Puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 27, 2025
Another gem from dear Rosa. My favorites are 4 (RHYME), 12 (SODA BREAD), 13 (NERVY), 14 (RHODE ISLAND) and 25 (TRUTHER).
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | TACITURN |
Tantric exercises keeping you quiet (8)
|
| U (you) in (keeping) anagram (exercises) of TANTRIC | ||
| 5 | BREECH |
Bum crack reported (6)
|
| Homophone (reported) of “breach” (crack) | ||
| 10 | PLAGUEY |
Half-cut guests in romp, causing irritation (7)
|
| GUE[sts] in (in) PLAY (romp). ‘Plaguey’, also spelled ‘plaguy’, is not a common word these days but happened to be one I knew well. | ||
| 11 | OCTOBER |
Nothing about future royal for 31 days (7)
|
| O (nothing) + C (about, i.e. circa) + TO BE (future) + R (royal) | ||
| 12 | SODA BREAD |
Consequently, Pat studied food in Ireland (4,5)
|
| SO (consequently) + DAB (pat) + READ (studied) | ||
| 13 | NERVY |
Periodically in tears, very disheartened and tense (5)
|
| [i]N [r]E[a]R[s] + V[e]R | ||
| 15 | RASTA |
One dreaded absolute tyrant from the east (5)
|
| A (absolute) + TSAR (tyrant) all backwards (from the east) | ||
| 16 | OVERLOOK |
Wink at paramour, cycling round fair (8)
|
| VERLO (paramour, i.e. lover, cycling) + O (round) + OK (fair) | ||
| 19 | VILLAINS |
Holiday home in Spain, no trouble for criminals (8)
|
| VILLA (holiday home) + IN (in) + S[pain] | ||
| 20 | THEME |
Subject of article starts to mouth expletives (5)
|
| THE (article) + M[outh] E[xpletives] | ||
| 21 | PIETY |
English dons feel sorry for conventional belief (5)
|
| E (English) in (dons) PITY (feel sorry for) | ||
| 23 | UNPRESSED |
Rumpled journalists tailing a French newspaper boss (9)
|
| UN (a French) + PRESS (journalists) + ED (newspaper boss) | ||
| 25 | TRUTHER |
Ernest Rutherford’s to some extent a conspiracy theorist (7)
|
| Hidden word (to some extent) Ernest Rutherford. Ernest Rutherford from New Zealand is sometimes known as “the father of nuclear physics”. | ||
| 27 | STORAGE |
Keeping toerags busy (7)
|
| Anagram (busy) of TOERAGS | ||
| 28 | STEROL |
Student on vacation learning about alcohol (6)
|
| S[tuden]T + LORE (learning) backwards (about) | ||
| 29 | DEFENDER |
Back in Slough after case of divine wine sent round (8)
|
| D[ivin]E + FEN (slough) + RED (wine) backwards (sent round) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | TAPESTRY |
Records weary King’s greatest success? (8)
|
| TAPES (records) + TRY (weary) with the definition referring to Carole King’s class album. I do not own a copy of it, but I remember it very well. A classic indeed. And my thanks to BC for helping me out with this one. | ||
| 2 | CLANDESTINE |
Secret family fated ultimately to be ignored (11)
|
| CLAN (family) + DESTINE[d] | ||
| 3 | THUMBNAIL |
Miniature image in absurdly thin album (9)
|
| Anagram (absurdly) of THIN ALBUM | ||
| 4 | RHYME |
Broadcast Frost poem (5)
|
| Homophone (broadcast) of RIME (frost) | ||
| 6 | RAT ON |
Grass one removed from allotment (3,2)
|
| RAT[i]ON (one removed from allotment) | ||
| 7 | EBB |
Flag raised in Caribbean (3)
|
| Reverse (rasied) hidden word (in) | ||
| 8 | HURRY |
Cheer, dispatching a fly (5)
|
| HURR[a]Y (cheer, dispatching ‘A’) | ||
| 9 | COLDNESS |
Frigidity is constant with age (8)
|
| C (constant) + OLDNESS (age) | ||
| 14 | RHODE ISLAND |
Hospital overwhelmed by old dears in terrible state (5,6)
|
| H (hospital) in (overwhelmed by) anagram (terrible) of OLD DEARS IN | ||
| 16 | OBITUARY |
Words on death and sex in broken Yoruba (8)
|
| IT (sex) in (in) anagram (broken) of YORUBA (which is a language of the western part of Nigeria) | ||
| 17 | LITHESOME |
Agile setter tailing hostile drunk (9)
|
| Anagram (drunk) of HOSTILE + ME (setter) | ||
| 18 | HEADGEAR |
Guard against loss, storing American gas in Panama? (8)
|
| A (American) in (storing) HEDGE (guard against loss) + AR (gas, AR being the chemical symbol for argon) | ||
| 21 | POTUS |
President returned to boring matter (5)
|
| TO (to) backwards (returned) in (boring) PUS (matter) with the definition referring acronymically to President Of The United States. | ||
| 22 | YAHOO |
My manhood regularly pulled out by old oaf (5)
|
| [m]Y [m]A[n]H[o]O[d] + O (old) | ||
| 24 | POSSE |
Post Offices held up by extremely sanguine gang (5)
|
| POS (Post Offices) + S[anguin]E | ||
| 26 | USE |
Seconds of pudding, especially welcome treat (3)
|
| [p]U[dding] + [e]S[pecially] + [w]E[lcome] |
I thought this generally gentle but with a sting in the tail.
I thought this a high-quality puzzle and there were smiles aplenty. I had a long list of likes, including HURRY, CLANDESTINE, & UNPRESSED, and I loved THUMBNAIL, STORAGE TRUTHER, & SODA BREAD
STEROL was a jorum. TAPESTRY (do not understand) and PLAGUEY (NHO) crossed,
which considerably delayed my finish.
Thanks RK and Pete
Rosa back to her very best! Superb puzzle with lots of excellent clues. My pick, and LOI, was DEFENDER. Nice bit of misdirection.
Martyn @1: TAPESTRY is a multi-platinum album by Carole King, hence “King’s greatest success.” It features several renditions of songs she wrote that were first made hits by other singers, including “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” and “Natural Woman,” along with other classics such as “So Far Away”, “It’s Too Late,” and “I Feel the Earth Move.” It still holds up well today.
Or do you mean you don’t understand the clue? TAPES are records, and TRY =weary, as in “I find that obnoxious neighbor of ours very trying/wearying.”
Sorry MrP@3 – I should have written ”did not understand” rather than “do not”. I wrote that note as I was solving the puzzle, at which point I understood neither the definition nor the parsing for TAPESTRY. Pete cleared up both for me and I forgot to update before publishing.
I don’t normally do the FT puzzles but picked this one up on a recommendation and I agree it’s very good. I didn’t understand the definition for TAPESTRY (though clear enough from the crossers) so thanks for the clarification. Have to say I’m not enamoured with POTUS as a) it’s an acronym, the first of which is for “president” as given in the definition and b) pus for matter seems very vague. But the minor quibble was more than balanced by the numerous clues I loved, including most of Martyn@1 and Rats@2’s highlights — DEFENDER probably being the pick for me from the surface misdirection, and TRUTHER a close second.
Yes a very good puzzle with numerous excellent clues and no complaints pitched at a nice level of challenge overall. Taciturn, Rasta, tapestry, thumbnail, Rhode island and obituary my favourites.