Independent Saturday Prize Puzzle 8937 / Phi – 6/6/15

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We were surprised that Phi did not appear on Phiday (5th June), but then he popped up for this Saturday Prize Puzzle.

 

We imagined that there would be a significant reason for this and expected one of Phi’s trademark hidden themes, possibly related to the date of publication.

It turns out that the D-day landings started on 6th June 1944, ‘Rock Around the Clock’ hit no.1 on 6th June 1955, and Britain voted to stay in the Common Market on 6th June 1975, but we can’t find any references to these momentous events in the grid!

So, we’re now totally baffled. Are we missing something? (Again?)

Across
1   18 and perfect, spurning fellow
LAWLESS fLAWLESS (perfect) without or ‘spurning’ F (fellow) – the definition relates to 18ac
5   Information is found about bridge opponents for a start
GENESIS GEN (information) IS round E S (east and south, opponents in bridge)
9   Police riots harshly, repeatedly omitting nothing in charge-sheet?
PRICE LIST An anagram of PoLICE RIoTS without the two Os (‘repeatedly omitting nothing’) – anagrind is ‘harshly’
10/26d   How baleen may be represented?
WHALEBONE A cryptic definition – an anagram of HOW BALEEN – anagrind is ‘may be represented’ – baleen is whalebone
11   Describing wine flavour? Satisfactory to have change of heart
OAKY OKAY (satisfactory) with the middle letters swapped, or ‘having a change of heart’
12   Sound of surprise about monarch leading country (a role acknowledged here?)
CORONATION COO (sound of surprise) round R (monarch) + NATION (country)
14   Damage name, being released from arrest
RUIN RUn IN (arrest) with the N (name) omitted or ‘released’
15   Fruit flavour alone recalled
TANGELOS TANG (flavour) + SOLE (alone) reversed or ‘recalled’
18   Governed area after revolution, with style, and without regulation
ANARCHIC RAN (governed) A (area) reversed or ‘after revolution’ + CHIC (with style)
20   Beemer clearly can get round it!?
MERC Cryptic definition – Hidden in ‘beeMER Clearly’
24   Hero of novel’s to work with sexton in part of London
BLOOMSBURY BLOOM’S (a reference to Lionel Leopold Bloom, the hero of James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’) + BURY (work with sexton). Thanks to Dormouse for the correction.
25   Women put off by insubstantial game
I-SPY wISPY (insubstantial) with the W (women) omitted or ‘put off’
27   English scientist having reasonable skill in garden
HOOKE OK (reasonable skill) in HOE (garden) – a reference to Robert Hooke (1635-1703), of whom we had not heard before, but who apparently has several significant inventions to his name
28   Lady-love? In an instant scoundrel is in front of one
INAMORATA IN A MO (in an instant) + RAT (scoundrel) + A (one)
29   Ghostly Englishman circling most of Hampshire
PHANTOM POM (Englishman – as referred to by Aussies) round or ‘circling’ most of HANTs (Hampshire)
30   Like Scottish mouse’s position, circling vegetable
SLEEKIT SIT (position) round or ‘circling’ (again!) LEEK (vegetable) – a new word for us
Down
1   Deity’s associate upheld as devoted character
LAPDOG GOD (deity) PAL (associate) reversed or ‘upheld’
2   Endless drink leads to hesitation? The smallest amount
WHISKER WHISKy (drink) with the last letter omitted or ‘endless’ ER (hesitation)
3   Still not cut up
EVEN NEVEr (not) without the last letter or ‘cut’ and reversed or ‘up’
4   Tar storage unit containing a last bit of tar
SAILOR SILO (storage unit) round or ‘containing’ A + R (last letter or ‘bit’ of tar)
5   Pay for nothing, investing in newspaper? Just the reverse – overindulge
GO TOO FAR FOOT (pay for) O (nothing) ‘investing’ in RAG (newspaper) all reversed
6   Note few at sea went fishing in a modern way
NEWFANGLED N (note) + an anagram of FEW (anagrind is ‘at sea’) + ANGLED (went fishing)
7   Dog’s range: that is a short length
SPANIEL SPAN (range) IE (that is) L (‘short’ length)
8   Special quality of beer-barrel, say, in seaside resort
SKEGNESS S (special) KEGNESS – a made-up word which could describe the quality of a keg or beer barrel
13   Top show, cut, TV men mangled? Avoid
CIRCUMVENT CIRCUs (‘top’ show – taking place in a big top) without thelast letter or ‘cut’ + an anagram of TV MEN – anagrind is ‘mangled’
16   Beat leads to Brasenose College dance being cut
LAMB CHOP LAM (beat) B C (first letters or ‘leads’ to Brasenose College) HOP (dance)
17   Rubbish is in my emptied bedroom (wanting it anywhere but!)
NIMBYISM An anagram of IS IN MY and BM (bedroom ‘emptied’ – first and last letters only) – anagrind is ‘rubbish’
19   Lady-love besotted a Moor with sex appeal
AMOROSA An anagram of A MOOR (anagrind is ‘besotted’) + SA (sex appeal)
21   Cavalryman’s dismissal after reduction in expense
COSSACK SACK (dismissal) after COSt (expense) with the last letter omitted or ‘reduced’
22   Exam sounds harsh when described on the radio
GREATS Sounds like (‘on the radio’) GRATES (harsh) – we had to check that this was an exam, not being Oxford graduates!
23   Today’s heartless tirade identifying dictator
TYRANT TodaY (without the middle letters or ‘heartless’) RANT (tirade)
26   See 10 across
 

 

8 comments on “Independent Saturday Prize Puzzle 8937 / Phi – 6/6/15”

  1. Thanks for this. Can’t remember a thing about this except that I have a completed grid in front of me.

    A minor correction. Mr Bloom was Leopold (shortened to Poldy by his wife). I’m a long-time Joyce fan and it’s Bloomsday on Tuesday.

  3. I found this towards the easier end of Phi’s spectrum, and if there’s a theme it went over my head. I thought the inclusion of both AMOROSA and INAMORATA might have been leading somewhere but that appears to be a dead end. GREATS was my LOI after CIRCUMVENT and BLOOMSBURY.

  4. There’s something of an explanation in the latest update on the website (phionline.net.nz, though I think you can get there by clicking on my name above as well).

  5. I wonder if you were thinking of Lionel Blue (“the nation’s favourite rabbi” who chose “Why has a cow got four legs?” as his favourite track on Desert Island Discs!) An easy thing to do, I find, when two names have strong similarities.
    ‘Ulysses’ (like ‘A Brief History of Time’ and extra large knickerbocker glories) is something many start but few finish. Actually, so long as one reads it aloud, it’s rather good fun!
    Thanks to Phi and B&J

  6. I don’t often get to do the Independent puzzles, but my Dh bought it instead of the i last week, and I’m glad he did. My favourites are WHALEBONE, ANARCHIC, SKEGNESS and NIMBYISM. I didn’t see any theme either.

    Thanks to Phi and B&J.

  7. Thanks for the explanation Phi. I’d never have seen the theme, more so because most of them came from the earlier years of the event.

  8. 24A How’s this for a “connection”? Orlando was the eponymous hero of a novel by Virginia Woolf, one of the leading figures of the Bloomsbury Group in the first half of the 20th century.

    Now I have to work Orlando Bloom into it.

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