Phi is occupying his customary Friday slot on what is doubtless his last appearance before Christmas (hint, hint).
I found this to be an easier-than-usual Phi puzzle, and I think that I have solved and parsed all the clues to my satisfaction.
I hadn’t come across this particular grid, with its large number of clues, before, and wondered if it was a bespoke grid to accommodate some theme or other. In any case, whether the grid is bespoke or a rarer standard one, the unchecked letters in rows 2, 8 and 14 of the completed grid, read from left to right, spell out I’M DREAMING OF A WHITE (Christmas), the first line of the famous Bing Crosby song. I can’t find the word “Christmas” anyway in the grid, but perhaps that’s the point, i.e. that Christmas is still to come!
The spelling at 17 was new to me. My favourite clues today were 14, for its smooth surface reading, and 10, for the letter-moving device.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | ANKARA | Articles about Ark drifting, attaining Turkish location
*(ARK) in [AN + A (=articles)]; “drifting” is anagram indicator |
| 05 | ON HOLD | Suspended expression of surprise about name with a history
[N (=name) in OH (=expression of surprise)] + OLD (=with a history) |
| 08 | RUGBY | Difficulty surrounding start of game leading to variable game
[G<ame> (“start of” means first letter only) in RUB (=difficulty, hitch)] + Y (=variable, in algebra) |
| 09 | APPARATUS | Kit one used in a piano piece (American)
A (=one) in [A + P (=piano, i.e. soft) + PART (=piece) + US (=American)] |
| 11 | BATTERSEA | Cricketer encountering a lot of bowling in part of south London
BATTER (=cricketer, as opposed to bowler) + SEA<m> (=(type of) bowling; “a lot of” means last letter dropped) |
| 13 | RONDO | Contributor to paper on doubtful concerto movement
Hidden (“contributor to”) in “papeR ON DOubtful” |
| 14 | SHIATSU | USA going wild with this Japanese treatment
*(USA + THIS); “going wild” is anagram indicator; shiatsu is a form of Japanese health-promoting therapy involving acupressure |
| 16 | APPROVE | Authorise secretary to return test
AP (PA=secretary, i.e. personal assistant; “to return” indicates reversal) + PROVE (=to test, e.g. a theory) |
| 18 | CHEETAH | Dislike retreating when chasing revolutionary predator
CHE (=revolutionary, i.e. Che Guevara) + ETAH (HATE=dislike; “revolutionary” indicates reversal) |
| 19 | EASEFUL | Each re-evaluation of fuel’s making things simpler
EA (=each) + *(FUEL’S); “re-evaluation of” is anagram indicator; easeful is an adjective meaning ease-giving, providing comfort |
| 21 | AGATE | A lot of people in attendance for jewellery item
A + GATE (=lot of people in attendance at e.g. match) |
| 23 | AGGREGATE | Gregory will probe the preceding total
GREG (=Gregory) in AGATE (=the preceding, i.e. the solution to the previous clue) |
| 25 | FORGOTTEN | Do without clear backing, being unregarded
FORGO (=do without, give up) + TTEN (NETT=clear, opposite of gross; “backing” indicates reversal) |
| 27 | ANDES | A note of Escoffier’s range
A + N (=note) + DES (=of Escoffier’s, i.e. a French word for of) |
| 28 | PLENTY | Enough work to engage Tolkien character
ENT (=Tolkien character, i.e. one of a tree-like race) in PLY (=work (at steadily)) |
| 29 | EMENDS | Corrects English manuscript, including last part
END (=last part) in [E (=English) + MS (=manuscript)] |
| Down | ||
| 02 | NIGHT-TIME | Close hand, taking up end of line in the dark
NIGH (=close) + TTIM (MITT=hand; “taking up” indicates vertical reversal) + <lin>E (“end of” means last letter only) |
| 03 | AMY | Host barring Republican woman
A<r>MY (=host); “barring Republican (=R)” means letter “r” is dropped |
| 04 | ADAMS | US President, father and son? A mother and son, rather
A + DAM (=mother, of horse) + S (=son); the reference is to John Adams, the second US President, and his son John Quincy Adams, the sixth US President |
| 05 | ORPHANAGE | Reformulated one graph about a home for poor children
A in *(ONE GRAPH); “reformulated” is anagram indicator |
| 06 | HER | Lead character in story having no love for a woman
HER<o> (=lead character in story); “having no love (=0, i.e. zero score)” means letter “o” is dropped |
| 07 | LATIN | Language? Set it up in computer network
TI (IT; “set up” indicates vertical reversal) in LAN (=computer network, i.e. local area network) |
| 08 | REBUS | Puzzle regarding police raid finishing early
RE (=regarding) + BUS<t> (=police raid; “finishing early” means last letter is dropped) |
| 10 | SCOPE | Small shifts in wood and field
COPSE (=wood); “small (=S, in sizes) shifts” means letter “s” changes places |
| 12 | ENTITLE | Call? Not initially benign when receiving it
IT in <g>ENTLE (=benign; “not initially” means first letter is dropped); to entitle is to give a title, name to, hence “call” |
| 13 | RIPOSTE | Ready to receive East German response
OST (=East German, i.e. the German word for east) in RIPE (=ready, of fruit) |
| 15 | UNHEALTHY | Sick, weak, powerless, eating toast
HEALTH (=toast, i.e. raising a glass to) in <p>UNY (=weak; “power (=P) –less” means letter “p” is dropped) |
| 17 | OFFHANDED | Indifferent of US bankers to imprison worker
HAND (=worker, e.g. farmhand) in [OF FED (=US bankers)]; offhanded appears to be a less common synonym for offhand |
| 18 | CHAFF | Rib, hot, supplied in diner
H (=hot, on tap) in CAFF (=diner); to chaff is to rib, tease |
| 20 | LEEDS | Information on a crime heard on radio in city
Homophone (“heard on radio”) of “leads (=information on crime” |
| 22 | AURAL | Gold bar I dropped, judging by the sound of it
AU (=gold, i.e. chemical formula) + RA<i>L (=(metal) bar; “I dropped” means letter “i” is dropped) |
| 24 | GENIE | Spirit that is taken after dope
GEN (=dope, low-down) + I.E. (=that is) |
| 26 | OWN | Personal evidence of discomfort when meeting Nationalist
OW (=evidence of discomfort, i.e. exclamation) + N (=Nationalist, as in SNP) |
| 27 | ATE | Worried friend’s failing to get married
<m>ATE (=friend); “failing to get married (=M)” means letter “m” is dropped |
Definitely in Phi’s easier style, though I couldn’t parse UNHEALTHY until I came here.
In 17A OFFHAND is a noun. OFFHANDED is the adjective, so no query from me.
Thanks to Phi and RatkojaRiku
Where is everyone? Maybe they are all out preparing for a white Christmas! What we have though is lots of the wet stuff instead.
Anyway, definitely an easier offering although we did have CHAFE at one point for 18d.
Thanks RatkojaRiku for the blog, Phi for the puzzle and Happy Christmas to you both.
Thought I’d be a third commenter. I do the crosswords in bed so am usually too late to add my twopennorth and just check in when finished but Phi and the blog deserve more than two comments. I too found this at the easier end and parsed all satisfactorily. Also had CHAFE in first. My LOI was SCOPE having started NW and worked my way round. So thank you setters and bloggers all and Happy Christmas!
A very late comment because we didn’t get round to this till late on Saturday, but definitely at the easier end of Phi’s spectrum. We too weren’t sure of 18dn till we got 25ac. But we did spot the nina for once!
Thanks, Phi and RatkojaRiku.