Phi’s puzzle takes us nicely into the Bank Holiday weekend.
I found this to be an enjoyable medium-difficulty puzzle through which I made steady progress. I think that I have parsed everything to my satisfaction. I have sought, but not found, a theme today – perhaps other solvers were more eagle-eyed than myself?
My favourite clues today were 1D, for smoothness of surface; the two semi- & lits. at 8 and 9; and 23, for its whimsical definition part.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | TOUCHED | Asked for money? // Crazy
Double definition: to “touch” someone for money is to cadge money off AND “touched” is crazy, unsound mentally |
| 05 | FOGYISH | Is husband following obscure unknown figure, being out-of-date?
FOG (=obscure, blur) + Y (=unknown figure, in algebra) + IS + H (=husband) |
| 09 | RAT-POISON | Move to a prison – having used this in food?
*(TO A PRISON); “move” is anagram indicator; semi- & lit. |
| 10 | OMAHA | American in House backing a Midwest city
OMAH (AM (=American) in HO (=house) + A; “backing” indicates reversal) |
| 11 | WOOD | Constituent of panelling in Court Department
WOO (=court, pursue, as verb) + D (=department) |
| 12 | PRETENDERS | They imagine a lot of journalists will accept offer
TENDER (=offer, present) in PRES<s> (=journalists; “a lot of” means last letter is dropped) |
| 14 | RIDER | Article dropped by one attacking cavalryman
R<a>IDER (=one attacking); “article (=a) dropped” means letter “a” is dropped |
| 15 | SFORZANDO | Soprano favouring finale of Berlioz and nothing more, using forced notes
S (=soprano) + FOR (=favouring) + <berlio>Z (“finale of” means last letter only) + AND + O (=nothing) |
| 17 | PHNOM PENH | Positive French name is applied to writer in hot, hot Asian city
P (=positive) + {[NOM (=French name, i.e. the French word for name) + PEN (=writer)] in [H (=hot, e.g. on tap) + H (=hot)]} |
| 18 | ROGUE | What makes one blush, showing some change of heart? Behaving badly
ROUGE (=what makes one blush, i.e. make-up); “showing some change of heart” means letters “ug” are switched around; a rogue state behaves badly, flouting international law |
| 19 | ALLARGANDO | Lad ran goal excitedly, slowing to score
*(LAD RAN GOAL); “excitedly” is anagram indicator; “allargando” means “slowing” on a musical score |
| 21 | STEP | Excessive, with no additional energy required to make the pace
STE<e>P (=excessive, of price); “with no additional energy (=E)” means second letter “e” is dropped |
| 24 | TIGHT | Drunk to touch heart after diverting attention
TIG (=to touch, in game) + H<ear>T (“after diverting attention (=ear)” means letters “ear” are dropped) |
| 25 | EXONERATE | River containing single example of vermin – that’s clear
[ONE RAT (=single example of vermin)] in EXE (=river); to exonerate is to “clear” of guilt, blame |
| 26 | RATTLES | Talks idly, ceding power, providing surprises
<p>RATTLES (=talks idly); “ceding power (=P)” means letter “p” is dropped |
| 27 | BURNLEY | Stream and meadow in Lancashire town
BURN (=stream, brook) + LEY (=meadow, lea) |
| Down | ||
| 01 | THROW | First two of theatre seats, say, will do for cast
TH<eatre> (“first two of” means first two letters only) + ROW (=seats, say); to cast is to throw, shy |
| 02 | UNTRODDEN | Running round most of valley, seizing time without ramblers?
T (=time) in [*(ROUND) + DEN<e> (=valley; “most of” means last letter dropped)]; “running” is anagram indicator |
| 03 | HOOD | Criminal’s bad luck, dropping half the rings
HOOD<oo> (=bad luck); “dropping half the rings” means two of four “o”s are dropped; a hood is a hoodlum, a violent criminal |
| 04 | DISTRESSED AREAS | Tries to work with addresses around accepted unemployment black spots
A (=accepted) in *(TRIES + DISTRESSES); “to work” is anagram indicator |
| 05 | FINE-TOOTHED COMB | Penalty also given to the current old doctor providing tool for searchers?
FINE (=penalty) + TOO (=also) + THE + DC (=current, i.e. direct current) + O (=old) + MB (=doctor, i.e. Bachelor of Medicine) |
| 06 | GROUND ZERO | Target of bomb: pulverised zone, with rock sent skywards
GROUND (=pulverised, powdered) + Z (=zone) + ERO (ORE=rock; “sent skywards” indicates vertical reversal) |
| 07 | IMAGE | Picture that is used to bind publication
MAG (=publication, i.e. magazine) in I.E. (=that is) |
| 08 | HEADSTONE | One’s death is represented here
*(ONE’S DEATH); “is represented” is anagram indicator; semi- & lit. |
| 13 | PREMARITAL | Prime altar decorated in time before the wedding
*(PRIME ALTAR); “decorated” is anagram indicator |
| 14 | REPLASTER | Lars and peter working to improve state of wall
*(LARS + PETER); “working” is anagram indicator |
| 16 | NIGHTFALL | Nearby fellow enthralled by remarkable evening
NIGH (=nearby) + [F (=fellow) in TALL (=remarkable, great)] |
| 20 | LIGHT | Trivial insult ignored by son
<s>LIGHT (=insult); “ignored by son (=S)” means letter “s” is dropped |
| 22 | PIETY | It’s a shame about termination of sincere expression of holiness
<sincer>E (“termination of” means last letter only) in PITY (=a shame) |
| 23 | HEIR | That fellow curtailed passion, being subject to will?
HE (=that fellow) + IR<e> (=passion; “curtailed” means last letter is dropped) |
Enjoyed this even more than I normally do for a Phi. Favourites include: RAT-POISON, EXONERATE & HEADSTONE. Thanks to Phi and RatkojaRiku.
I’m certain they are not, but Phi’s puzzles always seem effortless. Carefully constructed, good surface readings, interesting range of subject matter. And every Friday.
The clever clue as definition for HEADSTONE was my favourite this morning. Theme? You’re asking the wrong person.
Thanks to S&B and good weekend to all.
KD @ 2, I often find Phi’s offerings a struggle, but not this one, completed over a coffee-break. I can’t see ‘decorated’ as an anagrind though – ‘redecorated’ maybe. Thanks Phi and RatkojaRiku.
Very enjoyable, and did it in one sitting, which is rare for me (the torrential weather probably helped, reducing other options). Couldn’t parse 6d, fixated on pulverised being an anagram indicator, so thanks for that.
Of course I meant, Tatrasman, that his puzzles seem effortlessly constructed, not that it takes no effort to solve them – Phi is usually at the middle to top end of what I would find ‘difficult’, so I always look forward to the Friday challenge.
I found this unusually easy for a Phi, so no doubt I’m missing something. I liked Headstone as a very neat construct.
RR I think you’ve a typo in the explanation of 4D, it should read ‘addresses’, not ‘distresses’.
Thanks to setter and blogger.
Thanks for the explanation of 1a, 24a and 6d. The three I couldn’t parse. Two of which I couldn’t TOUCH. Didn’t know touch for asking for money, and completely missed TIG.
I also particularly like HEADSTONE, and being a pretty recent devotee of cryptics I hadn’t seen it before.
Many thanks to RR and Phi for this morning’s entertainment.
I too enjoyed HEADSTONE but wasn’t keen on the inclusin of two, to me obscure, musical terms.
There are so many of these – often more than one with very similar meanings – such that anyone outside the classical world (i.e. most people) would just have to look them up which is surely not the aim.
Thanks to Phi and RR
We found this very much at the easier end of the Phi spectrum and finished quite quickly. It helped that we knew the musical terms, although we did have to check their spelling; we also had to check the spelling of PHNOM PENH.
We also liked the &lit-ishness of 8dn and 9ac; we thought 15ac was a wee bit &lit-ish as well.
No theme that we could detect, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.
Thanks, Phi and RatkojaRiku
This was the last of my run of Dickens puzzles as I reread the novels last year: in Our Mutual Friend there is the rather tragic quartet of ROGUE RIDERHOOD, Bradley HEADSTONE, Mortimer LIGHTWOOD and the less helpfully naked Eugene Wrayburn (who sort of squeezed into BURNley). No, I didn’t go on to Drood.
Of course, I often encounter references to sport or pop music or minor British politicians in crosswords which mean nothing to me. And often I cannot work out where to look them up, so in goes a vaguely outlined letter with a prayer that it’s the name of someone in UKIP or the left-back for Tranmere Rovers (or both).
What the Dickens?! Totally missed the references…but then, if I read the book in question I have long forgotten it to my shame. I rather think Phi is quite happy just to work such references in for his own pleasure and mischief sometimes – if we get ‘em, fine, if not, a smile. And that is more than OK with me. A tasty and elegantly constructed crossword. To my further shame, though I played tig with enthusiasm many decades ago, I could not quite parse 24ac.
Thanks, as ever, to Phi – and to RatkojaRiku
And, sympathising wholly with Phi’s ignorance of UK trivia (whether I know it or not) I’m all for being challenged to find ‘obscure’ terms in his crosswords – as today, they are so clearly clued, so I solve, search and learn with a sense of satisfaction.
Oops – ‘less helpfully naked’ is an unusual assessment of a Dickens plot, arising from one finger typing on an iPad. That should be ‘named’ of course.