Independent 6563 by Tees
Posted by nmsindy on October 29th, 2007
I found this very tough indeed. Usually where there is a theme with interlinked answers, it’s slower but I thought this might be different when I found 16 across etc after just 12 mins. But not so. Some very devious, clever, misdirection and very satisfying to finish.
Solving time: 58 mins
* = anagram < =reversed
ACROSS
9 ARCHENEMY Dick CHENE(y) in ARMY!
12 C (Jonathan) ROSS E D = 500 (many). Also thematic – referred to in 16
13 DEISM Hidden – definition ‘reasonable belief’ made me a bit doubtful for a while, however.
14 R (ET) AILERS Duo after lead in Peter = pETer
19 SUMMITEER Favourite clue, with misleading context of a chess board. A meeting of the top 8 countries (not including China, though) and a mountain.
21 SAL(m)ON 3 = MEDIUM (abbrev m) ‘concealed’ used as subtractive indicator.
24 DO RIS ST(OK)ES A medium Do ok in (sisters)*
25 SEDGE WREN Jenny is a wren (green weds)*. New phrase for me that I worked out from the anagram when I’d enough crossing letters.
DOWN
1 CAN DI DATES Surface a bit surreal.
2 S CAR RING Very subtle misdirection. Definition is ‘marks left’
3 MEDIUM Was not fully convinced of this till solving 24 across. “Say television channel” It is a TV channel but ‘say’ puzzled me. “TV channel, say” would be a straight definition. Not sure about medium = say
4 Alvin B ERG Wrote the opera ‘Lulu’ B = letter after a!
5 EYE-CATCHER Holden Caulfield, main character in JD Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’.
6 GE (RONIM)O Minor< in Geo (a creek or gully)
7 LASSI E (sails)* Clever use of seagoing context, for the much-filmed dog “Bark’s courageous owner”
14 R (OOT) EDNESS Too< Clever misdirection – was looking for in = both ends of inflammation for quite a while.
15 S (ER ENAD) ING (Dane re)< in sing = grass = inform. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a Dane.
17 T (HICK) EST Fun clue.
18 HE (LIPO) R T
20 MA (I G) RE
October 29th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Just a minor point: BERG was Alban not Alvin.
I also thought I was going to struggle with this as I had half a dozen answers filled in after 10 minutes and none of ‘em were thematic. Then I saw that the long phrase at 16A might end in SIDE and it all fell into place after that.
3D – I think it might be a double def: “Say television” and “channel”. Could a MEDIUM be a channel between the living and dead perhaps? Not sure.
Anyroad, as you say, great puzzle with lots of clever stuff going on.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Neil
Isn’t that what mediums are supposed to do, to channel communication between you and the ‘other side’?
October 29th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Well, yes – that’s sort of my point. Sorry, didn’t word that very well. Another way of putting might be to ask if we could call Doris Stokes a “channel” as well as a medium. That’s the bit I wasn’t sure about.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Thanks, Neildubya, that’s right, I’m sure, channel = medium (not necessarily “to the other side”) and “say television” (double definition). A slip with Lulu – have to admit, in musical terms, I’m more familiar with a Scottish Eurovision lady. 14 across etc links in with all this.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Sorry, that should be 16 across etc (not 14 across).
October 29th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
My thesauri all give medium=channel (Collins; Rodale; New Penguin; Geddes. It’s where we get media for channels of commuication.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
14ac: ‘lead in Peter’ had me totally (wrongly) convinced there was a ‘P’ in the answer, and I couldn’t work out what ‘duo’ was doing so ending up leaving this one blank, along with 14dn (not helped by being unsure over ‘summiteer’ vs ‘summitter’). A win for the setter, I’m afraid – well done.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Yes, Rufus, thanks, that’s exactly right, similar to what’s noted by Neildubya above.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Re Rightback’s point in 7 re 14ac, that was just what I thought before eventually getting the answer from the definition and then seeing how it worked afterwards.