On the doable side of the Io spectrum.
As ever with Io, this is a slow burner, but overall on the more accessible side. Some completely brilliant ideas. Many thanks to the setter.
THOUGH (but) + TREADING (putting one’s foot down)
Cryptic definition
1A shows our ‘one step forward’: [though]T READ[ing]
22 & 24 show our ‘two steps back’: [jos]E CAP[ablanca]<; [ventur]E CAP[ital]<
[employe]ES RET[rieving]< (boxes, <after retirement)
Cryptic definition
Reverse clue: [t]ONE[d] (limitless) = somebody
Triple definition
- Verb ‘to plane’; 2. tree; 3. noun ‘plane’ / thing that smoothens
FORT (keep) + OF (with) + FEE (what is quoted)
For ‘of’/’with’: A person of good character/a person with good character
(I (independent); TENOR (singer suppresses)) during BEE (gathering)
BE NED< (play the hooligan, in Scottish play, <for returning)
DENEB is a star in the Cygnus constellation
‘Ned’ is Scottish slang for a hooligan
CH (Chronicles, esp. Biblical) + (ISRAELI)* (*mock)
[i]N [s]E[v]E[n] D[a]Y[s] (asking for seconds)
(AS PALACE JOB CAN)* (*hurt)
Capablanca is a former chess genius
RECAP IT (to sum it up) in [e]VENTUAL (future, what’s up front can be lost) – &lit
((R, A accepting E (electronic)) + C (clubs)) in OVERT (open)
Double definition
T[evye’s] O[iriginal] P[layer] O[bject] L[esson] (for beginners)
Topol is a mononymous actor who played Tevye, the lead character in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’
*Not quite sure how to make the definition work for this one
ECO (green) + MERC (car) secured by ME (this chap)
(OWN (have) + T[one]R (case of) + ODD (left over)) in DEN (study)
Double definition
(MAY ALL[a]H BLESS, bar A (academy))* (*flourishing)
(E (earl) LATER RENTS)* (*out)
Cryptic definition
A fair fair would refund a sub-par experience
FUEL (stoke) welcomes N, N (new, new) having NET (cleared)
AT ONE (agreed)
SA (it, sex appeal) admitted by 1 AC (leading light)
Isaac is the Biblical father of twins Jacob and Esau
Double definition
Superb puzzle. Thanks Io.
Excellent blog. Thanks Oriel.
Top picks: O S F T S BACK, LIMITLESS, V CAPITAL, F FAIR and ISAAC.
Saved a lot of time by looking at the blog after a cursory glance at the puzzle on the train. Really not my bag and completely different level of solvability to all the other puzzles which are commute friendly.
Thanks for the blog , IO Wednesday twice in April , what a treat . A friendly grid with long entries and quite a lot of first letters .
I have found the last several Io’s to be extremely difficult so I was in two minds whether to print this one off and then I saw Oriel’s prologue and decided to give it a go
It was definitely doable – the five-letter solutions were particularly helpful – and enjoyable too
thanks to Io and Oriel
Enjoyable, though I still needed a little bit of help to finish.
Comment #6
I ticked DOWNTRODDEN and CHARLES II
I was doing well for a while, but then the pace slowed to a crawl with many words or phrases that were obscure to me. I solved everything but gave up with several unparsed answers, some of which I would never have got.
Thanks I0 and thanks Oriel for your excellent blog
I think IO has softened in the sun. On the easier side for him which means it was still hugely difficult. Either that or I was on wave length with the long answers which gave me the checking letters for a fighting chance.
As a chess fan enjoyed JOSE CAPABLANCA although never seen him referred to without the Raul.
A few I couldn’t parse so thanks for the blog. FAIRS FAIR took a few readings before it made sense.
Thanks IO and Oriel
Not doable as far as I was concerned! I got 9d but that was it. I rather agree with James P #2 though mercifully I am not committed to commuting. I’m not sure of the significance of the hidden TREAD and STEPs, and what is ECAP when it’s at home?
In the circumstances I hardly like to take issue with the blog, but in 14a I think “at all” is the definition and “doing any work” goes with “what is quoted for”.
Babbler@9 it is all to do with 8Ac/1D . One step forward – TREAD . Two steps back
ECAP , ECAP ( pace =step backwards ) .
I try very hard not to complain when we have a run of easier puzzles , they are important for newer solvers , and I am glad that the FT tries to provide a wide range of difficulty . Perhaps the Guardian should take the hint .
Agree with Oriel et al, that IO was in reasonably benevolent mood, which meant it was no headlong rush… and still a lot of challenge. The anagrams were useful, and the long clues really opened things up. Managed 12ac by waiting for all the crossers, and filling in the missing letters, so needed the blog to parse. Don’t think I’ve seen leading light=1ac before, but recalled Jacob and Esau. FORT OFFEE was a fave… also the neatness of the Scottish Play, altho I was not familiar with the star.
Thanks to IO n Oriel…
Ps. Didn’t see the Nina, so thanks again to Oriel
Roz#10 Thanks for the explanation.
I don’t know if I’m complaining exactly about the difficulty of Io’s puzzles generally – that’s just the way they are – but I looked at the blog today for enlightenment, expecting to find lots of comments to the effect that today’s was unusually difficult, and was surprised to find people saying the opposite. It so happens I find him not just on the difficult side but on the impossible side. With all the other FT contributors (whom I would rate more or less the same in terms of difficulty) I sometimes hit a blind spot but have never been able to get more than one or two answers to an Io. This is not from lack of experience! It’s that wavelength thing I suppose.
Totally agree with Babbler #12 – must be a wavelength thing.
IO – what about throwing in three or four ‘easy’ ones in to encourage those of us that are struggling? We really do want to enjoy your offerings!
I thought most of the puzzle was pretty straightforward. I was unfamiliar with For Toffee and it’s a real stretch to call 14D a cryptic definition. I did like the one step forward and two steps back in the long across fills. I thought that was very creative. Overall, I liked the puzzle (LOL, I like any IO I can finish) but thought with a little effort it could have been made a lot better.
This was really hard but enjoyable. Particularly liked One Step Forward etc clue – very clever.
Despite some accessible clues I found this more difficult than recent Io puzzles in that I was left with about five unparsed solutions including having to look up DENEB and JC/22.
After getting 8/1D from enumeration I didn’t look too closely for the references and thought VENTURE was one of the steps but it’s pretty neat.
ISAAC is another good construction I missed and got from the first and last letters.
Horrible
Managed seven before retiring.
I have finished Io before now, but I completely could not get into this one
So many of the clues were too clever by half for me. And frankly, impossible to solve without crossers.
Well done, those who enjoy and can solve.
Impossibly difficult