It’s the end of the week and who do we expect to be setting the puzzle today……
Yes, it’s Phi-day again.
A number of new words for us today but we managed to sort out the parsings before checking in Chambers. We cannot see a theme today but if there is one, hopefully Phi will give us a nudge.
DE (‘of’ in French) LUGES (toboggans)
MY (gosh!) S (small) ELF (supernatural creature)
AN (one) added to ROW (line). We are not sure why ‘Scottish’ is included although the rowan or ‘mountain ash’ is found growing wild in the highlands of Scotland.
An anagram (‘fancy’) of STAR HERE I
ICE (reserve) PACK (team)
FISH (to search) around a reversal (‘after setback’) of LOO (bog)
BS (bullshit – nonsense US slang) U (university) in THUMP (defeat)
HE (that fellow) ART (creative work)
VEt (check) missing last letter or ‘reduced’ and SUN (star) reversed or ‘rotated’
CALL (ring) SEA (main)
An anagram (‘to do exercise’) of NEED OAR
V (very) INNER (esoteric) about T (last or ‘ultimate’ letter of it)
E (European) REX (king) in OVERT (public)
mUSING (thinking) missing first letter or ‘not initially’
E (English) + TIT (sad character) inside or ‘enthralled by’ NY (US city)
C (about) RIP (tear up) PEN (prison)
DARN (annoyed comment) about WI (West Indies)
gLOW (steady light) without the ‘g’ (good)
GEN (information) DARES (risks) around or ‘involving’ M (millions)
S (last letter or ‘end’ of chaos) PEAK (mountain)
A (area) inside or ‘gripped by’ Y (unknown) HOOd (criminal) without or ‘disposing of’ the ‘d’ (dead)
An anagram (‘nervously’) of INDICATE IF around or ‘accepting’ O (love)
An anagram (‘displaced’) of THE SERFS – we had to check this one
DRIFT (tendency) PIN (security number) – another new word for us
An anagram (‘arrangement’) of HENNA on CEMENT (binder)
STaR (big name) without or ‘expressing’ the ‘a’ + ANGER (temper)
UN (United Nations – international body) ‘engaged’ in an anagram (‘wrangling’) of MUCH OIL
Double definition
DON (lecturer) around or ‘suppressing’ RAG (university activity) – we did wonder whether universities still had rag weeks but a quick google indicated that they do.
‘ERE (Cockney missing off the ‘h’ in ‘here’ – present) CT (court)
VATICan (religious centre) missing ‘an’ (article) – another new word for us
lIMP (feeble) missing or ‘putting out’ the ‘l’ (line)
I liked EARTHRISE and ENHANCEMENT. I vaguely remembered Mount Tate, so put STATE for SPEAK, which held me up for a while.
HEART and DARWIN didn’t quite work for me as they were spoiled by the apostrophe S, otherwise well up to Phi’s usual high standard, so thanks all.
Definitely a theme there – thanks Phi.
Arguably not that well known… but no one says it has to be; arguably more discoverable than, say, Wellington NZ hamburger varieties…
Cheers –
mw
oed.com says of ROWAN: ‘The word was apparently used almost exclusively in Scotland and the north of England until the 19th cent. The earliest name in other parts of Britain is quickbeam…’ – (nho)
ELF, DRAGON, HOMUNCULI, VENUS, IMP, and (possibly) ROE and ROWAN suggest a mythical theme to me.
Thanks both. HOMUNCULI was one unknown word too far for me, as I achieved the correct spelling at the second attempt. OVEREXERT clued as expect rather than expend too much puzzled me, but I will assume there is a meaning I haven’t considered
No clue about the theme, but great stuff anyway. Used a DRIFT and heard others using the word many times but never DRIFTPIN. Ah well, something new every day.
When asked for help spelling difficult words, my English teacher used to say ‘there is no known way’. For me HOMUNCULI is one of those words, even knowing the letters it took several goes to get it right.
Thanks both.
Looking forward to hearing about the theme …
You may find 19 across a touching indication of the theme
Well, I completed it, although I looked up DRIFTPIN to confirm it was a word. No idea of the theme, though.
CRIPPEN is also melodiously involved.
“One Touch of Venus is a 1943 musical with music written by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash, and book by S. J. Perelman and Nash, based on the 1885 novella The Tinted Venus by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, and very loosely spoofing the Pygmalion myth.”
Hmm! I never saw the link but I do know the songs I’m a STRANGER here MYSELF and SPEAK LOW, which I first got to know through Ute Lemper’s recordings in the eighties. Looking on Wikipedia I see Doctor CRIPPEN and FOOLISH HEART. I saw the Opera North staging when it came to London many years ago.