Puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 23, 2023
I breezed through this one, as I often do with a Leonidas. My favourite clue here is 18 (BEDPOSTS) and I also applaud 21 (ATHENS) and 24 (SOUTH-EAST).
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | GONDOLA |
Duke aboard rickety lagoon craft (7)
|
| D (duke) in (aboard) anagram (rickety) of LAGOON | ||
| 5 | CABARET |
Sailor replaces litre in Wine Club (7)
|
| CLARET (wine) with AB (sailor) replacing the ‘L’ (litre) | ||
| 9 | MASON |
Relatives contacting society member (5)
|
| MA SON (relatives contacting) | ||
| 10 | APPENDAGE |
Extra bit of time after program finale (9)
|
| APP (program) + END (finale) + AGE (time) | ||
| 11 | NEFARIOUS |
Evil UFO is near Barking (9)
|
| Anagram (barking) of UFO IS NEAR | ||
| 12 | ISSUE |
Publication retrospectively links these US sites (5)
|
| Reverse (retrospectively) hidden (links) word | ||
| 13 | RUDD |
Fish and game by empty dockyard (4)
|
| RU (game, i.e. Rugby Union) + D[ockyar]D | ||
| 15 | DISSOLVE |
Break up pitted fruit on slate (8)
|
| DISS (slate) + OL[i]VE (pitten fruit) | ||
| 18 | BEDPOSTS |
Teacher puts online where Congress may be recorded? (8)
|
| BED (teacher, i.e. B.Ed) + POSTS (puts online) with a cryptic definition | ||
| 19 | TENT |
Shelter explosive packed with energy (4)
|
| E (energy) in (packed with) TNT (explosive) | ||
| 22 | PANEL |
Two exchanging positions in disciplinary board (5)
|
| PENAL (disciplinary) with the ‘A’ and ‘E’ exchanging positions
|
||
| 24 | SOUTH-EAST |
Warped statues hot, almost 135 degrees (5-4)
|
| Anagram (warped) of STATUES HO[t] | ||
| 26 | IMPATIENT |
Irritable setter’s presented with surgeon’s charge (9)
|
| I’M (setter’s) + PATIENT (surgeon’s charge) | ||
| 27 | TRIPE |
Note about rent is nonsense (5)
|
| RIP (rent) in (about) TE (note) | ||
| 28 | FLYTRAP |
Quickly move component spinning web? (7)
|
| FLY (quickly move) + PART (component) backwards (spinning) | ||
| 29 | HAPLESS |
Unfortunate bloke represented as ‘C’ perhaps (7)
|
| CHAP (bloke) that is HAPLESS would be ‘C’ | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | GEMINI |
Small model supporting half of huge sign (6)
|
| [hu]GE + MINI (small model) | ||
| 2 | NOSE-FLUTE |
It’s blown by what’s blown (4-5)
|
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 3 | OWNER |
One in possession of wand errs periodically (5)
|
| O[f] W[a]N[d]E[r]R[s] | ||
| 4 | ANACONDAS |
Upended blue tin ‘A’ holding no reptiles (9)
|
| NO (no) in (holding) SAD (blue) + CAN (tin) + A (‘A’) all backwards (upended) | ||
| 5 | CAPES |
Runs out of adventures in coastal areas (5)
|
| CAPE[r]S (runs out of adventures) | ||
| 6 | BANDICOOT |
Marsupial from group overlooking island bird (9)
|
| BAND (group) + I (island) + COOT (bird) | ||
| 7 | REARS |
Brings up first couple having left debts (5)
|
| [ar]REARS (first couple having left debts) | ||
| 8 | TIERED |
Draw the German somersaulting in rows (6)
|
| TIE (draw) + DER (the German) backwards (somersaulting) | ||
| 14 | DEPILATOR |
Old pirate mixed product that might thin beard (9)
|
| Anagram (mixed) of OLD PIRATE | ||
| 16 | SASQUATCH |
Hairy brute edges to sequoia with short child (9)
|
| S[equoi]A + SQUAT (short) + CH (child) | ||
| 17 | VANDALISE |
Damage vessel inscribed by northern artist (9)
|
| N (northern) + DALI (artist) together in (inscribed by) VASE (vessel) | ||
| 20 | SPLIFF |
Joint oddly supple whenever injected by female (6)
|
| S[u]P[p]L[e] + IF (whenever) + F (female) | ||
| 21 | ATHENS |
Layers underpinning boundaries of ancient city (6)
|
| A[ncien]T + HENS (layers) | ||
| 23 | NIPPY |
Cold potentially difficult to catch (5)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 24 | STEEP |
Rather inclined to take third part off Hollywood actress (5)
|
| ST[r]EEP (take third part off Hollywood actress) | ||
| 25 | HET UP |
Male sheep mounted by the male gets angry (3,2)
|
| HE (the male) + TUP (male sheep) |
Yes, I liked ATHENS and SOUTH EAST also. I also like ANACONDAS, MASON and ISSUE (a couple of clever reversals in there) and was rather partial to the cryptic NOSE FLUTE (unusual as many cryptic clues seem to me to be trying to hard).
HET UP is a new term to me, as is SPLIFF. And I see what the setter is thinking, but I am having difficulty agreeing that whatever is the same as if.
I did not quite fly though it the way our esteemed blogger did, but I did make steady progress. Now I have a few Leonidas puzzles under the belt, I am starting to get on the same wavelength.
Thanks for an enjoyable puzzle, Leonidas, and thanks for a reliably great explanation Pete.
Thanks Leonidas. I liked this quite a bit with my top picks being CABARET, APPENDAGE, REARS, VANDALISE, ATHENS, and HET UP. I could not begin to parse DISSOLVE (DISS = slate?) so thank Pete for the blog. [Martyn @1: If you enjoy Leonidas check out his crosswords in the Indy where he sets under the name Wire.]
Tony Santucci@2
slate=DISS in the sense of ‘to criticize’, I think.
My top faves: DISSOLVE and HET UP.
Thanks, Leonidas and Pete.
KVa @2: I knew DISS could mean to criticize but I did not know that “slate” could mean to criticize. Thanks.
I liked the exhibitionist teacher at 18d BEDPOSTS and the G&S reference at 1a with the Duke of Plaza-Toro in his GONDOLA.
Thanks Leonidas for the fun, and Pete for the breezy blog.
Thanks for the blog, for NEFARIOUS I think the definition is evil , Barking gives the anagram.
I really liked this , lots of clever wordplay , many letter removals. HAPLESS was a neat reverse idea.
Thanks Leonidas and Pete.
11ac (NEFARIOUS) I took the same way as Roz@6.
20dn (SPLIFF) to equate “whenever” with “if”: I need to take shelter whenever/if it is raining. I typed that example before checking Chambers 2014, which gives “whenever” among the definitions of if.
Another excellent puzzle from Leonidas.
I had the same favourites as Pete, plus 18ac BEDPOSTS, 17dn VANDALISE and 24dn STEEP.
Thanks to Leonidas for the enjoyment and Pete for the blog.
Thanks to Pete again for the blog and to everyone for the comments. Has anyone actually ever notched a bedpost?
Good question, does anyone actually have bedposts these days ?
I post before bed.
Sorry, but we thought BEDPOSTS (our LOI) was a bit weak – it certainly didn’t hit the spot with us. Otherwise an enjoyable solve despite some headscratching and d’oh moments.
Thanks, though, Leonidas and Pete.
20d SPLIFF – S[u]P[p]L[e] + I(F)F “whenever injected by female”
Yes, Allan-c @13. I felt BEDPOSTS was a bit weak too, until I read Leonidas’s post @10. I had never heard of notching a bedpost and if it means I what I imagine, I have changed my view of the clue.