Today sees the usual Friday offering from Phi
There was one word in this puzzle that I have never come across before – INCUNABULA. The wordplay was clear but I had to check the dictionary to confirm the word existed. Obscure words make me suspect a theme, but there is a wide range of other entries so I’m not sure that there is one in this puzzle.
There were only two anagrams in the puzzle, which is quite low for a national daily. On the other hand there were a number of excellent surfaces. I liked the one for RAINWATER where ‘in’ was not immediately apparent as part of the wordplay. Having disguised the use of ‘in’ in that clue, I noticed that ‘on’ was used as an anagram indicator in the clue for PONDEROSA, so it was a good day for the use of words you don’t always associate as playing an important role.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | Hard work curtailed American voices (6) |
CHORE (unpleasant or tedious task; hard work) excluding the final letter (curtailed) E + US (United States; American) CHOR US |
CHORUS (band of singers; voices)
|
| 5 | Position taken by funny guy in short communication (8) |
POST (job; position) + CARD (comical or eccentric person) POST CARD |
POSTCARD (medium for sending a brief message; short communication) |
| 9 | Small drink not entirely a major concern (4) |
DRAMA (series of absorbing, exciting, tense or tragic events; major concern) excluding the final letter (not entirely) A DRAM |
DRAM (small drink of alcohol) |
| 10 | Universities about to seize lecturer that’s brought in old American books of historic importance (10) |
([U {university} + U [university} to give universities] containing [about] NAB [to seize] + L [lecturer]) all contained in (brought in) INCA [South American people of Peru before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; old American) INC (U (NAB) U L) A |
INCUNABULA (early printed books, esp those printed before the year 1501; books of historic importance) |
| 11 | Heading off for entertainment venue? That’s not right (6) |
FUNFAIR (entertainment venue) excluding (off) the first letter (heading) F UNFAIR |
UNFAIR (inequitable; not right) |
| 12 | Historic leader taking a risk, having snake draped around (8) |
(A + DICE [risk]) contained in (having … draped around) BOA (BOA constrictor; snake) BO (A DICE) A |
BOADICEA (reference Queen BOADICEA [30 – 61 AD], historic leader of the Celtic Iceni tribe who rose against the Romans) |
| 13 | Bare worthless stuff accepted by a French revolutionary (9) |
(PAP [worthless stuff] contained in [accepted by] UNE [one of the French forms of ‘a’]) + RED (revolutionary) UN (PAP) E RED |
UNPAPERED (bare, when referring to a wall)) |
| 15 | No source given for film speed (4) |
FLICK (cinema film) excluding (no … given) the first letter (source) F LICK |
LICK (vigorous speed) |
| 17 | I run over note for club (4) |
I + R (run, in cricket scoring notation) + O (over, in cricket scoring notation) + N (note) I R O N |
IRON (a type of golf club) |
| 18 | Crude tear repaired holding in liquid (9) |
(RAW [crude] + an anagram of [repaired] TEAR) containing (holding) IN RA (IN) W ATER* |
RAINWATER (liquid) |
| 20 | Motoring offence? Went in US prison? Not half (8) |
PEED (went to the loo) contained in (in) SING SING (American maximum security prison in New York State) excluding (not) the second SING (half) S (PEED) ING |
SPEEDING (example of a motoring offence) |
| 22 | Rod recalled that man pocketing Queen in card game (6) |
CUE (rod) reversed (recalled) + (HE [that man] containing [pocketing] R [Regina; queen]) EUC< H (R) E |
EUCHRE (North American card game for two, three, or four players, with the 32, 28 or 24 highest cards of the pack.e) |
| 24 | A new indication to proceed with old classic car these days (4,6) |
A + N (new) + NOD (indication) + O + MINI (classic car) A N NO D O MINI |
ANNO DOMINI (in the year of our Lord; current time; these days) |
| 26 | Chances borders of old districts (4) |
OD (first and last letters of [borders of] OLD) + DS (first and last letters of [borders of] DISTRICTS) OD DS |
ODDS (chances) |
| 27 |
Mental connections recalled range – succeeded getting agreement about that (8) |
S (succeeded) + (YES [agreement] containing SPAN [range] reversed [recalled]) S Y (NAPS<) ES |
SYNAPSES (interlacing or enveloping connections of one nerve-cell with another; mental connections) |
| 28 | Leave period cut short and that’s the truth (6) |
GO (leave) + SPELL (period of time) excluding the final letter (cut short) L GO SPEL |
GOSPEL (truth)
|
| Down | |||
| 2 | Vocal fellow having a lot of solid passion about United (9) |
HARD (solid) excluding the final letter (a lot of) D + (ANGER [passion] containing [about] U [United]) HAR ANG (U) ER |
HARANGUER (load aggressive speaker; vocal fellow) |
| 3 | Sailor picked up after old naval issue, producing dance (5) |
RUM (RUM was a naval issue drink in the past. The Royal Navy abandoned the practice in 1970) + AB (able seaman; sailor) reversed (picked up; down clue) RUM BA< |
RUMBA (type of dance)
|
| 4 | Prompt to secure right place for foot (7) |
STIR UP (incite; prompt) containing (to secure) R (right) STIR (R) UP |
STIRRUP (support for a rider’s foot)
|
| 5 | Film such as Ben-Hur denied opening (3) |
EPIC (Ben-Hur is an example of an EPIC film) excluding (denied) the first letter (opening) E PIC |
PIC (picture; film)
|
| 6 | International body brought in Green, aiming for illumination (7) |
UN (United Nations; international body) contained in (brought in) SWARD (green turf) S (UN) WARD |
SUNWARD (in the direction of the light of the sun; aiming for illumination)
|
| 7 | Accountant allowed to show vivacity inside motor car (9) |
(CA [Chartered Accountant] + LET [allowed]) containing (to show … inside) BRIO (vivacity) CA (BRIO) LET |
CABRIOLET (type of motor car with a folding top) |
| 8 | Poet penning end of work in anger (5) |
RILE (anger) containing (penning) K (last letter of [end of] WORK) RIL (K) E |
RILKE (reference Rainer Maria RILKE [1875 – 1926], Bohemian – Austrian poet)
|
| 12 | London suburb that’s not all there? (7) |
BARKING (raving mad; not all there) BARKING |
BARKING (London suburb) double definition |
| 14 | Rope and so on in fictional ranch (9) |
Anagram of (on) ROPE AND SO PONDEROSA* |
PONDEROSA (name of the ranch that was the home of the Cartwright family in the fictional television western Bonanza) |
| 16 | Some ammunition vehicle on top of hill (9) |
CART (type of vehicle) + RIDGE (long narrow top or crest of a hill) CART RIDGE |
CARTRIDGE (case containing the charge for a gun) |
| 18 | Devastating one with sense to support sport (7) |
RU (Rugby Union; sport) + (I [Roman numeral for one] + NOUS [sense]) RU I NOUS As this is a down clue the letters INOUS are ‘supporting’ the letters RU |
RUINOUS (devastating)
|
| 19 | Little test of network showing evidence of leak (7) |
WEE (little) + PING (a test to check the accessibility of nodes, users, etc on a computer network) WEE PING |
WEEPING (showing evidence of leakage) |
| 21 | You may go when you’ve paid it (5) |
PENNY (small coinage, traditionally used as payment for going to the toilet. You’ll be lucky to find one for a PENNY these days)) PENNY |
PENNY (reference the phrase ‘spend a PENNY’ [a euphemistic phrase for urinating]) |
| 23 | Burden fit to be tied? (5) |
CROSS (burden or cause of suffering) CROSS |
CROSS (reference CROSS TIE [supporting structural member supporting only a tension and fitted transversely) double definition |
| 25 | Uncertainties following invading island (3) |
F (following) contained in (invading) IS (island) I (F) S |
IFS (uncertainties) |
I parsed 20a as ‘SING SING’ missing the ‘first’ half 🙂
Struggled with this and had to resort to aids quite a bit to finish.
Thanks to Phi and Duncan.
We found this towards the tougher end of the Phi spectrum, but everything was fair and gettable, and we managed to parse everything. The NW corner was the last to fall once we got CHORUS which we couldn’t see for ages – doh!
We did wonder, though, if many snooker players would appreciate their cues being referred to as rods, and also thought one might have to be of a certain age to remember Bonanza.
Thanks, Phi and Duncan.
Having just got back from the US and still getting back in synch with the time zone, I didn’t even start to look at this till after midnight.
Took me ages to remember the name of the card game at22ac.
I recall that Lord Peter Wimsey collected INCUNABULA.