Financial Times 17,137 by PHSSTHPOK

10 comments on “Financial Times 17,137 by PHSSTHPOK”

1. The mis-enumeration for 5d took ages to work out and held me up on a few other clues. To top it off, if we’re talking about pears, shouldn’t it be “perry” rather than ‘cider’, though I agree that might have made the clue too obvious, whatever the enumeration. I wasn’t too happy about 9a either, for which I think the homophone indicator could have applied to ‘Try’ or ‘present’. OK, the crossing TREND (not easy) made it clear, but I don’t think you should have to rely on the answer to another clue to work this out.

   Anyway, enough whingeing. A very good and challenging puzzle to go with the equally difficult Filbert in the Indy today. I certainly won’t be complaining if things get a bit easier for the rest of the week!

   Thanks to Phssthpok and Teacow

2. My feelings exactly match those of WordPlodder although I did enter HEAR and failed to get TREND possibly as a result. I may have failed with TREND anyway as extraneous words such as “gets” and “in” often catch me out.

3. I learnt of a new variety of pear. And I was unfamiliar with LEMMA. I pronounce the second syllable of ABSENCE with a schwa, so it’s a rather approximate homophone, methinks. But I s’pose lots of homophones in cryptic crosswords are imperfect.

   Why is “sweet” BABY?

   Apart from wasting a good deal of time scratching my head over 5d, this was mostly enjoyable.

4. GDU re sweet=baby: both are terms of endearment to one’s (female?) loved one.

   Like you I had never heard of the pears in 5D and although I managed to solve it only by assuming that the numbering was incorrect. Also as an ex-employee of several food manufacturers, I know that cider is made from apples, as WordPlodder points out.

   I take issue with 9A as “delivery of present” makes more sense than “Try delivery”. That’s why I was confident enough to write in “hear” as the answer.

   24D took me back to my grammar school days in Sunbury-on-Thames.

   1A, like many crossword clues in the several that I do each day, seems to assume that we’re all druggies. Although I know the word “amphetamine” and have heard of drugs called “uppers”, I really don’t know enough to tie the medical description to the slang. Maybe I should get out more…

5. Although I knew “upper”, I do agree with Peter @4 about the use of “drug” in clues. My grammar school was only a few miles from Peter’s (in Staines) but “LEMMA” never got there!

6. We too thought the clue to 9ac was ambiguous and, particularly as we could see no obvious answer to 3dn with either ‘here’ or ‘hear’, unfair. As for 5dn (we were warned in advance of the wrong enumeration) we gather there is such a thing as pear cider, supposedly not the same as perry; we wouldn’t know as we only ever use cider in cooking.
   So thanks to Phssthpok and Teacow, but we think a little editorial oversight might not have come amiss.

7. I didn’t like this one.

   I do know the Conference is a pear so that 5D contained a dreadful double fault.

   I thought Sweet = Baby a horrible clue.

   9A also poor for the reasons explained by others.

   I also did not much like the construction of Misspeak.

8. Didn’t like Unbeaten either. Long and clumsy.

9. Apologies for being ?.

10. This was pretty poor. In addition to the comments already made, I would point out that Trent Bridge & Headingly are never referred to as stadia – they are always referred to as grounds.
    Also, a press conference is not a public meeting – only the press are allowed to attend. That’s why it’s called a press conference and not a public conference.

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