Today’s FT comes to us from Mudd.
Mudd by name but not by nature as there wasn’t much obscurity in today’s puzzle, which I found to be pretty much a write-in once I had a few of the longer answers in.
I was disappointed by ORIEL, which I have seen clued that way very often, and also by the repeated use of “providing” to indicate IF, but apart from that, the puzzle was well-written with some good surfaces, and my favourite clue was 25ac.
Thanks, Mudd
| Across | ||
| 1 | BUMP OFF | Rub out paperwork – dandy to cut back in it (4,3) |
| BUMF (“paperwork”) with <=FOP (“dandy” to cut back) in it | ||
| 5 | MOORHEN | Bird or chap seen during the day (7) |
| OR + HE (“chap”) seen during MON (“day”) | ||
| 9 | GENII | Information on two bottled spirits (5) |
| GEN (“information”) on II (“two”) | ||
| 10 | UPLIFTING | Winning line, providing time getting home good, is inspirational (9) |
| UP (“winning”) + L (line) + IF (“providing”)+ T (time) getting IN (“home”) + G (good) | ||
| 11 | HIFALUTIN | Pretentious filth in a university broadcast (9) |
| *(filth in a u) where U is short for University | ||
| 12 | PLANT | One working as a decoy in factory (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 13 | TESTA | Dip one’s toe in a seed coat (5) |
| TEST (“dip one’s toe in”) + A | ||
| 15 | APPLIANCE | Into something fruity, one getting ahead of the African party machine (9) |
| Into APPLE (“something fruity”), I (“one”) getting ahead of A.N.C. (African National Congress, so “African party”), thus APPL(1-ANC)E | ||
| 18 | SCORELESS | 0-0, playing from memory then? (9) |
| Double definition, the second indicating that a musician has no access to a musical score. | ||
| 19 | GIMME | Easy putt to achieve that’s short – about one millimetre (5) |
| GE(t) (“to achieve” that’s short) about 1mm (“one millimetre”) | ||
| 21 | LATIN | A classic in Italian, somewhat making a comeback? (5) |
| Hidden backwards in [somewhat making a comeback] “iN ITALian” | ||
| 23 | POINTLESS | Don’t be so accusative, it’s futile (9) |
| POINT LESS (“don’t be so accusative”) | ||
| 25 | SERENGETI | Plain green salad eaten by the first group? (9) |
| *(green) eaten by SET 1 (“the first group?”) | ||
| 26 | BATON | Don’t declare it’s a stick (5) |
| In cricket, if you are the batting side and decide not to declare, you BAT ON | ||
| 27 | ARTISTE | Expert performer rates it absurd (7) |
| *(artiste) | ||
| 28 | MAYPOLE | Blossom an attractive thing, as something to dance around (7) |
| MAY (“blossom”) + (magnetic) POLE (“an attractive thing”) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BIG SHOT | Notable racist welcoming leaders in spiky helmets (3,4) |
| BIGOT (“racist”) welcoming [leaders in] S(piky H(elmets) | ||
| 2 | MANIFESTO | Communist leader outlining an amendment of finest list of intentions (9) |
| MAO (Zedong – “communis leader”) outlining *(finest) | ||
| 3 | ORIEL | Window in Oxford college (5) |
| Double definition – oriel being a type of bay window, and also the name of a college at Oxford. | ||
| 4 | FRUITCAKE | Rich confection, one’s not all there (9) |
| Double definition | ||
| 5 | MILAN | US city in time becoming a city in Europe (5) |
| L.A. (“US city”) in MIN. (minute, so “time”) | ||
| 6 | OFFSPRING | Children on holiday over three months (9) |
| OFF (“on holiday” ) over SPRING (“three months”) | ||
| 7 | HAIFA | 50% of 50% providing a city in the Middle East (5) |
| HA(lf) (50% of “50%”) + IF (“providing”) + A | ||
| 8 | NIGHTIE | Item of clothing just around the corner on chain (7) |
| NIGH (“just around the corner”) on TIE (“chain”) | ||
| 14 | APENNINES | Write number in as in range (9) |
| PEN (“write”) + NINE (“number”) in AS | ||
| 16 | PESSIMISM | Negative feeling, as quiet girl brought up in semi, moving (9) |
| P (piano, so “quiet”) + <=MISS (“girl” brought up) in *(semi) | ||
| 17 | NUMBER TWO | Carrying medical qualification, doctor went with our deputy (6,3) |
| *(went our) carrying MB (Bachelor of Medicine, so “medical qualification”) | ||
| 18 | SILESIA | Central European region elevated in praise – listen (7) |
| Hidden backwards in [elevated in] “prAISE LISten” | ||
| 20 | ESSENCE | German city on the outskirts of Cologne demonstrating spirit (7) |
| ESSEN (“German city”) on [the outskirts of] C(ologn)E | ||
| 22 | TAROT | Ace overshadowed by red card (5) |
| A(ace) overshadowed by TROT (a Trotskyist, so a “red”) | ||
| 23 | PIECE | Hear harmony in musical composition (5) |
| Homophone of [hear] PEACE (“harmony”) | ||
| 24 | TABBY | One’s striped like a label? (5) |
| If something is “like a label” or a tab, it could conceivably be described as “tabby” | ||
*anagram
Finished this before we finished breakfast. As you say, pretty much a write-in.
A write in but with lots of things to enjoy – I do think 3d is verging on ‘barely cryptic’, especially to those of us who have solved crptics for a very long time
Thanks to Mudd and loonapick
Thanks Mudd and loonapick
It must’ve been the effects of a 38 degree day but this took as long as normal to actually complete, but looking back there was nothing to really hold one up ! TESTA and SILESIA were the only two that I had to look up and check and had vague memories of seeing both of them before.
Finished in the SW corner with ARTISTE, PIECE and SILESIA.