Crosophile’s Independent on Sunday puzzles seem to me to be pitched just right — fairly straightforward clues, but with some nice little deceptive twists, and plenty of amusing surface reading.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SNOWY | Like cold weather at the moment in the Seychelles NOW = at the moment; in SY = international vehicle registration code for the Seychelles |
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| 4 | RACEHORSE | What’s haring off at the start and careers pell-mell round? *(H O careers), with HO being the first letters of ‘haring off’. That makes it an &lit, because the definition contributes to the wordplay. |
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| 9 | LANDWARDS | Parts of field hospital perhaps, running off the main? Wards are part of a hospital, and if it were a field hospital they could be ‘land wards’. Definition: ‘running off the main’, i.e. away from the sea |
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| 10 | BUGLE | An instrument to eavesdrop on the French BUG = to eavesdrop; on LE = the French |
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| 11 | NOSTRIL | Bit of a breather — Ron’s lit up *(Rons lit) |
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| 12 | L-PLATES | Long delayed breaking old records — signs of inexperience LATE = Long delayed; breaking LPS = old records (I suppose they are, now) |
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| 13 | OPERETTA | Make short work of a treetop that’s rotten *(a treetop). An operetta is a short work. Slightly deceptive clue, because you might expect the solution to mean ‘make short work of’. |
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| 15 | SCAN | Cursory inspection’s on time SCAN = inspection; on T = time |
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| 18 | RUPEE | Currency’s rising amid a lot of bad odour UP = rising; REE[k] = a lot of bad odour |
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| 20 | CABOOLE | Taxi has most of bags for a crowd CAB = taxi; OODLE[s] = most of bags |
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| 23 | FRAGILE | NoW maybe hacked into dossier that’s delicate RAG = derogatory term for a newspaper, e.g. the late and unlamented News of the World ; in FILE = dossier |
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| 24 | SUMMITS | Minutes once more taken in proceedings with head of state, top-level ones MM = minutes once more; in SUIT = (legal) proceedings; with S = head of state |
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| 26 | LEASH | Restraint needed if hot after the meadows? H = hot; after LEAS = meadows |
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| 27 | SMALL BEER | It’s not important misguided rebel hits back first LAMS = hits, backwards; *(rebel) |
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| 28 | SWEET-TALK | Little rat’s tail in shadow is flatter WEE = little; T = rat’s tail; in STALK = shadow |
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| 29 | WALLS | Fortifications used to be protecting Lord Lieutenant WAS = used to be; LL = Lord Lieutenant |
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| Down | |||
| 1 | SPLENDOUR | Fork out about a pound on the show SPEND = fork out; about L = pound; on OUR = the (Chambers gives a definition of ‘the’ as ‘our’, which it says is facetious) |
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| 2 | OINKS | Grunts from louts hanging round back of station OIKS = louts; N = back of station |
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| 3 | YEW TREE | Bows come from me and yet we’re treated badly *(yet were). Longbows were made from the wood of the yew tree. |
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| 4 | RURALITY | Fresh air truly matters for the countryside *(air truly) |
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| 5 | CASTLE | Man in play given role (back half of mule) CAST = given role; LE = back half of mule. The castle, apparently, is an old name for the chesspiece (‘man’) which should correctly be called the rook. |
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| 6 | HOBBES | Political philosopher embraces Left and makes uncertain progress Thomas Hobbes, who was fond of his dram, according to this; L = left |
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| 7 | RIGHT-HAND | Potentially hard thing, being stalwart *(hard thing) |
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| 8 | EVENS | The odds? Not as unlikely as one might think Well, evens (your winnings will be the same as your stake, so you can do no more than double your money) are odds in betting, but I am not sure why they would be ‘not as unlikely as one might think’. |
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| 14 | ESPLANADE | Prom queen’s ending a date in a sleep after excitement N = queen’s ending; D = date; *(in a sleep) |
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| 16 | TREASURES | Tenor confirms soprano’s missing lots of valuables T = tenor; REA[s]SURES = confirms, with S missing |
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| 17 | HAYSTACK | Rick dances on a pin HAYS = dances; TACK = pin. Hayrick is another word for haystack. |
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| 19 | EPITHET | Tag the important point assumed by rising support PITH = important point; in TEE, reversed = ‘rising support’, which would not work in an across clue |
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| 21 | OHMS LAW | Official briefly expressed said learning principle OHMS = On Her Majesty’s Service; LAW = sounds like (‘said’) ‘lore’, a learning principle. Ohm’s law |
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| 22 | GEISHA | Escort kept in garage I share Hidden in ‘garage I share’. Geisha |
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| 23 | FALLS | American seasons topping of fat and everything with a pinch of salt F = topping of fat; ALL = everything; S = a pinch of salt. Autumns in America |
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| 25 | IDEAL | After Italy Kentish Town’s perfect I = Italy; DEAL = a town in Kent. Kentish Town is also an area of north London. |
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Thanks Jetdoc. Quiet, isn’t it?
By the way, for no very good reason, there was quite a bit of The Princess by Tennyson in the solution words:
The splendour falls on castle walls
And snowy summits old in story:
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying
Well it keeps me happy… (I don’t even like Tennyson!)