Independent 8673 / Phi

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I thought this was a fairly challenging puzzle from Phi today.

 

 

 

When I say challenging, I am particularly referring to the parsing where I am unsure of a couple – OPAL (6 down), TRENCHARD (14 down).  I am sure that both the entries are correct, but as the detail below shows, I am struggling to understand the wordplay, particularly with TRENCHARD.  I look forward to have the blindingly obvious explained to me. Well, it didn’t take long for the ‘blindingly obvious’ to be pointed out – thanks Muffyword at comment 1. Blog now updated

The theme was defined by 14 across, 18 across – TEMPO INDICATOR.  I knew most of the musical terms. We had MAESTOSO in Anax’s crossword 8666 last week which was a great help when it came to solving 8 down.

My last one in was TRENCHARDS.  Latin is not one of my strengths but I had vaguely heard the phrase MUTATIS MUTANDIS (20 across) before.

Themed crosswords often force the compiler into using slightly obscure words.  TRENCHARDS is certainly not in my day-to-day vocabulary, nor is NELUMBOS (15 down) although the latter was clearly signalled by the wordplay.

Across
No. Clue Wordplay Entry
9

 

 A draw bringing in millions: a sacred vessel (7)

 

 ([A + PULL {draw}] containing [bringing in] M [millions]) + A

A (M) PULL A

 AMPULLA (a vessel for holy oil; sacred vessel)

 
10

 

 Copy theatre’s mostly dab acting (7)

 

 REP (repertory theatre) + (LICK [dab] excluding the final letter [mostly]) + A (acting)

 

 REPLICA (copy)

 
11 Lot of anger – cat hairs shrouding front of chair?  They can be blown away for a time (9,6) (DANDER [anger] excluding the final letter [lot of] R) + ([LION {big cat} + LOCKS {hair} containing [shrouding] C [first letter of {front of} CHAIR])

DANDE LION (C) LOCKS

 DANDELION CLOCKS (downy seed-heads of a DANDELION which can be blown away by breathing on them hard.  Tradition has it that the number of blows required to clear the head represents the time of day)
12

 

 Sea run? I’d drifted length at sea (5,4)

 

 Anagram of (drifted) SEA RUN I’D + L (length)

UNDER SAI* L

 UNDER SAIL (propelled by means of SAIL; at sea)

 
14

 

 Work by US opera house recalled measure of music (5)

 

 (OP [opus; work] + MET [reference Mew York METropolitan Opera]) all reversed (recalled)

(TEM PO)<

 TEMPO (speed, time [measure] of music)

 
15

 

 ID? Encountered one with ‘Harry’ on outside (4,3)

 

 NAG (harass; nag) containing (outside) (MET [encountered] + A [one])

NA (ME T A) G

 NAME TAG (identification; ID)

 
16

 

 Lot more oscillating in this musical effect (7)

 

 Anagram of (oscillating) LOT MORE

 

 TREMOLO (a tremulous effect as by a rapid succession of the same note or of two notes at least a third apart)

 
17

 

 Sloped heartlessly round for 14 18 (5)

 

 (LEANT [sloped] excluding the middle letter [heartlessly] A) + O (round shape)

 

 LENTO (slow [of music]; a TEMPO [14 across] INDICATOR [18 across])

 
18

 

 One blinking crashed into car containing policeman (9)

 

 Anagram of (crashed) INTO CAR containing (containing) DI (detective inspector; policeman)

IN (DI) CATOR*

 INDICATOR (a unit that flashes on a car)

 
20

 

 Summit data units modified making necessary changes (7,8)

 

 Anagram of (modified) SUMMIT DATA UNITS

 

 MUTATIS MUTANDIS (with necessary changes)

 
23

 

 Satisfactory at home and not at home (mostly) somewhere in Japan (7)

 

 OK (satisfactory) + IN (at home) + (AWAY excluding the final letter [mostly] Y)

 

 OKINAWA (city in Japan)

 
24

 

 Article supplied by poet’s 14 18 (7)

 

 AN (indefinite article) + DANTE (reference DANTE Alighieri [1265 – 1321], Italian poet)

 

 ANDANTE (moving with moderately slow even expression [of music]; a TEMPO [14 across] INDICATOR [18 across])

 
Down
1

 

 Carriage left with some indication of gold (6)

 

 L (left) + AND (with) + AU (chemical symbol for gold)

 

 LANDAU (a horse-drawn carriage with a folding top)

 
2

 

 Incomplete integrity producing weasel words? (4)

 

 SPINE (firmness of character; integrity) excluding the final letter (incomplete) E

 

 SPIN (the act of putting a favourable light on something by using words illegitimately with each other [using weasel words])

 
3

 

 Everyone, say, upset river creature in 14, 18 (10)

 

 ALL (everyone) + EG (for example; say) + (OTTER [river creature] reversed [upset; down clue])

ALL EG RETTO<

 ALLEGRETTO (with brisk movement; lively and rather fast [of music];  a TEMPO [14 across] INDICATOR [18 across])

 
4

 

 Mistakenly placating taxi drivers finally with a levy (7,5,3)

 

 Anagram of (mistakenly) (PLACATING TAXI and S [last letter of {finally} DRIVERS] and A)

 

 CAPITAL GAINS TAX (a TAX levied on the profit made on the sale of assets)

 
5

 

 Age treated with natural drugs such as C12H22O11 (10,5)

 

 Anagram of (treated) AGE and NATURAL DRUGS

 

 GRANULATED SUGAR (C12H22O11 is a  molecular form that embraces SUGARs in various instances)

 
6

 

 Chap’s avoiding most suitable gem (4)

 

 If you have O (zero) PALs (friends) you are avoiding most other people  I am not entirely happy with this parsing but I can’t see anything else.

As Muffyword points at comment 1, it is parsed as OPTIMAL excluding (avoiding) TIM (chap’s name)

 OPAL (gemstone)

 
7

 

 Dancing with both sexes, type to lose head?  Source of unease (10)

 

 DISCO (a form of dancing) + (M [male] + F [female]; both sexes) + (SORT [type] excluding [to lose] the first letter [head] S)

 

 DISCOMFORT (source of unease)

 
8

 

 Material in mine brought up to very good 14 18 (8)

 

 (SEAM [material in mine] reversed [brought up; down clue]) + TO + SO (very good)

MAES< TO SO

 MAESTOSO (with dignity or majesty [of music];  a TEMPO [14 across] INDICATOR [18 across])

 
13

 

 Party flirt embracing drunken tar, one imposing woman (10)

 

 DO (party) + (MINX [flirt] containing [embracing] [an anagram of {drunken}TAR + I {one}])

DO MIN (ATR* I) X

 DOMINATRIX (an imposing woman)

 
14 Digging poet’s covering head in academic headgear (10) TRENCH refers to digging and Google tells me about TRENCH poets, but I am not sure where ‘covering head’ comes into the wordplay.  Covering is often used as a containment indicator, but I can’t see any obvious container and contents here.

ARD is a plough which at a pinch could dig a trench of sort, but it will be obvious to you all that I am struggling here.

Muffyword @ 1 has come up trumps here too with TRENCH (digging) + BARD’S (poet’s) with TRENCH replacing (covering) the first letter of (head) the poet B

 TRENCHARDS (at St Andrew’s University, TRENCHARD is the word used for a college cap or mortarboard; academic headgear)
15

 

 Black cross carried by boy picking up lotus flowers (8)

 

 ([B {black} + MULE {cross between a donkey and a horse}]contained in [carried by] SON [boy]) all reversed (picking up; down clue)

(N (ELUM B) OS)<

 NELUMBOS (sacred lotus flowers)

 
19

 

 Unwanted guest snaffling first breakfast item (6)

 

 CRASHER (gateCRASHER; unwanted guest) excluding (snaffling) the first letter (first) C

 

 RASHER ( apiece of bacon often served as a breakfast item)

 
21

 

 Danger not fully lifted (4)

 

 (PART [not fully]) reversed (lifted)

TRAP<

 TRAP (danger)

 
22

 

 What’s put in brew?  (Boozer will ignore recipe) (4)

 

 DRUNK (boozer) excluding (ignoring) R (recipe)

 

 DUNK (the act of dipping a biscuit into a cup of tea [brew])

 

 

8 comments on “Independent 8673 / Phi”

  2. Muffyword @ 1

    Thanks – I should have seen both of those, but it’s surprising how easy it is to get fixated on a couple of ideas without standing back and taking another look.

    I have updated the blog.

  3. Thanks, Duncan and Phi. The wordplay in NELUMBOS may be clear in hindsight, but not knowing the word I could get no purchase on the clue. Apart from that, the usual pleasant cakewalk from Phi.

  4. I thought this was one of Phi’s trickier puzzles, and I found I had two wrong when I clicked on “check” after I didn’t get the congratulatory message. I’d put a stupid “open” at 2dn where I’d seen the definition as “incomplete” and then rationalised the rest of the clue as some kind of play on “O pen”. No, it doesn’t make much sense to me now either. My other error was at 14dn where I’d invented “trenchardry” as a type of digging, although why I thought “trenchy” could relate to academic headgear is also a mystery now. Not my finest piece of solving, but all my fault and nothing to do with Phi’s cluing. I saw the correct answers before I came here but still a failure by my criteria.

  6. About average in Phi difficulty for me. Didn’t know TRENCHARDS or NELUMBOS, but both gettable.

    Enjoyed the musical theme, and got TEMPO early doors, so was able to have a stab at the themed clues, helped by the fact that they were almost certainly going to end in O.

    Thanks, both, and good weekend to all.

  7. Maybe trickier than the usual Phi, but possibly the easiest puzzle this week, certainly easier than the last two days. Helped that I got the four 15-letter answers almost straight-away, but hampered by taking ages to get the theme gateway answers. I do know enough about music to get tempo indicators once I knew that was what I was looking for. (But it took me ages to parse 8dn.)

    I thought I knew 15dn but couldn’t remember how to spell it. But when I checked in Chambers, I immediately saw the correct answer, which wasn’t the word I was thinking of.

    And I failed on 14dn. Seeing that TRENCHAND is a Spenserian spelling of “trenchant”, I thought Spenser was the poet and he also used the word TRENCHANDS. If my eyes had only strayed down a headword… Thanks all for the explanations of that and 6dn.

  8. We also had problems parsing 14d and 6d. We’ve had a busy day so rather than spend too long on head-scratching we came here. So, thanks to Duncan and Muffyword!

    A good end to the week so thanks to Phi!

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