Independent 8649 / Phi

by

[If you’re attending York S&B please see comments 32&33] - here

Phi  continues to tease on Fridays

 

 

 

Only 25 clues in the puzzle today which is at the low end of numbers of clues in a national daily.  Of course, many of the clues generate entries in more than one place.

It’s American Independence Day today but I can’t see a theme or a message. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

This seemed a standard sound crossword from Phi.  The only clue I had  real difficulty parsing was the final one at 24 down for CLIMB.  I have suggested some wordplay based on an obscure meaning of LIMB, but I’m not really happy with it.  I suspect there is something fairly obvious that I have missed.  Feel free to tell me I’m an idiot in not seeing anything more obvious.

There were a few geographic references in the clues – Hispanic, Germany, Canada, Paris, Southern Hemisphere for the most recent WINTER SOLSTICE [21 / 23 across] and ASCENSION ISLAND (5  down),  but I can’t see anything that suggests a link between these places.

Last one in for me was PETERSON (18 across).  I got a bit fixated on using DON for fellow in the wordplay.

BIOTA [2 down] was a new word to me but the wordplay was very clear.

Across
No. Clue Wordplay Entry
1 / 5

 

 Only some diehard Tories will make an attractive proposition? (1,3,2,3,5) A BIT OF (only some) + ALL RIGHT (descriptive of diehard Tories who will be well to the right of the political spectrum in their views)

 

 A BIT OF ALL RIGHT (a person or thing highly approved of; an attractive proposition)

 
9

 

 Some Hispanic fellow-actor’s expression of ability (5,5)

 

 Anagram of (expression) ACTOR’S + I CAN ([expression]of ability)  Is ‘expression’ doing double duty here?  I can’t see any anagram indicator other than ‘expression’.  It may be that  I CAN is simply defined as ability, but it seems an ‘expression’ to me

COSTA R* I CAN

 COSTA RICAN (some Hispanic fellow [or lady?])  Surely ‘fellow’ isn’t the anagram indicator?.  I am a bit confused here.

 
10

 

 Problem with phosphorus in drain (4)

 

 SUM (problem) + P (chemical symbol for phosphorus)

 

 SUMP (a pit or depression into which liquid drains; drain)

 
11 / 12

 

 Grated topping making her canapés seem odd (8,6)

 

 Anagram of (odd) HER CANAPÉS SEEM

 

 PARMESAN CHEESE (A CHEESE that is frequently served in grated form, but fairly rarely on the top of canapés)

 
13

 

 Excessive love for German

 

 OTT (over the top; excessive) + O (zero; love score in tennis)

 

 OTTO (German Christian name)

 
15

 

 Number returned after review of train company information system (8)

 

 Anagram of (review of) TRAIN + (TEN [a number] reversed [returned])

INTRA* NET<

 INTRANET (a restricted network of computers, eg within a company; company information system)

 
18

 

 Canadian pianist, fellow taking in SF film (8)

 

 PERSON (fellow) containing (taking in) ET (title of science fiction [SF] film)

P (ET) ERSON

 PETERSON (reference Oscar PETERSON [1925 – 2007], Canadian jazz pianist)

 
19

 

 Schools a Parisian to get out of sterling (4)

 

 POUNDS (sterling) excluding (to get out of) UN (one form of the French for the indefinite article ‘a’)

 

 PODS (schools – e.g. of whales)

 
21 / 23

 

 Darkest time of year knocked scientist lower (6,8)

 

 Anagram of (knocked) SCIENTIST LOWER

 

 WINTER SOLSTICE (darkest time of year when the sun is at its furthest extent into the northern or southern hemisphere)

 
25

 

 Man almost entirely taken in by the writer (4)

 

 ALL (entirely) excluding the final letter (almost) L contained in (taken in by) ME (the writer)

M (AL) E

 MALE (man)

 
26

 

 This may become an emphasis when adrift (10)

 

 Anagram of (when adrift) AN EMPHASIS

 

 SEAMANSHIP (the art of handling waterborne craft; a skill that will be important when your craft is adrift at sea)

 
27 / 28

 

 Wretch to abandon entering forest prison (8,6)

 

 WORM (contemptible creature; wretch) + (SCRUB [abandon] contained in [entering] WOODS [forest])

WORM WOOD (SCRUB) S

 WORMWOOD SCRUBS (London prison)

 
Down
2

 

 Living material little active, taking in oxygen (5)

 

 (BIT [little] + A {active]) containing (taking in) O (chemical symbol for Oxygen)

BI (O) T A

 BIOTA (the flora and fauna of a region; living material)

 
3

 

 Fetish‘s time wrapped in fur?  Not initially (5,4)

 

 TEMPO (time) contained in (wrapped in) (STOLE [reference a  fur STOLE – a garment worn round the shoulders] excluding the first letter [not initially] S)

TO (TEM PO) LE

 TOTEM POLE (a tribal symbol; FETISH can be defined as an object believed to procure for its owner the services of a spirit lodged within it;

 
4

 

 Collection of trees starts to flare on getting alight (6)

 

 FO (first letters of [starts to] FLARE and ON) + REST (alight)

 

 FOREST (collection of trees)

 
5

 

 Unexpected noise scandals in remote territory (9,6)

 

 Anagram of (unexpected) NOISE SCANDALS IN

 

 ASCENSION ISLAND (an isolated volcanic ISLAND in the equatorial
waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around 1,600 kilometres from the
coast of Africa and 2,250 kilometres from the coast of South America,; remote territory)

 
6

 

 Mostly unable to shift painting, upset about new artworks (8)

 

 ([STUCK [unable to shift} excluding the final letter {mostly} K + OIL {painting]}] all reversed [upset; down clue]) containing (about) N (new)

(LI (N) O CUTS)<

 LINOCUTS (prints made from a design cut in relief from linoleum; artworks)

 
7

 

 Topic is certain to ignore rule (5)

 

 IS + (SURE [certain] excluding [to ignore] R [rule])

 

 ISSUE (topic)

 
8

 

 Pioneer residence having money invested in garden and stable, mostly (9) (M [money] contained in [invested in] HOE [garden]) + (STEADY [stable ] excluding the final letter [mostly] Y)

HO (M) E STEAD

 HOMESTEAD (a dwelling-house with outhouses and enclosures immediately connected with it; a piece of public land allotted under special laws to a settle; pioneer residence)

 
14

 

 Somehow make do with hit operetta (3,6)

 

 Anagram of (somehow) MAKE DO and HIT

 

 THE MIKADO (Gilbert & Sullivan operetta)

 
16

 

 Repast with pie may be elaborated – with this? (9)

 

 Anagram of  (elaborated) REPAST and PIE

 

 APPETISER (food or drink to whet the palate before the main meal [e.g. a pie])

 
17

 

 English journalists indulging in very much coffee (8)

 

 E (English) + (PRESS [journalists] contained in [indulging in] SO [very much])

E S (PRESS) O

 ESPRESSO (coffee made by forcing steam or boiling water through ground coffee beans)

 
20

 

 Apartments containing zero amounts of cash (6)

 

 FLATS (apartments) containing (containing) O (zero)

FL (O) ATS

 FLOATS (money in hand to provide change; amounts of cash)

 
22

 

 Quantity of energy displayed by branch of armed forces? (5)

 

 THE + RM (Royal Marines) which taken together can describe a branch of the armed forces.

 

 THERM (100000 British thermal units; quantity of energy)

 
24 Scale in C undercut by tearaway (5) I am struggling on this one in terms of the wordplay.  The best I can come up with uses a fairly obscure meaning of LIMB and I’m not sure the definition really equates to ‘tearaway’ anyway.

Possibly C + LIMB (imp or mischevious child; tearaway [???])

 

 CLIMB (scale)

 

13 comments on “Independent 8649 / Phi”

  2. Thanks Duncan and Phi,

    I had fellow-actor = costar …

    My Chambers has LIMB (vt): to dismember. Does that mean you are an idiot? I would suggest not.

  3. Phi @ 1 and Muffyword @ 2

    Reading both your comments, the penny has finally dropped on 9 across. Is it just coincidence that CO-STAR is an anagram of ACTOR’S or is it brilliant misdirection by Phi designed to trap unwary bloggers?

    I didn’t read my Chambers far enough to get to the archaic ‘dismember’ definition of LIMB

    Thanks to both

  4. Another pleasant Phi puzzle, IMHO. The only issue I had was the parsing of CLIMB, so thanks for that Muffyword. BIOTA was my LOI from the wordplay because I don’t remember having come across it before. After having made a complete pig’s breakfast of an anagram in another puzzle this morning I made absolutely sure that I had accounted for all the anagram fodder in 5dn.

  5. Fine puzzle from Phi, where the only one I couldn’t understand was CLIMB. Fine blog too. Thanks to both.

  6. Yeah, I got 24dn fairly early and couldn’t parse it, although by the time I came here, I’d forgotten that, so thanks all for the explanation.

    18ac, seeing “Canadian pianist”, my first thought was Glenn Gould. When I couldn’t see how that fitted, I thought of Marc-Andre Hamelin, after which I’d run out of Canadian pianists. I even knew Peterson was Canadian, but his name took a while to surface when I got all the crossing clues.

  7. Thanks Phi and Duncan, bit easy today for me, one of those days when it all just falls into place.
    Seen the costar actors anagram cause issues a few times when unintended in crossword land.

  8. I managed this one ok. Got the long anagrams quickly which helped with others. Didn’t worry about LIMB but Chambers on line has it as definition 7. Nothing seemed too difficult or controversial but I didn’t see COSTAR for ages – my LOI.

  9. As for LIMB, my interpretation of ‘tearaway’ is somewhat less violent than Chambers. Certainly ‘tearaway’ was used in my hearing for a rather unrestrained young male, but not a rowdy or hooligan, which was where the violence started to creep in. ‘Limb’ itself I think I got from the Just William books, though that’s a few years ago now, but William Brown was always a tearaway in my view.

  10. Dormouse @6: since you know that Marc-Andre Hamelin is Canadian, which I didn’t, I’m surprised that you didn’t mention the wonderful Angela Hewitt.

  12. Many thanks to Phi and Duncan. I also feel that a ‘tearaway’ is more descriptive of a youngster with a bit of adventure about him/her rather than a bad, or violent, child – as Chambers suggests.
    I find a puzzle where solutions of more than one word enter the grid in one row/column (rather than in random positions) is often a sign of its elegance. And, for me, this was indeed an elegant crossword. Precisely why I often save Phi’s creations for my Saturday morning coffee……

  13. ….and I thought 11/12 very clever! Not just a great anagram but an &lit too! That Phi – what a guy!

Comments are closed.