Independent 6827/Radian
Posted by neildubya on September 2nd, 2008
I found this mostly reasonably easy but with a few tough spots here and there. I only spotted the Nina (in the perimeter running clockwise from the bottom left-hand corner) once I’d finished the puzzle – appropriately enough for the time of year it reads BRINGING IN THE SHEAVES, which is a traditional thanksgiving hymn which I presume is often sung around harvest festival time.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 6 | hidden in “maNY A LAager” |
| 7 | BAN,JOIST |
| 9 | (RING)*,ED – GIRNED was new to me but it was my first guess given the wordplay. Even so, I waited for all the crossing letters before filling it in. |
| 10 | REP,ROACH – I’d never heard of Hal Roach (an American TV and film producer apparently) so this was another partial guess. “Carpet” is an easy enough definition and “salesman” is a common indicator for REP so not knowing the Hal shouldn’t have made this clue unsolvable for most. |
| 11 | (HIT ON NEW)* – NON-WHITE. |
| 13 | R(EVIL)E – Good clue, especially the use of “clamp” to indicate containment. |
| 17 | IT in SURF< – another good one with a pertinent surface reading, given the current economic climate. |
| 19 | INSTEP – not sure I really understand all of this: “Sandhurst marchers” would be IN STEP but what does “they control it” mean? Something to with controlling the INSTEP of the foot? |
| 23 | R,IGOR,O[-p]US – you don’t need to know that Stravinsky’s first name was IGOR to solve this but it certainly helps. You could probably get by knowing that you’re looking for a word for “harsh” that begins with R. |
| 27 | B,(TREE)*,OOT – BEETROOT, the colour you go when you blush. |
| 28 | [-c]ANNUL[-a] |
| Down | |
| 1 | IN(D)IGO – Inigo Jones was an Elizabethan architect. |
| 2 | NA[-v]AN – I didn’t understand the “Irish fort” reference so this was another guess. |
| 3 | G,AND,HI |
| 4 | IN,(SPERRI[-ns])* – INSPIRER. Bizarre sounding clue and “3, perhaps” is a bit loose as a definition for GANDHI I thought. |
| 7 | BAR[-ns]LEY |
| 8 | S(ICKLE)S – “little to child” for ICKLE was a nice touch and quite original. |
| 15 | PENS[-l]IVE[-d] |
| 16 | TOP(TOT,O)E – “tope” means to drink habitually and to excess, which I knew from somewhere or other (probably another crossword). |
| 18 | RUS(SE)T – more guesswork required here as I’d never come across RUST as a type of fungus before. Also, is “Sussex” really good enough as an indicator for SE (South East)? |
| 21 | G,US,VAT (reversed) |
| 26 | L in UNA – I remember Una Stubbs from the 80s children’s TV programme Worzel Gummidge but apparently she’s recently been in Eastenders and The Catherine Tate Show. |
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Never mind the harvest, I’m impressed at the scheduling of a puzzle with GUSTAV among the answers – how was the editor to know the hurricane would be downgraded at the last minute!
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:35 pm
An interesting crossword, which strives, largely successfully, for unusual devices in its clues. I was surprised at the description of ‘Elizabethan architect’ for Inigo Jones; a trip to Wikipedia showed that this is not as far off as I thought. He was 30 when Elizabeth I died, but his earliest surviving building came more than a decade later. Certainly his style is a radical departure from what one thinks of as Elizabethan architecture. The online version of the puzzle has what seems to be an error: the clue to 22D is a variant of the clue to 21D, and as far as I can see bears no relation to the answer ‘ensile’. I would suspect that there was an attempt to revise 21D to remove the superfluous word ‘rejected’, and the wrong clue was overwritten. I suppose that the Irish fort in 2D refers to the Hill of Tara, which Wikipedia again informs me is near Navan. Close, but no cigar!
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Google reveals that Navan Fort is an ancient earthwork in Co. Armagh.
7, 12 & 24D are connected with the Nina as well.
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:35 pm
The clue at 22d in the paper is “Store greens I left over” – another answer linked to the theme.
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:58 pm
What purpose does “over” serve (other than surface reading and helping the &lit aspect)?
Is “Store” the hidden indicator (it seems a bit loose to me)?
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Enjoyed this, tough, with some original ideas. Maybe 15, 17 in the centre row were linked to the theme also. ENSILE waw my last answer – the definition I thought was ‘store’ and I read ‘over’ as an unusual hidden indicator i.e. that greENS I LEft considered as a whole was over ‘ensile’. Not sure if I’m interpreting it correctly. Did see the Nina emerging fairly early on, though did not get SHEAVES till I’d five or six letters. I don’t understand 19 though – IN STEP as two words must be the wordplay part, but I don’t understand the defintion part.
September 2nd, 2008 at 5:08 pm
19: I felt it might cause problems but I couldn’t resist referring back to ‘arch’ (= instep). And Nmsindy’s right about 22.
Forgive me too for the occasional NI ref. It’s hard enough to keep you guys guessing – and I may as well help our overworked tourist board. There’s more to enjoy here than the Giant’s Causeway!
Many thanks for all the feedback, invaluable for a johnny-come-lately. Please keep it coming.
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:47 pm
See! See! Themed, Nina’d, and nary a recondite ref, ne’er mind word.
Sláinte agus táinte!
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Yes, I’m forever tripping over my cannula on my way out of the hall.
September 3rd, 2008 at 9:50 am
It’s a bit late but I’ve just noticed, after pondering on blogs 8 and 9 (I’m still baffled), 28a is annu(a)l, not (c)annul(a).
My erse is not in gear so could Paul B enlighten me please: Health and ?
September 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 am
28a – I can’t remember the clue but it definitely mentioned “tube”, which is what a cannula is. Maybe the clue was changed by the ed?
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:07 am
Re 10, Proverb “Health is better than wealth” and punning of course. “Is fearr slainte na tainte”, forgive omission of accents.
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:25 am
28a: Cancel tube – sidings unavailable (5)
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:53 am
28a: There you go: you improve your own clue then forget you’ve done it.