Independent 9451 / Phi

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Well, another Phi-day and a relatively straightforward challenge today.

 

However, with a few unusual words and several names in the grid, we couldn’t help thinking that there must be a theme. We have tried googling various combinations but cannot find anything to connect them. However, Phi’s themes can be notoriously obscure, so hopefully someone will come up with it (if there is one), or maybe Phi will give us a hint later?

Across
1   Stone excluded from formal attitude in part of bridge (4)
ARCH stARCH (formal attitude) ‘excluding’ ‘st’ (stone)
3   Information not initially supplied in religious book (4)
  ACTS fACTS   (information – unless you are Trump’s press secretary!) without the initial letter
6   Peace rather requiring a couple to reverse positions? (5)
QUIET QUITE (rather) with ‘a couple’ of letters reversing positions
9   Showing less ardour, dismissing loves? Hold on (5)
CLING CooLING (showing less ardour) without or ‘dismissing’ ‘oo’ (loves)
11   Hear tune playing after pinning down unknown opera (9)
EURYANTHE An anagram of HEAR TUNE (anagrind is ‘playing’) round or ‘pinning down’ Y (unknown) – not being opera fans, we’d never heard of this opera, nor Carl Maria von Weber, its composer – we learn something every day!
12   Athlete in useless club? (4-6)
SHOT-PUTTER SHOT (useless) PUTTER (club)
13   Contrary view of river entering Lake Placid (4)
CALM L (lake) in or ‘entering’ CAM (river) – ‘contrary’ to the wording of the clue
15   Consideration of French Revolution’s aim? (12)
DELIBERATION DE (French for ‘of’) LIBERATION (Revolution’s aim)
17   Sorts out nets and dealings that may be confused (12)
DISENTANGLES An anagram of NETS and DEALINGS – anagrind is ‘that may be confused’
21   Journal mostly backing military action? (4)
RAID DIARy (journal) without the last letter or ‘mostly’ reversed or ‘backing’
22   Good to tuck into powerful beer – 9 on the scale? (6,4)
STRONG GALE G (good) ‘tucking into’ STRONG (powerful) ALE (beer) – a reference to the Beaufort Wind Scale
24   University book left in cafes – one by Joyce? (9)
DUBLINERS U (University) B (book) L (left) in DINERS (cafes) – a reference to the short stories by James Joyce (not Bert’s other half!)
25   Slender drawing ultimately the hand of Addams? (5)
THING THIN (slender) G (last or ‘ultimate’ letter of ‘drawing’) – a reference to the Addams Family TV series, where a dismembered hand was a pet called ‘Thing’
26   English absolutely the best possible (5)
EVERY E (English) VERY (absolutely) – we were amazed to find that ‘every’ can mean ‘the best possible’, but there it is in Chambers, as in ‘every chance of winning’
27   Lead ingredients in ten of your sherry trifles (4)
TOYS First letters or ‘lead ingredients’ of Ten Of Your Sherry
28   Seabird whose sound is viewed negatively? (4)
KNOT A homophone (‘sound’) of NOT (viewed negatively)
Down
1   Bill exploited potential criminal (7)
ACCUSED ACC (bill, as in account) USED (exploited)
2   Kitchen container used in South American country for pepper (8)
CHIPOTLE POT (kitchen container) in CHILE (S American country)
4   Secret letter she destroyed in Durham town (7-2-6)
CHESTER-LE-STREET An anagram of SECRET LETTER SHE – anagrind is ‘destroyed’
5   Definite cut, over and over again – no end of trouble on the quiet (15)
SURREPTITIOUSLY SURe (definite) without the last letter or ‘cut’ REPeTITIOUSLY (over and over again) without the ‘e’ (last letter or ‘end’ of ‘trouble’)
6   Lit out from top-class landing-place (4)
QUAY QUAlitY (top class) with ‘lit’ ‘out’
7   No opening to suggest some light work should arrive here (2-4)
IN-TRAY hINT (suggest) without the first or ‘opening’ letter RAY (some light)
8   Left in care of those people and a woman (6)
THELMA L (left) in ‘care of’ THEM (those people) A
10   Republicans wrecked club – I tell everyone (2,6)
GO PUBLIC GOP (Republicans – the ‘Good Grand Old Party’) + an anagram of CLUB I – anagrind is ‘wrecked’ Thanks gwep
14   US author against one channel containing name (8)
VONNEGUT V (against) ONE GUT (channel) round or ‘containing’ N (name)
16   Dog articles about wagging tails (8)
ALSATIAN A and AN (articles) round an anagram of TAILS – anagrind is ‘wagging’
18   Dexterity keeping both ends of line in view (7)
SLEIGHT LinE (first and last letters or ‘both ends’) in SIGHT (view)
19   Support Councillor ahead of awkward deal (6)
CRADLE CR (Councillor) + an anagram of DEAL – anagrind is ‘awkward’
20   Swift river trapping doctor (6)
NIMBLE NILE (river) round or ‘trapping’ MB (doctor)
23   Crafty group of women meeting leading couple from Lysistrata (4)
WILY WI (Women’s Institute – group of women) + first two letters or ‘leading couple’ of LYsistrata

 

11 comments on “Independent 9451 / Phi”

  1. Yes, enjoyable and straightforward enough but with tantalising hints of a sneaky theme here and there… Quiet, arch, wily, sleight, surreptitiously – can these be coincidence? ‘Everything’ is there too, and I tried Genesis (‘Everything that creeps’) to no avail.
    I think we should be told!
    Thanks be to Phi and to B&J.

  2. I found this towards the harder end of the spectrum for Phi with some complicated parsing eg 5d, and a few not exactly common names for the author at 14d and the opera at 11a. Sorry, can’t help with the theme, which presumably is there.

    I’m far from an expert but I like some of Weber’s music, including his clarinet concerti and a beautiful aria, “Und Ob Die Wolke Sie Verhülle” (I hope I copied that correctly!), from one of his other operas Der Freischütz. Worth a listen if you don’t mind opera and haven’t heard it.

    Thank you to B&J and to Phi.

  3. I thought a Vonnegut theme, since one of his novels is “Cat’s CRADLE” but I couldn’t make it work any further. Very enjoyable puzzle; thanks to Phi and B&J.

  5. Nice puzzle with 12a and 10d being my faves – though I confess to using an online anagram solver for 11a as an opera man I iz not. Saw the connections GB did as well as the Vonnegut possibility, but, despite having read a couple of V’s works I couldn’t put owt together. Many thanks to B&J for the blog and to Phi for a pleasant solve.

    @4B&J – I think you might’ve typo’d GB, WP, Geebs and yourgoodselves with a nerd brush there! 🙂

  7. Themes, schemes, memes, I never get them (perhaps there isn’t one today).

    I bollocksed this up in the SW corner, entering COLEAD at 19dn (support = COLEAD; CO plus (DEAL)*) It worked in what passes for my brain, anyway, although CO is not an abbreviation of ‘councillor’, of course, and it would have to be hyphenated.

    Otherwise a fine puzzle from our Antipodean setter. I especially liked SHOT-PUTTER, as well as THING for bringing back childhood telly memories. What solvers under 30 will have made of the latter I don’t know, because although it was very popular at the time, I don’t think it’s been repeated much. Or maybe there was a film.

    Whatever, thanks to Phi for the entertainment and to Bert and Joyce for the blog. Good weekend to all.

  8. A nice quick straightforward solve today, no help required. Lots to like and my CoD was SHOT PUTTER.

    The unusual grid pattern suggested there might be a theme or nina. I couldn’t see anything, but Grant@1 might be on the right track for a theme. Or given the weird way some people spell their names these days could ELLINA in the middle across unches be a nina?

    Thanks, Phi and B&J.

  9. There were, I think, three Addams Family films from around the 90s, I think. As a traditionalist I avoided all of them.

    Years ago I did an Inquisitor with a perimetrical quote that got almost all the way round in a mere six words. I reused it here with the additional requirement that it appeared in clue order. It’s a song from The Gondoliers where the protagonists try to resolve a Gilbertian plot, getting somewhat agitated in the process, while repeatedly pausing to assert that QUIET CALM DELIBERATION DISENTANGLES EVERY KNOT. The (5,4,12,12,5,4) has ever since fascinated me for its pattern.

    The IQ in question is up on my website, though I forgot to arm myself with the precise link, but I think you can click through my name above. The puzzle won’t take long – after all, you’ve got the perimeter!

  10. By one of those coincidences, I’d no sooner entered 2dn when I saw a news item about the company of the same name. Actually, I’d heard of the company but didn’t know it was named after a pepper.

    Not a great Weber fan, but I did see Der Freischutz last year. And I do like the marvellously named Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber, written by Paul Hindemith.

  11. Minor point for B&J in 10D – the “G” in GOP stands for Grand.

    Would never have got theme.

    Thanks to Phi and Bertandjoyce

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