It’s Phi-day again.
At times, it didn’t feel like a ‘normal’ Phi however. A few clues lack Phi’s usually excellent surfaces (7d and 21d for example) and we found a number of entries were write-ins. Having said that, we had to check 7d!
As has become the norm for us with Phi puzzles, we can’t find a theme, but we would be surprised if there isn’t one – it’s not a pangram, and there are no ninas – he must have something up his sleeve!
A LEAD (top) Y (year) round (‘throttling’) R (king)
LOUT (barbarian) round (‘suppressing’) O (old) OK (agreement)
RES (reservation) round SOUR (bad) CE (church)
ABBot (‘senior religious figure’) missing (‘not using’) ‘ot’ (Old Testament) in RI (Religious Instruction – ‘scripture lessons’)
INCH (move slowly) IE (id est – ‘that is’) F (fine)
MODE (fashion) ST (stone)
When completing a tour of holiday destinations you would be IN THE LAST RESORT
ARM (prepare for a fight) PIT (mine)
A reversal (‘recalled’) of NEWS (report) round (‘containing’) O (ordinary) LL (lines)
MAN (chap) GO (pee)
An anagram (‘various’) of DINERS with E’ER (always) inside (‘tucking in’)
An anagram (‘out’) of EATING round (‘consuming’) N (new)
We were not sure about this one: It seemed to be a reversal (‘turning’) of SEE (observe) after (‘in pursuit of’) GOAT or GO AT but we couldn’t see that ‘goat’ = ‘the very best’. AI came to the rescue at the last moment. GOAT is short for Greatest Of All Time.
A clue-as-definition: PROSE (text) + an anagram (‘working’) of COURT
SALe (trade deal) missing the last letter (‘curtailed’) + UK and I (Italy)
A reversal (‘turned up’) of NY (New York – ‘US city’) in SC (South Carolina)
C (caught) + MAT (carpet) in (‘hugged by’) LASSES (girls)
PORt (left – on a ship) missing the last letter (‘almost’) + RIDGE (high point)
A reversal (‘upset’) of MOB (gangsters) + B (British)
An anagram (‘receiving treatment’) of I START and O with I (one) inside (‘injected’)
WIG (rug) after T (last letter or ‘end’ of needlepoint)
mATTER (subject) missing the first letter (‘losing head’) in FLING (brief romance)
MOULDERED (wasted away) after S (soprano)
An anagram (‘rebuilt’) of ON SITES after S (last letter or ‘end’ of hostilities)
An anagram (‘stimulated’) of HOPE round U (university) + a reversal (‘upturn’) of AIR (attitude)
O (love) HEAR (judge) round (‘imprisoning’) D (duke)
A reversal (‘pulled up’) of GUMS (trees)
A clue-as-definition? Hidden (‘some’) in appellatioN IN Appendix – we started looking for a Nina, but then realised that this NINA is a girl’s name (‘some appellation’) – but why would it be in an Appendix?
GO (attempt) after (‘supporting’ – in a down clue) I (one) A (American)
You need to look elsewhere for a nina.
Well, well! Well spotted Hovis! We did look everywhere else!
I can’t see the Nina, but I rarely see even the obvious ones. I had PEACH for MANGO until SMUG put me right.
As it is early on, we’ll just provide a hint. Read the comment from Hovis and check out the diagonals.
Finally saw it and feel appropriately stupid for not seeing it before. Apparently the look elsewhere effect refers to seeing something apparently significant that isn’t actually so, much like my usual attempts to identify Phi’s themes.
Anyone still visiting this, please put me out of my misery! I can’t see the nina at all.
Doofs- start at the L in ALREADY and go diagonally. You will see LOOK ELSEWHERE!
Thank you!