Phi is back in his usual Friday role after brief excursions to Saturday and Tuesday. I thought this was probably about right for a Friday: in other words, not easy.
There are a few fairly obscure references, some complicated constructions, and one rather dubious indicator (though the intended meaning is obvious enough). The two long double-word entries took some working out (and Phi would probably say the same about constructing them), but I also thought some of the three-letter ones were surprisingly tricky. Thanks Phi for the challenge.
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | CREEL |
Basket case’s beginning to feel senses wobble (5)
|
| Beginning letter of C[ase] + REEL (to feel one’s senses wobble).
A fisherman’s basket. |
||
| 4 | MUNDANELY |
Adaptation of Dune left many without excitement (9)
|
| Anagram (adaptation) of DUNE + L (left) + MANY. The surface refers to a 1965 science-fiction novel by Frank Herbert which has had many adaptations, and I gather one more is on the way. | ||
| 9 | LAERTES |
Scenery material recalled character in Hamlet (7)
|
| SET (stage scenery) + REAL (material, as an adjective = actual or significant), all reversed. | ||
| 10 | UNBLOCK |
No ball carried by university rugby forward, that’s clear (7)
|
| NB (cricket scoring abbreviation for “no ball” = a fault in bowling), contained in (carried by) U (university) + LOCK (a forward player in rugby).
Clear, as a verb = remove obstructions = unblock. |
||
| 11 | SIN |
Wrong indicator? Not good (3)
|
| SI[g]N (indicator), without the G (good). | ||
| 12/22 | SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION |
Museum to fashion youngster – Scots boy – with instant education I promoted (11,11)
|
| SMITH (as in blacksmith: usually a noun, but can also be a verb meaning “to fashion” as a smith would) + SON (youngster) + IAN (Scots boy’s name) + INST (short for instant, meaning “this month” in formal letters) + TUITION with the first I moved to the start (promoted). Phew, that was hard.
United States group of museums and research centres. Or centers, as they would have it. |
||
| 14 | IRONCLAD |
Absolutely guaranteed college boy can join club (8)
|
| C (abbreviation for college) + LAD (boy), added to (can join) IRON (a type of golf club). | ||
| 16 | DISARM |
Lot of team taken aback, with member put on the back foot (6)
|
| SID[e] (team; lot of = all but the last letter), reversed (taken aback), then ARM (limb = member).
Disarm = put (someone) at a disadvantage = put on the back foot. |
||
| 19 | LINING |
Adding warmth to connection lacking heart (6)
|
| LIN[k]ING (connection), with the middle letter (heart) lacking.
As in lining a garment with fleece to provide warmth – though linings can have other purposes. |
||
| 20 | BALLETIC |
Live movement capturing a couple of lines related to dance (8)
|
| BE (live, as a verb) + TIC (an involuntary movement), containing (capturing) A + LL (a couple of lines). | ||
| 22 |
See 12
|
|
| 24 | ERA |
What follows a do, back in time (3)
|
| A RE (re = the second note of the sol-fa musical scale, do-re-mi = what follows a do), reversed (back). | ||
| 25 | CAPTAIN |
Better money required to secure a team leader (7)
|
| CAP (as a verb = better = surpass) + TIN (slang for money), containing (to secure) A. | ||
| 27 | BUGATTI |
Italian car designer upset at odd bits of trim (7)
|
| BUG (upset = annoy) + AT + odd-numbered letters of T[r]I[m]. | ||
| 28 | READY-MADE |
Prepared in advance to study old article about crackpot (5-4)
|
| READ (to study, especially to study a subject at university), then YE (old form of “the”, the definite article, with the usual disclaimer that it’s not Y but the archaic letter thorn = th) around MAD (crackpot). | ||
| 29 | LOCUS |
Endless source of devastation in place (5)
|
| LOCUS[t] (an insect that causes devastation when it arrives in swarms), without the last letter (endless).
The place where something happened, or the area with which something is associated. |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1/17 | CELESTIAL MECHANICS |
Bodies in motion in lively callisthenics came with added energy (9,9)
|
| Anagram (lively) of CALLISTHENICS CAME with an added E (energy).
The branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of objects in outer space. |
||
| 2 | EXEUNT OMNES |
None mute sex when active? Everyone clear off (6,5)
|
| Anagram (when active) of NONE MUTE SEX.
Stage direction, Latin for “all leave” = everyone goes off stage. |
||
| 3 | LOTUS |
See spades perhaps I dropped after turning over flower (5)
|
| LO (lo! = see!), then SU[i]T (as in playing cards = spades perhaps) with the I dropped, reversed (turning over). | ||
| 4 | MYSTICAL |
My staff reduced almost everything – that’s obscure (8)
|
| MY +STIC[k] (staff = walking stick; reduced = last letter dropped) + AL[l] (everything; almost = last letter dropped). | ||
| 5 | NOUGHT |
Restraining expression of disgust is not nothing (6)
|
| NOT, containing (restraining) UGH (an expression of disgust). | ||
| 6 | AMBROSIAL |
Amended moral bias is delectable (9)
|
| Anagram (amended) of MORAL BIAS.
Ambrosia = the food or drink of the gods in Greek myth, hence the extended meaning “something delicious”. |
||
| 7 | EGO |
European with energy and self-confidence (3)
|
| E (abbreviation for European) + GO (slang for energy = vigour). | ||
| 8 | YUKON |
Large part of Canada that may accommodate European country (5)
|
| YON (archaic word for “that” as opposed to “this”), accommodating UK (which is still geographically a European country, despite the political separation). | ||
| 13 | INAUTHENTIC |
Fake misattributed in the auction, not old (11)
|
| Anagram (misattributed? It means “associated with the wrong author”, but I don’t think it means “mixed up”) of IN THE AUCTI[o]N, without the O (old). | ||
| 15 | CANDIDACY |
Frank and Bill with yen for standing for office (9)
|
| CANDID (frank = honest) + AC (abbreviation for account = bill) + Y (abbreviation for yen = Japanese currency). | ||
| 17 |
See 1
|
|
| 18 | VARIABLE |
Algebraic quantity that may work to contain two bits of arithmetic (8)
|
| VIABLE (that may work), containing the first two letters (two bits) of AR[ithmetic]. | ||
| 21 | DUENNA |
Appointed grandma to dismiss a chaperone (6)
|
| DUE (appointed, as in “in due time” = at the appointed time) + N[a]NA (grandma) with the first A dismissed. | ||
| 22 | INCUR |
Be charged in court, wasting time, nothing less (5)
|
| IN C[o]UR[t], throwing away (wasting) the T (time), and without (less) the O (zero = nothing).
As in “incur a fee”. |
||
| 23 | NIGEL |
Conan Doyle hero – name set to enthral one (5)
|
| N (name) + GEL (as a verb = set = become a jelly), containing (to enthral) I (one in Roman numerals).
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a number of historical novels including Sir Nigel, when he wasn’t writing about Sherlock Holmes. |
||
| 26 | PEA |
Small amount of coal? It’s a lot of fuel (3)
|
| PEA[t] (historically used as fuel; a lot of = all but the last letter).
Pea coal = coal in very small pieces. Perhaps a bit obscure: Chambers doesn’t recognise it, and Collins says it’s an American term, though I think Phi doesn’t always indicate American usage. |
That meaning for PEA was unknown to me but it is in my Chambers (app) under definition 3.
As so often with Phi, there are hints at a theme or two but insufficient to build a case. We have CELESTIAL, MYSTICAL and AMBROSIAL (maybe there’s a spiritualist convention happening in NZ?). and the SMITHSONIAN certainly has a BUGATTI and a LOTUS – both of which probably require MECHANICS. Tantalising … but no cigar.
PEA coal is – specifically – “a size of anthracite that will pass through a ¹³???-inch (20.6-millimeter) round mesh but not through a ????-inch (14.3-millimeter) round mesh.”
IRONCLAD appears for the third time this May! Lots to like for me and no real complaints (maybe a minor quiblet about equating self-confidence with EGO though the link is probably strong enough.) I really liked BALLETIC but am going to nominate the delightful and witty ERA as my COTD.
Thanks Phi and Quirister
Ah – fractions didn’t work – between 13/16ths and 9/16ths inch.
just love an anagram so thoroughly enjoyed this … starting with the sublime 1/17dn!! got better and better with the ginormous museum, some latin (altho I tried to fit DOMUS in… ) before actually sorting the letters… and even a tad of Shakespeare thrown in… mild misdirection for BUGATTI, as the company is French … what’s not to like…
thanks Phi n Quirister
just a thought.. about anagram indicators… they used to annoy me as it seems any word can be recruited… eg”poor” or “poorly”, “roughly”, “compound”.. if it implies something not right? as such “misattributed” would seem to fit as well as anything else..? .. I’ve learned to live with it… well mostly…
Nice to be back in a normal Phiday!
I am puzzled by the end of the first line of the blog: “about right for a Friday: in other words, not easy.”
Surely Phi is the easiest of the Indie setters, and I have assumed it was an editorial choice to end the week with gentle solves (cf. the Grauniad, who start the week gently instead). I am not complaining, mind you. I always enjoy Phi’s puzzles, as I did today, which was never the case with Rufus in the other place, but they never take more than about 10 minutes to slot in.
Thanks, Phi and Quirister
@7
There are easier Indy setters in my experience. Knut and Klingsor usually take me less time than Phi, and there are others. The Indy generally publishes Phi’s easier ones though, I would say. He has a broad range, including advanced cryptics (Inquisitor etc) far harder than any weekday Indy puzzles.
I agree with Herb @8, there are other Indie setters ‘easier’ than Phi on Friday – most Sunday and Monday crosswords seem to fit the bill and Tees, for instance, yesterday, but by no means usually! Actually, if I ever get to be completing cryptics in 10 minutes I’ll probably just stop doing them: not enough pleasure to work ratio and hardly worth making a cup of coffee for! Not likely, though, so that’s ok ?
Enjoyed this very much, especially the long anagrams and, with PostMark @3, clue of the day was ERA. Classic. Thanks to Phi and Quirister.
Whether one finds a particular setter – or even a specific puzzle – easy or hard often depends on being on the setter’s wavelength. We find it easier to get on some setters’ wavelengths than others, but it can vary between puzzles from the same setter.
We found this one to be of medium difficulty, with one or two write-ins, such as CREEL and others which took some time, such as unscrambling the anagram for CELESTIAL MECHANICS or parsing SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. A satisfying solve, though.
And thinking about ‘hints at a theme or two but insufficient to build a case’ – expressions of disgust, anyone? ‘Ugh’ in NOUGHT and ‘yuk’ in YUKON? Maybe not.
Thanks, Phi and Quirister.
I vaguely remember a ventriloquist act with the catchphrase “for you deeficult, for me easy”, which might suit some who post here, but sadly not me, rather the inverse. CANDIDACY was my favourite for the neat surface. I suppose anything could appear in a museum somewhere. I’ve seen the IRONCLAD in Portsmouth and many a CREEL in folk museums. Still no cigar though.
I am unable to comment on any variation in difficulty in my puzzles since there is no deliberation on my part beyond the occasional decision to exclude anagrams. No theme here – I built the grid around the two long phrases.
We had pea-coal in the north-east of England when I was growing up and there are stockists within a few kilometres of me here in New Zealand now, so I am not sure where the idea of it being North American comes from.
Phi @12: thanks for dropping in. I think “pea-coal” is a very good name for it, just not one I’d heard of – despite growing up in a coal-producing region (South Wales). For some reason the Collins dictionary online says it’s an American usage; that may just be wrong.
Just for the record, since Rufus has been mentioned, I always did enjoy his puzzles. Partly because it was refreshing (and an ego boost) to do a puzzle that took minutes rather than the hours I’d spent on the Listener at the weekend, but also because Rufus puzzles were great fun. The current Monday slot Guardian crosswords are decent enough but for me have little of the sparkle that Roger Squires consistently brought to his puzzles in his long and distinguished career.
I’d put Phi at medium difficulty – you have to think about his clues but once you get the answer it’s obvious, because he is always scrupulously fair.
[@14
I agree about Rufus, an excellent, intelligent and imaginative setter. He was so influential that I believe 3 books on crosswords have been published using Rufus clues as titles. There was latterly an anti-Rufus camp too, of course. As they seemed to spend half their time complaining that the clues were too easy and the other half saying they couldn’t understand them, I was not persuaded.]