Financial Times 17,542 by Buccaneer

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Puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 7, 2023

I found this a good challenge with some fine clues, especially 7 (BATMOBILE), 13 (POMPIDOU), 21 (ABJECT) and 27 (SELF).

Thank you, Buccaneer.

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1 FOR CERTAIN
Make and pour nurturing tea, we hear? No doubt (3,7)
FORCE (make) + T (tea we hear) in (nurturing) RAIN (pour)
7 BUDS
Maybe little Rose and Nigella’s pals across the pond (4)
Double definitions
9 STOP
Put a bung into some envelopes to parliamentarian (4)
Hidden word (some)
10 DJIBOUTIAN
I fit into tuxedo, along with Scot and African (10)
DJ (tuxedo, that is Dinner Jacket) + I (I) + BOUT (fit) + IAN (Scot)
11 GRINGO
Latino’s affront to American in golf (a couple of rounds) (6)
G (golf) + RING (one round) + O (a second round)
12 HALLOWED
Venerated Shakespeare character behaved like a cow (8)
HAL (Shakespeare character) + LOWED (behaved like a cow)
13 POMPIDOU
I had to interrupt endlessly grandiloquent old president (8)
I’D (I had) in (to interrupt) POMPOU[s] (endlessly grandiloquent)
15 IOTA
Letter, or nine consecutive ones from the east (4)
A TO I (nine consecutive ones, letters that is) backwards (from the east)
17 BARK
Covering perhaps for Rowan’s boat (4)
Double definition
19 OBSCENER
Ruder pupil once having public tantrum in front of head of Rugby (8)
OB (pupil once, that is Old Boy) + SCENE (public tantrum) + R[ugby]
22 CROSSBOW
Narked cockney may be here, one that was fired (8)
CROSS (narked) + BOW (cockney may be here)
23 EXCEPT
Save ten cents in cases of expenditure and payment (6)
X (ten) + C (cents) together in E[xpenditur]E + P[aymen]T
25 CIGARETTES
Camels, say, in animated CGI, and a dog turning round (10)
Anagram (animated) of CGI + A (a) + SETTER (dog) backwards (turning around)
26 EBAY
Place for flogging bottom of pantomime horse (4)
[pantomim]E + BAY (horse). I think this is a clever clue but nevertheless wonder about referring to eBay as a place. ‘Site’ would fit better but would also be a giveaway.
27 SELF
Second XI for Bayern Munich showing ego (4)
S (second) + ELF (XI for Bayern Munich, that is ‘eleven’ in German)
28 TURPENTINE
Punter, going bust, can end in hope to be solvent (10)
Anagram (going bust) of PUNTER + TIN (can) + [hop]E
DOWN
2 ONTARIO
Part of the Americas, not a foreign city there (7)
Anagram (foreign) of NOT A + RIO (city there)
3 CAPON
Chicken or peel of potato stored in container (5)
P[otat]O in (stored in) CAN (container)
4 REDWOODS
Tiger found beneath e.g. cherry trees (8)
RED (e.g. cherry) + WOODS (Tiger)
5 A FISH OUT OF WATER
Proverbial drinker having no more drink? One feels uncomfortable (1,4,3,2,5)
A FISH (proverbial drinker) OUT OF WATER (having no more drink)
6 NOODLE
Bean which may go in stir- fry? (6)
Double definition
7 BATMOBILE
Turned up key and phone in armoured car (9)
TAB (key) backwards (turned up) + MOBILE (phone)
8 DIALECT
Geordie, say, put up with shocking treatment (7)
LAID (put) backwards (up) + ECT (shocking treatment, i.e. Electro-Convulsive Therapy)
14 PIKESTAFF
Handle former US leader, man going after power (9)
P (power) + IKE (former US leader) + STAFF (man)
16 ASSESSEE
Person judged an idiot sees new beginning in education (8)
ASS (an idiot) + anagram (new) of SEES + E[ducation]
18 AIRLINE
Transport business which preoccupies a balding EastEnder? (7)
‘AIR LINE (which preoccupies a balding EastEnder)
20 EXPLAIN
Justify scheme no longer inspiring yours truly (7)
I (yours truly) in (inspiring) EX-PLAN (scheme no longer)
21 ABJECT
Jack Black, securing lead in comedy, is miserable (6)
AB (jack, that is Able-Bodied seaman) + C[omedy] in (securing) JET (black)
24 CLEFT
Capital part of Croatian port — Split? (5)
C[roatian] + LEFT (port)

21 comments on “Financial Times 17,542 by Buccaneer”

  1. Agreed, Pete. A super puzzle from Buccaneer with many ticks from me including GRINGO (surface), POMPIDOU, CAMELS, 5D’s surface, NOODLE, PIKESTAFF, AIRLINE and my last one in, ABJECT, for the ‘balding’!
    Thanks Buccanneer and Pete, especially for parsing IOTA which I guessed and just didn’t see.

  3. Agree that it was difficult and I agree there were several clever clues. My favourites were: ONTARIO for its surface and construction, CIGARETTES for its surface, EBAY because, as Pete wrote, it is clever and TURPENTINE for it surface.

    Would someone please explain why “cockney may be here” means BOW, how does handle mean PIKESTAFF and why is a key a tab??

    While Pete questions EBAY being a place, I wonder whether OBSCENER or ASSESSEE are words. The former should be “more obscene” and the latter does not appear in any dictionary I looked at (although I am sure someone will quote chambers to me). And I think you are very generous, Pete, with EX-PLAN. I just thought they got the order wrong.

    Anyway, thanks for a difficult but fulfilling challenge Buccaneer, and thanks Pete for a great explanation of the clever but tricky clues.

  4. Martyn,
    Tradition has it that Cockneys are born within earshot of Bow bells.
    You ‘handle’ the staff of a pike.
    And the tab is on the keyboard to advance the cursor.

  6. Thanks Diane

    Never heard of Bow bells – will have to look that up

    I am afraid I still do not get PIKESTAFF. According to my dictionary, it is either a walking stick with a metal point, or the wooden shaft of a pike. I just cannot see how either of those can be described as handle (noun or verb)

    I rather overlooked the obvious with tab, didn’t I?

  13. Thanks for the blog and an excellent summary, my favourites have been named ,
    Karla the chief Russian spy smoked Camels . ( very minor blog issue , it is A RETTES ) .

  14. I really enjoyed this, started it with the offspring on a tube journey, and whiled away the trip completing it.

    I wondered whether if would have been more accurate as
    26A Where to flog the bottom of a pantomime horse.

    Martyn @26 good luck looking up Bow bells – it’s a bit moot, the bells of St Mary Le Bow in the City (of London) or the lovely ancient church at Bow, now stranded in the middle of the A11 main road, a couple of miles east, and really in London’s East End, where the sound of the bells are drowned out by traffic.

    Thank you to Buccaneer and Pete Maclean.

  16. For OBSCENER – Ian Dury’s Billericay Dickie from his debut solo album New Boots and Panties!!(1977):
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billericay_Dickie
    ‘I had a love affair with Nina | in the back of my Cortina | A seasoned up hyena | could not have been more obscener
    She took me to the cleaners | and other misdemeanours; | but I got right up between her | rum and her ribena.’
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hi2zGVRiEA
    Blatant advertising of Camels CIGARETTES – how do these setters get away with it?
    Thanks B&PM

  17. EX-PLAN – a whimsical ‘scheme no longer’, like an ex-parrot that’s ‘joined the bleedin’ choir invisible’ or an ex-pat – someone who’s no longer !rish.

  18. I had to go out early this morning, so I’ve nothing really to add but couldn’t let a Buccaneer puzzle go without appreciation.

    My favourites were 10ac DJIBOUTIAN, 13ac POMPIDOU, 15ac IOTA, 23ac EXCEPT, 28ac TURPENTINR, 2dn ONTARIO and 24dn SPLIT.

    Many thanks, as ever, to Buccaneer and Pete.

  19. Thanks Shanne @14. Wikipedia covers the Bow bells well. I was surprised to realise I have been to the lane outside St Mary-le-Bow Church for a reason unrelated to the church. I wish I had paid a bit more attention to the church now I have read about it.

  20. After recent defeats by both Picaroon and Rodriguez I was a bit reluctant to attempt this crossword. It turned out to hit the sweet spot for me and I had many favourites including HALLOWED, EXCEPT, ONTARIO, REDWOODS, BATMOBILE, and ABJECT. Thanks to both.

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