Independent 7,087/Eimi

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An interesting solve. Having got the first 3 down answers immediately, I was convinced that there was probably going to be a perimeter message reading ‘HAVE….’. It wasn’t until I got WOODSTOCK and ISLE OF WIGHT that I twigged that the theme was instead festivals, a number of which are given in across answers. I’m definitely aware of Glastonbury, Brighton, IoW, Cannes, Sundance and Venice, and I’m guessing that Camden and Cambridge probably have them too. Not sure about Cairo though.

Some nice clues here from the Ed too. Where he gets time to set his own puzzles in and amongst editing all others I’ve no idea!

Across
7 CAMBRIDGE – MB,RID in CAGE (i.e. incarcerated)
8 SUANA – S[-p]A,U,N.A
10 CAMDEN – CAM,DEN
11 BRIGHTON – B,RIGHT ON – B for ‘bloody’, don’t know if I’ve seen that before.
12 GLASTONBURY – G,LAST ON,BURY – A nice mixture of Gs there – Kenny, Warren and my namesake Ali
15 VENICE – E in V NICE
17 CANNES – C,ANNES (Boleyn and of Cleves)
20 ISLE OF WIGHT – 1,S,LEO + W in FIGHT
23 SUNDANCE – (NUDES CAN)* – Home of the film festival
24 ARENAS – (ARSENAL[-l])*
25 CAIRO – AIR in CO
26 WOODSTOCK – WOODS,TO,C[-oo]K
Down
1 HARANGUED – RAN in HAGUE,D
2 ABU DHABI – (BAH[-rain] + DUBAI)*
3 VIGNETTE – (GENET ITV)*
4 AGE-BENT – BE in A,GENT[-s]
5 CATHAY – CAT on HAY
6 ENSOR – Hidden in cENSORed
9 LIEU – Alternate letters in dUlE hIlL rev.
13 RIA – AIR rev.
14 TEST MATCH
16 COS – COS[-t]
17 COWHANDS – (SO W C HAND[-y])*
18 NEGLECTS – (LEG)* + C in NETS
19 BOREDOM – (BEDROOM)*
20 INDORE – “Indoor”
21 LINE – Had to cheat on this one I admit – “Short letter that’s true.”…?
22 DUBAI – Hidden reversal in cassIA BUDs”

13 comments on “Independent 7,087/Eimi”

  1. Thanks ali,

    In fact they’re ALL festival 24ac.

    No I didn’t get 21d. A line can describe a short letter, but why “that’s true”?

  2. I wasn’t sure about line and had to confirm it by going online and filling in the grid to see if it told me I had completed the puzzle. My guess is that “line = short letter” and a line is something that’s true i.e. straight. But I could be wrong.

    I don’t know why woods = bowls in 26 across and didn’t put this in until I was sure that it had to be Woodstock because of the festival theme.

  4. The bowls used in bowling (crown-green and lawn bowls rather than ten pin bowling) are called woods. The smaller target ball is a jack.

  5. Ian, thanks for confirming Sauna. I knew it must be linked with festival arenas somehow. I don’t think it’s a festival I’ll be attending anytime soon, Castle Donnington in the late seventies was enough “metal” for me for a lifetime.

  7. Thanks eimi,

    I don’t think it’s for me…
    I did spot an Arena festival, but because it wasn’t pluralised, I thought it was there for the other reason.

  8. I seem to have confused myself now. Yes, you’re right it’s Arenas – I didn’t check my own puzzle! The barrel-scraping related to a festival in Nîmes, but I thought it would be OK too in the general sense, as you interpreted it.

  9. eimi,

    Whilst your here, can you explain the “that’s true” part of 21d.?
    Please.

    I don’t believe it’s NeilH’s suggestion, as lines aren’t always straight.

  10. No problem. Definition 23 of ‘line’ in my Collins is:

    “alignment; true (esp in the phrases in line, out of line”

  12. Tough puzzle which it was very satisfying to finish – saw the festival theme reasonably early esp when I saw GLASTONBURY would fit.

  13. only managed about half of this one.
    i had morden for 10 across: i found a river mor in the cairngorms when i googled it

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