Financial Times 17,224 by CHALMIE

15 comments on “Financial Times 17,224 by CHALMIE”

1. Oh gawd, it’s cocktails. There’s a list in Wikipedia that goes on and on and on, so was no help at all. Fortunately most in this puzzle were fairly well known, although there were a few I’d not heard of. I was convinced the second word in 30a was PENNY. I’ve not heard of HANKY PANKY (and would never have parsed it with Hank or Pan), nor BULLSHOT. There were plenty of irritations that lessened my enjoyment. Never heard of GAP shop. And another obscure British river than no one south of Dover would have heard of: USK. Nor am I familiar with the intricate goings on at Cambridge University. Disappointed with “up” as an anagrind in 16d. Never heard of Messalina, and the parsing of INTENTION was beyond me.

   I enjoyed bits of this, but too much was tedious. Philistine’s in the Guardian cheered me up.

2. A few cocktails that I’d never heard of but most of them gettable, although I had to look up “bullshot”. “Hanky Panky” was easy for fans of The Shadows and a mathematics background; the god was incidental.

   7D “Ulmus” was unknown to me but the “fulmu” alternative was soon rejected by the cross letters.

   Geoff, GAP stores are a pretty well-known American chain of clothing stores here in Australia, although I believe that they are only in the city and Chadstone.

   I agree that 18D was a convoluted clue but the cross letters and the regular use of “NT” and “OT” for books gave it away.

   I still don’t understand how “eggy” means “wearing whites”.

   In 25D doesn’t “American” serve a double purpose? First to indicate “US” as loonapick indicated ; second to indicate that “gas up” is an American term.

3. Another who knows little about cocktails. Needed to ‘phone a friend’ to get MOSCOW MULE and finish off. Had to guess Messalina was a Roman empress. I do know more about superheroes, so I have a minor niggle with the enumeration for 11 which should be 6-3.

4. Peter @ 2

   Eggy – I assumed it was something to do with the white of an egg, but got no further.

   Re 25ac – I agree which is why I didn’t underline “for American”, although GAS UP is definitely not a British term.

5. Also, I should have highlighted SHOT in the grid but missed it somehow.

6. Peter@2-IK remember a sign coming into Melbourne saying Chadstone City -I always thought “Here I Come”

7. Thanks Loonapick for the blog and the comments. Maybe someone else can expand on “eggy”. Do you remember the old joke on how to spell “hungry horse” in four letters? MTGG.

   Methinks I need another cocktail after this effort! Too bad that I cannot remember the last time that I actually had a cocktail.

8. Thanks Chalmie and loonapick

   I think it’s still OK to refer to Gap as a clothes shop – it just happens to be an online one.

9. What! No screwdriver or Manhattan – they’re about the only cocktails I know, or rather, after doing this puzzle, knew. Still, an educational experience and it was good looking up these new (to me) concoctions after finishing off. Fortunately the unknown cocktails could be worked out from wordplay and crossers, though MOSCOW MULE, my second last in was pretty tough. That MUDSLIDE looks pretty good.

   Of the rest, the parsing of INTENTION was very convoluted and I had to semi-guess MESSINA, never having heard of the ‘Roman empress’.

   Thanks to Chalmie and loonapick

10. Well kept me occupied over an Old Rosie but c’mon who cares about weirdly flavoured alcohol in infinite variety. Not me so nil googlerandum . . . Evenso well compiled look

11. Thanks all.

    For those disappointed with EGGY, you’ll have to blame the comedy show I had recently watched in which someone got pelted with eggs and had the whites running all down his clothes.

    I had no idea that Status Quo was a drink, believing them only to be a bunch of rather jolly headbangers, or that Spiderman was anything but a superhero, and I honestly didn’t realise that by defining MESSINA as “port”, I’d inadvertently involved it in the theme.

12. I thought this was quite fun except for the very poor 26 down and, having read all the above comments and not seen it mentioned, does nobody else think that 14 down does not work at all as a homophone?

13. Thanks Chalmie for the amusement. Regarding GAS UP I don’t get the discussion of GAP as a shop when the clue uses the word “space.” Gap and space can be synonyms without referring to an American store. I had more problem with “up” being both in the wordplay and answer. Favourites included MOLOTOV, LIMIT, and LONG SLEEVE. Thanks loonapick for the blog.

14. TS @ 13 The Gap discussion relates to 27/28, not 25.

15. Simon S @14: My mistake — I get it now. I should read the blogs more carefully instead of rushing off to the next puzzle but Bluth set a beauty today.

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