NTSPP – 138

Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 138

A Puzzle by Prolixic

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The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.

A review of this puzzle by Crypticsue follows.

Firstly apologies for the late arrival of this review but I was held up, amongst other things,  by an altercation with a member of the clergy on the subject of wedding fees for bellringers.

A typical Prolixic puzzle to brighten up a Saturday lunchtime.  Some tricky stuff, some cheeky stuff and a couple of bits of stuff I didn’t know.  It’s a pangram too, which I didn’t need to check as unlike the rest of you, I know this one started life as one of Prolixic’s and my pet hates, an alphabetical puzzle.    There is also a Nina in column 7, the less said about which the better!  

 

Across

 3a           One in ill health gets bill (3)
{TAB}  –  Insert the indefinite article (one) into the abbreviation for the disease formerly known as consumption.

8a           Show a means of design in sixth form? (6)
{FACADE}   –  the appearance shown to the world.   Insert the abbreviation for Computer Aided Design into the abbreviation for schooling past GCSEs.

9a           Have Paul shot in revolution (8)
{UPHEAVAL}  An anagram (shot) of HAVE PAUL.

10a         Bakers and cooks need racks (but not many) (8)
{KNEADERS}   Remove the C (representing 100 so not many) from NEED RA[C]KS and rearrange the rest (cooks) to get people who prepare dough for bread.

11a         Liberal spirit’s first to be sensual? (6) 
{ANIMAL}   The innermost part of the soul (spirit) followed by the first letter of Liberal.

12a         Singer in company touring Arabic states (6)
{CARUSO}   One of the most famous Italian tenors – insert into the abbreviation for company, the abbreviation for Arabic and the shorter abbreviation for America (states).

13a         Explanation of six geese flying around (8)
{EXEGESIS}  A critical interpretation of a text, especially a Biblical one.  An anagram (flying around) of SIX GEESE.

15a         Designs about alien worlds (7)
{PLANETS}  Insert the usual abbreviation for alien from outer space into some designs.

17a         Agile supermodel returns covered in make up.
{LISSOME}   A reversal of a supermodel’s surname inserted in a word meaning make up or fib.

21a         Enemy of turtles may be found in the office (8)
{SHREDDER}  The enemy of the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (how my sons loved them!) is also a useful piece of office equipment.

24a         In Cyprus, gannet regularly has time for young bird (6)
{CYGNET}   A young swan – the IVR code for Cyprus followed by the odd letters (regularly) of GaNnEt and T (has Time).

26a         Screw a German agreement with the Italian men (6)
{JAILOR}   Screw being the informal way of referring to a prison warder.   The German word for yes (agreement) followed by the abbreviation for Italian and then the two letters by which the Other Ranks of soldiers are known.

27a         Key conceit does not begin to describe folly (8)
{INSANITY}    Key?  Ah! – one of those on your computer keyboard!   Follow the ‘key’ with a word meaning conceit or ostentation from which the first letter (does not begin) has been removed.

28a         Psychologist reportedly is hot but not very old (8)
{YOUNGISH}   A homophone of the surname of the founder of analytical psychology followed by IS (from the clue) and the abbreviation for Hot usually found on taps.

29a         Latin sex god originally seen in these (6)
{VIDEOS}  Sex is the Latin word for six so you need the Roman numerals for six followed by the Latin word mean for or with god, and finally the first (originally) letter of Seen.

30a         Almost drop a book (3)
{SHE}  A famous book by Rider Haggard – simply remove the last letter (almost) from a verb meaning to drop or cast off.

 

Down

1d           Artist in autumn shower (8)
{RAINFALL}   A quantity of water from the sky but definitely not as much as chez Pommers.   The abbreviation used for an artist and the American word for autumn.

2d           Texan adult goes round site of summer retreat (6)
{XANADU} –  Kublai Khan’s summer capital is hidden in TeXAN ADUlt.

3d           Move thoughtfully (8)
{TELEPORT}    A cryptic definition of the production of motion at a distance by willpower.

4d           After one leaves, resubmit design for style of trouser (7)
{BUMSTER}   Remove the I (one leaves) from RESUBM[I]T and an anagram of the remaining letters will produce a style of trouser contributing much to the phenomenon of builder’s bottom!

5d           Love to be lifted up in praise for sign of resistance (6)
{OHMAGE}  A measurement of electrical resistance.   Take a word meaning praise or reverence and move the O (love to be lifted  up) to the front of the word.

6d           Head off Asian’s Zen movement showing idiosyncrasy (8)
{ZANINESS}  Idiosyncrasy or eccentric behaviour – Remove the A (head off) from ASIAN S ZEN and make an anagram (movement) of the remaining letters.

7d           Arab national who sounds full of phlegm! (6)
{QATARI}   A homophone which sounds like someone full of cold.

14d         Question is ignored in appeal (3)
{SUE}   To entreat or petition (especially in a court of law).  Remove IS (is ignored) from a question or point on which a decision depends. 

15d         Fool stands up for dance (3)
{PAS}   Reverse an informal term for a fool or ninny to get a dance, especially in ballet.

16d         Demand for female in affair is irritating (8)
{NEEDLING}  Take a brief sexual affair, and replace the F at the beginning of the word with a synonym for demand or require (demand for female).

18ad      Astute American company is supported by four in cut.
{INCISIVE}  It is only when you come to explain this you find that it isn’t quite right.   If the American company is INC, followed by IS (from the clue)  and IV (four), where does the E come from?   If it s meant that you insert IV (four) into INCISE (cut), what does the American company have to do with it?  I have done a web search and can’t find anything helpful in the way of American companies. 

19d         Experts spank Tom’s arse (8)
{MAESTROS}      Masters, especially in matter musical.   An anagram (spank) of TOMS ARSE.

20d         Anger envelops one beginning to sip spirits (7)
{WRAITHS}   Insert I (envelops one) into violent anger and follow with the first letter of Sip to get some apparitions.

22d         Direct from the Adonis (4-2)
{HEAD-ON}  Another hidden word – this time in tHE ADONis.

23d         Protege with revolutionary heart turns up in Cambridge College (6)
{DARWIN}  Not a Cambridge College we hear of much but…    Take a protégé or person with a guardian (4), swap over the middle two letters (revolutionary heart) and  reverse the result and then follow with IN from the clue.

25d         Half-hearted thug with onset of attention deficit syndrome – its the glands (6)
{GONADS}  Organs that produce sex cells.   Remove one of the middle letters from a hired thug and then follow with the initial letters (onset) of Attention Deficit Syndrome.

 

Prolixic is a prodigious producer of cryptic crosswords and I hope it isn’t long before his name comes back to the top of the NTSPP rota as there are a large number of similarly entertaining puzzles to come.   For all I know, he’s probably finished another one off this afternoon while waiting for the blog to appear.