It is Friday today so, in the absence of any special occasion calling for a commemorative puzzle, it must be a Phi-day!
I took longer over this one than I do over the average Phi, not least on account of the higher than usual proportion of more unusual words, e.g. 9, 14, 16, 17, 24 and 25. These were either wholly new words for me or simply cultural references “wasted” on me, but they could all be confirmed thanks to the wordplay. We live and learn, as they say!
The last few clues to hold out on me were 21A and 21D, although I recalled having seen the same device as in 21D on a previous occasion, once the penny dropped; and also the intersecting entries at 5, 6 and 8. I resorted to my dictionary’s search facility to track down 8 and have to admit to having forgotten that particular derivation of the word.
My favourite clues are 23, for its smooth and deceptive surface, and 5, for its & lit. element, the topicality of which may, it seems, be under threat.
*(…) indicates an anagram
| Across | ||||
| 7 | EAGLES | Cryptic definition: the reference is to the 1970s American rock band The Eagles; an eagle is a score of two strokes below par in golf, hence “below-par” | ||
| 8 | SHANGHAI | [HANG (=to stop working, of a computer) in SH (=mum, as in to keep mum)] + A + I (=current force, in physics); to shanghai is to force someone to go to sea, hence “force onboard ship” | ||
| 9 | HALLOUMI | ALLO<w> (=permit; “cut” means last letter dropped) in HUMI<d> (=moist; “most of” means last letter dropped); halloumi is a mild Cypriot cheese, often served fried or grilled | ||
| 10 | POPGUN | [OP (=work) + G (=good)] in PUN (=joke) | ||
| 11 | PITY | PIT (TIP=suggestion; “rebuffed” indicates reversal) + <traged>Y (“ending in” means last letter only) | ||
| 12 | COMESTIBLE | COMES (=approaches) + T-I (for A)-BLE (=dining area); “one (=I)’s swapped for a different one (=A)” means the letter “i” is replaced by letter “a” | ||
| 14 | GIMLET | GI (=soldier) + [L (=length) + MET (=satisfied)]; a gimlet is a cocktail of vodka or gin mixed with lime-juice | ||
| 16 | CARNAC | CAN (=is it possible) + RAC (=motorists’ group, i.e. Royal Automobile Club); “to back” indicates reversal; Carnac in Brittany is the site of a large collection of Neolithic menhirs | ||
| 19 | INDIAN FILE | Double definition, one of which cryptic: INDIAN (=in Chennai?) + FILE (=as documented) | ||
| 21 | NIPS | SPIN (=a trip); “back” indicates reversal; the definition is “takes”, i.e. steals | ||
| 22 | RIFLED | RI (=US state, i.e. Rhode Island) + FLED (=scarpered) | ||
| 24 | NONUPLET | NON (=French veto, i.e. the French for “non”) + UP (=lifted) + LET (=to permit) | ||
| 25 | EUONYMUS | *(YOU MEN) + US (=American, i.e. used adjectivally); “transplanted” is anagram indicator; euonymus is a plant of the spindle-tree or burning bush genus | ||
| 26 | OPEN UP | PEN (=writer) in OUP (=University publishers, i.e. Oxford University Press) | ||
| Down | ||||
| 1 | RAVAGING | [A + V (=volume) + AG (=silver)] in RING (=item of jewellery) | ||
| 2 | ILKLEY | LI-K-EL-Y (=very probably); “undergoing a couple of minor changes” means letters 1 and 2 change places, as do letters 4 and 5 | ||
| 3 | ESCUTCHEON | CUT (=wound) in *(SHE ONCE); “manipulated” is anagram indicator | ||
| 4 | CAMP | M (=money) in CAP (=better, i.e. outdo) | ||
| 5 | EGYPTIAN | G (=government) in *(A TYPE IN); “riots” is anagram indicator; & lit. | ||
| 6 | CASUAL | ASU (USA=America; “upset” indicates vertical reversal) in CAL (=one of its – America’s – states); the definition is “irregular”, e.g. of employment, i.e. occasional | ||
| 8 | STIGMA | A + M (=mark) + GIT’S (=fool’s); “upheld” indicates vertical reversal | ||
| 13 | SHAME ON YOU | *(MONEY HAS) + OU (=University, i.e. Open University); “corrupted” is anagram indicator | ||
| 15 | MAINLINE | MA (=old lady) + IN LINE (=queuing); to mainline is to take drugs intravenously | ||
| 17 | COPHETUA | *(THE COUP) + A; “toppled” is anagram indicator; the reference is to King Cophetua in the medieval romance The King and the Beggar-maid | ||
| 18 | WIDNES | N (=new) in WIDES (=poor deliveries, i.e. in cricket) | ||
| 20 | NAIL UP | *(PAUL IN); “wandering” is anagram indicator; the definition is “close” as a verb | ||
| 21 | NAPLES | NAP-LES<s> (=never sleeping, i.e. whimsically, hence question mark); “not entirely” means last letter dropped | ||
| 23 | DAMN | DAM (MAD=bats, i.e. crazy, nuts; “upside-down” indicates vertical reversal) + <bar>N (“end of” means last letter only); the definition is “hang”, a euphemism for “damn” | ||
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