Financial Times 14,005 by Cinephile

by

Easy for some.

Old timers with find this easy, more of a ‘write in’ than a solve.  However, I would not say this is an easy crossword for everyone as there are some obscure words and devices that will be difficult if you have not seen them before (and remebered them from last time!).  A challenge to complete if you worked it all out for yourself.

Hold the mouse pointer over any clue number to read the clue.

Across
1 See 23
4 TRESPASS SPA (spring) in TRESS (lock, of hair)
9, 20 GERMAN MEASLES (SAME GLEN SAME R)* R=river
10 See 11
12 LOSE HOPE Spoonerism of “whose lope”
13, 31 SCOTCH WHISKY SCOTCH (suppress) WHISK (beater) and You (start of)
15 SKIM SKI (footwear) Mop (head of)
16, 21 ENGLISH ROSE (SINGLE HORSE)*
20 See 9
25 AURORA sound like “or roarer”
26 SCIMITAR SCA (trauma) holding I (one, Roman numeral) and TIM (boy) reversed
28 TENTACLE TENT (canvas structure) with (LACE)* anagram=worked
29 PRIEST definition and cryptic definition – priest = thou priest = you are prying = thou art a snooper
30 SCHOONER double definition
31 See 13
Down
1 PUGILIST PUG (the dog) I LIST (I’m categorising)
2 LORDSHIP LORDS (cricket centre) HIP (joint)
3 SWATHE SWAT (hit) HE (man)
5 RAMP RAM (sheep) with P (tail of sheep)
6 SOLECISM SOLE (only) and SISM sounds like “schism” (disconnection) – an uncommon pronunciation of ‘schism’ I think
7 ASTUTE AS with TUTElage (guardianship) half of
8 SEETHE SEE (spot) THE (definite article)
11, 10 SPANISH OMELETTE SPAN (length) IS HOME LETTEr (almost=unfinished) – definition is ‘full of vegetables’, like a Spanish omelette. I wonder why Cinephile did not go all the way and make a completely hidden solution using a pan for the omelette?
14 FLUENCY FLUE (opening) for (to be given to) Northern CitY (missing it)
17 YEARS AGO YE (you) with A Right and SAGO (milk pudding)
18 FORTRESS FOR TRESS (lock, of hair) – lock=hair also used in 4 across
19 SECRETLY SEC (second, little time) and RELY (trust) including T (little time) – definition is ‘in camera’
22 MANTIS Isle of MAN and TIS (it is, its) old=archaic usage
23, 1 across FRENCH POLISH FRENCH (European) POLISH (European) gives two Europeans
24 SMIRCH CHRISM*
27 BLUE definition and cryptic definition – ‘to blue’ is an archaic form of ‘to blow’, squander

*anagram

9 comments on “Financial Times 14,005 by Cinephile”

  1. Thanks PeeDee. Not the hardest as you say, but great fun. I was also surprised by schism pronounced as cism, never come across that before.

    I admired the device of starting all the split answers with a European nationality — German, French, Scotch, English, Spanish. Lovely touch which I only noticed near completion.

  3. Thanks PeeDee and Cinephile. Agree with all your comments above. Small typo in 5d – should be RAM with P (tail of sheep). Just to show we’re awake!

  4. Thanks PeeDee and Cinephile.
    Not too difficult, but enjoyable. Didn’t spot the European connection, I guess because the solving went smoothly without much pause. Also was surprised by SCHISM pronounciation, but it’s there in the dicts. including the English ones (something like the pronounciation for “schedule”?).
    I think 9,20 GERMAN MEASLES didn’t come out as you intended.
    Only question is 22D MANTIS, where one has to add an apostrophe into the clue to make TIS=IT IS=IT’S=ITS.

  6. scchua – I’ve been reading around the subject and it appears the modern distiction between its and it’s was not consistently adopted until the 19th century, so I suppose that the clue is OK as Cinephile states the word(s) are ‘old’.

  7. Thanks for the research, PeeDee. (I recall in school much was made of the distinction and you paid for making the error with marks deleted and/or lines.)

  8. Apparently a consistent use of it/it’s only became important when ’tis went out of fashion. Before then if there was a possibility of confusion you would just use ’tis instead.

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