Weekend puzzle from the FT of March 18, 2023
One more new setter comes to our space, Steerpike. I needed some help for 13 (AGAPANTHUS) but otherwise solved the puzzle fairly easily. My favourite clues are 11 (ANT HILL) and 20 (BEELINE).
| ACROSS | ||
| 1/9 | CLEVER CLOGS |
Chopper, having cut a hundred bits of wood, produces bright spark (6,5)
|
| CLE[a]VER (chopper having cut a) + C (hundred) + LOGS (bits of wood) | ||
| 4 | ASTONISH |
Small weight is placed on a hotel floor (8)
|
| A (a) + S (small) + TON (weight) + IS (is) + H (hotel) | ||
| 10 | TRIVIAL |
Petty model meets nemesis touring Italy (7)
|
| T (model) + I (Italy) in RIVAL (nemesis) | ||
| 11 | ANT HILL |
Domed colonial dwelling? (3,4)
|
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 12 | PROM |
Ace musician’s opening concert (4)
|
| PRO (ace) + M[usician] | ||
| 13 | AGAPANTHUS |
Perennial articles about space by extremely thorough American (10)
|
| A (article) + GAP (space) + AN (article) + T[horoug]H + US (American) | ||
| 15 | LOITER |
Idle type losing heart in endless French valley (6)
|
| T[yp]E in (in) LOIR[e] (endless French valley) | ||
| 16 | ISOLATE |
Cordon off abandoned site outside old city (7)
|
| O (old) + LA (city) together in anagram (abandoned) of SITE | ||
| 20 | BEELINE |
Direct approach of priest filling well in Rome (7)
|
| ELI (priest) in (filling) BENE (well in Rome, that is in Italian) | ||
| 21 | SMARMY |
Sychophantic son married cracking virgin (6)
|
| S (son) + M (married) in (cracking) MARY (virgin) | ||
| 24 | GROUNDWORK |
Preparation of crushed roots initially placed in pan (10)
|
| GROUND (crushed) + R[oots] in (placed in) WOK (pan) | ||
| 26 | USED |
Well-worn uniform starts to show everyday damage (4)
|
| U[niform] + S[how] E[veryday] D[amage] | ||
| 28 | ICE OVER |
Independent boss and retired clergyman freeze (3,4)
|
| I (independent) + CEO (boss) + REV (clergyman) backwards (retired) | ||
| 29 | PORTICO |
Left detailed religious portrait in covered walkway (7)
|
| PORT (left) + ICO[n] (detailed religious portrait) | ||
| 30 | HUNDREDS |
Barbarian ultimately overwhelmed by communists’ large numbers (8)
|
| HUN (barbarian) + [overwhelme]D + REDS (communists) | ||
| 31 | BUNGLE |
Bribe Liberal with English fudge (6)
|
| BUNG (bribe) + L (Liberal) + E (English) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CATAPULT |
Religious group aquiring a drum for launch (8)
|
| A (a) + TAP (drum) together in (acquiring) CULT (religious group) | ||
| 2 | EPITOMISE |
Symbolize sex in strange poem that is captivating society (9)
|
| IT (sex) in (in) anagram (strange) of POEM + S (society) in (captivating) IE (that is) | ||
| 3 | EPIC |
Heroic earl woke around one (4)
|
| E (earl) + I (one) in (around) PC (woke) | ||
| 5 | SCAMPISH |
Seafood gets Mum in mischevious mood (8)
|
| SCAMPI (seafood) + SH (mum) | ||
| 6 | OUT ON A LIMB |
Flailing boot in maul is in precarious position? (3,2,1,4)
|
| Anagram (flailing) of BOOT IN MAUL | ||
| 7 | IRISH |
Parts of speech Sir Ian penned about race (5)
|
| Reversed (about) hidden word (parts of) | ||
| 8 | HALEST |
Supremely healthy husband drinks tea, say (6)
|
| H (husband) + ALES (drinks) + T (tea, say) | ||
| 9 |
See 1 Across
|
|
| 14 | WELL I NEVER |
Two cardinals revel in drifting across lake? That’s surprising! (4,1,5)
|
| WE (two cardinals – directions that is) + L (lake) in (across) anagram (drifting) of REVEL IN | ||
| 17 | THRASHING |
Refuse to defend hospital in middle of categoric defeat (9)
|
| H (hospital) in (to defend) TRASH (refuse) + IN + [cate]G[oric] | ||
| 18 | ANSWERED |
Acknowledged some plans were divulged (8)
|
| Hidden word (some) | ||
| 19 | SYNDROME |
Penniless agent has remarkably modern complaint (8)
|
| S[p]Y (penniless agent) + anagram (remarkably) of MODERN | ||
| 22 | OGRISH |
Beastly turn about Sunak being short (6)
|
| GO (turn) backwards (about) + RISH[i] (Sunak being short) | ||
| 23 | TRIPE |
Slip drug in food (5)
|
| TRIP (slip) + E (drug, i.e. ecstacy) | ||
| 25 | OCEAN |
Louche tar oddly avoided Norway’s waters (5)
|
| [l]O[u]C[e]A + N (Norway) | ||
| 27 | URDU |
Language from ancient city died out, essentially (4)
|
| UR (ancient city) + D (died) + [o]U[t] |
It done the crossword but reading Peake again
Thanks Pete
Not really my cup of tea, I am afraid. Nothing wrong with the clues, just too many answers constructed from word fragments for my liking (I am sure there is a technical work for it….)
I did not find it the easy solve you did, Pete, but I did make steady progress. Interestingly, AGAPANTHUS came to me at once – funny how everyone’s brains work differently. I completely mucked up TRIPE – wrote in CREPE instead (CREEP with E slipping) but could not convince myself it was correct. I did not think of TRIP = slip, and I am still not sure they are equivalent, but we are in crossword land.
I admired the reverse hidden clue for IRISH, but as most clues seemed similar, I am hard pressed to name other favourites this week.
Thanks Steerpike for the puzzle, and thanks Pete for the great blog.
And thanks to Tim@1 for the penetrating observation.
Thanks Steerpike. I thoroughly enjoyed this with AGAPANTHUS, BEELINE, PORTICO, HUNDREDS, EPITOMISE, and URDU being my top picks. Thanks Pete for the blog.
Thanks for the blog, I really liked this, very neat constructions for many answers. Tony has a good list , I will add ANT HILL , I am not usually keen on cryptic definitons but I liked “colonial” and briefly I hoped we could have a Wacky Races theme.
Martyn @2 I just thought of TRIP/SLIP on the stairs or the ice.
I liked this too, but am struggling to rsmember much about it. I did know AGAPANTHUS, we even had Rainbows planting them on Monday to grow bee-friendly plants, but I see the suggestion of a plant as a solution to a clue and tend to leave it until I have some crossers as there are so many options.
Like Roz @4, ANT HILL amused me.
Thank you to Steerpike and Pete Maclean.
Put me in the camp that’s in favour of this. Liked it a lot. Nice constructions.
I was left with four still missing in the top right – thanks, Pete, for the explanations. I should have known, but overlooked to de-tail, and cardinal referring to points of the compass. I was interested to see ‘woke’ as referencing PC earlier this week in another puzzle. This is such a dynamic world.
Thanks Roz @5. To me, slipping on the stairs and tripping on the stairs are different (albeit with the same result).
Thanks Pete & Steerpike
Is three spelling mistakes a record in an FT crossword? (sychophantic, mischevious and IMO symbolize)
Thank you for pointing out these errors.
I am shocked and ashamed that I missed “mischevious”. I once knew a person who pronounced the word as if it were spelled this way and it grated on me. “Sychopantic” now clearly looks wrong to me but I am not so surprised that I missed it. Collins says that symbolize is okay.