Peto steps up to the FT plate this morning.
A typical Peto puzzle, with some very good clues that sometimes take longer to parse than to solve. Peto tends to use a lot of excess short words (especially “of”) in his clues, which are redundant as far as wordplay is concerned, but necessary for the surface and today’s crossword is no exception.
Overall, an enjoyable and not too taxing solve on a day when I (and most of the people solving this puzzle) have more important thing to puzzle over!
Thanks, Peto.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SUSPEND | Hang up over hint of sarcasm in dispatch (7) |
| UP over [hint of] S(arcasm) in SEND (“dispatch”), so S(U(S)P)END | ||
| 5 | ADDLED | Unable to think clearly when charged first off (6) |
| (s)ADDLED (“charged”, with its first off) | ||
| 8 | HEAD START | An advantage being the principal’s floozy (4,5) |
| HEAD’S (“principal’s”) + TART (“floozy”) | ||
| 9 | SCRAP | Cancel fight (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 11 | ORTON | Against accepting return of books on Russia’s foremost dramatist (5) |
| ON (“against”) accepting [return of] <=O.T, (Old Testament, so “books”) on R(ussia’s) [foremost], so O(R-T.O.)N | ||
| 12 | DESPERADO | Weapon lacking bit of accuracy carried by extremely old outlaw (9) |
| SPE(a)R (“weapon” lacking [bit of] A(ccuracy)) carried by DEAD (“extremely”) + O (old) | ||
| 13 | TOP-NOTCH | To surpass Nick is superb (3-5) |
| TOP (“to surpass”) + NOTCH (“nick”) | ||
| 15 | STOKER | Novelist and rector associated with somewhere in the Midlands (6) |
| R (rector) associated with STOKE (“somewhere in MIdlands”)
Bram Stoker was an Irish author, most noted for Dracula. |
||
| 17 | ANTHER | Helping to make fragrant herb a producer of pollen (6) |
| Hidden in [helping to make] “fragrANT HERb” | ||
| 19 | COMRADES | Fellow socialists finding established standards embraced by Mr Attlee at first? Just the opposite (8) |
| CODES (“esatblished standards”) embracing (“just the opposite” of “embraced by”) MR A(ttlee) [at first] | ||
| 22 | HAILSTONE | This alone surprisingly produces frozen rain (9) |
| *(this alone) [anag:surprisingly] | ||
| 23 | SUSHI | We object over small trace of helicobacter discovered on bottom of Petri dish (5) |
| <=US (“we” as the “object”, over) + S (small) + [trace of] H(elicobacter) discovered on [bottom of] (petr)I | ||
| 24 | RUMBA | Dance club falling short on drink (5) |
| BA(t) (“club”, falling short) on RUM (“drink”) | ||
| 25 | SOAP OPERA | Cleaner having time after work for Corrie perhaps (4,5) |
| SOAP (“cleaner”) having ERA (“time”) after Op. (“work”)
Corrie is the shortened colloquial name for Coronation Street, Britain’s longest-running TV soap opera. |
||
| 26 | THIEVE | Knock off bag (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 27 | ENHANCE | Increase in Parisian Chinese seen at church (7) |
| EN (“in” to a “Parisian”) + HAN (“Chinese”) seen at CE (“Church” of England) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SCHOOLTEACHER | Maybe Mr M’Choakumchild shocked her with chocolates (13) |
| *(her chocolates) [anag:shocked]
Mr M’Choakumchild was a teacher at Gradgrind’s school in Dickens’ Hard Times. |
||
| 2 | START UP | Set in motion by leading sheep (5,2) |
| STAR (“leading”) + TUP (“sheep”) | ||
| 3 | ESSEN | Contributing to success enjoyed by City (5) |
| Hidden in [contributing to] “succESS ENjoyed” | ||
| 4 | DEAD DUCK | No longer important to avoid as it’s defunct (4,4) |
| DEAD (“no longer important”) + DUCK (“to avoid”) | ||
| 5 | ATTEST | Witness form being overturned in a race (6) |
| <=SET (“form”, being overturned) in A + TT (Tourist Trophy, so “race”) | ||
| 6 | DISSENTER | Criticise record of Nonconformist (9) |
| DISS (“criticise”) + ENTER (“record”) | ||
| 7 | EARMARK | Not initially expensive to get standard form of ID (7) |
| [not intially] (d)EAR to get MARK (“standard”) | ||
| 10 | PROCRASTINATE | Talk foolishly about cast-iron resolve causing delay (13) |
| PRATE (“talk foolishly”) about *(cast iron) [anag:resolve] | ||
| 14 | OVERSTATE | Exaggerate about involving government (9) |
| OVER (“about”) + STATE (“involving government”) | ||
| 16 | TOLERATE | Moved stealthily ignoring son on speed of bear (8) |
| (s)TOLE (“moved stealthily”, ignoring S (son)) on RATE (“speed”) | ||
| 18 | TRIUMPH | Start of impeachment interrupting president at height of success (7) |
| [start of] I(mpeachment) interrupting TRUMP (“president”) at H (height) | ||
| 20 | DISCERN | Make out with Cockney girl after record comes to an end (7) |
| ‘ER (“her” in Cockney accent. so “Cockney girl”) after DISC (“record”) comes to (a)N [end] | ||
| 21 | MOUSSE | American tucking into some fancy dessert (6) |
| US (“American”) tucking into *(some) [anag:fancy] | ||
| 23 | SLOTH | Head of science reluctant to disregard absolute laziness (5) |
| [head of] S(cience) + LO(a)TH (“reluctant” with A (absolute) disregarded) | ||
*anagram
Congrats on the record number of typos in the intro 🙂
Very slow to get going but eventually got a foothold and finished. Don’t like 26a which seems to be the same definition twice. Wasn’t mad keen on the “involving” in 14d but that’s a minor issue.
Thanks to Peto and loonapick.
Thanks, Hovis, for the proofreading. As I said in the intro, I have more important things on my mind this morning. Have never been this late deciding who will get my X.
I have to say not too hard since even I got to the finish (but not being a UK citizen and living in Tanzania i was not involved in the election).
HEADSTART and START UP crossing each other not very elegant!
Thanks Peto and loonapick
A very quick (sub 20 min) solve by me for this setter done late Saturday night whilst visiting my mother up in the country.
Hard Times is one of Dickens books that I haven’t read, so never heard of Mr M’Choakumchild and had to look him up. No other holdups – was even able to figure out that Corrie was the long running soapie without too much trouble.
START UP was appropriately the first one in and finished in the NE corner with DISSENTER and ADDLED.
[Was interesting watching the election play out over there – not that dissimilar to our recent one here where the Labor Party had to just basically shut up with a half popular leader to win but went out with big spending policies and an unpopular leader to lose the un-loseable – your one slightly different inasmuch as your Labour Party leader seemed to be on the nose big time … and it was whether one wanted to keep putting up with Boris !]