Independent 11018 / Phi

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It’s Friday, so not surprisingly, the Independent puzzle is set by Phi

 

 

 

I liked the surfaces of the clues for RADICALISM (11 across) because of its relevance to the entry, and NEWS (21 across) because of the quirky picture it painted.  I doubt if the Independent would run a headline like ‘Bridige team eaten by opponents’ but I can think of a couple of newspapers that could well preint such a headline.

I’m a bit unsure of the use of the word METER in the wordplay for PARAMETER at 6 down.  I’m not sure I would use any kind of METER to measure length, even if the American spelling of METRE is a length. An ODOMETER and a PEDOMETER measure distance, but is distance the same as length?    No doubt someone will comment and highlight a METER that does measure length.

I also have slight doubts about SPEED (at 22 down) as a synonym for POWER, but I suppose there is a strong link between the two words.

No Detail
Across  
1

Instrument brought by tenor and bass on entering European city (8) 

TROMBONE (musical instrument)

T (tenor) + ([B {bass} + ON] contained in [entering] ROME [European city])

T ROM (B ON) E
6

Physiologist father, very affectionate? Not half (6)

PAVLOV (reference Ivan PAVLOV [1849 – 1936], Russian physiologist)

PA (father) + V (very) + LOVING (affectionate) excluding the second three letters (not half) ING

PA V LOV
9

Birds, a source of inspiration, appearing tail first (4) 

EMUS (flightless, fast-running Australian birds)

MUSE (source of artistic inspiration) with the E (last letter [tail]) moving to the front (first) to form EMUS

EMUS
10

Fuel active in the cart, pumped (10) 

ANTHRACITE (hard lustrous coal that burns nearly without flame or smoke, consisting almost entirely of carbon; fuel)

Anagram of (pumped) A (active) and IN THE CART

or A (active) + an anagram of (pumped) IN THE CART

ANTHRACITE* or A NTHRACITE*
11

Republican claims aid misdirected in reforming spirit (10) 

RADICALISM (reforming spirit)

R (Republican) + an anagram of (misdirected) CLAIMS AID

R ADICALISM*
12

King’s dismissing good material (4)

REAL (actually existing [material])

REGAL (king’s) excluding (dismissing) G (good)

REAL
13

Indifferent doctor keeping one sitting in pool (8) 

MEDIOCRE (middling or average in quality; indifferent)

(DOC [doctor] containing [keeping] I [Roman numeral for one]) all contained in (sitting in) MERE (pool or lake)

ME (D (I) OC) RE
15

Fruit: cat taking most of a small amount (6)

TOMATO (a fruit)

TOM (male cat) + ATOM (a small amount) excluding the final letter of four [mostly] M

TOM ATO
17

Independent critic’s initial title recalled part of one of O’Neill’s (6) 

ICEMAN (part of the title of Eugene O’NEILL‘s 1939 play ‘The ICEMAN cometh’)

I (independent) + C (first letter [initial] of CRITIC) + NAME (title) reversed (recalled)

I C EMAN<
19

Warning new version of CSI about approach to court work? (8) 

FORENSIC (descriptive of an approach to work for a court of law)

FORE (warning shouted at golf if a ball has potential to hit someone) + N (new) + an anagram of (version of) CSI

FORE N SIC*
21

Bridge team being eaten by opponents is source of headlines (4) 

NEWS (source of headlines)

EW (East, West – partners in a bridge team) contained in (eaten by) NS (North, South – the other pair of partners forming the opposition to EW in a game of bridge)

N (EW) S
23

Cake turned bad when packing in pasta (10) 

TORTELLINI (small round pasta cases filled with a savoury, usually meat, filling and seasoning and boiled in water)

TORTE (cake) + (ILL [bad] reversed (turned) and containing [when packing] IN)

TORTE LL (IN) I<
25

University engaged in a second reading, following normal practice (2,3,5) 

AS PER USUAL (following normal practice)

U (university) contained in (A + S [second] + PERUSAL [reading])

A S PERUS (U) AL
26

Lowdown rat, ultimately, or courteous fellow? (4) 

GENT (Gentleman; courteous fellow)

GEN (information; lowdown) + T (last letter of [ultimately] RAT)

GEN T
27

Arrived with lots of property (6) 

LANDED (arrived at an airport runway)

LANDED (possessing LAND or estates; with lots of property))  double definition

LANDED
28

A colt with a mane is theatrical (8) 

ACTRESSY (affectedly theatrical)

A + C (colt) + TRESSY (with lots of hair; with a mane)

A C TRESSY
Down  
2

Current element in fashion provoking furious response (7) 

RAMPAGE (turbulently or aggressively excited behaviour or rushing about; furious response)

AMP (a measure of electric current) contained in (in) RAGE (something in vogue; fashion)

R (AMP) AGE
3

Gosh! A lot of criticism is heading for major esoteric belief (9) 

MYSTICISM (the habit or tendency of religious thought and feeling of those who seek direct communion with God or the divine; esoteric belief)

MY! (gosh!) + STICK (criticism) excluding only the final letter (a lot of) K + IS + M (first letter of [heading for]) MAJOR

MY STIC IS M
4

Old American meat picked up in American city (5)

OMAHA (American city in Nebraska)

(O [old] + A [American]) containing (picked) HAM (type of meat) reversed (up; down entry)

O (MAH<) A
5

Half of couple blocking middle of scenery in Ravel? (7)

ENTWINE (interlace; ravel)

TWIN (one of two; half of a couple) contained in (blocking) ENE (central letters of [middle of] SCENERY)

EN (TWIN) E
6

Variable item measuring the length of some text? (9) 

PARAMETER (variable)

PARA (paragraph; some text) + METER (device for measuring something ([e.g. length {?}.  I’m not sure length would be the first unit I would think of when asked ‘what does a METER measure?])

PARA METER
7

Who’d be foremost in various interesting church activities, right? (5) 

VICAR (person who holds authority as the delegate or substitute of another, especially in the performance of a religious function or the various interesting activities of a parish);

VICAR (first letters of [foremost] each of VARIOUS, INTERESTING, CHURCH, ACTIVITIES and RIGHT)

VICAR
8

Be around for longer than discarded cobbler’s tool (7) 

OUTLAST (exist for longer than; be around for longer)

OUT (discarded) + LAST (shoemaker’s model of the foot; cobbler’s tool)

OUT LAST
14

Understood opponents to be taking on honest Democrat (9)

CONSTRUED (interpreted; understood)

CONS (opponents) + TRUE (honest) + D (Democrat)

CONS TRUE D
16

Speech on gloom somehow upset international group (9) 

MONOLOGUE (soliloquy or speech by one person)

Anagram of (somehow) ON GLOOM + EU (European Union [international group]) reversed (upset)

MONOLOG* UE<
18

English league spot initially seized by endlessly downmarket soccer club (7)

CHELSEA (London football club)

ELS (first letters of [initially] each of ENGLISH, LEAGUE and SPOT) contained in (seized by) CHEAP (downmarket) excluding the final letter [endlessly) P

CH (ELS) EA
19

Methodology applicable to most of Disney film (7) 

FORMULA (procedure; methodology)

FOR (appicable to) + MULAN (Disney fantasy action drama film released in 2020) excluding the final letter (most of) N

FOR MULA
20

Session in pub is resounding after start fails (7) 

INNINGS (spell or turn; batter’s session at the crease in cricket)

INN (public house) + RINGS (is resounding) excluding the first letter (after start fails) R

INN INGS
22

Power in source exemplified in outer columns? (5) 

SPEED (power [?])

P (power]) contained in (in) SEED (outer letters [outer columns of] of each of SOURCE and EXEMPLIFIED)

S (P) EED
24

Positive reception elevated story about Cuba (5) 

ECLAT (applause; positive reception)

TALE (story) reversed (up; down entry) and containing (about) C (International Vehicle Registration for Cuba)

E (C) LAT<

19 comments on “Independent 11018 / Phi”

  4. We agreed with Hovis @1&2 on the interpretation of 22d.

    On the subject of 6d, we were quite happy with the idea of a para-meter, given that there of plenty of other meters that measure all sorts of things, such as altimeters, thermometers, barometers, etc.

    In 15a, we had “most of a small amount” = A TOT, without the final T, but your parsing works at least as well, I think?

    Thanks to Phi and duncanshiell

  5. Oh dear! I had seen TERMINAL VELOCITY in columns 1 and 15 (outer columns) when solving the puzzle and then completely forgot about it when writing the blog. I realise now what ‘outer columns’ refers to in the clue for SPEED at 22 down. Thanks to all who have commented on the right way to parse 22 down.

  6. I had P in SEED for source too but the wording is surely too particular for it to be a coincidence that it’s also SourcE ExemplifieD in outer columns. Isn’t that Phi trying to help those who don’t look for hidden messages?

  7. Very, very clever to incorporate the nina without forcing some unlikely solutions – ACTRESSY, the only one that is a tad awkward. Chapeau! I needed some help with parsing – particularly FORMULA which it had to be but Mulan is a nho for me.

    I agree with Duncan that the surface for RADICALISM is excellent and would cite FORENSIC for the same reason. I’ve encountered Ravel used thus on a previous occasion and have liked it both times. MYSTICISM is nicely assembled and the surface for CHELSEA made me smile. COTD shared between AS PER USUAL which was very nicely done and RAMPAGE which is so elegant. A couple of minor quibbles – I’m not one who particularly rages against single letters standing for a myriad of words but I’ve not encountered a = active or c = colt before. I’m guessing active might be military and colt, horse-racing but don’t know. (Is there an accepted list of abbreviations somewhere? I’ve heard commenters refer to Chambers but can only find online a Chambers list from 1908!)

    Thanks Phi and Duncan

  8. With 6D could it be that where iambic pentameter, say, measures the feet/length of a line, parameter would hypothetically measure ‘some text’. Quite a challenge but very enjoyable.

  9. I liked the Nina as definition for 22d which also helped in solving the puzzle. In the end, MULA(N) was the only unknown bit, though I wasn’t too confident about the parsing of the PARA(graph)METER.

    The single letter A and C abbreviations were new to me too. I thought A for ‘active’ was probably in the electrical wire sense, but that’s just a guess.

    Thanks to Duncan and Phi

  11. I am another who had A TOT for TOMATO. My favourites were the same as PostMark’s. CONSTRUED came to mind quickly as I had encountered it in a clue elsewhere today. Is A for active the opposite of P for passive?

  12. A meter is just a device that measures something, so a para-meter could quite conceivably measure paragraphs. An example of a type of meter that measures distance is a micrometer
    As with Serpent yesterday, spotting the Nina early helped me a lot here.
    Thanks to Phi and Duncan.

  13. It was the reference to ‘outer columns’ in 22dn that alerted us to the nina and helped us to finish. As for 6dn we just saw it \as a quirky crytptic definition, indicated by the question mark. Too many great clues to nominate a favourite – it was good all the way from TROMBONE to ECLAT.
    Thanks, Phi and Duncan.

  14. Top half was complete fairly quickly, but I really struggled on the bottom half, needing a word wizard to keep me going. LOI was 22d, perhaps because I can only see half of the grid at any one time on my phone. I used to be able to zoom out but not any more.
    Not happy about 28a. Can’t believe it’s a word. Also can’t believe TRESSY is a word.

  16. I’m another who was greatly helped by the Nina, and by the clue for speed that alerted me to the fact that there was one. Very good crossword. Thanks to all.

  17. No great problems today. I even spotted the Nina early which gave me 22d.

    Incidentally, MULAN is not only two Disney films, but she appears to be a character in old Chinese legends.

  18. Thanks all. I too forgot I had put in TERMINAL VELOCITY, and why I had done so (probably just as fodder for filling), and worked SPEED in to give a reference. There’s a much sneakier (8,8) coming up…

  19. One of the fastest finishing times for us. Less than an hour, which is probably slow by experts’ standards, but quite pleasing for us. We always look forward to doing Phi on Saturdays (yes I know we’re a day late).

    Thanks Phi and Duncan.

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