Financial Times 17,641 by PETO

13 comments on “Financial Times 17,641 by PETO”

1. Following your comment, Teacow, I looked at your parsing for 26a, which I’d failed to solve. It took me a while to work out what it’s about. One of those clues that we foreigners will find, let’s say, challenging. (The Northern Ireland party another.)

   Apart from these hurdles, most of this was enjoyable.

2. If it’s any consolation, GDU, 26a was a mystery to this English solver for a while until the eventual pdm. Very tough for overseas solvers, I’d have thought. But that does make it a bit of an outlier in a puzzle of neat and clean constructions that was very approachable and about right for a Monday.

   GLASS JAW, ECLECTIC and MINISTER my favourites.

   Teacow, does the definition for SLAVER include ‘over’? Otherwise, it’s looking a tad redundant in the clue.

   Thanks PETO and Teacow

3. Thanks Peto and Teacow.

   11ac: I would prefer a question mark on the end of this clue.
   26ac: ODE 2010 gives us an example sentence “happen I’ll go back just for a while.” Needless to say, Chambers 2016 and Collins 2023 also have the definition, marked as northern English. I always like it when a word that is usually used as an indicator (in this case for definition by example) is used instead as a definition.

4. I’m afraid I was caught out by HAPPEN too, Geoff, but when I saw Teacow’s explanation, I had to laugh. Peto got me good and proper!
   I also needed Teacow’s blog to see JOINED-UP. Otherwise, this was good fun.
   Thanks to Peto and Teacow.

5. Thanks Peto and Teacow.
   Take place maybe in Yorkshire (6) FT Zamorca Aug 2023
   (remembered this vaguely after going through the process of assuming HAPPEN as a town in North England, Googling for it and failing to find it (of course, reading ‘Chinese perhaps’ as HAN)).

   Top faves: MINISTER, HAPPEN, INSURE and JOINED-UP.

   PM@2
   SLAVER
   Isn’t ‘SLAVER over something’ the normal usage?
   As you say, the ‘over’ in the clue seems redundant.

6. KVa @5: yes, I’d be inclined to agree. ‘Drool over’ is certainly a Thing; I wondered when posting earlier whether there might be circumstances in which one might slaver without over – I wasn’t wasn’t sure so decided to leave the point to future commenters!

7. 2dn: SOED 2007 allows slaver as a transitive verb, with one meaning defined as “Wet with saliva, slobber over”. Chambers also has the transitive meaning of slaver, but Collins and ODE do not.

8. Pelham Barton@7
   I saw that in Chambers incidentally after reading Postmark@6.
   Then I was trying to check if ‘drool over’ meant ‘wet with drool’. I wasn’t able to find this
   equivalence. Actually, it’s not quite clear to me.
   If ‘drool over’ means ‘to slaver’ in the sense mentioned by you, then the matter is settled.

9. Nice puzzle. No comments aside from those above. I liked KINDLE as well as those named above. I particularly appreciate the smooth surfaces

   Thanks Peto and Teacow

10. 2dn continued: SOED gives drool as “Dribble; salivate in anticipation”, with an illustrative quotation “There may be drooling of saliva.” I think that gives us enough to allow “drool over” = “wet with saliva” from that source.

    While I am back in, for the parsing of 8dn, DU should be “(of the, French)” not just “(of, French)”.

11. I was fine with 2dn and 26ac but perplexed by 1dn and 3dn. Why is “pegged” “thrown” and “hear” “try”? Otherwise most enjoyable.

12. Beak@11 try=hear in the legal sense in court , a trial or hearing. Peg=throw is pretty obscure , from baseball I think but others may know more .

13. 1dn: ODE gives peg as a verb (marked chiefly baseball) “throw (a ball) hard and low”.
    Collins gives (marked informal) to aim and throw (missiles) at a target.
    Chambers gives “to throw or target” with no further information.

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