Financial Times 17,424 by BRADMAN

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The Don provides this morning's FT puzzle.

This was an enjoyable, steady solve that I suspected may be a pangram after UNIQUE, JAMB and CRAZE were in place. A check after the puzzle was completed confirmed that it was indeed a pangram. I had a couple of very minor quibbles that an editor could have spotted – "fellow" crops us twice to indicate men's names (in YARDAGE and DESCRIES) and "soldiers" three times in PARASOL, QUAESTOR and REIN IN although the latter may have been intentional. As I say, very minor quibbles.

Thanks, Bradman.

ACROSS
1 PLEXUS
Network supplying power brand of vehicle (6)

P (power) + LEXUS ("brand of vehicle")
4 TRIARCHY
Attempt to restrict one cunning form of government by a few (8)

TRY ("attempt") to restrict I (one) + ARCH ("cunning")
9 REIN IN
Restrict soldiers at home repeatedly (4,2)

RE (Royal Engineers, so "soldiers") + IN + IN ("at home", repeatedly)
10 TO BE FAIR
Aim of those dyeing hair? Let’s not be nasty! (2,2,4)

The "aim of those dying hair" may be to lighten their hair colour, so they want TO BE FAIR-headed.
12 SPECULAR
Like a mirror offering great views maybe — but no cat reflected in it! (8)

SPEC(tac)ULAR ("offering great views maybe") but no <=CAT [reflected] in it
13 ATHENA
Emerging from Thessalonica, the national goddess (6)

Hidden in [emerging from] "ThessalonicA THE NAtional"
15 LIME
Fruit something squishy? Chop off front bit (4)

(s)LIME ("something squishy") with its front bit chopped
16 DRAWBRIDGE
One’s often raised game after inconclusive result (10)

BRIDGE (card "game") after DRAW ("inconclusive result")
19 ACCOUNTANT
Ultimately you cannot act badly as someone dealing with money (10)

*(u cannot act) [anag:badly] where U is [ultimately] (yo)U
20 JAMB
Post — preserve with touch of bitumen (4)

JAM ("preserve") with [touch of] B(itumen)
23 LACKEY
After deficiency, you set about servant (6)

After LACK ("deficiency"), <=YE ("you", set about)
25 MOVEMENT
In a little time gather very English group to support cause (8)

Gather V (very) + E (English) in MOMENT ("a little time")
27 GEMSTONE
Omen gets mistaken for precious object (8)

*(omen gets) [anag:mistaken]
28 FELINE
Punishment for caging the Spanish moggy? (6)

FINE ("punishment") caging EL ("the" in "Spanish")
29 DESCRIES
Spies little fellow and expresses sorrow (8)

DES (short for Desmond, so "little fellow") and CRIES ("expresses sorrow")
30 FLASHY
Garish old carriage with wooden interior (6)

FLY ("old carriage") with ASH ("wooden") interior
DOWN
1 PARASOL
Soldier’s nothing left to provide cover (7)

PARA'S ("soldier's") + O (nothing) + L (left)
2 EPIDERMIC
I’m pierced, suffering in outer layer of skin (9)

*(im pierced) [anag:suffering]
3 UNIQUE
One-off HE establishment — what you get in Paris (6)

UNI (university, so Higher Education "(HE) establishment") + QUE ("what" in French, so as "you get in Paris")
5 ROOT
Beginning to be a fine England cricketer (4)

Double definition, the second referring to Joe ROOT, the England and Yorkshire cricketer.
6 ALEATORY
After drink a Conservative becomes unpredictable (8)

After ALE ("drink"), A TORY ("a Conservative")
7 CRAZE
East End gangster brothers reportedly in frenzy (5)

Homophone [reportedly] of KRAYS ("East End gangster brothers")
8 YARDAGE
By Jove, fellow’s travelling north some distance! (7)

<=(EGAD ("by Jove") + RAY ("fellow"), travelling north, i.e. upwards)
11 CARROTY
Orange transport for conveying book collection (7)

CARRY ("transport") conveying OT (Old Testament, so "book collection")
14 SWANSON
Actress cutting final performance short (7)

SWANSON(g) ("final performance", cut short)

Gloria Swanson (1999-1983) was a American actress, whose most famous role was that of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (1950)
17 DIABETICS
People who are a bit too ‘sugary’? (9)

Cryptic definition
18 QUAESTOR
Search with soldiers to get hold of a Roman official (8)

QUEST ("search") with OR (other ranks, so "soldiers") to get hold of A

In Ancient Rome, a quaestor was a magistrate
19 ALLEGED
Said everything with nasty edge (7)

ALL ("everything") with *(edge) [anag:nasty]
21 BATTERY
One that’s charged with infliction of violence (7)

Double definition
22 REVEAL
Noisy festivities including a show (6)

REVEL ("noisy festivities") including A
24 CAMPS
Political groups providing money, mostly to accommodate politician (5)

CAS(h) ("money", mostly) to accommodate MP (Member of Parliament, so "politician")
26 KNEE
Enthusiastic knight moving forward? This is bent before monarch (4)

KEEN ("enthusiastic") with N (knight, in chess notation) moving forward becomes K(N)EE

20 comments on “Financial Times 17,424 by BRADMAN”

  1. Feels like old times with Bradman on a Friday. A pleasingly straightforward solve with everything parsed though I did need an online check for QUAESTOR.
    Like Loonapick, I suspected a pangram early on with much the same clutch of answers at the outset.
    Favourite was TO BE FAIR.
    Thanks to Bradman and Loonapick.

  2. Several unknowns made this feel more like one of his Guardian puzzles. Although I didn’t know PLEXUS, I did know SOLAR PLEXUS so not much of a stretch. QUAESTOR was another unknown but not too dissimilar to PRAETOR which I knew. ALEATORY was a get from wordplay and then look up. Would never have got CARROTY without a word fit.

    By the way loonapick, I’m quite sure Gloria Swanson didn’t die 16 years before she was born 🙂

  3. Thanks, Bradman for the enjoyable puzzle (somewhat light, should I say?).
    Thanks, loonapick for your excellent blog (as is always the case).

    Liked TO BE FAIR, CARROTY and KNEE.

  4. I enjoyed this, thank you Bradman. New to my lexicon PLEXIS & SPECULAR. Hadn’t heard of the Kray twins, and my search for an actress named Swanson led me to Kristy and Gloria, both American. I guess it didn’t matter which was intended.

    Thank you for the blog, Loonapick.

  5. Plexus made me recall Henry Miller, thereby raising a grin. Triarchy was unknown be easy from the wordplay – I would usually think of Triumvirate. Thanks Don and Loonpaick.

  6. ROOT
    Joe Root is certainly a fine cricketer but ‘a fine’ being part of the def is somewhat unusual.
    Trees have fine roots…Any thoughts?

  7. I don’t follow cricket, KVa, but the fact that I’ve heard of Joe Root suggests he can’t be bad!

  9. I thought his had a touch of the Pasquale about it. Never heard of a QUAESTOR and had to dredge up the all but forgotten ALEATORY. I’d heard of SPECULAR but couldn’t have told you what it meant. Spotting the likely pangram helped to solve my last in PLEXUS.

    Can’t help with ‘fine’ in the second def for ROOT; sounds strange, but maybe Bradman is really a Yorkshireman who has a soft spot for those from his home county.

    Thanks to loonapick and Bradman

  10. I’m another who couldn’t really understand the presence of ‘fine’; I gave up trying to fit it into the parse and came here for explanation. I suspect I’m/we’re missing something as it is most unlike this setter to include filler. Same unknowns as everyone else though they were all gettable from the cluing. PLEXUS threw me for a bit as the ‘supplying’ had me trying to find a definition in the second half of the clue for a while. I was intrigued to encounter a structure that I think is new to me: the use of ‘for’ in ‘for caging’ and ‘for conveying’. ATHENA, DRAWBRIDGE and GEMSTONE my podium for today.

    Thanks Bradman and loonapick

  11. GDU @ 4 – I’m almost certain that Bradman was referring to Oscar-nominated Gloria Swanson, famous for the last lines of Sunset Boulevard

    https://youtu.be/Vg1mYd-To8A

    Kirsty Swanson’s only claim to fame is that she played Buddy the Vampire Slayer in the original movie on which the subsequent TV show was based.

    Hovis @ 2 – thanks for pointing out the error in Gloria’s dates – will amend when next at a PC

  13. FrankieG – sheesh, I was (almost) a young man back then, well at least younger than I am now.

  14. Just saw my typo (or probably more accurately the autocorrect in my comment @ 10 – Buddy the Vampire Slayer would have been a different film, I suspect.

  16. Yes, I assumed autodestruct was to blame. 🙂
    Buddy the elf from Elf, slaying vampires with Santa? – I’d watch it.

  19. Thanks Bradman for the challenge. I missed QUAESTOR and SPECULAR; if I persisted I may have solved the former but never the latter. My top picks were ACCOUNTANT, YARDAGE, SWANSON, and REVEAL. Thanks Loonapick for the blog.
    [Diane @1: Where are you that it’s Friday already?]

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