Independent 9127 / Phi

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It wouldn’t be a proper Friday for Independent crossword solvers if there wasn’t a puzzle by Phi

 

 

 

This was a fairly standard crossword from Phi.  I didn’t see any obvious theme although I did disappear down one blind alley briefly.  See below.

There were more art references than science today with music and literature to the fore.  I suppose there was a nod to the scientists with STEGOSAUR (26 across).SKIN GRAFT (4 down),  and ARCHIMEDES SCREW (8 down)

I was pleased to see quite a lot of wordplay that went beyond the simple additive form.

With Phi I always look for a theme.  I wondered if there was an author(ess) called DOUGLAS HOPE (2 down, 19 across) or HOPE DOUGLAS but I couldn’t find one.  DOUGLAS is not the Christian name of Mr GOSSE (23 down) either.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe can be connected to two entries – ERL-KING (11 across) and EGMONT(21 down)- but I think I need more than two connections for a theme.

I make no claim to be a literary buff.  Indeed my level was probably summed up by initial assumption that MAISIE at 3 down referred to the heroine of the children’s books by Aileen PATTERSON (part of 1 down).  MAISIE in these books however is a kitten, not a knowledgeable girl.

An enjoyable puzzle with nothing too obscure.

Across
No. Clue Wordplay Entry

1

 

Sounds like cattle going round about dead depraved city (5)

 

MOOS (makes a sound like cattle) reversed (about) containing (goes round) D (dead)

SO (D) OM<

SODOM (one of the ‘cities of the plain’ [in the Bible, Genesis 18-19]; any place of utter depravity)

 

4

 

A little interest in science completely reversed (9)

 

(INT [interest] contained in [in] SCI [science]) + ALL (completely) reversed

SC (INT) I LLA<

SCINTILLA (hint; trace; a little)

 

9

 

Unusually fired about English set of colleges brought back together (9)

 

Anagram of (unusually) FIRED containing (about) (E [English] + UNI [university; set of colleges])

R (E UNI) FIED*

REUNIFIED (brought back together)

 

10

 

Reason name is dropped from extended current course at first (5)

 

LONG (extended) excluding (dropped from)  N (name) + I (symbol in physics for electric current) + C (first letter of [at first] COURSE)

 

LOGIC (reason)

 

11

 

Queen’s preference excluding one feature of Schubert song (3-4)

 

ER (Elizabeth Regina; queen) + LIKING (preference) excluding (excluding) I (one)

 

ERL-KING (Schubert wrote the song Erlkönig or ERL-KING based on the poem of the same name by Goethe)

 

12

 

Recalled laughs with a tenor getting out of place in fugal passages (7)

 

TITTERS (laughs) reversed (recalled) with one of (a) the Ts (tenors) moving [getting out of place] within the other letters

STRETTI<

STRETTI (parts of a fugue in which subject and answer are brought closely together; fugal passages)

 

13

 

He will avoid embraces or other amorous activity (4)

 

PASHES (slang term describing passionate embraces) excluding (will avoid) HE

 

PASS (informal term for an amorous advance)

 

14

 

Town pub – new thing everyone relies on? (10)

 

BAR (pub) + N (new) + STAPLE (a leading commodity or raw material; a main element [as of diet, reading, conversation etc]; something everyone relies on)

 

BARNSTAPLE (English town in North Devon)

 

17

 

Unable to say one note’s overlooked by one duetting badly (6-4)

 

Anagram of (badly) ONE DUETTING excluding (overlooked) one of the Ns (note)

TONGUE–TIED*

TONGUE-TIED (unable to speak out, especially because of fear or embarrassment)

 

19

 

Man retains work in aspiration (4)

 

HE (man) contains (retains) OP (opus; work)

H (OP) E

HOPE (aspiration)

 

22

 

Wrong about a piece of jewellery (7)

 

ERRING (wrong) containing (about) A

E (A) RRING

EARRING (piece of jewellery)

 

24

 

One company excluded from US politicians gets access (7)

 

I (one) + (CONGRESS [United States politicians] excluding (excluded from] CO [company])

 

INGRESS (entrance; access)

 

25

 

Unambitious section with shops (5)

 

S (section) + MALL (shops)

 

SMALL (inadequate; unambitious)

 

26

 

Sure goats can be mistaken for a reptile? (9)

 

Anagram of (can be mistaken) SURE GOATS

STEGOSAUR*

STEGOSAUR (dinosaur [extinct reptile] of the Jurassic period)

 

27

 

All one has: cup from Paris caught in fishing tackle (3,6)

 

T ASSE (French [Paris] for cup) contained in (caught in) NETS (fishing tackle)

NE (TASSE) TS

NET ASSETS ( total value of the assets of a company [or person] minus liabilities, used as an indication of the accounting value of the owners’ interest or equity; all one has)

 

28

 

Sound of painful attack – wrestling manoeuvre? (5)

 

THROW (sounds like [sound of] THROE [paroxysm, pang or pain; painful attack])

 

THROW (a manoeuvre in wrestling)

 
Down
No. Clue Wordplay Entry

1

 

Australian icon rehabilitating latest prisoners (3,3,9)

 

Anagram of (rehabilitating) LATEST PRISONERS

SIR LES PATTERSON*

SIR LES PATTERSON (one of the alter egos of Australian comedian Barry Humphries)

 

2

 

Scottish clan mostly morose over more than half of local city (7)

 

DOUR (morose) excluding the final letter (mostly) R + GLAS (4 of the 7 letters [more than half] of GLASGOW, Scotland’s largest city)

 

DOUGLAS (Scottish clan name)

 

3

 

Knowledgeable literary girl is embraced by graduate, that is (6)

 

IS contained in (embraced by) (MA [Master of Arts; graduate] + IE (id est; that is])

MA (IS) IE

MAISIE (reference the novel What MAISIE Knew by Henry James)

 

4

 

Consequence of burning in abandoning vessel in difficulty? (4,5)

 

SINKING RAFT (vessel in difficulty) excluding (abandoning) IN

 

SKIN GRAFT ( a medical procedure that is often performed as a consequence of SKIN being burned)

 

5

 

River Test eradicated in hard work (5)

 

INDUSTRY (hard work) excluding (eradicated) TRY (test)

 

INDUS (River in South Asia)

 

6

 

Stomach set to be upset – eat worriedly after some hesitation (8)

 

LOT (set) reversed (to be upset) + ER (expression of hesitation) + an anagram of (worriedly) EAT

TOL< ER ATE*

TOLERATE (accept; stomach)

 

7

 

Mild drink (seconds repeatedly declined) then start on fag (5,2)

 

SLIGHT (mild) excluding (declined) S (second) + SUP (drink) excluding (declined again, therefore repeatedly declined) S (seconds)

 

LIGHT UP (start a cigarette; start a fag)

 

8

 

Water supplier de-ices marsh fluidly with gang in support (10,5)

 

Anagram of (fluidly) DE-ICES MARSH + CREW (gang)

ARCHIMEDES S* CREW

ARCHIMEDES SCREW (machine used to transfer water from a low-lying body of water into irrigation ditches)

 

15

 

Poverty?  Observed rises when bringing in feeds (9)

 

SEEN (observed) reversed (rising; down clue) containing (when bringing in) DINES (feeds)

NEE (DINES) S<

NEEDINESS ( poverty)

 

16

 

 Copper vehicles having centre removed in workspaces (8)

CU (chemical symbol for copper) + (BICYCLES [vehicles] excluding [having … removed] the middle two letters [centre] YC)

 

CUBICLES (workspaces)

 

18

 

River and sea not ruffled by this wind (3-4)

 

Anagram of (ruffled) R (river) and SEA NOT

NOR–EAST*

NOR-EAST (descriptive of the a wind coming from the NORth EAST)

 

20

 

Plea to songwriter not found in the building? (4-3)

 

O! PEN AIR (please write a song; plea to songwriter)

 

OPEN-AIR (outside; not found in the building)

 

21

 

Say overture of Mozart’s not mistaken for overture of Beethoven (6)

E.G. (for example; say) + M (first letter of [overture of] MOZART) + an anagram of (mistaken) NOT

EG M ONT*

EGMONT (there is an overture to Beethoven’s work entitled EGMONT)

 

23

 

English writer goes crazy about son (5)

 

Anagram of (crazy) GOES containing (about) S (son)

GO (S) SE*  Either S could be the one contained

GOSSE (reference Edmund GOSSE [1849 – 1928], English poet,author and critic)

 

9 comments on “Independent 9127 / Phi”

  1. All very straightforward, and no theme that I can see (not that means there isn’t one). Enjoyed the musical references, too.

    I think the Maisie referred to is the eponymous heroine of this book. I had to google for it; the only Maisie I could think of is a character in the Perishers strip in a certain Red Top.

    Thanks, Phi and Duncan.

  2. before looking for theme-I am getting to like Phi although I thought 11 should be (7) rather than (3 4).Some good stuff here.

  3. Thanks Phi and Duncan, I really enjoyed this one. It had tons of stuff I didn’t know, but it was all gettable from wordplay. I particularly liked 4d.

  5. What Maisie Knew. Henry James. That is Phi’s reference.
    Thanks to Phi and Duncan. Excellent challenge today.

  7. We hope someone can uncover the four elements that Phi mentions. We wondered whether the author was Oliver Wendell Holmes but the only link we could find was a novel called A Scintilla. If not, can you give us another hint please Phi?

    Even without the puzzle we are left with, we enjoyed the Phiday puzzle this week. Thankfully the more obscure words (for us at least) fell out reasonably easily from the parsing although STRETTI was only solved when we had every crossing letter.

    Thanks Phi and Duncan – have a good weekend.

  9. Sorry we are so late in catching with the Indy crosswords online.

    Hope this is late enough to avoid being a spoiler.

    Please help – we think we have found 3 of the 4 elements – SMALL, HOPE and DOUGLAS. Any clues as to the fourth?

    Thanks to Phi and Duncan for a great puzzle and blog

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