It’s Friday – it’s Phi with a fairly typical broadsheet puzzle.
Even although it’s Phi I can’t see any obvious theme or message this week. Yes, there were a couple of references to Verdi operas, a couple of military men, some religion and belief but nothing that links lots of entries or clues together.
A reasonable general knowledge should have seen most solvers through this puzzle. It was good to see a bit more science this week, but solvers with a literary, musical or classical bent weren’t ignored.
I thought the puzzle was towards the easier end of Phi’s range, but no doubt one or two commenters will disagree,
I worked through the clues fairly steadily with a good number solved cold on he first pass. My last one in was ARCADIA (19 down)
There were quite a few clues where the wordplay dropped the first letter of a component part (9 across, 25 across, ) or used the first letter (27 across, 28 across, 29 across)
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1
|
Close to backing second treaty? Drinks to round things off (9)
|
NIGH (close to) + ([S {second} + PACT {treaty}] all reversed [backing])
NIGH (TCAP S)< |
NIGHTCAPS (drinks before bedtime; drinks to round things off)
|
| 6
|
Open deception (5)
|
BLUFF (blunt; candid; open)
|
BLUFF (deception) double definition
|
| 9
|
Subsequently beam, having ousted leader (5)
|
RAFTER (beam) excluding (ousted) the first letter (leader) R
|
AFTER (subsequently)
|
| 10
|
Stop, completely behind trees (9)
|
FOREST (land covered with trees) + ALL (completely)
|
FORESTALL (stop)
|
| 11
|
Soldiers run from means of restraint (6)
|
LEG IRON (fetter [means of restraint] for the leg) excluding (from) R (run)
|
LEGION (in ancient Rome, a body of three to six thousand soldiers)
|
| 12
|
Dickinson, say, US writer, literacy heroine (7)
|
POE (reference Edgar Alan POE [1809 – 1849], American writer) + TESS (reference the heroine in Hardy’s TESS of the d’Urbervilles)
|
POETESS (reference Emily Dickinson [1830 – 1886], American POET)
|
| 14
|
Seaman cracked his head cramming male … (8)
|
Anagram of (cracked HIS + (PATE [head] containing [cramming] M [male])
SHI* P (M) ATE) |
SHIPMATE (fellow seaman)
|
| 15
|
… commander in hold, … (6)
|
NELSON (wrestling hold)
|
NELSON (reference Admiral Lord font color=”blue”>NELSON [1758 – 1805], naval commander)
|
| 18
|
… commander that’s organised gala in navy (6)
|
Anagram of (organised) GALA contained in (in) RN (Royal Navy)
R (AGLA*) N |
RAGLAN (reference Lord RAGLAN [1788 – 1855], Commander in Chief of British forces in the Crimean war)
|
| 20
|
Start to lose name for primarily responsible dealing (8)
|
COMMENCE (start) with N (name) excluded (lose) and replaced by (for) R (first letter of [primarily] RESPONSIBLE)
COMMERCE |
COMMERCE (dealing)
|
| 23
|
Backing some Caribbean company in Verdi opera (7)
|
CUBAN (a person from a Caribbean country; some Caribbean) reversed (backing) + CO (company)
NABUC< CO |
NABUCCO (opera by Verdi)
|
| 25
|
Finish still to occur, not start (6)
|
PENDING (remaining undecided; still to occur) excluding (not) the first letter (start) P
|
ENDING (finish)
|
| 27
|
Inelegant start to Texan oil drama rubbished (9)
|
Anagram of (rubbished) (T [first letter of {start to} TEXAN] and OIL DRAMA)
MALADROIT* |
MALADROIT (unskilful; clumsy; inelegant)
|
| 28
|
Conservative to start over ideology (5)
|
C (first letter of [start] CONSERVATIVE) + REDO (do it again; start over)
|
CREDO (set of beliefs; ideology)
|
| 29
|
Cheers after debut in role as Caribbean religionist (5)
|
R (first letter of [debut in] ROLE) + AS + TA (thanks; cheers)
|
RASTA (a member of a West Indian [Caribbean] religious movement, which rejects western culture and ideas and regards Haile Selassie, the former Emperor of Ethiopia, as divine)
|
| 30
|
Girl‘s to eat after brewing lager (9)
|
Anagram of (brewing) LAGER + DINE (eat)
GERAL* DINE |
GERALDINE (girl’s name)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1
|
Name getting attention of immediate family (4)
|
N (name) + EAR (attention)
|
NEAR (close in relationship; immediate family)
|
| 2
|
Government, making statement on the way out (9)
|
G (government) + UTTERING (speaking; making statement)
|
GUTTERING (threatening to go out; on the way out)
|
| 3
|
Rare element: description encompassing bismuth and uranium (7) | TERM (designation; description) containing (encompassing) (BI [chemical symbol for Bismuth] + U [chemical symbol for Uranium])
TER (BI U) M |
TERBIUM (rare metallic element)
|
| 4
|
Sign of agreement about fellows in it produces fellow-feeling (8) | AY (yes; sign of agreement) containing (F [fellow] + F [fellow] giving fellows + IN IT)
A (FF IN IT) Y |
AFFINITY (common attraction; fellow-feeling)
|
| 5
|
Fight over club drug is an embarrassing event (6)
|
SCRAP (fight) + E (ecstasy; a drug often taken at night clubs; club drug?)
|
SCRAPE (embarrassing predicament)
|
| 6
|
Surround is erected, say once worker comes round (7)
|
BEE (worker) containing (comes round) (IS reversed [erected] + EG [for example; say)
BE (SI< EG) E |
BESIEGE (surround with armed forces)
|
| 7
|
Period of American dominance in behaviour (5)
|
US (American) + AGE (period) expressed as the phrase US AGE could be descriptive of a period of American dominance
|
USAGE (custom; convention; behaviour)
|
| 8
|
Someone giving themselves airs locally? (4,6)
|
FOLK SINGER (one who performs songs [airs])
|
FOLK SINGER (performer of material that is traditional and local) A cryptic definition. I don’t think there is any more complex wordplay.
|
| 13
|
A firm mostly getting more working – one’s looking up (10)
|
A + (STRONG [firm] excluding the final letter [mostly] G) + an anagram of (working) MORE
A STRON OMER* |
ASTRONOMER (one who looks up to the stars)
|
| 16
|
African region redeveloped as green site (9)
|
Anagram of (redeveloped) GREEN SITE
SERENGETI* |
SERENGETI (geographical region in Africa. It is located in northern Tanzania and extends to south-western Kenya)
|
| 17
|
Indicator of North or South sailor observed below mast (8)
|
POLE (mast) + S (South) + TAR (sailor)
|
POLESTAR (indicator of North)
|
| 19
|
Verdi opera about Egyptian god picked up in Stoppard play (7) | (AIDA [Verdi opera] + C [circa; about] + RA [Egyptian god]) all reversed (picked up)
(AR C ADIA)< |
ARCADIA (title of play by Tom Stoppard)
|
| 21
|
Award involving one college examination (7)
|
MEDAL (award) containing (involving) (I [one] + C [college])
MED (I C) AL |
MEDICAL (examination to ascertain a person’s physical condition)
|
| 22
|
Lied about love? Not half – I’m leaving (2,4)
|
SONG (lied [German lyric]) containing (about) (LO [two letters only of the four letters [not half] of LOVE)
SO (LO) NG |
SO LONG (goodbye; I’m leaving)
|
| 24
|
Stock‘s rubbish – no successful item visible (5)
|
BULLSHIT (nonsense; rubbish) excluding (no) HIT (successful item)
|
BULLS (farm animals; stock)
|
| 26
|
Pierce, producing blood (4)
|
GORE (blood)
|
GORE (pierce) double definition
|
Just taking advantage of the concert interval (second half is Bruckner 8 so extensive radio silence is about to descend) to drop in and confirm that there is a link between several answers. A map might be useful…
Phi @ 1
After the nudge: there are quite a few place names from New Zealand – at least BLUFF, NELSON, RAGLAN, GERALDINE, BULLS and GORE
… and NIGHTCAPS
duncanshiell, well done, I am sure you must be right, if not you have beaten Phi at his own game. Even though I am a New Zealander, I do not think I would have found the theme – Nightcaps sounds a very sleepy place!
Thank you Phi for a fun crossword, wonder if NIGHTCAPS was serendipity? So many good clues it is hard to pick out favourites, but I especially liked POETESS, GUTTERING, SHIPMATE, NELSON and RAGLAN.
As usual, the Phi theme passed me by but it was no matter, since I agree with Duncan that it was a practically perfect daily broadsheet cryptic. Plenty to enjoy.
I fancy GUTTERING only applies to candles (but the clue is fine, of course) and POETESS – like MURDERESS and a couple more I can’t remember – seems a bit old-fashioned these days.
Thanks to S&B and good weekend to all.
Stumbled across NIGHTCAPS (way down in the South Island, I think – a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it place) and realised it had to be used. NZ has plenty of such material – I can be in Avalon ten minutes one way and Brown Owl ten minutes the other – so the rest of the grid followed promptly.
Thanks again, Phi, great fun. When I was very little the jokes were ‘why carry Moana’, ‘why kick a moo cow’ etc., but these English names beat all.