It’s Phi-day again!
We rattled through this rather more quickly than is usual for a Phi, although we had to check one or two synonyms on the way – ‘sum’ in 19ac and the ‘incapacitating’ aspect of the plant at 25d.
As it is a Phi, we thought we had better see if we could uncover a theme – this is more often than not a fruitless task for us (and sometimes there is no theme!). But on this occasion the brain cells somehow dragged out memories of one of our favourite radio programmes from the 1960s. ‘Round the Horne’ (and before it ‘Beyond Our Ken’) was a ground-breaking comedy programme featuring Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Betty Marsden, Douglas Smith and Hugh Paddock written by Barry Took, Marty Feldman and Mat Coward which incurred the wrath of Mary Whitehouse and others.
Five of the characters from the programme are featured in the grid – the camp 4d and 29ac, 19ac/8d – a spoof of Eamonn Andrews, 25d/18d – a far-eastern concubine of the Bond-type villain Chou En Ginsberg, and last but not least, 17d Syd Rumpo – an itinerant folk singer. Not surprisingly, J Peasmold Gruntfuttock seems to be missing!
Thanks to Phi for bringing back memories of listening to the show on the Light Programme (along with ‘Two Way Family Favourites’, ‘The Navy Lark’, ‘The Clitheroe Kid’ etc) over Sunday lunch.
CARB (source of energy) round or ‘including’ O (nothing)
JA (German for ‘yes’ – agreement) round or ‘importing’ A CAR (vehicle) AND
N (note) SNAg (problem) without the last letter or ‘endless’ in URL (web address)
M (male) OTT (over the top – ‘excessively enthusiastic’) LED (took first place)
TART (caustic) round O (love) + CARD (humorist)
L (line) IN GO (game)
Double definition
BAD (evil) round or ‘snaffling’ LANCE (weapon)
BE (live) + an anagram (‘broadcast’) of MEANT round or ‘including’ J (judge). We usually go out of our way when we are at St Pancras to pat the statue of Sir John Betjeman on the stomach! One of our favourite poets.
SEA (the main) + SUM (chief points) reversed or ‘backed’
OR (operational research) BIT (took effect)
B (book) RANT (tirade) round ILL (bad) I (one)
IS round or ‘carrying’ A RUM (weird) A (article) all reversed or ‘around’
LICE (pests) round or ‘restricting’ AT and T (US telecom company)
MOO (low) + L (luminance) in NIGHT (the dark)
S AND Y (first and last letters or ‘periphery’ of Sicily)
Double definition
RESENT (be unhappy) round URGe (desire) without the last letter or ‘a reduction’
B (British) LAST (‘getting ‘nul points” – as in the Eurovision Song Contest)
JUL I (1st July – start of second half of year) + A N (new)
COME (arrive) DIN (uproar) round A
E-TAILER (online shop) reversed or ‘uplifted’ round TA (sign of gratitude)
N (last or ‘ultimate’ letter of protein) and an anagram (‘fake’) of ONLY
AND (with) ROD (staff) round or ‘keeping engaged’ I (one)
A L (learner – ‘student’) after or ‘supporting’ (in a down clue) E (English) LECTOR (college reader)
COP (policeman) AN ION (item of charge) round or ‘arresting’ M (male)
RAM (male) BLING (jewellery)
MOB (crowd) reversed or ‘upset’ round LOSS (defeat)
SAY (for one, as in ‘for example’) round TIE (secure) T (last letter or ‘end’ of feast)
MILL (recipient of corn) ET (‘and’ in French)
MB (doctor) in BIO (prefix signifying ‘life’)
L (left) pOTUS (President of the United States – ‘Biden’) without the ‘p’ (power). We had only been aware of the lotus water lily, but apparently according to Greek myth, there was a Lotus tree, the fruit of which induced a state of blissful indolence and forgetfulness in anyone who ate it.
Thanks, Phi and B&J
Liked MOONLIGHT.
‘Round the Horne’ is somewhat before my time – but a bit of judicious Googling did lead me to the Wikipedia entry. I think it was the Julian/Sandy/Seamus combo that did the trick. Cleverly done although I had no chance of spotting the theme as I went along. (That said, JULIAN and COMEDIAN were second and fourth solutions so, with Clary in mind, I did have the theme antennae even more tuned than usual for a Phi.)
JACARANDA was a pleasure to assemble, MILLET beautifully succinct, the definition element of ELECTORAL was delightfully precise and – whilst I consider POTUS to be one of the most ridiculous acronyms to be taken so seriously across the Atlantic – I did enjoy the allusions. Blissfully indolent and forgetful – Joe Biden?
SANDY and the aforementioned JULIAN share top billing for the devices employed. But it was a DNF! I do the puzzle online and had a completed grid but the timer kept going so there was a mistake somewhere. I couldn’t spot it and lost patience in the end and pressed Solve at which point I realised I had a half-unparsed MOODLIGHT instead of MOONLIGHT. Bah!
Thanks Phi and B&J
Six characters, actually…keep looking.
Round the Horne is just before my time too, but I have accumulated lots of recordings of it. In the 90s, I attended a theatrical presentation of two of the scripts which was the most consistently hilarious night I have had – laughing so hard at one joke that you missed the next three. It was carried by a supreme Kenneth Williams mimic, with an urbane ‘Kenneth Horne’ not so far behind. The puzzle itself arose from my finding a collection of scripts at a local book sale, complete with a dramatis personae.
Before my time too, so right up my street. I wouldn’t have spotted Lady COUNTERBLAST without the extra nudge from Phi. Thanks all round (the Horne).
“Whats the matter Horne?”
“Its a great big mountain in Switzerland”
Oh yes I remember it well
Phi @3: Paul, Valmai has the entire RTH series on BBC CDs. For both our families it (and before that Beyond Our Ken) was the regular accompaniment to Sunday dinners (ie, what are now referred to as lunches). Unlike almost any other old comedy it’s hardly dated at all.
The story goes that every week the BBC’s censors were instructed to show the script to Sir Hugh Greene (DG at the time). Every week he read though it completely straight-faced, and handed it back with the comment “I see nothing to object to in this.” I like to think that as soon as he was alone in his office he collapsed in giggles.
All the best to Margie and the cats
Meic
No hope of getting the theme as nho – I’m far too young 🙂 ,but as always with ‘themeister’ Phi that’s no barrier to solving. I rembered the land of the Lotus Eaters from Homer’s Odyssey, so although I agree with PM about the absurdity of the acronym, that was my favourite clue.
Thanks Phi and B&J.
Knew nothing of RtH except the title and that Kenneth Williams was in it but, as Blah says, that didn’t get in the way of enjoying another fine crossword from Phi. Thanks also to B&J
Spotted Julian and Sandy early on, but RAMBLING was the only one it helped with. I, too, remember those Sunday dinners with radio comedy, some good some terrible. Let’s not have a Billy Cotton themed puzzle any time soon though. MOONLIGHT was my favourite.
Totally missed the theme. I’m not quite too young to have heard Round the Horne, but I probably wouldn’t have got most of the jokes in the sixties. Although I do remember at university in the early seventies hearing a Rambling Sid Rumpo LP. I saw at least two of the stage shows when they came to Guildford and then discovered the whole series was being repeated on Radio 4 extra about ten years ago.
Must restrain myself from listing my favourite jokes.
Missed the theme (before my time but have heard clips of the camp couple – hilarious). Excellent puzzle. Fell a couple shy of an unaided finish but enjoyed it.
Thanks