Phi on a Friday – we return to normality!
Another great puzzle from Phi – how does he keep them coming? Is there a theme? We can’t find anything, but that’s not unusual. We wondered whether the inclusion of ANTHROPOCENTRIC down the middle of the grid is a clue, but we can’t see any connections. Maybe Phi set himself the challenge of including one 15-letter word, four 13-letter words and two 11-letter words in the grid.
An anagram (‘fixed’) of APPARENT FREE and S (first or ‘initial’ letter of sheet)
ThOsE (alternate letters or ‘odd bits’) + cRAGs (omitting first and last letters or ‘uncovered’)
A reversal (‘setback’) of ROOD (cross) PART (actor’s words)
A reversal (‘whirling’) of I’M IC (in charge) in or ‘amongst’ RATS (scoundrels)
FORGE (make up) T (time)
I (one) + CONS (studies) PIC (photo) U (university) in or ‘probing’ NOUS (intellect)
An anagram (‘offering treatment’) of PARAMECIA (2 down) and POOH
UNION (wedding) round or ‘involving’ S (soprano)
NEAR (mean) SIDE (team) – New Zealanders drive on the left
IS ‘covered’ in BANTER (ribbing)
ORATE (lecture) round N (last letter or ‘culmination’ of German)
EXpErT (specialist) missing or ‘abandoning’ ‘p’ (prince) and ‘r’ (king) + ERE (before) round or ‘entered by’ COL (pass) LEG (on – in cricket)
A clue-as-definition: hidden (‘a serving of’) in souP HOt
PARA (‘airborne trooper’) ME CIA (spies)
RIG (clothing) H (last or ‘latest’ letter in bewitch) TON (‘fashionable crowd’)
An anagram (‘sadly’) of A CHRONIC PORTENT
A reversal (‘elevated’) of ART (skill) + FF (following) I (one) C (first letter or ‘debut’ of commerce)
N (new) AIR (broadcast) round D (duke)
An anagram (‘after ruining’) of SO HARDLINE + D (democrat)
CHIP (‘damage to wood?’) PEND (hang) ALE (beer)
BE (continue) IS (island) in an anagram (‘at sea’) of CANOE
ATE (had) ‘hiding’ in MANE (locks)
F (loud) OW (cry of pain) in or ‘concealed by’ PEAL (the sound of bells)
SchooL (first and last letters or ‘extreme elements’) IDEa (plan) missing the last letter or ‘not ending’
TInE (point) with the ‘n’ (Navy) omitted or ‘leaving’
Nice puzzle, thx Phi and B&J.
[Fascinating little fellas, paramecia; like amoebe, they respond to stimuli and behave purposefully but have no nervous system at all]
To save anyone else worrying: yes, it is just the grid this time.
Having (Sir Roger) Banister and Exeter College had me hunting for the non-existent theme. It all fell into place nicely but not in four minutes.
Paramecia is jorum of the day for me!
All those long entries means fewer clues to solve so this one was over nice and quickly this morning. Just as much fun as usual though.
Excellent puzzle. 15A defeated me – guessed in the end it was NEARSIDE but couldn’t see why! Brilliant definition.
A very satisfying solve. EXETER COLLEGE went in unparsed, and looking at the blog I’m kind of glad I didn’t try too hard, but otherwise all present and accounted for. I haven’t had PHO in a while–the last couple times we did Vietnamese we both ordered other dishes–but now I’m kind of in the mood, so thanks for that.
Mr.P@6 I’ve never heard of Exeter College.
The next step, is that my old school will be an answer. Buckley Primary.
PAPER FASTENER is just GREEN PAINT.
Great puzzle?
Not one for me.
Far too contrived, on too many clues.
Near=mean? Can someone explain?
Otherwise all fun, though I wondered if paper fastener is a word in English, surely we call it a paper clip.
Ericw Near is another word for mean in the miserly sense of the word.
I enjoyed this, and didn’t find it contrived. Faves were MANATEE, SCIMITAR and RHODE ISLAND… I really want the “ruining” in the latter’s surface to be some other word beginning with ‘r’ that can act as an anagrind and also mean “deposing”, to give a really evocative surface; I wonder whether the simple “replacing” (cryptically, re-placing) would work?
The fun today came from having never heard of PARAMECIA or PHARMACOPOEIA and so having to build both iteratively from the obvious bases PARA and PHARMAC. Made for a different kind of challenge.
EXETER COLLEGE is the fourth-oldest and one of the most prestigious colleges at the University of Oxford, so say them. So plenty fair enough as a piece of GK IMO, and it was my favourite parsing challenge today. In general I think really long clues are as pleasing as really short ones, when done well.
A PAPER FASTENER appears to be that thing you insert into a punch hole and then splay the “legs” of.
I had just the slightest quibble about the use of “a setback” in the clue for TRAP-DOOR (and the hyphen seems a bit fussy there but no doubt it has support). But that certainly didn’t spoil the fun.
Thanks both
(Posting 6 days late – it didn’t take me quite that long to solve, honest). Seemed to not be quite on Phi’s wavelength with this one, unusually for me. Enjoyed BANISTER at least.