Financial Times 16,712 by IO

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Not as hard as Io can be, quite amenable in comparison. I get let off lightly today! Thank you Io.

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1 LIQUID LUNCH
A couple of quarts necked by N Hull CID sneakily around one? (6,5)

QU (quarts) inside (necked by) anagram (sneakily) of N HULL CID containing (around) I (one) – "to have a couple" is to have a short drinking session, but you could also read the definition extended as "A couple of quarts necked…""

7 MEH
Uninspiring crossword compiler? She’s core (3)

ME (the crossword compiler) and sHe (middle letter, core of)
9 THERE’S NO TELLING
I’m not allowed to say who knows (6,2,7)

double definition
10 FINE PRINT
Signatory should first look at this splendid beer, brewer’s last bottled (4,5)

FINE (splendid) PINT (beer) contains (…is bottled) breweR (last letter of)
11 FLEET
Navy sheltered herein? (5)

LEE (shelter) in the FT (here in, in this newspaper)
12 OFF-COLOUR
Green about the gills, not in the pink? (3-6)

double definition
15 RECTI
Behind games area it flexes muscles (5)

REC (games area) then (behind…is…) anagram (flexes) of IT
16 ERUPT
Vent sudden anger, Virgin having backtracked – then fall out of train (5)

PURE (virgin) reversed (having backtracked) then Train missing (out of) RAIN (fall)
17 GLAD HANDS
Warmly welcomes employees at stable and farm, joining general staff (4,5)

LAD (employee at stable) with HAND (employee at farm) inside (joining, becoming a member of) GS (general staff)

18 PADRE
Living accommodation connected to priest’s address (5)

PAD (living accommodation) with RE (connected to, regarding)
19 NEEDS MUST
Arithmetic: two poor grades in ten? Turning that round, it’s essential! (5,4)

SUMS (arithmetic) D and E (two poor grades in an exam) inside TEN all reversed (turning round)

22 WIN-WIN SITUATION
I was out of order with union ‘nitwit’ (finishing up in it either way?) (3-3,9)

anagram (out of order) of I WAS with UNION NITWIT – "in it" means enjoying success
24 RAS
Not entirely foolhardy African prince (3)

RASh (foolhardy, not entirely)
25 GORMANDISED
Scarlet dresses one in department store took in eagerly! (11)

GORED (scarlet, bloodied) contains (dresses) I (one) inside M AND S (M&S, department store)
DOWN
1 LOT
Destiny of clergy when leaving the church? (3)

cLOTh (clergy) missing CH (church)
2 QUEEN OF PUDDINGS
Missing element of DESSTS or AFTS? (5,2,8)

dessERts and aftERs are puddings, and ER is (The Queen), so the missing element of these is QUEEN OF PUDDINGS – a sort of meringue
3 ICE UP
Cup-tie abandoned, dropping temperature causing freeze (3,2)

anagram (abandoned) of CUP tIE missing T (temperature)
4 LUNGI
One needs breather before one winds this to make garment (5)

I (one) with LUNG (breather) coming before it
5 NATATORIA
Draw up ace duty list for people to flog swimming pools (9)

AI (A1, very good, ace) ROTA (duty list for people) TAN (to flog) all reversed (draw up)
6 HOLD FORTH
Show where ship’s cargo’s put on river (4,5)

HOLD (ship's cargo) on FORTH (river)
7 MAIDEN CENTURIES
Are they first observed by MCC? (6,9)

the cricket abbreviations M (maiden) and C C (century, twice) – MCC is a cricket club
8 HIGH-TAILS IT
One does cut luxurious German cheese, does one? (4-5,2)

A (one) inside (does cut) HIGH (luxurious) TILSIT (a German cheese) – "does a runner"
10 FLOWER POWER
Like young pack member growing up, one must pay 60s cult (6,5)

PRE-WOLF (cryptically – like a young pack member growing) reversed (up) then OWER (one must pay)
13 ON THE WING
Flanker is in flight (2,3,4)

double definition – flankers are wing-forwards in Rugby
14 ORGANISER
Love new-style earrings? I’ll order! (9)

O (love, zero) then anagram ((new-style) of EARRINGS
20 EXTRA
Exceptionally wide? (5)

double definition – cricket terms
21 SHARD
Quiet little street in which you may witness a scrap (5)

SH (quiet) RD (road, street, abbreviated=little) contains (in which you may witness) A

23 NOD
Dreamland, is it – or “reamlan”? (3)

"realman" is "dreamland" with NO D – to be asleep is to be "in the land of nod"

14 comments on “Financial Times 16,712 by IO”

  1. I wonder whether I’m the only person who says ‘goody its an IO’ as I think of all John’s aliases, he has the most fun with this one.

    Didn’t take that long to solve and full of lovely clues to make you smile – eg 2d, 23d and especially 7d.

    Thanks to Io for the fun and PeeDee for the blog

  2. I took 1a as an &lit. A couple of quarts for the first two letters and “around one” being lunch time. Didn’t know the German cheese and still don’t get 8d. Also, is hightail ever hyphenated? Over all, a very quick solve for an Io.

  3. Nice blog, thanks. And a great puzzle – thanks John. I’d read ‘to scarlet’ as ‘to GO RED’ in 25a though yours may be better.

  4. I thought 1a was an anagram of N HULL CID around one (another quart), IQT. Two quarts, or four pints of beer, is a liquid lunch by most people’s standards.

    Both setter and blogger I thank
    For clues and solutions first rank.
    And thanks, Fifteensquared:
    These crosswords, once feared,
    Now seldom have squares I leave blank.

  5. QUEEN OF PUDDINGS!!!
    The tuffometer dropped here ( a taste to get new solvers hooked_
    But quality and enjoyment stayed the same as ever
    Thanks PeeDee & JH
    (disgusted by yesterday’s comments)

  7. I thought this was a great puzzle, albeit from this setter’s equivalent of gentle medium pace off a short run. There are many great clues, but that for MAIDEN CENTURIES is especially brilliant imo. Thanks to Io & PeeDee.

  8. Having tackled Rodriguez in the Indy as a warm-up we found this quite tracrable – not that there wasn’t some head-scratching. But enumerations came to the rescue in a number of cases, although we then had problems with parsing – but it all came together in the end. LOI was 7ac after we got 7 and 8 dn.
    No real favourites as it was all good.
    Thanks, Io and PeeDee.

  9. Failed to fully parse FLOWER POWER and GORMANDISED, and LUNGI and NATATORIA were new words for me.
    Much easier than his E collaboration with Soup yesterday, but it still took me a while.

  10. An enjoyable afternoon romp. Thanks Io.
    My only real mutter here is GLAD HANDS which, to me, has an element of over the top to impress or ingratiate, while “warmly welcomes” is a more personally cordial and friendly effort.
    I thought all four long clues were marvellous and I think I had a smile on all the way through this puzzle.
    Thanks for the unpacking PeeDee.

  11. Game of two halves.. L side being filled in rapidly.. R side less so.. failed entirely with 8dn n 7ac.. tried all possible 3 letter actual words beginning with M to no avail… meh…
    Thanks to PeeDee n IO

  12. An accessible Io, with not too many obscurities. I couldn’t explain QUEEN OF PUDDINGS, so thanks for explaining it and couldn’t remember LUNGI though had come across it before. The parsing for FLOWER POWER was very satisfying to work out.

    Definitely one I ‘took in eagerly’ though difficult enough to mean it had to be savoured along the way and not gobbled up too quickly.

    Thanks to PeeDee and Io

  13. Thanks Io and PeeDee
    A solid work out and definitely a little less hard (was going to write easier – just didn’t seem right) than his previous one. Was finally able to get it all completed and parsed apart from the M&S in 25a (just not a department store that comes to mind down here) and the LAD / HAND breakdown at 17a.
    The thing that I admire most with this setter is the depth of thinking that goes into the construction of each clue and the ensuing depth of the untangling to get it and fully understand why when you do. Many fine clues but think that QUEEN OF PUDDINGS wins clue of the day by the shortest of margins from a host of others.
    Finished the battle in the NE corner with RECTI, GLAD HANDS (a new term for me) and the trickily enumerated HIGH-TAILS IT as the last one in.

  14. So much to like in this puzzle, but I must agree with baerchen that MAIDEN CENTURIES is especially brilliant. I also love the ‘One does…does one?’ of 8d.

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