Another week, another Phiday. Business as usual.
A few less common words here (I don’t think I’ve ever seen 8a outside a crossword), but nothing unreasonable. 20a made me laugh because I’ve heard the word in conversation but probably never seen it in print before, and it’s a fun word anyway. 15d also made me laugh because I used to work as a technical author and had to keep switching between A4 and US Letter paper depending on the customer . . .
As he often does, Phi has included a Nina: starting at the bottom left corner and going clockwise, we have OSGOOD-SCHLATTER’S. Wikipedia tells me this is a knee problem, usually associated with vigorous exercise during teenage growth spurts but sometimes continuing into adulthood. I hope our setter isn’t writing from painful experience! Thanks to Phi as always.
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 5 | ADVERTISEMENT |
Promotion? Gutted third team is never working for that (13)
|
| Anagram (working) of T[hir]D (gutted = inner letters removed) + TEAM IS NEVER. | ||
| 8 | OLID |
Smelly and hard, giving off sulphur (4)
|
| [s]OLID (hard) without the S (chemical symbol for sulphur). | ||
| 9 | PUT TO DEATH |
Winged figure somehow hated to kill (3,2,5)
|
| PUTTO (in Italian art, a chubby small boy with wings: perhaps a cherub but originally somewhat less angelic) + anagram (somehow) of HATED. | ||
| 10 | GIOTTO |
Ancient artist reached around one (6)
|
| GOT TO (reached) around I (one in Roman numerals).
Giotto di Bondone, Italian painter from the late Middle Ages. |
||
| 12 | MEDIEVAL |
Starve, against tucking into food from a long time ago (8)
|
| DIE (starve = to die of hunger) + V (abbreviation for Latin versus = against), inserted into MEAL (food).
Also spelled mediaeval in the UK, but the simpler spelling now seems to be more usual. |
||
| 13 | EXTOLS |
Praises fruit found around Texas, after reflection (6)
|
| SLOE (fruit of the blackthorn plant) around TX (abbreviation for the US state of Texas), all reversed (after reflection). | ||
| 14 | VERITY |
Become weary in Year Five, backsliding in fact (6)
|
| TIRE (become weary), inserted into Y (abbreviation for year) + V (five in Roman numerals), all reversed (backsliding). | ||
| 17 | SERENADE |
Romantic song in series English and European backed (8)
|
| SER (abbreviation for series), then E (abbreviation for English) + DANE (person from the European country of Denmark) all reversed (backed). | ||
| 19 | URSULA |
You are texting us about the French Bond girl? (6)
|
| U R (text-message abbreviation for “you are”, then US reversed (about), then LA (feminine form of “the” in French).
Ursula Andress, who memorably appeared in the James Bond film Dr No walking out of the sea in a white bikini. |
||
| 20 | OOJAMAFLIP |
Something-or-other circles traffic hold-up with a quick flight (10)
|
| O O (two circles) + JAM (traffic hold-up) + A FLIP (a quick flight through the air, perhaps as in the ice skating jump).
Substitute word used when the speaker can’t remember (or doesn’t know) the correct name for something. |
||
| 21 | DEBT |
Obligation due but university always slipping away (4)
|
| D[u]E B[u]T, with all instances of the letter U (abbreviation for university) slipping away. | ||
| 22 | DENTAL HYGIENE |
Medical approach that’s treated gland in the eye? Yes and no (6,7)
|
| Anagram (treated) of GLAND IN THE EYE. I’m not sure why we need “Yes and no” at the end of the clue: I suppose yes, it’s an anagram of that phrase / no, it’s nothing to do with eyes, but the clue would work perfectly well without it. Unless I’m missing something? | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | OVID |
Classic poet opening, putting love first (4)
|
| VOID (a hollow within a solid object = opening?), with the O (zero = love in tennis scoring) moved to the start (put first).
Common English name for the Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso. |
||
| 2 | DROP GOAL |
Leave a league after lower score at rugby (4,4)
|
| GO (leave = go away) + A + L (abbreviation for league), after DROP (lower, as in dropping / lowering prices).
To score points in rugby by dropping the ball on the ground and then kicking it through the goal posts as it bounces up. |
||
| 3 | SECOND |
Support post established in company? On the contrary (6)
|
| CO (abbreviation for company) inserted into SEND (post, as a verb). “On the contrary” tells us to put CO inside SEND rather than the other way round.
As in seconding (supporting) a proposal in a formal meeting. |
||
| 4 | CEMETERIES |
More than one church feature that is included in church measures (10)
|
| IE (i.e. = abbreviation for Latin id est = that is), inserted into CE (abbreviation for Church of England) + METERS (measures, as a verb, as in “water metering” = measuring the usage of water). Or it could be “meters” as the US spelling of “metres” = measures of length, but some people dislike crossword clues that use US spellings without indicating them as such. | ||
| 5 | ALL-TIME RECORD |
Millions enthralled by older article represented as the best ever (3-4,6)
|
| M (abbreviation for millions) inserted into an anagram (re-presented) of OLDER ARTICLE. | ||
| 6 | IN TIME |
I note obligation to go round Malta promptly (2,4)
|
| I + N (abbreviation for note) + TIE (obligation), around M (International Vehicle Registration code for Malta). | ||
| 7 | TETRASYLLABLE |
Answer at 5A, not here? (13)
|
| Cryptic definition by example, I suppose? A word of four syllables: for example ADVERTISEMENT (5a), but not TETRASYLLABLE itself. | ||
| 11 | TITHE BARNS |
Money’s bringing in a lot of Shakespeare in parish buildings (5,5)
|
| TIN’S (tin = slang for money), containing THE BAR[d] (nickname for Shakespeare) without the last letter (a lot of . . .).
Buildings from the Middle Ages, originally used for storing produce that landowners were required to give as a contribution to the local church. |
||
| 15 | EQUIPAGE |
Apparatus with the same size of manual? (8)
|
| Two manuals (instruction books) with pages of the same size might fancifully be described as EQUI-PAGE (by analogy with equilateral = a shape with all sides the same length). | ||
| 16 | HEALTH |
Heading for life in open country implies wellbeing (6)
|
| First letter (heading) of L[ife], inserted into HEATH (open land, usually dry and with poor soil). | ||
| 18 | AVATAR |
Film franchise: a version with a scoundrel turning up (6)
|
| A + V (abbreviation for version) + A, then RAT (scoundrel = person of bad character) reversed (turning up = upwards in a down clue).
2009 sci-fi film and its various sequels. |
||
| 21 | DIET |
Members of synod, i.e. the governing body (4)
|
| Hidden answer (members of . . .) in [syno]D I E T[he].
A parliament or similar legislative assembly. |
A trickier Phi than recent challenges, and I searched hard for a Nina, failing miserably. Thanks, as usual Ms.Q.
I felt that equating ” starve = DIE” was a bit cheeky. 12(ac).
19(ac), “the Swiss” might have been a bit cuter, for the ultimately cute Swiss siren, Ms. Andress.
15(d), I couldn’t reconcile, MANUAL = page, but again, Ms. Q has enlightened me.
On which, the craftiness of TETRASYLLABLE, escaped me.
As ever, when it’s the A team of P & Q, double thumbs up
Thanks Phi and Quirister.
DENTAL HYGIENE
I agree with the blogger’s comments that the clue would work without ‘Yes and no’.
However, ‘Yes and no’ makes the clue a bit more interesting, I think.
TETRASYLLABLE
Liked the clue, but had to wait for all crossers before filling in the answer.
Liked EQUIPAGE as well.
Enjoyable as ever from Phi. I wondered about whether GIOTTO was really ancient, a word I would associate with earlier eras. Thanks to setter and blogger.
12ac/#1: Sterben is German for to die
And to die is the original meaning of starve in English, too, according to the OED.
I initially had TETRASYLLABIC at 7d – is that what KVa@2 is alluding to?
Thanks to Phi and Quirister
Thanks both. I must have been better tuned in than usual today, as I found little difficulty, except guessing TETRASYLLABLE having spotted the direction of the clue, and also seeing a Nina, though not the Nina, as I was wondering what ‘good schlattersos’ might mean.
#4 Banksia.
12(ac) Thanks. So it is from the German, STERBEN.. Therefore , “starve”?
My German is very rusty, but “verhungern” is to die by starvation.
No, ( and Petert@5 ), I am not having it !
Starve is not die, and die is not starve.
But @3, I concur. “Ancient” is totally wrong, re GIOTTO.
It’s a game of opinions, so at the end of the day, we are all right.
And disagreement is part of the fun
And the setter always wins.
4d churches often feature graveyards, but cemeteries are independent burial grounds. There’s a Jewish cemetery near where I live.
I’ve also seen a Muslim cemetery. Not church features.
Finally finished, with thanks to Phi and Quirister.
Some knowledge gained in the form of TITHE BARNS, but even with that it all flowed in pretty easily… apart from 7d. My LOI several hours after the rest and, and this may be the sour grapes talking, pretty unsatisfactory? I personally didn’t solve the wordplay (if there was any) or “definition”, I just bashed my head at the crossers – and I don’t see how anybody could do it differently from the given clue? Happy to be proved wrong since I’m probably just in a grump. Slept poorly and have a stinking cold.
The rest of the puzzle was great as usual, with ticks for 9a, 11d, and 15d.
Looked at the perimeter hopefully for a Nina and was open mouthed when I realised that OSGOOD-SCHLATTER’S would fit if I put in a few letters. Gave me the way in to OOJAMAFLIP and OLID, the latter being unknown to me.
Nice surprise.