Fifteensquared

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Archive for October 10th, 2008

Guardian 24,516 - Orlando

Posted by manehi on 10th October 2008

manehi.

Nothing too difficult but certainly some very clever clueing and nice surfaces throughout. Loved 24ac.

Across
1 CHUMMY CHUMMY=”sociable” and I’ve vaguely heard of police calling a criminal “chummy”.
4 DISCUS DISCUS[s]
9 BOLTON WANDERERS (Brown’s not leader)* - nice long anagram.
10 MIRROR double def.
11 CHANGING C[riminals] HANGING
12 SEARCH ME (cashmere)*
14 AGASSI rev(IS SAGA). I like SAGA=”old relation”
15 THAMES hidden in “wiTH A MESembryanthemum”.
18 GYRATING G[alle]Y, RATING=sailor
21 FLUSHING FLUSH IN G[uilders]. The English name for Vlissingen.
22 BEHEST (Thebes)*
24 PUT IN THE PICTURE very nice
25 SENTRY SENT, RY=railway
26 ESTEEM [Clos]E, rev(MEETS)
Down
1 CHOC ICE CHOICE around C[old]
2 UTTER double def
3 MONARCH MARCH around ON
5 INDIANA I=”one’s”?, N[ame], DIANA the roman goddess
6 CARY GRANT CRY around A, GRANT. “a piercing cry” was nice.
7 SARONGS (on grass)*
8 GAUCHE GAUCH[o], [hors]E = “horseback”
13 REMISSION REMISS I ON
16 HOLD UPS
17 SNIFTER SIFTER around N[ag]. A riddler is a sievelike thing used in the manufacture of coins, I think.
18 GAGGED another double def.
19 RABBITS and another
20 NOSTRUM NO ST RUM
23 HYTHE HY (the extremes of HeavY) THE=article.

Posted in Guardian | 10 Comments »

FINANCIAL TIMES 12,895 by BRADMAN

Posted by Gaufrid on 10th October 2008

Gaufrid.

Smiffy has had to get his priorities right and put business before pleasure today so unfortunately we won’t be seeing his cheerful avatar.

I found this an interesting and entertaining set of clues from Bradman, some of which required a bit of thought to unravel.

Across

1 PICADOR  homophone of ‘pick a door’ - a mounted bullfighter with a lance

5 DIVERT  DIVER (one taking the plunge) T (time)

8 WAISTBAND  homophone of ‘waste banned’ - I liked the definition!

9 SEGUE  hidden in ‘thoSE GUEsts’ - a musical term meaning ‘to proceed without pause’ or ‘follow on’

11 RUSTY  [t]RUSTY (reliable)

12 THE FIVE KS  *(HK FESTIVE) - the symbols of a Sikh’s spiritual and cultural allegiance to Sikhism (kaccha, kangha, kara, kesh and kirpan), worn by baptised Sikhs.

13 RANDIEST  DIES (passes out) in RANT (wild party) - Collins defines ‘rant’ as a, principally Scottish, term for ‘wild revel’

15 GUN DOG  cd

17 SPLASH  PL (place) in SASH (band) - a slight quibble with the definition here; ‘to trumpet’ is vocal and ‘to splash’ relates to printed material

19 GUJERATI  I TAR (one sailor) E (eastern) JUG (vessel) reversed - the Indian state is Gujerat so the definition must be ‘from region of India’

22 ICELANDER  homophone of ‘I slander’

23 CRASS  CR (Charles Rex) ASS (fool)

24 GHOST  G (good) HOST (entertainer) - usually used in the term ghost-writer but can stand alone

25 STIMULATE  S (second) TIM (boy) U (university) LATE (after the normal time)

26 ANDREA  hidden in ‘mAN DREAms’

27 NEGATED  [o]NE GATED (kept in)

Down

1 POWER DRESSING  *(EDWIN PROGRESS)

2 CRIMSON  CRIM[inal] (villain) SON (boy)

3 DITTY  TT (completely sober) in DIY (activity of amateur enthusiast)

4 ROAD TEST  O in *(STARTED)

5 DODDER  D (day) ODDER (stranger)

6 VESTIBULE  VEST (garment) I (one) *(BLUE)

7 RAGWEED  WE in RAGED (was wild)

10 EAST GRINSTEAD  *(A STREET SIGN) AD (advertisement) - a town in West Sussex

14 INSTANTER  *(TEN TRAINS) - a legal term meaning ‘without delay’

16 GUARDIAN  A RD (a road) I A (one lying on a) in GUN (weapon)

18 LIE DOWN  *(WILD ONE)

20 ADAMANT  ADAM (man ahead of all others) ANT (member of hard working community)

21 ODESSA  [p]ASSED O[n] reversed - a port on the Black Sea in southern Ukrane

23 CLUNG  C (about) LUNG (breather)

Posted in FT | 3 Comments »

Independent 6860 by Phi

Posted by nmsindy on 10th October 2008

nmsindy.

I found this quite tough, esp SW corner. Solving time, 26 mins.

* = anagram < = reversed

ACROSS

1 (t)RAP

3 ZIP (nothing) FAST ENER Rene< Archetypal Crossword Frenchman

9 B (OLd) US Should have got this more quickly than I did.

10 NO T (RE D) AME In Paris

11 SEE (DIE) R

12 MATCHES Double definition with pun on striker (football)

14 INSTRUMENT PANEL Cryptic definition referring, I think, to the dashboard of a car

16 RACING CERTAINTY (in grey Antarctic)*

19 E (S) TON IA (A1 not (S) e)<

21 HOTLINE (the lion)*

22 BE (WILDER) S(t) This was cleverly misleading (for me anyway) as it suggested an anagram of less for a long time

23 RE ELS(e)

24 PERISTALSIS (stir palsies)* Glad Phi gave us a fairly obvious anagram for this unfamiliar word

25 RU(i)N i = one

DOWN

1 ROBES PIERRE Character from French Revolutionary period. Pierre Cardin, fashion designer

2 POLLEN SAC (one calls p)* p = tip of petal (first letter)

3 (do)ZES TIER

4 PANAROMIC CAMERA A tip-top cryptic definition - well done, Phi!

5 ANTIMONARCHISTS m (money) in (his transaction)*

6 TRE (E) TOP e in (Potter)* The crossword mind suggested the Potter anagram straight away. Not personally familiar with the books - but a quick Google search shows WW appears in them.

7 NEATH   Hidden

8 RU(d) E   D = director

13 S (ILL Y SEAS) ON     August usually - maybe the financial markets will be quiet again by then…

15 NO N (L IN) EAR   mean = near   in = inside

17 NO N PLU(g)S

15 ANTARES   (a star one)* less o

20 TOW(s)ER    Very tricky, as it looked liked first letter off the dog rather than the s = seen initially

22 B A P     Phi is from Darlington originally so he’ll know all about those.

Posted in Independent | 4 Comments »

Independent Saturday Prize No 6855 (Monk)

Posted by bridgesong on 10th October 2008

bridgesong.

This was my first attempt at completing an Independent prize crossword (I’m substituting for Neil, who’s on holiday). With one or two exceptions I didn’t find it too difficult, finishing all but one or two clues in the course of a day (22 across came to me in the small hours of the morning, when the penny finally dropped). I thought that on the whole it was a fair puzzle with one or two excellent clues, but I did feel that 11 and 19 across were more suited to a general knowledge crossword than to a cryptic one.  If there was a Nina, or hidden theme, then I’m afraid that I failed to detect it.

Across
1 PACIFIC *IF + ICE CA(p)
5 IN BRIEF BRIE in 1 NF
9 NONPAREIL *PAREN(t) in LION (rev.) One definition of “nonpareil” is “matchless”
10 HEART HEART(s) The reference is to the card suit
11 THE ICEMAN COMETH A play by Eugene O’Neill, with a leading character called Hope: if you haven’t heard of it, you will have found this a tough clue to solve
12 END USER *ENDURES The dreaded indirect anagram; first you have to deduce that “tolerates” means “endures” and then find an anagram.  Definitely non-Ximenean!
13 SCORPIO SCORPIO(n)
16 STRAFED FE in STRAD
18 CABARET BARE in CAT
19 BOATSWAIN’S CHAIR Another test of general knowledge; either you know this or you don’t, but there’s nothing in the clue to help you work it out
21 TARSI TARS + 1
22 HARMONICA The best clue in the puzzle, once you realise that “trap” = “mouth” (which took me a long time!)
23 YESHIVA *HAS IVY (leagu)E
24 ORKNEYS *R(iver) ON SKYE
Down
1 PINE TREES *PINTER + SEE (rev.)
2 CONTENDER CON + TENDER
3 FRANCIS OF ASSISI FRANC + IS (three times) round SOFAS A clever piece of wordplay, with a misleading reference to the compiler
4 CREAMER CREAM (the best) + ER A pedant (like me) might moan that a monogram really means a figure involving several initials woven into one, which in the case of the present Queen would involve the number II as well as the initials ER, but I don’t suppose anyone was misled. Many compilers would simply refer to the Queen and leave it at that
5 ISLANDS IS + LANDS A clever clue; Christmas and Easter (islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans) are the definition here
6 BY HOOK OR BY CROOK Not sure if I fully understand the wordplay here. A hook is an attacking stroke in cricket, and Captain Cook with an r (short for runs) is a CRook, but I can’t make “clearing over short extra” mean “OR BY”. Any suggestions?
7 INANE In a “ne” I.e. “asinine” ends with the letters n, e
8 FETCH F + ETCH
14 PURGATIVE I found this very hard, mainly because I was looking for an occupation, rather than a medicine. However, “purgative” is a noun as well as an adjective, so grammatically the clue seems sound. More the sort of thing you might find in a Cyclops clue in Private Eye, though?
15 OUTBREAKS *BRUTE in OAKS
17 DRACHMA D + RACHMA(n) The reference is to the notorious extortionate landlord of slum properties in London, Peter Rachman. Some would say that “dodgy” is putting it mildly
18 CON BRIO The reference to “bars” is nicely misleading: it’s a musical term
19 BOTHY TH(e) in BOY
20 ARRAS Hidden and reversed in “disarray”

Posted in Independent | 3 Comments »

Inquisitor 92 — THE RIVER by Loda

Posted by Colin Blackburn on 10th October 2008

Colin Blackburn.

A very nice puzzle as usual from Loda. Ignoring 1a and 38, I plugged away at the clues hoping to spot a few misprints as I went. Luckily I had KEN… very quickly. There aren’t many authors called Ken, and very few that were around 100 years ago. Kenneth Grahame sprung to mind, was 14 letters long and Wind in the Willows was published a century ago. Sometimes knowing the misprints can help, sometimes not. 21 was a case of the latter as I corrected the wrong ‘louse’ and spent too long on a dead end. However, before long I had most of the answers in place and could look at the thematic elements.

The river was made up of four characters from the book, BADGER, TOAD, RATTY and MOLE. The river was very much their playground and so 1a was a cryptic indication of part of a quotation that encompasses this. 38 turned out to be simply a word for a wind inside the genus of the willow.

I was lucky that the penny dropped very quickly for me but that didn’t spoil an enjoyable puzzle with some very good clues. Oh, and RATTY was a vole.

Across
1 BOGNISSEMATS MESSING< in BOATS Cryptic reference to the phrase forming the final part of a quotation from the work in question, “There is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”
9 MEAL triple def. nice running together of three simple definitions, the last by example.
10 TARAND TA+RAND TA = Territorial Army who form part of the UK army reserves. RAND is a strip of leather.
12 K MADGES D in GAMES* MADGE is a name for both the barn owl and the magpie. Def. they might be seen in the sKy.
13 GALOOT GA+LOOT a GALOOT is a clumsy or inept fellow.
15 E BROGAN B+GROAN* BROGAN is the same as brogue. Def. stout shoE
18 CIAO ChInAgOt not even an indication of alternate letters!
19 HYMN “him”
20 STERIC ST+ERIC ERIC is the classic crossword fine.
22 N COMFY M+F in COY the misprint was used to good effect here, “Smug and evasive…” Def. sNug.
23 N FIRTH double def. FIRTH as in Firth of Forth or Moray Firth. Oddly, in the second definition FIRTH is derived from frith. Def. iNlet.
25 DEVOUT (U+VOTED)* U is the middle of Labourite.
28 ELSE shESLEftie< the ellipsis connects this clue to the last for a combined surface reading and covers the simple definition of ‘besides’.
29 E OATS A for U in OUT+S Def. seEds.
32 COMSAT OM in ACTS* OM = Order of Merit.
34 T ETERNE pETERNEutralises Chambers has this as an archaic variant of eternal under that headword. Def. continually repeaTing.
35 PRIEST PIERS* + T side or Trent gives T whichever way you look at it. A PRIEST is a small club that an angler would use to kill fish. The Trent is one of England’s great coarse fishing rivers so the surface works really well here with the slight quibble that most coarse fish are returned alive to the river. I’m sure there must be some game fish in the Trent though.
36 SLOGAN GAL(l)ONS Loda’s second dig at the political classes (see 25).
37 ETAT TATE< French for state or rank. Tate is the first gallery to consider in any crossword clue.
38 SALAQUILONIX AQUILON in SALIX Cryptic reference to the title of the work published 100 years ago and written by Kenneth Grahame, Wind in the Willows.
Down
1 H BIMBOS I in BOMBS* not sure about the definition here! Def. tHick dolls.
2 OMAR M in OAR OMAR as a name means flourishing.
3 G NAGGER NAG+GER Def. one often Grates.
4 ILEAC bILEAccelerates
5 R SAGGARD RAGG< in SAD Def. box for fiRing pottery.
6 MALT MALT(a) Malta’s first appearance of two in this puzzle.
7 ANONYMOUS (MY (t)UNA SOON)*
8 SATINY TIN in SAY e.g. = SAY
11 DOOMFUL (FOOL MUD)*
14 ATOC americATOCanada a skunk.
16 OVERSWELL (LOW+ELVERS)*
17 A STILETS SIT* + LETS Def. Awls e.g.
21 H CHATEAU CHAT+EAU Def. House - a large one.
23 A FEVERS EVER in F+S definition by example, amazingly milk and Malta are both fevers. Def. maltA and milk e.g.
24 HORN HO+RN
26 VOMITO V+O+MIT+O although it has the sound of an alternative cabaret act VOMITO is in fact the worst form of yellow fever, usually accompanied by black vomit.
27 TETTIX TT in EXIT* TT = dry, a TETTIX is a cicada but also a cicada-shaped hair ornament.
30 SOREL LOSER*
31 M PROA PRO+A Def. palMy vessel.
33 E ASTI AS+TI< Def. winE.

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