Peto is the setter in today's FT.
I would have to say that this was not one of Peto's best, although it wasn't that bad. It could have done with a little editing in my opinion, as some of the surfaces were a little clumsy (especially 5dn and 20ac) and I didn't like the superfluous words in 9ac. It took me ages to see the parsing of AT ONE TIME, but I got there in the end.
Thanks, Peto.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | UNCONSCIOUS |
Out of work cousin boxing against American (11)
|
|
*(cousin) [anag:work] boxing CON ("against") + US ("American") |
||
| 7 | MOB |
Doctor describing old criminal gang (3)
|
|
MB (Bachelor of Medicine, so "doctor") describing O (old) |
||
| 9 | PINTO |
Emerging from pile-up in Topeka caused by a horse (5)
|
|
Hidden in [emerging from] "pile-uP IN TOpeka" A good hidden clue should have no superfluous words, so this one fails as "caused by" is not necessary to the wordplay, but simply for the surface. |
||
| 10 | MOTH-EATEN |
Test on Hungary at public school said to be outdated (4-5)
|
|
MOT ("test" on a car) on H (International Vehicle Registration code for "Humgary") + homophone [said to be] of ETON ("public school") |
||
| 11 | INAMORATA |
Woman in love with airman to struggle with answer (9)
|
|
*(airman to) [anag:struggle] with A (answer) |
||
| 12 | TERSE |
‘Abrupt’ in Thierry’s first language (5)
|
|
T(hierry) ['s first] + ERSE ("language") |
||
| 13 | EPISODE |
Kind of lyric poem capturing island event (7)
|
|
EPODE ("kinf od lyric poem") capturing Is. (island) |
||
| 15 | TICK |
Instant credit (4)
|
|
Double definition |
||
| 18 | MESS |
Confusion causing married son to ring less regularly (4)
|
|
M (married) + S (son) to ring (l)E(s)S [regularly] |
||
| 20 | DWELL ON |
Put on outside with approval to speak at length (5,2)
|
|
DON ("put on") outside WELL ("with approval") |
||
| 23 | AT SEA |
Helping to make cats easily confused (2,3)
|
|
Hidden in [helping to make] "cATS EAsily" |
||
| 24 | AT ONE TIME |
Made anxious touring the same left-leaning university long ago (2,3,4)
|
|
ATE ("made anxious") touring ONE ("the same") + [left-leaning] <=MIT (Massachusetts Institiute of Technology, so "university") |
||
| 26 | INSTALLED |
Settled at home then played for time (9)
|
|
IN ("at home") + STALLED ("played for time") |
||
| 27 | SWAMI |
Religious teacher not half sick clutching upset stomach (5)
|
|
[not half] SI(ck) clutching [upset] <=MAW ("stomach") |
||
| 28 | HOP |
Endless Native American dance (3)
|
|
[endless] HOP(i) ("North American") |
||
| 29 | NOWHERE NEAR |
Far from being imminent after negative vote by women in this place (7,4)
|
|
NEAR ("imminent") after NO ("negative vote") by W (women) + HERE ("in this place") |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | UNPRIMED |
Most likely held in a French dungeon at first without being charged (8)
|
|
PRIME ("most likely") held in UN ("a" in "French") + D(ungeon) [at first] |
||
| 2 | CANNABIS |
Not available to look into renovated cabins for aunt Mary (8)
|
|
N/A (not available) to look into *(cabins) [anag:renovated] Aunt Mary is apparently a slang word for marijuana (who knew?) |
||
| 3 | NKOMO |
Zimbabwean politician’s refusal to accept fine over hint of malfeasance (5)
|
|
NO ("refusal") to accept <=OK ("fine", over) + [hint of] M(alfeasance) Refers to Joshua Nkomo, a vice-president of Zimbabwe in the 1990s. |
||
| 4 | COMRADE |
Fellow soldiers died within reach (7)
|
|
RA (Royal Artillery, so "soldiers") + D (died) within COME ("reach") |
||
| 5 | OUTLAST |
Live longer than king avoiding defeat at the end (7)
|
|
R (Rex, so "king") avoided in (r)OUT ("defeat") at LAST ("end") To me, "king avoiding defeat" is the wrong way round, as OUT is suggested by "defeat avoiding king". |
||
| 6 | SPECTACLE |
Show odds against upsetting the church with story implicating Catholic leader (9)
|
|
SP (starting price, so "odds") + [upsetting] <=CE ("Church" of England) with TALE ("story") implicating C(atholic) [leader] |
||
| 7 | MATURE |
Fully considered by couple taking in return game (6)
|
|
MATE ("couple") taking in [return] <=RU (rugby union, so "game") |
||
| 8 | BANNER |
Head of benighted old queen seen on republican placard (6)
|
|
[head of] B(enighted) + ANNE ("old queen") seen on R (Republican) |
||
| 14 | OVER AGAIN |
Finished with a profit once more (4,5)
|
|
OVER ("finished") with A + GAIN ("profit") |
||
| 16 | ULTIMATE |
Extremely unhelpful to meet rising Italian pal in final (8)
|
|
[extremely] U(nhelpfu)L to meet [rising] <=It. (Italian) + MATE ("pal") |
||
| 17 | INFERIOR |
Rife in wretched soldiers of lower status (8)
|
|
*(rife in) [anag:wretched] + OR (other ranks, so "soldiers) |
||
| 19 | SWALLOW |
Flounder taking on Spurs’ top winger (7)
|
|
WALLOW ("flounder") taking on S(purs) [top] |
||
| 20 | DO-OR-DIE |
Daughter blocking way in? That’s being desperately determined (2-2-3)
|
|
D (daughter) blocking DOOR ("way in") + i.e. (id est, so "that's") |
||
| 21 | VANISH |
Peter out to impart a more attractive appearance right away (6)
|
|
VA(r)NISH ("to impart a more attractive appearance" with R (right) away) |
||
| 22 | USES UP |
Finishes exercise needing to drink (4,2)
|
|
USE ("exercise") + SUP ("to drink") |
||
| 25 | ENSUE |
Make certain to ignore resistance and follow (5)
|
|
ENSU(r)E ("make certain") to ignore R (resistance) |
I agree with the criticism for 10a. ‘Caused by’ doesn’t really work as link words. I’m ok with 5d. If the king (R) is avoiding defeat (ROUT) then he is absent from it leaving you with OUT. I think it’s one of those constructions that can be read either way.
Hovis@1
I agree with you on PINTO as well as OUTLAST.
I’m with Hovis on 5d; that is a construction that could work either way. And I’m with both Hovis and our blogger on 10a which caused (!) a wince on solving. And a small thing but the move in tense in 1a from the imperative ‘work’ to the present ‘boxing’ felt awkward. ULTIMATE is my favourite clue today.
Thanks Peto and loonapick
Thank you loonapick and PETO.
WRT 9a, agreed, especially as it would work with a simple change: “Horse emerging from pile-up in Topeka”.
Thanks for the blog, I also agree with Hovis @1 , PINTO could be tidier but (R)OUT is completely fine. The rest of the clues were pretty neat .
CANNABIS= aunt Mary is new to me and no sign of it in Chambers93, Mary Jane yes and a hundred other terms , I thought I knew them all.
aunt Mary=CANNABIS is not my Chambers mobile app, but it’s in some other dictionaries like Green’s Dictionary of Slang.
I’m with Hovis@1 re OUTLAST. I parsed ‘king avoiding defeat’ as he describes it, but I agree that the surplus words in 9ac should have been avoided.
Otherwise enjoyable.
Thanks Peto and loonapick.
I googled Aunt Mary and cannabis. Aunt Mary’s Dispensary sells cannabis in New Jersey but how we were expected to know this beats me.
I enjoyed this puzzle and blog, which I needed to parse a couple of clues.
Thanks to Peto and Loonapick
I find wordy clues difficult and there was an abundance of them in this puzzle.
There were not many smiles today and no clue stood out as a favourite
Thanks Peto and loonapick
Horrible puzzle
Clumsy clues
Unknown words
Yuk.
Dnf
A few years ago the rum and coffee producers of Jamaica had developed a new liqueur based on a recipe from someone’s Aunt Mary. They were stuck for a name but then Tia Maria was born.
I do not know why Mary should be associated with drugs.Anyone know?
Thanks Peto and Loonapick
SM@11: Mary Jane (which I remember having seen), Mary Ann(e), and Mary Warner all sound a bit like marijuana. The first of these is in Chambers and ODE, and all three are in the SOED. None of the regular dictionaries gives Mary on its own, and where the Aunt came from I do not know.
Thanks P Barton@12
I suspect the origin of Aunt Mary is in the US, perhaps one of our American friends could explain?
Thanks P Barton@12.
I suspect the origin of Aunt Mary is in the US. Perhaps an American reader could shed some light?
oed.com doesn’t have a separate entry for Aunt Mary, but there is one citation that’s appropriate, under number, n: ‘…
I.6. colloquial. A person or thing.
I.6.a. 1894– An article of clothing. — little black n
I.6.b. 1919– A person, esp. a girl or young woman. Frequently with modifying word. Also: spec. a sexual partner. — hot little n
I.6.c. 1928– A job, assignment, or activity. Frequently in cushy number.
I.6.d. 1963– slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). A marijuana cigarette; an amount of marijuana obtained from a dealer. –blaze up a n
1995 After a few tokes of Aunt Mary, maths would be a bust with kids who think a number is something you roll. Independent 27 April 22/7′
Thanks P&L
Yes, Aunt Mary is US street slang, derived from the word marijuana