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Maybe I am just tired today, but I found this a bit of a struggle. Upon review of the completed grid, I am not sure what the hold-up was.
Apart from a few GK references, this seemed about normal in difficulty for a Peto puzzle.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PLACID |
Calm in US city after pressure on police (6)
|
| P (pressure) + LA (US city) + CID (police) | ||
| 4 | PASS UP |
Let go by Portsmouth initially when taking to drink (4,2)
|
| First letter of (initially) P[ORSTMOUTH] + AS (when) + SUP (drink) | ||
| 8 | CANASTA |
Act as an eccentric in game (7)
|
| Anagram of (eccentric) ACT AS AN | ||
| 9 | DEBASED |
Something done to employ graduates rendered less valuable (7)
|
| DEED (something done) around (to employ) BAS (graduates) | ||
| 11 | INSIDE LEFT |
Cleared off after cool party in Number 10 some time ago (6,4)
|
| IN (cool) + SIDE (party) + LEFT (cleared off), referring to a former field position designation in association football | ||
| 12 | TIER |
That’s right by beginning of taxi rank (4)
|
| First letter of (beginning of) T[AXI] + I.E. (that’s) + R (right) | ||
| 13 | SIEGE |
See GI affected by military operation (5)
|
| Anagram of (affected) SEE GI | ||
| 14 | UNSTEADY |
Not safe for ten days unfortunately after you said… (8)
|
| Homophone of (said) U (you) + anagram of (unfortunately) TEN DAYS. I am not sure that the “. . .” is doing anything here in terms of linking 14A and 15A, although UNSTEADY and MEASURED could be synonyms, in one context. | ||
| 16 | MEASURED |
…‘alcoholic drink bottling certain to be considered’ (8)
|
| MEAD (alcoholic drink) around (bottling) SURE (certain) | ||
| 18 | PROUD |
Arrogant prince starts to offend unhappy duke (5)
|
| PR. (prince) + first letters of (starts to) O[FFEND] + U[NHAPPY] + D[UKE] | ||
| 20 | MILD |
The Italian doctor set about acting gently (4)
|
| MD (doctor) around (set about) IL (the [in] Italian) | ||
| 21 | CONTRADICT |
Deny the truth of princess visiting shrink (10)
|
| DI (princess) inside (visiting) CONTRACT (shrink) | ||
| 23 | CITADEL |
First of Cessna’s tailed Flying Fortress (7)
|
| First [letter] of C[ESSNA] + anagram of (flying) TAILED, with a capitalization misdirection | ||
| 24 | RIVALRY |
A couple from Richmond finding refereeing aid left inside at end of rugby competition (7)
|
| First two letters of (a couple from) RI[CHMOND] + {L (left) inside VAR (refereeing aid, i.e., Video Assistant Referee)} + last letter of (end of) [RUGB]Y | ||
| 25 | SOMBRE |
Painfully sensitive about doctor becoming melancholy (6)
|
| SORE (painfully sensitive) around (about) MB (doctor) | ||
| 26 | DEPLOY |
Utilise record against Germany with the Italian youngsters at the outset (6)
|
| D (Germany) + EP (record) + LO (the [in] Italian) + first letter of (at the outset) Y[OUNGSTERS] | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PLAIN |
Intend to keep current flat (5)
|
| PLAN (intend) around (to keep) I (current) | ||
| 2 | AVARICE |
Approach at first altered largely over Conservative’s cupidity (7)
|
| First letter of (at first) A[PPROACH] + {VARIE[D] (altered) minus last letter (largely) around (over) C (Conservative)} | ||
| 3 | IN THE REAR |
Apparent in Bevin there arguing at the back (2,3,4)
|
| Hidden in (apparent in) [BEV]IN THERE AR[GUING] | ||
| 5 | AVERT |
Prevent state visit finally (5)
|
| AVER (state) + last letter of (finally) [VISI]T | ||
| 6 | STARTLE |
Rock painting inside stumped the French (7)
|
| ART (painting) inside {ST (stumped, in cricket) + LE (the [in] French)} | ||
| 7 | PRETENDED |
Warbeck did it before tenor finished (9)
|
| PRE (before) + T (tenor) + ENDED (finished), referring to Perkin Warbeck, an impostor who claimed the English throne in the 15th century | ||
| 10 | REDUNDANT |
About to get horse books accommodating lawyer no longer needed (9)
|
| RE (about) + {DUN (horse) + NT (books)} around (accommodating) DA (lawyer) | ||
| 13 | SPECIFIES |
Particularly mentions uncertainty in variety (9)
|
| IF (uncertainty) inside (in) SPECIES (variety) | ||
| 15 | SUPERVISE |
Susie distraught describing weirdo in control (9)
|
| Anagram of (distraught) SUSIE around (describing) PERV (weirdo) | ||
| 17 | SIDEARM |
Overlook briefly turning up toting expensive pistol (7)
|
| MIS[S] (overlook) minus last letter (briefly) inverted (turning up) around (toting) DEAR (expensive) | ||
| 19 | ODDBALL |
Occasional howl heard? Strange (7)
|
| ODD (occasional) + homophone of (heard) BAWL (howl) | ||
| 21 | CLEAR |
Obvious with the king involving guide for the most part (5)
|
| CR (the king) around (involving) LEA[D] (guide) minus last letter (for the most part) | ||
| 22 | CARRY |
Shout grabbing artist taken aback by bear (5)
|
| CRY (shout) around (grabbing) RA (artist) inverted (taken aback) |
Thanks both. Pretty straightforward I thought, tho was bemused by 11ac, thinking maybe Downing Street rather than soccer pitch.
7d Warnock was known as a pretender.
Unhappy that ‘the Italian’ (li/lo) and ‘doctor’ (mb/md)were both used twice to mean different letters in the same puzzle
Liked it well enough but could have done with a couple of banging anagrams.
All done and dusted quite steadily but needed the blog to confirm that ‘st’ was ‘stumped’ in cricket. I too couldn’t get past Downing Street for 11a, the parsing of which also had me st(umped) for a while.
PLACID and SIEGE had nice surfaces while MEASURED and PRETENDED were neat.
I noted the ‘il’ and’lo’ and started to wonder if ‘la’ or ‘gli’ might also turn up!
Thanks to Peto and Cineraria.
I too found it a bit of a struggle. Liked AVERT, STARTLE, ODDBALL. Agree with JamesP’s points.
INSIDE LEFT was completely unfathomable for me. I did not know Wellbeck and had to look it up. Of course Wiki said “pretender” which rather gave the annswer away.
Thanks Peto and Cineraria
Thanks Peto and Cineraria.
PASS UP, INSIDE LEFT, TIER, IN THE REAR, SPECIFIES and ODDBALL.
I completed it at one sitting, but slowly. I thought I knew most crossword abbreviations, but despite forty years of attempting them, and an O level in physics, I don’t think I’ve ever come across current = i before. I liked CITADEL.
Thanks Peto and Cineraria.
Babbler, WHAT????. I’ve been solving cryptics for around 15 years and have seen current = i probably a hundred times or more. I have never seen current represented as anything but i. It’s also why electrical engineers use j for the root of -1.
Further to Hovis@7, a quick search back on this site suggests that I for current is used about once a month in FT puzzles, most recently FT 18,140 by Neo, in which 30ac was
Current working in charged particle (3)
https://www.fifteensquared.net/2025/08/22/financial-times-18140-by-neo/
So close! I had SPECIFICS for 13 down, reading the clue as “Particular mentions…”.
Hadn’t heard of Warbeck either but Google is my friend. Didn’t prevent me getting the others though. I’m happy with one letter out for a Peto.
Hovis @7: but beware of current=IN.
A steady work through with no real problems apart from raising an eyebrow over il/lo and mb/md.
Thanks, Peto and Cineraria.
Diane @3: An ellipsis (those three dots) or, usually, a pair of ellipses in a crossword may link two consecutive clues (a) to indicate thet the two answers are linked, or (b) simply to improve the surface reading. The latter use is the most common. Very occasionally an ellipsis on its own may be the answer, i.e. the word ‘ellipsis’. but setters obviously can’t pull that trick too often.
Hovis and Pelhambarton, thanks for your comments. It may be too late for you to see this, but I can assure you I have no recollection of this use of i before. This may be because a) Possibly it is mainly used by FT compilers and I have only recently started doing the FT crosswords or b) It has been used in clues where I have been able to solve by reference to definition only and didn’t bother to parse or c) I haven’t been able to solve clues using it, and have only recently discovered this blog as a means of discovering why. I am familiar with AC = current (possibly also DC = current).
As for the square root of -1 I was aware it had changed from i to j as I recall my maths master (who wrote maths books and was therefore on the ball about such things) telling us all. My recollection is that he said i was too likely to be confused with 1 but I couldn’t swear to that. As for my physics lessons, I may have encountered i there, but it is odd that I have no recollection of it whilst I remember s = ut + 1/2at squared and other equations I have never needed since.
I was another defeated by 11 across, I had thought independently of inside …. and of ….. left but never put the two together.
Thanks Peto and Cineraria
Thanks Big Al@ 11, though I’m mystified as to your mention of ellipsis…I hadn’t raised the issue!