Phi is one of the more prolific setters with his puzzles appearing in a wide range of publications. There is always something different about his puzzles and this was no exception.
We were told that three-letter words and abbreviations have X(11) from the answers to several clues before entry in the grid. These three letter words/abbreviations could be brought together to form X by noting the order of definitions (sometimes multi-word) given by surplus single words in other clues. X had to be written below the grid.
I twigged that X was DISAPPEARED fairly early on in the solving process and also realised that I was going to omit three consecutive letters of DISAPPEARED from a number of entries. However it wasn’t quite a simple as that because a number of the words to be doctored had more than three consecutive letters from DISAPPEARED within them. For instance
APPEASE has APP or PPE or PEA within, and TRAPPER has APP and PPE within.
I don’t think the surplus words were really necessary, but they served to complicate the solving process and, I suppose, make it more of a puzzle. However, as we were told that the order of the surplus words was important, it was fairly east to deduce that we were looking for an ordered set of definitions for DIS, ISA, SAP, APP… etc. This fact helped me to locate the surplus words more quickly than I would have done otherwise.
The definitions formed by the surplus words and their associated three letter block from DISAPPEARED are as follows:
| Definition | Three letters |
| Pluto | DIS |
| Bus system | ISA ( a bus system used in early computers) |
| Vital juice | SAP |
| Apparently | APP (abbreviation) |
| University course | PPE (philosophy, Politics and Economics) |
| Seed | PEA |
| Lug | EAR |
| Live | ARE |
| Embarrassed | RED |
While perhaps not Phi’s most difficult offering, this puzzle provided a pleasant afternoon’s solving session.
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Surplus Word | 3 letters | Wordplay | Entry |
| 2 | PETRI (ref. Richard Julius Petri 1852-1921)n + F (following) + Y (last letter of [end of] surgerY) | PETRIFY (frighten) | ||
| 11 | Pluto | Double definition: RELEASE (to make a new film available) | RELEASE (grant a new lease of [grant a new life]) | |
| 12 | Bus…. | E (last letter of [finally] routE) contained in (blocking) SET (fixed) + O (circular) | SEE TO (make sure about) | |
| 13 | ALL (entirely) + AM (middle letters of [heart of] drAMas) | ALLAM (ref Roger Allam, actor) | ||
| 14 | Hidden word (filling) in …paiL IN DAiry…. | LINDA (girl’s name; maid) | ||
| 15 | PPE | CLIP (ammunition container) + PER (for each) | CLI[PPE]R | |
| 16 | BO (American slang, familiar term of address for a man, fellow) + ROD (baton) + I + N (note) | BORODIN (ref Alexander Borodin 1833-1887, Russian composer) | ||
| 17 | DIS | BANISHMENT (exile) containing (receiving) L (Liberal) and D (Democrat) | BLAN[DIS]HMENT (flattery; it flatters me) | |
| 19 | LEASE (property document) with L (line) moved to the end (relocating at end) of the word | EASEL (support) | ||
| 20 | PEA | A (one) + P (quiet) + P (quiet) + EASE (quiet) | AP[PEA]SE (quiet) | |
| 22 | APP | T (the) + RAPPER (pop musician) | TR[APP]ER (one who aims to secure) | |
| 26 | ….System | R (run) + (REAR [bring up] with the letter A [one] moved to the beginning [pushing forward] ) | RARER (not so often) | |
| 37 | CO (company) +(METIC [resident alien; foreigner] contained in (aboard [ship]) SS [steamship, hence aboard ship]) | COSMETICS (beauty products) | ||
| 30 | Vital…. | LIFER (prisoner) containing (collars) U (united) and C (circa; about) | LUCIFER (match) | |
| 32 | EAR | BEAR (mammal) + DIE (stop) | B[EAR]DIE (hairy creature) | |
| 33 | CAUL (covering) containing (wrapping) P (first letter of [head of] Pony) | CAPUL (horse) | ||
| 34 | ….Juice | LEAN (inclination) containing (to swallow) R (recipe) | LEARN (understand) | |
| 35 | RED | CORED (take the core out of; dishearten) containing (about) ALL (everything) | COLLA[RED] | |
| 36 | Apparently | IT reversed (revolving) contained in (during) an anagram of (travelling) SPACE | ASEPTIC (repelling micro-organisms) | |
| 37 | RESTED (stayed) containing (round) E (last letter of [rear of] officE) | REESTED (dried or cured with smoke; smoked) |
| Down | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Redundant Word | 3 letters | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | RACKET (criminal activity) in BC (British Columbia) + LOCK (secure) | BRACKET CLOCK (household valuable) | ||
| 2 | SPELLS (enchants) omitting the first letter (going topless) S | PELLS (skins or hides; body coverings, obsolete [old]) | ||
| 3 | Anagram of (confused) PELLS (previous answer) and IE (that is) | ELLIPSE (curvy figure) | ||
| 4 | University…. | I’M reversed (turning up) in RALLIES (demos without the final [endless] S) | RAMILLIE (hat, in fashion after Marlborough’s victory at Ramillies in 1706) | |
| 5 | IS + O (first letter [beginning of] Outrage) + BAR (lawyers) | ISOBAR (indication of pressure) | ||
| 6 | ….Course | FELT (experienced wihtout the final letter [mostly] T) + O (of) + NY (New York; US city) | FELONY (crime) | |
| 7 | Seed | Hidden word (producing) in …haVE NO Money….. | VENOM (show of spite) | |
| 8 | ARE | CE (Church [of England) + DARED (took a risk) | CED[ARE]D (with Lebanese trees; ref Cedar of Lebanon) | |
| 9 | TA (Territorial Army; soldiers) contained in (engaging in) SINS (crimes) | STAINS (sources of reproach) | ||
| 10 | ISA | Anagram of (rigged) NICE SAFE COUNTER | COUNTERFE[ISA]NCE | |
| 18 | HER CUES (what an actress requires) containing (sieze) L (line) | HERCULES (powerful man) | ||
| 21 | PÂTÉ (although now mainly referring to a paste made of blended meat, it originally meant pie) containing (pocketing) RED (ref ‘red cent’ old US coin made of copper) | PREDATE (eat) | ||
| 23 | Anagram of (to be mixed) COLOUR excluding (out) L (left) + U (first letter of [hint of] Umber) | ROUCOU (annatto,a bright orange colouring matter) | ||
| 24 | Lug | Anagram of (reinterpretation of) TALE contained in (in) the first and last letters (in the confines of) StonehengE | STELAE (large stone slabs) | |
| 25 | Live | Anagram of (broadcast) IS OVER | VIROSE (nasty) | |
| 28 | SAP | M (minute) + ( I + SAY [comment] containing [about that] PPL (middle letters [core of] aPPLe) | MI[SAP]PLY (wrongly use) | |
| 29 | VI (six) + R (runs) + I +last letter D (finally) of declareD | VIRID (green; colour of the [cricket] pitch) | ||
| 31 | Embarrassed |
Hidden word (to some extent) in ….illogiCAL Fatuous… |
CALF (slow-witted person) |
Whatever happened to PPE? I spent hours trying to fit it in to 21d.
Michael
Thanks for spotting the ‘deliberate’ mistake.
It is of course in 15a where I had shown PER rather than the b>PPE that it should have been. The entry is therefore CLIR which I did manage to submit correctly. I’m afraid I didn’t read my notes properly when I came to write the blog.
I have corrected the blog.
I read 11a as RE (about) + LEASE (extra life, which Chambers has as a definition)
As Duncan intimates, this was more of a diversion than a puzzle. I really only needed to look up CAPUL (at 33a).
W.r.t. 11a, I noted the possible ambiguity in the wordplay, and, if pushed, would have blogged it as RayF… suggests.
I am happy to go along with the interpretation of 11a by Ray and HolyGhost.
Enjoyable puzzle, incredibly well blogged. Thanks Duncan.