Phi is occupying his usual Friday compiling slot this week.
I found this to be a medium-difficulty puzzle through which I made steady progress. However, my progress was slowed down somewhat by my ignorance of the entries at 1A and 11. Nevertheless, I got there in the end and I think that I am satisfied with my parsing throughout. I have spotted no (ghost) theme here today.
As for my favourite clues, I would select the duo of clues at 13 and 14A, for the repetition of “bit of loving”; and 14D, 22 and 24, all for smoothness of surface.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | MIXOLYDIAN | Overlay records on daily broadcast, observing Greek mode
MIX (=overlay records, e.g. by DJ) + *(ON DAILY); “broadcast” is anagram indicator; mixolydian refers to a mode of ancient Greek music |
| 06 | MOSS | Simple plant, one found among bulrushes, no end of trouble
MOS<e>S (=one found among bulrushes, in OT; “no end (=last letter) of trouble” means letter “e” is dropped) |
| 10 | PILATES | Exercise system sees one participating in races
I (=one) in PLATES (=races, i.e. contest with cup as prize) |
| 11 | LUTHIER | Reformer enthralled foremost in Italy – Stradivarius?
I<taly> (“foremost in” means first letter only) in LUTHER (=reformer, i.e. German theologian Martin Luther); a luthier is a maker of lutes, guitars and other stringed instruments, hence such as the Italian violin-maker Stradivarius |
| 12 | SUPERSEDE | Replace drink – see red when drunk
SUP (=drink) + *(SEE RED); “when drunk” is anagram indicator |
| 13 | LEMON | Unattractive person turned me on after a bit of loving
L<oving> (“bit of” means first letter only) + EM (ME; “turned” indicates reversal) + ON |
| 14 | AMOUR | … great attraction, though missing good bit of loving in affair
<gl>AMOUR (=great attraction); “though missing good (=G) + bit (=first letter) of loving” means letter “gl” are dropped |
| 15 | NOT AT HOME | Out on the moat, drifting
*(ON THE MOAT); “drifting” is anagram indicator |
| 17 | STENCILED | American produced design – elaborate insect – under instruction
*(INSECT) + LED (=under instruction, being guided); “elaborate” is anagram indicator; “American” implies US spelling of “stencilled” |
| 20 | REFIT | Make changes to official computer systems?
REF (=official, i.e. referee, in e.g. football match) + IT (=computer systems, i.e. information technology) |
| 21 | RABBI | Clergyman reversed one prohibition involving Bishop
B (=bishop, in chess) in [I (=one) + BAR (=prohibition, ban)]; “reversed” indicates reversal |
| 23 | UNABASHED | Bold, backing one university, getting criticised
UNA (AN=one + U (=university); “backing” indicates reversal) + BASHED (=criticised, slammed) |
| 25 | LUMPING | Enduring dropping heavily, losing initial power
<p>LUMPING (=dropping heavily; “losing initial power (=P, in physics)” means the first “p” is dropped); cf. Like it or lump it! |
| 26 | IMITANT | Copying fellow holding it, probing it
[IT in MAN (=fellow)] in IT |
| 27 | ARID | Having no water? Relief bringing river in
R (=river) in AID (=relief, assistance) |
| 28 | FROG’S-MARCH | Treatment of awkward prisoner obscures month with capture of Republican
R (=Republican) in [F<r>OGS (=obscures, blurs) + MARCH (=month)]; this is an alternative spelling of frogmarch |
| Down | ||
| 01 | MOPES | Work amidst a lot of confusion feels sad
OP (=work, i.e. opus) in MES<s> (=confusion; “a lot of” means last letter is dropped) |
| 02 | XYLOPHONE | Wooden instrument: axes cut hard one
X Y (=axes, on a graph) + LOP (=cut (off)) + H (=hard, as in HB pencils) + ONE |
| 03 | LITERARY CRITIC | Lines in revised article? It’s penned by largely productive reviewer
[RY (=line, i.e. railway) in *(ARTICLE)] + [IT in RIC<h> (=productive, of e.g. exchange; “largely” means last letter is dropped)]; “revised” is anagram indicator |
| 04 | DISCERN | Notice detective going round one European research centre
[I (=one) in DS (=detective, i.e. Detective Sergeant)] + CERN (=European research centre, for nuclear physics) |
| 05 | AILMENT | Follow chaps cycling? Something wrong here
TAIL (=follow, covertly) + MEN (=chaps); “cycling” means first letter moves to the end of the entry |
| 07 | ODIUM | Old maxim spurned by court, producing disapproval
O (=old, as in OT) + [DI<ct>UM (=maxim, saying; “spurned by court (=CT)” means letters “ct” are dropped] |
| 08 | STRINGENT | Severe line mostly taken by bloke
STRIN<g> (=line, row; “mostly” means last letter is dropped) + GENT (=bloke) |
| 09 | UTILITARIANISM | Rebuild of initial atrium involving small aspiration to maximise happiness
S (=small, in sizes) in *(INITIAL ATRIUM); “rebuild of” is anagram indicator |
| 14 | AUSTRALIA | A rigged trial held in America and another country
A + [*(TRIAL) in USA (=America)] |
| 16 | OFF THE AIR | Maintaining radio silence? That’s working for a thief
*(FOR A THIEF); “that’s working” is anagram indicator |
| 18 | LOUNGER | Comfortable seat extended to accommodate you ultimately
<yo>U (“ultimately” means last letter only) in LONGER (=extended) |
| 19 | DRAWING | Pulling out // contribution to exhibition?
Double definition: drawing is pulling out, extracting AND a drawing is a contribution to (an art) exhibition |
| 22 | BAMBI | Film and book with limited range?
B (=book) + AMBI<t> (=range, scope; “limited” means last letter is dropped); the reference is to the Disney film Bambi, released originally in 1942 |
| 24 | DITCH | Get rid of department before long
D (=department, as in DEFRA) + ITCH (=long (for), yearn) |
Enjoyable crossword. Couldn’t do PILATES because I got stuck on PELOTON being a double definition, although a peloton is several racers, not one.
I liked MOSS and was delighted to get MIXOLYDIAN straight away. The finale of Hey Jude is probably the best known example of it.
Thanks Phi and RatkojaRiku.
Excellent crossword, and nice to see a clue for Australia involving another country that isn’t Austria. I searched in vain for a theme! Thanks to Phi and RR. I was also happy to get mixolydian first. It would have been better later on if I had spelled it correctly.
Phi at his phinest – Truly enjoyed this and found it the right degree of difficulty and happily on my wavelength. XYLOPHONE probably my favorite among many to choose from. Thanks Phi, as always, and to RR for the blog
Happy end of the week after some difficult (for me) ones earlier. I at least knew what I was looking for with MIXOLYDIAN and just needed to Google to find the beginning of it. I will now never forget it. XYLOPHONE was a bit of a write-in given the X and the reference to wood, but thanks R&R for the parsing. Thanks Phi.
Thanks both. I made heavy weather of quite a bit of this, losing my way eventually but only slightly on MIXOLYDIAN , which is certainly Greek to me and not listed in my dictionary. Can’t find FROGS-MARCH acknowledged as an alternative anywhere, but it was very fairly clued, and to me a LEMON is more of a dud or failure than somebody unattractive, or just a fruit for that matter.
No-one’s found a ghost of a theme, then? Me neither. Enjoyed MIXOLYDIAN (lovely mode) and MOSS (once I’d remembered my Sunday School lessons). Thanks to Phi and Ratkojariku
Thanks Phi and RR. After much searching I found the FROG’S-MARCH variant in an interesting (new to me) web resource called the World English Historical Dictionary. This seems to bear out Google AI’s assertion that the term originated in the 19th century, after the method used by the London police to transfer a drunken prisoner, face down, one officer holding each limb. I think forced movement in the upright position better captures the modern sense: “The world was relieved when he was finally frog-marched out of the White House”.
If only, Coloradan @ 7
Couldn’t see LUMPING as enduring.
For the record, FROG’S MARCH is in the most recent version of Chambers.
Dormouse@9 What about in the sense of enduring = bearing something – ” you’ve just got to lump it”?
No theme today. Pleased to see that MIXOLYDIAN wasn’t quite the terror I feared it might be. I’ve come across both versions of FROG’S-MARCH over time, so it seemed fair enough.
ele@10: I see that now, but couldn’t see it when solving.