Financial Times 16,058 by CRUX

by

Thanks to CRUX for a very enjoyable start to the week!

A highly enjoyable puzzle this morning. LIANA was a new one for us. UNDUE was our FOI and GET ACROSS our LOI. Some very clever clueing going on – favourites were NUMERATOR, FORFEITED, IN THE PINK.

completed grid

Across

1 They must be held in silence (7)
TONGUES
Cryptic definition

5 The glass appears to be falling (7)
TUMBLER
Cryptic definition

9 Capone leaves in a panic, carrying a gun (5)
ARMED
[al]ARMED (in a panic, Capone (Al) leaves)

10 Islanders have runners going around beating drum (9)
BERMUDANS
BEANS (runners) going around (DRUM)* (*beating)

11 In exchange of fire Edward gets lost (9)
FORFEITED
(OF FIRE)* (*in exchange) + TED (Edward)

12 Kid’s meals on the phone (5)
TEASE
Sounds like TEAS (meals, on the phone)

13 A queen, perhaps the Queen, is to provide meals (5)
CATER
CAT (queen) + ER (the queen)

15 Communicate properly – what would-be MP must do (3,6)
GET ACROSS
Double definition
(Get a cross (vote) in the MP case)

18 Herb’s record-playing welcomes Scot aboard (9)
CORIANDER
(RECORD)* (*playing) welcomes IAN (Scot) aboard

19 Musical key almost essential (5)
EVITA
E (key) + VITA[l] (almost essential)

21 Descartes gets wife to modernise (5)
RENEW
RENE (Descartes) gets W (wife)

23 Pagan hero provides a home for little Annie (9)
ORPHANAGE
(PAGAN HERO)* (*provides)

25 Healthy location right here! (2,3,4)
IN THE PINK
Double cryptic definition
(The FT is published on pink paper)

26 Specialist area in hospital that’s pleasant outside (5)
NICHE
H (hospital) NICE (that’s pleasant) outside

27 Possibly illegal eastern junk one left in the sea (7)
GALILEE
((ILLEGA[l]) + E (Eastern))* (*possibly, junk one (L) left)

28 Island sin sites regularly chosen by deviants (7)
SADISTS
[i]S[l]A[n]D I[s] S[i]T[e]S (regularly)

Down

1 Kind of noise made by very loud car, it . . . . (7)
TRAFFIC
(FF (very loud) + CAR IT )* (*made by)

2 . . . . is fractionally above the line (9)
NUMERATOR
Cryptic definition

3 Extreme leaders of unions never doubt us, ever! (5)
UNDUE
U[nions] N[ever] D[oubt] U[s] E[ver] (leaders)

4 Disabled in boats at sea, take on elderly too (9)
SABOTAGED
(BOATS)* (*at sea) + AGED (elderly)

5 Flagging – it goes up on sign of danger (5)
TIRED
(IT)< (<goes up) on RED (sign of danger)

6 Charlie’s computer accessory that accommodates lively chat (9)
MOUSTACHE
MOUSE (computer accessory) tht accommodates (CHAT)* (*lively)
Charlie Chaplin

7 A small spike that climbs – it’s a climber! (5)
LIANA
(A NAIL)< (a small spike, <that climbs)

8 More hasty seconds eaten at breakfast (7)
RASHERS
RASHER (more hasty) + S (seconds)

14 A farthing, maybe, on Victorian transport (4,5)
REAR WHEEL
Cryptic definition

16 Old ways of revolution with ancient weapons (9)
TURNPIKES
TURN (revolution) + PIKES (ancient weapons)

17 Mostly crooked gas- and oil- rich Russians? (9)
OLIGARCHS
(GAS OIL R[i]CH)* (*crooked, mostly) &lit

18 Finding fault with fish, take a gin cocktail (7)
CARPING
CARP (fish) take a (GIN)* (*cocktail)

20 Classic advice to cheat the years (7)
AGELESS
Double definition

22 South African place of birth (5)
NATAL
Double definition

23 Female duck not recorded (5)
OLIVE
O (duck) + LIVE (not recorded)

24 Spotted potential in dance (5)
ACNED
(DANCE)* (*potential in)

9 comments on “Financial Times 16,058 by CRUX”

  1. A terrific detox after Sunday’s Yorkshire Pudding. Smooth surfaces and a lot of wit. My favourite was NUMERATOR. Thanks Crux and Teacow.

  2. Thanks Crux and Teacow
    A very enjoyable start to the week where I found the bottom half with a bit more grist than the top. NUMERATOR was my first clue in – and I liked it as well. Thought GET ACROSS was clever with both the definitions and the surface reading. OLIGARCHS was similarly quite clever.
    Finished with REAR WHEEL and had to read the definition of a ‘penny-farthing’ to understand the clue properly.

  3. Thanks both. To me, in 17d, “mostly crooked” serves two purposes – being also a qualifier for “russians” –very clever. Thanks for parsing the Charlie in 6d, Couldn’t equate charlie with mustache!

  4. A very nice Monday puzzle – my particular favourite has to be the d’oh moment inducing ‘right here’ in 25a

    Thanks to Crux and Teacow

  5. Thanks to Crux and Teacow. Lots of fun. Since I’m working from a print-out, not the paper itself, I did not initially get the “pink” in IN THE PINK (though when in the UK I have handled the FT), but I did know LIANA and liked GET ACROSS. I did know about Victorian penny farthings but had to guess at REAR WHEEL, my LOI.

  6. I thought this one better than Vulcan’s and more enjoyable. FOI RENE-W, LOI ARMED. COD OLIVE.

  7. A great disappointment after Saturday’s brilliant Goliath.
    I just don’t get on with Crux’s oblique definitions, e.g. “What would-be MP must do” = get a cross. It’s not witty and it’s not even accurate – to become an MP you need thousands of crosses!

  8. A delightful puzzle that was not too taxing. Only 6D (MOUSTACHE) had me frowning wondering how CHARLIE = MOUSTACHE. Yes I know Charlie Chaplin had one, but it’s a bit tenuous. Fortunately the wordplay was simple enough. We could equally have had Poirot, Dali or even Adolf! Thanks Crux and Teacow.

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