We have an interesting puzzle from Phi today.
Phi often has themes in his puzzles. Today, I think there may be two themes, one related to the entry at 14 across, SIENNA and one relating to the similarly sounding SIENA, a city in Italy.
To go with SIENNA we have BURNT at 29 across. BURNT SIENNA is a colour. We also have MILLER at 4 down. The American-British actress SIENNA MILLER [born 1981] could be considered to be a CELEB (entry at 24 down)
Turning to links to SIENA, we have PALIO (a horse race held in the town), CATHERINE (St CATHERINE of SIENA is one of many Saints of that name), ITALY (location of SIENA) and DONATELLO (born in Florence, but fulfilled many commissions in SIENA)
Other possible thematic entries are LA SCALA, the Opera House in Milan, ITALY, and EASEL, something used by DONATELLO.
There are two three-letter entries in the grid NOR and SKI. They don’t seem to be thematic. I wonder if they are just in the grid to reduce the number of black squares in columns 6 and 10.
I thought there were many good surfaces on today’s clue; too many to list individually.
My French is not very good, so HOTEL DIEU was a new term to me. I’m a bit old for skateboarding so OLLIE too was a new word for me. LANAI is a word I have met in barred crosswords in the past.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | Occasionally call for help to secure personal relaxation? (9)
SOMETIMES (occasionally) SOS (Save Our Souls; call for help) containing (to secure) (ME TIME [the time a person has to himself or herself, in which to do something for his or her own enjoyment; personal relaxation]) SO (ME TIME) S |
| 6 | One circuit round and round in horse race (5)
PALIO (traditional horse race held in Siena twice a year in July and August) (I [Roman numeral for one] + LAP [circuit]) reversed (round) + O (a round symbol) (PAL I) O |
| 9 | Logic circuit reversing part of another one (3)
NOR (a circuit which produces an output signal only when there are no signals on any of the input connections; a logic circuit) NOR (reversed [reversing] hidden word in [part of] anotheR ONe) NOR< |
| 10 | Artist to finish – note all works (9)
DONATELLO (reference the Italian artist known as DONATELLO [1386 – 1466]) DO (to finish) + an anagram of (works) NOTE ALL DO NATELLO* |
| 11 | Carefully move large item in studio (5)
EASEL (an item in a studio) EASE (move gently; carefully move) + L (large) EASE L |
| 12 | Home to 10, I reckon, ignoring a lecturer (5)
ITALY (Country that was home to DONATELLO [entry at 10 across]) I + TAlLY (to count; reckon) excluding (ignoring) one L (lecturer) I TALY – either L could be the one omitted |
| 13 | I’m leaving additional part of match around one, heading for car, to get clear (9)
EXTRICATE (free from entanglement; get clear) (EXTRA TimE [additional part of a sporting match] excluding [leaving] I’M) containing (around) (I [Roman numeral for one] + C [first letter of {heading for} Car]) EXTR (I C) A TE |
| 14 | Former Queen is done over in fine colour (6)
SIENNA (a fine pigment or colour) (ANNE [reference Queen Anne {1665 – 1714}, who was Queen of Great Britain from 1702 – 1714] + IS) all reversed (done over) (SI ENNA)< |
| 16 | Disadvantage defender after indecisive match (8)
DRAWBACK (disadvantage) DRAW (result in a match that neither side won; an indecisive match) + BACK (a defender in a sporting team) DRAW BACK |
| 19 | My pole dancing initially excited every worker (8)
EMPLOYEE (worker) Anagram of (dancing) MY POLE + EE (first letters of [initially] of each of Excited and Every) EMPLOY* E E |
| 21 | End of leg struck incomplete unit (6)
GRAMME (alternative spelling of GRAM [a unit of weight]) G (last letter of [end of] leG) + RAMMEd (struck with force) excluding the final letter D (incomplete) G RAMME |
| 24 | Most of military unit speak on a collective basis (9)
CORPORATE (on behalf of members that form a group legally united [collected] into a single organisation; on a collective basis) CORPs (military unit) excluding the final letter S (most of) + ORATE (speak) CORP ORATE |
| 25 | Henry moving to rear of centre ground (5)
EARTH (ground) HEART (centre) with H (henry, a unit of inductance) moving to the end [moving to rear] to form EARTH EARTH |
| 26 | Computer network with recent technology to provide building in Hawaii (5)
LANAI (Hawaiian term for a building extension such as a verandah; building in Hawaii) LAN (Local Area Network; computer network) + AI (Artificial Technology, a recent technology) LAN AI |
| 27 | The Parisian, back in unusual hideout: a hospital in Nice (5-4)
HOTEL DIEU (French [Nice] word for a hospital) LE (one of the French [Parisian] words for ‘the’) reversed (back) and contained in (in) an anagram of (unusual) HIDEOUT HOT (EL<) DIEU* |
| 28 | Mostly avoid having to do winter sport (3)
SKI (take part in [to do] SKIing [a winter sport]) SKIp (avoid having to do something) excluding the final letter P (mostly) SKI |
| 29 | Objection about sailors? It’s consigned to the flames (5)
BURNT (consigned to the flames) BUT (an objection) containing (about) RN (Royal Navy; sailors) BU (RN) T |
| 30 | Well-known saint in here, working with domestic pet? (9)
CATHERINE (reference St CATHERINE, of whom there are many. For this crossword, the reference is probably to St CATHERINE of Siena whose Saints Day is celebrated on 29th April each year) CAT (domestic pet) + an anagram of (working) IN HERE CAT HERINE* |
| Down | |
| 1 | Pretentious attitude over publication is a minor matter (4,5)
SIDE ISSUE (a subordinate issue arising from the main business; a minor matter) SIDE (pretentious attitude) + ISSUE (publication) SIDE ISSUE |
| 2 | Bloke getting to see authorisation (7)
MANDATE (legal authorisation) MAN (bloke) + DATE (see, as in go on a DATE with someone) MAN DATE |
| 3 | Shabby, tense and irritable, doffing cap (5)
TATTY (shabby) T (tense) + rATTY (irritable) excluding the first letter R (doffing cap). I also thought of CATTY, but decided that’s describing an emotion more spiteful than irritable. T ATTY |
| 4 | Runner covering extra length is a flour producer (6)
MILLER (someone who grinds meal of wheat to make flour) MILER (runner) containing (covering) an additional (extra) L (length) MIL (L) ER – either L could be the one contained. |
| 5 | Broadcast new story, gripping motoring item (4,4)
SNOW TYRE (soft rubber tyre with deep treads, designed to maintain grip in ice and snow; gripping motoring item) Anagram of (broadcast) NEW STORY SNOW TYRE* |
| 6 | I can see what s coming – end of sheep, sheep in stream turning turtle (9)
PREVIEWER (someone who has a preliminary sight of something to be published or broadcast for example; someone who can see what’s coming) P (last letter of [end of] sheeP) + (EWE [female sheep] contained in [in] RIVER [stream] reversed {turning turtle; down entry]) P REVI (EWE) R< |
| 7 | Italian opera house showing a range not fully achieved in US city (2,5)
LA SCALA (name of the Opera House in the Italian city of Milan) (A + SCALe [range] excluding the final letter E [not fully achieved]) contained in (in) LA (Los Angeles, US city) L (A SCAL) A |
| 8 | More cheerful, getting stripped for skateboard manoeuvre (5)
OLLIE (in skateboarding and snowboarding, a jump into the air with the feet still touching the board, performed by pushing the tail of the board down with the back foot) jOLLIEr (more cheerful) excluding the outer letters J and R (getting stripped) OLLIE |
| 15 | Lose ingot that’s to be melted down for coiner? (9)
NEOLOGIST (someone who coins new words or phrases) Anagram of (that’s to be melted down) LOSE INGOT NEOLOGIST* |
| 17 | Run an establishment – look upset with those in attendance (4,5)
KEEP HOUSE (maintain or manage an establishment) PEEK (look) reversed (upset; down entry) + HOUSE (audience at a performance; those in attendance) KEEP< HOUSE |
| 18 | Raised concerns about setter emulating a heavenly being (8)
SERAPHIC (like a celestial or heavenly being) CARES (concerns) reversed (raised; down entry) containing (about) PHI (name of today’s setter) SERA (PHI) C< |
| 20 | Business associate upheld hire charge (7)
PARTNER (business associate) (RENT [hire] + RAP [slang term for a criminal charge]) all reversed (upheld; down entry) (PAR TNER)< |
| 22 | Something crafty in small cocktail (7)
MARTINI (a cocktail of vermouth, gin, bitters, etc) ART (something crafty) contained in (in) MINI (small) M (ART) INI |
| 23 | Have sex, possibly, and get away (4,2)
BEAT IT (make off hastily; run away) BE AT IT (a phrase that could describe the action of someone having sex) BE AT IT |
| 24 | Caught insect soaring around league star (5)
CELEB (CELEBrity; star) C (caught) + (BEE reversed [soaring; down entry] containing [around] L [league]) C E (L) EB< |
| 25 | Singer Goulding, perhaps, I featured in fashion magazine (5)
ELLIE (forename of English singer-songwriter ELLIE Goulding [born 1986]) I contained in (featured in) ELLE (title of a fashion magazine) ELL (I) E |
Another excellent Phi, though 27(ac) might have been “nice”r with the hospital in Paris, and “Parisian” substituted…”Corsican”, say.
For SKI, 28(ac), I thought, “skirt”, or “skive”, but skip is neater.
Is it me, or is Phi getting mellower towards us solvers?
Lovely stuff, big thumbs up, Phi & duncan
There’s a depressingly businesslike (and perhaps accidental) theme in the SW, with CORPORATE, PARTNER, and EMPLOYEE crossing each other. I was glad that Italy ruled the day instead.
Sienna was our almost 17-year-old tortie who died in January. Her name is essentially the same as that of the city, so I allowed myself both for thematic purposes.