Weekend puzzle in the FT of March 4, 2023
I enjoyed this second puzzle we have had from Moo. My first-in was 3 (REITH), a very easy one for older Brits and my favourites are 10 (MAINLINE), 11 (BAD HAIR DAY), 19 (MEERKAT) for its fine cryptic definition and 23a (VIKING).
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BEARSKIN |
Guards displaying such naked flesh, you say? (8)
|
| Homophone (you say) of “bare skin” (naked flesh) | ||
| 6 | ASSESS |
Judge close to tears, surround- ed by fools (6)
|
| [tear]S in (surrounded by) ASSES (fools) | ||
| 9 | PUPILS |
Learners making a mistake on the way back (6)
|
| SLIP UP (making a mistake) backwards (on the way back) | ||
| 10 | MAINLINE |
Unnamed man waiting to inject heroin (8)
|
| MA[n] (unnamed man) + IN LINE (waiting) | ||
| 11 | BAD HAIR DAY |
Occasion giving you a dreadful shock? (3,4,3)
|
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 12 | CLAY |
Every now and then Callas seen with young boxer (4)
|
| C[a]L[l]A[s] + Y (young) with the definition referring to Cassius Clay (later known as Mohammed Ali) | ||
| 13 | VIKING |
Raider of old having sex with His Majesty? (6)
|
| VI (sex – in Latin, that is) + KING (His Majesty) | ||
| 15 | CHASTISE |
Lives in modest surroundings? Correct (8)
|
| IS (lives) in (in…surroundings) CHASTE (modest) | ||
| 18 | ANGSTROM |
Physicist rang most when stressed (8)
|
| Anagram (when stressed) of RANG MOST. The Swedish scientist Anders Jonas Ångström was one of the founders of spectroscopy. | ||
| 20 | PIRATE |
Babble about current danger on the seas (6)
|
| I (current) in (about) PRATE (babble) | ||
| 21 | CAIN |
Killer caught in Jamaica incarcerated (4)
|
| Hidden word (caught in). Cain is a biblical character who killed his brother Abel. | ||
| 23 | PIED-A-TERRE |
Girlfriend installed in French- man’s love nest? (4-1-5)
|
| DATE (girlfriend) in (installed in) PIERRE (French man) | ||
| 25 | ROYAL OAK |
Boozer providing a refuge for King Charles? (5,3)
|
| Double definition with the second referring to a bit of English history that you can read about here. The name Royal Oak has become a common name for a pub. | ||
| 26 | SMOOCH |
In school I dance seductively (6)
|
| MOO (I) in (in) SCH (school) | ||
| 27 | SEVERE |
Critical clergyman about to visit Ely? (6)
|
| REV (clergyman) backwards (about) in (to visit) SEE (Ely?) | ||
| 28 | TELLTALE |
Archer’s story is revealing (8)
|
| TELL (archer, as in William) + TALE (story) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | EDUCATION |
Master’s business auctioned off (9)
|
| Anagram (off) of AUCTIONED | ||
| 3 | REITH |
The Speaker’s floral tribute for first BBC boss (5)
|
| Homophone (the speaker’s) of “wreath” (floral tribute) with the definition referring to Sir John Reith who became the first Director General of the BBC. | ||
| 4 | KISSINGER |
Statesman of old giving Cockney woman a smack? (9)
|
| KISSING (giving…a smack) + ‘ER (Cockney woman) with the definition referring to Henry Kissinger. | ||
| 5 | NOMADIC |
Unsettled comedian shakily dropping an E (7)
|
| Anagram (shakily) of COM[e]DIAN | ||
| 6 | AMITY |
Woman welcoming sex and friendship (5)
|
| IT (sex) in (welcoming) AMY (woman) | ||
| 7 | SOLICITOR |
Beggar who often appears in court? (9)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 8 | SANTA |
Old Nick volunteers to move: such a jolly chap! (5)
|
| SATAN (Old Nick) with TA (volunteers, i.e. the Territorial Army) moved | ||
| 14 | INSINUATE |
Suggest fixed annuities (9)
|
| Anagram (fixed) of ANNUITIES | ||
| 16 | APPRAISAL |
Artist is in dismay, getting valuation (9)
|
| RA (artist) + IS (is) together in (in) APPAL (dismay) | ||
| 17 | SATIRICAL |
Mocking absurd CIA trials (9)
|
| Anagram (absurd) of CIA TRIALS | ||
| 19 | MEERKAT |
African mobster just a pussy, I hear (7)
|
| Homophone (I hear) of “mere cat” (just a pussy). So I learned that the collective term for meerkats is ‘mob’. | ||
| 22 | ATONE |
Repent immediately when caught out (5)
|
| AT ONCE (immediately) with the ‘C’ removed (when caught out) | ||
| 23 | PROLE |
Lowly worker, leader of rabble in bar (5)
|
| R[abble] in (in) POLE (bar) | ||
| 24 | E-BOAT |
Snake captured by alien craft (1-4)
|
| BOA (snake) in (captured by) ET (alien). According to Wikipedia an E-boat was the Western Allies’ designation for the fast attack craft in WW2. The ‘E’ stood for enemy. |
Thanks Moo and Pete
13ac: “sex” is Latin for six, fitting with the Roman numerals. The German is “sechs”.
3dn: The BBC was founded in 1922. We have recently had all sorts of centenary celebrations.
Oh dear I am making more and more mistakes these days. Thanks for setting me straight. I have corrected the errors.
SMOOCH only means “kiss” in the US, so that clue had me confused at first. Otherwise, an interesting solve.
Thanks Pete
Enjoyable for me too. CHASTISE and PUPILS were my favorites. It took me forever to get ROYAL OAK and SMOOCH. I did not know the story about King Charles and I convinced myself “boozer” was “soak”. Never heard SMOOCH used for dancing, and it took me forever to understand the clue. And thanks for explaining the mobster reference in 19d.
Thanks to Moo and thanks again to Pete.
Really enjoyed this offering from Moo. Favourites in included BAD HAIR DAY and MEERKAT for their definitions and PIED A TERRE for its neat surface although I thought the latter was more of a bolthole in town (which may well lend itself to affairs) but I’m more accustomed to GARCONNIERE in this sense.
Thanks both to Moo and Pete.
Thanks Moo, that was fun. My top choices were PUPILS, CHASTISE, SEVERE, EDUCATION, and my LOI SMOOCH. Thanks Pete for the blog.
To tidy your excellent blog, a couple of minor typos:
21A ABEL was Cain’s victim
23A DATE rather than DATER
Thanks for a great blog, mistakes are an inevitable part of something so detailed, intricate and concise. These comments are the only thing I ever type and I find far more mistakes than when I am just writing normally.
A lot of many enjoyable clues here, mentioned by Martyn , Diane and Tony. INSINUATE was very neat, only three words and a complete anagram .
The REITH lectures are still going strong on Radio 4 .
ANGSTROM did important work in astrophysics , he has a unit named after him but it is unofficial.
Pretty easy today, but wasn’t “bearskin” an answer in a crossword earlier this week?
Re 26A: when I was young, I danced with more girls than I smooched with. Alas! I don’t recognize this definition needing the word “dance”.
“In school I kiss” would have been a better definition – in my humble opinion.
For me SMOOCH is a word very much associated with dancing, clever use of the setter’s name .
I agree with Roz@10. SMOOCH is dancing to the Brits and kissing in the US, though a combination of both seems fair!
David L, Thanks for commenting and pointing out those errors. I am a bit shocked that I managed to misspell Abel given that I have a good friend of that name!
[Pete@12: If you type on a phone with its tiny keyboard errors are inevtable. And you can’t proofread your own work as well as another person can — we tend to see what we meant rather than what we actually wrote.]
Plenty to enjoy – we particularly liked VIKING, ANGSTROM and ROYAL OAK.
Thanks, Moo and Pete