Another Tuesday, another gentle start to the puzzle week at FT.
Most of the clues were write-ins except for 20d which I can’t work out yet. There seem to be a fair few clues with Greek references, not to mention people and places appearing as answers. Not sure if some sort of theme is on offer. Let me know if you see something I missed. Thanks NEO for the workout.
I think time has come to simply put some of the clichéd crossword abbreviations to bed once and for all, but that might just be me.
Definitions in clues marked like this.
* anagram, + charade, – deletion, <- reversal
ACROSS
1 Low kick in good game (7) GRUBBER [Good + game=RUBBER]
5 Companion in crisis finds old bread (7) DRACHMA [companion=CH inside crisis=DRAMA]
9 Country squire, initially flippant, tracked back (5) SYRIA [Squire + flippant=AIRY<-]
10 Arthur’s dad shut up having become tedious (9) PENDRAGON [shut up=PEN + become tedious=DRAG ON]
11 A second small child brought in to bug polymath (9) ARISTOTLE [A + Second + small child=TOT inside bug=RILE]
12 Firm that incorporates socialist belief (5) CREDO [firm=CO outside socialist=RED]
13 Work in English to express view (5) OPINE [work=OP + IN + English]
15 What’s said as starts to venture overseas in Napoleon’s day? (3,6) BON VOYAGE [Venture Overseas inside Napoleon=BONY + day=AGE] I thought Napoleon was referred to as BONEY?
18 Protection from Ray’s son, invisible, touring Costa Rica (9) SUNSCREEN [Son + invisible=UNSEEN around Costa Rica]
19 Fish, used creatively, fed characters taken out? (5) SUSHI [fISH USed]*
21, 28 Trusted adviser – Mr Dexter maybe (5-4,3) RIGHT-HAND MAN [dexter=RIGHT-HAND, Mr.=MAN]
23 Stop nice man getting cleaner (9) DETERGENT [stop=DETER + nice man=GENT]
25 Knocked around in container, characters from Bali set instrument (9) CALIBRATE [container=CRATE outside BALI*]
26 Persian beginning to admire Euripides’ work (5) MEDEA [Persian=MEDE + Admire]
27 Grandma quick to produce cloth (7) NANKEEN [grandma=NAN + quick=KEEN]
28 See 21
DOWN
1 Secret police make move to seize live tapes (7) GESTAPO [make move=GO outside TAPES*]
2 National British painter popular with Scotsman (9) UKRAINIAN [British=UK + painter=RA + popular=IN + Scotsman=IAN]
3 Bachelor, bridge player, cruel and brutal person (5) BEAST [Bachelor + bridge player=EAST]
4 Renowned soldiers turned up with food (9) REPUTABLE [soldiers=RE + UP<- + food=TABLE]
5 Poet cheated to conceal noun (5) DONNE [cheated=DONE outside Noun]
6 Icarus too disintegrated, which is dreadful (9) ATROCIOUS [ICARUS TOO]*
7 Foreign secretary once replaced as hot with fever (5) HAGUE [Hot + fever=AGUE]
8 Vertebrate animal’s one in on meat supply (7) AMNIOTE [one=1 inside ON MEAT*]
14 Mercurial former partner likely to be named in case? (9) EXCITABLE [former partner=EX + likely to be named in case=CITABLE]
16 Couple coming into the inn ruined a birthday (9) NINETIETH [couple=TIE inside THE INN*]
17 Master at sea departs before noon, making port (9) AMSTERDAM [MASTER* + Departs + before noon=AM]
18 Key people confined to metal vehicle that’s armoured (7) SARACEN [key=A + people=RACE inside metal=SN(tin)]
20 Going on he avoids getting wet (2,5) IN TRAIN [???? + wet=RAIN?] See comments below
22 Gallons, beer, taken by Newton’s old physician (5) GALEN [Gallons + beer=ALE + Newton]
23 What’ll fill this after downpour’s onset? (5) DRAIN [Downpour + RAIN]
24 Right country for Catholic (5) ROMAN [Right + country=OMAN]
Thanks Bhavan
I think 20dn is IN T[he] RAIN (he avoids getting wet).
Thanks Neo and Bhavan – agree with Gaufrid re 20dn. I think 21/28ac may also (‘maybe’) refer to Ted Dexter, the former England cricketer who batted and bowled right-handed.
Which of the clichéd crossword abbreviations should we put to bed first, I wonder!? Does their use equate to clichéd crossword clues? How many of these clues here are clichéd? (Et cetera.)
Thanks Neo and Bhavan.
Re BON VOYAGE
If 15ac is read as an ‘&lit’ clue, then “What’s said” could indicate that we may use homophones in the parsing. In this case, BONY would be fine for BONEY.
Thank you Gaurfrid @ 1. Seems so obvious now.
Psscion @ 2, you might be right about the setter’s intentions in using Dexter.
hedgehoggy @ 3 each of us have our own pet hates I’m sure.
mike04 @ 4 that makes sense although I’m not a fan of any indicator and its fodder separated by other components.
Lucky for me a hedgehog is not usually a pet then Bhavan! But I don’t think the ‘crosswordese’ is a problem at all. It’s there, and all the compilers use it, sometimes very creatively. Point?
I agree with both of you! It would be great if every word clued could break down into lovely chunky bits (e.g. STARCH AMBER for STAR CHAMBER), but that’s hardly ever the case, and that’s where we have to get the Small Bits Machine out. Crosswordese is an element in said machine. It’s not perfect, and of course it’s hackneyed (as everyone uses it all the time), but I would like to think that it can be deployed subtly here and there.
As well as blatantly.
Neo @ 7, thanks for dropping by. I know what you mean and I’m not trivialising the process of writing 30 odd clues in a puzzle as being an easy job. I suppose it is more a case of familiarity breeding contempt for those clichéd ones.
Thanks Neo and Bhavan
Completed over a couple of days after leaving it at the office. Actually was held up a couple of times during the actual solve as well – the SARACEN armoured vehicle was new to me … and took a while to see the tin around it. Took a while to understand IN T(he) RAIN.
Got a couple wrong – went DANTE (unparsed apart from the N) and NINETIETH (when I had NINETEENTH – with a tenuous EEN to parse in). Unfortunately, Paul gets the points on this one !
Companion = CH? CHaperon, maybe? CoHort? Not getting that.
Peter Mork @10 see here : CH for companion