Independent 9,325 / Phi

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Typically, it falls to Phi to round off another set of mid-week puzzles.

I found this to be a puzzle of two halves, in that, if you drew a line from the top-left corner of the grid through to the bottom-right, I solved the clues to the right of that line fairly quickly and yet struggled with those to the left of the line. I also had difficulty with a long entry on each side, 1 and 28, working out the latter from the wordplay and finding the former on Google; both of these words were new to me.

My favourite clues today were 10, for making me smirk, and above all the & lit. at 4, for surface and economy of language. Interestingly, I noticed that Phi has made use of some of the more unusual anagram indicators today: “up” at 21 and “pie” at 26.

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

Across    
     
01 MANSPREADING Navigation around both poles taking up too much space

[N, S (=both poles, i.e. north and south)] in MAP-READING (=navigation); “manspreading” is when e.g. passengers on the Underground spread their legs such that they occupy more than one seat
     
10 ERRATUM Not speaking about arriving back showing a boob

ARR (=arriving) in MUTE (=not speaking); “back” indicates reversal
     
11 SARCOMA Fleshy excrescence and mark on skin not caught before unconsciousness

S<c>AR (=mark on skin; “not caught (=C, on cricket scorecard)” means letter “c” is dropped) + COMA (=unconsciousness)
     
12 PIT Past holding one in prison

I (=one) in PT (=past, in grammar)
     
13 WHAT HAVE YOU Inquisitive shopper’s request for anything else

An inquisitive shopper might well ask a sales assistant: “What have you (got to sell me?)”
     
14 RECORD 60% of army unit restricted by red tape

COR<ps> (=army unit; “60% of” means 3 of 5 letters only are used) in RED
     
15 IMPLICIT Understood one politician’s following the rules

I (=one) + MP (=politician) + LICIT (=following the rules)
     
18 ISLESMAN Shetlander, say, is slim, welcoming kinky sex

IS + [SM (=kinky sex, i.e. sadomasochism) in LEAN (=slim)]
     
20 CAUCUS Political group curtailed movement to retain University College

UC (=University College) in CAUS<e> (=movement, e.g. charity, good cause; “curtailed” means last letter dropped)
     
23 TIME-RELEASE I.e. seem later at work, working over a period

*(I.E. SEEM LATER); “at work” is anagram indicator; slow-release/time-release tablets are ones whose active ingredients are gradually released over time
     
25 LAH Note: 50% reduced, after setback

HAL<f> (=50%); “reduced” means last letter dropped; “after setback” indicates reversal
     
26 RAMEKIN Pie maker filling small kitchen pot

*(MAKER) + IN (=filling, inside of); “pie” (=mush) is anagram indicator
     
27 CHICAGO Smartness leading to a success in US city

CHIC (=smartness) + A + GO (=success, as in to make a go of)
     
28 PERADVENTURE Clear about Queen coming, perhaps

[ER (=Queen) + ADVENT (=coming)] in PURE (=clear)
     
Down    
     
02 ANTIWAR An upturn of humour and a touch of ridicule opposing military action

AN + TIW (WIT=humour; “upturn of” indicates vertical reversal) + A + R<idicule> (“touch of” means first letter only)
     
03 SAMPAN Simple boat, one following South on some current

S (=South) + AMP (=some current, i.e. in electricity) + AN (=one)
     
04 REST HOME Most here may appear doddery

*(MOST HERE); “may appear doddery” is anagram indicator; & lit.
     
05 ARRIVAL Contender coming at rear of a run – but definitely turning up!

A + R (=run, in cricket) + RIVAL (=contender)
     
06 IVORY Gold carried by climber is a sought-after substance

OR (=gold) in IVY (=climber)
     
07 GRADUATE SCHOOL Educator shall mostly go wrong in research institute

*(EDUCATOR SHAL<l> + GO); “wrong” is anagram indicator
     
08 PEPPERMINT-DROP Make holes in new pendant? That’s sweet

PEPPER (=make holes in, e.g. with bullets) + MINT (=new, as in in mint condition) + DROP (=pendant)
     
09 PROTOCOL Way of handling professional item of kit limiting source of complaints

PRO (=professional) + [C<omplaints> (“source of” means first letter only) in TOOL (=item of kit)]
     
16 COCHLEAR Pass either side of church organ, describing part of same

[CH (=church) in COL (=pass, in mountains)] + EAR (=organ, of human body); the cochlea is the spiral cavity of the inner ear
     
17 PARLANCE Standard way to catch cold in a manner of speaking

PAR (=standard) + [C (=cold) in LANE (=way)]
     
19 STROKED Rowed, delighted to be around river

R (=river) in STOKED (=delighted, colloquially)
     
21 ATELIER Tear up with story set in studio

LIE (=story, fib) in *(TEAR); “up” (=in revolt) is anagram indicator
     
22 FAUCET Angle restricting university water source

U (=university) in FACET (=angle)
     
24 MIMER Stage performer in Wagner role (start of Ring)

MIME (=Wagner role, i.e. dwarf in Siegfried) + R<ing> (“start of” means first letter only)
     
   

9 comments on “Independent 9,325 / Phi”

  1. I may be way out on this but, as I recall, Phi likes to introduce new(ish) words into his puzzles. So with MANSPREADING – my CoD – at 1ac there are a few other terms which are new (to me at any rate) such as ISLESMAN and TIME RELEASE (rather than day- or block-release), plus the meaning of ‘stoked’ in 19dn. Can’t see anything else in the way of a theme or nina. Any other suggestions?

    Thanks, Phi and RatkojaRiku.

  2. Time release refers to drug coatings that slow the absorption of the active ingredient(s). Hence working over a period. I confess to being a manspreader. Thanks to setter and blogger both.

  3. Thanks for enlightenment, Grandpapatee. I do recall the expression now, and it’s why I’m supposed to avoid grapefruit – it doesn’t do the coatings any good and leads to too-rapid absorption, effectively an overdose.

  4. This was one of those puzzles where I was popping in words of interest (e.g. MANSPREADING, which was one dictionary’s word of the year last year) and a few where I had clues already. So nothing else for you to find!

    So that’s why I’ve seen “Avoid grapefruit and its juice” on pillbox labels. You live and learn…

  5. MANSPREADING and the STOKED bit of 19d new to me but gettable. Thanks RR and Phi, and special thanks to Phi for last week’s Pastafarian YouTube link. There is a devotee in my local pub. It went down well ?

  7. Is ivory a sought-after substance? I suppose it is in some parts of the world, which makes the clue OK, but it has long been less than desirable in the west.

  8. Just to clarify any misconceptions on grapefruit juice – it has nothing to do with breaking down the coating on pills – gastric acid is considerably more powerful than citric acid and if this badly affected th release of medication you could ‘t take it in tablet form at all. The reason for avoiding grapefruit juice is that it affects the activity of liver enzymes which activate, or degrade, invested drugs – thereby leading to inappropriate drug concentrations in the blood.

    Orange juice is generally ok though.

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