This morning’s puzzle is not available on the FT website yet. I will give it some time before I go out and trying to find somewhere with a paper copy of the FT.
What a palaver! The puzzle was not on the FT website today and the paper copy contains two mistakes in the grid, and one clue I cannot solve. A special thank you to Stephen for posting a scanned image of the puzzle that enabled me to write this post.
The theme, things that one can take or nibble whilst on a break, is biscuits (update – see Malcom’s comment @20). Not the posh TV-chef gastro-biscuit but the humble supermarket “packet of biscuits” type of biscuit. Many thanks to Gaff for his tribute to this noble tradition.
| Across | ||
| 1 | J-CLOTH | Mass in church on Jan 1st makes us cleaner (1-5) |
| LOT (mass) in CH (church) following (on) J (first letter of Jan) | ||
| 4 | See 24 | |
| 8 | See 15 | |
| 9 | NIBBLED | Writer suffered a little bit (7) |
| NIB (writer) and BLED (suffered a little) | ||
| 11 | WAGON WHEEL | Maybe taken to be working during comic turn (5,5) |
ON (working) in WAG (comic) WHEEL (turn) |
||
| 12 | See 1 down | |
| 13 | DUNAN | Crowned head cut from murdered Scottish king in Skye (5) |
| DUNcAN ( |
||
| 14 | MACAROON | Carrot tops in rocket may be taken (8) |
CArrot (tops of) in MAROON (rocket) – biscuit |
||
| 16 | EGG-SPOON | Means to extract what soldiers cannot reach (3-5) |
| cryptic definition – soldiers are strips of buttered bread to be dipped into the yolk of a boiled egg | ||
| 18 | OREOS | Offering roughly equal odds, sometimes heads may be taken (5) |
first letters (heads) of Offering Roughly Equal Odds Sometimes – bisuits |
||
| 20 | ASBO | Restraint regular fans abhor (4) |
| regular selection from fAnS aBhOr – antisocial behaviour restraining order | ||
| 21 | BATH OLIVER | City Cromwell’s maybe taken (4,6) |
BATH (city) and OLIVER (Cromwell perhaps) – a biscuit |
||
| 23 | RICH TEA | Loaded bags often may be taken (4,3) |
RICH (loaded) with TEA (in bags often) – a biscuit |
||
| 24,4 | JAMMIE DODGER | Luck we heard windscreen may be taken (4,3) |
JAMMIE sounds like (we heard) “jammy” (lucky) with DODGER (windscreen) – a biscuit |
||
| 25 | EUREKA | Call for displacement of ancient Greek (6) |
| cryptic definition – as called by Archimedes on discovering a method for measuring density using displacement of water | ||
| 26 | GEISHA | Marriage is happily content – but it’s not for her (6) |
found inside (content of) marriaGE IS HAppily – one who entertains married men rather than marries herself. Thanks to rick for this. |
||
| Down | ||
| 1,12 | JAFFA CAKE | It may be taken that European agreement on fraud contains a lot of truth (5,4) |
JA (yes in German, European agreement) on FAKE (fraud) that contains FACt (truth, a lot of) – biscuit |
||
| 2 | LINCOLN | Doomed theatregoer may be taken (7) |
Abraham Lincoln was shot at a theatre |
||
| 3 | TAE KWON DO | Restless and woke to fighting (3,4,2) |
| anagram (restless) of AND WOKE TO | ||
| 5 | ORIEL | Montessori elongated feature window (5) |
| found inside (feature of) montessORI ELongated | ||
| 6 | GO BY CAR | Drive back risque Slough (2,2,3) |
| RACY (risque) and BOG (slough) all reversed (back) | ||
| 7 | REEF KNOTS | Complicated arrangements made for short sail (4,5) |
| some sort of cryptic definition involving yachting? | ||
| 10 | GERMINATE | Develop a metering problem (9) |
| anagram (problem) of A METERING | ||
| 13 | DIGESTIVE | It may be taken that mine is in Paris, Gaff has added (9) |
DIG (mine) EST (is French, in Paris) with I’VE (Gaff has) – biscuit |
||
| 15,8 | CHOCOLATE FINGER | Maybe taken to produce a lot of headless screeching (9,6) |
anagram (to produce) of A LOT OF sCREECHING (headless, not first letter) – a biscuit |
||
| 17 | SMOTHER | Ring out for more regular snuff (7) |
| SMOOTHER (more regular) missing O (a ring) | ||
| 19 | ENIGMAS | Problems arise for twin holding drink (7) |
| SAME (twin) containing GIN (drink) all reversed (arise) | ||
| 21 | BREAK | Told to slow down and rest (5) |
| BREAK sounds like (told to) “brake” (slow down) | ||
| 22 | ENEMA | Introduction to slow movement? The opposite! (5) |
cryptic definition – inducement of a quick bowel movement |
||
definitions are underlined
I write these posts to help people get started with crosswords. If there is something here you do not understand please ask questions; chances are there are others wondering the same thing.
Is the puzzle published in the printed version of the paper?
The printed version is corrupt, asking for a six letter answer (25A) in a seven space light.
Make that 24A
All I know so far is that today’s puzzle is set by Gaff
I am afraid when you get to the newsagent it “may be taken”
I live out in the country and the nearest newsagent is miles away. There is no guarantee that they would have an FT at the best of times.
Very good, Stephen!
https://1drv.ms/b/s!ArzUxAekWjHpmk2bJUzxX2v5ilU1
Sorry not a very good copy
Both are 8A and 24A should be 6 characters
Block out the first character of 8A and the final character of 24A and it all comes together
Thank you Stephen. I will get a blog written up now.
I think the SE corner should be enema and geisha
Bravo, Stephen and PeeDee! And many thanks to Gaff: I’m so glad this managed to get blogged – it deserved it. [In fact, I think it takes the biscuit. 😉 ]
13A. This crossword defeated me and I awaited your analysis, so thank you very much.
However Duncan was not a fictional king. Both he and Banquo were ancestors to James VI. Shortly after he became James I he adopted Shakespeare’s troupe who became the King’s Men (he also brought one of his favourite Scottish actors to join them).
It is probable that Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in his honour. However, he edited Macbeth’s life because Scotland enjoyed many years of peace and prosperity under him when he was king (according to the chroniclers).
Thank you trenodia, fascinating. Do you know if the real King Duncan was murdered too?
This is according to Holinshed the chronicler to whom Shakespeare in his history plays was most indebted:
He (Macbeth) slue the king (Duncan) at Enuerns, or (as some say) at Botgosuane, in the sixt yeare of his reigne.. . . The bodie of Duncane was first conueied vnto Elgine & there buried in kniglie wise.- and so on.
Extraordinarily disappointing in the gaffes ?
Slightly belated as I didn’t start this till late yesterday and finished this morning.
Thanks Gaff and PeeDee
Slight typo in 3, as the fodder makes clear it’s TAE KWON DO.
Tae Kwan Do gaffe fixed now.
Thanks Gaff and PeeDee
Late to the puzzle after moving house for most of the week. Found it pretty difficult taking most of today to get it solved.
Eventually cracked the theme after getting BATH OLIVER and WAGON WHEEL. There were many of the biscuits that were new to me including JAMMIE DODGER, DIGESTIVE, RICH TEA and JAFFA CAKE. There were a number of other new terms as well – J-CLOTH, JAMMY (meaning lucky) and DODGER (as a shield from bad weather).
Thought that all of the cryptic definitions were excellent !!
Even though I’d never heard of DUNAN before, it was my first one in. Finished with the clever EUREKA, DIGESTIVE and RICH TEA as the last few in.
For info, a Jaffa cake is not a biscuit. It is a cake. There has been a Court case on the subject to determine whether or not it is subject to a Tax. (cakes, no, biscuits, yes.) For those curious to know the difference, a cake starts soft and gets hard with age; a biscuit starts hard and gets soft with age.
Malcom @20 – marvellous! If only I had known this when writing the blog.