Redshank provides this morning’s FT puzzle.
I found this one a bit of a slog, if I’m honest, although there were some good clues in here, my favourite being BROWN BREAD, which raised a smile.
However, a couple of clues caused me concern. I don’t think the definition is right in 7dn and I think ther’s something missing in 10ac to indicate that the solution is hidden.
Thanks, Redshank.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CONSCIENCE | Personal guide to study old subject (10) |
| CON (“to study”) + SCIENCE (“subject”)
I presume that the “old” in the clue is there to indicate that “science” as a subject has now been replaced by several subsets of “science” such as biology, physics, chemistry etc |
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| 6 | RUMP | Redcaps besiege Unionist parliament once (4) |
| RMP (Royal Military Police, aka “redcaps”) besiege U (Unionist)
The original Rump Parliament was a short-lived parliament set up in 1648 after the Long Parliament was purged of those members who did not agree with charging King Charles I with high treason. |
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| 9 | BROWN BREAD | Bronze money that should keep you going (5,5) |
| BROWN (“bronze”) + BREAD (“money”)
Eating brown bread should “keep you going” (to the loo) |
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| 10 | TSAR | What’s a Russian without his former boss? (4) |
| Hidden in “whaT’S A Russian”
Not comfortable with this clue, as there is nothing to indicate that the answer is hidden. |
||
| 12 | HIGH FIDELITY | What’s expected from spouse? Good reproduction (4-8) |
| Double definition, the first slightly cryptic. | ||
| 15 | BALLERINA | She may work on points or bare all in moves (9) |
| *(bare all on) [anag:moves] | ||
| 17 | DELHI | Sort of belly model hides to some extent (5) |
| Hidden in [to some extent] “moDEL HIdes”
Delhi belly is a phrase referring to an upset stomach caused by eating foods that one is unused to, the sort of thing tourists in India may experience. |
||
| 18 | OPERA | Old American comes over for each work in theatre (5) |
| O (old) + A (American) comes over PER (“for each”) | ||
| 19 | CLIENTELE | Such customers need gin supply to build up intelligence (9) |
| “intelligence’ is an anagram of “clientele gin”, so CLIENTELE (“customers”) needs GIN to be able to build “intelligence” | ||
| 20 | UNBELIEVABLE | Tall, not fit to maintain disguise by Victor (12) |
| UNABLE (“not fit”) to maintain BELIE (“disguise”) by V (Victor, in the phonetic alphabet) | ||
| 24 | EARN | Pull in not far away, first to finish (4) |
| (N)EAR (“not far way”) with its first (letter) moved to the finish becomes EAR(N) | ||
| 25 | HELIOGRAPH | GPO hail her quirky communications device (10) |
| *(gpo hail her) [anag:quirky]
A heliograph uses mirrors to reflect the sun an dcan be used to send signals by flashing code. |
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| 26 | YO-YO | Solvers who don’t finish go up and down (2-2) |
| YO(u) + YO(u) (“solvers”, ie YOU as opposed to me, the setter) [who don’t finish] | ||
| 27 | STRUCTURED | Engineer trusted to keep old coppers in proper order (10) |
| *(trusted) [anag:engineer] to keep RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary, now defunct, so “ex-coppers”) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CUBE | Shape of truncated island close to Belize (4) |
| [truncated] CUB(a) (“island”) + [close to] (beliz)E | ||
| 2 | NOON | Twelve ducks served in middle of dinner (4) |
| OO (zeroes, so “ducks” in cricket) served in [middle of] (di)NN(er) | ||
| 3 | CONSIDERABLE | Noted judge left in Lincoln (12) |
| CONSIDER (“judge”) + L(left) in ABE (Lincoln) | ||
| 4 | EARTH | Want daughter to leave ground (5) |
| (d)EARTH (“want” with D (daughter) to leave) | ||
| 5 | CHARIVARI | Toast controversial match official in 11, causing rumpus (9) |
| CHAR (“toast”) + VAR (video assisted referee, a “controversial match official” (certainly in the last few days)) in II (“eleven”) |
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| 7 | UNSHIELDED | Held in used complex, having lost one’s bearings? (10) |
| *(held in used) [anag:complex]
Not convinced by this, as “unshielded” and “having lost oine’s bearings” are not synonymous as far as I can tell. |
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| 8 | PARTY LINES | Doll cryptically represents such agreed policies (5,5) |
| PARTY LINES could be cryptically clued by DO (“party”) + LL (lines) | ||
| 11 | LEADING LIGHT | Star to introduce good portable torch, say? (7,5) |
| LEAD IN (“introduce”) + G (good) + LIGHT (“torch, say”) | ||
| 13 | ABSOLUTELY | How despots rule, without doubt (10) |
| Double definition | ||
| 14 | ELDERBERRY | Blunder in two foreign articles by Bush (10) |
| ERR (“blunder”) in UN + DER (“two foreign articles”) + BY | ||
| 16 | INCLEMENT | Wild loganberry originally in secure netting (9) |
| L(oganberry) [originally] netted by IN + CEMENT (“secure”) | ||
| 21 | ADIEU | Notice hideous odd characters only for so long (5) |
| AD (“notice”) + (h)I(d)E(o)U(s) [odd characters only] | ||
| 22 | FAIR | Blonde female broadcast fine melody (4) |
| Indicated twice by F (female) + AIR (“broadcast”) and F (fine) + AIR (“melody”) | ||
| 23 | SHED | Slough – the ideal place for a reclusive husband? (4) |
| Double defintiion | ||
*anagram
I think ‘bearings’ in 7d refers to the meaning of an heraldic device, shield or coat of arms (No, I didn’t know this – I’ve just looked it up!), so in this sense ‘having lost one’s bearings’ would mean not having one’s heraldic shield, therefore UNSHIELDED.
The use of ‘odd’ in 21d put me off, as the required letters are actually the 2nd, 4th and 6th, but I see now it is ‘odd’ as in ‘alternate’. I see what you mean about TSAR.
I missed RUMP (barely heard of and stuck on MP(s) for ‘Redcaps’) and BROWN BREAD (Grr!). I liked PARTY LINES.
Thanks to Redshank and loonapick
I read 7d as WordPlodder.
14d A pedantic typo: the two foreign articles are EL and DER.
Thanks both.
BROWN BREAD was my favourite. But it would have to be, wouldn’t it? 🙂
I don’t think there’s anything missing in the hidden TSAR at 10a. Isn’t it using “without” to mean “on the outside of” (as in “a green hill far away, without a city wall”)?
Good puzzle, but I was held up by 2 mistakes: I had BROWN SUGAR (partially refined heroin, I’m told: The Stones were tinkers, weren’t they?) and CONE for 1d (Kona I knew was part of Hawaii & lazily presumed an alternative spelling) until I saw sense.
Agree with all the parsings above – ‘without’, escutcheons and so forth.
Another mistake which actually works, I think, was for STRUCTURED. My Dad is an F.I. Struct. E. – Fellow of the Institute of Structural Engineers . So STRUCT. E could surround UR (‘primitive’ = old) + D (‘coppers’), a completely different parsing which I was happy with ‘til I came here.
Thanks to all.
I’m with WordPlodder and trenodia re 7d – the question mark indicates that it’s a cryptic definition – and I interpreted ‘without’ in 10ac as Nila Palin did.
Thanks for the blog, loonapick, and Redshank for another enjoyable puzzle – and especially for making me smile, remembering how my husband would retreat to his shed when Scotland lost a rugby match.
Hovis @3 Indeedy!
Thanks Redshank and loonapick
A good tussle second up for the year that took well over an hour in a couple of sessions after getting back from a break on the southern coast of Victoria (thankfully one not involved in the many bush fires).
Agree with the commentary on 10a (which is how I had interpreted it) and 7d (which I had’t). Made a couple of early mistakes as well that didn’t help – a similar one as Grant, except I went CONE (and Cony Island) and had originally written in GUIDING LIGHT (before correcting it as my last entry, although still needed to come here to see how LEADING was parsed).
Liked the subtraction anagram at 19a and the BROWN BREAD clue.
Thanks to loonapick and Redshank
I can’t make 10a work.
I have no problem reading “without” as “outside”, or even “on the outside of” as suggested @4, but the clue still needs an “is” :
What’s a Russian is without his former boss?
But now of course the surface doesn’t work so perhaps:
Spots a Russian is without his former boss?
I still can’t see it though because “Spots a Russian” isn’t actually outside “tsar” = “Spo ussian” is.
If anyone finds that unduly picky consider this:
The commissar is inside his former boss