Financial Times 14,891 by Goliath

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Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of March 28, 2015

I am getting better at Goliath’s puzzles and coming to appreciate them more. A couple of clues gave me trouble in this one (8d notably) but I managed most fairly easily. My clue of the week is 11a (PHOENIX) — a Spoonerism and a reference to another clue together! I also like 14d (MOTIONLESS) and 21d (STOPPER).

ACROSS
1 Makers of spectacles say nothing that hurts functions in transport (4,8)
SHOW BUSINESS – SH (say nothing) + OW (that hurts) + SINES (functions) in BUS (transport)
10 Once more Eastenders in opposition (7)
AGAINST – AGAIN (once more) + [ea]ST
11 What emerges from the next solution is Spooner’s joint remedy (7)
PHOENIX – Spooner’s “knee fix”. So “the next solution” refers to ASHES!
12 Tennis player’s trophy (5)
ASHES – ASHE (tennis player) + S (s)
13 You should reverse some of the time, so you get to park (8)
YOSEMITE – reverse hidden word
15 Is a magnifying glass unable to show fruit? (10)
CANTALOUPE – CANT (is…unable) + A (a) + LOUPE (magnifying glass)
16, 23 Garment that’s tight and short, reportedly after half-eaten muesli and nuts (4,5)
SLIT SKIRT – [mue]SLI + [nu]TS + KIRT (homophone “curt”)
18 Headspread (4)
PATE – double definition
20 One mixes with clique kids: misery without taking sides (10)
LIQUIDISER – [c]LIQU[e] [k]ID[s] [m]ISER[y]
22 Nice hotel for 50 in this game (8)
PLEASANT – PHEASANT (game) with H (hotel) replaced by L (50)
24 Vessel’s about-turn (1-4)
U-BOAT – anagram of ABOUT
26 Analyse cutback imposed on colliery (7)
EXAMINE – AXE (cut) reversed + MINE (colliery)
27 Cleaner when 14 is not genuine (7)
SHAMPOO – SHAM (not genuine) + POO (motionless, 14d)
28 Off the wall, sits a plant (that’s OK) (12)
SATISFACTORY – anagram of SITS A + FACTORY (plant)

DOWN
2 Godless articles inside layer (7)
HEATHEN – A THE (articles) in HEN (layer)
3 Size of bumping swan (8)
WINGSPAN – anagram of PING SWAN
4, 19 Too deep for the listeners to judge (2,2,3,4)
UP TO THE EARS – double definition
5 Goliath’s quick American off-the-cuff remarks (10)
IMPROMPTUS – IM (Goliath’s) + PROMPT (quick) + US (American)
6 Arouse woman, about 28 (5)
EVOKE – OK (28a) in EVE (woman)
7 Old timer, when rampant, had sex with students (7)
SUNDIAL – LAID (had sex with) + NUS (students) all backwards — and with a nice cryptic definition. NUS refers to the National Union of Students.
8 Preserve recipe papa concocted with allspice (7,6)
JAMAICA PEPPER – JAM (preserve) + anagram of RECIPE PAPA. I had to look this one up as I had never come across “Jamaica pepper” as an another name for allspice.
9 Presume speech results in coughing (13)
EXPECTORATION – EXPECT (presume) + ORATION (speech)
14 Still constipated? (10)
MOTIONLESS – double definition
17 Commercial project by soldier’s officer (8)
ADJUTANT – AD (commercial) + JUT (project) + ANT (soldier)
19 See 4
21 Pre- and post-revolutionary plug (7)
STOPPER – anagram of PRE POST
23 See 16
25 Land comes up in appraisal (4)
ASIA – reverse hidden word

11 comments on “Financial Times 14,891 by Goliath”

  1. Thanks for the blog, Pete. This was one of the most enjoyable Saturday FT crosswords in a longtime. Thank you Goliath.

  2. To me the link between 27a and 14d is rather tenuous. If one was constipated (motionless) surely there would be a distinct lack of poo!

    Thanks to Pete and Goliath.

  3. Indeed, ernie, I too put a question mark in 27ac.
    For me, it doesn’t work.
    Is it perhaps a revised clue?

    As one may know by now (eg from Magwitch puzzles), I am not a great fan of a thing like ‘Eastenders’ for ST.
    Moreover, ST is even half of EAST – but true, they’re towards the end.

    In 7d, is ‘rampant’ really a proper reversal indicator?

    Apart from the above, I thought this was another enjoyable Goliath crossword.
    Less tricky than some previous ones from the same setter but still containing some typical (more Guardian-style) devices like the ‘bumping swan’ in 3d.

    Thanks Pete.

  5. Ah yes, Muffyword!
    As simple as that, just didn’t read the clue the way I should’ve.

  6. Thank you all for the comments. I am glad that someone raised a question about the suitability of ‘rampant’ as a reversal indicator. I thought it was a lousy one to put it mildly but had a conversation with another solver who thought it was fine. In the sense presumably meant by Goliath, ‘rampant’ means standing on hind legs when referring to a quadruped. To my mind, this does not in any way seem like a reversal. It might better refer to a horizontal answer becoming a vertical one. Surely appropriate animal indications would be turning front to back for an across clue and turning over (to become supine) for a down clue.

  7. Thanks, Muffyword for the explanation for 27A

    Sil, with regard to 7d

    In heraldry a rampant beast is one standing on its hind legs.
    Perhaps Goliath was using it in this sense to indicate a reversal in this, a down clue.

  8. Thanks Pete.

    I hadn’t noticed the ‘bumping swan’ anagram required for WINGSPAN. Thanks for that.
    The image of a flock of swans in flight (created by four well-chosen words) seemed to
    be cryptic enough. Now I think it’s a very fine clue.

    The first meaning for RAMPANT in Chambers is “rearing” and the first intransitive meaning
    for REAR is “to rise up”. I thought this was near enough … particularly in a clue of this nature!

  9. OK everyone, I am happy now with ‘rampant’ as a reversal indicator for a Down clue.
    Did I say ‘happy’? I meant ‘happy enough’. 🙂

  10. I have come around too, but grudgingly. I apologize for characterizing ‘rampant’ as a lousy reversal indicator — sorry. I will try to be more accepting of it.

  11. Thanks Goliath and Pete

    Agree that this was an interesting and enjoyable puzzle. The parsing of WINGSPAN was too good for me, but think that it is an excellent clue now that it has been explained. Hadn’t heard of UP TO THE EARS – more like UP TO ONE’S EARS – but hey ho, something new.

    Liked both SLIT SKIRT (my last in) and LIQUIDISER.

    A lot of clever little nuances, that are not always immediately seen makes this setter one to look out for with good anticipation.

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