Phi has brought the latest suite of mid-week puzzles to an end, as is customary for him.
I found this to be a medium-difficulty puzzle by Phi and Indy standards. I think that I have managed to solve everything correctly, but I would appreciate confirmation of my parsing of 24 and 25.
My favourite clues today were 6 and 19, both for smoothness of surface; and 2 and 13, both for originality.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | OBOIST | Player of woodwind instrument back to including wood from France
BOIS (=wood from France, i.e. the French word for wood) in OT (TO; “back” indicates vertical reversal) |
| 05 | PINOCHLE | Help with coin tossing for game
*(HELP + COIN); “tossing” is anagram indicator; pinochle is a card game like bezique |
| 09 | BOOK CLUB | Several readers luck out in error
*(LUCK) in BOOB (=error); “out” is anagram indicator |
| 10 | VACANT | Showing little thought, placing one container inside another
CAN (=container) in VAT (=container); a vacant expression shows little thought on the part of the peron concerned |
| 11 | SOJOURNING | Staying and turning to receive old Judge then new
[O (=old) + J (=judge)] + N (=new) placed separately inside SOURING (=turning, of milk) |
| 12 | ATOM | Six feet regularly cut down a small amount
<f>AT<h>OM (=six feet, in depth); “regularly cut down” means first and fourth letters are dropped |
| 13 | AIRTIGHT | Excellent and correct, keeping first of them in, letting nothing out
T<hem> (“first of” means first letter only) in [A1 (=excellent) + RIGHT (=correct)] |
| 15 | TRIFLE | Little to search following end of tumult
<tumul>T (“end of” means last letter only) + RIFLE (=to search, plunder); a little is a small thing, hence “trifle” |
| 17 | GAZEBO | Attempt to restrain extreme characters and be revolutionary? One has a broad view
[A Z (=“extreme characters”, i.e. the first and last letters of the alphabet) + EB (BE; “revolutionary” indicates reversal)] in GO (=(an) attempt); a gazebo is a summerhouse offering a commanding view of a landscape |
| 18 | ATROPINE | A figure of speech incorporating much-used medicinal poison
IN (=much-used, popular) in [A + TROPE (=figure of speech)]; atropine is used for premedication purposes |
| 19 | SCAM | Non-English clubs backed racket
MAC<e>S (=clubs, often spiked: “non-English (=E)” means letter “e” is dropped); “backed” indicates reversal |
| 21 | NOSE TO TAIL | Late? Soon it looks bad, as traffic jams form?
*(LATE SOON IT); “looks bad” is anagram indicator |
| 23 | HOWDAH | Animal transport question kept coming back
HOW (=question (word)) + DAH (HAD=kept, possessed; “coming back” indicates reversal); a howdah is a seat on an elephant’s back |
| 24 | ON THE RUN | How certain athletes may appear fleeing
Cryptically, certain athletes (=runners) appear on the run! |
| 25 | SKYLIGHT | It may allow you to look down on broadcaster of undemanding fare
SKY (=(TV) broadcaster) + LIGHT (=of undemanding fare) |
| 26 | MOTLEY | Doctor still taken aback about student’s foolish garb
MO (=doctor, i.e. Medical Officer) + [L (=student, i.e. learner) in TEY (YET=still; “taken aback” indicates reversal)] |
| Down | ||
| 02 | BIOLOGICAL CLOCK | Ticker governing how your ticker ticks?
Cryptic definition, in which the first “ticker” is a clock and the second a heart! |
| 03 | INK BOTTLE | What writer needs: initially staying away from container of liquid courage
<s>INK (=container of liquid; “initially staying away” means first letter is dropped) + BOTTLE (=courage, guts) |
| 04 | TILER | One covering row about Liberal
L (=liberal) in TIER (=row, level) |
| 05 | PUBLIC TRANSPORT | What’s represented by bus trip not car pool’s limitations?
*(BUS TRIP NOT CAR + P<oo>L); “limitations” means first and last letters are used in anagram, indicated by “’what’s represented by”; & lit. |
| 06 | NAVIGATOR | One giving a steer to a raving lunatic
*(TO A RAVING); “lunatic” is anagram indicator |
| 07 | COCOA | A pair of military leaders turned up for drink
A + OC (=military leader, i.e. Officer in Charge) + OC (=military leader); “turned up” indicates vertical reversal |
| 08 | LINE OF LONGITUDE | Basis for measuring this? “Gut feel: London” I twice elaborated
*(GUT FEEL LONDON + I I); “twice” means “i” is used twice in anagram, indicated by “elaborated” |
| 14 | GROUNDHOG | Seasonal symbol offers reason to eat greedily
GROUND (=reason, basis) + HOG (=to eat greedily); if a groundhog emerging from hibernation cannot see its shadow, then the end of winter has been reached, hence “seasonal symbol”!! |
| 16 | IMPATIENT | I’m to hanker about obligation, being fretful
TIE (=obligation, commitment) in [I’M + PANT (=hanker, yearn]; fretful is impatient, irritable |
| 20 | MEDAL | Award degree during dinner?
D (=degree) in MEAL (=dinner) |
| 22 | TOTEM | Satisfied religious books may be upheld as tribal symbol
MET (=satisfied) + OT (=religious books, i.e. Old Testament); “may be upheld” indicates vertical reversal |
A little easier than recent Phidays for me.
Nho ATROPINE, HOWDAH or PINOCHLE (which I guessed from crossers).
Couldn’t parse ATOM which was my LOI.
I’m not sure what “this” is doing or adding in 8d.
Lots of fairly quick answers and then a struggle to finish it off.
Thanks very much fto Phi or the Friday fun and to RatkojaRiku for helping with the parsings I drew a blank on.
Goodness, where is everybody today? (No insult intended, rocket @1. You are clearly somebody 😀 )
Two encounters with this setter today and, as per, I found the Indy version to be more approachable than the G. Fortunately, I was on top of the required vocab today (ATROPINE more from crosswords than anywhere else) and I clocked the def for PUBLIC TRANSPORT early, giving me a useful set of letters down the middle. As a result, everything fell into place quite smoothly. Helped by the clear cluing.
Faves today include PINOCHLE, BOOK CLUB, VACANT, SCAM, NAVIGATOR, COCOA and MEDAL.
Thanks Phi and RR
Thanks both. Hesitated with COCOA only as CO unreversed is commanding officer. ATROPINE was new for me, however it is my mother-in-law’s 85th birthday on Sunday, and she does like a TRIFLE so I’ll have to ensure I don’t confuse the two
Late starting and later still when we finished.
Couldn’t believe how few comments there were. Some tricky clues along the way but not as difficult as some recent ones or maybe we are more awake this week.
Thanks Phi and RR.
We solved this fairly quickly earlier in the day but didn’t get round to commenting.
A pleasant and not too difficult solve. PINOCHLE was an example of the sort of clue where you work out the answer and think you’ve never heard of it, but on checking in the dictionary you realise that you have encountered it before (probably in a crossword) but then forgotten it.
Thanks, Phi and RR.
allan_c @ 15
Do you remember the ancient poem that starts
Never laugh when a hearse goes by
For you might be the next to die
A later line is
Worms play pinochle on your snout
?