Another enjoyable puzzle from Gozo, no specialist knowledge required here. Thank you Gozo.
This is an unusual puzzle for Gozo in that it is a plain puzzle: it has no special gird, theme, Nina or other special features. This is only the second such puzzle from Gozo (in the FT) in the last 10 years.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | TOP CAT | Copper enters exactly with cartoon puss (3,3) |
| PC (policeman, copper) inside (enters) TO A T (exactly) | ||
| 4 | ASTERISK | French cartoon character, it’s said, is a star (8) |
| sounds like (it’s said) ASTERIX (Asterix the Gaul, French cartoon character) | ||
| 9 | IBERIA | Area of northern Asia has no southern peninsula (6) |
| sIBERIA (area of northern Asia) missing S (southern) | ||
| 10 | DEBONAIR | Courteous society girl broadcasting (8) |
| DEB (society girl) then ON AIR (broadcasting) | ||
| 12 | CREW | Ship’s personnel were exultant at junction, we hear (4) |
| double definition and also CREW sounds like (we hear) CREWE (a railway junction in the UK). There must be many hundreds of railway junctions in the UK, but for some reason Crewe has made its way into popular culture. The modern town of Crewe is unusual in that it is named after its railway station, not the other way around (perhaps not so unusual in the US). | ||
| 13 | TRIPS | Days-out at the Falls (5) |
| double definition | ||
| 14 | RARE | Heartless rapture is not often encountered (4) |
| RAptuRE missing the middle (heartless) | ||
| 17 | ADVANTAGEOUS | Useful point on university society (12) |
| ADVANTAGE (point, in tennis) on OU (the Open University) and S (society) | ||
| 20 | SLAUGHTERING | Chant embraces merriment – that’s killing! (12) |
| SING (chant) contains (embracing) LAUGHTER (merriment) | ||
| 23 | USED | Like some previous edition? (4) |
| found inside previoUS EDition – an extended definition “like…” | ||
| 24 | TENSE | Very much on edge – perfect? (5) |
| double definition – the question mark indicates a definition by example: the present tense perhaps | ||
| 25 | ALSO | Amateur London orchestra, as well (4) |
| A (amateur) and LSO (London Symphony Orchestra) | ||
| 28 | BREAK-OUT | Rest period not considered for prison escape (5-3) |
| BREAK (rest period) and OUT (not considered) | ||
| 29 | SPINET | Small harpsichord made of wood in street (6) |
| PINE (wood) inside ST (street) | ||
| 30 | TEA PARTY | Try a paté served on this occasion? (3,5) |
| anagram (served) of TRY A PATE | ||
| 31 | CLERIC | Clergyman’s turning-circle (6) |
| anagram (turning) of CIRCLE | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | TAILCOAT | Trackwear or something more formal? (8) |
| double/cryptic definition – a coat to wear when tracking (tailing) someone | ||
| 2 | PRESERVE | Keep last of the sheep on the Serengeti, say (8) |
| sheeP (last letter of) on RESERVE (the Serengeti, say) | ||
| 3 | ARIA | Song from the boundaries of Armenia (4) |
| the outer letters (boundaries) of ARmenIA | ||
| 5 | STEEPLECHASE | A-spiring race? (12) |
| cryptic definition – A SPIRING race might be a race (chase) of spires (steeples) | ||
| 6 | ETON | From Magdalene to New College (4) |
| found inside (from) magdalenE TO New | ||
| 7 | IN A JAM | Having difficulty where to find conserved strawberries, say (2,1,3) |
| one might conserved strawberries IN A JAM | ||
| 8 | KERNEL | Suggested rank edible part of a nut (6) |
| sounds like (suggested) “colonel” (rank) | ||
| 11 | TREASURE HUNT | Unearths true fragments during this? (8,4) |
| anagram (fragments, as a verb) of UNEARTHS TRUE | ||
| 15 | KNOLL | Hillock seen returning uphill on Kishorn (5) |
| seen reversed (returning) in uphiLL ON Kishorn | ||
| 16 | QUIET | Group of chamber musicians dropped books. Don’t make a noise! (5) |
| QUIntET (group of chamber musicians) missing NT (New Testament, books of the Bible) | ||
| 18 | MILLINER | Producer of headgear from weavers’ workplace in part of hospital (8) |
| MILL (weaver’s workplace) then IN and ER (part of hospital) | ||
| 19 | AGNOSTIC | Sceptic coasting around (8) |
| anagram (around) of COASTING | ||
| 21 | TURBOT | High-powered tourer starts for swimmer (6) |
| TURBO (high powered) and Tourer (starting letter) | ||
| 22 | PESETA | Exercise hard – note little cash was required (6) |
| PE (exercise) SET (hard) A (note, of musical scale) – a small amount of money, was required indicates the peseta is no longer in use | ||
| 26 | OKRA | Lady’s fingers look ravishing to some extent (4) |
| found inside (to some extent) loOK RAvishing | ||
| 27 | OPAL | Beseeching chum for gem (4) |
| O PAL can be read as “Oh pal” (beseeching chum) | ||
Expecting a theme which – as PeeDee notes – didn’t exist, I was surprised to finish this Gozo grid so quickly.
I also half-suspected a pangram but this, too, failed to materialise.
In fact, the only real hold-up was the LOI, at 24a. This because I failed to consider a double definition, focussing too narrowly on ‘perfect’.
Liked SLAUGHTERING, STEEPLECHASE and OPAL best.
Thanks both to Gozo and PeeDee
Ditto.
very quick and easy except for 24 annoyingly
Thanks to Gozo and PeeDee. Enjoyable. I was very surprised to finish quickly given my usual experience with this setter. I did not parse CREW-Crewe and took a while getting TOP CAT and IN A JAM.
Mark A @ 2: Annoyingly indeed — 24a was my LOI.
Thanks Gozo — I did like this crossword for the most part with IBERIA, TEA PARTY, and SLAUGHTERING as favourites. TOP CAT brought back pleasant childhood memories. Thanks PeeDee for the blog.
Almost the first FT crossword I have completely unaided (stuck on 4 clues). I found it much easier than yesterday’s.
Annoyed I didn’t get KNOLL and SLAUGHTERING
PESETA and ADVANTAGEOUS I think would have stumped me forever (am still quite inexperienced)
Thanks Gozo
vertigo @ 5
Stick at it
Before you know it, you’ll be stuck on it
One of our quickest solves, but very pleasant. No stand-out clue for us. And like Mark A @2 we had a bit of trouble with 24ac, our LOI; a bit of a facepalm moment when we got it!
Thanks, Gozo and PeeDee.
A quick but enjoyable solve despite unwarranted struggles with 22A. I think 12A is a triple definition: past tense of crow, though not one I am familiar with. Thanks to Gozo and Peedee.
I agree on the triple definition at 12a, which was my favourite. 4a took me too long considering how much I read of it as a child, and was able to parse but had never heard of 26d. Had 1a from the start but didn’t parse it until late on. I’d been looking for the pangram that wasn’t there but then I just enjoyed the clues that started popping out. Thanks both.
Hi Pedant and Jktiffin,
We describe normal clues as definition plus wordplay. In the same manner wouldn’t 12ac be “double definition” plus the wordplay (a homophone in this case)?
Thanks Gozo and PeeDee
Was surprised to see a Gozo without a rubric of some kind. Found that it was a little easier than his normal fare and was able to knock it over in a single sitting. Interesting to see repeated devices – four hidden clues and a couple of clues where the two beginning-end letters defined the answer.
Didn’t know of the ‘Crewe’ junction but the double definition ensured that it was right. TOP CAT was the first one in as soon as I twigged that ‘copper’ was PC rather than CU. Parsed TAILCOAT slightly differently – breaking it into TAIL (track) + COAT (wear, as in cover or provide with clothes) – think that the blog version is more clever though.
Finished in with the two tricky short across clues in the centre – TRIPS (where had to get the unparsed DROPS out of the thinking) and the head-slapping TENSE.