This is Phi’s final Friday puzzle before Christmas so there might be a message in it.
One of Phi’s more obvious messages today albeit in foreign languages (unless you speak Dutch or Italian)
Starting in the top left hand unchecked letter and going clockwise round the outside of the grid we have VROLIJK KERSTFEEST (Dutch for Merry Christmas) and BUON NATALE (the Italian form) As I solved this I was pretty sure there was a message there but it didn’t drop out as easily as I hoped.
I had come across all the words in the grid before but a few of them are not in my everyday vocabulary. Having worked in the Far East for a time I was well aware of ARAK at 10 across. DISPROOF at 25 across was the most obscure of today’s words for me.
In the blog I comment about a couple of the clues – those for RETAINER [15 across] where I don’t see how all the words in the clue are being used and JAMB [6 down] where I find the definitions of the entry and one constituent of the wordplay less precise than the is the case in all the other clues.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 8
|
Place to ignore expression of politeness, and the rest (4)
|
PLEASE (expression of politeness) excluding (to ignore) PL (place)
|
EASE (rest)
|
| 9
|
Power? Time to invest in source of coal (5)
|
T (time) contained in (to invest in) SEAM (stratum of a mineral; source of coal)
S (T) EAM |
STEAM (means of providing power)
|
| 10
|
Intoxicating stuff, retsina – rake’s swallowed it (4)
|
ARAK (hidden word in [swallowed it] RETSINA RAKE’S)
|
ARAK (strong alcoholic drink made in Asian countries from toddy, or the fermented juice of the coco and other palms, as well as from rice and jaggery sugar)
|
| 11
|
Performer tunes it artfully, following line (8)
|
L (line) + an anagram of (artfully) TUNES IT
L UTENIST* |
LUTENIST (musician playing the LUTE; performer)
|
| 12
|
Ligature restricts most of bent bones (6)
|
TIE (ligature) containing (restricts) BIAS (bent) excluding the final letter (most of) S
TI (BIA) E |
TIBIAE (bones)
|
| 13
|
Flourishing pound, in a period of economic success (6)
|
A + (L [pound sterling] contained in [in] BOOM [period of economic success])
A B (L) OOM |
ABLOOM (flourishing)
|
| 15
|
A different film director accepting cheers for The Servant (8)
|
REINER (reference Rob REINER [1947 – date], film director responsible for This is Spinal Tap) containing (accepting) TA (thank you; cheers) I’m not sure what role the words ‘a different’ are playing in this clue. The Servant was a film directed by Joseph Losey based on a screenplay from Harold Pinter. I suppose Pinter is a bit like REINER but different. However I still can’t see how the words fit in the clue.
RE (TA) INER |
RETAINER (family servant of long standing)
|
| 17
|
See and feel concern developing after tense discussions (15)
|
T (tense) + an anagram of (developing) SEE FEEL and CONCERN There is a hint of &Lit about this clue given that you can see contributors to a TELECONFERENCE discussion.
T ELECONFERENCES* |
TELECONFERENCES (meetings between people physically separated but linked by video, audio and/or computer facilities; discussions)
|
| 20
|
One agrees to take part after crowd heading off (8)
|
MASS (crowd) excluding (off) the first letter (heading) M + ENTER (take part)
|
ASSENTER (one who agrees)
|
| 22
|
Most naked fears swamped by hints of real terror (6)
|
AWES (fears) contained in (swamped by) RT (first letters of [hints of] each of REAL and TERROR)
R (AWES) T |
RAWEST (most naked)
|
| 23
|
Bench given switch in direction leading to upset (6)
|
SETTLE (long high-backed bench) with S (South; direction) changed to N (North; direction) (switch in direction)
|
NETTLE (annoy; upset)
|
| 25
|
Decline cover after receiving second form of confirmation (8)
|
(DIP [decline] + ROOF [cover]) containing (receiving) S (second)
DI (S) P ROOF |
DISPROOF (evidence or argumentation that disproves something; a form of confirmation even if it is confirmation of the negative aspect)
|
| 27
|
Popular fish? Sign that should be thrown back (4)
|
OMEN (sign) reversed (should be thrown back)
NEMO< |
NEMO (reference the animated film ‘Finding NEMO‘ where NEMO is a cute young clown fish. The film was very popular)
|
| 28
|
Mammal to amble, though not at first (5)
|
POTTER (amble) excluding (not) the first letter (at first) P
|
OTTER (example of a mammal)
|
| 29
|
Money expert in club (4)
|
M (money) + ACE (expert)
|
MACE (metal or metal-headed war-club, also a heavy, usually ornamented, staff carried as a mark of authority)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1
|
Molten blue lava is hot (8)
|
Anagram of (molten) BLUE LAVA
VALUABLE* |
VALUABLE (currently fashionable; sought after; hot)
|
| 2
|
Sherlock’s obsession after disposing of one Frenchman (4)
|
IRENE (reference IRENE Adler, character in A Scandal in Bohemia said to be a ‘love interest’ [obsession] of Sherlock Holmes) excluding (after disposing of) I (one)
|
RENÉ (name of a French male; Frenchman)
|
| 3
|
Mapmakers quiet about one type of metal (6)
|
OS (Ordnance Survey; Britain’s National Mapping Agency) + (MUM [quiet] containing [about] I [one])
OS M (I) UM |
OSMIUM (hard, dense, grey metallic element)
|
| 4
|
Director felt upset about film getting funding authorisation (6,2,6)
|
Anagram of (upset) DIRECTOR FELT containing (about) ET (name of a film)
L (ET) TER OF CREDIT* |
LETTER OF CREDIT (LETTER authorizing CREDIT or cash to a certain sum to be given to the bearer)
|
| 5
|
List mostly not forthcoming? Picked up in copier (8)
|
(ROTA [list] + TIMID [shy; not forthcoming] excluding the final letter [mostly] D) all reversed (picked up; down clue)
(IMIT ATOR)< |
IMITATOR (copier)
|
| 6
|
Critical comment about male supporter (4)
|
JAB (critical comment. The nearest definition I can find for this is an online reference to American usage as ‘verbal annoyance’) containing (about) M (male)
JA (M) B |
JAMB (sidepiece or post of a door; supporter). I think I’ve got this right but I find the dictionary definitions of both JAB and JAMB are a bit different to my interpretations of ‘critical comment’ and ‘supporter’. I accept that Chambers Thesaurus does list ‘support’ as a synonym for JAMB)
|
| 7
|
Defensive activity for choppers? (6)
|
KARATE (reference KARATE chop [sharp downward blow with the side of the hand)
|
KARATE (traditional Japanese form of unarmed self-defence using blows and kicks, now a popular combative sport)
|
| 14
|
Very large ring almost surrounded (5)
|
O (ring shape) + (BESET [surrounded] excluding the final letter [almost] T)
|
OBESE (abnormally fat; very large)
|
| 16
|
One policy analyst sent over sympathetic comment (1,4)
|
I [one] + (WONK [serious or studious person; analyst] reversed [sent over])
I KNOW< |
I KNOW (sympathetic comment)
|
| 18
|
Name in Old testament – male name in Old Testament – describing busy man? (2,3) | (N [name] contained in [in] OT [Old Testament) + HE (male) + JOB (name of a book of the Old Testament)
O (N) T HE JOB |
ON THE JOB (descriptive of a busy man [or woman]) |
| 19
|
Establish bridge team in city in the past (8)
|
(NS [North and South, descriptive of a playing partnership {team} in the card game bridge] contained in [in] EC (first two letters of the post code of the City of London]) + ONCE (formerly; in the past)
E (NS) C ONCE |
ENSCONCE (establish)
|
| 21
|
R Tees flowing round in two channels (6)
|
Anagram of (flowing) R TEES + O (round shape)
STERE* O |
STEREO (broadcast in two channels giving the effect of sound from different directions in three-dimensional space)
|
| 22
|
Appropriate to skip University, turning up in holiday spot (6)
|
(TROUSER [slang for appropriate {steal} money] excluding [to skip] U [university]) all reversed (turning up; down clue)
RESORT< |
RESORT (holiday spot)
|
| 24
|
There’s very little in it for you (4)
|
THOU (one thousandth of an inch; very small measurement; very little in it)
|
THOU (you)
|
| 26
|
Crashes into planet, showing large amounts of upheaval (4)
|
MARS (plant) with three of the four letters (a large amount) reversed (upheaval; down clue)
RAM< S |
RAMS (crashes into)
|
I thought there might be a nina but never considered the possibility of Dutch, so the sequence of unches didn’t make sense and I abandoned the idea. Though not before I thought the top row might be ‘violins’ which gave me the initial L in 4dn to crack the anagram. I guessed 12ac had to be TIBIAE but couldn’t see how BIA was ‘most of bent’; and I initially had SETTLE for 23ac thinking ‘bench’ was the definition with ‘set’ as a synonym for ‘given’, though I couldn’t make sense of the rest of the clue. And I must have had a mental block about 8ac and 2dn – they were my last ones in, by trial and error!
Thanks, Phi and Duncan, and feliz navidad, nadolig llawen and the rest to all.
The Nina was great fun. I could see we were dealing with some north European language up top but took a while to realise there might be another K, and so finally to get my LOI, karate. Tough by Phi’s Friday standard, I thought, but enjoyably eccentric.
Thanks Phi and duncanshiell.
I found this hard going, but ejoyable – in fact, have not completely finished it yet, but hope to do so tomorrow. Meanwhile, just incase, Joyeux Noel (cannot put the umlaut on the e, Alt 137 just sends everything all over the place!).
As always on Friday I liked this (although like allan_c I didn’t see anything in the unches and abandoned the idea prematurely). But 6dn seems to me to be a slight departure from Phi’s usual standards, unless he feels as I know some do and perhaps it’s OK but I don’t like it myself, where there are two possible answers and you don’t know which is the correct one until you have a checker: the one given, and also ra(m)p: a rap is a critical comment is it not, and a ramp is a supporter.
And yet again the slight asymmetry escapes notice! (It even occurs at the split between the messages.)
As for Wil’s comment: I don’t design clues to have this ambiguity (though there have been puzzles where that has been explicitly done, of course), so it’s impossible to guard against. It doesn’t happen often, thankfully. I thought the figurative usage of JAB was common enough, though.
No Phiday next week of course, but I should be back to kick off 2016 for you! Merry Christmas.
We have only just finished the puzzle. We held up by 23ac, 27ac and 24d last night and left them until this morning.
We had noticed the assymmetry and thought there must be a nina or theme, especially with some of the more obscure answers but couldn’t see anything. The unches at the top didn’t suggest anything. It’s all double dutch to us!
Thanks Phi and Duncan. Happy Christmas to both of you and everyone else on 225.