Vigo fills the Friday slot this week. We haven’t had a Phi on Friday now for nearly a month.
7 down is one of those homophone clues where I struggled to choose which word to enter. Initially I plumped for GRATE, but realised it had to be GREAT when I solved 11 across. I reckon the clue can be read either way – firstly with ‘jar’ as the definition and the word play as ‘reported to be large’, and secondly with ‘to be large’ as the definition and ‘jar reported’ as the wordplay. The clue at 19 across seems to be of the same construction as 7 down and there we have the ‘young bird [CYGNET}’ as the definition. I realise that in cases of apparent ambiguity in the clue, the crossing letters will sort out what the entry should be.
There seemed to be a scientific leaning today with quite a bit of biology, botany, geology as well as including some rural allusions.
I thought the grid might be a pangram but I reckon we are short of a Q and a W
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | Shepherdess and worker keeping operation quiet (2-4) |
(BEE [work]) containing (keeping) OP [operation]) + P (piano; quiet) B (O P) EE P |
BO-PEEP (reference Little BO-PEEP who lost her sheep; shepherdess)
|
| 4 | Dance with German in grass is shaken up (8) |
(JIG [dance] + G [German]) contained in (in) REED (marsh or water grass) RE (JIG G) ED |
REJIGGED (arranged in a new or unexpected way; shaken up) |
| 10 | Erupting geyser not producing volcanic material (9) |
Anagram of (erupting) GEYSER NOT GREYSTONE* |
GREYSTONE (volcanic rock) |
| 11 | Hack putting time into source (5) |
T (time) contained in (into) SEED (source) S (T) EED |
STEED (horse; nag; hack) |
| 12 | Champagne socialist possibly having short drink with king (4) |
PINT (drink [of beer usually]) excluding the final letter (short) T + K (king) PIN K |
PINK (a person who is something of a socialist but hardly a red; person whose comfortable or extravagant standard of living belies his or her professed socialist politics; champagne socialist) |
| 13 | Fight encountered by a liberal recycling material (5,5) |
SCRAP (fight) + MET (encountered) + A + L (liberal) SCRAP MET A L |
SCRAP METAL (material suitable only for melting and recycling) |
| 15 | Fat from sheep placed across tips of noisettes of lamb (7) |
LAIN (placed) containing (across) NOL (first letters of [tips of] each of NOISETTES, OF and LAMB) LA (NOL) IN |
LANOLIN (fat from wool; fat from sheep) |
| 16 | Doctor one pages with second of symptoms is pathetic (6) |
DR (doctor) + I (Roman numeral for one) + PP (pages) + Y (second letter of {second of} SYMPTOM) DR I PP Y |
DRIPPY (silly; inane; pathetic) |
| 19 | Young bird sounds like small seal (6) |
CYGNET (a homophone of [sounds like] SIGNET [small seal]) CYGNET |
CYGNET (young swan) |
| 21 | Heartless trainer on field finds part of ear (7) |
COACH (trainer) excluding the central letter [heartless] A + LEA (meadow) COCH LEA |
COCHLEA (spiral cavity of the inner ear) |
| 23 | Echo in song registers for high flying performers 10) |
(E [ECHO is the International Radio Communication code word for the letter E] contained in [in] ARIA [song]) + LISTS (registers) A (E) RIA LISTS |
AERIALISTS (people who perform on the high wire or trapeze)
|
| 25 | Competent leader removed from board (4) |
TABLE (board) excluding (removed from) the first letter (leader) T ABLE |
ABLE (competent) |
| 27 | Is traitor returning bones (5) |
(IS + RAT [traitor]) all reversed (returning) (TAR SI)< |
TARSI (bones in the foot) |
| 28 | Abhor aid distributed to contain unknown source of disease potentially (9) |
Anagram of (distributed) ABHOR AID containing (to contain) Z (a letter often used in mathematical equations to represent an unknown value) BIOHA (Z) ARD* |
BIOHAZARD (a danger of disease or pollution from living organisms, encountered e.g. during biological research) |
| 29 | Special place to bury Chip (8) |
S (special) + PL (place) + INTER (bury) S PL INTER |
SPLINTER (piece of wood, metal, etc split off; chip) |
| 30 | Woman in tree is angler (6) |
SHE (woman) contained in (in) FIR (tree) FI (SHE) R |
FISHER (angler) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Very important programme led initially by European in US city (3,5) |
BIG (very important) + APP (application; programme) + L (first letter of [initially] LED) + E (European) BIG APP L E |
BIG APPLE (phrase used to refer to New York; US city) |
| 2 | Before start of gala French city displays state of expectation (9) |
PRE (before) + G (first letter of [start of] GALA) + NANCY (French city) PRE G NANCY |
PREGNANCY (state of expectation) |
| 3 | Stops endlessly providing comfort (4) |
CEASES (stops) excluding the first and last letters (without ends; endlessly) C and S EASE |
EASE (comfort) |
| 5 | Beryl starts to enjoy my entertaining repartee at Lady’s Day |
EMERALD (first letters of [starts to] each of ENJOY, MY, ENTERTAINING, REPARTEE, AT, LADY’S and DAY) EMERALD |
EMERALD (BERYL is a precious stone occurring in hexagonal crystals, of which EMERALD and aquamarine are varieties) |
| 6 | I stupefied manic sons they can’t fall asleep (10) |
I + an anagram of (stupefied) MANIC SONS I NSOMNIACS* |
INSOMNIACS (people who suffer from prolonged inability to sleep) |
| 7 | Jar reported to be large (5) |
GREAT (sounds like [reported] GRATE [jar]) GREAT |
GREAT (large) |
| 8 | Religious scholar taking part in benefit picnic (6) |
DD (Doctor of Divinity [religious scholar]) contained in (taking part in) DOLE (a benefit paid by the state to unemployed people) DO (DD) LE |
DODDLE (something very easily accomplished; picnic) |
| 9 | Bird to start to undo container (6) |
TO + U (first letter of [start to] UNDO) + CAN (container) TO U CAN |
TOUCAN (bird) |
| 14 | Sketch skin art popular around old estate |
PLAN (sketch) + TAT (tattoo [skin art]) + (IN [popular] containing [around] O [old]) PLAN TAT I (O) N |
PLANTATION (estate) |
| 17 | Appropriate to live by a church somewhere in Florida (4,5 |
PALM (take; grab; appropriate) + BE (live) + A + CH (church) PALM BE A CH |
PALM BEACH (town in Florida) |
| 18 | Plant the French sell to queen (8) |
LA (one of the French forms of ‘the’) + VEND (sell) + ER (Elizabeth Regina; queen) LA VEND ER |
LAVENDER (plant with fragrant pale-lilac flowers) |
| 20 | Article covering broken limb that provides protection from pins and needles (7) |
THE (definite article) containing (covering) an anagram of (broken) LIMB TH (IMBL*) E |
THIMBLE (protective cover for the finger, used in sewing; protection from pins and needles) |
| 21 | Material in bed not turned over (6) |
COT (bed) + NOT reversed (turned over) COT TON< |
COTTON (material) |
| 22 | Part of magic act uses plant (6) |
CACTUS (hidden word in [part of] MAGIC ACT USES) CACTUS |
CACTUS (plant) |
| 24 | Artist breaking law taking drug in countryside (5) |
RA (Royal Academician [artist]) contained in (breaking) RULE (law) excluding (taking) E (ecstasy tablet; drug) RU (RA) L |
RURAL (relating to the countryside) |
| 26 | Dress old lady by one (4) |
MA (mother; old lady) + X (times; by) + I (Roman numeral for one) MA X I |
MAXI (ankle length skirt or dress) |
Great fun with 2d my favourite.
Many thanks to Vigo and to Duncan.
I also enjoyed the clue for PREGNANCY. DODDLE was another good one.
I also was on the lookout for a pangram.
Thanks Vigo and Duncan.
We went for ‘grate’ first before realising 7dn had to be GREAT, but were lucky with our first guess for CYGNET. Looking out for the non-existent pangram did alert us to the possibility of the last letter of 12ac being K. And we think that clue could be a double definition – PINK as a variety of Champagne and as a “socialist, possibly”.
All good stuff as one expects from this setter (although we did note ‘material’ occurring twice in the clues). Too many nice ones to nominate a CoD: we liked LANOLIN, COCHLEA, TARSI, PREGNANCY and THIMBLE among others.
Thanks, Vigo and Duncan.
Very late in but wanted to thank Vigo for another most enjoyable puzzle.
Like Allan @3, I had pink champagne in mind with 12a and like RD@1, I found my favourite in 2d.
Thanks again to Vigo and thanks to Duncan for his usual easy to follow review – always much appreciated.