Puzzle from the Weekend FT of April 11, 2026
If this puzzle had been published without naming the compiler, I would have guessed it to be the work of Ms Klebb. My first-in was 12 (OKAY) and last was 24 (BEARDIE), a word I do not recall coming across before — even though I happen to be one. My favourite clue has to be 15 (ABATEMENT) and I also applaud 7 (TESTAMENT) and 14 (BRASSIER). Thank you Rosa.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | INTACT |
International law is inviolate (6)
|
| INT (international) + ACT (law) | ||
| 4 | MAP OUT |
Sketch old lady with petulant expression (3,3)
|
| MA (old lady) + POUT (petulant expression) | ||
| 8 | CLOSETS |
Idiot briefly sinks down and shuts up (7)
|
| CLO[t] (idiot briefly) + SETS (sinks down) | ||
| 9 | JUJITSU |
Italian’s fetish clothes for martial art (7)
|
| ITS (Italian’s) in (clothes) JUJU (fetish) | ||
| 11 | GREAT-NIECE |
Female relative and I enter cage fights (5-5)
|
| Anagram (fights) of I ENTER CAGE | ||
| 12 | OKAY |
Fine old ox from the east (4)
|
| O (old) + YAK (ox) backwards (from the east) | ||
| 13 | PIECE |
Article announcing end of war (5)
|
| Homophone (announcing) of “peace” (end of war) | ||
| 14 | BRASSIER |
Backless underwear is more saucy (8)
|
| BRASSIER[e] (backless underwear) | ||
| 16 | REBUTTAL |
Brute changed bulk of story in counter-statement (8)
|
| Anagram (changed) of BRUTE + TAL[e] (bulk of story) | ||
| 18 | ARGOT |
Element of retired photographers’ slang (5)
|
| Reverse (retired) hidden word (element of) | ||
| 20 | LOUT |
Dolt left unconscious (4)
|
| L (left) + OUT (unconscious) | ||
| 21 | ABSTEMIOUS |
Current dons mess about, unhappily ascetic (10)
|
| I (current) in (dons) anagram (unhappily) of MESS ABOUT | ||
| 23 | LEG-PULL |
Practical joke still entertaining English doctor (3-4)
|
| E (English + GP (doctor) together (entertaining) LULL (still) | ||
| 24 | BEARDIE |
Man with whiskers and hump regularly ignored advice (7)
|
| BEAR (hump) + [a]D[v]I[c]E | ||
| 25 | ARRANT |
Absolute guarantee, without limits (6)
|
| [w]ARRANT[y] (guarantee without limits) | ||
| 26 | STUDLY |
Virile boss, extremely lusty (6)
|
| STUD (boss) + L[ust]Y | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | IDLER |
Doctor riled layabout (5)
|
| Anagram (doctor) of RILED | ||
| 2 | TO SPARE |
Extra rent includes leisure facility (2,5)
|
| SPA (leisure facility in (includes) TORE (rent) | ||
| 3 | COTANGENT |
Thrash chap after company function (9)
|
| CO (company) + TAN (thrash) + GENT (char) | ||
| 5 | ACUTE |
Canny copper polished off sandwiches (5)
|
| CU (copper) in (sandwhiches) ATE (polished off) | ||
| 6 | OMINOUS |
In my opinion, inverted common sense is sinister (7)
|
| IMO (in my opinion) backwards (inverted) + NOUS (common sense) | ||
| 7 | TESTAMENT |
Will start to tax energy, fertiliser and tea, we hear (9)
|
| T[ax] E[nergy] + STAMEN (fertiliser!) + T (tea, we hear) | ||
| 10 | VERBALISE |
Batty Basil, ever articulate (9)
|
| Anagram (BATTY) of BASIL EVER | ||
| 13 | PHENOMENA |
Amid catastrophe, no men anticipate miracles (9)
|
| Hidden word (amid) | ||
| 15 | ABATEMENT |
Weakening, sailor resorted to cannibalism over time (9)
|
| AB (sailor) + ATE MEN (resorted to cannibalism) + T (time) | ||
| 17 | UP TO PAR |
Intelligence-wise, are mostly satisfactory (2,2,3)
|
| UP TOP (intelligence-wise, meaning mind) + AR[e] | ||
| 19 | GOITRED |
Hormonally challenged, show embarrassment about sex (7)
|
| IT (sex) in (about) GO RED (show embarrassment) | ||
| 21 | ALL IN |
Ready to drop everything at home (3,2)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 22 | UNITY |
The number one seat of learning, tragically depleted (5)
|
| UNI (seat of learning) + T[ragicall]Y |
I thought PHENOMENA was wonderful, and marvelled at how a setter can spot ARGOT backwards in the middle of photographer (and nice surface too). I loved the ABATEMENT surface and also liked LOUT, ALL IN and MAP OUT
I could not parse TESTAMENT or JUJTSU. And would someone please tell me what does a GOITRE have to do with hormones and their challenges?
Thank RK and PM
Thanks Rosa for a splendid crossword. I thoroughly enjoyed this with my favourites being GREAT-NIECE, PIECE, LEG-PULL, TO SPARE, TESTAMENT, the expertly hidden PHENOMENA, and ABATEMENT with its brilliant ‘cannibalism’. Thanks Pete for the blog.
Martyn @1: One of the causes of an enlarged thyroid (goitre) is an overabundance of thyroid hormone, thus ‘hormonally challenged’.
Thanks PM, and my favourite setter, Ms Hayes.
For some reason I had a blind spot with TO SPARE my LOI.
Haven’t heard STUDLY before. Is it humorous? Made me laugh.
Liked PHENOMENA and ABATEMENT for reasons mentioned above, and GOITRED, BRASSIER, OMINOUS and ABSTEMIOUS for RK’s characteristically entertaining surfaces and excellent wordplay.
My top faves: CLOSETS, REBUTTAL, ABSTEMIOUS, STUDLY, ABATEMENT, UP TO PAR and ALL IN.
UP TO PAR
Chambers:
up top (informal)
in respect of intelligence
intelligence-wise 🙂
ALL IN
One def (ready to drop) +one WP (ALL+IN)?
Thanks Rosa Klebb and Pete.
Thanks for the blog , usual high standard , I will just mention ABSTEMIOUS for the deceptive dons which avoided the indirect anagram for I , and OMINOUS as I finally know what IMO stands for .
I think STUDLY was just a difficult place in the grid , often happens bottom right .
Got COTANGENT partly from crossers but also by incorrectly at first thinking TAN was the function.
Liked: TESTAMENT (for the unusual fertiliser), ARRANT, STUDLY (because for once I remembered boss is a kind of stud), LEG PULL, ABATEMENT
Thanks Rosa Klebb and Pete
Beautifully smooth as always. I am obviously having a thing about words ending in ENT as ABATEMENT, TESTAMENT, COTANGENT all feature in my list of faves as they do for others. And ticks for PHENOMENA and ABSTEMIOUS. And, just to be original, BEARDIE made me smile.
Thanks both
Another delightful puzzle from Rosa.
I hadn’t noticed Postmark’s triple ENT endings but I’d given ticks to them all, plus, like him, PHENOMENA and ABSTEMIOUS.
I smiled at 10dn (Batty Basil) because it reminded me of another of Rosa’s clues, which is in my little book of classics, blogged by Pete here: https://www.fifteensquared.net/2019/03/07/financial-times-16099-by-rosa-klebb/?highlight=Nora%20Batty (Goodness – seven years ago!).
Thanks, as always, to Rosa and Pete.
Top quality, as usual from RK. Liked great niece, testament, many others. Thanks to both.
Yep, pretty silky as per from Rosa. I suppose the whole universe is pretty miraculous, so you could say all phenomena are …
Nora Batty, a nag? (4)
CODs in my book were OKAY and BRASSIER. Classy work as always, thank you Rosa.
[ MrPosrMark@12 , I think your comment has escaped from the Peto blog . ]
“Studly ” is a new word for me although it couldn’t be anything else. I enjoy Rosa’s puzzles – I’m on her wavelength.
And as an aside, has the Jumbo 18336 from the Easter Weekend not been blogged? I can’t find it anywhere.
As far as I know that Jumbo has not been blogged. However it has not been totally forgotten. Behind the scenes there has been some discussion about creating a new and better protocol for blogging the FT’s occasional Jumbo.