Puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 5, 2026
I found this a mixed bag with some clues easily solved just by scanning the website for the FT’s Weekend Festival and a few more difficult ones. My favourites are 8 (MARY BEARD), 25 (WORDLE) and 26 (SWAN UP). MOTHER WIT at 15 is a new term to me. Thanks to BC for some help on this one.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SHOP TALK |
Endless optimism in Hunt’s business discussion (4,4)
|
| HOP[e] in (in) STALK (hunt) | ||
| 6 | REVAMP |
Minister first on list PM sent round in shake-up (6)
|
| REV (minister) + A (first on list) + MP (PM sent round) | ||
| 9 | PROUST |
Writer for the FT back from toilet… (6)
|
| PRO (for) + US (the FT) + [toile]T | ||
| 10 | NUGATORY |
…piddling with an arm around Michael Gove? (8)
|
| A GUN (an arm) backwards (around) TORY (Michael Gove) | ||
| 11 | PRESUPPOSE |
Assume winning attitude keeps president ahead (10)
|
| PRES (president) + UP (winning) + POSE (attitude) | ||
| 12 | RUBE |
Unsophisticated American back to front in taxi (4)
|
| RUBE (taxi with ‘R’ moved to the start) | ||
| 13 | FLIES |
One cuts a lot of meat for fishing bait (5)
|
| I (one) in (cuts) FLES[h] (a lot of meat) | ||
| 14 | DEMOCRAT |
For this US politician, pitch humour mostly to the left (8)
|
| COMED[y] (humour mostly) + TAR (pitch) reversed (to the left) | ||
| 17 | BOYHOODS |
Male youths repelled lout and thugs (8)
|
| YOB (lout) backwards (repelled) + HOODS (thugs) | ||
| 19 | TIRED |
Stale wine on trip in odd places (5)
|
| T[r]I[p] + RED (wine) | ||
| 20 | PASS |
Possible route for mountaineer secured by sherpa’s sweat (4)
|
| Hidden word (secured by) | ||
| 22 | WHERE ITS AT |
5 for the FT festival, the place to be? (5,3,2)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 24 | SHERLOCK |
Eye buffet sandwiches that woman’s left (8)
|
| HER (that woman) + L (left) together in SOCK (buffet) with the definition referring, I assume, to a private eye. | ||
| 25 | WORDLE |
Fun with this game could be wonderful (6)
|
| WONDERFUL is an anagram of WORDLE + FUN. By the way, I do Wordle every day. | ||
| 26 | SWAN UP |
Blithely arrive weak through drink (4,2)
|
| WAN (weak) in (through) SUP (drink) | ||
| 27 | RETRONYM |
Name changed to suit new circumstances confused Terry — no, Mike (8)
|
| Anagram (confused) of TERRY NO M | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | HIRER |
Hôtel Ritz initially full of rage for customer paying by the hour? (5)
|
| IRE (rage) in H[otel] R[itz] | ||
| 3 | PAUL SMITH |
Is plum hat wrong for snappy dresser (a 5 13)? (4,5)
|
| Anagram (wrong) of IS PLUM HAT | ||
| 4 | ANTIPASTO |
Disliking history, love part of Italian course (9)
|
| ANTI (disliking) + PAST (history) + O (love) | ||
| 5 | KENWOOD |
King to stop holding court in London house (7)
|
| K (king) + WOO (court) in (holding) END (stop) with Kenwood House, London being the venue for the FT Weekend Festival | ||
| 6 | ROGUE |
Villain shot from behind in Parisian street (5)
|
| GO (shot) backwards (from behind) in (in) RUE (Parisian street) | ||
| 7 | VOTER |
Choosing resident doctor or vet? (5)
|
| Anagram (doctor) of OR VET | ||
| 8 | MARY BEARD |
Madonna and Shakespeare gone into by English academic (a 5 13) (4,5)
|
| MARY (madonna) + E (English) in (gone into by) BARD (Shakespeare) | ||
| 13 | FIONA SHAW |
Actor (a 5 13) neglected child climbing around on smoking waste (5,4)
|
| ON (on) + ASH (smoking waste) in (around) WAIF (neglected child) backwards (climbing). A great actress. | ||
| 15 | MOTHER WIT |
Techy university admitting additional women is common sense (6,3)
|
| OTHER (additional) + W (women) in (admitting) MIT (techy university) | ||
| 16 | CAR STEREO |
Unit possibly connected to 5 18s in Escort, ear splitting (3,6)
|
| Anagram (splitting) of ESCORT EAR | ||
| 18 | SPEAKER |
Ask peer specially for senior Parliamentary role (7)
|
| Anagram (specially) of ASK PEER | ||
| 21 | SIREN |
Seductress touching wrong trousers (5)
|
| RE (touching?) in (trousers) SIN (wrong) | ||
| 22 | WHOOP |
Any people that work sound really happy (5)
|
| WHO (any people that) + OP (work) | ||
| 23 | ALLAY |
Everybody agreed to calm down (5)
|
| ALL (everybody) + AY (agreed) |
Some clues point to 5,13. But I think they meant kenwood speaker. 5,18.
Thanks Guy and Pete
12ac: Worth mentioning that UBER is a type of taxi, at least in Britain.
24ac: Should we mention Sherlock Holmes by name as the private eye in question?
Jeremiah@1: Thanks. That makes sense.
I understand the need for a commemorative puzzle, but I am afraid this one had a few too many inside references and clunky surfaces, and did not do much for me.
I ticked PASS. On 12, Uber has pretty consistently denied being a taxi company.
Thanks Guy and Pete
I looked up the FT festival – looks like it would have been an interesting event – lots of good speakers.
Liked: MARY BEARD, FIONA SHAW (of course), ANTIPASTO, PRESUPPOSE, SWAN UP
Thanks Guy and Pete
Mary Beard is touring here just now (100 quid for a good seat); Fiona Shaw is familiar (Marple, Fleabag …), and have lunched with mrs ginf at the cafe at Kenwood, but knew absy nowt of the FT event there. No matter, all good, ta Guy and Pete.
Thank you Jeremiah. No wonder I couldn’t understand 5 13.
I liked NUGATORY, though it conjured up a less appealing aspect of attending the festival than listening to MARY BEARD.
We needed to bit of research about the festival before tackling the puzzle, but apart from puzzlement over ‘5 13’ (thanks, Jeremiah!) we found this quite enjoyable. The enumerations for the various 5 18s helped, and we liked the alternative 5 18s referred to in 16dn.
Thanks, Guy and Pete.
I’m a great fan of Guy, but I did not enjoy this puzzle. I tried to avoid looking up the festival (which seemed to me to be cheating) but I was baffled by some speakers of whom I have never heard, so eventually resorted to the website.
Eventually finished with Boyhoods my LOI, which held me up for ages.
Re 24ac: Chambers 2014 has ‘sherlock n a detective; (also with cap) someone who shows highly developed powers of observation and deduction as did the detective Sherlock Holmes in the stories of Conan Doyle … , often used ironically.’
Didn’t enjoy this at all. I can’t get on GUY’s wavelength, I’m afraid.
I remember liking NUGATORY, WORDLE, MARY BEARD and PAUL SMITH (how could I not as a fellow East Midlander?).
Took a while to get cracking with this one and I did a double take at ‘swan up ‘ as I’d only ever heard ‘swan around/in’.
Thanks Guy and Pete.
Big Al@10 re 24ac: Thank you for that. It did not occur to me to look that one up. Collins 2023 p 1832 also has “n 1 a detective” as well as “vb 2 to investigate (something)”. So the answer to my question in comment 2 is “no”.