As usual, we have a puzzle from Phi on a Friday.
I can’t see a theme or a message in the grid, so I’ll just concentrate on the clues.
I liked the definition for MONOGAMIST at 1 across.
The two ‘independent’s in the clue for INDELIBLY made me think a bit before parsing the entry.
The clue for RACE was fairly short and abrupt.
CONTAGION was my last one in
I thought that the surfaces of many of the clues were very good. Examples being the clues for OMNIBUS, HOLLOW, HIJACK and JACOB
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 |
I, among most at work, will be a committed union member (10) MONOGAMIST (one who adheres to the practice, custom or condition of having no more than one mate at a time; committed union [marriage] member) Anagram of (at work) I AMONG MOST MONOGAMIST* |
| 6 |
One behaving contemptibly towards a daughter (4) TOAD (hateful or contemptible person) TO (towards) + A + D (daughter) TO A D |
| 9 |
Demolish inlet’s dam after storm (9) DISMANTLE (demolish) Anagram of (after storm) INLET’S DAM DISMANTLE* |
| 10 |
Cry of joy, embracing willing lover (5) HONEY (word used to describe or refer to one’s partner, girlfriend or lover) HEY (cry of joy) containing (embracing) ON (term indicating one’s willingness to support, as in ‘I’m on for the protest march this weekend’) H (ON) EY |
| 11 |
Platoons, say, some of best in USA, retreating (5) UNITS (military groups; platoons) UNITS (reversed [retreating] hidden word [some of] BEST IN USA) UNITS< |
| 12 |
Independent? Independent participating in belly dancing, unforgettably (9) INDELIBLY (marked permanently in one’s mind; unforgettable) IND (Independent) + (I [independent] contained in [participating in] an anagram of [dancing] BELLY) IND EL (I) BLY* |
| 13 |
Obscurity not observed in radio broadcast (4) MIST (dimness; obscurity) MIST (sounds like [in radio broadcast] MISSED [not observed]) MIST |
| 14 |
Refined sources of metal extremely well! (8,2) GRACIOUS ME (exclamation of surprise, as is’ well I declare!’ or ‘well I never!’ which can be abbreviated to ‘well!’) GRACIOUS (refined) + ME (initial letters of [sources] of METAL and EXTREMELY) GRACIOUS M E |
| 18 |
Chatter linked to predicament with target of pest control? (6,4) RABBIT HOLE (a target of some forms of pest control) RABBIT (chatter; gas) + HOLE (predicament) RABBIT HOLE |
| 20 |
Run one? (4) RACE (something one may run) R (run, in cricket scoring notation) + ACE (one) R ACE |
| 22 |
Very busy, but ready to dispatch preserved goods? (3-6) JAM PACKED (completely full; very busy) JAM (example of a preserve [food product]) + PACKED (ready for despatch) JAM PACKED |
| 24 |
Fruit? Seems to have lost first two (5) PEARS (fruit) APPEARS (seems to) excluding (have lost) the first two letters (first two) AP PEARS |
| 25 |
Sound of chains, cold and drooping (5) CLANK (sound made by a chains) C (cold) + LANK (drooping) C LANK |
| 26 |
Transmissible disease? College head bearing identifying mark (9) CONTAGION (transmission of a disease by direct contact with an infected person or object) C (college) + (ONION [slang word for head] containing [bearing] TAG [identifying mark]) C ON (TAG) ION |
| 27 |
Possibly eighth in cricket team in English city (4) BATH (English city) BAT (all players in a cricket team can be called on to BAT) + H (8th letter of the alphabet often used to refer to the eighth item in a list) BAT H |
| 28 |
Small group of people taken aback about country transport (6,4) ESTATE CARS (vehicles) (S [small] + RACE [group of people]) reversed (taken aback) containing (about) STATE (country) E (STATE) CAR S< |
| Down | |
| 1 |
Doctor, calculating type, around one part of year (9) MIDSUMMER (period of the year) (MD [Doctor of Medicine] + SUMMER [someone who adds; calculating type]) containing (around) I (Roman numeral for one) M (I) D SUMMER |
| 2 |
Unpleasant films: one held up places of debauchery (7) NASTIES (unpleasant or indecent films) AN (one) reversed (held up; down entry) + STIES (places of gross debauchery) NA< STIES |
| 3 |
Quantity of wine? Chat with son involves litre (5) GLASS (a quantity of wine) (GAS [talk; chat] + S [son]) containing (involves) L (litre) G (L) AS S |
| 4 |
Demonstration about court case kept short for senior woman (9) MATRIARCH (female head of a family; senior woman) MARCH (demonstration) containing (about) TRIAL (court case) excluding the final letter (kept short) L MA (TRIA) RCH |
| 5 |
Pace and power in germ (5) SPEED (pace) P (power) contained in (in) SEED (germ) S (P) EED |
| 7 |
Collected edition upset second writer (American) (7) OMNIBUS (collections of several works or items, usually by a single author, or on a single subject) MO (moment; second) reversed (upset) + NIB (writer) + US (United States; American) OM< NIB US |
| 8 |
Medic, year upon year, accepting student in formal style (5) DRYLY (in a restrained or formal manner) DR (doctor; medic) + ([year {Y} + year {Y}] containing [accepting] L [learner; student]) DR Y (L) Y |
| 10 |
Mostly keep quiet in depression (6) HOLLOW (depression) HOLD (keep) excluding the final letter (mostly) D + LOW (quiet) HOL LOW |
| 15 |
State idea on reforming Scotland as before (9) CALEDONIA (term that references Scotland in earlier times) CAL (California; US State) + an anagram of (reforming) IDEA ON CAL EDONIA* |
| 16 |
Still getting plea for help about new Government services (9) EVENSONGS (church services) EVEN (still) + (SOS [Save Our Souls; plea for help] containing [about] (N [new] + G [government]) EVEN SO (N G) S |
| 17 |
One Judge probing journalist’s criminal act (6) HIJACK (stop and rob a vehicle; criminal act) (I [Roman numeral for one] +J [judge]) contained in (probing) HACK (journalist) H (I J) ACK |
| 19 |
Fail quickly, overlooking original grandiloquence (7) BOMBAST (pompous inflated language; grandiloquence) BOMB (fail) + FAST (quickly) excluding the first letter (overlooking original) F BOMB AST |
| 21 |
Account about one pub that’s served up American coffee (7) ARABICA (coffee grown in South America) ((AC [account] containing [about] [I {Roman numeral for one} + BAR {pun}] reversed [served up]) + A (American) A (RAB I)< C A |
| 22 |
Biblical character penning a chapter identifying Biblical character (5) JACOB (Biblical character) JOB (Biblical character) containing (penning) (A + C [chapter]) J (A C) OB |
| 23 |
Gives up thrilling stimulants (5) KICKS (gives up [a habit]) KICKS (thrilling stimulants) double definition KICKS |
|
Running behind after pressure in horse race (5) PLATE (name of a prize often included in the title of a horse race) P (pressure) + LATE (behind) P LATE |
Also a big fan of MONOGAMIST here – CONTAGION also my LOI, and I’ll have to remember ‘onion’ for ‘head’!
Thanks both.
Thanks both. I liked JAM PACKED for its concise simplicity, and regarded BATH as a plucky attempt, although it doesn’t quite work for me on a practical level, as the batter is the player, whereas the bat is the apparatus, and they are referred to routinely by their numerical position in the order
‘Bat’ is given as ‘batsman’ by each of Chambers, Collins and ODE (where the example is ‘the team’s opening bat’). But I’ll grant you that cricket teams are more numerical.
Anyway, once you have BATH, there are only eight other thematic entries to find.
My pick of the day
Thanks all
With Phi’s kind kick in the backside, I found the following references to cricket and cricketers, though as there are more than eight I guess some are not part of Phi’s intended theme: Josh HONEY, W.G. GRACE(ious me), RABBIT (poor batsman), PEARS (Worcestershire), BATh, Aaron SUMMER(s), JACOB (Oram), John GLASS, Francis SPEED, Cricket HOLLOW Animal Park (Manchester). Plus various JACKs. Or maybe it’s something else entirely. Thanks Phi and Duncan.
Enjoyable puzzle, though I was a bit lazy and never got around to trying to parse CONTAGION or NASTIES, both of which I think would have defeated me anyway.
As I’ve had so many failures in the past, I won’t even try to guess the theme, despite Phi’s helpful confirmation that there is one. Who knows, Tatrasman may be right.
Thanks to Phi and Duncan
You could well be right Tatrasman – I know next to nothing about cricket. I did notice a few common rhyming slang words in there though:
Bubble BATH
Apple and PEARS
Frog and TOAD
Bees and HONEY
China PLATE
RABBIT and pork
Bottle and GLASS
Boat RACE
If that’s the theme, I’m missing one.
Well spotted, Pipit. The eighth could be Scotch MIST ( = pissed, drunk).
Great! Thanks Andrew. I think my RABBIT and pork is anamolous. Maybe rattle and CLANK? Did we get it right Phi, or have we gone down a rabbit hole?
Thanks again – thanks all, that’s a great spot….in which case I am here on my Northern pedestal again as I know only two of those pairs, despite dreaming about Arthur Daley last night.
Phi@3 I never doubted it, but have not heard it so-referenced in decades of watching cricket. I trust the dictionaries will have already or are soon to be updated to gender neutral ‘batter’, however
Enjoyable even without spotting the theme, although the SE corner proved tricky.
Pipit@7: Nothing wrong with RABBIT and pork; could the last one be JACOB and Esau (seesaw)?
Thanks, Phi and Duncan.
Rattle and CLANK is the last one I had. Rhyming slang omits the actual rhymes themselves, so I thought I would restore them. Hence RABBIT and pork is anomalous and coincidental.
Taking your kids to play on the Jacob, though…