Today’s FT puzzle is set by Peto.
I’m not sure how I feel about this crossword, if I’m honest.
It wasn’t too easy, nor too difficult. There were no obscure words, although some of them were used unusually (hadn’t come across CRIB = brothel before, and OVERSEE = disregard and SPAR = dispute are not the first synonyms that come to mind) but I didn’t tick any of the clues so none of them stuck out as being brilliant in my eyes (closest would be ANOMALOUS at 25ac?).
I did have one complaint – about how the setter used DOCTOR as an anagrind in 2dn. That apart, the clueing was generally OK, although purists may say that there were a few superfluous words in some of the clues (necessary for the surface, but not the solution, e.g. “of” in 1ac, the first “in” in 1dn).
Thanks, Peto.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SEMESTER | Term of endearment ultimately seems false to the queen (8) |
| *(t seems) where the T is (endearmen)T [ultimately] to ER (“the Queen”) | ||
| 5 | ASSERT | Insist upon agreement with Republican for nomination in the first place (6) |
| ASSE(n>R)T (“agreement” with R (Republican) replaced by [for] N(omination) [in the first place] | ||
| 10 | RULER | King gets to regret embracing one side then the other (5) |
| RUE (“to regret”) embracing L (left, “one side”) then R (right, “the other” (side)) | ||
| 11 | ADORATION | Intense love for Australian girl into dancing (9) |
| A (Australian) + DORA (“girl”) + *(into) | ||
| 12 | BADMINTON | Wicked on hiding lots of money in game (9) |
| BAD (“wicked”) + ON hiding MINT (“lots of money”) | ||
| 13 | RIG UP | Hastily construct one before dog comes back after run (3,2) |
| I (“one”) before <=PUG (“dog” comes back) after R (run) | ||
| 14 | CATHAY | A yacht found destroyed in China years ago (6) |
| *(a yacht) | ||
| 15 | PANACHE | Find fault with American revolutionary’s sense of style (7) |
| PAN (“find fault with”) + A (American) + CHE (Guevara) (“revolutionary”) | ||
| 18 | SNAFFLE | A bit vulgar to interrupt golfer from the east (7) |
| NAFF (“vulgar”) to interrupt <=ELS (“golfer” read from the east) | ||
| 20 | OPPOSE | Present after work to make an objection (6) |
| POSE (“present”) after OP (opus, so “work”) | ||
| 22 | ALTER | Change of key Berry oddly ignored (5) |
| ALT (“key” on a computer keyboard) + (b)E(r)R(y) [odd letters ignored] | ||
| 24 | INEBRIATE | Peto taking note after Geordie fellow’s last to leave when drunk (9) |
| I (“peto”) taking TE (“note”) after NE (north-east, so “Geordie”) + BRIA(n) (“fellow”, its last letter left), so I(NE-BRIA)TE | ||
| 25 | ANOMALOUS | Unusual answer not entirely bad following denial by mother (9) |
| A (answer) + [not entirely] LOUS(y) (“bad”) following NO (“denial”) by MA (“mother”), so A(NO-MA)LOUS | ||
| 26 | NOISE | An offering from Tarantino is expected to cause a row (5) |
| Hidden in [an offering from] “tarantiNO IS Expected” | ||
| 27 | EMENDS | Corrects aim in small spaces (6) |
| END (“aim”) in EMS (“small spaces” in printing) | ||
| 28 | HEAR HEAR | One try after another elicits an exclamation of approval (4,4) |
| HEAR (“try”) one after the other | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SCRIBE | Writer seen in brothel in Esher regularly (6) |
| CRIB (“brothel”) in (e)S(h)E(r) [regularly] | ||
| 2 | MELODRAMA | Mother describing older doctor’s excessively theatrical behaviour (9) |
| MAMA (“mother”) describing *(older)
I don’t like the use of “doctor” as an anagrind in this clue. “Doctor” has to be used as a verb if it is to be used as an indicator, and so should come before the anagram fodder in the clue. |
||
| 3 | STRAIGHTFORWARD | Easy for Frank (15) |
| Double definition | ||
| 4 | EXACTLY | Just insist on getting Lydney evacuated (7) |
| EXACT (“insist on”) getting L(ydne)Y [evacuated] | ||
| 6 | SPARRING PARTNER | Call after argument with associate of training provider (8,7) |
| RING (“call”) after SPAR (“argurment”) with PARTNER (“associate”) | ||
| 7 | EYING | Looking carefully at letters from Heaney in Gaelic (5) |
| Hidden in [letters from] “heanEY IN Gaelic” | ||
| 8 | TONE POEM | Writer upholding general quality shown by Mahler’s first musical composition (4,4) |
| (Edgar Allan) POE (“writer”) upholding TONE (“general quality”) shown by M(ahler) [‘s first] | ||
| 9 | TORN UP | Ripped apart from boat returning full of soldiers (4,2) |
| <=PUNT (“boat” returning) full of OR (other ranks, so “soldiers”) | ||
| 16 | CAST ASIDE | Dispense with players in reserve (4,5) |
| CAST (“players”) + ASIDE (“in reserve”) | ||
| 17 | ESCAPADE | Slip out to catch rising lawyer’s daring act (8) |
| ESCAPE (“slip out”) to catch [rising] <=DA (district attorney, so “lawyer”) | ||
| 19 | EDISON | Inventing is done by an inventor (6) |
| *(is done) | ||
| 20 | OVERSEE | Disregard on account of experience (7) |
| OVER (“on account of”) + SEE (“experience”) | ||
| 21 | VENEER | Facing material changes to revenue after United’s expulsion (6) |
| *(revene) which is REVEN(u)E with U (united) expelled | ||
| 23 | TROPE | Right about old exercises in figurative language (5) |
| <=RT (right, about) + O (old) PE (physical exercise, so “exercises”) | ||
*anagram
My feelings exactly match those in the blog intro though it could be argued that 2d uses “mama” for mother rather than “ma” as in 25a. Wonder when, if ever, it will be considered unfair to use ELS for “golfer”?
Cheated on 8d. I did know the term but had forgotten it. Thanks to Peto and loonapick.
For me the first name I look for re golfer is ELS as its such an easy part to fit in a clue.
Interesting to see A for American and Australian in the same puzzle.
Hovis@1 – you are right about MA – I will retract my statement and edit the blog accordingly.
Thanks to Peto and loonapick. I needed help parsing INEBRIATE and came here for reassurance that OVERSEE was correct.
Thanks Peto and loonapick
A nice level crossword that was completed quite steadily and without too many holdups. Helped by getting STRAIGHTFORWARD as the first one in to give starts to half of the across clues. Had to check on TONE POEM (although did remember seeing it before in crossword land) and had to look harder to find this obsolete meaning of OVERSEE (my penultimate entry). Liked working through the construction of INEBRIATE and SPARRING PARTNER.
Finished with the clever ANOMALOUS.