Financial Times 17,229 by AARDVARK

9 comments on “Financial Times 17,229 by AARDVARK”

1. I was unable to determine in what context RED SHIRT meant “anarchist”? I assume that there is a history lesson there somewhere. I do not think I have seen the device used to clue ADROIT before, i.e., that particular variant of the hidden word. I was unfamiliar with AGA SAGA, but it was findable, if not exactly guessable. There are several (presumably) unintentional ninas in the completed grid. If they amount to anything, I don’t see it, although I occasionally wonder whether an indelicate one might sometime escape the editor’s notice. Fine job on the blog.

2. Further to that: It would seem theoretically possible that a puzzle could be constructed in which all of the unchecked lights also spelled words, like an exploded version of an American crossword. Has anyone ever seen such a grid?

3. A good respite from quite a few unusual words seen in several recent crosswords. The only words I had difficulty in bringing to mind were the crossing ‘Swimmer in tropics’ at 24a and the ‘Ancient coin’ at 18d. I hadn’t come across PRO for ‘trained’ at 4d before and still only sort of get it. I liked AGA SAGA (despite the loose definition) and the surface of 6d misleadingly suggesting CANALETTO was an ‘extreme artist’.

   Exactly the same comments as Cineraria @1 & 2 about the possibly intended words hidden in the grid. They don’t add up to anything for me but perhaps I’m missing something. I’ve never seen a grid in which all of the unchecked letters spelled words.

   I thought RED SHIRT (? the def is ‘Anarchist once’) would refer to a member of a left-wing military group (and maybe it does), but looking it up on Wikipedia just now, I was surprised it to see it also referred to members of a white supremacist organisation in the southern states of the US in the latter part of the 19th century.

   Thanks to Aardvark and Oriel

4. Thanks for the blog, I really enjoyed this . Lots of clues to admire , agree with Cineraria about the ADROIT centre stage, TANZANIAN was very nice, GLOVE simple and effective.
   Perhaps the most famous RED SHIRTS were the followers of Garibaldi but they were not really anarchists.

5. Hi Wordplodder@3,

   Can you highlight some of the words you are referring to, formed by unchecked letters? [ I was unfamiliar with “unches” so did look it up but I am not able to see how all of them spell words.

   Thanks in advance for the education.

   TL

6. Turbolegs@5: Well, the grid says RACE CHAPS TORE AT ZUG, which looks like a bad cryptic clue itself, and I also see TORCH, TEA, and INCEL.

7. Thanks Aardvark for many fine clues including SHANGRI-LA, EARWIG, A CAPELLA, HERB, AS IT WERE, and GLOVE. I needed a word finder for AGA SAGA and the clever ADROIT. I believe I’ve seen the uncommon device used in ADROIT once or twice before. If anyone has (or could) produce a crossword where the unchecked squares read as words it would be Monk or Basilisk/Serpent. Thanks Turbolegs for the blog.

8. A fairly gentle stroll with no real problems, although we couldn’t see the parsing of ADROIT, and A CAPELLA went in from definition, enumeration and crossing letters without bothering to parse it. We thought of the RED SHIRTS as Garibaldi’s followers without thinking if they were really anarchists.
   Thanks, Aardvark and Oriel.

9. Cineraria@5 – Thanks for the inputs.
   Tony@7 – No doubt you meant your thanks for Oriel who blogged.

   Regards,
   TL

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