Independent 10,532 / Tees

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Tees has provided his latest puzzle for our mid-week entertainment.

I found this to be an enjoyable medium-difficulty puzzle and one whose solution revealed itself to me gradually: at no point did I suddenly solve a flurry of clues in quick succession. I haven’t come across this particular grid that much in the Indy and tend to associate it more with the Guardian crossword.

On the individual clues, I was wondering if I had missed something at 11 – please advise, fellow solvers! The writer at 18 was unfamiliar to me, but having read her Wikipedia entry, I am not sure how she could not have been on my radar. I also needed to check the “soul” element of 22 in Chambers.

As for my favourite clues today, I particularly liked the two cryptic definitions at 12 and 21, for their concision; 1D, for originality; and 7, for overall construction and its definition part.

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across    
     
01 SHANDY Drink son has in convenient place

S (=son) + HANDY (=in convenient place)
     
04 PRESUMED Supposed breakdown occurs in Police Department

RESUME (=breakdown, i.e. run-through of key details) in PD (=Police Department, as in NYPD)
     
09 NUDISM Miners embracing underworld in public exposure

DIS (=underworld) in NUM (=miners, i.e. National Union of Mineworkers)
     
10 IDOLATER Pagan one at some future point housing party

DO (=party, function) in [I (=one) + LATER (=at some future point)]
     
11 DEAR SIR OR MADAM Letter-opener in general use?

Cryptic definition: this is an opening greeting in a letter that is used when addressing people in general rather than someone in particular
     
13 DISSERVICE Unkindness in Norfolk town with ruler failing

DISS (=Norfolk town) + ER (=ruler, i.e. Elizabeth Regina) + VICE (=failing, weakness)
     
14 URDU Language in old city said to be enough

UR (=old city, i.e. in Old Testament) + homophone (“said”) of “do (=to be enough, as in That’ll do)”
     
16 ROLE Turn on radio for character in play

Homophone (“on radio”) of “roll (=turn, rotate)”
     
18 NGAIO MARSH Lawless Graham is no crime writer

*(GRAHAM IS NO); “lawless” is anagram indicator; the reference is to NZ crime writer Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982), author of the 32 Roderick Alleyn detective novels
     
21 DEBT COLLECTORS Whose aim is to see people that people settle?

Cryptic definition: the “settle” of the definition refers to the “settling” of debts
     
23 VENDETTA Archdeacon and defaulter reported feud

VEN (=archdeacon, i.e. Venerable) + homophone (“reported”) of “debtor (=defaulter)”
     
24 JERBOA With short sudden movement snake gets rodent

JER<k> (=sudden movement; “short” means last letter is dropped) + BOA (=snake)
     
25 LANDMARK 500 married in Scots town’s important event

[D (=500, in Roman numerals) + M (=married)] in LANARK (=Scot’s town)
     
26 TSETSE Insect collections kept in ether regularly

SETS (=collections) in <e>T<h>E<r> (“regularly” means alternate letters only)
     
Down    
     
01 SUNK Louis XIV beyond help?

Cryptically, SUN K (=king) could describe Louis XIV of France, known as the Sun King
     
02 ADDRESS Daughter cutting a deck to deal with

D (=daughter) in [A + DRESS (=deck, adorn)]
     
03 DISORDER Indiscipline brings // complaint

Double definition: disorder is indiscipline, chaos AND a disorder is a complaint, medical condition
     
05 RADIOACTIVE Broadcaster busy putting out dangerous materials

RADIO (=broadcaster) + ACTIVE (=busy)
     
06 SALAMI Sausage product unfortunately going up M1

SALA (ALAS=unfortunately; “going up” indicates vertical reversal) + M1
     
07 MATADOR A bit more but not all about one facing charges?

[A + TAD (=bit, small amount)] in MOR<e> (“not all” means last letter is dropped); cryptically, a matador is “one facing charges” made by a bull!
     
08 DARTMOUTH College town where revolutionary jazz tricky to hum

DART (TRAD=jazz; “revolutionary” indicates reversal) + *(TO HUM); “tricky” is anagram indicator; Dartmouth College is an Ivy League university in New Hampshire
     
12 INVIGILATOR One to watch in the examinations?

Cryptic definition: the “watch” of the definition refers to the supervision of candidates in examinations
     
13 DAREDEVIL Reckless lawman visibly embarrassed over wickedness

DA (=lawman, i.e. District Attorney) + RED (=visibly embarrassed, i.e. blushing) + EVIL (=wickedness)
     
15 SMOTHERS Makes breathless male separate aboard steamer

[M (=male) + OTHER (=separate, different)] in SS (=steamship)
     
17 LEBANON Country person, coarse in manner, losing head soon

<p>LEB (=person coarse in manner; “losing head” means first letter is drop) + ANON (=soon)
     
19 RAREBIT Savoury dish, uncommonly good, needing while

RARE (=uncommonly good, as in a rare treat) + BIT (=while, as in in a while/bit)
     
20 SCREAM Comedian // to laugh uproariously

Double definition
     
22 BASE Wicked soul emptied safe

BA (=soul, in Egyptian religion) + S<af>E (“emptied” means all but first and last letters are dropped)
     
   

 

14 comments on “Independent 10,532 / Tees”

  1. Thanks, RR, for the timely and helpful blog.

    I often find the same thing with a Tees puzzle – never a write-in, but with perseverance on your part he will always get you over the line.  The grid was friendly today, so there were plenty of crossers if you did get stuck.

    I think you are right with DEAR SIR OR MADAM – just a cryptic definition.  And not much used any more, since thanks to data-gathering, everyone knows who you are these days; and if it were re-popularised, we’d no doubt need a number of other categories in these gender-fluid times.  SUNK was my favourite this morning – simple but cleverly constructed.

    Thanks to Tees as well.

  2. A lovely Tees puzzle as usual – I bet there are still places where people send letters starting with 11a.   I particularly liked the different way of cluing the ubiquitous fly at 26

    Thanks to Tees and RR

  3. What K’s D and crypticsue said, really.

    I don’t think I knew the Ivy League university – I took DARTMOUTH  as the Royal Naval College.

    Thanks to Tees and RR.

  4. Not much to add to what’s already been said.  We’re with Eileen regarding DARTMOUTH.

    JERBOA was one of our last in after we’d rejected ‘agouti’ (parially parsed with ‘ti’ from ‘tic’) and ‘gerbil’ (not parsed at all).

    We liked PRESUMED and MATADOR.

    Thanks, Tees and RatkojaRiku.

  5. I also assumed Dartmouth would refer to the Royal Naval College, though an online search reveals that, officially, it’s the Britannia Royal Naval College, commonly known as ‘Dartmouth’, so RR’s interpretation should be considered as the correct one. 11A is often used in the form ‘Dead Sid or Madman’ as an example of poor typing.  As so much official correspondence arrives by email nowadays, with a computer filling in your name, you’re more likely to be addressed as ‘Dear John’ or whatever,, or even ‘Hello John’.  Waffle aside, I very much enjoyed the puzzle, so thanks Tees and RatkojaRiku.

     

  10. My mind went for New Hampshire rather than Devon, though either works perfectly well for 8.  During lockdown, I have begun reading Ngaio Marsh, whose better known contemporary, Agatha Christie, lived in Dartmouth (Devon), coincidentally.  Jolly good, though I still prefer Dorothy L. Sayers.

  11. Never heard of Ngaio Marsh and not really possible to guess her first name so a clue that couldn’t be solved without recourse to Google rather spoiled my enjoyment of this.

    Fortunately the smile raised by 1D remained.

    Thanks to S&B

  12. This was right in my goldilocks zone. DIS for underworld and BA for soul were new to me, but the other half of their answers we’re clued generously so it was a quick check in Chambers to confirm. As yesterday, crossers were very helpful all through. CD at 11d a favourite today. Thanks RatkojaRiku and Tees.

  13. Did someone say ‘there are a lot of awful Tees puzzles these days’?

    Well … that chap … well … I do declare.

  14. “College town” in 8d must be the UK one – the US Dartmouth college is in Hanover, New Hampshire.

    Thanks to Tees and RatkojaRiku

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