Independent 10,845 by Phi

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Phi continues to produce excellent puzzles every week, though with a few awkward definitions.

I enjoyed the four long answers at 11a, 21a, 3d and 6d – three big anagrams and a good cryptic definition. I also laughed at 14d and (for the surface) 20d. Thanks Phi as always.

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

ACROSS
1 ALLOCATES
Fixed a company’s return after everyone gets shares (9)
SET (fixed) + A + CO (company), all reversed (…’s return), after ALL (everyone).
6 DECAF
Unresponsive having swallowed cold coffee (5)
DEAF (unresponsive, as in “deaf to entreaty”), swallowing C (cold).

Short for decaffeinated coffee. Some of us might dispute whether such a thing deserves to be called coffee at all.
9 DOORMAT
Work at arrangement to dismiss fine undervalued worker (7)
DO (work) + [f]ORMAT (arrangement), dismissing the F (fine).

Doormat = someone who doesn’t complain when treated badly, or perhaps just someone who doesn’t demand recognition of how important their work is.
10 LAY BARE
Expose unprofessional lawyers before end of case (3,4)
LAY (non-professional) + BAR (the Bar = lawyers generally) + end letter of [cas]E. Unprofessional generally means not doing one’s job properly, but Chambers also says “not of a profession, or not of the profession in question” which corresponds to “lay”.
11 NO SPRING CHICKEN
Reckons pinching wrinkles – to reveal someone elderly? (2,6,7)
Anagram (wrinkles) of RECKONS PINCHING – a delightfully appropriate anagram indicator.

Phrase meaning “no longer young”, generally an understatement for “getting old”: “I used to dance but I’m no spring chicken these days”.
12 ICENI
Revolting tribesmen turned in after murder (5)
IN reversed (turned), after ICE (as a verb = slang for murder, especially in gangland executions).

Ancient British tribe, led by Boudicca (Boadicea) in a revolt against the Romans.
13 CATCHMENT
Collection at church – male put in a small amount of money (9)
AT + CH (church) + M (male), all put into CENT (a small amount of money).

A rather obscure definition, but I think it’s as in catchment area = the area of land that drains into a river or bay.
15 OUTDOORSY
Enjoying the open air, excel around stables, perhaps, leaving husband (9)
OUTDO (excel) + [h]ORSY (relating to horses = around stables perhaps?) leaving out the H (husband).

Slang term describing someone who enjoys outdoor pursuits.
19 RIOJA
European wine European certainly associated with Spanish river (5)
JA (German for “yes”, so a European word for “certainly”) associated with RIO (Spanish for “river”).

Wine from a region in northern Spain.
21 ANNUS HORRIBILIS
Queen’s sad reflection on insular British, out of time, out of place (5,10)
Anagram (out of place) of ON INSULAR BRI[t]ISH, without the T (time).

Latin phrase meaning “a terrible year”, used by the Queen when reflecting on 1992 (which included marital break-ups for three of her children and a major fire in one of her official residences).
22 PIANIST
Player: one is found in orchestral area (7)
AN (a form of the indefinite article = one) + IS, found in PIT (the area in a theatre where the orchestra sits).
23 BEEF TEA
Complaint by players dismissing latest nourishing drink (4,3)
BEEF (slang for complaint) + TEA[m] (players, dismissing the latest = last letter).

Beef broth, traditionally a drink for invalids.
24 LODGE
Liberal upset, say, with party meeting-place (5)
L (Liberal), then EG (say = for example) + DO (party) all reversed (upset).

Meeting-place for a trade union, Freemasons, etc.
25 PANTYHOSE
Criticise that group of people about variable tights (9)
PAN (criticise) + THOSE (that group of people) around Y (mathematical variable).

Pantyhose = tights = stockings that reach to the waist.
DOWN
1 ANDANTINO
Slow movement, with nation confused (9)
AND (with) + anagram (confused) of NATION.

Musical term meaning “fairly slow”, or a section of music at this pace (slow movement) within a larger work containing faster sections.
2 LOOK-SEE
Free energy engaging Kelvin’s observation (4-3)
LOOSE (free) + E (energy), containing (engaging) K (abbreviation for Kelvin = unit on a temperature scale).

As in “have a look-see” = look at something to see what you can find out.
3 COME RAIN OR SHINE
Going ahead without precipitate assessment? (4,4,2,5)
Cryptic definition: precipitate (more usually precipitation) = rainfall (or snow, hail etc). Phrase meaning “whatever the weather”, or metaphorically “going ahead whatever happens”.
4 TITANIC
Very large bird, a kind without tail (7)
TIT (British garden bird) + A + NIC[e] (kind) without its last letter (tail).
5 SOLICIT
Right to support very good petition (7)
LICIT (legal = right), supporting (after = below in a down clue) SO (very good = an expression of assent).

Petition as a verb = solicit = request.
6 DAYLIGHT ROBBERY
Arrangement of Abbey Road rightly overlooking a ridiculously high cost (8,7)
Anagram (arrangement) of ABBEY RO[a]D RIGHTLY, overlooking one letter A.

Slang term for charging excessively high prices.
7 CRACKLE
Sound of fire? Expert heads for lifesaving equipment (7)
CRACK (expert, as in crack shot = shooting expert) + first letters (heads) of L[ifesaving] E[quipment].

Sound of dry wood splitting in the heat of a fire.
8 FREON
France a long time getting refrigerant (5)
FR (abbreviation for France) + EON (or aeon = a long time).

Name for various fluorocarbon refrigerants, now mostly banned or strictly controlled because of their contribution to global warming.
14 TRANSLATE
Interpret summary of annoying announcement at station I missed (9)
TRA[i]N’S LATE (with the I missed out) could be a summary of an annoying announcement at a railway station.
16 TANKARD
Quantity of liquid – a way to support place for fish (7)
A + RD (abbreviation for road = way), after (below, in a down clue = supporting) TANK (place for fish).

A beer mug, originally wooden, later silver or pewter.
17 ROOFTOP
High part of building frequently involved in unskilled climbing (7)
POOR (unskilled), reversed (climbing = upwards in a down clue), with OFT (variant of often = frequently) inserted (involved).
18 YORUBAN
Solver to prohibit including river from West Africa? (7)
YOU (the solver of this crossword) + BAN (to prohibit), including R (river).

Belonging to the Yoruba people of West Africa or their language – though “Yoruba” also serves as the adjective, with “Yoruban” rather less common.
20 ONLY TOO
Very lucky gent finally occupying working toilet (4,3)
Last letters (finally) of [luck]Y [gen]T, inserted into (occupying) ON (working) + LOO (toilet).

As in “I’d be only too happy to help” = I’d be very happy to help.
21 APPAL
Father knocked over china in shock (5)
PA (father), reversed (knocked over), then PAL (china = friend, from Cockney rhyming slang “china plate” = mate).

Shock, as a verb = appal. For once it doesn’t mean a shock of hair.

11 comments on “Independent 10,845 by Phi”

  2. Great puzzle.. for some reason took a while to get anything… but then progress was rapid n totally enjoyable… I laughed at 14dn also.. not previously aware of Yoruba(n) but just followed orders… more than decent anagrams in 11ac n 6dn, no issues with def for 13ac..
    Thanks Phi n Quirister

  3. Excellent puzzle from a master of anagrams. At 19A, does the first ‘European’ need to be there? Thanks Phi and Quirister.

  4. I greatly enjoyed this. Often with Phi there is something hidden, but I can’t find anything this time. Thanks to Phi and Quirister.

  5. It took us a while to work out ONLY TOO and we hadn’t come across OUTDOORSY before, although it was obviously ‘outdoor_y’ but we soon found it in Chambers and were able to parse it.
    Favourites were NO SPRING CHICKEN and TRANSLATE.
    No theme or nina that we can see – but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.
    Thanks, Phi and Quirister.

  7. Good for Phi. Yet another very entertaining and satisfying crossword. I’m sort of contrasting with yesterday’s. Loved the long anagrams. Also translate and outdoorsy – what a good and necessary word. Thanks to Phi and Quirister

  8. Excellent crossword — ALLOCATES, TITANIC, TRANSLATE (wonderful simplicity), and ROOFTOP were favourites. I thought 19a was one of the more clever cluings of the ubiquitous RIOJA. Thanks to both.

  9. Definition of ANDANTINO from Collins online:
    ” (to be performed) slightly faster, or slightly more slowly, than andante”
    Eh?

    Thanks all

  10. I remember a programme on Radio 3 many years ago talking about the problems with some musical terms. It depended on how good the composers were with Italian. The example they gave was ANDANTINO. Mozart spoke Italian and took it to mean slower than an andante. Tchaikovsky didn’t speak Italian and took it to mean faster than an andante.

  11. DuncT @9, Dormouse @10: yes, it’s confusing. “Andante” is Italian for “at walking pace”, and the “-ino” ending is a diminutive. So does “a little bit at walking pace” mean a fast walk or a slow walk? Any Italian speakers here to clarify?

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