Financial Times 15,625 by WANDERER

9 comments on “Financial Times 15,625 by WANDERER”

1. I spend a lot of time testing cryptic crosswords and many a time I’ve had to get the red pen out and tell them in capital letters that indirect anagrams are strictly forbidden.

   I’ve looked at 26a several times and I think I might have to get my red pen out here as IE isn’t shown in the clue but derived from ‘that is’

2. ‘them’ referring mainly to Rookie setters

3. I like a good challenge and this fit the bill. Didn’t know CREAN and failed to get this. Completed the rest but was held up for some time after wrongly entering EYEGLASS for 17d. ICHNEUMON was a new word to me (which I will never be able to remember) but the clue made it easy to get. Thanks to Wanderer, Turbolegs and Geoff.

4. Thanks both.

   Luckily I have read a good biography of Tom Crean, a very experienced Antarctic explorer who journeyed with Scott and Shackleton. In later years he ran the South Pole Inn based in County Kerry which I believe contains polar memorabilia.

5. I defer to CrypticSue @1 but feel that as i.e is so standard and in this example so obvious that it is allowable. Is it any more indirect than O, K, and E in 27ac?

   A bit tougher than expected but still on the fun side of solving. Thanks TL for the blog.

6. I found this impenetrable at first reading, so the satisfaction was that much greater for having solved it. True, I needed to check 16d, but I shouldn’t be surprised if Wanderer had to do that as well.

7. It is an interesting point that crypticsue raises @1.
   As a rule, I fully agree with her, trying to keep away from it myself at all costs.

   But then, a setter like Alberich (Klingsor in the Indy) does these things all the time.
   And Alberich is really what we call a Ximenean setter.
   But he does exactly what jmac @5 refers to.
   Example (recent Alberich puzzle):
   “Don’t initially spend time struggling with One Down (10)”
   The first letter of DON’T plus an anagram of SPEND + T (time) + ONE.
   I think what he does is all right but only if the ‘indirect’ ingredients are crystal clear.
   Wanderer’s IE (id est) is that, in my opinion, but one can put question marks to K for ‘King’ as it could have been R!
   See the point?

   In my blog, yesterday, of the recent Dante puzzle he had:
   “Sailors tear out side by side (7)”
   An anagram of ABS (sailors) and TEAR, as I see it.
   That is not acceptable in my Book of Crosswords.

   As to the crossword as a whole, I enjoyed it.
   Meanwhile, I also think that Wanderer has become easier – or is it just me become used to his/her style?
   It is a bit similar to what I experience with Tees and Picaroon (at other places).

   Thanks, Turbolegs.

8. Nice puzzle. Damn mongoose and CREAN were beyond me. I’ve been toying with cryptics since my dad took the Times in the 70’s. Those days had a quotation in almost all. I was able as a teen to solve one or two a month nowadays I have a better track record with the Times than the FT
   Do others have the same experience?

9. Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs

   Found this one a solid workout over a number of sittings, especially the longer one on the train ride home tonight.

   Had a couple that I didn’t parse properly – had lazily underlined CREAN (a very interesting and hardy character after reading his Wiki entry) as a hidden, not taking into account the MIST. Also did not see the anagram fodder that made up NEAR POINT. Needed to look up the ‘mongoose’ at 16d and check on the SCOTCH PANCAKE.

   Found the rest a challenging but very enjoyable solve, finishing in the NW corner with LHASA (well hidden), KARMA (tricky) and NEWSCAST (clever use of the bridge partners) as the last few in.

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