Financial Times 17,027 by NEO

by

Today's FT is by Neo.

I'll start with an apology (and an explanation).

I'm sorry that this blog has appeared a little later than my usual posts. I could say that that was because I am off work today, so had a lie-in, but that would be a lie. What actually happened is I solved, wrote and posted a blog about today's puzzle before 8am – problem was that the puzzle I solved was the Guardian one! So, after someone on the legitimate blog for the Guardian puzzle noted that there was a second blog on the site, I realised my error, and so now I have done the FT blog.

I'm glad it was a Neo, as I knew that it would be non-controversial and straightforward to blog. It was a typical Neo puzzle – fun to solve, clever surfaces and nothing overly obscure, although a little GK may be required).

Thanks Neo.

ACROSS
1 RAPTURE
Ecstasy to take back when leaving clubs (7)
5 ESCAPEE
Fugitive taking cover in eastern diocese (7)

CAP ("cover") in E (Eastern) + SEE ("diocese")
9 PILOT
Scheme to involve one banking expert? (5)

PLOT ("scheme") to involve I (one)
10 OVERSLEEP
Stay out longer than you meant to? (9)

Cryptic definition
11 TRADE WIND
Blow having made deal without gain (5,4)

TRADED ("having made deal") without WIN ("gain")
12 ARENA
Stadium region to accommodate any number (5)

AREA ("region") to accommodate N ("any number" in mathematics)
13 DRIFT
Go with current meaning (5)

Double definition
15 NUMBER TEN
Stand-off in centre of political power (6,3)

Double definition, the first referring to an alternative name for the rugby union fly-half, who wears the number 10, and the second referring to 10 Downing Street.
18 ARMADILLO
Variant mallard duck keeping one species protected (9)

*(mallard) [anag:variant] + O (duck, in cricket) keeping I (one)
19 SCUBA
Go diving in southern republic (5)

S (southern) + CUBA ("republic")
21 ADIEU
Expire in a uniform: farewell (5)

DIE ("expire") in A + U (uniform, in the phonetic alphabet)
23 MASS MEDIA
Ship in a sea in sight coming about in channels? (4,5)

SS (steam"ship") in A + MED ("sea") in <=AIM ("sight" coming about)

25 SPAGHETTI
20 past eight for food? (9)

*(past eight) [anag:anagram (the solution to 20dn)]
26 JUROR
Our moves keeping Juliet from Romeo as panellist (5)

*(our) [anag:moves] keeping J (Juliet, in the phonetic alphabet) from R (Romeo, in the phonetic alphabet)
27 DRESSER
Evidently no nudist’s item of furniture (7)

Someone who dresses (a dresser) is not a nudist.
28 EARLDOM
Attention brought to monk on line in Essex? (7)

EAR ("attention") brought to DOM ("monk") on L (line)
DOWN
1 REPUTED
Said to be placed in tall grass (7)

PUT ("placed") in REED ("tall glass")
2 PALLADIUM
Heavy metal venue (9)

Double definition, the second referring to a London entertainment venue.
3 UNTIE
Female relative, seen topless, let loose (5)

(a)UNTIE ("female relative", topless)
4 EMOTIONAL
Loving learned book about Scottish island on loch (9)

<=TOME ("learned book" about) + IONA ("Scottish island") on L (loch)
5 EMEND
Polish people news boss brings in (5)

ED (editor, "news boss") brings in MEN ("people")
6 CASTANETS
Walton’s advice perhaps succeeded for some percussion (9)

CAST A NET ((Isaak) "Walton's advice perhaps") + S (succeeded)

Izaak Walton wrote the classic The Compleat Angler.
7 PEEVE
Annoy first wife after class in gym (5)

EVE ("first wife") after PE (physical education, "class in gym")
8 EXPLAIN
Say why more attractive lover was sought? (7)

If one's EX was PLAIN, a shallow person may seek a "more attractive lover"
14 TED HUGHES
She dug the ground for Mytholmroyd poet (3,6)

*(she dug the) [anag:ground]
16 MOONSHINE
Who’s drummer to show virtuosity and spirit (9)

(Keith) MOON (The "Who's drummer") + SHINE ("to show virtuosity")
17 THUNDERED
Loudly threatened with undereducated displays (9)

Hidden in [displays] "wiTH UNDEREDucated"
18 AMASSED
Built up a trick shot on snooker table area (7)

A + MASSE ("a trick shot" in cue games) on D ("snooker table area", the D-shaped marking on a snooker table from which one must make the break at the start of a frame)
20 ANAGRAM
What makes soccer player score, leap and cry? (7)

*(soccer player) = *(score leap cry) i.e. they are ANAGRAMs
22 IMAGE
Neo is given long time to create impression (5)

I'M ("Neo is") given AGE ("long time")
23 MOTOR
Travel quickly to river after second (5)

TO + R (river) after MO ("second")
24 MAJOR
Important aborigine not one to accommodate Jack (5)

MAOR(i) ("aborigine", not I (one)) to accommodate J (Jack)

8 comments on “Financial Times 17,027 by NEO”

  2. Thanks loonapick. I’m not surprised you can’t parse 1 ac, as something weird and wonderful seems to have happened to it en route between Tees Towers and F-awlty T-owers. At the moment the clue leads to REAPTURE, whereas, when submitted, it led to RAPTURE, when instead of ‘leaving clubs’ we were leaving City’.

    Let me just check to see where Brighton are in the table 😀

  3. Thanks for clearing up 1a, Neo. I wondered where the deletion of that E came from. Others like NUMBER TEN, MASS MEDIA and AMASSED – both the ‘trick shot’ and ‘snooker table area’ bits – also went in unparsed but clearly weren’t boo-boos.

    I liked EXPLAIN, ANAGRAM and our ‘species protected’ friend at 18a. All in all, quite a tricky, but enjoyable, puzzle for me.

    Thanks to Neo and loonapick

  4. As is often the case these days I finished this with my breakfast coffee. The brain is wearing out.
    Great crossword (thanks Neo) and I also had trouble with 1a – now I know why. The rest was enjoyable but I got myself in a tangle by thinking the cover in 2a was the “cape” – that parsing held me up for a while.
    Thanks for the blog Loonapick.

  5. Three solutions went in unparsed: 1a RAPTURE, 15a NUMBER TEN, and 18d AMASSED. Neo has cleared up the first; I had wondered whether it was a mistake, even speculating that City would have made more sense than clubs. I needed the blog for the other two, for which I lacked the GK. Thanks Loonapick and Neo.

  6. Isnt the club in 1a EC as in the european community? Although i too struggled with this one i assumed EC to denote the european club in the end as nothing else seemed to make sense.

  8. Thanks Neo and loonapick
    Did this one on the day but it had sunk down the pile of puzzles during a busy period – just found it, checked it and came here. The rugby part of NUMBER TEN completely passed me by – have never got interested in that game at all and only see those that do lament about the All Blacks continually belting us in the Bledisloe Cup. Think that I had seen the billiards table D appear in another puzzle near the time, so that was remembered for here.Appreciate Neo popping in to explain what went wrong with the E extraction of 1a.
    Finished in the SW corner with ADIEU (not sure why I found that so hard), ARMADILLO (tricky definition) and TED HUGHES (needed all of the crossers and then to look up why Mytholmroyd).

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