It’s Phi-day on Thursday this week!
We sailed through this puzzle fairly easily, despite not knowing much about the works of 8ac – we’re not very well up on classical music, but we had heard of the three works included in the grid. However, we weren’t aware until writing up the blog that he also wrote the most famous tune for the dance at 22d, which apparently features in 17ac / 11ac.
We’d never heard of the other composer at 20ac, and, as far as we can tell, there is no connection between him and 8ac.
We wonder what event can be occuring tomorrow that has pushed Phi from his regular slot.
Across
7 Someone sent away recalled English Times blocking story (5)
EXILE
E (English) + X (Times) in or ‘blocking’ LIE (story) all reversed or ‘recalled’
8 Composer frequently having change of heart, accompanied by different composer (9)
OFFENBACH
OFtEN (frequently) with the middle letter or ‘heart’ changed to F + BACH (different composer)
11 See 17
12 Later information from university head about degree (6)
UPDATE
U (University) PATE (head) round D (degree)
14 See 13 Down
17/11 8’s work revised her opus, beset by criminals? (7,2,3,10)
ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD
An anagram of HER OPUS (anagrind is ‘revised’) + IN THE UNDERWORLD (‘beset by criminals’)
19 Fired to eat the whole vegetable (7)
SHALLOT
SHOT (fired) round or ‘eating’ ALL (the whole)
20 Composer starts to record item in small hut (8)
SCRIABIN
R I (first letters or ‘starts’ of ‘record item’) in S (small) CABIN (hut) – a new name for us
21 Smart greeting is considered pretentious (6)
CHICHI
CHIC (smart) HI (greeting)
23 Pensive aria and line arranged from work by 8 (2,3,10)
LA VIE PARISIENNE
An anagram of PENSIVE ARIA and LINE – anagrind is ‘arranged’
26 A sign that finally consuming meat may be an epiphany (3,6)
AHA MOMENT
A OMEN (sign) T (last or ‘final’ letter of ‘that’) round or ‘consuming’ HAM (meat)
27 Trickery caught a large number (5)
CRAFT
C (caught) RAFT (a large number)
Down
1 Clue I must recast, containing nothing of great precision (10)
METICULOUS
An anagram of CLUE I MUST (anagrind is ‘recast’) round or ‘containing’ O (nothing)
2 Online clip and online talks – very skilful (6)
GIFTED
GIF (online clip) TED (online talks)
3 Gala president finally in charge (4)
FETE
T (last or ‘final’ letter of ‘president’) in FEE (charge)
4 Japan working to secure one ally (4)
JOIN
J (Japan) ON (working) round or ‘securing’ I (one)
5 Rock musical dance? It’s indigestible (8)
HAIRBALL
HAIR (Rock musical) BALL (dance)
6 African country: cold and hot, notice (4)
CHAD
C (cold) H (hot) AD (notice)
9 Free sea trips enthralling old islanders (8)
FAEROESE
An anagram of FREE SEA (anagrind is ‘trips’) round or ‘enthralling’ O (old)
10 Head of forces in city picked up oblique report (9)
NEWSFLASH
F (first letter or ‘head’ of ‘forces’) in WEN (city) reversed or ‘picked up’ SLASH (oblique, as in ‘/’)
13/14 Peculiar anthem’s half-tone off in work by 8 (3,5,2,8)
THE TALES OF HOFFMANN
An anagram of ANTHEMS HALF TONE OFF – anagrind is ‘peculiar’
15 New items turn out to be foods (10)
NUTRIMENTS
N (new) + anagram of ITEMS TURN – anagrind is ‘out’
16 Guess I’m to board large car (8)
ESTIMATE
I’M in or ‘boarding’ ESTATE (large car)
18 Certain South American power getting on top of simple uprising about sport (8)
PERUVIAN
P (power) + NAIVE (simple) reversed or ‘uprising’ round RU (Rugby Union – ‘sport’)
22 Containers from 23 Across? (6)
CANCAN
CAN (container) CAN (container) – a dance associated with the Folies Bergere in Paris, hence the reference to 23ac
23 Idle fellow found under a lot of cargo (4)
LOAF
F (fellow) ‘under’ (in a down clue) LOAd (cargo) without the last letter or ‘a lot of’
24 Nine letters in our alphabet set up one for Greek (4)
IOTA
A TO I (representing nine letters in our alphabet) reversed or ‘set up’
25 Move slowly, having no leader in an emergency (4)
INCH
pINCH (emergency) without the first letter or ‘leader’
I note that today is the bicentennial of Offenbach’s birth. So maybe it is this that has moved Phi from Friday rather than anything special tomorrow. Perhaps both?
Hovis @1-thats what I reckoned too.
Thanks Copmus and Hovis – that would explain it! We should have checked before making assumptions.
Just to note that there’s something else about the grid that some may wish to comment upon. And also that those who dread my regular appearance on Fridays may soon get a respite of sorts…
Thanks for dropping by Phi. We noticed that the grid was not symmetrical during the solve but forgot to mention that when writing the blog. We hope we will still be getting regular Phixes of your puzzles.
22d: Orpheus In The Underwear?
22d: I started by trying to fit “Orpheus in the Underground” in; this was a television pop opera by Carl Davis and John Wells – not a lot of people know that.
(Orpheus was a London busker.)
I liked the OFFENBACH theme and the CANCAN clue (and reminder of the wonderful tune) especially. I knew SCRIABIN though can’t bring any of his compositions instantly to mind. Educational value as well – I’ve now learnt how to spell FAEROESE.
Whatever tomorrow brings, it will be a bit disconcerting not to have the usual Friday Phi offering. Hope the ‘respite’ won’t be too long.
Thanks to Phi and B&J
Pardon my ignorance but in what sense does TED = online talks?
Reddevil – if you google TED talks you will see a whole load of online videos of talks given by a range of individuals as part of ‘Technology, Education and Design’. We only know about the website because someone we know contributed to talks on artificial coral reefs in Indonesia.
We too sailed through this, having spotted OFFENBACH at once and the related answers were write-in – apart from 22dn which took a little while before the 26ac and subsequent groan. We doubt if there is any connection, though, between Offenbach and Scriabin, not that we know much about the latter apart from his ‘Poem of Ecstasy’.
Plenty to like as well as the themed answers – METICULOUS and NEWSFLASH among them. The
As others said, a fairly quick solve. I have seen all three works by 8ac but I probably know 20ac better. One of my great memories of recent concerts was seeing Peter Donahoe perform all 10 piano sonatas in a single afternoon a few years back. Not quite a write-in that one. As he was Russian, there are at least two ways of spelling his name in the Roman alphabet and I needed the word play to work out which spelling was required.
CANCAN is also thematic – the music usually associated with that dance is Offenbach’a Infernal Galop (although it’s from Orpheus and not from La Vie Parisienne).