MPP 096 – Review

Monthly Prize Puzzle 096 – Review

May 2020

A Puzzle by Prolixic

 

The instructions said: Nine solutions, most of them partial, provide terms used in a game. What is that game?

The game was obvious fairly on, but for a long time I only had seven of the nine terms used in Mah-jong. I would imagine many solvers were pleased to know that all they needed in order to enter the competition was the name of the game, which is what Jean-Luc did and  he was the lucky entrant whose name was drawn from the electronic hat by Mrs BD.  Sadly for him, as there’s no chance of him visiting the UK any time soon, he won’t win a Telegraph Puzzles Book but will definitely be the recipient of l’honneur et la gloire

Across

6a    Martial art’s instructor’s detailed understanding (5)
SENSE – De-tail or remove the final letter from SENSEI (martial arts instructor)

7a    That man’s in a bar with joiner (8)
ADHESIVE – HE’S (that man’s) in A DIVE (a bar)

10a    Muslim claims I may be converted (7)
ISLAMIC – An anagram (may be converted) of CLAIMS I

11a    Take in flier (7)
SWALLOW – Double definition

13a    Use up each Spanish red (3,4)
EAT INTO – EA (each) TINTO (Spanish red wine)

14a    Spare an ancestor (7)
FORBEAR -Double definition

16a    Mark briefly gives Kroner supply to Asian banker (6,5)
MEKONG RIVER – M (mark)followed by an anagram (supply) of GIVEs KRONER – briefly indicating that you don’t need all of GIVES

21a    One who denies a British judge has right to cross river (7)
ABJURER – A (from the clue) B (British) J (judge) URE (river) R (right)

24a    Rod’s wife covering Penny’s fraud (7)
SWINDLE – W (wife) replaces P (penny) in SPINDLE (rod)

26a    In France I agree with southern priests (7)
JESUITS – JE (French word for I) SUIT (agree with) S (Southern)

29a    Liechtenstein landlords maybe withholding new beer (7)
FLOWERS – FL (the IVR code for Liechtenstein) followed by OWnERS (landlords) ‘withholding’ the N (new)

30a    Production of Rumpelstiltskin? (4,4)
SPUN GOLD – cryptic definition

31a    Cinema screens Episode One – quite the reverse (5)
ODEON Lurking in (screened by) episODE ONe

Down

1d    Pawnbroker’s cat is a novel character (5,3)
UNCLE TOM – UNCLE (pawnbroker) TOM (cat)

2d    European football boss is heartless dropping player (6)
GERMAN – Remove the middle letter (heartless) from MANaGER and then ‘drop’ the MAN (player) to the end of the word

3d    New car horn fixed for American farmer? (5,5)
RANCH OWNER – An anagram (supply) of NEW CAR HORN

4d    Resistance units involved in reactionary racism hoaxes (4)
OHMS – Lurking in reverse (reactionary) in raciSM HOaxes

5d    Go forward following no right turn (6)
EVOLVE – Remove the R (right) from REVOLVE (turn)

6d    Steps left in Cornish Town for Victor (6)
STILES Change the V for Victor in the Cornish town of ST IVES to an L (left)

8d    Main diocese announced…. (3)
SEA – A homophone (announced) of SEE (diocese)

9d    …revolutionary first raffle prize (5)
AWARD – A reversal (revolutionary) of A DRAW (raffle)

12d    Spoon with shortened bowl (3)
WOO – Almost all (shortened) of a WOOd (bowl)

14d    Football team association’s fine for key African winger (6,4)
FOREST FODY – (Nottingham) FOREST (football team) with BODY (association) where the B (musical key) is changed to an F (fine)

15d    Revise shortened book for vicar (3)
REV – Abbreviation for revised, the abbreviation for the Book of Revelations, and for a vicar

17d    First person in 2 Kings to drink (3)
KIR – I (first person) between K (king) and R (Rex, king)

18d    One who saves and repays uncle (8)
REDEEMER – the uncle being a pawnbroker

19d    Stop little woman getting duelling instrument (5)
BANJO – BAN (stop) JO (from Little Women) – the definition refers to a scene in the 1972 film Deliverance in which a tourist with a guitar gets into a picking contest with a hillbilly on a banjo, both playing parts of the song “Duelling Banjos” (originally titled “Feuding Banjos”) by Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith.

20d    Mature time of life (6)
SEASON – Double definition

22d    Juliet hopes forlornly to see carpenter? (6)
JOSEPH – J (Juliet in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet) and an anagram (forlornly) of HOPES

23d    Take in tenants on a regular basis (3)
EATS – The even (regular) letters of tEnAnTs

25d    Bug I steep in alcohol on demand (6)
ISOPOD – I (from the clue) SOP (steep in alcohol) OD (on demand)

27d    Headless spirit in pub (3)
INN – Remove the ‘head’ from jINN (spirit)

28d    Square cover for organ part (4)
STOP – S (square) TOP (cover)

Thanks to Prolixic and the BD’s for their parts in this month’s competition