Financial Times 16,832 by BUCCANEER

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Just the kind of diversion I needed this morning…

…as I try to avoid all news channels (I'm Scottish, I'll say no more).

From the very first clue, I knew I was going to enjoy this puzzle ("play area" was a fantastic definition).

On my first read though of the across clues, I only had two answers in place, but the down clues were more straightforward, and a first pass of them yielded all but three answers.

That meant that I had lots of crossers, and a second pass of the across clues saw me complete them, leaving me only TOKE, the "obvious" TROUBLEMAKING and PROCLAIM.

I gave ticks to many clues, but double ticks to GLOBE THEATRE and PUPILS.

Thanks Buccaneer

(now, I just need to find a way of avoiding TV, radio and the Internet until at least Monday morning, maybe even longer….)

ACROSS
1 GLOBE THEATRE
Beg athlete or jockeys in play area (5,7)

*(beg athlete or) [anag:jockeys]
10 ROWLOCK
One holding a blade in fight with rugby player (7)

ROW ("fight") with LOCK ("rugby player")

The blade in the clue is an oar.
11 CADDISH
Rather rotten cold food that Bill tucks into (7)

C (cold) + DISH ("food") that AD (advertisement, so "bill") tucks into
12 URALS
Range of paintings, but not millions (5)

(m)URALS ("paintings") with no M (millions)
13 SPARE RIB
Piece of meat’s cut, eaten by small guy (5,3)

PARE ("cut"), eaten by S (small) + RIB ("guy", to make fun of)
15 LEDERHOSEN
Seen or held away kit of Bayern? (10)

*(seen or held) [anag:away]
16 NAVY
Service vehicle going around yard (4)

<=VAN ("vehicle", going around) + Y (yard)
18 MESS
Where one may eat jam or pickle (4)

Double (or triple) defintion
20 CHIEF RABBI
Cook a lot of meat, entertaining one top minister (5,5)

CHEF ("cook") + [a lot of] RABBI(t), entertaining I (one)
22 KNITTING
Joining royal touring part of UK on the wagon (8)

KING ("royal") touring NI (Northern Ireland, "part of UK") + TT (teetotal, so "on the wagon")
24 CELEB
Awful debacles could make this star sad (5)

(CELEB sad) is an anagram of *(debacles), so [anag:awful] DEBACLES could make "CELEB sad".
26 NOUVEAU
Recent month drinking posh water from Evian (7)

NOV (November, so "month") drinking U ("posh") + EAU (French for water, so "water from Evian")
27 PLATEAU
Precious metal on crockery for high table (7)

Au (chemical symbol for gold, so "precious metal") on PLATE ("crockery")
28 SLEDGEHAMMER
Big tool shelf fixed by phoney fellow (12)

LEDGE ("shelf") fixed by SHAMMER ("phoney fellow")
DOWN
2 LOWLAND
Bird kept in bag where there are no hills (7)

OWL ("bird") kept in LAND ("bag")
3 BROWSERS
People contemplating buying some software (8)

Double definition
4 TOKE
Counter finally disappearing in a puff of smoke (4)

TOKE(n) ("counter" with its last letter missing, so finally disappearing)
5 ENCIPHERED
Like a cryptic puzzle, hence cracked with pride (10)

*(hence pride) [anag:cracked]
6 TUDOR
Abroad, you rejected staff for Elizabeth’s house (5)

TU (You in French, so "abroad, you") + [rejected] <=ROD ("staff")

The Elizabeth in the clue is Elizabeth I of England.
7 ERITREA
African country raising flag on tip of Africa (7)

[raising] <=TIRE ("flag") + RE ("on") + [tip of] A(frica)
8 TROUBLEMAKING
Awkward time before work in the Moscow Mint? (13)

T (time) before ROUBLE MAKING ("work in the Moscow Mint")
9 THE BOYS IN BLUE
Do they keep the peace in Chelsea’s youth team? (3,4,2,4)

THE BOYS IN BLUE is another term for the police, and cryptically could describe Chelsea's youth team, as Chelsea traditionally play in blue shirts.
14 GOTHENBURG
Obtained bird food around European port (10)

GOT ("obtained") + HEN ("bird") + <=GRUB ("food", around)
17 PROCLAIM
Trumpet call, as is regularly included in concert (8)

C(a)L(l) A(s) I(s) [regularly] included in PROM ("concert", as in the BBC Proms)
19 SLIP-UPS
Two sons admitting return of schoolboy errors (4-3)

S + S (two sons) admitting [return of] <=PUPIL ("schoolboy")
21 BELIEVE
Bishop and two Old Testament figures in credit (7)

B (bishop) + ELI and EVE ("two Old Testament figures")
23 THEME
Subject of article by FT contributor (5)

THE ("article") + ME (the compiler of this puzzle, hence "FT contributor")
25 OPAH
Fish stocked by shop, a halibut (4)

Hidden in [stocked by] "shOP A Halibut"

The opah is also known as the kingfish.

11 comments on “Financial Times 16,832 by BUCCANEER”

  1. Like Loonapick, my first run through produced measly results and the down clues seemed kinder. However, Buccaneer’s grids are generally worth the candle being full of wit and invention, so I persevered and am glad I did so even if a little help was needed to cross the finish line (ROWLOCK and CHIEF RABBI).
    I thought 18a a triple definition and that the surface of 25 would have been even better with ‘haddock’ for ‘halibut ‘ since OPAH is also known as a Jerusalem haddock.
    The perimeter clues were all ticks and I was thankful to THE BOYS IN BLUE for giving me a way in (though my allegiance lies elsewhere).
    Thanks for all the fun, Buccaneer, and Loonapick for clearing the mists. Hope no one spoils your anticipation.

  2. Thanks for the blog, loonapick. I too had double ticks for GLOBE THEATRE and SLIP-UPS (which is what you meant to write).

    Other favourites were LEDERHOSEN, CELEB, ENCIPHERED, TROUBLEMAKING, GOTHENBURG, and BELIEVE. (I was rationing myself. 😉 )

    Thanks, as ever, to Buccaneer for a fun puzzle.

  3. I had come across both OPAH and TOKE before but didn’t recognise them, so both had to go in from wordplay. I was held up by SLEDGEHAMMER, on which I spent too long trying to make an anagram (‘fixed’) out of ‘Big shelf tool’ for a ‘phoney fellow’ def.

    Favourites were TROUBLEMAKING, the ‘two Old Testament figures’ in BELIEVE and the triple def MESS.

    Thanks to Buccaneer for the usual enjoyable challenge and to loonapick

  5. Re. 6 down, TUDOR, yesterday’s Guardian cryptic by Buccaneer’s alter ego, Picaroon, clued the same solution as ‘Henry’s house’. As some commenters there pointed out, only the last two of England’s eight Henrys fitted the bill, the others having been Angevins or Plantagenets. With Elizabeth, at least there is only one other contender, she of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha – oops, sorry, Windsor.

  6. Another admirable puzzle from Buccaneer – hard enough to slow me down a bit, but great fun, no quibbles and a number of mental ticks. One of my favourite setters.

  7. Thanks for the blog. A lot of my favourite clues mentioned, I particularly like the method for CELEB, rarely used in the dailies but an Azed staple. I will add praise for SLEDGEHAMMER which is very tidy.

  8. I tried to post a comment early this morning but it obviously never turned up so I’ll just agree with Eileen

    Thanks to the enjoyable-as-ever Buccaneer and to Loonapick

  9. Very enjoyable and not too difficult – we must have been on Buccaneer’s wavelength today. Favourites were the four long perimeter entries.
    We did find 24ac a bit tricky – with only the B as the last letter and ‘star’ in the clue we were thinking of Deneb though we couldn’t see how to parse it. Fortunately we’d only pencilled it in and once we got the L the penny dropped as to what was going on.
    Thinking about 8dn, none of the Tudor monarchs now lacks a regnal number – even Mary is correctly Mary I, since William III’s consort was jointly queen in her own right and was thus Mary II. But to have used the regnal number in the clue would have given the game away.
    Thanks, Buccaneer and loonapick.

  10. Took most of the day solving this in fits and starts but eventually it all came together except for ROWLOCK, an unfamiliar word for me. (I have to remember lock=rugby player.) I thought this crossword was exceptionally well-clued; favourites included SPARE RIB, CELEB, TUDOR, and SLIP-UPS. Thanks to both.

  11. Thanks Buccaneer and loonapick
    I don’t methodically look at all of the across clues and then the down – more a random approach to see what jumps out – today it was THE BOYS IN BLUE which immediately led to SPARE RIB. Did the puzzle in four shortish sessions across the mid part of the day on Thursday but only got to check it off tonight.
    Always appreciate the variety of clue devices that this setter presents and even the construction of the charades seem to have different nuances to them. TROUBLEMAKING was the best of those and it generated a wry smile when I spotted it. BELIEVE was a close second.
    Finished up in the NW corner with LOWLAND, URALS, the clever dd BROWSERS and ROWLOCK the last few in.

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