Financial Times 14,041 by Gozo

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Quite an easy one today.   Enjoyable, but I would have liked something more to get my teeth into.   Thanks Gozo ;)

Hold the mouse pointer over any clue number to read the clue.

Across
1 SPONGE triple definition
4 ALLSPICE Posh et al are all Spice Girls
10 EASTER EGG SEGREGATE*
11 MEDOC ME DOC (I am a doctor)
12 BRIE BRIEf (short) shortened
13 JELLIED EEL EEL (slippery character) taking JELLIED sounds like (we hear) “gelid” (ice-cold)
15 TEACAKE TAKE (catch) outside (out) EACh (everyone, almost)
16 PICKLE PICK (best) LEmon (two bits of)
19 CELERY CELER sounds like (heard on the telephone) “seller”(vendor) Youth (leader of)
21 PIKELET double definition
23 SPATCHCOCK SPAT (argument) with CH (church) COCK (chief)
25 KALE an anagram (minced) of KALE N (first bit of neep) gives ANKLE (24 down)
27 PEKOE O (nothing) in PEKE (dog) – a type of tea
28 TANGERINE double definition – mandarin orange and person from Tangiers
29 DRESSING cryptic definition
30 CASSIS BRASSICAS* with BRA (supporter) removed
Down
1 SHERBETS HERB (thyme say) in SETS (lays the table)
2 OBSTINATE (IBSEN TO A T)*
3 GHEE BattenburG HE Eats – clarified butter
5 LEG SLIP LEGS (members) LIP (cheek) – fielding position in cricket. I mistakenly had LEG SIDE at first, which held me up for a while.
6 SIMNEL CAKE (MINCES KALE)* anagram=minces
7 INDIE found inside West INDIEs – slang for ‘independent film company’
8 EXCELS EX (without) CELS sounds like “sells” (deceptions)
9 RED EYE double definition
14 WATERCRESS (SECRET WARS)*
17 LULLABIES LULL (quiet) and bABIES (infants) missing B (bass)
18 ST HELENS Time in SHE (the woman) with LENS (a glass)
20 YUCATAN CAT (jazz fan) in YUAN (Chinese money)
21 PECANS CANaPES* missing A, a hint (first letter only) of Almond
22 ISOPOD I’S (one’s) O (round) POD (school) – the order containing woodlice
24 ANKLE can be got out of shANK LEan
26 FETA found in caFE TAsting

*anagram

7 comments on “Financial Times 14,041 by Gozo”

  1. I didn’t find it easy and had gaps all over. As ever with crosswords, if I’d had somemore crossing letters some of the missing answers might have been gettable.

    5d I also had leg side.
    22d Very hard in my book

    Anyone know what happened to yesterday’s blog of 14040 Phssthpok, please?

  2. Thanks for the blog, PeeDee. Attempted this in a 40 minute lunchbreak with no access to dictionary or google.

    Like Bamberger I found 22d very hard and I’d never heard of Pekoe (in 27).

    I was also hampered by not knowing that Pimento = allspice. I should (cheekily) point out that Poss et al are not all spices – only Ginger is a spice!

    My favourite clues were 6 & 21.

  3. Not that difficult once I got into my stride. I had heard of both the tea and the woodlouse so they didn’t hold me up. However, I might dispute whether a 21a is really a 15a, although I suppose you can eat both at teatime. Thanks to Gozo and PeeDee too.

    Do tell, was there no blog for yesterday’s FT because, like me, no-one could finish it!!

  4. Re 3 I’d assumed I was the only 20a from yesterday who couldn’t finish it.
    20a “Bungler becomes a spy in Panama”. Answer p a look a. Now I’ve heard some expressions for bunglers but never that one (used several solvers on p?l?o?a)

  5. Bamberger@4

    There is no doubt about your answer PALOOKA as the given justification P(A LOOK)A is spot on.

    Chambers records it but marks it as US slang. Origin unknown!

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