Independent 11,912 / Phi

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In customary fashion, Phi has brought another set of mid-week puzzles to an end.

I found this to be a medium-difficulty puzzle, through which I made steady progress and which I think I have parsed to my satisfaction. That said, I needed Chambers to confirm the US word for “binge” at 1.

I haven’t spotted any particular theme today, but perhaps others have … My favourite clues today were 4, 8, 19 and 25, all for smoothness of surface.

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

Across    
     
09 ISRAELI Leader of Italy? Legendary King’s backing one Mediterranean resident

I<taly> (“leader of” means first letter only) + SRAEL (LEAR’S=legendary king’s; “backing” indicates reversal) + I (=one)
     
10 LEARNER Student’s attention engaged by historic railway

EAR (=attention) in LNER (=historic railway, i.e. London North Eastern Railway)
     
11 EARTH Location of fire initially suppressed with soil

<h>EARTH (=location of fire; “initially suppressed” means first letter is dropped)
     
12 TOP-UP LOAN Plutonium included in revised plan too? Extra funding required

PU (=plutonium, i.e. chemical symbol) in *(PLAN TOO); “revised” is anagram indicator
     
13 OWNED Had too much, swallowing booze I abandoned

W<i>NE (=booze; “I abandoned” means letter “i” is dropped) in OD (=too much, i.e. overdose)
     
14 SULTANATE USA talent re-engineered Gulf region?

*(USA TALENT); “re-engineered” is anagram indicator
     
17 TOBACCO Snuff excessively probed by British account

[B (=British) + ACC (=account)] in TOO (=excessively)
     
19 WHISPER Wife drawn to man’s person and tone of voice

W (=wife) + HIS (=man’s) + PER (=person)
     
20 ENROLMENT Corrupt company mostly to regret ignoring a registration

ENRO<n> (=corrupt company, from the US in the early 2000s; “mostly” means last letter is dropped) + L<a>MENT (=to regret, bemoan; “ignoring a” means letter “a” is dropped)
     
21 ADDLE Daughters tucking into beer becoming confused

D D (=daughters, i.e. 2 x d=daughter) in ALE (=beer)
     
23 CHALIAPIN Boxer embraced by man, popular Russian singer

[ALI (=boxer, i.e. Muhammad Ali) in CHAP (=man)] + IN (=popular); the reference is to Russian opera singer Feodor Chaliapin (1873-1938)
     
26 HEART Pick up source of tremendous courage

HEAR (=pick up) + T<remendous> (“source of” means first letter only)
     
27 MEETING Formally qualified in Government appointment

MEET (=qualified, formally) + IN + G (=government)
     
28 ICEBOAT One guy receiving honour after backing winter transport

EBO (OBE=honour; “after backing” indicates reversal) in [I (=one) + CAT (=guy, chap)]
     
Down    
     
01 FINE-TOOTHED COMB Excellent binge in New York he had with groom – here’s something to help search

FINE (=excellent) + TOOT (=binge in New York , i.e. in US slang) + HE’D (=he had) + COMB (=(to) groom)
     
02 DRY RUN Doctor, one from France, seen around railway test

RY (=railway) in [DR (=doctor) + UN (=one from France, i.e. the French word for one)]
     
03 METHODICAL Systematic check-up securing most of the oxygen

[TH<e> (“most of” means last letter is dropped) + O (=oxygen, i.e. chemical formula)] in MEDICAL (=check-up)
     
04 BIRTHSTONE Perhaps ruby breast finally seen amongst the robins flying

<breas>T (“finally” means last letter only) in *(THE ROBINS); “flying” is anagram indicator
     
05 FLAP Panic following part of race

F (=following) + LAP (=part of race, on track)
     
06 CAMP Affected millions restricted by upper limit

M (=millions) in CAP (=upper limit)
     
07 ENDOCARP Death – with 50% of fish, it’s a fruit stone

END (=death) + O<f> (“50%” means one of two letters only is used) + CARP (=fish)
     
08 ORANGE FREE STATE Disruption of regatta foreseen in historic African zone

*(REGATTA FORESEEN); “disruption of” is anagram indicator
     
15 LAWN TENNIS Jurisprudence, note, upheld wrong feature of court in court activity

LAW (=jurisprudence) + N (=note) + TENNIS (SIN=wrong, misdemeanour + NET=feature of court; “upheld” indicates vertical reversal); lawn tennis is played on a court, hence “court activity”
     
16 ARIMATHAEA Articles about border and the area around a Biblical region

[RIM (=border, edge) in A A (=articles, i.e. 2 x A (=indefinite article, in grammar)] + {A in [THE + A]}
     
18 BEREAVED Deprived, before a volume is secured by qualified teacher

[ERE (=before) + A + V (=volume)] in B Ed (=qualified teacher, i.e. Bachelor of Education); bereaved means deprived of, robbed of, cf. bereft
     
22 DRAGON University event interrupting academic, an intimidating figure

RAG (=university event) in DON (=academic)
     
24 IRIS Component of lens is supporting infrared

IR (=infrared) + IS
     
25 PIGS Farm animals put in green spaces at first

P<ut> I<n> G<reen> S<paces>; “at first” means initial letters only

9 comments on “Independent 11,912 / Phi”

  1. 21A didn’t initially seem to work, but I suppose it does in an intransitive way. Otherwise all hunky-dory, so thanks Phi and RatkojaRiku.

  2. I see Tatrasman and, presumably, RR are both happy with ADDLE = confused but I am … confused by that one. I just cannot see how a past tense in the clue can define a present tense in the solution, whether transitive or intransitive. Probably my bad but hopefully someone will pop in to enlighten me. WHISPER, METHODICAL, LAWN TENNIS, BEREAVED, DRAGON and PIGS were my favourites today.

    Thanks Phi and RR

  3. This meaning for ADDLE has cropped up before. Apparently ‘addle’ (as well as ‘addled’) can be an adjective.

  4. Thanks Hovis. I see there is a meaning in Chambers – muddled. I’ve never seen addle used in the wild in that way. I wondered whether ‘addle-headed’ might be an example – but Chambers has that and defines it as ‘muddle-headed’ rather than ‘muddled-headed’. Fair enough, I suppose, in that case though it feels a tad like obscurity for the sake of it.

  5. Thanks both. Most of this went in at a nice rate, though I ultimately failed on ARIMATHAEA which was an unknown, for which I had invented ALIPATHAEA without any sane justification. In parsing, I am still left unsure on the context for ‘meet’ meaning ‘formally qualified’ in MEETING and ‘cat’ meaning ‘guy’ in ICEBOAT, but I coped admirably with PIGS defined as farm animals!

  6. TFO @ 5

    ‘Meet’ is a formal term for qualified’, though not much used these days.

    ‘Cat’ and ‘guy’ are both slang terms for ‘man’, cf a jazz fan being a ‘hep cat’.

  7. I guess ‘addle-pate’ could be an old adjectival use of addle to mean confused, but agree not entirely convincing these days.

  8. 21a is the definition becoming confused, rather than confused.
    As in ‘Too much beer will addle your brains’, ‘Too much beer will make you (become) confused’.

  9. douglas@8
    I also considered whether “becoming” was part of the definition, rather than a directional link-word preceding the definition.
    But others here have it correct, I think.
    ADDLE is commonly a verb, but it has the archaic use as an adjective. Thus “my brain is addle” = “my brain is confused”.
    I have seen this device, ( i.e. ADDLE where the solution word ADDLED is far more convincing) in at least two cryptic clues in recent months; so I knew it, but I don’t like it.

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