Independent 7866 by Eimi (Saturday Prize Puzzle 31 December 2011)
Posted by mc_rapper67 on January 7th, 2012
A pleasant puzzle to round the year off – with a number of clue readings and answers nodding respectfully to the date, and a lovely clue at 18D, which I am considering adopting as my motto!
I am not too familiar with Eimi – who I believe is also the Independent’s crossword editor – as a (prize) cryptic setter, although I am a fan of his (or her?) weekly General Knowledge Jumbos on the facing page.
As it happened, I ended up starting this puzzle late on New Year’s Day morning, nursing a slight hangover (see 18D again!) and got 3/4 of the way through without too many problems – some nice diverting surface readings; topical references; poignancy – in 6D; politics – in 21A; a new (to me) word in ZYDECO, which needed an e-shuffle through the Chambers CD Rom; and a slight delay due to my fuddled brain/hand mis-spelling MANOUEVRE, oops, MANOEUVRE. I couldn’t find any hidden topical messages or ninas in the grid – but happy to be corrected on that…
However I stalled in parsing/justifying PARIS and BIG BEN in the bottom left corner – until my researches threw up (sorry!) the fact that Dunfermline Athletic have the nickname the ‘Pars’ – anecdotally short for ‘Paralytics’…back to New Year’s Eve and 18D then?!…but more likely due to the parallel stripes on their kit. And then a bit of lateral thinking on the actual Big Ben - the ‘bong’ing bell itself, not the tower or the clock that most people think of as ‘Big Ben’.
Lastly, I wasn’t familiar with the Rossini opera Semiramide in 2D – at first I thought it might be figment of Eimi’s imagination, being an anagram of ‘Eimi’s dream’?!
Cheers to Eimi, trebles all round, and a Happy New Year to all…
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
| 7A | HOGMANAY | Pig farmer possibly getting a holiday at last today (8) | today (New Year’s Eve) / HOG (pig) + MAN (farmer, possibly) + A + Y (last of holiday) |
| 8A | NO-BALL | Jack initially abandoning line and length with bad delivery (2-4) | bad delivery (in cricket) / NOB (Jack/knave, card in cribbage) + A (first of abandoning) + L (line) + L (length) |
| 10A | SEARCH ME | I don’t know chief spy boss in diocese (6, 2) | I don’t know / SEE (diocese) around ARCH (chief) + M (spy boss, of James Bond) |
| 11A | HAMPER | Impede the movement of a basket case? (6) | (double defn) / double defn – HAMPER = impede movement, and also a basket |
| 12A | FIRST-FOOTING | Toffs rioting could become a tradition (5-7) | a tradition (on NYE) / anag (i.e. could become) of TOFFS RIOTING |
| 15A | ARREARS | They’re outstanding but bottom in Art of Ancient Rome (7) | They’re outstanding / ARS (Art, in Latin) around REAR (bottom) |
| 16A | RENEWAL | We learn from our mistakes in beginning again (7) | beginning again / anag (i.e. mistakes) of WE LEARN |
| 17A | CONFIRMATION | Christian rite creating friction with Oman somehow (12) | Christian rite / anag (i.e. creating/somehow) of FRICTION + OMAN |
| 20A | DANIEL | Book deal organised to encompass Northern Ireland (6) | Book (of the Bible) / anag (i.e. organised) of DEAL, around NI (Northern Ireland) |
| 21A | BELABOUR | Criticise harshly but support Ed Miliband? (8) | &lit/Criticise harshly / &lit – to ‘BE LABOUR’ might be to support Ed Miliband, current Labour party leader |
| 23A | BIG BEN | London landmark most people have not seen (3, 3) | &lit/London landmark (and iconic NYE symbol) / &lit – BIG BEN is not the tower or the clock, but actually the bell inside…which ‘most people’ do not get to see |
| 24A | BIDEFORD | Stay in front of car in Devon town (8) | Devon town / BIDE (stay) + FORD (car) |
| Down | |||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
| 1D | HOTELIERS | Accommodating people others lie about (9) | Accommodating people / anag (i.e. about) of OTHERS LIE |
| 2D | EMIR | Leading role in Semiramide (4) | Leading role / hidden word in sEMIRamide |
| 3D | IN THE FIRING LINE | Exposed as working as a business consultant specialising in downsizing (2, 3, 6, 4) | &lit/double defn? – Exposed / &lit – a downsizing consultant is in the ‘line’, or job, of firing others |
| 4D | ZYDECO | Coordinates art style with music (6) | music (Creole, accordion-based)/ ZY (coordinates) + DECO (art style) |
| 5D | UNCHAINED MELODY | Free air – a hit more than once (9, 6) | a hit (song), more than once / UNCHAINED (free) + MELODY (air, or tune) – which has been a (chart) hit for many popular beat combos over the years, m’lud. |
| 6D | OLDER | Setting up some unsecured loans, as we all will be tomorrow (5) | as we will all be tomorrow / reversed hidden word in unsecuRED LOans |
| 9D | BE MY GUEST | Get me busy somehow, as 1 might say (2, 2, 5) | &lit – as 1 (HOTELIERS) might say / anag (i.e. somehow) of GET ME BUSY, &lit as if you become a HOTELIER’s guest, you may get them busy, looking after you. |
| 13D | STEP CLIMB | Aircraft 14 to navigate blimps etc. (4, 5) | aircraft manoeuvre / anag (i.e. to navigate) of BLIMPS ETC |
| 14D | MANOEUVRE | Planned movement of male writer’s output (9) | planned movement / MAN (male) + OEUVRE (writer’s works, or output) |
| 18D | IMBIBE | I am British – I live for drink (6) | drink / IM (I am, contraction) + B (British) + I + BE (live) |
| 19D | PARIS | Capital investment beginning in Dunfermline (5) | Capital / PARS (nickname of Dunfermline Athletic football club) around I (first of investment) |
| 22D | BUFF | Expert with attractively well-developed muscles (4) | (double defn) / double defn – to be BUFF is to be well muscled, and a BUFF can be an expert in something |
January 7th, 2012 at 12:12 am
Yes, this was enjoyable and gentle for a Sat. Thanks, mc_rapper67, and Eimi who I think I can say “without fear of contradiction” is a he and also the Indy crossword editor.
PARIS was my last answer and it was a nice penny-dropping moment when I understood it.
January 7th, 2012 at 2:49 am
Nice puzzle and Eimi has very kindly amended the online clue for 7a to Pig farmer possibly getting a holiday at last a week ago.
January 7th, 2012 at 8:54 am
We really enjoyed this puzzle. We thought it must be Paris for 19d but couldn’t work out why, so thanks for the explanation!
Thanks also to Eimi!
January 7th, 2012 at 9:12 am
Thanks, mc_rapper67, for the blog, and Eimi for the puzzle.
One small thing: I seem to have mislaid my copy of this puzzle but I remember reading the clue for 9dn as ‘as 1 [ie HOTELIERS] might say’. [I may be wrong!]
January 7th, 2012 at 9:43 am
Hi all – thanks for the feedback.
Eileen @ #4 – you are quite right – a typo in transcription from a photocopy – and that makes much more sense in the parsing – duly updated!
January 7th, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Thanks MC I could not see why Paris was right and spent far too long looking at ?a?id. Otherwise cheers Eimi for a nice end of year puzzle.
January 7th, 2012 at 5:24 pm
Like you, flashling, I thought 19d had to have a D in it, but I eventually gave up with that one clue unsolved. I have enough trouble with the nicknames of clubs in the Midlands, let alone further afield.