An interesting challenge from JASON this Friday. One clue where I am still scratching my head.
FF: 9 DD: 9
Apologies for the late blog as I was in the midst of hectic traveling and just returned home earlier in the day.
| ACROSS | ||
| 8 | BAZAAR |
Zanzibari’s first article found in bustling Arab market (6)
|
|
[ Z ( Zanzibar, first letter ) A ( article ) in [ ARAB ]* |
||
| 9 | ACADEMIC |
Theoretical scholar (8)
|
|
double def |
||
| 10 | IDEA |
Current and mostly insensitive plan (4)
|
|
I ( current ) DEAd ( insensitive, mostly ) |
||
| 11 | SUNGLASSES |
Aviators, say, crooned in front of girls (10)
|
|
SUNG ( crooned ) LASSES ( girls ) – rayban |
||
| 12 | BALE |
Package of British booze (4)
|
|
B ( british ) ALE ( booze ) |
||
| 13 | AIR HOSTESS |
She serves on board and has stories which stagger (3,7)
|
|
[ HAS STORIES ]* |
||
| 17 | MEME |
Widely circulated image is narcissist’s preoccupation? (4)
|
|
cryptic def; a narcissist would be thinking ME ME … |
||
| 18 | ENDUE |
Brave Republican cancelled supply (5)
|
|
ENDUrE ( brave , without R – republican ) |
||
| 19 | ANTE |
What’s offered before deal is reflected in sweet nature (4)
|
|
hidden reversed in "..sweET NAture"; money put up at poker before the start of the deal |
||
| 21 | FICTITIOUS |
I tout sci-fi being otherwise imaginary (10)
|
|
[ I TOUT SCI-FI ]* |
||
| 23 | SOIL |
Son to anoint ground (4)
|
|
S ( son ) OIL ( anoint ) |
||
| 24 | SCOTCH EGGS |
Put a lid on what soldiers dip into? Savoury snacks (6,4)
|
|
SCOTCH ( put a lid on ) EGGS ( what soldiers dip into ) |
||
| 28 | RANK |
Female with this class would be up-front (4)
|
|
cryptic def; F ( female ) + RANK = FRANK = up-front |
||
| 29 | STREAMER |
Bold headline is right to go into chef’s aid? (8)
|
|
R ( right ) in STEAMER ( chef's aid ) |
||
| 30 | MOBILE |
Toy for tot’s instant temper (6)
|
|
MO ( instant ) BILE ( temper ) |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CARD GAME |
Motor finally parked and up for nap, perhaps (4,4)
|
|
CAR ( motor ) D ( parkeD, final letter ) GAME ( up for ) |
||
| 2 | MANAGEMENT |
Bosses as a group provide staff , mature chaps, over time (10)
|
|
MAN ( staff ) AGE ( mature ) MEN ( chaps ) T ( time ) |
||
| 3 | PRESS AGENT |
Force into service a refined chap, one who’ll manage the limelight (5,5)
|
|
PRESS ( force into service ) A GENT ( refined chap ) |
||
| 4 | GAIN |
Without opening pick up win (4)
|
|
aGAIN ( pick up, without first letter ) |
||
| 5 |
Post first of messages with trouble (4)
|
|
|
M ( Messages, first letter ) AIL ( trouble ) |
||
| 6 | MESS |
Fix a place for squaddie to scoff (4)
|
|
double def |
||
| 7 | PIKERS |
Several pickpockets (6)
|
|
PIKER could be a pickpocket but i am missing something here .. thought it might be an irregular sequence of letters in 'pickpockets' but that didnt quite work out. help would be much appreciated. |
||
| 14 | RODEO |
Galloped round here? (5)
|
|
&lit; RODE ( galloped ) O ( round ) |
||
| 15 | OPEN SESAME |
What’s said to unblock old writer’s consistent energy first (4,6)
|
|
O ( old ) PEN"S ( writer's ) E ( energy ) SAME ( consistent ) |
||
| 16 | TRANSCRIBE |
Time nears to turn round cheat’s copy (10)
|
|
T ( time ) { { NEARS ]* around CRIB ( cheat ) } |
||
| 20 | TRIANGLE |
Altering broken instrument (8)
|
|
[ ALTERING ]* |
||
| 22 | INCITE |
Animate popular quote (6)
|
|
IN ( popular ) CITE ( quote ) |
||
| 25 | TWEE |
This could be sweet but not small? (4)
|
|
semi &lit? [ sWEET ( without S – small ) ]* |
||
| 26 | HAMS |
Luvvies being phoney after top part’s dropped (4)
|
|
SHAM ( phoney ) with the S dropping to the bottom |
||
| 27 | GARB |
Talk big about this dress (4)
|
|
reverse of BRAG ( talk big ) |
Thanks Jason and Turbolegs!
Enjoyed the puzzle and the blog!
Liked ENDUE, SCOTCH EGGS, CARD GAME and HAMS.
DIVERS
It’s not PIKERS Turbolegs! DIVERS. A DD.
4d is EARN
pick up=lEARN
Also had DIVERS. Didn’t like “again” for “pick up” and didn’t think of “learn/earn”. Took me a while to get TWEE, which I quite like.
Yes, DIVERS and EARN for me, which the app confirms as correct.
An interesting challenge indeed. Thanks, Jason and Turbolegs.
Thanks for the blog, good set of neat and concise clues.
DIVERS to mean several always seems strange to me and wrong ( it isn’t) . To further confuse things a diver in a certain position could be a piker. Even so I agree that DIVERS is the answer.
TRIANGLE does have a lot of 8 letter complete anagrams.
DIVERS and EARN for me too. I did contemplate GAIN, but decided (L)EARN is better
Favourites were FICTITIOUS, HAMS and MANAGEMENT Tell me, why are EGGS something soldiers dip into? I do not understand that
As mentioned, an interesting challenge and one that I enjoyed. I agree with Roz’s assessment of “a good set of neat and concise clues”, which is my favourite type of puzzle by far. I would not have said it is DD of 9, though: I found it much more approachable than that.
Thanks Jason and Turbolegs
Martyn@6
SCOTCH EGGS
Soldier (Wiki)
A soldier is a thin strip of toasted bread, reminiscent of a soldier on parade. The shape lends itself to dipping into a soft-boiled egg that has had the top removed.
Ah thank you KVa@7 I only know that term from crossword land, and it simply did not come to mind
Very quick by my standards with Loi DIVERS.
Endue was a new word and I didn’t much like the clue for Gain – which makes much more sense as Earn, which didn’t cross my mind.
Doh!
But an enjoyable solve of a well crafted puzzle. Sometimes I find Jason very tricky, but this was satisfyingly approachable.
Thank you all!
Very late to comment – though the puzzle was done before breakfast. However, as a result everyone else has done the heavy lifting wrt EARN and DIVERS. This was a more approachable Jason than usual – and I am not complaining. CARD GAME, SCOTCH EGGS and RODEO my faves today.
Thanks Jason and Turbolegs
Good fun here today – I specially liked SUNGLASSES for the def, FICTITIOUS for the lovely anagram, DIVERS (my LOI, that I had to cheat the first letter of) for its cunning DD.
I was sure that 16d had to be TACHYSCOPE – I couldn’t quite explain the wordplay but the “cheat’s copy” anagram seemed undeniable. And it’s sort of to do with time and turning around. Folly!
Thank you Jason and Turbolegs.
Late to this. But i was a journalist for some 35 years and 23 of those were on the FT. There were various roles, writing, production and management. At one point i was deputy crossword editor for several years
I never ever heard the word streamer used to describe a headline of any kind. There were Heads, Standfirsts, Headings, but never streamers.
Thanks Jason and Turbolegs.
29ac: The following definitions of streamer are found in the dictionaries named.
Chambers 2016: a large bold headline (press)
Collins 2023: journalism a large heavy headline printed across the width of a page of a newspaper
ODE 2010: [usu as modifier] a banner headline in a newspaper
SOED 2007 a banner headline
While I would never claim that dictionaries are infallible, I do not expect setters to overrule them.
Jvector@11 indeed a tachyscope an early form of motion picture but also the name for a theoretical device to detect hypothetical tachyons so even more appropriate for the clue.
Martin B @12 – streamers don’t really seem to be the FT’s style. Expect that kind of thing more from the oiks across the river. It is a term I’ve come across before.
24a – SCOTCH EGGS – Mere “Savoury snacks”? – No – “definitely a substantial meal”, according to Michael Gove.
Especially liked FRANK and 17a ME ME – For DIVERS reasons.
[Parsed 25d TWEE – This could be sweet but not small? (4) – with “This” as the def, “could be” as the anagrind.]