Phi.has given us an enjoyable puzzle today
There’s clearly something going on with all the Bs in the puzzle, but I haven’t been able to deduce any theme or message. I reckon there are 16 Bs, but there isn’t one in every entry. If there is a pattern in the location of the Bs then it has passed me by.
The word ABLE is spelled out in the middle row of unches, but again that doesn’t mean much to me.
The clues I enjoyed most today were those for FANTASY FOOTBALL (because of the sporting allusions in the clue) and TEATIME (because of the excellent misdirection by ‘four or five’ in the surface reading of the clue)
There were a couple of modern words and phrases in the entries – MY BAD at 14 across and BITCOIN at 16 down. On the other hand BEHOOVING (15 down) seemed fairly old-fashioned. The most obscure entry (for me) was BUSHIDO (19 down)
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1
|
Slice a small amount – dry internally (6)
|
SEC (dry [of wines]) contained in (internally) BIT (a small amount)
BI (SEC) T |
BISECT (cut into two; slice into two)
|
| 4
|
Sex with sailor involving university in smear (6)
|
BED (sex) + (AB [able seaman; sailor] containing [with … in] U [university])
BED A (U) B |
BEDAUB (smear)
|
| 9
|
Time, black, not fixed in the memory? (8)
|
ERA (division of geological time) + SABLE (black, chiefly in heraldry and poetry)
|
ERASABLE (not fixed in memory)
|
| 10
|
Information sessions disregarded by commandos? (6)
|
BRIEFS (sessions where information is given)
|
BRIEFS (underpants; to do something commando style is to do it without underpants) double definition
|
| 12
|
Sporting activity of oafs blatantly fouling (7,8)
|
Anagram of (fouling) OF OAFS BLATANTLY
|
FANTASY FOOTBALL (a game or competition in which participants select an imaginary team composed of real-life players from different clubs, and score points according to the actual performance of those players for their respective clubs; sporting activity)
|
| 13
|
Vegetable contest: a blast to include recipe (8)
|
BEE (competition; contest – e.g. the Great British Sewing Bee) + (TOOT [blast] containing [to include] R [recipe])
BEE T (R) OOT |
BEETROOT (vegetable)
|
| 14
|
Admission of fault in respect of swirling when filling potty (2,3)
|
(BY [in respect of] reversed [swirling]) contained in (when filling) MAD (potty)
M (Y B<) AD |
MY BAD (An American idiom that was made popular by basketball players in playground games in the 1970s and 1980s. It usually means “my fault”)
|
| 16
|
Busy character taking time, we hear, to fix bathroom item (5)
|
BIDET (sounds like [we hear] BEE [busy character] DAY [period of time])
|
BIDET (bathroom item)
|
| 18
|
Broadcaster meeting some resistance about Republican humorist (8)
|
BEEB [BBC; broadcaster] + OHM [SI unit of electrical resistance; some resistance]) containing (about) R (Republican)]
BEE (R) B OHM |
BEERBOHM (reference Sir Henry Maximilian “Max” BEERBOHM (1872 – 1956) , an English essayist, parodist, and caricaturist; humorist)
|
| 20
|
Adheres mostly to changes in predictable narrative (3,4,3,5)
|
Anagram of (changes) ADHERES MOSTLY TO
|
THE SAME OLD STORY (predicable narrative)
|
| 23
|
Start working to accommodate fixed cut (6)
|
ON (working) containing (to accommodate) (RIGID [fixed] excluding the final letter [cut] D)
O (RIGI) N |
ORIGIN (start)
|
| 24
|
Cut waffling – editor about to back out (8)
|
INDECISION (wavering; waffling) excluding (out) (DE [ED {editor}] reversed [back])
|
INCISION (cut)
|
| 25
|
Brilliant source of beer recalled – spicy flavouring (6)
|
(GEM [flawless; brilliant] + TUN [a large cask; possibly a store {source} of beer]) reversed (recalled)
(NUT MEG)< |
NUTMEG (spicy flavouring)
|
| 26
|
Take one’s time getting fit (6)
|
BE LONG (take one’s time)
|
BELONG (be entirely suitable; fit)
|
| Down | |||
| 1
|
Precipitate of French, coming in wrong and stupid (9)
|
(RAIN [precipitate] + DE [French for ‘of”]) contained in (coming in) BAD (wrong)
B (RAIN DE) AD |
BRAINDEAD (stupid)
|
| 2
|
It secures kelp, say, with no little power (7)
|
SEA PLANT (kelp is any large brown seaweed) excluding (with no) P (abbreviation for [little] power)
|
SEALANT (any device or substance used to SEAL a gap to prevent the passage of water; it secures)
|
| 3
|
Lowly rocks amongst stones in road giving vague unease (12)
|
Anagram of (rocks) LOWLY contained in (amongst) COBBLES (stones in road)
C (OLLYW*) OBBLES or CO (LLYWO*) BBLES |
COLLYWOBBLES (state of apprehensiveness; vague unease)
|
| 5
|
Not speaking about arrival picked up in mistake (7)
|
(MUTE [not speaking] containing [about] ARR [abbreviation for arrival]) all reversed (picked up; down clue)
(E (RRA) TUM)< |
ERRATUM (mistake)
|
| 6
|
Shakespearean forest – daughter exiled – a dramatic situation (5)
|
(ARDEN [reference Forest of ARDEN, setting for Shakespeare’s As You Like It] excluding [exiled] D [daughter]) + A
|
ARENA (an area enclosed by seating, in which public sporting contests or entertainments take place at which dramatic events take place; dramatic situation)
|
| 7
|
Was active in raid, having secondary role? (7)
|
BUST (raid) + LED (under control; having secondary role)
|
BUSTLED (was active)
|
| 8
|
Book cost brought up complaint (4)
|
B (book) + (FEE [cost] reversed [brought up; down clue])
B EEF< |
BEEF (complaint)
|
| 11
|
She’s not really fair in delivering a shock (6,6)
|
BOTTLE BLONDE (someone whose hair colouring out of a bottle)
|
BOTTLE BLONDE (a lady whose shock [a mass of thick, shaggy hair;] is not a natural blonde colour; not really fair) |
| 15
|
Room cleaner without hesitation secured by person – that’s fitting (9) | (HOOVER [vacuum cleaner] excluding [without] ER [hesitation]) contained in (secured by) BEING (person)
BE (HOOV) ING |
BEHOOVING (fitting)
|
| 16
|
Modern currency had effect on swindle involving one (7)
|
BIT (had effect) + (CON [swindle] containing [involving] I [one])
BIT CO (I) N |
BITCOIN (digital currency; modern currency)
|
| 17
|
Four or five in side holding it back before end of game (7)
|
(TEAM [side] containing [holding] [IT reversed {back}]) + E (last letter of [end of] GAME)
TEA (TI<) M E |
TEATIME (TEA is usually eaten around 4pm or 5pm)
|
| 19
|
Chivalrous code evident in Presidential marriage? (7)
|
BUSH (reference American President BUSH [George H or George W) + I DO (an important phrase at a marriage)
|
BUSHIDO (Japanese code of chivalry)
|
| 21
|
Live or die, with seconds intervening (5)
|
S (seconds) contained in (intervening) EXIT (die)
EXI (S) T |
EXIST (live)
|
| 22
|
There’s no climbing top of K2, jerk! (4)
|
(NAY [no] reversed [climbing; down clue]) + K (first letter of [top of] K2 [which is the second highest mountain in the world, so ‘top’ is very appropriate])
YAN< K |
YANK (jerk)
|
Thank you, Duncan.
Pleasing puzzle from Phi as always. Like you, I think there must be something going on with the Bs, but what it is, I can’t see.
You are no doubt right about the origins of MY BAD, but my sense is that British yoofs have only started using it comparatively recently. You are of course also right about TEATIME, but here in Derbyshire we have tea around 7pm, and it’s often meat and two veg. DINNER? No, that’d be Sunday around 1pm. LUNCH? We’re not posh enough for that …
Bravo, Phi. Look forward to someone enlightening us about the theme.
A very enjoyable Phi puzzle IMHO. I noticed the inordinate number of Bs and that helped me solve the puzzle a little faster than I might otherwise have done, but I can’t see if they relate to a theme or nina.
I agree with Duncan that the clue for FANTASY FOOTBALL was very good. I had no problem with BUSHIDO, but BEHOOVING did indeed have an archaic feel about it. TEATIME was my LOI after NUTMEG.
Just couldn’t see 10ac, even after considering BRIEFS as a possibility, and I knew the phrase “going commando”!
15dn Chambers gives as now an especially US spelling (and many Americanisms are British archaisms).
I didn’t know the basketball origin of “my bad” but remember is turning up on Buffy fifteen years ago and it didn’t seem that unfamiliar even then.
Only 3 comments so far? Where is everyone? At least the comments are interesting!
We can’t see anything happening with the Bs but we did notice them. Maybe it’s just Phi setting himself a challenge!
Joyce thinks that MY BAD came into a recent puzzle which is the only way she would have come across it before. Bert can’t remember, but that’s nothing unusual!
Bert enjoyed 10ac and he then had to explain the parsing to Joyce as she couldn’t remember the phrase.
No more to say except thanks to Phi and Duncan.
I had MY BAD elsewhere a short while ago, and had to write two clues for it in quick succession.
The Bs were just a notion – I saw quite a few appearing as I filled the grid, and then consciously tried to add more.
Can’t type much – jetlag…
BandJ:
“Where is everyone?” Don’t feel alone – we’re lurking caringly in the shadows! The Indie crowd clearly more select than similar showers…..
As my texting finger now waggling, will mention that “briefs” and “teatime” were each enjoyed. But I was naturally saddened that of the 13 Os in puzzle, only one appeared in the first seven columns. Poor things – guess they were elbowed out by those abundant effing Bs!!
I should add, creator Phi and web logger Duncan, that the lurking is appreciative.
Nice to see 225 still using GMT!