Independent 8280 by Quixote

Lots of neat, well-written clues as ever from Quixote. I particularly liked the &lit of 6 and and the apposite surface reading of 22.

	Across
1.	Bill had a meal eating dog? True! (8)
	Accurate	Ac + ate around cur.
5.	Head covering in African country edged with gold (6)
	Chador	Chad + or, although a chador seems to be more of a full-body garment than specifically a head covering.
9.	Set off as Winnie’s companion crossing river (7)
	Trigger	Tigger around r(iver).
10.	Shouts when fattening food is served aboard ship (7)
	Screams	SS around cream.
11.	Orpheus playing — without hesitation, a really great guy (9)
	Superhero	Orpheus* around er(=hesitation).
12.	Resin? Last bit in tube’s lousy (5)
	Epoxy	[Tub]e + poxy.
13.	A smuttier rag may upset JPs (12)
	Magistrature	(A smuttier rag)*.
17.	Be like a bowler preparing run-up to succeed (4,4,4)
	Make ones mark	DD
20.	Confession of professional killer somewhere off Scottish mainland (5)
	Islay.	CD – “I slay”.
21.	Ability to understand, perhaps too late, things hid obscurely (9)
	Hindsight	(Things hid)*.
23.	Bid in game, not game that politician will follow (2-5)
	No Trump	Not + RU(=Rugby Union=game) + MP.
24.	Poor person given shelter and love by leader of temple (4-3)
	Have not.	Haven + O + t[emple].
25.	Old stone fouled up by the oil (6)
	Eolith	(The oil)*.
26.	Close in on a fish keeping very quiet (8)
	Approach	A roach around PP.

	Down
1.	Skilled person in part is terrific (6)
	Artist	Hidden in pART IS Terrific.
2.	Resentful employee of building firm? (6)
	Chippy	CD (chippy is slang for a carpenter).
3.	Bishop with inner conceit upset man, I understand (5)
	Roger	RR around ego< plus 2 defs (man and I understand).
4.	Pressure to conform, wherein the lip may curl (5-4,4)
	Three-line whip	(Wherein the lip)*
6.	Negotiate for a shire here? (5,4)
	Horse fair.	Neat &lit – (for a shire)*.
7.	Put up with topless fashion making conversation (8)
	Dialogue	Laid< + [v]ogue.
8.	Following others, lady finally took initiative to be made over(8)
	Restyled	Rest + [lad]y + led.
10.	Posh PM strains awkwardly to convey fairness and good humour (13)
	Sportsmanship	(Post PM strains)*.
14.	Worker getting hold of a young drunk may be just the person to solve problem (5,4)
	Agony aunt	Ant around young*.
15.	A doctor that is pleasant — one out to create an aura (8)
	Ambience	A MB + i.e. + n[i]ce.
16.	Stella running, full of energy in motion, is very thin (8)
	Skeletal	Stella* around KE, which if you remember your school physics stands for kinetic energy.
18.	Country overcome by thug and associate (6)
	Uganda	Hidden in thUG AND Associate.
19.	Bird enters school — something seen in the needlework class (6)
	Stitch	Tit in sch.
22.	Divorce should be the last thing for couples always(5)
	Sever	[Couple]s + ever, def is divorce.

11 comments on “Independent 8280 by Quixote”

flashling

#1 - Mon 29th Apr 13, 09:00

Thanks Neal & Quixote, certainly not Don at his hardest but some excellent clues, pity a chador isn’t edged in gold as that would have made it an outstanding clue.

michelle

#2 - Mon 29th Apr 13, 10:48

I enjoyed this puzzle by Quixote. My favourites were 24a, 1a, 9a, 7d, 8d & 14d.

New words for me today were ‘eolith’, three-line whip’and ‘chippy’ = ‘carpenter’ & ‘resentful’.

Thanks for the blog, NealH

michelle

#3 - Mon 29th Apr 13, 10:53

This is a good time for me to ask about the difference between a cd and a dd. I discovered that CHIPPY means both ‘carpenter’ and also “(informal) resentful or oversensitive about being perceived as inferior ? a chippy miner’s son” in Collins dictionary.

Is 2d a cd or a dd or both?

NealH

#4 - Mon 29th Apr 13, 11:58

I think it could probably be interpreted either way. DD would just be resentful(=chippy) and employee of building firm(=chippy), with the question mark there because building firms employ other types of workers as well. But I think you could also argue for it being a CD as saying “this is a building firm worker who sounds as if he’s resentful”. CDs and DDs often overlap, as one part of the defintion is cryptic anyway.

Rowland

#5 - Mon 29th Apr 13, 12:12

Lovely blofg by NeakH, thank-you very much, and neat clues to go with it, in the old style perhaps. Enjoyed.

Rowly.

Kathryn's Dad

#6 - Mon 29th Apr 13, 13:55

Thanks, Neal.

More tidy stuff from Quixote, as always. HORSE FAIR was clever, and I liked TRIGGER for no other reason than I’m a Winnie-the-Pooh fan. Eeyore is my favourite: grumpiness personified, and a role model for me for many years.