Independent on Sunday by Quixote (12 Apr 2009)

by

Solving time, 19 mins.

* = anagram < = reversed

ACROSS

1 DA (GO) B A (a bad)< A type of Buddhist shrine found in Sri Lanka

4 OBJECT ED

9 RE MARKS Karl “Marx”

11 READING There is a university there, I think

12 (Kate) ADIE (TV reporter) U (Upper class)

13 I T (IN ERA) RY

14 THE NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES (Hey, that, Don – ah he’s teasing us)* Known to this blogger as a Bobby Vee hit from the early 1960s, but it’s in ODQ as a line from a poem by Francis William Bourdillon who died in 1921. Not sure if the inclusion of ‘thousand’ here was why the puzzle had no number (it was due to be number 1000) . I guess this entry in the centre of the grid was quite intentional.

21 RAS TAFARI (a fair star)*

23 TRA-LA Hidden

24 ERITRE A (retire)* a = area

25 ELECT R A From Greek mythology, daughter of (King) Agamemnon

26 NIGGLING cf giggling

27 STAR(V)E Favourite clue “Look to eat very little – but don’t do this!”

DOWN

1 D (UR H) AM

2 G AMBIT

3 BAR OUCHES

5 BURNING DESIRE

6 ELAT E (E tale)<

7 TRIM A (RA)N

8 DOGGY BAG Cryptic definition

10 SPINNING A YARN Clotho, one of the Fates (mythology) spinning thread

15 TRE (ATME) NT (team)*

16 S (T) URGEON

17 BOA STING

18 EASTER PAR (AD)E Musical film from 1948. To-day = Easter, the day the puzzle appeared.

17 A P RIL(l) Now = April

4 comments on “Independent on Sunday by Quixote (12 Apr 2009)”

  1. I wouldn’t normally buy the IoS, but did after DFM’s plug for this 1000th puzzle in another thread – well worth it, a very enjoyable solve.

    I found that most of the top Google hits for “Night of a Thousand Eyes” refer to the film rather than the song from it (which is “The Night …”), but there are lots of versions of the song on YouTube.

  2. This puzzle was very typical of the Quixote series as a whole, a very enjoyable solve, as you say. Very accessible with unusual or abstruse references kept to the mininum.

  3. Re 14a: That line and its next were (in translation) the opening lines in a famous Tamil film song.

    The song-writer was prolific and profound and his songs are popular even today, after four or five decades.

    I was aware of the poem (I must have come across it in ODQ).

    The Tamil song-writer may have lifted it from Bobby Vee hit mentioned above (which I have not heard).

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