After a pleasant three to four weeks in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Montreal I’m back in harness with a Phi puzzle to solve and blog.
Geography seems to be a theme today, European geography mainly, with the exceptions of SHANGHAI and CHINA.
It was good to see that Phi resisted the urge to clue CARTHORSE as an anagram of ORCHESTRA.
I hadn’t come across PITOT TUBE before but the crossing letters and the clear anagram helped solve the clue.
If there is a theme or a Nina in the puzzle, I haven’t seen it and if there is, I will claim rustiness after a holiday as my excuse for not seeing it
My favourite clue today was the one for SLAP_UP.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | See 24 Down |
NIGHTS |
|
|
5
|
Hang about – Cockney’s grabbed some money after turning (6)
|
(‘ELD [Cockney pronunciation of HELD {grabbed}] + WAD [large quantity of money]) reversed (after turning) (DAW DLE)< |
DAWDLE (waste time by trifling; hang about)
|
|
8
|
Lighten a line with float (not first time) (9)
|
A + L (line) + LEVITATE (float) excluding (not) the first T (time) A L LEVIATE |
ALLEVIATE (mitigate; lighten)
|
|
9
|
Gravitas not originally recalled in representative phrase (5)
|
(BOTTOM [importance, seriousness; gravitas] excluding the first letter [not originally]) B reversed (recalled) MOTTO< |
MOTTO (representative phrase)
|
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11
|
Has zero successes, having ignored Independent (4)
|
O (zero) + (WINS [successes] excluding [having ignored] I [Independent]) O WNS |
OWNS (has)
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12
|
Company weathered slump – one having active drive (10)
|
CO (company) + an anagram of (weathered) SLUMP + I (Roman numeral for one) + ON (active) CO MPULS* I ON |
COMPULSION (drive)
|
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13
|
Stop ignoring Conservative, accommodating revolutionary blue with little difficulty (4-4)
|
(CEASE [stop] excluding [ignoring] C [Conservative]) containing (accommodating) (RACY [risqué; blue] reversed [revolutionary]) EAS (Y CAR)< E |
EASY-CARE ([can be maintained] with little difficulty)
|
|
15 / 17
|
Noted steps taken with this in support (5,5)
|
DANCE (move rhythmically [take steps] to music [noted]) + FLOOR (support, in this case for a DANCEr) DANCE FLOOR |
DANCE FLOOR (where noted steps are taken) cryptic definition
|
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19
|
Has vaguely accepted meaning attached to one oriental city (8)
|
(Anagram of [vaguely] HAS containing [accepted] HANG [meaning, as in get the HANG of it) + I (Roman numeral for one) S (HANG) HA* I |
SHANGHAI (Chinese [oriental] city)
|
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22
|
Laid-back number note discussion about computer network (10)
|
NO (number) + N (note) + (CHAT [discussion] containing [about] LAN [Local Area Network]) NO N CHA (LAN) T |
NONCHALANT (laid-back)
|
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23
|
Vital Bishop should exert grip on French cathedral city (4)
|
ALBI (hidden word in [exert grip] VITAL BISHOP) ALBI |
ALBI (Cathedral city in southern France)
|
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25
|
Not easily moved? About to be upset after sign of grief (5)
|
SOB (weep; show sign of grief) + (RE [with reference to; about] reversed [to be upset]) SOB ER< |
SOBER (rational; not easily moved)
|
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26
|
Measure of pressure to be put stormily around it (5,4)
|
Anagram of (stormily) TO BE PUT containing (around) IT P (IT) OT TUBE* |
PITOT TUBE (tube with openings at one end and one side, placed in a stream of liquid, an airstream, etc, to measure the velocity and pressure of flow, or speed of an aircraft, etc)
|
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27
|
Son, having cracked beer record, is no longer conscious (6)
|
(S [son] contained in [having cracked] ALE [beer]) + EP [Extended Play record) A (S) LE EP |
ASLEEP (no longer conscious)
|
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28/2
|
Seeing a sandal drifting in Mediterranean area (6,7)
|
Anagram of (drifting) SEEING A SANDAL AEGEAN ISLANDS* |
AEGEAN [ISLANDS] (topographic feature [area] in the Mediterranean Sea) |
| Down | |||
| 2 |
See 28 Across |
ISLANDS | |
|
3
|
Hurry to take in very busy area (4)
|
HIE (hurry) containing (to take in) V (very) HI (V) E |
HIVE (scene of great industry; busy area)
|
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4
|
Coastal site? Overlooking it on a ship (8)
|
SITE excluding (overlooking) IT + ABOARD (on a ship) SE ABOARD |
SEABOARD (country or land bordering the sea; coastal)
|
|
5
|
Finish course for intending politicians in French city (6)
|
DIE (finish) + PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics, title of a university course often studied by intending politicians) DIE PPE |
DIEPPE (French city)
|
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6
|
Encouraged to follow one in German car, up in London suburb (9)
|
(I [Roman numeral for one] contained in [in] BMW [German car brand]) reversed (up) + LED ON (encouraged) W (I) MB< LED ON |
WIMBLEDON (London suburb)
|
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7
|
Collapse of valiant European (7)
|
Anagram of (collapse of) VALIANT LATVIAN* |
LATVIAN (native of LATVIA, a European country)
|
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8 /10
|
Comeuppance for the pharmacist? (1,4,2,4,3,8)
|
A DOSE OF ONES OWN MEDICINE (a pharmacist could give this to him / herself) A DOSE OF ONES OWN MEDICINE |
A DOSE OF ONES OWN MEDICINE (The same unpleasant experience or treatment that one has given to others; comeuppance) cryptic definition
|
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14
|
Concern about deity’s lumbering steed (9)
|
CARE (concern) containing (about) THOR’S (THOR is the Norse God of Thunder) CAR (THORS) E |
CARTHORSE (lumbering steed)
|
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16
|
Each tin possibly containing a brew (5,3)
|
Anagram of (possibly) EACH TIN containing (containing) A CHIN (A) TEA* |
CHINA TEA (brew)
|
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18
|
Collection of works of writer involved in music (7)
|
O‘ (shortened form of ‘of’) + (NIB [writer] contained in [involved in] MUS [music]) O M (NIB) US |
OMNIBUS (collection of works)
|
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20
|
He left beloved one? That’s extremely significant (7)
|
HE + L (left) + LUV (beloved one) + A (one) HE L LUV A |
HELLUVA (very; extremely significant)
|
| 21 | Extravagant friends? (4-2) |
SLAP-UP could be a cryptic clue for PALS (friends) – SLAP reversed [UP] SLAP-UP |
SLAP-UP (extravagant) |
|
24 / 1
|
Amongst things to see, mark new events for men (4,6)
|
(TAG [mark] + N [new]) contained in (amongst) SIGHTS (things to see) S (TAG N) IGHTS |
STAG NIGHTS (events for men)
|
Phi is so consistent. I’ve become addicted.Thanks to him and ducanshiell.
Had a few issues with parsing bits of 9&19a plus 5&18d – thank you for the enlightenment, Duncan.
An enjoyable solve and I particularly liked the pharmacist getting his comeuppance and the extravagant friends.
Thanks to Phi and to Duncan for the blog.
An enjoyable solve with a little help from a thesaurus for DAWDLE. One or two we couldn’t parse, and we thought the parsing of OMNIBUS a tad iffy, needing one to abbreviate both ‘of’ and ‘music’.
But there was a lot to like, including ALLEVIATE and PITOT TUBE – a nice ‘aha’ moment when we twigged that one after wondering about pascal, millibar and other units of pressure.
Thanks, Phi and Duncan
Wot everyone else said. Good stuff here with my fave being 27a, natch. Thanks to the Phister-in-chief for the puzzle and thanks and welcome back to our blogger, DS.
I’m revisiting some of the original 32 fixed Independent grids, mostly without Ninas. Here the only thing I was about was linking last across and first down entries, and vice versa, and the middle pairs of each set. Unusually the middle down pair are also symmetrically placed, which was pleasing.
I knew Pitot Tube – it hit a nerve because as a linguist IT bloke in an engineering company I took it upon myself to correct the many spelling mistakes in descriptions of stock items. Pitot can’t be right, so Pilot Tube it became. Such arrogance…..
Welcome back Duncan and the colours and thanks to Phi for a Pheme-free puzzle