Phi again – this time on a Tuesday – He’ll no doubt be getting fed up with us blogging his puzzles.
Well it’s Tuesday and it’s theme day and Phi is well known for these. However, apart from four British towns – Bristol (our home town), Manchester, Prestwich and Morecambe, we cannot spot anything. We did wonder whether there was any significance to THREE SCORE (17ac and 19ac) but again, no joy. Perhaps someone else can spot something.
We spent far too long trying to parse OKAPI for 27ac until we solved 20d and the penny dropped. A few new words (21ac and 4d) and a new meaning for 28ac.
A 13ac work out for a Tuesday or indeed any day of the week.
Across
1 Elegant carriage losing power in part of France (4)
OISE
pOISE (elegant carriage) ‘losing’ p (power)
3 One setting off organist raving about note later in scale? (10)
INSTIGATOR
An anagram of ORGANIST (anagrind is ‘raving’) about TI (note later in scale)
10 Support for little people? Person celebrated return of facilities accommodating daughter (9)
TOADSTOOL
TOAST (person celebrated) LOO (‘facilities’) reversed or ‘returned’ round or ‘accommodating’ D (daughter)
11 Head of group takes off goggles (5)
GAPES
G (first letter or ‘head’ of ‘group’) APES (takes off)
12 College to attempt to suppress article as a whole (7)
UNITARY
UNI (college) TRY (attempt) around or ‘suppressing’ A (article)
13 Mature senior pupil about to regress (7)
PERFECT
PREFECT (senior pupil) with RE (about) reversed or ‘regressing’
14 Error about love with uncertain miss to display egotistic attitude (9)
SOLIPSISM
SLIP (error) about O (love) and an anagram of MISS – anagrind is ‘uncertain’
17 Trinity Rector introduced to you, as seen in the Bible (5)
THREE
R (rector) inside or ‘introduced to’ THEE (you – as seen in the Bible)
19 Number of runs? Unhappy about 100 (5)
SCORE
SORE (unhappy) about C (100)
21 Noblemen harm wine (9)
MARGRAVES
MAR (harm) GRAVES (wine)
23 City quick to reduce tax, taking one pound off (7)
BRISTOL
BRISk (quick) losing last letter or ‘reduced’ TOLl (tax) without L (one pound)
25 Money-maker remains invested in cricket club, with expression of discomfort (4,3)
CASH COW
ASH (remains) inside or ‘invested in’ CC (cricket club) OW (expression of discomfort)
27 Antelope half in pen, turned round (5)
ORIBI
In (half of ‘in’) BIRO (pen) all reversed or ‘turned round’
28 Where people could be reimbursed for injury in several parts (9)
COMPOSITE
A COMPO SITE could fancifully be somewhere where people could receive ‘compo’ – according to Chambers, this is ‘reimbursement for injury’ – a new one for us
29 City auditor finally appearing after shock about strongbox (10)
MANCHESTER
R (‘final’ letter of ‘auditor’) after MANE (shock) round CHEST (strongbox)
30 Simple: it’s distance, not time (4)
MERE
MEtRE (distance) without ‘t’ (time)
Down
1 Banned Republican cracking certain statues in explosions (9)
OUTBURSTS
OUT (banned) R (Republican) inside or ‘cracking’ BUSTS (certain statues)
2 Dog, one entering pitch (7)
SPANIEL
AN (one) inside SPIEL (pitch) – Joyce first looked up a possible definition for SPANEL
4 I’d money laid out with hesitation for toxic metal (9)
NEODYMIUM
An anagram of I’D MONEY (anagrind is ‘laid out’) + UM (hesitation)
5 Flower I left in place after being knocked over (5)
TULIP
I L (left) inside PUT (place) reversed or ‘knocked over’
6 It’s funny what you’ll get from me: a good legal document in German? (3-6)
GAG-WRITER
A G (good) WRIT (legal document) inside GER (German)
7 Fashion show on TV? (3,4)
TOP GEAR
A play on the fact that another phrase for clothes in fashion could be TOP GEAR
8 Time off after fitting in one further exam (5)
RESIT
REST (time off) around or ‘fitting in’ I (one)
9 Borders of ageless India here? (4)
ASIA
Clue as definition – First and last letters or ‘borders’ of AgelesS IndiA
15 Vocally importuned seductive woman in town near 29 (9)
PRESTWICH
A homophone (‘vocally’) of PRESSED (importuned) WITCH (seductive woman)
16 Further people arrived, taking in British comedian of old (9)
MORECAMBE
MORE (further people) CAME (arrived) around or ‘taking in’ B (British)
18 We see her getting upset about Lake in another place (9)
ELSEWHERE
An anagram of WE SEE HER (anagrind is ‘getting upset’) around L (lake)
20 Head accepting very good viewpoint (7)
OPINION
ONION (head) around or ‘accepting’ PI (very good)
22 Account in trailer showing preparation for pandemic? (7)
VACCINE
ACC (account) in VINE (‘trailer’ as in trailing plant)
23 Liberal in successful period is to look good (5)
BLOOM
L (Liberal) in BOOM (successful period)
24 Insect cut line (5)
LOCUS
LOCUSt (insect) missing last letter or ‘cut’
26 Broadcast covering new wintry weather (4)
SNOW
SOW (broadcast) around or ‘covering’ N (new)
It may be worth noting that 60 is a unitary perfect number, and also composite. Manchester is surrounded by the M60, while Oise has a similar departement nr. As does neodymium.
Perhaps someone is having a significant birthday today…
Thanks for the heads up on the theme and I wish you a very hapPy birtHday, no sIxty. Would never have spotted that. How many words are there for ‘antelope’, I wonder?
Thanks to Phi and Bertandjoyce.
Very honoured to blog your special puzzle Phi. Have a great day!
Thanks Phi for popping in with that and thanks for a fun puzzle-and thanks B&J
Delightful puzzle from Phi as always. Did wonder why it was on a Tuesday, so happy to learn that it’s for a special reason. Happy Birthday to Phi. Sixty is the new forty, and all that …
Happy birthday Paul
A happy birthday to our setter. Now in your seventh decade. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Didn’t get the theme but enjoyed trying to spot it. COMPO is well known as an abbreviation for ‘compensation’ in this part of the world and I did like the COMPO SITE at 28a. I vaguely remembered ORIBI but ended up losing the D and M consonant lottery for the unknown NEODYMIUM.
Thanks to Phi and to B&J
Happy Birthday Phi!
[Hovis @2 – coincidentally there is a whole cloud of antelope to be found in today’s DT blog here.]
We guessed there was a special reason for Phi appearing today and when we saw THREE and SCORE thought we knew the reason as one of us vaguely remembered a puzzle for Phi’s 50th, and was trying to recall which year it appeared. But we missed the other thematic references.
Thanks and Congratulations, Phi. Thanks, B&J.
A game of two halves, as they say. I got the right half done fairly quickly and then hit a block. Even after cheating, I couldn’t see 1ac.
60. Congrats. The joys of turning 60 in the UK included getting a senior railcard and a bowel testing kit delivered through the post.
I’m in Prague at the moment and I see tomorrow is Kafka’s birthday. Must visit his museum here.
Penblwydd Hapus Phi. I have just built up the courage to start your weekly puzzle on the i – getting there slowly.
Croeso i fifteensquared, Ylo. Dal ati!