Aardvark is the setter of today’s FT puzzle.
Aardvark likes a pangram, and this puzzle doesn’t disappoint. There were some excellent clues such as those for PHEW, JURY and MEDIA STUDIES.
I’m not sure of my parsing of the ROBIN part of ROUND ROBIN (and I was right not to be sure, thanks Cineraria and KVa for the correct parsing)
A little editing could have made this puzzle even better though. I’ve never seen CHICKENPOX as two words, and it’s a shame that TOUR appears in the ELEVENTH HOUR solution when a synonym could have been used.
Thanks Aardvark.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | JUDGMENTAL |
Jailbird’s back in prison, crazy and condemnatory (10)
|
| (jailbir)D [‘s back] in JUG (“prison”) + MENTAL (“crazy”) | ||
| 6 | IRAQ |
State level of intelligence when describing artist (4)
|
| IQ (intelligence quotient, so “level of intelligence”) when describing RA (member of the Royal Academy, so “artist”) | ||
| 9 | ROUND ROBIN |
Beat Nick in tournament (5,5)
|
| ROUND (“beat”, as in patrol) + ROB (“nick”) + IN
I originally had another parsing for this, but Cineraria and KVa came to the rescue. |
||
| 10 | OSSA |
Regular findings of moose and stag bones (4)
|
| [regular findings of] (m)O(o)S(e) S(t)A(g) | ||
| 12 | EASY ON THE EAR |
To make melodious, use less of a particular organ (4,2,3,3)
|
| (go) EASY ON THE EAR (“use less of a particular organ”) | ||
| 15 | HEARTACHE |
It’s a pain to pick up body hair (9)
|
| HEAR (“to pick up) + (mous)TACHE (“body hair”)
Technically a tache would be facial hair, but I suppose you could argue that your face is part of your body in general. |
||
| 17 | EAT UP |
Each member of flock to finish meal? (3,2)
|
| Ea. (each) + TUP (ram, so “member of flock”) | ||
| 18 | CREED |
Made a fuss without getting at religious doctrine (5)
|
| CRE(at)ED (“made a fuss”) without getting AT | ||
| 19 | IN THE NUDE |
Exposed spouse-to-be in United ground (2,3,4)
|
| HEN (“spouse-to-be”) in *(united) [anag:ground] | ||
| 20 | ELEVENTH-HOUR |
Last-minute, disheartening hitch interrupts tour by cricket team (8-4)
|
| [disheartening] H(itc)H interrupts TOUR by ELEVEN (“cricket team”) | ||
| 24 | PHEW |
That’s a relief map, at right-hand edge, showing fell (4)
|
| [right-hand edge] of (ma)P + HEW (“fell”) | ||
| 25 | REMITTANCE |
Perhaps watch over function by church seeing what’s paid (10)
|
| <=TIMER (“perhaps watch”, over) + TAN (tangent, a mathematical “function”) + CE (“Church” of England) | ||
| 26 | X-RAY |
Photograph crossbeam when it’s separated? (1-3)
|
| X (“cross”) + RAY (“beam”) | ||
| 27 | AUSTERLITZ |
Unknown by grave mostly cast light on Napoleonic battle (10)
|
| Z (unknown, in mathematics) by AUSTER(e) (“grave”, mostly) + LIT (“cast light on”) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | JURY |
Court members, when Wimbledon final often held, swapping sides (4)
|
| JU(l>R)Y (“when Wimbledon final often held” (i.e. July), swapping sides (i.e. L (left) becomes R (right)) | ||
| 2 | DRUM |
One’s banged part of femur driving northwards (4)
|
| Hidden backwards in [part of…northwards] “feMUR Driving” | ||
| 3 | MEDIA STUDIES |
Having aimed to diversify, Stuart passes college course? (5,7)
|
| *(aimed) [anag:to diversify] + STU (Stuart) + DIES (“passes”) | ||
| 4 | NOOKY |
How’s your father? Not bad, getting through that upset (5)
|
| OK (“not bad”) getting through <=YON (“that”, upset) | ||
| 5 | ALIGNMENT |
Alliance outwardly Green when getting in fuel (9)
|
| [outwardly] G(ree)N when getting in ALIMENT (“fuel”) | ||
| 7 | RESPECTFUL |
Courteous still around training college (10)
|
| RESTFUL (“still”) around PE (physical exercise, so “training”) + C (college) | ||
| 8 | QUADRUPLET |
Bike hired to trail right up a one in four (10)
|
| QUAD(-bike) + (LET (“bored”) to trail R (right) + UP) | ||
| 11 | CHEESECUTTER |
Possibly Danish blue vessel that’s used in kitchen? (12)
|
| CHEESE (“possibly Danish blue”) + CUTTER (“vessel”) | ||
| 13 | CHICKEN POX |
One might come down with this yellow flower, a sign of affection (7,3)
|
| CHICKEN (“yellow”, as in cowardly) + PO (river, so “flower”) + X (kiss, so “sign of affection”)
I’ve never seen chickenpox written as two words, and Chambers, Collins and OED all have it as one word. |
||
| 14 | LAKE GENEVA |
Large body of water developing leakage blocked by Nevil (4,6)
|
| *(leakage) [anag:developing] blocked by NEV (Nevil) | ||
| 16 | COINTREAU |
Ice ran out for the liqueur (9)
|
| *(ice ran out) [anag:out] | ||
| 21 | HEIST |
Crime is discovered in the building (5)
|
| IS discovered in *(the) [anag:building] | ||
| 22 | ANTI |
Against hand lotion, in essence, repeatedly (4)
|
| (h)AN(d) (lo)TI(on) in essence, repeatedly | ||
| 23 | BENZ |
Car entrepreneur to live somewhere Antipodean (4)
|
| BE (“to live”) + NZ (New Zealand, so “somewhere Antipodean”)
Carl Benz was an automotive pioneer whose Patent-Motorwagen is widely considered the first internal combustion engine in a self-propelled car (1886) |
ROB (nick) + IN
Thanks, Aardvark and loonapick!
Liked HEARTACHE, PHEW, JURY and NOOKY.
ROUND ROBIN
Nick+Rob
In=In
OSSA
The odd letters of ‘moose’ and the even letters of ‘stag’??!!
Something different…
Sorry, Cineraria. We crossed.
I did not quite understand how “created” equates to “made a fuss.” Wouldn’t simply “made” make more sense? I thought some construction using “cried” was indicated, but I do not see how that could work. Maybe a slip in editing?
Thanks, both – I felt my parsing was a bit contrived…
KVa @2 – For OSSA, I just ignored the AND so it just became every second letter of mOoSeStAg.
Cineraria @4
One definition of CREATE is to kick up a fuss.
dictionary.cambridge.com says this:
Create (v)
to show that you are angry:
If she sees you with an ice cream she’ll only start creating.
loonapick@5
Thanks. That makes sense.
loonapick@6
Sorry, we crossed.
I’m not sure whether I’m comfortable with “out” doing double duty in 16d (anagrind and anagrist). Don’t see why “created” is “made a fuss”. And yet another word for intercourse that I didn’t know.
They were my quibbles; otherwise I’m a happy camper. Thanks Aardvark & Loonapick.
GDU@9
loonapick@6 has explained why ‘create=make a fuss’.
COINTREAU
I agree with you. Maybe there is no anagrind and it is simply ‘ice ran out’ (standing for/representing) for ‘COINTREAU’!
Is COINTREAU an &lit? Or is ‘out’ doing double duty? No-one has suggested the latter but I am not seeing the former.
Sorry GDU and KVa. We coincided. I am not sure what you mean, KVa, by it is simply ‘ice ran out’ (standing for/representing) for ‘COINTREAU’!
Postmark@12
I was suspecting that there was no explicit anagrind. Dunno if I am right in assuming this.
Wanted to read/interpret the clue thus:
‘Ice ran out’ to stand for ‘liqueur’.
Forgive my bad English!
I actually didn’t notice that OUT is doing double duty at COINTREAU – now it’s been pointed out, I would have to consider that the clue is wrong, and needs an anagrind – “crushed ice ran out”?
Loonapick @14. That would be a much better clue imo.
For some weird reason, you have written “bored” instead of “hired” in 8d.
I didn’t notice the apparent lack of an anagram indicator for COINTREAU either; ‘for’ as an indicator would be, let’s say, very original. Didn’t know the ‘made a fuss’ sense of CREATED.
Enjoyable and a bit gentler than Aardvark’s last couple of offerings. The surface for JUDGMENTAL was my favourite.
Thanks to Aardvark and loonapick
Hovis@15 – combination of typo and autocorrect, I suspect – probably typed “bired” and autocorrect thought I meant bored rather than hired.
Thanks for the blog, there does seem to be a word missing in the clue for COINTREAU and crushed would solve things very neatly.
CREATED is often used in this sense when children want something or are trying to get their own way.
Generally a good set of clues, I liked the use of beat for ROUND ROBIN.
Thanks for the feedback about “created.” That may be a UK usage? I have never encountered it (in the US). In that case, the clue makes total sense.
Thanks Aardvark. My picks were MEDIA STUDIES, HEIST, and BENZ. I failed to get NOOKY. Thanks loonapick for the blog.
Kind of late to the party, but did anyone notice that the rarest letters were all in the corners??