Financial Times 13,311 / Neo

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A good one from Neo, with some creative dissections of words in the charades (e.g., 25 and 29 ac).

Across
9 OVERHEARD *(HAVE ORDER)
10 PLANT dd
11 MERCURY CU (copper) in MERRY (squiffy)
12 OPEN-AIR O (orchestra’s leader) PEN (compose) AIR (tune)
13 TWO hidden in HeraT WOunded
14 IN WHAT PLACE *(WHEN CAPITAL)
17 BAMBI BAMB[oo] (tall grass, “loves” being out) I (lunchtime, i.e., 1 pm)  My favourite of this puzzle.
18 NEO *(EON) (long time)
19 TIMON MO (doctor) in TIN (money)
21 FIRST PERSON dd
23 RID RID[e] (neverending journey)
25 DADAISM DAIS (platform) in DAM (barrier)
27 MANSION I (one) in MANSON (murderous “family”)
28 LILAC hidden in LuxapaLILA Creek.  In case anyone thinks Neo made it up, this is an actual waterway running through Columbus, Mississippi.  It is not famous for anything, as far as I can tell.
29 RELATIONS TALE (story) in NOIR (gangster film), reversed + S (son)
 
Down
1 BON MOT “good word” in French
2 HEIRLOOM *(HOLIER) + OM (Order [of Merit])
4, 15 LADY WINDERMERE *(WILDE MAY RENDER)  From the Wilde play Lady Windermere’s Fan — nice that Wilde’s name fit into the anagram fodder.
5 ADVOCATORS V (very) O (old) CAT (moggy) in *(ROAD) + S (south)
6 APSE LAPSE (sin) minus L (“evil” termination)
7 BANANA cd; a cluster of bananas are called a hand
8 STURGEON T (tonnes) in SURGEON (operator)
16 PUT AN END TO *(NOT UP + DANTE)
17 BEFUDDLE *(DUB FEEL D[irty])
20 MYRMIDON MY R (right) MID-ON (fileding position in cricket) One of the followers of Achilles.
22 RIDDLE DD (bishop) in RILE (anger)
24 DANISH AN in DISH (attractive person)
26 INCH IN CH (church)
27, 3 MALE CHAUVINIST *(EVIL CAT IS HUMAN)

9 comments on “Financial Times 13,311 / Neo”

  1. Thank you for the excellent blog, Agentzero.

    Yes, a great puzzle from Neo today. I thought the wording for LADY WINDERMERE was
    clever and the (possible) reference to a rival compiler in PUT AN END TO was amusing.
    I’m still a little confused about the surface meaning in the clue for BEFUDDLE though.
    OVERHEARD was elegant and BAMBI was lovely!

  2. Another very tasty treat from Neo and I’m sorry to say I had to cheat and come here for a couple of answers – really kicking myself because they really weren’t that difficult in the end.

    Appreciative ticks all over the place; 9a is brilliantly worded (so much so it was several minutes before I spotted the ‘gram), 11a was an amusing image, 29a very cleverly constructed and 16d is a fantastic piece of in-housery.

    Mike04: re BEFUDDLE
    “Dub” is one of those examples of pig-awful urban/reggae music genres. If you haven’t heard of it count yourself lucky.

    Thanks Neo!

  4. Many thanks to all, both for blog (splendid) and comments (generous).

    18ac was intended as a moving-letter clue, (something like) ‘cycling’ being the indicator. I don’t do them there indirect anags.

    Cheers
    Eno*

  5. Thanks, Neo.

    I had actually originally written in the blog “EON with back moved to front (at least that’s what I think is meant by ‘cycling'”, then decided it was probably simpler than that.

  7. I came here for the one clue that defeated me. 10a almost had to be ‘plant’ but why? It says dd but neither definition fits with me. Have just found spy as one def in Chambers. Also factory which could I suppose be foundry. But found? Still don’t get it! Or maybe you found (i.e. create) a plant by planting it?????

  9. Thanks, Neo, for making yesterday’s flight from Stansted to Schiphol less boring than usual.
    After landing at the Amsterdam airport there were just three left.
    The ingenious BAMBI, 2down’s HEIRLOOM (didn’t know the word, did also see ‘order’ as the anagrind) and MYRMIDON (saw the MYR bit, of course, but then there’s cricket …)
    Best anagrams, IMHO, 14ac and 27,3d – both fine surfaces (as there was in the BEFUDDLE clue).
    Best constructions perhaps in 29ac (although I am not sure if ‘film noir’=’gangster film’) and 17ac.

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