Firstly – many thanks to Uncle Yap and mc_rapper for standing in for us while we were without internet access.
What a great puzzle as our first one after a break. It’s also our first Jambazi crossword blog!
We smiled as we read the clue for 10ac – yes, it’s typical childish toilet humour – but funny nevertheless! However we thought 6/16 was our COD, we knew it had to be an anagram but the surface reading was excellent.
We weren’t sure about the synonym in 18d but no doubt there is someone who can help us.
Thanks Jambazi, we had fun solving this one!
| Across | ||
| 1/12 | Kinky phoning hit sex show | |
| PHOENIX NIGHTS | Anagram of PHONING HIT SEX (anagrind is ‘kinky’). We had to check this one. We guessed it from the anagram but we are obviously from the wrong generation! | |
| 5 | Run small, ordinary one from 22 books | |
| SMUGGLE | S (small) + MUGGLE (‘ordinary’ person in Harry Potter books) | |
| 10 | One which could restrict motion smells after bum’s contracted | |
| ASBO | BO (smells) after AS |
|
| 11 | Where the media go and force youth, endlessly to back it | |
| PRESS BOXES | PRESS (force) + BO |
|
| 12 | See 1ac | |
| 13 | Rent house in 10 for charity event | |
| TELETHON | LET (rent) + HO (house) inside or ‘in’ TEN (10) | |
| 14 | For Conservative, Miliband to turn on the subject of policy | |
| PROCEDURE | PRO (for) + C (Conservative) + ED (as in Ed Miliband) + U (turn) + RE (on the subject of) | |
| 16 | See 6 down | |
| 17/24 | Forest manager in May, perhaps left to cut bark | |
| BRIAN CLOUGH | BRIAN (as in Brian May) + L (left) inside or ‘cutting’ COUGH (bark). Once we had one letter this was a write-in! However, it may have helped that we live near Nottingham! | |
| 19 | Harp on about catching one after damage | |
| HARMONICA | ON + CA (about) around or ‘catching’ I (one) after HARM (damage). This was one we had to check although BERT thought he remembered something about another name for harmonicas – maybe from a previous crossword puzzle! | |
| 23 | Italian fare from Rocky Marciano | |
| MACARONI | Anagram of MARCIANO (anagrind is ‘rocky’) | |
| 24 | See 17ac | |
| 26 | Olympic runner around opening to Moscow games, “swimmer is short of fitness” | |
| COMPETENCE | COE (Olympic runner as in Seb Coe) around M (first letter or ‘opening’ to Moscow) + PE (games) + TENC |
|
| 27 | Fine grease for thin plate of metal | |
| FOIL | F (fine) + OIL (grease) | |
| 28 | Articles and paintings in one’s real character | |
| AT HEART | A + THE (articles) + ART (paintings) | |
| 29 | Love like singer? | |
| CHERISH | If you were like the singer CHER you could be described as CHERISH. We liked this short clue although we think we came across something like this before in a puzzle. It still made us smile though – there’s something really good about short clues! | |
| Down | ||
| 2 | Contains row, being more impetuous | |
| HASTIER | HAS (contains) + TIER (row) | |
| 3 | Date record? Hard without original cover | |
| EPOCH | EP (record) + H (hard) around or ‘without’ OC (original cover as used in stamp collecting) | |
| 4 | Jambazi’s sat and set | |
| IMPOSED | If the setter was sitting for a photograph he may well say, “I’M POSED” | |
| 6/16 | Working men’s club duo like doormen | |
| MUSCLE BOUND | Anagram of MEN’S CLUB DUO (anagrind is ‘working) This has to be our clue of the day! | |
| 7 | Got private nursing hospital across street? There’s nobody in it | |
| GHOST TOWN | GOT + OWN (private) around or ‘nursing’ H (hospital) around or ‘across’ ST (street). We were a bit unsure about own and private being synonyms but they were in Chambers when we checked. | |
| 8 | Be sad when joining rest | |
| LIE DOWN | LIE (be) joined together with DOWN (sad) | |
| 9 | US 17 22 supply causes of disturbance | |
| PERTURBATIONS | Anagram of US + BRIAN (17ac) + POTTER (22d) anagrind is ‘supply’ | |
| 15 | Help PA – barcode, when scanned the other way, reveals fruit | |
| CRAB APPLE | Hidden in the clue but reversed or ‘scanned the other way’ hELP PA BAR Code | |
| 18 | On commercial, available data on screen? | |
| READ OUT | RE (on) + AD (commercial) + OUT (available). We weren’t that sure about OUT = available although there is a tenuous link. If a record is ‘out’ you could sat it was ‘available’. But we can’t find these as synonyms in Chambers – hopefully someone else maybe able to point us towards a resource that does! | |
| 20 | Play live hurling match outside | |
| MACBETH | BE (live) + anagram of MATCH ‘outside’ (anagrind is ‘hurling’) | |
| 21 | Camels, perhaps originally cited in guidebook: “Giza’s incredible Egyptian sights” | |
| CIGGIES | First letters or ‘originally’ of Cited In Guidebook: “Giza’s Incredible Egyptian Sights | |
| 22 | “Too much”, Queen after Prince Harry? | |
| POTTER | OTT (too much) + ER (Queen) after P (Prince). Answer obviously relates to the eponymous Harry Potter. | |
| 25 | Present bad TV drama | |
| OFFER | OFF (bad) + ER (TV drama) | |
Thanks and congratulations, Bertandjoyce, on your first Jambazi blog. What a nice surprise for you on your return!
I didn’t think twice about ‘out = available’ but you prompted me to look it up. I ddn’t find the exact synonyms but Chambers has ‘in distribution’ and Collins ‘on sale or on view to the public’.
Like you, I loved ASBO and will remember it even more especially now but I will quote again, as I always do when it crops up, the much-missed Linda Smith’s ‘News Quiz’ comment: “People knock ASBOs but you have to bear in mind they are the only qualification some of these kids are going to get.”
I couldn’t see any ghost theme, as we usually get with Jambazi [but, of course, that doesn’t mean there isn’t one] – just lots of smiles, ahas and lovely surfaces [1/12, 23, 6/16 and especially 21.]
Many thanks, as ever, Jambazi, for another fun puzzle.
Thanks both.
Jambazi and his alter ego in Another Place seem to like producing fully-themed puzzles, but I thought this one, with just a couple of cross-references, was excellent. MACARONI, ASBO and CHERISH were worth the entrance fee alone, but there was a good sprinkling of ingenuity and humour elsewhere too. I think the quality of Jambazi’s surfaces has improved too – there were some good ones here.
My only gripe is that nearly a third of the clues have less than 50% checking, which can make it difficult (for me, at any rate). PHOENIX NIGHTS fell into that category, which meant it was my last one in (I had vaguely heard of it).
I think OUT for AVAILABLE is fine in the sense you described. Also, if I’m ‘out’ in Derby of a Saturday night and I meet an attractive, middle-aged, rich, crossword-loving woman, then I’m ‘available’, no?
Thanks to the setter for a fine puzzle.
I failed to solve BOXES in 11a (I never remember that ‘sex’ = ‘it’), BOUND in 16a (I didn’t see that it was an anagram, but I do now!) & 28a just went over my head for some reason, and I needed help online to work out the Brit-centric clues ‘Brian Clough’ and ‘Phoenix Nights’ (so I also see why ‘Brian Potter’ makes an appearance here). However, I must be making some progress as I could parse some of the other Brit-centric clues which referred to BRIAN May and Sebastian Coe.
I liked a lot of the clues, including 21d, 22d, 23a, 29a, 5a, 7d, 13a, 26a, 14a & 19a.
The acronym/abbreviation ASBO was new for me.
Thanks for the blog, Bertandjoyce.
Definitely one that overseas solvers could struggle with as Michelle found out, but a very good puzzle nonetheless.
As as been said above, there were some very amusing clues such as those for ASBO and CHERISH. I won’t be doing the Paul in the Guardian until much later today, but I’ll be expecting more of the same if he is true to form.
Count me as another who has no problem with out=available despite the lack of confirmation in some sources. PRESS BOXES was my last in and took me much longer than it should have done because I wasn’t looking for a plural.
Thanks Bertandjoyce for the very comprehensive blog and thanks to those that have commented.
I was using ‘out’ as in “the record’s out on Monday”; I think it’s ok. There is a mini-theme in there as Brian Potter is the main character in Phoenix Nights and 6, 16 describes loosely the Phoenix Club’s bouncers, Max and Paddy. I panicked a bit when I realised that the correct name of the programme is “Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights” but it is often referred to as “Phoenix Nights” so I think it’s ok.
I was shocked to learn that this is my seventh puzzle for the Indy (plus an Inquisitor) since my first which appeared last July. I’ve decided to slow down a bit from now on; I only intended submitting for consideration a few Indy puzzles a year and I can’t keep this pace up.
ASBO was a late rewrite — I apologise if it was a bit distasteful for some.
Thanks again
Neil
10ac – distasteful? Not as far as we are concerned Jambazi. We thought it was one of the best clues in the puzzle!
We hope you don’t slow down as we have enjoyed your puzzles – including the Inquisitor.
Thanks Bertandjoyce
I’ve got another IQ that’s been submitted — I hope it’s good enough for publication.
Got one.
In It’s a Wonderful Life, Clarence the Angel shows George Bailey what would happen to Bedford Falls if George had never been born. Henry POTTER gets to build Pottersville – ‘a gin town full of jitterbug joints and unhappy people’. Fortunately, George was born – and it is nothing more than a GHOST TOWN.
Cracking puzzle, Jambazi.
Thanks for the blog.
Please don’t slow down Jambazi – I have only just got onto your wavelength and don’t want to lose the knack again. Thank you for an excellent crossword with lots to enjoy and smile at. Hadn’t ever watched Phoenix Nights but seem to have picked up all the necessary knowledge along the way.
Thanks to B&J too.
Slow down? Not yet, please! That’s just being coquettish … get us all to love you in a special way and then become hard to get. Men …
Nah it’s Jambazi deliberately trying to get us to say how much we love his crosswords so Eimi will choose him more often…
Spotted the Phoenix Nights links but was somehow expecting more of them, still a pleasant little romp this morning thanks Jambazi and B&J for t’blog.
Very good puzzle. Especially liked MUSCLE BOUND, GHOST TOWN, CHERISH and the conciseness of IMPOSED.
Thanks Jambazi and B&J.
Lovely puzzle, and thanks for the blog. Couldn’t see the second word in 11A or the first in 8D, despite having everything else, so beaten on the day. I liked CHERISH very much but it was only one of many good clues.
All good stuff. My only grumble is that I’d have got 17/24 quicker if the clue had read “County manager…” (K’s D will know what I mean!)
Thanks, Jambazi and B&J
Ah, Allan, but there’s not much bark in a County, whereas there’s plenty in a Forest … I’m a neutral when it comes to the two cities linked by Brian Clough Way, but certainly won’t be organising the Midlands S&B this autumn to clash with the Derby-Forest game.
Got to this a day late, very enjoyable as always from Jambazi. I was also trying to find more Phoenix nights references (i usually miss ninas and tried to find some on an occasion that there aren’t any). Loved 23a!
i look forward to the inquisitor, your previous one is the only one I’ve ever managed to complete!