Independent 7170 by Nimrod
Posted by nmsindy on October 8th, 2009
This was very hard, with only one clue solved on first run through. When I began to make progress, it became a little easier, and I got there in the end. Solving time, 56 mins, some very good clues and some where I do not understand everything, though I’ve verified the answers on the Indy website.
* = anagram < = reversed
ACROSS
1 KANGAROO (anorak go)* Excellent misdirection, one of my favourite clues today.
6 CUCKOO Double definiton, another tip-top clue.
9 FREE HAND As he’s a free (costing nothing) hand (worker), in the workplace, he’s voluntary. Definition: having no guidance (adj)
10 RIALTO Bridge in Venice (OT lair)<
11 ST IN KING BISHOP men = chessmen Worked this out eventually from the wordplay. New to me, and not in dicts to hand, but confirmed on the Internet as a type of cheese.
12 OLYMPIC GAMES (Complies a gym)* One of the easier ones.
14 GLADSTONE BAG Saw this when I’d some crossing letters – think clue refers to it being a large bag (larger than attaché). Gladstone is a former PM of course.
18 OPERATING TABLE A cryptic definition that I saw fairly early on.
19 YANKEE “As (twice) broadcast, why bet?” nmsindy knows this is a type of bet, and also that y = yankee in phonetic alphabet, why (broadcast) = “y”, but cannot see how the rest works.
20 NEEDLING “Young plant needs new pole for penetration” The definition is probably ‘penetration’ but do not see the rest, thought for quite a while that an anagram of ‘needs’ would be involved.
21 COURSE A starter might be on a course, I think.
22 R (O L) E PLAY
DOWN
2 A E RATE E-type Jaguar
3 GREEN WOOD (forest) PECKER (spirits) not sure about the ‘tapping sound’ in the definition but that may have something to do with woodpeckers.
4 REAL (I) TY
5 OLD AGE PENSIONER Seeing this was a big breakthrough. Payable at age 65 (alongside opener)* ‘batting’ indicates the anagram
6 CARD 1 AC first light = first clue = one across
7 CRASH BANG (haircut) WALLOP (beer) “Unsubtle group of horny individuals wanting haircut, then beer” ‘Unsubtle’ is probably the definition but the rest apart from ‘bang’ ‘wallop’ is not understood.
8 OCTUPLET (cult poet)* Group of 8 notes, appropriately at 8 down.
13 ELDORA DO (ordeal)* The only one I solved first time round.
15 TRAPEZE A really good cryptic definition
16 BIG DEAL Another one I liked a lot
17 G LINK A
October 8th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
crash is the collective noun for rhinos.
October 8th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
seedling changes pole to become needling.
October 8th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Very tough and very entertaining – I too got a number of answers without understanding wordplay but in most cases I’ve think I’ve unravelled them.
11a – I’d never heard of it, and its absence from the Monty Python sketch must surely mean it doesn’t exist? ;o)
19a – Hmm – not sure.
20a – NEEDLING is based on SEEDLING with N replacing S (new pole).
7a – CRASH is the collective term for rhinoceroseseses.
October 8th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
20A SEEDLING becomes NEEDLING with a “new pole”
3D The tapping sound of woodpeckers is unmistakeable, as is the swooping flight of these Green Ws
Can’t help with 7D – I only understood WALLOP=Beer and got it from that.
After 20 mins I only had about a half dozen in, and put it aside as I thought I wouldn’t get any more. Returning, I did much better and really enjoyed it – OAP being the breakthrough for me too – still had a few gaps at end of lunch though.
October 8th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Very difficult, but sound and enjoyable.
11ac. Not in Python sketch because it was unheard of then, apart from locally.
It grew in fame because of Wallace & Gromit, believe it or not…
Is anybody going to explain Yankee?
October 8th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Anax got me thinking as I know (as does my poor fridge) that Stinking Bishop surely exists. This Wikiimplies it was invented 1972, so after the Cheese Shop sketch.
October 8th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
After yesterday’s Telegraph debacle, I think I’d better step in to explain “(twice)” in 19 ac:
As (twice) broadcast, why bet? (6)
“As broadcast, why bet?” would be fine on its own, wouldn’t it? Because…
why = y, when broadcast….
but also, it’s the phonetic alphabet, so over the radio y = yankee.
Hence “(twice)”
John
October 8th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
My reading of 19a was that ‘as (twice) broadcast’ served as a homophone indicator and to give part of a double definition.
Turning the clue around slightly but not altering its intent, ‘why, as broadcast’ gives Y and ‘Y, as broadcast’ gives YANKEE.
October 8th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Thanks John – Yankee understood now. Nevertheless, I do believe you are now obliged to satisfy the doubters by bringing along a sample of Stinking Bishop to the Kemble on Saturday. Let’s see if it lives up to its name. A few rhinocereseseses might be helpful too (there’s no car park but there is a beer garden at the back).
October 8th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Yep, this was a toughie, but I’m getting to grips with the Nimrod style these days, so I managed to break the back of it in about 45 mins. Still fell 5 or 6 short though, so thanks all for the explanations. 1A was wonderfully misleading and the 1AC reference in 6D was equally great (though I didn’t manage to solve it!)
October 8th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Very enjoyable and challenging puzzle today. I got held up for a while, bogged down by 7D which I thought was SALTY DAWG SALOON until Role-Play killed that.
Thank you, nmsindy for the blog and Nimrod for a wonderful puzzle. I’ll buy you a Guinness when we next meet.
October 8th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
I read 16D as not just a cd, but as trap-ease.