Independent 9199 / Phi

by

Phi on Friday as usual

 

 

 

The top half of the grid has a lot of wordplay or entry references to parts of the body, ailments and cures but the bottom half of the grid has none.  I’m not sure what to make of it.

I don’t understand fully the wordplay at 6 across (LOAF) but I think the clue is a double definition.  I am sure someone will tell me if it’s not.

I worked fairly steadily through this without any long pauses.    I finished off in the SE corner.

KNOUTS as a term meaning ‘whip’ in the wordplay at 23 across was a new word for me.  I liked the construction of that clue with a container within a container.

It made a pleasant change to see HM used for Queen in 15 across rather than ER

 

Across
No. Clue Wordplay Entry

1

 

Healing action at work around most of leg bone (10)

 

Anagram of (at work) ACTION containing (around) (TIBIA [bone in the leg] excluding the final letter [most of] A)

AN (TIBI) OTIC*

ANTIBIOTIC (inhibiting the growth of another organism, which, in dilute solution, has the capacity to inhibit the growth of, or to destroy, micro-organisms causing infectious diseases; healing)

 
6 Capital spot to idle (4)

LOAF – I’m struggling a bit here.  The only suggestion I can come up with is that LOAF and CAPITAL can both refer to a use of the word HEAD.  e.g. use your LOAF meaning use your brains (HEAD), while CAPITAL can describe the HEAD or top part of a column.

I won’t be surprised if someone comes up with a far better explanation

 LOAF (loiter or stand idly; idle) double definition?

9

 

This, if rough, has filing near (10)

 

Anagram of (if rough) FILING NEAR

FINGERNAIL*

FINGERNAIL (something that may be filed smooth if it is currently rough)

 

10

 

Dark spot, more than halfway through period of conflict (4)

 

WART (first four letters [of seven, i.e. more than halfway through]  in WARTIME [period of conflict])

 

WART (small hard excrescence on the skin; dark spot)

 

12

 

Tilts where tilting’s allowed (5)

 

LISTS (boundary of a jousting ground where knights contested with lances; TILTING can mean jousting so TILTING is allowed within the LISTS)

 

 LISTS (leans; tilts)

13

 

Unusual claim I placed about a sack of bacteria (9)

 

Anagram of (unusual) CLAIM I containing (placed about) ROB (plunder; sack)

MIC (ROB) IAL*

MICROBIAL (of bacteria)

 

14

 

Gathering fool has cracked a priceless piece of porcelain? (8)

 

ASS (fool) contained in (has cracked) (A + MING [descriptive of exceptional quality pottery from the Chinese dynasty of the same name [1368 – 1644]; priceless piece of porcelain)

A M (ASS) ING

AMASSING (gathering)

 

15

 

Prince and Queen holding on, displaying calmness (6)

 

P (prince) + (HM [Her Majesty; queen] containing [holding] LEG [the ON side in cricket is the LEG side])

P H (LEG) M

PHLEGM (calmness)

 

18

 

Guarantee source of criticism is hidden (6)

 

CENSURE (criticism) excluding (hidden) the first letter (source) C

 

ENSURE (guarantee)

 

20

 

Press team is engaged in genuine return event (8)

 

(PR [public relations – often managed by the company press team]  + IS) contained in (engaged in) REAL (genuine)

RE (PR IS) AL

REPRISAL (act of retaliation; return event)

 

23

 

Whips involving Conservative in right decisive events (9)

 

KNOUTS (whips formerly used as an instrument of punishment in Russia) containing (C [Conservative] contained in [in] OK [yes; right])

KN (O (C) K) OUTS

KNOCKOUTS (decisive events)

 

24

 

Cost of some computers making you cross? (5)

 

This a play on the various electronic gizmos marketed by Apple, e.g. I-Pod, I-Pad I-Phone where presumable the price [RATE] can be described as the I-RATE

 

IRATE (angry; cross)

 

25

 

Finger, except tip, is blackened (4)

 

PINKY (little finger) excluding (except) the first letter (tip) P

 

INKY (blackened)

 

26

 

Shock industrial action not very clever (6,4)

 

STRIKE (industrial action) + DUMB (not very clever)

 

STRIKE DUMB (shock)

 

27

 

Hard getting on part of ship (4)

 

H (hard as in the description of a pencil lead) + OLD (getting on in years)

 

HOLD (part of ship)

 

28

 

Lacking will to cross river with US highway (10)

 

INTESTATE (dying without having made a valid will) containing (to cross) R (river)

INTE (R) STATE

INTERSTATE (US Highway)

 
Down
No. Clue Wordplay Entry

1

 

Confederate getting some detail if family turned up (9)

 

AFFILIATE (hidden word [some] reversed [turned up; down clue] in DETAIL IF FAMILY)

AFFILIATE<

AFFILIATE (associate; confederate)

 

2

 

Country is taking on island surrounded by fish (7)

 

(IS + I [island]) contained in (surrounded by) TUNA (fish)

TUN (IS I) A

TUNISIA (Country in North Africa)

 

3

 

Oriental top performer, missing third, coming in without funding for Olympic event (12)

(EAST [oriental] + [STAR {top performer} excluding the third letter {missing third} A]) contained in (coming in) BROKE (without funding)

BR (EAST STR) OKE

BREASTSTROKE (BREASTSTROKE is an Olympic swimming event)

 

4

 

Skin treatment? Date to abandon program (8)

 

APPOINTMENT (date) excluding (to abandon) APP (application; program)

 

OINTMENT (something that may be used to treat skin complaints)

 

5

 

Very cool about love after one day’s folly (6)

 

I (one) + D (day) + ( ICY [very cool] containing [about] O [zero; love score in tennis])

I D I (O) CY

IDIOCY (folly)

 

7

 

Work with a product containing milky material (7)

 

OP (opus; work) + A + LINE (product)

 

OPALINE (amorphous silica with some water, usually milky white with fine play of colour)

 

8

 

Symptom of obesity almost entirely very bad for your health! (5)

 

FAT (symptom of obesity) + (ALL [entirely] excluding the final letter [almost] L)

 

FATAL (causing death; very bad for your health)

 

11

 

Different pieces of verse in manuscript showing tendency to care (12)

 

(OTHER [different] + LINES [pieces of verse]) contained in (in) MS (manuscript)

M (OTHER LINES) S

MOTHERLINESS (behavior showing protectiveness; tendency to care)

 

16

 

Easily reformed man accepting new label (9)

 

MALE (man) containing (accepting) an anagram of (new) LABEL

MAL (LEABL*) E

MALLEABLE (able to be beaten, rolled, etc into a new shape; easily reformed)

 

17

 

Son to observe climbing in season in Northern area (8)

 

(S [son] + SEE [observe]) reversed (climbing; down clue) contained in (in) TIDE (season)

T (EES S)< IDE

TEESSIDE (area of the North of England)

 

19

 

Loners at sea carrying kilo in swimming gear (7)

 

Anagram of (at sea) LONERS containing (carrying) K (kilo)

SNOR (K) EL*

SNORKEL (equipment that enables a submerged swimmer to breathe)

 

21

 

Kitchen item that’s turned up at last?  Not entirely (7)

 

Anagram of (turned) UP AT LAST excluding the last letter (not entirely) T

SPATULA*

SPATULA (broad, blunt, flexible blade; kitchen item)

 

22

 

Sheep will have dog working (6)

 

MUTT (dog, especially a mongrel) + ON (working)

 

MUTTON (jocular term for a sheep)

 

23

 

English among acquaintances in Scottish town (5)

 

E (English) contained in (among) KITH (one’s friends or acquaintances)

K (E) ITH

KEITH (town in North East Scotland)

 

15 comments on “Independent 9199 / Phi”

  1. This is a slightly different sort of theme. I stumbled on a list that claimed to be of the least sexy-sounding words in English, and shoehorned nine of them into this puzzle. Can you identify them?

  2. Challenges are always worth having a go at:

    Here’s my first attempt at nine unsexy words in the grid: LOAF, FINGERNAIL, WART, PHLEGM, INKY, FATAL, MOTHERLINESS, SNORKEL AND MUTTON

    Now if Phi indicates, by a number, how many of these are from his list someone else can have a go and we can eventually home in on the correct nine.

  5. Thank you Phi and duncanshiell.

    An enjoyable puzzle, LISTS was great!

    ANTIBIOTIC, MICROBIAL and STRIKE DUMB sound pretty off-putting, Phi should get a calm night’s sleep…

  6. Not quite such a breeze as yesterday’s Klingsor, but all pretty straightforward. 14 and 20 across were my last two in – the former because I was trying to make it ASSEMBLY, and the latter because although it could only be REPRISAL I couldn’t see how to parse it. LISTS was my CoD.

    Thanks, Phi and Duncan

  7. Thanks, Phi and Duncan. I thought that if there was a theme, it was one I probably didn’t want to know about. In actual fact, it’s good fun. I guess you can’t judge a theme by its phlegm.

  8. I would go for: Antibiotic; fingernail; wart; microbial; phlegm; ointment; idiocy; motherliness; mutton.

    Thanks Duncan for the blog and Phi for a fun puzzle.

  11. Well, we’re a bit late but we guessed there must be a theme. Given Phi’s hint we found an article in a NZ computer magazine entitled “Fancy a snorkel my little spatula?” which listed the following list of words:
    smegma, phlegm, rhombus, mildew, spatula, tracksuit, mutton, wart, ointment, snorkel, pamphlet, fingernail, dandruff, loaf, ombudsman and Keith.
    Phi…… we’re getting worried about you….. and all those people called Keith!

    Anyway, thanks to you and Duncan for our regular Phiday solve and blog.

  12. Ah, that’s cheating…

    I got my version of the list from the Sideswipe column of the NZ Herald, and they attributed it to a vote on Reddit. I trimmed the list a little (there are others more willing to clue SMEGMA, I’m sure) but I really couldn’t omit Keith.

    Interesting, I thought, that the lack of sexiness seems to derive as much from the definition as the sound, while the vote was supposed to be purely based on the sound. But to what extent do we give dubious items unsexy-sounding names? Would a rose smell as sweet if it was called Smegma? Can anyone think of something with a nicer name than one expects in its context?

  13. Thanks Phi and Duncan.
    I always think that pulchritude seems to convey the opposite of what’s intended.

  14. Thanks again Phi. Not exactly an example of what you ask for, but my piano is made by “Schimmel” – what a beautiful name I thought when I bought it, it sounds like schimmer and Himmel combined – one day I checked in my German dictionary and found that the word meant mildew.

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