I’m not used to being presented with unusual challenges by Thursday’s FT, but this nicely-worked puzzle from Gozo proved to be just that.
All of the Across clues in the grid are foreign words (or, more accurately, words that English has borrowed from foreign languages); some are rather more obscure than others, but I wouldn’t say that any of them were off-limits in an English puzzle – others may disagree. There are some foreign-language elements to a few of the Down clues, too. An enjoyable puzzle – thank-you, Gozo.
ACROSS
1. DIKTAT Reversal of tat [rubbish] + kid [child]
5. ALFRESCO Alf [Ramsey, the English football manager] + res [research] + co [company]
9. AUTOBAHN A + anagram of about + H(ameli)n
10. ADIEUX Ad [notice] + U(nion) + x [cross]
11. MISERE Miser [such as Harpagon in Moliére’s The Miser] + E(lise)
12. SERAGLIO Anagram of legionnaires minus the letters of nine
14. GASTARBEITER Anagram of target Serbia
18. KINDERGARTEN Kind [sort] + anagram of garret + en [measure]
22. IDEE FIXE Anagram of exemplified minus MP [member] + L [liberal]
25. SAUTES SA [Salvation Army] + utes [pick-up trucks, utility vehicles]
26. CACHET Cache [stockpile] + t [tonnes]
27. AILERONS Ail [trouble] + ‘erons [birds, dropping the ‘H’ as a Cockney might]
28. A LA CARTE A + art [paintings] within lace [material]
29. SALONS Al [Alabama, state] within sons [children]
DOWN
2. INULIN Regular letters from kIlN fUlL dIdNt
3. TWO-LEGGED Two [both] + legged [walked quickly]
4. TRAVERSER Double definition: traverser is French for cross
5. AMNESIA Anagram of a name is
6. FLAIR L [learner] within fair [trade show]
7. EKING E [east] + king – Caspar was one of the three kings from the East in the Nativity story…
8. CRUDITES Anagram of us direct
13. APE First letters of Anglian Priest Elevated
15. BATH SALTS Salts are sailors, Bath is a famous spa town
16. IN NEUTRAL In [popular] + anagram of renault
17. WINDFALL D [500] + F [francs] within win all [gain everything]
19. ELF Double definition: elf is German for eleven [team]
20. AVERAGE Aver [declare] + age [how old you are]
21. LENNON N N [North, north; two poles] within Leon [Trotsky]
23. ETHIC Hidden in thE THICkest
24. INTER Double definition: Inter is a Milanese football team
Thanks Ringo & Gozo. I really enjoyed this themed puzzle. Proceeded smoothly except for the NW corner, where I needed to confirm INULIN and look up Harpagon, which I’d not heard of. Not sure about “wings” as the definition for AILERONS (though that appears to be the etymology), as they are really flaps attached to wings. Change “Popular” to “Gold” in 16d, and you could have “AU NATUREL”. Favorite was 19d. Perhaps there’s something to be done along the lines of “Unknown Wolverhampton player plus starting eleven in Munich.”
Many thanks Ringo & Gozo for a very enjoyable puzzle.
I didn’t know who Caspar was and, initially in 18d, I opted for AU NATUREL.
I’m glad Alf Ramsay was the source of ALFRESCO, at first I suspected some gourmet chef which would have made me struggle for sure.
An interesting excursion into ‘foreign’ English. Only trouble was when I got to 16d I didn’t read it properly and put in AU NATUREL which held me up no end with the Acrosses in that corner.
Thanks to Gozo for the enjoyment and Gozo for the explanations.
Sorry to post again, but, having spent time in Vienna, I was inspired by 19d to come up with this:
Austria’s starting eleven loses frequently to German side (3)
Very good, Keeper @4
When you start setting Crossies for real, I hope that you can maintain the same standard.
Not one of the hardest although working out or rather guessing 14a was tricky. Completely missed the imported foreign words but then aren’t amost all english words imported to some extent? Thanks Ringo and Busman.
Thanks for the favourable reception of my puzzle today.
But how is this for a coincidence? The clue to MISERE at 11 Across refers (as Ringo explained) to the Moliere play L’Avare, the Miser, who is named Harpagon. His daughter is Elise. Hence the references in the clue. I compiled the crossword about four months ago.
Now…. As subscribers to “1 Across” will know from an announcement in the July issue of the magazine, my wife and I became grandparents in early July. Our grand-daughter is called Elise — yet another tale to tell about coincidences in my crossword compiling life.
Gozo — and Busman elsewhere!