As is customary on a Friday, we have a Phi crossword today to round off the latest set of midweek puzzles.
I found this to be an enjoyable, medium-difficulty crossword, which I managed to complete unaided. That said, 15 was an unfamiliar adjective for me and needed to be checked in Chambers, while 17A proved tricky to parse.
I suspect that there may be a ghost theme here somewhere, but I haven’t managed to identify anything.
My favourite clues today are 14, for playing with “efficient” and “ineffective”; and 2 and 22, both for quirkiness and originality.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 08 | PACIFIC | Disinclined to fight provided I brought in quiet account
[IF (=provided) + I] in [P (=quiet, i.e. pronto in music) + ACC (=account)] |
| 10 | ACETONE | School has expert around to be source of solution
ETON (=school) in ACE (=expert); the “solution” in the definition is a liquid containing a dissolved substance |
| 11 | OVERTURES | Initial moves regarding stage performers (name withheld) around end of crusade
OVER (=regarding, about) + [<crusad>E (“end of” means last letter only) in TUR<n>S (=stage performers; “name (=N) withheld” means letter “n” is dropped)] |
| 12 | FORUM | University engaged in class meeting
U (=university) in FORM (=class) |
| 13 | DUMAS | French writer of the French majority
DU (=of the French, i.e. the French for of the) + MAS<s> (=majority; “not quite” means that the last letter is dropped); the reference is to French writer Alexandre Dumas (1802-70) |
| 14 | EFFICIENT | Capable? Sadly ineffective, having dropped last two
*(INEFFECTI<ve>); “having dropped last two” means that the last two letters are dropped from the anagram, indicated by “sadly” |
| 16 | MERRILY | The writer runs railway, welcoming one on board with pleasure
ME (=the writer, i.e. Phi!) + R (=runs, i.e. on cricket scoreboard) + [I (=one) in RLY (=railway)] |
| 17 | COMPANY | Military leader with power invested in army of troops
CO (=military leader, i.e. commanding officer) + [P (=power, in physics) in MANY (=army, i.e. large number)] |
| 19 | SALAMANCA | Spanish city unhappily regressing – staff about to follow
SALA (ALAS=unhappily; “regressing” indicates reversal) + MAN (=staff, as a verb) + CA (=about, i.e. circa) |
| 22 | EMEND | Change what anthem and theorem have in common
The words “anthem” and “theorem” both end in –em, so, cryptically, have an “-em end”! |
| 24 | MUSIC | Microphone capturing American singing?
US (=American) in MIC (=microphone) |
| 26 | ASSASSINS | A crime’s involving brazen behaviour from these killers
SASS (=brazen behaviour, impertinence) in [A + SIN’S (=crime’s)] |
| 27 | SNORKEL | Swimming aid: no risk losing one at sea (Spanish article)
*(NO R<i>SK (“losing one (=I)” means letter “i” is dropped) + EL (=Spanish article, i.e. a Spanish word for the); “at sea” is anagram indicator |
| 28 | FOLLIES | Theatrical area enshrining most of old silly things
OL<d> (“most of” means last letter dropped) in FLIES (=theatrical area, i.e. a large area above the front of the stage from which the scenes, etc are controlled) |
| Down | ||
| 01 | UPHOLD | Maintain United pub from former days
U (=united, as in UAE, Man U) + PH (=pub, i.e. public house) + OLD (=from former days) |
| 02 | SCREAMER | Best in series!
CREAM (=best (of)) in SER (=series); a screamer is an exclamation mark in printing slang, hence the definition part of the clue is simply “!” |
| 03 | SCARCELY | Blemish on bit of animation unknown? Hardly
SCAR (=blemish) + CEL (=bit of animation, i.e. a sheet of celluloid) + Y (=unknown, in algebra) |
| 04 | MASSIF | Fool enters motorway heading for furthest mountain region
[ASS (=fool) in M1 (=motorway)] in F<urthest> (“heading for” means first letter only) |
| 05 | REEF | Endangered marine feature unregulated first to last
FREE (=unregulated, e.g. of trade); “first to last” means that the first letter becomes the last letter |
| 06 | SOURCE | Unhappy over limits on cruise provider
SOUR (=unhappy) + C<ruis>E (“limits of” means first and last letters only) |
| 07 | GEOMETRY | Branch of mathematics laid out in grey tome
*(GREY TOME); “laid out” is anagram indicator |
| 09 | FETISHISM | This is involved in feminine worship
*(THIS IS) in FEM (=feminine, in grammar); “involved” is anagram indicator |
| 15 | COMMENSAL | No McMeals dished up at a shared table
*(NO MCMEALS); “dished up” is anagram indicator |
| 16 | MISHMASH | Frenchman is King? Remains in a confused state
M. (=Frenchman, i.e. Monsieur) + IS + HM (=King, i.e. His Majesty) + ASH (=remains) |
| 17 | CLASSIFY | One fellow gets embraced by stylish sort
[I (=one) + F (=fellow)] in CLASSY (=stylish); as a verb, to “sort” is to classify |
| 18 | APERITIF | Sack secretary that’s upset about it as a sort of stimulus
IT in [FIRE (=(to) sack) + PA (=secretary, i.e. Personal Assistant)]; “that’s upset” indicates vertical reversal |
| 20 | LISSOM | Content of journal is somewhat flexible
Hidden (“content of”) in “journaL IS SOMewhat” |
| 21 | NEARLY | Note from the past? Just about
N (=note, as in NB) + EARLY (=from the past) |
| 23 | DESIST | In Germany, it is German to refrain
D (=Germany, in IVR) + ES IST (“it is German”, i.e. the German for “it is”) |
| 25 | CAKE | Casket regularly lost mass
CA<s>KE<t>; “regularly lost” here means every third letter is dropped |
From our favourite Musical Theatre composer/lyricist and crossword enthusiast:
PACIFIC OVERTURES
A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the FORUM
MERRILY We Roll Along
COMPANY
A Little Night MUSIC
ASSASSINS
FOLLIES
The ghost theme is Sondheim musicals:
PACIFIC OVERTURES, FOLLIES, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the FORUM, MERRILY we roll along, A Little Night MUSIC, ASSASSINS, COMPANY. There may be others, and indeed the only one of them that I’ve seen is the least well-known, Pacific Overtures, not being a Sondheim fan.
Damn – Andrew got there first by a demon barber’s whisker. I’m glad I don’t appear to have missed any, though!
I Googled DUMAS to see whether Sondheim had written anything based on Alexandre. Not so, apparently, BUT one Jeff Dumas has appeared in a number of Sondheim musicals
Spotted the theme! And whilst still solving, which helped. Having just seen my local theatre company do Merrily We Roll Along just a few weeks ago, and the National Theatre’s Follies last year.
Enjoyed this but, as usual, the theme was lost on me. Had to guess DESIST, not knowing the Geman language required. In your preamble, your reference to 17d presumably should be 15d.
Thanks to Phi and RatkojaRiku.
We solved this fairly quickly, despite being totally oblivious to the theme. Couldn’t quite parse ASSASSINS as we didn’t make the leap from ‘sassy’ (adjective) to sass (noun). And ACETONE is but one of many solvents (sources of solution) so as a definition by example we thought there should have been a question mark.
But it was all good. Thanks, Phi and RatkojaRiku.
Thanks for spotting this, Hovis – I have just corrected the preamble so that it now refers to 15.