A really intriguing challenge from Wanderer today. Cant put my finger on it but it was unlike any other FT puzzle this week. There is some kind of grid play (thematic?) happening with stand-alone clues making sense when joined and read vertically. A bit of local UK/London knowledge would have helped me today – I had to figure out related clues and then confirm on the web.
Thanks to Gaufrid also for the props where needed. I am sure (or rather hopeful) that the readers here will chime in on value-adds for either a theme or for individual clues.
FF: 9 DD: 9
| Across | ||
| 1, 7 | BACHELORS OF LAW |
Graduates from Balliol and Brunel on vacation (9,2,3)
Balliol and Brunel, both on vacation (i.e. removing of internal characters), result in BL, two of them – to give the answer. |
| 9 | INNIT |
Popular thing to pick for yoof, n’est-ce pas? (5)
IN (popular) NIT (thing to pick) |
| 10 | ASIA MINOR |
Peninsula is Romania’s, I suspect (4,5)
Anagram of ROMANIA’S I |
| 11 | IRRUPTING |
Suddenly entering into Russia, general starts securing the end of Vladimir Putin, perhaps (9)
[ I R (entering i.e. starting characters of Into Russia) G (General starts) ] securing [ R (end of Vladimir) UPTIN (anagram of PUTIN) ]. Debated for a fair bit before deciding that ‘entering’ is indeed doing double duty. |
| 12 | GNOME |
1,000 dollars given to Alaskan city banker? (5)
G (1000 dollars = grand) NOME (alaskan city) |
| 13 | TACKS ON |
Stonewall? Start off on time, allies to the end (5,2)
jACKSON (stonewall, start off) on T (time) – |
| 15 | NOTE |
One of those in bar not having drink with jam and bread, say (4)
I think this qualifies for a potential triple def (a) first one is to do with sheet music (b) second is to do with ‘not having drink with jam = NO TEA, a split homophone indicator (c) third is for bread to mean money / currency as is the solution. The weakness with this is that the ‘say’ possibly applies to ‘Jam and Bread’ as a single part of the clue which would preclude a triple def. |
| 18 | MAYO |
County cricketer gets duck (4)
MAY (cricketer, Peter?) O (duck) |
| 20 | RED DEER |
Source of venison that’s comparatively bloody rare, finally getting eaten (3,4)
REDDER (comparatively bloody) eating E (rarE, finally) |
| 23 | AIRER |
Two rivers becoming drier (5)
AIRE (river) R (river) |
| 24 | DESERT RAT |
Soldier and sailor back on leave (6,3)
RAT (sailor = TAR, reversed) on DESERT (leave) |
| 26 | DODDERERS |
Knee-tremblers perhaps more unusual in around Red Square (9)
[ODDER (more unusual) in DER (Red, around)] S (square) |
| 27 | OBESE |
These bottoms round? Somewhat plump (5)
Hidden , reversed in “thESE BOttoms…” |
| 28, 29 | THE LOTOS EATERS |
Tennyson poem has everything – very large tree’s a cuckoo in it (3,5-6)
Charade of THE LOT (everything) OS (very large, over size) EATERS (anagram of TREE”S A) |
| Down | ||
| 1, 21 | BRIGITTE BARDOT |
Garbo tried it, suffering with TB as an actress once (8,6)
Anagram of GARBO TRIED IT TB |
| 2 | CONTRACT |
Agreement to shorten a type of 22 (8)
Triple definition. Contract bridge is the game. |
| 3 | ESTOP |
Bar with some notes to play (5)
Hidden in “…notES TO Play” |
| 4 | OVATION |
Hand eggs in to cooks (7)
OVA (eggs) TION (anagram of IN TO) |
| 5 | SMIDGEN |
Tiny amount very small person almost put in tin (7)
MIDGEt (very small person, almost) in SN (chemical symbol for tin, old name Stannum) |
| 6 | FUMIGATED |
A fetid gum, liberally treated with disinfectant (9)
Anagram of A FETID GUM |
| 7, 22 | LONDON BRIDGE |
Eg Waterloo or Vauxhall tube station, one that’s falling down? (6,6)
Triple def |
| 8 | WARNER |
One suggesting caution as cricketer runs (6)
WARNE (cricketer) R (runs) – Actually Warner (David) is a famous contemporary cricketer in his own right. |
| 14 | STAIRWELL |
I’ll rest a little while, with a forced gap between flights (9)
Anagram of I’LL REST A with W (little While) |
| 16 | DERRIERE |
Bottom in county show, we hear (8)
Sounds like DERRY (county) AIR (show) |
| 17 | BROTHERS |
Cares about right order? (8)
BOTHERS (cares) about R (right) |
| 19 | ODDMENT |
Bit left over from 500 Deutsche Mark note, perhaps (7)
Anagram of D (500, roman numeral) DM (Deutsche Mark) NOTE |
| 20 | RESISTS |
Opposes nuns, with their flipping hesitation coming to the fore (7)
nuns = SISTERS with ER (hesitation) reversed, and moved the front |
| 21 |
See 1
|
|
| 22 |
See 7
|
|
| 25 | RIOJA |
Red or white rose, initially pruned four days after Epiphany (5)
R (Rose, initially) IO JAn (10 Jan, as written, which is 4 days after Epiphany that occurs on 6th Jan, with last letter pruned) |
In 11ac. we may perhaps take “into Russia, General starts” as indicating the opening letters, when ‘entering’ won’t be doing double duty.
15 NOTE One of those in bar not having drink with jam and bread, say (4) – I think this is a reference to a song where the words are Tea, A drink with jam and bread
TL
In 11ac, ‘securing’ is the inserticator.
15 across refers to the song Do-re-mi from “The Sound of Music”
14 across – A stairwell and a landing are different things.
Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs
David and Linda @ 4: a stairwell is a void between the flights of stairs, so is accurately defined; a landing is a horizontal stage in a continuous run. I think the clue is fine.
I have to disagree with Simon S @5. OED puts it quite succinctly. STAIRWELL = “a shaft in which a staircase is built”, and “landing” = “a level area at the top of a staircase or between flights of stairs”. The clue to 14 down defines landing, not stairwell.
Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs
Late to this (again!) when I did it on Tuesday and only got to check it off today. An interesting puzzle which seemed to make one work through the getting of the answer … and then just as hard to fully understand why- best illustrated in clues like 7,22 where there is the complexity of two ‘London bridges’, the LONDON BRIDGE Underground station and the song of ‘LONDON BRIDGE is falling down’
Easy to make the error with THE LOTOS EATERS until it was constructed from the cryptic bits. Had lazily gone for the more recent David WARNER rather than the more correct Shane WARNE + R at 8d. I reckon that RIOJA is pushing the boundaries of fair play – where one has to take some letters from a date four days after Epiphany – it looked all kosher after the fact, but for me nearly impossible beforehand. I mean in the parsing – the definition of red, white and rose wines clearly pointed one to the answer.
I think that it was a good puzzle … and it certainly made me think !!