Financial Times 17,462 by AARDVARK

Fri July 7, 2023 at 7:13 am by Turbolegs

A really tough challenge today from AARDVARK.

I have one clue that still needs to be parsed.

FF:10 DD:10+

ACROSS
1	CAPABILITY BROWN	Garden designer getting bronze after qualification (10.5) (15)
		CAPABILITY ( qualification ) BROWN ( bronze ) ; i guessed the answer after crossers and then confirmed with some googling. i didnt understand the 15 enumeration after the 10.5
9	INTER SE	Some painters expounded among themselves (5,2)
		hidden in "..paINTERS Expounded.."
10	GLASGOW	City’s colourful brightness catches passage occasionally (7)
		GLOW ( colourful brightness ) containing ASG ( pAsSaGe, alternate letters of )
11	KYLIE	Songstress kindly vacated lounge (5)
		KY ( KindlY, without inner letters ) LIE ( lounge ); minogue presumably
12	HARMONICA	One’s blown current half of cash after injury (leg) (9)
		[ I ( current , electricity ) CA ( CAsh, half of ) ] after [ HARM ( injury ) ON ( leg, cricket terminology for side of field relative to the batsman) ]
13	ANAGLYPTA	Harry, during hazardous play, appreciated wall covering (9)
		{ NAG ( harry ) in [ PLAY ]* } TA ( appreciated ) – not very impressed with this clue as it requires too specific a knowledge even if the construction itself is precise
15	WIGHT	So-called snowy isle (5)
		sounds like WHITE ( snowy )
16	DRYAD	Tracks penned by pop deity (5)
		RY ( tracks ) in DAD ( pop )
18	COMMITTEE	European follows Timothy around, tucking into French cheese board (9)
		[ reverse of TIM ( timothy ) in COMTE ( french cheese ) ] E ( european )
20	OUT OF SYNC	Discordant old felons peripherally in county building (3,2,4)
		O ( old ) { FS ( FelonS, peripherally ) in [ COUNTY ]* }
23	HAVEN	Own easternmost place in Colwyn Bay? (5)
		HAVE ( own ) N ( colwyN, end character on the right )
24	TRIBUTE	Praise brothers having retired during race (7)
		could use help with this.
25	MINARET	Sixty seconds — a long time around heart of control tower (7)
		MIN ( sixty seconds ) reverse of ERA ( long time ) T ( conTrol, heart of )
26	RAMSAY MACDONALD	Premier chef joins fast food outlet, not American (6,9)
		RAMSAY ( chef, gordon ) MACDONALD ( fast food outlet ; american spelling would have been MC instead of MAC? )
DOWN
1	CLICKS AND MORTAR	Mouse noises at random troubled vendor finally selling property (6,3,6)
		CLICKS ( mouse noises ) [ AT RANDOM ]* R ( vendoR, finally )
2	PATELLA	Bone china cups hired, lifting area (7)
		[ PAL ( china ) containing reverse of LET ( hired ) ] A ( area )
3	BARRELLED	Californian charged: boozer, fifties, into grass (9)
		BAR ( boozer ) [ LL ( fifties ) in REED ( grass ) ] ; californian indicates american usage
4	LEECH	Marvin perhaps covers Cath’s outside drain (5)
		LEE ( marvin, perhaps ) CH ( CatH, outside letters )
5	TIGER BALM	Cat and male dog rejected ointment (5,4)
		TIGER ( cat ) reverse of [ M ( male ) LAB ( dog ) ]
6	BEANO	22 join the refuseniks? (5)
		cryptic def; read as BE A NO ( join the refuseniks ); 22d is COMIC, which BEANO is.
7	ON-GOING	International disrupts acting award in progress (2-5)
		I ( international ) in [ ON ( acting ) GONG ( award ) ]
8	NEWCASTLE UNITED	Magpies unfamiliar with rook collective (9,6)
		NEW ( unfamiliar ) CASTLE ( rook ) UNITED ( collective )
14	PACHYDERM	Chap crossed yard, pausing horse? (9)
		[ CHAP ] YD ( yard ) ERM ( pausing ) ; i didnt know until today that a horse can be considered as a pachyderm
15	WEIGH INTO	During victory, rowing crew given brief to attack (5,4)
		[ EIGHt ( rowing crew, briefly ) in WIN ( victory ) ] TO
17	YTTRIUM	Youngest cleaned out TR7, ignoring pub element (7)
		YT ( YoungesT, without inner letters ) TRIUMph ( tr7, car manufactured in the 70s by blmc, without PH – pub ) ; needed internet help for the tr7 connection
19	TAVERNA	Eatery’s tax returns, according to auditor, professional? (7)
		reverse of VAT ( tax ) sounds like EARNER ( ~ professional )
21	FAUNA	Fine artwork’s original Stubbs, maybe depicting animal life (5)
		FA ( Fine Artwork, first letters ) UNA ( stubbs, actress )
22	COMIC	Droll peace-lover means to be heard (5)
		CO ( peace-lover? i am thinking commanding officer here but not sure if thats the right parse ) MIC ( means to be heard )

31 comments on “Financial Times 17,462 by AARDVARK”

KVa

#1 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 07:32

Thanks, Aardvark and Turbolegs!
TRIBUTE
race=TRIBE, brothers=Trade Union=TU
UT (TU retired/reversed) in TRIBE.

RAMSAY MACDONALD
I agree with your take on Mcdonald vs Macdonald (It’s actually Mcdonald’s!!!).

COMIC
Stuck at the same place (Why is CO ‘peace-lover’?)
KVa

#2 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 07:38

CO: Correctional Officer (prison)?
Diagacht

#3 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 07:39

Great blog.

My only suggestion for TRIBUTE is: TU (retired – referring to hip hop duo; cannot believe I am suggesting this!) in TRIBE (race)
Geoff Down Under

#4 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 07:40

Only had solved three after half an hour, so abandoned ship. Looked briefly at the above to confirm I’d made the right decision. Obscurities, convoluted wordplays and Brits I’d never heard of. Aardvark returns to my “Don’t attempt” list.
SM

#5 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 07:54

Well done Turbolegs to blog this very hard puzzle. I agree with your comments.
I think CO is conscientious objector , well known for refusing to fight especially in WWI
Thanks to setter and blogger for the mental workout.
trenodia

#6 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 07:56

CO: The role of the Conciliation Officer is to help find a solution that both sides find acceptable instead of going to a tribunal hearing.
KVa

#7 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 07:59

SM@5
I agree with you on CO.
CO should be ‘Conscientious Objector’ (one who refuses to serve in the armed forces on grounds of conscience).
KVa

#8 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 08:32

trenodia@6
Though Conciliation Officer is not a bad choice, I somehow feel that SM@5’s Conscientious Objector works better (Calling this CO a peace-lover is a bit cryptic).
Eric Eric

#9 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 09:16

I guessed ‘anaglypta’ after having only the first letter: bad memories of early DIY days kicked in. But I gave up trying to work out the over-convoluted parsing. And the missing S off McDonald’s is just . . . well, what’s the polite thing to say? Never heard of 3d but it was the only word that made any kind of sense. Having said that, I was pretty chuffed to actually finish the thing: after 20 minutes I only had 1a . . .
helfordpirate

#10 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 09:28

TRIBUTE – TU “trade union/brothers” reversed in TRIBE?
Peter

#11 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 12:18

Had anyone heard of 13A (anaglypta) before today? Certainly not I.

Re 1D: I know the expression “bricks and mortar” but did not know the definition and answer of this clue.

Re 22D: I am inclined to agree that “Conscientious Objector” may stand in for “CO”, but it’s not an abbreviation that I have ever heard or seen before. It would be good if AARDVARK stopped by to explain.

3D was new to me and I assume that it means “drunk” or “attacked”. But I cannot find any reference to either that confirms this online.

Re 17D: how many people remember the “TR7”? And what is “blmc”?

Thanks, Turbolegs. A great effort with a very hard (in parts) puzzle.
SM

#12 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 12:31

Peter @11
I had never heard of anaglypta before nor has the spell check on this website . I did know barrelled from American friends: “we barrelled along the road” meaning going pretty fast.
BLMC is British Leyland Motor Corporation ,rip
Ui Imair

#13 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 12:48

This was unnecessarily difficult from time to time, and RAMSAY MACDONALD has either one or two mistakes, depending on how generous one is with one’s parsing. For the outlet it surely has to be McDonald’s, as KVa and Eric Eric say, and the ‘not American’ part seems really odd. Normally one would be looking to remove an A, but here the writer seems to be saying that as MAC is not an American usage, we should not use MC in the answer. I am very severely unconvinced by this!
Hovis

#14 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 13:15

I’ve certainly heard of anaglypta before and had no trouble with CO for ‘conscientious objector’. I’ve just checked now and it is in Chambers. The TR7 reference passed me by though but, fortunately, I did know YTTRIUM and was left thinking how does ‘7’ equate to ‘IUM’. I could easily have googled TR7 but was lazy and came here for the explanation. I think the clues are all fair and reasonable.
Hovis

#15 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 13:17

…apart from 26a I guess.
copmus

#16 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 13:29

No problem for me re the old PM-thought it was a good surface
My pick of the day for puzzles.
paul b

#17 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 14:02

My cousin had a TR7 but no-one knew where he’d got the money for it. Well, actually the police did.
Petert

#18 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 14:18

I am old enough to remember Anaglypta (perhaps inspired by fellow setter ARTEX LEN) and I enjoyed this, with its vaguely Sixties feel, barreling down the road in the TR7, papering the walls with Anaglypta and calling fellow trade unionists brother.
Goujeers

#19 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 15:11

Peter@11 – we have original anaglypta wallpaper on the stairwell of our Victorian terraced house.
Roz

#20 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 15:15

Thanks for the blog, really good puzzle, lots of clever clues.
Petert@18 I think you mean Seventies, maybe the BEANO was at it’s peak then as well.
The TR7 was such an ugly car , the TR6 far more classy.
Petert

#21 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 15:49

Roz@20 I am sure you are right. I can’t remember, which allegedly proves I was there.
Shanne

#22 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 16:33

I knew ANAGLYPTA, I’ve tried both stripping it from walls and painting over it, so it sticks in the memory.

We didn’t find this as hard as yesterday’s and parsed all but the CO of COMIC, where Conscientious Objector makes sense, and TRIBUTE, where I think of comrades in Trade Unions, so wasn’t convinced by brothers.

Thank you to Turbolegs and Aardvark.
Moly

#23 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 17:41

After failing on the previous two FTs, I am pleased to have finish this very tricky one, though some of the parsing passed me by. I had no Idea that a pachyderm could be a horse, though I did know Anyglypta and the TR7 reference.

Never heard of clicks and mortar.

Thanks to all
Tony Santucci

#24 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 19:08

Thanks Aardvark for a super crossword that was both challenging and entertaining. My top picks were COMMITTEE, OUT OF SYNC, HAVEN, and NEWCASTLE UNITED. I didn’t solve ANAGLYPTA because I failed to think of Harry as “nag”. All other solutions fell into place though I missed a few parsing bits i.e. the “ut” of TRIBUTE, the “erm” of PACHYDERM, and the “trium” of YTTRIUM even though I am familiar with the now very collectible TR7. [Like Roz I thought the TR6 looked better.] Thanks Turbolegs for the helpful blog.
Coby

#25 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 19:49

I got 3, but the American spelling is actually BARRELED.
allan_c

#26 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 19:53

We agree with Tony @24 that this was a super crossword that was both challenging and entertaining. We certainly knew of Anaglypta and the TR7 – maybe it’s a generational thing. Took ages to see the parsing of TRIBUTE, though.
Thanks, Aardvark and Turbolegs.
Brian M

#27 - Fri 7th Jul 23, 21:22

Anaglypta takes me back – to my parents’ decorating, not mine! And I am getting a bit old myself these days. Old enough, in fact, to remember TR7s, which had a habit of catching fire if I remember correctly? In the 1970s my dad had a Triumph 1300, which broke down without fail every time we drove more than 30 miles. Good old British Leyland!
I’m not great at cryptics at the best of times, but really couldn’t get a foothold in this one. Like Geoff @4, I’m glad I didn’t spend too much time on it!
Pelham Barton

#28 - Sat 8th Jul 23, 00:48

Thanks Aardvark and Turbolegs

26ac: I took it for granted that this refers to a British (or some other non-American) company actually called Macdonald, with an A as second letter and no S at the end. This strikes a very vague chord at the back of my mind, but various searches only turned up a chain of hotels, which certainly does not fit the “fast food” part of the clue. Any attempts to search for something like “macdonald food” give answers including McDonald’s, which then dominates. If I am right on this, which is by no means certain, the clue can be acquitted of unsoundness, but could be charged on obscurity grounds.
Hugh

#29 - Sat 8th Jul 23, 12:13

Very tricky. I have similar thoughts on several clues to those already touched upon by others.

CO was definitely Conscientious Objector to me. Cassius Clay, Richard Dreyfuss and even Sargeant York, I believe were COs among many others claiming that status here in the US.

Thanks to Aardvark and Turbolegs.
Alans

#30 - Sat 8th Jul 23, 12:29

CO fine although “conchie” surely commoner abbreviation?
cellomaniac

#31 - Sat 8th Jul 23, 17:46

I don’t think 26a was about American spelling. “Not American” means take the A out of RAMSAY MACDONALD’s last name, and you get the fast food chain. (The chain does need an ‘s at the end, though, so the clue is flawed.)

This was a toughy, but good, with a couple that I couldn’t get. For 3d I entered a guessword, BARWELLED, with WEED being the grass that is most common in California. Re 13a, I hadn’t heard of ANAGLYPTA, and the wordplay was too much for me to guess the jorum.

Thanks, Aardvark for the challenge, and loonapick (and SM@5) for the parsing help.

Comments are closed.