An easy pleasant challenge from Falcon. Recommended for beginners on the FT grids. Straightforward with a dash of inventive cluing. Thanks Falcon.
FF: 8 DD: 6
| Across | ||
| 1 | NEWSPEAK |
Information on summit in Blair’s bureaucratic language? (8)
NEWS (information) PEAK (summit) |
| 5 | ADVERB |
Braved winds bravely, say (6)
Anagram of BRAVED |
| 10 | SNIPPET |
Turned legs on favourite piece (7)
SNIP (legs = PINS, reversed) PET (favourite) |
| 11 | LILY PAD |
Leaf from notebook taken by girl (4,3)
LILY (girl) PAD (notebook) |
| 12 | DREAD |
Great fear about being caught by old man (5)
RE (about) caught by DAD (old man) |
| 13 | MIGRATION |
Russian aircraft helping removal from one country to another (9)
MIG (russian aircraft) RATION (helping) |
| 14 | LEFT STANDING |
Beaten hollow, resigned position (4,8)
LEFT (resigned) STANDING (position) |
| 18 | HOLY MACKEREL |
Sacred fish? Wow! (4,8)
HOLY (sacred) MACKEREL (fish) |
| 21 | INCOGNITO |
Noticing changes by Oscar, under an assumed name (9)
Anagram of NOTICING followed by O (oscar) |
| 23 | STEER |
Control the movement of ox (5)
double def |
| 24 | LUMBAGO |
Rheumatic pain results in climber not starting (7)
pLUMBAGO (climber, a mediterranean plant, not starting i.e. without first letter) |
| 25 | DOUGLAS |
Chap that can get us a gold? (7)
Anagram of US A GOLD – Reference perhaps to Richard Douglas Fosbury, inventor of the Fosbury Flop and Gold medal winner of the Olympics High Jump event in 1968. |
| 26 | RATING |
Ordinary seaman, seaman knocked over in gale, initially (6)
RAT (seaman = TAR, reversed) IN G (Gale, initially) |
| 27 | ORATORIO |
Coming out of speaker, I love Handel’s Messiah, for example (8)
ORATOR (speaker) I O (love) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | NO SIDE |
End of game inventor set up (2- 4)
Reversal of EDISON (inventor) |
| 2 | WRITER |
Ceremony in outskirts of Windsor for author (6)
RITE (ceremony) in WR (outskirts of WindsoR) |
| 3 | PIPE DREAM |
I, pampered at sea? A fanciful hope (4,5)
Anagram of I PAMPERED |
| 4 | AUTOMATIC PILOT |
George’s gun, one used in conspiracy (9,5)
AUTOMATIC (gun) [I (one) in PLOT (conspiracy)] – George is the colloquial name for the autopilot on planes. |
| 6 | DELTA |
Greek character, duke, unexpectedly late (5)
D (duke) followed by anagram of LATE |
| 7 | EXPLICIT |
Graphically detailed clip playing during departure (8)
Anagram of CLIP in EXIT (departure) |
| 8 | BADINAGE |
Mark engaging in a bit of banter (8)
BADGE (mark) containing IN A |
| 9 | FLIGHT RECORDER |
Fine delicate instrument: it may reveal cause of crash (6,8)
F (fine) LIGHT (delicate) RECORDER (instrument) |
| 15 | NEEDS MUST |
Mend set eccentric American brought in? I can’t afford not to (5,4)
Anagram of MEND SET with US (american) inserted. |
| 16 | THRILLER |
Ploughman strangles her heartlessly in film full of suspense? (8)
TILLER (ploughman) containing HR (HeR, heartlessly) |
| 17 | PLACE MAT |
What may be put by mother on table at first? (5,3)
PLACE (put) MA (mother) T (Table, at first) ; &lit |
| 19 | TELLER |
Bank employee, one who counts (6)
double definition – the second meaning is a person employed to count votes in a parliament. |
| 20 | PRESTO |
Indefinite number leaving English city at once (6)
PRESTOn (English city, without ‘n’ – indefinite number) |
| 22 | GRAIN |
Rex in profit? A very small amount (5)
R (rex) in GAIN (profit) |
Thanks Falcon and Turbolegs
A very straightforward puzzle, which is the usual fare from this setter – still quite enjoyable while it lasted. A nice bit of misdirection in 1a where of course the Blair refers to Eric Arthur ( the real name of George Orwell, who wrote Nineteen Eighty Four in which this language was created) rather than Tony (the real name of an ex-PM who some may think had another version called spin) 🙂
Finished down in the SE corner with NEEDS MUST, DOUGLAS and PRESTO the last few in.
An enjoyable solve except for the unforgivably obscure references in 4 & 24. You really can’t describe a crossword as straightforward if solvers have to know that aircraft autopilots are known as George and that there’s a plant called a plumbago!
Regarding 14a, doesn’t “Left Standing” mean the opposite of “Beaten Hollow” ?
Thanks Falcon and Turbolegs.
No Side for the end of a game was new to me but obvious from the clue.
Liked the reference to to Eric Blair in 1ac.
Methinks Alice is showing her (young) age – George has always been the Autopilot as far as I recall – unless you’re American in which case he’s called Otto.
My only criticism is 20dn. I think that Falcon has confused PRESTO with PRONTO.
Otherwise, all over too soon.