Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of April 29, 2017
I found this a slightly difficult puzzle, especially in the top-left corner. My clue of the week is 18a (SERENADE) which may qualify as an &Lit and I am also enchanted by 5a (PAINTERS), 25a (JERRY CAN) and 26a (MUTTON).
ACROSS
1 Scandalmonger is very withdrawn visiting doctor (6)
GOSSIP – IS (is) + SO (very) together backwards (withdrawn) in GP (visiting doctor)
5 Decorators in loco parentis? (8)
PAINTERS – anagram (loco) of PARENTIS
9 Current month swapped for leave (6)
DECAMP – DEC (month) + AMP (current)
10 On way back, the Spanish felines smell bar (8)
OBSTACLE – EL (the Spanish) + CATS (felines) + BO (smell)
11 Carpeting event? (4,4)
HIGH JUMP – Double definition
12 Claim everything, say, by end of June (6)
ALLEGE – ALL (everything) + EG (say) + [jun]E
13 Python regurgitates large baguette, for instance? (4)
PAIN – [Michael] PA[l]IN (python regurgitates large)
15 Think too highly of speed of deliveries? (8)
OVERRATE – double/cryptic definition with the second referring to cricket
18 It’s composed to captivate lady’s heart (8)
SERENADE – [l]AD[y] in (to captivate) SERENE (composed)
19 Racing paper (4)
INDY – Double definition, the first referring to the Indianapolis 500 and the second to the U.K. newspaper The Independent.
21 This writer’s work starts to investigate alleged complaint (6)
MYOPIA – MY (this writer’s) + OP (work) + I[nvestigate] A[lleged]
23 Train staff guide in Hackney (8)
COACHMAN – COACH (train) + MAN (staff)
25 Does it imply Tom can’t put fuel in this? (5,3)
JERRY CAN – If Tom, of Tom and Jerry, can’t then maybe Tom can!
26 Sheep dog, one that’s been docked (6)
MUTTON – MUTT (dog) + ON[e] (one that’s been docked)
27 Revive scripture with e-book (8)
REKINDLE – RE (scripture, i.e. Religious Education) + KINDLE (e-book)
28 Finish online game of golf after thrashing (3,3)
LOG OFF – anagram (after thrashing) of OF GOLF
DOWN
2 Daggers pop up in juvenile books (5)
OBELI – hidden word. ‘Obelus’ is the word for one of those little dagger marks (?) used to denote something like a footnote.
3 Every one chanted outside front of embassy, making a big difference (3,6)
SEA CHANGE – EACH (every one) in SANG + E[mbassy]
4 Joke about old postal service returning? Put a cork in it (6)
POPGUN – GPO (old postal service) backwards (returning) in PUN (joke)
5 He’s chosen copper potty that glows in the dark (15)
PHOSPHORESCENCE – anagram (potty) of HES CHOSEN COPPER
6 Extremely trendy suit (2,6)
IN SPADES – IN (trendy) + SPADES (suit)
7 He leaves the bar to take a drag? (5)
TRAIL – T[he] + RAIL (bar)
8 Embarrassed about envoy being demoted (9)
LEGATE (envoy) in RED (embarrassed)
14 Gas expert flummoxed, entirely disheartened (9)
ACETYLENE – ACE (expert) + anagram (flummoxed) or ENT[ir]ELY
16 Well-endowed men only eat English or German diet (9)
REICHSTAG – E (english) in RICH (well-endowed) STAG (men only)
17 Clean out useless harnesses in stable (8)
BALANCED – anagram (out) of CLEAN in (harnesses) BAD (useless)
20 Short man covers a short distance for me, for one (6)
MAMMAL – A (a) + MM (short distance) together in MAL[e] (short man)
22 Standard is lifted for religious exile (5)
PARSI – PAR (standard) + IS (is) backwards (lifted). I had never thought of Parsis as exiles but I now note that most Parsis today are descendants of Zoroastrians who fled to India from Muslim persecution in Persia during the 7th and 8th centuries.
24 Distant American female carries the can (5)
ALOOF – A (American) + LOO (can) + F (female)
Thanks Pete Maclean and Redshank.
Good puzzle.
Liked SEACHANGE and JERRY CAN.
However, was not convinced
“regurgitates” used in the sense of removal, in 13, which was my LOI.
I often find myself critical of anagram, insertion, removal and especially reversal indicators. And I often find I am in a minority in doing so. At the time of solving ‘regurgitates’ struck me as rather clever. It still seems clever to me but now, considering its applicability seriously only for the first time, I am wondering and feeling unsure.
Thanks Redshank and Pete
Did this one on my train trips into and back from work last Monday and still needed a half hour spell before bed to get it out and found it quite testing as well. I found the bottom, particularly the SW corner harder than the top, although I couldn’t (and still can’t) see the ‘carpeting’ part of HIGH JUMP.
Thought that there were some excellent clues, including SERENADE, INDY, COACHMAN, REKINDLE and POPGUN.
Finished with ACETYLENE, the tricky PAIN and REKINDLE as the last few in.
‘Carpeting’ is used as a noun for the event of being “called on the carpet” in the sense of, say, being summoned to the boss’ office for some serious offence with the prospect of being demoted or sacked. I think “called on the carpet” is a fairly commonly known expression while the “carpeting” form is much less commonly used.
Whereas I do not recognise the phrase “called on the carpet”, but am familiar with “carpeting” and immediately solved 11ac with a smile.
I’m also very tolerant of inventive anagram indicators etc 🙂
AltOn, Thanks for commenting. I can easily and greatly admire some inventive anagram indicators, ‘loco’ in 5ac is a perfect example, and generally I have become more and more relaxed about them. But there are still cases when I think setters go a bit too far.