MPP 072 (Review)

Monthly Prize Puzzle 072

May 2018

A puzzle by Radler

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The question asked of us was “How many of the answers contain all 5 letters of WALLY?” and the answer was seven:

Allowably

All you want

Bill Wyman

Bowling Alley

Family Allowance

Waybill

Well away

 

And the winner is Roland Rance, who wins a Telegraph Puzzles Book of his choice.

Fellow strugglers with Radler crosswords may be amused as I was, that when I typed the word RADLER into an email on my tablet, the helpful spellchecker changed it to EASIER. Obviously never tried to solve one of his crosswords

This is one of those difficult crosswords where, for a considerable number of the clues, you look at the checking letters, try to decide what the solution must be and then work out whether you can make the wordplay fit the solution. This isn’t how a crossword ought to be solved, but it is how I solved this one

Across

7a     See 7 Down

8a     Turning brown: member after first meeting around this place? (6,4)
NUDIST CAMP – A reversal (turning) of DUN (brown) and then MP (member of Parliament) goes after IST (first) and CA (about)

9a    Print union meets company: nothing rejected (7)
LINOCUT – A reversal (rejected) of TU (union) meets CO (company) and NIL (nothing)

11a     Look, no trousers! Restraining order in the past (4,3)
LONG AGO – LO (look) NO (from the clue) ‘trousers’ GAG (restraining order)

12a     See 3 Down

14a     Surprise attack setback hero battling a medical problem (9)
DIARRHOEA – A reversal (setback) of RAID (surprise attack), an anagram (battling) of HERO and A (from the clue)

17a     Benefit of law:    cinema surprisingly entertains solvers in Tennessee (6,9)
FAMILY ALLOWANCE – An anagram (surprisingly) of OF LAW CINEMA ‘entertains’ Y’ALL (solvers in Tennessee)

18a    Tart leaves receiver hiding cocaine in letter (9)
RADICCHIO – RADIO (receiver) ‘hiding’ C (cocaine) in CHI (Greek letter)

19a     Body outside a male, bloody all over (5)
DERMA – A reversal (all over) of A (from the clue) M (male) RED (bloody)

21/20     Here splits one vessel into another (7,5)
BOWLING ALLEY – BOWL IN GALLEY (one vessel into another)

24a     Harbour legal document (for Spooner too) (7)
WAYBILL – A WAYBILL is a document used in a harbour, for example. This is also a rare example of where the dreaded Reverend wouldn’t be as muddled as usual as he’d be talking about a BAY (harbour) WILL (legal document)

26a     State court proceedings, second to name miscreant (10)
DELIQUENT – DEL (the abbreviation for the US State of Delaware) INQUEST (court proceedings) with the S for Second changed to N for Name

27a     See 22 Down

Down

1d     Sketch revealing most of Wally (4)
PLAN – If you didn’t want to call someone a wally, you might use the term PLANk, most of the letters of which contain a sketch

2d     Green tap nothing elaborate, hated waste (3,2,5)
PUT TO DEATH – PUTT (a ‘tap’ on a golf green) O (nothing) and an anagram (elaborate) of HATED

3/12     Mandy’s ex to charge husband following heartless question (4,5)
BILL WYMAN – BILL (charge) MAN (husband), the latter following a ‘heartless’ WhY (question)

4d     Start to dine? Yes, first course in feast (2,7,3)
ST ANDREWS DAY – D (the start of Dine) AY (yes) with the golf course ST ANDREWS first

5d     Bits stored by Bill from below (4)
DATA – AT (by) AD (bill) reversed (from below in a Down clue)

6d     Dorothy cryptically put food in mouth with it (2-2-4)
UP-TO-DATE – UP TOD (up being an anagram indicator (cryptically) telling you to rearrange DOT (Dorothy) followed by ATE (put food in mouth)

7d/7a    Inexperienced leader quits well within permitted limits (9)
ALLOWABLY – Remove the C that is the leader of CALLOW (inexperienced) and add ABLY (well)

10d     It’s cool if CNN broadcast outcome of clashes (12)
CONFLICTIONS – An anagram (broadcast) of ITS COOL IF CNN

13d     Acted dumb when bringing up old Mrs Bruce W (5)
MIMED – A reversal (bringing up) of DEMI M (Demi Moore the ex-wife of Bruce Willis)

15d     Partner drawn into forbidden desires of reader? (3,3,4)
ALL YOU WANT – ALLY (partner) and WAN (drawn) in OUT (forbidden)

16d     Sole right to box women’s title holder (5)
OWNER – ONE (sole) R (right) to ‘box’ W (women)

17d     Warn in advance of sending off – ref booed (8)
FOREBODE – An anagram (sending off) of REF BOOED

20d See 21

22/27     Source of drink, hence drunk (4,4)
WELL AWAY – WELL (source of drink) AWAY (hence being an archaic way of saying be gone, go away)

23d     Wally looking up, around, left and down (4)
GLUM – A reversal (looking up in a Down clue) of MUG (wally) ‘around’ L (Left)

25d     Occupying studio, Wally’s neighbour to NE (4)
IOWA – The neighbouring state to Nebraska (NE) is found hidden in studIO Wally

 

Thanks as usual to both the BDs and Radler for their parts in this month’s puzzle competition