Phi is well up to his usual standard here: all very satisfactory, with a whole lot of good clues that, although sometimes initially incomprehensible, can usually be solved by persevering with the wordplay. I had my doubts about 4dn but Phi wins. Of course.
Definitions underlined and in maroon.
The first row of unches contains only vowels and the last line only consonants. But if that was all it would hardly be worth it. Obviously there’s something more, but as usual it’s beyond me. There is always the possibility that there isn’t, since Phi sometimes teases us in this way, but usually there is.
| Across | ||
| 1 | TOTEMIC | Symbolic description of what stand-up may do? (7) |
| tote mic — a stand-up may tote a microphone | ||
| 5 | CARROLL | Oxford author in vehicle meeting with sort of accident? (7) |
| car roll [= sort of accident] — ref Lewis Carroll | ||
| 9 | BOXES | Run from dogs in crates (5) |
| boxe{r}s | ||
| 10 | SIMPLETON | Fool with money invested in drink disclosed … (9) |
| si(m)p let on | ||
| 11 | CAPPUCCINO | … composer mostly tucked into top old drink (10) |
| (cap (Puccin{i}) o) | ||
| 12 | THOU | You no longer will be found occupying number 28? (4) |
| Since number 28 is THOUGHT. this is hidden: THOUght — aren’t there some places where thou is still used, so ‘no longer’? | ||
| 15 | OSIERS | Rose is confused with other plants (6) |
| (Rose is)* — I’m not sure about whether ‘with’ is simply there for the surface or is somehow part of the anagram indicator; presumably it is simply a link word, a link-word that always grates on me although yes I know it can be justified: the fact is that good setters never seem to have recourse to this, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen it from Phi | ||
| 16/18 | CHRYSLER BUILDING | NY club hired girls to dance in local landmark (8,8) |
| (NY club hired girls)* — local because it is in NY | ||
| 19 | FECUND | Iron, copper and no end of silica – very productive (6) |
| Fe Cu {a}nd — the end of silica is a and this is missing from and | ||
| 22 | DEEP | Went backwards to a great extent (4) |
| (peed)rev. — it seems that hardly a day goes by without my coming across some synonym like this for going in a crossword — and another thing: the answer could perfectly well be PEED; most people seem quite happy with this and say just wait until the checkers tell you, but I’m afraid I don’t like it and feel that an answer should be unequivocal | ||
| 23 | CONGESTION | Gets ill, beset by head cold after cycling – showing this? (10) |
| (onion c) after cycling is (c onion) and this surrounds (gets)* | ||
| 25 | OSTRACISE | Shun Socrates, I fancy (9) |
| (Socrates I)* | ||
| 27 | ADAMS | Hydroelectric projects led by American President (5) |
| A [= American] dams | ||
| 28 | THOUGHT | Difficult time accepting hard idea (7) |
| t(h)ough t | ||
| 29 | SCENERY | English railway following endless trail for sightseer’s target? (7) |
| scen{t} E ry | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | TOBACCO | Web crawler brought up account of smoker’s requisite (7) |
| (bot)rev. acc o’ | ||
| 2 | TOXOPHILITE | To exit in confusion, circling round Phil Archer? (11) |
| To (exit)* outside [circling, not round] (o Phil) | ||
| 3 | MASQUERADE | Costume ball designed to incorporate square dancing (10) |
| ma((square)*)de | ||
| 4 | COSECH | Weapon seen around church function (6) |
| This looks like cos(EC)h but I don’t quite see how it works: OK a cosech is a mathematical function, but it looks like ‘Weapon seen around church around function’ since CE is reversed; or is EC some abbreviation for church that I don’t know? Yes it is, now I look it up in Chambers: Established Church | ||
| 5 | COMANCHE | Native American Chief, possessed of firm head of hair (8) |
| (Co man(ch)e) | ||
| 6/7 | RULE OUT | Refuse to contemplate defeat, while restraining stubborn fellow losing his head (4,3) |
| r({m}ule)out | ||
| 8 | LANGUOR | Computer network, mostly imprecise, picked up inertia (7) |
| Lan (roug{h})rev. | ||
| 13 | HALLUCINATE | Imagine college, University College, worried about person in office (11) |
| (hall [= college] UC ate) round in [= person in office] | ||
| 14 | CYBERSPACE | There’s virtually nowhere else to go for online entertainment (10) |
| CD | ||
| 17 | UNIONIST | Workers’ supporter is following on in group (8) |
| uni(on is)t | ||
| 18 | BEDPOST | Graduate teacher following support for tester? (7) |
| B. Ed [Bachelor of Education] post [= following] | ||
| 20 | DYNASTY | Ruling family? Definitely heartless and unpleasant (7) |
| D{efinitel}y nasty | ||
| 21 | EGRESS | Leaving, say, pauses, taking time out (6) |
| eg res{t}s | ||
| 24 | BANG | Number in some game finding sudden success (4) |
| ba(n)g — the game is the collection of birds that have been shot, the bag | ||
| 26 | TWO | Couple‘s net worth? Not entirely (3) |
| Hidden in neT WOrth | ||
*anagram
Yup, agree with all of that and specifically the use of ‘with’ as a link-word. Since nobody else seems to be posting, I’ll start a hare. This is probably Off Topic, so you can skip it if you like.
[As a relatively new solver – coupla three years, mostly logged here – I’ve always had a problem with link-words, which are almost never indicated in blogs. The little chaps – ‘in’, ‘of’ ‘and’ ‘from’- slip by unnoticed and the longer versions (‘to give us’, ‘resulting in’, ‘arriving at’ &c), while ungainly, at least announce themselves and need no further comment.
I blog the FT on Tuesdays – do drop by, it’s usually a coffee-time affair but nicely set – and I tried to start a thread on link-words for new solvers there, but no takers. I’m still not sure of the rules. All debate welcome.]
Meanwhile… Another corker from Phi, MASQUERADE my favourite, and thanks to Honest John for a readable blog.
A knotty one for me, needed help on four here.
I’m not sure I’m happy with in = person in office, unless there’s a nuance I’m missing. I suppose UNIT for group is OK, I’m so used to setters using it to mean a single digit or entity so was fooled by that one too, cruel imo. A new definition for me in the word ‘tester’ too.
Otherwise very clever and mostly entertaining. Thank you to Phi and John
Hi Grant, yes those pesky little words, ignore for the surface at your peril. Especially if Anax is the setter. ?
Went in smoothly without much difficulty, apart from mis-spelling 15ac, which held me up on 2 and 3dn.
Lewis Carrol is buried not far from where I live and I passed his grave just yesterday.
You need to keep trying to find the ultimate answer.
Well, I can see DEEP THOUGHT and ADAMS, and Lewis Carroll had a RULE forty-TWO, All persons more than a mile high to leave the court. Don’t see anything else yet.
Thank you Phi and John.
I rarely get time on Fridays to solve the Indy puzzle, as was the case yesterday. I enjoyed this one, as always with Phi. The OSIERS clue is rather intriguing, I wondered if it could be “confused” with “rosiers”, but then “confused” would be doing double-duty…
As for a theme, all I can spot is CABOT, the ultimate Brahmin family in Boston, who “talk only to God”, the Adams are also a Boston Brahmin family – DYNASTY could belong to this, but it is obviously not what Phi has in mind.
If anyone is still in any misery…
Lewis CARROLL had a RULE 42, and a reference to 42 BOXES in the Snark.
Douglas ADAMS and DEEP THOUGHT, of course
And where is the CHRYSLER BUILDING?
Oh Gosh, 42nd Street – well done Dormouse…
Well, ultimate answer was a big hint.
First time I ever stayed in New York it was a hotel on 42nd Street, but I’d forgotten that’s where the Chrysler Building is. (It was 35 years ago.)
This SIMPLETON, born in the year 42, knows nothing about The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. My first visit to New York was 42 years ago, we arrived from Jamaica at a swish hotel, I stood with our luggage while my husband registered, to my horror a huge cockroach crawled out of one of the suitcases and across the floor of the foyer…
…Cockroach Superpower No. 42