Independent 7573 by Nitsy
Posted by NealH on January 24th, 2011
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Nose: Son< on E. |
| 3 | Big Wheel: CD (fair ground ride). |
| 10 | Perpetual motion: (Train MOT people)* around [Subar]u. |
| 11 | Ineffable: Fine* + f + able. |
| 12 | Plum: Plum[p]. |
| 13 | Low Down: DD. |
| 15 | Sheath: (Has the)*. |
| 17 | Slap-up: Slap (=smack) + up (=at college). |
| 19 | Rouleau: Our* + eau around l. Never heard of eau as a channel, although it does mean water. |
| 20 | Sofa: United (joined together) S[tates] of A[merica]. |
| 21 | Matchless: DD. |
| 24 | Palaeontologist: &lit. (One’s apt goal)* around to i[nvestigate] [fossi]l. |
| 25 | Sedition: S(mall) + edition. |
| 26 | Pegs: Initial letters of p[oker] e[xhibitions] g[enerate] s[mall]. | Down |
| 1 | Nuptials: (Paul isn’t)*. |
| 2 | Serve: Seve (Ballesteros) around r[ough]. |
| 4 | Illness: [Dr]ill + ness (=tongue, another word for a headland). |
| 5 | Whoopee Cushion: CD. |
| 6 | Etiquette: [Omel]ette around quite*. |
| 7 | Long: Log around n[eedle]. |
| 8 | Self-complacent: (Pet can smell of)* around c. |
| 9 | Turban: Turn around B[angladeshi] a[dult]. |
| 14 | Well-oiled: DD. |
| 16 | Pulsates: (up least)* + [teenager]s. |
| 18 | Pimento: (Pot I)* around men. |
| 19 | Ration: [O]ration. |
| 22 | Elite: Tile< + [sal]e. |
| 23 | Opus: O(rdinary) + pus[h]. |
January 24th, 2011 at 9:32 am
Thanks NealH for the blog, and Nitsy for a puzzle which, on the whole, was enjoyable.
Favourites were 24A PALAEONTOLOGIST, a nice &lit, 10A PERPETUAL MOTION, and 8D SELF COMPLACENT, all anagrams one can really get one’s teeth into.
Some niggly doubts: 19A ROULEAU, like you, not sure of “drainage channel”=”eau”; 10A “..make it work” indicates, say, a “perpetual motion machine” or similar device itself, not just the principle on which the machine is based; and 17A SLAP-UP which I think of as “first class”, “super”, and not necessarily “expensive”.
January 24th, 2011 at 9:39 am
For 19ac you need to look in Chambers under ‘ea’ which gives “a drainage channel in the Fens, sometimes eau, as if taken from French”.
January 24th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Thanks, Neal. Not sure what to make of this. I struggled with quite a bit of it, and normally I’d be saying that’s down to me. But I didn’t warm to ROULEAU either and the definition in PERPETUAL MOTION doesn’t really work for me. There were some good clues elsewhere, though, which I enjoyed.
But SEVE for golfer? I’ve said before, golf isn’t even a sport, so why do setters insist on having golfing references? I’m with Mark Twain. FREDDIE for cricketer is fine, obviously, as is blind prejudice.
January 24th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Yes, this was good, not too difficult, favourite clues SHEATH and WHOOPEE CUSHION. Not 100% sure about it but I read SOFA differently ie that it united the three words STATES OF AMERICA by being hidden within them ie stateS OF America.
January 24th, 2011 at 4:56 pm
This is a rather fine effort. PERPETUAL MOTION is fine if you think about it. And a foopball (teh beautiful GAME) supporter moaning about a game that requires individual skill, well really…
January 24th, 2011 at 7:51 pm
Glad others found this easy I got there in the end but was a struggle for me. Thanks Neal for confirming some of my solving thoughts. Didn’t help myself mispelling 24a though.
January 24th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
I thought there were some realy nice clues here — particularly for SEDITION (25ac) and for MATCHLESS (21ac). But I thought the clue involving ea/eau was strained by using this word, which doesn’t usually appear in an (easy) daily cryptic.
When Jo Brand was on Countdown she called some word that I forget a “rubbish word”. This is how I feel about “self-complacent”, which seems to me to be rather tautological, like talking about safe havens. But it’s in the dictionary, so …
January 24th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
Really, even.
January 24th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Thanks NealH.
A very good puzzle which I didn’t find easy.Didn’t help myself by reading ‘rioting’ as ‘noting’ in 25 across(must get stronger glasses).
I thought the long anagrams at 10,24 and 8 were excellent,but I wasn’t that keen on the 2 CDs at 3 and 5,not my favourite type of clue so I’m probably biased.
‘Ea’and ‘Eau’ are regulary used by setters of barred puzzles but I think this is the first time I have come
across them in a normal daily puzzle.