Financial Times 17,098 by ZAMORCA

16 comments on “Financial Times 17,098 by ZAMORCA”

1. Having only 1a to fill in to complete the puzzle i did a quick a quick recce to see if a letter was missing from the pangram and it paid dividends.
   Fun puzzle.
   Thanks all.

2. Enjoyable. I’m a bit worried too by E for “partner” in 7d. And is “rampant” in 9a meant to be a reversal indicator?

3. Just read your comments above, loonapick, and I must say on the whole I concur.

4. I was a bit slack in solving this and entered many from the def without worrying too much about the parsing details so missed many of the concerns you raised. I had a question mark against E for ‘partner’ and also took it to refer to a bridge player, though it’s unusual to have it without any reference to another player.

   I think ‘rampant’ may mean “facing to the left” (from heraldry), ie acting as a reversal indicator, as suggested by GDU@2. I wondered about B for ‘boy’ as in OB = “old boy”.

   Thanks to the pangrammatic Zamorca and to loonapick

5. That’s a definition of “rampant” of which I was unaware, WordPlodder. Thanks.

6. WP@4 – actually, I may have been harsh re “rampant” as it also means “rearing”.

7. Also I didn’t think you ever fly Union Jacks at sea. It is normally a red or blue ensign. Thanks for the blog.

8. I am an Australian and my last one in was 1D so I agree with the comments that “Australian” is not a definition of the answer; “Australian native” – yes, but not the word alone.

   I also cannot find any reference to “b” as an abbreviation for “boy” despite WP’s suggestion of Old Boy. I even searched genealogy sites to no avail. It will be interesting to see if any light can be shed on this by later risers.

9. Thanks Zamorca & loonapick

   Questioning B = BOY crops up fairly often.

   It’s seen relatively frequently in compound abbreviations, eg OB or BF (cf GF), but not as a standalone. So its solo use seems to be as a result of hijacking by setters.

   Whether it will pass into acceptability remains to be seen, but it’s noteworthy that W D L for WON DRAWN LOST are seen regularly in sports league tables but don’t appear in Chambers. I don’t have other dictionaries to hand to check.

10. As a Kenyan, 27a my COD.

11. All went in quickly until I got a bit stuck in the top left hand corner with the pangram helping me with the whistle and wombat, my two LOI.

    Thanks.

12. Thanks Zamorca. I knew to look for a pangram and that helped a bit. I liked nany of the clues including KAPUT, TREND, EQUITABLE, ASKING, MYRTLE, and RAKES, the latter for its very readable surface. I couldn’t fully parse WHISTLE or FLOP so thanks loonapick for the assistance.

13. I’ve come across “partner” in clues referring to N, S, E, or W {from bridge} more than once before, I think it’s perfectly acceptable. Funnily enough, some papers have printed bridge problems beside crosswords, which might trigger something subconsciously for some of us.

14. We found this a bit chewy but got there in the end. For instance in 1ac it took us ages to realise we needed to separate ‘shortlist’. And by the time we remembered that Zamorca usually gives us a pangram it was too late to be of any help.
    There was lots we enjoyed though, including ANECDOTES, WOMBAT, PORCELAIN and EGG CUP.
    As for the UNION JACK, it’s usually considered that it can only be called the Union Jack when flown from the jackstaff of Royal Navy ships when in harbour (i.e. not at sea); in all other cases it should be called the Union Flag. The link below leads to more information.
    Thanks, Zamorca and loonapick.
    

15. Don’t know what happened to the link. We’ll try again: https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/uk-flags/the-union-jack-or-the-union-flag/

16. Thanks Zamorca and loonapick
    Did this one on the day but it slipped in the pile until getting it out today to check it off. It was one that I did in a longish single sitting after work whilst up in Queensland last month – probably why it got lost in the pile.
    Anyway, can remember enjoying it and forgot about the pangram until after it was finished, so it was no help along the way. A lot to like including THIRTEEN and the controversial WOMBAT (great definition for the WOMB bit; it is Australian slang for either a strange person, or more vulgarly for one who is only interested in having sex, because he ‘eats roots and leaves’).
    Also finished in the NW corner with WHISTLE (tricky lift and shift with ‘shortlist’), MELEE (very cunning reverse hidden) and that WOMBAT as the last one in.

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