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Bobcat is today's FT setter.
I struggled to get onto Bobcat's wavelength this morning, and I have run out of time, so I'm going to have to leave SPYCATCHER and OLD-WOMANISH unparsed, and I'm not satisfied with 4dn either. I did manage to appreciate some of the other clues though, especially the two &lits (TOURIST and WEIR), EAST INDIA and TETCHIER.
Thanks Bobcat and apologies to all for the incomplete parsings, which I'm sure will not remain unparsed for long.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | AD HOC |
Officer assisting general casing house for special purpose (2,3)
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ADC (aide de camp, so "officer assisting general") casing Ho. (house) |
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| 4 | BOYLE’S LAW |
Scientific formula for preparing cabbage, so it’s said (6,3)
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Homophone [so it's said] of BOIL SLAW ("prepare cabbage") |
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| 9 | EDDYING |
Enid’s exhausted, perishing: just maintaining circulation (7)
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E(ni)D ['s exhausted] + DYING ("perishing") The "just" is superfluous. |
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| 10 | KIPPERS |
Captain moving south for fish (7)
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(S)KIPPER ('captain") moving S (south) becomes KIPPER(S) |
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| 11 | OPHTHALMOLOGY |
Lytham pool got nearly hot when heated. That’s science for you (13)
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*(lytham pool go h) [anag:when heated] where GO is GO(t) [nearly] and H = hot |
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| 14 | ALTO |
British composer’s inner voice (4)
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[inner] part of Sir William (w)ALTO(n) ("British composer") |
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| 15 | EAST INDIA |
Company once transported ingredients of Asian diet (4,5)
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*(asian diet) [anag:transported ingredients of] |
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| 18 | EXTREMELY |
Greatly shortened run — a sort of dash — to cathedral (9)
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[shortened] EXTR(a) ("run" in cricket) + EM ("a sort of dash") + ELY (cathedral) |
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| 19 | MOTH |
Night-flier’s annual check-up in UK hospital (4)
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MOT (test) (a car's "annual check-up in UK) + H (hospital) |
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| 21 | ENCYCLOPAEDIA |
Comprehensive source of cocaine played out (13)
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*(cocaine played) [anag:out] |
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| 24 | TOURIST |
One going through to ancient city street? (7)
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I (one) going through TO + UR ("ancient city") + St, (street) and &lit. |
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| 26 | TAG LINE |
Rallying cry in US reversed gun policy (3,4)
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[reversed] <=GAT ("gun") + LINE ("policy") |
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| 27 | RESERVOIR |
Water supply from port backing onto mostly protected land (9)
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<=RIO ("port", backing) onto [mostly] RESERV(e) ("protected land") |
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| 28 | OTHER |
Different features in Motherwell and Rotherhithe (5)
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Hidden [features] in mOTHERwell and rOTHERhithe |
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | AVER |
Declare validity of note without question (4)
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(qu)AVER ("note") without Qu. (question) |
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| 2 | HYDROSTATIC |
This sort of pressure could make dictator shy (11)
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*(dictator shy) [anag:could make] |
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| 3 | CLICHE |
Hackneyed stuff in equal measure from Clinton and Cheney (6)
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[in equal measure from] CLI(nton) and CHE(ney) |
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| 4 | BIG CHEESE |
VIP’s pompous word for photographers (3,6)
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CHEESE is a "word for photographers", but wouldn't say that pompous and BIG are synonymous. |
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| 5 | YOKEL |
Awkward fellow in country hotel finally holds up Bond (5)
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(hote)L [finally] holds up YOKE ("bond") |
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| 6 | EUPHOBIA |
Fear of good news that’s apparently prevalent in Brexiteers? (8)
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A fear of the EU , "prevalent in Brexiteers", could be EU-PHOBIA |
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| 7 | LEE |
Shelter regularly used in Lucerne (3)
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[regularly used in] L(uc)E(rn)E |
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| 8 | WISHY-WASHY |
Half-hearted desire to scrub Y-fronts by end of January (5-5)
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WISH ("desire") + Y fronting WASH ("to scrub") by [end of] (Janauar)Y |
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| 12 | OLD-WOMANISH |
Fussy sort who initially idolised Salmond (3-8)
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| 13 | PACE-SETTER |
Runner in front’s in step with me (4-6)
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PACE ("step") with SETTER ("me") |
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| 16 | SPYMASTER |
Head of Mossad, identified as such by Fleming (9)
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Not sure of parsing beyond Fleming being a writer of spy stories. |
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| 17 | TETCHIER |
Offensive Athenian character starts to encourage rebellion, becoming more annoyed (8)
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TET (Offensive) + CHI ("Athenian character") + [starts to] E(ncourage) + R(ebeliion) |
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| 20 | ADAGIO |
Movement of a soldier in difficulty (6)
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A GI (American "soldier") in ADO ("difficulty") |
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| 22 | OUTDO |
Best cap (5)
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Double definition |
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| 23 | WEIR |
I may be interrupting water — effecting regulation, primarily (4)
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I may be interrupting W(ater) E(ffecting) R(egulation) [primarily] and &lit. |
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| 25 | UPS |
Raises dogs without the lead (3)
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(p)UPS ("dogs") without the lead |
Yes, I wondered about pompous/big.
12A “fussy” = definition, “sort” = anagram indicator, anagram fodder = WHO I[dolised] SALMOND
16A Head of “Mossad” = M, spymaster in James Bond stories
4D Chambers has “pompous” as one of the meanings of “big”
Ha! Bobcat’s back with his feline added extras and very entertaining too.
EUPHOBIA was my favorite along with others in that quadrant including YOKEL, WISHY-WASHY and EAST INDIA.
I had OLD-WOMANISH as per Rudolf.
A good assortment of varied clues with some very helpful anagrams to get the ball rolling.
Thanks to Bobcat and Loonapick.
Liked TOURIST, OLD-WOMANISH, SPYMASTER and WEIR.
CATS PAWS seen in the middle of the grid.
Thanks both!
Thanks, Rudolf@2.
I knew someone would be able to help.
I enjoyed this one; maybe I am finally getting onto Bobcat’s wavelength. Or maybe improving?? :). Some very clever, clueing and misdirections.
Favourites included Eddying, the astonishing Encyclopaedia, Tourist and Wishy-washy
Loi was Old womanish; eventually I spotted that it was an anagram.
Thanks to all
I’m not surprised Bobcat opted to anagram the four long clues and, whilst ENCYCLOPAEDIA is the star of the show, as Moly observes, the others are all pretty neat finds as well. It took me a long time to realise that OLD WOMANISH was not the exceedingly unwoke clue it appeared to be at first! MOTH, TOURIST, WEIR and SPYMASTER, which I parsed as Rudolf and Diane, are my other faves today.
Thanks Bobcat and loonapick
Not much to add. I especially echo what Diane wrote @3.
Thanks Bobcat and loonapick
Thanks Bobcat, I enjoyed this and the CATS PAWS helped me with a couple of solutions. I missed ALTO and couldn’t parse SPYMASTER but all else eventually fell into place. My top picks were KIPPERS, EAST INDIA, ENCYCLOPAEDIA, TOURIST, RESERVOIR, and WISHY-WASHY. It’s disappointing that the Vietnamese New Year, Tet, is always offensive in crossword land but I guess it’s just too tempting for wordplay. Thanks loonapick for the blog.
Tony @9. Not quite ‘always’. Just this Monday, Salty had ‘tet’ as ‘Vietnamese holiday’.
Hovis @10: Thanks. I didn’t solve the Salty crossword so I wasn’t aware of that very recent use of Tet as holiday. Nonetheless I will try to avoid the word ‘always’ as a matter of practice — after all, hyperbole ruins everything!
“Tet” for “offensive” was also used by Slormgorm only a few days ago (17,647). I’ve noticed an increasing number of coincidences like this in recent weeks, and to my mind it suggests someone at the FT isn’t paying attention. Of course it’s going to happen from time to time, but surely not so soon that one can remember the previous occasion. Apart from anything else, it makes solving too easy!