A Tees crossword blogged from a few miles north of the Tyne. Also a lot of black squares this week – was there an excess of ink at the Independent?
Well plenty of black squares in the grid but no obvious purpose that I could see. a wealth of general knowledge answers in the across clues to each of which I have added a relevant Wikipedia link – was Tees perhaps at a quiz when he devised this one?
Relatively straightforward in my opinion though the parsing of 22ac eluded me – thanks OPatrick for the Greek poet’s name.
Many thanks to Tees certainly a refreshing change from the more common dictionary derived answers.
Key: * anagram; Rev. reverse; DD double definition; Underline definition
ACROSS
4 Writer contributing to Manchester newspaper (6)
Hidden Manchester NEwspaper = STERNE (as in Lawrence Sterne) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Sterne
6 Diaries happy chappie wouldn’t produce? (8)
Cross man ( not a happy chappie) = CROSSMAN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Crossman
9 Nutwood bear is rugger forward (6)
RU (rugger) + pert (forward) = RUPERT http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Bear
10 It’s hard work to go by river (8)
Indus(river) + try (go) = INDUSTRY http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teesside_Steelworks
11 Here, Wellington family helps you out in rough sea (6,5)
(helps you)* in (sea)*= APSLEY HOUSE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apsley_House
15 Respected fellow student round at home for meat (7)
Sir (Respected fellow) + l (student) + o (round) + in (at home) = SIRLOIN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirloin_steak
17 Land across channel is next to island area (7)
Est (across channel is (French)) + on (next to) + I(island) + a(area) = ESTONIA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonia
18 Umbrian tale sources Marlovian drama (11)
(Umbrian tale)* = TAMBURLAINE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamburlaine
22 Greek songsmith about to leave lawyer one gets crush on (8)
Anacreon (Greek songsmith) – re (about) + DA (lawyer) = ANACONDA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaconda
23 Worm that is wrapped around in anorak (6)
Nerd (anorak) around Rev. (ie (that is)) = NEREID http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nereid
24 Grave words had with new boy at Rugby (3, 5)
Tomb (grave) + row (words had with) + n (new) = TOM BROWN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Brown_(character)
DOWN
1 Sleeping around is out (6)
DD UNTRUE – not true to partner (sleep around)
2 Starter abandoned have our tuna prepared in style (3, 7)
(ave our tuna)* = ART NOUVEAU
3 Tasty Tesco filling acceptable at time of fasting (8)
esc (Tesco filling) + u (acceptable) + lent (time of fasting) = ESCULENT
4 Aboard second vessel bound for Colchis, idiot finds seaweed (8)
s (second) + argo (vessel bound for Colchis) around ass (idiot) = SARGASSO
5 E10 – so upcoming – captured in flawless photo (8)
ex (E10) + rev (s0) in pure (flawless) = EXPOSURE
7 Bowes- Lyon, for one, to dismiss her daughter as an insect? (4)
Mother (as in Queen mother) – er (queen – her daughter) = MOTH
8 We’ll not support any changes, Bob (4)
(any)* + s (shilling – bob) = NAYS
12 Don mad when dressed in garment bequeathed (4-2-4)
(Don mad when)* = HAND-ME-DOWN
13 Archetypal villain’s one caught by another villainously (8)
(another)* around I (one) = ANTIHERO
14 Press account set up by Shylock say (8)
Rev. ac (account) + Lender (Shylock say) = CALENDER
19 Spooner’s little place offers room to move (6)
Wee (little) + lay (place) swapping initials as Spooner would = LEEWAY
20 Player at table unpleasant person losing billions (4)
Beast (unpleasant person) – b (billions) = EAST
21 Enthusiastic wife finding steel (4)
W (wife) + arm (steel) = WARM
22A – Anacreon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacreon was a Greek lyric poet.
I found the last few clues took a while, and I only had CROSSMAN filled in at 6A as the most likely answer from the clue – I hadn’t got round to googling for this one, for some reason.
I agree with OPatrick about the parsing of 22ac. When I finally got it, I put two exclamation marks next to the clue along with an reminder of the explanation.
1dn, however, I couldn’t parse, so thanks for the explanation. I just didn’t think of UNTRUE to mean “sleeping around”.
11A Is HELPS YOU* in SEA*
Thanks for 22 ac, we were inventing complicated ways of using Nana (as in Mouskouri). 1d was the only one we couldn’t get even with all the letters – neither definition seems like a very good one for “untrue”.
Hi folks
Eric, that was an attempt at untrue = unfaithful, and = inaccurate.
Thanks to Twebceslas for a great and informative blog, and to all who added to it.
Tees.
I found this a tough workout. The only slight quibble I have is that the clue for CALENDER would have been less ambiguous if it had ended in “Shylock maybe” rather than “Shylock say” because the latter could read as a homophone indicator and therefore the answer could end with “lendar” rather than “lender”.
Andy B, but the definition rules out the homophone.
Sidey@7 – of course it does if you either already know that a calender is a press or are happy to look up that the press isn’t spelled calendar. My quibble came from the perspective of a solver who likes to solve without recourse to aids but doesn’t know everything so has to rely on the wordplay from time to time.
Enjoyed this, but diaries = Crossman? I know that Richard Crossman wrote some diaries and that they are known as the Crossman diaries, but is the single word ‘diaries’ a clear enough definition?
Points taken, but not conceded.
‘Shylock said’ might have given you your homophone here and there, but absolutely not in a puzzle of mine, or that of anyone else who cares about cryptic grammar.
Re CROSSMAN there’s no absolute definition as the clue is one of them there extended jobbies, though (quite clearly) not &lit. A happy chappie couldn’t possibly be a cross man, could he?
N E way, cheers.
Sorry, ‘Shylock say’ was the intended phrase.
untrue = unfaithful always puts me in mind of Auden:
To the man-in-the-street, who, I’m sorry to say, / Is a keen observer of life,/ The word ‘Intellectual’ suggests right away/ A man who’s untrue to his wife.”
Thanks to Tees for an enjoyable puzzle.