Financial Times 13,954 by Bradman

by

Tough call today with a couple not fully explained as yet especially 7d. 13d is a stretch

 

 

 

ACROSS

1 SHODDY   ODD in SHY shoddy reused yarn

4 MAQUIS French  guerrilla  R right from MARQUIS

8 LIEFEST most willing LIE FEST humorous definition

9 FOXHOLE soldiers shelter :  home of animal with brush

11 BETELGEUSE anagram GETS BLUE [obsen]E

12 RASH hasty  R run ASH wood

13 COTTA short  garment COTTA[r] villein

14 TABLEAUX dramatic scenes TABLE altar AU gold X cross

16 PANACEAN cure all PAN criticize ACE celeb AN article

18 LUCKY rub of the green (sport) [p]LUCKY game

20 OMSK Russian city O old MASK a taken out

21 WHARFINGER one who welcomes sailors anagram RAF in WHINGER

23 PEANUTS low pay anagram  (NUTS) of APE

24 OGREISH anagram HERO IS G[row]

25 SATANG currency in Thailand  TAN in SAG

26 STATIN drug STATIN[g]

DOWN

1 SEIZE get hold of  E drug in SIZE gelatinous stuff

2 OFFBEAT quirky humorous definition

3 DESIGNATE D E rows anagram of SEATING

5 ANODE positive electrode  AN ODE Horace poet

6 UNHORSE ?&lit

7 SALISBURY

10 JUSTINIAN ruler JUST IN IAN scot

13 CHARMLESS unattractive CH companion ARMLESS can’t roll up sleeves!

15 BULLFIGHT FULL with f on end in BIGHT

17 ALKANET plant ALKANE hydrocarbon [shu]T

19 CONVERT  CON tory VERT green

21 WITAN TA army in WIN but in Chambers this is not a supreme god

22 ESSEN German city NESSIE<  minus I

 

 

14 comments on “Financial Times 13,954 by Bradman”

  1. I thought this was really difficult today (possibly the most difficult of all six cryptics done). 7d SILAS was a missionary with St Paul and he is reversed (upset) and put with Bury, once near and probably now part of Manchester. I agree with your ? after 6d too. Well done, glad it wasn’t me who had to blog this one, people would have been waiting for some time.

  2. Thanks Jed

    7 dn is SILAS (missionary, companion of Paul) reversed and BURY (suburb of Manchester) definition is ‘City’.

    Your explanation of 13dn seems fine to me.

  3. Thanks for the blog Jed, and to Bradman for his usual fine, fair puzzle. I thought 21 down was WOTAN, TA in WON, which accords with the tense.

  4. Isn’t 5D factually wrong? I thought cathode was positive and anode negative? Made good cryptic sense, though.

    I think I get the idea of 6D (several farmhands would be without their mounts), but it stinks. 🙁

  5. Hi everyone.

    6dn: I think this is a cryptic definition based on “hand” as a measure of height for a horse.

  6. An anode is an electrode though which current flows into an electrical device, the cathode is where the current flows out of the device. These could have a positive or negative potential depending on the setup and what your viewpoint is.

    For example, in a valve the anode is thought of as the +ve electrode because that is where the electons are attracted to (electrons flow out of this end, so current flows in).

    In a battery the anode is condidered the -ve electrode, since that is where the electrons flow out of the battery (so the current flows in through this electrode).

  7. I agree with Pelham Barton re 6d. I think it’s a rather good Cryptic Definition clue – superficially about playing cards, but in fact a slightly elaborate/poetic but grammatically perfect description of unhorsing someone. And it seems to have flummoxed a few people, so it’s not too easy (a fairly frequent complaint against Rufus’ CDs, which usually surprises me).

  8. PS. jmac @3 is surely right about 21d. Witan doesn’t fit the definition or the wordplay and Wotan does.

  9. Thanks, Jed and Bradman. Yes, this was pretty tough and it took me ages to see UNHORSE in the NE corner which I found the most difficult. I agree with PB at #5 that this refers to hands as measure of height for a horse. Everything very fair and clear in the end. What may have made it a little harder is that it is a pangram ie every letter of the alphabet is used in the grid.

  10. I agree with crypticsue that this is the most difficult of today’s puzzles, although I only did the T***s and the Independent before I tried it. I thought the Don was really flexing his muscles with this. Unknowns for me were: Cottar, Wharfinger, Satang, Alkane, Alkanet and Silas. Everything was just about gettable from the wordplay but I have to admit I got the right call between Alkane and Alkene on a flip of a coin.

    I was not helped by getting the anagram at 11 since my best initial attempt at the spelling was Beetelgeus, which threw me on 4 of the 5 crossers. I’ll go and write it 100 times. Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse…

  12. This was the first FT I’ve attempted ( I’ve only just discovered that crosswords can be accessed and printed online). I always start with the last, down clues and the ” first” three went straight in and I thought it was going to be a doddle. I managed in the end about 3/4 so was pleased to see it is rated a toughie. I’m definitely in the liking 6 dn camp and 2 dn offbeat was a nice get.
    I was wondering why the crosswords are given online; what is in it for the paper?

  13. Oh could anyone tell me how 23 ac “peanuts” works. Maybe not getting a refernce to “nuts” means I am thinking too politlye and should get out more

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