This month’s topically themed puzzle is brought to us by the ever-reliable Julius. Find it to solve online or download and print on the FT website or via their smartphone app.
Hot on the heels of his appearance in the regular FT daily cryptics on Thursday and his alter ego’s appearance in the Indy yesterday, here’s another chance to enjoy this setter’s work. I’m certainly not complaining! Some lovely clueing on display here with lots of amusing and clever topical references.
Thanks, Julius!
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BUDGET |
Heads of Boeing upset door got ejected, terrifying economy class (6)
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| First letters (heads) of Boeing Upset Door Got Ejected Terrifying
The clue refers to the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max that lost a door mid-flight recently. |
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| 4 | SHADOWED |
Whose dad got drunk and went dogging? (8)
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| Anagram (got drunk) of WHOSE DAD
The definition is dogging in the sense of following rather than any other sense that might be suggested by the surface. |
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| 9 | COVERT |
Secret past concealed by court (6)
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| OVER (past) concealed by CT (court) | ||
| 10 | ANTONYMY |
Annie Nightingale initially, then DJ Blackburn — Julius’s definition of being opposites! (8)
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| First letters (initially) of Annie Nightingale + TONY (Tony Blackburn, former Radio 1 DJ) + MY (Julius’s)
Annie Nightingale, the first female presenter on Radio 1, died this month aged 83. |
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| 12 | ENDYMION |
Wendi, Hymie and Rona discovered work by Keats (8)
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| wENDi + hYMIe + rONa with the first and last letters removed (dis-covered) | ||
| 13 | HEREOF |
That woman’s backing an enemy of this (6)
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| HER (that woman’s) + FOE (enemy) reversed (backing) | ||
| 16 | BLOB |
Spot the Establishment? (4)
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| Two definitions
“The blob” is the childish name some politicians use to belittle any establishment group (eg civil servants, scientists) who oppose whatever populist agenda they’re trying to push. |
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| 17 | POST OFFICE |
Breaking FT scoop about Formula One: English business in crisis (4,6)
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| Anagram (breaking) of FT SCOOP about FI (F1 = Formula One) + E (English)
On top of the Horizon IT systems scandal, the Post Office is now facing a £100 million tax bill it can’t pay. |
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| 20 | UNLITERARY |
Dark Age — last couple of library books haven’t been read (10)
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| UNLIT (dark) + ERA (age) + last couple of letters of libraRY | ||
| 21 | DOOM |
Condemn Cummings — in short, admitting nothing (4)
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| DOM (short for Dominic Cummings, former special advisor to Boris Johnson) containing (admitting) O (zero or nothing) | ||
| 23 | RWANDA |
River fish filmed in the country (6)
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| R (river) + WANDA (fish filmed, as in the 1988 film A Fish Called Wanda)
This month the UK government started pushing through new legislation aimed at making it possible to send asylum seekers to the African country for processing. |
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| 25 |
See 27 Down
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| 27 | JUST A KID |
As The Men Who Stare at Goats would describe Luke Littler? (4,1,3)
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| Cryptic definition/homophone? – a kid being a young goat, men who stare at goats might say “look, littler!” Or something like that. Not 100% sure.
Luke Littler is the teenage darts sensation (he turned 17 last week) who reached the PDC World Darts Championship final this month, losing to world number one Luke Humphries. He modestly described himself as “just a young kid” in an interview. The Men Who Stare At Goats is a book by Jon Ronson and film starring George Clooney about CIA black ops. |
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| 28 | OPTION |
Number Ten backtracking about Port Talbot’s leaders choice (6)
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| NO (number) + IO (10) reversed (backtracking) about first letters (leaders) of Port Talbot
Steel manufacturer Tata announced it would be closing its works in the Welsh town of Port Talbot until the government stepped in with a £500 million financial rescue package. |
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| 29 | RAMPARTS |
Force splits defensive walls (8)
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| RAM (force) + PARTS (splits) | ||
| 30 |
See 7 Down
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BECKENBAUER |
Muenchen legend’s free barbecue fed regulars from Koeln (11)
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| Anagram (free) of BARBECUE containing (fed) alternate letters (regulars) from KoELN
Footballer Franz Beckenbauer, European Cup winner with Bayern Munich and World Cup winner with Germany, died this month aged 78. Rightly regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. |
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| 2 | DAVID SOUL |
Talented, avid, so ultimately all-round actor (5,4)
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| Hidden in (all-round) talenteD AVID SO ULtimately
Actor David Soul, most famous as Sgt Ken Hutchinson in Starsky & Hutch, died this month aged 80. |
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| 3 | EURO-MP |
Politician in Brussels occasionally set up orgy (4-2)
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| Alternate letters of sEt Up + ROMP (orgy) | ||
| 5 | HENK |
Chicken kebab for starters which gave you terrible wind (4)
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| HEN (chicken) + first letter (for starters) of Kebab
Storm Henk was the first of three named storms to hit the UK this month, followed by Isha and Jocelyn. |
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| 6 | DROVE OFF |
Started Golf, left in Golf? (5,3)
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| Two definitions
The 2024 model of the Volkswagen Golf, launched this month, will be the last with an internal combustion engine. |
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| 7/30 | WAYNE ROONEY |
Oy! No ‘New Year bubbly’ for sacked football coach (5,6)
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| Anagram (bubbly) of OY NO NEW YEAR
Rooney was sacked as manager of Birmingham City FC this month. |
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| 8 | DRY |
Uninteresting, as January is for many (3)
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| Two definitions
Dry January is a commitment to abstaining from alcohol for the first month of the year. An estimated one in seven adults took part in the UK in 2023. |
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| 11/26 | HONOURS LIST |
L Truss: ‘Oh no! I ruined a new year tradition!’ (7,4)
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| Anagram (ruined) of L TRUSS OH NO I
This year’s list included a damehood for writer Jilly Cooper, and a knighthood for Glastonbury festival founder Michael Eavis. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss caused outrage by nominating her cronies for honours when she resigned after 45 days in the job. |
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| 14 | FREEMASONRY |
Lodge business offering complimentary stone for building? (11)
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| FREE (complimentary) + MASONRY (stone for building) | ||
| 15 | STEROID |
Street ecstasy, uplifting designer drug (7)
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| ST (street) + E (ecstasy) + DIOR (designer) reversed (uplifting)
Edit: Giant, one of the Gladiators in the reboot of the TV series that started this month, recently admitted to having used steroids in the past. Thanks to Shanne (see comments) |
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| 18 | ISOLATION |
Quarantine Island loo ain’t working (9)
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| IS (island) + anagram (working) of LOO AINT | ||
| 19 | ITV DRAMA |
Admit VAR screwed up footage showing foul play from No 17 (3,5)
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| Anagram (screwed up) of ADMIT VAR
The ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office shown this month brought the Horizon IT scandal to the forefront of public attention. VAR is video assistant referee, the controversial technology used in football. |
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| 22 | ALEPPO |
City upset over PPE left beginning to atrophy (6)
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| Reversal (upset) of O (over) + PPE + L (left) + first letter of Atrophy
Baroness Michelle Mone was again in the firing line this month over PPE deals worth millions awarded to her husband’s company during the coronavirus pandemic. |
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| 24 | ASSAM |
A tea service knocked over carrying the last bit of china (5)
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| MASS (service) reversed (knocked over) topped by (carrying) the last letter of chinA | ||
| 26 |
See 11
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| 27/25 | JPR WILLIAMS |
Lion, surgeon, magistrate, royal prince, special (3,8)
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| JP (Justice of the Peace, magistrate) + R (royal) + WILLIAM (prince) + S (special)
Welsh rugby player JPR Williams, who made eight appearances for the British Lions in the 70s, died this month aged 74. He played in the amateur era of rugby union and was a surgeon for his day job. |
Enjoyed the excellent puzzle and the elaborate and neat blog!
Thanks Julius and Widdersbel!
I do love these puzzles, and this one was excellent.
Luke Littler went on to win the Bahrain Masters, and has just lost the Dutch Masters in the final.
According to this morning’s Observer, the UK has been awarding asylum to Rwandan asylum seekers, as they try to send others there as a safe country.
I wondered if ISOLATION was referring to Love Island which has started releasing details about the All Stars series.
Thank you to Widdersbel and Julius.
And having dug a bit, the linking of arms when singing Auld Lang Syne at New Year is apparently a tradition from FREEMASONRY.
I wondered if STEROID might be clued as my least favourite user was back in the news (Andrew Tate), but it seems to be linked to one of pros on the Gladiators reboot. It’s a rumbling news story that one, as they are so widely illegally used in bodybuilding and image conscious young men.
Shanne@2
Thanks for the extra info.
I too like these news puzzles a lot. Along with Widdersbel’s blogs, they offer a lot to learn.
I like the country-based puzzles and the blogs as well.
HEREOF
Any story there?
Shanne – good spot on the Gladiators link to STEROID. I’d completely missed that entirely unsurprising story.
KVa – No idea, but it’s quite possible I’ve missed other topical references.
I so wanted SHADOWED to be a topical news reference when I read the surface. Part of the fun/torment of these puzzles is coming across news items you’ve missed during the month. (Though I was sad to discover the passing of JPR which I had not picked up on. Sideburns that would have put the new Argentinian president in the shade!)
Too many good clues for a favourites list – and an excellent job of including so many references. BLOB was the only one I could not solve, having never heard of the reference mentioned in the blog. I bunged in BLOT as a spot but with no real conviction.
Thanks Julius and Widdersbel
Postmark @8 – I wondered if SHADOWED might link to this FT story, about the Chinese secret service or the shadowing of ships in the Red Sea to protect them from Houthi rebels.
I didn’t realise DAVID SOUL had died until I solved this puzzle, either. Heard about JPR WILLIAMS, which helped me solve that clue.
Unfortunate way to find out the news!
PM – Blob was first used this way by some US politician in the 80s but was popularised in the UK a few years ago by Michael Gove when he was Education Secretary, as part of his “we’ve had enough of experts” shtick.
Like others, I love these puzzles – and Widdersbel’s entertainingly comprehensive blogs double the enjoyment of solving them.
I’ve had several tries at picking out favourites, with justifications, but really had to give up. I must, though, mention the priceless HONOURS LIST – a very clever anagram and what a surface! And I’ll sneak in POST OFFICE and ITV DRAMA, too: the more publicity this outrageous story gets, the better.
One might think it would be difficult to find enough material for a puzzle like this every month but the various scandals continue to provide ample fodder, along with the inevitable sad deaths – Annie Nightingale and David Soul and the two legendary sportsmen this time.
Sincere thanks to Julius and to Widdersbel – a perfect combination.
Thank you Julius for the heads-up last week that this was coming. I don’t usually do the FT ‘News’ SUnday puzzle but thought I should give it a whirl and glad I did. I needed some cheatery to assist with the legends at 1d and 27d/25a and guessed the other famous footy person but found a lot to admire here. Tying together the Post Office and ITV Drama clues was clever, and the L Truss anagram was superb. And rising above topical issues, isn’t ‘HEREOF’ a lovely word?
Re BLOB, Foreign Affairs has Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Adviser to Obama coining the term “the blob’ but perhaps William J Bennett in the 1980s is who Widdersbel has in mind. I only got this clue as I trawled the alphabet (BLO-B)!
Thanks to Shanne for the additional info re STEROID.
This was the most enjoyable news crossword I’ve done so far in the FT’s series and my thoughts largely chime with Eileen’s comments, particularly HONOURS LIST.
Brilliant all round and thanks to Widdersbel for a super blog.
Diane summed it up for me – the most enjoyable news crossword I have done so far, and I too agree with Eileen.
It was wonderful setting from Julius. UK news does not make it over here in large quantities, and his superb setting made the crossword approachable while his sense of humour made it enjoyable. Top blog from Widdersbel too
Thanks Julius and Widdersbel.
This was delightful! First time trying this, sent here on a recommendation from the Grauniad blog. Laughed at blob! Thanks Julius and Widdersbel.
Ps wondered if there was any relationship between Julius (Caesar) and (Mark) ANTONY(MY) but probably not.
Thanks for your v thorough blog, dear Widdersbel, and thanks to those who have commented.
@QuietEars…I had written a clue for ANTONYMY using that idea, but I learned of Annie Nightingale’s death shortly afterwards so I changed it.
Best wishes to all, Rob/Julius
@16 Julius thanks for that insight! Crossword compilers brains must be interesting places!