Independent 11,036 by Phi

14 comments on “Independent 11,036 by Phi”

1. In 26a, I took IT to refer to a child playing tag after being told ‘you’re it’.

2. I thought MILLRACE wonderfully clued and agree with Quirister’s other likes. And I’d add both SAILS for the neat definition and MEMBERSHIP which was delightfully constructed.

   That said, I agree with our blogger’s gripes too – those in the preamble and those in the blog. I raised at eyebrow at VE for ‘have’ and wondered why Phi went to the trouble of clueing MAN in 5a as ‘lots of people curtailed’. If the intention was to mislead, well it did because I spent time trying to work out whether we were talking mass(es), crow(d) or similar.

   I guessed at ACTOVALENT on the basis I’d heard of covalent so hoped the ‘o’ would stay in place but the word is a dnk and it was going to be one or the other!

   And as for TAPETI… If it turns outs to be the key to a fabulous hidden theme I shall both forgive Phi and die laughing.

   Thanks Phi and Quirister

3. No need/for tag/tick reference for IT as far as I’m concerned as “How much did it weigh?” is almost alway the 2nd question asked about a new baby of whatever sex. That said a clue where the answer can only be confirmed by looking up is a bit much (has anybody here actually heard of it?).
   Enjoyed the rest so thanks to Phi and Quirister

4. Well there’s the hint of something thematic – DOMESTIC FLIGHT and/or even MINI TRAMPOLINE etc etc.

   I suspect they’re not Wellington burgers again; any hints from Psi if he swings by?

5. Sorry, don’t buy any of the explanations for “it” in 26a . If it’s tick/tag related then the clue should give a hint to that. If it’s a newborn then the clue should also include that. Might as well put any singular noun in a clue to indicate “it”. Sorry to disagree because otherwise Phi is my favourite setter.

6. An excellent puzzle. I laughed heartily at 10 across, but despised the obscure rabbit.

7. Re #5 JBG – specifically, if surprisingly, in Chambers though, as definition #1, in exactly the context used…

8. Thanks both.

   I found this a bit of a slog. Mostly, I think, because of the number of two-phase offerings: (d)UMBria, electrONIC(e), theaTRE(e), afRIC(k)an, domeSTIC(k) and I’ll throw in MA(r)GE. I find this format unfair requiring as it does a (for me) nigh unattainable level of divination to conjure the required synonym and then do something or other with it. But I weep (it seems) alone so get on with it.

   I did enjoy the mental gymnastics involved in MINI and MEMBERSHIP. And FANTASTIC VOYAGE was worth the detour.

9. Thanks both. I am very much with some of you regarding the IT element of TAPETI assuming its purpose has been understood, which I see as more wholly wrong than any previous clue undertaken, for no entirely obvious reason, but perhaps influenced by a documentary I saw last night regarding the desperately sad world of child protection

10. The child called it in the new addition to the crossword zoo was the flaw in this for me too, but I liked MEMBERSHIP and MILL RACE. SHIRE HORSE seemed an interesting mix of clue types.

11. I thought ‘it’’ for a young child relatively common. TAPETI was constrained by trying to find a 4,4 phrase for those two in the SE corner, and not by the theme itself.

    With the pop music knowledge often on display here, I thought I was on solid ground with a David Bowie theme: FANTASTIC VOYAGE, AFRICAN NIGHT FLIGHT, REPETITION, MOVE ON, (Red) SAILS: all tracks from Lodger. Also ones selected by Philip Glass for reworking in his 12th Symphony (and third inspired by Bowie) which is supposed to be getting its NZ premiere later this year. And which is what set the whole thing in motion, though I decided you wouldn’t want YASSASSIN.

12. Thanks Phi.

    Nice of you to drop by. Hope we weren’t too curmudgeonly.

    I recall in the film ‘Alfie’ the eponymous (don’t get to use that too often – yay!) character constantly referred to his female company as ‘it’ – making me for one very uncomfortable. But that’s my only encounter with ‘it’ – perhaps it’s a regional thingy?

13. Thank you Phi for revealing what now (ha, but only now) seems an obvious theme. It’s funny how your brain can push you down the wrong channel and refuse to see clearly. I got very hung up on REPITITION as a hint at repeated chunks of words.

    I think using IT for child is from a different era and now, for me and others I’m sure, associated with the horrific account of his childhood by David Pelzer in his series of books beginning with A Child Called It. Not an endorsement of the quality of the work and apologies for injecting a dark note but language connections change and maybe a hint at amused irony could have been injected into the clue?

    Other than that it was the usual lovely Friday romp. Big thanks to Quirster and Phi.

14. Thanks Phi for an entertaining crossword., one that I mostly solved with partial parsing and lucky guessing. I own Lodger on vinyl but never saw the theme. I liked FANTASTIC VOYAGE the best and did not know the rabbit. Thanks Quirister for the blog and explaining the extended definition of SHIRE HORSE and the bit about Billy Bunter.

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