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Phi gives us a puzzle today that covers a wide range of subjects. It’s always interesting to me how much new general knowledge I learn from crosswords.
With words like SQUID, XIPHOID, SEX, and JUMP, I thought we would have a pangram, but we seem to be short of a K in the grid.
I am a bit unsure about relating SLOW to ‘almost frozen’ in the wordplay for SLOW BURN. The best I can come up with is SLOW means ‘not quite static’ which could be a definition of ‘almost frozen’.
I am aware of ZYDECO music and have probably heard some on the folk music stations I sometimes stream, but it’s not a genre well known to me.
I remember the vote for BOATY MCBOATFACE a few years ago and the subsequent decision to give the name to one of the submersibles accompanying RMS Sir David Attenborough in the polar research work that followed.
There’s such a wide range of topics covered in the grid that I hesitate to suggest that there is a theme linking some of them, but you never know with Phi’s puzzles.. If there is a theme, I’m sure a solver will find it.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 8 | Pound head of goon in repeated violent TV show (5,4)
SQUID GAME (Netflix TV show based on a dystopian tale where death awaits those who participate and fail in a series of children’s games – or something like that as I have never watched the show) (QUID [slang for one pound sterling] + G [first letter of {head of} GOON]) contained in (in) SAME (identical; repeated) S (QUID G) AME |
| 9 | After reflection, Star Wars character accommodating right Shakespearean spirit (5)
ARIEL (Shakespearean spirit who appears in The Tempest) LEIA (reference Princess LEIA, a character in the Star Wars series of films) reversed (after reflection) containing (accommodating) R (right) A (R) IEL< |
| 10 | Returned pictures I found in brickie’s carrier depicting a sword (7)
XIPHOID (something sword-shaped; depicting a sword) PIX (pictures) reversed (returned) + (I contained in [found in] HOD [V-shaped stemmed trough for carrying bricks or mortar on the shoulder]) XIP< HO (I) D |
| 11 | Cockney artist, as it were, supporting diverse views (7)
RAINBOW (descriptive of a group consisting of people of different ethnic origins or political views) RA (Royal Academician; artist) + IN BOW (Cockneys are born within the sound of BOW Bells) RA IN BOW |
| 12 | Sailing vessel having unknown crew from Hamburg (5)
YACHT (sailing vessel) Y (letter frequently used to represent an unknown value in mathematics) + ACHT (German for eight; a rowing crew is sometimes referred to as an eight) Y ACHT |
| 14 | Network disappointment for country squire? (9)
LANDOWNER (a country squire is usually a LANDOWNER) LAN (Local Area Network) + DOWNER (any depressing experience; a disappointment) LAN DOWNER |
| 16 | "My cat foe a bobcat" – weird suggestion overruled by Sir David Attenborough? (5,10)
BOATY MCBOATFACE (In 2016 the Natural Environmental Research Council ran a competition to name a new polar research vessel. BOATY MCBOATFACE topped the poll. The Council had reserved the right not to use the name that topped the poll and named the ship ‘Sir David Attenborough’ instead. However, in recognition of the poll, one of the submersibles used by the ship was named BOATY MCBOATFACE) Anagram of (weird) MY CAT FOE A BOBCAT BOATY MCBOATFACE* |
| 20 | Distribution system spreads American article around capital of Zambia (4,5)
LAZY SUSAN (a revolving tray, often with a number of separate dishes or sections for different foods, intended to be placed on a dining table, so that people can select food to eat without leaving their seats; distribution system for food) (LAYS [spreads] + US {United States; American] + AN [indefinite article]) containing (around) Z (first letter of [capital of] ZAMBIA) LA (Z) Y S US AN |
| 24 | Boast supplied by Democratic supporters? (5)
CROWD (group of supporters) CROW (boast) + D (Democrat) CROW D |
| 25 | Live and perform for all to see amongst Arab people (7)
BEDOUIN (tent-dwelling nomadic Arab people) BE (live) + DO (perform) + U (film certificate indicating that a film is suitable for viewing by people of all ages) + IN (amongst) BE DO U IN |
| 26 | Policeman heading off after doctor prescribes application for eye? (7)
DROPPER (a device for applying eye DROPs) DR (doctor) + COPPER (policeman) excluding (off) the first letter (heading) C DR OPPER |
| 28 | Look over playground and church (5)
RECCE (reconnoitre [make a preliminary investigation]; look over) REC (RECreation ground; playground]) + CE (Church [of England]) REC CE |
| 29 | Entrance to building vast at the front, see, and built badly (9)
VESTIBULE (entrance hall) V (first letter of [at the front] VAST) + an anagram of (badly) SEE and BUILT V ESTIBULE* |
| Down | |
| 1 | Judge and arbitrator in change of scene (4)
JUMP (sudden change of scene in a film, for example) J (judge) + UMP (umpire; referee; arbitrator) J UMP |
| 2 | Lady upset about corruption bringing Independent in smartly (8)
ADROITLY (dexterously; smartly) Anagram of (upset) LADY containing (about) (ROT [corruption] containing [taking in] I [independent]) AD (RO (I) T) LY* |
| 3 | Exotic wood featured in Cakes And Ale (6)
SANDAL (another shorter name for SANDALwood [a compact and fine-grained very fragrant E Indian wood]; exotic wood) SANDAL (hidden word in (featured in] CAKES AND ALE) SANDAL |
| 4 | Scold furiously, but not irate, surprisingly (4,4)
TEAR INTO (scold furiously) Anagram of (surprisingly) NOT IRATE TEAR INTO* |
| 5 | Company holding a function in gambling venue (6)
CASINO (gambling venue) CO (company) containing (holding) (A + SIN [trigonometric function]) C (A SIN) O |
| 6 | Cut of meat excellent in Paris – cordon bleu? (6)
RIBBON (formerly, the blue RIBBON worn by the knights of the Holy Ghost) RIB (cut of meat) + BON (French for good or excellent) RIB BON |
| 7/25 | Almost frozen stream perhaps showing eventual strong response (4,4)
SLOW BURN (a delayed but finally strong response or reaction) SLOW (not quite static; almost frozen [?]) + BURN (small stream) SLOW [BURN] |
| 8 | 17 tossed my boxes into second Loch (3,6)
SEX SYMBOL (CASANOVA, the entry at 17 down may be considered to be a SEX SYMBOL) Anagram of (tossed) MY BOXES contained in (into) (S [second] + L [loch]) S (EX SYMBO*) L |
| 13 | Man giving up power in Darjeeling? (3)
CHA (Tea. Darjeeling is a high-quality black tea grown in the mountains around the Indian city of the same name) CHAP (man) excluding (giving up) P (power) CHA |
| 15 | Republican in sore need struggling back again (2-7)
RE-ENDORSE (support or back again) R (Republican) contained in (in) an anagram of (struggling) SORE NEED RE–ENDO (R) SE* |
| 17 | Scandalous librarian’s trial terminated early with support of a big star (8)
CASANOVA (the legendary Italian lover Giacomo CASANOVA [1725 – 1798] worked as librarian) CASE (action or suit at law; trial) + A + NOVA (a variable star that undergoes a cataclysmic eruption, observed as a sudden large increase in brightness with a subsequent decline over months or years; big star) CAS A NOVA – as this is a down entry the letters ANOVA ‘support’ the letters CAS |
| 18 | Delivering global shifts in eye treatment? (8)
TECTONIC (descriptive of shifts occurring within the earth’s crust and causing structural deformation; delivering global shifts) TEC (detective, [private] eye) + TONIC (a medicinal preparation intended to improve and strengthen the functioning of the body or increase the feeling of wellbeing; a treatment) TEC TONIC |
| 19 | A game of strategy in the past (3)
AGO (in the past) A + GO (game of strategy) A GO |
| 21 | Year, end of year in Australia, seeing upturn in Louisiana pop music (6)
ZYDECO (a type of accordion-based popular dance music originating in Louisiana and partaking of French, Caribbean and blues influences) (Y [year] + DEC [December; month at the end of the year]) contained in (in) OZ (Australia) reversed (seeing upturn) Z (Y DEC) O< |
| 22 | United Church, in unhappy surroundings, may be displayed with relish (6)
SAUCED (having relish applied; with relish) (U [united] + CE [Church {of England}]) contained in (in … surroundings) SAD (unhappy) SA (U CE) D |
| 23 | Fanatic stomaching disrespect – for their choice of clothing? (6)
NUDIST (a person who does not wear any clothing and consequently may be in receipt of disrespect) NUT (fanatic) containing (stomaching) DIS– (prefix indicating negation or disrespect) NU (DIS) T |
| 25 | See 7
[SLOW] BURN |
| 27 |
One stops dog seizing line (4) PLUG (an object that stops a flow of some kind, for example) PUG (breed of dog) containing (seizing) L (line) P (L) UG |
A few new words for me: XIPHOID, ZYDECO and didn’t know ‘sandalwood’ could be shortened to ‘sandal’. Strange to not complete the pangram which would be easily done, e.g. BURN -> BARK, so I expect something is going on.
A very minor point, Duncan, your colour coding has a mistake in 29a.
Hovis @ 1
Thanks – corrected now
I shall await enlightenment from other posters wrt any theme; surely something is behind some strange selections – XIPHOID for one, though that could just be a result of SEX SYMBOL which is not that outre, I suppose. But SQUID GAME as well? I’ve never heard of the program and that answer had to be revealed. ZYDECO I have encountered – but it is another oddity. It cannot all be driven by Phi’s decision to place BOATY etc across the middle, can it? As duncan observes, a pangram might have been the justification but it’s not complete. I’ve even checked the results of the annual burger competition – which was quite recent – but it doesn’t appear to be any of the finalists.
Thanks Phi and duncan
My top faves: RAINBOW, YACHT, TECTONIC and NUDIST.
Thanks Phi and duncan!
We had hack and slash the other day and now we have sword and sandal. RAINBOW was excellent. I wondered if a burn would only be slow if it was almost frozen, but that didn’t make sense.
A scratched my head over SLOW BURN too but finally landed on the same reading as Petert, which I think makes as much sense as necessary.
Thanks all round.
Thanks Phi and duncan. Battled a bit with this, needed 4% help, eg Squid Game, a nho, and slow burn, a wtbleep.
[Knew zydeco from Zydecats, a Freo band started by a neighbour called Lucky Oceans who won 2 Grammies with Asleep at the Wheel, his earlier band in the US]
You’re not wrong about the breadth of cultural references here, Duncan – we even have Star Wars and Shakespeare in the same clue. No nhos for me – being a cultural omnivore (what some would call having indiscriminate taste) sometimes has its benefits. Squid Game is great fun, well worth watching. It is extremely violent though. I think I first became aware of ZYDECO music from a reference in a Paul Simon song on the Graceland album way back when. Still not entirely sure what it is though.
Thanks, Phi and Duncan
It’s sort of Louisiana creole, accordion etc, cum R and B … ish 🙂
Thanks both. Tough to finish but enjoyable. This demonstrates why I am distrusting of the panagram, as I set about inserting the non-insertable K, yet that pursuit yielded SQUID GAME which I have only heard of as it’s been an Indy answer in the past. Spent far too long unpicking BOATY MCBOATFACE as my now 28 yr-old daughter on formal occasions (Fathers’ Day/birthday) refers to me as Daddy McDadface which has become DMDF for short.
Lovely crossword – very straightforward for Phi (general knowledge required as noted above). Will now go back and look for theme or reason for un-phi-like simplicity
Thanks Phi and Duncan
Postmark only looked at the winners…
Actually the ferry’s burger was called BOATY BOATFACE, when the festival started, and it was the only one in the grid I came near to trying (it was sold onshore as well in a cute boat-shaped box). At the risk of overkill these are the culinary delights within the grid:
SQUID GAME
Spiced calamari with yuzu kosho, pickled daikon, katsu sauce and lemon in a Myrtle fried Japanese milk bread, with shoestring fries and calamari salt
BOATY MCBOATFACE
Beef brisket patty, with Pickle & Pie pickles, Pagro watercress, Kāpiti smoked cheddar, and jalapeño sauce in a Dough Bakery bun, with straight cut fries
CROWD SAUCED
Sweet or savoury? Brioche or doughnut bun? The Crowd Sauced burger will be decided by Wellingtonians at the ‘Build a Burger’ event from a total of 84000 combinations. The final burger will be announced on the 3rd of August following the event
CASINO
Smashed beef and thyme patty with pancetta, pilsner and three cheese fondue, pickled savoy, and a tomato and red onion chutney in a crumbed lasagne “bun”, with casarecce fries and pea-aioli
SLOW BURN
Angus blend beef patty, housemade jack cheese, jalapeño pickle relish, onions, and burger sauce in a housemade milk bun, with umami fries
Vegan alternative: chickpea and herb schnitzel, vegan mozzarella, and vegan burger sauce
THE CASANOVA
L’affare espresso and cocoa rubbed Plan*t ‘beef’ patty, ‘ham’, vegan Swiss cheese, battered oyster mushrooms, pickled figs, cherry BBQ reduction, and herbed mayo in a Cottage Lane brioche bun, with potato pom poms and cherry ketchup
THE PLUG
Panko crumbed gochujang chicken patty, gouda, Premier bacon and kimchi jam, cucumber, coriander, and mayonnaise in a toasted brioche bun
Close – but no cigar!
Hmm.. nho Boaty, the game or the Louisiana music, so this was a trial by general knowledge for me, maybe i need to get out more, first stop Louisiana. By the sound of it the music doesn’t sound like ‘pop’.. maybe u had to be there… only slightly miffed about the Boaty thing cos I’m usually pretty sharp on anagrams, but that was gobbledygook right from the get go, just felt like the wrong fodder. Each crosser just made it worse. Tried to fit ZODIAC in the music, taking the def as ‘Year’.. n the game seems like a pointless waste of time n energy, but some people say that about crosswords also.. apart from that it was pretty straightforward… interesting theme…
Thanks Phi n duncansheil