Financial Times 17,317 by Leonidas

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Weekend puzzle from the FT of January 28, 2023

Variety continues with a fine puzzle from Leonidas whom we have not seen in a while. My first-ins were 5 (SENEGAL) and 29 (YO-YO) and the rest came fairly easily even with a new word to me at 16 (OCEANAUT) and a new usage with 13 (RHEAS). My favourite clue is the splendid &Lit. at 3 (CHAIR) with 8 (IONOSPHERE) a good second.

ACROSS
1 SEDUCTRESS
Wild reeds cut flanks of Siberia’s man-eater (10)
Anagram (wild) of REEDS CUT + S[iberia]S
6 ZITI
Spot last bit of porcini pasta (4)
ZIT (spot) + [porcin]I
10 GOUDA
Leave central studio with a possible pizza topping (5)
GO (leave) + [st]UD[io] + A (a)
11 MANSPLAIN
Patiently describe for her an isle’s open landscape (9)
MAN (an isle) + S (‘s) + PLAIN (open landscape)
12 STARVING
Malnourished bird losing length gains volume (8)
STARLING (bird) with ‘L’ (length) removed (losing) and ‘V’ (volume) inserted (gains)
13 RHEAS
Deity’s creatures that cannot leave Earth (5)
RHEA (deity) + S (‘s) where Rhea refers to the fertility goddess of ancient Greek mythology
15 ACETONE
Expert touring exclusive school compound (7)
ETON (exclusive school) in (touring) ACE (expert)
17 LARGISH
Butcher has girl packing a few pounds (7)
Anagram (butcher) of HAS GIRL
19 BASSETS
Fish by banks of Eamont with small dogs (7)
BASS (fish) + E[amon]T + S (small).  The Eamont is a river in Cumbria, England.
21 LOBSTER
Seafood and chuck steak 40% reduced, right? (7)
LOB (chuck) + STE[ak] + R (right)
22 PAGAN
Old man with horse returned heathen (5)
PA (old man) + NAG (horse) backwards (returned)
24 LOVE-SONG
Slushy material ruined ovens installed in some wood (4-4)
Anagram (ruined) of OVENS in (installed in) LOG (some wood)
27 MIDSUMMER
Solstice represented cryptically by two males (9)
“midsummer” could clue MM (two males)
28 DRILL
Training exercise close to overcrowded Channel (5)
[overcrowded] + RILL (channel)
29 YO-YO
Chromosomes with rings alternately fluctuate (2-2)
Y O Y O (chromosomes with rings alternately)
30 INSTRUMENT
Device shaped tin across fractured sternum (10)
Anagram (fractured) of STERNUM in (across) anagram (shaped) of TIN
DOWN
1 SIGN
Notice function for The Listener (4)
Homophone (for the listener) of “sine” (function)
2 DAUNTLESS
Bold relative supports daughter with not so much (9)
D (daughter) + AUNT (relative) + LESS (not so much)
3 CHAIR
Short table accommodates one? (5)
I (one) in (accommodates) CHAR[t] (short table) &Lit.
4 ROMAINE
Eggs infused with sea lettuce (7)
MAIN (sea) in (infused with) ROE (eggs)
5 SENEGAL
Nation ascendant in drosophila gene sequencing (7)
Reverse (ascendant) hidden word (in)
7 IRATE
Mad marauder rendered powerless (5)
[p]IRATE
8 IONOSPHERE
Satellite numbers starting to peak in this area? (10)
IO (satellite — meaning a moon of Jupiter) + NOS (numbers) + P[eak] in HERE (in this area) &Lit.
9 SPARE RIB
Bear rips off something to gnaw on (5,3)
Anagram (off) of BEAR RIPS
14 NAMBY-PAMBY
Feeble cartographer maybe spun around by empty bay (5-5)
BY (by) in (around) MAP MAN (cartographer maybe) backwards (spun) + B[a]Y
16 OCEANAUT
Explorer discovered beans and gold within a month (8)
[b]EAN[s] + AU (gold) together in OCT (a month). ‘Oceanaut’, a new term to me, describes a skilled worker who lives in underwater installations and participates in research.

 
18 INTENSIVE
Essence of juice isn’t even vaguely concentrated (9)
[ju]I[ce] + anagram (vaguely) of ISNT EVEN
20 SOLOMON
Wise character unaccompanied on a weekday (7)
SOLO (unaccompanied) + MON (a weekday)
21 LEVERET
Young animal always housed by Grant (7)
EVER (always) in (housed by) LET (grant)
23 GIDDY
Light-headed old woman losing book for good (5)
BIDDY (old woman) with the ‘B’ (book) replaced by (for) ‘G’ (good)
25 SADHU
Blue shrub regularly scratched ascetic (5)
SAD (blue) + [s]H[r]U[b]
26 CLOT
Charlie left wearing something to sleep in (4)
L (left) in (wearing) COT (something to sleep in)

19 comments on “Financial Times 17,317 by Leonidas”

  1. I’m another who was happy to see Leonidas back in this slot.
    Oh, but yukky; 6 and 10 were almost enough to put me off pasta and pizza (who puts gouda on the latter?!)
    Liked DAUNTLESS, (lovely word), CHAIR ROMAINE, IONOSPHERE (neat surface), OCEANAUT (for ‘discovered’) and CLOT. Thanks to Leonidas and Pete.

  2. Leonidas/Wire is quickly moving to the top echelon of my “must-do” setters. I enjoyed this crossword immensely with LOVE-SONG, ROMAINE, IONOSPHERE, SPARE RIB, and GIDDY being favourites. I needed outside help to get SEDUCTRESS but otherwise it was a steady solve. Thanks to both.
    [Diane: Porcini and pasta marry very well but gouda and pizza do not.]

  3. Si si, Tony, mi piace molto! Just the explicit association between pasta and spots left me feeling a bit grossed out!

  4. I also enjoyed this.I also managed to finish in one sitting – 2 weeks in a row for me, so I was quite pleased.

    I was slightly annoyed by GOUDA, as it is misleading to say it is a possible pizza topping, and it is interesting to see how much the mere thought disgusted Diane and Tony.

    New words included MANSPLAINING, LEVERET, OCEANAUT and rill. Agree with favourites mentioned so far.

    Sorry to be pedantic, Pete, but I think you have a typo in 1 across – should be S[iberia]S

    Thanks Loenidas and thanks Pete

  5. Thanks for the blog, totally agree with Diane and Tony about this setter.
    IONOSPHERE is very clever , most Earth satellites are very low orbit inside this region. IO the moon of Jupiter will soon be in the news, the Juno space probe is getting closer with every orbit, IO is very volcanic.
    SENEGAL a very neat reverse hidden, plus hidden science in the clue. DROSOPHILA are fruit flies , I am at war with them all summer, they have very large chromosomes so widely used in genetic research.
    Good spot for the river in BASSETS , I can’t think of others with E….T.
    I also liked the tiger allusion for seductress.

  6. Thanks Leonidas and Pete

    Martyn @ 4 – a great example of Muphry’s Law in action “Any time you point out that someone’s made a typo, there will be a typo in your post” 😉

  8. Thanks to Pete and everyone who has commented on this puzzle from last Saturday. I did pause when constructing 10a: but if you Google ‘gouda pizza’, it appears that it must be a yummy option for some folk somewhere!

  9. Yikes, Leonidas, I see it’s a thing! I like gouda as much as the next person but there’s no room for it on my pizza ? not even a quattro formaggi one!

  11. Thanks, Leonidas & PeteM. I share everyone else’s views, both on the quality of this puzzle and the idea of putting gouda on a pizza. (Diane: what if it were a cinque formaggi?)

    I thought “Patiently” was an interesting choice of word in 11a. Some might say “Patronisingly” is more accurate.

  12. Leonidas et al: I have no doubt that gouda pizza exists. In the US the number of cheeses and toppings that are piled on pizza borders on the absurd. I still prefer what my grandmother made — homemade dough, a splash of tomato sauce, and some grated romano.

  13. Excellent from Leonidas once again. ZITI was a new word for us and RHEAS was our last in after we looked up Rhea in Brewer. Favourite was IONOSPHERE (even though ‘satellite’ to clue ‘io’ seems to be a bit of a crossword cliché at present).
    Thanks, Leonidas and Pete.

  14. All so picky! If there’s only Gouda in the fridge that’s what goes on the pizza…
    Super crossword thanks Leonidas
    And Pete

  15. Thanks both. Leonidas for the mind stretching and Pete for explaining my inadequacies.
    At the risk of offending everyone my pizzas end up with whatever cheese is open in the fridge, but I don’t remember a Gouda one.

  18. 27Ac is a sort of reverse clue, midsummer from the definition, cryptically midsummer is the middle of the word suMMer so it is MM = 2 males.

  19. My only issue was with Gouda.
    Never, ever seen a pizza with Gouda on it on my travels.
    I mean, literally anything edible can be a possible pizza topping in that case.

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