Financial Times 17,813 by SLORMGORM

20 comments on “Financial Times 17,813 by SLORMGORM”

1. I made a cracking start, and sped through much of the puzzle. But then the last 3 or 4 clues took at least as long as the rest combined.

   It was good to learn the devil’s name is Dickens and that Satin is a rabbit breed. I thought using tres without a French indicator was a bit cheeky. I liked 45 minutes in 22 also, loved the monkey with the vast rear in 14 and smiled at MAKE TRACKS when it clicked.

   It was a great blog as usual

   Thanks Slormgorm and Cineraria

2. I too was unaware of Dickens/Satan and the breed of rabbit. Has “très” made it into the English language now? Otherwise I’d have expected some indication of French. (Just noticed you too mentioned this, Martyn.)

   The NW quarter was last to yield. All else was pretty straightforward and enjoyable. Thanks Slormgorm & Cineraria.

3. I agree with much of your commentary, Martyn; I knew it was ALSATIAN but didn’t know ‘satin’ rabbit. Is it the same as an angora rabbit?
   I didn’t at first equate Dickens with ‘Devil’s either but recalled the phrase ‘what the Dickens?’ OCCASIONAL (for periodic table), SOWETO and BLOOMERS were favourites. I liked the anagrams for CASH DISPENSER and COCKER SPANIELS too.
   Thanks to Slormgorm and Cineraria.

4. The expressions “What the dickens?” and “What the devil?” are equivalent. “Dickens” in this context would appear to be a euphemism (presumably to avoid actually invoking Satan).

   Chambers does indicate “très” as French, but I think that it has entered the vernacular in at least a facetious, faux-snob usage, along the lines of “Moi?”.

5. That’s an interesting explanation of Dickens/Satan, Cineraria. I hadn’t thought along those lines. Of course, there’s also “what the heck” (which has a second meaning of “I don’t care”), and another one that’s rather coarser (I shan’t elucidate), but I wouldn’t think of either of these as synonyms. And quite common these days, possibly the most common of all, is simply “What the?”, with the third word left to the interlocutor’s imagination.

6. My SOED said the same about dickens/devil, Cineraria@4. I had never equated the two expressions and it is quite an interesting discovery. “What the dickens?” makes me think of a character Nigel Bruce would play.

7. Thanks for the blog, very enjoyable puzzle with imaginative wordplay .
   My knowledge of French is very limited but even I remember ” TRES bien” from school , never said to me in French classes.

8. What the Dickens – Diane @3 and onwards, this is known as a minced oath, Paul in the Guardian once used them in a themed crossword.
   Things like darn , tarnation, blooming, by George, for Pete’s sake, cor blimey , jeepers ……
   a very long list .

9. [ Paul in the Guardian , May 22nd 2021 , sorry I have given the theme away but unavoidable as it is the topic being discussed. ]

10. Thanks Slormgorm and Cineraria

    21dn: Chambers 2016 p 1663 has très in “ordinary” bold type with French and English pronunciations. The marking “[Fr]” at the end simply indicates the etymology (see page xv of the introductory section). By contrast, Collins 2023 p 2102 has très in bold italics, immediately followed by the word French and a French prounuciation only. As explained on page x under the heading “Pronunciations”, this indicates that they do not regard the word as having become accepted into English. ODE 2010 does not seem to have the word at all. SOED 2007 p 3338 has it in bold italic indicating that “although used in English, [it] is still regarded as essentially foreign” (page xxx). Make what you will of that.

11. Thanks Slormgorm and Cineraria

    Very pleasant solve. Liked Missouri a lot

    I didn’t think of Cogent as requiring brevity. Is the answer clued by a brief version of compellingly – ie compelling (which in my internal thesaurus is a synonym).

12. “Dickens” is said to have been a euphemism for “devil” since Shakespearean times. This helps to understand lots of phrases in common use, apart from those already mentioned : “it hurts like the dickens”, “the dickens it is ! “, “go to the dickens”, et al.

13. Thanks Slormgorm for a solid set of clues. Except for my failure with RANCID, this was smooth sailing with JAIL, MISSOURI, AS IT WERE, COCKER SPANIEL, DESPOT, and STRESS being my top picks. My only objection was the definition in 15a being ‘hole in the wall’ — seems weak to me. Thanks Cineraria for the blog.

14. 15ac: As they say, “it’s in Collins” (2023, p.935) hole in the wall n informal 1 chiefly Brit another name for cash dispenser. Mind you, Tony@13, I am not sure whether that rebuts or supports your claim that it is a weak definition.

15. Further to 14: It’s also in Chambers 2016 p 727, ODE 2010 p 836, and SOED 2007 p 1263.

16. Pelham Barton @14: Clearly, our setter is on solid ground — the expression ‘hole in the wall’ for a CASH DISPENSER will have to be entered in the ‘today I learned’ file.

17. Tony @16 I suspect it is just UK slang . Whenever we have a spate of ATM robberies the police will call the criminals the “hole-in-the-wall gang” , which was originally US . As far as I know , most people call an ATM the cashpoint .

18. As I remember it, Cashpoint was the name given by Lloyds Bank to the machines which they introduced in the 1970s. They were certainly the first British bank, and I think the first in the world, to have machines linked directly to bank account information, so that the machines would only dispense money if you had it either in your account or within your overdraft limit. They thought of these machines as replacing the cashing of cheques in a branch, and naturally put them inside the branches. When other banks started to put them in holes in the wall, it took Lloyds some time to catch up. Use of the term “cashpoint” in general speech may be compared to the use of the term “hoover” as a generic term for vacuum cleaners.

19. I found this puzzle relatively easy but very enjoyable. I too liked the Missouri clue. A much more leisurely stroll than I had with Paul’s puzzle.

20. oed.com has “très colloquial. 1819– With English adjectives: very. Usually with reference to a fashionable or modishly superior quality, frequently as très snob, very ‘posh’.” and cites “1819 A full, true, and très particular account of Miss M’s ten Suitors. J. Keats, Letter 3 January (1931) vol. I. 292″
    Most (but not all) of the citations are italicised.

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