Jason is the compiler of today's FT puzzle.
This was mostly very good, but I did have a couple of minor niggles – the repeated us of "leaders of" in 17 and 28 and "black" being used to indicate "beauty" (I don't recall the horse in Anna Sewell's novel being called Black, but he was often referred to as Beauty) and the clue to CHAD doesn't read right ("on a country?). Those aside, this was an enjoyable puzzle with some clever devices. I particularly liked "food of love" for OYSTER.
Thanks, Jason
| ACROSS | ||
| 8 | SEDATE |
Calm editor tucked into Malaysian dish (6)
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Ed. (editor) tucked into SATE ("Malaysian dish", alternative spelling of Satay) |
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| 9 | OVERHEAD |
Gathered King must drop transparency (8)
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OVERHEA(r)D ("gathered") must frop R (Rex, so "king") A transparency is an image projected by an overhead projector (haven't seen an overhead projector in years – are they still used?) |
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| 10 | BIRO |
Writer right into memoirs? (4)
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R (right) into BIO ("memoirs") |
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| 11 | EAST INDIES |
Mostly casual dosh drops for island group (4,6)
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[mostly] EAS(y) ("casual") + TIN (money, so "dosh") + DIES ("drops") |
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| 12 | GALA |
Grand, in the way of Jubilee (4)
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G (grand) + A LA ("in the way of") |
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| 13 | ROSEBUSHES |
Serb’s house replanted garden features (10)
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*(serbs house) [anag:replanted] |
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| 17 | DEMO |
What leaders of dissent evidently must organise (4)
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[leaders of] D(issent) E(vidently) M(ust) O(rganise) |
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| 18 | HAIFA |
Cry of joy whenever facing a city on the Med (5)
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HA! ("cry of joy") + IF ("whenever") facing A |
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| 19 | AGOG |
Excited about German backing turn (4)
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A (about) + G (German) + [backing] <=GO ("turn") |
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| 21 | PLAYWRIGHT |
Eg, Waterhouse’s dalliance with fair (10)
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PLAY ("dalliance") + W (with) + RIGHT ("fair") |
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| 23 | SLED |
Son was ahead of toboggan (4)
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S (son)) + LED ("was ahed of") |
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| 24 | CROSSBONES |
The sign of illegal operations annoy doctor (10)
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CROSS ("annoy") + BONES (slang word for "doctor") |
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| 28 | RAID |
Leader of rebels to assist incursion (4)
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[leader of] R(ebels) + AID ("to assist") |
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| 29 | RENOVATE |
Do up scene of shooting a vet destroyed (8)
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RENO ("scene of shooting") + *(a vet) [anag:destroyed] Reno is an American city famed for casinos, so the shooting her refers to shooting craps. |
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| 30 | OYSTER |
Food of love, they say, so try mixing around some at last (6)
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*(so try) [anag:mixing] around (som)E [at last] Oysters are supposed to be aphrodisiacs, hence "food of love". |
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | DELICATE |
Elegant food shop to provide for the most part (8)
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DELI ("food shop") + CATE(r) ("to provide", for the most part) |
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| 2 | LABORATORY |
Where to test public speaking under Labour (10)
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ORATORY ("public speaking") under Lab. (Labour) |
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| 3 | RESEARCHER |
Who discovers her career’s fantastic? (10)
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*(her careers) [anag:fantastic] |
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| 4 | NOUS |
Among the French we will find common sense (4)
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NOUS is "French" for "we" |
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| 5 | YETI |
Mythical beast is still one (4)
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YET ("still") + I (one) |
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| 6 | CHAD |
Church on a Democratic country (4)
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Ch. (church) on A + D (Democratic) |
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| 7 | RACEME |
Tortoise’s suggestion is a bunch of flowers (6)
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In the famous fable, the "tortoise suggested" "RACE ME" to the hare. |
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| 14 | SWING |
Chant about wicket’s reverse? (5)
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SING ("chant") about W (wicket) |
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| 15 | BEAUTY SPOT |
Location that is becoming black mark (6,4)
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(Black) BEAUTY + SPOT ("mark") |
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| 16 | SEAMSTRESS |
The main month to highlight sewer (10)
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SEA ("the main") + M (month) + STRESS ("to highlight") |
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| 20 | ONE-LINER |
Quip to do with English cruise ship (3-5)
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ON ("to do with") + E (English) + LINER ("ship") |
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| 22 | LARDER |
Where we stash food in spectacular Derbyshire (6)
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Hidden [in] "spectacuLAR DERbyshire" |
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| 25 | SHOW |
Display special manner (4)
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S (special) + HOW ("manner") |
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| 26 | BEAU |
Boyfriend is first to buy Evian? (4)
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[first to] B(uy) + EAU (French water, hence "Evian") |
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| 27 | NEED |
Miss Penny was born first (4)
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D (old "penny") with NEE ("was born") first |
Re 15d I think a black mark on a face may be called a beauty spot.
I enjoyed this puzzle so thanks setter and blogger.
Steven @1 – think I may have been overthinking. Your suggestion is probably right!
Wikipedia has an article on beauty marks or spots. Artificial beauty spots were pretty common in many periods but are no longer in use.
I thought the same as Steven re the beauty spot.
“A” for about in 19a was a surprise. This word is certainly multi-purpose in cryptic clues — it can indicate reversal, inclusion and anagram. But I’ve not seen it used this way. No doubt someone will tell me it’s in Chambers.
I couldn’t work out why OVERHEAD was transparency; thanks for the refresher, Loonapick.
Other matches that caused me to scratch my head were need/miss and how/manner.
Very enjoyable, thanks Jason & Loonapick.
As others have noted, 15D is simply CD/DD.
I thought that the Reno reference in 29A was to Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues: “I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.” Always worth another listen.
I saw ‘becoming’ as part of the second definition in BEAUTY SPOT: ‘a becoming black mark’. Some very nice anagrams in here inc ROSEBUSHES and RESEARCHER. I also liked LABORATORY, CROSSROADS, DELICATE and SEAMSTRESS. I think Jason has been gentle on us today – I have tackled considerably more difficult offerings from this setter. And that is NOT a complaint or criticism.
Thanks Jason and loonapick
LOi & COTD: 7d RACE ME – 😀 – Clang!
CHAD
Agree with the blogger’s observation on the surface.
Reads like a vague newspaper headline.
For once I managed to parse most of the four-letter clues cold which was helpful. Quite a mixture – a lot of clues that I got straightaway and then some more difficult. I really enjoyed it.
Like FrankieG @ 7 RACEME made me laugh.
Thanks Jason and loonapick
Generally very enjoyable.
I too didn’t like A for About.
Not really convinced that an Overhead is a Transparency. I always considered the Overhead the projector device. Whereas I always regarded a 35mm slide as a transparency
Raceme was excellent and my Loi.
Thanks to all, and especially for explaining Reno.
Sorry, I will now be told that it is perfectly acceptable to refer to a cruise ship as a liner. But it isn’t: a liner is a passenger ship on a set route or routes, eg Southampton to New York and vv (not many left now), being used to carry people from A to B; while a cruise ship just takes holiday-makers along for the ride.
Otherwise great, and thank you Jason and Loonapick for the morning workout.
This one wouldn’t be out of place for a Monday, including the chestnutty YETI. Thanks loonapick and Jason.
Thanks Jason and loonapick
9ac: ODE 2010 gives us overhead noun 2 a transparency designed for use with an overhead projector.
20dn: ODE gives us liner¹ noun 1 a large luxurious passenger ship of a type formerly used on a regular line.
Similar definitions can be found in Chambers 2016 and Collins 2023.
19a AGOG – for “A” = “about”, oed.com has ‘ a, ADJECTIVE:
Indefinite article (determiner). Used only to modify a singular countable noun head (or in some cases, a plural phrase treated as such).
I. Indicating indefiniteness. …
I.3.a. c1275– Preceding a quantifier or (now English regional) a numeral, removing its definiteness or expressing an approximate estimate: some, a matter of, about. Now chiefly in a few, a good few, a good many, a great many, and (English regional) a many…
1562 Stepe them a fiue or sixe dayes in vineger. W. Turner, 2nd Part Herball f. 7
Very common in the 14th–16th centuries.‘
Thanks for the blog, enjoyable set of neat clues.
BEAUTY SPOT I agree with Steven@1 and partially Mr PostMark @6, ideally “becoming ” is part of both definitions so a bit of double duty.
OHP is the projector and OHT is shortened to overhead or transparency , I still use them every day.
Nice, breezy, fun puzzle, lots to enjoy here. Thanks, Jason and Loonapick. Agree with Cineraria on RENO – I’ve had the Johnny Cash earworm all day.
I have a vague memory that Dave Gorman used an overhead projector in one of his shows and that’s probably the last time I saw one in real life. That was a few years ago though. He’s moved on to powerpoint these days.
Oneo or two pennies took a while to drop, for example for CROSSBONES, but no real problems. We don’t have any issue with the clue for CHAD – it’s a down clue so ‘on’ simply indicates that CH comes before AD.
An enjoyable solve; thanks, Jason and loonapick.
@PB: The infallible “ODE” obviously trumps my entire working career in and around the shipping industry. I will not disturb the consensus by commenting here any further.
It’s ages since I had to create OHP slides, so it took a while for the penny to drop on OVERHEAD also RACEME
Fun puzzle, thank you to Jason and loonapick.
Allan_c @17 – I get that but who says on a country? You say “in a country”, so it’s the surface I have a problem with
AGN@18: I do not claim that the Oxford Dictionary of English is infallible. I am fully prepared to accept your assertions about how the word “liner” is used within the shipping industry. However, in the FT crossword, I expect, as a matter of principle, that setters will go by the way a word is used within the general population. Further, as a matter of practical necessity, I do not expect setters to overrule any of the standard dictionaries.
AGN and PB, there is (or used to be) a ship that carries holiday-making passengers on a regular route from Boston to Bermuda and back, with no stops in between. Is it a cruise ship or a liner or both?
Loonapick, I had no niggling feeling about Jason’s use of leader in both 17 and 24, because it’s the best word for the surface in both cases. To avoid the double use would inevitably weaken one of the clues.
I liked that LABORATORY and RESEARCHER were side-by-side in the puzzle.
Thanks Jason for the fun and loonapick for the excellent blog.
Further Re liner etc., in any event I agree with PB@21. (Sorry, edit timed out, hence the additional comment.)
A liner can also be a battleship or a fishing boat according to the OED. Fancy that.
I’d be tempted to use packet as a better synonym for liner if I wanted to keep the purists happy but I didn’t have a problem with Jason’s clue.