Non-prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of November 14, 2020
An estimable puzzle as usual from Alberich. My favourite clues are 7ac (LINESMAN), 14ac (MUGSHOT), 15ac (A STORM IN A TEACUP), 23ac (CHEAT) and 5dn (HOT DOG).
| ACROSS | ||
| 7 | LINESMAN | Sports official is a poet, as it were (8) |
| LINES-MAN (a poet as it were) | ||
| 8 | BOLERO | Jacket in trunk turned yellow (6) |
| BOLE (trunk) + OR (yellow) backwards (turned). A bolero, as defined here, is a short jacket mostly worn by women. | ||
| 11 | AROMA | Regularly air room with a bouquet (5) |
| A[i]R [r]O[o]M + A (a) | ||
| 12 | DEHYDRATE | Dry-heated, possibly, to do this? (9) |
| Anagram (possibly) of DRY HEATED | ||
| 13 | ELEGIST | English supporter is in Germany, one writes sadly (7) |
| E (English) + LEG (supporter) + IST (is in Germany) | ||
| 14 | MUGSHOT | Fool’s stolen a photo (7) |
| MUG (fool) + HOT (stolen) | ||
| 15 | A STORM IN A TEACUP | Rocky Marciano upset a boxing pundit, ultimately creating needless commotion (1,5,2,1,6) |
| [pundi]T in (boxing) anagram (rocky) of MARCIANO UPSET A | ||
| 18 | PRESAGE | Herald prior to becoming wise? (7) |
| PRE (prior to becoming) + SAGE (wise) | ||
| 20 | TIPPETT | Hint concert at last will include favourite composer (7) |
| PET (favourite) in (will include) TIP (hint) + [concer]T | ||
| 22 | NYMPHETTE | Type a lot of the men fancy? She could be (9) |
| Anagram (fancy) of TYPE TH[e] MEN | ||
| 23 | CHEAT | Do taps corrode? (5) |
| CH (taps, i.e. Cold and Hot) + EAT (corrode) | ||
| 24 | HELENA | Woman portrayed in some Brueghel enamels (6) |
| Hidden word (portrayed in some) | ||
| 25 | TITANIUM | Mongrel, a mutt in one’s element (8) |
| Anagram (mongrel) of A MUTT IN I | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PLEASED AS PUNCH | Delighted, let out snake trapped in box (7,2,5) |
| LEASED (let out) + ASP (snake) together in (trapped in) PUNCH (box) | ||
| 2 | INSOLE | Fashionable and exclusive part of Oxford? (6) |
| IN (fashionable) + SOLE (exclusive) with a slightly cryptic definition. | ||
| 3 | ESPALIER | Setback arises, involving one trainer of climbers (8) |
| I (one) in (involving) RELAPSE (setback) backwards (arises) with a slightly cryptic definition | ||
| 4 | EAU DE TOILETTE | Scent disorganisation of EU elite to date (3,2,8) |
| Anagram (disorganization of) EU ELITE TO DATE | ||
| 5 | HOT DOG | Glutton keeps heading for the party food (3,3) |
| T[he] DO (party) in (keeps) HOG (glutton) | ||
| 6 | SERAPHIC | Greek character consumed by mounting worries is serene (8) |
| PHI (Greek character) in (consumed by) CARES (worries) backwards (mounting) | ||
| 9 | ONE STEP AT A TIME | Rolling Stone to issue a recording retrospectively, without rushing (3,4,2,1,4) |
| Anagram (rolling) of STONE + EMIT A TAPE (issue a recording) backwards (retrospectively) | ||
| 10 | CHAMP AT THE BIT | Winner that I bet is disposed to be impatient (5,2,3,3) |
| CHAMP (winner) + anagram (is disposed) of THAT I BET | ||
| 16 | THERMALS | Half of them bang on about warm clothes (8) |
| TH[em] + SLAM RE (bang on) backwards (about) | ||
| 17 | ESPECIAL | Troubled sleep interrupted by spooks? That’s unusual (8) |
| CIA (spooks) in anagram (troubled) of SLEEP | ||
| 19 | ATHENS | Like stocks subsequently to yield capital (6) |
| THEN (subsequently) in (stocks) AS (like) | ||
| 21 | EMETIC | European paid one cent? It makes you sick (6) |
| E (European) + MET (paid) + I (one) + C (cent) | ||
All together now One drop of rain on your window pane, doesn’t mean to say there’s a thunderstorm coming… Apologies to those not of an age to get that reference.
I think 22a should be parse as an anagram of TYPE TH (a lot of the) MEN. Didn’t know TIPPETT (no surprise there) and wasn’t sure I’d heard that BOLERO was a jacket before.
Thanks to Alberich and Pete.
Finished this quickly and found nothing too challenging except for 23a, my LOI, which I was at a total loss to explain. From a handful of contenders, I went for CLEAT. Needed Pete’s blog to see CHEAT, EMETIC and BOLERO though the latter two were guessable from the definition. TIPPETT was unfamiliar but parsable.
Liked HELENA, INSOLE, CHAMP AT THE BIT and A STORM IN A TEACUP best, the latter was very devious. Too bad I don’t know the tune, Hovis!
Thanks to Alberich and Pete.
I found this not too troublesome. I suppose Benjamin Britten, William Wallton and Michael Tippett were the three major English composers of the 20th century. I have an LP of Tippett’s Concerto for double string orchestra but I must admit I cannot remember when I last played it. Maybe this evening!
Thank you Pete and Alberich
Hovis, Thank you. I have corrected the explanation of 22ac. (And I do not get your “drop of rain” reference.)
Pete @4. It’s a reference to the song Storm in a Teacup by such as The Fortunes and Lynsey De Paul.
Thanks Alberich for a fine crossword. SERAPHIC and TIPPETT were new to me but obtainable through parsing. Favourites were PLEASED AS PUNCH, THERMALS, ESPECIAL, and ATHENS. Thanks Pete as always for the blog.
Thanks Alberich and Pete
Pretty straightforward solve that was helped along by getting the three long down clues quite early on. Found that most of the answers popped out from the definition or enumeration and then had to find the anagram or charade to prove them.
Finished in the SE corner with the composer and element the last couple in.
Thanks Pete and Alberich, of voided. Another delightful little romp. Once those five long clues had been solved everything else just hung off them. TIPPET was the only real bit of checking I needed as he is a bit outside my knowledge envelope.
C and H took me a long time to fathom. I was delighted to see Tippett make an appearance: one of my favourite composers, I attended premieres of a few of his works at the Proms back in the eighties. And somewhere I have his autograph.
“Bole” had me stumped, though, so thanks Pete for clearing that one up!