The FT’s geographically themed puzzle returns, this time set for us by Peto. Find it on the FT website to print or solve interactively, or use the FT’s smartphone app.
The preamble: “A cryptic puzzle themed on one particular country. The name of the country should be inserted at 30 across. Work out the name of the country by solving the *asterisked clues, all undefined – their solutions have some relevance to the country, such as its places, famous people, culture, language”
I don’t mind admitting I found this quite tricky. My first guess at 11a was TAMAR, which would have been a good solution if it had been a Cornwall-themed puzzle. Even after the penny eventually dropped, it was still far from plain sailing, with a lot of fairly complex wordplay, but everything was very fairly clued and I enjoyed unpicking it all.
Thanks, Peto!
| ACROSS |
| 1 LE MANS
* Lists including earliest of members (2,4) LEANS (lists) containing first letter (earliest) of Members City in NW France, famous for its 24-hour sports car race. |
| 4 DORDOGNE
* Exhausted carrying river animal (8) DONE (exhausted) containing (carrying) R (river) + DOG (animal) Département of SW France and the major river that flows through it. |
| 10 ASSIGNATS
* Actively against impounding ship (9) Anagram (actively) of AGAINST containing (impounding) SS (ship) Currency of revolutionary France. |
| 11 MARAT
* Volunteers finding sheep on the way back (5) TA (volunteers) + RAM (sheep) all reversed (on the way back) Jean-Paul Marat, French revolutionary journalist and politician. |
| 12 AGEN
* Representative? Not quite (4) AGENt (representative) less the final letter (not quite) City in SW France, famous for its prunes. |
| 13 SACRE COEUR
* Almost certain to take in Israeli port with former MP (5,5) SURe (certain) less the final letter (almost) containing (to take in) ACRE (Israeli port) + COE (former MP, Sebastian Coe) The Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre is a catholic church standing prominently on a hill in the centre of Paris and is the second most visited Paris landmark after the Eiffel Tower. |
| 15 EPERNAY
* Record vote against after hesitation (7) EP (record) + ER (hestitation) + NAY (vote against) Commune in NE France, famous as the centre of Champagne country. |
| 16 SEURAT
* Brooded outside Europe (6) SAT (brooded) containing (outside) EUR (Europe) Georges Seurat, French Impressionist artist known for devising the Pointillist style. |
| 19 PROUST
* Priest with fire (6) PR (priest) + OUST (fire) Marcel Proust, 19th century French novelist, best known for the monumental novel À la Recherche du Temps Perdu. |
| 21 COCKADE
* Mate of Parisian receiving answer (7) COCK (mate) + DE (‘of’ Parisian, ie in French) containing (receiving) A (answer) The cockade tricolore is the national ornament of France, made by pleating red, white and blue ribbons into a rosette. |
| 23 TARTE TATIN
* Drab, shabby articles collected by a German (5,5) TART (drab, an old-fashioned word for a prostitute) + TAT (shabby articles) inserted in (collected by EIN (‘a’ in German) A dish of caramelised apples in puff pastry, named after sisters Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin who created and served it in their hotel in Lamotte-Beuvrin, south of Paris. |
| 25 SAND
* Apparent in bipartisan discussions (4) Hidden in bipartiSAN Discussions George Sand, pen name of Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Franceuil, popular and prolific 19th-century French novelist. |
| 27 LOIRE
* Biblical character’s endless anger (5) LOt (Biblical character, endless) + IRE (anger) The longest river in France. |
| 28 CHEVALIER
* Joy hugging very famous boxer (9) CHEER (joy) containing (hugging) V (very) + ALI (famous boxer) Maurice Chevalier, French singer, actor and entertainer. Alternatively, the lowest rank of the French nobility, equivalent to Knight. |
| 29 CHARTRES
* Cunning shown by king during most of game (8) ART (cunning) + R (king) inserted in (during) CHESs (game, most of) French city, about 90km south of Paris, most famous for its cathedral. |
| 30 FRANCE
[See setter notes] (6) |
| DOWN |
| 1 LEAKAGES
Polluted lakes over time — the consequences of broken pipes (8) Anagram (polluted) of LAKES containing (over) AGE (time) |
| 2 MUSKETEER
Seek term coined to describe unionist gunman (9) Anagram (coined) of SEEK TERM containing (to describe) U (unionist) |
| 3 NAGS
Finds fault with Horse Society (4) NAG (horse) + S (society) |
| 5 OESTRUS
So true about last of rashes caused by heat (7) Anagram (about) of SO TRUE + last letter of rasheS |
| 6 DOME CHURCH
Catholic interrupting her much distressed after knees-up in place of worship (4,6) C (catholic) inserted in (interrupting) an anagram (distressed) of HER MUCH after DO (knees-up) |
| 7 GORGE
Old king abandoning first of earls in canyon (5) GeORGE (old king) less (abandoning) first letter of Earls |
| 8 EXTORT
Without cake I hear and milk! (6) Sounds like “EX-TORTE” (without cake) |
| 9 CANARY
Article by Bill sent up both sides of rugby winger (6) AN (article) + AC (bill) reversed (sent up) + first and last letters (both sides) of RugbY |
| 14 INDUCEMENT
Bribe Bond to support religious fellow first off (10) hINDU (religious fellow, less first letter) + CEMENT (bond) |
| 17 ALABAMIAN
A banal arrangement involving Ms Farrow, a resident of Mobile (9) Anagram (arrangement) of A BANAL containing (involving) MIA (Ms Farrow) |
| 18 GENDARME
* Information on branch in the centre of Bordeaux (8) GEN (information) + ARM (branch) inserted in the middle letters of borDEaux French law enforcement officer, somewhere between a policeman and a soldier. |
| 20 TRANCHE
Slice right through to beat revolutionary (7) R (right) inserted in (through) TAN (to beat) + CHE (revolutionary) |
| 21 CHISEL
Cheat hiding in Dulwich is elusive (6) Hidden in dulwiCH IS ELusive |
| 22 ITALIC
Sloping type of terrace originally maintained by one girl for the most part (6) First letter (originally) of Terrace inserted in (maintained by) I (one) + ALICe (girl, for the most part) |
| 24 RAITA
Right about first-class American side dish (5) RT (right) containing (about) AI (A1, first-class) + A (American) |
| 26 FAIR
Just beautiful (4) Double definition |
Knowing from the off that FRANCE was the theme (a pet topic) didn’t necessarily make this as easy as I’d hoped. In the end, I completed it but with a bit of guesswork here and there, as with ASSIGNATS.
My favourite on all levels was TARTE TATIN.
Thanks to Peto for a fun but challenging grid and to Widdersbel for providing some much-needed explanations.
I have only just discovered the FT crosswords. Really enjoyed this one. FAIR was my first one in followed by GENDARME and ALABAMIAN which got me to FRANCE.
Took a while to get some of the others but got there in the end.
Thanks Peto (very inventive) and widdersbel