ST 4414 (2 Jan 2011)

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 1 hour exactly, with one wrong.

A little on the tough side for a Sunday, I thought. No major quibbles, though. I’m not sure how well known Queen Mab and Little Mo are for the two openers, but I did manage to drag them up from somewhere. I hadn’t heard of MIGNONETTE, but the anagram seemed unlikely to be anything else. BROUGHAM & FIAT were sa little unfamiliar but rang vague bells.

There were some good clues here. I liked 4 and the &lit at 15, but both were a little telegraphed. 20 took some untangling, and was one of my last in, along with 6a, 9 & 11.

cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (–)*, and removals like this

Across
1 MAB rev about ROUGH – Queen Mab is a fairy that crops up in Romeo and Juliet.
6 MO + PISH – Little Mo was a tennis phenomenon of the 1950s. She only played 11 grand slams, and won all but the first 2, including all 4 in 1953. She was the first woman to achieve this. Who knows what she might have achieved if a riding accident hadn’t crushed one of her legs thus ending her career at the age of just 19.
9 FI(A)T
10 PINE + MART + ENd
11 WEIR + DO
12 R(EA + SON)ED
14 (BRANDS TEAM)*
16 SPAM rev
18 dd
19 (PREGNANT I + Regret)*
21 (PUPILS)* about ST rev
23 END + URE
25 (EG OINTMENT)*
27 I DO + L – I got this wrong, having originally entered ICON. I only realised my mistake after submission.
28 dd
29 D + ATE LESS – I liked this clue, it raised a smile.
Down
2 (ERITREA)* + T + E
3 dd
4 HIPPO CAMPUS
5 cd
6 dd
7 PE + Revitalise + FORMER
8 “SWAYED”
13 AR(RANGE + MEN)T
15 light-hearteD + ALLIANCE – &lit
17 (I PURSUE NO)*
20 PUT in DEER rev
22 P(RIM)P
24 DR + ILL
26 DON rev

12 comments on “ST 4414 (2 Jan 2011)”

  1. This is the first ST I can remember where there are no typos and where I have no complaints about any of the clues (although perhaps 4d could have been written a bit more economically; does one need ‘One needs’?); I assume that we have Peter to thank.
    1. I’m not usually going to say anything about the editing process – like making sausages and legislation, the fine detail of crossword manufacture is something the consumers don’t need to see. But in this case it’s only fair to say that none of my minor tinkering with the puzzle was to do with typos or mistakes – I made very minor adjustments.
    1. My approach to weekend puzzles is a little different to the weekday ones, because in the weekend ones the solution has already been published. I make the assumption that the reader has already checked their answers against the solution and is coming here for explanations or to make comments. Therefore, I don’t generally bother listing the actual answers again, neither will I necessarily omit any clues.
      1. Fair enough, Dave. I’d not noticed that style previously and wondered if something was amiss.I don’t always look at the weekend blogs unless there’s something in particular I want to raise or read comments on.
  3. As I expected would be the case, this crossword was very good. I shall make a point of doing this now, as well as Virgilius’s marvellous offerings in the Sunday Telegraph.

    Little Mo was Maureen Connolly if you wonder what name to look for in the records.

  5. Actually, the Sunday Times crosswords are re-published in other, non-UK papers quite some time after having been published in the Sunday Times itself. Readers of such papers may, like myself, not subscribe to the Times “Crossword Club” and so don’t have immediate access to solutions. Supplying the answers would, in fact, be of considerable service to such as us, and much appreciated — it would save us an awful lot of Googling!.
  6. I live in Canada where the puzzle is published about 3 weeks after yours. We check your solutions well before it is printed in our paper. It would be helpful to have the answers also. Please reconsider.
    1. Yes, I hadn’t considered people in your position who had no access to the solution. I shall endeavour to give the full solution in future. Of course, if there are any clues you’re struggling with, you’re more than welcome to ask about them.

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