Independent 8439 / Klingsor

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Klingsor has given us an enjoyable crossword today with only one entry that I have only rarely seen before.

 

 

 

I liked the surface of many of today’s clues.  In particular, I liked the clues for NO PUN INTENDED (11 across), TUTU (14 across), PETER GRIMES (17 down) and FLAB (23 down).  Of course, it wouldn’t be a Klingsor puzzle without some reference to opera.

There were a few football references (Premiership [9 across], netting [14 across], BASEL [part of the word play in 27 across] and Plymouth Argyle 1-0 [16 down],  but I don’t think it’s enough to constitute a theme.  I thought the clue involving Plymouth Argyle was splendidly convoluted but absolutely precise.

The use of ‘pursue’ [20 down] in clues always confuses me   I feel that if one is pursuing something, one is behind the something, not in front of it.

The breed of dog LHASA APSO at 25 across is one that I only come across in crosswords and then only every few years.

Afternote: As a number of comments point out, I have not got the parsing of 15 across right, nor am I correct in suggesting that it might be an &Lit – Sorry!

Across
No. Clue Wordplay

Entry

1

 

After vacation Delia leaves country house (5)

 

DA (first and last letters of [after vacation {of the central letters}] DELIA) + CHA (tea leaves)

 

DACHA (country house or cottage in Russia)

 

4

 

Vehicle’s run in by relative – it’s not a pretty sight (9)

 

(R [run; cricket scoring notation] contained in [in] CAB [taxi] ) + UNCLE (relative)

CA (R) B UNCLE

CARBUNCLE (architectural monstrosity or eyesore; it’s not a pretty sight)  Prince Charles used the phrase ‘monstrous CARBUNCLE‘ in a speech to the Royal Association of British Architects in May 1984.  He was criticising a proposed extension to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.

 

9

 

Striker with Premiership primarily needs disposition for scoring of courses (5,4)

 

MATCH (you can strike a match to light it, hence striker) + P (first letter of [primarily] PREMIERSHIP) + LAY (disposition)

 

MATCH PLAY (a method of scoring a knock-out competition on a golf course; scoring of courses)

 

10

 

African beast found in China, say? (5)

 

E (eastern) + LAND – China can be described as an Eastern Land

 

ELAND (South African antelope; African beast)

 

11

 

Twice end up in town drunk having lost wife?  That’s no joke (2,3,8)

 

Anagram of (drunk) (END END [twice] UP IN and TOWN excluding [having lost] W [wife])

 

NO PUN INTENDED (that’s not meant to be a joke)

 

14

 

Same amount of netting on both sides, we hear, for the garment (4)

 

TUTU (sounds like [we hear] 2-2, a score draw in football or hockey or any game with nets as goals; same amount of netting [scoring goals {in the net}])

 

TUTU (a ballerina’s short, stiff, spreading skirt; garment)

 

15

 

Lying around cosy home is his day – that’s nothing for a bum (10)

 

Anagram of  (lying [?]) (HIS DAY with the A replaced by O [nothing] [nothing for a]) containing (around) NEST (cosy home)

From the comments below, it is clear that this should be parsed using bum as an anagram indicator with the definition being ‘lying’. It is not therefore an &Lit clue. I just got this one wrong – sorry!

DISHO (NEST )Y*

DISHONESTY (a common trait displayed by bums, as is lying round a home all day)  An &Lit clue I reckon.

 

16

 

Italian food reserve will shortly get eaten by rats?  Not entirely (10)

 

(ICE [reserve] + ‘LL [an abbreviation of will]) contained in (get eaten by)V(VERMIN [e.g. rats] excluding the final letter [not entirely] N)

VERM (ICE LL) I

VERMICELLI (a very slender type of pasta; italian food)

 

19

 

Lose everything, being drunk? (4)

 

(WIN [opposite of lose] + O [nothing] – win nothing; lose everything)

 

WINO (someone addicted to cheap wine; a drunk)

 

21

 

Busy regularly goes to get collection of mugshots (6,7)

 

Anagram of (busy) REGULARLY GOES

 

ROGUES’ GALLERY (a police collection of photographs of criminals; collection of  mugshots)

 

24

 

Branch meeting over?  It’s close to hell! (5)

 

LIMB (branch) + (meeting) O (over; cricket scoring notation)

 

LIMBO (borderland of Hell)

 

25

 

Dog’s barking alas – owner firstly has to secure quiet (5,4)

 

Anagram of (barking) (ALAS and O [first letter of {firstly} OWNER] and HAS) containing (to secure) P (piano; quiet)

LHASA A (P) SO*

LHASA APSO ( Tibetan breed of small, long-haired dog)

 

27

 

Maybe lead team playing in European city (4,5)

 

Anagram of (playing) TEAM contained in (in) BASEL (city in Switzerland ; European city)

BASE (META*) L

BASE METAL (any metal other than the precious metals, e.g. lead)

 

28

 

Clay’s new name, for intance? (5)

 

ALI (reference Muhammad ALI, the name adopted by the boxer Cassius Clay when he converted to Islam) + AS (for instance)

 

ALIAS (otherwise known as; an assumed name as Clay changing his surname to ALI)

 
Down

1

 

For example Billy and I will have brief moment in joint (10)

 

(I + [MINUTE {moment} excluding the final letter {brief} E]) contained in (in) DIVE (a resort, generally disreputable, often underground, eg a bar; joint)

D (I MINUT) IVE

DIMINUTIVE (contracted form; Billy is a DIMINUTIVE of William)

 

2

 

Conservative Party oddly removed whip (3)

 

C (Conservative) + AT (even letters of [oddly removed] PARTY)

 

CAT (whip)

 

3

 

Sore from hiding, head off (6)

 

CACHING (hiding) excluding the first letter (head off) C

 

ACHING (sore)

 

4

 

Smart fellow turns up to eat, clutching new plant (9)

 

(ALEC [reference ‘smart ALEC‘ {would-be clever person}] reversed [turns up; down clue] + DINE [eat]) containing (clutching) N (new)

CELA< (N) DINE

CELANDINE (either of two plants – greater or lesser CELANDINE said to flower when the swallows come and perish when they leave)

 

5

 

Some poetry from Frost in recital (5)

 

RHYME (sounds like [in recital] RIME [hoarfrost or frozen dew])

 

RHYME (some poetry)

 

6

 

Constant and resolute bishop has quit (8)

 

UNBENDING (resolute) excluding (has quit) B (bishop)

 

UNENDING (endless)

 

7

 

Group of families intend to reveal secret (11)

 

CLAN (group of families) + DESTINE (intend)

 

CLANDESTINE (secret)

 

8

 

Collection of myths edited with Sergei’s agreement (4)

 

ED (editied) + DA (Russian [Sergei] for ‘yes’; Sergei’s agreement)

 

EDDA (the name of two Scandinavian books, the Elder Edda, a collection of ancient mythological and heroic songs [9th to 11th century or earler], and the Younger or Prose Edda, by Snorri Sturluson (c.1230), mythological stories, poetics and prosody)

 

12

 

Opera‘s premiere nearly gets abandoned (5,6)

 

Anagram of (abandoned) ([PREMIERE excluding the final letter [nearly] E] and GETS)

 

PETER GRIMES (opera by Benjamin Britten)

 

13

 

It could describe best and worst sides of somebody faceless (no leader) (10)

 

SY (first and last letters of [sides of] SOMEBODY) + (ANONYMOUS [facleless] excluding the first letter [no leader] A)

 

SYNONYMOUS (having the same meaning, as do ‘best’ [as a verb ‘to win against’] and ‘worst’ [with its meaning as a verb ‘to get the better of’ or ‘defeat’])

 

16

 

Ultimately Plymouth Argyle losing final 1-0, struggling to secure League Cup that was much sought after? (4,5)

 

Anagram of (struggling) (H [last letter of {ultimately} PLYMOUTH] and [ARGYLE excluding the final letter {losing final} E] and I [one] and O [nil]) containing (to secure) L (league)

HO (L) YGRAIL*

HOLY GRAIL (in medieval legend, the platter [sometimes supposed to be a cup] used by Christ at the Last Supper, in which Joseph of Arimathaea caught his blood at the Cross, said to have been brought by Joseph to Glastonbury, and the object of quests by King Arthur’s Knights)

 

17

 

Call bank about Mark’s ailment (8)

 

RING (call) + (ROW [bank] reversed [about]) + M (mark)

RING WOR< M

RINGWORM (a skin disease characterized by ring-shaped patches)

 

20

 

One’s about to pursue mountain animal (6)

 

ALP (mountain) + A (one) + CA (circa; about)

 

 

ALPACA (a domesticated animal related to the llama)

 

 

22

 

Somewhat temperamental cellist returns for applause (5)

 

ÉCLAT (hidden word (somewhat) reversed (returns) in TEMPERAMENTAL CELLIST)

ÉCLAT<

ECLAT (applause)

 

23

 

 Spare tyre‘s first out of boot after puncture, mostly (4)

(FLAT [puncture] excluding the final letter [mostly] T) + B (first letter of [first out of] BOOT)

 

FLAB (excess body fat; ‘spare tyre’ is defined as ‘a roll of fat around the midriff’)

 

26

 

Very acidic letter to Timon? (3)

 

 

PH (a number used to express degrees of acidity or alkalinity in solutions) + 1 (a value of 7 or less on the pH scale describes an acid, where 1 denotes a very strong acid.  pH values > 7 up to 14 indicate degress of alkalinity)

 

PHI (Greek letter – reference Timon of Athens [Greece])

 

12 comments on “Independent 8439 / Klingsor”

  1. I was just thinking the other day we hadn’t had a Klingsor puzzle for some time. All very fair and solvable, though 13dn held me up for a while as I’d got LHASA APSA for 25ac, not having read the clue fully.

    I don’t see any problem with ‘pursue’ in 20dn as ACA follows ALP.

    CoD was NO PUN INTENDED. How often do we say that with tongue in cheek, as it were, to draw attention to a pun that may or may not have been unintentional?

    Thanks, Klingsor and Duncan

  2. Excellent blog as ever Duncan.

    This is only my opinion, and others may have had a different experience, but I found this to have been the easiest of Klingsor’s puzzles since I started doing the Indie a few years ago.

    A lot of the cleverness of the cluing was wasted on me because I thought some of the definitions were too obvious. At one stage I even thought I was going to be in for a top-to-bottom solve, which is unheard of for a Thursday Indie puzzle. Having said that, I needed the wordplay for CELANDINE and the anagram fodder for LHASA APSO.

    I was held up at the end by the 19ac/13dn crossers, but once I’d made myself a coffee I saw SYNONYMOUS as soon as I sat back down again and WINO followed immediately.

  3. Thanks Klingsor for a really satisfying puzzle and Duncan for the blog.

    15ac: I did not read this as “& lit” at all. I think “Lying” is the definition, and “bum” is the anagram indicator.

  6. Note in passing that Frost is capitalised in 5D in reference to the American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963).

    Excellent puzzle, expertly blogged, thanks to Klingsor and duncanshiell.

  7. Thanks for the comments at 3, 4 and 5 – I have updated the blog.

    allan_c @ 1: when you write it as ‘ACA follows ALP’, I see what you mean, but when you write the entry horizontally from left to right as ALPACA it looks as if ALP is behind ACA and therefore, to my mind, is chasing and trying to catch ACA.

  8. Thanks Duncan @7. I should add that I did not have the least idea how to parse 14ac before I read your blog, although the answer was obvious enough, so particular thanks for that one.

  9. Thank you, Duncan.

    If you’re an Indy regular then you suspect that the Thursday puzzle is going to be the ‘hard one’, and then when Klingsor’s name appears you have that thought reinforced … but this wasn’t impenetrable and I was quite chuffed to finish it.

    VERMICELLI was a giggle, WINO was very good too, and the canine at 25ac I got only because I knew it would be one and I found it in the list in my dog-eared Thesaurus. TUTU also a smiley moment (and only one goal away from the result at the SoL on Sunday … have I mentioned that already this week? … I can’t remember).

    Thank you to Klingsor too.

  10. Just noticed that 21ac has &lit-ish qualities, ‘busy’ being a slang term for a policeman.

    Duncan @7: I see your point about pursue, follow, etc. And if I remember correctly this topic has been debated on 15sq on previous occasions.

  11. What are ‘&lit-ish qualities’? I am an old silly for thinking that a clue is either &lit or is not, but there you go, while at 15^2 we can have shades of meaning around this otherwise simple concept akin to shaving off nanometres-thick slices of rat-brain for analysis.

    What we have at 21ac is something we professionals call ‘a nice clue’: the anagram indicator has been exploited, via its various meanings, to accompany the definition so as to conjure an image of day-to-day life at the local nick. But, please note, where the fodder ‘regularly goes’ is innocuous, it’s handled in such a way so as not to disturb the ‘niceness’ (referred to above) too much.

    What is ‘&lit-ish’ about that? It’s just a straight anagram written by someone who is good at the job!

  12. This wasn’t as tricky as expected thankfully as we started late ………. as usual!

    As others have said – skilful clueing. We only needed a dictionary to check our guess for 25ac. Joyce has a feeling it came into a puzzle some time ago, perhaps an Inquisitor?

    All good fun, so thanks to Klingsor and obviously thanks to Duncan!

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