Financial Times 17,751 by Leonidas

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Puzzle from the Weekend FT of June 1, 2024

I found it nice to have a gentle solve after last time’s Printers’ Devilry. My favourites, among many fine clues, are 2 (AMORPHOUS), 5d (CIVET) and 25 (PHIAL).

Thank you Leonidas.

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1 SWALLOW
Accept regressive rules followed by base (7)
LAWS (rules) backwards (regressive) + LOW (base)
5 CUTLASS
Weapon refined but no good (7)
CUT[g]LASS (refined but no good)
9 MOOLA
Tin bird no longer retains interior of gold (5)
[g]OL[d] in MOA (bird no longer). The moa is an extinct bird.
10 NOVITIATE
Strange to invite a girl new to the habit? (9)
Anagram (strange) of TO INVITE A. I happened to watch a movie called Novitiate on the same day I did this puzzle.
11 IMPLEMENT
Carry out Sprite chaps stored in rented property (9)
IMP (sprite) + MEN (chaps) in LET (rented property)
12 EATEN
Furniture a tenant partly corroded (5)
Hidden word (partly)
13 GOODSAMARITANS
Kind people stock renovated Asian tram (4,10)
GOODS (stock) + anagram (renovated) of ASIAN TRAM
18 DISINFORMATION
Officers marching together? It’s fake news (14)
DI’S (officers) + IN FORMATION (marching together)
20 QUIRE
Sheets vocalists picked up (5)
Homophone (picked up) of “choir” (vocalists)
22 PINSTRIPE
Lined cloth cut back? Nonsense (9)
SNIP (cut) backwards (back) + TRIPE (nonsense)
24 ARCHITECT
Show includes ceremony investing church designer (9)
CH (church) in (investing) RITE (ceremony) in (includes) ACT (show)
25 PHIAL
‘Small bottle’ antonym initially in Collins? (5)
A[ntonym] in (in) PHIL (Collins)
26 ESSENCE
Nature edited Earth scenes (7)
Anagram (edited) of E (Earth) SCENES
27 SOCKEYE
Really cold island attracts English salmon (7)
SO (really) + C (cold) + KEY (island) + E (English)
DOWN
1 SUMMIT
Mark twice stopping match for Ben? (6)
M (mark) + M (mark) in (stopping) SUIT (match)
2 AMORPHOUS
Hour wasted with OS map lacking in definition (9)
Anagram (wasted) of HOUR OS MAP
3 LEAVE
Don’t disturb eviscerated vampire beneath field (5)
LEA (field) + V[ampir]E
4 WINNEBAGO
Secure silver-based hooter on old RV (9)
WIN (secure) + NEB (hooter) + AG (silver) + O (old).  ‘Neb’ and ‘hooter’ can each mean nose.  I thank Pelham Barton for bringing this to my attention (see comment #1).
5 CIVET
Catty thing setter’s written in court (5)
IVE (setter’s) in (written in) CT (court)
6 TO THE HILT
Completely books up famous hotel on leaving (2,3,4)
OT (books, i.e. Old Testament) backwards (up) + THE HILT[on] (famous hotel on leaving)
7 APART
Sides of Antwerp craft separate (5)
A[ntwer]P + ART (craft)
8 STERNEST
Most harsh rents set haphazardly (8)
Anagram (haphazardly) of RENTS SET
14 DANDELION
Plant store working under short European (9)
DAN[e] + DELI (store) + ON (working)
15 AMMONITES
Retired parent with funds saving last of ancient fossils (9)
MA (parent) backwards (retired) + [ancien]T in (saving) MONIES (funds)
16 ABORIGINE
Native sailor on round platform stripped ropes (9)
AB (sailor) + O (round) + RIG (platform) + [l]INE[s] (stripped ropes)
17 ADEQUATE
Enough bits of dirt engineer in water turbine scooped out (8)
D[irt] E[ngineer] in (in) AQUA (water) + T[urbin]E
19 WELLIE
Healthy, that is to say gives you oomph (6)
WELL (healthy) + IE (that is to say)
21 INCUS
Tiny bone lodged in pincushion (5)
Hidden word
22 PIECE
Something crusted around core of deck gun (5)
[d]EC[k] in (around) PIE (something crusted)
23 TOPIC
Subject stood oddly hidden before photo (5)
[s]T[o]O[d] + PIC (photo)

11 comments on “Financial Times 17,751 by Leonidas”

  3. Maybe it was just me, but I confess I did not find this “gentle “. I did enjoy the puzzle, particularly the nice, tightly-worded clues. I share favorites with Pete

    Thanks Leonidas and Pete

  5. I also did not find this gentle but I did enjoy it.

    Favourites: MOOLA, DANDELION, DISINFORMATION, ARCHITECT, WINNEBAGO and

    NOVITIATE – GOOD SURFACE

    Thanks Leonidas and Pete

  6. Thanks for the blog, enjoyable clues and a very helpful grid, so many crossing and first letters.
    RV=WINNEBAGO is new to me, I could only get it from the wordplay.

  7. It’s always tricky commenting on puzzles of a week ago. I do recall enjoying this at the time and, like our blogger, did not find it over-taxing. I very much enjoyed the smoothness of both the surfaces and the constructions. But that is very much the norm for this setter – definitely one of those in the FT stable that brings a smile of anticipation when I see the pseudonym. Having clued WINNEBAGO myself, it’s one of those words that has quite a bit of potential for wordplay but rather less when it comes to definitions; rather hard to disguise mobile home/camper/RV.

    Faves, looking back over the clues here, include DISINFORMATION, ARCHITECT, PHIAL, SOCKEYE, AMORPHOUS, LEAVE, CIVET, DANDELION and ABORIGINE.

    Thanks Leonidas and Pete Maclean

  8. It is always enjoyable actually to finish a crossword. So, gentle, definitely for me. Particularly liked 22 ac and 25.

  9. Enjoyable and not too taxing although a few answers took a bit of teasing out, and we couldn’t parse CUTLASS. We keep the Saturday puzzles to solve the following week so we can read the blog the same day when things are still fresh in our memory.
    Thanks, Leonidas and Pete.

  10. That’s a very good plan, Allan – I just wish I could follow it! (I’m always so pleased to see favourite setters’ names on Saturdays that I can’t resist starting straightaway.)

    I know that I enjoyed this puzzle a lot when I solved it a week ago but, with a week’s puzzles in between, I can’t remember well enough to comment properly. All I can say is that I had ticks for CUTLASS, NOVITIATE, ARCHITECT, PHIAL, SOCKEYE, TO THE HILT, DANDELION and ADEQUATE.

    Many thanks, as ever, to Leonidas and Pete.

  11. Re 15ac, when did “moneys” become “monies”? Are our primate cousins now “monkies”? Do we open locks with “keis”?

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