Financial Times 17,236 by ZAMORCA

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A typical Zamorca puzzle.

This has all the hallmarks of a Zamorca crossword – it's a pangram, and some of the clues are a little contorted. That said, 30 down apart, the clues are fair. On both instances of the word "queen", I don't think a capital was required, but that's nit-picking. As for the aforementioned 30dn, "half-heartedly" means removing one of two middle letters (eg LATTER becoming LATER, or HOOT becoming HOT), so it doesn't work for TARRY becoming TARY.

Thanks, Zamorca.

ACROSS
1 TONGUE
Language starts to go up in pitch (6)

[starts to] G(o) U(p) in TONE ("pitch)
4 OVERCOME
Rash move capturing Queen about to end in defeat (8)

*(move) [anag:rash) capturing ER (Elizabeth Regina, so "queen") + C (circa, so "about") + (t)O [end]
9 IGNITE
Get in drunk after it’s beginning to get light (6)

*(get in) [anag:drunk] after I(t) ['s beginning]
10 GLAD RAGS
Happy kids in best clothes (4,4)

GLAD ("happy") + RAGS ("kids")
12 GREEDIER
Government study reported current energy rate initially making more hungry (8)

G (Government) + homophone [reported] of READ ("study") + I (in physics, the symbol for electric "current") + E(nergy) R(ate) [initially]
13 ALLURE
Everyone recalled Cockney girl with universal charm (6)

ALL ("everyone") [recalled] <=('ER ("Cockney girl" with U (universal))

The "Cockney" in the clue suggests dropping the H in HER as that's how Cockneys pronounce HER.
15 TEST
Analyse sample (4)

Double definition
16 LIBRARY
Book collection’s crude ribaldry out of date? (7)

*(ribalry) [anag:crude] where RIBALRY is D (date) [out of] RIBAL(d)RY
20 COLLECT
Gather it’s acceptable changing sides (7)

CO(rr)ECT ("acceptable") [changing sides] (i.e R (right) changing to L (left))would become CO(LLECT)
21 FAKE
First of early Kandinsky artworks finally rejected as forgery (4)

[first of] <=(E(arly) K(andinsky) A(rtworks) F(inally), rejected)
25 LLAMAS
A small building for animals (6)

*(a small) [anag:building]
26 ON THE DOT
Punctually, man would nip round after working (2,3,3)

TOT ("nip") round HE'D ("man would") after ON ("working")
28 SIZEABLE
Big audible breaths before heading in drink (8)

Homophone [audible] of SIGHS ("breaths") + B(efore) [heading] in ALE ("drink")
29 BOOHOO
Cry over old boy retiring with nothing in house (6)

<=(O (over) + OB (old boy)), retiring) with O (nothing) in Ho. (house)
30 TAPESTRY
Linger half-heartedly, concealing irritation with needlework (8)

TA(r)RY ("linger" with its heart (middle letter) removed) concealing PEST ("irritation")

Half-heartedly doesn't work in this clue, as it indicates removing one of two middle letters. In this clue we're being asked to remove one of three middle letters.
31 TEMPTS
Attracts casual workers – mentioned tea breaks! (6)

[mentioned] TEA (so T) breaks TEMPS ("casual workers")
DOWN
1 TAILGATE
Drive too close and finally hit trouble with barrier (8)

[finally] (hi)T + AIL ("trouble") with GATE ("barrier")
2 NONSENSE
Negative points seen mistakenly as rubbish (8)

NO ("negative") + N + S (north and south, so "points" of the compass) + *(seen) [anag:mistakenly]
3 UNTIDY
NI duty process is shambolic (6)

*(ni duty) [anag:process]
5 VILE
Base has some deliveries held up (4)

Hidden backwards in [has some…held up) "dELIVeries"
6 RED ALERT
Revolutionary’s prepared for state of emergency (3,5)

RED ("revolutionary") + ALERT ("prepared")
7 OPAQUE
Obscure old tablet’s not Latin (6)

O (old) + P(l)AQUE ("tablet", but not L (latin))
8 EASTER
Consumer’s over-stocking, primarily for holiday weekend (6)

EATER ("consumer") over S(tocking) [primarily]
11 VEHICLE
Transport check’s detailed on Chile trip (7)

VE(t) ['s detailed] (i.e. has it's tail removed) on *(Chile) [anag:trip]
14 BRACING
Fresh crab cooked at home’s grand (7)

*(crab) [anag:cooked] + IN ("at home") + G (grand)
17 NOWADAYS
With no wife, always found in sad confusion at the moment (8)

NO + W (wife) + AY ("always") found in *(sad) [anag:confusion]
18 HARDSHIP
Has way to stop joint pain (8)

Rd. (road, so "way") to stop HAS + HIP
19 DEXTROUS
Nimble in spandex trousers (8)

Hidden [in] "spanDEX TROUSers"
22 CLOSET
Look ready to support Conservative cabinet (6)

LO ("look") + SET ("ready") to support C (Conservative)
23 JAZZ UP
Make more inspiring music with impromptu finale on piano (4,2)

JAZZ ("music") with (imprompt)U [finale] on P (piano, in music notation)
24 THRONE
Support for Queen’s behind unruly North taking on English (6)

*(north) [anag:unruly] taking on E (English)
27 BLUR
Endless hype for Britpop band (4)

[endless] BLUR(b) ("hype")

8 comments on “Financial Times 17,236 by ZAMORCA”

  1. I enjoyed that – thanks Zamorca and Loonapick.
    I did wonder if I was the only person trying to shoehorn EVERMORE into 4a, as ER in MOVE* + RE? I recalled The Battle Of Evermore from Led Zep IV and guessed it was a defeat for someone!? Ah, ok, it was only me 😉

  2. Enjoyable with a few curly ones. I couldn’t parse BOOHOO or HARDSHIP. For 5d I had EVIL at first, possibly a deliberate dilemma from the clue? Never heard of the Britpop band. “Shambolic” is a bit stronger than “untidy”, surely, but I guess everything’s fair in love and crosswords.

    Thanks Zamorca & loonapick.

  3. Never heard of Blur!
    Its become a crossword chestnut has that clue.
    His girlfriend had a band but the press called Blur indoors.

  4. I made quite good progress with this, apart from the NE corner, but that’s because I had also written in EVIL for 5d, and only realised the mistake right at the end.

  6. Good analysis in the blog. It took me a while to figure out what was going on with COLLECT and especially VEHICLE, which I kept trying to make out as HELICAB (which also sort of works, using “bar” instead of “vet”), but I finally got it straight. Thanks to Zamorca for a pangram that includes only ordinary words–I would assume not an easy task.

  7. Another one here with EVIL instead of VILE! It meant I stumbled to the finish in the NE quadrant. I am impressed that Zamorca can do a pangram every puzzle yet I do not recall many in which the answers felt too obscure or the clues too forced. Thanks to both.

  8. Thanks Zamorca. I enjoyed this despite “guessing, then parsing” on a few occasions. Top picks were GLAD RAGS, COLLECT, SIZEABLE, and THRONE. Thanks loonapick for the blog.
    GDU: Hadn’t heard of Blur? BOOHOO, or should I say Woo Hoo!

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