Financial Times 17,179 by PETO

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A meaty Monday puzzle from Peto.

A couple of clues would be impossible to solve without a bit of general knowledge, but overall a fair challenge. I think 24a probably doesn’t quite work, although it’s a valiant attempt at a potentially great clue. (Perhaps you disagree?) Peto took me on a twisting, turning solving journey – exactly what I enjoy in a puzzle.

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1. Shot after warning shout to give up (6)
FOREGO

GO (shot) after FORE (warning shout)

4. Worried? Trust me to bag leading part in Working Girl (8)
STRUMPET

(TRUST ME)* (*worried) to bag P[art] (leading)

10. Get better insurance after a couple of reminders (7)
RECOVER

COVER (insurance) after RE[minders] (a couple of)

11. Moderately slow start to novel by a writer from Italy (7)
ANDANTE

N[ovel] (start to) by A + DANTE (writer from Italy)

12. Very small amount of exactly what is needed discovered in Maine (4)
MITE

IT (exactly what is needed) discovered in ME (Maine)

13. Former Aussie skipper has story about Bradman’s last boundary (10)
BORDERLINE

BORDER (former Aussie skipper) has LIE (story) about [Bradma]N (last)

16. Record on favourites coming from behind is plain (6)
STEPPE

(EP (record) on PETS (favourites))< (<coming from behind)

17. Touch on meeting Tom back in court (7)
CONTACT

ON meeting CAT< (Tom, <back) in CT (court)

20. Complaints essentially stopping needy women’s means of support (4,3)
POOR LAW

[comp]LA[ints] (essentially) stopping POOR (needy) + W (women)

21. Toff taken aback by ultimate in headgear (6)
BONNET

NOB< (toff, <taken aback) by NET (ultimate)

24. Obtains print-out including break down of bacterium deactivators (10)
ANTIBODIES

(OBTAINS)* (*print-out) including DIE (break down)

25. Privileged Ivanka’s not entirely a prima donna (4)
DIVA

[privelege]D IVA[nka] (not entirely)

27. Familiar weapon of the police (3,4)
OLD BILL

OLD (familiar) + BILL (weapon)

29. The final part of story spoken in French by Penny (4,3)
TAIL END

“TALE” (story, “spoken”) + EN (in, French) by D (penny)

30. Organise books on administration (8)
REGIMENT

NT (books) on REGIME (administration)

31. Conflict in Britain – PM finally resigns (6)
BATTLE

B (Britain) + ATTLE[e] (PM, finally resigns)

DOWN
1. Quick to accommodate soldiers with space in part of ship (8)
FOREMAST

FAST (quick) to accommodate OR (soldiers) with EM (space)

2. Racket hobo created around town to cause a disturbance (4,3,4)
ROCK THE BOAT

(RACKET HOBO)* (*created) around T (town)

3. Yield under pressure from Grant (4)
GIVE

Double definition

5. Feature of stage trickery associated with nameless benefactor (4,4)
TRAP DOOR

TRAP (trickery) associated with DO[n]OR (benefactor, nameless)

6. Implied when lower in rank than Rose (10)
UNDERSTOOD

UNDER (lower in rank than) + STOOD (rose)

7. God of sleep sent up (3)
PAN

NAP< (sleep, <sent up)

8. Obliged to store pears evenly in rows (6)
TIERED

TIED (obliged) to store [p]E[a]R[s] (evenly)

9. Bear seen in stream (5)
BROOK

Double definition

14. Surprisingly intent on supporting current Conservative leader lacking in self- restraint (11)
INCONTINENT

(INTENT ON)* (*surprisingly) supporting IN (current) + C[onservative] (leader)

15. Harsh criticism of drug taking in Romania’s capital after short investigation (10)
OPPROBRIUM

OPIUM (drug) taking in R[omania’s] (capital) after PROB[e] (investigation, short)

18. Periodical on literature primarily occupying eccentric dean of an Oxford college (8)
MAGDALEN

MAG (periodical) on L[iterature] (primarily) occupying (DEAN)* (*eccentric)

19. Be noncommittal when school chum of Copperfield ultimately gets to the top (8)
STRADDLE

TRADDLES (school chum of Copperfield, from the Dickens novel); [get]S (ultimately) to the top

22. Look sullen over idle talk dismissing German’s work (6)
LABOUR

LOUR (look sullen) over [g]AB (idle talk, dismissing G (German))

23. Red line crossed by us? On the contrary (5)
LEFTY

FT (us) crossed by LEY (line)

26. A helpful piece of advice about making bread (4)
PITA

A TIP< (a helpful piece of advice, <about)

28. Useless bit of pseudo-galena (3)
DOG

[pseu]DO G[alena] (bit of)

13 comments on “Financial Times 17,179 by PETO”

  2. Tougher than expected for a Monday but a good one to get stuck into … or perhaps just stuck (in the SW corner)!
    Anyway, I enjoyed FOREMAST, TRAP DOOR, UNDERSTOOD and BROOK.
    Thanks to Peto and Teacow for some much-needed clarification.

  3. I’ve conquered Peto’s in the past but this one was hard-going, and from this little black duck elicited more groans than smiles. I only got about half out. There were some tough ones last week in both FT & Guardian requiring lots of local knowledge, and I was hoping for more enjoyable experiences this week. Maybe tomorrow …

  4. Thanks Teacow for the explanation of Poor Law. The expression was unknown to me. As was 27A – Bill as a weapon, although the answer was obvious from the cross letters.

    I agree with KVa about the use of “print-out” as an anagram indicator. I’m not sure that I like it.

  5. A few bits I didn’t know here held me up. Like Peter @4, I’d never heard of or had forgotten BILL as a sort of ‘weapon’, don’t think I’ve come across T for ‘town’ before and for some reason didn’t know OPPROBRIUM had that second R to account for ‘Romania’s capital’. ‘Be noncommittal’ was also an interesting def for STRADDLE and solving this wasn’t helped by having read “David Copperfield” over 50 years ago.

    I’d have to say ANTIBODIES didn’t really ROCK my BOAT. Favourites were my last couple in TRAP DOOR and LEFTY.

    Thanks to Peto and Teacow

  6. Isn’t 14A a medical condition that is not controllable? Whereas “lacking in self-restraint” may describe me after a third bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and faced with an attractive (or even unattractive) women. Don’t know: just saying.

  7. Peter @ 6 From Chambers

    incontinent1 /in-kon?ti-n?nt/
    adjective
    1. Unable to control urination or defecation
    2. Lacking self-restraint, esp in sexual matters
    3. Lacking control over (with of)

  8. Dnf for me as was beaten by Poor Law and Opprobrium (which I didn’t know about the second R)

    Thought “Print out” was a horrible anagram indicator.

    Never heard of Lour = Sullen

    I wondered about Mote and Mite before plumping for correct answer, even though I still don’t clearly understand where the IT comes from.

    All said though, it was completed reasonably quickly until I got stuck in the south-west corner.

    Thanks for help.

  9. Thanks Peto and Teacow

    Moly@8: Think of someone making a selection from a range of similar but not identical items (clothing, machinery, or whatever). When they see the one that is just right for them, they could say “That’s it”, meaning “That is exactly what is needed.”

  11. Like others, the SW corner gave me trouble and I gave up on LABOUR and OLD BILL; I also missed LEFTY and BONNET from the SE. Favourites were STRUMPET, INCONTINENT, and the simple PITA. Thanks to both.

  13. Not easy. I finished this only by working backwards from the definitions. There were too many obscurities involved for me to have worked out some of the answers from a cold read of the wordplay, and even then, I was not always entirely sure. Thanks for the clarifications.

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