A few tough parsings today, but a highly enjoyable Monday offering from MUDD!
Found this to be a fair bit tougher than normal for a Monday FT. A couple of palindromes, and because we got 1D first it took ages for us to see how 6A worked (hope we got it right!). Some lovely clues here, 10, 11, 14A and 22 to name but a few.
(ahem… dunno if 3 24 was intentional)
Thanks MUDD!
Across
1 Fish rest on something sharp (4-5)
PIKE PERCH
PERCH (rest) on PIKE (something sharp)
6 One may be in the bar, and also on the counter? (5)
MINIM
A palindrome (and also on the counter)
MINIM being a musical note in a bar
9 Adjustment in rates, something shocking? (5)
TASER
(RATES)* (*adjustment)
10 So good work reversed by parasite in bouncer (4,5)
POGO STICK
(SO + G (good) + OP (work))< (reversed) by TICK (parasite)
11 High point, around one of seven likely to vote Conservative? (10)
PROMONTORY
PRO TORY (likely to vote conservative) around MON (one of seven (days), monday)
12 So the horses usually slow starters? (4)
THUS
T[he] H[orses] U[sually] S[low] (starters)
14 Solid record recalled, capturing male on piano (7)
PYRAMID
DIARY< (record, recalled) capturing M (male) on P (piano)
15 He struggled to get away from posh duke in house in Italy (7)
HOUDINI
(U (posh) + D (duke)) in (HO (house) + IN + I (Italy))
17 Important time to close packages (7)
SEMINAL
SEAL (to close) around (packages) MIN (time)
19 Most industrious transport site frantic (7)
BUSIEST
BUS (transport) + (SITE)* (*frantic)
20 Show attractive person cutting fringe (4)
EXPO
[s]EXPO[t] (attractive person, cutting fringe)
22 Those beaten when Grand National favourite comes in without backing (5,5)
SNARE DRUMS
RED RUM (Grand National favorite) in SANS< (without, backing)
25 Forbid redirection of indirect trains, primarily (9)
INTERDICT
(INDIRECT)* (*redirection) + T[rains] (primarily)
26 Party political conference ends after a setback for brand (5)
LABEL
LAB (party, Labour) + ([politica]L [conferenc]E (ends))< (setback)
27 Two boys like George and William, perhaps? (5)
ROYAL
ROY AL (two boys)
28 Try democratic process initially with a payment for sponsor (9)
GODPARENT
GO (try) + D[emocratic] P[rocess] (initially) + A + RENT (payment)
Down
1 Built – that could be erected? (3,2)
PUT UP
A palindrome (reads the same upwards, that could be erected)
2 Amorous surprise awfully grim, OK as lips finally parting? (9)
KISSOGRAM
[lip]S (finally) parting (GRIM OK AS)* (*awfully)
3 Theatre lifted, producing acting (10)
PERFORMING
REP< (theatre, lifted) + FORMING (producing)
4 Grass inspiring present thought (7)
REPUTED
REED (grass) around (inspiring) PUT (present)
5 Swine painting himself originally, English painter (7)
HOGARTH
HOG (swine) + ART (painting) + H[imself] (originally)
6 Steamy thing in film, is this? (4)
MIST
[fil]M IS T[his] (is)
7 Near outstanding energy in noise from charger? (5)
NEIGH
NIGH (near) around (outstanding) E (energy)
Charger being a horse
8 Temporary to forcibly budge? (9)
MAKESHIFT
MAKE SHIFT (forcibly budge)
13 Cook deals with quail in Mexican dish (10)
QUESADILLA
(DEALS + QUAIL)* (*cook)
14 Ad I love, right cheeky thing? (9)
POSTERIOR
POSTER (ad) + I + O (love) + R (right)
16 Not even a queen, I suspect, possessing beautiful skin (9)
INEQUABLE
(A QUEEN I)* (*suspect) possessing B[eautifu]L (skin)
18 Top – or end – of flight? (7)
LANDING
Double definition…
Flight meaning either stairs or aeroplane travel
19 Within foundation, charge ticked off (7)
BERATED
RATE (charge) within BED (foundation)
21 Shame about hospital appearing terse (5)
PITHY
PITY (shame) about H (hospital)
23 Divorce is capital! (5)
SPLIT
Double definition… not totally sure about this one, but probably refers to Split in Croatia being, or having been, the capital of Dalmatia. (Either that or financial capital as a share (split) of money)
24 Test held by inquisitor, a laugh (4)
ORAL
[inquisit]OR A L[augh] (held by)
Found all 3 GiFT crosswords harder than normal for a Monday. No complaints from me as I enjoy a good challenge. SNARE DRUMS & QUESADILLA were my last two in. I didn’t know the Mexican dish but do know the Spanish for ‘cheese’, so it wasn’t a hard guess. Thanks to Mudd and Teacow.
Thanks both.
I had REG-AL for 27ac so was unable to get 21d. As you say, some tricky parsing.
Thanks to Mudd and Teacow. EXPO defeated me, and I needed help parsing SNARE DRUMS (I should have remembered Red Rum from previous puzzles). SPLIT was my choice early on, but I could not make the connection to “capital.”
A long solve for me, though I couldn’t choose between LABEL and LIBEL for 26. Either seems to to fit IMO. Very inventive cluing. The surface at 22 does not make any sense to me. since a horse without backing wouldn’t be favourite. Re MINIM, Chambers includes the definition: (in apothecaries’ measure) a grain.
I normally do one of the other paper’s crosswords, but thought I would try the FT after a very long absence (decades). It did generally not disappoint, but I have to quibble with 14a. A pyramid is not a solid. It is a 3d shape, so it can be solid, or hollow, or maybe even filled with goose feathers.
Thanks for the blog – inspired parsing of 1 and 6, the palindrome interpretation completely passed me by, doh.
Dr Whatson@6 a tetrahedron (pyramid) is one of the Platonic solids, so fair enough IMO.
Egyptian pyramids have a square base and are not tetrahedrons – but pyramids may be constructed with either a triangular (more aesthetic) or square bases.
Pyramids may actually be constructed with any convex polygon as its base.
[but there are indeed only 5 Platonic solids of which a tetrahedron (a regular four-sided pyramid) is one]
And Dr Whatson, in mathematics a shape is 2D and a solid 3D.
So, Mudd is spot on.
Thanks Mudd and Teacow
Found this one tough, not helped by an interrupted first sitting at it. Still it took 2-3 times as long as it normally does to do one of his puzzles. Had initially put in BLASTED at 19d which made getting SNARE DRUM that much harder, realising that all or part of RED RUM was going to be involved.
A bit more work that is usual to unravel some of the wordplay being used throughout.
Knowing this setter, it is odds on that the intent of 3d, 24d was an intended play.
Finished in the SE corner with that SNARE DRUMS (with it’s tricky parsing, I guess that SANS has now become used enough in the common English language to not need a French connection in the definition), BERATED (after the correction) and GODPARENT as the last few in.