Orense is today’s FT compiler.
A gentle offering this cold Thursday morning, with nothing particularly outstanding about the puzzle – no quibbles and only one “ticked” clue (i.e. a clue I thought to be above average) – the one for BACCALAUREATE.
Thanks, Orense.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BARELY | Hardly a bank on the west of Beirut (6) |
| A RELY (“bank”) on [the west of] B(eirut) | ||
| 4 | ABSOLVES | Sailor works out excuses (8) |
| A.B. (able-bodied seaman, so “sailor”) + SOLVES (“works out”) | ||
| 9 | HOIST | One among many to get a lift (5) |
| I (“one”) among HOST (“many”) | ||
| 10 | PICKETING | Choosing to accept debt regularly is the action of a striker (9) |
| PICKING (“choosing”) to accept (d)E(b)T [regularly] | ||
| 11 | MISTAKE | Fault first found in manufacture (7) |
| 1ST (“first”) found in MAKE (“manufacture”) | ||
| 12 | AUSTERE | Harsh wind from the south and east (7) |
| AUSTER (“wind frm the south”) and E (east) | ||
| 13 | TOOL | Saw, for example, stolen goods returned (4) |
| <=LOOT (“stolen goods”, returned) | ||
| 14 | SCRAG END | Cliff in dispatch gets this cut of meat (5,3) |
| CRAG (“cliff”) in SEND (“dispatch”) | ||
| 17 | MUDGUARD | What cyclist needs in case of slander? (8) |
| Cryptic definition – a mud guard could be something to protect one from having mud thrown at them (i.e. being defamed) | ||
| 19 | USER | Drug addict seeing benefit beginning to reduce (4) |
| USE (“benefit”) + [beginning to] R(educe) | ||
| 22 | ALGEBRA | Mature about Liberal support for subject of class (7) |
| AGE (“mature”) about L (liberal) + BRA (“support”) | ||
| 24 | AILMENT | Report of beer intended to generate complaint (7) |
| Homophone of [report of] ALE MEANT (“beer intended”) | ||
| 25 | PROSCRIBE | Outlaw writing about copy (9) |
| PROSE (“writing”) about CRIB (“copy”) | ||
| 26 | IRATE | Spitting feathers at international tariff (5) |
| I (international) + RATE (“tariff”) | ||
| 27 | SHEBEENS | Has he been seen drinking in such establishments? (8) |
| Hidden in “haS HE BEEN Seen” | ||
| 28 | SHADES | Touch judges ultimately must get glasses (6) |
| SHADE (“touch”) = (judge)S [ultimately] | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BEHEMOTH | Giant needing the two of them to protect English border (8) |
| BOTH (“the two of them”) to protect E (English) HEM (“border”) | ||
| 2 | RAINSTORM | Mental aberration dismissing start of beautiful weather event (9) |
| (b)RAINSTORM (“mental aberration” dismissing [start of] B(eautiful)) | ||
| 3 | LETHAL | Disastrous – having seen all the changes (6) |
| *(all the) | ||
| 5 | BACCALAUREATE | Motion perhaps supporting graduate with two C’s and a degree (13) |
| LAUREATE (Andrew “Motion”, poet laureate from 1999-2009) supporting B.A. (Bachelor of Arts, so “graduate”) + CC + A | ||
| 6 | OVERSEE | Manage some poetry in old English (7) |
| VERSE (“some poetry”) in O.E. (Old English) | ||
| 7 | VOICE | Utter moral failing about love (5) |
| VICE (“moral failing) about O (nothing, so “love”) | ||
| 8 | SEGUES | Continues to be entertained by house guests (6) |
| Hidden in [to be entertained by] “houSE GUESts” | ||
| 10 | PREOCCUPATION | Worry about line of work under head of police (13) |
| RE (“about”) + OCCUPATION (“line of work”) under [head of] P(olice) | ||
| 15 | DISREGARD | Ignore traders and dig around, short of time (9) |
| *(raders dig), where raders = (t)raders [short of] t(ime) | ||
| 16 | BROTHERS | Makes an effort to cross river for comrades (8) |
| BOTHERS (“makes an effort”) to cross R (river) | ||
| 18 | DEBACLE | Disaster sees taxi reversing with learner into river (7) |
| <= CAB (“taxi”, reversing) with L (learner) into (river) DEE | ||
| 20 | CAMPUS | University grounds French writer, keeping quiet (6) |
| (Albert) CAMUS (“french writer”) keeping P (piano, so “quiet”) | ||
| 21 | SLEIGH | Butcher’s heard finding transport for winter (6) |
| Homophone of SLAY [“butcher”, heard] | ||
| 23 | GROPE | Feel good with engineers to cover work (5) |
| G (good) with R.E. (Royal “Engineers”) to cover Op. (opus, so “work”) | ||
*anagram
Thanks, loonapick. Yes, no frills: I thought MUDGUARD deserved a tick. Thanks, Orense, for letting us off lightly.
Mudguard is an imaginative clue.
Quite liked GROPE for the misdirection in ‘feel good’. Ta to both.
Thanks to Orense and loonapick. Enjoyable. Got off to a slow start but then picked up speed. SCRAG END was new to me, and MUDGUARD was my LOI.
Quite gentle compared to lmogen in the Graun. FOI HOIST, LOI BROTHERS.
Thanks Orense and loonapick
Was a grade easier than the previous two days with pretty straightforward clues for most part. Only a three new terms in SCRAG END, the poet ‘Motion’ and that meaning of ‘brainstorm’. Needed the blog to see that Andrew Motion was actually a poet laureate.
Finished in the SW with PROSCRIBE, the clever MUDGUARD and PREOCCUPATION as the last few in.