A fun puzzle from Jason themed around recent events. Find it to solve online or download and print at ft.com/crossword
Jason is a long-time regular setter of the FT’s daily cryptic but I think this is the first time we’ve had a Jason Sunday News puzzle. And very good it is too.
Thanks, Jason!
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | DEPRAVED |
Corrupt Number 2 briefly partied (8)
|
| DEP (deputy = Number 2, briefly) + RAVED (partied) | ||
| 5 | MASSIF |
Service provided for rock group? (6)
|
| MASS (service) + IF (provided) | ||
| 10 | ECONOMY |
Reeves’ concern is this company trapped by wasted money (7)
|
| CO (company) contained (trapped) by an anagram (wasted) of MONEY
Reference to Chancellor Rachel Reeves |
||
| 11 | NIGERIA |
Reign is failing one alpha country (7)
|
| Anagram (is failing) of REIGN + I (one) + A (alpha) | ||
| 12 | BUY UP |
Consenting word after leaders of BlackRock unexpectedly gather (3,2)
|
| YUP (consenting word) after first letters (leaders) of Blackrock Unexpectedly
BlackRock is an international finance company who have been in the news lately for some cryptocurrency deal that is controversial for reasons I confess I don’t really understand |
||
| 13 | OVERLYING |
Being superior and telling too many porkies, perhaps (9)
|
| Whimsical cryptic definition | ||
| 14 | COLON ISATION |
Stupidly sanction oil, nothing to be gained in settlement (12)
|
| Anagram (stupidly) of SANCTION OIL gaining O (nothing) | ||
| 18 | POOR-SPIRITED |
Mean Miliband, say, follows sorry life (4-8)
|
| ED (Miliband, say) follows POOR (sorry) + SPIRIT (life)
Ed Miliband is currently Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero |
||
| 21 | REPORTAGE |
Style of journalist is a product of anger about European Left (9)
|
| RAGE (anger) about E (European) + PORT (left) | ||
| 23 | LET GO |
Release blocks for building, tons must be admitted (3,2)
|
| LEGO (blocks for building) into which T (tons) must be inserted (admitted) | ||
| 24 | RESTFUL |
With Charlie departed, surge up with almost complete calm (7)
|
| With C (Charlie) departed, [c]REST (surge up) + FUL[l] (almost complete)
Reference to right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, assassinated in Utah recently, and the heated reaction from his supporters |
||
| 25 | ECLIPSE |
Outshine last of these prunes starting from election (7)
|
| Last letter of thesE + CLIPS (prunes) + first letter of Election | ||
| 26 | BUDGET |
Friend to become the reason for Bayrou’s fall? (6)
|
| BUD (friend) + GET (to become)
François Bayrou was recently ousted from his position as French Prime MInister |
||
| 27 | G-STRINGS |
These barely cover Government conditions (1-7)
|
| G (government) + STRINGS (conditions) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | DWEEBS |
American fools Democrat with busy bees (6)
|
| D (democrat) + W (with) + anagram (busy) of BEES | ||
| 2 | PROPYL |
Radical snoop round work line (6)
|
| PRY (snoop) round OP (work) + L (line) | ||
| 3 | AMORPHOUS |
American to slowly change old America with no distinct character (9)
|
| A (American) + MORPH (to slowly change) + O (old) + US (America) | ||
| 4 | ETYMOLOGICALLY |
On migration cite gloomy supporter based on study of words (14)
|
| Anagram (on migration) of CITE GLOOMY + ALLY (supporter) | ||
| 6 | ANGEL |
Darling Rayner, say, finally ousted (5)
|
| ANGEL[a] (Rayner, say) less the last letter (finally ousted)
Angela Rayner was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister following supposed improprieties in her property dealings |
||
| 7 | SARDINIA |
Island where rain aids supply (8)
|
| Anagram (supply) of RAIN AIDS | ||
| 8 | FLAGGING |
Getting tired promoting St George’s affair involving a horse (8)
|
| FLING (affair) containing (involving) A + GG (horse)
A rare example of a clue with two definitions + subsidiary wordplay – the second definition being a reference to the current trend for putting up the flag of St George on lamp-posts, motorway bridges etc etc |
||
| 9 | INDECISIVENESS |
Starmer’s problem? Sin’s evidence is to be presented in a new way (14)
|
| Anagram (presented in a new way) of SINS EVIDENCE IS
Reference to the vacillations of Prime Minister Keir Starmer |
||
| 15 | ACELLULAR |
In one part, cool lead for Redford follows a let-up in rising (9)
|
| ACE (cool) + first letter of (lead for) Redford following A + LULL (let-up) reversed (in rising)
Legendary actor and director Robert Redford died this month aged 89 |
||
| 16 | SPARE RIB |
Little bro, say, holding knife for something to eat (5,3)
|
| SIB (sibling = little bro, say) containing (holding) PARE (knife) | ||
| 17 | COMPOSED |
Unflappable ordinary politician entered because educated (8)
|
| O (ordinary) + MP (politician) inserted into (entered) COS (because) + ED (educated) | ||
| 19 | STEP IN |
Interrupt favourites lifting current finale of Downton (4,2)
|
| PETS (favourite) reversed (lifting) + I (current) + last letter (finale) of downtoN
The film Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is currently showing in cinemas |
||
| 20 | HOTELS |
Lots he spent for migrant dwellings (6)
|
| Anagram (spent) of LOTS HE
Migrants being housed in hotels seems to be very unpopular in some quarters |
||
| 22 | RIFLE |
Sack only one female in shuffle? (5)
|
| RIF[f]LE (shuffle) with only one F (female)
Another reference to the aforementioned Angela Rayner |
I am always impressed by the quality of these puzzles given how quickly they must be thrown together in order to accommodate recent events.
In 16d I think the knife is “parer” not “pare” – just a minor typo. I wasn’t convinced by “cos” as “because” without an indication of slang, nor “ed” for “educated” (as opposed to “education”, as in B.Ed.) but I solved it and one can either be a total stickler for rules or one can sit back and enjoy, depending on the puzzle!
Many thanks Jason and Widdersble
Yes JOFT, the brow did flicker at EDucated, but only briefly. Some of the refs were on-radar (Kirk, Ed Miliband, Redford, and, vaguely, the flagging thing), but the rest were not. Always happy to be informed, cheers Jason and we’ll done Widders.
I spotted a few more bits of news (sorry, I tend to be fairly tuned in)
1A – could be another reference to Angela Rayner (lots of coverage of her dancing at Ibiza in 2024 when she resigned, plus one of the things that went viral was an AI clip of her dancing)
13A – OVERLYING – Farage and/or Trump came to mind – fact checking either of those politicians is a full time job.
21A – REPORTAGE – I wondered if this was a reference to the so-called Citizen Journalists and the ITV coverage of how much some are making from their coverage of the hotel protests on YouTube channels. (I would know this one)
25A – there was a lunar ECLIPSE on 7 September – lots of news at the time.
7D – there’s a big sailing competition in SARDINIA at the moment
22D – RIFLE – quite a few women moved around in the reshuffle, Lucy Powell also lost her role as leader of the House of Commons – and is now standing as deputy.
Thank you to Jason and Widdersbel.
I wondered if the oil sanctions failing in a clue for COLONISATION was a reference to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Pedantry corner: Outshine is really not a synonym for eclipse is it?
But I wrote it in regardless of my mental reservations.
JP @ 5
Whether or not one agrees with it, outshine & eclipse have bidirectional equivalence in Chambers Thesaurus, so the setter is on safe ground.
😡😤🤬🤯😂😂😂