Financial Times 17,788 by MOO

16 comments on “Financial Times 17,788 by MOO”

1. I’d forgotten that to some of us “ready” is money, so failed to parse AFGHANI. Also I was unaware of gear/drugs, so TOO GEAR puzzled me.

   All else fell into place and was very enjoyable. Thanks, Moo & Teacow.

2. Re 15D: doesn’t “dissipate” mean something that breaks down by itself, whereas “throw away” means a deliberate action to get rid of something?

   Sorry, but I am new here, and I am not too sure if I am allowed to question the solver. Sorry, Teacow, if I have overstepped the mark.

   Anyway, thank you for the explanations.

3. Annabelle @2: Welcome to the site and I hope Teacow will agree with me when I say debate is encouraged on the site and few bloggers will be upset at being so courteously questioned! I think you are both right. Chambers gives:
   transitive verb
   To scatter or disperse
   To squander
   To waste
   To dispel
   intransitive verb
   To separate or disperse and disappear
   To waste away
   To be dissolute in conduct
   To indulge in trivial amusements
   ORIGIN: L dissipāre, -ātum, from dis- apart, and (archaic) supāre to throw

   ‘Throw away’ fits the transitive and ‘break down by itself’ fits the intransitive definitions. Given the etymology, ‘throw away’ would certainly seem a fair synonym.

   Nice puzzle. When FOI turned out to be SINNER, I half-wondered if were going to get a tennis theme a day late! CRIMSON my COTD for the apt surface.

   Thanks Moo and Teacow

4. Thank you, PostMark. I grew up with the OED so I don’t know much about Chambers. For the record, I had never heard of a tennis player called “Sinner” as I have no interest in tennis.

   “COTD” ? – Clue of the Day? “FOI” – First One In”? As I said, I am new to this game so these acronyms are new to me.

5. My COTD: CRIMSON (Agree with PM’s comment).
   Other faves: PEEPING TOM and AFGHANI (tho not a fresh trick, liked the surface).

   Thanks Moo and Teacow!

   Annabelle@4
   COTD and FOI: You’ve guessed them right. There is an FAQ section with more such abbreviations and other things like how to add emojis.
   Chambers is the most trusted dictionary in this game for some reason. Collins and OED come just a little behind Chambers. I don’t know the story behind this tradition.

6. For 2A, I understood the definition to be simply “command,” as in the military drill command, but since “at ease” may not be one used in the UK, I can see how “in command” might work, too.

   Chambers is practically indispensable for solving the venerable Azed crossword, but I don’t know whether its prominence is linked to that.–JMc

7. Cineraria @6 I also took the definition to be “command” and I’m from the UK.

8. Thanks Moo and Teacow.

   4ac: I took the definition as “in command”, but that does not really explain the question mark.

   On the question of dictionaries, Chambers (“First published as Chambers’s Twentieth Century Dictionary in 1901″) was really in a market of its own as the largest single volume English Dictionary until Collins launched in 1979. They were joined in 1998 by the New Oxford Dictionary of English (which dropped the “New” from its title with the second edition in 2003).

9. 16a MISTRESS should be M[uch] (initially) + (STRESS (pressure) on I (one)) – [with the “‘s” in “one’s” becoming a linking “is”, that can be ignored.]

10. 13d RE IMAGINE: ‘Shortly before his death, Lennon said that much of the song’s lyrics and content came from his wife, Yoko Ono, and in 2017 she received cowriting credit.’
    Thanks M&T

11. Lovely puzzle

    Favourites: MALEVOLENT, SINNER ( I have been watching the tennis), CRIMSON, TRACT

    Thanks Moo and Teacow

12. Parsed 4a AT EASE with “in” as a link word and the definition as “command?” – the question mark because it’s just one of the many commands given to soldiers:
    “Ten-hut!”, “Slope arms!”, “Eyes right!”, &c.

13. I found this an enjoyable and approachable puzzle with a good mix of clues and consistently great surfaces. A bit heavy on the anagrams, perhaps. ECONOMISE, EUREKA and PEN PUSHER were favourites. I bet 13 needed a last-minute edit.

    I too was not familiar with Ms SINNER, and had forgotten money is “ready” in crossword land, which held me back a little in solving 1 and 19. Otherwise things went smoothly

    Thanks Moo and Teacow

14. The original command in the army was “stand at ease”. I also had never heard of Sinner and originally had unposed “server” until “numbers” fixed that. I guessed GEAR in 17d, but had no faith that it was right – had never heard of it as drugs. These clues which require a wide knowledge of “drug speak” often leave me cold and makes me wonder about our bloggers!!!

15. Thanks Moo for an excellent crossword with many fine surfaces. My favourites were AT EASE, FAIRWAY, MALEVOLENT, MISTRESS, EUREKA (like ‘stifling’ as a hidden indicator), and ECONOMISE. I couldn’t parse AFGHANI or PEEPING TOM; thanks Teacow for explaining.

    [Welcome Annabelle to the site. I sometimes questioned definitions over the years but inevitably someone would offer dictionary evidence, usually Chambers. (The app is worth purchasing; you can access it in ‘airplane mode’ if you like to solve or write clues when flying.) Setters are pretty meticulous regarding the technical aspects of a clue. Much of my criticism relates to the ‘readability’ of a clue or the inclusion of too many archaic or oddball words in a puzzle.]

16. I really enjoyed this but didn’t really know SINNER and so came to with random other bad things.. SPIKER, SUFFER, SLAVER, and never finished the top left. But lots of fun! Thank you all.

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