Phi’s latest teaser brings this week’s set of mid-week puzzles to an end in time-honoured fashion.
I found this puzzle to be quite a challenge and, although I solved quite a few clues on first reading, many of them shorter lights, I found that I had to work hard to complete the puzzle, especially in the upper half of the grid. Nonetheless, I think that I have solved and parsed everything correctly, although I would appreciate it if a fellow solver could give me a sentence in which “land” can mean “bring down” in 17, as listed in Chambers Thesaurus – could it refer to landing/bringing down an aircraft? Incidentally, 19 was knew to me.
When I started this puzzle and saw that the grid was quite unusual, I wondered if we were in Nina territory. I see that the letters in the first and last rows of the grid spell out “TRY ELSEWHERE” and that the middle row spells out “HERE IT IS“. Perhaps Phi is having a dig at us solvers with this spoof Nina, chiding us for our obsession with perimeters and reminding us that other areas of the grid deserve our attention too? Or perhaps there is more to this than meets the (=my!) eye and a more elaborate theme is to be found in this puzzle? I await your input.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 07 | OPENERS | Those in first rose excitedly to welcome writer
PEN (=writer, i.e. writing implement) in *(ROSE); “excitedly” is anagram indicator; the reference is to cricket, with “in” meaning “batting” |
| 09 | PITFALL | Problem swapping sources of suitable covering?
FIT (=suitable) + PALL (=covering, cloak, e.g. of smoke or darkness); “swapping sources” means the first letters of the two words are exchanged |
| 10 | CAMEL | Desert transport turned up late at the outset
CAME (=turned up) + L<ate> (“at the outset” means first letter only); the camel is known as the ship of the desert, hence “desert transport” |
| 11 | REALITY TV | Broadcast a very little ignoring the French type of programme
*(A VERY LITT<le>); “ignoring the French (=le)” means the letters “le” are dropped |
| 12 | LEFT WHEEL | Instruction to head for port resulted in evidence of damage, we hear
Homophone (“we hear”) of “left (=resulted in) weal (=evidence of damage, i.e. to the skin)”; “port” in the definition refers to the left side (of a vessel) |
| 15 | BUGLE | Instrument problem borders on laughable
BUG (=problem) + L<aughabl>E (“borders (=edges) on” means first and last letters only |
| 17 | GARLAND | Rebuffed newspaper to bring down former film star
GAR (RAG=newspaper; “rebuffed” indicates reversal) + LAND (=to bring down); the reference is to US actress Judy Garland (1922-69) |
| 18 | NOTITIA | Register inaccurate citation, ignoring chapter
*(<c>ITATION); “ignoring chapter (=C)” means letter “c” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “inaccurate”; a notitia can be a list of public functionaries |
| 19 | TOSED | Some into sedition should be drawn out
Hidden (“some”) in “inTO SEDition”; in Shakespeare, “tosed” means drawn out, elicited |
| 20 | RUNNERS-UP | They’re not the best feature on table, next to drink
RUNNER (=feature on (dining) table) + SUP (=drink) |
| 21 | CHAUFFEUR | Driver to bargain when going round university on two separate occasions
U (=university) is included in two different places (“on two separate occasions”) in “chaffer” (=to bargain, haggle) |
| 24 | MOTOR | Men behind roadworthiness test for vehicle
MOT (=roadworthiness test, in UK) + OR (=other ranks) |
| 26 | BLOSSOM | Come out with a lot of money? Not quite, after admitting failure
LOSS (=failure) in BOM<b> (=a lot of money, as in It cost a bomb; “not quite” means last letter is dropped) |
| 27 | DORMANT | Please express anger about male staying inactive
M (=male) in DO RANT (=please express anger, i.e. with “do” used to give emphasis, extra encouragement) |
| Down | ||
| 01 | TORCHLIGHT | Orchestra getting pounds, allowing little expense externally – it may have some beaming
[ORCH (=orchestra, i.e. abbreviation) + L (=pounds)] in TIGHT (=allowing little expense, e.g. of budget); a torch produces a beam of light |
| 02 | REAM | Dreamland, wrapped in many sheets? On the contrary
Hidden (“wrapped in”) in “dREAMland” |
| 03 | YELLOW CARD | No brave supplier of witticism will get punishment
YELLOW (=no brave, i.e. cowardly) + CARD (=supplier of witticism, wag); being given a yellow card is a punishment in e.g. football |
| 04 | ETUI | Case one truck picked up
I (=one) + UTE (=truck, i.e. utility vehicle in e.g. Australia); “picked up” indicates vertical reversal; an étui is a sewing case |
| 05 | LARYNGITIS | US city is trying out restriction on speech?
LA (=US city, i.e. Los Angeles) + *(IS TRYING); “out” is anagram indicator |
| 06 | SLAV | Facilities supporting South East European
S (=south) + LAV (=facilities, i.e. toilet) |
| 08 | SURRENDER | Almost certain to deliver an end to fighting
SUR<e> (=certain; “almost” means last letter is dropped) + RENDER (=to deliver, return) |
| 09 | PEA | Request no second vegetable
P<l>EA (=request); “no second” means the second letter of the word is dropped |
| 13 | FORESHADOW | Give indication of supporting heads rolling with pained expression
FOR (=supporting, in favour of) + *(HEADS) + OW (=pained expression); “rolling” is anagram indicator |
| 14 | LENINGRAD | Inclining to dismiss a brilliant historic city
LE<a>NING (=inclining; “to dismiss a” means letter “a” is dropped) + RAD (=brilliant, in US slang, a short form of radical) |
| 15 | BUTTERMERE | Name encountered in Scottish island has to do with Lakeland location
TERM (=name for something) in [BUTE (=Scottish island) + RE (=to do with, regarding)] |
| 16 | EXASPERATE | Anger, being cut up over wreck of spare tyre (emptied)
EXA (AXE=cut; “up” indicates vertical reversal) + *(SPARE T<yr>E); “emptied” means middle letters are dropped from anagram, indicated by “wreck” |
| 21 | CUBE | Basic arithmetical quantity: youngster’s start in education
CUB (=youngster) + E<ducation> (“start in” means first letter only) |
| 22 | FISH | To try to get some stuff is hard
Hidden (“some”) in “stufF IS Hard” |
| 23 | ELM | See those people casually hugging large tree
L (=large) in ‘EM (=those people casually, i.e. short form of them) |
| 25 | TEAR | Drink and river offering small quantity of liquid |
As often with Phi, there were a lot of words I didn’t know: NOTITIA, TOSED, CHAFFER and BUTTERMERE but all were clued well enough to get, although I did use an aid to get 15d. The Nina made me chuckle. I also took ‘land’ as in an aircraft. In 23d, is ‘See’ also a definition? That is, is Elm in Cambridgeshire a bishopric? Thanks to S&B.
Perhaps rad is a, slightly non-standard abbreviation, for radiance. Radiation may be termed brillance.
A couple of new words for me, gettable.The only other nina-ish item was HORN in row 5.
Thanks Phi and RR
Thanks Phi and RatkojaRiku
I filled it in fairly quickly, but I didn’t bother to parse several. It’s a good job that TOSED was a hidden, or I never would have got it!
Is there a reference to an EU within an EU in the centre column? I enjoyed this puzzle. There were some new words for me, CHAFFER, NOTITIA and TOSED. Tosed seemed so unlikely that I left it until last, despite seeing it hidden. Annoyingly I didn’t get a completion when I entered it, but a bit of checking showed finger trouble elswhere as I ‘d entered FUSH for FISH. 7a weren’t my openers, but REAM and CAMEL were. TORCHLIGHT was a long time coming. Liked LARYNGITIS and BUTTERMERE. Thanks Phi and RR.
Appalling grammar in that penultimate sentence trying to pull off a pun…….I’ll get my coat…
The usual accomplished and long clues! Always an enjoyable diversion of a Friday afternoon.
It seems a while since we had a nina from Phi and this one was great fun.
A number of unusual words – we were glad that our app shows incorrect entries in red! All guessed from the wordplay.
Thanks Phi and RR