Financial Times 17,987 by ZAMORCA

15 comments on “Financial Times 17,987 by ZAMORCA”

1. Zamorca has given us another fun puzzle.
   I knew tun as a wine barrel and I see it is also an imperial measurement . W stands for wolfram, another word for TUNGSTEN.
   Thanks Zamorca and Turbolegs.

   Ps small typo in blog J Judge
   and I cannot improve on yr parsing for IN FASHION.

2. Liked JAILBIRD (great def), KEEPS STILL, ATONEMENT and SUBTEXT.
   IN FASHION
   I agree with the blogger’s parsing.

   Thanks Zamorca and Turbolegs.

3. TUN was a specific size of barrel in beer making – and turns up in pub signs, more generally used for a barrel now apparently (for parties, a firkin was about the right size, not a hogshead or tun). There are still, after so many pubs have closed, a lot of The Three Tuns out there.

   Isn’t it a pangram? It helped expecting a pangram for a few clues.

   Thank you to Turbolegs and Zamorca

4. Well spotted Shane. It is indeed a pangram.

5. ZING and SUBTEXT were my top two among many fine clues. I think Zamorca nearly always gives us a pangram.

6. Motoring slowly down the Mekong in Laos I solved this one rapidly by my standards. Thanks for explaining the Cain bit of Uncertain, which I’d forgotten. Very enjoyable and no grumbles. Favourite was Jailbird for its clever definition

   The bar at LSE is The Three Tuns

7. 5d is DEC + VIE< + E. Don’t see anything laboured in the parsing for IN FASHION. Don’t recall a Zamorca crossword ever not being a pangram.

8. Looking for a pangram helped.

   Found the left side easier than the right side which took longer.

   Favourites were: CORRIDOR, GEMINI, SUBTEXT, ATONEMENT, UNCERTAIN

   Thanks Zamorca and turbolegs

9. I ticked CALLOW, and KEEP STILL

   A couple of new things, including W being the symbol for TUNGSTEN, but not too many. There did not seem to be a great deal of variety today, with a large helping of charades upping the difficulty level.

   turbolegs, what are your DD and FF scales? I have seen an occasional 7 with mostly 8s and 9s. Are the scales from 7-9?

   Thanks Zamorca and turbolegs

10. 24A What meaning of the word “with” justifies its presence here? It’s not listed as a conjunction in either Collins or Chambers, and the prepositional meaning “accompanying” is inappropriate, as these two meanings of the answer are not accompanying each other. Although “and” would have made sense as a link word for the cryptic reading, it would make surface nonsense. The clue would have worked well without a link word if “plant” were to have been placed first.

11. I’m afraid this one had me beaten, at half-time.
    I decided to take myself off the pitch, and rely on Fifteensquared, blogger + posters.
    So, thank you all.
    It’s a very clever puzzle, and a bit too clever for me.
    Tomorrow’s another day.

    Thanks, Zamorca & turbolegs, & all

12. Thanks Zamorca for your customarily fun crossword. I was beaten by WEB BROWSER, as I nho of Opera as one. My top picks were JAILBIRD (great def & surface), CLAY, EQUIPPED, ZING, DISAGREE, AROMA, and INDIGNANT. Thanks Turbolegs for the blog.

13. Rudolf@10: oed.com lists ‘with’ as preposition, adverb, and conjunction.

14. Allan@10 Thanks. I wonder why the other dictionaries disagree.

15. Allan@10 I’ve now consulted the OED, and it gives two instances of the use of “with” as a conjunction. The first is “to the time that, until” which is listed as appearing only in Old English, and the second is “during or at the time that; while; when” which is listed as being obsolescent and rare. Neither of these meanings can justify the use of “with” as a link word in this clue. I’ve also looked at the entries for “with” in the SOED and the ODE, and neither provides for it to be used as a conjunction.

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