Phi has provided yet another Friday cruciverbal workout to ease us into the weekend.
I found this one to be towards the harder end of the Phi spectrum in terms of difficulty and particularly hard to finish. In the end, I was left with 5, which I searched Chambers to find and which was a word that I didn’t know; and with the intersecting 4-letter lights at 2 and 10, which I eventually managed to solve unaided despite only having the second letter of each to go on. I could have had the same problem at 24A and 24D, although once you have solved one of them, you know the first letter of the other. 13 was another unfamiliar term for me but could easily be worked out from the wordplay.
I haven’t spotted any particular theme here, no Nina around the perimeter or otherwise hidden message, but I am sure fellow solvers and/or Phi will provide the necessary enlightenment during the course of the day.
As for my favourite clues today, they were 19, for originality and humour; and 14 and 22D, both for smoothness of surface.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 07 | ROBOTICS | Modern technology source including book linked to rejected science
[B (=book) in ROOT (=source, e.g. of problem)] + ICS (SCI=science; “rejected” indicates reversal) |
| 09 | ANORAK | Artist breaking an agreement is an obsessive type
RA (=artist, i.e. Royal Academician) in [AN + OK (=agreement)] |
| 10 | TOME | I’m ready to receive book
(throw it) TO ME = I’m ready to receive (ball) |
| 11 | SCATHINGLY | Shabby to accept matter with contempt
THING (=matter) in SCALY (=shabby, scabby) |
| 12 | EDICTS | Team recalled accepting court orders
CT (=court, in addressed) in EDIS (SIDE=team; “recalled” indicates reversal) |
| 14 | FALCONRY | A large study into small creatures has you working with birds
[A + L (=large) + CON (=study, pore over)] in FRY (=small creatures, e.g. fish) |
| 15 | RENOWN | Reputation in theatre now negligible
Hidden (“in”) in “theatRE NOW Negligible” |
| 17 | FRIGID | Opening of fridge unlikely to change, producing cold
F<ridge> (“opening of” means first letter only) + RIGID (=unlikely to change) |
| 20 | VACATION | Break in voltage delivered by a charged body
V (=voltage) + A + CATION (=charged body, i.e. a positively-charged ion) |
| 22 | CLERGY | Articles dismissed by certain homosexual churchmen
CLE<a>R (=certain, definite) + G<a>Y (=homosexual); “articles, i.e. indefinite articles in grammar, dismissed” means 2 x “a” are dropped |
| 23 | SCOTSWOMAN | Represented now as McT so may be this?
*(NOW AS McT SO); “represented” is anagram indicator; semi- & lit., since McT suggests a Scottish name |
| 24 | SCAT | Encouragement to leave college during part of weekend
C (=college) in SAT (=part of weekend, i.e. Saturday); “Scat!” is an interjection meaning “Go away!”, “Shoo!” |
| 25 | LOCATE | Military leader occupying previous place
OC (=military leader, i.e. Officer Commanding) in LATE (=previous, out of office) |
| 26 | CICATRIX | Military leader runs into crashed taxi – here’s sign of wound
CIC (=military leader, i.e. Commander-in-Chief) + [R (=runs) in *(TAXI)]; “crashed” is anagram indicator |
| Down | ||
| 01 | DO-GOODER | Odder moves restricting sentimentality shown by reformer
GOO (=sentimentality) in *(ODDER); “moves” is anagram indicator |
| 02 | DOGE | Say too much, upsetting Italian ruler
E.G. (=say, for example) + OD (=too much, i.e. overdose); “upsetting” indicates vertical reversal |
| 03 | MISSUS | Spouse to be homesick for America?
MISS (=to be homesick for) + US (=America) |
| 04 | BACHELOR | Long look suppressed by British singleton
[ACHE (=long, yearn for) + LO (=look!)] in BR (=British) |
| 05 | BOONDOGGLE | Be surprised about acceptable work at a pointless task
[ON (=acceptable) + DO (=work, as verb)] in BOGGLE (=be surprised as); in the US, a boondoggle is a task of little practical value, often used as a palliative to unemployment (from scouting) |
| 06 | TAILOR | Tradesman to go after gold
TAIL (=to go after, follow) + OR (=gold, in heraldry) |
| 08 | STAFFA | Workers assigned to a Hebridean location
STAFF (=workers) + A |
| 13 | CONTACT MAN | Shady negotiator showing diplomacy when beset by swindler
TACT (=diplomacy) in CONMAN (=swindler); a contact man is an intermediary in often shady transactions |
| 16 | WHIT WEEK | Holiday with two women about to score? Gosh!
[HIT (=score, i.e. dose of drugs) in W W (=two women, i.e. 2 x W)] + EEK (=gosh, especially in comics) |
| 18 | DOGMATIC | Object of worship picked up mother with movement claiming certainty
DOG (GOD=object of worship; “picked up” indicates vertical reversal) + MA (=mother) + TIC (=movement) |
| 19 | GNOMIC | Pithy and good reason to abandon stand-up session?
G (=good) + NO MIC (=good reason to abandon stand-up session, i.e. if unable to hear the comedian) |
| 21 | ANCHOR | Article with appreciative comment about hot newsreader
AN (=article, in grammar) + [H (=hot) in COR (=appreciative comment, e.g. when seeing attractive person)] |
| 22 | CYNICS | Pessimists clearly losing heart over cuts announced on the radio
C<learl>Y (“losing heart” means middle letters are dropped) + homophone (“announced on the radio”) of “nicks” (=cuts, e.g. when shaving) |
| 24 | SITE | Money lost in strike location
S<m>ITE (=strike, hit); “money (=M) lost” means letter “m” is dropped |
V good, as usual. Thanks Phi, RatkojaRiku
There are dogs down (including Dogmatix if you bend his tail) and cats across.
Agree with RR that this was a harder Phi than usual. Missed the cats n dogs of course, but knew the word Boondoggle from a beer – without knowing it was a real word till now. Thanks to S&B
Third Phi in a row that we’ve found to be trickier than usual, but it was all gettable without help. Last two in were DOGE and TOME. Not sure about WHIT WEEK being a holiday; in the UK the bank holiday (and the rest of the week) is fixed at the end of May and only occasionally coincides with Whit Week. We liked VACATION, though, because the charged body wasn’t just any old ion (pun not intended) but a cation. Cue for an awful joke:
A cation sees an anion across the street. “Oi,” shouts the cation, “you’ve got one of my electrons!”
“Are you sure?” replies the anion
“Yes, I’m positive!”
I’ll get my coat – once I’ve thanked Phi and RatkojaRiku
Yes, a bit harder than usual, and another DNF for me this week. I thought it might be DOGE for 2dn but couldn’t explain it, and I couldn’t get 10ac at all.
It could have been raining cats and dogs and I still wouldn’t have seen it.
Thanks to Phi and RR and good weekend to all.
So tempting to put in WELL WELL for gosh but of course it neither parsed nor fit.
Originally had TITO for 2 (OTT and I) but I knew it was wrong when I sussed ROBOTICS. i still didnt get the right answer.
Good puzzle as usual.Thanks Phi and RR