Financial Times 17,491 by GUY

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Guy is the compiler of the FT puzzle this morning.

The first thing I noticed here was that the grid was a bit unfriendly. It is essentially two separate crosswords joined only by the centre letter of the long down clue.

My first pass gave me quite a few answers, some of which were unparsed. I spotted a Latin American theme (highlighted in the grid – SAINT PAUL being a translation of SAO PAULO, Brazil's second largest city), which helped me to get ISTHMUS OF PANAMA and INCA TRAIL, which were inexplicable linked by their clues, despiter being nowhere near each other. A certain degree of general knowledge was required to complete the puzzle, but I like GK in puzzles, so no complaints from me there.

I'm not convinced by the portmanteau on 1ac, and I haven't parsed NO SWEAT to my satisfcation, wondering if "sandwiches" is doing double duty. Similarly, "misplaced" may be doing double duty in ISTHMUS OF PANAMA, indicating it is nowhere near the INCA TRAIL as well as being the anagram indicator.

I gave double ticks to SHTICK, COFFEE BEAN, DESPOT, BRAZIL NUT, COAL TIT and OBELI.

Thanks Guy

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1 TWEE
Quaint portmanteau of 2 and 3? (4)

[portmanteau of] TW(o) and (thr)EE
4 SAINT PAUL
Church VIP decorates everything for Spooner (5,4)

If the Reverend Spooner tried to say PAINTS ALL ("decorates everything"), it may have come out as SAINT PAUL.
9 NO SWEAT
Today have sandwiches outdoors, ultimately that’s a picnic (2,5)

NOW ("today") + EAT ("have sandwiches") with (outdoor)S [ultimately]

I can't see any indication that S is inside the NOW EAT, unless sandwiches is doing double duty.
10 SHTICK
Routine — can it go like clockwork? (6)

SH ("can it!") + TICK ("go like clockwork")
11 BEAR
Put up with a bad mannered person (4)

Double definition
12 SUMMER CAMP
Totter like a drag queen, perhaps as US kids’ entertainer (6,4)

SUMMER ("totter", as in one doing sums) + CAMP ("like a drag queen")
13 SANDINISTA
Revolting Nicaraguan beach with plastic I sat in (10)

SAND ("beach") with *(i sat in) [anag:plastic]
14 CUBA
Red state of 11’s first baby? (4)

(bear) CUB ("11's baby"), and since it is her first, it is CUB A, rather than CUB B, CUB C etc…
16 TOUR
Trip with ancient city as the destination (4)

TO ("as the destination") + UR ("ancient city")
17 COFFEE BEAN
Emily’s opening can of beef jerky — it’s nicer roasted (6,4)

*(e can of beef) [anag:jerky] where E is E(mily) ['s opening]
19 COPACABANA
Place in Rio to grab a beach hut (10)

COP ("to grab") + A + CABANA ("beach hut")
22 LAID
Bet Australian wears cap (4)

A (Australian) wears LID ("cap")
23 DESPOT
Cruel master to take marks off? (6)

If you remove spots from something (i.e. DE-SPOT it), you "take marks off" it.
24 AL GREEN
Soul singer making nearly everyone jealous (2,5)

[nearly] AL(l) ("everyone") + GREEN ("jealous")
25 INCA TRAIL
International barrier with any number of craft regularly passing through: clue for 5? (4,5)

I (international) + RAIL ("barrier") with N (any number, in maths) +C(r)A(f)T [regularly] passing through
26 OATH
Bond entertained by Domino at hotel (4)

Hidden in [entertained by] "dominO AT Hotel"
DOWN
2 WINNEBAGO
Camper climbing Scottish mountain after success in the past (9)

[climbing] <=BEN ("Scottidh mountain") after WIN ("success") + AGO ("in the past")
3 EASY RIDER
Non-onerous clause added to contract for film (4,5)

EASY ("non-onerous") + RIDER ("clause added to contract")
4 STETSON
Hat with instructions to leave it on (7)

STETS (in proofreading, "instructions to leave it") + ON
5 ISTHMUS OF PANAMA
Famous path in S Am, misplaced clue for 25? (7,2,6)

*(famous path in s am) [anag:misplaced]
6 TESSERA
Small tile sets are laid out specially (7)

*(sets) + *(are) [anag:laid out separately]
7 AZTEC
Mexican busy south of Arizona (5)

TEC (detective, so "busy" as in policeman) south of AZ (Arizona)
8 LOCUM
Deputy with short hair I don’t know (5)

[short] LOC(k) ("hair") + UM ("I don't know")
14 CABALLERO
Spanish gentleman in secret society left zip unopened (9)

CABAL ("secret society") + L (left) + (z)ERO ("zip", unopened)
15 BRAZIL NUT
Last letter received by tribunal in code, one you’d crack (6,3)

Z ("last letter") received by *(tribunal) [anag:in code]
17 COAL TIT
Little creature wagging tail in bed (4,3)

*(tail) in COT ("bed")
18 EVANGEL
Welsh male getting leg over, missionary? (7)

EVAN ("Welsh male") getting <=LEG [over]
20 OBELI
Fat Gaul wants ten Roman daggers (5)

OBELI(x) ("fat Gaul" in the Asterix comic series) wants (i.e. lacks) X ("ten")
21 ASPIC
Like photograph, a transparency from stock (5)

AS ("like") + PIC ("photograph")

32 comments on “Financial Times 17,491 by GUY”

  6. Kevin@5
    ‘Busy’ means ‘a police officer’. Probably, it’s derogatory. Someone will explain it better.

  7. Estupendo.
    9a as per KVa @ 1
    Kevin @3
    The bizzies = a nickname for the police (there are many) so as Loonapick states in his blog, a detective is a busy/bizzie.
    Many I liked today.
    17a, yes ‘nicer [when properly] roasted’!
    Thanks to Guy and Loonapick.

  9. Diane@7
    You have given additional info. Thanks.

    INCA T and ISTHMUS O P
    Rethinking…
    Are we missing something? Could there be more hidden in the clues?

  10. INCA TRAIL
    Famous path in S Am

    ISTHMUS OF PANAMA
    International barrier with any number of craft regularly passing through

    Does this work?

  13. KVa@10 well done there. I like Guy’s crosswords. Plenty of fun and not too tortured. Plus today there was a Spoonerism and a lurker, my two fav clue types I’ve decided.

    I know some people tend to be down on Spoonerisms but I admit to a little anticipatory smile when I see one.

  14. Thanks Guy and Loonapick. I had 9ac the same way as others starting with KVa@1.

    The term “isthmus” is used in the branch of mathematics that deals with the structure of networks (called “graph theory”, pronounced even by some southerners with a flat A) to mean a single connection between two parts of a network, as in the middle of this grid. Possibly just a coincidence. I still do not like grids with this sort of structure unless extra connections are made by such devices as a single clued phrase for 2/20dn.

  15. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/busy#Noun
    ‘Noun – busy (plural busies) – (slang, UK, Liverpool, derogatory) – A police officer.
    2016, Chris Graham – Five Minutes of Amazing: My Journey Through Dementia – “I remember playing on a building site once and coming across a five-pound note. I could hardly believe it when I spotted it poking out of the rubble. Excitedly, I ran straight home and gave it to my mum. I was hero of the hour until I got into trouble with the busies – the police – soon afterwards for pinching a bottle of milk from a float.'”
    https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/bpkbkxy
    busy n. – also bizzi, bizzie, bizzy, busybody – [ .. their rushing around, unlike a uniformed officer, who plods along a set beat]
    2015 – [Scot] – I. Welsh – Decent Ride: “Jist tell ays if ye are [going to commit suicide], so ah kin gie the bizzies some story.”
    I’d spell it bizzy/bizzies like Diane

  17. Thanks for the blog,a lot of neat clues , clever idea for 25Ac and 5D .
    I strongly suspect that the grid format was deliberate to tie in with 5D and the overall theme.

  18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangel_4500
    The EVANGEL 4500 was a 1960s American twin-engined light passenger/cargo monoplane built by the Evangel Aircraft Corporation … established to design and build a bush aircraft particularly for use by missionary groups. For work in South America it had to have STOL capability and be simple to operate and maintain.

  21. I liked the theme, even more so now that ISTHMUS OF PANAMA and INCA TRAIL have been sorted out by KVa @10. The grid location for ISTHMUS OF PANAMA was also positionally appropriate, as mentioned by PB @14. Good to see ‘busy’ again for a policeman and the info about the EVANGEL aircraft was v. interesting (thanks FrankieG @18), not to mention the somewhat risqué surface for the clue!

    Thanks to Guy and loonapick

  22. So the O in the middle represents the Panama Canal, with the US/Central American references in the top half & the Caribbean/South American ones in the bottom. Apart from AL GREEN – but I’m happy to see him anywhere.
    WordPlodder@21 – I can’t believe I missed the naughtiness in EVANGEL – D’oh! 🙂
    Thanks G&l

  24. Further to FrankieG@22, is it possible that the Saint Paul referenced in 4ac is in fact the capital of Minnesota?

  25. i was thinking like Frankie@22 myself but Saint Paul put me off. Pelham Barton@24 has solved that issue.
    Can we add BEAR lake and STETSON very loosely if we allow COFFEE BEAN ?

  26. Took me a while to get started but then speeded up and enjoyed it.

    OBELI made me laugh. Also liked ASPIC, SAINT PAUL, WINNEBAGO

    Thanks Guy (first time I’ve tried one of your puzzles) and loonapick

  27. All went fine until the SW corner – failed to get “obeli”, “aspic” and “despot”. Thanks for the fun Guy and the illumination loonapick.

  29. Thanks Guy for a splendid crossword with ticks going to NO SWEAT, COFFEE BEAN, WINNEBAGO, BRAZIL NUT, and the tricky ASPIC. Thanks KVa for the insight on 5d and 25a and to loonapick for the blog.

  30. Late to this but glad I got round to it – what a treat! Love the two linked clues – very clever. Agree with Roz re the unusual grid design. Panama is of course the only place in the world where you can see the sun rise over the Pacific and set over the Atlantic. Thanks, Guy and Loonapick.

    NB “have sandwiches” wouldn’t be a good definition of “eat” – sandwiches could be the object of the verb, an example of something you’d eat, but aren’t an intrinsic part of the definition. Some setters do make that mistake but I wouldn’t expect it from Guy.

  31. I have not seen the trick with the sun but I have swam in the Atlantic ( Caribbean) and Pacific on the same day.

  32. Widdersbel@30: Possibly too late for you to see this, but “have sandwiches” could be a definition by example – requiring indication in my view – for “eat” as an intransitive verb.

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