We have a normal Friday with an Independent puzzle set by Phi.
The entries look like a set of words with no common connection, so I’ll suggest there is no theme, but I’ve failed to a spot a Phi theme many times in the past.
I liked the clues for ERRAND BOY and PITON
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 |
Book shortage not propitious? (5) BLACK (gloomy; sombre; not propitious) B (book) + LACK (shortage) B LACK |
| 4 |
Saying is edited to the greatest degree (9) MAXIMISED (raised to the highest degree) MAXIM (pithy saying) + IS + ED (edited) MAXIM IS ED |
| 9 |
Cold German and American spies coming in all out of sorts (7) GLACIAL (icy; cold) G (German) + (CIA [Central Intelligence Agency {American spies}] contained in [coming in] an anagram of [out of sorts] ALL) G + LA (CIA) L* |
| 10 |
Offering assessment in hospital by seeking divine intervention? Not initially (1-6) X-RAYING (activity in a hospital that offers an assessment of a medical condition) X (multiplied; times; by) + PRAYING (seeking divine intervention) excluding the first letter (not initially) P X RAYING |
| 11 |
Something for the nippers in addition: book probing childhood disease (10) TOOTHBRUSH (tool for cleaning teeth [nippers]) TOO (in addition) + (B [book] contained in [probing] THRUSH [a disease, especially of children, causing fungous blisters in the mouth]) TOO TH (B) RUSH |
| 12 |
Interval in cup match enthralling millions (4) TIME (period; interval) TIE (sports cup match) containing (enthralling) M (millions) TI (M) E |
| 14 |
A coin – the tossing is not determined (8) INCHOATE (not established; not determined) Anagram of (tossing) A COIN THE INCHOATE* |
| 16 |
Separate irritation, scratching head (5) OTHER (different; separate) BOTHER (irritation) excluding the first letter (scratching head) B OTHER |
| 18 |
Startled comment about doctor in group (5) COMBO (small jazz- or dance group; also, any combination) COO (expression of being surprised or startled) containing (about) MB (Bachelor of Medicine; doctor) CO (MB) O |
| 29 |
Drink, swallowing last of beer, and stand in shock (8) SURPRISE (shock) SUP (drink) containing (swallowing) R (final letter of [last of] BEER) + RISE (stand) SU (R) P RISE |
| 23 |
Emanation of the ear? Not quite (4) AURA (emanation) AURAL (relating to the ear) excluding the final letter (not quite) L AURA |
| 24 |
Result of baking: experts taken aback about smell; kitchen evacuated at first (6,4) SPONGE CAKE (a result of baking) (ACES [experts] reversed [taken aback] containing [about] PONG [smell]) + KE (first letters [at first] of each of KITCHEN and EVACUATED) S (PONG) E CA< KE |
| 27 |
Evade second escape clause? (4,3) BACK OUT (evade an obligation or undertaking) BACK (support; second) + OUT (a way of escaping from a problem or dilemma, such as an escape clause) BACK OUT |
| 28 |
Incompetent Dickens character – the end of Oliver? (7) BUMBLER (an incompetent) BUMBLE (reference Mr BUMBLE, a character in Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist) + R (last letter of [end of] OLIVER) BUMBLE R |
| 29 |
European forbearance about information in crisis (9) EMERGENCY (crisis) E + (MERCY [forbearance] containing [about] GEN [information]) E MER (GEN) CY |
| 30 |
Encouragement not covered, needing involvement of Government (5) NUDGE (gentle encouragement) NUDE (not covered) containing (needing involvement of) G (Government) NUD (G) E |
| Down | |
| 1 |
Coastal locations – successful strikes taking out one (6) BIGHTS (wide bays; coastal locations) BIG (successful) + HITS (strikes) excluding (taking out) I (Roman numeral for one) BIG HTS |
| 2 |
A newspaper comes with indication of alternative Northern member of fellowship (7) ARAGORN (character in J R R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy who is a member of the Fellowship) A + RAG (newspaper) + OR (indication of an alternative) + N (northern) A RAG OR N |
| 3 |
King’s dark time with criminal getting honour (10) KNIGHTHOOD (an honour) K (King) + NIGHT (dark time) + HOOD (gangster; criminal) K NIGHT HOOD |
| 4 |
Mishandles alarm test badly (9) MALTREATS (mishandles) Anagram of (badly) ALARM TEST MALTREATS* |
| 5 |
6 across dissected with a twist: A line with a few values (1- 4) X-AXIS (in a graph, the horizontal axis along which the x-coordinate is plotted; a line with a few values) ([SIX [6] + X {a cross}] containing [dissected with] A) all reversed (twist) (X (A) XIS)< |
| 6 |
Satisfied about a key component of discussion (4) MEAT (key component of a discussion) MET (satisfied) containing (about) A ME (A) T |
| 7 |
Succeeded? Success is hard and beastly (7) SWINISH (like a pig; beastly) S (succeeded) + WIN (success) + IS + H (hard, when referring to pencil lead) S WIN IS H |
| 8 |
Incompetent constable to follow English food writer (8) DOGBERRY (DOGBERRY is a character created by William Shakespeare for his play Much Ado About Nothing. The Nuttall Encyclopædia describes him as a "self-satisfied night constable" with an inflated view of his own importance as the leader of a group of comically bumbling watchmen; incompetent constable) DOG (follow) + BERRY (reference Mary BERRY [born 1935], British food writer and television personality) DOG BERRY |
| 13 |
Experienced worker troubled me on a jury, note (10) JOURNEYMAN (someone who is competent at his trade; experienced worker) Anagram of (troubled) ME ON A JURY and N (note) JOURNEYMAN* |
| 15 |
Young worker born ready to work (6,3) ERRAND BOY (young worker) Anagram of (to work) BORN READY ERRAND BOY* |
| 17 |
First couple from school walk and climb roughly (8) SCRAMBLE (to climb or crawl, especially by using the hands to aid movement; climb roughly) SC (first two letters of [first couple from] SCHOOL) + RAMBLE (walk) SC RAMBLE |
| 19 |
Vehicle overturned during race – unexpectedly fortunate outcome? (7) MIRACLE (a wonder; event or act which breaks a law of nature, especially one attributed to a deity or supernatural force; unexpectedly fortunate outcome) CAR (vehicle) reversed (overturned) and contained in (during) MILE (race) MI (RAC<) LE |
| 21 |
Unhappy about shops creating promotional opportunity (5,2) SMALL AD (promotional opportunity) SAD (unhappy) containing (about) MALL (pedestrian shopping area) S (MALL) AD |
| 22 |
Former king, say, repeatedly upset about soldiers (6) GEORGE (regnal name of six former Kings of the United Kingdom) (EG [for example; say] reversed [upset] + EG [for example; say] reversed [upset] – forming ‘say, repeatedly) containing (about) OR (other ranks; soldiers) GE< (OR) GE< |
| 25 |
Pointless climbing – without this? (5) PITON (iron peg or stanchion to which a rope may be attached, used in mountaineering. A very important item when climbing. It would be very pointless climbing a rock face) (NO TIP [without a point; pointless]) reversed (climbing) (PIT ON)< |
| 26 |
Potential entry in charts very much no good (4) SONG (something that might enter the music charts if it is popular enough) SO (to such an extent; very much) + NG (no good) SO NG |
Thanks, Phi and duncanshiell!
X-AXIS (just an alternative thought though the parse in the blog seems to work all right)
X-AXIS
6 across=SIX A X(across dissected=a cross=A X). < with a twist/reversed.
BIGHTS
Will it be better if we read together ‘successful strikes’ to get ‘BIG HITS’?
I parsed 6a as KVa. There’s a small error in blog for COMBO – it is MB not BM.
KVa @ 2
I thought about BIG HITS as ‘successful strikes’ but there was no indication which I should be removed. I therefore split it into BIG (successful) and HITS (strikes taking out one) with the I then clearly being removed from HITS
Hovis @ 3
Thanks – blog corrected
Liked the clue for PITON. Thanks.
Interesting (but not spoilery, I hope) to note the unusual coincidence in today’s G&I puzzles. I always enjoy that kind of thing.
This took me a while to get into but then everything fell into place bar DOGBERRY who is a Bardic character of whom I have heard but know very little. BLACK, GLACIAL, INCHOATE, MALTREATS, ERRAND BOY (COTD), SMALL AD and PITON were my favourites. TOOTHBRUSH was one of my last ones in: I did not expect book = B to turn up twice, it having appeared in BLACK. Together with the unusual ‘nippers’ for teeth and THRUSH as a childhood disease – I only know of it in the venereal context – it made for a trickier clue.
Thanks Phi and duncan
Highly enjoyable. ERRAND BOY and PITON were absolute favourites, and pretty much everything else was very good, tricky but accessible, and obvious in hindsight – the perfect balance. DOGBERRY LOI while I dredged it from the depths of my memory and started to read the clue correctly – I expected “Incompetent constable” to be separate parts for way too long.
A small point – X-AXIS was a really nice clue, but would have been so much better in a grid with a 6 across. In its absence, the deception was unfortunately obvious. (I think Bluth a few weeks back had an unusual grid with a 2 across and a 2 down, so that he could use “2 down” in this way and really sell it as a genuine reference. Sometimes it’s worth designing a whole grid around a trick like this)
Thank you Phi and Duncan.
I liked the literary references, and the Guardian/Independent coincidence definitely helped. Thanks, both.
duncanshiell@4
Thanks for your response.
INCHOATE – ‘Etymology – From Latin incohatus (“begun, unfinished”), perfect passive participle of incoho (“begin”). Signs of dyslexia.
Not aware of DOGBERRY…
Thrush is hardly most common in childhood, extremely common both venereal n orally across the age range
Otherwise decent Friday…
Thanks Phi n duncansheill
Undrell @12. For what it’s worth, the relevant entry for ‘thrush’ in Chambers starts ‘A disease, esp. of children, …’. I should perhaps add that ‘vaginal thrush’ is listed separately.
A nice coincidence, last night I started reading The King in the North by Max Adams about Oswald of Northumbria, reckoned to be the original for Aragorn.
Thanks Hovis@13… not sure medical textbooks would agree… in the mouth, for instance, it is probably most prevalent in those wearing dentures, and those suffering from debilitating disease. Diabetes also massively increases the risk of active candidal infection. “Thrush” refers to the speckled appearance when it is affecting mucosal surfaces and as such includes all sites where this is found, not just the mouth.