As one might expect, Phi has brought this week’s series of mid-week puzzles to an end.
What struck me about this puzzle was the uncharacteristically high number of long entries, which meant that there were fewer clues overall to solve and to blog. As such, solving these clues made a big contribution to filling the grid, and since I solved these quite quickly, they provided me with a lot of crossing letters. In the end, I was left with 2 intersecting 9-letter words (13 and 17), and when I solved one of them, the other soon followed suit.
My favourite clues today were 4, for its deceptive wordplay, in which I mistook “arranged by” for an anagram indicator; and 19, for its smooth surface.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | CONGREGATIONAL | Wrong locating origin around end of nave for churchgoers
<nav>E (“end of” means last letter only) in *(LOCATING ORIGIN); “wrong” is anagram indicator |
| 08 | REINSTATEMENTS | Politicians, not one special, having time in control, restored jobs
[STATE<s>MEN (=politicians; “not one special (=S)” means a letter “s” is dropped) + T (=time)] in REINS (=control); cryptically, a person reinstated has his job restored to him! |
| 10 | CLEAR | Cold tragic figure for certain
C (=cold) + LEAR (=tragic figure, i.e. Shakespearean king) |
| 11 | BUTTERCUP | The flower of the dairy tournament?
Cryptically, the winner of a dairy tournament might be awarded the butter cup! |
| 12 | TRENCHANT | Biting insect pest in WW1?
Cryptically, a trench ant could have been a pest during WW1! |
| 14 | THESE | Academic documents, mostly items immediately referenced?
THESE<s> (=academic documents); “mostly” means last letter dropped |
| 15 | RABBI | Priest curtailed gossip
RABBI<t> (=gossip); “curtailed” means last letter dropped |
| 17 | DELIMITED | Determined theologian set about murder, disposing of North American
ELIMI<na>TE (=murder, in slang; “disposing of North American (=NA)” means letters “na” are dropped) in DD (=theologian, i.e Doctor of Divinity) |
| 19 | SPACESHIP | Fast transport? You’ll get speed on board with it
[PACE (=speed) in SS (=on board)] in HIP (=with it, trendy) |
| 21 | TUNIC | A lot of fold’s turned in internally in garment
NI (IN; “turned” indicates reversal) in TUC<k> (=fold; “a lot of” means last letter dropped) |
| 22 | PALEONTOLOGIST | With large, long time to record, I will probe history (in US, at least)
[L (=large) + EON (=long time) + TO + LOG (=record) + I] in PAST (=history); semi- & lit.; this is the US spelling of palaeontologist |
| 23 | BOISTEROUSNESS | Excitement seen in deployment of true obsessions
*(TRUE OBSESSIONS); “deployment” is anagram indicator |
| Down | ||
| 01 | CARICATURIST | Nudist heading off after vehicle, I see one makes an amusing picture
CAR (=vehicle) + I + C (=see, in texting) + <n>ATURIST (=nudist) |
| 02 | NAIVETE | One trapped in hub heads for the exit (an inexperienced thought)
[I (=one) in NAVE (=hub)] + T<he> E<xit> (“heads for” mean first letters only) |
| 03 | RESTRICTIVENESS | Scientist working with server’s limitation
*(SCIENTIST + SERVER); “working” is anagram indicator |
| 04 | GRAYBEARD | American oldie arranged by criminal stealing number
*(ARRA<n>GED BY); “stealing number (=N)” means letter “n” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “criminal”; “graybeard” is the US spelling of “greybeard” |
| 05 | TWEET | Water in dry getting response from bird
WEE (=water, as in to pass water) in TT (=dry, non-alcoholic) |
| 06 | OVERESTIMATIONS | Monetarist I’ve so upset – poor risk assessments?
*(MONETARIST I’VE SO); “upset” is anagram indicator |
| 07 | ATTACHE | Attorney to yearn to become diplomat?
ATT (=attorney) + ACHE (=to yearn) |
| 09 | APPENDICITIS | A positive conclusion in X-ray, say – it is an intestinal problem
A + P (=positive) + [END (=conclusion) in PIC (=X-ray, say)] + IT + IS |
| 13 | TELEPHOTO | Snap large creature, not insect, in toto
ELEPH<ant> (=large creature; “not insect (=ANT)” means letters “ant” are dropped) in TOTO; a telephoto is a photograph (“snap”) taken with a telephoto lens |
| 16 | BRAVADO | Some lingerie business needing injection of very great swagger
V (=very) in [BRA (=some lingerie) + ADO (=business)] |
| 18 | TENSILE | Silent twisting absorbing energy of stretching
E (=energy) in *(SILENT); “twisting” is anagram indicator |
| 20 | HINGE | Complaint with women being overlooked for crucial position
<w>HINGE (=complaint); “with women (=W) being overlooked” means letter “w” is dropped; cf. to hinge on |
Phiday consistently good.
Untypically, a bit of a plod for a Phi-day, I thought.
Long clues are fun in moderation but they seem to me to leave less scope for wit & zizz & ‘ah-ha’ moments than a grid full of sneaky little words with a bit of bite to ’em. Words, indeed, such as THESE which was my favourite today.
Thanks nevertheless to Phi & Ratty.
Phi in generous mood today, and I was helped by the many long anagrams. Although I whizzed through most of this I was stalled for what seemed an age on the my last two in (13d & 22a). Fave clue was 1d for the amusing image it conjured so thanks to Phi for the puzz and to RR for the blog.
Wot no theme or nina? And the date lending itself to a theme, too.
All pretty straightforward but, as Grant@2 says, a bit of a plod. Favourite was TWEET.
Thanks, Phi and RatkojaRiku.
A nice workout. The long ones came pretty quickly, which helped. I gave up hunting Phi themes a while back, but as with Allan@4 I was hoping for a Paddys’s day theme, if only to mention that part of the festivities at my local pub were billed as ‘Lepricorns’. Done it now anyway. Thanks to S&B.