A breezy romp through the month’s news in cruciverbal form. Find it to solve online or download and print at ft.com/crossword
Buccaneer can sometimes be quite tricky but here he was in benign mood and as long as you’re up to speed with this month’s events, it’s all fairly straightforward – and very enjoyable too, with lots of fun and clever clueing. Highlights for me were the extended definition for DAMIEN HIRST and the deceptive definition for BEDSORE.
Thanks, Buccaneer!
| ACROSS | ||
| 6 | HUNT |
Search for Tory tax-cutter (4)
|
| Double definition
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced his budget this month, which includes a cut to National insurance. |
||
| 7 | MONTENEGRO |
Election winner in Portugal or another country (10)
|
| Double definition
Luis Montenegro is the new Portuguese prime minister, elected this month. |
||
| 10 | WOODEN SPOON |
Awkward embrace is something given to the Welsh (6,5)
|
| WOODEN (awkward) + SPOON (embrace)
The Welsh team finished last in the recent Six Nations rugby tournament. |
||
| 11 | AID |
American papers providing relief (3)
|
| A (American) + ID (papers)
A reference to attempts to deliver aid to Gaza, perhaps. |
||
| 12 | SPEECH |
Go into school for Jonathan Glazer’s controversial act (6)
|
| PEE (go) into SCH (school)
Director Jonathan Glazer, accepting his Oscar for best international feature film for Zone Of Interest, made a speech about the Gaza situation. |
||
| 13 | CLODPOLL |
Old fool heading for landslide in fake vote… (8)
|
| L (heading for landslide) in COD (fake) + POLL (vote)
Wonder if this clue was written with anyone particular in mind. I’m saying nothing – I don’t want to mysteriously fall out of a 6th floor window… “Old” in the definition is because it’s an archaic word. |
||
| 16 | SUB ROSA |
…Russia’s leader, with zero appeal, on U-boat secretly (3,4)
|
| R (Russia’s leader) + O (zero) + SA ([sex] appeal) on SUB (U-boat) | ||
| 18 | REMARRY |
What Murdoch intends to do with US band and prince in East London (7)
|
| REM (US band) + ‘ARRY (prince in East London)
The Dirty Digger is about to get married for the fourth time at the tender age of 93. |
||
| 19 | ANDESITE |
Mountain range, one with outline of turquoise rock (8)
|
| ANDES (mountain range) + I (one) + TE (“outline” of turquoise) | ||
| 20 | OJIBWA |
Mr Simpson and I bow oddly, meeting a Native American (6)
|
| OJ (Mr Simpson) + I + BW (bow “oddly”) + A | ||
| 24 | LEO |
Taoiseach starts to leave elevated office (3)
|
| First letters (starts) to Leave Elevated Office
Leo Varadkar is the current Irish Taoiseach. |
||
| 25 | DAMIEN HIRST |
Controversial artist: ‘I’m tarnished, unfortunately’ (6,5)
|
| Anagram of I’M TARNISHED
It was recently revealed that Hirst has been faking his own works. |
||
| 26 | THE GARRICK |
Time poet embraces golf, given a club (3,7)
|
| T (time) + HERRICK (poet) “embraces” G (golf) + A
The private members club has been in the news recently for its no women policy. |
||
| 27 | BOND |
Secret agent shows what might cost Trump $175 million (4)
|
| Double definition
James Bond is the secret agent, and $175m is the likely figure Trump will have to pay to avoid having his property seized after being convicted of fraud. |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | INCOME |
Once I’m off, this doesn’t go far in Surrey, according to 6 Across (6)
|
| Anagram of ONCE I’M
According to Jeremy Hunt, £100k is not a high salary. |
||
| 2 | TOAST |
Cheers, say, exactly surrounding Paris’s finish (5)
|
| TO A T (exactly) surrounding S (Paris’s finish) | ||
| 3 | STROLLERS |
People walking in street getting waves (9)
|
| ST (street) + ROLLERS (waves) | ||
| 4 | ANON |
A case for Nolan bagging Oscar at another time (4)
|
| A + NN (“case” for Nolan) bagging O (Oscar)
Christopher Nolan was awarded best director for Oppenheimer. |
||
| 5 | COLDPLAY |
Complaint before drama for visitors to Luton (8)
|
| COLD (complaint) + PLAY (drama)
Apparently, the band will be performing at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Luton. This story had passed me by but it was very gettable from the clue. |
||
| 6 | HOWLS |
Roars from members of parliament after capital from Hester (5)
|
| OWLS (members of parliament) after H (capital from Hester)
The Tories have been urged to return donations from racist businessman Frank Hester after his appalling hateful remarks about Diane Abbott. |
||
| 8 | GLAMOUR |
Allure of girl disheartened by foreign affair (7)
|
| GL (girl “disheartened”) + AMOUR (foreign affair) | ||
| 9 | RED CROSS |
Humanitarian group showing what England shirts won’t have (3,5)
|
| Double definition
The Gammonati were up in arms over the new England football shirt from Nike featuring a multicoloured St George’s cross. |
||
| 14 | DEMIJOHN |
Moore and Travolta getting together for a drink in this? (8)
|
| DEMI + JOHN (actors Demi Moore and John Travolta)
is there a topical reference here? It has passed me by if so. |
||
| 15 | BALTIMORE |
Blame riot, perhaps, where bridge-building’s needed (9)
|
| Anagram of BLAME RIOT
A container ship hit the Key Bridge in Baltimore last week, causing it to collapse. |
||
| 16 | STARLETS |
Begins to dress the French Oscars attendees? (8)
|
| STARTS (begins) to “dress” LE (the French)
As referenced in other clues, it was the Oscars this month. |
||
| 17 | BEDSORE |
Dullard grasps journalist’s problem when lying continually (7)
|
| BORE (dullard) “grasps” ED’S (journalist’s) | ||
| 21 | BORROW |
What 6 Across must do with gold in British bank (6)
|
| OR (gold) in B (British) + ROW (bank)
Jeremy Rhyming Slang going back on his promises again. |
||
| 22 | ACTED |
Performed bit of Motorhead etc., amped up (5)
|
| Hidden and reversed in motorheaD ETC Amped | ||
| 23 | PENCE |
Atonement abandoned by an ex-vice president (5)
|
| PEN[an]CE (atonement) abandoned by AN | ||
| 25 | DRAW |
Attract Democrat lacking experience (4)
|
| D (Democrat) + RAW (lacking experience) |
PENCE
Anything to do with this news? No atonement for insurrection?
Two days after saying he would not endorse a second Donald Trump presidency, former vice-president Mike Pence on Sunday declared his esteem for fellow Republicans who plan to vote for his former boss anyway – and he declined to rule out eventually following suit.
LEO
LEO Varadkar has resigned?
Very enjoyable and topical puzzle Buccaneer! Thanks.
Thanks Widdersbel for your continued great service. I learn a lot from your blogs.
CLODPOLL: LOL! Witty comment!
Oh yes, I knew about the Leo Varadkar news but forgot to mention it, oops! I’ve probably missed several other topical references too…
GLAMOUR
Could this be the news? The incident happened in Jan but there have been some related developments in the last week or so.
Lisa Archbold, a traveller from New Zealand, alleged that she was treated “like a criminal” and “extracted from a delta flight for not wearing a bra.”
The Ojibwa are in the news after Killers of the Flower Moon failed to provide their first Oscar to Lily Gladstone.
As always, great fun. Thank you to Buccaneer and Widdersbel.
Nearly didn’t do this as the FT has labelled this as a “World Puzzle” but figured it must be a “News Puzzle” as customary on the final Sunday. Amazing how such a recent event as the Baltimore bridge disaster can get incorporated.
Coincidentally, reading 22d’s reference to Motörhead (I’ll forgive the missing umlaut in the clue), I only heard today that Lemmy used to be a roadie for Jimi Hendrix. Well, I thought that was interesting.
Shanne – that was the Osage, not the Ojibwe. But yes, Lily Gladstone was excellent in the film, would have been a deserving winner.
A little late to the party today, after a lovely family Easter Sunday lunch but I love these puzzles so much that I had to settle down to it as soon as I got home, in my pleasantly mellow state.
I continue to be awed by these so up-to-the minute puzzles and blogs, clued and explained so brilliantly.
I’d never heard of ANDERITE or CLODPOLL but both impeccably clued and, in a busy week, I’d missed a couple of bits of news, including the amazing Rupert M snippet.
My ticks were for12ac SPEECH, 16ac SUB ROSA, 25ac DAMIEN HIRST (superb anagram and surface), 26ac GARRICK, 6dn HOWLS (I always love this device – and what a brilliant surface), 9n RED CROSS (what a ridiculous piece of news), and 15dn BALTIMORE, for a sensitive treatment of what had to be included as a major piece of tragic news.
Widdersbel, I loved your succinct ‘Jeremy Rhyming Slang’ re 21dn and I just can’t resist elucidating this, for the benefit of overseas solvers or those here who may have forgotten it: a classic BBC Radio blooper, on a par with the oft-quoted here Brian Johnson ‘leg over’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS5mVoqJpUk (Do continue listening.)
Speaking of whom, it’s a pity that 1ac couldn’t be somehow linked to the fact that tomorrow the minimum wage is to be increased to £11.44 a week – but that’s April.
Many thanks to Buccaneer and Widdersbel for another grand job.
Thanks Eileen for the video to explain Jeremy Rhyming Slang.
I don’t remember reading about the ‘leg over’ incident earlier. Looked it up. 🙂
Not related to this but just remembered these PG Wodehouse lines:
Bertie Wooster: “Jeeves, the next morning while you were pouring tea for Her Ladyship, the Duchess asked the Duke in a loud voice, ‘Darling is your prick still throbbing?’
And you, Jeeves, did not spill one drop of tea! Now that is aplomb.”
GLAMOUR
Is the word AMOUR considered foreign (French?)? Or is it because it’s a secret/extra-marital affair and hence ‘foreign affair’?
(Los Angeles (AFP) – March 28, 2024-A woman who says she was threatened with being kicked off a US Delta Air Lines flight because she was not wearing a bra demanded a meeting with the company’s top boss on Thursday over what she says is a discriminatory policy). Maybe Buccaneer had in mind this girl/woman disheartened by an incident on foreign soil. Maybe not.
Jeremy “Rhyming Slang” Hunt – What a berk
Thanks for sharing that classic clip, Eileen. Still makes me chuckle. There are other clips of other broadcasters making the same slip but that remains the original and best. I didn’t come up with Jeremy Rhyming Slang myself – that was a friend’s invention that I have adopted. I generally try not to editorialise when blogging but Hunt and Hester are both such odious people that I couldn’t help myself.
Yes, Hester, is a racist, misogynist, purveyor of hate speech, and a disgrace to the name Frank. He’s another berk.