Financial Times 16,136 by ARMONIE

by

Armonie gives us a fun and fairly challenging puzzle to kick off the week.

Mostly very enjoyable. We have a few small gripes with the use of RA to denote “gunman” twice: in 6D and 17D, the use of Cuba for the letter “C” (22D), and we’re open to other ideas for 20A which we don’t feel all that confident about… Any enlightenment?
Amended the blog after Niltac’s comments – thanks! Makes much more sense…

Otherwise it was a neatly set puzzle with a good mix of clue types. Many thanks to Armonie! A good week to all.

completed grid

Across

1 Buy tea blended for excellence (6)
BEAUTY
(BUY TEA)* (*blended)

4 Arranged faster attack (6)
STRAFE
(FASTER)* (*arranged)

8 Withdraws from touching matches (7)
REPAIRS
RE (from) touching PAIRS (matches)

9 Record one’s poem in this section (7)
EPISODE
EP (record) + IS (ones) + ODE (poem)

11 Brief managed seat held by Conservative (10)
TRANSITORY
(RAN (managed) + SIT (seat)) held by TORY (conservative)

12 Geek produces a portion of designer drug (4)
NERD
[desig]NER D[rug] (portion of)

13 Drawback of Tom’s central heating (5)
CATCH
CAT (tom) + CH (central heating)

14 It’s popular to perform, fast or slow (8)
INDOLENT
IN (popular) + DO (to perform) + LENT (fast)

16 Outsider is nudged or treated roughly (8)
UNDERDOG
(NUDGED OR)* (*treated roughly)

18 Before getting out of puff see a clergyman (5)
PADRE
PRE (before) getting out of AD (puff)

20 Cherish a desire for a dance partner (4)
HOPE
HOP (a dance) + E (partner, in Bridge)

21 Drama teacher’s carriage (10)
STAGECOACH
STAGE (drama) + COACH (teacher)

23 Servicewoman admitting international race is recorded (7)
WRITTEN
WREN (servicewoman) admitting (I (international) + TT (race, tourist trophy))

24 Tacitus changed clothing (3,4)
CAT SUIT
(TACITUS)* (*changed)

25 Demands, and gets, old book (6)
EXACTS
EX (old) + ACTS (book, Biblical)

26 Spirit-raising Irishman goes to church (6)
SEANCE
SEAN (Irishman) goes to CE (church, Church of England)

Down

1 Dim speculator keeps little (5)
BLEAR
BEAR (speculator, opposite of bull) keeps L (little)

2 A Tory leader pockets profits? That’s touching! (7)
AGAINST
(A + T[ory] (leader)) pockets GAINS (profits)

3 Water I discarded is contaminated (9)
TARNISHED
TARN (water, lake) + I + SHED (discarded)

5 Rewards? Unknown for drunk! (5)
TIPSY
TIPS (rewards) + Y (unknown)

6 Magazine shows ways gunmen retreated (7)
ARSENAL
(LANES (ways) + RA (gunmen, royal artillery))< (<retreated)

7 Anne cured problematic stamina (9)
ENDURANCE
(ANNE CURED)* (*problematic)

10 Tool noticed after masonry course (6,3)
COPING SAW
SAW (noticed) after COPING (masonry course)

13 Meeting place for many on racetrack (9)
CONCOURSE
C (many) + ON + COURSE (racetrack)

15 Record Bolshevik in time of pillage (9)
DEPREDATE
EP (record) + RED (Bolshevik) in DATE (time)

17 Vengeful daughter picked gunman (7)
ELECTRA
ELECT (picked) + RA (gunman, Royal Artillery)

19 Calls to give up immorality (5,2)
DROPS IN
DROP (give up) + SIN (immorality)

21 Sons defrost fish (5)
SMELT
S (sons) + MELT (defrost)

22 Cuba charged British general (5)
CLIVE
C (Cuba) + LIVE (charged)

9 comments on “Financial Times 16,136 by ARMONIE”

  3. Thanks to Nitac for 20a, the only clue I failed to solve here. Bunged in an unparsed “love” and then awaited 125 to come to my rescue.

    Guessed DEPREDATE from the clue but needed to check it was actually a word.

    Thanks to Armonie and Teacow.

  4. Thanks both. I too didn’t get 20a. Also was held up om 18a, having confidently entered STOPS IN  for 19d.

  5. How come theres LOVE in the grid and HOPE in the whatsit.

    Dont like either but I think HOPE could be a chestnut.

    Otherwise fine-I usually find an Armonie more challenging than a Chifonie.

    Is that deliberate?

  6. Another LOVE instead of HOPE – which is definitely a better solution. This took longer than Pan with the SW corner holding out. Thanks to Armonie and Teacow.

  7. Actually, once the penny dropped, HOPE was my CoD, against some pleasing competition.
    But, re BLEAR, just asking, can anyone tell me an abb. where L = ‘little?’ I can’t, & Chambers certainly doesn’t give it.
    Thanks anyway to Armonie & played, Teacow.

  8. Grant, it’s Armonie, remember?

    M = man, N = man, W = woman, G = girl, and now L = little.

    You should have known better!   🙂

  9. Thanks Armonie and Teacow

    Found this one pretty tough for Armonie – got particularly held up with the parsing of PADRE for too long … and to find and parse HOPE for even longer.  DEPREDATE was the other term that was new for me.

    Some clever construction of clues, such as with CLIVE, STAGECOACH and ARSENAL.

    Finished in the SE corner with DROPS IN and that PADRE.

Comments are closed.