Financial Times 17,355 by Jason

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Weekend puzzle from the FT of March 11, 2023

My first-in was 1a which came easily while I found the rest of the puzzle to be of above average difficulty.

My favourites are 10 (POSEUR) and 27 (CRACKERS).  I also like 8 (SERGEANT) for bringing back a fine childhood memory.

ACROSS
1 FORTRESS
Stronghold favouring lock (8)
FOR (favouring) + TRESS (lock)
5 AFTERS
Sweet American female cut short (6)
A (American) + F (female) + TERS[e] (cut short). For the benefit of non-Brits who may be unfamiliar with the usage, Brits sometimes refer to sweet, in the sense of dessert, as afters.
9 RESERVES
Books on openings seen in court? (8)
RE (on) + SERVES (openings seen in court)
10 POSEUR
____ rose up in a dramatic way (6)
Anagram (in a dramatic way) &Lit.
11 IDENTITY
One departs being a personality (8)
I (one) + D (departs) + ENTITY (being).  I was originally unable to parse this and I thank Pelham Barton for helping me.  (See comments.)
12 TIRADE
Outrageous diatribe I start to blurt out (6)
Anagram (outrageous) of D[i]ATRI[b]E (DIATRIBE with ‘I’ and ‘B'[lurt] removed (out) &Lit.
14 REPUBLICAN
Haley, for example, is concerning mine host (10)
RE (is concerning) + PUBLICAN (mine host) with the definition referring to the American politician and would-be president Nikki Haley
18 AMELIORATE
Better aroma wafting round and throughout the best? (10)
Anagram (wafting) of AROMA round and through ELITE (the best)
22 GARDEN
Newspaper backs study for Yard (6)
RAG (newspaper) backwards (backs) + DEN (study)
23 DOVETAIL
Particular about circular verse ó†it slots together neatly (8)
O (circular) + V (verse) together in (about) DETAIL (particular). I am guessing that “ó†it” is some junk that got in by accident.
24 MAKE-UP
Complete war paint (4-2)
Double definition
25 TEST CASE
Sample a box of wine being exemplary (4,4)
TEST (sample) + CASE (a box of wine)
26 NANTES
French port’s stake in Nova Scotia (6)
ANTE (stake) in (in) NS (Nova Scotia)
27 CRACKERS
Nuts that go with cheese? (8)
Double definition
DOWN
1 FORBID
Ban what’s used to splice the mainbrace or barrel gets stowed (6)
OR (or) + B (barrel) in (gets stowed) FID (what’s used to splice the mainbrace). Not being much of a sailor I did not know the word ‘fid’.and took some help to figure out this wordplay. For others like me, fid refers to a wooden or metal bar for supporting the heel of a topmast.
2 RASHER
Rather hasty filler of butties? (6)
Double definition
3 RARITY
Being uncommonly valued skate round powwow, mostly (6)
RIT[e] (powwow mostly) in (round) RAY (skate)
4 SWEETHEART
Possibly The Sweater Girl who’s your steady? (10)
Anagram (possibly) of THE SWEATER
6 FLOTILLA
Fleet’s laid up during launch? Armada finally moves south (8)
ILL (laid up) in (during) FLOAT (launch) with the ‘A’ (Armada finally) moved to the end (moves south)
7 ELEGANCE
Beauty, for example, in English pike (8)
EG (for example) in (in) E (English) LANCE (pike)
8 SERGEANT
Eg, Bilko’s cast containing unhinged rage (8)
Anagram (unhinged) of RAGE in (containing) SEND (cast)

Hands up anyone who has never heard of Sergeant Bilko. I thought there might be one or two. “Sergeant Bilko” was a U.S. television sitcom of the 1950s, fronted by a great comedian named Phil Silvers. It was my father’s favourite TV program of that era and I enjoyed it too. And I just discovered that its original name was “The Phil Silvers Show” although it was broadcast in the U.K. (and in reruns in the U.S.) as “Sergeant Bilko”. I also discovered that some episodes are to be found on Youtube. Ah, I must indulge in some nostalgia…
13 AUCTIONEER
Someone with lots to offer recreating ace routine (10)
Anagram (recreating) of ACE ROUTINE
15 BARGEMAN
Call and catch up with chap handling lighters? (8)
NAME (call) + GRAB (catch) all backwards (up)
16 BEARSKIN
Crowning point of Guardsman moves family (8)
BEARS (moves) + KIN (family)
17 SINECURE
Picnic is old-fashioned without pickle (8)
SINE (old-fashioned without) + CURE (pickle) with the definition referring to ‘picnic’ as some very easy task.
19 HECTIC
Feverish tickle ultimately added to crazy itch and cold (6)
[tickl]E in (added to) anagram (crazy) of ITCH + C (cold)
20 PALACE
Mate with oustanding mansion (6)
PAL (mate) + ACE (outstanding)
21 FLIERS
Rapid departures following whoppers about party’s central point (6)
F (following) + [pa]R[ty] in (about) LIES (whoppers)

13 comments on “Financial Times 17,355 by Jason”

  1. Thanks Jason and Pete

    11ac: I (one) + D (departs) + ENTITY (being)
    23ac: I get my copies of FT crosswords by printing the image directly from the FT website, and this clue reads “Particular about circular verse – it slots together neatly”, except that there is a proper dash where I have typed a hyphen. Something appears to have gone wrong with the conversion of the dash into other versions of the puzzle.

  2. Further to comment 1, it looks as though the software on this site has turned my typed hyphen into the correct sort of dash anyway.

  3. Thanks Jason. I’m enjoying the variety in the Saturday crossword. I found this challenging, I never solved BEARSKIN (I didn’t know its definition), but everything else eventually fell into place. My top picks included IDENTITY, TIRADE, NANTES, SINECURE, and PALACE. Thanks Pete for the blog.

  4. Thanks Pete

    Some great clues including RESERVES, POSEUR, NANTES, BARGEMAN and PALACE.

    There are a few words I wonder about – does “rapid departures” really equal FLIERS, not sure that “rather hasty” is RASHER, etc

    I must admit I still do not understand how SINE = old fashioned without. Would someone please explain? And, as always, a couple of Brit words (AFTERS and more) that were new to me. Always good to learn!

    Finally, I award the coveted “Most ridiculous word in a crossword prize 2023” to Jason for FID. I appreciate it is only March, but I am confident this triumph will not be outdone.

    Thanks Jason for an enjoyable crossword, and thanks Pete for the great blog. Finally, to echo Tony S, thanks to the FT for the continuing variety.

  5. I failed on 14a, as I was fixated on comets. (I try to keep Nikki Haley and others of her ilk as far from the forefront of my brain as possible.)

    I figured out 10a POSEUR but didn’t understand the long underline at the beginning of the clue.

    I also entered the correct answer at 21d FLIERS, but I don’t understand the definition – departure and flier don’t jibe for me.

    This crossword was no picnic, but there was a certain elegance to the make-up of many clues. Thanks Jason for the sweet puzzle, and Pete (and Pelham Barton) for the parsing help.

  6. Martyn@4, SINE shows up in some legalese such as “sine die”. A hearing might be adjourned sine die, meaning without setting another day to resume.

  7. Thanks for the blog, a lot of clever clues here, I like the idea in AMELIORATE and the A moving South in FLOTILLA .
    Someone who leaves a party early is said to be doing a FLIER .
    Splice the mainbrace traditionally means to dish out the rum.
    BILKO has been repeated at various times in the UK , apparently it was also a big influence on TOP CAT .

  8. Martyn @4 SINE is Latin for without, so the hymn tune Sine Nimine means without name.

    Cellomaniac @5 I didn’t get as far as naming the Haley REPUBLICAN, juat thought there’s a Republican calles Haley, shrug, I don’t think I’ll look them up.

    I enjoyed this and a week later don’t remember having any problems

    (I grew up sailing, fid wasn’t in my vocabulary.)

    Thank you to Jason and Pege Maclean.

  10. According to Chambers a fid is a wooden pin used to prise apart the fibres of a rope when splicing – but as Roz@7 points out,

    According to Chambers a fid is a wooden pin used to separate the strands of ropes when splicing them. But as Roz@7 points out, ‘splice the mainbrace’ is a figurative expression meaning to serve out the daily tot of rum – although the daily rum ration in the Royal Navy was discontinued as long ago as 1970.
    Anyway, this was an enjoyable and (for us) not too difficult puzzle. Thanks, Jason and Pete

  11. I was always under the impression that the mainbrace was something you just did not splice, so it was a figurative expression only – apart from the colloquial meaning as Roz@7 points out.

  12. Deezzaa@11: Brewer (Millennium edition) says the following:
    “Splice the mainbrace, To. A naval expression denoting an extra tot of grog all round, a very rare occurrence. It probably alludes to the issue of an extra rum ration to those who performed the hard and difficult task of splicing the mainbrace, the brace attached to the main yard.”

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