Independent 10,701 by Phi

by

Our regular Phi-day challenge to keep our brains in practice.

There are a few classic crossword tricks here, and a lot of drop-one-letter wordplays, but still a good range of clue constructions – some of them quite involved. I particularly liked 12a and 4d (the surfaces are related to the definitions but still manage to mislead), 6d (a somewhat obscure word but a helpful wordplay), and 15a because the surface reminds us of our wonderful NHS. Thanks Phi as always.

UPDATE: There’s a theme, as pointed out by Andrew in comments 2 and 3 – thanks Andrew for this.

Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.

ACROSS
1 SPIRIT
Courage? Makes an error about one retreating (6)
TRIPS (makes an error), containing (about) I (one in Roman numerals), all reversed (retreating).
5 SEASON
The main section’s working for run of performances (6)
SEA’S (the main’s) + ON (working).
8 MAELSTROM
Realm most disordered? (9)
Anagram (disordered) of REALM MOST.

Clue-as-definition: maelstrom = a whirlpool, or (metaphorically) a violently confused situation.
9 CYNIC
Military leader around US city backing sceptical commentator (5)
CIC (commander-in-chief = military leader), around NY (New York = US city) reversed (backing).
11 CARRY-ON
Wage fuss (5-2)
Double definition: as in to wage a campaign = carry on an attack, or as in “what a carry-on!” = what a fuss.
12 NEUTRON
Particle new to Planck, and not recalled after brief time (7)
NEU (German for new, so “new” to the German physicist Max Planck) + T (time, briefly), then NOR (and not) reversed (recalled).

Sub-atomic particle with a neutral charge.
13 OUT AT HEEL
Dismissed article in meadow that’s turned shabby (3,2,4)
OUT (dismissed, in cricket), then THE (definite article) in LEA (meadow) reversed (turned).

I’m more familiar with the phrase “down at heel” = worn and shabby (the image is from an old shoe with the heel worn down), but “out at heel” or “out at the heel” means the same thing (from a sock or shoe with a hole worn through the heel).
15 RUCHE
Hospital involved in remarkable cure gets decoration (5)
H (hospital) in an anagram (remarkable) of CURE. A timely surface: I think all our hospitals are involved in remarkable cures at the moment, and deserve all the decorations (awards) they get.

Ruche, in sewing = a gathered section of fabric, perhaps a decorative frill.
17 LASER
Beam when admitted by the French Queen (5)
AS (when), inserted into (admitted by) LE (French “the”) + R (Regina = the Queen).
18 HEAD START
Trouble about Director and lead actor making early beginning (4,5)
HEAT (trouble), around D (director) + STAR (lead actor).
20 GLACIAL
Good lines about active spies being very reserved (7)
G (good) + LL (lines), around A (abbreviation for active, in government / law enforcement / science contexts) + CIA (the US Central Intelligence Agency = spies).

Glacial = showing no emotion = very reserved.
22 RIGHT-HO
Set up H2O around rear of chalet? Absolutely (5-2)
RIG (as a verb = set up), then HHO (H twice, then O) around the last letter (rear) of [chale]T.

Right-ho = absolutely = an expression of agreement.
24 DUBAI
Name given to excellent city (5)
DUB (name, as a verb = to assign a name to someone or something) + AI (A1 = excellent).
25 CANDLEMAS
Arranged slam-dance festival (9)
Anagram (arranged) of SLAM-DANCE (yes, it’s a thing – also called moshing).

Christian festival celebrated on 2 February; in some cultures it involves dancing, but slam-dancing seems unlikely.
26 FEUDAL
Like a social structure expected to return in autumn? Not entirely (6)
DUE (expected), reversed (to return), in FAL[l] (autumn; not entirely = last letter dropped).

Relating to the social structure characteristic of mediaeval Europe.
27 MATING
Finishing game, ready to get engrossed in periodical (6)
TIN (ready = slang terms for money, the latter from ready cash), inserted into (engrossed in) MAG (short for magazine = periodical).

Mate, as a verb = checkmate = to finish a game of chess.
DOWN
2 PLEURITIS
Abandonment of rule in mine is producing chest disease (9)
Anagram (abandonment = disorder) of RULE, inserted into PIT (mine) + IS.

Also known as pleurisy: inflammation around the lungs.
3 RUSTY
Incompletely operate part of farm being out of practice (5)
RU[n] (operate; incompletely = last letter dropped) + STY (pigsty = part of a farm).
4 TERENCE
Roman playwright in time before on one occasion expressing love (7)
T (time) + ERE (before) + [o]NCE (on one occasion), without the O (zero = love in tennis scoring); expressing = expelling = throwing out.

Roman playwright, otherwise known as Terentius. Extended definition: his plays involve lovers with parental disapproval, love triangles, long-lost relatives, and the ensuing comic confusion. Shakespeare seems to have learned a thing or two from him.
5 SEMINAL
The French city near Montpellier, turning influential (7)
LA (French “the”; we had the masculine form in 17a, so here’s the feminine form instead) + NIMES (Nîmes, city in southern France, around 30 miles from Montpellier), all reversed (turning).
6 ACCOUTRES
Provides kit for a cricket club, English, during various tours (9)
A + CC (abbreviation for cricket club, as in MCC), then E (English) in (during) an anagram (various) of TOURS.

Accoutre = to provide with equipment or clothing; probably more common in the noun form “accoutrements” = equipment.
7 OWNER
One has a bad experience with daughter leaving (5)
[d]OWNER (a bad experience; something that “gets you down”), without the D (daughter).
8 MUCH OBLIGED
Crowd surrounding university church told stories about finally giving thanks (4,7)
MOB (crowd) around U (university) + CH (church); then LIED (told stories) around the last letter (finally) of [givin]G. That took a bit of working out.

Much obliged = short for “I’m much obliged to you” = an expression of gratitude.
10 CONTENTIOUS
Disputed promissory note stuck into early section of book? (11)
IOU (promissory note = a note that “I owe you” a certain sum) inserted into CONTENTS (a summary usually placed at the start of a book).
14 TERRIFIED
Mistake if kept in bound and frightened (9)
ERR (mistake, as a verb) + IF, inserted into TIED (bound).
16 CRAFTSMAN
Endless sequence of ridiculous events held up navigator lacking a skilled worker (9)
FARC[e] (sequence of ridiculous events; endless = last letter removed), reversed (held up = upwards in a down clue), then T[a]SMAN (navigator = the seafarer and explorer after whom Tasmania is named) lacking the letter A.
18 HELICAL
Accepting defeat, mostly recover, taking devious course? (7)
HEAL (recover), containing (accepting) LIC[k] (slang for defeat; mostly = last letter dropped).

Helical = in a cylindrical coil; “devious” in the sense of not straight, but it’s a loose definition, hence the question mark.
19 ACRONYM
A rumour about ready money getting 17? (7)
This one’s a bit tricky. I think it’s A CRY (a rumour) around ON (ready, in the sense of a machine switched on and ready for operation), then M (abbreviation for money); but on = ready seems a bit of a stretch to me.

Definition by example: 17a is LASER, an example of an acronym = a name formed from the initial components of the words in a longer phrase. (In this case: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.)
21 AMBLE
Chance to forgo start of gruelling walk (5)
[g]AMBLE (chance), without the G which is the initial letter of G[ruelling].
23 GILET
“Boring thing” (dismissing male jacket) (5)
GI[m]LET (a tool for boring holes = a boring thing), without the M (male).

A sleeveless jacket, typically quilted or made of fleece for warmth.

11 comments on “Independent 10,701 by Phi”

  1. That SE corner again – my Achilles’ heel. Talking of which, I didn’t know ‘out at heel’, like Quirister being more familiar with the ‘down’ variety, but useful to know. Phi usually has a theme, sometimes known only to him, but nothing springs forth to me. Perhaps Phi will drop by to enlighten us. Thanks to him and Quirister.

  3. More specifically, book titles – the ones I can see are:
    Jeeves and the FEUDAL SPIRIT
    The MATING SEASON
    CARRY ON Jeeves
    RIGHT HO Jeeves
    MUCH OBLIGED, Jeeves

  4. Thanks to Phi for the Friday morning entertainment, and to Quirister for blogging.

    We were also unfamiliar with “OUT AT HEEL”, and I needed my co-solver to tell me about TERENCE.

    Congrats to Andrew @2 for spotting the theme, which had eluded us. As is often the case, I wondered what other entries might be thematic in a parallel universe, and what Jeeves would think of Bertie visiting DUBAI, or wearing a GILET.

  5. Thanks Andrew for enlightening us on the theme. I did vaguely think that both 22a and 8d were somewhat old-fashioned Wooster-ish sort of phrases, but I’m not familiar enough with these stories to have spotted the titles.

  6. enjoyed this altho… I failed to spot, or indeed look for, a theme.. nice cluing all over the place… perhaps my faourites today were 17ac, 17dn, 23dn… on the other hand totally misdirected by 19dn.. in the end thats all it could be pretty much..
    Thanks Phi n Quirister

  8. Thanks both. All very clever, and enjoyable, with an additional uncertainty over the the strength of cry meaning rumour in 19 added to the already raised query that ‘on’ equates to ‘ready’ unless in the context “I am on for Saturday”? No doubt someone of clearer thinking will come to the rescue.

  9. A fairly straightforward solve, although it took a while for the penny to drop for ACRONYM (were we took ‘ready’ = ‘on’ in the sense TFO suggests), and we weren’t familiar with OUT AT HEEL. Nice of Phi to work in CANDLEMAS as that’s next Tuesday.
    Thanks, Phi and Quirister.

  11. Thanks to Phi and Quirister. I had to come here to parse ACRONYM. I should look up where the phrase “hue and cry” comes from.

Comments are closed.