Puzzle from the Weekend FT of October 24, 2026
This is my one thousandth blog for Fifteensquared. Over a period of 20 years I can chalk up blogs for 998 FT Weeked Puzzles plus two jumbos. I have actually been solving the FT’s Weekender for around 40 years. And now I have decided to retire — this will be my last blog. One reason for stepping down is that I want, at age 76, to simplify my life. And I am doing so in several ways. Another reason is that I find myself making more and more mistakes in my blogs. I will keep on doing the puzzle each weekend and may well pop up in the comments here. Fifteensquared has assembled a rota to replace me. I am very grateful that they are not replacing me with an AI!
My first blog was of a puzzle by Cinephile (a.k.a. Araucaria and John Graham), my favourite setter of that time. I miss him. My second was the great Cincinnus. And third was glorious Mudd. And these were prize puzzles. I have one win, a beautiful Pelikan pen, from my early days of solving. I have had some adventures along the way. One was jumping off a train at a stop in Austria to dash to the station kiosk, grap the day’s FT and then make it back onto the train before it left. Another was meeting up with a frequent commenter when we happened to be in the same part of the world at the same time.
Sometimes I wonder if we are in a golden age of cryptics. Top quality puzzles are available online at no cost. In the FT we have a very impressive stable of setters and, no doubt, in the Guardian too. There are great tools on the Internet to help solvers: dictionaries, thesauruses, pattern-matching tools, the Guardian’s new Cluesletter, Wikipedia, John Halpern’s Zooms, and of course Fifteensquared which was, I believe, the first source for setters to get feedback from solvers. The last also brings Sloggers and Betters together (in York as I write this). What’s missing? A new generation of solvers if what I hear is correct. Are we making solving too easy? What can we do to encourage more? I wish I had some ideas but I do not.
I thank all the people who have added value to my blogs with comments. Please keep it up. And I apologize if I have failed to respond to some comments when I probably should have. And I thank all the setters for their genius work with the hope that we can give them a boost knowing that they are not highly paid for their output.
And so to the puzzle…
I found this to be a good challenge. My first-in was 6a (BLURB), I finished with 26 (SIR) and found 15 (DEAD SET AGAINST) the most difficult clue. My favourites are 3 (SIXTIES) and 27 (AHEAD). Thank you Guy for the puzzle and to BC for his help.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | TOPSHELF |
Adult quiet when introduced to Santa’s deputy? (3-5)
|
| TOP (adult) + SH (quiet) + ELF (Santa’s deputy) | ||
| 6 | BLURB |
Short description of Britpop band: British (5)
|
| BLUR (Britpop band) + B (British) | ||
| 10 | BOTOX |
Contents of pots in crate paralysing agent (5)
|
| OT (contents of pots) in (in) BOX (crate) | ||
| 11 | DIRECTORY |
Book that lists dreadful Conservatives (9)
|
| DIRE (dreadful) + TORY (Conservatives) | ||
| 12 | SEE FIT |
Report of marine attack — think it’s right? (3,3)
|
| Homophone (report) of “sea” + FIT (attack) | ||
| 13 | BEAR DOWN |
Hair adolescent starts growing with personal approach (4,4)
|
| BEAR[d] + DOWN (hair) | ||
| 16 | DEAD SET AGAINST |
Big-time con killed group over street (4,3,7)
|
| DEAD (killed) + SET (group) + AGAIN (over) + ST (street) | ||
| 17 | NOT BAT AN EYELID |
Appear unsurprised when Toad in a Bentley crashes (3,3,2,6)
|
| Anagram (crashes) of TOAD IN A BENTLEY | ||
| 22 | IN TANDEM |
One after another covered by spray-paint and emulsion (2,6)
|
| Hidden word (covered by) | ||
| 23 | BUNSEN |
Scientist’s heater rolls one direction then another (6)
|
| BUNS (rolls) + E (one direction) + N (another) | ||
| 25 | MISBESTOW |
Item boss swapped with wife’s present in error (9)
|
| Anagram (swapped) of ITEM BOSS + W (wife) | ||
| 27 | AHEAD |
I see openings for expert AI developers in the future (5)
|
| AH (I see) + E[xpert] A[I] D[evelopers] | ||
| 28 | CARDS |
Bridge perhaps taking swine across river (5)
|
| R (river) in (taking across) CADS (swine) | ||
| 29 | SPECTATE |
Watch flood swallowing up Queen’s centre court (8)
|
| [qu]E[en] + CT (court) together in (swallowing up) SPATE (flood) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | ON THE WAY OUT |
14 in Transit not possible? (2,3,3,3)
|
| ON THE WAY (in transit) + OUT (not possible). Why does ‘Transit’ have an initial capital? | ||
| 3 | SIXTIES |
What goes with swinging — is it sex parties? (7)
|
| Anagram (parties) of IS IT SEX | ||
| 4 | EDDY |
Alternating current? (4)
|
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 5 | FIRE ENGINE |
OK on fringes of one tricky green, putter out (4,6)
|
| I (one) + anagram (tricky) of GREEN in (on fringes of) FINE (OK) with a neat cryptic definition | ||
| 6 | BACARDI |
Spirit of Shakespeare bored by most of Act I (7)
|
| AC[t] in (bored by) BARD (Shakespeare) + I (I) | ||
| 7 | UNO |
28 needed for this game, socially acceptable number (3)
|
| U (socially acceptable) + NO (number) | ||
| 8 | BEYOND |
Too difficult for most of you, cutting flex (6)
|
| YO[u] in (cutting) BEND (flex) | ||
| 9 | ABUSED |
American driven to school there gets sworn at (6)
|
| A (American) + BUSED (driven to school) | ||
| 14 | OBSOLESCENT |
Nasty whiff about fish smell, having use-by date (11)
|
| BO (nasty whiff) backwards (about) + SOLE (fish) + SCENT (smell) | ||
| 15 | STATUETTES |
Duke at it regularly in America? Figures (10)
|
| [d]U[k]E[a]T[i]T in (in) STATES (America) | ||
| 18 | BONKERS |
Senior energy boss upended potty (7)
|
| SR (senior) + E (energy) + KNOB (boss) all backwards (upended) | ||
| 19 | YOU WAIT |
Warning sheep had to listen to (3,4)
|
| YOU (homophone of “ewe ate”) | ||
| 20 | DENUDE |
Bare part appeared unedifying from behind (6)
|
| Hidden word (part) reversal (from behind) | ||
| 21 | BIG MAC |
Magic worked starting with a bit of beef? (3,3)
|
| B (a bit of beef) + anagram (worked) of MAGIC. Do I have this right? Seems like ‘beef’ is overused. | ||
| 24 | TWEE |
Only half of X’s contributors charming (4)
|
| Double definition with the first cluing TWEE[ters] | ||
| 26 | SIR |
Reduced pay increase upset teacher (3)
|
| RIS[e] (reduced pay increase) backwards (upset). Brits use the term ‘rise’ when Americans would say ‘raise’. |
Thanks Guy for this puzzle and Pete for everything over the years.
11ac: DIRE (dreadful) + C + TORY (Conservatives)
13ac: I had this as BEARD (Hair … growing) + OWN (personal)
4dn: I originally had TIDE. I think that is a far better answer to the clue, but does not fit with TOP-SHELF at 1ac.
21dn I think is meant to be a complete “& lit”.
Pete: What a remarkable run. Thank you so much for your contributions and insights. I think so far I have just over 200 blogs published, and I cannot even remember back to when I started now. One thousand seems a very long way off, if indeed I make it that far. I hope that you will carry on as part of the institutional memory of 225.
Pete,
I’d like to thank you for your very helpful and insightful blogs which were such a great aid to me when I first started doing cryptics about five years ago and are still a fantastic resource today.
Congratulations on your landmark blog! I’ll miss your informative and always courteous blogging style. I look forward to seeing your comments in future and wish you all the best as you put aside your Pelikan pen and dictionaries!
Like your anecdote about leaping from the train to grab an FT for your onward journey!
Thanks Guy for the weekend entertainment. This took me several attempts to finish but it was worth my time due to clues like NOT BAT AN EYE, IN TANDEM, AHEAD, BIG MAC, and TWEE. And thanks a million Pete for this and all your other blogs that filled in my many parsing gaps over the years.
I was busy this weekend and missed the puzzle, but I’m so glad I had a glance at 15 squared.
Congratulations Pete but, more importantly, many thanks for your wonderful contributions. I started experimenting with crosswords in the weekend FT, and now try to do the crossword every day. Your blogs were a very major reason for me turning the trial into a regular hobby, one that brings me so much enjoyment.
I will miss your weekend blogs.