Financial Times 17,549 by BOBCAT

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BOBCAT starts the week…

A bit more of a challenge than I was prepared for this morning, some of the parsing being a little tricky. An enjoyable solve nevertheless.

Thanks BOBCAT

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1. Habit singles developed getting settled? (12)
ESTABLISHING

(HABIT SINGLES)* (*developed)

9. Artlessness of Connie dancing around enclosure (9)
INNOCENCE

(CONNIE)* (*dancing) around ENC (enclosure)

10. See red but initially do very little (5)
BLAZE

B[ut] (initially) + LAZE (do very little)

11. Start afresh on work with finale requiring completion (6)
REOPEN

RE (on) + OP (work) with EN[d] (finale, requiring completion)

12. Vital gun destroyed part of roof (8)
VAULTING

(VITAL GUN)* (*destroyed)

13. Address issue besetting Exchange Rate Mechanism (6)
SERMON

SON (issue) besetting ERM (Exchange Rate Mechanism)

15. Poor little corporal is no stingy individual (8)
SCORPION

(CORP (little corporal) IS NO)* (*poor)

18. Support vessels going round barrier (8)
BACKSTOP

BACK (support) + (POTS)< (vessels, <going round)

19. Result of Irons going head-to-head with first couple of actors chasing the lead? (6)
EFFECT

EF FE (irons, chemical symbol, going head to head) + [a]CT[ors] (first couple of, chasing the lead)

21. More than one function backing up rests after energy’s lost (8)
PURPOSES

(UP)< (<backing) + R[e]POSES (rests, after E (energy) lost)

23. International line taken about London not right? It depends (6)
ICICLE

I (international) + CI[r]CLE (line taken about London, underground tube line, not R (right))

Depend meaning to hang down

26. Fair chance of winning. Despite that, not finishing (5)
EVENS

EVEN S[o] (despite that, not finishing)

27. Classic party conference (9)
SYMPOSIUM

Double definition

28. Data about classy sounding brass that’s struck one is a sign of social rank (6,6)
STATUS SYMBOL

STATS (data) about U (classy) + "cymbal" = SYMBOL (brass that's struck, "sounding")

DOWN
1. Foreigners in Michigan cutting cloth from the South (7)
EMIGRES

MI (Michigan) cutting (SERGE)< (cloth, <from the South)

2. Take to the floor in time and almost start moving (5)
TANGO

T (time) + AN[d] (almost) + GO (start moving)

3. None of these graduates has any Dutch (9)
BACHELORS

Double/cryptic definition

A bachelor being a graduate or an unmarried man, and dutch (Duchess of Fife) being rhyming slang for wife

4. Some Asians lacking help in retirement hostels (4)
INNS

IN[dia]NS (some Asians, lacking (AID)< (help, <in retirement))

5. High-Churchman in Paris yesterday on a bender (8)
HIERARCH

HIER (yesterday, in Paris) on ARCH (a bender)

6. Inventor, not a telephone man, giving away all at the end (5)
NOBEL

NO BEL[l] (not a telephone man, giving away [al]L (at the end))

7. I am one term at sea (8)
MARITIME

(I AM I (one) TERM)* (*at sea)

8. Old king’s daughter throttling a president (6)
REAGAN

REGAN (old king's daughter, King Lear) throttling A

14. Instrument of justice (8)
RECORDER

Double/Cryptic definition

A recorder being an instrument and a judge

16. Politician’s behind naked pupil providing discipline in dining hall (9)
REFECTORY

TORY (politician) behind [p]REFEC[t] (pupil providing discipline, naked)

17. One group or another repressing resistance in part of UK (8)
SOMERSET

SOME SET (one group or another) repressing R (resistance)

18. Withdraw short order to look for Lamb’s mistress (2-4)
BO-PEEP

(OB[e])< (order, short, <withdraw) + PEEP (look)

20. Stepmother malingering to keep warm (7)
THERMAL

[stepmo]THER MAL[ingering] (to keep)

22. Books containing most directions for assault (5)
ONSET

OT (books, Old Testament) containing NSE (most directions, North, South, East)

24. Several Roman figures start to back ascent (5)
CLIMB

C L I M (several Roman figures, 100, 50, 1 and 1000) + B[ack] (start to)

25. Time of year unknown uncle from the States turns up? (4)
XMAS

X (unknown) + (SAM)< (uncle from the States, <turns up)

12 comments on “Financial Times 17,549 by BOBCAT”

  1. There was a time when I took ages to solve a Bobcat puzzle but found this a little easier, with many inventive and fair clues. To link ICICLE and depends was a bit of a stretch.
    Thank you Bobcat and Teacow for the illuminating blog.

  2. Thanks, Bobcat and Teacow!
    Excellent puzzle and a great blog!

    Top faves: EFFECT, NOBEL, MARITIME and BO-PEEP.

    NOBEL: An extended def?
    STATUS SYMBOL: Though the underlined part of the clue (in the blog) works well as the def, in order to make use of all/almost all words, should the def include the words ‘one is a’?

  3. Like SM, I solved this fairly quickly but haven’t had so many half-parsed answers for quite a while so I needed this blog!
    I enjoyed the puzzle even so, particularly that sneaky ‘depends’ (23a) and the ‘stingy individual’ (15a), along with BO-PEEP.
    Thanks to Bobcat and Teacow for filling in numerous gaps.

  6. Like SM, I found this easier than usual for a Bobcat – but still by no means easy, very tricksy in places. All good fun though. Thanks, Bobcat and Teacow.

  7. I parsed 19a as EF FE, with first C(ouple of actors) chasing T(he) lead. As always, many thanks for an enjoyable crossword and blog.

  8. As Diane said #3. And several uses for known words that are new to me.

    Thanks to Teacow for filling in the gaps and thanks Bobcat for the puzzle

  9. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/my-old-dutch.html

    “The expression is often cited as an example of Cockney rhyming slang. It is certainly a slang term that originated in London, but it isn’t rhyming slang, as Dutch, being short for duchess, is an abbreviation rather than a rhyme. Some commentators have suggested that the expression is true CRS and that ‘Dutch’ is short for ‘Duchess of Fife’ and hence a rhyme for ‘wife’. This assertion isn’t supported by the facts. “

  10. 18d – BO-PEEP – “Lamb’s mistress” meant to mislead us into thinking of Charles ‘Elia’ Lamb, usually the only essayist setters can think of, whose https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essays_of_Elia (1823) is celebrating its bicentenary. About time he retired, like Paddington.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Maria_Kelly – a grand !rish name – was the closest Lamb came to having a “mistress”: ‘
    Kelly received random offers of marriage from George Barnett who was infatuated with her … bought a ticket to see her appear in Modern Antiques, or the Merry Mourners at Covent Garden on 16 February 1816, where he fired a pistol. Kelly was unhurt but the bullet fell into the lap of ,,, Mary Lamb. …Mary’s brother, Charles … who had been there on the night of the shooting, later wrote a sonnet about Kelly and proposed marriage… She refused him too.’

  12. Thanks Bobcat. There was so much I guessed and couldn’t parse that I can’t say I enjoyed this. I did like NOBEL and REAGAN. Thanks Teacow for the unenviable task of explaining every clue.

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