Financial Times 17,417 by CHALMIE

by

Thanks to Chalmie for this morning’s challenge.

I managed to work through this quite quickly this morning. Lots of witty clues along a clever theme. I enjoyed the band/musician references as well!

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1. Fast to make a point, thinkers urge change (6,6)
HUNGER STRIKE

(THINKERS URGE)* (*change)

10. Deciding heat for cafe demolition (4,3)
RACE OFF

(FOR CAFE)* (*demolition)

11. Free at last, daleks devastated Lake District attraction (7)
ESKDALE

([fre]E (at last) + DALEKS)* (*devastated)

12. Native American losing his head fast (5)
APACE

APAC[h]E (Native American, losing H[is] (head))

13. Fast and ingenious protecting rank (8)
STANDING

[fa]ST AND ING[enious] (protecting)

15. Pursued with leg broken very fast indeed (10)
SUPERGLUED

(PURSUED + LEG)* (*broken)

16. Advanced fast (4)
LENT

Double definition

18. Band move fast (4)
RUSH

Double definition

20. Figures in 3 lesson get head tangling with parent (10)
PENTAHEDRA

(HEAD + PARENT)* (*tangling)

3 referring to 3 down: geometry

22. President created uproar with shag on floor (8)
CARPETED

(P (president) + CREATED)* (*uproar)

24. Bar one beginning to cut some hair (5)
PUBIC

PUB (bar) + I (one) + C[ut] (beginning to)

26. Fast in the daytime for a period, Adam ran off (7)
RAMADAN

(ADAM RAN)* (*off)

27. Fast one could be dangerous (3,4)
NOT SAFE

(FAST ONE)* (*could be)

28. Budgie-smugglers on staircase as fast as possible (5,2,5)
SPEED OF LIGHT

SPEEDO (budgie-smugglers) on FLIGHT (staircase)

DOWN
2. Release snake to bite off relative’s foot (7)
UNCLASP

ASP (snake) to bite off UNCL[e] (relative (foot))

3. I’m surprised about order to attempt mathematical discipline (8)
GEOMETRY

GEE (I’m surprised) about OM (order, Order of Merit) + TRY (to attempt)

4. Trump violent? So it’s said (4)
RUFF

“ROUGH” (violent, “so it’s said”)

RUFF is a term used in Bridge and similar card games

5. What cannibals do for old left-wingers’ medications (10)
TREATMENTS

TR[o]TS (left wingers; EAT MEN (what cannibals do) for O (old))

TROTS as in Trotskyists

6. Confirm selection, barely winking (3,2)
INK IN

[w]INK IN[g] (barely, i.e. without outers / ‘clothes’)

7. Look at upper limit one German is holding up (7)
EXAMINE

MAX< (upper limit), EINE (one, German) is holding <up

8. Way to suggest Rod races and goes unprecedentedly fast (6,1,6)
BREAKS A RECORD

*BREAK (S A RECORD)* (way to suggest)

(I.e. a reverse anagram (BREAK) of ROD RACES)

9. He may start fast rowers featured by What Crew? unexpectedly (6-7)
WEIGHT WATCHER

EIGHT (rowers) featured by (WHAT CREW)* (*unexpectedly)

There are usually eight members in a team of rowers

14. Roquefort, typically scandalously unbelieved (4-6)
BLUE-VEINED

(UNBELIEVED)* (*scandalously)

17. Bread and tea with songwriter Smith (8)
CHAPATTI

CHA (tea) + PATTI (songwriter Smith)

19. Little guys I avoid — Rishi mad with some other politicians (7)
SHRIMPS

(R[i]SHI (I avoid))* (*mad) + MPS (some other politicians)

21. A couple of parties, the second about an hour, for Indian interpreter (7)
DOBHASH

DO + BASH (a couple of parties); BASH (the second) about H (an hour)

23. Fast guy from Motorhead skinning bears for children (5)
EDDIE

[t]EDDIE[s] (skinning i.e. removing outer layer, bears for children)

Eddie Clarke aka “Fast Eddie” was a guitarist for the band Motörhead

25. Bottoms of seats clean, characteristic of foreign train service (1,1,1,1)
SNCF

[SEAT]S [clea]N [characteristi]C [o]F (bottoms of)

12 comments on “Financial Times 17,417 by CHALMIE”

  1. Hey, I’m excited, I noticed a theme! I almost never do. But a bit hard to miss on this occasion. And a good theme it was too.

    I enjoyed this puzzle more than any other in recent weeks. Thank you, Chalmie. Clever misdirections (eg HUNGER STRIKE, LENT) and plenty of smiles. SPEED OF LIGHT was a beauty, and thanks for including one of our more charming Aussie colloquialisms, budgie smugglers, even though we’d usually refer to them in the plural (“speedos”). They will forever bring to mind one of our recent prime ministers who kept popping up on various beaches wearing nothing else.

    Just one clue required knowledge of UK geography that I didn’t possess. I’ve visited the Lake district but don’t recall Eskdale. We have an Eskdale in Australia that I’d also not heard of — no doubt we pinched the name from you, as we’re inclined to do.

    I’d forgotten ruff/trump, but remember it now, I hadn’t heard of dobhash nor the band Rush, and only vaguely recalled Patti Smith, but the wordplay made them all very gettable. I couldn’t completely parse TREATMENTS — the Trots eluded me.

    I look forward to Chalmie’s next offering. And thanks, Oriel.

  2. I agree with GDU@1
    I have never heard of a budge smuggler..Having just Googled it I hope not to see many of them. Some other new words: DOBHASH and the band RUSH but all clearly clued.
    Thanks to Chalmie for fun puzzle and to Oriel for exemplary blog.

  4. The only new word for me was DOBHASH but with the crossers the wordplay made it clear. Loved the fast theme.

    Thank you to Chalmie and Oriel.

  6. I enjoyed the Clintonesque 22ac. Thought 21d was too obscure for a daily crossword. Thanks setter and blogger.

  7. I’m in complete agreement with comments above: this theme was great fun and very inventive. I particularly liked the numerous musical references.
    Sadly, I can’t unsee Tony Abbot and will forever associate those skimpy trunks with him.
    Too many favourites to list. Like others here, I didn’t know DOBHASH but the parsing was fair.
    Thanks to Chalmie and Oriel.

  8. Another excellent inventive puzzle.
    DOBHASH a jorum.
    nho “Fast EDDIE” Clarke, but “Fast EDDIE” Felson helped me solve the clue:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hustler
    Best clue TREATMENTS.
    I can’t understand why anyone would want to smuggle budgies. Surely they’d all just fly back home once you’d smuggled them somewhere?
    Thanks C&O

  9. Thanks for the blog , really enjoyed this , clever variety with the term fast , some music and great clues. Will just mention TREATMENTS and BREAKS A RECORD .
    I think DOBHASH was just a tricky dead end in the grid and agree with Diane that the clue was very fair. RUSH were Canadian I think , 2112 was famous, I had a boyfriend who liked them , did not last long.
    Afraid I have to have a minor quibble for the definition of SPEED OF LIGHT but I will not give a particle physics lecture.
    The ESKDALE valley has a little steam railway , worth a visit, great pubs in Boot.

  10. Thanks Chalmie and Oriel

    28ac: Further to earlier comments on this clue, I thought it might be worth quoting the following definition from Chambers 2014:
    budgie smugglers n pl (Aust inf) close-fitting swimming trunks for men.

  12. Having been laid low for a few days, these comments are a bit late, but still. Thanks Oriel for clear explanations of the clues.

    DOBHASH was unknown to me until I needed to find a word which would fit and which I could clue unambiguously in wordplay. As frequent commenters on my puzzles will be aware, I allow myself one such obscurity in a puzzle which is strongly themed enough for GDU to spot it ???

    And yes, Roz, I’m aware that SPEED OF LIGHT is something of a solecism, but I don’t think the difference is worth getting all that fussy about for an entertaining clue.

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