Financial Times 13,789 by Mudd

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Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 3

A good, fairly standard puzzle from Mudd this week. My top clues here are 12A (TWIN) and 8D (NUTMEG).

Across
1. DEPART – EP (record) in DART (race)
4. SAUCEPAN – SAUCE (impertinence) + PAN (criticise)
10. POTTAGE – OTT (ridiculous — i.e. over the top) in PAGE (messenger)
11. CRUMPET – double definition. This took me a while as I do not think of crumpet as a breakfast food (but more something for afternoon tea).
12. TWIN – W (double-U) in TIN (preserved?)
13. INORDINATE – anagram of A RENDITION
16. COGENT – GEN (information) in COT (sleeping like a baby)
17. PEANUTS – double definition
20. CHOPPER – cryptic definition. I think I have seen this clue before.
21. DRY ROT – TORY (politician) + RD (way) all backwards
24. UNDERSTAND – anagram of REDUNDANT [worker]S
25. FAIR – double definition
27. BLAGGER – B[andits] + LAGGER (person behind)
29. MARTINI – MARTIN (boy) + I (one)
30. BROWN ALE – BROW (edge) + ELAN (dash) backwards
31. SWANKY – WAN (white) in SKY (blue)

Down
1. DIPSTICK – DIPS (lowers) + TICK (credit)
2. POTTING SHED – POTTING (sinking, as in snooker) + SHED (abandoned)
3. ROAN – O (ring) in RAN (galloped)
5. ACCURSED – R (right) in ACCUSED (defendant)
6. CAUTIONARY – anagram of YOU AINT CAR
7. POP – palindrome (which may be lifted)
8. NUTMEG – NUT (fan) + MEG (girl)
9. PENNY – double definition. A clever combination of idioms but a rather easy clue.
14. ALTERNATION – N (indefinite number) in ALTERATION (shift). For me, this was the most difficult clue.
15. SNAPDRAGON – SNAP (that matches) + DRAGON (monster)
18. PECTORAL – anagram of CLEAR TOP
19. ETERNITY – TERN (sea bird) in anagram of YETI
22. HUBBUB – HUBB[y] (short spouse) + U[gly] B[rute]
23. ENEMY – hidden word
26. DRAW – double definition
28. SAGO – [s]AGO (skimmed milk pudding). I believe this dish is usually called sago pudding, not just sago, but I do think simply ‘sago’ is sufficient.

6 comments on “Financial Times 13,789 by Mudd”

  1. 10a I didn’t realise that pottage and potage are both soups- I’d only heard of the latter.
    11a Agree that this is an afternoon item -where does Mudd come from?
    12a never seen U U =W before
    16a Sleeping like a baby =cot doesn’t seem to make sense. Am I missing something? Sleeping like an adult=bed wouldn’t make sense 31a Private Eye’s Cyclops has the answer of swank this week. Let’s just say it is not clued in this way.
    14d Couldn’t get this.

  2. Hi Bamberger,

    10a I am also more familiar with POTAGE and thought of that first then, when I realized it did not fit, I looked for a different answer. It took me a while to come back to POTTAGE.

    16a I did not have all my dictionaries at hand when I worked on this puzzle so I could be missing something but, as far as I can see, the clueing for COT is deficient.

  3. Re 16a, it is like one of those devices that you see more and more nowadays, but which are not everyone’s cup of tea.
    According to Chambers a COT can be “A small bed, esp one with high sides for a young child”, therefore “sleeping like a baby” might be seen as “in a cot”.
    And so “information sleeping like a baby” is: GEN inside COT.
    The question mark indicates the deviousness of the device.

  4. Sil, Ah, yes, thanks. I have recognized several devices of that type recently but missed this one. In general, I think it’s an okay device although this is not a great example.

  5. I wasn’t comfortable with rotation = alternation, something you have to accept for 14dn. But it’s OK I suppose, because one of the types of rotation is rotation of two events, and that’s alternation.

    But I was more unhappy with pectoral = chest (18dn). So far as I can see pectoral is either an adjective, or a type of muscle. Neither of these seem to me to be satisfied by ‘chest’. If Mudd had clued it as ‘Clear top off of chest’, that would have been sound but of course ungrammatical.

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