Financial Times 17,444 by STEERPIKE

22 comments on “Financial Times 17,444 by STEERPIKE”

1. Thanks for the blog, good set of clues , my favourite was EQUATOR from my favourite setter.
   Very minor misprint for MAST(a)ODON.

2. LARCENY
   Cardinal (direction) E(ast)

3. Thanks Steerpike. I found this the easiest crossword I’ve ever encountered from this setter but I also thought it was very good and it’s a pangram as well. EQUATOR, FLEA, ZENITH, EXORBITANT, and JACKBOOT were among my top picks. My only stumble was the parsing of REMEDIAL. Thanks Turbolegs for the blog.

4. I found this difficult – some tricky parsing, some remote words and several words used in an unfamiliar (I won’t say unfair) way. And many long, wordy clues. I was also using the app for just the second time, and, not being used to it, I find it less friendly than the paper.

   Maybe I was tired, but I never felt on the same wavelength as the setter and, similar to our blogger, I do not really have any favourites to share. Getting it out in limited time was an achievement in itself (although I did not have ZENITH or OBJECTED properly parsed).

   Thanks Steerpike for the puzzle and thanks Turbolegs for the blog and great explanation.

5. Thanks Steerpike and Turbolegs

   29ac: I think “Special-needs” is sufficient for the definition, avoiding double duty for “lesson”.

6. Thanks Turbolegs, agree with Ros, KVa and Pelham Barton on the typo/parsing points, and with Martyn that it was no stroll in the park, but I enjoyed unravelling the misdirection, though I am still trying to decide if the clue for 4a JACKBOOT actually directs me to enter that word at any point, if a bet on Germanic invader is BACK JUTE and Spooner, in trying to say JACKBOOT, would presumably utter something that sounds like BACKJOOT, so neither way gets me to what is obviously (eventually, as it was my LOI) the required answer. My favourites were PHANTOM and EQUATOR. Thanks Steerpike!

7. Sorry as having typed that lot I realised how to properly make sense of 4A, apologies to Steerpike, very clever.

8. We found this fairly easy, solved without help in a couple of passes. Our only problem was with parsing REMEDIAL. We liked EXORBITANT, ESPERANTO and EQUATOR. And btw it’s a pangram.
   Thanks, Steerpike and Turbolegs.

9. I didn’t find it easy at all, unlike the double act above.

   I don’t really enjoy this setter because I always end up with too many clues that I can’t properly parse. The model seems to be fairly straightforward definitions and horribly confusing cryptic bit of some of the clues.

   It was a DNF because I gave upon jackboot, despite having all the crossers. By then I had lost the will to complete. An easy word, an obvious fit, but I hate spoonerisms, and I thought this one was especially poor. Not helped by the fact that I got it into my head that Goth had something to do with the solution.

   Too many clues seem to be: locate the definition, find the answer and then work out the parsing. Hmmm.

   Thanks for the blog

10. KATMANDU – “traditional spelling” – but is it though? Wikipedia disagrees…
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathmandu
    …even helpfully giving a redirect page for the common misspelling
    https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Khatmandu&redirect=no
    Liked EXORBITANT – great surface. And my loi MEMENTO – it took a while to see the trophy.
    Thanks S&T

11. FrankieG@10
    The Wiki page you refer to (under etymology) says the following:
    The spelling “Katmandu” was often used in English-language text. More recently, however, the spelling “Kathmandu” has become more common in English”. As the FT is an English-language publication, I think describing “Katmadu” as the traditional spelling is fair.

12. Enjoyed this but needed help with the parsing of TELLTALE and REMEDIAL. Tx to Steerpike and Turbolegs.

13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Bone_Jakon
    ?

14. That’s how Cat Stevens aka Yusuf ISLAM spelt KATMANDU on his album Mona BONE Jakon in 1970.

15. Exactly my point. In the 70’s most English speakers would have spelt it that way. I only included the ‘traditional spelling’ part of the clue to avoid being told by some pedant that the standard modern spelling is now “Kathmandu”. It seems that as a setter sometimes you just can’t win!

16. Exactly my point. In the 70’s most English speakers would have spelt it that way. I only included the ‘traditional spelling’ part of the clue to avoid being told that the standard modern spelling is now “Kathmandu”. It seems that as a setter sometimes you just can’t win!

17. I heard you the first time! 🙂 “by some pedant” – moi? Who, dear? Me, dear? How very dare you! 🙂
    But may I direct you to my post on today’s Guardian @39 where I said:
    There’s a typo in 28/21 – it says “’6os” instead of “’60s”. But at least the apostrophe’s in the right place.
    So I haven’t found a theme with ISLAM KATMANDU BONE? Just a coincidence?
    NEVERMIND – Here’s the EarWorm:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Je2pPqkpw
    Thanks S&T

18. 😀

19. I was a bit grumpy at nine above. Apologies.

20. Thanks Moly. I guess you weren’t the only one who was a bit grumpy yesterday, so my apologies to FrankieG. Thanks to all. Until next time

21. 1d — at the risk of being dubbed another pedant — surely, it is:
    SPAR (box), not (bird)?

22. Pqwick@21 – You’re right. But you’ll never get called a pedant for spotting typos. Just goes to show nobody else read the blog as closely as you.
    Steerpike@20 – no need for an apology – I found it funny: clearly you were in two minds about including the phrase “by some pedant”, but managed to reveal both of them. I regard it as a badge of honour. 🙂

Comments are closed.