Independent 11,132 by Phi

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Phi continues to be the regular occupant of the Independent‘s Friday slot.

The entries at 17a and (in the sense used here) 12a may be unfamiliar to some, though I think I’ve seen both in Crosswordland before. I enjoyed the long anagrams at 16a and 4d, and the quirky definition in 7d.

I can’t see a theme here – I’d expect one with Phi, though sometimes he doesn’t include one or uses one that nobody except himself could be expected to see. If it’s there I’m sure someone will correct me. Thanks Phi as always.

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

ACROSS
8 REPENTANCE
Salesperson right to avoid door, offering contrition (10)
REP (salesperson) + ENT[r]ANCE (door) without the R (right).
9/24 ADAM BEDE
Novel plot suppressed by a woman (4,4)
BED (plot = area of cultivated ground) contained in A DAME (a woman).

19th-century novel by Mary Ann Evans, published under the pen name of George Eliot.
10/22 STAR SIGN
Celebrity finally dabbling in wrong aspect of astrology (4,4)
STAR (celebrity), then final letter of [dabblin]G in SIN (wrong).
11 WHOLESALER
Leaks not initially seen in ship one sells complete? (10)
[h]OLES (leaks) without its first letter (not initially), in WHALER (ship).
12 APOSTROPHE
Hard to engage in a job with some rigging, turning to address someone else (10)
H (hard, as in 2H pencils for example), inserted into (to engage in) A POST (a job) + ROPE (rigging).

A figure of speech used in literature or stage plays, denoting an address to a third party rather than to the audience.
15 TOWN
Couple moving west, joining new community (4)
TWO (a couple) with the W (west) moved to the end, then N (new).
16 UNDERPRIVILEGED
Delivering pure half-cut diamonds (though unable to buy them?) (15)
Anagram (half-cut = slang for drunk) of DELIVERING PURE + D (abbreviation for diamonds, in card games).

Underprivileged = euphemism for “with not much money”, and therefore probably not buying diamonds.
17 MAST
Nuts – some parts a man held back? (4)
Hidden answer (some . . .), reversed (held back), in [par]TS A M[an].

Botanical term for nuts and other fruit from forest trees, typically used to feed pigs or eaten by wild animals.
18 OVERSUPPLY
Deliveries with flexibility? More than you need (10)
OVER (a sequence of deliveries = balls bowled in cricket) + SUPPLY (adjective form of supple = with flexibility).
19 CELEBRATED
Well-known civil engineer: source of annoyance in a lot of English city (10)
CE (abbreviation for Civil Engineer), then BRAT (badly-behaved child = source of annoyance?) in LEED[s] (English city) without its last letter (most of . . .).
22
See 10
24
See 9
25 NARCOLEPSY
Work done on pylons with care: it presents the likelihood of dropping off (10)
Anagram (work done on . . .) of PYLONS + CARE.

Medical condition that can make sufferers fall asleep (drop off) at inconvenient times.
DOWN
1 ZEST
Some crazes that will produce enthusiasm (4)
Hidden answer (some . . .) in [cra]ZES T[hat].
2 RETROSPECT
Historic city mostly held in regard, looking back (10)
TRO[y] (historic city) without its last letter (mostly), in RESPECT (regard, as a noun = appreciation).
3 STEW
Difficult situation: spot disheartened bridge partners (4)
S[po]T (dis-heartened = inner letters removed) + E + W (East and West, partners in bridge and similar card games).

As in “in a stew” = in difficulties.
4 UNCOMPLIMENTARY
Rude and simple countryman cruelly dismissing son (15)
Anagram (cruelly) of [s]IMPLE COUNTRYMAN without the S (abbreviation for son).
5 CEMETERIES
More than one church property that is included in church indicators (10)
IE (i.e. = Latin id est = that is), in CE (Church of England) + METERS (indicators).

Cemetery = a burial ground; the dictionaries tell me that it’s likely to be called a graveyard if it’s associated with a church, or a cemetery if it isn’t, but the terms are more or less interchangeable.
6 LAMA
A post I shall abandon, turning up as priest (4)
A + MA[i]L (post, as in sending a letter), without the I, reversd (turning up, in a down clue).

A spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism.
7 WATER WHEEL
A long-established driver of industry, were wealth to be redistributed (5,5)
Anagram (to be redistributed) of WERE WEALTH.

Device for using the power of flowing water to drive mills or other machinery, in the days before electric motors.
13 PENTAMETER
Verse form – write dull conclusion? Not conclusion (10)
PEN (as a verb = write) + TAME (dull) + TER[m] (conclusion) without its last letter (conclusion).

Verse form where each line consists of five “feet” (groups of two or three syllables); for example iambic pentameter, in which Shakespeare wrote most of his works.
14 RIP-ROARING
Wild and very keen to bring in one expert (3-7)
RARING (as in “raring to go” = very keen), containing (to bring in) I (one in Roman numerals) + PRO (professional = expert).
15 TRESPASSER
Intruder? In Paris, very unfashionable end for flâneur (10)
TRES PASSE (très passé = French for “very outdated”) + end letter of [flâneu]R (French term for someone strolling in public in order to see and be seen).
20 EYES
Energy certainly seen in parts of storms (4)
E (scientific symbol for energy) + YES (certainly).

As in “eye of the storm” = a region of relatively calm weather in the centre of a cyclone.
21 DOOR
Provide military men an opening (4)
DO (provide, perhaps as in “can you do lunch for us?”) + OR (military abbreviation for “other ranks” = soldiers other than officers).
23 GUST
Pull up around front of store in wind (4)
TUG (pull) reversed (up, in a down clue) around the front letter of S[tore].

9 comments on “Independent 11,132 by Phi”

  1. All up to Phi’s amazing weekly high standard, though I find it hard to visualise how “apostrophe” works in this sense, it must be a rare occurrence in a stage play. Thanks Phi and Quirister.

  2. Phew! (Both the weather and the puzzle!) I did not find this easy at all but no complaints as it’s clued to Phi’s usual high standard. nho APOSTROPHE in that sense so that remained unparsed. Amongst those I solved comfortably (ie without use of the Check!), big ticks for STAR SIGN, WHOLESALER, TOWN, OVERSUPPLY, RETROSPECT, UNCOMPLIMENTARY (what an anagram!), WATER WHEEL and RIP-ROARING.

    I spotted no theme – but, as we all know with Phi …

  3. It’s strange but I somehow managed to rattle this off with hardly a pause, UNDERPRIVILEGED & RETROSPECT taking the longest. There was some luck involved though. Just before doing this, I had read allan_c’s comment on APOSTROPHISE from yesterday’s FT and had completed today’s FT which helped with another one (no spoilers though).

  4. I’m another who wouldn’t have had a clue about APOSTROPHE if I hadn’t looked it up after doing yesterday’s FT puzzle. Interesting to see STAR SIGN after Phi’s last few Ninas but I can’t see anything else to take it further.

    The surfaces and defs for UNDERPRIVILEGED and WATER WHEEL were my favourite bits today.

    Thanks to Phi and Quirister

  6. Thanks both. Didn’t for one second consider ‘half-cut’ as the anagrind in 16, but it is fair, though not sure if I was up to a 15 letter anagram in the current temperature. This hampered solving RETROSPECT where I had thought of Troy but moved on to moaning to myself that most cities are historic in some sense and we were clearly not required to use all the letters. Take plenty of fluids, remember

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