Independent 7,428/Phi

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A nice puzzle from Phi to finish off the week. There was nothing too tricky here, but equally absolutely nothing to complain about, just a batch of very neat, very elegantly written clues.

Across
1 GHETTO BLASTER – (GATHER BOTTLE’S)*
9 LASER – LA + SER(ies)
10 RAT POISON – (OP[-e]RATIONS)*
11 RALEIGH – ALE in RIGH[-t]
12 ONGOING – ON + GO IN + G(overnment)
13 INNS – IN NS (North + South)
14 LA FONTAINE – (NATIONAL FA[-b]LE)*
17 HELICOPTER – (THE POLICE)* + R(un)
19 PROCURE – PRO CURE
22 SPAM – A in MPs rev.
23 RUN DOWN – Double def.
23 CHICANERY – CHIC + ER in ANY
24 OMAGH – MAG in OH!
25 EGYPTOLOGICAL – (TYPICAL GOOGLE)*
Down
1 GALBRAITH – (GIRL + A BATH)*
2 EPSILON – NO LISPE rev.
3 TORPID – TOP I.D around R(iver)
4 BIRTHDAY PRESENT – (BAD PARENT THIS YEAR)* without two As
5 ASTRONOMER ROYAL – (STARRY MOOR ALONE)*
6 THOUGHTS – THOUGH + T[-enuou]S
7 ROSSINI – I think this is [-C]ROSS + 1 N(ote), but not sure where the extra I comes in
8 SNAG – G(ood) ANS(wer) rev.
15 EMMENTHAL – MEN in (HAMLET)*
16 ACCURACY – A C(ollege) CURACY
18 LIONISE – ON IS(land) in LIE
20 PROSAIC – ROSA in PIC
21 ON SONG – ON[-e] + SON + G(ood)
22 PUCK – PLUCK less L[-ysander]

11 comments on “Independent 7,428/Phi”

  1. Rossini is “is sor[e]< about i n".

    A lovely crossword, I thought. As you say, nothing too difficult, but most of the clues were quite satisfying to work out. I was held up for about a second by putting accurate rather than accuracy. I'm not entirely sure what a torpid is, but it seems to be some sort of Oxford University boat race. I was also a bit puzzled why a helicopter should be defined as a "surveillance device", although it could be used for that purpose.

  2. Thanks, Ali. Agree with you entirely – gentle but well-clued end to the working week. Didn’t understand ROSSINI either, but someone will put us right, no doubt.

  3. I parsed 7D as: (IS SOR[e])< (1 N)<
    SORE rather than CROSS for aggrieved, and tricky to decypher due to the serial double reversal (IYSWIM)

  4. I don’t think you need the 1 n reversed and the clue indicates it’s just the “is sor[e]” that’s backwards – is mostly aggrieved, upset, about one note.

  5. I now see why I didn’t get CHICANERY – which I should’ve.
    Early on I put PERI for 22D from PERI[l] and didn’t doubt it when I couldn’t think of anything to fit 24A. I agree PLUCK is nearer DARING than PERIL, but (daring/danger/peril) isn’t far off.

    And now I’ve seen Neal’s #1 (I must re-blink before posting) I agree with his decoding of ROSSINI – “about” is most likely an inclusion indicator rather than a reversal ind.

  6. Thanks for the blog, Ali. Guess most got ROSSINI from definition before wordplay. Agree that it’s IS SOR(e) all reversed about I N (one note). Enjoyable puzzle, which I too found straightforward. The wordplay in 3D led v clearly to TORPID, but the only meanings I knew were totally different. So looked it up – it’s in Chambers, a second boat at Oxford – always nice to learn something new.

  8. Tried to cut & paste this one to take away to do.
    Missed off the last 2 across clues.
    Guessed Omagh, but had to do a dict search when I came home for 25a. Annoying, since I have been interested in the subject for decades.
    MAde more difficult by choosing ACCURATE over ACCURACY.

  9. Thanks Ali.
    Another very good puzzle from Phi.
    As usual no controversy,which must be a sign of a well clued puzzle.
    I was another who entered ACCURATE at first and also had to look up TORPID.
    I thought 5 down was brilliant,the sort of anagram I love,the fodder giving a hint of the solution.
    25 across was another neat anagram.
    Nice to see a mention for J.K. Galbraith – should be mandatory reading for finance ministers worldwide!

  10. @beermagnet nearly made that mistake on p(l)uck but some spidery sense stopped me for some lucky reason. All in all a fair decent crossword about a pint.

    Re rossini must admist I didn’t really check the clue I had all the crossing letters, saw rossini in my mind and a quick glance at the subsiduary parts and my brain just said that’s it. A tad easier than punk’s yesterday methinks.

    So tomorrow? a Bannsider give up and go home crossword?

  11. Yes, a nice easy Phi to start the weekend. I found most of the long anagrams quickly unravelled themselves from just a few checking letters.

    NealH@1 – I think the idea a helicopter as a surveillance device comes from its association with the police and makes a good surface for the clue. On the A6 in Derbyshire there is a sign somewhere that reads “Police – Helicopter Traffic Control” or words to that effect. Definitely a surveillance device in that instance.

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