Independent on Sunday 1,199 by Alchemi
Posted by Simon Harris on February 17th, 2013
This seems to be the first occasion on which I’ve blogged an Alchemi puzzle. I must admit I found it fairly challenging, requiring a few sittings thoughout the week. The explanation for 3dn still escapes me.
There’s a small Nina here, in that the setter’s pseudonym appears in the unchecked squares in the third row. I couldn’t see any more than that, but may have missed something.
| Across | ||
| 1 | STARTING | Carol eats pie, showing surprise (8) |
| TART in SING | ||
| 6 | STIFFS | Bodies quarrel in vacuous sessions (6) |
| TIFF in S[ession]S | ||
| 9 | OTTAWA | City’s old power unit going into reverse has radioactive core (6) |
| Old + WATT< + [radio]A[ctive] | ||
| 10 | SUMMONED | Mum’s worried about emergency doctor initially being sent for (8) |
| MUMS* + ON + E[mergency] D[octor] | ||
| 11 | CLIMACTIC | Cold inside – to do with the weather reaching a culmination (9) |
| Cold in CLIMATIC | ||
| 12 | HEDGE | Man would shortly get trimmed at barrier (5) |
| HE‘D + GE[t] | ||
| 14 | PYRE | Some jittery people back centrepiece of funerary rite (4) |
| [jitt]ERY P[eople]< | ||
| 16 | REGENERATE | Stir green tea without hesitation to promote new growth (10) |
| ER in (GREEN TEA)* | ||
| 18 | ANALYTICAL | Being logical, I call at any trouble (10) |
| (I CALL AT ANY)* | ||
| 21 | CODA | Company lawyer’s finale (4) |
| COmpany + District Attorney | ||
| 23 | GUEST | Visitor’s sudden blow gathering energy (5) |
| Energy in GUST | ||
| 24 | EYESTRAIN | Note agreement to practise for unpleasant condition (9) |
| E (one of several musical notes) + YES + TRAIN | ||
| 27 | FILIPINO | Islander one to go mad about current number (8) |
| (I in FLIP) + I (the symbol for current) + NO | ||
| 28 | XANADU | Be leaving bandeaux around old Chinese summer capital (6) |
| [b]AND[e]AUX*. A familiar term, but one I hadn’t ever troubled myself to find the meaning of. Apparently it was “the summer capital of Kublai Khan’s Yuan Dynasty in China”. | ||
| 29 | SHOGUN | Paper-wrapped pig for dictator (6) |
| HOG in SUN | ||
| 30 | FINISHED | Complete flipper I get rid of (8) |
| FIN + I SHED | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | TOTALLY | Entirely high in play (7) |
| TALL in TOY | ||
| 3 | REALM | Details oddly missing in marine kingdom (5) |
| You’ll have to help me out here, kind readers | ||
| 4 | INACCURATE | Unreliable clergyman supports setter asking permission to do a headstand (10) |
| (CAN I)< + CURATE | ||
| 5 | GASHING | Cutting crew smothering quiet one (7) |
| (SH + I) in GANG | ||
| 6 | SAME | Identical Welsh politician in the Home Counties (4) |
| Assembly Member in South-East | ||
| 7 | ISOMETRIC | Somewhat wearisome trick-or-treaters of similar dimensions (9) |
| [wear]ISOME TRIC[k] | ||
| 8 | FREIGHT | Surprising her with gift that’s carried by rail and road (7) |
| (HER + GIFT)* | ||
| 13 | ANGLO-SAXON | Earthy language used by Independent puzzler working around western county (5-5) |
| (GLOS in ANAX) + ON. The GLOS is an abbreviation for Gloucestershire | ||
| 14 | PEA | Sound of bells cut short by pulse (3) |
| PEA[l] | ||
| 15 | ENLISTING | Nurse inclined to be joining up (9) |
| Enrolled Nurse + LISTING | ||
| 17 | ERA | Time exhibition’s beginning, with support of artist (3) |
| Exhibition + Royal Academician | ||
| 19 | NOURISH | Feed new leader around teatime when chief finally leaves (7) |
| N[ew] + [f]OURISH | ||
| 20 | CRY WOLF | Raise false alarm about railway going over rising water current (3,4) |
| Circa + RY (abbreviation for railway) + FLOW< | ||
| 22 | DEIRDRE | Woman got up when queen forgot her lines (7) |
| (Elizabeth Regina + DRIED)< | ||
| 25 | RUNES | Nurse baffled by old characters (5) |
| NURSE* | ||
| 26 | LION | Touring rugby player picks up new lubricant (4) |
| (New + OIL)* | ||
* = anagram; < = reversed; [] = removed
February 17th, 2013 at 9:35 am
HI Simon
For 3dn: EAL (even letters of Details) in RM (marine)
February 17th, 2013 at 11:36 am
Just couldn’t get 26dn. I’d heard of the Lions, but I’d been successfully misdirected into thinking that “lubricant” was the definition. (Apart from that, I found this considerably easier than most of the weekly puzzles this week, and finished the rest of the puzzle in an hour or so last Sunday night.)