Financial Times 16,877 by FALCON

15 comments on “Financial Times 16,877 by FALCON”

1. Thanks for the blog, totally agree about !D , best clue by far , although the rest are pretty good.
   AARON’S ROD is lesser known , mainly due to being very poor quality , seems rushed and jumbled.

2. A pretty speedy solve but no less enjoyable for it. With the perimeter clues entered first, the rest was quick to fall, ending with and – failing on – the unknown 18a for which my RUD-PIT-ORE seemed unlikely!
   Favourites included 1d, 2, 5 and 26. Liked 16, too, which seemed reminiscent of Mudd.
   Thanks to Falcon and Teacow, especially for 1d. I suspected ‘stand’ and ‘watch’ were nouns of that sort but didn’t know which creatures.

3. I didn’t know the collective animal nouns either but was happy with a ‘stand’ of trees for timber and the ‘watch’ being a collective noun for e.g. Shakespearean officers on night-duty. Still a fabulous clue.
   Altogether a great if quickly-solved puzzle.
   Thanks to both.

4. The collective nouns were actually a theme for a Guardian crossword one day last week.

5. Roz @4,
   I should take a look at that grid. Sounds good.

6. Diane @5 it was Brummie last Wednesday , worth having a look.

7. I like parts of speech as solutions for usually def. by example wordplay and 1d was my favourite too, though I thought of the same examples as Grant @3. There were a few clues related to various forms of entertainment- RUDDIGORE, BRIGADOON, TAP DANCER and one or two others (? even (Stevie) NICKS) – but not really enough to make a theme. I took a long time to get MRS MOPP at the end.

   Is a CYNIC the same as a ‘sceptic’? I’m not sure about that.

   Thanks to Falcon and Teacow

8. I was with G+B @3 and WP @7 in my attempt to parse 1 down. Failed on 2d even with all the crossers! Thanks Falcon and Teacow.

9. Roz @6, thanks!

10. ‘When the dark, drear, dead of night comes creeping
    And the people peaceably are sleeping
    Then the peace is safely in the keeping
    Of The Watch…’
    As You Like It
    Young Shakespeare Company
    Holland Park & New Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford, Connecticut
    1987
    Music & lyrics by Grant Baynham.

11. Like others I thought 1d was a great clue; it seems we had ADVERB(S) a couple of times recently, why not NOUNS? I’m waiting for other parts of speech to make appearances. I also thought 26a was good; I loved its surface. I could not come up with MRS MOPP or RUDDIGORE — I hadn’t heard of either of them before now. Thanks to both.
    [Diane: I agree with Roz — check out Brummie’s crossword — it’s fun and the blog has a great back-and-forth on collective nouns.]

12. Very enjoyable romp so thanks to Falcon.
    Embarrassingly failed 11A (doh) so thanks to Teacow for the blog.
    Ruddigore took me back to singing (after a fashion…) HMS Pinafore in the school choir (what never?)

13. Thanks both and sorry about being late.
    Just for information – a stand is a company of plovers and a watch is a flock of nightingales.
    I did enjoy this yesterday.

14. Thanks Falcon and Teacow
    It had been a few months since we’d had a puzzle from this setter and to be honest, found this one more challenging than the normal crossword by him. Took longer than others to get the long perimeter clues which probably didn’t help.
    Still it was very enjoyable with a bit of general knowledge required, some slick definitions with both the answers and the word play bits and lovely surfaces throughout.
    Didn’t know the NI town and the G&S musical, the ‘char’ term and the phrase across the bottom only sat on the periphery of the knowledge bank.
    Finished with UPGRADE, that MRS MOPP and SEE NAPLES AND DIE.

15. Re collective nouns, I am surprised that our esteemed setter didn’t work bazaar, cadge or cast into the grid.

    Thanks, singular Falcon, for the fun and Teacow for the excellent blog.

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