Phi-day again, and the usual well-crafted puzzle.
We always look for a theme or nina in Phi’s puzzles, but initially we couldn’t see either in this one. However, Phi is playing with word combinations in the 1st, 5th, 11th and 15th rows of the puzzle – all good stuff!!
We had to check the solutions for 11A and 20A 26ac (thanks allan_c) as we hadn’t come across them before, but, as usual, the wordplay was clear – our lack of knowledge of computers was the problem! We also had to check the ‘excellent’ synonym in 3D and the abbreviation in 7D – we hadn’t come across either before.
We were also foiled for a while by the definition to 28A – but, mathematically, tangents are ‘incidental’ to curves, so it seems fair enough, if a little more devious than we have come to expect from Phi.
| Across | ||
| 1 | Strikes blocking germanium and carbon | |
| GRAPHITE | RAP and HIT (strikes) in or ‘blocking’ GE (germanium) | |
| 6 | Speed camera not arrived? Truckies ecstatic, primarily | |
| RATE | RA (‘camera’ without ‘came’ or ‘not arrived’) + T E (first or ‘primary’ letters of Truckies Ecstatic) | |
| 11 | Describing test of software in trial phase | |
| ALPHA | Hidden in ‘triAL PHAse’ | |
| 12 | Conjectural article on Oregon state rejected | |
| THEORETIC | THE (article) + OR (Oregon) + CITE (state) reversed or ‘rejected’ | |
| 13 | Austere skill evident in bridge | |
| SPARTAN | ART (skill) in SPAN (bridge) | |
| 14 | Sees about new place to go | |
| GENTS | GETS (sees, as in ‘understands’) around N (new) | |
| 15 | Harry Potter is to start to mislead expert on viewers | |
| OPTOMETRIST | An anagram of POTTER IS TO and M (first letter or ‘start’ of ‘mislead’) – anagrind is ‘Harry’ | |
| 17 | Film hero, yielding power, getting stick | |
| GUM | GUM |
|
| 18 | Stop advance, having left off | |
| END | ||
| 19 | Protected against weather, we’re mostly occupying very top of store | |
| SHOWER-PROOF | WE’R |
|
| 21 | Opening hospital having received right statistical information? | |
| GRAPH | GAP (opening) H (hospital) round or ‘receiving’ R (right) | |
| 23 | Repeat – that is, to come around time after time after time | |
| ITERATE | IE (that is) around T (time) ERA (time) T (time) | |
| 25 | Threatening behaviour increases around end of game – teens, twenties, etc? | |
| AGE GROUPS | AGGRO (threatening behaviour) UPS (increases) around E (last letter or ‘end’ of ‘game’) | |
| 26 | Computer staff holding one back | |
| ENIAC | CANE (staff) round or ‘holding’ I (one) all reversed or ‘back’ | |
| 27 | Fight’s well run | |
| SPAR | SPA (well) R (run) | |
| 28 | Returned figure containing new information as ‘incidental material’ | |
| TANGENTS | STAT (figure) reversed or ‘returned’ around or ‘containing’ N (new) GEN (information) | |
| Down | ||
| 2 | Put in new position, fired back, with soldier taking one out | |
| REPLANTED | REPL |
|
| 3 | Unreal name adopted by excellent old Frenchman | |
| PHANTOM | N (name) in or ‘adopted by’ PHAT (excellent) O (old) M (Monsieur – Frenchman) | |
| 4 | Very keen on country speech style? | |
| INTONATION | INTO (very keen on) NATION (country) | |
| 5 | Detectives certainly supporting end to crime | |
| EYES | YES (certainly) after or ‘supporting’ E (last letter or ‘end’ of ‘crime’) | |
| 7 | One MIA in part of London | |
| ACTON | We had to check this one – apparently MIA stands for ‘missing in action’ – so ‘I’ (one) is omitted from ACT |
|
| 8 | Former copper heads for Scotland – Edinburgh, mon! – making comment on language | |
| EXCUSE MY FRENCH | EX (former) CU (copper) S E (first letters or ‘heads’ of Scotland and Edinburgh) + a translation of ‘mon’ – ie MY in FRENCH | |
| 9 | Assessing a role differently, join the tribute | |
| RAISE ONES GLASS | An anagram of ASSESSING A ROLE – anagrind is ‘differently’ | |
| 10 | Book’s just intelligent | |
| BRIGHT | B (book) + RIGHT (just) | |
| 15 | Fails to join union? That’s the reverse of wrong, wrong, wrong! | |
| LIVES IN SIN | EVIL (wrong) reversed SIN (wrong) SIN (wrong) | |
| 17 | Good, high shot – like the top seeds, say, taking the international view | |
| GLOBALIST | G (good) LOB (high shot) A-LIST (like the top seeds) | |
| 19 | ‘World’ picked up extra comment in ‘Independent’? | |
| SPHERE | PS (extra comment) reversed or ‘picked up’ HERE (in the ‘Independent’) | |
| 20 | Go before President’s rewritten decree | |
| PRECEDE | P (president) + an anagram of DECREE – anagrind is ‘rewritten’ | |
| 22 | Opening nearly grasped in reformed drinkers’ domain | |
| ARENA | REN |
|
| 24 | Leave, being rather overlooked at the end | |
| QUIT | QUIT |
|
Good straight-down-the-pitch stuff from Phi, which seems more than most England higher-order batsmen can manage. My last answer was 24D Quit, probably owing to my congenital inability to remember that the letter “Q” can precede a crossing “U”. Favourite clue 23A Iterate for its shockingly good wordplay! Thanks to Phi for a satisfying challenge and to Bertandjoyce for crossing the Ts!
Lovely stuff.
I agree, lovely stuff indeed. I was delighted to find PHAT in place of the standard crossword dialect, A1. I’m also pleased to see ENIAC as the day’s obscurity instead of Greek mythology or botany. I didn’t fully parse 7d and 8d, but I like them both now! Thanks Phi and B&J.
The usual good stuff from Phi. Several great clues, but way out front for my CoD was GRAPHITE.
Emrys @1: QUIT was my LOI too for the same reason.
B&J: Did you mean 26ac when you referred to 20ac?
Thanks to Phi and B&J.
Well spotted allan_c! Blog now correct.
A super crossword. And I spotted the Ninas! Reminiscent of his late 2013/early 2014 puzzles that Phizzed with clever hidden Ninas and first gave me the Phi bug.
“Phat”, an acronym evidently, is a lovely word but, sadly, now somewhat passé.
Many thanks to Phi and a top of the morning to our excellent bloggers!
….and I interpreted TANGENT less as purely mathematical and more as in the phrase “s/he’s gone off on a tangent” when someone strays from the subject and instead discusses matters incidental. Any sense there?