Puzzle from the Weekend FT of June 28, 2025
Thank you Rosa for another fine puzzle. My first-in was 12 (EGO BOOST) and I finished with 16 (NINETEEN) both of which are favourites for me along with 9 (SANCTIMONIOUS). The hardest was 1 (BAKING SODA).
Due to some glitch, 23 did not get included in the grid and explanations.: “23 Completely unknown associate (4)”. ALLY – ALL (completely) + Y (unknown).
| ACROSS | ||
| 7 | GAMY |
Staying with single mate, half-cut and high (4)
|
| [mono]GAMY (staying with single mate, half-cut) with the definition referring to one of 42 meanings of ‘high’ given by Collins (“(of meat) slightly decomposed or tainted, which is regarded as enhancing the flavour of game”). | ||
| 8 | ASSAILANTS |
Attackers fool and trouble magnates regularly (10)
|
| ASS (fool) + AIL (trouble) + [m]A[g]N[a]T[e]S | ||
| 10 | DITHER |
Edith cycling by river in tizz (6)
|
| DITHE (Edith cycling) + R (river) | ||
| 11 | NUGATORY |
Acting, you grant, is of no importance (8)
|
| Anagram (acting) of YOU GRANT | ||
| 12 | EGO BOOST |
Got oboes to play something to raise morale (3,5)
|
| Anagram (to play) of GET OBOES | ||
| 13 | NATIVE |
Innocent embraces start to tire mother (6)
|
| T[ire] in (embraces) NAIVE (innocent) | ||
| 15 | ONE IN A MILLION |
AIM is very special (3,2,1,7)
|
| I (one) in A (a) + M (million) | ||
| 18 | PARDON |
Excuse average academic (6)
|
| PAR (average) + DON (academic) | ||
| 20 | NAMETAGS |
They identify Spooner’s lame horses (8)
|
| Spoonerism of “tame nags” (lame horses) | ||
| 22 | FALSETTO |
Intermittently affable argument in unnaturally high-pitched voice (8)
|
| [a]F[f]A[b]L[e] + SET TO (argument). This reminds me of the one and only Frankie Valli whom I saw in concert a few years ago. | ||
| 24 | TORERO |
Partially gore rotund retired bullfighter (6)
|
| Reverse (retired) hidden word (partially) | ||
| 25 | FLAWLESSLY |
Without controls pilot’s circling to perfection (10)
|
| LAWLESS (without controls) in (circling) FLY (pilot) | ||
| 26 | IASI |
Some bias in Romanian city (4)
|
| Hidden word (some). And a new city for me. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BAKING SODA |
A Cambridge college taken in by Guy, first-class agent of versatility (6,4)
|
| A (a) KINGS (Cambridge college) in (taken in by) BOD (guy) + A (first class) | ||
| 2 | BY THE BYE |
See you clipping thrush’s wings in passing (2,3,3)
|
| T[hrus]H in (clipping) BYE BYE (see you) | ||
| 3 | HAIRDO |
Musical knees-up, Barnet- style (6)
|
| HAIR (musical) + DO (knees-up) while “barnet” (via Barnet Fair) is cockney rhyming slang for HAIR (and I thank BC for apprising me of this). | ||
| 4 | VIRGINAL |
Vain girl, strangely chaste (8)
|
| Anagram (strangely) of VAIN GIRL | ||
| 5 | PAST IT |
Dad’s bird, no spring chicken (4,2)
|
| PAS (dad’s) + TIT (bird) | ||
| 6 | STIR |
Prison disturbance (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 9 | SANCTIMONIOUS |
I sanction sumo wrestling as morally superior (13)
|
| Anagram (wrestling) of I SANCTION SUMO | ||
| 14 | VINEGARISH |
Ill-tempered climber glaring (10)
|
| VINE (climber) + GARISH (glaring) | ||
| 16 | NINETEEN |
Square peg finally in prime (8)
|
| NINE (square, of three that is) + TEE (peg) + [i]N | ||
| 17 | INTERMIX |
Mingle and kiss after swinging session on island (8)
|
| IN (swinging) + TERM (session) + I (island) + X (kiss) (corrected) | ||
| 19 | DISOWN |
Refuse to acknowledge one’s splitting hairs (6)
|
| I (one) S (‘x) in (splitting) DOWN (hairs) | ||
| 21 | METHYL |
Radical was introduced to extremely haughty Liberal (6)
|
| MET (was introduced to) + H[aught]Y + L (liberal) |
Up to Rosa’s usual high standard with humourous wordplay and super surfaces.
Liked ONE IN A MILLION, DITHER, PARDON, NAMETAGS, FALSETTO, VINEGARISH, DISOWN and – my favourite – PAST IT! Thanks to Rosa and Pete (I agree, BAKING SODA was my LOI).
I agree with Diane – usual high standard with super surfaces. I found parts of the LHS quite difficult.
My ticks went with ASSAILANTS, NUGATORY (nice surface and anagram), PAST IT (easy but made me smile), ditto FALSETTO. SANCTIMONIOUS was absolutely brilliant
Clues such as NINETEEN and BAKING SODA clever, maybe too clever? I did not have any idea how GAMY worked, and bunged it in after looking at a word generator
Thanks RK and Pete
Lovely surfaces as always although, unusually for Rosa Klebb, I could’t parse a couple – and of course now I’ve seen this blog I can’t see why.
Loved: FALSETTO, BY THE BYE, HAIRDO, VINEGARISH, NINETEEN,
Thanks Rosa Klebb and Pete
Thanks Rosa and Pete.
1dn needs to be A KINGS in BOD + A.
17dn has an incomplete parsing and should of course be IN (swinging) + TERM (session) + I (island) + X (kiss).
Thanks Rosa for a splendid crossword. I love clues like VIRGINAL, so simple but so very, very good. I had many favourites including ONE IN A MILLION, BY THE BYE, PAST IT, and STIR to name a few. I only missed the peculiar GAMY. Thanks Pete for the blog.
Thanks Pete. Yes, hesitated about the def for baking soda, don’t know why because of course it’s bicarb, as we say here, and it has dozens of uses. And agree, Rosa in whatever guise is unfailingly witty and neat. We’re lucky to have her!
Ms. Klebb can do no wrong, for me; but I was a bit disappointed with IASI, both the answer and a rather perfunctory clue sentence.
I fell down on 7(ac), GAMY; bunged in RACY. ( I spell it GAMEY, seems both spellings are correct ). Ironically, apparently “gamy” and “racy” are synonyms in the USA?
FLAWLESSLY (25ac), took me an age to crack.
So, RK superb as usual, this solver was not!
Thanks Rosa & Mr. Maclean.
ENB: ref IASI, there are no English words that fit the I-S- gap and convention suggests cluing words that are very likely to be tricky for solvers, like the name of a Romanian city, as easily as possible which, I suspect, explains your thoughts about both solution and clue.
I was beaten by GAMY – I was nowhere near either the answer or the parse so hats off to RK for that one. Otherwise, a very enjoyable and smoothly constructed puzzle as always. VINEGARISH, VIRGINAL, HAIRDO, FLAWLESSLY, FALSETTO, PARDON and NATIVE my favourites.
Thanks Rosa K and Pete M
As Pete says, another fine puzzle from Rosa.
My favourites were EGO BOOST, NATIVE, FALSETTO, FLAWLESSLY, BAKING SODA, PAST IT, SANCTIMONIOUS and VINEGARISH ( I laughed out loud when the simple charade emerged: it reminded me of my reaction to one of my favourite clues: ‘He wrote The Ancient Mariner (6)’.)
Superb surfaces, as ever: all the Ediths (not many) I’ve known have been rather staid, so I was amused by DITHER and, taken as a reference to Guy Burgess, 1dn is brilliant.
Re 26ac : I’m with PostMark in his response to ENB.
Huge thanks to Rosa, as ever, for the fun and to Pete for the blog.
Oh of course, Cambridge, Agent, Guy, ‘versatile’, so many bells, and yet none rang, embarrassed sigh 🙁
PM@9, and Eileen: would INST pass muster? I’m not very clued up on cryptic conventions, would an abbreviation like this be fair game?
“Heads of Israeli nation started talks, during this month, briefly” .
I sort of sympathise when the setter is painted into a corner, and only an obscure word will fit. But isn’t avoiding that scenario part of the skill set? Compensating with a simplistic wordplay, which is also a meaningless surface, is not my bag, but, different strokes etc.
Needing to acknowledge another fine puzzle from my favourite compiler. Many super clues, but I’m drawn towards 5D for my COD.
Thanks Rosa and Pete.
I thought the surface of 25a IASI was fine, and I was pleased to learn about a beautiful and historic city that looks like it would be worth a visit.
I was struck by the number of people who had trouble with 1a GAMY, as it was my first one in. A friend once recounted that, when courting a young woman, he proudly brought her a partridge that he had shot. He hung it too long and so it was rather gamy (his words). He recoiled when she cooked it and served it to him, but she said “you brought it, you eat it.” He did, and they were happily married for 65 years.
Rosa is one of my troika of favourite setters, and she never fails to delight.
I delayed doing this crossword and kept it as a treat for my flight abroad. And a treat it was! Enjoyed it immensely. It’s a pity we get so few crosswords from Sarah these days.
26a IASI is often used in French crosswords, a convenient combination of letters