Financial Times 17,638 JULIUS

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A Julius puzzle is today's FT entertainment.

This was on the easier side, but still a cracker from Julius. The long anagrams provided lots of crossing letters, although to be honest, on my first run through, almost all of the across answers came quickly, so when it came to the down clues, I had so many crossers that the puzzle was over far too quickly for me. It also helped that I'm pretty sure I've seen the clues (or variations thereof) for MOTORCADE and THEFT before. My favourites were NOSE CANDY and COURT SHOE.

Thanks, Julius.

ACROSS
9 STATUE OF LIBERTY
Torchbearer representative of American values? (6,2,7)

Cryptic-ish definition
10 EVENT
Happening the day before November first in Tahiti (5)

EVE ("the day before") + N (November, in the NATO phonetic alphabet) + [first in] T(ahiti)
11 MOTORCADE
Democrat shifted old imported limos — lots of ‘em (9)

*(democrat) [anag:shifted] with O (old) imported
12 COURT SHOE
Brief putsch, according to Spooner, that’s finished at last (5,4)

Spoonerism of SHORT ("brief") + COUP ("putsch") is COURT SHOE which is "finished at" a cobbler's "last"
14 AMIGO
Ace Russian fighter over China? (5)

A (ace) + MIG ("Russian fighter" plane) + O (over)

"China plate", shortened to "china" is Cockney rhyming slang for "mate"
16 A T THE DROP OF A HAT
That poor fathead fell apart instantly (2,3,4,2,1,3)

*(that poor fathead) [anag:fell apart]
19 THEFT
This newspaper is a rip-off! (5)

THE FT (Financial Times, so "this nespaper")
21 DIGESTIVE
Synopsis I have condensed re food processing (9)

DIGEST ("synopsis") + I'VE ("I have". condensed)
23 NOSE CANDY
Coke tin one’s ordered up front: 500 yen (4,5)

CAN ("tin") with *(ones) [anag:ordered] up front + D (500, in Roman numerals) + Y (yen)
25 CLEAR
See-through net (5)

Double definition
26 BED AND BREAKFAST
Change in Fed’s bank rate bad for small hotel business (3,3,9)

*(freds bank rate bad) [anag:change in]
DOWN
1 OSTEOC;LAST
Coe falls over during East German final — it could be a bone breaker (10)

<=COE [falls over] during OST ("east" in "German") + LAST ("final")
2 GATEAU
Emirates label upside-down cake (6)

<=(UAE (United Arab "Emirates") + TAG ("label"), upside down)
3 SUBTITLE
Low-key tech included a guide for viewers (8)

SUBTLE ("low-key") with IT (information technology, so "tech") included
4 FORM
Group of pupils in favour of Master (4)

FOR ("in favour of") + M (Master)
5 CLOTHES PEG
Actor, English, wearing wooden shoe that’s owned by washerwoman (7,3)

THESP ("actor") + E (English) wearing CLOG ("wooden shoe")
6 IBERIA
Son leaving unhospitable N Asia region for somewhere warmer in the west (6)

S (son) leaving (s)IBERIA ("unhospitable N Asia region")
7 FREAKISH
Liberal snog from Connery? That sounds very unusual! (8)

Homophone [that sounds] of FREE ("liberal") and KISH ("snog" from Connery, as Sean Connery famously pronounced his S's as Sh, so "kiss" becomes "kish")
8 TYPE
Twenty people on vacation hit The Keys (4)

T(went)Y P(eopl)E [on vacation]
13 HARD DONE BY
Harshly treated, Derby had no breaks (4,4,2)

*(derby had no) [anag:breaks]
15 ON THE FRITZ
Re Piccadilly hotel hosting foxtrot: this isn’t working for Americans (2,3,5)

ON ("re") + THE RITZ ("Piccadilly hotel") hosting F (foxtrot, in the NATO phonetic alphabet)
17 TEESSIDE
Support for golfers second team in NE region (8)

TEE ("support for golfers") + S (second) + SIDE ("team")
18 FISH CAKE
Principally fussy, I shudder when eating cold food from the chippy (4,4)

[principally] F(ussy) + I + SHAKE ("shudder") when eating C (cold)
20 TECHNO
Beats Switzerland in 10-0 stuffing (6)

CH (IVR code for "Switzerland") in TEN (10) + O (0)
22 ICECAP
Venice captain traversing frozen waste (6)

HIdden in [traversing] "venICE CAPtain"
23 NOBS
Seriously, I’m not kidding… they’re toffs (4)

NO BS (bullshit) ("seriosly", I'm not kidding")
24 YVES
French chap Victor visiting lycées regularly (4)

V (Victor, in the NATO phonetic alphabet) visiting (l)Y(c)E(e)S [regularly]

21 comments on “Financial Times 17,638 JULIUS”

  1. Plenty of nice surfaces, and plenty of great anagrams. I thought this a bit more difficult than recent Julius puzzles, with a few unknown words. I did not breeze through this like loonapick

    Favourites were the great anagrams AT THE DROP OF A HAT, BED AND BREAKFAST and MOTORCADE (such an ugly word). I liked “no BS” of NOBS and it was great to have a sensible spoonerism in COURT SHOE.

    I do not know the word OSTEOCLAST, but my dictionary says it is a clump of cells around bone healing. So I fail do see how it can be a bone breaker, as clued. I am also not sure why frozen waste is an ICE CAP. I am sure someone will explain and the answers will be obvious

    Thanks Julius and loonapick

  2. Like loonapick, I found the answers fell readily into place today with the long one across the middle solving itself from the enumeration alone. So, yes, plenty of crossers enabling potentially tricky words like OSTEOCLAST and ON THE FRITZ to resolve themselves. The splendid anagram for BED AND BREAKFAST makes that my COTD with FREAKISH and HARD DONE BY completing the podium. I did waste a few moments wondering what ‘stuffing’ was doing in TECHNO apart from finishing the surface nicely.

    Martyn: Chambers has two defs for OSTEOCLAST: A surgical instrument for fracturing bone and
    A bone-destroying cell. The first seems unequivocally appropriate, the second arguably so.

    Thanks Julius and loonapick

  3. Things I learnt today …

    Sean Connery has a lisp.
    Nose candy is coke.
    A chippy isn’t always a carpenter.
    Americans like fritz.
    And one day I hope to visit Teesside.

    I’m looking forward to one day using my new knowledge.

  4. Just what I needed in my jetlagged state with (the not terribly cryptic) 1A being a huge helping hand.
    There were flashes of Julius wit all over the occy but particularly so in the SW corner, where NOSE CANDY, NOBS and TECHNO made me grin. I also loved the surface of 1d for conjuring the golden age of British middle distance runners.
    Thanks to Julius and
    Loonapick.

  5. Martyn@1
    ICECAP
    I think the ‘frozen waste’ in the clue means ‘a wasteland/uninhabited land covered with ice’.

  8. Having a busy day ahead, I was thankful that this Julius puzzle was slightly easier than they sometimes are but I have to pay tribute to the superb cluing that made it all fall into place.

    The clever long anagrams gave a good start and I was especially chuffed at working out 1dn OSTEOCLAST and 15dn ON THE FRITZ (a totally unknown phrase) simply by following the directions on the tin – always a satisfying experience. I also enjoyed the construction of FISHCAKE and CLOTHES PEG, which raised a smile and the succinctness of CLEAR and TYPE – and, as always, the lovely surfaces throughout.
    As one whose heart sinks rather than leaps at the mention of Spooner, I know I can always rely on Julius for a sensible and meaningful example, as here.

    Many thanks to Julius for a super start to the day and to loonapick for a great blog.

  10. Although I got the three long across clues almost immediately, which gave lots of crosses, it still took me quite a while to complete – especially the top half. But as always with Julius I enjoyed it.

    I am sure I have seen a similar clue for IBERIA or SIBERIA more than once.

    Liked: COURT SHOE, NOSE CANDY, OSTEOCLAST, CLOTHES PEG

    Thanks Julius and loonapick

  11. Thanks Julius and Loonapick

    20dn: techno is defined in Collins 2023 as “a type of very fast dance music, using electronic sounds and fast heavy beats”. Techno is of course not related to music, it is a form of music, as that word is understood in the general population.

  12. 19a THEFT – https://www.fifteensquared.net/2009/05/28/ft-13088gozo/ – zero comments! – Blogger smiffy says:
    “13a THEFT – The FT. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was used in – or even pre-dates – the first ever Financial Times Crossword.”
    Especially liked NOSE CANDY – but 500 yen (£2.66) for a can of Coke – that’s another rip-off. Liked SHORT COUP and FREE KISH, too.
    Thanks J&l

  13. I too found this on the quick side for Julius, but a lot of fun.
    19a THEFT may be an oldie but made me laugh.
    LIke others, I admired the way that ON THE FRITZ and OSTEOCLAST could be deduced from the clues; also the definition of TECHNO and the economy of cluing for CLEAR.
    When I saw 9a STATUE OF LIBERTY, first one in and closely followed by MOTORCADE (neat clue) , I thought we might be in for a bit of topical comment but this is the FT and not the Independent.
    Thank you Julius and Loonapick.

  14. Thanks Postmark@2 for clearing up OSTEOCLAST. KVa@5: I like your theory about ICECAP – a bit vague for Julius but it works

  15. Thanks for the blog, dear loonapick, and thanks to those who have commented. It’s my turn in the FT news puzzle slot this month so see you again on Sunday!
    best wishes to all, Rob/Julius

  16. Thanks Julius, that was enjoyable with AMIGO, AT THE DROP OF A HAT, NOSE CANDY, TYPE, TECHNO, and ON THE FRITZ being top picks. [ON THE FRITZ generally refers to objects in a state of disrepair e.g. my TV is ON THE FRITZ. It’s not used for people not working — those terms range from unemployed to lazy bum.] I missed COURT SHOE; I thought it was a good Spoonerism but the definition was too vague for my brain. Thanks loonapick for the blog.

  18. This is probably a bit of serendipity but it gave me a chuckle. From 1988 – 1991, the Villeroy and Boch company had a china pattern called “Amigo”. No need for Cockney rhyming slang!

  19. Re 12a COURT SHOE and Spoonerisms in general, this is a rare point of disagreement with Eileen. I like them. Although I find them amongst the most difficult clues to solve, and I almost always need a few crossers to do so, I delight in the melodious sound of the dropping pennies when the wordplay reveals itself.

    I also liked 16a AT THE DROP OF A HAT, for the surface that suggests a comment from Donald Swann about his corpulent stage partner.

    Thanks Julius and loonapick for the excellent Thursday diversion._

  20. A friend mentioned how good this puzzle was and even though I came to it late (and even later to this blog), I just wanted to offer Julius my thanks as I loved every minute of it.
    I also really enjoyed reading loonapick’s blog and the posts from others. Geoff Down Under@3 probably won’t see this, but I thought his comment was gold.

  21. I’m very happy to say this Yank was able to solve both the Cockney rhyming slang clue and the obscure English region clue today. What? No cricket?! Are you pulling my leg?

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