Independent 7280 by Quaiteaux

by

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

Quaiteaux is a relatively recent recruit to the Indy stable and this was a decent, if fairly easy, effort. Surface readings were mostly quite good and there were a couple of clues which were different from the run-of-the-mill stuff (17 and 19). There were a couple I didn’t entirely follow (7 and 25).
 

Across
9 Islamabad: Is lama bad.
10 Yahoo: DD referring to the Yahoo search engine and the term for a lout invented in Gulliver’s Travels.
11 Hothead: Oh< + the + a + D[anish].
12 Letdown: L[eagu]e + t[ouch]down.
13 Hence: Hen + c[apabl]e.
14 Castrated: Cast + rated.
16 Nuclear reaction: (Can a lone recruit)*.
19 Stage Left: Stage + left. Obviously, stage left would be on the right as far as the audience is concerned because they are facing the other way.
21 Broom: Boom around r.
22 Close up: Cup around lose.
23 Blunden: Blunder with r replaced by n. There are a few Blundens, but I think this is the most likely candidate.
24 Idiot: Hidden, reversed in auto I’d indicate.
25 Newmarket: Clue is “Revised betting odds following withdrawal of favourite at racecourse”. Racecourse is presumably the definition and revised is possibly new but I don’t know where favourite comes in.
Down
1 Diphthongs: Dip (= old term for pickpocket) + h[is] + thongs.
2 Platonic: (no clap it)*.
3 Impede: I.e. around mp + ed.
4 Ibid: Ibi[s] + d.
5 Adolescent: Dole in ascent.
6 Hysteric: (Cry is the)*.
7 Throat: Wordplay looks to be Torah* + t[hree], but I’m a bit lost on how throat can mean faux.
8 Goon: DD – Peter Sellers from the Goon Show and “go on”.
14 Correspond: (Prod censor)*.
15 Denominate: (name on edit)*.
17 Elements: Referring to the Periodic Table of Elements, I (Iodine) being one of them.
18 Iron Duke: DD/CD. Initially I thought this was Bismarck, but apparently he was the “Iron Chancellor”. Iron Duke seems to be the Duke of Wellington, although the explanation for the name (4th paragraph) is not what you might think.
20 Adonis: (Said no)*.
21 Bhutan: Hut[u] in ban.
22 Clip: DD.
23 Bowl: Initial letters of “blend oranges with lemons”.

15 comments on “Independent 7280 by Quaiteaux”

  1. Thank you for the blog.
    Re 25a I seem to recall from my misspent youth, that when a favourite is withdrawn from a race, but before the runners come under starter’s orders, a new market is created by the bookmakers.
    I too cannot explain “faux” and “throat”

  2. Hi Neal

    Re 7dn: ‘Faux’ is the Latin word for throat – but it’s usually found in the plural, ‘fauces’, which is in Chambers. A very obscure clue, I think!

  5. Concerned that there must be an connection between “faux” and “throat” I have found a reference in Websters to “fauces” which is the plural of “faux” and “fauces” means throat. Wikipedia confirms this and says the singular form is rarely found.

  6. Enjoyed this one, but like others, couldn’t understand where NEWMARKET and THROAT came from. Good to see a bit of science creeping in at 17dn and more panto reminders at 19ac – a super clue.

  7. I also enjoyed this — I especially like the wordplay in 17d and 18d. But I too wrote THROAT in without knowing why, and Chambers doesn’t give that meaning of ‘faux’, so it seems very obscure, especially for a daily. And ‘following withdrawal of favourite’ was lost on me — I was looking for something I could take ‘pet’ out of and thought the clue would have worked better without it, but I see now why it’s there.

  8. jetdoc

    As I said in comment 2, the plural ‘fauces’ is in Chambers. The ablative singular ‘fauce’ does occur in poetry but the nominative ‘faux’ is unknown in Classical Latin. Even in Lewis and Short, it only appears under ‘fauces’, so this would be a very obscure clue, even in a Latin crossword!

  9. Thanks for the post, NealH.

    A good puzzle, I thought – I didn’t get DIPTHONGS, but it’s always nice to have a pleasant “A-ha!” rather than a sigh after seeing a missing answer. 17d was in the same class for me – very nice 🙂

  11. … oh, and I wonder if anyone else toyed with “Yob B.O.” as something that might help you track down a lout

    For a few moments, yes. I am relieved that I’m not the only one.

    Thanks, Eileen — I found ‘fauces’ OK, but hadn’t heard of ‘faux’ in that sense. I’m glad to hear from you that it really is obscure, and it isn’t just my memory of A Level Latin letting me down.

  13. “Faux” is in my Cassell’s Latin Dictionary from school (bought 1959) as throat, with the proviso that the plural is more usual, presumably because the first meaning given is jaws. The English-Latin section gives jugulum and guttur under throat.

    Quaiteaux (pronounced “Cato” in case anyone’s in doubt) has a strong transatlantic accent. Perhaps there’s a French-Canadian connection. And I’m sure the name Quaiteaux flashed on to the screen in the pub when I wasn’t really watching events in Vancouver.

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