Steerpike is this morning’s inquisitor in the FT.
A typical Steerpike pangram. It took a lot longer to write the blog than it took to solve the puzzle because of the convoluted nature of much of the wordplay, which I hope I have adequately explained in the clues below. Thanks, Steerpike.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | EQUIVOCAL |
Peer defending company against international revolutionary? It’s unclear (9)
|
| EQUAL (“peer”) defending <=(Co. (company) + v (versus, so “against”) + I (international), revolutionary) | ||
| 6 | FLUNK |
Fail to include line in entertaining book’s conclusion (5)
|
| Include L (line) in FUN (“entertaining) + (boo)K [‘s conclusion] | ||
| 9 | STILL |
Even now, some call it sleeping around (5)
|
| Hidden backwards in [some… around] “caLL IT Sleeping” | ||
| 10 | OPULENTLY |
Dressed up on telly in lavish fashion (9)
|
| *(up on telly) [anag:dressed] | ||
| 11 | EPICENTRES |
Focal points of poems claiming watchman unmasked earl (10)
|
| EPICS (“poems”) claiming [unmasked] (s)ENTR(y) (“watchman”) + E (earl) | ||
| 12 | ZERO |
A duck hiding in prize rosebush (4)
|
| [hiding in] “priZE ROsebush” | ||
| 14 | GRIMACE |
Expert put on edge by German’s pained expression (7)
|
| ACE (“expert”) put on RIM (“edge”) by G (German) | ||
| 15 | SLEEPER |
Train spy (7)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 17 | INSULTS |
Hollow toolmarks on giant skull oddly dismissed as wounds (7)
|
| [hollow] T(oolmark)S on (g)I(a)N(t) S(k)U(l)L [oddly dismissed] | ||
| 19 | APOGEES |
Summits see Republicans beginning to attract backing (7)
|
| <=(SEE + GOP (Grand Old Party, so “Republicans”) + [beginning to] A(ttract), backing) | ||
| 20 | EXAM |
Test drug before ten in the morning (4)
|
| E (ecsatsy, so “drug”) before X (ten, in Roman numerals) + am (ante merifiem, so “in the morning”) | ||
| 22 | LAST-MINUTE |
Cured ailments consuming upper-class model at the eleventh hour (4-6)
|
| *(ailments) [anag:cured] consuming U (upper-class) + (Model) T | ||
| 25 | IN ADVANCE |
Upfront attorney turned on popular vice-president (2,7)
|
| <=DA (District “Attorney”, turned) on IN (“popular”) + (JD) VANCE (current” vice-president” of the US) | ||
| 26 | ICING |
Islands around Cuba leaders in naturally grown sugar product (5)
|
| II (island twice, so “islands”) around C (IVR code fro “Cuba”) + [leaders in] N(aturally) G(rown) | ||
| 27 | ENDOW |
Give money to discontented European women after party (5)
|
| [discontented] E(uropea)N + W (women) after DO (“party”) | ||
| 28 | DEPENDENT |
Journalist catches writer in study essentially importuning subordinate (9)
|
| Ed. (editor, so “journalist”) catches PEN (“writer”) in DEN (“study”) + [essentially] (impor)T(uning) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | ENSUE |
Survey discovered English succeed (5)
|
| (c)ENSU(s) [discovered] + E (English) | ||
| 2 | UTILITIES |
Service providers united with instiitute acquired by elitist rogue (9)
|
| U (united) with I (institute) acquired by *(elitist) [anag:rogue] | ||
| 3 | VULNERABLE |
Endangered, blue raven flying across lake (10)
|
| *(blue raven) [anag:flying] across L (lake) | ||
| 4 | CHORTLE |
Routine task interrupted by extremely theatrical laugh (7)
|
| CHORE (“routine task”) interrupted by [extremely] T(heatrica)L | ||
| 5 | LAURELS |
City on river the Spanish festooned with American shrubs (7)
|
| LA (Los Angeles, so “city”) on R (river) + EL (“the” in “Spanish”) festooned with US (“American”) | ||
| 6 | FOES |
Tricks disheartened adversaries (4)
|
| [disheartened] FO(x)ES (“tricks”) | ||
| 7 | UNTIE |
Free group of soldiers one sent south-east (5)
|
| UN(I)T (“group of soldiers”) with I (one) sent south becomes UNT(I) + E (east) | ||
| 8 | KEYBOARDS |
Cold-blooded type runs over detective tracking crucial computer components (9)
|
| BOA (“cold-blooded type”) + R (runs, in cricket) over DS (“Detective” Sergeant) tracking KEY (“crucial”) | ||
| 13 | DEMOLITION |
Protest threw light on satellite nation’s ultimate destruction (10)
|
| DEMO (“protest”) + LIT (“threw light on”) + IO (moon of Jupiter, so “satellite”) + (natio)N [‘s ultimate] | ||
| 14 | GUIDELINE |
General rule Steerpike breaks in deluge at sea (9)
|
| I (“steerpike”, the setter) breaks *(in deluge) [anag:at sea] | ||
| 16 | PREJUDICE |
Influence cost, keeping Japan in trading alliance with Germany (9)
|
| PRICE (“cost”) keeping J (IVR code for “Japan”) in EU (European Union, so “trading alliance”) with D (IVR code for “Germany”) | ||
| 18 | SPAWNED |
Gave rise to endless Native Americans entering South Dakota (7)
|
| [endless] PAWNE(e) (“Native Americans”) entering SD (South Dakota) | ||
| 19 | ANTWERP |
Idiot crushed by article in port (7)
|
| TWERP (“idiot”) crushed by (i.e. beneath) AN (“article”) | ||
| 21 | AWARD |
Grant is a flipping lottery! (5)
|
| A + [flipping] <=DRAW (“lottery”) | ||
| 23 | EIGHT |
Boat crew scoffed audibly (5)
|
| Homophone/pun/aural wordplay [audibly] of ATE (“scoffed”) | ||
| 24 | AVOW |
Declare absolute victory over Welsh (4)
|
| A (absolute) + V (victory) + O (over, in cricket) + W (Welsh) |