It’s the end of the week and once again, we have a Phi to solve. Once again, we have no complaints.
Not too many problems today although we did have to check the spelling of the stars in 19ac.
Once we had TRUMP, CARTER and HOOVER, we realised that the theme today was US presidents with FILLMORE being spread across two answers.
It’s strange how some items are known by their brand name as in HOOVER rather than what they were designed as – vacuum cleaner.
Thanks Phi
PI (very good) PIT (hole)
REC (place for recreation) HERE (in this place) around or ‘outside’ CH (church)
COOK (British explorer) in front of or ‘heading’ STOUR (river)
S (special) PELT (covering)
F (Faraday) ILL (difficulty)
EC (Established Church) inside or ‘toured by’ an anagram (‘mad’) of AMERICAN
ON (working) inside or ‘interrupting’ an anagram (‘broadcast’) of RECENT
G (Government) RANT (speech with a degree of fury)
RUM (booze) inside or ‘swallowed by’ PT (pints) reversed or ‘knocked back’
An anagram (‘uncommonly’) of PLEASED around or ‘welcoming’ I (international)
BELL (ring) mADONNA (pop star) without the first letter or ‘offering tip off’
M OR E (first or last letter or ‘limitations’ to macabre)
ELEven (half of soccer team) around or ‘besetting’ XI (a full soccer team)
VICTOR (gold medallist) IN (popular) around A (Australia)
N (new) and an anagram (‘variety’) of TUNA in URAL (river)
MINE (the writer’s) and D (initial letter of deemed) reversed or ‘regressive’
A reversal or ‘rising’ of sCI FI (literary genre) without the first letter or ‘not initially’ and CAP (better)
ROW (line) inside PL (place)
Hidden and reversed or ‘in climbing’ rocKS A Tough
An anagram (‘battles’) of ENTIRE around or ‘involving’ OR (soldiers)
CARER (one concerned) around or ‘about’ T (tense)
An anagram (‘brewing’) of AGAINST ALE
C (initial letter or ‘start’ to conserve) LEVEL (part of Somerset as in the Somerset Levels or flood plain) AND
ENTRAiN (board – as in getting on a train) without or ‘dismissing’ I (one) + T (first letter or ‘start’ to tournament)
COMPLy (obey) missing last letter or ‘mostly’ ACE (expert) NT (New Testament – biblical literature)
An anagram (‘could’ be) of SQUEALING
An anagram (‘unhappy’) of CALL IN around ICy (chill) missing last letter or ‘not entirely’
TAU (cross) around ABLE (competent)
SUM (quantity of money) around or ‘securing’ TERN (seabird)
HOVER (float) around O (extra oxygen)
ORIgiN (beginning) without or ‘taking out’ GI (US soldier) round or ‘getting’ O (over)
oxFORD (English city) without or ‘forgetting’ o (old) x (times)
I spotted the presidents but missed Fillmore, despite checking a list of them. Struggled to see MORE at 23A but the penny eventually dropped. Thomas Cook & Son was my first employer, sadly now gone from the tour business. Excellent as always, so thanks Phi and B&J.
My apologies but before I comment on Phi’s excellent puzzle, I DO have a complaint and, in the hope that someone connected with the Independent occasionally glances at this blog, I’d like to register a big moan about the format of the online site this morning. Someone has decided it’s a good idea to colour the puzzle in purple and orange so the solution appears as black letters on a purple background. Green letters if you use the Check button. And the contrast means I really struggled to see the letters I had entered. Even counting squares is tricky. Ruined the solve experience. Every other national manages to produce a clean puzzle online; why is the Indy the odd one out???
Grump over, let me turn to the puzzle. As enjoyable as always. Like Tatrasman, I was beaten by the split FILLMORE but suspect I might not have recalled him as a President anyway. It’s a good selection of names – none stood out as surnames. There is room in the grid for, say, OBAMA but that would have been a giveaway.
Favourites included RECHERCHE, SPELT, PLEIADES, BELLADONNA, CARTER, ENTRANT, COMPLACENT and HOOVER. COTD is the very tricky – and, sadly, unparsed – EQUAL SIGN for both the clever def and the unusual method of indicating the anagram.
Thanks Phi and B&J
Totally agree with PostMark about the poor colour choices in the new design. I could also do without the silly falling confetti effect when the puzzle is complete.
This comment should no doubt go in General Discussion but having checked out the website rather than the app which we pay for, we would agree with the above complaints from Andrew and Postmark.
We have sent an email to the Indy drawing their attention to the comments today.
Thanks B&J and sorry to have introduced a sour note and did wonder about putting this on GD. But this is the blog Indy solvers will come to first, I suspect. One additional thought contributed by a fellow commenter in a private email – the choice of colouring is quite possibly in contravention of web content accessibility guidelines. I am glad it sounds as if our esteemed bloggers have a hot line to the Indy crossword desk.
I’m another very upset with the garish colour scheme and then faint type of the clue until it has been completed. I guess this has nothing to to do with the Independent. Printing the puzzle works fine but eventually you have to enter the solutions in the grid. It’s hard to believe that the designers think what they’ve done is a good idea. They seem to know nothing about crosswords.
Like the puzzle. Especially liked EQUAL SIGN. Perhaps a typical Phi clue. Exile, Orion and Tableau also. I’ll have to reference this blog for the next time I see limitations as an indicator. It has been used recently and I never remember its exact meaning. Thanks to everyone except the purple people eaters.
No direct line Postmark – used the contact list!
Saw the theme OK (not a common event for a Phi puzzle) though missed the FILLMORE bit. Couldn’t parse ORION and at the end I was too lazy to do an alphabet trawl to get MORE. Agree with the negative comments about the new color scheme and “special effects”.
My quibble would be in regarding BELLADONNA as a ‘Narcotic?’, even with the question mark. I’m happy to be told I’m mistaken, but BELLADONNA contains several compounds such as atropine and scopolamine which have anticholinergic properties but they’re not usually regarded as ‘Narcotic(s)’. Maybe someone with pharmacological or chemical expertise can tell me if I’m wrong.
Thanks to Phi and B&J
I had never heard of EQUAL SIGN, or rather, if I had heard it, in American TV shows or films, I wouldn’t have noticed any difference in pronunciation between it and the EQUALS SIGN I learned in primary school, and assumed was used throughout the world. But no: Googling with the S returns under a million results; without the S returns over three million. I am outnumbered.
REORIENT also looked American: Collins says it’s only used transitively in British English – REORIENTATE is the intransitive form.
There’s nothing wrong with the clue: “point in a new direction” could be either transitive or intransitive.
A very nice puzzle. Missed the theme , even though I thought of Jimmy as I typed in CARTER.
LOI: MORE (FILL might have helped).
Thanks ? and B&J
PostMark @2. I noticed it yesterday and had much the same reaction. What’s wrong with “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.
That ? should have been a Phi character
I spent a few moment thinking NICE CAMERA wasn’t a very good clue before the penny dropped. I agree both with the praise for the puzzle and the dislike of the colour scheme.
Stephen @11. My experience with software seems to be along the lines of “if it ain’t broke then break it”. I often imagine software engineers sitting around a table discussing ways they can make their products harder to use (ITunes seems to me to be a particularly good example of this).
From past discussions the last time there was a major change in the user interface I think the software is handled by a company in California. If I remember correctly the crossword editor did manage to get some changes then, so we can live in hope…
Fortunately the interface didn’t detract from the standard of Phi’s cluing, which made for a very satisfying puzzle.
Thanks both. Lots of unknowns for me today, including that meaning of SPELT and the very Greek-looking PLEIADES exacerbated by less time than usual to solve, so also missed a very gettable theme, which I didn’t expect from the setter. I was also slow to arrive at EQUAL SIGN partly owing to the already noted missing(?) ‘s’ and the unconvincing anagrind ‘could have you’
I put eagle for 1ac, as I expect I was meant to, concrete instead of CRETONNE, a mistake of my own devising, and nice camera, which is embarrassing. EQUAL SIGN was favourite despite the surprising spelling.
I liked the confetti, but obviously not the colours.
Thanks Phi and Bertandjoyce
Just come back after being unable to read the clues – touch to scan the clue – only to find that it’s been resolved but now I can’t read my entry.
Adiós and thanks for all the Phish – and BJ
Thanks, Phi and B&J. Very much par for the course from this reliable setter. I struggled in places but it all came together in the end and looking back over it, nothing seems especially difficult. Completely oblivious to the theme, as usual.
FrankieG @10 – thanks for the insight on REORIENT vs REORIENTATE. I’ve long thought the latter meant precisely the same as the former but with a superfluous extra syllable (see also use vs utilise), wasn’t aware of the transitive vs intransitive distinction.
Agree with everyone else re the new colours. Ugh! The developers are, somewhat ironically, clueless.
Like James I started off badly with “eagle” for 1ac and my completed grid (on paper) has the “nice camera” too. Well, it could be, couldn’t it? Overall a really excellent puzzle. Thank you to Phi and B&J.
This may be too late for folks to see but I am sharing that I’ve had an email from Arkadium saying they have had other complaints and will be changing the format to something more user friendly. What that turns out to be, we will have to wait and see. Letter shaped emoji’s maybe …
20 January is traditionally Inauguration Day, of course.
BELLADONNA from Chambers: The deadly nightshade or dwale (Atropa belladonna), all parts of which are narcotic and poisonous from the presence of atropine
Excellent as usual from Phi, and as usual we missed the theme.
To add to the format discussion, we solve on paper and can’t say the printed format is any improvement – in fact it’s worse with full stops after the clue numbers and no space between the last word of the clue and the enumeration. As others have said, if it ain’t brokr don’t fix it.
Thanks, though, to Phi and B&J
I finished this some time ago but have been busy all evening.
Despite an interest in American history, I totally failed to spot the theme. Incidentally, Tom Lehrer makes a mention of Millard Fillmore on the introduction of one of his albums. Also, he gets a mention in Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures – it was he who sent Commodore Perry to Japan.
One improvement with the website is at least it no longer wants to print a blank page if you are printing out a blank grid.
Presumably the equals sign is used in maths and the equal sign in math.
Nice one DuncT!
Once they’ve sorted the colours for the on-screen version, perhaps they could revert the changes on the PDF version, which has also changed for the worse …
New colour scheme is appalling
I don’t know how many people will read this but we have heard from the app developers that they are making changes – it’s good that they are listening so fingers crossed!