was a chair fastened to the end of a pole to plunge offenders of any kind into a body of water. | ||
| 18 | EFFLUENT | Mostly rich contents of 25 (8) |
| The solution is for the biggest part (‘mostly’) the same as AFFLUENT (rich) | ||
| 25 (again, which one?) is SEWER. In its meaning of ‘drainage pipe’ it might contain EFFLUENT (water mixed with waste matter). I first entered here AFFLUENT as that is also an, albeit archaic, word for a stream of water. However, this left me puzzling over the use of ”Mostly”. | ||
| 20 | RIGA | Capital of two American states (4) |
| RI (American state, Rhode Island) + GA (another one, Georgia) | ||
| 21 | COCKPIT | Where the Chanticleers once fought (7) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 22 | TRADER | Dealer turned up example of Socialist Realism? (6) |
| Reversal (‘turned up’) of: RED ART (Socialist Realism?) | ||
| 24 | KNIFE | Silent killer following Stanley perhaps (5) |
| Kind of Double definition – Stanley knife (which is more a tool than a weapon, of course) | ||
| 25 | SIREN | Father’s new woman, fascinating but dangerous (5) |
| SIRE (Father) + N (new) | ||
Thanks Sil and Crux,
I had EFFLUENT at 18d.
I also had effluent for 18D being mostly made up of the letters of (a)ffluent (rich).
OK, that’s it then.
But I think just saying “mostly ‘affluent'” (and nothing more) is not precise enough to clue EFFLUENT.
Thanks both.
Thanks Crux and Sil
Nice puzzle that caused no real holdups – well until TEETHE, which was also my last one in.
I had EFFLUENT, but didn’t like it at all – just think that it is too ambiguous!
Thought that DIPSWITCH was very clever when finally twigged to the ‘ducking stool’ context.