Puzzle from the Weekend FT of November 4, 2023
My first in was 2 (OOMPH) and last was 21 (ECZEMA) after finding a few difficult clues especially in the bottom-left quadrant. My favourites are 1 (NORDIC), 11 (SHANGHAI) and 15 (ACADEMIA).
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | NORDIC |
Like e.g. ABBA and not The Police, making comeback (6)
|
| NOR (and not) + CID (the police) backwards (making comeback) | ||
| 5 | CAST DOWN |
Dejected actors have touring date (4,4)
|
| CAST (actors) + D (date) + OWN (have). I originally misinterpreted this one seeing ‘touring date ‘ as cluing DOWN (as in “we have you down for such and such a date”. However this way works better. Thank you, KVa (see comments). | ||
| 9 | B-MOVIE |
Black outline from Michelangelo? Contend it’s a poor picture (1-5)
|
| B (black) + M[ichelangel]O + VIE (contend) | ||
| 10 | RAILINGS |
Barriers not well installed in empty residences (8)
|
| AILING (not well) in (in) R[esidence]S | ||
| 11 | SHANGHAI |
Model has new, good hair cut to impress (8)
|
| Anagram (model) of HAS + N (new) + G (good) + HAI[r] with the definition using ‘shanghai’ in the sense of press-gang. | ||
| 12 | WINNER |
One getting the gold, wide part of archery target (6)
|
| W (wide) + INNER (part of archery target) | ||
| 13 | HALO |
Henry IV role getting Oscar as sign of great virtue (4)
|
| HAL (Henry IV role, i.e. Prince Hal in Shakespeare’s plays) + O (oscar) | ||
| 15 | ACADEMIA |
Trained American accountant back in erudite environment (8)
|
| AIMED (trained) + A (American) + CA (accountant) all backwards (back) | ||
| 18 | PANTHEON |
Manx cat running in temple (8)
|
| PANTHE[r] (Manx cat, that is tailless) + ON (running) | ||
| 19 | BOND |
Secret agent certain to lose heart (4)
|
| BO[u]ND (certain to lose heart) | ||
| 21 | ECZEMA |
Complaint from English graduate about half-cut Bohemians (6)
|
| E (English) + CZE (half-cut Bohemians. i.e. CZE[chs]) + MA (graduate) | ||
| 23 | MORALIST |
Lecturer’s marks and gold stars (8)
|
| M (marks) + OR (gold) + A-LIST (stars) | ||
| 25 | DISLODGE |
Oust and criticise Freemasons (8)
|
| DIS (criticise) + LODGE (Freemasons) | ||
| 26 | TRIPOD |
After stumble, revolutionary party makes a stand (6)
|
| TRIP (stumble) + DO (party) backwards (revolutionary) | ||
| 27 | STITCHES |
Problems when running outside in sweatshirt and pants (8)
|
| S[weatshir]T + ITCHES (pants). I originally saw this as a double definition and thank KVa for correcting me (see comments). | ||
| 28 | REHASH |
What stops overhasty, unoriginal work (6)
|
| EH (what) in (stops) RASH (overhasty) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | OOMPH |
Welly boot uncovered with speed (5)
|
| [b]OO[t] + MPH (speed) | ||
| 3 | DAVENPORT |
Vendor apt to shift furniture (9)
|
| Anagram (to shift) of VENDOR APT. A dictionary tells me that ‘davenport’ can be used as a name for two different kinds of furniture: A large sofa that is convertible to a bed and a small decorative writing desk. | ||
| 4 | CRECHE |
Play area with red fencing where children are kept (6)
|
| REC (play area) in (fencing) CHE (red) | ||
| 5 | CARDINAL NUMBERS |
Figures feeling less entertained by clergymen (8,7)
|
| NUMBER (feeling less) in (entertained by) CARDINALS (clergymen) | ||
| 6 | SWIMWEAR |
Promise dresses with this person’s skimpy attire (8)
|
| I’M (this person’s) in (dresses) SWEAR (promise) | ||
| 7 | DJINN |
Spirit: the one used in a martini, we hear (5)
|
| Homophone (we hear) of GIN (the one used in a martini) | ||
| 8 | WAGNERIAN |
Opera fan’s endless desire to catch a finale from the Ring, possibly (9)
|
| Anagram (possibly) of A [th]E RING in WAN[t] (endless desire) | ||
| 14 | ANARCHIST |
Martyred saint prodded by mischievous rebel (9)
|
| ARCH (mischievous) in (prodded by) anagram (martyred) of SAINT | ||
| 16 | EMBELLISH |
Setter knocked back kind of Scotch whisky, eating one hot tart up (9)
|
| ME (setter) backwards (knocked back) + I (one) in BELLS (kind of Scotch whisky — “Afore Ye Go”) + H (hot) | ||
| 17 | VERANDAH |
Gallery that’s outside Denver, and a hundred houses (8)
|
| Hidden word (houses) | ||
| 20 | CRATER |
Supply food and drink, including recipe for dip (6)
|
| R (recipe) in (including) CATER (supply food and drink) | ||
| 22 | ECLAT |
Characters in capital celebrating rising success (5)
|
| Reverse (rising) hidden word (characters in) | ||
| 24 | SHOPS |
Retail outlets sell out before 1st of September (5)
|
| SHOP (sell out) + S[eptember] |
Thanks, Buccaneer and Pete Maclean!
STITCHES
There seems to be a wordplay here.
Outside in Sweatshirt=ST
pants=ITCHES (yearns)
Def: Problems when running.
CAST DOWN
(CAST+ OWN (have)) touring D (date)
Thanks Pete and Buccaneer.
Loved this.
NORDIC
SHANGHAI
ECZEMA
ACADEMIA
REHASH
CARDINAL NUMBERS make my list.
Enjoyable puzzle and great blog
Thanks for clearing up PANTHEON and BMOVIE for me, Pete.
Favourites were ECLAT (partly for the word play and partly because I am proud of myself for spotting it) and NORDIC for its clever surface.
I found WAGNERIAN a bit of a stretch and I am not quite sure whether Manx cat is in the same category or a brilliant clue.
Thanks Bucaneer and Pete
And, of course, that’s Buccaneer with 2 cs
Thanks for the blog, a lot of neat clues here, VERANDAH was very well hidden and I liked the use of PANTHE(r).
I have a Devenport desk but the anagram gave an A and Chambers does confirm the alternative DAVERNPORT spelling.
For SHANGHAI I just had the anagram for HAS to avoid any hint of indirectness.
Thanks, Pete – I share your favourites, NORDIC, SHANGHAI and ACADEMIA, with the addition of 21ac ECZEMA, having suffered from it, in varying degrees, throughout my life, 5dn CARDINAL NUMBERS, 14dn ANARCHIST and 16dn EMBELLISH. I could have added more.
Thanks, as ever, to Buccaneer.
Thank you Pete and Buccaneer.
I now know the difference between the two Davenports. The large sofa is American and the writing desk is British. I have lived quite a long life and only just learnt this.
Thanks Buccaneer and Pete
11ac: I agree with Roz that the anagram is only of HAS, but I think that is what Pete meant anyway: compare with the way he has given the parsing at 8dn.
Lovely crossword as you’d expect from Buccaneer. My favourite was 2d
Thanks to Buccaneer and Pete
6D the extra W is for ‘with’
Thanks Buccaneer for well-crafted crossword. I liked PANTHEON, ECZEMA, DISLODGE, TRIPOD, and ANARCHIST. Like Roz @6 I also admired the nicely hidden VERANDAH; I’m beginning to compile my own set of clues and I’m finding that a good “hidden” one is much more difficult to write than charades and anagrams. Thanks Pete for the blog; I failed to parse WAGNERIAN but all else made sense.
I dislike Wagner operas, especially the Ring cycle – if subjected to them my ears need an an extra Rinse cycle afterwards. But I loved 8d WAGNERIAN for its brilliant surface.
Pace Martyn@4, my other favourite was 18a PANTHEON, for the speedy Manx cat.
Thanks Buccaneer and Pete for the fun.
[For anyone who has not heard this before, or would like to be reminded of it:
Monsieur Wagner a de beaux moments, mais de mauvais quart d’heures.
Wagner has lovely moments but awful quarters of an hour.
Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) as quoted in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations 3rd edition.]
Cellomaniac @13, Pelham Barton @14: The humourist Bill Nye once said that “Wagner’s music is much better than it sounds.”
[Tony@15 Excellent! 🙂 ]
Tony@15, absolutely. Incidentally, I believe Bill Nye was recycling a quote from Mark Twain. It was worth repeating.
[Tony@15, Cellomaniac@17: The ODQ 5th edition gives the quote to Bill Nye in the form “I have been told that Wagner’s music is better than it sounds.” The source is given as “Mark Twain Autobiography (1924) vol. 1″. That edition of ODQ also gives the Rossini quote, but only in English.]