Financial Times 18,408 by MONK

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A great way to start the day.

Thanks to Monk for a reliably entertaining puzzle, full of clever devices.

Do comment if you’ve found a pattern in the grid – Monk usually includes something extra, but I don’t see anything.

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1. Porcelain victory award presented before local match (5,5)
CROWN DERBY

CROWN (victory award) presented before DERBY (local match) – EDITED, thanks Roz

6. Times introduces shortened bible books around annual holiday (4)
XMAS

X (times) introduces SAM[uel]< (bible books, shortened, <around)

9. Flight containing two Democrats pursuing European Union (7)
WEDDING

WING (flight) containing (D,D (two Democrats) pursuing E (European))

10. See garland around free, unconfined femme fatale (7)
LORELEI

(LO (see) + LEI (garland)) around [f]RE[e] (unconfined)

12. Gag miserable person that’s knocked off first (5)
RETCH

[w]RETCH (miserable person, that’s knocked off first)

13. President’s lot, ever so corrupt (9)
ROOSEVELT

(LOT EVER SO)* (*corrupt)

14. Cave in India, place in fashion (7)
IMPLODE

I (India, NATO alphabet) + (PL (place) in MODE (fashion))

16. Hoaxes involving semi-fake organs (7)
KIDNEYS

KIDS (hoaxes) involving [pho]NEY (fake, semi)

19. State’s anger about riches being halved (7)
ERITREA

IRE< (anger, <about) + TREA[sure] (riches, being halved)

21. Playfully resume chasing black cat? (7)
BURMESE

RESUME* (*playfully) chasing B (black)

22. Raining lightly leaving sierra, very hot on drive (9)
DRIZZLING

[s]IZZLING (very hot, leaving S (sierra, NATO alphabet)) on DR (drive)

‘DR’ in the sense of an address abbreviation

24. Complexity of murder using heart transplant? (5)
DEPTH

DE[a]TH (murder, using heart transplant)

The central letter is the ‘heart’ and we are told to ‘transplant’/replace this

26. He is one small part of something bigger (7)
ELEMENT

Double definition

He = helium

27. Religious composer’s first run away from publican (7)
TAVENER

TAVE[r]NER (publican, first R (run) away from)

28. Arm of Warner Brothers somewhat taken aback (4)
BREN

[war]NER B[rothers]< (somewhat, <taken aback)

‘Bren’ is a famous light machine gun used in WWII

29. Annelids “do” ground plants (10)
DANDELIONS

(ANNELIDS DO)* (*ground)

DOWN
1. Timidity of NCO towards vices that are fully exposed (9)
COWARDICE

[n]C[o] [t]OWARD[s] [v]ICE[s] (that are fully exposed)

2. Working with daughter — it’s hearsay (2-3)
ON-DIT

ON (working) with D (daughter) + IT

From the French, meaning ‘one says’

3. Robin, huge stray who lives next door (9)
NEIGHBOUR

(ROBIN HUGE)* (*stray)

4. Prepare to fence section of two identical planted areas (2,5)
EN GARDE

[gard]EN GARDE[n] (two identical planted areas, section of)

5. Steer university learner part way through obstruction (7)
BULLOCK

(U (university) + L (learner)) part way through BLOCK (obstruction)

7. One extremely leggy girl weed picked up (9)
MILLEPEDE

“MILLY PEED” (girl weed, “picked up”)

8. Hasty sort frames wife (5)
SWIFT

SIFT (sort) frames W (wife)

11. Grass snake, normally bolder, at last retreats (3)
RYE

([snak]E [normall]Y [bolde]R)< (at last, <retreats)

15. Puritan mostly shameful, say, withdrawing benefit (9)
PRIVILEGE

PRI[g] (puritan, mostly) + VILE (shameful) + E.G.< (say, <withdrawing)

17. Reckless beloved dropping ecstasy was upset (4-5)
DARE-DEVIL

D[e]AR (beloved, dropping E (ecstasy)) + LIVED< (was, <upset)

‘Dropping’ tells us to move the letter E to the end of the word)

18. Female doctors checking Emergency Room guides (9)
SHEPHERDS

SHE (female) + (PHDS (doctors, PhDs) checking ER (emergency room))

20. “Little air” — brief sign north of completely dry area (7)
ARIETTA

ARIE[s] (sign, brief) north of TT (completely dry, teetotal) + A (area)

‘Air’ as in an aria/song

21. Viewed cryptically, I entered plot with prejudice (7)
BIGOTED

I + GOT into (entered, viewed cryptically) BED (plot)

22. Fool departs with number one bishop (5)
DWEEB

D (departs) + WEE (number one) + B (bishop)

23. Extremely obese, following unknown health app (3)
ZOE

O[bes]E (extremely) following Z (unknown)

‘Unknown’ as Z might be used in an algebraic equation

25. Monkey quietly very active, chucking article (5)
PONGO

P (quietly, musical) + ON [the] GO (very active, dropping THE (article))

6 comments on “Financial Times 18,408 by MONK”

  1. Roz
    #1 - Wed 24th Jun 26, 07:56

    1 Ac the definition is porcelain .

  2. Roz
    #2 - Wed 24th Jun 26, 08:06

    Thanks for the blog , really enjoyable set of neat clues with many nice touches .
    ZOE is new to me , the clue and grid were very fair .
    PONGO are the orangutans , the dictionaries may be out of date here and give the setter support , will check later .

  3. PostMark
    #3 - Wed 24th Jun 26, 08:17

    Yes, a neat set of clues. ZOE also unfamiliar to me though it vaguely lurks somewhere in the subconscious and sent me off to check t’internet which confirmed it. I was relieved to remember TAVENER. EN GARDE, an amusing construction.

    Thanks both

  4. Deezzaa
    #4 - Wed 24th Jun 26, 08:47

    Strangely, (John) Taverner was also a religious composer, albeit of an earlier age.

  5. KVa
    #5 - Wed 24th Jun 26, 08:53

    Oh! That’s interesting.

    Good puzzle. Good blog.

    Liked the heart transplant idea in DEPTH.

    Thanks Monk and Oriel.

  6. Pelham Barton
    #6 - Wed 24th Jun 26, 10:49

    Thanks Monk and Oriel

    25dn: Chambers 2016 p 1204 has pongo “an anthropoid ape orig probably the gorilla, but transferred to the orang-utan; a monkey; a soldier (milit sl); an Englishman (Aust inf)”. Setters are, of course, entitled to use any of these definitions.

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