Independent 7161 by Morph

by

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

Entertaining and tricksy stuff from Morph, if at times a little imprecise. Could Aztec really be described as “disused Mexican” ? And S&M probably involves a little more than whipping (not that I’m an expert, mind you).

 

Across
1 Speaker Cable: Def is “lead”. Michael Martin was the Speaker of the House of Commons (“Speaker Martin”), so if Vince Cable had taken the job, he would have been “Speaker Cable”.
9 Sandman: S and M + an.
10 Mistake: I’m< + stake.
11 Incog: In + cog.
12 Came Upon: Came[r replaced by up]on.
14 Ineptitude: (Inputted i.e.)*.
15 Mess: Ref to the Territorial Army (Terriers).
17 Gape: Hidden in seeing a peach.
19 Supermodel: (Seldom pure)*.
21 Car Parks: Carp + arks.
23 Otley: Even letters of “hostel very”.
25 Lesotho: (hostel o)*.
26 Integer: (Enteri[n]g)*.
27 License Plate: (Pa’s clientele)*. The spelling is American, so the “Ma’s” probably refers to Massachusetts, although I’m not sure “Massachusetts’s vehicle” quite works.
Down
2 Panache: Pan + ache.
3 Almighty: M in alight + y[eoman].
4 Etna: Ante<.
5 Commandeer: Hom of “common deer”.
6 Baste: B + (teas)*.
7 Example: Ex + ample.
8 Tennis Player: ISP + lay with tenner around. Not sure where Morph shops, but these days you can get CDs for a lot less than a tenner.
9 Sliding scale: Implied anagram of “cla[u]se”.
13 Struck down: DD/CD.
16 Immortal: Immoral around t’.
18 Perusal: Peru + initial letters of “Slough, Acton, Langley” (ref to Paddington Bear). Although I got it straightaway, this was still my favourite clue, with the clever use of Reading as the definition.
20 Delight: “De-light”.
22 Aztec: AZT + [pin]e c[one].
24 Sire: This one took me a while and I tried a few other things like fire (f + ire) in the online system before it flashed up to say I’d completed the puzzle. I think the def is father and the rest is the “‘s ire”.

4 comments on “Independent 7161 by Morph”

  1. By coincidence, Etna also appears in today’s Guardian with a very similar clue “Raise the stake – this mount’s hotly tipped”.

  2. Thanks, I haven’t done the Guardian yet – I was saving it until later. Still, I don’t suppose I would have had too much trouble with that clue.

  3. Nice puzzle, with the witty touches and topical references we expect from Morph. I like the initally deceptive way ‘lead’ is used as a very concise definition in 1a. I like 12a, too (despite my political views).

    AZT, by the way, has been called zidovudine for some time now.

  4. I wonder if it would be feasible to write a clue (with a halfway sensiblr surface reading) involving a French football player (not amateur), a Roman poet’s trip round university, and a treatment for a life-threatening ailment?

    Any suggestions?

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