Financial Times 17,057 by NEO

11 comments on “Financial Times 17,057 by NEO”

1. 

   Diane

   #1 - Thu 31st Mar 22, 06:42

   
   

   A light-hearted romp from Neo to buoy the spirits. Loved the footy clues, specially the reference to the dapper waistcoated one.
   I’ve always spelt FOGY with an ‘e’ though.
   Fast but fun.
   Thanks Neo and Loonapick.

2. 

   Diane

   #2 - Thu 31st Mar 22, 06:52

   
   

   Neo, is the VILE of 1a deliberate, intersecting as it does with 3d? My Birmingham City-supporting cousin refers to them this way!

3. 

   WordPlodder

   #3 - Thu 31st Mar 22, 07:51

   
   

   Entertaining puzzle for which I needed 8d and 20d for both 5d and my last in BALL. I liked the ASTON-ISH for ‘surprise greatly’ and it was good to see that the ‘American region’ in 7d referred to somewhere outside North America, especially the good old US of A. I didn’t know the E-less spelling of FOGY (but see that it’s given as the first spelling alternative in Chambers) and was pleased to learn a new word, or at least a new sense of a known word, in LAPIDARY.

   Thanks to Neo and loonapick

4. 

   crypticsue

   #4 - Thu 31st Mar 22, 08:33

   
   

   A nicely themed crossword from Neo – thanks to him and loonapick.

   I too would spell fogy with an E

5. 

   Geoff Down Under

   #5 - Thu 31st Mar 22, 08:38

   
   

   Completed and enjoyed, but I had to bring here a rather long “Huh?” list of eight. Most of my struggles were due to deficiencies in my knowledge of things British. I was unaware of a link between a sweetheart and ducks, and I’d not heard of a speakeasy. So my lexicon has been expanded. Neo was in my “don’t attempt” list but after today’s I’m pleased to announce a transfer to my “enjoyable” list!

6. 

   SM

   #6 - Thu 31st Mar 22, 09:00

   
   

   My heart did sink a little when I saw Neo was the setter as I found him difficult . My experience was identical to Geoff@5’s and I romped through the puzzle with great pleasure. The last football match I watched was England’s 1966 victory so I retained some memories of the game. Thank you Neo for a fun puzzle and loonapick whose blog was needed for the parsing of a couple of clues.

7. 

   EdK@USA

   #7 - Thu 31st Mar 22, 13:31

   
   

   I’m afraid my heart sank and never fully recovered, although there was (eventually) much to enjoy. Even my word search software was insufficient for 5d, although I did finally guess it after getting all the cross letters, and I do mean guess. Not being very familiar with English football, I had no idea on 9a. I’d never heard of a “down” to mean a “hill”, or of the meaning NEO used for lapidary (although my dictionaries did include it). I too would normally spell FOGY with an E, but alternative spellings don’t offend me (just baffle me, sometimes). I’ve fortunately spent enough time in London to be familiar with The Strand, and the expression of “ducks” for sweetheart, although it took me a while to recall it.
   So, thanks NEO for the challenge and a couple of new meanings and bits of information — even if I probably will forget them promptly. And many thanks to Loonapick for filling in the various gaps in my grid and my knowledge!
   BTW, since this is a British site, shouldn’t the advisory I get from it periodically alert me to the fact that the site uses “biscuits” instead of “cookies”? 🙂

8. 

   john

   #8 - Thu 31st Mar 22, 13:52

   
   

   I had all the problems mentioned above and never did get LAPIDARY which, to me, relates to gemstones. I parsed 22a as AS (like) TONISH (posh, like a villa). I only got 5d like Ed @ 7. Thanks neo and loonapick.

9. 

   Tony Santucci

   #9 - Thu 31st Mar 22, 14:59

   
   

   Thanks Neo for an enjoyable crossword. While needing outside help to complete 5d and BALL the rest of the clues fell into place methodically. I learned a new definition of “ducks” and I ticked many clues including STRAND, TELEGRAM, DARING, BEER, LAPIDARY, and DISPUTE, my absolute favourite. Thanks loonapick for the blog.

10. 

    Neo

    #10 - Thu 31st Mar 22, 16:39

    
    

    Many thanks Loon et al for the blog and comments.

11. 

    brucew@aus

    #11 - Sat 2nd Apr 22, 08:21

    
    

    Thanks Neo and loonapick
    Certainly on the harder end of the spectrum for this setter, particularly with the English football references – saw how they were going to work but needed to Google current England manager and who was the midfielder in the 1966 winning side. LAPIDARY was also a new term.
    The rest was an interesting mix of clues, including a couple of tricky reverse charades at 7a and 10a. Interesting to see Marge turn up after Homer had appeared recently as well. Enjoyed constructing the word play to find GUANTANAMO.
    Finished in the NW corner with ROAD TAX (one of my favourites), EXPLORES and that LAPIDARY as the last one in.

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