Financial Times 14,621 by WANDERER

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The perfect lunchtime or coffee break crossword, very enjoyable.

Or in my case a breakfast crossword.  Difficult enough to be a challenge but easy enough to complete in one sitting.

I solved most of the clues at the first pass, but this gives a misleading impression of the puzzle. For most clues I had a good long think without getting anywhere, but then just as I was conceding defeat and moving on to the next clue some hint leading to the solution would appear.

Thank you Wanderer.

completed grid

Across
1 PETER PAN Play recording back to new parent (5,3)
EP (Extended Play, recording) reversed (back) to PARENT* anagram=new – definition is ‘play’
5 COLLAR Grab one by the lapels? (6)
cryptic/double definition – ‘grab one’ and ‘by the lapels’, a collar is next to the lapels.  A daring pairing here of a Peter Pan Collar across the shoulders with French Knickers on the bottom.
9 BURBERRY Raincoat, British, worn by the Queen in northern town (8)
BR (British) in surrounds (worn by) ER (the Queen) in BURY (Northern town) – an iconic brand of raincoat, origianlly designed by company founder Thomas Burberry
10 STANZA Lines created as result of sunbathing in southern South Africa (6)
TAN (result of sunbathing) in S (southern) ZA (South Africa) – lines in a poem
12 LEEDS Journalist in the French city (5)
ED (editor, journalist) in LES (the, French)
13 PETTICOAT Slip found in Room at the Top, not initially an element in fuel added to the fire (9)
aTTIC (room at the top) missing first letter (not initially) O (oxygen, an element) in PEAT (fuel added to the fire) – definition is ‘slip’
14 LITANY Set fire to a city catalogue (6)
LIT (set fire to, past tense) A NY (city)
16 PAGODAS Somewhat resembles a dog appearing around temples (7)
found reversed (around) in (somewhat) resembleS A DOG APpearing
18 LOCATED Found small animal in large dictionary (7)
CAT (small animal) in L (large) OED (dictionary) – definition is ‘found’
20 BERTHA Bed a woman (6)
BERTH (bed) A
22 SUSPENDER One that supports stocking revolutionary American poet (9)
US (American) reversed (revolutionary) Stephen SPENDER (poet)
23 DRIER Drought results in English river primarily being this? (5)
initial letters (primarily) of Drought Results In English River – drought makes the river drier
24 OPIATE Drug ring – very good one, note (6)
O (ring) PI (pious, very good) A (one) TE (note, of scale)
25 NEUROTIC Obsessive barking routine by Crufts beginner (8)
ROUTINE* anagram=barking with C (beginning of Crufts)
26 FRENCH European to pull female for wife (6)
wRENCH (to pull) with F (female) in place of (for) W (wife)
27 KNICKERS Heard robbers? Drat! (8)
sounds like ‘nickers’ (robbers)
Down
1 POBBLE Post about a King Lear character (6)
POLE (post) contains (about) BB (King, blues guitarist) – The Pobble Who Has No Toes, character from Edward Lear poem
2 THREE PIECE SUITE Smart clothing draped over back of the seats (5-5,5)
THREE PIECE SUIT (smart clothing) on (draped over) thE (back of, last letter) – definition is ‘seats’
3 REEKS Smells Europeans first off (5)
gREEKS (Europeans) missing first letter
4 ATROPHY Wasting an award (7)
A TROPHY (award)
6 OUTRIGGER Where Parisian set off in boat (9)
OU (where, as spoken in Paris) TRIGGER (set off)
7 LINFORD CHRISTIE Man with lunchbox dressed in filthier cords (7,8)
(IN FILTHIER CORDS)* anagram=dressed – former sprinter and wearer of skin-tight lycra suits leading to the Sun newspaper suggesting that Linford’s lunchbox was clearly visible inside.
8 ROAD TEST Notice put up during rubbish motor trial (4,4)
AD (notice) SET (put) reversed (up) in (during) ROT (rubbish)
11 STOP Organist’s choice of second jumper? (4)
S (second) TOP (a jumper perhaps) – stops are controls that activate or deactivate pipes on an organ, to be chosen by the organist
15 AUTHENTIC Genuine description of some nautical characters (9)
AU THEN TIC describes some of the characters of nAUTICal – definition is genuine
17 BLAST OFF Foremost of boats certainly not first to go to be launched (5,3)
B (first letter of boats) LAST (certainly not first) OFF (to go) – definition is ‘to be launched’
19 DIDO Queen singer was an idler? (4)
DID O (nothing), was an idler – Dido was Queen of Carthage, and more recently name of British singer-songwriter Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong, known simply as ‘Dido’.
20 BURGEON Boy’s first impulse regarding snowball (7)
B (first letter of boy) URGE (impulse) ON (regarding)
21 BRACES Couples put a little cash in Scottish banks (6)
C (a little, first letter, of cash) in BRAES (banks, Scottish)
23 DIRAC Physicist sporting cardi (5)
CARDI* anagram=sporting – Paul Dirac, physicist

*anagram

7 comments on “Financial Times 14,621 by WANDERER”

  2. Very enjoyable!
    Bit of a lingerie theme? I doubt “French Knickers” was a coincidence!
    Thanks Wanderer and PeeDee

  3. Items of clothing I have got: Peter Pan collar, Burberry, petticoat, suspender, braces, French knickers and three piece suit(e). Any more?

  4. Thanks, PeeDee: after a long tussle I completed, but I certainly needed your explanation for a couple of them. And thank you, Wanderer — unusually wicked for my poor brain.

  6. Oddly the answer to 9A seems to want ER (the Queen) inside BR (British)rather than the other way round.

    Thanks to PeeDee and Wanderer

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