Independent 11,864 / Phi

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Phi is back in his usual Friday slot this week, which seems only right and proper.

I found this to be a medium-difficulty puzzle through which I made steady progress, being slowed down only by a couple of intersecting entries in each of the NE and SE quadrants.

I think that I am happy with my parsing, although confirmation of my reading of 14A would be appreciated.

I have searched in vain for a ghost theme and/or Nina. Perhaps others have noticed something that I have missed, true to form?

My favourite clues today were 4 and 12, both for smoothness of surface; 24, for including so much misleading maritime content; and, above all, 20, for including both Rome and one of its most famous attractions in different parts of the clue.

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across    
     
08 KNOW Be aware of the present given to King

K (=king, in cards and chess) + NOW (=the present (day), as in the here and now)
     
09 AGAIN Dickensian crook heading off to case area once more

A (=area) in <f>AGIN (=Dickensian crook, in Oliver Twist; “heading off” means first letter is dropped)
     
10 OLEG Old supporter displaying common Russian name

O (=old, as in OT) + LEG (=supporter, of e.g. table)
     
11 IMMATURE I’m chum you are texting inside, awaiting development

U R (=you are (when) texting, i.e. in textspeak) in [I’M + MATE (=chum)]
     
12 CHASTE Pure cold loathing overwhelming son

C (=cold, e.g. on tap) + [S (=son) in HATE (=loathing)]
     
13 STAYED Remained sober in radio broadcast

Homophone (“in radio broadcast”) of “staid (=sober, stiff)”
     
14 REPAIRED Representative laundry item? One should get it mended

REP (=representative) + AIRED (=laundry item? One should get it (this))
     
15 URGE Encourage move forward with leader stepping down

<s>URGE (=move forward, advance, of e.g. army; “with leader stepping down” means first letter is dropped)
     
17 YACHT Most of the small island rebuffed vessel

TH<e> (“most of” means last letter is dropped) + CAY (=small island, key); “rebuffed” indicates reversal
     
19 TOFU It occupies amount of usual vegetarian fare

Hidden (“it occupies”) in “amounT OF Usual”
     
21 PROPOSER I suggest expert takes on problem

PRO (=expert, buff) + POSER (=problem, teaser)
     
24 SAMPAN Vessel finding quantity of current in sound reduced

AMP (=quantity of (electric) current, i.e. ampere) in SAN<e> (=sound, of mind; “reduced” means last letter is dropped)
     
26 ATONAL Note, one in key mostly, or not in key

[N (=note) + A (=one)] in ATOL<l> (=key, island; “mostly” means last letter is dropped)
     
27 CHEROKEE Member of tribe’s all right in here in church

[OK in HERE] in CE (=church, i.e. Church of England)
     
28 KNEE Part of leg seen kicking backwards, but only part

Reversed (“backwards”) and hidden (“but only part”) in “sEEN Kicking”
     
29 CRAWL What swimmer may do, chilly and damp, immersed in chlorine?

RAW (=chilly and damp, of weather) in CL (=chlorine, i.e. chemical symbol); the crawl is a swimming stroke; semi- & lit.
     
30 NECK Behave with affection or audacity

Double definition: to neck is to behave with affection, to kiss amorously AND neck is audacity, cheek
     
Down    
     
01 ANIMATOR Film-maker, a man working with trio

*(A MAN + TRIO); “working with” is anagram indicator
     
02 SWEATY Wife occupying bench perhaps on yard, showing effects of exercise?

[W (=wife) in SEAT (=bench perhaps)] + Y (=yard, i.e. unit of measurement)
     
03 SATURDAY Articles separately encountered during substantial part of weekend

A A (=articles, in grammar, i.e. 2 x A) in STURDY (=substantial, solid); “separately encountered” means they they are slotted individually into the word
     
04 MACE Staff money expert

M (=money) + ACE (=expert, pro); a mace is a ceremonial staff or rod
     
05 INK-CAP Mushroom in group coming up

IN + KCAP (PACK=group; “coming up” indicates vertical reversal)
     
06 VOCALIST Chap cut up over celebrity singer

VOC (COV<e>=chap, fellow; “cut” indicates last letter is dropped; “up” indicates vertical reversal) + A-list (=celebrity, used adjectivally, as in A-list line-up)
     
07 NETTLE Web story not revealing a nark

NET (=web) + T<a>LE (=story ; “not revealing a” means letter “a” is dropped); to nettle is to nark, irk, annoy
     
14 RECUR Playground sure to have covers removed and reappear

REC (=playground, i.e. a recreation ground) + <s>UR<e> (“to have covers removed” means first and last letters are dropped)
     
16 EXPENSES Former thoughts from Pascal, dismissing a European claim at work?

EX- (=former) + PENSE<e>S (=thoughts from Pascal, i.e. the French word for thoughts; “dismissing a European (=E)” means one letter “e” is dropped)
     
18 TESSELLA Group turned up to flog a bit of mosaic

TES (SET=group; “turned up” indicates vertical reversal) + SELL (=flog, trade) + A; a tessella is a small tile forming part of a mosaic
     
20 FLAMENCO Falcon flying around half of Rome – the Spanish Steps?

<ro>ME (“half of” means 2 of 4 letters only are used) in *(FALCON); “flying” is anagram indicator; the flamenco is a Spanish dance, hence “the Spanish Steps”!!
     
22 RETINA Money invested in genuine trimmed light sensor

TIN (=money, dosh) in REA<l> (=genuine; “trimmed” means last letter is dropped)
     
23 SILICA A lot of sediment, one about to reveal constituent of sand

SIL<t> (=sediment, e.g. on river-bed; “a lot of” means last letter is dropped) + I (=one) + CA (=about, circa)
     
25 MOOING Electronic instrument designer keeping in low sound

IN in MOOG (=electronic instrument designer, i.e. the American Robert Moog); lowing is noise made by cattle, hence “mooing”!
     
27 CHAT Plan to avoid Republican discussion

CHA<r>T (=plan, map); “to avoid Republican (=R)” means letter “r” is dropped
     
     

13 comments on “Independent 11,864 / Phi”

  1. REPAIRER not repaired. Airer being the item in the laundry and “one should get it mended” the definition.

  3. Thanks RatkojaRiku. And Petert. I was trying to work in the classic conundrum as to why so many socks get lost in the wash, and you don’t end up with a pair. Where I come from an airer isn’t an item in in the laundry..
    I liked the crossword, very accessible otherwise.

  4. Agree with Petert re REPAIRER. I did wonder whether KNOW AGAIN OLEG was going to turn out to be the key to a bunch of Russian poets or similar but I have insufficient knowledge of that oeuvre to be able to spot if Phi has such a theme. I am also a fan of AGAIN. Less so of encountering two boats clued as ‘vessel’ within a handful of Across clues. And then two ‘groups coming up’ in the Downs. That said, I did like one of those, INK-CAPS, as well as MOOING, SWEATY and SATURDAY.

    Thanks Phi and RR

  5. And I’m old enough to remember Moog, and awake enough to know that low may mean moo. Liked the construction of MOOING.

  6. Much more approachable than the usual Phi offering, for me anyway… having said that I had to ponder “neck” for a while… not sure why… also tried to fit CHER into “vocalist”, and Tarantino into “film maker” until I pulled myself together…
    Thanks Phi n RatkojaRiku

  7. This was fun! However I got stuck on two pairs of intersecting entries: RETINA and ATONAL, and MOOING and (nho) SAMPAN. These were the trickiest of the bunch IMO. I also felt that pensées was a tad too specialist, though I got there in the end, albeit via first inventing the word pensements.

    I too particularly enjoyed FLAMENCO, and tentatively had REPAIRED until I finally addressed the niggling feeling it was giving me. (Another one who spent a moment wondering about pairs of socks!)

    Thanks both

  8. [pdm @5: I regularly drive past a Moog site in my local area. Whilst I am fairly sure it is aircraft components, it always makes me think of synthesisers and prog rock]

  9. Thanks both. I took airer in REPAIRER to be an item for laundry, not necessarily in a laundry – we have one outside which we used in May, as it was the last day it didn’t rain. Once OLEG wasn’t taking us down a meerkat track, I gave up any hope of identifying a theme.

  10. Thanks both. I managed to struggle through but needed help to parse ATONAL and VOCALIST (isn’t a cove more of a chum than just a chap?).

  11. Failed to parse ATONAL, and entered an unheard of SAMPAF (hadn’t heard of SAMPAN either) at 24. All others went in pretty smoothly. As has been suggested this felt easier than a normal Friday Phi to me with fewer unusual entries.

    Thanks Phi and RR.

  13. What was I thinking? This Nina was sufficiently obscure that even I overlooked it. Took a lot of research too.

    Our local cat cafe is called Neko Ngeru, though it appears in the opposite order in the perimeter. There are cats from five more languages there plus two actual entries to make nine in total. Seemed like the right number…

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