Financial Times 17,717 GURNEY

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Gurney is the setter of the FT this morning.

This was finished in two passes, the first yielding more than half of the answers, the second filling in the blanks. The only clue I paused over was that for SPREE as I wanted to put in SURGE but couldn't justify the parsing until I had the lightbulb moment and saw the answer.

Thanks, Gurney.

ACROSS
1 POINSETTIA
Step on it! AI out of control in plant! (10)

*(step on it ai) [anag:out of control]
6 OVAL
Back in Slavonian sports ground (4)

Hidden backwards in [back…in] "sLAVOnian"
10 LATER
Afterwards, state of agitation as husband leaves (5)

H (husband) leaves LAT(h)ER ("state of agitation")
11 IN THE CLUB
Expecting favourite, that specific one in suit (2,3,4)

IN ("favourite") + THE ("that specific one") + CLUB ("suit")
12 NOBELIUM
No Blue, I’m for reform — it’s elementary (8)

NO + *(blue im) [anag:for reform]
13 STEER
Guidance in haste, erratic (5)

Hidden [in] "haSTE ERratic"
15 TREASON
After time, think logically: ‘It’s a crime’ (7)

REASON ("think logically") after T (time)
17 STOICAL
Not complaining lots about taking vicar in — away from borders (7)

<=LOTS [about] taking in (v)ICA(r) [borders away]

19 OBTRUDE
Push one’s views on others in redoubt — out of order! (7)

*(redoubt) [anag:out of order]
21 POMPOUS
Try to accommodate Monsieur with musical work missing page, lofty in style (7)

POP ("try") to accommodate M (monsieur) with O(p)US ("work", missing P (page))
22 GEOFF
Fellow for example coming back and not working (5)

<=e.g. ("for example", coming back) + OFF ("not working")
24 SURPRISE
Knight is curious, we hear — that’s a turn- up (8)

Homophone [we hear] of SIR PRIES ("knight is curious")
27 ACOUSTICS
So caustic about quality of sound (9)

*(so caustic) [anag:about]
28 BRAVO
Well done! Charlie will come next (5)

"Charlie will come next" in the NATO phonetic alphabet after BRAVO
29 TIER
Cup match followed by right row (4)

TIE ("cup match") followed by R (right)
30 WELLINGTON
Prime Minister once favourably placed, winning in end, not for turning (10)

WELL IN ("favourably placed") + (winnin)G [in end] + <=NOT [for turning]
DOWN
1 POLL
Survey of Italian river and Lakes (4)

PO ("Italian river") + (L + L) (lakes)
2 INTROVERT
Home and dry, welcoming wanderer, not a good mixer (9)

IN ("home") + TT (teetotal, so "dry") welcoming ROVER ("wanderer")
3 SPREE
Uninhibited activity in German river (5)

Double definition, the Spree being a river in Germany that flows through Berlin.
4 TUITION
Having sixth sense leaving home to get some education (7)

IN ("home") leaving (in)TUITION ("sixth sense")
5 ISTHMUS
In land strip’s first hotel, meeting male, American (7)

1st (first) + H (hotel) meeting M (male) + US ("American")
7 VALUE
Worth showing lack of precision after change of heart (5)

VA(g)UE ("showing lack of precision") [changing heart] becomes VA(L)UE
8 LIBERALISM
Belief Braille needs tweaking is mystery initially (10)

*(braille) [anag:needs tweaking] + IS + M(ystery) [initially]
9 NEWSROOM
Son working with mower, up-to-the- minute, here (8)

*(son mower) [anag:working]
14 AT LONG LAST
Snag at toll resolved — not before time! (2,4,4)

*(snag at toll) [anag:resolved]
16 SLUGFEST
Slow-moving one, female, is in Paris for boxing match (8)

SLUG ("slow-moving one") + F (female) + EST (French for "is", so "is in Paris")
18 CROISSANT
Angry about current worker roll (9)

CROSS ("angry") about I (symbol for electrical "current" in physics) + ANT ("worker")
20 EN SUITE
Come next, carrying exactly what’s needed for describing some bathrooms (2,5)

ENSUE ("come next") carrying IT ("exactly what's needed")
21 PARASOL
Friend bringing in artist’s old sunshade (7)

PAL ("friend") bringing in (RA'S ("artist's", RA being member of the Royal Academy) + O (old))
23 OZONE
Gas region with nothing earlier (5)

ZONE ("region") with O (nothing) earlier
25 ROBIN
Hood maybe as formal dressing? Not quite (5)

[not quite] ROBIN(g) ("formal dressing")
26 NOON
Time unchanged after reflection (4)

NOON ("time") is a palindrome, so is "unchanged after reflection"

25 comments on “Financial Times 17,717 GURNEY”

  1. I could not quite parse IN THE CLUB. The “in” in the clue seems extraneous? Otherwise, good puzzle, good blog.

  2. Top faves: IN THE CLUB and ROBIN.

    NOBELIUM
    Def: I think ‘It’s elementary’ works better.
    IN THE CLUB
    The ‘that specific one in suit’ could be read as one unit to lead to THE CLUB.

    Thanks both!

  3. I’ve never dangled an “-al” on the end of STOIC. I guess it means much the same thing.

    “Guidance” in 13a had me looking for a noun, not the verb STEER (unless it’s a bovine creature, which it ain’t).

    I hadn’t heard of NOBELIUM (and I’m sure it’s not the only element I’m ignorant of).

    I found this more enjoyable than Kite’s in the Guardian today. Thanks Gurney & Loonapick.

  4. GDU@3 STEER is also a noun as in “ give me a steer”
    Much enjoyed this so thanks to Gurney and
    loonapick.

  6. A very enjoyable and steady solve from Gurney with nothing too obscure.
    My picks today were SLUGFEST, POMPOUS (for ‘try’ cluing ‘pop’) and SPREE. Is that a fair description in 22A, GDU?!
    Thanks to Gurney and Loonapick.

  7. Quite a breezy puzzle today with no major holdups until the very end. SPREE as a German river is nho so no amount of pondering was going to get me there and I didn’t associate the English word with that adjective ‘uninhibited’. Certainly if Mrs PM goes on a shopping spree, I am most hopeful that uninhibited is not the attitude that describes it! I’m in agreement with KVa on favourites – NOBELIUM and IN THE CLUB.

    Thanks Gurney and loonapick

  8. Diane@6, I’m definitely not working so yes. I’m enjoying my fifteen minutes of fame. 😉

  10. Postmark,
    If Mrs PM goes shopping, that’s perhaps an innocuous activity but a shopping ‘spree’? Well now, that’s quite another matter…no holds barred, lively, indulgent or excessive spring to mind – certainly in my case!

  11. Thanks Gurney and Loonapick

    11ac: Further to the first two comments, I think you need “one in suit” for CLUB. You could take “that specific” separately for THE, but the suggestion from KVa@2 is probably better.

    12ac: I took the “No” into the anagram, but it works either way. Gurney could have given us “No, no Blue, I’m for reform” as the whole clue, with the first “No” as the definition, but I am rather glad he did not do that. I agree (again) with KVa@2 that “it’s” should be taken as part of the definition.

    13ac: The example usage given in ODE 2010 is “the need for the NHS to be given a clear steer as to its future direction“. The suggestion by SM@4 gives the same message more concisely.

  13. Very much the same experience as our blogger; we completed it in a couple of passes with LOI being SPREE. We had heard of the river but it took a while to recall it to mind. The parsing of ISTHMUS escaped us as we didn’t think of the ‘1st’ device. An enjoyable solve, though.
    Thanks, Gurney and loonapick.

  14. Didn’t think of pop to parse POMPOUS, but pretty much two passes here.

    Thank you to Gurney and loonapick.

  16. 5d ISTHMUS – maybe the definition ahould include the “In”?
    Agree with KVa@2 on NOBELIUM ‘It’s elementary’, and IN THE CLUB – not just any old playing card, but a club; and not just any old club, but that specific one.
    [The Queen of Clubs(1974), say – celebrating a 50th (Golden) anniversary]

  17. 5dn: isthmus “a narrow strip of land connecting two relatively large land areas” (Collins 2023). No, Frankie@16, the word “in” does not belong in the definition.

  18. A very approachable crossword. I did not have any favourites but I did enjoy it. I half parsed SURPRISE (could not see PRISE = pries) and did not get close to parsing EN SUITE. Otherwise, it was a steady solve with little drama.

    Thanks Gurney and loonapick

  19. Liked this and finished it in good time, with only a little difficulty. Just peachy. Thank you to Gurney and to Loonapick for the blog.

  20. Thanks for the blog, enjoyable set of clues with lots of different wordplay .
    Any sort of SPREE should be wild and uninhibited .

  21. Pelham Barton@17 – How about if we repunctuate it? – “In land, strip” – Other strips are available: “In football, strip”; “In comic. strip”.
    I don’t believe the setter intended to have a clue where the definition isn’t at the very front or at the very end.

  22. Frankie@21: I still believe that the first word of 5dn could be part of the linkage between the definition and wordplay, but we will only really know if Gurney pops in to tell us.

  23. Many thanks for the excellent blog, loonapick, and thanks also to all who commented.

    “land, strip” was intended as the definition of ISTHMUS, with “in” a link between the two parts of the clue.

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