Financial Times 17,577 by JASON

by

A fun crossword this Friday from Jason. Thanks to the setter for the treat.

FF: 8 DD: 8

I had to get help to solve 9a having never come across the fruit before. I had put in 'raisin' as the answer but couldn't find a satisfactory parse for it.

ACROSS
1 ASSASSIN
Couple of clots in Killer (8)

ASS ( clot ) ASS ( clot ) IN
6 THESIS
English student’s first to enter this bit of writing (6)

[ E ( english ) S ( Student, first letter ) ] in THIS
9 DAMSON
Checks concerning fruit (6)

DAMS ( checks ) ON ( concerning )
10 WATER ICE
Wife scoffed staple food frozen dessert (5,3)

W ( wife ) ATE ( scoffed ) RICE ( staple food )
11 ITEM
One thing or a couple (4)

double def
12 IMPRESARIO
In a strange way I’m Sir Opera? (10)

[ I'M SIR OPERA ]*
14 DREDGE UP
Doctor advantage with well-informed recall from way back? (6,2)

DR ( doctor ) EDGE ( advantage ) UP ( well-informed )
16 TRIO
Tom, Dick, and Harry say finally get near carnival city? (4)

T ( geT, final letter ) RIO ( carnival city )
18 IDEA
Plan I put before sweetie, right to be dropped (4)

I DEAr ( sweetie, without R – right )
19 ROAD RAGE
Having been scuppered, dear Argo is driving curse (4,4)

[ DEAR ARGO ]*
21 SUPERSTORE
Excellent stock here (10)

SUPER ( excellent ) STORE ( stock )
22 AMEN
For some, it’s the last word in wordgame novelties? (4)

hidden in "..wordgAME Novelties"
24 FLAMBEAU
Trick dandy thief of Father Brown’s candlestick (8)

double def; FLAM ( trick ) BEAU ( dandy ); i found out the former refers to hercule flambeau, character created by g.k.chesteron
26 ABIDED
A tender editor stayed (6)

A BID ( tender) ED ( editor )
27 STATUS
Standing monuments showing no energy (6)

STATUeS ( monuments, without E – energy )
28 NOMINATE
Propose minimum answer in observation (8)

[ MIN ( minimum ) A ( answer ) ] in NOTE ( observation )
DOWN
2 SHAFT
Handle swindle and defeat by deceit (5)

triple def
3 ASSUMED NAME
Mischievous man-made uses for sock puppet? (7,4)

[ MAN-MADE USES ]*
4 SENTINEL
Watch broadcast pressing new line (8)

SENT ( broadcast ) [ LINE ]*
5 NEWSPAPER COLUMN
Feature of Daily Post? (9,6)

&lit; NEWSPAPER ( daily ) COLUMN ( post ) – excellent clue i thought
6 TITFER
Hat’s a laugh, fine for the last time (6)

TITtER ( laugh, with F – fine replacing the last T – time )
7 EAR
Casting aspiration aside, try lug (3)

hEAR ( try, without aspiration )
8 INCLINING
Popular grip involves playing with bias (9)

IN ( popular ) [ CLING ( grip ) containing IN ( playing ) ]
13 ALTERCATION
Vary fixed action in scrap (11)

ALTER ( vary ) [ ACTION ]*
15 RED MULLET
Swimmer’s ruddy ridiculous barnet? (3,6)

RED ( ruddy ) MULLET ( ridiculous barnet )
17 FACEPALM
Clock appropriate embarrassed gesture? (8)

FACE ( clock ) PALM ( appropriate )
20 ASSESS
Estimate bums on seats at first (6)

ASSES ( bums ) S ( Seats, first letter )
23 EVENT
Do tons, just above (5)

EVEN ( just ) T ( tons )
25 MAT
Coaster’s tall upright succeeded in breaking free (3)

MAsT ( tall upright, in the context of a boat/ship, without S – succeeded )

32 comments on “Financial Times 17,577 by JASON”

  1. Very much liked 16AC and 6D. Struggled with 5D until it was obvious and couldn’t understand why i hadn’t seen it immediately, especially after 35 years in newspapers ?

  2. Quite a straightforward but enjoyable puzzle.
    I could not see the definition for IMPRESARIO nor how ASSUMED name related to sock pocket.
    Damsons are fairly common in the U.K. best in jam as they are small without much flesh on them.

    Thanks to Jason and Turbolegs .

  3. Thanks Jason and Turbolegs

    12ac: This should I think be marked “& lit”. Note the question mark at the end, being “Sir Opera” is only one possible role for an impresario.

    3dn; I did not know this meaning for sock puppet either, but Chambers 2016 gives us “(on an Internet forum) a fictional persona created to post approving remarks (inf)”. Collins 2023 gives a similar definition.

    15dn: Chambers 2016 gives us “mullet³ n a hairstyle that is short at the front, long at the back, and ridiculous all round.” Collins 2023, ODE 2010 and SOED 2007 all omit the third part of the definition.

  4. Yes, SM, DAMSON jam and cheese are both delicious.
    Liked FLAMBEAU, FACEPALM and ALTERCATION.
    More gremlins today in the newspaper version with a stray ‘6’ in the clue for 10A. I could see no connection between WATER ICE and 6A or 6D so just ignored it.
    Nor did I see how ASSUMED NAME was ‘sock puppets’ but I dare say someone will illuminate those of us in the dark.
    Thanks to Jason for the entertainment and Turbolegs for the blog.

  5. I have just found out that” The Impresario” is the name of an opera by Mozart, which I have never heard of. The German version is Der Schauspieldirektor. I doubt it is much performed

  6. Thanks, Pelham, for explaining ‘sock puppet’ [always makes me think of Lamb Chop and Shari Lewis]. We must have crossed.
    As for Collins omitting the 3rd definition in its 2023 edition, it’s probably due to the revival of the mullet this year albeit with new characteristics, whether it is less ridiculous, I wouldn’t like to say.

  7. In response to Diane@4 concerning the “stray ‘6’ in the clue for 10A” that appears in the newspaper version and the downloadable .pdf version, I believe that it is an incorrect printing/transposition of the dash (-) that appears correctly in the FT crossword app version. (Ah, aren’t computers wonderful!)

    I too was misdirected by it, but I recall now that it has happened occasionally in the past as well.

    An excellent puzzle and blog, with thanks to Jason and Turbolegs.

    My last two-in were 6D and 17D, two new words for me but ones for which the parsing made it possible to “guess”, then verify.

  8. I was not enthusiastic about this one. Some nice clues, but too many required specialist knowledge or new interpretations of existing words.

    I will go out on a limb here: isn’t 12a missing the ‘straight’ piece of the clue?

    Thanks Turbolegs and Jason

  9. Diane@6: Thank you for the reminder of Lamb Chop and Shari Lewis. I wonder how long ago it was that I last thought of them.

    Further to Larry@7 re 10ac, I too remember similar issues with the typesetting in the past and I agree that the intended character in the clue is a dash – note that there are no dashes in any of the other clues. I think the character printed is actually a lower case o with an acute accent, and my guess is that there is a conflict between codes for “extended” character sets used by different parts of the computer software.

  10. Excellent analysis, Pelham Barton@9. I looked at the character more closely on-screen and you are correct. Since I print in draft mode to save ink, it’s not as apparent as it is on-screen and appeared to be a ‘6’ when I printed the puzzle Thank you.

  11. I share Pelham Barton’s view that IMPRESARIO is a (rather sweet) &lit (hence the lack of ‘straight def’ Martyn @8. The clue is the def as well as giving us the wordplay). Sir Opera would be a delightful title. Thanks to the same commenter for the reminder of that glorious definition for MULLET (forever idealised, in my mind, by the gentleman who egged – and was then thumped by – John Prescott). Sock puppet certainly threw me but I found myself wondering if it might mean straw man or suchlike – which then led me to Chambers and the clarification. I’ve never heard it applied in the sense it is here.

    Favourites for me included, in addition to IMPRESARIO, THESIS, NOMINATE, NEWSPAPER COLUMN, ALTERCATION and ASSESS (Jason had to clue a fair few ASSes today)

    Thanks Jason and Turbolegs

  13. Thanks for the blog, good set of clues, many of them pleasingly concise , TITFER is very precise with the last time. DAMSONs are very tasty but very small as SM@2 says plus the stone is very large .

  14. I completely agree with Martyn @8.

    This was not my cup of tea at all.

    Gave up with about 5 to go, including Sentinel (even though I had all the crossers) and Facepalm (ditto).

    Far too many Hmmms and ??? on my paper version. And I had to cheat to find Flambeau of whom I have never heard. It’s one thing to have some general knowledge item if the parsing is easy, but I’ve never heard of the word Flam either. It’s just frustrating and a waste of our precious time on this planet, trying to solve impenetrable clues like that.

    Anyway, end of grumble.

    But what a letdown after yesterday’s delight.

  15. I found most of this pretty straightforward, with ASSASSIN and the long central clues flying in. Although I was very close to kicking myself, having only changed a sloppy TITHER to TITFER (which I have heard of, and more importantly works with the wordplay) at the last moment.

    I knew ‘sock puppet’ – always nice when being a little younger & consequently more online than many solvers is helpful!

    Moly@14 – I had the same degree of knowledge as you, and it’s not a beauty, but FLAMBEAU was gettable. I wasn’t sure of it, but it seemed likely to be a name, possibly something relating to fire/a candle (I thought of flame/flambé), and via ‘flim-flam’ I could have a guess that ‘flam’ could be a trick. That was enough supporting material for me to take a punt.

    Thanks both.

  16. Yikes. For those who found this a walk in the park, I envy you. I was lost and bewildered most of the time. Thanks to Jason and Turbolegs

  17. I didn’t possess the specific knowledge required to parse FLAMBEAU. Didn’t know of such a meaning for SOCK PUPPET, nor swindle/shaft. Only a vague recollection of damson plums. And I commented a few weeks ago that Americans have asses, whereas we others arses.

    Anyone know the significance of the italics in 21a? They’re in both the PDF and app versions.

  23. Further to FrankieG@19-21:

    I noted sock puppet in Chambers 2016 and Collins 2023 in comment 3. I could not find it in Chambers 2011, ODE 2010, or SOED 2007.

    As to facepalm, that appears to be even more recent. Collins 2023 gives us “facepalm informal n a gesture in which the palm of one’s hand is brought to one’s face as a gesture of dismay”, but I could not find it in any of the other dictionaries listed above.

  24. Moly@14 you always express my opinions so well! I found this tough and was annoyed with myself for taking so long over witty clues like ASSASSIN and NEWSPAPERCOLUMNS. But FACEPALM? How does palm indicate appropriate? And since both people and clocks have faces could face mean a person by the same logic? As FLAMBEAU is a type of candlestick couldn’t ‘thief of Father Brown’s’ be left out altogether? Thanks to Julius and Turbolegs and full credit to everyone else who finds these easy!

  25. (Damsons, like bullaces, are plums. They grow wild in our hedgerows. I imagine there was a time – before the arrival of overseas fruits, and sugar or chocolate! – when damsons, like blackberries and apples, were the greatest culinary sweets or delights for the vast majority of us. Indeed, when I was a child damson jam was possibly still the most ubiquitous of jams in Britain, I’ve even made it myself. Turbo, you should try it??)

  26. Great puzzle – and IMPRESARIO is indeed a delightful &lit. I particularly enjoyed NEWSPAPER COLUMN and TITFER
    With the parsing of INCLINING, I more usually equate ON with “playing” rather than IN which gave my only pause
    Many thanks, both and all

  27. Newbie@24 re 17dn (FACEPALM): clock is given as slang or informal for “face” in all of my dictionaries. For “appropriate” to indicate “palm”, think of the two words as verbs with the sense of taking something without permission. I hope that helps.

  29. @13 and 25, the damson is also rather sour – I had a tree in my garden when I was in the UK. Only use I found was jam and wine!

  30. @29 – not necessarily; we had quite a few trees in our fields, and, when picked late enough in early autumn after a warm/sunny August/September, can be very sweet – which is perhaps why it’s been used for wine. Though astringent, can also be very sweet and I’ve even made wine from them without the need of sugar by dint of their high level of sugars (fructose?). (Also great for jam as, like apples, have enough pectin – hence the popularity of blackberry and apple jam) There are many varieties of bullaces, damsons and gages (some originally brought over by the Romans – more strictly damascenes, and wilded into our hedgerows as they make such tough sturdy windbreakers) and I’d gently suggest that your one garden tree is perhaps not a suitable sample size from which to draw conclusions!

  31. Pelham Barton@23
    oed.com – you can access it using a library card – has ‘sock puppet – Originally U.S. – A simple puppet made from a sock that is fitted over and moved by the hand and fingers; (also figurative) a person whose actions are controlled by another; a minion.
    1959 Shari Lewis Sock Puppet Reg. $1.39. Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) Times 24 September 12 (advertisement) …
    2000 Jennifer Brand, a 24-year-old student who backed President Clinton in 1996, called Gore ‘a sock puppet’ and Bush ‘a wimp’. U.S. News & World Report 27 March’
    It dates facepalm to 1996 – as does Wiktionary – and says ‘Cf. headdesk n.’

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