I enjoyed this puzzle by Scorpion. It made me think outside the box a bit.
The vocabulary in the grid wasn’t too obscure. Some may disagree about UBUNTU (23 across). I think this is either a word /operating system you know or you don’t. Fortunately I do know about UBUNTU.
The clues made me think in terms of parsing. The ones that challenged me the most were those for GRANGE HILL, 7 across, getting the right G for GILL], HANDILY (15 across) with the use of AND in the parsing and ANGEL (22 across) using ANGELICA as a tall plant,
My favourite clue was the one for TIGHTWAD 18 down) where ‘working with’ described an anagram of WITH.
All in all, this was an excellent challenge for an weekday Independent crossword.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
7
|
Kids’ TV show called what? It’s set in a wooded glen (6,4)
|
(RANG [called] + EH [what?]) contained in (set in) GILL (wooded glen) G (RANG E H) ILL |
GRANGE HILL (British television drama series aimed at children, originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest-running programmes on British television when it ended its run in 2008)
|
|
9
|
Hot author’s place of industry (4)
|
H (hot) + I’VE (I have; the author has it; author’s)
|
HIVE (scene of great industry)
|
|
10
|
Miners with space inside test relic (8)
|
(NUM [National Union of Mineworkers] + EN [a measure of space in printing terminology]) contained in (inside) MOT (test for road worthiness of a vehicle) MO (NUM EN) T |
MONUMENT (relic)
|
|
11
|
A couple of players entering meet excited child actress (6)
|
PL (first two letters of [a couple of] PLAYERS) contained in (entering) an anagram of (excited) MEET TEM (PL) E* |
TEMPLE (reference Shirley TEMPLE [1928 – 2014], famous as a child actress in the 1930s)
|
|
12 / 3
|
Golfer, new, resists swinging around cluster of stars (5,7)
|
SEVE (reference SEVEriano Ballasteros [1957 – 2011], golfer) + N (new) + an anagram of (swinging) RESISTS SEVE N SISTERS* |
SEVEN SISTERS (a name for the Pleiades group of stars. Greek mythology refers to the Pleiads as SEVEN SISTERS)
|
|
13
|
Largely productive Oriental yield attracts labourers primarily here? (4,4)
|
RICH (productive) excluding the final letter (largely) H + E (Eastern; Oriental) + BOW (yield) + L (first letter of [primarily] Labourers)
|
RICE BOWL (a fertile area that produces large quantities of rice, and consequently it is an area that attracts labour) & Lit clue
|
|
15
|
Outskirts of Helsinki lay empty practically (7)
|
H AND I (descriptive of the first and last letters of [outskirts of] HELSINKI) + LY (the letters of LAY that remain when its centre, A, is removed [emptied])
|
HANDILY (practically)
|
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17
|
Digest second piece of advice, reflecting in middle of speech (7)
|
(MO [moment; second] + TIP [piece of advice]) reversed (reflected) contained in (in) (EE [the middle letters of [middle of] SPEECH) E (PIT OM)< E |
EPITOME (digest)
|
|
20
|
Having entry denied, one causes destruction outside on log table? (8)
|
(WRECKER [one who causes destruction] excluding [denied] the first letter [entry] W) containing (outside) ON RECK (ON) ER |
RECKONER (A book of tables used as a calculation aid, e.g. log tables)
|
|
22
|
Financial adviser from tall plant wanting one accountant removed (5)
|
ANGELICA (tall biennial and perennial herb) excluding (wanting) (I [one] + CA [Chartered Accountant])
|
ANGEL (financial backer or adviser especially in the world of theatre)
|
|
23
|
Operating system just out oddly deficient? It’s a piece of cake to crack (6) |
BUN (sweet roll or cake) contained in (to crack) UTU (even letters 2, 4 and 6 [i.e. excluding letters 1 , 3, and 5 [oddly deficient]] of JUST OUT U (BUN) TU |
UBUNTU ( open source software platform that runs everywhere from the smartphone, the tablet and the PC to the server and the cloud; operating system based on Linux)
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25
|
According to Spooner, Asian skin’s main feature (4,4)
|
HIGH TIDE (something that the Reverend Spooner might pronounce as THAI (Asian [Country]) HIDE (skin)
|
HIGH TIDE (feature of the sea; main feature)
|
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26
|
Dope, heroin found, some hidden (4)
|
INFO (hidden word in (some hidden) HEROIN FOUND
|
INFO (information; dope)
|
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27
|
Silence again ordered near man who dismissed many (5,5)
|
SH (silence!) + ANEW (again) + an anagram of (ordered) NEAR SH ANE W ARNE* |
SHANE WARNE (reference the Australian bowler, second highest cricket Test wicket taker in history [behind Muttiah Muralitharan]; man who dismissed many)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Baseball maybe thrown so sporting dog varies exercise drill, primarily (8)
|
IN (wearing; sporting) + CUR (dog) + VED (first letters of [primarily] each of VARIES EXERCISE and DRILL)
|
INCURVED ( baseball may thrown in such a way that its path resembles an inward curve and be described as INCURVED)
|
|
2
|
College administrator inhibits writer lower in status (6)
|
DEAN (president of the faculty in a college; college administrator) containing (inhibits) ME (the writer) DE (ME) AN |
DEMEAN (lower in status)
|
|
4
|
Charlie deferred payment to secure that Gallic headgear (5,3)
|
CLOT (fool; charlie) + (HP [hire purchase; deferred payment] containing [to secure] CA [one of the forms of ‘that’ in French [Gallic]) CLOT H (CA) P |
CLOTH CAP (headgear)
|
|
5
|
Criminals brought to book when crossing border (3,3)
|
(TO + B [book]) containing (crossing) HEM (border) T (HE M) O B |
THE MOB (criminals)
|
|
6
|
In retirement, John’s depressed by round shape (4)
|
(LAV [abbreviation for [depressed] lavatory; john] + O [round]) all reversed (in retirement) (O VAL)< |
OVAL (descriptive of a shape)
|
|
8
|
People gathering broadcast spoof in upper room (4,5)
|
RACE (people) containing (gathering) an anagram of (broadcast) SPOOF R (OOF SP*) ACE |
ROOF SPACE (attic; upper room)
|
|
14
|
Female group deceived by doctor, causing court battles here (9)
|
WI (Womens’ Institute; female group) + MB (Bachelor of Medicine; doctor) + LED ON (deceived)
|
WIMBLEDON (venue for tennis which is played on a court; court battles here)
|
|
16
|
Front of luggage rack’s pine (8)
|
L (first letter of [front of] LUGGAGE) + ANGUISH (rack [suffering; misery])
|
LANGUISH (yearn; pine)
|
|
18
|
Tenor good through working with Bill, who’s careful with his notes (8)
|
T (tenor) + (G [good] contained in [through] an anagram of [working] WITH) + AD (advertisement; bill) T I (G) HTW* AD |
TIGHTWAD (skinflint; miser; one who is careful with money
|
|
19
|
Entrance, designing carwash, not as agreed (7)
|
Anagram of (designing) CARWASH excluding (not) AS + AY (yes; indeed; agreed) ARCHW* AY |
ARCHWAY (entrance)
|
|
21
|
Jazzman understanding fast tempo? (6)
|
KEN (knowledge; understanding) + TON (100 miles per hour; fast tempo?)
|
KENTON (reference Stan KENTON [1911 – 1979] leader of an innovative and controversial jazz orchestra])
|
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22
|
Had a row in marshy French region, avoiding river delta (6)
|
CAMARGUE ( natural and marshy region located south of Arles, France, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône River delta) excluding (avoiding) CAM (river that flows through Cambridge) + D (delta)
|
ARGUED (had a row with)
|
|
24
|
Side‘s reserve (4)
|
BANK (side)
|
BANK (reserve) double definition
|
Thanks Duncan and Scorpion,
I thought EPITOME and RECKONER were very cunning.
The ghost theme helped quite a bit.
As it was Scorpion we looked for a theme but couldn’t find anything? Can you give us a hint please Muffyword?
Thanks Scorpion and Duncan.
Bank, Angel…
Thanks Muffyword. How did we miss it?
I’m not convinced that an ANGEL is a financial adviser. It normally just means a financial backer. Otherwise this was tough but mostly fair. I had never heard of the Operating System but eventually managed to piece it together from the wordplay.
I found this tough and struggled in the SW. LANGUISH was my LOI after I decided to trust the wordplay for UBUNTU. Although I’m back on Merseyside now I spent 25 years in London and the SE so I’m annoyed with myself for missing the ghost theme.
I got about a quarter of this and gave up. I don’t agree with you, Duncan: I think that this was far too obscure for a daily Indy.
Here’s why. GILL for ‘a wooded glen’ is no doubt in the BRB somewhere, but I could think of three or four other definitions first. LANGUISH for ‘pine’ – I don’t think so (yes, I looked it up, but it said ‘archaic’, so try to find a definition that’s not archaic.) And Jason is right: ANGEL is a backer, not an ‘advisor’. INCURVED? Give me a break. KENTON? I had so heard of him, just like UBUNTU.
The theme? We don’t all live in, or visit, London, you know …
I’ll crawl back under my stone now.
Thanks to S&B.
I finished this, although it took a few goes. Fortunately, I’d heard of Ubuntu and got it quite quickly (given I work in IT, I’m supposed to know about these sort of things). Reckoner and Kenton caused me the most problems: Stan Kenton isn’t on my short list of famous jazz musicians and, even though I thought of logarithms early, it took me an age to see that the on was hidden inside the answer.
The theme escaped me. Probably the discontinuous way in which I completed the puzzle meant I didn’t see all the linked clues.
I finished this in a not unreasonable time, but I did think some of the clues were obscure. I do agree that “angel” is not usually taken to mean an advisor. I also think Kenton an obscure Jazzman, and Ubuntu a niche answer, and to have them crossing is cruel and unusual! But mostly the clues were very clever. I did like those for “Grange Hill” and “Reckoner”.
I found this to be the direct opposite of a Goldilocks puzzle. The top half was relatively straightforward, even if I didn’t understand several answers, eg 7A. I haven’t the patience for clues that require you to take away the number you first thought of, reverse everything, then miss out alternate letters. Save those for the weekend. If it fits and looks right, in it goes.
The bottom half was too hard for me in general, not helped by the misdefinition in 22A, and the odd equating of cakes and buns in 23A. I mean, a bun can be a cake, but a cake can never be a bun. It’s just not right.
Thanks to setter and blogger for half of a good time.
Needed the check button to complete this one, and the blog to understand some of the parsing. Not too bad, though, for a Scorpion. Didn’t spot the ghost theme which might have helped me finish quicker – interesting, though – not simply London place names but stations on the Underground (even Grange Hill, Central Line, and Kenton on the Bakerloo).
Thanks, Scorpion and Duncan.
Well, I completed the top right quarter, but apart from that, this one totally defeated me.
Rather agree with the several people who criticise the difficulty, although most of this was eventually gettable. What I didn’t like, though, and it doesn’t seem to have been mentioned, was the construction in 18dn, which struck me as decidedly dodgy. Since when has ‘through’ been an acceptable inclusion indicator?
Quite enjoyable though I sympathise with Wil@13 (with whom I usually agree). I just can’t remember whether UBUNTU is on the Northern or Bakerloo line!
Incidentally, my Chambers has ‘financial adviser’ as a definition for ANGEL. Had the setter put ‘investor’ or ‘backer’ might some have complained it was a ‘write-in’?
As ever, a superb blog from Duncan.
Many thanks to Scorpion.