I was expecting this Friday to bring me a lexical tussle with Phi, and so it did.
This was a puzzle I was expecting to whizz through, having worked out all the longer entries around the perimeter on first perusal. However, I soon ground to something of a near halt, struggling to complete all but the SW quadrant. My task was not helped by the fact that 2 and 6 were new to me, the latter seeming totally implausible even when solved from the wordplay.
I haven’t spotted a theme of any description here, but there is doubtless one to be found, by more eagle-eyed solvers than yours truly.
My favourites today were all shorter entries: 5 for its surface reading; 11 for its fairly original approach to a hidden answer; and 25 for its mild sauciness.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in double-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01/05 | PRINCE ALBERT | Old royal personage confused by printer cable
*(PRINTER CABLE); “confused” is anagram indicator |
| 08 | AMPLIFIER | A sort of policeman, one seized by prisoner? One’s making more noise
A + MP (=sort of policeman, i.e. military policeman) + [I in LIFER (=prisoner)] |
| 09 | ORBIT | Socket component with gold front
OR (=gold) + BIT (=component); an orbit is a socket for e.g. the eye |
| 11 | MEMO | Note what appears when time and motion are brought together
Hidden in “tiME + MOtion” when the two words are written side by side (“brought together”) |
| 12 | HIPPODROME | Trendy small room beside city arena
HIP (=trendy) + POD (=small room, as in pod hotel) + ROME (=city) |
| 13 | RENEWING | Beginning gain to succeed, blocking more than half of traitors
WIN (=to succeed) in RENEG<ades> (=traitors; “more than half of” means 5 out of 9 letters are used) |
| 15 | CAN IT | Odd language around one? Shut up
I (=one) in CANT (=odd language) |
| 17 | LEASE | Support moving line to front in property document
EASE-L (=support, i.e. for artist); “moving line (=L) to front” means letter “l” becomes the first letter |
| 19 | FRASCATI | Its carafe endlessly getting drunk?
*(IT’S CARAF<e>); “endlessly” means last letter dropped; “getting drunk” is anagram indicator; & lit-ish; frascati is an Italian white wine |
| 21 | CROSSPATCH | Religious symbol having way to draw in cold, grumpy person
CROSS (=religious symbol) + [C (=cold) in PATH (=way)] |
| 23 | ETNA | Italian poet taking day off, heading back to Italian mountain
<d>ANTE (=Italian poet); “taking day (=D) off” means letter “d” is dropped; “heading back” indicates reversal |
| 25 | PIANO | Quietly, American gets involved in leg-over
A (=American) in [PIN (=leg) + O (=over, i.e. in cricket)]; “piano” means to be played softly, quietly (of music) |
| 26 | IGNORAMUS | Foolish sort to express hesitation in exotic dress I backed
UM (=to express hesitation) in IGNORAS (SARONG=exotic dress + I; “backed” indicates reversal) |
| 27/28 | WOMEN’S RIGHTS | Craft workers framing signs promoting gender equality
OMENS (=signs) in WRIGHTS (=craft workers, e.g. wainwright) |
| Down | ||
| 02 | REPO MAN | Recording seized by some Italian debt collector
EP (=recording) in ROMAN (=some Italian); a repo man is one who carries out repossessions, hence “debt collector” |
| 03 | NAIF | Supporter upset by one without art
I (=one) in NAF (FAN=supporter; “upset” indicates vertical reversal); naïf is artless (“without art”), not crafty or cunning |
| 04 | EDITIONS | Issues: inciting disorder that puts society down
S-EDITION (=inciting disorder); “that puts society (=S)” means letter “s” takes a lower position in word, cf 17 |
| 05 | ABRUPT | A bowler’s first run up, tense, sudden
A + B<owler> + R (=run, i.e. in cricket) + UP + T (=tense, i.e. in grammar); “first” means first letter only |
| 06 | BOONDOCKS | Benefit cuts doing for provincial area
BOON (=benefit) + DOCKS (=cuts, e.g. one’s pay); boondocks is wild or remote country in N Am slang |
| 07 | RUBDOWN | Difficulty over feathers found in search
RUB (=difficulty) + DOWN (=feathers); a rubdown is a body search, frisking |
| 08 | ADMIRAL’S CUP | Dump a sailor at sea, nothing less, to secure first in contest – this one?
C<ontest> in *(DUMP A SAIL<o>R); “nothing (=O) less” means letter “o” is dropped; “at sea” is anagram indicator; “first in” means first letter only; the Admiral’s Cup is an international yachting regatta |
| 10 | THEATRICALS | Article on act rails wildly, identifying stage actions?
THE (=article) + *(ACT RAILS); “wildly” is anagram indicator |
| 11 | WHETSTONE | What’s first with ‘hone test’, possibly?
(W<hat> + HONE TEST); “first” means first letter only; “possibly” is anagram indicator; & lit -ish |
| 16 | BRUCKNER | Composer lifted restriction on K number with little hesitation
BRUC (CURB=restriction; “lifted” indicates vertical reversal) + K + N (=number) + ER (=little hesitation); the reference is to Austrian composer Anton Bruckner (1824-96) |
| 18 | AVOCADO | A noisy party left out fruit
A + VOCA<l> (=noisy) + DO; “left out” means letter “l” is dropped |
| 20 | ATTEMPT | Give evidence showing politician suppressing second shot
ATTE-S-T (=give evidence); “showing politician (=MP) suppressing second (=S)” means letters “mp” replace letter “s” |
| 21 | RADIUS | Component of circle? Artist, unpleasant, disregarding circles
RA (=artist) + <o>DI<o>US (=unpleasant); “disregarding circles” means both letter “o”s are dropped |
| 24 | DRUG | Protection after losing a revolutionary treatment
GU<a>RD (=protection); “losing a” means letter “a” dropped; “revolutionary” indicates a vertical reversal (or “uprising”) |
Thank you to Phi & RR,
I found this to be a pleasant solve without too many tough ones. 22 was a new word to me, but guessable from the word play. As always I’ve missed the theme +/- nina which I’m sure must be there. There were a few references to Italy / Italian words in the clues and answers but I doubt this is enough to count.
Thanks, both. Managed to complete this without too much fuss: CROSSPATCH was the only one I didn’t know, but it was gettable. I did know BOONDOCKS – working for an American company in a previous existence helped there. Talking of Americans, PIANO made me smile and I also liked FRASCATI.
Getting 1,5ac as my first in made me suspect a ghost theme on body piercings, but this didn’t transpire. I fancy this might just be a Phi vanilla puzzle, and none the worse for that.
All straightforward, including the REPO MAN and BOONDOCKS. I don’t think a RUBDOWN is a search, though. A search might well be a patdown or even a shakedown, but a rubdown is a massage. (No doubt someone can point to a dictionary saying otherwise, but I find newer dictionaries are often wrong.)
Thanks, Phi and RR.
Do you also find that the young people just can’t speak properly these days, and the policemen are getting younger? 😉
Chambers gives the meaning of a search. OED gives ‘an act of rubbing down, in any sense’, presumably including sense (c) (s.v. rub (8(c)) ‘To search a person by passing the hands all over the body and limbs’ first recorded in 1887.
(If your dictionary’s older than that, it might not be too soon to upgrade …)
I found this very straightforward because there were no words that were new to me and I didn’t have a problem with any of the definitions. As K’s D said, if it was a rare Phi puzzle without a theme or nina it was none the worse for it, and I enjoyed the solve. DRUG was my LOI after BRUCKNER and WOMEN’S RIGHTS.
Thanks Phi and RR. Good stuff as usual. Did anyone else spend ages trying to make AMERICAS CUP fit the wordplay in 8d?
MikeC@7 – AMERICA’S CUP was my first thought for 8dn but as soon as I saw the D in the anagram fodder I knew it couldn’t be, and as I had heard of the ADMIRAL’S CUP the correct answer wasn’t a problem.
Just the right level for me, not too hard, not too easy, and I completed it, always a plus.
As to a Nina, I notice that starting from the first ‘p’ going diagonally down and then up it spells PELF HOG TON RUT. Obviously a secret message there.
I found 17a difficult to choose between lease and easel till I had a cross letter. Otherwise I got it all out save 24d, though I had to use Sorta for that one. Obvious afterwards, as ever.
Thanks to Phi and blogger.
Yes, this was a Goldilocks puzzle for me as well Dormouse. Knew all the words, being old but hip. Repo Man was a goodish if strange Alex Cox film from the 80s, I think, recently remade to show how much worse it could have been.
Thanks to blogger for explaining the answers I knew were right but didn’t know why, principally 4 Down.
And of course to Phi.
We’d heard of REPO MAN from a Michelle Shocked song – Come a Long Way and remembered the film that GeordyGordy mentioned.
No problems really but we have spent 2 hours looking for the hidden message in PELF HOG TON RUT. All to no avail so far – perhaps Phi will reveal all!
Thanks Phi and RR,
I’m shocked that no-one has spotted the obvious Nina.
From SW corner, running up diagonally we have letters WDNTPRFB:
Clearly an acrostic for the burning question of our times – “Why Do Ninas That Phi Renders Feel Beautiful?”
William@13 – nice one!
Andy @14 – I agree.