Financial Times Sunday No.60 – News by Leonidas

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Your monthly dose of current affairs in crossword form. Find it to solve online or download and print at ft.com/crossword

Super puzzle from the reliable Leonidas covering the events of September. Much to enjoy here but favourite is probably the clever 16 down. I suspect I’m probably missing some of the topical references but it’s been a busy month for me and I’ve not been following the news closely. I’m also not entirely sure of the parsing of 26 down, though I did recognise the news story behind that one. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments below…

Thanks, Leonidas!

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
7 NARRATIVE
Story published about four imprisoned by judge (9)
RAN (published) reversed (about) + IV (four) contained (imprisoned) by RATE (judge)
9 EBONY
Black hole barb to madden Jeremy ultimately (5)
Last letters (ultimately) of holE barB tO maddeN jeremY

Current chancellor Rachel Reeves has said the previous administration left a £22bn ‘black hole’ in the UK’s finances, much to the annoyance of her predecessor Jeremy Hunt.
11 BANANAS
Fruit embargo article South America rejected (7)
BAN (embargo) + AN (article) + reversal (rejected) of S (south) + A (America)
12 BARNIER
Pub before noon? That is right, Prime Minister (7)
BAR (pub) + N (noon) + IE (that is) + R (right)

French politician Michel Barnier was appointed Prime Minister of France this month.
13 ENLISTS
Signs up vacuous trainees after line’s broken (7)
TraineeS with the middle letters removed (vacuous) after an anagram (broken) of LINES
15 MODISTE
Function crashed by first London Fashion Week entrant? (7)
MODE (function) containing (crashed by) IST (first)

London Fashion Week took place earlier this month.
17 HOO-HA
Noisy fuss when two head coverings aren’t finished (3-2)
HOO[d] + HA[t] (two head coverings) without their last letters (aren’t finished)
18 ABC
Malbec regularly taken off debate host (3)
mAlBeC with its alternate letters removed (regularly taken off)

The US television network hosted a debate between presidential candidates Trump and Harris.
19 RUSES
Tricks Republican employs (5)
R (Republican) + USES (employs)
21 ATHLETE
Paralympian maybe at hotel before the summer in Paris (7)
AT + H (hotel) + L’ETE (‘the summer’ in Paris)

Following the Olympics last month, the Paralympic Games took place in Paris this month.
23 NO-HOPER
Poor hen, possibly one that won’t lay? (2-5)
Anagram (possibly) of POOR HEN
25 EXAMPLE
Warning former politician in the grip of alcohol (7)
EX (former) + MP (politician) contained by (in the grip of) ALE (alcohol)
28 STALEST
Least fresh and least cooked on street (7)
Anagram (cooked) of LEAST + ST (street)
29 OASIS
Nothing unaltered in reformed group (5)
O (nothing) + AS IS (unaltered)

The inexplicably popular 90s group announced this month that they are reforming to tour next year.
30 ELEMENTAL
Basic heater next to OAP failing essentially (9)
ELEMENT (heater) + middle letters (essentially) of oAp faiLing

A reference to the government stopping winter fuel payments to pensioners.
DOWN
1 ENABLE
Facilitate space walk after mass ejected (6)
EN (space) + A[m]BLE (walk) less M (mass)

Billionaire Jared Isaacman made the first ever space walk by a civilian (ie not an astronaut) this month.
2 NANNY STATE
Society that controls bread north of city, say (5,5)
NAN (bread) before (north of) NY (city) + STATE (say)
3 MISS
Female and male stuck on space station (4)
M (male) + ISS (space station)

US astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov US astronauts Suni Williams and Barry Wilmore became stranded on the ISS this month due to problems with the capsule that was to bring them back to Earth – and they will now be there until February. [thanks to commenters for corrections – Hague and Gorbunov are the ones who have gone up to rescue Williams and Wilmore]
4 BEEB
Auntie’s book covered by busy person (4)
B (book) ‘covered by’ BEE (busy person)

Those outside the UK may not know that the BBC (the Beeb) is affectionately known as Auntie.
5 KEIR
Picked up alcoholic drink for gloomy leader (4)
Sounds like (picked up) KIR (a mixed drink of white wine with cassis)

Presumably ‘gloomy’ because he always seems to be delivering bad news.
6 TORIES
Goes to welcome old Conference delegates today? (6)
TRIES (goes) containing (to welcome) O (old)

The Conservative party conference starts in Birmingham today.
8 RONALDO
Lord on a high: he has the most followers (7)
Anagram (high) of LORD ON A

Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo this month reached a billion followers on social media platforms. I’m not one of them.
10 YORKERS
City heiress oddly missed deliveries in Chennai? (7)
YORK (city) + only the even letters (oddly missed) of hEiReSs

Deliveries in the cricketing sense. India won the first match in their test series against Bangladesh in Chennai last week.
14 SHARE
Divide last of freebies with Angela after Conference (5)
Last [letters] of freebieS witH angelA afteR conferencE

The media have lately been giving lots of coverage to various freebies accepted from party donors by Keir Starmer and other Labour politicians, including deputy PM Angela Rayner.
15 MACON
Wine from President having run out (5)
MAC[r]ON (French President) less R (run)
16 DARTH VADER
Bad dad: rather vindictive principally? (5,5)
Anagram (bad) of DAD RATHER + first letter (principally) of Vindictive

The character was voiced in the Star Wars films by the wonderful James Earl Jones, who died this month aged 93.
17 HEAVE-HO
Sack man on road attached to house (5-2)
HE (man) + AVE (avenue = road) + HO (house)
20 SAPIENT
Wise southern worker hiding crusted item (7)
S (southern) + ANT (worker) ‘hiding’ PIE (crusted item)
22 HOARSE
Rough-sounding Arab on the radio? (6)
Sounds like (on the radio) HORSE (an Arab is a type of horse)
24 RATTLE
Discombobulate Trump at first in real time broadcast (6)
First letter of Trump in an anagram (broadcast) of REAL + T (time)

I think it’s reasonable to claim Trump was rattled by Harris in the aforementioned TV debate, though his supporters would have you believe otherwise.
26 PEST
Nuisance flipping half of Springfield BBQ options? (4)
‘Springfield BBQ options’ could be PET CATS, so you have PE[t] + half of [ca]TS ‘flipped’ but I’m missing something… PETS (Springfield BBQ options) with the second half of the word flipped [thanks to Simon S in comments for the correction]

Republican Vice-presidential candidate JD Vance shared a video on social media that he claimed showed African (they were actually Haitian) immigrants living in Dayton, Ohio (it was actually Springfield), barbecuing their neighbours’ pet cats (it was actually chicken).
27 EYES
Jersey establishment guarding bits of potato (4)
Hidden in jersEY EStablishment
28 SVEN
Posted briefly about very respected manager (4)
SEN[t] (posted, briefly) ‘about’ V (very)

Swedish football coach Sven-Göran Eriksson, who was the first non-British manager of the England national team, died this month aged 76.

11 comments on “Financial Times Sunday No.60 – News by Leonidas”

  1. Thanks, Widdersbel.

    12A was unknown to me ( and probably most Australians) so I had to look him up.

    Similarly, 28D, I did not know the football manager.

    Wasn’t 20A – SAPIENT – in a crossword here a couple of days ago?

    Re 26D – I solved this from the definition and cross letters without fully understanding it. My sincere congratulations for linking this clue to Vance!

  2. Thanks Leonidas and Widderspel

    Excellent puzzle from a setter whose work I really enjoy.

    For 26D, I took it that Vance (and Trump) said that Haitians were barbecuing PETS (not specifically cats), and flipped the last two letters.

  3. Simon S – that’ll be it, thanks! Don’t know why my brain got stuck on cats.

    Annabelle – SAPIENT was in another puzzle that hasn’t been blogged yet (though not a prize puzzle so it doesn’t count as a spoiler 🙂 )

  4. These puzzles are a real treat, much to be looked forward to at the end of the month (which seems to come round very quickly).

    This one was well up to standard and most enjoyable, with lots of clever wit, which extended into the editorial comment! – splendid team work once again.

    I particularly enjoyed EBONY, BARNIER, ABC, EXAMPLE, OASIS, MACON, DARTH VADER and RATTLE.

    Huge thanks, as ever, to Leonidas and Widdersbel.

  5. Williams and Wilmore are the stranded astronauts. Hague and Gorbunov launched yesterday to the ISS. All four are set to return February.

  6. Thanks Leonidas and Widdersbel!
    Good puzzle. Very informative and neat blog.

    BARNIER
    Does the ‘right’ in the clue indicate that BARNIER is a right-winger?

    MISS
    Today’s news:
    The Dragon spacecraft, by SpaceX, will reach the ISS on Sunday to bring back Suni Williams and Barry Wilmore
    Female and male stuck
    The astronauts mentioned in the blog are the ones just sent to retrieve Suni and Butch. It’s correct that these astronauts and the ones stuck on the ISS will return only in Feb 2025.

    BEEB
    I have come across these nicknames of the BBC (Auntie and the BEEB) only in puzzles. Our media always uses the formal name.

    RATTLE and PEST were excellent. NO-HOPER has an interesting def.

    Edit: Was typing for a long time. Didn’t refresh (& therefore missed PeterT’s post) before posting my comment. Sorry.

  8. Simon S@7
    Thanks for the info.

    I was reinforcing what Widdersbel said in the blog.
    I live in India but I am familiar with these nicknames only because I have been doing British crosswords.
    I have watched some British series over the last couple of years and my slang vocab should improve (The
    native speakers, I interact with talk to me in formal language).

    And Google rarely fails me (only when I don’t know how to express what I am looking for).

    Thanks Simon again. 225 enlightens me a lot. Thanks everyone here.

  10. Thanks to all who have commented and thanks Widders for your usual excellent blog. All intended themers identified. With a couple of rather unpleasant stories dominating the news feeds over the last couple of weeks, I salute the Labour Party for giving me a few options to work with (clearly our new government will be the gift that keeps on giving for these puzzles). My one regret is not incorporating the ‘return of the sausages’ that Sir Keir rightly called for, but sadly I ran out of both time and space.

    See you all next time.

  11. I meant to say thank you yesterday, but ended solving this on a tube and finished underground.

    The other story I wqndered about was NARRATIVE and the various rioters being imprisoned?

    Thank you to Leonidas and Widdersbel.

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