Puzzle from the Weekend FT of February 2, 2024
I found this to be a clever and enjoyable puzzle with a few clues that had challenging wordplay. My first-in was 12 (TRIPOLI) and my last 28 (DROSS). My favourites are 3 (TONTO), 17 (PETTY CASH) and 28 (DROSS).
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | FERTILITY DRUGS |
Firstly, dire gut’s treated — this treatment may result in issue (9,5)
|
| Anagram (treated) of FIRSTLY DIRE GUT | ||
| 10 | TITAN |
Giant, metal-covered Tesla’s outside (5)
|
| T[esl]A in (covered) TIN (metal) | ||
| 11 | QUALIFIER |
Word used to describe heat (9)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 12 | TRIPOLI |
Arab city’s tribal politics? Not half! (7)
|
| TRI[bal] POLI[tics] | ||
| 13 | TABASCO |
British like tucking into Mexican food somewhere in Mexico (7)
|
| B (British) + AS (like) together in (tucking into) TACO (Mexican food) | ||
| 14 | HEIDI |
Young heroine and I stop working hard, coming over (5)
|
| I (I) + DIE (stop working) + H (hard) all backwards (coming over) | ||
| 16 | APPLICANT |
Tech giant almost isn’t able to engage current jobseeker (9)
|
| APPL[e] (tech giant almost) + I (current) + CANT (isn’t able) | ||
| 19 | GIGGLIEST |
Merriest time after Welsh footballer eats pork pie (9)
|
| LIE (pork pir) in (eats) GIGGS (Welsh footballer, i.e.Ryan Giggs) + T (time) | ||
| 20 | GATES |
Tech entrepreneur heading for Seychelles after scandal’s ending (5)
|
| GATE (scandal’s ending) + S[eychelles] | ||
| 22 | NOSEBAG |
Baked beans go in food container (7)
|
| Anagram (baked) of BEANS GO | ||
| 25 | YEARNED |
Had yen or made yen to start with (7)
|
| Y[en] + EARNED (made) | ||
| 27 | REFERENDA |
Votes from official, prior to promise to keep silent (9)
|
| REF (official) + ERE (prior to) + NDA (promise to keep silent, i.e. Non-Disclosure Agreement) | ||
| 28 | DROSS |
Rubbish from diva like T Turner or A Franklin (5)
|
| D[iana] ROSS (diva like T Turner or A Franklin) | ||
| 29 | CHARLIE CHAPLIN |
Film star has cocaine and crack before brief bit of dialogue (7,7)
|
| CHARLIE (cocaine) + CHAP (crack) + LIN[e] (brief bit of dialogue) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | ENTAILING |
Involving Parisian in dogging (9)
|
| EN (Parisian in) + TAILING (dogging) | ||
| 3 | TONTO |
Pair of heavyweights mostly providing help for US lawman (5)
|
| TON TO[n] (pair of heavyweights mostly) with the definition referring to The Lone Ranger’s sidekic | ||
| 4 | LIQUIDATE |
Small sum of money former banks turn into cash (9)
|
| I QUID (small sum of money) in (banks) LATE (former) | ||
| 5 | TRACT |
Heads off Tory revolt, and conspiracy to plot (5)
|
| T[ory] R[evolt] A[nd] C[onspiracy] T[o] | ||
| 6 | DRIBBLING |
Jay, say, turns up with jewellery for playing football (9)
|
| BIRD (jay say) backwards (turns up) + BLING (jewelry) | ||
| 7 | UNITS |
University head’s problem departments (5)
|
| U[niversity] + NITS (head’s problem) | ||
| 8 | SORT OUT |
Deal with reportedly sensitive solicitor (4,3)
|
| Homophone (reportedly) of “sore tout” (sensitive solicitor) | ||
| 9 | STITCH |
Sweat when drained and pant in pain when running (6)
|
| S[wea]T + ITCH (pant). I guess that to pant for something can mean to itch for it. | ||
| 15 | ILLIBERAL |
Bigoted, extremely immoral slur about Gainsborough? (9)
|
| I[mmora]L + RA (Gainsboroudh?) in (about) LIBEL (slur) | ||
| 17 | PETTY CASH |
Singers Tom and Johnny getting small kitty (5,4)
|
| PETTY (singer Tom) + CASH (singer Johnny) | ||
| 18 | ANTONIONI |
Film director’s against including tear-inducing item (9)
|
| ONION (tear-inducing item) in (including) ANTI (against) | ||
| 19 | GENERIC |
Unspecific information on e.g. George Orwell (7)
|
| GEN (information) + ERIC (e.g. George Orwell). “George Orwell” was a pen name adopted by the writer who was actually named Eric Arthur Blair. | ||
| 21 | SADIST |
Was a model entertaining underworld fiend? (6)
|
| DIS (underworld) in (entertaining) SAT (was a model). ‘Dis’, I learned, is another name for Hades. | ||
| 23 | SOFIA |
Furniture stores beginning to invest capital (5)
|
| I[nvest] in (stores) SOFA (furniture) | ||
| 24 | GENIE |
One wears bit of make-up? It may fulfil one’s wishes (5)
|
| I (one) in (wears) GENE (bit of make-up?) | ||
| 26 | ADD UP |
Amount of publicity by Irish politicians (3,2)
|
| AD (publicity) + DUP (Irish politicians, i.e. the Democratic Unionist Party) |
Thanks Pete
I share your favourites and I add GATES.
I am a fan of Buccaneer, but not of this puzzle which I found very frustrating in parts. My list of questions and issues was much longer than my list of favourites.
I found the blog particularly good this week, particularly given the challenging wordplay you mentioned.
Thanks Buccaneer and Pete
Thanks Buccaneer and Pete!
Liked TRIPOLI, DROSS and STITCH
A few minor points:
GIGGLIEST
An inadvertent omission of T (time).
GATES
I took the ‘scandal’s ending’ as GATE.
REFERENDA
prior to=ERE
TONTO
Def: Should we not leave out the ‘providing’ (as a link word)?
Thanks for the blog, good set of neat clues, for DRIBBLING I like the Jay with a fake capital hidden at the front, GENIE the bit of make-up for gene is very clever, QUALIFIER for the use of heat and I would add the whole phrase as a triple definition.
TITAN- it would be nice to reference the spectacular moon fo Saturn, we only seem to get Io .
I, too, liked TONTO, DROSS and PETTY CASH and nice to see a change from Morecambe for Eric.
Thanks to both Buccaneer and Pete Maclean.
Pete, I think you missed the I (one) in the small sum of money (1 QUID) in 4d LIQUIDATE.
Lots of ticks today, as mentioned by Roz and Petert, plus 15d ILLIBERAL and 18d ANTONIONI.
Thanks Buccaneer and Pete for the fun.
Good fun as always.
Gainsborough was a founding member of the Royal Academy and that would account for the RA reference.
Thanks Pete.
This was a bit of a pen-in for me. Very rare that for a James Brydon puzzle.