Filbert occupies Phi’s regular Friday slot this week – is something special happening this weekend?
When Joyce read the first clue, she insisted that it was her turn to write the blog so she could thank Bert!
There were a few head-scratching moments and a few clues which needed the use of a Thesaurus. It was great to be reminded of two of my favourite books – Winnie the Pooh and Stig of the Dump.
An anagram (‘specially’) of I CAN MOVE OVER around or ‘keeping’ W (wife). At this point I have to thank Bert for warming my side of the bed before I climb in, during the recent cold snap!
A (American) inside or ‘being nursed by’ INSULTED (was rude to)
RE (about) L (fifty) IC (in charge). We could not find RELIC = OLD HAND in Chambers but it is in our dead-tree Collins.
Last letters or ‘backs’ to JumanjI afraiD tO traveL
A cryptic definition. Filbert is asking us to imagine that the rich colours in garments will not fade after cleaning if they are COLOURFAST. This was our LOI and needed all the crossing letters before we could hazard a guess.
W (with) in or ‘squeezed by’ SIMMER (boil gently)
NO (number) MINE (one’s or one has) and E (last letter in vote). We only sorted this one out by checking synonyms for ‘candidate’.
A reversal (‘coming back’) of NAG (horse) in TELE (box – television)
A clue-as-definition – An anagram (‘manoeuvres’) of FEWER and A Y (yankee)
D (duke) OWNS (has) T (first letter or ‘start’ to talk) AIRS (affected manners)
S (second) PUN (joke)
SaD (unhappy) with COL (saddle) replacing the middle letter
RANCH (farm) IS inside or ‘clad by’ FE (iron)
RAP (censure) PRO (for) + HE MEN (macho types) in CT (court)
SUM (reversed or ‘up’) CO (business) VITE (French for quickly)
Hidden in the clue or ‘contributing to’ physiCAL Fitness
OUTDO (better) and alternate or regular letters in yOu’Re
DSO (military medal) ON (worn) after (under in a down clue) A N (first and last letters or ‘coat’ of Australian)
E (electronic) ART (expertise) RUMP (behind) ET (Spielberg’s film)
VILLAin (crook) without ‘in’
NECK (drink) TIE (lace)
DI (policeman) + a reversal (‘turned up’) of STIG (caveman). Stig relates to the character Stig of the Dump by Clive King. It was one of Joyce’s favourite books which she later enjoyed reading to children when she taught in Primary Schools.
An anagram (‘travelling’) of ABROAD SAM’S
NEW (more) SPRINT (tear)
U (university) inside or ‘donning’ an anagram (‘after a mix-up’) of RESEND
A reversal (‘turnover’) of C (clubs) IF (provided) FART (trump). Bert thought it may be TRADING at first but needless to say we couldn’t parse it.
An alcoholic’s yen may be FOR SAKE – the Japanese drink, which a Japanese alcoholic would pay for in yen.
A reversal (‘after revolution’) of RED (communist) + O (over) in NY (New York)
A reversal (‘up’) of POOH (bear) after W (wife)
We can only see this as a cryptic definition with ACNE often being the ‘blight’ of teenagers’ cheeks (and other parts of the face)
RELIC:
I was thinking that an ‘old hand’ (just like hair, nail, etc., could be) -with ‘perhaps’ indicating ‘by example’-could be a relic.
Then found this:
This 680-Year-Old Saint’s Hand Has Never Decomposed. Elizabeth of Aragon’s incorrupt appendage is temporarily on view in Portugal.
Anyway, B&J’s parsing seems fine.
Thanks, F and B&J!
One question: Does a relic have to be holy (may or may not be related to the clue under discussion-just asking)?
Very much enjoyed this but wasn’t sure CALF could equate to “muscles” (plural). I would talk of calf muscles or calves but not ‘calf’ by itself. Was also unsure how ‘new’ = ‘more’. Better have a quick look in my Chambers app.
1a reminds me of that useful fact that cooking fruit in a microwave is the best way to get a hot date.
I struggled to parse several but on reading the blog mine tally with those of B&J. However, I had to check a wordlist for 12A. Like Hovis @3, I thought CALF seemed wrong, but it just about works. A bit of a struggle but got there in the end, so thanks Filbert and B&J.
I always find I have to work at getting my head around a Filbert. But it is always worthwhile and today was no exception. Some really neat constructions and I was pleased I stuck at some of them even if the last three or four took as long to solve as the preceding couple of dozen. I was beaten by COLOURFAST – I guess that’s always the risk with a cd when there is no wp alternative. I just wasn’t on the wavelength for that one. I had the same intuitive problem with CALF as Hovis but see that it is, indeed, comprised of two muscles.
I could produce a very long list of favourites but, in the interests of others, will curb myself: absolute tops include MICROWAVE OVEN, FRANCHISE, RAPPROCHEMENT, MUSCOVITE, AMBASSADOR, TRAFFIC and, because this was a cd I did get, ACNE.
Thanks Filbert and B&J and Happy Christmas to all
For a while I wondered if the cheeky blighter could be ARSE, seeing as Filbert had already risked FART. So many good clues, that it’s hard to pick a favourite. The last couple of Filbert puzzles were a bit less tricky, but this one was quite hard, I thought. Thanks to all three.
Petert @6: you and me both. I had it entered in the grid for a while. And feel it could be as justifiable a solution as the correct one but for the crossers.
Thanks both. Appreciate the clarity re CALF though as it is also a muscle singular, surely fairer to clue it that way? On a note of equality, we have ‘sportsman’ and ‘policeman’ in the clueing, accepting that the former looks clumsy when presented neutrally, but ‘police officer’ certainly works
KVa @ 2 – no. It just means something remaining or left over. Historically it was often used for a widow, relic of
Goujeers@9 Are you perhaps thinking of “relict” for widow ? The word relic was at one time used to mean a corpse.
I’m with Hovis @3 as far as “muscles” for CALF is concerned.
The clue for ACNE is a very nice one.
Thanks to everyone for comments and to Bert (what a gentleman) and Joyce (how lucky you are!) for the blog.
Hovis @3 I’ve just written a stewed fruit/hot date clue, sorry to discover it’s a chestnut
KVa @1, that’s the sort of hand I was thinking of, thanks for finding an example
Happy Christmas, hope to see you all next year.
Needed a couple of letter reveals to complete & the review to explain a couple of parsings. COLOURFAST & CALF were2 particular head scratchers. RAPPROCHEMENT my fav of a number of very clever clues.
Thanks to all 3.
Just caught up on this one – a real toughie but we’ll worth the effort. Thanks, Filbert. And thanks, B&J, for the blog. And merry Christmas to you all.
KVa @2 – the *original* meaning of relic is body parts of saints. I learned this when studying The Pardoner’s Tale for A-level more years ago than I care to remember – the Pardoner boasts about getting rich from selling fake relics (that he claims are the bones of saints) to superstitious idiots.
Hovis @3 – you’re right that we talk about the calf muscle in the singular but it is in fact two muscles – the gastrocnemius and the soleus.