Financial Times 17,362 by BUCCANEER

by

BUCCANEER starts the week…

A lovely challenge this morning, not too easy, not too tricky. Lots to like, with 10d possibly being my favourite,

 

Thanks BUCCANEER!

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1. Once more, what for Manuel will make soup (6)
BISQUE

BIS (once more, musical term) + QUE (what for Manuel, Fawlty Towers character)

4. Kills time — a long time — where actors may be (8)
OFFSTAGE

OFFS (kills) + T (time) + AGE (a long time)

9. Mature whiskey put away for party (5)
GROUP

GRO[w] UP (mature, W (whiskey) put away)

10. Heads for interesting night with wife- swapper’s ball (9)
INSWINGER

I[nteresting] + N[ight] (heads for) with SWINGER (wife-swapper)

11. Prompt about storing information, one trying to improve issue (7)
EUGENIC

(CUE)< (prompt, <about) storing (GEN (information) + I (one))

12. Effective like policemen? (2,5)
IN FORCE

Double definition

13. Future option for a Danish prince (2,2)
TO BE

Double definition

Referring to the monologue from Hamlet

14. Runner more pleased with himself crossing line (8)
SMUGGLER

SMUGGER (more pleased with himself) crossing L (line)

17. Gets behind friend, returning cordial gesture (8)
BACKSLAP

BACKS (gets behind) + (PAL)< (friend, <returning)

19. Answer by judge: accuser’s case is not closed (4)
AJAR

A (answer) by J (judge) + A[ccuse]R (case)

22. Right Charlie, caught by a clout, getting a shiner (3-4)
ARC LAMP

(R (right) + C (Charlie)) caught by (A + LAMP (clout))

24. Rig matches in pools (7)
KITTIES

KIT (rig) + TIES (matches)

25. It may be smart, say, to put oil on fish eggs at first (5,4)
DRESS CODE

DRESS (put oil on) + COD (fish) + E[ggs] (at first)

26. One might be on Harley Street abandoning rapid walker (5)
RIDER

(st)RIDER (rapid walker, ST (street) abandoning)

27. Set off from school, getting into Escort (8)
DETONATE

ETON (school) getting in to DATE (escort)

28. Order given to soldiers daily, for example to retreat (6)
CHARGE

CHAR (daily) + (EG)< (for example, <to retreat)

DOWN
1. Travelling, get Tube — a pain? (8)
BAGUETTE

(GET TUBE A)* (*travelling)

Pain being French for bread

2. Cadge old coin for animated figure (9)
SPONGEBOB

SPONGE (cadge) + BOB (old coin)

Cartoon character Spongebob Squarepants

3. Raising ratings for films receiving stick (6)
UPPING

U PG (ratings for films) receiving PIN (stick)

5. If slacking, the new school members may be caught by this (7-6)
FISHING-TACKLE

(IF SLACKING THE)* (*new)

6. Intoxicating quantity of wild fun in silk pants (7)
SKINFUL

(FUN)* (*wild) in (SILK)* (*pants)

7. Forecast in summer time extremely unclear (5)
AUGUR

AUG (in summer time, August) + U[nclea]R (extremely)

8. Scholar not beginning a profitable activity (6)
EARNER

[l]EARNER (scholar, not beginning)

10. Extra portion of bread is mentioned after cool wine (6,7)
INCOME SUPPORT

(COMES UP (is mentioned) after IN (cool)) + PORT (wine)

15. Dealing with carpenter, fixing depth for counter (9)
REJOINDER

RE (dealing with) + JOINER (carpenter) fixing D (depth)

16. Save page at the front of book (8)
PRESERVE

P (page) at the front of RESERVE (book)

18. Parisian air is able to inspire husband and child (7)
CHANSON

CAN (is able to) inspire H (husband) and SON (child)

Air being song

20. Prison’s opening further kind of cell (6)
PADDED

P[rison] (opening) + ADDED (further)

21. Pompous manner likely to be found in King Edward? (6)
STARCH

Double (cryptic) definition

King Edward being a type of potato

23. Rook or queen, say, capturing that man (5)
CHEAT

CAT (queen, say) capturing HE (that man)

14 comments on “Financial Times 17,362 by BUCCANEER”

  1. Very satisfying to finish this, including the fairly clued cricket reference in 10a.
    I enjoyed Buccaneer’s typically playful style throughout in clues such as 1d, 2, 14, 20 and 27. 26 was my favourite for the misdirection.
    Thanks to Buccaneer and Teacow for explaining 3 and 10d.

  3. Lovely crossword, the RH side of which was friendlier than the left

    Thanks very much to Buccaneer and Teacow

  4. A real treat to start the week.

    My favourites closely match Diane’s, with additional ticks for 1ac BISQUE (any mention of Manuel makes me smile), 11ac EUGENIC and 10dn INCOME SUPPORT.

    Many thanks to Buccaneer and to Teacow

  5. Very enjoyable puzzle which was challenging enough but a bit more gentle than the other puzzles on offer today. I liked the crossing BISQUE and BAGUETTE (though is a question mark sufficient to indicate a non-English word?) and my favourite the amusing and misleading surface for INSWINGER.

    Thanks to Teacow and Buccaneer

  6. I considered the point you raised, Wordplodder, but in the end decided that both BAGUETTE and ‘pain (au chocolat’, for instance) are widely enjoyed enough to grant this admittedly sneaky one!

  7. As usual, it took me a few minutes to get warmed up on Buccaneer’s style. I had to double-check some UK terms (INSWINGER, INCOME SUPPORT), but the clues led straight to the dictionary. (“Is that really a word?”) I read 13A as just a cryptic definition, but I see how it also could work as a DD. I have recently been dipping my toe into some incredibly hard (for me, anyway) crosswords, with the resultant feeling like a dunce when I cannot make any progress, so thanks Buccaneer for producing a puzzle with some teeth that is not a piranha. Thanks also to Teacow for the elegant blog.

  8. Thanks Buccaneer for a pleasant start to the week after a bruising bout with Picaroon on Saturday. I had many favourites including EUGENIC, RIDER, BAGUETTE, FISHING TACKLE, AUGUR, REJOINDER, CHANSON, and PADDED. I did not know the two definitions for STARCH but I guessed the answer from the crossers. Thanks Teacow for the blog.

  9. Enjoyed this a lot. For some reason got very stuck in the SW with PADDED and DRESS CODE holding out stubbornly until the pdm finally emerged from somewhere.

    Delighted and horrified in equal measure to see Spongebob make it into a crossword. Our daughter was fearfully keen on it for a while and the theme tune was horrendous. Will Squidward turn up some day?

    Tx Buccaneer and Teacow.

  10. I just want to point out that “inswinger” is a term also used in football and baseball and is not just a UK term.

    A very nice Monday puzzle. Thanks to all.

  11. What Diane said – very satisfying. And I agree that 10d is particularly wonderful.

    Thanks, Buccaneer & Teacow.

  12. Late to the party, but I have to thank Buccaneer for the superb puzzle, and Teacow for the excellent blog.

    I had way too many ticks to mention them all, but one stood out, for its surface that tells a familiar tale – 9a GROUP. Once, when I offered a friend (a fellow cellist, I’m ashamed to say) a dram from my whisky table, he proceeded to pour himself about four ounces of my 16-year-old Lagavulin. After that, if he was in attendance, my “mature whisk(e)y was put away for the party”.

    I don’t know enough about cricket or football to have heard of an inswinger, but I guessed the answer correctly, thinking that an inswinger might be a wrecking ball. I don’t know where Enlumined is from (Australia perhaps?), but I am a rabid baseball fan from Canada, and I have never heard the word inswinger used in that sport. And I have no idea what it might mean in baseball – if it is a type of pitch that breaks in the opposite direction from a curveball, in North America we call it a screwball.

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