This puzzle was very late appearing on the FT website. If anyone is still awake then here is the blog…
Enjoyable with a few inventive constructions that will appear either interesting or a little dodgy depending on your libertairian/Ximenean leanings. Personally I liked them.
Hold the mouse pointer over any clue number to read the clue.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CERISE | SIRE (make children) in EC (city of London postal area) reversed (reflected) – definition is ‘shade’, colour |
| 4 | JERSEY | Breed of cow and Tour De France leader’s top |
| 8 | ARSENAL | LANES (narrow roads) RA (Royal Artillery) reversed (right to left on map) – definition is ‘store’ |
| 9 | IGNOBLE | sIG (signature, autograph) missing head and L (left) in (during) OBE (award) |
| 11 | IRRELEVANT | LE (the, French) V (first letter of vacationers) in TERRAIN* |
| 12 | KNOB | double definition |
| 13 | EYRIE | anagram (converting) of part of drIER YEsterday |
| 14 | SPATLESE | SPA (bath) ELdEST* missing d=day – German wine made from extra-ripe grapes |
| 16 | CHAINSAW | CHAIN (shops) SAW (spotted) |
| 18 | MOCHA | MO (short time) CHAp (bloke) missing P (quiet) |
| 20 | QUIT | QUILT (bedding) missing L (last letter of spaniel) |
| 21 | THROMBOSIS | THRO (through) MB (doctor) O (old) SISter (nurse, half of) |
| 23 | ST LOUIS | LOUT* in SIS (relative) |
| 24 | AT FIRST | A TT (series of races) around FIRS (cones?) |
| 25 | DOTARD | DO (cook) TAR (salt, sailor) coD (last letter) |
| 26 | FREEZE | sounds like “frees” (releases) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | CORER | CORnER (niche) missing N=new |
| 2 | ROE DEER | REED (grass) reversed (upset) before ROE (eggs) |
| 3 | SHAPELESS | PE (training) in LEASH* (anagram=faulty) and SeemS (vacuous=no insides) |
| 5 | ERGOT | EscaRGOT (snail) missing (eating) SpecifiC (extremes of) A (area) – a fungal disease of cereals. I don’t undertand ‘eating’ here, it does not really mean something removed to me. |
| 6 | SNORKEL | anagram (changing) of bREN’S OK (missing heading) and L (learner) – equipment to be used in the sea (main) |
| 7 | YELLOW SEA | YE (the, traditional=old) LOWS (cyclones) entangled with (disrupting) LEA (meadow) |
| 10 | CASSOWARY | ASS (fool) in CO (company, business) and WARY (not trusting) |
| 13 | EXHAUSTED | EXHAUST (part of a car) insurancE funD (last parts of) – definition is ‘spent’ |
| 15 | ALMA MATER | ALTER (modify) holding (nursing) MA MA (graduate, two of) – an old school or college |
| 17 | INTROIT | IN (popular) deTROIT (Motown) missing two leading letters (churned out) – a piece of church music |
| 19 | CHOC ICE | CHOICE (the best) keeping Cool (initial letter) |
| 21 | TRIER | German city and one who tries people in court |
| 22 | ISSUE | mIsSeS jUnE (regularly=every other letter) |
*anagram
It’s now available on the website (AARDVARK puzzle).
Thanks for the heads-up nmsindy. I’ll get a blog later this evening.
Thanks PeeDee and Aardvark, Chainsaw and Cassowary defeated me, quite a few clues with a letter drop perhaps an underused device. I particularly liked Choc Ice.
Shouldn’t it be Spatlese?
Thanks fearsome, corrected. I had forgotten to explain the subsidiary part of the clue too.
I doubt anyone will see this post, but I’ll chime in all the same.
Before I got any of the crossing letters, I confidently put in PARIS for 21d, as in the Judgment of Paris (that which precipitated the Trojan War, not the wine competition).
Hi Keeper,
A good solution I think and more imaginative than the ‘correct’ one. Its a shame it does not fit the crossing letters as I prefer your version.