This is my first Friday blog of 2015, but no surprise to find the compiling slot occupied by Phi.
I found this to be a medium-difficulty Phi puzzle, where I solved the longer entries fairly quickly but where I needed to plug away at the medium-length and above all shorter entries. In the end, I was left with various 4-letter entries that I had solved but could not parse: 1, which I think I have now understood, and 22D, which still eludes me. I look forward to being enlightened by fellow solvers. I cannot see further than removing the last letter of either FORTE or FORTH, but neither is satisfactory, so I suspect that I am barking up the wrong tree – thanks for the enlightenment, Jason, now in the blog.
3 with this particular meaning and 13D were both new to me. My favourite clues are 19, for its “service” reference, and 8, for making me smile with its “grounds” reference and for reminding me of a great British institution! Why do other countries not go in for these, I wonder?!
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 07 | RELIC | Souvenir copy with page missing (unfinished)
RE<p>LIC<a> (=copy); “with page (=P) missing” means letter “p” is dropped; “unfinished” means last letter dropped |
| 09 | EVOCATION | It summons up a career linked to energy
E (=energy) + VOCATION (=career) |
| 11 | PITIFUL | Contemptible rudeness about university – suitable to require recall?
[U (=university) + FIT (=suitable)] in LIP (=rudeness, cheek); “to require recall” indicates reversal |
| 12 | FAUVISM | Part of spectrum is adopted by family art movement
[UV (=part of spectrum, i.e. ultraviolet) + IS] in FAM (=family) |
| 13 | SUNSET BOULEVARD | Wilder stuff playing out in nebulous adverts
*(NEBULOUS ADVERTS); “playing out” is anagram indicator; Sunset Boulevard is a 1950 film directed by Billy Wilder, hence “Wilder stuff” |
| 16 | ASS | No opening in exam success for idiot
<p>ASS (=exam success); “no opening” means first letter dropped |
| 17 | MATINEE | Egg seen around at end of risible performance
[AT in MINE (=egg, i.e. bomb)] + <risibl>E (“end of” means last letter only) |
| 18 | ONE | Some person, evidently
Hidden (“some”) in “persON Evidently”; & lit. |
| 19 | UNDERINVESTMENT | Inadequate funding for European articles ready for service?
UN + DER (=European articles, i.e. the French for a and the German for the) + IN VESTMENT (=ready for service, i.e. of priest) |
| 20 | PARTIAL | Power of arms not initially taking sides
P (=power) + <m>ARTIAL (=of arms; “not initially” means first letter dropped) |
| 22 | FLACCID | Account penned by fellow with hat that’s floppy
ACC (=account) in [F (=fellow) + LID (=hat)] |
| 24 | NAVIGATOR | One shows the way to a raving lunatic
*(TO A RAVING); “lunatic” is anagram indicator |
| 25 | KENDO | Knowledge? More of the same needed for martial art
KEN (=knowledge) + DO (=more of the same, i.e. ditto) |
| Down | ||
| 01 | TRIP | Spring // and fall
Double definition: trip = spring, gambol, caper AND fall, stumble, slip |
| 02 | PLATINISED | Details pin crudely coated with metal
*(DETAILS PIN); “crudely” is anagram indicator |
| 03 | SELL | Period out of power seen as disappointment
S<p>ELL (=period); “out of power (=P)” means letter “p” is dropped; a sell is a let-down, disappointment |
| 04 | CONFLUENCE | Company’s impact suspending current where rivers meet
CO (=company) + <i>NFLUENCE (=impact; “suspending current (=I, i.e. electric current in physics)” means letter “i” is dropped) |
| 05 | GIGI | Musical performance has one in support
GIG (=performance) + I (=one); Gigi is a 1973 Lerner and Loewe Broadway stage musical and a 1958 musical film by Vincente Minnelli |
| 06 | ANIMADVERT | Criticise anthropomorphism in marketing?
Cryptically, an anim-advert would be an advert imbued with a soul (“anima”) and would thus be anthropomorphic! |
| 08 | COFFEE MORNING | Meeting producing grounds identifying no grim offence, possibly
*(NO GRIM OFFENCE); “possibly” is anagram indicator; cryptically, a coffee morning would produce coffee grounds, from brewing the coffee! |
| 10 | AMUSEMENT PARK | Entertainment centre means upmarket changes
*(MEANS UPMARKET); “changes” is anagram indicator |
| 13 | SWAN-UPPING | Pale, engaging in drinking for river expedition
WAN (=pale) in SUPPING (=drinking); swan-upping is an annual expedition up the Thames for the marking of young swans! |
| 14 | BITONALITY | Key approach capable of generating notability?
*(NOTABILITY); “generating” is anagram indicator; the “key” in the definition is a musical key, of course |
| 15 | ADOLESCENT | Youngster, one to be more idle, getting reduced amount of money
A (=one) + DO LES<s> (=to be more idle; “getting reduced” means last letter dropped) + CENT (=amount of money) |
| 21 | ROVE | Travel across river first
OVE-R (=across); “river (=R) first” means letter “r” moves to front of word |
| 22 | FORT | Limitation to first stronghold
F or T (=”limitation to first” means first or last letter of the word “first”) |
| 23 | DOOM | Be the end of party turning up second
DO (=party) + OM (MO=second, i.e. moment; “up” indicates reversal) |
It took me a while to see 22D, but “Limitation to first” refers to the letters at either end – “F-or-T”
Thank you to Phi & RR,
Yes, I found this quite hard with some uncommon and to me unknown words. Thanks for the explanation of 17 – I had ‘egg’ as NIT reversed and couldn’t for the life of me see how the word play worked.
By the way, I think you’ll find that the film version of Gigi, starring Leslie Caron, was well before the stage adaptation in the 1970’s.
Thanks to both.
I had one of the DDs in 1d as the sense of springing/tripping a snare or trap.
Thanks, RR, for blogging.
Tough in places, and I couldn’t manage SELL. It’s always those pesky four-letter solutions with unhelpful crossing letters that do for me (and I’d never come across the definition, which didn’t assist matters). And well done for parsing MATINEE – would never have seen that. Didn’t see how FORT worked either, so thanks to Jason.
Pleasing puzzle – thanks to the setter too.
I found this tricky for a Phi and I also struggled with some of the four-letter answers. In the end I parsed TRIP the same as RR, I went for SELL from the wordplay but don’t recall ever having come across it meaning a disappointment, I got FORT from the definition but couldn’t parse it, and GIGI took a while to crack. I was left with 12ac and needed aids to come up with FAUVISM because I had forgotten about UV being part of the spectrum.
The paper version has “account” not “accountant” for 22a, so I can’t see where the second c in flaccid comes from. Any answers gratefully received.
Hi BillDo @6
Chambers gives acc, acct and a/c as abbreviations for ‘account’.
Many thanks Gaufrid. One to remember.
And it was “account” in the e-version too, BillDo, when I checked, which certainly makes for a more convincing surface reading. I have now corrected the typo in the blog.