We cannot believe how quickly the weeks have flown by just lately – all too soon, we have another Phi to solve this Phi-day. If there are any errors or omissions we may not be able to sort things out until later when we have some wi-fi access.
The inclusion of some rather unusual words (CLOISTRAL , BAKST and PIRATICAL) would seem to suggest a theme. Despite googling a combination of some of the words we can find nothing apart from NINA (and NI) across the middle! Can anyone else help please?
Across
1 Secretary reduced pressure, securing year’s writing material (7)
PAPYRUS
PA (Secretary) PUSh (pressure) ‘reduced’ or missing last letter around YR (year)
5 Note employed by Purcell? (6,1)
MIDDLE C
A play on the fact that the middle letter in ‘Purcell’ is C
9 Requirements ascertained after intervention by Democrat recalled (5)
NEEDS
SEEN (ascertained) around D or ‘intervened by’ (Democrat) all reversed or ‘recalled’
10 Describing secretions in core, going critical after completion (9)
ENDOCRINE
An anagram of IN CORE – anagrind is ‘going critical’ after END (completion)
11 Monastic call is to source of religion, possibly (9)
CLOISTRAL
An anagram of CALL IS TO and R (first letter or ‘source’ of ‘religion’) – anagrind is ‘possibly’. We guessed the word from the anagram but had to check it in Chambers.
12 Spots no end of gimcrack device details (5)
SPECS
SPECkS (spots) missing K – the last letter or ‘end’ of ‘gimcrack’
13 Obscure alto replacing contralto for an audience (5)
ALOUD
cLOUD (obscure) replacing c (contralto) with A (alto)
15 Popular mixture of fun and zeal is something you could catch (9)
INFLUENZA
IN (popular) and an anagram of FUN and ZEAL – anagrind is ‘mixture’
18 A client is, when upset, unlikely to yield (9)
INELASTIC
An anagram of A CLIENT IS – anagrind is ‘when upset’
19 Some information US lawyer used against corporation (5)
DATUM
DA (US lawyer) TUM (corporation)
21 Fish stock emptied out and consumed (5)
SKATE
StocK – first and last letters only or ’emptied’ and ATE (consumed)
23 I have repeatedly to pen name and another name taking time to be creative (9)
INVENTIVE
IVE and IVE (‘I have’, repeatedly) around or ‘penning’ N (name) and N (another name) T (time)
25 Sensible to avoid first cape when apprehending one of villains at sea (9)
PIRATICAL
PRAcTICAL (sensible) without the first ‘c’ (cape) around or ‘apprehending’ I (one)
26 Russian stage designer leads in ballet and kindred sundry theatrics (5)
BAKST
First letters or ‘leads’ in Ballet And Kindred Sundry Theatrics – another one we guessed but had to check. The stage designer is Léon Bakst
27 Works out dictator’s imprisoning journalist (7)
DEDUCES
DUCE’S (dictator’s) around or ‘imprisoning’ ED (journalist)
28 Ban the writer returning to pub? Try (7)
EMBARGO
ME (the writer) reversed or ‘returning’ BAR (pub) GO (try)
Down
1 Father seizing a new card – it sorts everything out (7)
PANACEA
PA (father) around or ‘seizing’ A N (new) ACE (card)
2 Senior politician, one welcoming leading figure with source of impact on others (9)
PHEROMONE
PM (senior poilitician) ONE around or ‘welcoming’ HERO (leading figure)
3 Searches for weapon, ignoring initial dangers (5)
RISKS
fRISKS (searches for weapons) missing or ‘ignoring’ initial letter
4 Exhausted, without strength, I will have sweet (9)
SPEARMINT
SPENT (exhausted) around or ‘without’ ARM (strength) I
5 Poem penned by male lecturer, for example (5)
MODEL
ODE (poem) inside or ‘penned by’ M (male) L (lecturer)
6 Father going round church to avoid dog (9)
DACHSHUND
DAD (father) around CH (church) SHUN (avoid)
7 European river over in former capital of Italy (5)
LOIRE
O (over) inside LIRE (former money or ‘capital’ of Italy)
8 Place associated with buns otherwise bringing tea round (7)
CHELSEA
ELSE (otherwise) with CHA (tea) outside or ’round’
14 Debate inclusion of ‘beer’ in dictionary? I start to complain (9)
DIALECTIC
ALE (beer) included in DICT (dictionary) and I C – initial letter or ‘start’ to complain
16 Expert, against one blocking chimney, stated cost (4,5)
FACE VALUE
ACE (expert) V (against) A (one) inside or ‘blocking’ FLUE (chimney)
17 Overly precise person identifying dunces? (3-6)
NIT-PICKER
If you are identifying dunces you may well be ‘picking nits’
18 Popular trip to the sea is turning dull (7)
INSIPID
IN (popular) and DIP (trip to the sea) IS – reversed or ‘turning’
20 Conductor is French, though involved in a lot of Roman playing (7)
MAESTRO
EST (French for ‘is’) inside or ‘involved in’ an anagram of ROMAn (without the last letter or ‘a lot of’)- anagrind is ‘playing’.
22 Biting account run by papers (5)
ACRID
AC (account) R (run) ID (papers)
23 Bone incorporated hints of unusual surgery (5)
INCUS
INC (incorporated) U S – first letters or ‘hints’ of Unusual Surgery
24 Important person, upper-class one? That includes a Baron (5)
NABOB
NOB (upper class person) around or ‘including’ A B (Baron)
NINA also runs down the middle. Put the 2 together and you get NINA NINA NINA, a vocalisation of the sound of police car sirens
NANINA…NANINANA…HEY JUDE
Ta B&J and Phi. PHEROMONE last in with a shoehorn.
Very fast solve for a Phiday, I thought, but some nice stuff in there, CLOISTRAL a favourite for surface. My best shot at the theme is that we have a NINA IN A NINA.
Just to tweak that : A NINA IN A NINA works in a circular fashion. I think.
I’m with Goujeers. Middle row followed by middle column gives NINA NINA NINA. Wasn’t there a cryptic recently with the Nina ‘police sirens’?
Minor error in blog for 12a. Definition is ‘device details’. Thanks all.
We have wi-fi! Thanks for the comments and more nina-spotting. We blogged a Hoskins puzzle recently which featured POLICE SIRENS and there was comment about the significance of these two words. Were the police after him for his sex, drugs and drink clues or had the Queen complained? It was flashling who put us right …… nina, nina, nina sounds like a police car.
Thanks Hovis, blog corrected.
All went in fairly quickly at first but then I got stuck in the top left. 2dn was my LOI too, after a word search.
Our experience was similar to Dormouse’s in that all went in fairly quickly at first but then we got stuck in the top right rather than top left. We thought 7dn had to be LOIRE but couldn’t see the parsing for ages and that held us up on 12ac until it suddenly clicked.
An enjoyable solve. We liked the INVENTIVE clues for MIDDLE C and, yes, INVENTIVE. Failed to spot the nina(s), though.
Thanks, Phi and B&J.