Non-prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of March 19, 2022
Buccaneer gives us an ingenious puzzle with an unannounced theme this weekend. The clue to the theme is 18dn (FOOTWEAR). Buccaneer not only manages to squeeze twelve items of footwear into the grid but does so without a reference to footwear in any of the clues for them!
The footwear answers are BROGUE, STILETTO, LOAFERS, CLODHOPPER, TRAINERS, BALMORAL (a lace-up walking shoe), OXFORD, WELLINGTON, PLATFORMS, SNEAKERS, MULES and CLOG.
Bravo and thanks to Buccaneer. It made my weekend.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BROGUE |
Scoundrel put on British accent (6)
|
| B (British) + ROGUE (scoundrel) | ||
| 4 | STILETTO |
Dagger – it’s flipping large in fight (8)
|
| IT (it) backwards + L (large) together in (in) SET TO (fight) | ||
| 10 | LOAFERS |
The workshy having bananas for sale (7)
|
| Anagram (bananas) of FOR SALE | ||
| 11 | RING OFF |
Finish calling drummer thunderously (4,3)
|
| RINGO (drummer) + FF (thunderously) | ||
| 12 | ORGY |
Musical hero losing face in swinging event? (4)
|
| [p]ORGY (musical hero losing face) with reference to Porgy and Bess | ||
| 13 | CLODHOPPER |
King leaving nobleman in helicopter is a churl (10)
|
| LO[r]D (king leaving nobleman) in (in) CHOPPER (helicopter) | ||
| 15 | AWAKEN |
Come to a trail in water before noon (6)
|
| A (a) + WAKE (trail in water) + N (noon) | ||
| 16 | TURNIPS |
Roots go round furrow to the west (7)
|
| SPIN (go round) + RUT (furrow) all backwards (to the west) | ||
| 20 | BERLIOZ |
Dickens admitting “I don’t know line by current composer” (7)
|
| ER (I don’t know) + L (line) + I (current) in (admitting) BOZ (Dickens). Boz was a pseudonym used by Charles Dickens. | ||
| 21 | ORDAIN |
Decree from on high raid interrupts (6)
|
| Anagram (high) of RAID in (interrupts) ON (on) | ||
| 24 | TECHNETIUM |
Element of ice then dissolved in stomach (10)
|
| Anagram (dissolved) of ICE THEN in (in) TUM (stomach). Technetium is a chemical element with the symbol Tc and atomic number 43. | ||
| 26 | OFFA |
Ancient British king’s erroneous answer (4)
|
| OFF (erroneous) + A (answer) | ||
| 28 | EPISTLE |
Letter of English manor house across street (7)
|
| E (English) + ST (street) in (across) PILE (manor house) | ||
| 29 | ENLARGE |
Grow border of lobelia in green ground (7)
|
| L[obeli]A in (in) anagram (ground) of GREEN | ||
| 30 | TRAINERS |
Coaches or other vehicles that monarch boards (8)
|
| ER (monarch) in (boards) TRAINS (other vehicles) | ||
| 31 | EGESTS |
Expels, for example, powerless troublemakers (6)
|
| EG (for examples) + [p]ESTS (powerless troublemakers). I am unsure if I have come across ‘egest’ before but it makes sense given the more commonly known ‘ingest’. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BALMORAL |
Queen’s place is right behind revolutionary party (8)
|
| LAB (party) backwards (revolutionary) + MORAL (right) | ||
| 2 | ORANGEADE |
Poem about many a mountain area is something refreshing (9)
|
| RANGE (many a mountain) + A (area) together in ODE (poem) | ||
| 3 | USER |
Setter leaves CV around for operator (4)
|
| RESU[me] (setter leaves CV) backwards (around) | ||
| 5 | TIRED OUT |
Solicitor full of rage, with old penny spent (5,3)
|
| IRE (rage) + D (old penny) together in (full of) TOUT (solicitor) | ||
| 6 | LANDOWNERS |
They have property of drugs found by computer network (10)
|
| LAN (computer network) + DOWNERS (drugs) | ||
| 7 | TROOP |
Monkeys, say, drink up, eating bagel (5)
|
| O (bagel!) in (eating) PORT (drink) backwards (up). ‘Troop’ is the collective term for monkeys. | ||
| 8 | OXFORD |
Steer car in English city (6)
|
| OX (steer) + FORD (car) | ||
| 9 | PSALM |
Son taken in hand, partly, in bit of Bible (5)
|
| S (son) in (taken in) PALM (hand, partly) | ||
| 14 | WELLINGTON |
Duke’s after week in the capital (10)
|
| W (week) + ELLINGTON (Duke) | ||
| 17 | PLATFORMS |
Stages rap classes, welcoming learner (9)
|
| L (learner) in (welcoming) PAT (rap) + FORMS (classes) | ||
| 18 | FOOTWEAR |
Dread gathering round perhaps two or twelve answers here (8)
|
| O (round) + anagram (perhaps) of TWO together in (gathering) FEAR (dread). The definition refers to the fact that this crossword includes 12 answers that are types of footwear. | ||
| 19 | SNEAKERS |
People creeping about, returning amid writhing snakes (8)
|
| RE (about) backwards (returning) in (amid) anagram (writhing) of SNAKES | ||
| 22 | ATTEST |
Witness watching the Ashes? (6)
|
| AT TEST (watching the Ashes) | ||
| 23 | MULES |
Drug runners from Spain in northerly ghetto (5)
|
| E (Spain) in (in) SLUM (ghetto) backwards (northerly) | ||
| 25 | CHINA |
Feature on American state in the east (5)
|
| CHIN (feature) + A (American) | ||
| 27 | CLOG |
Cold lump of fig or lime, perhaps, in jam (4)
|
| C (cold) + LOG (lump of fig or lime, wood that is) |
A wonderful footwear theme, many of which I have worn. As Pete says, it was subtle enough that I didn’t spot it until 18d but it certainly helped with CLODHOPPER. Just couldn’t get the LOI, EGESTS to come to heel! A treat.
Thanks to Buccaneer and Pete.
It was only after I had solved 18d, one of my later answers, that I saw all the others. A marvellous piece of setting and it certainly made me smile a lot. Boz eventually rang a bell but I did have to check that one.
Thanks for the blog Pete, and Buccaneer for the fun.
I am terrible at spotting themes, acrostics etc. Not only was 18d was my LOI, but its parsing remained a mystery for the longest time. What a dope!
Not only did Buccaneer manage to avoid referring to shoes in any clue (as noted by Pete), but he (?) managed to create some great clues along the way. OXFORD, TRAINERS, PLATFORMS, ORDAIN, and AWAKEN all got tick marks from me. And who can resist a good clue about an ORGY?
A couple of clues – such as CLOG and SNEAKERS – were a bit strained. But that is a minor quibble. It seems we all agree that it was a great crossword.
Finally, I need to display my ignorance in thanking Buccaneer for the lesson. I was not familiar with 4 of the shoe types and am happy for the new knowledge.
Thanks Pete for the blog and the excellent explanations, and many thanks to Buccaneer for a wonderful puzzle.
Another gem from Buccaneer — a joy to solve — thank you. There wasn’t a bad clue in the lot but if I have to pick favourites I’d go with STILETTO, RING OFF, and ENLARGE. Thanks Pete for the blog.
Thanks for a great blog, a super puzzle, sometimes called a nuclear theme with 18D being the nucleus for all the others.
I am glad 18D was so late really , had not spotted the theme so it was nice to go back and search.
LAN in 6D was new to me but the clue was fair enough. The clue for STILETTO was more comfortable than the shoe itself.
TECHNETIUM is very unusual , the only lighter element that does not occur naturally on Earth, only minute amounts in rare natural fission processes. It is produced artificially and one isotope Tc99 is widely used in medical imaging since it is a pure gamma emitter.
Another Saturday treat from Buccaneer with a theme even I could spot. 11a was my favourite
Thanks to Buccaneer and Pete
Martyn@3 you are not the only dope but what a great puzzle. Thanks to Buccaneer for the fun and the knowledge gained. The blog was equally impressive . Thanks to both.
Thanks Buccaneer and Pete
Did this across the day in a number of sittings yesterday during breaks in a working day. A neat ghost theme where the count in 18d helped me find the last pair of shoes in BALMORAL and LOAFERS up in the NW corner late in the solve – had twigged to it after getting CLODHOPPERS and SNEAKERS in quick succession about half way through.
Was able to parse everything which was very satisfying and learnt a new word in TECHNETIUM.
Finished with those two shoes and ORGY as the last one in after finally remembering the Gershwin PORGY AND BESS.
Roz @5. The description on TECHNETIUM (a pretty obscure, by the way) was very interesting. Thank-you. Are you a scientist by any chance?
This is why I do crossword puzzles. Thanks, Bucky, for a magnificent offering.
Like Martyn@3, 18d was my LOI based on crossers and wordplay, and it took quite a while for the penny to drop definition-wise. And being unaware of 1d BALMORAL as a type of shoe, when it did drop, I had a splendid romp through the Google trying to find shoe types named LANDOWNERS or TROOP. 🙂
NHO 24a TECHNETIUM or 31a EGESTS either but both easily gettable from the wordplay.
Thanks Loonapick for the blog.
Martyn@9 glad you liked it, just a snippet , I am sure you can find out more. Technetium was a “gap” in the original periodic table and took many years to find. It also important in astrophysics.