Today’s FT puzzle was set by Orense.
It’s over a year since I last blogged an Orense crossword, and looking back at that puzzle, I found it a bit dull. This one wasn’t dull, but it did have a few clues I didn’t particularly like, as, in my opinion, they were “sub-optimal” in one way or another (see my comments for 12ac, 22ac and 27dn).
In addition to those clues, I also struggled to parse 20ac, so if anyone can enlighten me, that would be appreciated. Hovis has come to my rescue here (see Comment 1)
Thanks, Orense.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CELEBRATE | Enjoy the price of fame? (9) |
| The CELEB RATE could be another way of saying “the price of fame” | ||
| 6 | MORES | Additional source of security for customs (5) |
| MORE (“additional”) + [source of] S(ecurity) | ||
| 9 | AMBIT | Scope of a doctor with Italian (5) |
| A + M.B. (Bachelor of Medicine, so “doctor”) + It. (Italian) | ||
| 10 | FIREWATER | Get rid of server dropping one drink that’s strong (9) |
| FIRE (“get rid of”) + WA(i)TER (“server”, dropping I (“one”)) | ||
| 11 | PERIODICAL | Sort of table a student has for such a publication (10) |
| PERIODIC (“sort of table”) + A L (learner, so “student”) | ||
| 12 | IDLE | Why some did less? (4) |
| Hidden in [some] “dID LEss”
Don’t really like this one. I can see what the setter is getting at, but the clue is for IDLENESS rather than IDLE which would require a verb to work as an answer to the question (e.g. “being” IDLE) |
||
| 14 | PUNCHES | Blended drinks for horses (7) |
| Double definition | ||
| 15 | KINDRED | Relations looking embarrassed by class (7) |
| RED (“looking embarrassed”) by KIND (“class”) | ||
| 17 | ECHELON | Level of assistance mostly found in European prisoner (7) |
| HEL(p) (“assistance’, mostly) found in E (European) + CON (“prisoner”) | ||
| 19 | MEANDER | Weave that’s tighter across Germany (7) |
| MEANER (“tighter”) across D (international vehicle identifier for “Germany”) | ||
| 20 | EARL | Peer who’s almost unprotected (4) |
| The best I can come up with here is EARL(y), but I can’t think of an example where “early” and “unprotected” are synonymous. See comment 1 from Hovis. | ||
| 22 | BRIDEGROOM | Union man’s bedroom frolics with girl left out (10) |
| *(bedroom gir) where the GIR is “girl” with L (“left”) out.
I want to like this clue as it has a clever surface and a witty definition but the ROOM appearing in the same order in GROOM and BEDROOM makes the anagram a bit too obvious. |
||
| 25 | EIDERDOWN | Deride amended personal cover (9) |
| *(deride) + OWN (“personal”) | ||
| 26 | BROOD | Children sulk (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 27 | TERSE | Short characters expecting to be hidden (5) |
| Hidden in “characTERS Expecting”
The clue grammar isn’t right here, as the “to be hidden” is too far from the definition in the clue. |
||
| 28 | SPARE TYRE | Manifestation of corporate excess? (5,4) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CLAMP | Vice seen in cold light (5) |
| C (cold) + LAMP (“light”) | ||
| 2 | LABYRINTH | Planning a birth, only without oxygen, is a thing that’s difficult to negotiate (9) |
| *(a birth nly) where the NLY is “only” without O (oxygen) | ||
| 3 | BUTTONHOLE | Corner with talk of arrangement for flowers (10) |
| Double definition | ||
| 4 | AFFAIRS | A female just before the start of secret liaisons (7) |
| A + F (female) + FAIR (“just”) before [the start of] S(ecret) | ||
| 5 | EARMARK | Designate end of peace with a run on former currency (7) |
| [end of] (peac)E with A + R (run) on MARK (“former currency”) | ||
| 6 | MAWS | Mother was disheartened to see such greedy mouths (4) |
| MA (“mother”) + W(a)S [disheartened] | ||
| 7 | RATED | Valued time invested in raising treasure (5) |
| T(ime) in <=DEAR (raising “treasure”) | ||
| 8 | SURRENDER | Capitulate if more confident about split (9) |
| SURER (“more confident”) about REND (“split”) | ||
| 13 | INTANGIBLE | Difficult to grasp Latin, being stupid (10) |
| *(latin being) | ||
| 14 | PRECEDENT | Pressure on editor in new test case (9) |
| P (pressure) on ED (editor) in RECENT (“new”) | ||
| 16 | RADIOLOGY | Set record on origin of young science (9) |
| RADIO (“set”) + LOG (“record”) on [origin of] Y(oung) | ||
| 18 | NARROWS | Missiles located below northern straits (7) |
| ARROWS (“missiles”) located below N (northern) | ||
| 19 | MADONNA | Singer very keen on Noah, oddly (7) |
| MAD (“very keen”) + ON N(o)A(h) [oddly] | ||
| 21 | RIDER | Cyclist’s clear case of error (5) |
| RID (“clear”) + [case of] E(rro)R | ||
| 23 | MIDGE | Fly being, for example slow to rise (5) |
| <=E.G. DIM (“for example slow”, to rise) | ||
| 24 | URGE | Desire Labour generally suppresses (4) |
| Hidden in “laboUR GEnerally” | ||
*anagram
20a is n(EARL)y.
Thanks, Hovis – I have given you credit in the blog.
Thanks to Orense, loonapick, and Hovis. I could not parse NEARLY but enjoyed the rest – and at last I am successfully downloading the FT puzzles.
Thanks to Orense & Loonapick.
I really enjoyed this.
Thanks Orense and loonapick
It looks like his last puzzle was back in February … so good to see him back again. Found it a good level solve with the bottom left corner taking a little while to get through.
Although I agree with your comments on the three clues, I didn’t particularly notice it on the way through – e.g. I saw BRIDEGROOM from the crossers that I had and the definition and just had to confirm that the anagram fodder made it up. Both hidden clues generated the answers easily enough and I just moved on.
SPARE TYRE generated a chuckle – a novel way of using a common take on corporation = paunch.
Finished with PUNCHES (with the horse meaning a new term for me) and PRECEDENT (easy enough in hindsight but needed all of the crossers to get the word and then more time to see how it unravelled).