Financial Times 16,390 by VELIA

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VELIA kicks off the week…

Slight issue with the blogging tool today, so apologies for the delay.
I really rather enjoyed this crossword, lots of great clues, and a nice level of difficulty.

Thanks VELIA!

ACROSS
1 Are sheep the booty in these types of burglary? (3-5)
RAM RAIDS

Cryptic definition

5 Soup served in club or school (6)
BORSCH

[clu]B OR SCH[ool] (served in)

9 After rain soaks bits and pieces (8)
SUNDRIES

Double definition
(Sun dries)

10 Stoop to embrace skinhead – that shows style (6)
DESIGN

DEIGN (stoop) to embrace S[kin] (head)

12 Make divine switch of leaders to illuminate (5)
EDIFY

(D)<>(E)IFY (Make divine, <> switch of leaders)

13 Second queen to be held captive in horrid abbey (9)
MONASTERY

MO (second) + (ER (queen) to be held captive in NASTY (horrid))

14, 21 Aging criminal giant chasing vehicle with secret agent (6,6)
CARBON DATING

(GIANT)* (*criminal) chasing (CAR (vehicle) with BOND (secret agent))

16 We’re leaving this mythical being for a minor royal (7)
EUGENIE

EU (we’re leaving this (yay! Brexit!)) + GENIE (mythical being)

19 Additional court passage (7)
EXTRACT

EXTRA (additional) + CT (court)

21 See 14

23 Expired, yet intrinsically pure (9)

DISTILLED

DIED (expired), STILL (yet) intrinsically

25 Whisper fanciful ideas (5)
ASIDE

(IDEAS)* (*fanciful)

26 Tuneful, without Mel becoming offensive (6)
ODIOUS

[mel]ODIUS (tuneful, without MEL)

27 Keep going round a boot, mostly in infantile game (8)
PEEKABOO

(KEEP)< (going around) A BOO[t] (mostly)

28 Kitchen not right place for art (6)
GALLEY

GALLE[r]Y (place of art, not right)

29 Bonfire spotted back in range (8)
PYRENEES

PYRE (bonfire) + (SEEN)< (spotted, <back)

DOWN
1, 18 Rogues held hand bombs and acted without thinking (6,8)
RUSHED HEADLONG

(ROGUES HAND HELD)* (*bombs)

2 Beggar cannot be seen chasing designer denim (9)
MENDICANT

CANT (cannot) chasing (DENIM)* (*designer)

3 Northbound Melbourne river formation (5)
ARRAY

(YARRA)< (Melbourne river, <northbound)

4 Fellow holding papers? That won’t happen (5,2)
DREAM ON

DON (fellow) holding REAM (papers)

6 Supervision error (9)
OVERSIGHT

Double definition

7 Shooter has no right to get bird (5)
SNIPE

SNIPE[r] (shooter, has no R (right))

8, 22 Darling models new strange fruit (8,6)
HONEYDEW MELONS

HONEY (darling) + (MODELS NEW)* (*strange)

11 Previously one in a hundred, on the contrary (4)
ONCE

ONE in C (a hundred) (on the contrary, i.e., C in ONE)

15 Go at last, you need love and bliss (9)
BEATITUDE

BEAT IT (go) +[yo]U [nee]D [lov]E (at last)

17 Useless aristocrat, awfully vain inside (9)
NONVIABLE

NOBLE (aristocrat), (VAIN)* (*awfully) inside

18 See 1 (8)
20 Ingredient of oriental curry powder (4)
TALC

[orien]TAL C[urry] (ingredient of)

21 Staggering day, for a stranger (7)
DODDERY

D[a]Y, for A, ODDER (stranger)

22 See 8 (6)
24 Calm needed to make whisky, in 23 (5)
STILL

Triple definition ([di]STILL[ed])

25 Empty nook in beer joint (5)
ANKLE

N[oo]K (empty) in ALE (beer)

8 comments on “Financial Times 16,390 by VELIA”

  1. I do like Velia.
    Loved the ‘sun-dried’ bit of 9, the sneaky definitions ‘range’ and ‘aging’ in 29 & 14, the possible anagrams of ‘lemon’, ‘orange’ and ‘melon’ in the fruity 8,22 and, best of all, 15 (‘beatitude’) for the wistful surface and gorgeous construction.
    Re the last – not that it matters and I’m quite sure Teacow is right – I had ‘go’ as ‘be at it’ (as in ‘let’s go, let’s be at it’).
    What a great puzzle. Thanks very much to both.

  4. Finally finished (almost) this crossword and I found numerous brilliant clues — 12a, 14,21a, 27a, 4d, 7d, 8,22d, 24d — thanks Velia and to Teacow for explaining BEATITUDE.

  5. Help. I don’t see how you get DY from “day for a”. I agree with Teacow, nice degree of difficulty and lots of elegant clues. Thanks Velia and Teacow.

  7. Thanks Velia and Teacow

    Late to this as adjusting to holiday mode.  As already said above, an excellent puzzle to start off the week with a few that took quite a bit of time to work through the word play – BEATITUDE and to a lesser extent MONASTERY and PYRENEES.  Thought that EUGENIE was a terrific clue and was nice to see my local river make it – maybe the exposure of the Australian Open brought it to mind.

    Wrote in an almost parseable SMELLY at 26a before seeing the correct answer.

    Finished in the SE corner with that PYRENEES and DODDERY the last couple in.

  8. I agree this was excellent; i thought SUNDRIES and CARBON DATING were brilliant.

    Minor quibble: a still is so called because it is an abbreviation for the equipment used in a distillery; so no wonder it is found in distilled.

    EU for we’re leaving was excellent; but it makes me very sad

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