This is the third Phi in a row on Fridays, so perhaps he is back to his normal weekly position. after a few weeks of random / thematic days for his puzzles
This was a puzzle that seemed to draw on a few different languages for the source of the entries.
I was a bit surprised by the definition for GOBLIN (15 across) as I have always understood a GOBLIN to have a darker personality than suggested by mischievous.
I think I have explained the clue for MAILSACK (13 across) correctly but please feel free to disagree.
The LHASA APSO at 16 down is a well known dog in crossword land
I liked the nested container and contents clue for APOCRYPHA at 27 across
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | Funny artist, not last one to take on Conservative using ridicule? (7) |
Anagram of (funny) ARTIST excluding the final letter (not last one) T + I (Roman numeral for one) + C (Conservative) SATIR* I C |
SATIRIC (using ridicule) |
| 5 | Past accommodating the French refusal to talk (7) |
SINCE (past) containing (accommodating) LE (one of the French forms of ‘the’) SI (LE) NCE |
SILENCE (refusal to talk) |
| 9 | Required guide when travelling around river – regret coming back (2,7) |
(Anagram of (when travelling] GUIDE containing [round] R [river]) + RUE reversed (coming back) DE (R) IGU* EUR< |
DE RIGUEUR (required by strict etiquette, or by fashion, etc.) |
| 10 | Tailless fawn seen in wood (5) |
GROVEL (behave obsequiously; fawn) excluding the final letter (tailless) L GROVE |
GROVE (small wood) |
| 11 | Wrong to have Edith awaiting a date (4,3) |
SIN (wrong) + EDIE (diminutive form of EDITH) SIN E DIE |
SINE DIE (without a day [appointed]; [of a meeting or other business]) |
| 12 | Applying green activity (7) |
PUTTING (applying) PUTTING |
PUTTING (action undertaken by golfers on the green) double definition |
| 13 | It now has less to offer the corresponding process (8) |
MAILSACK I may be missing something here, but I think this is a cryptic definition alluding to the fact that once a letter or parcel is delivered, then the contents of the MAILSACK reduce and consequently the MAILSACK plays a smaller part in the corresponding [letter writing etc] process [until the next day when it is is filled again]) MAILSACK |
MAILSACK (large bag used for transporting or delivering MAIL) |
| 15 | Become unable to see reduced mischievous sprite (6) |
GO BLIND (become unable to see) excluding the final letter (reduced) D GOBLIN |
GOBLIN (a small grotesque supernatural creature, regarded as malevolent towards human beings – that sounds rather more malign than just mischievous!) |
| 18 | Frustrate positioning of bed in school (6) |
COT (bed) contained in (positioning of … in) SCH (school) S (COT) CH |
SCOTCH (frustrate) |
| 19 | Most accurate record overlooks Dutch collection of animals (8) |
BEST (highest perfection; most accurate) + DIARY (daily record) excluding (overlooks) D (Dutch) BEST IARY |
BESTIARY (a book of a type popular in the Middle Ages, describing animals, both real and fabled, allegorized for moral teaching purposes; collection of animals) |
| 21 | Request for payment expected to produce notes? (7) |
IN VOICE (IN condition for singing; expected to produce [musical] notes) IN VOICE |
INVOICE (record of amount due for payment) |
| 23 | Work – termination of contract – start to require benefit (7) |
T (last letter of [termination of] CONTRACT) + R (first letter of [start to] REQUIRE) + AVAIL (benefit) T R AVAIL |
TRAVAIL (excessive labour or work
|
| 26 | Tenor initially longing to appear in Hollywood musical (5) |
L (first letter of [initially] LONGING) contained in (to appear in) GIGI (1958 Hollywood produced musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. It is based on the novella GIGI by Colette) GIG (L) I |
GIGLI (reference Beniamino GIGLI [1890 -1957], Italian opera singer regarded as one of the best tenors of his generation) |
| 27 | Surprised comment about rumour in music? Uncertain stuff (9) |
AHA (expression of surprise) containing (about) (CRY [report or rumour] contained in [in] POP [genre of music]) A (PO (CRY) P) HA |
APOCRYPHA ( cap) those books or parts of books included in the Septuagint and Vulgate translations of the Old Testament but not accepted as canonical by Jews or Protestants, and to later books (APOCRYPHA of the New Testament) never accepted as canonical or authoritative by any considerable part of the Christian Church;; uncertain stuff) |
| 28 | Interrupt, always being taken aback about story (7) |
EVER (always) reversed (being taken aback) containing (about) LIE (false story) RE (LIE) VE< |
RELIEVE (interrupt) |
| 29 | Newspaper pursues strange lights in the sky (7) |
SUN (British newspaper) + DOGS (follows; pursues) SUN DOGS |
SUNDOGS (mock suns or parhelions; strange lights in the sky) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Endpoint of birthdays? That is mostly parties (5) |
S (last letter of [endpoint of] BIRTHDAYS) + ID EST (that is) excluding the final letter (mostly) T S ID ES |
SIDES (teams; parties) |
| 2 | Director raving endlessly in grip of Chinese philosophical concept (9) |
RANTING (raving) excluding the final letter (endlessly) G contained in (in grip of) TAO (in Confucianism and some other philosophies, the way to be followed, philosophical concept) TA (RANTIN) O |
TARANTINO (reference Quentin TARANTINO [born 1963], American film director) |
| 3 | Stiff, cold, decapitated (5) |
FRIGID (cold) excluding the first letter [decapitated] F RIGID |
RIGID (stiff) |
| 4 | Blokes ride a bike, cycling in mild mood (8) |
MEN (blokes) + CYCLE (ride a bike) with all letters moved three to the right and wrapping round (cycling) to form CLEMENCY CLE MEN CY |
CLEMENCY (mildness) |
| 5 | Going heavenward, fellow’s embracing standard angel (6) |
(HE’S [fellow’s] containing [embracing] PAR [standard]) all reversed (going heavenward; down clue) (SE (RAP) H)< |
SERAPH (angel at the highest of the nine orders) |
| 6 | Escapes bedtime?( 6,3) |
LIGHTS OUT (escapes) LIGHTS OUT |
LIGHTS OUT (the time at which LIGHTS are turned OUT for the night, in a boarding school, barracks,bedtime) double definition |
| 7 | One chap uplifted about old Biblical heroine (5) |
(I [Roman numeral for one] + MAN [chap]) all reversed (lifted; down clue) and containing (about) O (old) (NA (O) M I)< |
NAOMI (Ruth’s mother-in-law in the Old Testament book of Ruth; biblical heroine) |
| 8 | European with grace to retain information in crisis (9) |
E (European) + (MERCY [grace] containing [to retain] GEN [information]) E MER (GEN) CY |
EMERGENCY (crisis) |
| 13 | Religious service in German for English playwright (9) |
MASS (religious service) + IN + GER (German) MASS IN GER |
MASSINGER (reference Philip MASSINGER (1583 – 1640], English playwright) |
| 14 | Give up as lost bag, if dropped in grass (9) |
SAC (pouch or bag-like structure) + (IF contained in [dropped in] RICE (a form of grass grown in warm climates) SAC R (IF) ICE |
SACRIFICE (surrender, or foregoing of anything valued for the sake of anything else, esp a higher consideration; five up as lost) |
| 16 | Small dog – keeps one in lap this way (5,4) |
([HAS {keeps} + A {one}] contained in [in] LAP) + SO (this way) L (HAS A) AP SO |
LHASA APSO (Tibetan breed of small, long-haired dog) |
| 17 | Skilful reduction of surplus in party (American) (8) |
(EXTRA [surplus] excluding the final letter [reduction of]) A contained in DO (party) + US (United States; American) D (EXTR) O US |
DEXTROUS (skilful) |
| 20 | Waste visit, being interrupted by joker (6) |
SEE (visit) containing (being interrupted by) WAG (joker) SE (WAG) E |
SEWAGE (waste discharged from house drains and streets) |
| 22 | Watch volume: one small volume further reduced? (5) |
V (volume) + I (Roman numeral for one) + GILL (small measure of volume, often applied to spirits) excluding the final letter (further reduced) L V I GIL |
VIGIL (watch, especially at night) |
| 24 | Favouring occupying a new type of stage (5) |
PRO (in favour of; favouring) contained in (occupying) (A + N [new]) A (PRO) N |
APRON (a stage or part of stage in front of the proscenium arch, projecting to a greater or lesser extent into the auditorium) |
| 25 | Love contributing to guy’s burden (5) |
O (zero; love score in tennis) contained in (contributing to) LAD’S (guy’s) L (O) ADS |
LOADS (burden; LOAD singular is a burden, so I suppose more than one load is a greater burden)) |
Thanks, Duncan. I also assumed that MAILSACK was a CD but thought it was more to do with the fact that the “corresponding process” is mostly be electronic means these days.
I read 13ac the same way and NeilW.
Fairly quick solve. (I’m at an SF convention in Belfast at the moment, and this is the first time I’ve had time to finish a crossword during the day for over a week.)
SUNDOGS did make me wonder if there was a Winterreise theme, but I haven’t looked up the rest of the poems to see if there is any other connection.
Agree with NeilW and Dormouse @1&2 about the parsing of 13a.
A few I didn’t know such as the ‘English playwright’ and SUNDOGS with some other hard ones such as APOCRYPHA and LHASA APSO, so all in all a good Friday Phi challenge, with probably something else going on of which I remain blissfully unaware.
Thanks to Phi and Duncan
I think that the MAILSACK clue refers to the fact that most people use online communication rather than the Royal Mail. (I can’t remember when I last visited by postbox. Apologies if someone has already said this.
Sorry, “my”, not “by”. My fat fingers again. (Well you know what they say about men with big hands…)
The same experience as others – a challenging puzzle, SUNDOGS and MASSINGER new to us, and we agree with NeilW about MAILSACK.
Favourites were DE RIGUEUR and BESTIARY.
Can’t see any theme – but that’s not unusual.
Thanks, Phi and Duncan.