Independent 8047 by Radian

by

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

If you’re fed up to the back teeth with the Olympics, there was no respite today from the Independent with another Games themed puzzle. I haven’t checked but I think all the sports mentioned are events which are in the current games.
 

Across
1 Deposed: Dosed around EP.
5 Got high: DD.
9 Villa: VI + all<, referring to Aston Villa.
10 Communism: Cousin* around MM (two thousand) + m (metres).
11 Navigates: Ivan< (as in Ivan the Terrible) + (Bill) Gates. Def is "leads yachts".
12 Horse: He’s* around OR (military ordinary ranks = privates).
13 Judo: Jud[e] + o.
15 Lowliest: (Lewis)* in Lot (which is a French river).
18 Ethernet: (Three + ten)*.
19 Epee: [T]epee.
22 Aesop: Even letters of racers + Op. It’s a bit uncertain however whether Aesop ever actually wrote anything, since no writings by him survive and it’s not even certain he existed.
24 Cartridge: (Trace grid)*.
26 Taekwondo: Kate* + won + do.
27 Loran: [A]l[s]o ran. This was my last in, since I’d never heard of it. But it’s an abbreviation for Long Range Navigation and is a radio-based system by which ships can determine their position.
28 Referee: Refere[nc]e.
29 Olympus: O[n]ly (anonymous = without name = without n) + MP + US.
Down
1 Diving: Div[in]ing.
2 Pole Vault: (L[atvians] + value)* in pot.
3 Slang: Gals< around [javeli]n.
4 Decathlon: Dec(ember) + Athlon[e].
5 Games: Hidden in sending a message.
6 Touchline: Out* + Chile* around N. Def is “side of pitch”.
7 Icier: Initial letters of “Italy competes in each race”.
8 Hammer: Emma< in hr (hour).
14 Overpower: (Prove rowe[r])*.
16 Water polo: Waterloo (slightly altered to Waterolo) around p(ower) (over power).
17 Speed trap: Drug(=speed) + trap. Def is “police control”. I wasn’t sure about trap, but it refers to trap shooting and is apparently an Olympic event.
20 Faster: DD (a Lent observer is a faster). I would quote you the Olympic motto but we’re all currently banned from saying it unless we’re official sponsors.
21 Tennis: [Fa]t + Ennis, a reference to this story.
23 Shelf: Sh + Elf. Def is “books supporter”.
24 Canoe: (Sebastian) Coe around (is boxing) a n(ew). Def is “craft”.
25 Relay: [F]el[t] (arms = sides going) in ray.

17 comments on “Independent 8047 by Radian”

  1. Thanks, Neal.

    After Friday’s offerings (in both papers) you can’t say the Indy/i aren’t covering the Games cruciverbally. I thought this was a lot of fun: cleverly put together while remaining in the ‘easier’ Monday Indy category.

    Never come across the SLANG/insult definition before.

    I will risk the heavy banging on the door in the early hours by explaining that FASTER at 20dn is the first part of FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER, the Olympic motto which in Latin is CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS. The Latin version featured as a nina in Friday’s i cryptic.

    Thanks to Radian for a pleasing puzzle to start the week.

  2. Hi, K’sD – you’ve got the gold for first comment!

    SLANG as “insult” is probably most common in the expression “slanging match” – of which there are probably a few going on about the empty seats.

    But this was a nice gentle solve for a Monday morning. Thanks, Radian and NealH.

  4. Another very nice themed puzzle, appropriate to the ongoing proceedings! I’m surprised The Guardian hasn’t put one in yet, but there is still plenty of time. Many thanks Radian and NealH.

  5. Monday puzzles seem to be often just about the right pitch for me, I find. Not so easy that I don’t have to think about filling it in, but not so hard that I have to resort to books or the internet to get the last few clues.

    I think I only vaguely knew 27ac, but worked it out from the word play and didn’t bother to look it up. In the end, 17dn was the last in, as I was assuming the whole answer was an event with shooting part of the word play. I guess this misdirection was deliberate.

    In 20dn, I was trying to work out her -er came from “Observer”. Now I seem, thanks.

  6. Great fun, thanks Radian and NealH.

    I just came across the following on the BBC website — it is a tweet posted by Gary Lineker:

    “Gymnastics comes from Greek word gymnos, which means naked. Gymnasts in ancient Greece performed naked. Bet the pommel horse was awkward”

    Looks like Gary has been reading Radian’s 12a, ‘He’s managed to snag privates in gym apparatus’. That one made me laugh.

  7. Oh, indeed, Wanderer. My favourite clue, but it took me a long time to solve it as I kept wincing every time I read it.

  8. Gumnos shurely? Lower case u, upper case Y, pronunciation approximately ‘oo’?

    Oh I don’t care.

  9. A bit surprised to see another Olympic puzzle after last Friday’s crossword set by the previous speaker.

    Surely a nice one though.
    Relatively easy, indeed, but I don’t care/mind.
    After all, it’s a Monday.

    As a learner, I do need a bit more explanation on the use of “arms”. “Sides going”?

    Many thanks to NealH & Radian.

    Oh, and what if every setter this week (or perhaps during the whole of the Olympics) would set an Olympic puzzle?
    Wouldn’t that be a lovely and hugely original idea?

  10. I did have a few quibbles with some definitions in this one: communism = harsh rule? well tyranny would by definition be harsh but not quite the same for communism.
    Lowliest= extremely meek; surely it = meekest.
    Mind you any gripes forgiven by 12 ac!

  11. Also 6dn outplayed means anagram of out. I find this sort of clueing device, similar sort of thing to midnight to get G, rather unfair. Maybe i’m being a bit purist. 12 ac still a brilliant clue though!

  12. If you take “extremely” to mean the extreme form of something rather than “very”, then extremely meek does work for lowliest. I’d probably agree about communism except that there haven’t been many examples of it in action that haven’t ended up as harsh.

  13. In #9 I said: I do need a bit more explanation on the use of “arms”. “Sides going”?

    I am still waiting for the answer.
    Just don’t see it.

  14. Hi Sil. RELAY is an insertion of EL in RAY for ‘beam’. EL is [F]EL[T] with its ‘arms’ (ie outside letters or sides) disappearing.

    Hope that helps!

  15. Don’t really see your problem Sil, NealH explains it fine F -EL- T outer edges/sides/arms going/being removed in RAY

  17. Oops, K’s Dad and flashling, I feel rather silly now.
    Completely overlooked the word “going” in the clue ……
    That is, for some reason I kept on linking it to “in”, ie “Felt arms” “going in” instead of “Felt arms going” “in”.
    🙁

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