Neo provides the FT entertainment today.
I romped through this, which is always a good thing when I have to write the blog too. On the first pass of the across anwers, I was only missing the first and last entries, bith f which fell readily into place one I had the down solution in place.
Although this was at the easier end of the spectrum by Neo’s standards, it was very well crafted and had many good clues, my favourite being the one for BUM STEER. A bit of general knowledge is required to understand ADIEU and IMPATIENCE, but both (especially) the former raised a smile.
Thanks Neo
| Across | ||
| 9 | TRILOBITE | Fossil – see black one with dull exterior (9) |
| (LO (“see”) + B (black) + I (one)) with TRITE (“dull”) exterior | ||
| 10 | ADIEU | Share Jill Masterson’s fate? It’s goodbye! (5) |
| DIE covered in Au (“gold”) i.e. A(DIE)u
In Goldfinger, Jill Masterton dies by being covered in gold. |
||
| 11 | ROUNDEL | Old rune reworked as circular device (7) |
| *(old rune) [anag:reworked] | ||
| 12 | EMBARGO | Neo backing British stars in trade restriction (7) |
| <=ME (“Neo”, the puzzle’s compiler, backing) + B (British) + ARGO (a constellation, so “stars”) | ||
| 13 | POT | Amount in kitty put in pocket (3) |
| Double definition, the second referring to snooker or pool. | ||
| 14 | OPERA SINGER | Performer seen in shop erasing errors (5,6) |
| (seen in) “shOP ERASING ERrors” | ||
| 17 | BUDDY | Friend has bishop purchase round (5) |
| DD (Doctor of Divinity, so “bishop”) with BUY (“purchase”) round | ||
| 18 | USE | American and English in exploit (3) |
| US (“American”) + E (English) | ||
| 19 | PICOT | Ornament ancient Briton carries round (5) |
| PICT (“ancient Briton”) carries O (“round”) | ||
| 21 | MEASUREMENT | Evaluation made by certain people in essence (11) |
| SURE (“certain”) + MEN (“people”) in MEAT (“essence”) | ||
| 23 | BAY | Sound like hounds or one among horses (3) |
| Double definition | ||
| 25 | TSUNAMI | Wave from our setter on time to meet French friend (7) |
| SUN (“our setter”, (that which sets)) on T (time) to meet AMI (“French” for “friend”) | ||
| 27 | THE ARTS | Mad Hatter beginning to suspect cultural world (3,4) |
| *(hatter) [anag:mad] + [beginning to] S(uspect) | ||
| 28 | ERNST | Bear – one sits regularly for surrealist (5) |
| (b)E(a)R(o)N(e)S(i)T(s) [regularly]
Refers to Max Ernst (1890-1976), a German poet and artist who was involved in the establishment of the Dada movement. |
||
| 29 | ARTICHOKE | Take choir out to Jerusalem? (9) |
| *(take choir) [anag:out] | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | STIR UP | Provoke tumult in high places? (4,2) |
| STIR (“tumult”) + UP (“in high places”) | ||
| 2 | SITUATED | Set and positioned Greek letter back inside (8) |
| SITED (“positioned”) with <=TAU (“greek letter”, back) inside | ||
| 3 | GOOD FOR YOU | Veggies are meant to be this well done (4,3,3) |
| Doubel definition | ||
| 4 | RILL | Smaller runner runs poorly (4) |
| R (runs, in cricket) + ILL (“poorly”) | ||
| 5 | SENEGALESE | African seen buffeted by winds close to village (10) |
| *(seen) [anag;buffered] by GALES (“winds”) + [close to] (villag)E | ||
| 6 | GARB | Chat needed about Romeo’s apparel (4) |
| GAB (“chat”) about R (Romeo, in the phonetic alphabet) | ||
| 7 | OIL RIG | Female on moon lifted boring gear (3,3) |
| <=(GIRL (“female”) on IO (“moon” of Jupiter)) [lifted] | ||
| 8 | EUROCRAT | Pitch business – regret showing up Brussels employee? (8) |
| <=(TAR (“pitch” + Co. (company, so “business”) + RUE (“regret”) [showing up] | ||
| 15 | ECUMENICAL | Universal anagram came in clue (10) |
| *(came in clue) | ||
| 16 | IMPATIENCE | Bride at Savoy announcing herself in agitation? (10) |
| In Gilbert & Sullivan’s Bunthorne’s Bride, (aka Patience), the bride is called Patience, so may announce I’M PATIENCE The Savoy refers to the theatre that the opera is most commonly associated with. | ||
| 17 | BUM STEER | Bad suggestion must be unsettling monarch (3,5) |
| *(must be) [anag:unsettling] + ER (Elizabeth Regina, so “monarch”) | ||
| 20 | CUBE ROOT | Prompt monster to report mathematical value (4,4) |
| Homophone of [to report] CUE BRUTE (“prompt” + monster”) | ||
| 22 | ALUMNA | Manual rewritten for female graduate (6) |
| *(manual) [anag;rewritten] | ||
| 24 | YES MEN | Nodding acquaintances? (3,3) |
| Cryptic definiton | ||
| 26 | ALTO | Singer trapped in chemical toilet (4) |
| Hidden [trapped] in “chemicAL TOilet” | ||
| 27 | TA-TA | Cheers: cheers and cheerio (2-2) |
| TA (“cheers”) + TA (“cheers”) | ||
*anagram
Thanks neo and especially loona for explaining tsunami. I’ve been conditioned to expect I or me or the compiler’s pseudonym when I encounter setter.
ADIEU was clever and the ‘veggie’ surface very neat but I have a soft spot for Patience, which was the first cryptic clue I ever solved, aged about 10, in the Telegraph: ‘The ability to endure operetta (8)’.
Thanks to Neo and loonapick for the memory.
Another nice crossword from Neo – I did like ‘our setter’ in 25a
Thanks to Neo and loonapick
Thanks for the blog, loonapick. I was never going to get 16dn – my general knowledge doesn’t stretch to obscure operas.
Otherwise I mostly enjoyed this.
Interesting to note the earlier in the week in the FT we saw ‘theologian’ clued as RR instead of DD, and today we see DD clued as Bishop instead of RR!
Thanks Loonapick for explaining ADIEU and IMPATIENCE, answers I got without fully understanding why. Loved the use of “setter” in the TSUNAMI clue. Other favorites were 5d and 7d. Needed a look-up to get TRILOBITE, a new word for me. Thanks Neo.
ADIEU and IMPATIENCE from checkers though I could not parse them. Favourite MEASUREMENT. Eileen, there’s an interesting clue that’ll intrigue in Alberich’s FT Prize on Saturday, seen it?
@Ong’ara in Kenya You are indeed perceptive!
Thanks Neo and loonapick
Was distracted during the first half of solving this one and then able to quickly finish off the second half a bit later. Had to look up who Jill Masterton was to have any chance of understanding why ADIEU was the correct answer at 10a. Did remember PATIENCE as the G&S opera when the answer for 16d fell.
Smiled at the mathematical homophone and the ‘well done veggies’. Had similar thinking to Grumpy@4 with regards to the DD bishop.
Finished in the NW corner with TRILOBITE, RILL (where an erroneous RAIL was initially written) and SENGALESE as the last one in.