It’s Phi-day 13th! A scary puzzle?
Not at all scary! Another smooth challenge from our regular Friday setter, which was an enjoyable and fairly straightforward solve. Our last one in was 13ac – we had the answer from the definition and crossing letters, but it took a lot longer than it should have to sort out the parsing.
It’s a Phi, so there is likely to be a theme, but we can’t see one. Is there a connection to ‘Friday 13th’ films? Or to Eugene O’Neill? Or ‘Avatar’? We’re not familiar enough with any of these possibilities, but a brief online search has not uncovered anything. Any thoughts out there?
A reversal (recalled) of TOO (very much) round (‘hosting’) CEL (piece of animation)
DUST (remains) B (first or ‘initial’ letter of bad) + an anagram (‘horribly’) of LOW
An anagram (‘filthy’) of APPEARS WET
Double definition
An anagram (‘variation’) of POULENC + E (last or ‘ultimate’ letter of exquisite)
F (fine) + BY (times, as in multiplication) after (‘pursuing’) LAB (labrador – ‘dog’)
F OR T (the first or last letters or ‘limitations’ of ‘first’)
AIR (song) IN E S S (two sopranos)
ALL (everyone) + U (university) ‘involved’ in ELIA (Charles Lamb)
hAUNT (place regularly visited) missing the ‘h’ – traditionally, Londoners from the East End drop their ‘h’s when speaking
A TA (‘cheers’ – thank you) in (‘enthralled by’) A VR (virtual reality)
TIN (metal) CURE (treatment) round (‘involving’) T (time)
Double definition
I (one) + an anagram (‘active’) of IN EG LIBEL
EST (French for ‘is’) round (‘importing’) CARGO (a load)
LACY (delicate) round EG (‘for one’)
L (line) in CAMP (party)
LIT (drunk) + an anagram (‘rolling around’) of bOTTLE missing the first letter or ‘top off’ + E (last letter or ‘floor’ of lounge). As used in the nursery rhyme and finger-play game – this little piggy went to market ………
TYING (binding) round (‘including’) P (third letter of reports)
An anagram (‘amended’) of TAX NEED TRUMP PLAn missing the last letter (‘curtailed’)
SUE (go to court) round R (first letter or ‘source’ of rotten) + FIRE (discharge)
S (first letter or ‘beginning’ of sink) in BALA (Welsh lake)
WAS SIN (wrong) round (’embracing’) H (hot) BA (graduate)
L I (2nd & 4th – ‘even’ – letters or ‘bits’ of ‘plain’) in OBVIOUS (plain)
N (note) EARTHING (making electrical equipment safe)
HURRaY (cheer) IN G (government) missing (‘withdrawing’) A (America)
ONE (a) ILL (bad) – a reference to Eugene O’Neill
Hidden (‘served’) in ornaTE TRAttoria
RE (regarding) LICk (defeat) missing the last letter or ‘getting cut down’
Philanthropic setting from Phi, great fun and enjoyable wordplays…albeit quite a few obvious definitions telegraphed the solutions.
I struggled with O’NEILL, 20(d), and I wonder why the numerator can’t be (1′ 5) ? The hyphen is used where needed ( as in SURE-FIRE, 4-4 ), so why not the apostrophe?
I think the original Gaelic is possibly ” O NEILL” , so (1,5). Just idle musing.
Anyhow, a super puzzle (and blog), 100% entertaining, no obscurities, impressive variety.
Hats off, Phi and BJ
Beaten at the very end by the intersecting TINCTURE and O’NEILL whom I know of only from crosswords, I’m afraid. And, whilst I am normally relaxed about the perennial issue of how to enumerate an apostrophe’d solution, this was an occasion where an indicator would indeed have been helpful. Should’ve got it from WP, especially as I had the ILL. As for TINCTURE, I was trying to work around putting T into TEMPER to get TEMPTER which could be ‘just a bit’ but it didn’t feel right.
Thanks both
Apart from initially bunging in DEEP DOWN for 5ac as a cryptic def reference to ‘horribly low’ and The Great Depression, all went fairly smoothly, but stuck on the playwright, although O’Neill is one of the few American playwright whose plays I have seen. I should have paid more attention to the wordplay, rather than trying to think of playwrights that would fit. You know you are in safe hands with Phi. Thanks Phi and B&J
AVATAR: The LAST AIRbender is a noughties US animated TV series unrelated to the James Cameron film series. Characters control elements FIRE, EARTH and AIR and water, which is maybe represented by the surface of 9a? Not sure if there are other references. I enjoyed the puzzle especially DUPLEX APARTMENT, FLABBY, ESCARGOT and O’NEILL
Charlie@4 good spot. I did think halleluja mountains might fit, but I confess it’s certainly not in my ken.
Thanks both. Just right for a Friday. I’ll further vote that ONEILL just doesn’t look right, but I got there; my ALLELUIA moment was opting for the correct variant spelling, as I know I’ve seen the Charles Lamb device before, but I’d only have committed it to memory if he owed me money.
For those claiming unfamiliarity with Eugene O’NEILL, know that he’s on the fairly short list of American Nobel literature laureates, and the only one among them who was primarily a playwright. Many of his plays haven’t aged very well, and many of them are too long to be performed without cuts, but the ones that will live on include Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Iceman Cometh, and Desire Under the Elms. If you can’t see them, read them–it’s worth it. Depressing as all holy hell, though, so wait until a bright sunny day.
And yeah, I often wonder whether it should be (1,5) or (1’5) instead of (6), but the first of those alternatives would be misleading and the second would make it a dead giveaway.
More tangents: a DUPLEX APARTMENT is specifically a two-story flat. But if you simply say you live in a duplex, that usually means a duplex house, which is American for a semi-detached. The word “semi” in American doesn’t mean that–a semi is what y’all call an articulated lorry. Two nations divided and all that.
[Additional fun O’NEILL fact: the first two of those three masterpieces I listed were written after he won his Nobel!]
All I put into this one were FORT(H), (H)AIRINESS, ALLELUIA(H) and (H)AUNT. (Any better suggestions for the third of those?)
I have seen O’Neill’s Emperor Jones and Strange Interlude on the London stage, the latter heavily cut because of its length. It starred Jason Watkins and Anne-Marie Duff, both familiar faces on British television.
As a science fiction fan, it amused me that the action starts after WWI and continues for 20 years. As the play dates from 1928, the end of the play is set in the future, but I wouldn’t think of it as SF.
Phi @9
Very late to respond, the “H” grid provides the missing aitches. Which is very cunning, original, and totally defeated me. Brilliant.
In return, what’s the suggestion for the third one?
I’m toying with HALLELUJAH, but you have me beaten again.
Be a pal…let me know.
Thanks for the ‘H’int Phi. We hadn’t noticed the Hs in the grid and it took a while for the Penny to drop.