Financial Times (Jumbo) 17,725 by Julius

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My first blog of an FT puzzle – it seems they put out an extra cryptic last weekend, a 23×23 Jumbo, presumably for all that extra time people would have on their hands with the Bank Holiday! The regular FT blogger couldn’t fit this into his schedule, so he put it out to tender…

It turns out that Julius is also ‘Knut’ in the Indy, and I did cover a couple of his puzzles there when I was on the Indy roster. I may have also solved a few of his FT puzzles in the past, but I generally stopped doing the FT when they stopped offering prizes, around the start of the first Covid lockdown.

Anyway 62 clues and a monster grid was a fair amount of solving – and parsing – for the blog…I hope I have done it justice below. A fellow blogger described it as ‘about normal difficulty for a Julius – just bigger‘!

There were some nice short and pithy clues and clever anagrams – the OBSTETRICIAN ‘on site at crib’; the ‘adorable old’ mongrel for LABRADOODLE; Gaga ‘going out’ with Robert for GRETA GARBO; ‘boast of a colonial’ for ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL; Nancy swooned ‘collapsing’ for ANY SECOND NOW… I’m sure commenters below will have other favourites…

And a few pun-tastic definitions and wordplays – a whimple for SISTER HOOD; an ‘expert in waterboarding’ for SURF ACE; the ‘saucy material’ for SOYA BEAN! Plus some cleverly disguised hidden words.

To top it all, as 12D explicitly tells us, the grid is a PANGRAM:

 

 

(I appreciate that it must be easier to make a pangram of a 23×23 rather than 15×15 grid, but it would be interesting to know if Julius set out to achieve it, so 12D set the target, or whether maybe he realised at some point that it had become one, and then retro-fitted the top-right corner to point it out?!)

I couldn’t quite parse 11D – can ‘S(E)CONDED’ mean sent? I guess if you are seconded to go and work somewhere else or for someone else, you are being sent away? Or maybe I missed something here. And also Ron and Russell as the MAELS of MAELSTROM at 40D? Was ‘eddy’ doing double duty as an anagrind for ‘males’? Hopefully we will be enlightened below.

My thanks to Julius for a chewy challenge – maybe this will inspire me to return to the FT puzzles, if I can find time amongst all the weekly/fortnightly/monthly prize puzzles out there…

 

Clue No Solution Clue (definition underlined)

Logic/parsing
1A QUASIMODO Seemingly mood-changing hunch troubled this chap (9)

QUASI (seemingly) + MODO (anag, i.e. changing, of MOOD)
6A CLANGER Stupid mistake made by German family when cycling (7)

GER (German) + CLAN (family), ‘cycled’ to give CLAN+GER
10A TRAMP Occasionally stare at Military Policeman (Plod) (5)

TRA (occasional, or alternate, letters of ‘sTaRe At’ + MP (Military Policeman)
13A IMPIOUS Godless Julius is beginning to parcel debt instruments (7)

IM (I’m, Julius, our setter, is) + P (beginning of parcel) + IOUS (debt instruments)
14A SURFACE Superficial expert in waterboarding? (7)

an expert (ACE) at ‘waterboarding’ (SURFing) might be a SURF ACE!
15A CRIMSON Red Tory touring the marginals (7)

C_ON (Conservative, Tory) around (touring) RIMS (edges, marginals)
16A SWEEP UNDER THE CARPET Hide the evidence of Dick Van Dyke’s Bert having a rug on? (5,5,3,6)

SWEEP (Dick Van Dyke played Bert the chimney sweep, in ‘Mary Poppins’) and if he had a rug on, he might be UNDER THE CARPET!
17A OAR Blade discovered treasure (3)

(H)OAR(D) – treasure, with its outer letters or cover, removed, so ‘dis-covered’!
18A OBJURE Swear on oath former pupil Jack lured out of bounds (6)

OB (Old Boy, former pupil) + J (Jack, cards) + (L)URE(D) (lured, without boundary, or outer letters)
20A FRIEZE Art, up against the wall, got a shout from police not to move (6)

homophone, i.e. a shout – a police officer’s warning of ‘FREEZE!’, or don’t move, can sound like FRIEZE (a mural, or art up against the wall!)
21A AMSTERDAM Morning mist covering road in canal city (9)

AM (ante meridiem, morning) + STE_AM (mist) around (covering) RD (road)
23A VINTAGE CAR Classic motor agent crashed into clergyman (7,3)

VI_CAR (clergyman) around NTAGE (anag, i.e. crashed, of AGENT)
25A LABRADOODLE Adorable old mongrel! (11)

anag, i.e. mongrel, of ADORABLE OLD!
29A AVENS Plant getting nitrogen in tree-lined streets (5)

AVE_S (avenues, tree-lined streets) around (getting) N (nitrogen)
30A PEAR DROP Old-fashioned, sweet dad embracing otologist briefly (4,4)

P_OP (dad) around (embracing) EAR DR (ear + doctor – briefly, or otologist!)
31A ASUNCION American tabloid paper against accepting international capital (8)

A (American) + SUN (tabloid paper) + C_ON (contra, against) around (accepting) I (international)
34A SOYA BEAN Boy collecting article E-Bay rejected as potentially saucy material (4,4)

SO_N (son, boy) around (collecting) YA BEA (A, article, plus EBAY, all rejected, or reversed)

[used to make soy sauce!]
36A FLORENCE Fine Italian actress chose empty location in Tuscany (8)

F (fine) + LOREN (Sophia Loren, Italian actress) + CE (ChosE, empty)
37A IBSEN Nesbit retired, timeless writer (5)

NESBI(T), reversed and without T (timeless!) = IBSEN
39A COMMON THIEF Maybe Norman Stanley Fletcher featuring in sitcom month (i.e. February) (6,5)

hidden word in, i.e. featuring in, ‘sitCOM MONTH IE February’

[played by Ronnie Barker in the sitcom ‘Porridge’]
41A SISTERHOOD Sorority whimple? (10)

punning double definition – a SISTERHOOD can be a sorority; and a wimple, or whimple, is a veil or HOOD on a nun’s (SISTER’s) gown, so could be a SISTER HOOD!
43A ANECDOTAL Uptight about city party time, as the story goes (9)

AN_AL (uptight, obsessive) around EC (Eastern Central, London postcode area encompassing the ‘City of London’) + DO (party) + T (time)
45A EXPECT Anticipate former partner, tense, packed with muscle (6)

EX (former partner) + T (tense), around (packed with) PEC (pectoral, muscle)
47A CRIKEY Weep about former President, blimey (6)

CR_Y (weep) around IKE (Dwight ‘Ike’ Eisenhower, former US president)
49A COS Cold, very large island (3)

C (cold) + OS (outsize, very large)
50A ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL Sport boast of a colonialist when drunk? (11,8)

anag, i.e. when drunk, of BOAST OF A COLONIALIST!
52A HORATIO Hamlet’s mate initially hesitated over relationship (7)

HO (initial letters of Hesitated Over) + RATIO (maths, relationship)
53A THE OPEN In which all swingers can play around, we hear (3,4)

In theory, at THE OPEN golf tournament, all (golf club) swingers can play a round! (Although in practice only the very best make it…)
54A BUNGLED Having cocked up, tooted one’s horn outside Nag’s Head (7)

BU_GLED (tooted one’s horn) around (outside) N (head, or first letter, of Nag)
55A LEMUR Large bird, rook, one’s found in tree (5)

L (large) + EMU (bird) + R (rook)
56A KIDNAPS Child grabs forty winks in snatches (7)

KID (child) + NAPS (grabs forty winks)
57A WITNESSES Sees Stephen King novel garlanded with 7 points (9)

W_NESSES (seven compass points, north, south, east and west!) around (garlanding) IT (Stephen King novel)
Down
Clue No Solution Clue (definition underlined)

Logic/parsing
1D QUIZ SHOW Interrogate second husband over whiskey testing programme (4,4)

QUIZ (interrogate) + S (second) + H (husband) + O (over, cricket notation) + W (whiskey, phonetic alphabet)
2D AMPLE Liberal politician outwardly bitter? (5)

A_LE (beer, bitter) around (outside) MP (politician)
3D IRON PYRITES Pity Renoir’s faked — it’s fooled lots of people (4,7)

anag, i.e. faked, of PITY RENOIRS

[iron pyrites, aka fool’s gold!]
4D ON SONG Covers of Orbison melody — performing well (2,4)

ON (covers, or outer letters, of OrbisoN) + SONG (melody)
5D OBSTETRICIAN Doctor on site at crib? (12)

anag, i.e. doctored, of ON SITE AT CRIB!
6D CURETTE Instrument used to scrape zucchini with nothing good removed (7)

C(O)UR(G)ETTE – zucchini, missing O (zero, nothing) and G (good)
7D A FAREWELL TO ARMS Fats Waller more relaxed after a novel (1,8,2,4)

A + FAREWELL TO ARMS (anag, i.e. relaxed, of FATS WALLER MORE)
8D GRETA GARBO Beautiful Lady Gaga going out with Robert (5,5)

anag, i.e. going out, of GAGA + ROBERT
9D RECIPES Spicer from the south pens drug prescriptions from the old days (7)

RECIP_S (spicer, reversed, or from the south, for a Down clue) around (penning) E (Ecstasy tablet, drug)

[recipe being Latin imperative for ‘take…’, hence an old prescription]
10D THISTLEDOWN The light in my community here is something rather seedy (11)

THIS T_OWN (my community, here) around LED (light emitting diode)
11D ABSCONDED Sailor sent out east went AWOL (9)

AB (Able Bodied seaman, sailor) + S(E)CONDED (sent?, without E – East)
12D PANGRAM In Scotland, stuff stuff… such as this puzzle? (7)

PANG (stuff, cram, Scottish) + RAM (stuff)!

[this puzzle features at least one of each letter of the alphabet]
19D JOINERY Little girl at home misses introduction to very handy skill (7)

JO (diminutive of girl’s name) + IN (at home) + (V)ERY (very, missing introductory letter)
22D EGGPLANT Vegetable farm produce factory (8)

EGG (farm produce) + PLANT (factory)
24D RADCLIFFE CAMERA Ref made farcical cock-up in Oxford fixture (9,6)

anag, i.e. cock-up, of REF MADE FARCICAL
26D ANSWERED Head of Australian state before Democrat responded (8)

A (head, or first letter, of Australian) + NSW (an Australian state) + ERE (before, poetic) + D (Democrat)
27D EL NINO Reason for hot and steamy production of South Pacific? (2,4)

CD – the weather system EL NINO is said to be responsible for weather conditions in the oceans
28D PARSEC Gaspar secretly covers an astronomical distance (6)

hidden word in, i.e. covered by, ‘gasPAR SECretly’
32D IN STOCK This month start to order Calvin Klein, available for purchase (2,5)

IN_ST (instanter, this month) + O (start to Order) + CK (Calvin Klein)
33D ANY SECOND NOW Nancy swooned, collapsing imminently (3,6,3)

anag, i.e. collapsing, of NANCY SWOONED
35D BROADCASTER Such as ITV drama series supporting a wide variety of actors? (11)

BROAD CAST (wide variety of actors!) plus (supported by, in a Down clue) ER (TV drama)
37D INHERITANCE Will will will this? (11)

CD? – a will will will an INHERITANCE to those named therein!
38D DISLOCATED Sid’s back, having been found thrown out of joint (10)

DIS (Sid, back) + LOCATED (having been found)
40D MAELSTROM Eddy, Ron and Russell run into Tom (9)

MAELS (Ron and Russell are males, ‘eddying’ to give MAELS?) + T_OM around R (run)
42D CYCLADES Fancy-clad Estonian touring islands in the Med (8)

hidden word in, i.e. toured by, ‘fanCY-CLAD EStonian)
43D ALCOHOL Company head office stocks all booze (7)

AL_L around (stocked with) CO (company) + HO (Head Office)
44D TUSSOCK Clump of green lettuce caught up in tooth (7)

TUS_K (tooth) around (catching) SOC (cos, lettuce, up)
46D PRIAPUS God of the vineyard necking a couple — drink up! (7)

SU_P (drink) around (necking) PAIR (a couple), all up = PRIAPUS
48D COMBAT Fighting garment inscribed with Mark of the Beast (6)

CO_AT (garment) around (inscribed by) MB (the mark of the Beast)
51D ATLAS Titan unfortunately nursing temperature (5)

A_LAS (unfortunately) around (nursing) T (temperature)

11 comments on “Financial Times (Jumbo) 17,725 by Julius”

  1. Forgetting it was a UK bank holiday last weekend, I was surprised but delighted to have a jumbo Julius to get stuck into – and a pangram to boot.
    Thanks to MC Rapper for doing the honours and a fine appraisal it was. I agree with many of your thoughts. As for MAELSTROM, your parsing is fine – Ron and Russell were the Mael brothers in the pop duo, Sparx.
    This fun ride started with 1a, QUASIMODO, and continued right to the end with WITNESSES. Other favourites included COMMON THIEF, SISTERHOOD (cute), PEARDROP, IRON PYRITES (surface) and the brilliant OBSTETRICIAN. Some splendid anagrams too, including 50a and 7d.
    The well-considered blog helped to unravel a few I couldn’t, of which the most vexatious was WOMBAT/COMBAT. Since the wordplay eluded me, I simply couldn’t decide between ‘fighting’ or ‘beast’.
    Truly absorbing!
    Thanks to Julius and MC Rapper.

  3. Thanks Julius for admirably tackling such a herculean task. I found this more difficult than the average Julius but I had enough time to solve most of it. I began ticking favourites but that got out of hand in such a crossword so I won’t bother listing them. I was most impressed with the very long answers especially those that involved anagrams. Thanks mc_rapper67 for the blog, another herculean task.

  4. I am only the fourth person to respond, yet most of what I wanted to say has already been covered.

    Who could ask for anything more than a jumbo Julius? it was a steady solve, which I managed in one sitting. I had question marks in the same places as our esteemed blogger, and I send thanks to Diane for explaining mael. Never heard of the brothers or the band, but I will be investigating.

    So many clues, so few obscure words, and so many ticks from me. One of the many reasons I like Julius is his ability with anagrams. Seconding what Tony and Diane wrote, there were some crackers in this puzzle. I think we mostly share other favourites, with OBSTETRICIAN and LABRADOODLE being top of my list

    Thanks Julius and mc_rapper67

  5. Me@1,
    I think, in retrospect, it was Sparks not Sparx (my excuse being that I was in single digits at the time!) but they were memorable.

  6. Thanks for the blog, usual high standard from this setter just on a bigger scale.
    Agree with Diane@1/5 for MAELS = Sparks , Ron looked like Hitler at one point and played keyboards without moving anything except his fingers and eyes. This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us.
    ABSCONDED I think you have it right , out being used as a verb in the sense of (kick) out E .

  8. Wow, Simon S, I had no idea! I see they were involved with the soundtrack of the Cesar-winning French film, Annette.

  9. They weren’t only involved in the music, they wrote the original screenplay that Carax adapted for the film

  10. Thanks for the comments and feedback so far – much appreciated, as usual.

    Thanks to Diane and others I have certainly learned a few things about the MAELS in Sparks (or Sparx, or Sprx, as they would surely be called, if they formed today) – I’m surprised I’d not heard of them, as their time-span seems to match mine fairly closely – maybe I was too busy being serious and listening to Bob Marley, Dire Straits and Bruce Springsteen in my formative years…I must have seen them on TOTP a few times but not registered…

    Otherwise, everybody seemed to enjoy the anagrams and the pun fun….roll on the next Bank Holiday!

  11. Thanks as ever for anyone who blogs these things. I solved most of it – very enjoyable -and didn’t realise that its was a pangram. Probably wouldn’t have helped if I had. Far too many exclamation marks (13!) in the blogging!

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