Financial Times 14,846 by ALBERICH

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A very good and interesting puzzle. Some puzzles contain a string of traditional cryptic constructions and feel a bit workmanlike.  Alberich puts together a set of traditional cryptic constructions and the result is fresh and entertaining.  I can’t put my finger on what makes the difference.  No doubt that that explains why I just blog the these puzzles not set them.

I’m stuck on 6 across, any help appreciated.  Thanks Alberich.

wpid-Financial-Times-14846-by-ALBERICH.png
Across
1 LEGITIMATE
Run off to get married? Outside Italy that’s allowed (10)
LEG IT (run off) MATE (to get married) containing (outside) I (Italy)
6  CHIP
No work for cop in nick (4)
I’m stuck on this one. I can think of CHIP, WHIP and SHOP that all mean ‘nick’.  Cop missing OP (work) than HIP (in) – thanks to beery hiker
9 CORSAIR
Pirate gold’s hidden in heap of stones, mostly (7)
OR’S (gold’s) inside (hidden in) CAIRn (heap of stones, mostly)
10 ABDOMEN
Belly dancing half-heartedly banned to keep order (7)
BANnED* (half-heartedly) anagram=dancing containing (to keep) OM (Order of Merit)
12 DETACHMENT
Reserve or several reserves? (10)
double definition – shyness and a military unit
13 OBI
Old boy’s current fetish (3)
OB (old boy) has I (current, electrical symbol) – an alternative spelling of obeah (West Indian sorcery)
15 ENTITY
Being who I am, I had to leave (6)
idENTITY (who I am) missing I’D (I had)
16 POTEMKIN
Russian military leader gives a lot of money to family? About half of them (8)
POT (a lot of money) to KIN (family) containing (about) thEM (half of)
18 NAUTICAL
Reported bad state of ships (8)
NAUTI sounds like (reported) “naughty” (bad) then CAL (California, state)
20 HOPPER
One buys second discounted jumper (6)
sHOPPER (one buys) missing (discounted) S (second)
23 TAG
Retired gun dog (3)
GAT (gun) reversed (retired) – to follow
24 OPPRESSION
Person is beaten up after opposing parliament’s leaders, exemplifying this? (10)
 (PERSON IS)* anagram=beaten up following (after) O P (leading letters of opposing parliament)
26 TRAFFIC
In court one fellow very much rebutted dishonest trading (7)
I (one) F (fellow) FAR (very much) in CT (court) all reversed (rebutted)
27 AMATORY
Loving laconic statement by right- winger? (7)
AM A TORY=”I am a Conservative” (laconic statement, spoken using few words)
28 DIET
Long time to go without sugar perhaps (4)
DIE (long, yearn for) T (time)
29 POWER LUNCH
Business meeting’s to lessen blow when leaders exchange positions (5,5)
LOWER PUNCH (to lessen blow) with leading letters exchanged
Down
1 LUCK
Penniless Yank makes fortune (4)
pLUCK (yank) missing P (penny)
2 GARMENT
Perhaps shift manager, losing article carelessly, gets tense (7)
MANaGER* anagram=carelessly missing A (indefinite article) with T (tense)
3 TEAR A STRIP OFF
Forcibly remove item of sports outfit as reprimand (4,1,5,3)
cryptic/double definition
4 MARSHY
Swampy’s mother runs to join cast (6)
MA (mother) R (runs) with (to join) SHY (cast)
5 THANEDOM
Macbeth’s territory compared with Esau’s (8)
THAN (compare with) EDOM (Esau) – Macbeth was the Thane of Glamis and Cawdor
7 HEMLOCK
A bit of a shock south of the border, discovering poison (7)
LOCK (a bit of a shock, of hair) following (‘south of’ in down clue) HEM (border)
8 PENSIONERS
Senior persons? Not right, so different term for older folk (10)
(sENIor PERSONS)* anagram=different missing (not) R (right) and SO – the definition could have been at either end – sneaky!
11 DOTHEBOYS HALL
Is every one of the male pupils taking heroin? That’s a bad school (9,4)
DO THE BOYS ALL (is every one of the male pupils) containing (taking) H (heroin) – in Nicholas Nickleby a school seving as a dumping ground for unwanted children
14 REINSTATED
Clue for “rain” is restored (10)
 REIN STATED would be a clue for “rain” (rein sounds ike rain)
17 GAZPACHO
After short look old chap ordered soup (8)
GAZe (look, short) then anagram (ordered) of O (old) and CHAP
19 UPGRADE
At university degree is to improve (7)
UP (at university) GRADE (degree)
21 PRONOUN
Tom’s sister concealing love for him? (7)
PRO (prostitute, tom) has NUN (sister) containing (concealing) O (love)
22 NEW AGE
Spiritual movement created by Sunderland workers’ pay? (3,3)
NE WAGE worker’s pay from the North East, Sunderland for example
25 MYTH
Thchoolgirl’th a legend (4)
miss (schoolgirl) spoken with a lisp
*anagram
definitions are underlined

9 comments on “Financial Times 14,846 by ALBERICH”

  1. Haven’t actually done this one but your opening paragraph caught my eye – I think it’s CHIP – C(OP) and in=HIP

  2. Thanks PeeDee. I did get CHIP but needed your help to parse PRONOUN (cannot recall seeing pro = tom before) and THANEDOM, even having read the Wikipedia entry for Esau and seen that he was the progenitor of the Edomites.

    Thanks Alberich for the fun.

  3. Thanks PeeDee and Alberich. Excellent puzzle, full of wit and ingenuity. I failed on CHIP, for the same reasons you give in your preamble!

  4. Thanks Alberich, silky smooth surfaces and very entertaining puzzle.

    Thanks PeeDee, I didn’t know EDOM and had forgotten DOTHEBOYSHALL.

    Many great clues but my favourites were for CHIP, AMATORY, POWER LUNCH & PRONOUN

  6. Another gem from Alberich/Klingsor, whose puzzles have been consistently entertaining, witty, ingenious and creative for as long as I can recall. Just too many great clues to eulogise, but 12ac, 13ac and 2dn were brilliant for their simplicity, and the implicit homophone at 14dn was veritably pioneering. As usual, seamless, utterly credible surfaces and vacuum-packed clueing! Thanks!

  7. Thanks for a great blog, PeeDee.

    I know what you mean about the freshness – eg the new slant on the frequently clued REINSTATE[D], as Monk points out.

    Together with that, my favourite were THANEDOM, DOTHEBOYS HALL and PRONOUN.

    Urieka @2 – I could echo Pierre in his blog of Bucko’s puzzle on Monday: “I only know from crosswords rather than personal experience that ‘Tom’ is a slang word for ‘prostitute’ or PRO.” – and even then I’d practically forgotten it again by today.

    Many thanks to Alberich: I agree with all the epithets above – but Wot no opera?

  8. I got CHIP right away, thought it quite a good clue, along with many others but was thrown by DOTHEBOYS HALL. Not well enough read, I suppose. Also needed help parsing Tom as pro. Enjoyed POWER LUNCH–rather like a non-homonym Spooner.

    More challenging than the Guardian today, which is, for me at least, unusual. Great time! Thanks to both!

  9. Fantastic puzzle from Alberich. Thanks to him and PD too.

    Whatever I would have liked to say has already been said before me by other solvers, so nothing more to add than to say “Give us some more!”.

    Cheers
    TL

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