Financial Times 17,781 by Buccaneer

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Puzzle from the FT of July 6th, 2024

I think Buccaneer gets better and better.

My first-in was 9 (EROTIC) and last was 6 (BARRIERS). There was one word I did not know, 21 (OBITER).  Or maybe two — I am not sure that I have come across 5a (RUBBISHY) before.   My favorites are 7 (INCAN) for its alliterative surface, 5a  (RUBBISHY) for its clever wordplay, 10 (CORNCOBS) and 15 (SCRABBLE).

Thank you, Buccaneer.

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1 SALAAM
American uncle keeps recalling respectful gesture (6)
ALA (recalling) in (keeps) SAM (American uncle)
5 RUBBISHY
Out-of-work cleric with red clothing of low quality (8)
BISH[op] (out-of-work cleric!!!) in (with clothing) RUBY (red)
9 EROTIC
Spicy rice cooked with cored tomato (6)
Anagram (cooked) of RICE T[omat]O
10 CORNCOBS
My swan’s eating indefinite number of bits of cereal (8)
COR (my) + N (indefinite number) + COBS (swans)
11 HERMIONE
Friend of Harry Houdini gutlessly admits hesitation, taking drug (8)
ERM (hesitation) in H[oudin]I + ON (taking) + E (drug) with the Harry in question being Harry Potter
12 IONIAN
Attic at home filled with nothing by Scotsman (6)
O (nothing) in (filled with) IN (at home) + IAN (Scotsman)
13 SPAT
Showed contempt in tiff (4)
Double definition
15 SCRABBLE
Sailor’s beginning with cold shower for on-board diversion (8)
S[ailor] + C (cold) + RABBLE (shower)
18 NARCISSI
Vacuous instrumentalists thus rushed back — they have trumpets (8)
I[nstrumentalist]S + SIC (thus) + RAN (rushed) all backwards (back)
19 ODDS
Not even small probability (4)
ODD (not even) + S (small)
21 OBITER
Lawyer’s incidentally in tight robe, drinking vermouth (6)
IT (vermouth) in (drinking) anagram (tight) of ROBE. I did not know how ‘vermouth’ could clue IT here but a little googling told me that “It” is a way of specifying Italian vermouth (rather than French).
23 NANNYISH
Tending to overprotect NHS in any reforms (8)
Anagram (reforms) of NHS IN ANY
25 RENMINBI
Asian cash primarily bought parts on new car (8)
RE (on) + N (new) + B[ought] in (parts) MINI (car)
26 EARNER
Paid employee taking lead from trainee (6)
[l]EARNER (taking lead from trainee. i.e. learner).  It happened to come to my attenti0n that a very similar clue appeared in the FT’s very next crossword, Sundays’ World #48:  “25 Student heading off to get rewarding job (6)”.
27 TRAIN SET
Tracks etc. to play with rock star in film (5,3)
Anagram (rock) of STAR IN + ET (film)
28 TIPPLE
Very soft hat is worn outside for a drink of alcohol (6)
PP (very soft) in (is worn outside) TILE (hat)
DOWN
2 AERIE
I agree to dispatch golf shot where eagles may be expected (5)
Anagram (shot) of I A[g]REE
3 ASTHMATIC
Finding inspiration hard in maths, act sick receiving paper (9)
I (paper, i.e, the i newspaper) in (receiving) anagram (sick) of MATHS ACT
4 MACRON
Communist leader hosts British leader and Northern European leader (6)
CR (British leader, i.e. Charles Rex) in (hosts) MAO (Communist leader) + N (northern). Do I have this right?
5 ROCKET SCIENTIST
Boffin has some salad — it’s nicest tossed (6,9)
ROCKET (some salad) + anagram (tossed) of ITS NICEST
6 BARRIERS
British runners from East London in hurdles (8)
B (British) + [h]ARRIERS (runners from East London)
7 INCAN
Possibly preserved proto- Peruvian (5)
IN CAN (possibly preserved)
8 HOBNAILED
Acclaimed stores round Brighton’s outskirts like Boots, sometimes (9)
O (round) + B[righto]N in (stores) HAILED (acclaimed)
14 PLAY BY EAR
Do improv in e.g. The Winter’s Tale, with yen to stop Antigonus’s pursuer (4,2,3)
PLAY (e.g. The Winter’s Tale) + Y (yen) in (to stop) BEAR (Antigonus’s pursuer in The Winter’s Tale). “Exit pursued by a bear”. I do not think of “playing by ear” being quite the same thing as improvising.
16 BOOBY-TRAP
Maybe the Tories blunder, turning up potential pitfall (5-4)
BOOB (blunder) + PART (maybe the Tories) backwards (turning up)
17 G-STRINGS
Good king taken in by cheats — they show a lot of cheek (1-7)
G (good) + R (king) in (taken in by) STINGS (cheats)
20 INSECT
Where extremists might get together for cricket, say (6)
IN SECT (where extremists might get together)
22 TEMPI
Satisfied about ostentatiously good players’ speeds (5)
MET (satisfied) backwards (about) + PI (ostentatiously good)
24 SHELL
Son suffering in Hazel’s coat? (5)
S (son) + HELL (suffering) with the definition referring to a hazelnut.

21 comments on “Financial Times 17,781 by Buccaneer”

  1. MACRON
    I took CR as Charles. Crown could well be right.
    PLAY BY EAR
    Collins:
    to act according to the demands of a situation rather than to a plan; improvise
    The def seems fine.

    RUBBISHY: Funny surface and nice WP. Loved it.
    Liked NARCISSI and G-STRINS as well.

  2. Like KVa, I took CR as King Charles in 4 as well.

    Favourites were ODDS, MACRON and INCAN. I also shared Pete’s liking for the out-of-work cleric in 5.

    With lots of words and charades, this is not really the sort of puzzle I like the best, and I did start to find it a bit tedious toward the end. There is nothing wrong with the clues – indeed they almost all have great surfaces. I wonder whether I just have a different sense of humour to Buccaneer.

    Thanks Buccaneer and Pete

  3. Thanks Buccaneer and Pete

    4dn: I took this essentially the same way as KVa@1, with CR as Carolus Rex.

    16dn: I think this has to be PARTY + BOOB reversed.

  4. I enjoyed this crossword – solved on a tube travelling somewhere this week with out much bother. I vaguely remembered OBITER from somewhere, as part of a phrase I suspect, and checked it. The one I didn’t know was RENMINBI. I liked the out of work cleric too.

    Thank you to Pete Maclean and Buccaneer.

  5. Thanks for the blog, very enjoyable , some very nice touches in the wordplay . neat use of “parts” for REMNIMBI , “dispatch golf” in AERIE, “Out of work” for RUBBISHY , many more.

    OBITER I only know from Obiter dictum , and IT from gin and IT .
    PLAY BY EAR , I agree that musically it is not improv but in general terms it can be , so agree with KVa@1 .
    We will have to get used to CR after many years of ER .

  6. Found this difficult and got very few at first. Took a long time to finish but got there in the end.

    Also not heard of OBITER

    Favourites included: RUBBISHY, NARCISSI, MACRON (also took CR as Charles), ROCKET SCIENTIST

    Thanks Buccaneer and Pete Maclean

  8. Annabelle,
    It’s a holdover, I think, from when the weekend crossword used to be a prize puzzle. The prizes stopped during Covid and the weekly wait has remained to the annoyance of some and the delight of others.

  9. To add to Diane @8 , the answers to the puzzle are not in the paper until a week later . For some people it is their only crossword and they may spend the whole week doing it .

  10. A French preposition in S(à la)AM, an Italian plural in TEMPI, a Latin adverb for OBITER, and the CR in MACRON has to be Charles Rex,
    now that Elizabeth is no longer Regina, though she lives on in CrosswordLand, because ER is so useful.
    UK coins used to bear the monarch’s name in Latin – GEORGIVS VI for instance – but her name didn’t translate.
    Charles’s does, but he won’t be Carolus on the new money https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63073983:
    “CHARLES III • Deo • Gratia • REX • Fidei • Defensor • 5 POUNDS • 2022”
    Thanks B&PM

  13. I’ve been enjoying reading this site for a couple of years now without joining in. Thanks to all who contribute. I’m one of the ones who takes most of the week to (usually) finish the Saturday FT crossword so the delay with the blog doesn’t bother me. I don’t follow the explanation for 2D – are the words “dispatched golf” in the clue redundant?

  14. Kingsriver , golf=g Nato alphabet , this means g is dispatched from I AGREE leaving IAREE , this is shot , meaning an anagram.
    Good to see you comment and I like the idea of a week’s delay for one puzzle a week .

  19. Thank you (again) Roz. Yes, it means in the style of (reminding me or recalling something previously seen). I understand.

    BTW, ALT with 0224 on the keypad gets à!

    Grateful for your help.

  20. Dang, I got excited when I saw this blog. I thought it was a new Buccaneer. Then realised it was from a week ago. Fine puzzle nonetheless. Things to blogger and James.

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