Financial Times 14,448 by Falcon

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 19, 2013

I found this Falcon fairly easy but had to look up a couple of things (such as ‘saic’ and ‘vis’). My favourite clues are the most excellent 26A (LAHORE) and 13D (BACKBENCHER).

ACROSS
1 Mistake, in retrospect, to harbour resolute crusaders (8)
PILGRIMS – GRIM (resolute) in SLIP (mistake) backwards
6 Say no to substandard article (6)
REJECT – double definition
9 Second vessel like a ketch in picture (6)
MOSAIC – MO (second) + SAIC (vessel like a ketch). I have not come across this vessel before which my Chambers tells me derives from Turkish and means exactly, “a vessel like a ketch”. It is also spelt SAIQUE.
10 Epidemic abroad to overcome (8)
OUTBREAK – OUT (abroad) + BREAK (overcome)
11 Band releasing disc, unaltered (2,2)
[o]ASIS (band releasing disc)
12 Courage shown by financial institution providing waste collection point (6,4)
BOTTLE BANK – BOTTLE (courage) + BANK (financial institution)
14 Record kept by courts upset Rodin, perhaps (8)
SCULPTOR – LP (record) in anagram of COURTS
16 Tea table incomplete (4)
CHAR – CHAR[t] (table incomplete)
18 Struggle with appearance (4)
VIEW – double definition
19 Before start of lunch, sneakily ate lamb faggot (8)
MEATBALL – anagram of ATE LAMB + L[unch]
21 Be patient mixing amber and white (4,4,2)
BEAR WITH ME – anagram of AMBER WHITE
22 Old rogue beheaded in part of church (4)
NAVE – [k]NAVE (old rogue beheaded)
24 Irritable, one’s husband on organ (8)
LIVERISH – LIVER (organ) + IS (ones) + H (husband)
26 Spread of cholera caught out city in Pakistan (6)
LAHORE – anagram of [c]HOLERA (cholera caught out)
27 Performing well in lessons on guitar (2,4)
ON SONG – hidden words
28 Headway made by pair being followed by female monster (8)
PROGRESS – PR (pair) + OGRESS (female monster)

DOWN
2 Presses English actor (5)
IRONS – double definition. (Jeremy is one of my favourite actors.)
3 Young woman in Great Britain let down craftsman (5-6)
GLASS-BLOWER – LASS (young woman) in GB + LOWER (let down)
4 Ten I cultivated across island, hatch (8)
INCUBATE – CUBA (island) in anagram of TEN I
5 Speak bluntly, as gunslingers used to do? (5,4,3,3)
SHOOT FROM THE HIP – double definition
6 Unsettle conductor (6)
RATTLE – double definition
7 Jack having a drop of rum and a glass of beer (3)
J (jack) + A (a) + R[um]
8 Correspondence after series showing armour (5,4)
CHAIN MAIL – CHAIN (series) + MAIL (correspondence)
13 MP, second taking seat (11)
BACKBENCHER – BENCH (seat) in BACKER (second)
15 Standard review turned anger on (9)
CRITERION – CRIT (review) + IRE (anger) reversed + ON (on)
17 Remarkably alert during court battle (8)
WATERLOO – anagram of ALERT in WOO (court)
20 One racket in mercury going underground (6)
HIDING – I (one) + DIN (racket) together in HG (mercury)
23 Rugby Union in grip of power, a corrupting influence (5)
VIRUS – RU (Rugby Union) in VIS (power). I did not know this word ‘vis’.
25 Self-esteem, for example, on circuit (3)
EGO – EG (for example) + O (circuit)