Financial Times 15093 by WANDERER

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A superb brain twister from WANDERER – thanks to whom for a magnificent crossword that I initially felt I had no hope of solving fully. Very inventive cluing and cross references between clues. Too many good clues to pick a favorite from.

FF: 10+ DD: 9

 

Across
1 POSTCARD
Fully 26 see cheap computer’s content that anyone can read? (8)

Devious clue (I think !) Fully indicates expansion. Answer to 26 is Pee = P. See = C. Expansion of PC is the solution. Also clued by “..cheaP Computer’s..” content. Content forms part of the defn as well.
5 APOGEE
Culmination of a bit of play including own goal (6)

[ A PEE (bit of Play) ] containing OG (own goal)
10 EOLITHS
Stone age tools working the soil (7)

Anagram of THE SOIL. Excellent clue this.
11 ONAGERS
Asses working a long time need odd bits of rest (7)

ON (working) AGE (a long time) RS (odd bits of ReSt)
12, 13 IRISH FREE STATE
Area once under the British flag, taken by France in her broken English, say (5,4,5)

IRIS (flag) [ F (france) in anagram of HER ] E (english) STATE (say)
15 RABIN
Scot elected as PM, once (5)

RAB (scot, Rab.C. Nesbitt) IN (elected)
16 DAUGHTER
Relative has hard time getting drug after a month – admitted by 7 26? (8)

[H (hard) T (time) E (drug) after AUG (august)] in DR (doctor – answer to 7 is G(ee) 26 is P(ee) – GP is a doctor).
19 ICE SKATE
Sporting footwear with diamonds takes off (3,5)

ICE (diamonds) followed by anagram of TAKES
20 RODIN
Russian composer loses address for US male sculptor (5)

boRODIN (russian composer, losing BO – address for US male – beau)
21, 23 STAND SURETY FOR
Be a guarantor in respect of Wrong Trousers Day? FT? Not at first (5,6,3)

Anagram of TROUSERS DAY FT N (Not, at first)
25 REPLACE
Make good theatre at city church (7)

REP (theatre) LA (city, Los Angeles) CE (church)
27 BEGGING
German repeatedly into living as mendicant (7)

GG (german = G, repeatedly) in BEING (living)
28 TEETHE
Develop the ability to chew 14, thanks initially to 18 (6)

TEE (T – head of Time) T (Thanks, initially) HE (symbol for Helium, an INERT GAS – solution to 18)
29 LISTLESS
Sluggish as shopper that’s no jogger? (8)

cryptic clue; A shopper without a list wouldnt be running in the store.
Down
1 PREMIERE
First showing by PM before start of election (8)

PREMIER (pm) E (start of Election)
2 SALTIMBOCCA
Lamb taco is served with cold dish of veal and ham (11)

Anagram of LAMB TACO IS C (cold)
3, 22 CATCH ONES DEATH
To go viral badly, there’s chance hot date’s gone wrong (5,4,5)

Anagram of CHANCE HOT DATE’S
4 RISER
One who gets up from chair is erotic (5)

Hidden in “..chaiR IS ERotic”
6, 17 PLAYS HARD TO GET
Pretends not to be interested in obscure dramas? (5,4,2,3)

cryptic def; obscure dramas would be plays hard to get.
7 GEE
Cor anglais’s third piece broadcast (3)

Third letter of anGlais expanded.
8 ENSUE
Guarantee no right to come next (5)

ENSUrE (guarantee, without R – right)
9 HOME RULE
Being governed by one’s own in- law (4,4)

&lit, HOME (in) RULE (law)
14 AHEAD OF TIME
Early article by magazine editor? (5,2,4)

A (article) HEAD OF TIME (magazine editor – TIME being the magazine)
16 DRAGSTER
Racing car taking 7 26, say, and Queen around Silverstone (8)

[ DR ( 7 26 is G(ee) P(ee) ) ER (queen) ] around [ AG (silver) ST (stone) ]
17  
See 6
18 INERT GAS
Either half of two-thirds of nearly inactive substance (5,3)

2/3rd of NEARly is NEAR – Either half is NE (neon) or AR (argon) – both of which are inert gases. Devilish !!
21 SPRAT
Little fish for Jack, the picky eater (5)

Cryptic reference to the nursery rhyme “Jack Sprat, could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean..” [Thanks Geoff!]
22  
See 3
24 RABBI
Religious leader raging briefly about bishop (5)

RABId (raging, briefly) around B (bishop)
26 PEE
Number one vegetable, we hear (3)

Colloquial reference (for children especially) using the loo. Sounds like PEA (vegetable)
*anagram

9 comments on “Financial Times 15093 by WANDERER”

  1. Thanks, Turbolegs, for a great blog.

    I’m surprised to find that this is the first Wanderer puzzle I have done – but it certainly won’t be the last: I thought it was terrific.

    I read 29ac as ‘Sluggish as shopper that has [rather than is] no jogger’, a list being something that jogs one’s memory.

    Far too many top clues to list favourites and, as Turbolegs says, really clever linking of the clues. The parsing of 28ac / 18dn defeated me – and no wonder, now that I see it!

    Many thanks to Wanderer for a highly enjoyable puzzle.

  2. Eileen and I once again coincide with our views on a particular crossword except that this time I can say that I have solved Wanderer puzzles before and I wasn’t defeated by the parsing of 28/18.

  3. Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs.

    Some of my parsing wasn’tquite right, so that was useful. I’m with Eileen on the parsing of 29.

  5. Thanks everybody for the comments. Glad to know others had fun with the puzzle as I did.

    Eileen@1 – Agree with your parsing of 29ac. I did feel mine was a bit weak.

    Cheers
    TL

  6. Indeed (and thanks Turbolegs) this was another very good Wanderer puzzle.
    I didn’t find it too hard and managed to find most of it without asking Mrs Chambers, the only exception being 5ac.

    In my Book of Crosswords, 9d (HOME RULE) is certainly not an &lit.
    In an &lit everything should be part of the wordplay which isn’t the case here.

    The only clue I didn’t like very much was the starter (1ac).
    Yes, Mrs Chambers tells me that PC can mean ‘postcard’ but I don’t see the point in giving us another kind of (insufficient) wordplay (‘chap computer’s content’).
    I also do not see a proper definition.
    ‘Postcard’ = ‘(content) that anyone can read?’?
    The surface reading of this clue is poor too – as a sentence on the whole it doesn’t mean anything to me.

    In York, Indy setter Hoskins told me that in his view the very first clue of a crossword should be a great one.
    Wanderer’s wasn’t, I’m afraid.
    Devious? Messy, IMO.

    But, all in all, a really good crossword.
    With a special eye for symmetry (the four long ones).
    Perhaps 6,17 was my Clue of the Day.

  7. Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs.

    Good quality stuff. I needed your help to understand the BO deduction from RODIN. Otherwise all good.

    Thought the uses of GEE, PEE, and TEE were particularly clever and also enjoyed LISTLESS.

  8. Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs

    One from the backup pile that I was able to get to on Saturday. Agree that this was a very good crossword which I did in two shortish sessions early in the morning. Liked the concept of the three letter sounds for P, C and T – although they did bring quite a bit of pain before they happily settled into their positions.

    A lot of device variety and misdirection throughout the puzzle I found and ended up not properly parsing a couple of them – IRISH FREE STATE and PREMIERE – so thanks for shedding the light with these ones.

    Finished all over the place with APOGEE (held up a bit with the abbreviation of ‘own goal’), ICE SKATE (had been looking for a plural word for some reason) and HOME RULE the last one in.

  9. Thanks to Turbolegs and Wanderer

    I’ve been working my way through Wanderer’s back catalogue.

    I don’t understand 1a

    I’ll check back every now and then to see if anyone has cracked it.

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