Financial Times 17,410 by STEERPIKE

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A bit of a workout from Steerpike . . .

. . . with a bit of a theme relating to SUELLA BRAVERMAN (5D). I am not all that conversant with UK politics, but I gather that among the theme solutions are RWANDA (6A), [STOP THE] BOATS (23D), and (I assume) INTERNMENT (21A), relating to anti-immigration policies, and I think that inter alia the clue for 19A was probably a specific reference as well. I look forward to further elucidation in the comments.

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1 ISOTOPES
Poet is artfully employing extremely elemental variations? (8)
Anagram of (artfully) POET IS around (employing) SO (extremely)
6 RWANDA
Artist nursing sickly daughter in country (6)
RA (artist) around (nursing) [WAN (sickly) + D (daughter)]
9 RACIST
Taunt sicario about defending bigot (6)
Hidden in (defending) [TAUN]T SICAR[IO] reversed (about)
10 ENVISAGE
Picture of Geneva is distorted (8)
Anagram of (distorted) GENEVA IS
11 FLED
Investigator admits felon essentially scarpered (4)
FED (investigator) around (admits) middle letter of (“essentially”) [FE]L[ON]
12 EULOGISTIC
Lauding union is initially tolerated within reason (10)
EU (union) + {IS + first letter of (“initially”) T[OLERATED]} inside (within) LOGIC (reason)
14 FORELIMB
Ritual fulfilled by priest taking bishop’s arm, say (8)
FORM (ritual) around (fulfilled by) ELI (priest) + B (bishop)
16 CRIB
Run into writer returning copy (4)
R (run) inside (into) BIC (writer) reversed (returning)
18 AFAR
Ace aviators circling in the distance (4)
A (ace) + RAF (aviators) reversed (circling)
19 ANACONDA
An attorney hounding a prisoner is cold-blooded type (8)
{AN + DA (attorney)} around (hounding) A CON (a prisoner)
21 INTERNMENT
One by one, say, chaps finally left detention (10)
Homophone of (say) IN TURN (one by one) + MEN (chaps) + last letter of (“finally”) [LEF]T
22 ORBS
Starts to order raw brains and sheep’s eyeballs (4)
First letters of (starts to) O[RDER] R[AW] B[RAINS] S[HEEP]
24 RINGWORM
Phone line getting twisted around mike is common complaint (8)
RING (phone) + ROW (line) reversed (getting twisted around) + M (Mike, i.e., NATO phonetic alphabet)
26 ANIMAL
Setter is crushed by pedantic brute (6)
I’M (setter is) inside (crushed by) ANAL (pedantic)
27 TENSES
Tightens braces (6)
Double definition
28 NEPOTISM
It provides a relative advantage (8)
Cryptic definition
DOWN
2 SMALL
Slight Samoan lilt regularly concealed (5)
Alternate letters of (regularly concealed) S[A]M[O]A[N] L[I]L[T]
3 THIRD-DEGREE
Burns from grilling? (5-6)
Double definition
4 PATHETIC
Pitiful old news presenter has twitch (8)
PATHÉ (old news presenter, i.e., of newsreels) + TIC (twitch)
5 SUELLA BRAVERMAN
Secretary sporting an umbrella’s sheltering a retired clergyman (6,9)
Anagram of (sporting) AN UMBRELLA’S around (sheltering) [A + REV (clergyman) reversed (retired)]
6 RAVAGE
Harry deserted Vanessa in middle of storm (6)
Middle removed from (“deserted”) V[ANESS]A inside (in middle of) RAGE (storm)
7 ADS
Topless young men providing promotional material (3)
[L]ADS (young men minus first letter [“topless”])
8 DIGNIFIED
Passed around distilled gin? Steerpike originally felt honoured! (9)
DIED (passed) around {anagram of (distilled) GIN + I (Steerpike) + first letter of (“originally”) F[ELT]}
13 SOCIOLOGIST
Student of humanity is cool about nothing having meaning (11)
Anagram of (about) IS COOL + O (nothing) + GIST (meaning)
15 OFFENSIVE
Kill one in seven involved in campaign (9)
OFF (kill) + {I (one) inside (in) anagram of (involved) SEVEN}
17 LAST-GASP
Desperate girl detailed conclusion of fight over 25 pence (4-4)
LAS[S] (girl minus last letter [“detailed”]) + last letter of (conclusion of) [FLIGH]T + GAS (solution to 25) + P (pence)
20 SNOOPS
Party in Scotland’s gatecrashed by two old busybodies (6)
SNP’S (party in Scotland’s) around (gatecrashed by) O + O (two [instances of] old)
23 BOATS
Vessels 19’s family filled with tea, say (5)
BOAS (19’s, i.e., anaconda’s, family) around (filled with) T (homophone of [say] tea)
25 GAS
Hoisted flag in wind (3)
SAG (flag) inverted (hoisted)

20 comments on “Financial Times 17,410 by STEERPIKE”

  1. Well done to Steerpike and the FT for a DIGNIFIED assault on SUELLA BRAVERMAN’s OFFENSIVE and RACIST policies on those arriving in SMALL BOATS having FLED from AFAR. RINGWORM occurred in INTERNMENT camps. RWANDA is planned as their final destination.

  3. I empathise, Cineraria, a somewhat British offering from Steerpike. I’d never heard of Suella Braverman, and missed the theme entirely. But I managed to finish, after a bit of help for 5d, which is more than I can say for Brendan’s in the Guardian today. The only other Britishism that caught me out was the party in Scotland (I googled SNPS and found a lot of information on single nucleotide polymorphisms that may prove useful one day).

  4. Very clever from Steerpike. Enjoyed the meaty parsing of a number, including FORELIMB, EULOGISTIC and 5d’s villain of the piece. Only the workings of INTERNMENT eluded me but Cineraria’s blog clears that up.
    Aside from the well thought out theme, favourites included SNOOPS and THIRD DEGREE.
    Thanks both.

  6. Looking forward to the next offering which will no doubt have answers such as ANTI-SEMITISM, LABOUR, CORBYN & ABBOTT.
    Just for balance of course.

    It was an enjoyable crossword.
    A real pity that it’s been used for personal politics.

  7. Oh BP, we’ve been there, more or less. Diane doing a Ken Livingstone is new of course, but I’m sure she’ll be disappeared by that TIART before too long.

    Dreadful mistake: error banning old Labour leader (4,7)

  9. A nice crossword with perfectly reasonable clues, although it took two cups of coffee to get there. My only problem is 27a, shouldn’t the two definitions in a double def be a bit less synonymic? Essentially you could have any two of TIGHTENS, BRACES and TENSES in the clue, and the tjird as the light. Or am I doing Spooner’s mine thievery? Thanks all concerned, though!

  12. AGN@10 I was thinking along the same lines. Perhaps the grammatical tense felt like too much if a crossword staple??

  13. Thanks for the blog , very good puzzle, ISOTOPES right at the start is very neat.
    Perhaps tighten and brace are a little too similar to the answer in the same way, I think the clue is trying to make us think of the orthodontist.

  15. I agree with Piratewitch.

    Quite the wrong place for politicking – and I don’t like SB.

    Got there eventually, though a bit of a struggle with the last few in being Isotopes, forelimb, eulogistic and Sociologist

    Thanks

  18. A brilliant Crossie from Steerpike. Clever clueing.
    These crossies with messages are a part of life.
    Sensible solvers might recall the Guardian crossie that had Bollocks to Brexit
    https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2019/sep/16/crossword-blog-philistines-hidden-brexit-message
    I recall one that defended the BBC recently.

    Piratewitch @ 14 and Moly @ 15 can always solve other crosswords. I will be writing to the FT crossword editor to say this was in my opinion a work of genius.

  19. Most papers seem to allow the odd political jibe, especially where some matter or other is the topic of the day.

    Here, I do not see the cross-referencing that would possibly have tipped the balance towards an entirely overt savaging, with any recognition of that sort left to we solvers. In any case, it’s not as if it’s just a few liberal crossword compilers, or editors, who think that Tory policies are way off the mark, as the recent thumping Sunak & Co took in the latest elections clearly demonstrates.

    All right, too much of this would probably be a bad thing, but once in a while, fine with me. I enjoyed this puzzle.

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