Posted by nmsindy on 5th June 2007
Not too difficult.
Solving time: 19 mins
* = anagram
ACROSS
1 S (TRAP PAD) O Pad = tread = tramp thus = so
9 AM OUR AM = “after which PM” electorate = our
10 RO (TATA B)LE Role =position
11 KNAVE 17 is CARD Double definition
12 FIT TO DROP Definition is “all in” (tired) fit = attack
13 NIGH ToGs (odd bits) OWN = personal
17 CARD Double definition card = character = original
19 SPIDERMAN Cryptic definition (No!)- fictional superhero (Thanks, Robin, below for explaining there is more to this - “Throw a web out of his skin, could he?” Very clever, actually.)
23 R (AB) AT Capital of Morocco
25 OVERMATCH (vote charm)* US usage as indicated in clue
27 HE-MAN Name h reversed
29 EX PENS I’VE Punk’s taken = I have = I’ve
DOWN
2 RIO JA Rio de Janeiro and yes in German
3 PER VERT
6/22 BUTTOCK-CLENCHING
7 AR (BORE rooT) UM
8 EXE M PT Exe = runner (river)
12 FROG SPITTLE (get split for)* My last entry
14 G R ACE LESS 17 is CARD
20 EAR THEN Lend me your ears
21 A (answer) CROSS This is a down clue.
24 B AMBI(t) Disney’s animated deer.
Posted in Independent | 3 Comments »
Posted by neildubya on 5th June 2007
We start our FT blogging with a nice and easy puzzle from Highlander. I’m not the world’s quickest solver but I think I managed this in something like 7-8 minutes. I haven’t commented on many clues as most of them are self-explanatory.
| Across |
| 4 |
R in SPOUT |
| 8 |
(ENTER)*,A,L |
| 11 |
BROAD’S,WORD |
| 12 |
TAN,GO - “get Brown to leave” is another way of saying “Tan - go!” |
| 18 |
NO(t)MAD |
| 21 |
(SOAPS ELDER)* - well, you learn something every day. I filled in LEOPARDESS immediately but it seemed odd that it was defined as “panther’s mate” - I thought a leopard and panther were completely different things. Turns out, that a panther is just another for leopard, especially a black one, although in the US it’s a puma or jaguar. |
| 23 |
FO,(AGILE)* - the definition (”leaves”) is nicely disguised and I liked the wordplay but the surface reading is a bit unconvincing - why would leaving the Foreign Office make you agile? |
| 24 |
(DIGS TIN)* |
| 26 |
IN,FAN,T |
| |
| Down |
| 2 |
(TRAINER)* |
| 3 |
TOADS,LOOT (going up) |
| 7 |
T,RA,VERSED - if you’re “experienced”, you might say you’re well versed. |
| 10 |
A in (LOCATION)* |
| 13 |
THRESH,OLD |
| 17 |
I’M< in CHEST |
| 19 |
MADE,IRA |
| 21 |
LA,GER - “the French” is almost always going to be either LE or LA. |
| 22 |
SIGHT - “site” |
Posted in FT | No Comments »
Posted by neildubya on 5th June 2007
From today, we shall be blogging the Financial Times puzzles. We may not be able to cover every day of the week as we don’t yet have enough volunteers but hopefully this will change in the near future.
The FT has two prize puzzles, appearing on a Saturday and Monday; the blogs for these will appear after the closing date for entries, which is the Wednesday 9 and 11 days after the puzzle was published.
Finally, if you’re an FT solver yourself and you fancy having a go at blogging, drop us a line at fifteensquared@googlemail.com.
Neil
Posted in FT | 1 Comment »