Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of February 21, 2015
So, another new setter has wandered into this space. And one I know nothing about. His or her initial offering seems a mixed bag. There are a couple of excellent clues but also a couple that I find wanting. My clue of the week is 6d (SOP) and my other favourite is 28a (THE BOARDS). And I like the fact that the answers on each edge read as compound terms — did you notice?
I think 1a (ST ANDREWS) is poor because it is a double definition in which both definitions define essentially the same thing, the Scottish city. Convention has it, surely, that a multiple-definition clue should have definitions of distinct things. The clue has a great surface but does that justify it?
Then 20a seems only trivially cryptic.
ACROSS
1 University course (2,7)
ST ANDREWS – double definition
6 Go over credit limits of two “savings” accounts (5)
CROSS – CR (credit) + [tw]O [saving]S [account]S
9 Duck before writer with drink starts shooting (5,2)
OPENS UP – O (duck) + PEN (writer) + SUP (drink)
10 Mineral water, ultimately, is type that’s drunk (7)
PYRITES – anagram of [wate]R IS TYPE
11 Argument leads to something else that troubles one (3-2)
SET-TO – S[omething] E[lse] T[hat] T[roubles] O[ne]
12 Stars princess barely chained to rock (9)
ANDROMEDA – double definition
14 Fish with some hesitation out of boat (3)
FRY – FERRY (boat) with ER (some hesitation) removed
15 Gay person, so lit up caff? (6,5)
GREASY SPOON -anagram of GAY PERSON SO
17 Commercial traveller possibly gets topless service for nothing in lounge bar (11)
SALESPERSON – [v]ESPERS (topless service) replacing the first O (‘nothing’) in SALOON (lounge bar)
19 Piece of turf half soaked through (3)
SOD – SOD[den] (half soaked through)
20 Digital representation of Piggy weeing on the way home? (6,3)
LITTLE TOE – “and this little piggy went ‘wee, wee, wee’ all the way home”. This clue seems barely cryptic.
22 Part of stage set back in Odeon or Parthenon (5)
APRON – reverse hidden word
24 The writer featuring in English master’s puzzles (7)
ENIGMAS – I (the writer) in ENG (English) + MAS (masters)
26 Chance eating most of dodgy meat (7)
BRISKET – RISK[y] (most of dodgy) in BET (chance)
27 Cleaned seats around front of theatre (5)
SWEPT – PEWS (seats) backwards + T[heatre]
28 Stage Eleanor Bron, for starters, has trod in play? (3,6)
THE BOARDS -anagram of E[leanor] B[ron] HAS TROD
DOWN
1 Taxes second bedroom occupants (5)
SCOTS – S (second) + COTS (bedroom occupants)
2 Doctor played tiddlywinks, initially with great skill (7)
ADEPTLY – anagram of PLAYED T[iddlywinks]
3 Hawks in underworld ravines (9)
DISGORGES – DIS (underworld) + GORGES (ravines)
4 Where gun might be fired from mountain setter climbs, pursued by Bond (11)
EMPLACEMENT – ME (setter) + ALP (mountain) together backwards + CEMENT (bond)
5 A bit surprised pensioner’s denied a concession (3)
SOP – S[urprised] + O[a]P (pensioner’s denied a)
6 American leaves strange bit of bric-a-brac (5)
CURIO – CURIO[us]
7 Busy part of year, before I head off (2,3,2)
ON THE GO – [m]ONTH (part of year…head off) + EGO (I)
8 Take action against daughter, without blot on reputation being prolonged (9)
SUSTAINED -STAIN (blot on reputation) in SUE (take action against) + D (daughter)
13 Pull to pieces blessed Amis novel (11)
DISASSEMBLE – anagram of BLESSED AMIS
14 Soldiers given another order to use rifles (9)
FUSILEERS – anagram of USE RIFLES. This is, I believe, a less common but correct alternate spelling for fusiliers — thanks, ernie.
16 Nina keeps sheep in very large, upwardly mobile country (3,6)
SAN MARINO – RAM (sheep) in NINA in SO (very large) all backwards
18 Web article from Nancy about storage space (7)
LATTICE – ATTIC (storage space) in LE (article from Nancy – meaning the city in France)
19 One out is batsman facing bowler (7)
STRIKER – double definition
21 Left Cambridge University after one term (5)
LIMIT – L (left) + MIT (Cambridge university!!)
23 Marks sofa in two parts? (5)
NOTES – SO FA are two notes in solfa
25 Almost throw up, being drunk (3)
SOT – TOS[s] (almost throw) backwards
Thanks PM. Wanderer’s been around for a while now – as a “Guardian first” solver he’s increasingly one I look out for on the “other papers”. I assume you mean this is his first time in the FT Saturday slot – I think that’s right.
Always a week passes before we can comment on these Saturday ones so it’s always a bit stale but I do remember at the time being really impressed by the entertainment level of this one, having also found that with this setter’s previous offering. Maybe (out of 5) ***/***** difficulty/entertainment on the BigDavometer, which is a good mix if you’re not looking for too much of a tussle.
I think 20a is OK as a CD – maybe you just twigged the “other” meaning first.
14d Surely we need the alternative spelling of ‘fusileers’ for the anagram to work?
I also noticed sod, sop and sot all as answers.
Thanks to Pete and Wanderer
ernie, You are correct! Thank you.
Thanks Wanderer and Pete
Enjoyable work out here – missed what was happening around the edges. He / she nearly got all the short ones as SOx words.
A couple of tricky parsings – took an age to see what was going on with the -OSS part of CROSS and SALESPERSONS required some deep thought as well.
Liked the misdirection with MIT located in Cambridge, Massachussets :). And smiled at LITTLE TOE when I twigged to what was going on.
I can’t remember completing a crossword but having so many unparsed solutions. I could have sat forever and not explained 6a,14a 7d & 22d.
Never come across fusileers spelled like that.
Pete I think you’re being a bit harsh about 1ac. St Andrews is a university and also a golf course, so surely it’s not true to say that both definitions define essentially the same thing.
Wil, I do feel that I am being harsh and I am not comfortable about it but I am inclined nevertheless to stick with my comments. Please consider also that, while the course in question is commonly referred to as St. Andrews, its proper name (“Royal and Ancient Golf Club”) does not include the city name.
Yes Pete, I realise that St Andrews golf course has a real name that is different, but you hear things like “Where’s the Open being played this year? Muirfield? Troon?” “No, St Andrews”.