Financial Times 15,070 by Gaff

17 comments on “Financial Times 15,070 by Gaff”

1. I didn’t get the theme so some clues were difficult. Couldn’t get the reference to “one of the audience” though got both gloucester and bedford because nothing else seemed to fit, but missed exeter. Guessed “riot” from crowd trouble but couldn’t work out why. The long quote fell in easily as not much else would fit but had no idea it was an anagram. Pete you are a marvel for working that out. Was short of six in total.

2. Thanks for a great blog, Pete.

   I’d completely missed this puzzle, so I’ve only just finished it [having been alerted by your headline, so thanks for that, too]. It came out on the day of the York S and B and I didn’t have time to look it up before I left home and then promptly forgot about it. As it happened, I found myself in Gaff’s quiz team in York [it was very good to meet you, Gaff] but he was obviously too modest to mention it.

   Anyway, I’m glad I eventually found it, as I thoroughly enjoyed it. I haven’t much to add to the comprehensive blog. I didn’t have a problem with UNISON: I think I might, at a [bit of a] pinch refer to my son at University as my Uni-son. I do worry about GLOUCESTER, though, and can’t really see how it works – for instance, how is G ‘most of’ big?

   The long allusive anagram is excellent of course: it went in very readily but, despite its length, didn’t make the rest too much of a write-in.
   I liked CLUED-UP, RIP-ROARING and SHAMPOO, too.

   Many thanks to Gaff.

3. Thanks Gaff and Pete

   14dn: If I say something like “big loss to Spurs”, you will hear the sound of “Gloucester” forming most of “big loss to”, at least the way I pronounce the words. I put “Spurs” in because the sound of “to” would change before a vowel.

4. Thanks, Pelham Barton: that makes sense of ‘most of big’! I’m quite happy now.

5. Thanks Pete for the blog – this is our first FT puzzle. We were introduced to Gaff puzzles through Conrad who could not attend the York S and B. We were pleased to meet the man himself at York and wish we’d known more of his background. We’d have had a lot of questions to ask him – perhaps another time?

   We were happy with 22d as we just read it as UNI SON as opposed to MARRIED SON for example and did not think it was to much of a stretch. We were however stumped by the parsing of 26ac so thanks for the explanation.

   Thanks Gaff – we can see why Conrad likes your style. We’ll look out for the next one.

6. Hmm, I forgot about 26ac – I don’t see the anagram indicator. It can’t be &lit … can it?

7. Thanks Gaff and Pete M

   Eileen @ 6: could the anagrind in 26A be ‘Provocative’ – stirring things up?

8. Simon S

   Yes – but then what’s the definition?

9. Eileen @ 8

   Maybe it is an &lit after all…or is it an extended definition? (I lose track of the difference!)

   Where’s a Gaff when you need one?

10. Yes, I think, 26ac is meant to be an &lit.
    But I don’t like “don’t stare” meaning “delete the letters of ‘stare'”.
    It is there where I differ from Gaff’s view on clueing (something he knows).
    I also do not like ‘second degree’ for E but others do, so I am happy to accept it.

    Altogether, a clever crossword.
    Not completely my cup of tea but soit as the French say.

    Thanks, Pete.

11. Sil, I realize I botched the description of 26a. It does now seem to make sense only as an &lit. Thanks. I also do not like the “don’t stare” working.

12. [Simon @ 9 : when you needed him, Gaff was at a soggy bonfire party!]

    26a is indeed &lit, but I do accept that, while ‘don’t stare’ suits the surface, it is rather clunky as a subtraction indicator. Fair call.

    Thanks to Pete for the very thorough blog. You are of course right that there were no walls with a breach in them on the fields of Agincourt for Henry to once more go unto the breach of, but I went with the better known quote for the sake of do-ability. I’m not sure if Sil @10 will regard this rewriting of history as a greater or lesser sin than my sometimes cavalier clueing!

    [Eileen, Sil and bertandjoyce (and Kathryn’s dad, if he’s passing) it was a pleasure to spend time with you all in York and I look forward to the next one. I’ve tried to explain a pub crawl with quizzes and crosswords to some non-crossword folks, and clearly they struggle with the idea that we don’t all wear anoraks! If I didn’t say it at the time, your blogging and comments are much appreciated as valuable feedback by this setter at least.]

13. Didn’t understand the reference to the audience, so struggled with Gloucester, but it was all that would fit. For me ter sounds nothing like to!! I did like Exeter though. Struggled with riot loi and a guess. Thanks to all for explanations.

14. Thanks Pete and Gaff.

    I enjoyed this – had no problem with the homophone at 14 or the deconstructed anagram at 26.

    Thinking laterally, I got the long anagram early on and am too unfamiliar with the play to realise that it was thus spake at another battle.

    I did think the ‘one of audience’ motif was clever.

    My only failing was in the parsing of RIOT – so thanks for that Pete.

15. I thought the anagram for “Once more…” was brilliant, and I laughed at BRAIN DRAIN, UNISON, and TOPLESS, so I guess I’m on Gaff’s wavelength and not some of the others commenting here. A thoroughly good workout for me and I learnt a few things, both about history and crosswords, so thanks to you both Gaff and Pete.

16. Thanks Gaff and Pete

    Did most of this on an evening flight back from Brisbane to Melbourne without aids … and found it pretty tough going, taking all of the 2 hour flight with still a couple left to get. Got the last of them during a waking period in the early hours of the next day, making work the next day a bit of a slog !

    Didn’t twig at all with what was linking the ‘One of the audience’ clues – which in retrospect, I thought was quite clever. Don’t know if it’s related to this, but had trouble with the parsing of two of them – GLOUCESTER (which I’d forgotten was pronounced as ‘GLOSS-TER’ and agree that the ‘most of’ refers to the entire phrase – ‘biG LOSS TO’ ) and BEDFORD (where I didn’t seen the hidden answer).

    Was good to see Yoko ONO clued as an artist in her own right, rather than linking her to John Lennon. Noted also the appearance of Laurence OLIVIER who sort of linked into the theme with his well known portrayals of Richard III.

    Thought that the anagram of the long quote was quite brilliant and the clue for TOPLESS was excellent.

    A tough but very pleasing crossword !

17. Well at least Gaff has the honesty to refer to his “sometimes cavalier clueing” but really:

    a) in 9ac “second degree” doesn’t indicate “e”.
    b) in 13ac “took heart” is not “oo”. “Took’s heart” is.
    c) in the same clue “first night” doesn’t indicate “n”. (Look at the Chambers Crossword Manual”).
    d) in 16ac is “pre-Tudor” a real word?
    e) in 26ac “don’t stare” doesn’t tell you to remove “stare”.
    f) in 2dn “his heart” doesn’t indicate “I”.

    Unlike Bertandjoyce above I shall not be looking out for the next one.

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