Ths puzzle can be found at http://im.ft-static.com/content/images/825b1808-736e-11e7-aca6-c6bd07df1a3c.pdf
I rattled through this this morning, not necessarily because it was easy (there were some less obvious words such as BRONCHIOLE and BARDOLINO in the puzzle), but more because the surfaces of the clues made solving fairly straightforward. There were one or two where I had to think about the parsing, having placed the answer into the grid, but overall, everything was fine.
My favourites were 13dn and 18dn.
Thanks, Aardvark.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SEDENTARY | Inactive seaman giving garden priority in outskirts of Surrey (9) |
| EDEN (“garden”) + TAR (“seaman”) in S(urre)Y | ||
| 6 | THONG | Minimal attire used in marathon, generally (5) |
| Hidden in “maraTHON Generally” | ||
| 9 | HASTE | Swiftness shown when entering the complex (5) |
| AS (“when”) entering *(the) | ||
| 10 | ILL AT EASE | Uncomfortable holiday home, lacking capital, subject to ridicule (3,2,4) |
| (v)ILLA (“holiday home”, lacking its capital) + TEASE (“ridicule”) | ||
| 11 | BRONCHIOLE | Breathing apparatus worn by Greek character in British ‘ovel (10) |
| ON (“worn by”) + CHI (“Greek character” (a letter in the Greek alphabet)) in Br.(itish) (h)OLE (‘ovel), so Br.(ON-CHI)OLE
A bronchiole is a tiny tube inside your lungs. |
||
| 12 | VEGA | Swede perhaps joins American star (4) |
| VEG(etable) (“swede, perhaps”) joins A(merican)
Vega is the fifth-brightest star in the night sky. |
||
| 14 | CHINWAG | Friend entertains wife with good gossip (7) |
| CHINA (“friend”) entertains W(ife) + G(ood) | ||
| 15 | GNOCCHI | Serving in Italy, soldier guards revolutionary prisoner and companion (7) |
| G.I. (“soldier”) guards <=CON (“prisoner”) and CH (“Companion” of Honour) | ||
| 17 | ADMIRAL | Butterfly in white, red, navy is overseen by him (7) |
| Double definition.
White admiral and red admiral are types of butterfly. |
||
| 19 | PENSIVE | Thoughtful writer discussing strain (7) |
| PEN (“writer”) + homophone of SIEVE (“strain”) | ||
| 20 | HOBO | Vagrant’s Holy Book, half-missing (4) |
| HO(ly) BO(ok) | ||
| 22 | IDIOT BOARD | Jerk directors, using broadcasting prompt (5,5) |
| IDIOT (“jerk”) + BOARD (“directors”) | ||
| 25 | BARDOLINO | Wine that covers floor after pub party (9) |
| LINO (“that covers floor”) after BAR DO (“pub party”)
Bardolino is an Italian red wine. |
||
| 26 | STERN | Stiff back (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 27 | ENNUI | Acquiring new uniform, Jeannie regularly shows weariness (5) |
| (j)E(a)N(n)I(e) acquiring N(ew) U(niform) | ||
| 28 | EAGLE-EYED | Vigilant newsman follows golf score extremely excitedly (5-4) |
| Ed.(itor) (“newsman”) follows EAGLE (“golf score”) + E(xcitedl)Y | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SAHIB | Relative retains a hotel address in Delhi? (5) |
| SIB(ling) (“relative”) retains A H(otel)
Sahib is a polite form of address towards a man in India. |
||
| 2 | DESPOTISM | Missed organising drinks fund, as a rule (9) |
| *(missed) drinks POT (“fund”) | ||
| 3 | NOEL COWARD | Old playwright given chicken afer Christmas (4,6) |
| COWARD (“chicken”) after NOEL (“Christmas”) | ||
| 4 | ABIDING | Constant racket evident in presence of a jumbo (7) |
| DIN (“racket”) evident in presence of A BIG (“jumbo”) | ||
| 5 | YULE LOG | Brynner, with shout of approval, knocked back good Xmas cake (4,3) |
| YUL (“Brynner”) with <=OLE (“shout of approval”, back) + G(ood) | ||
| 6 | TOTE | Carry child last quarter of mile (4) |
| TOT (“child”) + (mil)E | ||
| 7 | ORATE | Sneak into Old English lecture (5) |
| RAT (“sneak”) into O(ld) E(nglish) | ||
| 8 | GRENADINE | Mixer sadly angered having to keep at home (9) |
| *(angered) having to keep IN (“at home”)
I thought grenadine was made from pomegranate juice, but discovered this morning that it is now often made from other cheaper juices such as blackcurrant. |
||
| 13 | COUNT BASIE | Number one covered by inferior jazzman (5,5) |
| COUNT (“number”) + 1 (“one”) covered by BASE (“inferior”) | ||
| 14 | COACHABLE | Company longing to obtain a British trainee that can be taught (9) |
| Co.(mpany) + ACHE to obtain A B(ritish) L(earner) (“trainee”), so Co-ACH(A B L)E | ||
| 16 | CHICANERY | Accountant, probing niche eccentric, tracks deception (9) |
| C.A. (chartered “accountant”) probing *(niche) + Ry. (railway “tracks”) | ||
| 18 | LUDDITE | Dinosaur fearful of a mouse? (7) |
| Cryptic definition – a luddite may fear technology, such as a computer mouse. | ||
| 19 | PROLONG | Con opposes this lengthy stretch (7) |
| PRO (“con opposes this”) + LONG (“lengthy”) | ||
| 21 | BYRON | Posh person penning lines, going back (5) |
| <=NOB (“posh person”) penning <=Ry. (railway “lines”)
Lord Byron was a poet and a posh person, so this is a semi &lit. |
||
| 23 | DINED | Departed around noon, and had a meal (5) |
| DIED (“departed”) around N(oon) | ||
| 24 | HOKI | Fish fair seen in Hawaii (4) |
| O.K. (“fair”) seen in Hi. (“Hawaii”)
The hoki is a Southern hemisphere white-fleshed fish, also known as the blue grenadier or the blue hake. |
||
*anagram
Used a word find to get BARDOLINI. This then let me get BYRON, a tough clue I thought, and HOKI, which I guessed from the clue and then checked it was a fish. My favourite was PROLONG. Thanks loonapick (Eden is misspelled in 1a) and to Aardvark for the challenge.
Thanks, Hovis, for pointing out the typo – now corrected.
Someone elsewhere has described this as ‘simple but elegant’ and I think I’d second that.
Thanks to Aardvark for the fun (even if it was short-lived) and Loonapick for the explanations
Just started looking at this. Since when has ‘sib’ been a recognised abbreviation of ”sibling’?
Also the clue does not indicate that the synonym of ‘relative’ needs to be abbreviated.
Phil W @4
Collins Dictionary defines “sib” as
1.
a blood relative
2.
a brother or sister; sibling
3.
kinsmen collectively; kindred
4.
any social unit that is bonded by kinship through one line of descent only
A fairly approachable offering from Aardvark(compared to the last Scorpion) but brilliantly clued.Masterclass in fact.
Thanks loonapick and Aardvark
Thanks Aardvark and loonapick
Enjoyable, as usual, offering from this setter that happily occupied the half hour train ride into work on Friday morning. A couple of new learnings with BARDOLINO and BRONCHIOLE both of which were impeccably clued for these ‘obscure’ words.
Made the error by lazily writing BARON instead of BYRON at 21d – getting the NOB but wondering about the AR bit.
Liked the ADMIRAL clue very much.
Finished in the SW corner with the humorous LUDDITE, that BARDOLINO and BARON (oops BYRON) as the last few in.