MPP 099 – Review

Monthly Prize Puzzle 099 – Review

August 2020

Faulty Keyboard 2 by Alchemi

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

[Regular MPP solvers may recognise the name Rahmat Ali. He has won once (December 2019), but enters nearly every month. He sent me this review, which I am happy to publish with only very minor changes. BD]

Congratulations to KiwiColin for winning this month’s prize competition. …….

The instructions were as follows:

Alchemi’s keyboard wasn’t working properly again when filling the grid, so he just stuffed the words in without a particular letter. The clues are normal, but the answers must be entered leaving out all occurrences of the letter; if the letter were D like last time, IODIDE would be entered as IOIE and DREAM as REAM. (In other words, if the grid entry is a real word, it’s a coincidence.) After completing the grid, count the number of letters omitted and put it in the box provided.

That particular letter of Alchemi’s keyboard going haywire was R. But what was required to be put in the box was 48 (the number of ‘R‘s omitted). So here below are the answers that happily filled the grid, leaving out all occurrences of the letter R, and followed by the actual answers with R shown in red.

Across

1a Vessel containing odd bits of Wilde or the symbol of a 60s city gent (two words)
BOWLEHAT from BOWLER HAT: BOAT (vessel) having inside (containing) odd bits of WiLdE oR tHe

5a Someone looking for small organ getting expensive in France
SEACHE from SEARCHER: S (small) EAR (organ) getting CHER (French word for ‘expensive’)

10a Dog leaves research centre for prayer house
OATOY from ORATORY: abbreviation of Labrador, that is, lab (dog), comes out of (leaves) labORATORY (research centre)

11a Sticklers for procedure slowing down celebs in America
ITUALISTS from RITUALISTS: RIT (musical notation for slowing down) followed by A-LIST (celebs) inside (in) US (America)

12a Naval vessel‘s flexible rear is correct (two words)
SCOTCAIE from ESCORT CARRIER: an anagram (flexible) of REAR IS CORRECT

13a Make unreliable car to conserve energy
CEATE from CREATE: CRATE (unreliable car) to retain (to conserve) E (energy)

14a Salesman probably in bed writing back
EPLYING from REPLYING: REP, abbreviation of representative (salesman probably) followed by LYING (in bed)

15a Forecast spin order
PEDICT from PREDICT: PR (spin) (PR-spin is arguably a form of propaganda) followed by EDICT (order)

18a Go past hiding sin at golf course
TUNBEY from TURNBERRY: TURN (go) BY (past) shielding (hiding) ERR (sin)

20a Arranged to block local story
NAATIVE from NARRATIVE: abbreviation ARR (arranged) to stop (block) NATIVE (local)

23a Hearing a rule put on trial
AAIGN from ARRAIGN: homophone indicator (hearing) involving two words, ‘a reign’ (a rule) heard as one-word ARRAIGN

25a Purloined sailors, Turkey did
ABSTACTED from ABSTRACTED: AB, abbreviation of Able-Bodied (seaman, sailor) followed by S (plural), TR (IVR code for Turkey) and ACTED (did)

26a See author puzzled by Jack’s yucca palm (two words)
JOSHUATEE from JOSHUA TREE: an anagram (puzzled) of SEE AUTHOR beside (by) J, abbreviation of Jack

27a Bit back at a fur-hunter
TAPPE from TRAPPER: PART (bit) going back as TRAP followed by PER (a)

28a Resists troublesome nuns
SISTES from SISTERS: an anagram (troublesome) of RESISTS

29a Concerning sodium smell rising again
ENASCENT from RENASCENT: RE (concerning) followed by chemical symbol NA (sodium) and SCENT (smell)

Down

1d Gauges capital they regularly put into drinking establishments
BAOMETES from BAROMETERS: ROME (capital), alternative letters of ThEy (regularly) placed inside (put into) BARS (drinking establishments)

2d Picture solver finishing with a clue or two wrong (hyphenated)
WATECOLOU from WATER-COLOUR: anagram indicator (wrong) involving last letter (finishing) of solveR plus (with) A CLUE OR TWO

3d Airline say why said couple cross Thailand (two words)
EGYPTAI from EGYPT AIR: EG, abbreviation of ‘exempli gratia’ meaning ‘for example’ (say) followed by Y (why) as homophone (said) and PAIR (couple) crossing or lying across T (IVR code for Thailand)

4d Praise Cary Grant for collecting birds (three words)
AFICANGEYPAOTS from AFRICAN GREY PARROTS: anagram indicator (collecting) involving PRAISE, CARY, GRANT and FOR

6d Succeeded putting English Premier League account into debt?
EPLACED from REPLACED: English Premier League and ACcount placed inside (into) RED (debt)

7d Price near halved for one sharing the bill (hyphenated)
COSTA from CO-STAR: COST (price) and neAR (halved)

8d Deletions outside certain times
EASUES from ERASURES: ‘outside’ SURE (certain) goes ERAS (times)

9d Singer needing submachine gun to go round rescuing pets in trouble (two words)
BUCESPINGSTEEN from BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: BREN (submachine gun) going round (embracing) anagram (in trouble) of RESCUING PETS

16d Church rector comes first, then that woman’s man
CHISTOPHE from CHRISTOPHER: a charade of CH (church) R (rector) IS TOP (comes first), afterwards (then) HER (that woman’s)

17d A number of French are still extremely gentle
TENDEEST from TENDEREST: TEN (a number) followed by DE (French word for ‘of’) and REST (are still)

19d Burton loses weight in vain for Arabic dress
BUNOUSE from BURNOUSE: BUR (Burton loses weight) from BURTON minus TON and NO USE (in vain)

21d Working post-RADA, they make connections
ADAPTOS from ADAPTORS: an anagram (working) of POST-RADA

22d Janet and Michael Jackson are originally given empty rooms and glass containers
JAMJAS from JAMJARS: first letters of (originally) Janet And Michael Jackson Are given empty or hollow RoomS

24d Cleans sirens out
INSES from RINSES: an anagram (out) of SIRENS

Thanks to Alchemi and Mrs & Mr BD for playing their parts in this month’s competition process.

---