Thanks Phi for an unexpected enjoyable crossword. We say ‘unexpected’ because we normally get to solve your puzzles on Friday – not unexpected because they are not usually enjoyable!
While writing up the blog, Joyce had another chance to appreciate how good the clueing was. She really liked some of the short answers, which were easy from the wordplay but more tricky to parse such as 7d and 23d
Regular solvers will be aware that Phi sometimes has hidden themes. Often these are musical which is not our forte.If we cannot see any connection, our technique is to choose some random words from the grid and see whether google can find a connection.
We struck lucky with our second choice and found THIS PERSON. The wiki page then helped us identify the other themed answers. In reading about his early life we were fascinated about his experiences after registering as a conscientious objector in 1941.
| Across | ||
| 1 | Murderer’s throttling prone officers | |
| CAPTAINS | CAIN’S (murderer’s) around or ‘throttling’ APT (prone) | |
| 6/14 | Notorious school – rebellious tsarina in it, leading bridge team | |
| SAINT TRINIANS | An anagram of TSARINA IN IT (anagrind is ‘rebellious’) in front of or ‘leading’ NS (bridge team) | |
| 9 | California stories involving one measure of heat | |
| CALORIE | CA (California) + LORE (stories) around or involving I (one) | |
| 10 | What involves physical exercise in tent’s ultimate level? | |
| TRAPEZE | A play on the fact that PE (physical exercise) is inside T (last letter of tent or ‘ultimate’) + RAZE (level). Needless to say a trapeze is often seen in a ‘big top’ or tent. | |
| 11 | Source of detonation possibly producing broader ruins | |
| SOUND BARRIER | An anagram of BROADER RUINS (anagrind is ‘producing’) | |
| 13 | Succeeded in avoiding hill run | |
| LOPE | ||
| 14 | See 6ac | |
| 18 | Core matters enclosed in letters | |
| ESSENCES | ENC (enclosed) inside ESSES (letters) | |
| 19 | A vet returned in closing feature | |
| CODA | A DOC (vet) reversed or ‘returned’ | |
| 21 | Frantically raced with fortune available here? | |
| TOUR DE FRANCE | A play on the fact that an anagram of RACED and FORTUNE (anagrind is ‘frantically’) gives the answer. What great memories we have from this year’s tour! We were part of the huge crowd on Holme Moss. | |
| 25 | Company investing in shops beginning to match leader in Scotland | |
| MALCOLM | CO (company) inside or ‘investing in’ MALL (shops) + M (first letter or ‘beginning’ of Match) | |
| 26 | US writer’s article securing gold and more gold | |
| THOREAU | THE (article) around or ‘securing’ OR (gold) + AU (gold) | |
| 27 | Happy to embrace week of unco-ordinated style | |
| GAWKY | GAY (happy) around or ‘embracing’ WK (week) | |
| 28 | Promotional item is restricted by cut in description of holiday destination? | |
| PARADISE | AD (promotional item) + IS inside or ‘restricted by’ PARE (cut) | |
| Down | ||
| 2 | A form of super-poll, covering every question? | |
| ALL-PURPOSE | A + anagram of SUPER POLL (anagrind is ‘form of’) | |
| 3 | Lose interest after stomaching a Director’s outburst | |
| TIRADE | TIRE (lose interest) around or ‘stomaching’ A + D (director) | |
| 4 | I continue blocking nice working, being unyielding | |
| INELASTIC | I + LAST (continue) |
|
| 5 | Deity placed to get your following | |
| SATYR | SAT (placed) + YR (your) | |
| 6 | Hat in brown shades kept up disorderly show | |
| SNAKE PIT | KEPI (hat) inside TANS (brown shades) reversed or ‘kept up’ | |
| 7 | Couple: one with one following half-heartedly | |
| ITEM | I + TEeM (8d – the one following) with only one E or ‘half-heartedly. This was our last one in. The crossing letters were in lightly but we couldn’t parse it. | |
| 8 | Hunt coming up empty | |
| TEEM | MEET (hunt) reversed or ‘coming up’. This was our penultimate answer and then Bert suddenly saw the connection with 7d. | |
| 9 | Tintagel, say, its exterior beset by some action | |
| CASTLE | TL (first and last letters or ‘exterior’ of Tintagel) surrounded by CASE (some action) | |
| 12 | Comes up against information not including opening of gay bars | |
| ENCOUNTERS | ||
| 15 | After reorganisation, Princeton’s dropping new assessor | |
| INSPECTOR | An anagram of PRI |
|
| 16 | Unaccompanied, getting stuck into unknown sticky stuff, picking up knowledge of wine | |
| OENOLOGY | LONE (unaccompanied) inside or getting ‘stuck into’ Y (unknown) + GOO (sticky stuff) reversed or ‘picking up’ | |
| 17 | French composer’s musical academy on the water in Paris | |
| RAMEAU | RAM (Musical academy) + EAU (water in France) | |
| 20 | British poet’s line receiving Arab agreement? On the contrary | |
| ARNOLD | AR (Arab) + NOD (agreement) around L (line). As the word play indicates that line should be on the outside ‘on the contrary’ is required. | |
| 22 | Make a new plan, with money that’s coming in cut | |
| REMAP | M (money) inside or ‘in’ REAP (cut) | |
| 23 | It’s very good in choking millions? | |
| SMOG | A cryptic definition – SO (very) + G (good) around or ‘choking’ M (millions) | |
| 24 | What’ll make you black and blue? | |
| BLOW | Another cryptic definition – B (black) + LOW (blue) | |
Thanks for explaining the theme. I thought there might be one but hadn’t bothered to look for it. I was struggling to see any connection between the answers and Arnold until I looked at the section on film scores. Most of the films are not that well known now, so unless you were an expert you probably would miss it.
Rameau was the only one I found tricky. I had no idea what the first three letters were, so just resorted to googling musical academy to see what came up. Royal Academy of Music was second on the list, so I just tried RAM.
Thanks, all three.
I enjoyed this Tuesday excursion from Phi, although the theme as usual went right over my head.
I had a slightly different parsing for 7d: I got the TEM bit from T[E]AM, which would be TEAM for couple, following, half-heartedly. But that’s most likely complete balls, and your parsing is no doubt what Phi intended.
TOUR DE FRANCE was very good.
I had never come across TEEM meaning “empty” before.
A cunning system used by Bertandjoyce. I would never have spotted the theme, especially assuming the ARNOLD (British poet) referred to Matthew Arnold.
Also had not come across this meaning of TEEM, last in and solved by trial and error.
I think “It” should be underlined at 23D in the blog.
Thanks to Phi and Bertandjoyce.
Thanks all three. Not often I have a go at an Indy crossword, but the newsagent’s had no Grauniads today. All the same, I think I’ve never finished a Phi, but thought I had today. OENOLOGY is new to me, I had guessed LESOLOGY (SOLO in Y GEL<) purely because it fit the word play. Ah well.
The NE corner was last in, and fell in easily once I spotted what was going on with TRAPEZE – a lovely clue.
Missed the theme. Even if I'd known Phi to use themes regularly, I still would have.
Also never come across TEEM = empty, and had never heard of RAMEAU. Liked TRAPEZE.
I assumed Malcolm Arnold was the theme, but no help to me!
I’m struggling with the parsing of 4d: “I LAST” is only blocking (as in around) the “NE” of NICE (“INELAST”) with “IC” seemingly orphaned. I’m being thick here – can someone explain a bit further?
cumbrian @ 6: It’s I + NEIC (anagram of NICE) around LAST.
@cumbrian I + LAST in NICE*; “working” is anagrind.
Thanks Phi and B&J
Further to earlier comments about 4dn, I think B&J have the inclusion the wrong way round, and it may help to add brackets to the explanation, as something like
I + [LAST in NICE*].
Thanks John Appleton and gwep.
I was happy with “working” as the anagrind but I’d got myself blinkered by the parsing in the blog:
(I continue blocking nice working, being unyielding
I + LAST (continue) around or ‘blocking’ an anagram of NICE (anagrind is ‘working’))
and was reading it as an anagram of NICE contained within I + LAST.
I should have read it as (I + LAST blocking NICE) working, ie an anagram of I+NICE+LAST
Got it now! (I think……)
Pelham Barton @9
Thanks – I was still busy scrawling my thoughts when you posted.
Apologies to everyone for the confusion with 4d – there’s been a lot going on this week.
Welcome to John Appleton – we hope you discover more Indy setters.
Thanks Bertandjoyce…I surely will in the fullness of time.
Ah, Christmas Eve breakfast in a strangely deserted Wellington CBD…
This was actually intended as a sort of “at last a non-seasonal puzzle” for Boxing Day, but I gather Anax has come up with something that almost certainly will have a clue where the wordplay involves a contained D. I know I would.
Inquisitor solvers: a blog on Find the Word will go up in about 24 hours and there’ll be a Phi puzzle (Listener level) that hardly anyone has seen appearing over the weekend.
End of advert (breakfast getting cold…)
Merry Christmas
Happy Christmas Phi.
I was doing this on a train this afternoon and couldn’t get several in the top right and bottom left. Malcolm Arnold is a favourite composer of mine, and yet I totally failed to spot the theme, otherwise I might have been more confident in entering 25ac.
B & J –
Warmest compliments of the season to two of the nicest people I’ve [not] met in 2014
(and to Phi – thanks for all the phish!)