Puzzle from the Weekend FT of May 18, 2024
Neo brings us a playful puzzle with a mythological theme of Jason and the Argonauts and their search for the Golden Fleece supported homophonically with a reference to the 1960’s TV series “Thunderbirds”.
I finished the right half of the grid easily enough, took am embarrassingly long time to cop to 4,12, and then took more time completing the left half challenged especially by 1d (CHUBBY), 23 (EARWIGGED) and 28 (ROSARY). My favourites are 4 (THUNDERBIRDS), 13 (DIFFERENT) and 16 (ROSSINI)
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | CASSETTE |
Box not exactly small compiler made smaller? (8)
|
| CA (not exactly, i.e. circa) + S (smalll) + SETTE[r] (compiler made smaller) | ||
| 5 |
See 10
|
|
| 9 | UPPERCUT |
Meal without starter served with chop and punch (8)
|
| [s]UPPER (mean without starter) + CUT (chop) | ||
| 10/5 | GOLDEN FLEECE |
Happy to do what 25A wanted? (6,6)
|
| GOLDEN (happy) + FLEECE (to do) | ||
| 12 |
See 4 Down
|
|
| 13 | DIFFERENT |
Female fine in long division that’s distinctive (9)
|
| F (female) + F (fine) together in DIE (long) + RENT (division) | ||
| 14 | TERROR |
Sin brought into prominence causes extreme fear (6)
|
| ERR (sin) in (into) TOR (prominence) | ||
| 16 | ROSSINI |
Composer and Arctic explorer — in one! (7)
|
| ROSS (Arctic explorer) + IN (in) + I (one) | ||
| 19 | CROATIA |
Excellent metal band back to tour a country (7)
|
| AI (excellent, i..e. A1) + A (a) in (to tour) TORC (metal band) all backwards. ‘Torc’ is an uncommon variant of ‘torque’. | ||
| 21 | ERSATZ |
Not genuine: having 24 manipulated by Allianz, in the end… (6)
|
| Anagram (manipulated) of RATES (24) + [Allian]Z | ||
| 23 | EARWIGGED |
… was a bugger! (9)
|
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 25 | JASON |
Sailor Jack seen with a child (5)
|
| J (jack) + A (a) + SON (child) | ||
| 26 | MOTIVE |
After word from Baudelaire, Neo has purpose (6)
|
| MOT (word from Baudelaire) + I (Neo) + ‘VE (has) | ||
| 27 | ARTIFICE |
Card man leaves if diamonds needed for some tricks? (8)
|
| [he]ART (card man leaves) + IF (if) + ICE (diamonds) | ||
| 28 | ROSARY |
Flower bed: Irishman covers it (6)
|
| SA (it – i.e. sex appeal) in (covers) RORY (Irishman) | ||
| 29 | AESTHETE |
One appreciating beauty worried about short woman (8)
|
| ESTE[r] (short woman) in (about) ATE (worried) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CHUBBY |
Old man taken with Charlie Brown — contentious comic? (6)
|
| C (Charlie) + HUBBY (old man) with the definition referring to Roy “Chubby” Brown (a comedian I have never come across before). My thanks to BC for tracking down this guy. | ||
| 2 | SUPERHERO |
Hulk on about having to stop Orpheus playing? (9)
|
| RE (on) backwards (about) in (haveing to stop) anagram (playing) of ORPHEUS | ||
| 3 | EARNS |
Finds out dumping pound generates money (5)
|
| [l]EARNS (finds out dumping pound) | ||
| 4/12 | THUNDERBIRDS |
Andersons show subordinate born during interval on Sunday (12)
|
| UNDER (subordinate) + B (born) in (during) THIRD (interval) + S (Sunday); I believe there is what many people would consider to be a fault in this clue with the absence of an apostrophe in “Andersons”. The general rule is, if I understand it correctly, that a definition may be cryptic to an extreme but it should never be disguised. :”Thunderbirds” was a British science-fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and famous for the catch-phrase “Thunderbirds are go.” | ||
| 6 | LIONESSES |
Noiseless bats and other animals (9)
|
| Anagram (bats) of NOISELESS | ||
| 7 | EDDIE |
Murphy perhaps features in balanced diet (5)
|
| Hidden word (features in) | ||
| 8 | EINSTEIN |
Intellectual stumped probing foreign article duplicated (8)
|
| ST (stumped) in (probing) EIN (foreign article) + EIN (foreign article) | ||
| 11 | AFAR |
Ace, then skied service returned at a distance? (4)
|
| A (ace) + RAF (skied service) backwards (returned) | ||
| 15 | RETRIEVER |
Steep watercourse drowning European canine (9)
|
| RET (steep, as in soak) + E (European) in (drowning) RIVER (watercourse) | ||
| 17 | INTESTINE |
Batting twice to save match, English showing some guts (9)
|
| IN (batting once) + TEST (match) + IN (batting again) + E (English) | ||
| 18 | SCREAMER |
Bowler receiving credit for well-hit shot? (8)
|
| CR (credit) in (receiving) SEAMER (bowler) | ||
| 20 | ARGO |
25A’s craft is ready to launch as 4 12, do we hear? (4)
|
| Homophone (do we hear?) of “[Thunderbirds] are go” | ||
| 21 | ENDORSE |
Recommend red nose should be treated (7)
|
| Anagram (should be treated) of RED NOSE | ||
| 22 | SNEEZE |
Chopped dwarf tree’s root that might spread disease (6)
|
| SNEEZ[y] (dwarf – one of Snow White’s seven – chopped) + [tre]E | ||
| 24 | RATES |
Rotters circumventing Spain’s local taxes (5)
|
| E (Spain) in (circumventing) RATS (rotters) | ||
| 25 | JOINT |
Shared place (5)
|
| Double definition |
Only got a few on the first pass and then slowly built it up until only three in the NW and three in the SE to go. Had a break then came back and finished.
Liked: THUNDERBIRDS, CASSETTE, CROATIA, EARWIGGED, SCREAMER, SNEEZE
and of course ARGO. Guessed that at first having got Jason but couldn’t parse as I hadn’t got 4/12. Then once I had 4/12 I got it and laughed.
Thanks Neo and Pete Maclean
Top one for me: CASSETTE.
Also like EARWIGGED and ARGO.
Thanks Neo (lovely puzzle) and Pete Maclean (excellent blog)!
Wow, I have a completely different view of favourites. I liked INTESTINE for its surface, and LIONESSES for the great anagram.
As much as I wanted to like it, I actually disliked THUNDER BIRDS for combining an obscure reference with a convoluted charade. Never heard of earwigging so it is also difficult for me to like 23. There were a couple of other words / people I had NHO.
I am not saying others were wrong liking these clues, just that I saw them differently. I do find it interesting how we can all agree one day then see clues through different eyes the next.
We did have some things in common. I also laughed (well, it was probably a groan) at ARGO, and I agree that Pete’s blog was excellent again.
Thanks Neo and Pete
Thanks for the blog, I still watch Jason ATA once a year and Sprog3 was mad on THUNDERBIRDS for a while so I did enjoy the linked clues. DIFFERENT was very neat but I could name many more.
CHUBBY Brown was a Bernard Manning type comedian but came later so I do not think he made it on to TV .
Thanks Neo. Lots to like here including UPPERCUT, ROSSINI, MOTIVE, RETRIEVER, and SNEEZE. Failed with the nho THUNDERBIRDS and CHUBBY. Thanks Pete for the blog.
A DNF for me, never having heard of THUNDERBIRDS, a tv show from the ‘60s that didn’t make it to Canada. (“Thunderbirds are go” was therefore equally unknown.) But on reading the blog I appreciated the excellent construction of the 4/12 clue.
I needed parsing help for 1d CHUBBY (Brown also unknown over here) and 15d (dnk RET = steep), so thanks Pete for the excellent blog and Neo for the fun puzzle. I even got a cricket clue – 18d SCREAMER – so my day is already a success.
In 4/12, might Andersons be regarded as an adjective? As in for example Bowie album. Many thanks to Neo for a most enjoyable crossword and to Pete Maclean for solving 1 down and parsing 1 across.