Independent 8031/Dac – Fifteensquared

As usual from Dac, an impressive contribution. Several of these clues have an &lit. quality (and quality is the word), so many in fact that while solving one tends to say “I can’t see quite where the definition is, but never mind, it’ll be an &lit.”

Across
1	LEG IT — e.g. in lit.
4	OVERT (H) ROW
9	M(EAT)P I{maginativ{E}
10	FREESIA — “freeze” (A1)rev.
11	ASPARAGUS — a spa (sugar)rev., ‘sugar’ a term of endearment
13	RAI{d} NY — raid and storm verbs
14	{a}T{t}I{r}E — &lit., simple but perfectly formed
15	CURIOSITIES — (Rio (is)rev.) in cuties — the less than politically correct word cutie often appears in crosswords, where unfortunately it is quite useful
17	DISINTER EST{ate}
19	F(A)R
20	PRO MO{vies} — almost an &lit., but not quite: the ‘early sequences’ spoils it since the promo could perfectly well be for the movie’s later sequences
21	T(RUN CHE)ON
23	BLAIR AGEnda — not a word I’d heard, but obviously something to do with lair (actually it’s a place for cattle to be housed or laired, especially at markets or docks) and anyway Dac is kind and gives an easy clue
25	T WA(DD)LE{s}
26	NIGHTWEAR — (with anger)*
27	HI(RS)T — ref Damien Hirst, one of the YBAs, or Young British Artists

Down
1	LAMB {t}ASTED — def. roasted
2	GR A P PLE{dge}
3	TOPER — to (rep)rev. — with a simple word and simple clueing, Dac produces a surface that is just so
4	{c}OVER G(ARM)ENT — &lit. I think because if ‘Coat perhaps’ is the definition, then there is nothing in the wordplay to provide the ‘over’
5	BeowulF LEgend — hidden reversed
6	THE ARTIST — (that tires)*
7	ROSS IN 1 — ref Diana Ross
8	WEARY — (lawyer – l)*
12	STONECUTTER — 2 defs
15	C(ON SON)ANT
16	S T(RING)ENT
18	SH O WING{s}
19	FIELDER — (idle)* in (ref)*
20	PAL IN — ref Sarah Palin
22	C(a)R ASH — yet another perfect &lit.
24	EYE — “i”

7 comments on “Independent 8031/Dac”

nmsindy

#1 - Wed 11th Jul 12, 15:08

Thanks, Dac and John, another fine puzzle and excellent blog. I saw 12D perhaps more as a cryptic definition.

NealH

#2 - Wed 11th Jul 12, 16:59

I also didn’t quite see 4 down and am not convinced about it as an &lit. Otherwise, I thought this was an excellent puzzle which was just about the right level for a weekday.

Kathryn's Dad

#3 - Wed 11th Jul 12, 18:36

I’m sure Dac doesn’t get too miffed when there are so few comments on his Wednesday puzzles, but for me it’s the fact that we just keep repeating ourselves – sound puzzle, lovely surfaces. Always a pleasure for me, and today my favourites were the two ones: LEG IT and LAMBASTED.

Thanks to setter and blogger.

Dormouse

#4 - Thu 12th Jul 12, 08:16

Well, I didn’t comment for the simple reason I didn’t have time to complete the puzzle. 🙁 I got maybe a third done in the afternoon but then was out for the evening. When I returned it was midnight, I looked at the puzzle and decided sleep was a better option.

nmsindy

#5 - Thu 12th Jul 12, 15:58

Don’t worry too much about that, K’s D at #3, remember no news is often good news.