Financial Times 14184 Jason

Another straightforward puzzle from Jason, but enjoyable nevertheless.  Thanks to Jason.  Definitions are underlined in the clues.  [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle.]]

Across
1 One in pokey with excellent natter (6)

CONFAB : CON(short for convict;one in pokey, slang for jail;prison) + FAB(short for fabulous;excellent).

Answer: Short for a confabulation;a chat;a natter.

5 As paper’s fake this isn’t printed (4,4)

SOFT COPY : SO(as;to the same extent, as in “so/as far as possible”, “so/as far as I know”) + FT(abbrev. for the newspaper the Financial Times) + COPY(a fake if it is passed off as the original).

Answer: A reproduction stored electronically.

9 Protest about pest – a politician (8)

DEMOCRAT : DEMO(short for demonstration;a protest) + C(abbrev. for circa;about, especially with refererence to dates) + RAT(the rodent pest).

Answer: Politician of the US Democratic Party.

10 Sibyl, say, is one who couldn’t possibly err (6)

ORACLE : Cryptic defn: Definition by example;say. “Sybil” is the generic term for the ancient Greek and Roman oracular female prophets, who, of course, couldn’t possibly go wrong to those who believed them then.

11 Rely on one of a pair leaving cunning finish (6)

DEPEND : “deep”(very cunning or devious, as in “a deep scheme”) minus(… leaving) one of its pair of “e”s + END(the finish).

12 Covers will be pulled back getting spicy pic (8)

SNAPSHOT : Reversal of(will be pulled back) SPANS(covers;extends over) plus(getting) HOT(spicy).

Answer: A picture;pic taken with a camera.

14 Skinflint Quaker, then unknown, with appropriate queen (5,7)

PENNY PINCHER : PENN(William, English Quaker who founded the US state of Pennsylvania) plus(then) Y(one of the mathematical symbols for an unknown quantity) plus(with) PINCH(to appropriate;take illegally) + ER(abbrev. for Elizabeth Regina, the queen).

18 Twit cremated fancy teatime treat? (7,5)

CLOTTED CREAM : CLOT(a twit;a fool) + anagram of(fancy) CREMATED.

Answer: An essential part of a cream tea, together with scones and jam, and, of course, washed down with tea. So called from the lumps;clots;clouts of cream rising to the top in making it from milk.

22 Fashion industry vogue is full of old jazz (3,5)

RAG TRADE : RAGE(what is in fashion;in vogue) containing(is full of) TRAD(the style of old jazz, aka Dixieland, from the short for “traditional”).

25 Euphemistically I could offer a loose corset (6)

ESCORT : Cryptic defn: The “I” referring to a social escort, a euphemism especially for a female who may be hired to accompany one for entertainment, etc. (which latter might or might not involve a loose corset).

26 Laidback worker getting in better forty winks (6)

CATNAP : Reversal of(worker) ANT(a social insect which might be from the caste of “workers”) contained in(getting in) CAP(to do better than).

Defn. and Answer: A short sleep.

27 Guardian and char open dancing (8)

CHAPERON : Anagram of(dancing) CHAR OPEN.

Answer: Not exactly an escort as in 25across, but, on the other hand, an older woman accompanying a young unmarried one to ensure no loosening of corsets. This was of course in those days of the corset.

28 Broker around Marseille sea song (8)

MERCHANT : MER(what the sea around Marseilles, France would be called locally) + CHANT(a song).

Answer: One who buys and sells for profit (or loss). Strictly speaking, a broker doesn’t buy and sell, but puts seller and buyer together on a commission basis.

29 A stretch of fat, undramatic Russian countryside? (6)

TUNDRA : Hidden in(a stretch of) “fat, undramatic“.

Answer: The far northern part of Russia is a tundra.

Down
2 Old noble restricts Newton’s introduction? (6)

OPENER : O(abbrev. for old) + PEER(a noble) containing(restricts) N(in physics, the symbol for the Newton, a unit of force named after Sir Isaac).

Answer: A thing that starts;the introduction, eg. the first act or song in a show.

3 Select kitty’s display container (9)

FLOWERPOT : FLOWER(the select;the choice or finest example, as in “the flower of English manhood” – does that sound right, putting “flower” and “manhood” together?) + POT(the kitty;amount of money to be won in a game, eg. poker).

4 Social event can end horribly with pub first (4,5)

BARN DANCE : Anagram of(horribly) CAN END placed after(with … first) BAR(a drinking place;pub).

Answer: Originally a social event featuring country dancing held in a barn. Apparently it can now also mean a disco party held in a barn.  And, it all originated in

5 Pay off, for example including time is fine (7)

SATISFY : SAY(for example, as in the clue for 10across) containing(including) {T(abbrev. for time) + IS + F(abbrev. for fine)}.

Answer: To discharge or pay off a debt.

6 Plants current Duke relocated away from the Sunshine State (5)

FLORA : “Florida”(the US state nicknamed the Sunshine State) minus(relocated away from) {“i”(in physics, the symbol for electrical current) + “d”(abbrev. for a duke).

Answer: The collective noun for all the plants in a specific ecosystem.

7 Conservative girl showing style (5)

CLASS : C(abbrev. for a member of the British Conservative Party) + LASS(girl).

Answer: As in “money doesn’t necessarily buy you class/style”.

8 Top after tug o’ war’s won, I suppose (8)

PULLOVER : One supposes that after a tug o’ war contest has been won, the pulling is over.

Answer: An item of clothing for the top half of the body.

13 Swing  hammer (3)

PAN : Double defn: 1st: To swing a movie camera to take the scene all round; and 2nd: To criticise severely; to beat with a figurative hammer.

15 A gent line dancing is ungainly (9)

INELEGANT : Anagram of(dancing)A GENT LINE.

16 Confess to fair approach initially (4,5)

COME CLEAN : CLEAN(fair;according to the rules, as in a “fair/clean contest”) placed after(… initially) COME(to approach;to proceed near to).

17 Cold break touring a grand valley? (8)

CLEAVAGE : C(abbrev. for cold) + LEAVE(a period away from, eg. work;a break) containing(touring) { A + G(abbrev. for a grand;a thousand, usually of pounds sterling or dollars)}.

Answer: An area between high ground – I won’t say more.

19 Jack  to blacken tea urn in odd spots (3)

TAR : T,A,R{the 1st, 3rd, and 5th letters of(in odd spots) “tea urn”}; and a Double defn: 1st: Jack Tar, a representative term for a sailor; and 2nd: To blacken literally or figuratively, as in “to tar with the same brush”.

20 Maritime redundancy means reduced cover above (4,3)

CREW CUT : Double defn: A lay-off;redundancy of a maritime crew; and 2nd: A hairstyle in which the hair is closely cropped;reduced cover of the head above.

21 ‘Arsh time in ‘Ackney fire (6)

ARDOUR : ‘ARD(“hard”;harsh minus their respective initial letters) + ‘OUR(“hour”;time period as might be pronounced by a Cockney in Hackney or ‘Ackney as he/she might pronounce it).

Answer: A burning passion.

23 Five shots of Absolut on ice with . . . . . (5)

TONIC : Five-letter word hidden in(five shots of) “Absolut on ice“.

Answer: Tonic water is what you could mix a shot (or five) of Absolut (brand name of vodka) on ice with. A WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition) clue.

24 The prime from Aeschylus’ characters? (5)

ALPHA : The initial letter of(the prime from … characters) Aeschylus.

Answer: The first letter;prime of the Greek alphabet;characters which Aeschylus, an ancient Greek tragedian, must have used. A WIWD clue.

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