Raich has set our challenge today: there are a few obscure references, but all with helpful wordplay to compensate.
I thought a couple of the clues didn’t quite work for various reasons, noted below, but perhaps I’m just being pedantic. Otherwise this was an enjoyable solve; I particularly liked the extended definition of 3d and the amusingly misleading definition of 15d.
We have a theme, too: perhaps one that solvers will either love or hate, but I thought the answers were generally guessable without detailed knowledge of the subject. It’s the 150th anniversary of the FIRST DAY of games in the first ever FA CUP (1a, 4a and 7a); we have the first, most recent, and most frequent WINNERS (9a), along with two of the teams who played in the first day’s matches (and another one referenced in wordplay). Thanks Raich – it was a good game!
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | FIRST |
Suitable to include Royal Society in describing this clue (5)
|
| FIT (suitable), including RS (abbreviation for Royal Society).
The first clue in the puzzle. |
||
| 4 | FA CUP |
New opening for old Lancashire mill town creates competition (2,3)
|
| [b]ACUP (old Lancashire mill town), with the opening letter changed (new). I’d prefer the wordplay to say what the new first letter is, rather than just saying it’s changed: compare with 25d, which does this better.
Short name for the Football Association Challenge Cup. |
||
| 7 | DAY |
Period noted regularly in diary (3)
|
| Alernate letters (noted regularly) in D[i]A[r]Y. | ||
| 9 | WINNERS |
They succeeded Wrens in shake-up (7)
|
| Anagram (shake-up) of WRENS IN. | ||
| 10 | MANITOU |
Godlike spirit of strange mountain? Not quite (7)
|
| Anagram (strange) of MOUNTAI[n] (not quite = all but the last letter).
Native American word for a spirit. |
||
| 11 | SPHEROID |
Shape of shop, dire, unfortunately (8)
|
| Anagram (unfortunately) of SHOP DIRE.
Three-dimensional shape, like a sphere but stretched or squashed. |
||
| 12 | TYPING |
Sort dropping English – at home with good keyboard skill (6)
|
| TYP[e] (sort) without the E (English), then IN (at home) + G (good). | ||
| 14 | WANDERERS |
1A 4A 9 having answer rewritten, to accommodate the German (9)
|
| Anagram (rewritten) of ANSWER, containing DER (a form of “the” in German).
FIRST FA CUP WINNERS (1a 4a 9a) = Wanderers FC, who won the first ever competition in the 1871-72 season. |
||
| 17 | INEPT |
Clumsy writer going wrong way in Italian (5)
|
| PEN (writer), reversed (going wrong way), in IT (short for Italian). | ||
| 18 | LOTUS |
Chance introducing American water lily (5)
|
| LOT (chance, as in “drawing lots”) before (introducing) US (American).
Name given to various different flowering plants, including water lilies. |
||
| 19 | LEICESTER |
4A 9 in 2021, famous jockey said (9)
|
| Homophone (said) of LESTER (Lester Piggott, retired professional jockey).
Leicester City, FA CUP WINNERS (4a 9a) in the 2020-2021 season. |
||
| 20 | MARLOW |
Moral, reforming willingly in beginning in Bucks town from 1A 4A 7A (6)
|
| Anagram (reforming) of MORAL, then the beginning of W[illingly].
Town in Buckinghamshire, whose football club played one of the matches on the FA CUP FIRST DAY (1a 4a 7a). |
||
| 22 | COBWEBBY |
Like net company associated with socialist, Sidney, in past (8)
|
| CO (short for company), then WEBB (socialist Sidney Webb) in BY (past, as in “gone by”). | ||
| 27 | ARSENAL |
4A 9 most often in military store (7)
|
| Double definition: Arsenal FC, who have been FA CUP WINNERS (4a 9a) more often than any other team; or a storage facility for weapons and ammunition. But it’s not quite a true double definition because one meaning is derived from the other: the club was originally named after the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, where it was founded, before moving north of the river. | ||
| 28 | HITCHIN |
Slight problem in Herts town from 1A 4A 7A (7)
|
| HITCH (slight problem) + IN.
Town in Hertfordshire, whose football club played one of the matches on the FA CUP FIRST DAY (1a 4a 7a). |
||
| 29 | TIS |
It is briefly part of treatise (3)
|
| Hidden answer (part of . . .) in [trea]TIS[e].
‘TIS = archaic or poetic short form of “it is”. |
||
| 30 | EATER |
One dining getting attention, welcoming note? (5)
|
| EAR (attention), containing TE (a note in the tonic sol-fa scale). | ||
| 31 | REIMS |
Starts to recall eagerly in Maidenhead, splendid bubbly place (5)
|
| First letters (starts) of R[ecall] E[agerly] I[n] M[aidenhead] S[plendid]. For the record, Maidenhead United FC also played on the 1a 4a 7a, beating 20a.
French city known for champagne (bubbly) production. |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | FAWNS |
Enthusiast, hugging wife with son, cringes to seek favour (5)
|
| FAN (enthusiast) around W (wife), then S (son). | ||
| 2 | RANCH |
Managed Church farm (5)
|
| RAN (managed) + CH (church). | ||
| 3 | THE CREEPS |
Disturbing spectre enveloping man – leading to these? (3,6)
|
| Anagram (disturbing) of SPECTRE, around HE (man).
Extended definition: the creeps = slang for a general feeling of unease or fear. |
||
| 4 | FASTI |
Ancient Roman calendar showing period without food on island (5)
|
| FAST (period of abstaining from food) + I (island).
Ancient Roman schedule of days on which business can be done, or official record of public events. |
||
| 5 | COMB |
With great care, search clubs mob organised (4)
|
| C (abbreviation for clubs in card games) + anagram (organised) of MOB. | ||
| 6 | PENNY |
Little money for girl (5)
|
| Double definition: a small coin, or a girl’s name (usually short for Penelope). | ||
| 7 | DETRIMENT |
Disadvantage of French river this person’s admitted (9)
|
| DE (French for “of”) + TRENT (river in central England), with I’M (this person is) inserted. | ||
| 8 | YOUNGSTER |
Child’s turn? Yes, go freely (9)
|
| Anagram (freely) of TURN YES GO. | ||
| 13 | OSSI |
Gossip is too much for former East German (4)
|
| Hidden answer in [g]OSSI[p] – though “. . . is too much for” seems a somewhat contrived indicator for “part of . . .”.
German informal term for someone from the former East Germany, derived from German Ost = East. |
||
| 14 | WELL-MEANT |
Source, average over time, becoming anxious to please (4-5)
|
| WELL (source of water, or metaphorically a source in general) + MEAN (average), before (over, in a down clue) T (time).
I don’t think the grammar of the definition quite works. Someone who is “anxious to please” is well-meaning, and their actions are well-meant; but the actions themselves can’t really be described as anxious to please. |
||
| 15 | NATURISTS |
Some lacking cover having trust as at outset new insurance arranged (9)
|
| Anagram (arranged) of TRUST AS + first letters (at outset) of N[ew] I[nsurance].
Naturists = people who don’t cover themselves with clothes. |
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| 16 | EELY |
Evasive conclusion of article on cathedral city (4)
|
| Last letter (conclusion) of [articl]E + ELY (cathedral city in eastern England).
I suppose (and Chambers agrees) that you can say eely = like an eel = slippery = evasive. But I don’t think it’s a particularly useful word, except perhaps to crossword setters. |
||
| 17 | ICED WATER |
Drink knocked back first of December at sea maybe? (4,5)
|
| DEC I (Dec 1 = first of December), reversed (knocked back), then WATER (sea maybe). | ||
| 21 | OUNCE |
Small amount at one time limiting university (5)
|
| ONCE (at one time), containing (limiting) U (university).
A small measure of weight, or metaphorically a small amount as in “not an ounce of common sense”. |
||
| 23 | OTHER |
Parent losing head – something else! (5)
|
| [m]OTHER (parent) without its first letter (head). | ||
| 24 | BAHAI |
Faith in Jedi, a habit brought up (5)
|
| Hidden answer, reversed (in . . . , brought up = upwards in a down clue) in [jed]I A HAB[it].
Bahá’í = Middle Eastern religious faith. |
||
| 25 | YANKS |
Americans’ military vehicles’ temperature turning to variable (5)
|
| [t]ANKS (military vehicles), with the T (temperature) changing to Y (mathematical symbol for a variable). | ||
| 26 | FLAT |
Uninteresting form of horse racing (4)
|
| Double definition: unexciting, or horse racing that doesn’t involve going over jumps. |
A valid but, for a rugby man, obscure theme and, with the role of the minor players totally obscure, a fair number of bung and shrugs – MARLOW, HITCHIN ETC. I held off checking Googl until I’d finished but it’s an interesting reflection on changing times to see the winners and other contenders in those early competitions. WANDERERS was a team of ex public schoolboys and other significant teams included Royal Engineers, Oxford University and the old Etonians. It took a dozen years for a ‘proper’ football team to win the cup.
NATURISTS was the stand out clue today, by a country mile. I also enjoyed COBWEBBY, BAHAI, FIRST and, belie it or not, EELY simply becauae, however improbable the construction, it turned out to be a word!
Thanks Raich and Quirister
A couple of new words here in MANITOU and FASTI added to the enjoyment provided by the theme, even if I failed on the theme-related HITCHIN and didn’t know (B)ACUP. I thought EELY might be made up too, but apparently not.
Favourite was SPHEROID, mainly because it brings to mind a song about a different football code, as it did about ? 12-18 months ago when it was last an answer here.
Thanks to Quirister and Raich
As a football (and especially Leicester City) fan the theme was right up my street, and most of the themed answers were write-ins, but the relevance of MARLOW and HITCHIN completely escaped me and, even now I know, seems a little too obscure. 22A had to be COBWEBBY, but I couldn’t parse it. Very enjoyable, so thanks Raich and Quirister.
Not at all a football fan but this was one of my quickest solves in recent weeks. Except that I for some reason thought 13dn was OSTI, ost being German for east. Yet I knew the correct word and still entered the wrong one!
All over bar the shouting in the first half hour, like some matches I would prefer to forget. I think you could describe this incorporation of the theme as well-meant, so no problems for me with 14d. I thought “is too much” was innovative rather than contrived. The towns were all clued clearly enough without any FA Cup knowledge. ARSENAL was a bit of a drab 1-0 of a clue though.
FASTI was a new word to us but once we got that 4ac was obvious and the rest of the thematic clues fell into place although we didn’t understand the significance of the theme. Nice to see that 21dn wasn’t a snow leopard for a change.
Favourite was SPHEROID.
Thanks, Raich and Quirister.
Very excited to find my home town in a clue, though ashamed that it took me so long to spot it!
Not any sort of sports fan, so I just enjoyed this as a well constructed, well clued crossword. Knew 22a must be cobwebby, but wouldn’t write it in, not having parsed the ‘by’ bit, so much thanks to Quirister for that. Like Dormouse I put osti for 13d. Ho hum. All in all, a pleasant surprise to solve a Thursday so pleasurably. Thanks to Raich and Quirister
Many thanks, Quirister, for the excellent blog and also to all those who commented.
The three clubs from the first day referred to in the crossword are those who are still playing today, though they are now a bit down the football pyramid. As mentioned, the professional game came about a decade or so later but the competition was the same one, and pretty much the first national competition in football as we know it.
The first international game (Scotland v England) came twelve months later.