Financial Times no.14,847 by Orense

by

A typically pleasant solve from Orense.

I’m not a big fan of cryptic definitions, but they were my only cavil regarding this smart, solvable puzzle. Thank-you, Orense.

Across
1 MASS HYSTERIA
Frenzy caused by church service? (4,8)
Cryptic definition, playing on the two meanings of ‘mass’
10 REPLICA
Copy most of response, taking heart from vicar (7)
Repl(y) [response]  (v)ica(r)
11 BUY TIME
Delay getting out of prison? (3,4)
Double definition (?)
12 NORTH
The point of Russian orthodoxy? (5)
Hidden in russiaN ORTHodoxy
13 DEMERARA
Rum made with rare ingredients (8)
Anagram of made rare
15 SOLAR CELLS
Trades incorporating coral processed for energy suppliers (5,5)
Anagram of coral within sells [trades]
16 HERO
Long-legged bird with no tail makes champion (4)
Hero(n) [long-legged bird]
18 ACNE
Personal problem that’s new in service (4)
N [new] within ace [service, in tennis]
20 BATTLESHIP
Struggles with joint in vessel (10)
Battles [struggles]  hip [joint]
22 DEMOCRAT
Politician’s protest march about deserter (8)
Demo [protest march] c [circa, about]  rat [deserter]
24 ROMEO
Lover (yours truly) wearing jumper (5)
Me [yours truly] within roo [kangaroo, jumper]
26 NOTELET
Lacking a phone, and in France, gets a short written message (7)
No tel [lacking a phone]  et [‘and’ in France’]
27 MARTINI
Swallow single cocktail (7)
Martin [swallow]  I [one, single]
28 GLOCKENSPIEL
Music producer secure in sleeping around? (12)
Lock [secure] within anagram of sleeping
Down
2 APPAREL
Gear worn by soldiers in disgust (7)
RE [Royal Engineers, soldiers] within appal [disgust]
3 SLITHERS
Revised lists covering the girl’s slips (8)
Her [the girl’s] within anagram of lists
4 YUAN
Uruguay is swamped by mainly American currency (4)
U [Uruguay] within yan(k) [American]
5 TABLECLOTH
Propose clergy must get cover for board (10)
Table [propose]  cloth [clergy]
6 RHYME
Pay and play, as an example of this (5)
Cryptic definition
7 AGITATE
Trouble from volunteers in a French house (7)
A TA [Territorial Army, volunteers] within gite [French house]
8 GRANDSTANDING
Trying to impress King George with status (13)
GR [George Rex, King George]  and [with]  standing [status]
9 METAMORPHOSIS
Revolutionary Amish promotes a complete change (13)
Anagram of amish promotes
14 BELA BARTOK
Bleat unhappily about ban and fine composer (4,6)
Bar [ban] within anaram of bleat  OK [fine]
17 TEARDROP
Little indication of sadness! (8)
Cryptic definition
19 NAME TAG
Call time on a good sign of identification (4,3)
Name [call]  t [time]  a g [good]
21 HEMLINE
Pins and needles may raise it (7)
Cryptic definition
23 CELLO
Love comes after chamber music produced by this? (5)
Cell [chamber]  O [love, zero]
25 AMEN
The last word from adult workers (4)
A [adult]  men [workers]

8 comments on “Financial Times no.14,847 by Orense”

  1. Thanks Ringo and Orense. I needed two sittings but the subconscious did most of the work in between. I thought I had finished but when I came to the blog, realised that I had not done 4d (I was stuck there anyway so thanks for the explanation).

    My only other queries would be for the definitions of BUY TIME and HEMLINE.

  2. Ringo, I share your ? about 11a. I can’t see The second def at all. Otherwise a pleasant, not too challenging solve.

  3. Thanks Orense and Ringo

    For 11ac, the best I can think of is that “getting” is meant to be a homophone indicator, and then “out of” = BY, with “prison” = TIME, but I would be very glad of a better explanation.

  4. Cryptic defs like 6 & 21 need to go, I know its just something in the toolkit but I really don’t like being left thinking its got to be that but why? Oh it’s just a weak cd.
    Otherwise a quick romp after being well and truly Donked earlier.
    Thanks Ringo and Orense

  5. re 11.
    The best I could come up with is ‘getting’ being BUY opposite of ‘I don’t buy it’.
    Very weak explanation though.

  6. My take on 11 is this: since you GET time when you are in prison, you can buy some of it to get out.

    13 was new to me. Enjoyed glockenspiel!

    Thanks to both.

  8. Thanks Orense and Ringo

    Enjoyable enough puzzle, without too many hold-ups. Last one in was BUY TIME – which it had to be, although it left me a little cold.

    GITE was new. Messed up the parsing of YUAN after going down the wrong path with UY= Uruaquay.

    Did feel like a bit of an oversupply of cd’s in it. Thought that SOLAR CELLS was clever.

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