Financial Times 17,994 by Neo

24 comments on “Financial Times 17,994 by Neo”

1. A wonderfully literary flavour to this puzzle from Neo referencing my favourite tragedy. Got an inkling of that ‘soldier of misfortune’ early on which was a big help in completing the grid. Above all, I liked the charade for MILTON and the setter’s stamp at the centre.
   Thanks to Neo for a treat this weekend and to Pete for the blog. Can’t elucidate with CHARACTER, I’m afraid, but there is a cut-and-paste issue with 25A (MARCH), a double definition. I enjoyed learning here about ‘nuts and muttons’.

2. Thanks Neo and Pete

   25ac: the glitch affecting the grid has also affected the parsing of a simple double definition clue.

   24dn: I took “Say” as indicating a definition by example for “street fight”.

3. Further to 13a, CHARACTER can be someone’s ‘make-up’, ie the qualities which make up a character but I’m still not sure how this works exactly.
   I like Pete’s version for 24d, it seems reflective of Neo’s humour.

4. Difficult with lots of fiddly charades. I was happy this puzzle fell on the weekend when I have the time needed for a set of clues such as these. Satisfying to finish

   No favourites. I usually agree with Diane, but I must admit I shook my head at both 24d and 12ac.

   Thanks Neo and Pete

5. Thanks Neo. While managing to come up with the correct solutions I could not parse ENEMY, MILTON, SARACEN, and POLTROON. GIVE UP THE GHOST was my COTD. Thanks Pete for the much needed blog.

6. Not an easy puzzle, but a fun workout. I, too, was mystified by CHARACTER. The “make-up” and “case” parts seem to make sense, as indicated in the blog and comments, but I cannot see what the “describe old” is supposed to be doing. Maybe Neo will pop in to explain.

7. Yes, Cineraria, I hope so too. ‘Character’ has the archaic meaning ‘to portray’ giving ‘describe’ perhaps and I suppose ‘make-up’ is used to get into ‘character’ (Shakespeare, kabuki etc) but the ‘old’ stumps me. I’m all ears….

8. Thanks Neo and Pete

   As Diane says, Chambers has ‘character’ as an archaic verb meaning to describe, hence “Describe old”. I saw the clue as a triple definition, ‘describe old’, ‘make up’ and ‘case’ (as in “S/he’s a right case / character”.

9. CHARACTER
   Triple def (I am just summarising what others have already mentioned above)

   Def 1 Describe old (old=archaic)
   Def 2 Make-up
   Def 3 Case (an eccentric)

   Simon S has beaten me to it. 🙂

10. Diane@7
    CHARACTER
    make-up in the sense of someone’s nature/CHARACTER, I think. A direct synonym.

11. Thanks, Simon – you put me out of my misery.
    Yes, KVa, agreed. It’s what I meant @3. You and Simon have cleared things up.

12. MILTON
    This is a case of reverse/inverse anagram. Right?
    MILTON (this poet) wrestles with h o g —->in—–>moonlight.
    I know the blog says the same thing differently.

    SCRAP
    Agree with PB@2

    CHARACTER
    Sorry Diane. I should have read your posts properly.

    Thanks Neo and Pete.

13. Thanks for the blog, very good puzzle and just right for the Saturday slot .
    CHARACTER has been cleared up but I do like it for the “old” , a setter should give us a hint that the sense of a word is archaic or obsolete .
    LOGARITHM has a very neat definion .
    KVa@12 , MILTON is a compound anagram . “this” + hog = moonlight . Use of “this” usually gives them away .

14. Good puzzle and the theme helped a bit. Couldn’t parse a couple

    Favourites: STOPPARD, SINISTER, SARACEN, POLTROON, EPIDEMIC

    Thanks Neo and Pete Maclean

15. Unlike Roz, I thought the definition for LOGARITHM was a bit shaky. An ANTILOGARITHM is a power, not a LOGARITHM.

16. Rethinking what I just posted. If you think of ‘power’ referring to the exponent, rather than as a power function, then it’s fine.

17. Thanks Roz@13
    ‘Compound’ was the word I was looking for (not reverse or inverse).

18. Crikey, the blog has been active overnight. I’m another who rationalised CHARACTER as a triple def though neither of the three elements were familiar to me. It took the crossers plus the use of the word in the clue for (LOI) IAGO to be confident. SCRAP was a bit confusing; I eventually concluded as PB @2 that ‘Say’ is a DBE qualifier though that requires ‘isn’t very good’ to equal ‘S CRAP’ which is not that obvious at all. Nice to see MILTON: not that many compound anagrams appear in the regular broadsheet puzzles.

    Same faves as Fiona @14 for me.

    Thanks Neo and Pete

19. I found this heavy going at times, but loved individual clues, 4D in particular

    Did anyone else find 27A a bit of a stretch, in that Emilia was Desdemona’s maid, not [literal] sister?

20. Liked all the Classics references: IDEM, EROS, EOS, and especially the BorisTEIA “… is dragging on a bit. Seemingly three plays in, Shagamemnon is still with us.”
    [Quick MARCH! “SINISTER, dexter, sinister, dexter…” from Carry On Cleo (1964).]

21. Thanks for “compound anagram”. I do not recall coming across the term before.

22. And thanks too for the elucidation of CHARACTER.

23. Hovis@ 15 easiest to think of for logs in base 10 . Log100 = 2 , log1000 = 3 etc , the power .

24. Hovis, I suffered by thinking of an algorithm (also an anagram…) as a mathematical power…

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