Independent 6853 by Punk
Posted by nmsindy on October 2nd, 2008
Pleasing puzzle from this imaginative setter which I found on the easy side, but made one mistake – thank’s for explaining it below, Geoff.
* = anagram
1 SMELLING SALTS Tip-top double definition
10 LOONY Two phrases meaning this (No – it’s LOOPY which is very good)
11 AR (AU) C ARIA A Guardian setter who needs little introduction is named (pseudonym) after this (monkey puzzle) tree.
12 BELL IN I
13 SETTING Excellent double definition, raising a smile
14 LEG ATE
15 DI (SPROg) VE
18 ALTERING (triangle)*
19 BAD EGG Double defintion
21 MOO RAGE More good fun
22 O C (TAG) ON
24 N EAR THING North Pole earthing
25 C RATE An old decrepit car – very good clue c = speed of light
26 HAPPY FAMILIES (if he plays pa I’m)*
DOWN
2 MOONLIGHT S ON A TA
3 L (AY S) ISTER (say)*
4 IRA (QI) S s (IQ) ari all reversed
5 GOATSKIN (asking to)*
6 A SCOT
7 TURN IN ONES GRAVE (Run into nerve gas)*
8 G(L)OB AL (W)ARMING w = world’s heading (first letter) gob = trap = mouth. I suspected this straightaway from the definition and enumeration. As it was in the leftmost column and intersected six across entries giving first letter, it made the rest of the puzzle much easier for me.
9 HANG S ENG IN(D)E X Another one I guessed from enumeration and definition before working it all out.
16 P (R) ACT I CAL (California)
17 UN BE (L I) EF
22 DO D GEM Dodgems at the fun fair, hence, ‘fair thing’
22 AC T UP
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:30 am
10a The Indy website gives this as ‘loopy’ rather than ‘loony’, which makes a little more sense as otherwise the clue has effectively two identical definitions.
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:34 am
So good they blogged it twice
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:40 am
My bad, as they say. I was convinced it was my turn to post to day. Ironically, I’m the one that writes the schedule so I really should have known. Anyhoo, I’ve deleted my post now.
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:46 am
Neil, I was similarly convinced that I was doing the Guardian today, having last checked the calendar on Sunday… I assumed that was my mistake, but it seems like something of a coincidence that we should both write duplicate posts today!
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:53 am
It does seem strange but I think it was just a coincidence. Diagacht was definitely due to post today as he now shares his slot with Eileen and she posted last Wednesday (and as you know I generally try to rotate people through the week).
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
18a Neither you nor Neil (before his duplicate blog was deleted) have commented on this one. I don’t usually get hung up about parts of speech but this one sticks out like a sore thumb.
If the anagram indicator is ‘needs adjustment’ then ‘to skew’ could (very) loosely define ‘alter’ or ‘a skew’ could be ‘alteration’ but I cannot see any way that ‘skew’ can equate to ‘altering’.
Things get even worse if ‘skew’ is the anagrind.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Right – come to think of it, there are any number of ways I could have misread the calendar thinking that last week was this week, particularly since the week crossed into a new month.
(I never realised before that Punk is Paul! I guess Punk in the Independent post-dates the publication “A-Z of Crosswords”…)
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I did not think too much about the ALTERING once I saw the anagram. Looking at it again, perhaps ‘needs’ is a link word with the definition being ‘adjustment’ and ‘skew’ indicating the anagram.
Mhl is correct, I think, re Punk in Indy post-dating the Azed book.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
That was how I read it too. As Geoff suggests, any other way and the clue doesn’t really work.
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:10 pm
18a OK, if ‘skew’ is the anagrind, ‘needs’ simply a link word and ‘adjustment’ is the definition then we are no further forward since ‘altering’ is not a noun. The definition should therefore have been ‘adjusting’.
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I think that you could read an ALTERING as a (pretty uncommon) gerundial noun.
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:41 pm
The ALTERING of the clue explanation may have puzzled readers, but I guess most would have got the answer…
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Lovely puzzle, though I was defeated by ARAUCARIA (not for the first time…!), BAD EGG and the HANG SENG part of 9D.
Is Punk/Paul/Mudd still on the Times team as well? That’s some going!
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
He was in the Times yesterday.
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Testy
I don’t disagree but then the definition should also have been gerundial, ie ‘adjusting’. You can say “My adjusting (or altering) it was wrong” but not “My adjustment it was wrong”. It would need to be ‘adjusting’ or ‘adjustment of’.
Anyway, enough of my appearing to be a gerund-grinder, I really ought to get a life!
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
A-ha, I thought that yesterday’s Times was more entertaining than usual.
Keep up the good work