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As usual, we have a puzzle from Phi on a Friday.
There is a clear theme throughout the puzzle. In fact it is spelled out in the top row – ASTEROID CITY. A number of the entries are names of both ASTEROIDs and CITies. There is one that is just an ASTEROID; the small market town of CHURCH STRETTON, located close to the English / Welsh border. A little bit of research on the web shows that there any very many ASTEROIDs or minor planets named after geographical locations, possibly indicating where each was first observed.
There is also a recent romantic comedy entitled ASTEROID CITY, but I don’t think there are any allusions to the story or characters in the grid.
I know some of the cities listed are capital cities, but I have just referred to them as cities in the blog to relate closely to the word at 6 across.
With Phi puzzles, I often look to see if there are any other words associated with the grid. Apparently there is a HIAWATHA crater under a glacier in Greenland which is thought to have been created by an asteroid or meteorite
I wondered about the part of speech indicated by ERR in the clue for TERRIFIED. Mistake can be used as a verb meaning to ERR, so everything seems OK.
I note that Phi has used ‘criminal’ as an anagram indicator in 17 across. John Henderson [aka Enigmatist and Elgar], editor of the Inquisitor series, has made a few comments in the i newspaper recently about anagram indicators.
It’s possible I won’t have good internet access when this puzzle is published, so I may not be able to respond to comments immediately, but I will have good access later in the day.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | Rock overhead? It soared uncontrollably (8)
ASTEROID (any of the thousands of rocky objects found generally in orbits between those of Mars and Jupiter; rock overhead) Anagram of (uncontrollably) IT SOARED ASTEROID* |
| 6 | Financial centre‘s maximum output after losing top area (4)
CITY (financial centre) CAPACITY (maximum possible output or performance) excluding (after losing) (CAP [top] + A [area]) CITY |
| 11 | 6 (and 1) favoured embracing right husband (5)
PERTH (name of an Australian CITY [6 across] and an ASTEROID [1 across]) (PET [favoured] containing [embracing] R [right]) + H (husband) PE (R) T H |
| 12 | Bound to involve mistake if fearful (9)
TERRIFIED (fearful) TIED (bound) containing (to involve) (ERR [{make a} mistake] + IF) T (ERR IF) IED |
| 13 | Large bird with a sweet tail cut (7)
TITANIC (enormous; large) TIT (bird) + A + NICE (sweet) excluding the final letter (tail cut) E TIT A NIC |
| 14 | Recalled strike’s intent: raising a stink? (7)
MIASMAL (foul-smelling; raising a stink) (LAM’S [strike’s] + AIM [intent]) all reversed (recalled) (MIA SMAL)< |
| 15/19 | Not a 6 (but 1): trench remade with shortcut (6,8)
CHURCH [STRETTON] (name of an ASTEROID [1 across], a small town, but not a CITY [6 across], in England) Anagram of (remade) TRENCH and [with] SHORTCUT CHURCH STRETTON] |
| 17 | Installs nastiest criminal (8)
INSTATES (installs) Anagram of (criminal) NASTIEST INSTATES* |
| 21 | Very noble, dismissing half through asking questions (8)
SOCRATIC (the Greek philosopher SOCRATes [c470BC-399BC] taught by asking his students a series questions SO (very) + ARISTOCRATIC (noble) excluding the first 6 of 12 [half] letters ARISTO) SO CRATIC |
| 22 | Kitchen device more polished, cutting end of leek (6)
SLICER (kitchen device) SLICKER (more polished) excluding (cutting) K (last letter of [end of] LEEK) SLICER |
| 24 | 6 (and 1), as good when covered in warm light (7)
GLASGOW (name of a Scottish CITY [6 across] and an ASTEROID [1 across]) (AS + G [good]) contained in (when covered by) GLOW (warm light) GL (AS G) OW |
| 26 | Fruit in season, we hear (7)
CURRANT (dried seedless grape; fruit) CURRANT (sounds like [we hear] CURRENT [in season]) CURRANT |
| 28 | Cut economy initially – severe cut – a quarter (9)
TRIMESTER (three months [a quarter of a year]) TRIM (cut) + E (first letter of [initially] ECONOMY) + STERN (severe) excluding the final letter (cut) TRIM E STER |
| 29 | 6 (and 1) in formal mode (5)
MALMO (name of a Swedish CITY [6 across] and an ASTEROID [1 across]) MALMO (hidden word in [in] FORMAL MODE) MALMO |
| 30 | 6 (and 1) to equip amateur (4)
RIGA (name of a Latvian CITY [6 across] and an ASTEROID [1 across]) RIG (equip) + A (amateur) RIG A |
| 31 | American rang up American, backing European 6 (and 1) (8)
ADELAIDE (name of an Australian CITY [6 across] and an ASTEROID [1 across]) A (American) + DIALED (rang up) reversed (backing) + E (European) A DELAID< E |
| Down | |
| 2 | Overturned covers on boat to find small fish (5)
SPRAT (small fish) TARPS (tarpaulins; covers on boats) reversed (overturned) SPRAT< |
| 3 | Herbal remedy expert resident in Eastern Oriental country (9)
ECHINACEA (a herbal remedy thought to boost the immune system, prepared from a North American composite plant) ACE (expert) contained in (resident in) (E [Eastern] + CHINA [Oriental country]) E CHIN (ACE) A |
| 4 | Physical science subjects showing evidence of time travel? (6)
OPTICS (the physical science of light) TOPICS (subjects) with T (time) moving (showing evidence of travel) within the word to form OPTICS OPTICS |
| 5 | Walked up, going over wet earth around new 6 (and 1) (8)
DORTMUND (name of a German CITY [6 across] and an ASTEROID [1 across]) TROD (walked) reversed (up) + (MUD [wet earth] containing [around] N [new]) DORT< MU (N) D – this being a down entry the letters DORT are placed over the remaining letters |
| 7 | Dotty about successful student of the vernacular (9)
IDIOMATIC (of the native or indigenous language; of the vernacular) IDIOTIC (foolish; dotty) containing (about) MA (Master of Arts; a student who has graduated with a degree; successful student) IDIO (MA) TIC |
| 8 | Climbing party accommodated in line, showing a calling for the mountains (5)
YODEL (a form of singing or shouting commonly associated with people who live in the Alpine regions of Switzerland and Austria) (DO [party] contained in [accommodated in] LEY [any of the straight lines between features of the landscape, possibly pathways, or perhaps having scientific or magical significance in prehistoric times]) all reversed (climbing; down entry) (Y (OD) EL)< |
| 9 | Successful periods getting good marks? Move on (2,6)
UP STICKS (move on) UPS (successful periods) + TICKS (correct [good] marks) UP S TICKS |
| 10 | I’m moving into the French 6 (and 1) (4)
LIMA (name of a Peruvian CITY [6 across] and an ASTEROID [1 across]) I’M contained in [moving into] LA (one of the French forms of ‘the’) L (IM) A |
| 16 | Not finishing university new college appearing less stressful (9)
UNCEASING (not finishing) U (university) + N (new) + C (college) + EASING ([appearing] less stressful) U N C EASING |
| 18 | Lie ailing with trauma – bacterial disease from California (9)
TULAREMIA (American [California] spelling of a disease of rodents caused by a bacterium transmitted to humans either by insects or directly, causing fever, etc) Anagram of (ailing) LIE and [with] TRAUMA TULAREMIA* |
| 19 | See 15 Across
[CHURCH] STRETTON |
| 20 | Await game between rugby posts, supported by a figure from poetry (8)
HIAWATHA (reference the main character in the poem ‘The Song of HIAWATHA‘ by Henry Longfellow [1807-1882]; figure from poetry) Anagram of (game [lame]) AWAIT contained in (between) (H + H [rugby posts are shaped like the letter H) + A – this being a down entry, the letters HIAWATH are ‘supported’ by the final letter A H (IAWAT*) H A |
| 23 | Uncommon alarm about Conservative (6)
SCARCE (uncommon) SCARE (alarm) containing (about) C (Conservative) SCAR (C) E |
| 24 | Eighteen characters in pursuit of grand reptile (5)
GATOR (alliGATOR; reptile) G (grand) + A TO R (the first 18 letters of the alphabet) G A TO R |
| 25 | Vocal piece with expression of surprise about length (4)
GLEE (a form of short part-song, strictly one without an accompaniment, popular from the mid-17th century to the 19th century) – possibly the reason for GLEE Clubs GEE (expression of surprise) containing (about) L (length) G (L) EE |
| 27 | Was bad? Was no good, missing first place (5)
AILED (was ill; was bad) FAILED (was no good) excluding the first letter (missing first place) F AILED |
In 31a, it should say DIALED (rang up American), since the UK spelling is DIALLED.
I found this easier than I expected since I don’t know the names of any asteroids (or at least I didn’t before doing this) and my knowledge of cities is woeful. Had to cheat on TULAREMIA in that I guessed the I was between the M & A but the other 3 vowels could go anywhere leaving 6 possible answers. Didn’t know CHURCH STRETTON but this time it proved the most likely anagram which a google confirmed.
I am not normally hugely concerned by US spellings but today, as per Hovis @1, a nudg to help with DIALED would have been helpful; I dismissed DIALLED too quickly on the grounds it would have been too long. My experience appears to mirror Hovis’s in other ways too: I could not have named an asteroid for my life before this morning; I’d never heard of the disease and needed an anagram tool; CHURCH STRETTON was decidedly obscure (I know the Shropshire town and would not be surprised if there were asteroids out there that exceed it in size! Amazed it has given its name to a space rock!)
[On which topic – minor bit of interest, perhaps. When NASA sent the Curiosity Rover to Mars, the team named one target site Glenelg: it’s a palindrome and the rover planned to enter and then return via the identical route – sort of palindromic. The real village of Glenelg in the Scottish Highlands took the opportunity to garner some publicity and is now the only place on the globe to be officially twinned with a Martian location! Here is an article. ]
Thanks Phi and duncan (PS – Glenelg is reached from Shiel Bridge in Glen Shiel, Duncan!)
I thought ‘rang up American’ was the indicator for 31a.
Very difficult for me but once I got the city theme things picked up. I liked HIAWATHA for the goalposts, UNCEASING (I was misdirected), DORTMUND and SPRAT (so easy now, took me ages). The CHURCH, the bacterial disease and the herbal remedy were way outside my vocabulary but even though I had to reveal twice I really enjoyed this puzzle. Thanks duncan and Phi
Sofamore @4. Yes, that’s what I meant. I’m guessing PostMark missed the ‘nudge’.
Not sure I’d call Wes Anderson’s latest a romantic comedy. This was just a reference to the title once I realised there were lots of asteroids named after odd places. Watch out for further cinematic refernces.
Glenelg is, of course, a suburb of Adelaide, though I never got there when I visited.
Much the same as everyone else, I could count my knowledge of asteroids on the fingers of no hands. So much so that at one point early on, I was considering whether the intended meaning was “A STEROID”, and whether that would help! At least getting 6 helped me to make some progress.
Two entries (TULAREMIA and CHURCH STRETTON) which were helpfully obvious anagrams needed all the crossers and a deep breath before I had a hope of finding plausible words to look up. (Which isn’t exactly a problem, but meant that my final impression was of a mechanical ordeal, rather than the amused realisation of most other clues.)
So thanks Phi and Duncan. I like to see different thematic ideas, and I feel more educated for my morning’s work.
Thanks both. Really enjoyed what became a difficult challenge, especially having mis-read the all-important clue for ASTEROID as ‘overheard’ therefore trying to justify a homophone – I’d say we see it more often than ‘overhead’ and ageing is my other excuse. TULAREMIA was third guess, as a complete unknown in any spelling, and the vowels interchanged nicely. Had vaguely heard of CHURCH STRETTON which eventually got me there, but not in context
Thanks duncanshiell and Phi.
This was a joyless drudgery. Sorry.
Having been out much of the day, and catching up on the comments, yes I do appear to have missed the nudge re DIALED. Apologies to Phi
An obvious theme for once from Phi and an enjoyable solve learning about the names of asteroids, especially when one turned out to be CHURCH STRETTON – which was our LOI. The non-thematic SOCRATIC and HIAWATHA were our favourites, though.
Thanks, Phi and Duncan
We completed it so I suppose it must all have been well clued. But it felt unfair that so many clues referred to something as obscure as the names of asteroids, paired with pretty random cities, and that made it seem like very hard work. Each to their own.
Well, I for one enjoyed this a lot! On getting ASTEROID and CITY straight off, I wondered if we were in for a Wes Anderson theme. Wasn’t expecting it to go off on that tangent! Nicely done, Phi.
I didn’t find it a problem not knowing that the cities were also asteroids – they’re all well enough known as cities, and all were fairly clued.
Church Stretton is a spa town and was a tourist hotspot in Victorian times. I know it through being a cyclist – it’s the starting point for rides up the Long Mynd, just west of the town.
As an aside, I saw the film in the cinema. Not one of his best but still fun. You could call it a romantic comedy but it’s far from a conventional example of that genre.
Thanks, Phi and Duncan.
I found it very difficult to get started on this. And even once I’d worked out the theme, I found it difficult to proceed. It is now nearly midnight and I’m calling it a day.
We love Phi and this was every bit as good as usual.
There was enough to get you going which then made it obvious what 6ac was, that then opened up a load more clues.
Typical Phi in that there were new words in some of the answers, but they were all gettable from the clues.
We couldn’t parse 21 (LOI), but still were happy that we got it right.
Thanks Phi & Duncan 🙂