Independent 11,216 / Phi

by

Phi occupies his usual Friday slot again this week.

I found this to be a medium-difficulty puzzle, which I worked my way through at a steady pace. The SE quadrant was where I slowed down considerably, since I had no idea what a Buick was! I think that I got there in the end, although I would appreciate hearing from fellow solvers if they wrote an “i” in 30, as I did, or a “y” – can one be absolutely sure?

I haven’t spotted a theme today, but do I ever? My favourite clues today were 9, for the drink-themed composite anagram; and 16 and 22, both for smoothness of surface.

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across    
     
01 BISON Bishop is working for endangered European animal

B (=bishop, in chess) + IS + ON (=working, as in The fridge is on, I’m on at six)
     
04 POP ARTIST Exploiter of current culture redrawing a top strip

*(A TOP STRIP); “redrawing” is anagram indicator
     
09 SOUBRETTE Theatre performer disposing of stout and beer

*(STOUT + BEER); “disposing of” is anagram indicator; a soubrette is a coquettish maidservant in comic theatre
     
10 FIFTY In good condition, having accumulated fine years in several decades

[F (=fine) in FIT (=in good condition)] + Y (=years); here, decade is to be understood as any group of ten
     
11 ERATO Biblical books exist to back lyric inspiration

OT (=Biblical books, i.e. Old Testament) + ARE (=exist); “to back” indicates reversal; Erato is the muse of lyric poetry in Greek mythology
     
12 OBSTACLE Fellow from school not up to date about Conservative problem

OB (=fellow from school, i.e. old boy) + [C (=Conservative) in STALE (=not up to date)]
     
14 WHISKY Drink party organiser curtailed – heavens

WHI<p> (=(political) party organiser; “curtailed” means last letter dropped) + SKY (=heavens)
     
16 POETICAL Flying ace, pilot of a lyrical bent

*(ACE PILOT); “flying” is anagram indicator
     
18 RICKSHAW It’s used for transporting pile given to playwright

RICK (=pile, of hay) + SHAW (=playwright, i.e. George Bernard Shaw)
     
20 CRAYON Source of colour in some light defined by study

RAY (=some light) in CON (=study, pore over)
     
23 EPHEMERA Strasbourg body with time to seal border for transient issues

HEM (=border, on clothes) in [EP (=Strasbourg body, i.e. European Parliament) + ERA (=time, age)]
     
24 DEPOT Little point keeping recording in reserve

EP (=recording, i.e. extended-play record) in DOT (=little point, in drawing); a depot is a reserve, place for storage
     
27 OVERT No longer affected by tense public

OVER (=no longer affected by, as in I’m over my divorce) + T (=tense, in grammar)
     
28 JAYWALKER Bird one roused circling lake – one doesn’t take the safest route

JAY (=bird, of crow family) + [L (=lake) in WAKER (=one roused, i.e. waking up)]
     
29 ARTHRITIS Inflammation: skill with this involved bringing in bits of remedial intervention

ART (=skill) + [R<emedial> I<ntervention> (”bits of” means first letters only) in *(THIS)]; “involved” is anagram indicator
     
30 TIRED Like a Buick, say, unable to go much further?

Homophone (“say”) of “tyred (=like a Buick (car))”
     
Down    
     
01 BASKETWORK Country in difficulties not offering case to get employment in eco-furniture?

BASKET<case> (=country in difficulties; “not offering case” means letters “case” are dropped) + WORK (=employment)
     
02 SCUBA Second island to get diving kit

S (=second) + CUBA (=island)
     
03 NORFOLK Runs into no popular music? Things are flat around here

R (=runs, on cricket scorecard) in [NO + FOLK (=popular music)]; Norfolk is renowned for its flat terrain
     
04 PYTHON Language, probably Turkish, in extreme circumstances acceptable

P<robabl>Y T<urkis>H (“in extreme circumstances” means first and last letters only) + ON (=acceptable); Python is a high-level programming language in computing
     
05 PEEPSHOW Friends question pornographic entertainment?

PEEPS (=friends, entourage, colloquially) + HOW (=question (word))
     
06 REFRACT Turn aside rule in official piece of legislation

R (=rule) in [REF (=official, i.e. referee) + ACT (=piece of legislation)]
     
07 IN FULL CRY Maintaining pursuit, overwhelmed by tears?

Cryptically, if “overwhelmed by tears”, one could be “in full cry”; in full cry is used e.g. of dogs in a hunt
     
08 TOYS Conservative’s ignoring Republican trifles

TO<r>Y’S (=Conservative’s); “ignoring Republican (=R)” means letter “r” is dropped; to trifle is to play, toy, amuse oneself
     
13 ILL-NATURED All intrude rudely, being mean

*(ALL INTRUDE); “rudely” is anagram indicator
     
15 INCIPIENT Italy from earliest times not initially welcoming Greek character at the outset

I (=Italy, in IVR) + [PI (=Greek character) in <a>NCIENT (=from earliest times; “not initially” means first letter is dropped)]
     
17 WATER-JET Squirt? Ne’er-do-well with joke always shunned by Society

WA<s>TER (=ne’er-do-well) + JE<s>T (=joke); “always shunned by Society (=S)” means letter “s” is dropped from both words
     
19 SWEATER Curse about temperature change finally from one responding to heat?

[T (=temperature) + <chang>E (“finally“ means last letter only)] in SWEAR (=curse)
     
21 RADIANT Sparkling harangue securing upturn in support

DIA (AID=support; “upturn” indicates vertical reversal) in RANT (=harangue)
     
22 SATYRS Lusty men try desperately to get into crack regiment

*(TRY) in SAS (=crack regiment); “desperately” is anagram indicator
     
25 POKER Something to stir up // a game

Double definition: POKER is an instrument for stirring up a fire, say AND a card game
     
26 SOFA Item of furniture, mostly pastel article

SOF<t> (=pastel; “mostly” means last letter is dropped) + A (=article, in grammar)
     

 

13 comments on “Independent 11,216 / Phi”

  2. I didn’t take 30a as a homophone but as an Americanism. Tired is the American spelling of tyred and a Buick is American. Both interpretations work though.

  4. I couldn’t work out the ‘always shunned by Society’ bit of the wordplay for 17d and invented the new ‘language’ of PYTHOK for 4d, so not a particularly good day. Compensated though to some extent by the ‘no popular music?’ reading of the wordplay for 3d which bought Rambling Syd Rumpo to mind.

    You might also argue that the TIRED ‘Buick’ at 30a suggested a cryptic def given the state of the American automobile industry.

    Thanks to Phi and RR

  5. I couldn’t understand why 1d was a ‘country in difficulties’ rather than a person, and still don’t, even though BASKETCASE was obviously the answer. All good fun as ever but waiting for Phi to put me out of my bafflement re theme – ok maybe just an oblique hint. At one point I thought we were looking for US state abbreviations but you could probably find those in any crossword so I binned that notion.

    Thanks to Phi and RR

  6. BASKET CASE – see Chambers and ODE definitions (Collins less specific)

    TIRED – definitely I in my book. A Buick has tires and is therefore TIRE-D.

    The theme is rather obscure, though a personal favourite (and just another way of generating words to structure a grid, really): if you really want an oblique hint, then note that PEEPSHOW doesn’t really rhyme with RICKSHAW, even when playing the bagpipes.

  8. Thanks both. There appears to be much conjecture over the origins of basket case, at least one of which is graphic and horrible; applying it to a country at least removes a literal element. BISON reminded me of my dad’s chronic gag about the difference between a buffalo and a bison -the answer concerns washing your hair….that being my distraction from the talk here of the theme, which did make my brain hurt a little

  12. I didn’t spot the theme but I remember an Inquisitor by Phi on the same poem – great fun, I think it might have been the first Inquisitor I ever did (I’m now an addict).

  13. It’s decades since I read that poem so I didn’t spot the theme. And having it pointed out to me, the only line I remember is “Sit on your arse for fifty years and hang your hat on a pension”.

Comments are closed.