Financial Times 17,308 by GUY

Many thanks to Guy for this morning’s challenge.

Smooth sailing for the most part. A good variety of clues with some clever misdirections. ~~Just not sure about the ‘outside’ bit in 23a…~~

Reading the first and last columns we get “MUCH MORE THAN THIS” – a song by the great Chris de Burgh, though I can’t be sure that is what the setter is referring to. A great puzzle from a reliably witty setter.

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS

1. Car generally admired by Chinese Tesla dealer (8)

MERCHANT

MERC (car generally admired) by HAN (Chinese) + T (Tesla)

6. Manual worker playing I-spy between times (6)

TYPIST

(I-SPY)* (*playing) between T+T (times)

9. Happy to see the latest news (6)

UPDATE

UP (happy) + DATE (to see)

10. Ridicule bands making comeback (4-4)

POOH-POOH

(HOOP + HOOP)< (bands, <making a comeback)

11. Padding that’s firm and dry worn by women, backing up toilet (6,4)

COTTON WOOL

CO (firm) and TT (dry, teetotal) + ON (worn by) + W (women) + LOO< (toilet, <backing up)

12. Bovary perhaps a Madame you should recall (4)

EMMA

(A + MME (Madame))< (<you should recall)

13. Subatomic particle that’s surprising PhD by never spinning (6)

HADRON

HA (that’s surprising) + DR (PhD) by NO< (never, <spinning)

15. Seventh element that’s in caffeine? (8)

NITROGEN

[caffei]N[e] – EDIT: Thanks to Peter@2: N is also the 7th letter in caffeine, making this clue &lit

Google says caffeine is just under 30% nitrogen

18. Who the devil is this poem about? (8)

MEPHISTO

(THIS POEM)* (*about)

20. Papers repeated the very thing that was successful (1,3,2)

I DID IT

ID + ID (papers, repeated) + IT (the very thing)

21. Yes, gran peeled vegetables (4)

OKRA

OK (yes) + [g]RA[n] (peeled)

23. Penny has ordered her tomcat outside for being destructive indoors (6-4)

CARPET-MOTH

(P (penny) + HER TOMCAT)* (*ordered)

25. Port artist consumed full of flavour enhancer (8)

RAMSGATE

RA (artist) + ATE (consumed) full of MSG (flavour enhancer)

26. Festival in Shangri-la, widespread to the west (6)

DIWALI

[Shangr]I-LA WID[espread] (in, <to the west)

27. Each golfer initially allowed a birdie (6)

EAGLET

EA (each) + G[olfer] (initially) + LET (allowed)

28. They shower requests on Santa’s head (8)

SPRAYERS

PRAYERS (requests) on S[anta’s] (head)

DOWN

2. Snoopy manoeuvres close to Charlie as pigeon flutters (9)

ESPIONAGE

[Charli]E (close to) + (AS PIGEON)* (*flutters)

3. Bend over daily for proficiency (5)

CRAFT

ARC< (bend, <over) + FT (daily)

4. Mountain range risen in Nepal keeps rising (9)

APENNINES

[ri]SEN IN NEPA[l] (keeps, <rising)

5. Grass turned blue under boss’s control (3-4)

TOP-DOWN

POT< (grass, <turned) + DOWN (blue)

6. Try to wind up loo paper when half-cut (5)

TROLL

[toile]T ROLL (loo paper, when half-cut)

7. Tucking into beer, maybe masks pizza’s flavour (9)

PEPPERONI

Tucking into PERONI (beer), PPE (maybe masks)

8. Attack upset Miss Otis’s father, presumably absent one (5)

STORM

MR OT[i]S< (Miss Otis’s father presumably, absent I (one), <upset)

14. Drill tries going through concrete (9)

REHEARSAL

HEARS (tries) going through REAL (concrete)

16. Kind hosts bother making weak batter (9)

TAILENDER

TENDER (kind) hosts AIL (bother)

A cricketing term

17. Letter writer’s arm always cramps (9)

EPISTOLER

PISTOL (arm), EER (always) cramps

19. Doctor lasers opening for otoplasty, having no blades (7)

OARLESS

(LASERS + O[toplasty] (opening for))* (*doctor)

22. Moral lead regularly given by King, a tree-hugger (5)

KOALA

[m]O[r]A[l] L[e]A[d] (regularly) given by K (king)

23. Take it easy when in bed (5)

COAST

AS (when) in COT (bed)

24. How 20 is a number (2,3)

MY WAY

How I DID IT (from 20a) = “I Did It MY WAY” – a song/number by Sinatra