It feels as if things are back to normal – we have a Phi for a PHIday solve.
Joyce completed the blog this week. We couldn’t see any theme to today’s puzzle but just lately Phi has supplied us with a number of date-related ones, which is why he has been moving around.
As Phi is very partial to his cats – if we remember correctly there was a puzzle from ages ago which featured the names of some of his cats. Joyce has highlighted CAT in the unches.
While checking Joyce’s blog, Bert noticed that the same seven letters featuring in the top row of unches appear in the bottom row – is there any connection (other than the anagram) between CAT, MILE and METICAL? Maybe there is more to the completed grid or maybe not – no doubt someone will help us out.
An enjoyable way to the end the week with a couple of new words to add to our mental dictionary.
Thanks Phi.
Across
8 List of runners? I start to organise exercise (6)
CARDIO
CARD (list of runners) I O (first letter or ‘start’ to organise)
9 Rescue mission complete, requiring no further expenditure (3,5)
ALL FOUND
A play on the fact that if a rescue mission is complete, everyone (ALL) would have been FOUND
10 Reduced sense, with one being admitted to a peculiar US hospital (10)
SANITARIUM
SANITy (sense) missing last letter or ‘reduced’ and I (one) inside or ‘admitted to’ A RUM (peculiar)
11 Hot gas provides shock (4)
HAIR
H (hot) AIR (gas)
12 Chance one’s still being tested (4)
BETA
BET (chance) A (one) – a new meaning of BETA for us
13 Shot birds secured, framing ultimate environmental concern, … (7,3)
PLASTIC BAG
PIC (shot) BAG (birds secured) around or ‘framing’ LAST (ultimate)
16 … one having most of film extract backed by fellow with money (7,6)
CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIp (film extract) missing last letter or ‘most of’ MATE (fellow) CHANGE (money) – the ‘one’ for the definition relates back to another environmental concern at 13ac
17 Impartial dictionary welcoming writer with concern (4-6)
OPEN-MINDED
OED (dictionary) around or ‘welcoming’ PEN (writer) and MIND (concern)
18 Frontless lingerie item is something revolutionary (4)
EDDY
tEDDY (‘lingerie item’ missing first letter or ‘frontless’)
20 Wind player not needing a piano in support (4)
PIER
PIpER (wind player) without or ‘not needing’ the middle ‘p’ (piano)
22 Recalled someone in band brought in oboe, perhaps (10)
REMEMBERED
MEMBER (someone in band) inside or ‘brought into’ REED (‘oboe perhaps’)
25 Drink ready (not one that’s conjectural) (8)
SUPPOSED
SUP (drink) POiSED (ready) missing ‘i’ or ‘not one’
26 Standing out in charitable activity (6)
RELIEF
Double definition
Down
1 Vigilance will secure a fine quantity of wine (6)
CARAFE
CARE (vigilance) round or ‘securing’ A F (fine)
2 Amid upset, share regard (10)
ADMIRATION
An anagram of AMID (anagrind is ‘upset’) + RATION (share)
3 Picked up a contracted skirt-like garment (4)
TOGA
A GOT (contracted, as in ‘contracted the flu’) reversed or ‘picked up’
4 Cheers leaving island state for one African country (4)
MALI
MALta (island state) losing ‘ta’ (cheers) and replacing it with I (one)
5 Uneven game – not initially satisfied about that (3-7)
ILL-MATCHED
MATCH (game) in fILLED (satisfied) without the first letter or ‘not initially’
6 See markings on taps giving quantity of water (4)
LOCH
LO (see) C H (markings on taps – hot and cold)
7 Ale fiend getting drunk? It’s a number of shots (8)
ENFILADE
An anagram of ALE FIEND – anagrind is ‘getting drunk’
13 Prisoner I found in capital city initially trained as a sort of thief (10)
PLAGIARIST
LAG (prisoner) I inside PARIS (capital city) T (first or ‘initial’ letter of ‘trained’)
14 Leading article deceived about European (5)
AHEAD
A (article) HAD (deceived) about E (European)
15 Pantomime character recalled in plays (10)
CINDERELLA
An anagam of RECALLED IN – anagrind is ‘plays’
16 Top music broadcast – it could be hot stuff (8)
CAPSICUM
CAP (top) and an anagram of MUSIC – anagrind is ‘broadcast’
19 Train fails on US railway (6)
DIESEL
DIES (fails) EL (US railway)
21 Ready to complain after leader’s ousted (4)
RIPE
gRIPE (complain) missing first letter or with ‘ leader ousted’
23 Area of France, one fading after rise (4)
MIDI
I DIM (fading) reversed or ‘after rise’
24 Hired soldier has shortage of compassion (4)
MERC
MERCy (compassion) missing last letter or ‘has shortage’
Climate change?
DOH! How did we miss that. Mind you, even some people in Government are not able to see CLIMATE CHANGE when it is staring you in the face.
Well done Muffyword and thanks Phi for the topical nina.
I’m getting much better at spotting Ninas – I’m sure it won’t last
Thanks to Phi for the crossword and B&J for the blog
Nice to have Phiday back!Very good.
Oh dear, 3D “kilt” caused me problems – see how I made the error. Then I couldn’t parse taichi – now where did I leave that coat?
We spotted the nina but didn’t recognise that it was two anagrams of ‘climate’, so we spent ages trying to connect ‘cat’, ‘mile’ and ‘metical’ (the latter, btw, is the currency of Mozambique).
The puzzle itself was pretty straightforward, although we took a while to realise 15dn was an anagram, and in the crossing pair of 25ac and 21dn we initially thought ‘ready’ in both clues might refer to money, so they were our last two in.
Favourite was PLAGIARIST.
Thanks, Phi and B&J
Well, having finished Donk’s i over breakfast, I downloaded and had a go at this.
I was wondering about the CAT/MILE METICAL thing too, so well spotted Muffyword 🙂