Tees appears about once a month in The Independent and his puzzles are always entertaining.
This puzzle had a good mix of clue types and required a good general knowledge to understand the subtleties of some of the clues and some of the entries.
CATAWBA at 10 across was a new word to me but the clue couldn’t really lead to anything else once the crossing letters were in place.
My favourite clues today were those for POSTURE (deceptively simple phrasing in the clue) and OBVIATION as regular readers will know I have a soft spot for clues built up from many component parts.
I don’t think there was a theme, hidden message or pangram in the puzzle, but I do think it was a puzzle that the man on the Clapham Omnibus could solve, or get a long way through on his way to work.
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Across |
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|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay |
Entry |
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1
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Processing for labs to do in criminal evidence (10)
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Anagram of (processing for) LABS TO DO IN
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BLOODSTAIN (criminal eviodience)
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6
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Constant smoker worried about gas inhaled (4)
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ATE (worried) reversed (about) containing (inhaled) N (nitrogen [gas]) ET (N) A< |
ETNA (reference Mount ETNA, volcano, still active; constant smoker)
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10
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Native American in California cheers midlands side (7)
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CA (California) + TA (thankyou; cheers) + WBA (West Bromwich Albion [English Midlands premiership football team])
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CATAWBA (American variety of grape; native American)
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11
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Put up with northern runner’s attitude (7)
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POST (put up [on a noticeboard]) + URE (a river in Northern England; northern runner)
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POSTURE (pose or attitude adopted for effect)
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12
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Controversial karate instructor against entering competition (9) |
SENSI (karate instructor) + (V [versus; against] contained in [entering] TIE [competition]) Note: this spelling of SENSI is found in Collins Dictionary. Both Chambers and the Shorter Oxford have SENSEI as the spelling. SENSI TI (V) E |
SENSITIVE (describing documents with controversial content)
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13
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Classy business graduate keeps rupees in dark place (5)
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U (upper-class; classy) + (MBA [Master of Business Administration; business graduate] containing [keeps] R [rupees]) U MB (R) A |
UMBRA (the darker part of a shadow)
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14
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Doctor Who’s end – it’s due (5)
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DR (doctor) + O (last letter of [end] WHO) + IT
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DROIT (right, legal claim; due)
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15
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End matter in pursuit of wife or daughter (9)
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AFTER (in pursuit of) + W (wife) + OR + D (daughter)
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AFTERWORD (epilogue; end matter)
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17
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Decrepit mummy runs away to an Egyptian deity (4-5)
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MOTHER (mummy) excluding (away) R (run; cricket notation) + ATEN (god in Egyptian mythology)
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MOTH-EATEN (decrepit)
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20
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Young swimmer always around lake (5)
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EVER (always) containing (around) L (lake) E (L) VER |
ELVER (young eel; youngswimmer)
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21
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Money one may charge unwary tourist? (5)
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RHINO (rhinoceros; an animal that may charge an unwary tourist on safari in Africa)
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RHINO (archaic slang for money) double definition
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23
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Sovereign prince and King George in Bath (9)
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(AND + GR [Georgius Rex; King George]) contained in (in) LAVE (wash; bathe; bath [archaic]) L (AND GR) AVE |
LANDGRAVE (a title for sovereign princes in 18th century Germany
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25
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Girl lacking restraint pulled over tree (7)
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ANNA (girl’s name) + (OTT [over the top; lacking trestraint] reversed [pulled over]) ANNA TTO< |
ANNATTO (small tropical American tree)
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26
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Something impressed in unled rebellion (7)
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SEDITION (rebellion) excluding the first letter (unled) S
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EDITION (one of the different forms in which a book, piece of porcelain, work of art etc is published or pressed; something impressed
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27
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Neighbouring country causes English exasperation (4)
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E (English) + IRE (exasperation)
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EIRE (country that is a neighbour to England across the Irish Sea). As a Scot I’ll make no comment on whether this clue is an &Lit or not.
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28
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Gets excited about unique layer round ancient site (10)
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Anagram of (excited) GETS containing (about) (ONE [unique] + HEN (an animal that lays eggs; layer]) ST (ONE HEN) GE* |
STONEHENGE (round ancient site near Salisbury in southern England)
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| Down | |||
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1
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Second son in delightful Cambridge area (5)
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BACK (help or support; second) + S (son)
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BACKS (The BACKS is a picturesque area to the east of Queen’ Road in Cambridge where several University colleges back on to th River Cam, their grounds covering both banks of the river. The name "the BACKS" refers to the BACKS of the colleges
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2
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Complete dismissals! (3-3-3)
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OUT (dismissal) + AND + OUT (dismissal) giving two dismissals
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OUT-AND-OUT (absolute; unqualified; complete)
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3
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Disheartened on demo with hunt sabotaged (4,2,3,5)
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Anagram of (sabotaged) ON DEMO WITH HUNT
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DOWN IN THE MOUTH (disheartened)
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4
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Worker sent up takes in dress for Hindu empress (7)
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ANT (worker) reversed (sent up; down clue) containing (takes in) SARI (a Hindu woman’s chief garment) T (SARI) NA< |
TSARINA (Russian empress)
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5
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Current MP and others seek cash fund (7)
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I (electric current) + MP + REST (others)
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IMPREST (a loan or advance of money, esp from government funds for some public purpose; formerly, an advance of wages to soldiers and sailors; cash fund. an IMPREST system is a method of maintaining a cash fund, eg petty cash, in which a fixed amount or float is regularly topped up from central funds, reimbursing the fund for incidental expenses.)
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7
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One opposed to other manual workers is Hitch (5)
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THUMB (the THUMB is opposed to the fingers [manual workers] on ones hand; opposed to other manual workers)
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THUMB (hitch [a lift]) double definition
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8
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He was great unknown in a famous rowing club (9)
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X (unknown value in mathematrical equations) contained in (in) (A + LEANDER [a famous rowing club based at Henley-on-Thames in England]) A LE (X) ANDER |
ALEXANDER (reference ALEXANDER the Great of Macedon)
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9
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Sad Tyre languishes – that’s talk around another port (7,7,)
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Anagram of (sad) TYRE LANGUISHES
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ESTUARY ENGLISH (a form of English influenced by Cockney, spoken in the Thames Estuary and surrounding areas; talk around the Port of London; talk around another port, Tyre being a port itself)
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14
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Bound to have whipped cream that fills now (9)
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Anagram of (whipped) CREAM contained in (filling) DATE (present moment; now) D (EMARC*) ATE |
DEMARCATE (mark off or limit; bound)
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16
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Preventing single to leg after Oval cricketer saves six? (9)
|
O (an approximation to an oval shape) + (BAT [batsman; cricketer] containing [saves] VI [Roman numeral for six]) + I (one; single) + ON (the leg side in cricket) The Oval is a major Test cricket ground in London. O B (VI) AT I ON |
OBVIATION (prevention; preventing in advance)
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18
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Cat in river gets fish (7)
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LEO (lion; cat) contained in TEST (reference the river TEST, one of which flows through southern England to the sea near Southampton) TE (LEO) ST |
TELEOST (a bony fish)
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19
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Grandma quick to produce cloth (7)
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NAN (grandma) + KEEN (quick)
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NANKEEN (a buff-coloured cotton cloth first made at Nanking in China)
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22
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Film director beginning to go red (5)
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WINNER (reference Michael WINNER, film director who died recently) excluding the first letter (beginning to go) W
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INNER (the ring outside the bullseye on a target is known as the INNER and is coloured red)
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24
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Man reversed into drive-in restaurant (5)
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ERNIE (hidden word [into] reversed in DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT)
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ERNIE (man’s name)
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Excellent puzzle with superbly disguised definitions (“constant smoker”,”red”, etc). 14a is my fave.
Luckily I had a bit more time to savour this puzzle today, and I needed to confirm the existence of certain words that were unfamiliar to me such as CATAWBA, ESTUARY ENGLISH, TELEOST, the river Test, Leander rowing club, IMPREST. I also learnt that WBA = West Bromwich Albion FC.
I liked 2d, 3d, 4d, 6d, 14a, 23a & 15a and my favourites were 25a ANNATTO, 28a STONEHENGE & 21a RHINO (last in).
I couldn’t parse 12a (I was trying to parse it with SENSEI) & 22d.
Thanks for the blog, Duncan.
Thanks Duncan and Tees,
My favourite was MOTH-EATEN and I agree that there was lots of nice disguise on display.
The man on the Clapham omnibus must have a long journey and one of those ‘phones that can access the internet if he is anything like me at solving. I got all the way through without aids at an increasingly slow pace and then needed to hunt around for last-in LANDGRAVE (fairly clued, but a word I have only dimly heard of constructed in part using another word – lave – I only knew in French). ANNATTO, IMPREST, DROIT and CATAWBA were also obscure, but eventually accessible via the wordplay.
Just right for a thursday, but somewhat exhausting for me!
PS I wonder if NANKEEN was put in for a dare – statutory chestnut?
This man on the train rather than omnibus got this just in about 30 minutes but teleost and annatto were pretty much guesses. Spent far too long thinking 17a might be an Egyptian diety, ho hum. @Muffyword couldn’t agree more about Nankeen.
Thanks to the Teeser and Duncan
STONEHENGE is ’round sacred site’ because it is round? You have ‘around’ in your blog Mr Duncan, on the Indy website it is just ‘rond’.
Very neat clues. I enjoyed this, ‘constant smoker’ my fave for today, SENSI is the most ‘controversial’!!
I thought it a little tougher than most above, final two the linking teleost (a word seldom seen considering that it covers countless millions of fish) and annatto. I’m with Tramp@1, 14A droit my favourite. Thanks to Tees and duncanshiell.
6A The gas is Nitrogen (N) not Neon (Ne)
See, the degree in chemistry hasn’t gone to waste after all.
Ta T and D
Rowland @ 5
Thanks – it should be ’round’ – the typo has now been corrected.
beermagnet@8
Thanks – you are correct – that error has now been corrected as well
Thanks Tees, good crossword that stretched by GK a bit [i.e. I had to look up words!]
Thanks duncanshiell; I did like the ‘constant smoker.’ I, too, thought 17 was an Egyptian mummy, doh 🙁
Damn, I forgot the INNER=red again, and I used to practise archery when I was a teenager.
Got ETNA, my CoD, straight away and thought, ‘this is going to be easy’. How wrong can you be! But great stuff so thanks to Tees and Duncan.
Excellent puzzle, although I needed to use aids to get my last two, the ANNATTO/TELEOST crossers. I should have trusted the wordplay for the latter, and because “annetto” also fits the wordplay for the former I had to check which was correct as I don’t remember coming across the tree before.
Thanks for comments everyone, and thanks to Dunks for his customarily brilliant bloggery.
You got the lot in parsing, which is a good sign for me – maybe you caught my drift (which is ALWAYS the intention, believe it or not). Re SENSI, Professor Monk has spotted something:
Actually, ??? is se + n + shi. I suddenly remembered that si is not in the Hiragana/Katakana syllabaries, so that means that Collins has, err, played host to Mr Cock-Up. Thus a stiff letter to Messrs Collins is in order.
Everyone else has SENSEI.
Cheers
Tees