Financial Times 17,099 by NEO

15 comments on “Financial Times 17,099 by NEO”

1. Liked GOOD FOR NOTHING, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, ONION SKIN AND IGLOO!
   That Kapil knock: No video record available…strangely!

   Thanks, NEO and Turbolegs!

2. 1A was obvious from the definition and the structure of the answer but it took me ages to work it out. As an IT specialist, I have a real problem with people using the letter “O” as an alternative to the number ‘0″. I know that many people may state that their telephone number is “oh-four-six-oh-seven-oh-nine-oh” (forgive me if that is someone’s real number) but is should really be rendered as “zero-four-six-zero-seven-zero-nine-zero”.

   While I am on my pedant hobby-horse: “invite” is a verb, not a noun. The word that you are searching for is “invitation”.

3. Peter@2
   How do you read ‘version 2.0’?
   I say ‘two point oh’.

4. Peter @2. Have to disagree. I admit that, in the past, I have objected to “O” as ‘zero’ but, as you say, it is in common usage and is one of the definitions in Chambers, for example. Also “invite” to mean “invitation” is also in common usage (and also in dictionaries) as in “have you received your invite?”.

5. KVa I say two-point-zero.

   Hovis, I know that “invite” is used as a noun by many people but that doesn’t mean that it is correct.

   To add fuel to the fire: “begging the question” is used by many people to mean “suggesting the question”. Yet the correct and traditional meaning is to propose a supposition as fact – the most common example is “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?” Apologies to any victims of domestic violence but that was the example drummed into me at University, albeit in the days when we were less sensitive about being politically correct.

   Anyway, sorry if I have hijacked or misdirected this thread; I just lament the ways that words and phrases have changed their meaning. I am occasionally gay (after a drink or two) but I have never been homosexual.

6. Tremendous puzzle. Taking ‘good for nothing’ literally is a masterstroke I’d say! I liked some of the ‘parts-of-speechiness’ in this one too, for example using ‘anagrams’ at 27, making it sound like a plural noun when it isn’t. 3 down amusing for me.

   At 28 I think you need ‘enthusiastic about’ to me INTO if I may say,

   Thanks Turbolegs.

7. To Peter (whose comment at 5 I had not seen before posting), I should tread very lightly indeed on that thin ice, especially with reference to domestic violence and LGBT issues!

8. A lovely Friday challenge – thanks very much to Neo and Turbolegs, especially to the latter for explaining Didi and Gogo in 9d

9. Thanks to Neo and Turbolegs. Very enjoyable. I had no trouble with Didi-Gogo but in the US could not parse OUTFOX.

10. Thanks turbo and thanks all for comments. Sorry to those abroad for Basil Brush 😀 but he was such a cutie. Also re Didi & Co I suppose as an English grad I assume everyone else knows at least as much as I know on the subject. For English read Irish in this case, of course.

11. Basil Brush was a fixture of my childhood so that clue was a favourite, among others.
    I was a French lit grad and read En Attendant Godot; therein lies the problem – ‘waiting’ got lost in translation! Oops. Great clue though.

12. Many years ago I saw a production of Waiting for Godot but I did not remember Didi and Gogo so I never solved WAITER. I needed a word finder to get ORPHANAGE and TUNBRIDGE WELLS but I correctly guessed OUTFOX despite my ignorance of Basil Brush. DIABOLO and TERMAGANT wete both new to me but easy to get from the wordplay. I particularly enjoyed INCOGNITO, DUNCE, IGLOO, GLAMOUR, and PECAN. Thanks to both.

13. I am laughing at myself BIG TIME!!
    I went from DIDI and GOGÓ to TARTAR …thinking maybe Vladimir… Tartar???? Oh dear oh dear Egg on face / tea tray against head ….

14. Thanks for the blog, late again but I have to give praise to this puzzle. GOOD FOR NOTHING set a very high standard which did not drop throughout.
    Is Basil Brush a cartoon now ? In the 70s he was a rather large and noisy puppet, ( Peter Firmin creation ).
    He once worked with Derek Fowlds later to become famous as Bernard in Yes Minister. Boom Boom.

15. Thanks Neo and Turbolegs
    Neat and challenging in places puzzle here with some cleverly constructed clues such as 1a, 29a, 2d, 17d, 18d and 24d. A couple of new terms in NAPPER (head) and ONION SKIN (paper) with a Wiki confirmation of PIMPERNEL and Ms LAMOUR required.
    NOTED was the first in with LAPSE the last.

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