As expected, today saw my monthly tussle with Phi.
I found this one quite tough, not least, I feel, because of the high frequency of 4-letter entries. I solved clues steadily but didn’t really feel that I was breaking the back of the puzzle until towards the very end of the solve. In the end, I was left with the clue at 3 (not surprisingly, one of the 4-letter words), which I feared I wouldn’t be able to solve, but I went away and came back and could then see how the clue worked.
That said, I rather suspect that Phi has had the last laugh today, as this grid is one that lends itself to Ninas, and try as I may, I can’t see any hidden message, either around the perimeter or elsewhere in the grid. Perhaps I should go away and come back again?!
Overall, my favourites were 19 and 23, each for its surface, and 4, for its unexpected cross-reference to the clue, rather than the solution, at 20. Incidentally, 9 and 28 were both new words on me.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 08 | EINSTEIN | German articles about stone scientist
ST (=stone) in EIN EIN (=German articles, i.e. 2 x ein = German for a); the reference is, of course, to German physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955) |
| 09 | STROMB | Gastropod most active around river bank primarily
[R (=river) in *(MOST)] + B<ank> (“primarily” means first letters only); a stromb is a large gastropod related to the whelk |
| 10 | BLOT | Mark book with item for sale
B (=book) + LOT (=item for sale, e.g. at auction) |
| 11 | TWINE | Duplicate English binder
TWIN (=duplicate, as noun) + E (=English) |
| 12 | GURU | More than half of country backed pundit
URUG<uay>; “more than half of” means that 4 of 7 letters are used; “backed” indicates reversal |
| 13 | ARNE | Composer close to swapping first and second sections
NE-AR (=close to); “swapping first and second sections” means first two letters change place with second two; the reference is to English composer Thomas Arne (1710-78) |
| 14 | COMMERCIAL | No alert state about explosion in crime left affecting business
[*(CRIME) in COMA (=no alert state)] + L (=left); “explosion in” is anagram indicator |
| 16 | NOMADS | Travellers child hugging mother back
DAM (=mother) in SON (=child); “back” indicates reversal |
| 17 | LAPDOG | Pet project initially adopted by fellow to regress, as it were
P<roject> (“initially” means first letter only) in LAD (=fellow) + OG (GO back=regress; cryptically – “as it were” – OG is “go” back/reversed) |
| 19 | REACTIVATE | Treat a vice after misbehaving – and start again
*(TREAT A VICE); “misbehaving” is anagram indicator |
| 22 | SMOG | Short period trapped in confines of swirling pollution
MO (=short period, i.e. moment) in S<wirlin>G (“confines of” means first and last letters only) |
| 23 | EKES | Dogs not needing phosphorous supplements
<p>EKES (=dogs, i.e. Pekinese); “not needing phosphorous (=P)” means letter “p” is dropped |
| 25 | MOLAR | Way of working with source of fat almost doing for tooth
MO (=way of working, i.e. modus operandi) + LAR<d> (=source of fat; “almost” means last letter dropped) |
| 27 | ROAR | River boat’s propeller makes a loud noise
R (=river) + OAR (=boat’s propeller) |
| 28 | JENNET | The Western cameraman finally brought in to shoot horse
<th>E <wester>N <camerama>N in JET (=shoot, fly); a jennet is a small Spanish horse |
| 29 | EAU DE VIE | Nice stuff described as fine?
Cryptic definition, where “Nice” is the place in the south of France and “fine” an ordinary French brandy
|
| Down | ||
| 01 | RIFLE RANGE | Wild general fire mostly seen here?
*(GENERAL FIR<e>); “mostly” means last letter dropped; “wild” is anagram indicator |
| 02 | ISOTHERM | Weather map feature is getting mother confused
IS + *(MOTHER); “confused” is anagram indicator |
| 03 | LEFT | Communists experienced upheaval in most of contents?
FEL-T (=experienced); “upheaval in most of contents” means 3 of 4 letters are subject to vertical reversal |
| 04 | INFIRM | Not strong, as 20 concludes
The clue at 20 concludes with the words “in firm”! |
| 05 | ASSEVERATE | State, following usual behaviour around Sunday, to get worried
[S (=Sunday) in AS EVER (=following usual behaviour)] + ATE (=worried) |
| 06 | TRAGIC | Sad movement, out of control, probed by newspaper
RAG (=newspaper) in TIC (=movement, out of control, i.e. involuntary) |
| 07 | UMAR | Islamic leader occupying condominium (Arabic)
Hidden (“occupying”) in “condominiUM (ARabic)”; Umar (577 CE-644 CE) was a highly influential Muslim caliph, successor to Abu Bakr |
| 14 | CODLIN MOTH | Child not upset about second insect pest
MO (=second, moment) in *(CHILD NOT); “upset” is anagram indicator; a codlin(g) moth is a brownish-gold moth whose larvae are a common pest of apples, pears, etc |
| 15 | ANGLOMANIA | European country leader deposed following incomplete view unduly favouring European country
ANGL<e> (=view; “incomplete” means last letter dropped) + <r>OMANIA (=European country; “leader deposed” means first letter dropped) |
| 18 | DISCREET | Recording about visitor from space is not widely publicised
DISC (=recording, of e.g. music) + RE (=about, concerning) + ET (=visitor from space) |
| 20 | CASINO | Place for a gamble, as in investing in firm
[AS IN] in CO (=firm) |
| 21 | ASLEEP | Possibly under anaesthetic when skin gets lifted
AS (=when) + LEEP (PEEL=skin; “gets lifted” indicates vertical reversal) |
| 24 | KEEN | Sharp end of weapon shifting in joint
The position of letter “n” – “end (=last letter) of <weapo>N” – changes in “knee” (=joint) to give “keen” (=sharp) |
| 26 | ROUT | King concussed in defeat
R (=king, i.e. rex) + OUT (=concussed) |
I don’t like 24D. The clue allowed one to shift either the N in KNEE to get KEEN, or the N in KEEN to get KNEE, and the checking letters didn’t help to decide which option was preferred.
I agree this was a stiff Phi puzzle – but that didn’t spoil the fun! I needed the blogger’s help for six clues, however. Thanks to both!
Count me as another who thought that this was a difficult Phi puzzle. It took me ages to see JENNET, my LOI, but I didn’t get the congratulatory message so I changed “knee” to KEEN and it appeared. IMHO this clue shouldn’t have made it past the editing stage because I think it could be read either way and the checkers didn’t resolve the ambiguity, as Jason@1 has already said. The ambiguity could have been resolved by changing “shifting” to “lowered”.
There is a Nina. Start at the first letter of 10 across, read clockwise round the perimeter, then add 24 down (assuming you have it as KEEN), and you get the names of the four giant elephants that support the “Discworld” in Terry Pratchett’s fantasy novel series. The elephants are called Berilia, Tubul, Great T’Phon, and Jerakeen.
Another struggler, despite a flying start, including GARY (Lineker) for 12A, with the country being Hungary of course. In my humble opinion a valid answer. Please feel free to use it another time, Dac.
I shared the confusion on 24D, but since I use the paper version, of course got no confirmation. Can’t see it’s important really.
Wouldn’t know a stromb if I stood on one, and 3D was much too clever for me.
Thanks to setter and blogger.
I agree that 24d looked ambiguous, but it has to be KEEN for the Nina to work – see comment 4.
Thanks, RR. As regulars will know, I’m a big fan of Phi, but he’s a son of the North and is therefore big enough and hard enough to take some criticism today.
I was another one to enter GARY. In the online version, the clue for 25ac has ‘way or working’ rather than ‘way of working’, which didn’t help. LEFT? Give me a break. Is JET really ‘shoot’? And KEEN/KNEE is definitely ambiguous: Tom is right, of course, that it needs KEEN for the Nina to work, but I will wager that 99 solvers out of a hundred will have had absolutely no idea about the Nina.
A daily cryptic sacrificed on the altar of an obscure theme, I’m afraid. But that’s just what I think. Thanks to Phi anyway.
I found this a hard slog and gave up on jennet – not a word I’ve come across much and I’d never have guessed jet for shoot. Also, if the clue means the last letters of more than one word, I like this to be indicated in some way. I also found 24 ambiguous and it was unfortunate that it intersected with the clue I found most difficult. I’m afraid my knowledge of brandy doesn’t stretch to parsing 29 – I thought it was some of homophone and left it at that.
Sort of homophone that was meant to be – spotted a millisecond after I’d pressed submit.
I concede that KEEN could have been better worded. In return, proponents of GARY should explain the presence of ‘backed’ in the clue, and the absence of a specification of pundit type when there’s a perfectly good general synonym available.
Terry Pratchett sells millions of books worldwide – I suspect he is rather less obscure than, oh, I do know, Gary Lineker, say.
Since I’m a proponent of GARY, Phi, I will just say that in the football-oriented Indy if I see G?R? and ‘pundit’ as the definition, I’m going to slap in GARY having got HUNGARY in my head. It’s wrong, obviously, but that’s what happens in a solver’s mind sometimes. GURU for ‘pundit’? Next time I’m watching MOTD I’ll consider whether they’re synonyms. But no, listen, I get it now – Lineker has grown a beard. So you should have had GARY as the answer in the first place.
That’s enough footie for this evening.
Did briefly think twice about 24D, but guessed the right one, now looking back at it, guess it isn’t clear. As for GURU, I don’t think the recalcitrant GARY proponents have an argument on any grounds.
Thanks to Phi and RatkojaRiku.
Yes, definitely tough. Couldn’t get 5dn and 28ac without aids but I had no trouble with 12ac just from the first letter, although it took me a while to work out which country. (Gary who? Isn’t he the guy who advertises crisps?)
It was 7dn which threw me. Seeing “Islamic leader” and from the crossing letters, I guessed EMIR. Never heard of this guy.
Now, I’ve read not quite all of Pratchett’s books. (I even used to work for the same company as him and have actually met him.) But I’d be hard pressed to name those elephants.
We found this one of the hardest of Phi’s puzzles. We had KNEE and never having read any of the Discworld books we didn’t se the nina. Bert noticed GREAT in the perimeter but we couldn’t see anything else.
Some of the short clues involved some fairly devious clueing which posed a problem when trying to get started. Joyce, when stuck often goes for some of the last down clues which tend to be shorter but this didn’t help at all.
Thanks Phi and RR.