Financial Times 17,731 LEONIDAS

12 comments on “Financial Times 17,731 LEONIDAS”

1. Agreed, Turbolegs, it was tough but well worth the perseverance.
   Re 15d, I took it as a cryptic reference to the bedsprings squeaking under pressure of [engaging in] the other!

2. There was much I enjoyed in this clever grid: FLATBREAD, PRESSIE and SULPHUR, for instance.
   I needed the blog to see the full parsing of SULPHUR while DIETING and PRESSIE took me far too long to spot. However, I found it very creative and cleanly-clued overall.
   Thanks to Leonidas for a proper workout and to Turbolegs for a great blog.

3. BEDSPRING (15)
   Agree with Diane@1 on the other thing.
   Interestingly ‘the other’ and ‘BED’ (noun) are synonyms in this sense.
   SPRING is under pressure from BED (another layer, even if not the same type of layer the
   blog talks about).

   COTD: SULPHUR
   Also Liked DIETING.

   ABSENCE
   The def should be ‘lack’ (Right?)

   Thanks Leonidas and Turbolegs!

4. Difficult indeed. Many interesting clues, but also too many obscure words, alternative spellings and vague references for my liking.

   I usually have a long list of favourites with a Leonidas puzzle. Perhaps I was in the wrong mood, but today I only have a couple- GENEALOGISTS and REORDER.

   Thanks Leonidas and Turbolegs

5. Agree with the general feeling that this was quite tough though I had no particular beef with the less usual words. And it was certainly a pleasurable solve. I was beaten by DIETING – unfamiliar with the diet = conference definition and the 5:2 is nho. I’d agree with KVa re COTD being SULPHUR. I guessed the solution early on but did not see the reversed PLUS until writing in the solution with a couple of crossers. Very neat indeed. Other faves include TAIL END, VISCERA, PARAPET, GENEALOGISTS, NASCENT, BEDSPRING and ORPHEUS. I interpreted BEDSPRING in the same way as Diane and it does appear as a word in Collins, Oxford, Merriam-Webster (not my favourite source but it appears to be a standard go-to in the US), wiki etc so I think it’s kosher.

   Thanks Leonidas and Turbolegs

6. Began with the anagrams and after stuttering in the middle, didn’t have much trouble filling in the last clues from the available crossers. Couldn’t parse “Dieting”, and more familiar with “Prezzie” and “Naan” but can’t complain too much…
   Thank you to Leonidas and Turbolegs

7. I looked up SPOTTED FEVER, my LOI and wasn’t surprised I’d never come across it. I winced at TRANSVESTITE as not at all in the best possible taste (deliberate reference to Cupid Stunt). Thought the spelling of Nan in the FLAT BREAD very sneaky when I got it. Otherwise all in and parsed.

   Thank you to Leonidas and Turbolegs.

8. I agree that this was by no means easy, but I found it hugely pleasurable. It reminded me a bit of Bluth – not that the style was the same, but in that there was a lot of invention and creativity in the clues and I felt throughout that if I persevered and applied myself to finding alternative ways to interpret the clues I would be led inexorably to the solutions… and so it proved.
   Thanks to Leonidas and Turbolegs for a very pleasant interlude.

9. Some clues required a bit of thought, and I had to check the usages for “corpses” and “5:2,” but overall, I found this puzzle clever and accessible.

10. Thanks Leonidas. This was tough in spots and it took me two sittings to finish. I used a word finder for SULPHUR — while the wordplay might have been clever I did not like the surface reading. My top picks were DANISH PASTRY, FLATBREAD, NASCENT, and ORPHEUS. Thanks Turbolegs for the blog.

11. Thanks Leonidas and Turbolegs

    BEDSPRING brought to mind a rather fine late Richards-Taylor era Stones bootleg of a Brussels concert, called Bedspring Symphony.

12. Thanks for the blog , very good set of clues , neat and varied .
    I liked the MALE diver to guide me away from shelduck .
    The Diet of Worms was a very important conference ( theology not gardening ) .

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