Not quite the pleasant solving experience one is used to with Phi, but good nevertheless. Perhaps my lack of enthusiasm is because I found it rather difficult. Help needed please on 26ac.
Definitions in Firebrick, underlined. Anagram indicators in italics.
There’s no doubt something there, but — apart from the nice thing of all the clues at the sides being (7,7), which doesn’t really count as a Nina — I can as usual see nothing.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1/5 | CLAPHAM OMNIBUS | Where you’ll find man in the street champions album newly released (7,7) |
| (champions album)* — “the man on the Clapham omnibus” | ||
| 9 | POTPOURRI | Recalled best serve, right one for various things (9) |
| (top)rev., pour r 1 — pour = serve, as in “pour tea” | ||
| 10 | PLACE | Town, perhaps, left in the grip of progress (5) |
| p(l)ace — pace = progress, verbs | ||
| 11 | ACRE | Account in connection with amount of land (4) |
| ac. re | ||
| 12 | CANNELLONI | Clergyman, one accepting King’s mistress as an exotic dish (10) |
| can(Nell)on 1 — Nell Gwynne (or Gwyn, various spellings so far as I can see), Charles II’s mistress — is cannelloni all that exotic? Perhaps fifty years ago it was, but nowadays? | ||
| 14 | NEWTON | Scientist‘s recent quality falling short (6) |
| new ton{e} | ||
| 16 | MANORIAL | Chap I encountered in examination of nobleman’s land (8) |
| man or(I)al | ||
| 18 | PRATTLER | One chattering should be quiet with snake adjacent (8) |
| p rattler — perhaps the word ‘rattler’ for ‘rattlesnake’ has become widespread enough for the American-ness of it not to be signposted, but it is mainly American according to some of the usual dictionaries | ||
| 19 | JINGLE | Judge recording to be without opening catchy tune (6) |
| j {s}ingle | ||
| 22 | GOLF COURSE | Government absolutely should embrace Liberal links (4,6) |
| g o(L)f course — pedants will say that a links is only a certain type of golf course, but dictionaries don’t necessarily recognise this and so one can’t really complain about the clue | ||
| 23 | DOFF | Remove fellows attending party (4) |
| do f f | ||
| 26 | ANNUL | Cancel plant after one American withdraws (5) |
| annul{US} — the plant is an annulus — no it isn’t: an annulus is a ring, as I always thought it was, but I had hoped it might also be the name for a plant; I can’t see the plant I’m afraid although I’ve hunted through names of plants for ever — perhaps it isn’t the flower type of plant and is an industrial plant or something, but goodness knows, and anyway I haven’t accounted for the ‘one’ — so is it ‘an’ at the beginning? [As it always is, really quite easy: annu{a}l, thanks Sil@1] | ||
| 27 | ACROBATIC | A reptile about to strike – I must be agile (9) |
| a cro(bat I)c | ||
| 28/29 | HOSTILE WITNESS | Enlist who is set to work in support for the opposition? (7,7) |
| (Enlist who is set)* | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1/18 | CAPTAIN PUGWASH | Incompetent pirate may be getting better and ready to encompass end of sea dog on shallow water (7,7) |
| cap [better] t({se}a)in pug [dog] Wash [The Wash, which is shallow] — tin = ready — all rather tortuous and some would say too long a clue (17 words): clues of more than 10 words seem to be rare, and some setters (for example Dean Mayer in The Sunday Times) evidently pride themselves on their brevity and are far shorter | ||
| 2 | ACTOR | Brought up nonsense about performer (5) |
| (rot ca)rev. | ||
| 3 | HOOP | Extra circle in dance – suggestion for the hula? (4) |
| hop with an extra o in it — the hula hoop | ||
| 4 | MERMAN | Former star of American musicals in a main role? (6) |
| A merman is the male counterpart to a mermaid, so this is a CD I think (main = sea), something Phi has rarely — the reference is to Ethel Merman | ||
| 5 | ORIENTAL | Nothing in London and Paris ahead of endless discussion about China? (8) |
| 0 rien [English symbol for nothing (although why just English?), French for nothing] tal{k} — my misgivings about ‘just English’ suggests that perhaps I’ve got it wrong | ||
| 6 | NAPOLEONIC | Onion place – possibly descriptive of France at some time (10) |
| (onion place)* | ||
| 7 | BLAZONING | Heralding British taking on US city planning policy? (9) |
| B LA zoning | ||
| 8/20 | SPECIAL EFFECTS | Electric current, in various places, brings about wonders on screen (7,7) |
| I in *(places) effects [brings about] | ||
| 13 | BOTTICELLI | Artist showing a lot of daring around rocks, taking end of chisel to one (10) |
| bott(ice)l{e} {chise}l 1 | ||
| 15 | WEAKLINGS | Avian features around turbulent lake? They’re not too strong (9) |
| *(lake) in wings | ||
| 17 | REGULATE | Worried after reversal of gun control (8) |
| (luger)rev. ate | ||
| 18 | See 1 | |
| 20 | See 8 | |
| 21 | ESCROW | Key argument in legal document (6) |
| Esc [key] row | ||
| 24 | OUTRE | Unusual for us, absorbing time and energy (5) |
| ou(t)r E | ||
| 25 | ABET | Help half of a group of characters (4) |
| {alph}abet — the characters are letters | ||
That’s funny, I quite liked this puzzle.
Also didn’t find it one at the harder end of Phi.
The plant in 26ac, I assume, is an ANNUAL, from which (only) one of the As has to be removed.
As to what you say at 1/18 (down), my view is that – whatever the length of a clue – every word should be there for a reason.
Many thanks, as always, to blogger and setter.
I liked this too but stumbled somewhat on the great Ethel Merman (had to wind the clock back)
Thanks John and Phi.
A bit gentler than usual for Phi, though BLAZONING isn’t a common word and took some working out. Ethel MERMAN is a blast from the past – she could really belt out a song as I remember.
I liked the NAPOLEONIC surface. We’ll see if there’s a theme.
Thanks to Phi and John
We’re with the previous commenters in liking the puzzle and not finding it terribly difficult – but then we might struggle with another puzzle that others simply whizz through. Chacun à son goût as they say. No theme that we can see unless possibly that ‘The man on the Clapham omnibus’ and ‘Hostile witness’ have legal origins.
Lots to like, including the four perimeter entries.
Thanks, Phi and John
I agree, one of the easier puzzles of the week, I think. As I was printing the puzzle off this morning, I happened to glance at 1/5 and got it immediately, but it was several hours before I had time to sit down and actually do the thing. But then it went in very quickly.