Neo steps up to the plate for todays FT puzzle.
This was a fairly easy puzzle requiring no obscure general knowledge. There were a couple of clues where either my mind is not working straight this early in the morning or they are just plain wrong (the grammar in 4ac and the definition in 24ac) and the setter twice uses “student” for L, showing a lack of imagination).
Going back to 24ac, if there is an obscure way that “imagine means “number”, this definition seems out of place in a puzzle where some of the other definitions make the clues write-ins (“Saint Petersburg” for “Leningrad”, for example).
I did tick 10dn though, which I thought was a very clever clue.
Thanks Neo
| Across | ||
| 1 | FASTEN | Speedy dash to make secure (6) |
| FAST (“speedy”) + EN (“dash” – space in printing) | ||
| 4 | EVALUATE | Assess girl university brought in recently (8) |
| EVA (“girl”) + U (university) in LATE (“recently”)
The grammar in thsi clue doesn’t work for me as it implies that LATE is being brought in, rather than U, plus “recently” indicates LATELY or OF LATE rather than LATE? |
||
| 9 | ANVIL | Bone discovered in Roman villa (5) |
| Hidden [discovered] in “romAN VILla” | ||
| 10 | LENINGRAD | Student revelling in danger in Saint Petersburg (9) |
| L (“student”) + *(in danger) | ||
| 11 | MOLOTOV | Soviet statesman writes low verse about destiny (7) |
| MOO (“low”) + V (verse) about LOT (“destiny”) | ||
| 12 | THERESA | Ah! Trees swaying in May! (7) |
| *(ah trees) | ||
| 13 | NERO | Emperor in north on about love (4) |
| N (north) + <=RE (“on” about) + O (love) | ||
| 14 | OLEASTER | Plant parts central to Holy Christian festival (8) |
| [parts central to] (h)OL(y) + EASTER (“christian festival”) | ||
| 17 | WARDROBE | Brad wore tailored clothes (8) |
| *(brad wore) | ||
| 19 | AMEN | Response from congregation almost put right (4) |
| [almost] AMEN(d) (“put right”) | ||
| 22 | OUTLAWS | Student was tortured by known criminals (7) |
| L (“student”) + *(was) by OUT (“known”) | ||
| 24 | IMAGINE | Number one drink in West? (7) |
| I (“one”) GIN (“drink”) in MAE (West)
I can’t think why “imagine” = “number”? |
||
| 25 | SIGNIFIED | Dig is fine playfully meant (9) |
| *(dig is fine) | ||
| 26 | TUDOR | House teacher takes in daughter for second time (5) |
| TU(t>D)OR (“teacher” with the second T (time) replaced by D (daughter)) | ||
| 27 | MORTGAGE | Time to shut up, beset by extra financial burden (8) |
| T (time) + GAG (“to shut up”) beset by MORE (“extra”) | ||
| 28 | DRY ROT | Dull rubbish that could bring the house down? (3,3) |
| DRY (“dull”) + ROT (“rubbish”) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | FRAGMENT | Newspaper people in this publication disintegrate (8) |
| RAG (“newspaper”) + MEN (“people”) in FT (Financial Times, “this piblication”) | ||
| 2 | SAVILE ROW | Unpleasant noise follows when coming up London street (6,3) |
| VILE (“unpleasant”) + ROW (“noise”) follows <=AS (“when” coming up) | ||
| 3 | EOLITH | Stone one enraged Helot carries (6) |
| *(helot) carries I (“one”) | ||
| 5 | VENETIAN BLIND | Tintoretto perhaps unable to see screen (8,5) |
| VENETIAN (“Tintoretto perhaps”) + BLIND (“unable to see”) | ||
| 6 | LENIENT | Light inside regularly observed in days before Easter (7) |
| (i)N(s)(I(d)E [regularly] observed in LENT (“days before Easter”) | ||
| 7 | AGREE | Fit silver on table at last (5) |
| Ag (“silver”) + RE (“on”) + (tabl)E [at last] | ||
| 8 | ENDEAR | Cause to be loved, showing close attention (6) |
| END (“close”) + EAR (“attention”) | ||
| 10 | LEVEL CROSSING | Drivers here come by train, plane and ferry journey (5,8) |
| LEVEL (“plane”) + CROSSING (“ferry journey”) | ||
| 15 | REMAINDER | Nudge to hide a book not sold (9) |
| REMINDER (“nudge”) to hide A | ||
| 16 | Worthless person penning note behind closed doors (2,6) | |
| 18, 21 | READING MATTER | Stuff written makes town seem important (7,6) |
| READING (“town”) + MATTER (“seem important”) | ||
| 20 | POSSUM | Animal in Post Office first to solve problem (6) |
| PO (Post Office) + [first to] S(olve) + SUM (“problem”) | ||
| 21 | See 18 | |
| 23 | TIGER | Dynamic person has grand in bank (5) |
| G (grand) in TIER (“bank”) | ||
*anagram
I have no issue with 4a or 24a. “Imagine” is a number/song by John Lennon and if something is brought in then it is inside so U is inside LATE.
Thanks to Neo and loonapick.
Just noticed, 16d is missing in blog. IN SECRET (INSECT about RE).
Thanks, Hovis – still not 100% convinced by 4ac, but I can live with it.
As to the missing solution, there appears to be a glitch somewhere as that has now happened twice in the last fortnight. i’ll Look out for it in future though.
I’m with Hovis re 4a. Just to clarify, one could say “Theresa May, late of No. 10 Downing St.” as a replacement test.
“Imagine” was my favourite, with its double misdirection making it, I agree, much the trickisiest clue on offer today and my last in.
Thanks to both.
Just to clarify my reading of 4a. I was thinking along the lines that you could say “The cat brought in a mouse into the house” (which would match your reading) or “The mouse brought in the house by the cat” (which has the inclusion the other way around). In Crosswordland, it seems inclusions can often work either way.
Hovis – would you really say “the cat brought in a mouse into the house”?
Grant Baynham – OK, I’ll go with that for late = recently
Loonapick @6. Hah, probably not but the “into the house” bit was immaterial to the point.
Just tidying up my desk and realised that I hadn’t “done Neo” – so I solved it without further ado.
Glad I did as it was the usual fun I associate with one of his crosswords
Thanks to Neo and Loonapick – the Imagine/number appears in crosswords quite often
Having purchased Imagine many years ago I should have known this answer. It was, however, the clue that kept me from completing this crossword. Overall, today went much more smoothly than yesterday’s beast by Monk. Thanks to Neo and the parsing by Loonapuck.
You’re lacking in IMAGINE-ation there loonapick. And as for cryptic grammar, well.
The way you’re looking at ‘Assess girl university brought in recently’ requires a past tense rather than a past participle, does it not? Unless you have a ‘has’ in there somewhere, I suppose. I wouldn’t touch either construction with a bargepole.
Thanks Neo and loonapick
There always seems to be one very, very old puzzle in that to-be-done pile … and glad that I eventually got to this one. Wasn’t overly hard but enough clues in there to give one something to chew on for a while.
Also liked the LEVEL CROSSING clue and although it took a while, the IMAGINE song penny did eventually drop.
Finished in the SW corner with TIGER and OUTLAWS (with its tricky word play) the last couple in.