Phi is to be found this week in his usual Friday slot. Before going any further, let me apologise for the late posting, due to an unexpectedly manic day at the office.
The grid was an unusual one, but I eventually concluded it must have been specially created so that Phi could pay homage to Canadian writer ALICE MUNRO (1931-) across the top and bottom rows of the grid. The completed grid also includes some of her works, e.g. Runaway (at 15), Open Secrets (at 8), Too Much Happiness (at 16 13) …
I found this to be towards the easy end of the Phi spectrum, which was no bad thing given my manic day. It was nonetheless enjoyable, not least when it came to tracking down Alice Munro’s works.
I didn’t know this definition of “galley” at 11. Bizarrely, I needed to search Chambers to find the very gettable 22; I had just convinced myself that the answer has to be “on cost”, and then just couldn’t see the wood for the trees!
My favourite clues today were 18, for the double use of “state”; and 23, for smoothness of surface.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 06 | INFERNAL | Conclude network’s regressed? That’s annoying
INFER (=conclude, deduce) + NAL (LAN=network, i.e. Local Area Network; “has regressed” indicates reversal) |
| 07 | VIOL | Historic instrument? It sounds dreadful
Homophone (“it sounds”) of “vile (=dreadful)” |
| 08 | AIRTIGHT | Impenetrable song offered by drunk
AIR (=song) + TIGHT (=drunk) |
| 11 | GALLEY | Proof impudence repelled you once
GALL (=impudence, cheek) + EY (YE=you once, i.e. an archaic word for you; “repelled” indicates reversal); a galley proof in printing is the first proof taken after the text has been typeset |
| 12 | ISLE | Man (possibly): I knocked off, finishing early
I + SLE<w> (=knocked off, i.e. killed; “finishing early” means last letter is dropped) |
| 13 | HAPPINESS | Keeps circling quiet trees, delivering pleasure¨
[P (=quiet, i.e. piano in music) + PINES (=trees)] in HAS (=keeps, holds) |
| 15 | RUNAWAY | Fugitive American breaching part of airport
A (=American) in RUNWAY (=part of airport) |
| 16 | TOO MUCH | Couple on the radio distressed chum? That’s excessive
Homophone (“on the radio”) of “two (=couple)” + *(CHUM); “distressed” is anagram indicator |
| 18 | INTESTACY | Account after trial in one US state (not a state where you’ll be leaving)
[TEST (=trial) + AC (=account)] in [I (=one) + NY (=US state, i.e. New York)]; in a state of intestacy, you’ll be not leave anything in a will! |
| 21 | EYED | Observed borders of early England
E<arl>Y E<nglan>D (“borders of” means first and last letter only) |
| 22 | ON FOOT | Feasible to pay for travelling most cheaply?
ON (=feasible, doable) + FOOT (=to pay for, as in to foot the bill) |
| 24 | APOSTASY | A blog comment, say, wrecked defection
A + POST (=blog comment) + *(SAY); “wrecked” is anagram indicator |
| 25 | MESS | Dreadful confusion in Times supplement
Hidden (“in”) in “tiMES Supplement” |
| 26 | BLOKEISH | Like a man, agreed to block the French in error
[OK (=agreed) in LE (=the French, i.e. a French word for the)] in BISH (=error, blunder) |
| Down | ||
| 01 | ANATHEMA | Four articles about Frenchman? Not something I can stand
M (=Frenchman, i.e. Monsieur) in [AN + A + THE + A (=four articles, i.e. in grammar)] |
| 02 | LENGTHWAYS | Ghastly new tangles from end to end
*(GHASTLY NEW); “tangles” is anagram indicator |
| 03 | IN STEP | I note domestic animals turning up together
I + N (=note) + STEP (PETS=domestic animals; “turning up” indicates vertical reversal) |
| 04 | CLOG | Stuff in college record
C (=college) + LOG (=record); to clog is to stuff, block (up) |
| 05 | EVOLVE | Develop nothing after elevating half of nothing
EVOL (LOVE=nothing, zero score; “after elevating” indicates vertical reversal) + <lo>VE (=nothing, zero score; “half of” means 2 of 4 letters only) |
| 08 | OPEN SECRETS | Things everyone knows? One respects dissembling
*(ONE RESPECTS); “dissembling” is anagram indicator |
| 10 | INSOUCIANCE | Foreign cousin’s reserve suppressing an air of carelessness
*(COUSIN) + [AN in ICE (=reserve, coldness)]; “foreign” is anagram indicator |
| 14 | IVORY TOWER | One drawing on key material in accusation of remoteness
IVORY (=key material, i.e. what piano keys are made off) + TOW-ER (=one drawing or pulling) |
| 17 | MAESTOSO | Mass too wild to accommodate overture’s ending in grand style
<overtur>E (“ending” means last letter only) in *(MASS TOO); “wild” is anagram indicator; in music, maestoso means with dignity or majesty, hence “in grand style” |
| 19 | TAOISM | Philosophy is subordinate to love in what goes to a Scotsman’s head
[O (=love, i.e. zero score) + IS] in TAM (=what goes to a Scotsman’s head, i.e. a Tam O’Shanter cap) |
| 20 | AMAZON | Good deal of surprise on locating river
AMAZ<e> (“good deal of” means just last letter is dropped) + ON |
| 23 | TABU | University cricketer upset, being out
U (=University) + BAT (=cricketer); “upset” indicates vertical reversal |
We too found this to be towards the easy end of the Phi spectrum. We guessed the unusual grid pattern presaged a nina and/or a theme and we got both! We didn’t know much about Alice Munro but tracked down the three works already mentioned by googlng – are there more we haven’t spotted?
Most enjoyable. Favourites were INSOUCIANCE and TAOISM.
Thanks, Phi and RatkojaRiku.
In the end, I couldn’t get the crossing 9ac and 2dn and used an anagram finder to get the latter, which was enough.
Never spotted Alice Munro, and no little about her.
I missed Alice Munro’s 90th birthday in August, and I wanted to get a tribute in during the year at least. I’ve had much pleasure from her writing over the years, and it’s good to have a Nobel winner where you feel the academic buzz isn’t quite so much a factor.
Having only five unchecked letters in a row does up the black-square content somewhat…
Another good Phi crossword which deserves a bit more comments/credit than it got thus far.
OK, like others, I didn’t know who Alice Munro is (spotting her name in the grid wasn’t a problem) but finding out who she actually is and what she wrote was real value added.
Altogether, not a difficult puzzle but as ever very well-written in Phi’s familiar, reliable, Ximenean style.
Probably not exciting enough for some (for me, it is, though!!).
Many thanks to RR & Phi.
Yes, quite a few black squares in the corners but a pleasure to solve. I’ve never heard of Alice Munro, but Phi’s themes tend to point to areas worth the trouble of investigating.