Independent 10,833 / Phi

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Another working week draws to a close with a grid by Phi.

I found this puzzle to be towards the easier end of the Phi spectrum. I made steady progress through the crossword and was eventually left with one unsolved clue at 3, which I needed to search Google to find. I could see how the clue worked, but I wrongly assumed that “height” would be rendered by “h” and not by “ht”.

I haven’t spotted any particular theme here or indeed a Nina.

My favourite clues today were 16D and 23, both for surface; 8, for including both “hackneyed” and “old hat” in the clue; and above all the semi- & lit. at 26.

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across    
     
07 REFRESHEN Perhaps add water to ferns here, wilting

*(FERNS HERE); “wilting” is anagram indicator
     
09 OTHER Different person subject to order, abandoned by British

<br>OTHER (=person subject to order, i.e. monk); “abandoned by British (=BR)” means letters “br” is dropped
     
11 ANY MORE US city enveloped in love for Little Italy in the future

NY (=US city, i.e. New York) in AMORE (=love for Little Italy, i.e. the Italian word for love)
     
12 LIP-SYNC Head off bits of film by Young Conservatives adopting new dubbing technique

<c>LIPS (=bits of film; “head off” means first letter is dropped) + [N (=new) in YC (=Young Conservatives)]
     
13 TANGIBLES Began list laying out these assets?

*(BEGAN LIST); “laying out” is anagram indicator
     
14 STAIR Commotion surrounding American element of flight

A (=American) in STIR (=commotion); the “flight” of the definition is a flight of stairs
     
15 HASTE Restrained but losing head in hurry

<c>HASTE (=restrained, plain, simple); “losing head” means first letter is dropped
     
16 BUS Vehicle not working? Not quite

BUS<t> (=not working, kaput); “not quite” means last letter is dropped
     
17 LIDOS Line is circling party venues for swimming

DO (=party, function) in [L (=line) + IS]
     
18 ROUGH Severe depression doing head in

<t>ROUGH (=depression, low point); “doing head in” means first letter is dropped
     
20 SPACESHIP Setter accommodating pilots aboard special flying machine

[ACES (=pilots, aviators) in PHI (=setter, of this puzzle)] in SP. (=special)
     
23 PRETZEL French ready with enthusiasm to dismiss a German cracker

PRÊT (=French ready, i.e. the French word for ready, prepared) + ZE<a>L (=enthusiasm; “to dismiss a” means letter “a” is dropped)
     
24 ITERATE Learned to ignore first repeat

<l>ITERATE (=learned, educated); “to ignore first” means first letter is dropped
     
25 POSER Increasingly aristocratic, avoiding hard question

POS<h>ER (=increasingly aristocratic); “avoiding hard (=H, as in HB)” means letter “h” is dropped
     
26 SUNBATHER Unusual heat burns – me?

*(HEAT BURNS); “unusual” is anagram indicator
     
Down    
     
01 BREAST French port receiving a quantity of chicken

A in BREST (=French port, in Brittany)
     
02 PEROXIDE Wasting time, I exported nasty bleach

*(I EXPOR<t>ED); “wasting time (=T)” means letter “t” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “nasty”
     
03 SHTETL Fixed line limiting height for Jewish settlement

HT (=height) in [SET (=fixed) + L (=line)]; a shtetl is a Jewish settlement in an East European town or village
     
04 ANALYSIS Obsessive year is involving special research

ANAL (=obsessive, fixated) + {S (=special) in [Y (=year) + IS]}
     
05 COOPTS Elects Conservative – I’m sorry about that ultimately

C (=Conservative) + [<tha>T (“ultimately” means last letter only) in OOPS (=I’m sorry)]
     
06 TRICORNS Unusual stir about hackneyed items, things in the ‘old hat’ category?

CORN (=hackneyed items) in *(STIR); “unusual” is anagram indicator
     
08 FLYING SAUCERS Evidence of an out-of-this-world domestic bust-up?

Cryptic definition: flying saucers suggest crockery being hurled during a domestic, while “out-of-this-world” suggests an extraterrestrial element
     
10 HAYWARDS HEATH Grass needing protection with snug covering in Sussex town

HAY (=grass) + WARD (=protection, care) + SHEATH (=snug covering, for e.g. sword)
     
15 HORNPIPE Corner resident nearly securing spot for dance

PIP (=spot, dot) in HORNE<r> (=corner resident, i.e. Little Jack Horner, in the nursery rhyme; “nearly” means last letter is dropped)
     
16 BASILISK Lizard I left is found in lounge

[I + L (=left) + IS] in BASK (=lounge, relax)
     
17 LIEGEMAN Position King overlooked in a certain European subject

LIE (=position) + GE<r>MAN (=a certain European; “King (=R, i.e. Rex) overlooked” means letter “r” is dropped)
     
19 HAZARD A lot of mist on a road is a concern for drivers

HAZ<e> (=mist; “a lot of” means last letter is dropped) + A + RD (=road, in addresses)
     
21 ALIENS Foreigners giving misinformation in answer

LIE (=misinformation) in ANS (=answer, i.e. abbreviation)
     
22 POETRY Carefully examine including old film as example of literature

[O (=old) + E.T. (=film, by Steven Spielberg)] in PRY (=carefully examine)
     
     

 

12 comments on “Independent 10,833 / Phi”

  1. There’s a faint theme of extraterrestrial travel today with SPACESHIP, FLYING SAUCERS and ALIEN but I can’t see anything else connected – unless the residents of HAYWARDS HEATH are somehow designated OTHER wordly. I loved the way Phi worked his own name into SPACESHIP

    I was surprised to learn that COOPTing can mean electing. I always thought the whole point was that people who were co-opted, say onto a committee or council (as I once was in a Parish Council sense) can bypass the election process. I certainly did. But elect is in the dictionary so it’s the thing I learn today.

    Thanks Phi and RR

  3. I noticed that. It is indeed Phi’s 62 nd birthday today so many happy returns to our setter.

  4. My attempt to do the “nd” as a superscript evidently failed. Anybody know what I should have done? (I typed “sup” inside angled brackets then nd then “/sup” inside angled brackets.)

  5. Yes, today is my 62nd birthday, and also International UFO Day, hence the various things flying around the grid.

  6. Birthday congratulations Phi. International UFO Day – does that mean we’re going to see CEO’s and HRD’s of big companies posting all over social media about their respect for aliens, the need to give aliens a voice, the importance of inclusivity of aliens… Maybe little spaceship logos in rainbow colours?

  7. Another Phi landmark! Happy birthday indeed… I failed to spot it obviously… so thanks Andrew@2… wouldn’t say this was the easiest Phi puzzle I’ve done but the usual enjoyment certainly… had to resort to pen n paper to work a few of them out… BASILISK seemed to be new to me.. but maybe not.. defo SHTETL was.. needed pen, paper, n Google to get that.! Was expecting a hyphen in CO-OPTS… for no particular reason it seems..
    Thanks Phi n RatkojaRiku

  8. We too found this puzzle to be towards the easier end of the Phi spectrum. SHTETL we got from wordplay and crossers and confirmed in Chambers; the rest was straightforward. We liked PRETZEL for ‘ready’ not meaning ‘money’ for once, and HORNPIPE for the ‘corner resident’.
    Thanks, Phi and RatkojaRiku.
    And Happy Birthday, Phi – though a bit belated by now in NZ we guess.

  9. Hippy Burpday, Phi! And who’d thunk the forgettable town I once lived in would get a mention in crossworld! 🙂

  10. And there was me guessing that some iconic UFO sighting had taken place in 1962. Happy Birthday PHI. [Postmark @6 no doubt these will be followed by culture warriors asking what was wrong with a proper National UFO day]

  11. Got a bit stuck in the bottom right corner and it took me ages to get the last few. (But I did know SHTETL, just not how to spell it.)

    Congratulations to Phi on his birthday.

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