Independent 7023 by Monk

by

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def

I found this very hard-going. Spotting the symmetric anagrams around the perimeter of the gird earlier would have helped a lot.

Across
1 Secret Agent: anag of the answer to 29.
7 Add: [b]add[y]. This is an anagram of 28.
9 Neigh: “Whicker in Hornsey, say ? Not quite”. Whicker is obviously the definition and I’m not sure if the rest is meant to be an anagram of “in H e.g.”.
10 Have a ball: CD.
11 Impartial: I + p in martial.
12 Aroma: A + Roma[n].
13 Garment: Arm in gent.
15 Page: P[ill]age.
18 Ibis: Bi[rd] in Is.
20 Ferrari: Fear around RR + i.
23 Lousy: Us in [p]loy.
24 Gruelling: (girl lunge[s])*.
26 Organised: r in diagnose*. Organised is used here and in other places as an anagram indicator. The idea of using the answer to clue itself seems a little odd, although I daresay it’s been done before.
27 Tan go
28 Dad: Second letters from “Idol had idiots”.
29 Centre Stage: Anagram of 1 across.
Down
1 San Diego: Diagnose*.
2 Crimpers: CD (shock = shock of hair).
3 Ether: Three*.
4 Atheist: [Suspec]t in a heist.
5 Envelop: (pole + v + ne[atly])<.
6 Trafalgar: Tal[k] around RAF + rag<.
7 Amatol: Mat[e] in AOL (AOL being America Online, an Internet Service Provider).
8 Dolman: Dol[l] on man. Note that is is also an anagram of almond on the other side of the grid.
14 Embryonic: (Income r by)*.
16 Hacienda: Had a around nice*.
17 Diagnose: Dig around a + nose.
19 Signs up: G[uilt] in sin sin.
20 Founder: Double def.
21 Almond: Ad around l[e]mon.
22 Rugged: [D]rugged.
25 Lotus: Louts with the T moved up.

4 comments on “Independent 7023 by Monk”

  1. Tough indeed, especially with two unfamiliar words – AMATOL and DOLMAN in the top right corner. I realised that the cross-references must be anagrams before I got ORGANISED.
    9ac is N EIGH(t) – N8) being the postal district for Hornsey. This must have been fairly baffling for many non-London solvers!

  2. The Hornsey one seems well out of place, speaking as an N8 resident, although I would think the same even if I didn’t live there.

    It would probably be OK in a London Evening Standard puzzle.

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