Financial Times 17,543 by STEERPIKE

13 comments on “Financial Times 17,543 by STEERPIKE”

1. Very enjoyable, as Teacow say. Liked WINGSPAN, PROFANE and TORY PARTY for the surface (fat good it will do them!)
   Thanks to Steerpike and Teacow.

2. IBERIA was the only one I didn’t parse. I’d have made 18d “Edicts from Troy initially preserved in stone monuments”. No doubt the unflappable Chambers will allow T for Troy, but I’m of the school of thought that too many things in cryptic crosswords are reduced to single letters. I’m revolting.

   I learnt that Blackpool has a tower, and that new towns are housing schemes. But I did remember that MOTs are tests.

   This was an enjoyable puzzle with plenty of smiles; thanks Steerpike, and Teacow for the blog.

3. GDU. T for Troy is a standard abbreviation as a unit of weight for precious metals etc and often appears in crosswords.

   Nearly gave up on 14d, thinking the answer was going to be a ‘goddess’. Came back after doing the independent and RAMEKIN came instantly to mind.

4. Thanks Steerpike and Teacow

   18dn (STATUTES): Chambers 2014 (C) does indeed allow t for troy, “a system of weights used for precious stones and metals”. I am happy with the abbreviation, which leaves us the false capital to discuss. As I remember, even Ximenes allowed false capitals, but not the reverse. I can see no logical justification for either. However, Steerpike is following a large number of precedents here, and I can accept the argument that not allowing false capital puts too much of a restraint on the setter. Still better if the capital letter can be hidden, as with “Polish” in 11dn.

   13ac (IBERIA) I cannot find liberal = moderate in C. Perhaps it can be found in one of the other standard dictionaries.

5. Hovis @3: for once I did not check to see if any new comments had appeared after I started typing mine and before posting. I hope that I have added something helpful to your comment on Troy.

6. Geoff Down Under@2 – no obscure County abbreviations today – three in a row last week – but last Tuesday we had Telford (Salop) used to clue NEWT:
   “Could be Telford with own amphibian (4)” – NEWT+OWN -> NEW TOWN
   I liked TOWER for the lift-and-separate “Drag queen”

7. PB @5. Indeed. I wasn’t aware that ‘troy’ as a unit was a lower case ‘t’. Could have checked but didn’t. As for the ‘false capitals’ issue; I always found the normal convention a little too artificial for my liking and prefer capitalisation whenever it is appropriate for the surface reading, if not the cryptic wordplay. I agree that the cunning placement of a word at the beginning of a sentence is great when it’s possible.

8. Thanks Steerpike for an enjoyable start to the week. My top picks were DURESS (amusing surface), TOWER, BURSARY, and DUNGEON. I failed to solve RAMEKIN and I couldn’t parse IBERIA; liberal does not mean moderate, at least not in US politics. Thanks Teacow for the blog.

9. OED – Liberal – “…2 (in a political context) favouring individual liberty, free trade, and moderate political and social reform.’

10. FrankieG @9: My guess is that the OED is describing the Liberal party in Britain; since this is a British crossword then Steerpike is on solid ground. That description, however, does not descibe liberals in America.

11. Hi everyone. Many thanks to Teacow for the blog and to everyone who has taken the time to comment. While I agree with Tony Santucci@8 and 10 that what a liberal is may differ from country to country, under moderate as a noun (both in my paper copy and in the online version of Chambers) liberal is listed as a synonym. Anyway, hope that despite any differences of opinion on ‘false capitals’ the puzzle was generally enjoyed. Until next time

12. Challenging in places but we got there in the end, with RAMEKIN our LOI – which, like Hovis, we nearly gave up on, thinking the answer was going to be a ‘goddess’. No problems today with capitals, false or otherwise, but we have a small problem with 5dn – surely the head of a university is the vice-chancellor (or chancellor on formal occasions); a dean may be the head of a faculty or college.
    Lots to like, though, including GERANIUM, PAGE-TURNER and DELIGHT.
    Thanks, Steerpike and Teacow.

13. really fun. it’s nice for a starter like me to get the whole thing for once. Thanks Steerpike and Teacow.

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