Posted by smiffy on 8th May 2008
After slogging my way through yesterday’s Monk puzzle last night, I was expecting much easier fare today. However, this one was no cakewalk either, and I had to use the world of Wiki to justify what was initially an optimistic guess on my part at 12A.
Across
1 THE,O(RISE)D
6 SPECS - double def’n
9 MOOLA - A,LOOM(rev)
10 (-u)NEARTHING - a little bit of a cliche, but I needed Viking to throw me a couple of bones to get started.
11 ELEMENTARY - one of those clues where I suspect you either tumble on the solution immediately, or else have to wait for full checking. Count me in the latter camp.
12 BA(N)T - I had to confirm the definition of “diet” online… Do you Bant?
15 M(IS,F)ILE - another neat and well-engineered clue.
20 (-t)HICK
22 ASTON,I,SHED - ref A. Villa, those sporting titans of the West Midlands (1874-1982)
26 GREBE - E,BERG(Rev)
Down
1 TE(MP)E - Arizona resort town.
2 EX,ONE,RATE - concise, simple but still tricky.
4 SENATOR - seer with NATO for E(nergy).
6 SAT,I - a variant of Suttee, self-immolation.
7 EVITA - it’s a beheaded reversal of either dative (or sedative?). The latter fits better with “number”, but less so with “missing original”.
8 SIGH, TREAD
13 A,S(PIR)INGLY - a good plausible surface.
14 FRIGHT,FUL - “journey” = flight (with directional switch of L to R).
21 CARE,T - a.ka the circumflex, ^, “hat” etc
23 D(-u)RESS
Posted in FT | 1 Comment »
Posted by neildubya on 8th May 2008
I found this very tough, despite a quick start. Still not sure about 8 and 11 though.
| Across |
| 1 |
MUGGLE in S,D - in the Harry Potter books, a MUGGLE is someone who isn’t a wizard. |
| 9 |
MIT,RE BOX - “they” being RE from the previous clue. A MITRE BOX is a tool for guiding handsaws. |
| 10 |
TON[-y],IN,G - not sure how the missing Y is indicated by “term cut”. |
| 14 |
(IN OHIO DUKE’LL)* - UNLIKELIHOOD, and an unlikely set of letters for an anagram. |
| 18 |
E in PHOTON,GRAVE |
| 21 |
A in IM ON(reversed) |
| 22 |
REM, IS in (NICE)* - REM is the “rock group”. |
| 24 |
[H for W]EIGHT |
| 25 |
STAND[-h]ARD |
| 26 |
(CHAPEL)* - PLEACH was a new word to me so this was a guess and one of the last words to go in. |
| |
| Down |
| 2 |
(TURN)* EU (going up) |
| 4 |
(YOUR LOVE AINT)* - EVOLUTIONARY. |
| 6 |
PRO,K(OF)IEV |
| 8 |
RAG TRADE - “fashion industry” is the definition but I don’t understand the rest of the clue. |
| 11 |
TELEPROMPTER - don’t understand this one either. |
| 15 |
(ONE)*,LITHIC |
| 17 |
COLON,IS,E |
| 20 |
WE,ED(going up) in DD |
| 23 |
NO(N)ES |
Posted in Independent | 11 Comments »
Posted by jetdoc on 8th May 2008
When it’s a blogging day, I’m always happy to see that Paul is the setter, and this did not disappoint. As ever, some clever and potentially deceptive clues.
Having solved 10a and 12a, I spotted 8d, ORANGE FREE STATE, and saw that the theme is South Africa.
Now that I have blogged this, I realise I forgot to leave out any clues, as we’re supposed to with dailies. But I can’t decide which ones to delete, so apologies for the omission of omission.
| Across |
| 9 |
HOT POTATO |
ATO = alternate letters of ‘action’; on HOTPOT = a dish of chopped mutton, beef, etc, seasoned and stewed together with sliced potatoes. |
| 10 |
AMOUR |
O = love; in ‘a rum’ backwards. Nice clue. |
| 11 |
PILLAGE |
LAG = criminal; in PILE = large building. |
| 12 |
DISCERN |
E = English; RN = Royal Navy, an armed service; on DISC = record. |
| 13, 5 |
EAST LONDON |
A city on the south-east coast of South Africa (with a cricket ground called Buffalo Park). *(last one); over [the river] DON. |
| 14 |
DOWNSTROKE |
[Irish County] DOWN; R in STOKE, an English city, with a football team also called Stoke City. |
| 17 |
SLEEPER |
Double definition. As well as someone who’s asleep, a sleeper is a small gold hoop worn in a pierced ear to prevent the hole from closing up. |
| 19 |
DESCENDANT |
END = target; DESCANT = range (presumably, though Chambers doesn’t define it as such). Two meanings of ‘succeed’. |
| 22 |
HERE |
Hidden in ‘further education’, with a deceptive line break, in the online version at least. |
| 23 |
EQUATOR |
*(a route Q). Clever &lit clue, although Quito is actually 25 km south of the equator. I suppose ‘roughly’, as well as being the anagram indicator, could refer to the geographic inexactitude. |
| 24 |
EXPLOIT |
I in EX-PLOT. |
| 26, 15 |
SOUTH AFRICAN |
OUT = away; H = Hungarian capital; A FRI[day]; in SCAN. |
| 27 |
ARCHIVIST |
IST = first; after ARCH = top, IV = four. |
|
| Down |
| 1 |
CHAPTER AND VERSE |
‘authority’ is the definition. CHAP = man; *(raved about n); in TERSE = short. |
| 2 |
UTILISER |
*(result I I). |
| 3 |
IOWA |
IOW = Isle of Wight; on A. |
| 4 |
CAPE TOWN |
I’m not sure about the wordplay for this one. I am assuming: COW = objectionable woman (‘vixen’ is given as ‘bad-tempered woman’); A PET = ‘a personal’ (uh?); N = ‘loan, finally’. Chambers does define PET as ‘potentially exempt transfer’, but that’s a gift rather than a loan. |
| 6 |
CASSETTE |
SET = put; in CASTE = order of rank. For you young people out there, recorded sound used to be purchased in the form of cassettes. |
| 7 |
SOWETO |
SO WET; O = duck (no runs). |
| 8 |
ORANGE FREE STATE |
Lovely double definition — fruitlessness is an orange-free state (though oranges are not the only fruit, of course). |
| 16 |
CHEETAHS |
Sounds like ‘cheaters’. |
| 17 |
SENTENCE |
Double definition, referring to the legal term ‘passing sentence’. |
| 18 |
PRETORIA |
*(to repair). |
| 20 |
SPUTUM |
PUT = write; in SUM. As always, Paul manages to include something a bit unsavoury. |
| 21 |
DURBAN |
D = daughter; URBAN describes a city, which Durban is. |
| 25 |
PAIR |
‘2’ is the definition. ‘Pair’ sounds like ‘pare’. |
Posted in Guardian | 13 Comments »
Posted by nmsindy on 8th May 2008
Solving time, 17 mins
* = anagram < = reversed
ACROSS
8 CHAT EAU (water in French)
9 A (GAIN) ST ST = saint = good person
10 O N ICE
11 DISFAVOUR (Avoid furs)*
12 D (AVID L) EAN
14 BOO BY
15 DEEP SET
17 MARR (I) ED
19 DIN ER
20 RENDITION (trio in den)*
22 COMPO SURE
23 MAD AM
25 DI (STI) CH It’s<
26 LINE-OUT cf outline
DOWN
1 AC CORDED
2 MALI Hidden
3 DEF END DEF successive in alphabet
4 MUDDLES THRO UGH (the doldrums)*
5 SA (It = sex appeal) LAD BAR Rab< Rab Butler, politician from 1950s etc
6 AN (NO D) O MINI
7 ST (H)(URD) Y Douglas ‘Urd
9 ABSENT-MINDEDLY (any Lib-Dem tends)*
13 VI (ET (and = with in French) NAMES) E
16 (t)SAR DON I C
18 DYNAMITE “Dinah might”
19 DE (CID) E police in the river
21 I’M M (UN) E
24 DO (f) OR
Posted in Independent | No Comments »
Posted by Pete Maclean on 8th May 2008
Ah, my second Falcon puzzle to blog. This proved moderately easy and somehow I even dredged CHOTA PEG (19A) out of the back of my mind. I love 20D and 10D is very cute.
Across
1. SATANIC - A (a) + TAN (bronze) in SIC[k] (disappointed no end)
5. BRANCH - B (British) + RANCH (large farm)
8. ON THE BALL - double definition
9. CREAM - [profiterol]E in CRAM (stuff)
11. TENSE - T[heatre] + anagram of SEEN
12. CHORISTER - CH (church) + OR (or) + [s]ISTER (nun needing no introduction)
14. NOAHS ARK - anagram of H (hands initially) + ANORAKS
15. DIADEM - D[uke] + anagram of I (one) MADE
17. BALLAD - BALL (dance) + AD (notice)
19. CHOTA PEG - anagram of GOT CHEAP. Chota peg is a British military slang term, Indian in origin I believe, for a short drink like a gin and tonic.
22. AGREEMENT - MEN (soldiers) in A (a) + GREET (salute)
23. AORTA - hidden word
24. ETHER - anagram of THERE. This is a clever and devious clue but also a variation on a well known theme.
25. CLEARANCE - double definition
26. DRAW IN - DR (doctor) + A (a) + WIN (secure)
27. SCRAPIE - I (one) in SCRAPE (tricky situation)
Down
1. SHOOTING BRAKE - SHOOTING (filming) + B (British) + RAKE (playboy). I am old enough to know this term well.
2. TITANIA - TITANI[c] (short film) + A (a)
3. NIECE - PIECE (board game figure) with P (pawn) changed to N (knight)
4. CHANCERY - CHANCER (opportunist) + [cla]Y
5. BALLOT - ALL (everyone) in BOT[tom] (base except Tom)
6. ARCHIVIST - anagram of THE VICAR
7. CHEATED - C[ompany] + HEATED (furious)
10. MARY MAGDALENE - anagram of ELY ANAGRAMMED
14. SCARECROW - S[hows] + CARE (concern) + C (about) + ROW (string)
16. SHATTERS - S (small) + HATTERS (milliners)
18. LURCHER - H (horse) in anagram of CRUEL. A lurcher is a hunting dog. This is the one word I did not know and had to look up.
20. PARSNIP - PAR[e] (cut, cut) + SNIP (cut)
21. BEACON - BEACON[sfield] (Bucks town)
23. AIRER - AIRE (English river) + [wei]R. The definition refers to a stand as in a frame for drying clothes.
Posted in FT | 4 Comments »