Normal service today with Phi setting the Friday Independent puzzle
I solved this reasonably well until I hit the dreaded Blank A Blank E entries. MATE wasn’t too bad, WAKE came with a bit of thought but MAKE took a very long time.
I wondered briefly if there was a word ladder being formed by all the four letter entries but HERO and WICK knocked that idea on the head.
I thought the wordplay forming ACADEMY AWARD was excellent.
AMANUENSIS is a word I haven’t come across for a long time.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 |
Spectators’ disapproval taps into poor performance by runner (4,8) SLOW HANDCLAP (slow rhythmic clapping showing disapproval) (H AND C [indications on Hot AND Cold taps]) contained in (into) (SLOW LAP [poor performance by runner]) SLOW (H AND C) LAP |
| 9 |
Take home a type of car? (4) MAKE (type of car) MAKE (what you earn; take home [pay]) double definition MAKE |
| 10 |
Crustacean programme mostly bearing fruit (4,5) CRAB APPLE (type of fruit) CRAB (a crustacean) + APPLET (program) excluding the final letter (mostly) T CRAB APPLE |
| 12 |
One getting metal (6) COPPER (one who captures; one getting) COPPER (a metal) double definition COPPER |
| 13 |
Youngster taking summer treats around large and small rooms (8) CUBICLES (parts of a dormitory or other large room which are partitioned off; small rooms) CUB (youngster) + (ICES [summer treats] containing [round] L [large]) CUB IC (L) ES |
| 15 |
Ruin, just after blocking military conflict (10) DISHARMONY (dissent; conflict) DISH (informal term for ruin) + (ON [just after] contained in [blocking] ARMY [military]) DISH ARM (ON) Y |
| 16 |
Pedestrian, both feet slipping, to get animated (4) WAKE (become animated) WALKER (pedestrian) excluding (slipping) L and R (left and right; both feet) WAKE |
| 18 |
Dull end to game – but a decisive one! (4) MATE (checkMATE [decisive end to a game of chess]) MAT ([of a surface] dull) + E (last letter of [end to] GAME) MAT E |
| 20 |
Make clear sounds in small pieces, avoiding piano (10) ARTICULATE (form into distinct sounds) PARTICULATES (small pieces) excluding (avoiding) P (piano) ARTICULATES |
| 23 |
Tank operator is filling a quantity of water (8) AQUARIST (person who keeps, or is curator of, an aquarium; tank operator) IS contained in (filling) (A + QUART [quantity of water or other liquid]) A QUAR (IS) T |
| 24 |
Gold in bulk leads to dangerous situation (6) MORASS (dangerous or confused situation) OR (the tincture gold) contained in (in) MASS (bulk) M (OR) ASS |
| 26 |
Apparently allowed bird in part of orchard (5,4) APPLE TREE (part of an orchard) APP (APParently) + LET (allowed) + REE (female of the ruff [a bird]) APP LE T REE |
| 27 |
Sense displayed in accommodating a delay (4) WAIT (delay) WIT (sense, as in ‘have the WIT to …’) containing (accommodating) A W (A) IT |
| 28 |
Take lead role in rigging awards system? (2,3,7) DO THE HONOURS (perform a task, especially the duties of a host; take a lead role) DO (fiddle; rig) + THE HONOURS (award system) DO THE HONOURS |
| Down | |
| 2 |
Story King extracted from some European subject (8) LIEGEMAN (vassal or subject) LIE (story) + GERMAN (some European) excluding (extracted from) R (Rex; King) LIE GEMAN |
| 3 |
Scottish town: it may flare up with match over (4) WICK (Scottish town) WICK (a candle has a WICK that can flare up when a lighted match is placed next to it) WICK |
| 4 |
American laid out insane sum for a secretary (10) AMANUENSIS (literary assistant, esp one who writes to dictation or copies from manuscript; type of secretary) A (American) + an anagram of (laid out) INSANE SUM A MANUENSIS* |
| 5 |
Get darker and crude, engaged in row (4,2) DRAW IN (of nights, to begin earlier with the change of season; get darker [earlier]) RAW (crude) contained in (engaged in) DIN (noise; row) D (RAW) IN |
| 6 |
Island where China holds Tibetan priest? Just the reverse (2,5) LA PALMA (most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands) LAMA (Tibetan priest) containing (holds) PAL (friend; china) – the opposite (just the reverse) of the construction ‘China holds Tibetan priest’ LA (PAL) MA |
| 7 |
Instruction for launch possibly providing form of publicity (5,7) PRESS RELEASE (form of publicity) PRESS (instruction to do something, with a button for example) + RELEASE (free; launch, for example) PRESS RELEASE |
| 8 |
Grounds affected our team (6) CAMPUS (university or college grounds) CAMP (affected) + US (our team) CAMP US |
| 11 |
Expert framing poster may possibly proceed to lift recognition of film’s excellence (7,5) ACADEMY AWARD (honour given in recognition of a film’s excellence) ACE (expert) containing (framing) AD (advertisement; poster) + an anagram of (possibly) MAY + DRAW (go or proceed in a specified direction [DRAW alongside], definition in Collins) reversed (to lift; down entry) AC (AD) E MY A* WARD< |
| 14 |
Showman, one more involved with Paris (10) IMPRESARIO (showman) I (Roman numeral for one) + an anagram of (… involved with …) MORE and PARIS I MPRESARIO* |
| 17 |
Harbour vessel repurposed by military for contention (3-2-3) TUG-OF-WAR (struggle [contention] between two equally matched factions) TUG (harbour vessel) + OF WAR (relating to military events) TUG-OF-WAR |
| 19 |
Exact time to accept lawmaker making boast (7) TRUMPET (boast) (TRUE [exact] + T [time]) containing (to accept) MP (Member of Parliament; lawmaker) TRU (MP) E T |
| 21 |
Activity engaging a US serviceman is moving slowly (6) ADAGIO (musical term meaning slowly) ADO (bustle; activity) containing (engaging) (A + GI [US serviceman]) AD (A GI) O |
| 22 |
Stop releases being broadcast on radio (6) FREEZE (stop) FREEZE (sounds like [on the radio] FREES [releases]) FREEZE |
| 25 |
Leading man in Garbo’s latest? (4) HERO (principal male figure; leading man) HER (descriptive of [Greta] GARBO’s ) + O (last letter of [latest] GARBO) HER O |
Many faves. Some are SLOW HANDCLAP, DISHARMONY, PRESS RELEASE and HERO.
PRESS RELEASE (your parsing looks completely all right. I took it as one block):
Instruction for launch (possibly)-Press the ‘release’ button.
Thanks, P and d!
Yes, I dread seeing those those blank A blank E entries too. I didn’t think hard enough for WAKE and couldn’t parse APPLE TREE, not knowing REE as a type of bird – I only knew it as a REEVE, which I see is an alternative spelling for the female of the ruff.
I was struck by the odd shape of the grid and wonder if there’s anything else going on. If there is, I can’t see it.
Thanks to Phi and Duncan
We weren’t too bothered by MATE and WAKE for the _A_E entries but MAKE was our LOI (shortly after ARTICULATES and DISHARMONY. For 4dn we knew the word we wanted but just couldn’t remember it for ages; a real d’oh! moment when we did.
Is this Phi’s ‘Aquarius’ puzzle? AQUARIST is fairly close, but otoh Phi commented last week that Aquarius would be harder to spot. Could the taps (H and C) in 1ac be considered water carriers?
Thanks, Phi and Duncan.
There’s a COPPER, too. CUBICLES??You have to swim to get to HERO?? SLOW HANDCLAP was my favourite of a number of fine clues but MAKE defeated me.
I like the H AND C for taps at 1a. I was also stuck on two ?A?E’s for quite a while. Totally beaten by the parsing of DISHARMONY, couldn’t see past HARM for RUIN.
Didn’t know dish for ruin and don’t really think of on as just after either so a tad grumpy about 15 but enjoyed the rest.
Doubt it’s the Aquarius puzzle as we’re still in Sagittarius at the moment (and I should know).
Thanks to Phi and Duncan
Just a small correction on 20A: in small pieces = PARTICULATE – no S
Thanks, Phi & Duncan. I found this quite tough – glad to see I’m not the only one. CAMPUS and DO THE HONOURS both got laughs.
PRESS RELEASE was one of a few that came easily – by the spookiest of coincidences, I wrote a clue for the same phrase using a similar idea about half an hour before picking this one up. Phi’s is better than mine though.