Independent 7790 by Raich

by

Raich returns to our screens/dead trees today with a fairly reasonable crossword compared to some Tuesdays.

Well it is theme day and across the top we have CARRY ON and some of the lights are indeed Carry On film titles (I’ll admit I’m not that much of an expert on them so may have missed some)

Across

8 FORM F(email) OR M(ale)
9 EYECATCHER [CHEERY E(nglish) ACT]*
10 NURSE Double def Carry on Nurse
11 LANDLORD LAND (as in a plane) + DROL(l) rev
12 TEACHER HECTARE* Carry on
13 BRAILLE B(orn) + LIAR rev + LE
15 FINITE FINE around IT (relations, ok sex, fits the theme though)
18 KHYBER K(enneth)  (Williams?) + [BY HER]* Carry on up the Khyber
22 ADDRESS ADDS about RES(idence)
26 GRANDPA GRAND (Thousand) + P(er) A(nnum)
28 SERGEANT SERGE (cloth) + A + N(ew) T(estament). The first Carry On
29 LIFER Hidden reversed in (featu)RE FIL(m)
30 REGARDLESS {LARGE DRESS]* Carry On
31 CLEO C(onservative) + LEO Carry On
Down    
1 CORNBEEF [B(ritish) + ENFORCE]*
2 AMERICAN M(ain)E + R(hode) I(sland) + CAL(ifornia) in AN (article) &Lit
3 REVERENT Hidden in capeR EVER ENTertaining bit theme ish too
4 REALM REAL M(atron)  (Ooooh Matron!)
5 YAWNER N in WEARY*
6 OCELLI Not an everday word but COLLIE*
7 NEURAL No T(ime) in NEUTRAL
13 BOK B grade + OK
14 AMY Even letters on cAlMlY
16 IRE Hidden reversed in clERIc
17 EMS German town, E(uropean) M(onetary) S(ystem)
19 HARMLESS MAHLER* + S.S.
20 BENEFICE B(ishop) + {NICE FEE]* &lit
21 REPORTER RE + PORT (e.g. Hull) + ER
23 DEEPEN Letter D + PEN (Writer)
24 RAGLAN RAG (tease) +L +A + N
25 SHANDY S(id) + HANDY
27 ETHEL Hidden in nonETHELess
     

 

7 comments on “Independent 7790 by Raich”

  1. Thanks, flashling and Raich.

    Gentle bit of fun today, which I enjoyed. Even for theme-dyslexic people like me, the grid did scream it out, and once CARRY ON became evident it explained some of the acrosses, as well as Kenneth, Sid and Matron (and possibly others that I’ve missed).

    I took REVERENT to be specifically relating to the theme, since you could hardly describe the Carry On films as that; and I also liked FINITE, since IT for ‘relations’ reminded me of the old joke which is worthy of the Carry On genre:

    Elderly man to wife: Do we still have sexual relations, dear?
    Wife: Well, yes dear, of course we do.
    Man: Well why do they never come to see us then?

  2. Thanks, flashling, and Raich for an amusing romp.

    Apart from the theme, the one that made me smile was GRANDPA.

  4. Yes this often happens, Flashling. If it’s a good crossword (and a nice blog that asks no questions) then there are often few replies, because there is very little that is controversial. I shall be blogging in a short while. My guess is that it’ll be a Dac (it usually is on Wednesdays) and that as usual it’ll be utterly good, with nothing much for people to say about it, and as a result few posts. Which I hope won’t reflect on me.

    As I implied above, a good crossword from Raich. Like you, my knowledge of the Carry On films is limited, and there may be ones I’ve missed. Carry on Landlord? I suspect no.

  6. Many thanks, flashling, for the excellent blog and to all for their comments. Yes, you did spot everything – the 6 films, the refs to Kenneth Williams, Sid James, and indirectly to Matron (Hattie Jacques). REVERENT was also intended to be thematic as mentioned.

  7. 1D quibble, the correct term is “corned beef”, with “corn beef” a lazy verbal (only) contraction.

    2D It’s CA, not CAL, for California.

    27D “At heart” indicate that ETHEL is the very heart, ie the middle five letters, of nonetheless.

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