Although this was no easier than Phi usually is, indeed rather tricky in places, most of these answers can be explained in one short parsing. So really quite simple despite appearances — to use what is rapidly becoming a cliché if it hasn’t done so already, the mark of a good setter.
Definitions underlined and in maroon.
My guess is that this is one of Phi’s crosswords which refers to some series of books that I don’t know: several of the answers suggest this: MATTHEW, SHIRLEY, EPSOM, BASIL, HUNTERS, and that’s only in the Acrosses. I won’t Google these names because I’m sure that someone will post with the connection.
| Across | ||
| 1 | MATTHEW | Dull cut in religious text (7) |
| matt hew | ||
| 5 | SHIRLEY | Part of London wary, receiving immigration from Ireland and Spain (7) |
| sh(Irl. E)y Thanks Copmus@2, yes I missed the l | ||
| 9 | NIGHTCLUB | Entertainment venue near boat, welcoming Conservative and Liberal (9) |
| nigh t(C L)ub | ||
| 10 | RULER | Source of line, line penned in regret, right? (5) |
| rue (l) r | ||
| 11 | CURATE | Minister on target, dismissing account (6) |
| {ac}curate | ||
| 13 | WOODBINE | Make love to Dicky in bed? That’s a bloomer (8) |
| woo (in bed)* | ||
| 15 | EPSOM | Fret about Square being turned over in Surrey town (5) |
| (mo(S)pe)rev. | ||
| 17 | OFFICIOUS | Meddling, but not working for leader of wicked (9) |
| vicious [= wicked], its leader [v] being replaced by off [= not working] | ||
| 18 | LEG-PULLER | Yank in cricket side starts to earn runs? Such tests credulity (3-6) |
| leg (pull) e{arn} r{uns} | ||
| 19 | BASIL | Security surrounds special culinary herb (5) |
| ba(s)il | ||
| 21 | DEADLOCK | Intractable problem no longer around? Forward! (8) |
| dead [= no longer around] lock [= forward, as in rugger] | ||
| 22 | WEIGHT | Tungsten cube’s mass (6) |
| W [= tungsten] eight [= 2 cubed] | ||
| 25 | IAMBI | Metrical patterns in book carried by one French friend (5) |
| 1 am(b)i | ||
| 26 | OVERWHELM | Swamp, however nasty, looked magical initially (9) |
| (however)* l{ooked} m{agical} | ||
| 28 | HUNTERS | More than one rider mutters after losing lead (7) |
| {c}hunters | ||
| 29 | PARTNER | Opening strike recalled by colleague (7) |
| (rent rap)rev. — ‘by’ a link-word so far as I can see, and less than convincing — since Phi could easily have avoided this with ‘Colleague recalled opening strike’, I wonder if there is any significance in the ‘by’ | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | MANACLE | Fellow with line in excellent restraint (7) |
| man ac(l)e | ||
| 2 | TIGER | Dangerous animal – say it turned up over river (5) |
| (eg it)rev. r | ||
| 3 | HAT | Lid – which is missing lid? (3) |
| {t}hat — that = which | ||
| 4 | WILL | Inclination to leave (4) |
| 2 defs, the second one as in ‘to leave a will’ | ||
| 5 | SUBWOOFERS | Loudspeakers not getting attention of the likes of HMV’s mascot? (10) |
| I don’t quite get this: HMV’s mascot is that dog, so a woofer; perhaps the ‘sub’ refers to the fact that the sound from these speakers is ‘sub’ the dogs, too quiet for them — but I’m not convinced and there is probably a better explanation | ||
| 6 | IRREDUCIBLE | Relic buried in storm unable to be crushed further? (11) |
| (Relic buried)* | ||
| 7 | LOLLIPOPS | Old man coming in to rest is providing sweets (9) |
| loll i(Pop)s | ||
| 8 | YORKERS | Yard with pigs not opening for deliveries (7) |
| y {p}orkers — a cricket reference | ||
| 12 | TAMBURLAINE | Asian emperor, i.e. brutal man in sport (11) |
| (i.e. brutal man)* | ||
| 14 | COLLECTORS | They gather firm repeatedly left escort adrift (10) |
| co. l l (escort)* | ||
| 16 | SIGNALMAN | Railway worker runs from alarming noises, gutted badly (9) |
| (ala{r}ming n{oise}s)* | ||
| 18 | LADDISH | Lord cuddling a beauty, displaying blokey tendencies (7) |
| l(a)d dish | ||
| 20 | LATIMER | Martyr subsequently enthralling one million (7) |
| lat(1 m)er | ||
| 23 | GREEN | Inexperienced regarding blocking information (5) |
| g(re)en | ||
| 24 | LEAP | Energy brought into circuit, taking an extra day? (4) |
| l(e)ap — as in leap year | ||
| 27 | WAR | A lot of heated conflict (3) |
| war{m} | ||
*anagram
Thank you Phi and John.
Very enjoyable clues, especially those for NIGHTCLUB (TUB!) and SUBWOOFERS, and DEADLOCK was fun since I did not know LOCK = forward in rugby.
The theme is a New Zealand author, and his second book is mentioned, but since I have not read it I will leave someone else to find the relevant answers…
An enclave in London I was unfamiliar with- um is there an L missing in the parse?Google revealed- Bromley way.
Theme? Not a clue.
copmus @2, I think John must have meant IRL, the number plate abbreviation for Ireland.
Fine puzzle – not too hard at all. I liked DEADLOCK and MATTHEW in particular.
Not too keen on WEIGHT for ‘mass’, though. They are two different things (and our setter is a physicist …)
Thanks to S&B.
Very good puzzle, by no means easy, but not impossible either-unlike yesterday!
In 5 D I think the inference is that it is beneath the notice of the woofer, therefore sub – woofer. But what do I know?
No clue about the theme, but no interest either if I’m honest. I’m just happy to indulge the setter if it makes him happy.
Thanks to setter and blogger.
Kathryn’ Dad @4, Phi has got carried away by the theme, weight = mass in space.
I found this at the easier end of Phi’s spectrum and finished it in two passes.
Some nice clues and it was good to see that Phi avoided what is rapidly becoming a cliché, AC/DC in cluing IAMBI. For that reason I nominate it as CoD. I also liked OVERWHELM and SUBWOOFER, the latter despite initially thinking ‘Nipper’ had to come into it somewhere. (Incidentally, the story behind the adoption of the dog as HMV’s mascot can be found here.
I didn’t know SHIRLEY as a part of London, though I knew of one in the Birmingham/West Midlands area; however it was gettable from the wordplay.
Like K’sD I have reservations about 22, although I thought it was a neat bit of cluing.
I wondered about a theme when I saw the various names, but googling some of them didn’t come up with anything obvious so I decided it was just plain vanilla today. Ought to know better with Phi.
Btw, did anyone else have trouble accessing the puzzle today? My first try came up with an IoS Poins from earlier in the year and I only got today’s on my second attempt.
allan_c @7, I think that the puzzles that first came up were the January ones, I had to enter December to get today’s Phi.
Alan_c @7, I should have written “I had to click on DEC”. Thank you for the HMV article, a lovely story.
WEIGHT and MASS is one of those where you (er) weigh up the merits of sticking to the scientific definition or going for the colloquial.
M Suddain’s novel Hunters and Collectors was one of the most unusual and entertaining I’ve read this year so it was a pleasant thought to commemorate it.