Independent on Sunday 1114: Crosophile

by

I am blogging this in The Old Joint Stock in Birmingham, where we are anticipating tomorrow’s Sloggers & Betters meet (which will have happened by the time you read this). Fortunately, it doesn’t seem much like hard work — Crosophile manages to add a touch of humour and some nifty wordplay to the fairly straightforward clues. I particularly like the construction of 13a.

Across
1 SECULAR Lay cryptic clues before adult readers primarily
*(clues); first letters of ‘adult readers’. ‘Lay’ is the definition.
5 FIGMENT Fabrication by Feds planted in course of seizure
G-MEN = Feds (FBI); FIT = seizure
9 AGAIN Commander having office once more
AGA = Commander; IN = having office
10 MOUSETRAP Second employment: recurring role in long-running play
MO = Second (moment); USE = employment; TRAP = PART (role) reversed (recurring). The Mousetrap
11 RESIDENCE Home team penetrates defence that’s not brilliant with run for header
SIDE = team; [def]ENCE — with ‘def’, in the sense of ‘brilliant’, removed; R = run, as the first letter. ‘Home’ is the definition.
12 TORSO Top of tree’s odd trunk
T = Top of tree; OR SO = odd (indicating an approximate number)
13 WEEDS Peas or leeks broadcast round bottom of field are unwanted plants
‘Broadcast’ here is a homophone indicator — ‘peas’ and ’leeks’ both sound like words for ‘urinates’, or WEES. D = bottom of field. A well constructed clue, in the way it interweaves two sets of meanings.
15 SPOONBILL Court charges resulting in bird
SPOON = court (in the sense of ‘woo’); BILL = charges
18 TESTAMENT Will trial endorse Chilcott’s conclusion?
TEST = trail; AMEN = endorse (as in ‘Amen to that’); T = Chilcott’s conclusion. ‘Will’ is the definition.
19 SLEEP Have a doss when Skins is over
PEELS, reversed
21 OUTRE Fantastic tangle holding you French back
ORE = tangle (seaweed); TU = ‘you’ in French, reversed
23 FOOLHARDY Reckless idiot half of double act
FOOL = idiot; HARDY = half of Laurel and Hardy
25 TALKING TO ‘Royal Highness’ is out of line by dressing down
TAL[l] KING = Royal Highness, missing one L (line); TO = by
26 KHAKI In Two Thousand And One, its computer is cut off — this is dull material
KK = Two Thousand; I = One; HA[l] = HAL 9000, the computer in the series of films, with his final letter cut off
27 REPLETE Full theatre’s licensed revue at last
REP = [repertory] theatre; LET = licensed; E = last letter of ‘revue’
28 HAMMERS Amateur mercenaries save 100 pounds
HAM = Amateur; MER[c]S = mercenaries without C (100). Definition is ‘pounds’.
Down
1 SPARROW Special pointer finds bird
SP = Special; ARROW =pointer
2 CLASSLESS Egalitarian girl is into non-U clues by us
LASS = girl; CLES S = ‘clues us’, minus UU
3 LINED Series of descendants with crown of David ruled
LINE = Series of descendants; D = crown of David. ‘Ruled’ is the definition (as in ruled/lined paper)
4 REMINISCE Remember, put little old car in salvage (it has no 5th)
MINI = little old car; in RESC[u]E
5 FLUTE Musical instrument — loud one
F = loud; LUTE = another musical instrument
6 GREETINGS Welcome hints of tomato in garlic sprinkled into cabbage
TIG = hints of tomato in garlic; in GREENS = cabbage
7 ERROR Losing head, panic by mistake
[t]ERROR
8 TOPSOIL Fertile layer spilt two eggs — broken
*(split OO), with O = egg
14 SNAKEBITE Nasty wound — bike seat needs adjusting round bearing
*(bike seat N), where N= bearing (north)
16 OSTROGOTH For translation go to short old German
*(go to short). Definition is ‘old German’.
17 INEBRIATE I’ll go with last of gin, a beer and one tequila for starters in a cocktail
*(I N a beer I T). Can be used as a noun, meaning a drunk person, a drunkard.
18 TROTTER Tango with cad and heel (pig!)
T = Tango; ROTTER = cad, Definition is ‘heel (pig!)’
20 PHYSICS Science of jography (sic) studies
Hidden in jography (sic) studies
22 TULIP Put out lit-up bulb
*(lit-up)
23 FUGUE Finally oddly used to stuffiness in composition
FUG = stuffiness; UE = odd-numbered letters of ‘used’
24 HOKUM Theatrical claptrap is certainly in bad odour
OK = certainly; in HUM = bad odour

6 comments on “Independent on Sunday 1114: Crosophile”

  1. Thanks Jetdoc and Crosophile.

    A pleasant puzzle, with some great clues, outstanding of which was the &lit 17D INEBRIATE. Other favourites were 13A WEEDS and 28A KHAKI.

    Have some doubts though
    10A: don’t see how “recurring” (ie. happening/showing again) could be a reversal indicator;
    15A: I suppose SPOON could be stretched to mean “court”, though the former refers to a narrowly defined action in relation to what we normally take “court” to mean;
    21A: After your explanation, I did find ORE=seaweed, but only in something called “A general book of Provincialisms”;
    25A: “royal”=”TALL” also seems a stretch – I know it means something that is beyond the normal, eg. a royal pain, but eg. a royal tree, man, building, anything that is tall, would sound odd.

  2. Hi scchua
    10ac Under ‘recur’ Chambers gives “to revert (archaic)” which, in turn, is defined as “to reverse”.

    15ac Under ‘spoon’ Chambers has “To court, esp in a sentimental way”.

    21ac Ore=seaweed is in Chambers.

    25ac I read this as ‘Highness’ indicates ‘tall and ‘Royal’ gives ‘king’.

  3. Thanks Jetdoc I like your blogging style it’s nice to have the clues quoted and the colour highlights are helpful. I think there’s a typo in 6d, this should be..
    TIG (instead of TIN) = hints of tomato in garlic; in GREENS = cabbage
    I agree with Gaufrid re: 25ac

  6. The WEES could have been read simply as plurals. You went for the verb forms, probably because you like ‘doing’ words. (Sorry, but how could I not?)

    I like the ‘I will go with’ start for the weehead &lit, the use of a misspelling with ‘(sic)’, this crossword, and your blog, all of which is great stuff.

    Cheers
    PB

Comments are closed.