Friday means Phi
This looks like a puzzle free from themes and messages, but I’ve often been wrong before.
We have LASTS and LUSTS but no LESTS, LISTS or LOSTS.
There are a few references to Judges and criminal activity, but nothing to lead me to a theme.
I had a quick look at the works of Marcel DUCHAMP but couldn’t find any shown in the grid.
To me it just seems like a good crossword puzzle to usher in a Friday.
It’s a long time since I have had to think about price ELASTICity so thanks Phi for a blast from the past.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Internal disorder with military officer left in charge (5)
|
CO (Commanding Officer; military officer) + L (left) + I/C (in charge) CO L IC |
COLIC (intestinal infection or excessive intestinal gas.; internal disorder)
|
|
4
|
Turn up without paying, being upset at charges (9)
|
Anagram of (upset) AT CHARGES GATECRASH* |
GATECRASH (enter without paying or invitation)
|
|
9
|
Now certain to miss special experience (9)
|
ADVENT (the period immediately before the Christian festival of the Nativity, including four Sundays; the period of the year we are in now) + SURE (certain) excluding (to miss) S (special) ADVENT URE |
ADVENTURE (an experience)
|
|
10
|
More than one pedal shape is durable (5)
|
LASTS (a LAST is a shoemaker’s model of the foot on which boots and shoes are made or repaired. It is shaped like a PEDAL [of the foot])
|
LASTS (endures) double definition
|
|
11
|
Last demons ruined last in convent (7)
|
Anagram of (ruined) DEMONS + T (final letter of [last in] CONVENT) ENDMOS* T |
ENDMOST (furthest; last)
|
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12
|
Description of planet denied to those without hope (7)
|
EARTHLY (reference the phrase ‘haven’t an EARTHLY’ describing someone who does not have a hope of achieving a specific goal) EARTHLY |
EARTHLY (descriptive of our planet)
|
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13
|
Chaps following broadcasting head in project shows discrimination (8)
|
(DG [Director General; head of the BBC; broadcasting head] + MEN [chaps]) contained in (in) JUT (project) JU (DG MEN) T |
JUDGMENT (discrimination)
|
|
15
|
A sudden movement beside stone still (6)
|
ST (stone) + A + TIC (convulsive (especially nervous) twitching of certain muscles, sudden movement) ST A TIC |
STATIC (stationary; still)
|
|
18
|
Start to get keen after trimming lawn etc. (6)
|
G (first letter of [start to] GET) + ARDENT (keen) excluding the final letter (after trimming) T G ARDEN |
GARDEN (lawn etc)
|
|
20
|
Celebrated Judge, getting over reserve, imprisoning Communist? On the contrary (8)
|
RED (communist) containing (imprisoning) (J [judge] + O [over in cricket scoring notation] + ICE [reserve]) RE (J O ICE) D Note the clue starts off as judge etc imprisoning communist whilst the wordplay is the opposite [on the contrary] as required by the last part of the clue |
REJOICED (celebrated)
|
|
23
|
Artist showing tea in heap (7)
|
CHA (tea) contained in (in) DUMP (rubbish heap) DU (CHA) MP |
DUCHAMP (reference Marcel DUCHAMP [1887 – 1968], French artist)
|
|
24
|
Get rid of opponent importing large quantity of stuff from Greenland? (3,4)
|
ICE (kill; get rid of) + (FOE [opponent] containing [importing] L [large]) ICE F (L) OE |
ICE FLOE ( large sheet of ice floating in the sea.. An ICE FLOE could possibly have come from Greenland)
|
|
26
|
Pragmatic fellow’s put off about celebrity (1-4) |
REALIST (pragmatic fellow) excluding (put off) RE (with referenced to; about) A-LIST |
A-LIST (descriptive of someone belonging to the most important or famous group of celebrities)
|
|
27
|
Judges taken on board by substantial practice (9)
|
HEARS (judges [at a HEARing or trial]) contained in (taken on board by) REAL (actually existing; substantial) RE (HEARS) AL |
REHEARSAL (practice)
|
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28
|
Students on drugs, apparently from public schools? (4-5)
|
HIGH (on drugs) + CLASS (students) HIGH CLASS |
HIGH CLASS (there is a perception that all HIGH CLASS people get their education at Public Schools [a term I have always found a misnomer as few are anything other than fee-paying and are effectively private])
|
|
29
|
Man wanting no time near fellow (5)
|
MISTER (man) excluding (wanting no) T (time) MISER |
MISER (a near [stingy] person)
|
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Blood and punishment the reward for sportsmen? (6,3)
|
CLARET (old slang for blood) + JUG (prison; punishment) CLARET JUG |
CLARET JUG (the trophy won by the Open Golf Champion; reward for sportsmen)
|
|
2
|
Discoloured Roman numerals (5)
|
LIVID (a word comprising letters that are all Roman numerals – L:50 I:1, V:5 and D:500) L I V I D |
LIVID (discoloured)
|
|
3
|
Match prisoner to previous record (7)
|
CON (prisoner) + FORM (previous record of a criminal) CON FORM |
CONFORM (match)
|
|
4
|
Greed instinctive to US city, keeping Liberal enthralled (8)
|
(GUT [instinctive, as in GUT feeling] + TO + NY (New York; US city]) containing (keeping … enthralled) L (Liberal) G (L) UT TO NY |
GLUTTONY (greed)
|
|
5
|
Top performers not needing second time in City (6)
|
THE BEST (top performers) excluding (not needing) the second occurrence of T (time) THE BES |
THEBES (one of at least two ancient cities of Greece or Egypt)
|
|
6
|
Puritan, no good in religious group, becomes criminal (7)
|
PRIG (puritan) excluding (no) G contained in (in) CULT (religious group) CUL (PRI) T |
CULPRIT (criminal)
|
|
7
|
Ornamental number missing article at top (9)
|
ANAESTHETIC (painkiller; sedative;something that makes you numb to pain; number) excluding (missing) the first two letters (at top; down entry) AN (indefinite article) AESTHETIC |
AESTHETIC (ornamental)
|
|
8
|
Reckless bears, totally without heart (5)
|
HAS (bears) + TY (letters remaining in TOTALLY when all the central letters OTALL are removed [without heart]) HAS TY |
HASTY (rash; reckless)
|
| 14 | Dreadful allocation of role’s overlooked when working in theatre (9) |
DIRE (dreadful) + CASTING (allocation of roles in a play or film) excluding (overlooked) AS (when) DIRE CTING |
DIRECTING (working in the theatre) |
|
16
|
Man with weapon left limb twisted amidst crude flailing (9)
|
(L + LEG [limb]) all reversed (twisted) contained in (amidst) an anagram of (flailing) CRUDE CUD (GEL L)< ER* |
CUDGELLER (example of a person with a weapon)
|
|
17
|
Pleasant activities done without working illumination (8)
|
DONE excluding (without) ON working + LIGHTS (illuminations) DE LIGHTS |
DELIGHTS (pleasant activities)
|
|
19
|
Sensitive to price fluctuations, business centre curtailed transaction after reflection (7)
|
(CITY [business centre] excluding the final letter [curtailed] Y + SALE [transaction]) all reversed (after reflection) (ELAS TIC)< |
ELASTIC (sensitive to price fluctuations)
|
|
21
|
Like many deliveries, finished with a lot of force (7)
|
OVER (finished) + ARM (power, e.g. the ARM of the law; a lot of force) OVER ARM |
OVERARM (how most cricket balls are bowled)
|
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22
|
Hardy location to an extent filling southern area (6)
|
PART (to an extent) contained in (filling) (S [southern] + A [area]) S (PART) A |
SPARTA (ancient city of Greece where the inhabitants were renowned for their hardy nature)
|
|
23
|
The last thing to appear in parade at Hartlepool (5)
|
DEATH (hidden word in [to appear in] PARADE AT HARTLEPOOL) DEATH |
DEATH (end of something; the last thing)
|
|
25
|
Desires start to surface later in loose women (5)
|
SLUTS (loose women) with the first S (first letter of [start to] SURFACE) moving to a later place in the word. It has to be the first S as the second S is already at the end of the word. LU S TS |
LUSTS (desires) |
The end of the world is nigh – not; Phi is in his usual Friday slot. All straightforward enough, although we struggled for a while in the SE quarter but couldn’t see why once we’d got the answers.
We thought ‘left’ could be redundant in 1ac, since ‘col’ for ‘colonel’ would give the military officer, but the surface is better as it is.
Before we had any crossing letters we thought the ‘Hardy location’ in 22dn might have been Wessex or Dorset – we were glad we didn’t follow that idea up.
Whilst CUDGELLER is not a word one uses every day (although a solver might be a cudgeller of his/her brains) there were plenty of DELIGHTS to enjoy. We particularly liked GATECRASH, ADVENTURE and CULPRIT.
To go off-topic about your comment on public schools, I think the origin of the term goes back to the late middle ages in that a grammar school (for teaching Latin grammar) was usually a local foundation provided by a benefactor and restricted to boys from the local area. Public schools on the other hand were open to anyone who could afford them.
Thanks, Phi and Duncan
Very nice as per usual from Phi-some sort of theme with EARTHLY DELIGHTS, LUSTS,GARDEN,JUDGMENT,SPARTA, MISER, THEBES etc but not quite sure where its going
The Garden of Earthly Delights and the Last Judgement are both triptyches by Hieronymous Bosch but I’m not familiar enough with either to assert that that is the/a theme
A nice treat on a Phiday.
I can see no HAYWAIN, but agree postmortes (you wag sir) about the Bosch. I think some of the clues are a little ‘that way sent’.
Many thanks both.
There was a cinema presentation of the Bosch 500th exhibition the other week. I’m always on the lookout for lists of words as you know, and the picture titles gave me a few. There’s the Death of the Miser and an Allegory of Lust and Gluttony providing four more entries.
allan_c may find the run-up to Christmas slightly disordered…
Late post, so probably unread, but 21D the second part of the clue is surely ARM{y} – a lot of force.
Thanks to Phi (though missed the them) and duncanshiell.