Financial Times 17,260 by BASILISK

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A clever puzzle from Basilisk today.

This was a bit of a slog, and it was only once I had solved it completely that I was able to see what was going on with 15dn. The top and bottom rows of the puzzle are a nina, spelling out ALLERGIC REACTION. Some of the clues feel a little contrived, but all work.

Thanks, Basilisk

ACROSS
9 PROPAGATE
Broadcast scandal involving most important supporter? (9)

GATE ("scandal" as in Watergate or Partygate) involving PROP A ("most important supporter") becomes PROP-A-GATE
10 LIMBO
Member first to occupy unsettled place? (5)

LIMB ("member") + [first to] O(ccupy)
11 OVERDUE
Ready to receive what one deserves that’s not yet paid (7)

OVER ("ready to receive", on a walkie talkie, say) + DUE ("what one deserves")
12 REDRESS
Communists welcoming Socialists shunning Democratic Right (7)

REDS ("communists") welcoming RE(d)S ("socialists", shunning D (Democratic))
13 BAA
Sailor returning adult’s sheepish call (3)

<=AB (able-bodied seaman, so "sailor", returning) + A (adult)
14 WEAR AND TEAR
Use result of sport commercial screening national race (4,3,4)

WEAR ("sport") + AD ("commercial") screening N (national) + TEAR ("race")
17 PIECE
Moving rook out of skewer exposes bishop? (5)

[moving] R (rook) [out of] PIE(r)CE ("skewer")
18 LEI
Blue tit regularly arranged flowers and leaves (3)

(B)L(u)E (t)I(t) [regularly]
19 CACHE
Constant craving to hide (5)

C (constant) + ACHE ("longing")
21 REASSURANCE
Type of hedging, when entering and leaving home, that calms fears (11)

AS ("when") entering RE(in)SURANCE ("type of hedging", with IN ("home") leaving)
23 NEW
Recently recruited reporter’s experienced (3)

Homophone [reporter's] of KNEW ("experiences")
25 MIDLIFE
This type of crisis suggests uncertainty (7)

The MID of LIFE is IF, which "suggests uncertainty")
27 RUNNIER
International smuggler gets hold of more fluid (7)

RUNNER ("smuggler") gets hold of I (international)
28 UNCLE
Articles in French journal about speed of light being relative (5)

UN + LE ("articles in French") about C (speed of light)

The "journal" in the clue is redundant, but does add something to the surface.
29 IMPOSTURE
What misrepresents the author’s position? (9)

I'M ("the author's") + POSTURE ("position")
DOWN
1 APLOMB
Lap dancing upset mob’s composure (6)

*(lap) [anag:dancing] + *(mob) [anag:upset]
2 LOSE FACE
We hear toilet’s features have reduced standing (4,4)

Homophone [we hear] of LOO'S ("toilet's) + FACE ("features")
3 LANDOWNERS
People controlling estates almost score drugs (10)

[almost] LAN(d) ("score") + DOWNERS ("drugs")
4 EASE
Moderate support for artist finishes prematurely (4)

EASE(l) ("support for artists" finishes prematurely)
5 RECREATION
Play about Life, The Universe and Everything (10)

RE ("about") + CREATION ("Life, the Universe and Everything")
6 GLAD
Good boy is very willing (4)

G (good) + LAD ("boy")
7 IMPEDE
Claim pedestrianisation curbs delay (6)

Hidden in [curbs] "claIM PEDEstrian"
8 CONSTRUE
Interpret arguments against in an accurate fashion (8)

CONS ("arguments against") + TRUE ("in an accurate fashion")
15 ALLERGENIC
Doctor recalling closure of theatre giving rise to rows here (10)

*(recalling e) [anag:doctor] where E is [closure of] (theatr)E

The "rows" referred to are the first and last in the grid (ALLERGIC REACTION)
16 DECREE NISI
What should lead to item splitting troubled residence? (6,4)

*(residence i) [anag:troubled] where I is [lead to] I(tem) and &lit.
17 PARAMOUR
Soldier married our beloved (8)

PARA ("soldeer") + M (married) + OUR
20 CONTINUO
America’s omitted from uninterrupted musical accompaniment (8)

US ("America") omitted from CONTINUO(us) ("uninterrupted")
22 ADDUCE
Cite in evidence university dons to sum up void case (6)

U (university) dons ADD ("sum") + [void] C(as)E
24 WARDEN
Person who supervises retreat in the aftermath of battle (6)

DEN ("retreat") in the aftermath of WAR ("battle")
26 IDEA
Impractical person wants to systematically write down thought (4)

IDEA(list) ("impractical person") wants (i.e. lacks) LIST ("to systematically write down")
27 RAPT
Transported in carriage with top down (4)

TRAP ("carriage") with top (i.e. first letter) down would become RAP-T

12 comments on “Financial Times 17,260 by BASILISK”

  1. Basilisk making us work hard this morning but as usual with him, it was an enjoyable stretching of the cryptic grey matter.
    I did get on a lot better when I spotted the top row of the Nina

    Thanks very much to Basilisk and Loonapick

  2. I didn’t find this easy either. With the introductory comment in mind, I eventually saw the ALLERGIC REACTION Nina and then solved 15d which I hadn’t been able to work out until then. I couldn’t parse IDEA which went in from the def and Nina.

    My picks today were the PROP A for ‘most important supporter’ and the device in MIDLIFE ‘crisis’, with the surface almost making the clue a cryptic def as well.

    Thanks to Basilisk and loonapick

  3. Thanks Loonapick. Just a typo, I know, but at 23A you have “KNEW (“experiences”)” which should be “KNEW (“experienced”). The S and D key are next to each other so make this understandable…

  4. I’m normally okay with this compiler, but found this hard going. With less than half solved I found another distraction with the intention to come back later, but I never did.

  5. Thanks Basilisk and Loonapick
    Small point about 16dn: To account for the word “splitting” in the clue, I think the “lead to item” should be kept separate from the anagram, so the structure is “I in DECREENSI”.

  7. Keep it up Basilisk, we need something that stretches our gery matter. The nine helped me to complete this.

  9. Thanks Basilisk. I enjoyed this quite a bit. I saw the nina forming and that helped with several solutions. I had little problem getting the correct answers but I couldn’t parse REASSURANCE, I missed the anagram in DECREE NISI (I thought it was a cryptic definition), and I never connected “the rows” in 15d to the nina. I had many favourites including LIMBO, MIDLIFE, UNCLE, IMPOSTURE, CONSTRUE, and IDEA when I finally figured out the parsing to the latter. Thanks loonapick for the blog.

  11. Not quite as much of a struggle as it might have been. We had A,E,G and I in the top unches and made a wild guess that there was a nina ALLERGIC REACTION, which then helped enormously with the downs and from them the acrosses. Favourites were WEAR AND TEAR, MIDLIFE and CONTINUO.
    Thanks, Basilisk and loonapick.

  12. Took me a long while and I failed to see the nina, but it was good challenging fun. Thanks to setter and blogger.

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