Independent 8960 / Phi

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It’s Friday and it’s Phi with a typical puzzle

 

 

 

This was a puzzle that cried out theme as the first and last columns developed.  I thought it unlikely to be a coincidence that each set of unches end LIO.  The phrase REALIO TRULIO had to mean something.  A little bit of research threw up the Tale of Custard the Dragon by Ogden Nash

There were a number of theme words from the poem in the grid – DRAGON, PIRATE, CUSTARD, KITTEN and BELINDA.  Additionally, NASH himself can be seen in the unches in the bottom row.  I can’t find OGDEN anywhere.

As with many themes these days, it was not necessary to see the theme to solve the puzzle which was a good example of an Independent daily crossword.

Across
No. Clue Wordplay Entry
8

 

 Back to arrest ambassador?  Try again (6)

 

 REAR (back) containing (to arrest) (HE [His / Her Excellency, the form of address for an ambassador])

RE (HE) AR

 REHEAR (repeat the trial; try again)

 
9

 

 Wild nature around Holland arising naturally? (8)

 

 Anagram of (wild) NATURE containing (around) (NL  [International vehicle registration for The Netherlands / Holland])

U (NL) EARNT*

 UNLEARNT (arising naturally)

 
10

 

 Some servicemen’s acts? (4)

 

 ENSA (hidden word in SERVICEMEN’S ACTS)

 

 ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association, which provided entertainment for the armed forces during and after World War II) &Lit clue

 
11

 

 Risk a wet splashing?  Little hesitation participating in that for me! (5-5)

 

 Anagram of (splashing) RISK A WET + ER (expression of hesitation)

WATER SKI ER*

 WATER SKIER (one who is likely to get wet when participating in their sport)

 
12

 

 Man abandoning medicine men around dead trees (6)

 

 HEALERS (medicine men) excluding (abandoning) HE (referencing a man) containing (around) D (dead)

AL (D) ERS

 ALDERS (examples of trees)

 
13

 

 Philosopher uses our slips to frame introduction to analysis (8)

 

 Anagram of (slips) USES OUR containing (to frame) A (first letter of [introduction to] ANALYSIS)

ROUSSE (A) U*

 ROUSSEAU (reference Jean-Jacques ROUSSEAU [1712 – 1778], Genevan philosopher)

 
15

 

 Battleaxe to feel dull? (6)

 

 DRAG ON (go on interminably; feel dull)

 

 DRAGON (battleaxe; both words tend to refer to a domineering older woman))

 
16

 

 Talk unwisely about one illegal downloader? (6)

 

 PRATE (talk foolishly) containing (about) I (one)

P (I) RATE

 PIRATE (one who copies material illegally, one form of which can involve illegal downloading)

 
19

 

 That’s not the place to find things, I’ll have you know! (4,4)

 

 LOOK HERE (don’t LOOK there; that’s not the place to find it)

 

 LOOK HERE (an angry rude or imperious response, as is I’ll have you know)

 
21

 

 Lay out two pieces of bread, one without crust? (6)

 

 BUN (can be a form of bread) excluding the first letter (without crust) B + ROLL (another form of bread)

 

 UNROLL (lay out)

 
23

 

 Offer to put out volume about one’s first experiences (10)

 

 (INVITATION [offer] excluding [put out] V [volume]) containing (about) I (one)

INIT (I) ATION

 INITIATION (first experiences)

 
25

 

 Word for Indian bread, 10 letters (entered in reverse) (4)

 

 (In the alphabet letters I TO R inclusive comprise 10 letters) reversed (entered in reverse)

R OT I<

 ROTI (in Indian and Caribbean cooking, a cake of unleavened bread;)

 
26

 

 Established single string will bind middle of arm (2,6)

 

 (ONE [single] + CORD [string]) containing [will bind] R (middle letter of [middle of] ARM)

ON (R) E CORD

 ON RECORD (publicly known; established)

 
27

 

 Poet to weaken hearts in half of poem (6)

 

 SAP (weaken) + (H [hearts in card game notation] contained in [in] PO [half of the letters of POEM])

SAP P (H) O

 SAPPHO (Greek poet)

 
Down
No. Clue Wordplay Entry
1

 

 Open to bribery about premiere of Rite of Spring (6)

 

 VENAL (open to bribery) containing (about) R (first letter of [premiere of] RITE)

VE (R) NAL

 VERNAL (relating to Spring)

 
2

 

 Irish politician, very into trade arrangement with time (2,6)

 

 (V [very] contained in [into] DEAL [trade arrangement]) + ERA (period of time)

DE (V) AL ERA

 DE VALERA (reference Éamon DE VALERA [1882 – 1975] who served as both Prime Minister and president of Ireland at various times)

 
3

 

 Brother has style in swanky US building (10)

 

 BR (brother) + OWNS (has) + TONE (style)

 

 BROWNSTONE (a dark-brown sandstone, regarded as the favourite building material of the prosperous classes; a building made of this; swanky US building)

 
4

 

 Euphemism picked up after oath cut short?  Saucy stuff (7)

 

 CUSS (oath) excluding the final letter (cut short) S + (DRAT [euphemism used in place of a stronger swear word] reversed [picked up; down clue])

CUS TARD<

 CUSTARD (a baked mixture of milk, eggs, etc, sweetened or seasoned; saucy stuff)

 
5

 

 Pop group reduced in publicity material (4)

 

 BLURB (publicity material) excluding the final letter (reduced) B

 

 BLUR (English rock band)

 
6

 

 Warm gear needed when going to public gardens (6)

 

 PARK (public gardens) + AS (when)

 

 PARKAS (fur shirts or coats with a hood, now similar outer garments made of a windproof material)

 
7

 

 Piracy, say – no place linked to the young (8)

 

 PLUNDERAGE (stealing of goods on board ship; piracy) excluding (no) PL (place)

 

 UNDERAGE ([too] young)

 
14

 

 University leading demolition of Queens section – it’s not something seen everywhere (10) UNI (university) + an anagram of (demolition of) QUEENS + S (section)

UNI QUENES* S

 UNIQUENESS (character of being the only something; therefore not something that is everywhere)

 
15

 

 Going on about Welsh fatality at sea (8)

 

 DRONING (talking at length in a monotonous tone; going on) containing (about) W (Welsh)

DRO (W) NING

 DROWNING (example of a cause of fatality at sea; you can of course DROWN in  very little amounts of water, not necessarily at sea)

 
17

 

 International communication: Indian city imprisoning couple opening Irish pub (8)

 

 (AGRA [Indian city] containing [imprisoning] IR [first two letters of {couple opening} IRISH) + PH (public house)

A (IR) GRA PH

 AIRGRAPH (a letter photographically reduced for sending by air; international communication)

 
18

 

 Girl born Daniel, but transformed (7)

 

 Anagram of (transformed) (B [born] and DANIEL)

B ELINDA*

 BELINDA (girl’s name)

 
20

 

 What makes model of small animal (after nine prototypes)? (6)

 

 KIT TEN (you use a KIT to make a model [e.g. an Airfix KIT for those who can remember that far back) and KIT number TEN will be the current model after nine previous attempts or prototypes)

 

 KITTEN (small animal)  I am not really sure of the definition here as definitions are virtually never in the middle of a clue.

 
22

 

 Split chiefly includes this fruit (6)

 

 LITCHI (hidden word in [includes] SPLIT CHIEFLY)

 

 LITCHI (one of the many spellings for a Chinese fruit)

 
24

 

 A verse describing the river (4)

 

 A + V (verse) + ON (describing)

 

 AVON (there are many River AVONs in Britain)

 

11 comments on “Independent 8960 / Phi”

  1. Nice puzzle eliciting a few near misses: ‘mustard’ and ‘in accord’! Thanks to both.

  2. Once again a Phi nina and theme goes completely over my head, but it was an enjoyable puzzle nonetheless. It took me a while to see CUSTARD and UNDERAGE, and I never did parse ALDERS so thanks for that Duncan.

  3. 22d: in our simple-minded way, we put in BANANA too early. We also missed the theme.
    Thanks, Duncan, for putting us right. Also thanks, as always, to Phi

  4. The grid with unches all round the outside simply screamed “Nina!” but I couldn’t see it. Yet, as Duncan says, it was not necessary to see the theme to solve the puzzle. Some would say that that’s as it should be.

    Two bread-related clues call for comment: I needed the blog to see the parsing of ROTI, and UNROLL was my CoD.

    Thanks, Phi and Duncan

  5. One of those blank moments – mustard didn’t bring up the congrats message and custard didn’t enter my brain!

    Minor query – I think in 11A the word play and order indicates ER in, rather than appended to, (RISK A WET)*.

    Thanks to Phi and duncanshiell.

  6. Good fun as always from Phi. Had to be something going on, so when I got two-thirds of the way through I looked at the perimeter letters and stuck in REALIO TRULIO just for fun. When it gave me my last answers it had to be right, but no idea what it was about. But as others have said, I didn’t have to have an idea.

    BROWNSTONE unknown to me, and UNDERAGE my favourite.

    Thanks, both, and good weekend to all.

  7. I also optimistically went for MUSTARD, but typing REALIO TRULIO into Google quickly corrected it, so that was nice. I second the motion to award UNDERAGE clue of the day. Thanks, Phi and duncanshiell.

  8. Having given myself a Custard the Dragon theme (and it’s a beautifully judged kids’ poem) I thought I would also hark back to the days of those curious newspaper crossword competitions where you were given _USTARD and the clue ‘Yellow foodstuff’ and expected to divine the answer the grid constructor had in mind (B, of course). I believe they were eventually halted because they were effectively lotteries, which practice was verboten at the time.

    Next week’s is sort of pointed at Dormouse, if he’s reading. And even if he isn’t. It should otherwise pass discreetly unobserved.

  9. I’m all agog – and in Cologne. (Did this puzzle on the ICE down from Hamburg this morning, with little problem.)

    Proms dcon’t start till the 17th, so I’m assuming not that.

  10. That’ll be astrophysics next week, then. Oops, that probably counts as a spoiler. But if the setter flags it up …

  11. ….or it might be based on a certain tea party? Curiouser and curiouser….

    Thanks to Phi and Duncan

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