Phi, as usual, provides the Friday puzzle
I feel there is something going on this grid that I can’t quite put my finger on. The word source or sources is used quite often in the clues [five times] and a number of entries have double letters side by side [eight]. That’s not enough for me to identify a theme though. Perhaps solvers have seen something I haven’t.
The puzzle was a good test for a Friday – not too easy, not too hard. The words were all fairly well know or very well known.
I can’t see a single anagram or a hidden word in the clues but there are many container and contents devices.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | Small comfort taking in better marine view (8) |
S (small) + (EASE [comfort]) containing (taking in) CAP [do better than]) S EAS (CAP) E |
SEASCAPE (marine view) |
| 8 | Recalled shops as sources of wool (6) |
MALL (pedestrian shopping area – row of shops) reversed (recalled) + AS LLAM< AS |
LLAMAS (woolly South American transport animal of the camel family) |
| 9 | Mould political response mostly in account (5) |
SPIN (favourable slant on a story or policy; political response) excluding the final letter (mostly) N contained in (in) AC (account) A (SPI) C |
ASPIC ( savoury meat- or fish-jelly used as a glaze or a mould for fish, game, hard-boiled eggs, etc.) |
| 10 | A large college’s boss holding room for local dignitary (8) |
A + L (large) + (DEAN [a resident fellow of a college who has administrative and disciplinary functions] containing [holding RM [room]) A L DE (RM) AN |
ALDERMAN (in English boroughs, a civic dignitary next in rank to the mayor, elected by fellow councillors) |
| 11 | Computer professionals worried about a point recurring, covering part of Europe (10) |
(IT [information technology;descriptive of computer professionals in general] + ATE [worried]) containing (about) (A + NAIL [pin; point] reversed [recurring])? IT (A LIAN<) ATE I’m not entirely convinced about point and NAIL being synonymous but that’s the best I can come up with. However, Bradfords does give ‘NAIL‘ as a synonym of ‘point’ |
ITALIANATE (ITALIAN in style, referring to part of Europe) |
| 12 | Old bad actors not acting, getting quantity of resistance (4) |
O (old) + HAMS (bad actors) excluding (not) A (acting) O HMS |
OHMS (derived unit of electrical resistance) |
| 13 | Lass repelled by attention-seeker? That’s the drill (3-3) |
OI (a word used to attract attention; attention seeker) + GIRL (lass) reversed (repelled) OI (L RIG)< |
OIL-RIG (the complete plant [machinery, structures, etc] required for oil-well drilling)
|
| 15 | Brought out sources of European law I quoted (8) |
EL (first letters of [sources of] each of EUROPEAN and LAW) + I + CITED (quoted) EL I CITED |
ELICITED (drawn forth; brought out) |
| 17 | Failure to keep back in dodgy bar? Move to another view (8) |
(LOSS [failure] reversed [to keep back]) contained in (in) DIVE (disreputable bar) DI (SSOL)< VE |
DISSOLVE (form of transition from one digital image to another; move to another view)
|
| 20 | Books involved in storm and chatter (6) |
BB (books) contained in (involved in) GALE (storm) GA (BB) LE |
GABBLE (chatter) |
| 22 | Setter’s repeatedly backing operatic heroine (4) |
(I’M [I am {setter is; setter’s}] + I’M [I am {setter is; setter’s}] – i.e. twice; repeatedly) all reversed (backing) (MI MI)< |
MIMI (heroine of the opera La Boheme by Puccini) |
| 23 | Boxing nonsense swamping a good boxing film (6,4) |
(RING [space set aside for boxing] + BULL [nonsense]) containing (swamping) (A + G [good]) R (A G) ING BULL |
RAGING BULL (1980 film set against the background of the sport of boxing)
|
| 25 | US city home to athletic female sprinter? (8) |
ATLANTA (city in Georgia, United States) containing (home to) A (athletic, as in AAA amateur athletic association) AT (A) LANTA |
ATALANTA (in Greek mythology and renowned and swift footed huntress; female sprinter) |
| 26 | Lack of activity around one exam (5) |
REST (lack of activity) containing (about) I (Roman numeral for one) RES (I) T |
RESIT (exam that is taken again)
|
| 27 | Reached where river enters cave (6) |
R (river) contained in (enters) GOT TO (reached) G (R) OT TO |
GROTTO (cave)
|
| 28 | Broadening sources of Dutch and Irish, with nothing in classical language (8) |
(D [first letter of {source of} DUTCH] + I [first letter of {source of} IRISH]) + (O [nothing] contained in [in] LATIN [classical language]) D I LATI (O) N |
DILATION (broadening) |
| Down | |||
| 2 | Praise – and for Le Monde: Times almost entirely suppressed (5) |
(X [multiplication sign; times] + ALL [entirely] excluding the final letter [almost] L) contained in (suppressed) ET (French [Le Monde is a French newspaper]) E (X AL) T |
EXALT (praise) |
| 3 | Left during meal, having increased flexibility (7) |
L (left) contained in (during) SUPPER (meal) SUPP (L) ER |
SUPPLER (more pliant; having increased flexibility) |
| 4 | Conversion accepted by nobleman after departure of English religious figure (9) |
CHANGE (conversion) contained in (accepted by) EARL (nobleman) excluding (after departure of) E (English) AR (CHANGE) L |
ARCHANGEL (ANGEL of the highest order; religious figure) |
| 5 | Eastern sea-creature losing tail is put out (7) |
E (Eastern) + MANATEE (large aquatic herbivorous mammal of the warm parts of the Atlantic and the rivers of Brazil) excluding the final letter (losing tail) E E MANATE |
EMANATE (flow out; put out) |
| 6 | Fix source of ore, including source of gold (6) |
LODE (vein containing metallic ore) containing (including) G (first letter of [source of] GOLD) LOD (G) E |
LODGE (come to rest in a fixed position; fix) |
| 7 | Religious leader engaged in excellent form of reasoning (1,6) |
PRIOR (head of a PRIORy of monks; religious leader) contained in (engaged in) AI (A one; excellent) A (PRIOR) I |
A PRIORI (reasoning from cause to effect |
| 8 | A category encompassing marine life initially provides warning (5-4) |
A + (LABEL [category] containing [encompassing] RM [Royal Marine]) + L (first letter of [initially] LIFE) A LA (RM) BEL L |
ALARM BELL (warning) |
| 14 | I note special quality: one course served up as starter (9) |
I + N (note) + IT (special quality) + A (one) + ROTA (course) reversed (served up; down clue) I N IT I ATOR< |
INITIATOR (starter) |
| 16 | Chosen officer covering a wide area (2,7) |
IN (elected; chosen) + GENERAL (officer) IN GENERAL |
IN GENERAL (mostly; covering a wide area) |
| 18 | Group about to finish cooking utensil (7) |
SET (group) containing (about) KILL (finish) S (KILL) ETT |
SKILLET (cooking pan) |
| 19 | Government computer network installed in the last place in the country (7) |
(G [government] + LAN [local area network]) contained in (installed) END (the last place) EN (G LAN) D |
ENGLAND (country)
|
| 21 | Looked after by South Africa, put in to face the bowling (4-3) |
(BY + SA [South Africa]) contained in (put in) BAT (face the bowling) BA (BY SA) T |
BABY-SAT (looked after)
|
| 23 | Repetitive piece of music run on just the same (5) |
R (run) + ON + DO (ditto; the same) R ON DO |
RONDO (musical composition whose principal subject recurs in the same key in alternation with other subjects, often the last movement of a sonata) |
| 24 | Game of chance – fate as well? Not entirely (5) |
LOT (fate) + TOO (as well) excluding the last letter (not entirely) O LOT TO |
LOTTO (game of chance) |
Thanks Phi and DS
Prompted by your comment, Duncan, I went back to the grid before reading your blog, and was struck by its odd shape. It then struck me that even with my limited astronomical knowledge there are star (or possibly galaxy) names running across the clues: PICA, RIGEL, VEGA, MIRA, ANTARES. I don’t know about the first and last lines, but maybe someone more knowledgeable than I will help.
Turns out they are stars, and there are also CAPELLA and SPICA (not PICA), which leaves the last line.
A quick solve in two passes for us. Needless to say we didn’t spot the theme, and there were a couple of answers we couldn’t parse fully. But we particularly liked the surfaces for EXALT, ALARM BELL and BABY-SAT.
Thanks, Phi and Duncan.
And bright stars to boot. Can’t spot anything in last line or row 5 though.
I made myself a list of stars and it was surprising how few of them had suitable names. Obviously PROXIMA CENTAURI was never going to make the cut, but even shorter names like SIRIUS weren’t usable.
While typing this I suddenly came up with VOLCANO/PUSHY so I clearly missed at least one!