Financial Times 17,230 by JULIUS

by

Julius gets our engines running this morning

When I had filled in QUARTERBACK and QUICK FIX, I thought we were in for a pangram this morning, but in the end, no J or Z showed up. Instead, we were given a theme of sorts with REPAIR GARAGE, QUICK FIX, RUNNING IN, BODY SHOP, PANEL BEATER and GREASE MONKEY. Really, really clever, although the puzzle's perfection was marred slightly by "working" having to do double duty in the clue for BODY SHOP.

I loved the definition for KING PRAWN.

Thanks, Julius

ACROSS
1 QUARTERBACK
US footballer paid for an iffy doctor, according to Spooner (11)

To Spooner, QUARTERBACK, would be BOUGHT A QUACK ("paid for an iffy doctor")
7 RIG
Fix Canadian truck (3)

Double definition
9 ISSUE
Child is a boy (according to Johnny Cash) (5)

IS + SUE (one of Johnny Cash's most famous songs is "A Boy Named Sue")
10 FLUORSPAR
Contagious disease? Alternatively, knocks back mineral (9)

FLU ("contagious disease") + OR ("alternatively") + <=RAPS ("knocks", back)

Fluorspar is another name for fluorite, or calcium fluoride.
11 KING PRAWN
Family doctor, inexperienced, new, wearer of shell suit (4,5)

KIN ("family") + GP (general practitioner, so "doctor") + RAW ("inexperienced") + N (new)
12 STING
Mysterious driver transporting northern rock star (5)

STIG ("mysterious driver") transporting N (northern)

The Stig is the helmeted mysterious driver on BBC's Top Gear, and Sting was the lead singer of the Police and subsequently a successful solo artist.
13 IN HASTE
At home, hates being made to work hurriedly (2,5)

IN ("at home") + *(hates) [anag:being made to work]
15
See 18
18, 15 BODY SHOP
Daughter introduced to posh boy working here at Dents (4,4)

D (daughter) introduced to *(posh boy) [anag:working]

This clue doesn't quite work for me, as "working" is doing double duty. It is the anagram indicator, and it is also necessary for the definition, because "here at dents" would not be sufficient to indicate BODY SHOP.
20 CHEER UP
Diva out of bed, taking ecstasy to improve her mood (5,2)

CHER (pop "diva") + UP ("out of bed"), taking E (ecstasy)
23 ROOST
Joey sat without a perch (5)

ROO ("joey") + S(a)T without A
24 RUNNING IN
Former requirement for care of new car that’s arresting? (7,2)

Double definition
26 ASKED OVER
Invited round to demolish saké and port? (5,4)

*(sake) [anag:to demolish] + DOVER ("port")
27 AVERT
Turn away commercial, needing day off (5)

A(d)VERT ("commercial" needing D (day) off)
28 ELY
Cathedral city, English with lovely walls (3)

E (English) with L(ovel)Y [walls]
29 PANEL BEATER
A worker in 18, 15, the winner of What’s My Line? (5,6)

In the old TV game show, What's My Line? the "winner" would BEAT the PANEL, and a PANEL BEATER works in a BODY SHOP (the solution to 18,15)
DOWN
1 QUICK FIX
Botch job for speedy F9? (5,3)

QUICK ("speedy") + F + IX (9, in Roman numerals)
2 ABSINTHE
Arabs in Thessaloniki partial to a drink? (8)

Hidden in [partial to] "arABS IN THEssaloniki"
3 TWERP
European inland port shipping out an idiot (5)

(an)TWERP ("European inland port") shipping out AN
4 REFLATE
Notes circulating Florida to stimulate the economy (7)

RE + TE (musical "notes") circulating Fla. (Florida)
5 ALUMNUS
Former student Paul Hulme regularly trashed Rising Sun (7)

(p)A(u)L (h)U(l)M(e) [regularly trashed] + [rising] <=SUN
6 KERBSTONE
Ben Stokes almost fails to collect runs – one goes by the wayside (9)

*(ben stoke) [anag:fails] to collect R (runs, in cricket) where BEN STOKE is [almost] BEN STOKE(s)
7, 8 REPAIR GARAGE
Rock, rap, reggae put in song in workplace of Mike and the Mechanics? (6,6)

Put AIR ("song") in *(rap reggae) [anag:rock]
14 SWOTTED UP
Crammed, Devon & Cornwall got exciting after leaving hotel (7,2)

SW (South West, so "Devon and Cornwall") + (h)OTTED UP ("got exciting" after leaving H (hotel))
16 FRAGMENT
Poor German in this newspaper piece (8)

*(German) [anag:poor] in FT ("this newspaper")
17 SPINSTER
Single lady (Miss) pins Terylene trousers (8)

Hidden in [trousers] "misS PINS TERylene"
19 YEREVAN
Crudely put, your electric commercial vehicle is capital (7)

YER ("crudely put, your") + E– (electric) + VAN ("commercial vehicle")

Yerevan is the capital of Armenia.
20 CENTRAL
Playing clarinet missing one key (7)

*(clarnet) [anag:playing] where CLARNET is CLAR(i)NET missing I (one)
21, 22 GREASE MONKEY
Golf service? See my Korean guy in dirty overalls (6,6)

G (golf, in the NATO phonetic alphabet) + *(see my Korean) [anag:service]
25 IRATE
Angry rodent that is going around (5)

RAT ("rodent") with i.e. (id east, so "that is") going around

20 comments on “Financial Times 17,230 by JULIUS”

  1. 10A was unknown to me.

    I confidently wrote in “REFLAME” at 4D as I wasn’t aware of this economic term and “ME” is also a musical note in the scale.

  2. The perfect thing to cheer up a very wet morning

    Another splendid crossword from one of my favourite setters. Lots of great clues but 11a is my favourite

    Thanks very much to Julius and Loonapick

  3. Nice one, just the right level of difficulty to stimulate the grey matter. I got 18a/15a but didn’t understand it, and still don’t. I’ve discovered Dents is a line of English shops, but are they body shops? I’m confused.

  4. Great job, loonapick. I also think that “northern” may be doing double duty in 12A, as Sting is from Newcastle and so could be classified as a “northern rock star”. I am, however, aware that Geordies regard that area as “North East” to differentiate themselves from Manchester and Liverpool.

  5. What crypticsue said (very wet here, too!).

    GDU @3 – a panel beater in a body shop would work at (on) the dents in your car.

    Many thanks, Julius and loonapick.

  7. Thanks for the blog, dear loonapick, and thanks to those who have commented.
    I’m very sorry for the absent anagram indicator in the clue for BODY SHOP which should read “Daughter introduced to spoilt posh boy working here at Dents”.
    (I still have a pair of Dents cashmere-lined leather gloved bought at Simpsons on Piccadilly about 40 years ago…)
    Best wishes to all, Rob/Julius

  9. Yes, what Cryptic Sue said re the weather (very wet in NSW today) and also her favourite, KING PRAWN, to which I’ll add STING and the wonderful mechanic?related clues. The upper case D of ‘dents’ did conjure fancy gloves but I wasn’t fooled for long.
    Really good fun.
    Thanks to Julius and Loonapick.

  10. Thanks for the blog and thanks Julius for clearing up BODY SHOP, spoilt really improves the clue, Dents are still making wonderful gloves.
    A few music references , as well as Sting, Paul Hume was a highly respected critic so ALUMNUS works very neatly. REPAIR GARAGE is a great clue with a Genesis spin-off, plus Johnny Cash.
    Peter@4 I think you have answered your own quibble, it would say NE rock star, if it was part of the definition.
    Great clues all over the place.

  12. Original theme, with Julius’ explanation about the missing ‘spoilt’ making 18a/15a a much more satisfactory clue. I agree with others about the 1a spoonerism and the def for KING PRAWN which was my highlight today.

    Thanks to Julius and loonapick

  13. A fun solve with imaginative clues. Quite a bit of UK GK involved this time, STIG being the most obscure of the lot for me, but otherwise mostly references I have picked up from doing cryptics. The homophone/Spoonerism does not work in my native accent. Do people really pronounce it “bort” there? OK, then. Thanks to loonapick and Julius, especially for chiming in with the clarification.

  14. Thanks Julius and Loonapick
    1ac: Because the homophone indicator is included within the “according to Spooner”, the homophone only needs to work in Spooner’s accent, which it does (near enough).

  15. Thanks Julius for another well-crafted crossword. My lack of UK GK was my undoing, however. I could not parse STING (I hadn’t heard of The Stig), SWOTTED UP was new to me as well as “hotted up,” I didn’t know the term PANEL BEATER, and I wasn’t aware of the 1st definition of RUNNING IN (I’m more familiar with “breaking in” a new engine.) In any event, I like learning the English language and I enjoyed many clues including KING PRAWN, ASKED OVER, and REPAIR GARAGE. Thanks Loonapick for the much need blog.

  16. Hi Tony @15
    Thanks for your interesting post. As a speaker of British English, I think I’d associate “breaking in” (when not using the term in its burglary sense) with taming a horse, or even softening up a stiff pair of new shoes. When I was younger (I’m 65) new cars sold in the UK were recommended to be “run in” which meant that for the first 1,000 miles or so the owner was told not to exceed 50mph or so at low revs in order not to overtax the engine before its first service. Many cars had stickers at the back which read “running in, please pass” !

  17. Julius @16: Thanks, I enjoyed your response. I suppose a clue for BREAKING IN could be “former requirement of American new car that’s burglary,” but that might be a bit obscure for British solvers.

  18. Thanks loonapick and All for the blog and special thanks to Julius for yet another great puzzle – fair but exacting. Very enjoyable with a pint (or two…) of Guinness!

  19. Cineraria @13. Yes bought is pronounced bort. Rhymes with court and tort (also rhymes with caught and taught where I come from).

  20. In 1A, I immediately guessed the answer and justified to myself that Spooner would have said BARTER QUACK. Obviously not a correct line of thinking, but it got me off and running. Great puzzle by Julius. And lovely blog.

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