A short time back I did a piece on what I knew of the NZ crossword industry. As a part of preparing the item, I contacted some of the people mentioned to double-check I had my facts straight. Two of the people, David Tossman and Rex Benson, I had met in Wellington a few years ago, but the other, Paul Henderson, I hadn’t communicated with before. I started up a conversation with Paul and remarked about Wellington being the centre of cryptics in NZ, and asked whether he had met either David or Rex. Long story short, the three Wellington-based crossword setters met for coffee not long after and I believe it was a pleasant time. The meeting led Paul Henderson to write some blog entries about NZ’s crossword scene, something he wasn’t fully familiar with due to his history of involvement with UK cryptics. The results are in two parts, and are well worth a read.
| Across | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | SACK RACE | |
| Old white people’s novelty competition (4,4) | SACK + RACE | |
| 5 | PRESET | |
| Research in particular should be arranged in advance (6) | RES inside PET | |
| 10 | LINES | |
| Items of detail in essay? (5) | detaiL IN Essay | |
| 11 | REPLICATE | |
| Strange particle attached to back of immature clone (9) | Anagram of PARTICLE + IMMATUR(E) | |
| 12 | CHEESE STRAW | |
| See about opening box with natural, flavoured pastry (6,5) | (SEE reversed) inside CHEST + RAW | |
| 13 | MOO | |
| Low object in Earth’s orbit seen briefly (3) | (MOO)N | |
| 14 | FLEA | |
| Mischievous child returned with a source of irritation (4) | ELF reversed + A | |
| 16 | MONITORED | |
| Travelled quickly around part of the UK kept under constant surveillance (9) | MOTORED outside NI (Northern Ireland) | |
| 18 | ANTIPASTI | |
| Pour out wine after an Italian’s order, perhaps (9) | (TIP + ASTI) after AN | |
| 20 | RATE | |
| Assess admission of prisoner, a terrorist (4) | prisoneR A TErrorist | |
| 23 | ERA | |
| Time preference not restricting operation (3) | OPERATION minus OPTION | |
| 24 | ACADEMICIAN | |
| A bad lot came in, upset about one fellow (11) | A + CAD + (anagram of CAME IN outside I) | |
| 26 | LAST-DITCH | |
| Desperate lad crossing street – a rash reaction? (4-5) | LAD outside ST + ITCH | |
| 27 | FLOOR | |
| Great flow of water decreased river level (5) | (FLOO)D + R | |
| 28 | ARMADA | |
| Supply a lawyer in the US with ammunition for fighting shipping group (6) | ARM A DA | |
| 29 | OPEN-EYED | |
| Hopeless hospital, with treatment of needy, is watchful? (4-4) | (HOPE minus H) + anagram of NEEDY | |
| Down | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | SOLACE | |
| Comfort is excellent after so long (6) | ACE after (SO + L) | |
| 2 | CONCEAL | |
| Keep secret letters of academic once a lecturer (7) | academiC ONCE A Lecturer | |
| 3 | RASPS | |
| Files and documents ultimately kept in retrieved box (5) | DOCUMENT(S) inside (SPAR reversed) | |
| 4 | CHRISTMAS PARTY | |
| Maiden cast in script has spoilt creative annual celebration (9,5) | (M inside anagram of SCRIPT HAS) + ARTY | |
| 6 | RAINWATER | |
| Pure liquid in WA collected by assessor (9) | (IN + WA) inside RATER | |
| 7 | STAMMER | |
| Smart men mostly sorted out communication problem (7) | Anagram of (SMART ME)N | |
| 8 | THE GOODS | |
| Time used by thugs concealing, for example, incriminating evidence (3,5) | T + (HOODS outside EG) | |
| 9 | APPRENTICESHIP | |
| Prince’s tape reviewed in time of trial? (14) | Anagram of PRINCES TAPE + HIP | |
| 15 | APPLAUDED | |
| Software highly acclaimed should be commended (9) | APP + LAUDED | |
| 17 | CAMELLIA | |
| Fawn, with trouble, pulled up evergreen flowering shrub (8) | CAMEL (colour) + (AIL reversed) | |
| 19 | TRANSOM | |
| Tradesman initially demanded money for lintel (7) | (T)RADESMAN + RANSOM | |
| 21 | TRILOGY | |
| Set of dramatic works, and one journal, cited in essay (7) | (I + LOG) inside TRY | |
| 22 | SNARED | |
| Half of snakes in the sun too long may be caught (6) | (SNA)KES + RED | |
| 25 | IN FUN | |
| One fellow embraced by sister as a joke (2,3) | I + (F inside NUN) |
I’m struggling to understand “old white”= SACK, and can’t seem to find help in a dictionary. What am I missing?
Thanks in advance,
Steve = : ^ )
All my dictionaries list SACK as type of white wine, but some list the term as being historical or archaic. Chambers says “The old name of various dry white wines from Spain and the Canaries”. I thought it best to include “old” to reflect the status of the word.
Hope that helps
David
Yep. Simple. Perfectly fine.
I need a new brain. Or a holiday, perhaps …
Thanks,
Steve = : ^ )
Yes – I get it too now, but would not have without explanation. Thanks ALL.