Financial Times 17,873 by AARDVARK

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AARDVARK kicks off the week…

Well… a slightly more challenging Monday puzzle than one expects, at least from a parsing point of view. Hugely enjoyable though.

Thanks AARDVARK!

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
9. Speculative solution seen here in parts (9)
THEORETIC

18a + 23a +13a (solution seen here in parts)

10. Eatery welcoming husband’s kid (5)
CHAFF

CAFF (eatery) welcoming H (husband)

11. Wrinkly file losing folio across street (7)
OLDSTER

[f]OLDER (file, losing F (folio)) across ST (street)

12. Quiet drink taken on pack hikes (5,2)
RAMPS UP

(P (quiet) + SUP (drink)) taken on RAM (pack)

13. Habit of twitcher to imitate cuckoo primarily (3)
TIC

T[o] I[mitate] C[uckoo] (primarily)

14. Meat loaf, small, that vegan may eat (6,5)
KIDNEY BEANS

KIDNEY (meat) + BEAN (loaf) + S (small)

17. Formal jacket, discounted by pound, returned by one Asian (5)
AZERI

[bl]AZER (formal jacket, discounted by (LB)< (pound, <returned)) by I (one)

18. Article: ‘Getting a cuppa in Paris’ (3)
THE

THE (a cuppa (tea), in Paris)

19. An alternative to touch screen’s opening in National Gallery (5)
TASTE

S[creen] (opening) in TATE (National Gallery)

21. Turkey in peak tourist period neglecting son’s crime (4,7)
HIGH TREASON

TR (Turkey) in HIGH [s]EASON (peak tourist period, neglecting S (son))

23. Mineral knocked back in bedroom periodically (3)
ORE

([b]E[d]R[o]O[m] (periodically))< (<knocked back)

25. Gold band featured in lounge paper on wall? (3,4)
LOOROLL

(OR (gold) + O (band)) featured in LOLL (lounge)

27. Astute tenor in command after tune recalled (7)
GNOSTIC

(T (tenor) + IC (in command)) after (SONG)< (tune, <recalled)

28. Foliage concealing large overhang (5)
EAVES

[l]EAVES (foliage, concealing L (large))

29. Geordie conduct represents mass bohemian behaviour (3,6)
NEW AGEISM

NE (Geordie) + WAG (conduct) + IS (represents) + M (mass)

DOWN
1. Cash machine round Stockport disheartened Max (2,4)
AT MOST

ATM (cash machine) + O (round) + S[tockpor]T (disheartened)

2. Complaint that man repeated about Notice Account (8)
HEADACHE

HE HE (that man, repeated) about (AD (notice) + AC (account))

3. Red balls the blue is contacting time after time (10)
TROTSKYIST

(ROT (balls) + (SKY (the blue) + IS + T (time)) after T (time)

4. Cooler song and dance (4)
STIR

Double definition

5. Want Mark church head (10)
SCARCENESS

SCAR (mark) + CE (church) + NESS (head)

6. Syndicate’s top punters often use this rigged scheme (4)
SCAM

S[yndicate] (top) + CAM (punters often use this, river in Cambridge)

7. Loathing a custom in middle of senate (6)
NAUSEA

(A + USE (custom)) in [se]NA[te] (middle of)

8. Eccentric old females combined audibly (3-5)
OFF-PISTE

O (old) + F F (females) + "pieced" = PISTE (combined, "audibly")

15. Period rocker business that ends contract? (6,4)
DOTTED LINE

DOT (period) + TED (rocker) + LINE (business)

16. Stick on make-up somewhere in the Deep South (5,5)
BATON ROUGE

BAT (stick) + ON + ROUGE (make-up)

17. Hero with vital energy feeds German everything (8)
ACHILLES

CHI (vital energy) feeds ALLES (everything, German)

20. One offering sweetener perhaps for drink (8)
SMOOTHIE

Double (cryptic) definition

22. Rhythm section used in allegro overture (6)
GROOVE

[alle]GRO OVE[rture] (section used in)

24. Spots revolutionary commoner pitch tents (6)
ENCAMP

(ACNE)< (spots, <revolutionary) + MP (commoner)

26. Son stops public fire (4)
OUST

S (son) stops OUT (public)

27. Dress Gillian cleared out that hurt in midriff (4)
GOWN

G[illia]N (cleared out), OW (that hurt) in midriff

14 comments on “Financial Times 17,873 by AARDVARK”

  1. This was fun, but a DNF for me as I entered RIDES UP for 12a (which I justified as p=quiet taken from PRIDE=pack – of lions and drink=sup) which I know doesn’t really work the way the clue is written, but seemed so close I hoped all would be revealed here, which, of course, it was – d’oh.
    So I couldn’t solve 6d either.
    Oh, well….
    Thanks Aardvark and Teacow.

  2. Thanks for the blog , very good puzzle with many clever clues , THEORETIC had to wait until I had done all the Across. TROTSKYIST a very neat construction .
    TASTE , I am not overly keen on Tate , it is not THE National Gallery , drop the capitals and it could be A national gallery but there are four of them .

  3. Thanks Aardvark and Teacow

    It seems that Aardvark has dropped the idea of the (near or actual) pangram with the rare letters placed in a pattern¹ on the grid.

    1ac: I like the idea behind this, but had to come here for the explanation. I wonder if the clue could be improved by a concise indication that the three three-letter words are not taken in the order of the clue numbers. I thought there would have to be something going on when I got THE at 18ac, but was expecting a three-word phrase across the middle row.

    19ac: I agree with Roz@2 about the use of capital letters on National Gallery.

    ¹I know “pattern” is not quite the right word, but could not think of a better one.

  4. A satisfying if challenging puzzle. We liked TROTSKYIST, DOTTED LINE and KIDNEY BEANS although we took a while to see them.
    As for the capitals in National Gallery this is an example of the (illogical) convention that you can capitalise where it’s not necessary, but you can’t dispense with an essential capital. Some setters get round this where possible by putting a capialised word at the beginning of a clue.
    Thanks, Aardvark and Teacow

  5. I didn’t cotton on to the wordplay in 1ac, so it was a Gunga Din for me …..bung it in. It was my last one in, so no excuses, I had the elements but not the nous.

    Not quite sure I get the first definition (20 down) as “smoothie”? I presume I’m missing something.
    Enjoyed the challenge; DOTTED LINE being nicely done.

    Cheers to AA & Teacow

  6. E.N.Boll&@5

    SMOOTHIE
    I think the first def refers to a smart but insincere person. He/she may be offering ‘sweeteners’ to get his/her job done.

    Failed to parse 9a THEORETIC.
    Thanks Aardvark and Teacow

  7. This puzzle required some thought. I also could not figure out what in the world was going on with THEORETIC, so well done on the parsing, although having had an explanation, I think that “here” is pretty vague as a direction/instruction. I was trying to make something work with “here” or “heretic,” which, of course, do not work. Oh, well.

  8. I got more of this than I thought through sheer parsing but didn’t trust myself and found no comfort in the literal parts of some clues! Thank you all

  9. Thanks, KVa@6.

    Back to that pesky 1 across, should we be reading “here in”, rather as “herein”? i.e. “parts you’ll find herein”.

  12. My dictionary doesn’t help, so can anyone explain how WAG (in 29a) means conduct?

    I also don’t see a sweetener as what a SMOOTHIE is offering – a dodgy proposition, perhaps, or a superficially convincing line, but a sweetener?

  13. 29ac: Replying to Cellomaniac @12: I think the parsing is NE + WAGE + IS + M. The E of WAGE (as in wage/conduct war) seems to have gone missing.

  14. 20dn: Collins 2023 p 1998 gives us “a bribe” and “a financial inducement” as informal meanings of sweetener, both marked informal. ODE 2010 p 1797 has “an inducement, typically in the form of money or a concession”, marked as informal and chiefly British, with the example a sweetener may persuade them to sell. I think there is enough in there to make sense of the first definition in the clue.

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