Klingsor appears as an Independent setter about once a month and always produces interesting crosswords.
The first four across entries all begin with A but there doesn’t seem to be any other pattern in the grid.
There was a fair amount of good misdirection in the clues today. Examples of this include the use of Shona in the clue to 9 across, the close association of mobile and O2 in 1 down, the use of Pope and Motion in 7 and 11 down and the disguise of square in 25 across.
It’s nice to see a triple definition (21 across) instead of the more common double definitions found in many crosswords.
SASSAFRAS (20 across) is not a tree that I meet very often but the clue was clever with three occurrences of AS.
|
Across |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay |
Entry |
|
1
|
Suitable software’s apt to involve cost for a start (10)
|
APP (application; software most often written for tablets or other mobile devices these days) + (LIABLE [apt to] containing [involve] C [first letter of {for a start} COST) APP LI (C) ABLE |
APPLICABLE (suitable)
|
|
6
|
Somewhat peculiar umbelliferous plant (4)
|
ARUM (hidden word in [somewhat] PECULIAR UMBELLIFEROUS)
|
ARUM (a perennial plant of the cuckoo pint or wake-robin genus) |
|
9
|
Female in a car crash could be Shona (7)
|
Anagram of (could be) (F [female] and IN A CAR)
|
AFRICAN (the Shona are a group of African peoples living south of the Zambesi)
|
|
10
|
Judge is not the first to exclude dangerous dog? (7)
|
BAR (exclude) excluding the first letter [not the first] B + BITER (possible description of a dangerous dog)
|
ARBITER (judge)
|
|
12
|
Discharge from hospital femur set, fine to go (5)
|
Anagram of (set) (H [hospital] and [FEMUR excluding {to go} F {fine}])
|
RHEUM (mucous discharge)
|
|
13
|
Look to introduce tube intravenously? That’s tempting (9)
|
SEE (look) containing (to introduce) (DUCT [tube] + IV [intravenously]) SE (DUCT IV) E |
SEDUCTIVE (tempting)
|
|
14
|
Men a bit confused with regular disappearances, initially at sea, here? (7,8)
|
Anagram of (confused) (MEN A BIT and REGULAR and D [first letter of {initially} DISAPPEARANCES])
|
BERMUDA TRIANGLE (the area between Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico where ships and aeroplanes are alleged to have mysteriously disappeared)
|
| 17 |
More than one uniformed official arrives outside embassy warm and dry (15)
|
COMES (arrives) containing (outside) (MISSION [embassy] + AIR [warm and dry]) COM (MISSION AIR) ES |
COMMISSIONAIRES (uniformed officials)
|
|
20
|
Tree twice as small as fir perishes without one (9)
|
Anagram of (perishes) (AS and AS [twice] and S [small] and AS and [FIR excluding {without] I {one}])
|
SASSAFRAS (a tree of the laurel family) |
|
21
|
Claim is accurate, just (5)
|
RIGHT (claim); RIGHT (accurate)
|
RIGHT (just) triple definition
|
|
23
|
Speaker’s to irritate with something hackneyed and old hat (7)
|
TRI (sounds like [speaker’s] TRY [irritate]) + CORN (something hackneyed)
|
TRICORN (a three-cornered hat with the brims turned up)
|
|
24
|
American dined on original ham (7)
|
AM (American) + ATE (dined) + UR (prefix signifying primitive; original)
|
AMATEUR (ham)
|
|
25
|
Counter-revolutionary avoids opening in Leicester Square (4)
|
(LENIN [reference Vladimir Ilych LENIN, Russian revolutionary] excluding [avoids] the first letter [opening] L ) reversed (counter) NINE< |
NINE (square of the number 3)
|
|
26
|
Son always seen misbehaving needs special rigour (10)
|
S (son) + EVER (always) + (an anagram of [misbehaving] SEEN) + S (special) S EVER ENES* S |
SEVERENESS (rigour)
|
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Abroad, mostly in outlying parts of Chile, mobile is functional without O2 (9)
|
Anagram of (mobile) (ABROAD excluding the final letter [mostly] D and IN and CE [first and last letters of {outlying parts of} CHILE])
|
ANAEROBIC (living in the absence of free oxygen [O2])
|
|
2
|
Perfect energy food for babies? (5)
|
PURE (perfect) + E (energy)
|
PURÉE (food material reduced to pulp eg by being processed in a liquidizer; food in a form suitable for a baby)
|
|
3
|
Unfortunately Mum I can do almost nil about gas being cut off (13)
|
Anagram of (unfortunately) (MUM I CAN DO and [NIL excluding the final letter {almost} L]) containing (about) CO (Carbon Monoxide, a gas) IN (CO) MMUNICADO* |
INCOMMUNICADO (without means of communication; being cut off)
|
|
4
|
Recollect name? As one with this you probably won’t (7)
|
Anagram of (recollect) NAME AS and I [one]
|
AMNESIA (loss of memory leading to an inability to recollect names for instance)
|
|
5
|
Hero-worshipper‘s name appearing in newspaper article? (7)
|
N (name) contained in (appearing in) LEADER (newspaper editorial article) LEA (N) DER |
LEANDER (reference the Greek myth about Hero and LEANDER in which LEANDER fell in love with Hero and would swim across the Hellespont every night to be with her)
|
|
7
|
Right sharp retort about A Pope (9)
|
(RT [right] + ZINGER [sharp retort]) containing (about) A R (A) T ZINGER |
RATZINGER (reference Cardinal RATZINGER who served as Pope Benedict XVI from 2005 to 2013 before resigning)
|
|
8
|
Turn up, having first blown fuse (5)
|
EMERGE (crop up; turn up) excluding (having … blown) the first letter (first) E
|
MERGE (fuse)
|
|
11
|
Motion perhaps will support reduction of tobacco to a degree (13)
|
BACC (four letters only of [reduction of] TOBACCO) + A + LAUREATE (reference Andrew Motion, Poet LAUREATE from 1999 – 2009) As this a down clue the letters ALAUREATE are supporting the letters BACC Afternote: The strong message from the early comment s is that I have got the parsing here wrong. BACC is a contraction (reduction) of BACCY (informal short form of TOBACCO) |
BACCALAUREATE (university degree of Bachelor or a diploma of lesser status awarded by a college)
|
|
15
|
Slackening on the job (9)
|
RE (about; on) + MISSION (the job)
|
REMISSION (slackening)
|
|
16
|
Students won’t be stretched by these affordable payments? (4,5)
|
EASY TERMS (something that won’t stretch students academically or physically)
|
EASY TERMS (affordable payments, in theory) double definition
|
|
18
|
Queer Street has limits (7)
|
ST (street) + RANGE ([between] limits)
|
STRANGE (queer)
|
|
19
|
Acting 18, bats getting duck, not runs (7)
|
Anagram of (bats) STRANGE [18 down] swapping (getting … for) O (duck, zero score in cricket) for R (runs in cricket notation)
|
ONSTAGE (acting)
|
|
20
|
Dirty mark needs time to shift – it’s delicate material (5)
|
STAIN (dirty mark) with the T (time) moved elsewhere in the word (to shift) SATIN |
SATIN (delicate material)
|
|
22
|
Mostly sunken object brought up by English diver (5)
|
BERG (mostly sunken object, with some 80% to 90% of an iceBERG being below the surface) reversed (brought up) + E (English) GREB< E |
GREBE (a short-winged almost tailless freshwater diving bird; diver)
|
Very nice, though I needed a bit of help. I wasn’t too sure at first about ‘Pope’ for ‘Ratzinger’ but he does still have the title Pope, so all is well. In 11d, BACC is a reduction of BACCY (slang for tobacco).
Thanks for all the very clarifying parsing as usual. However, is it ‘wrong’ to reach an answer a different way?
6a: a rum (rum meaning odd)
23a: ‘tri’ something of ‘trite’ as well as ‘corn’ for old hat, giving another meaning of ‘old hat’.
HMMH?
Also, I renew my plea for some of you (great parsers) to parse the weekend crossword answers after the results are out.
Thanks
I must have been on Klingsor’s wavelength today because this puzzle didn’t take me as long to solve as a Klingsor normally does. It may have just been me, but some of the definitions seemed obvious so I didn’t bother to parse those clues properly. 14ac, 15ac, 24ac, 1dn, 3dn and 11dn all fell into that category.
Writinghawk @ 1
I think both interpretations of BACC are possible, in each case they are reductions of another word containing the letters BACC.
Heather McKay @ 2
Solvers sometimes arrive at their answers in mysterious ways! I think it all depends on how purist you want your parsing to be. I think mine might be nearer Klingsor’s intentions for ARUM and TRICORN today, but that doesn’t mean they are the only interpretations.
Like Gaufrid, I am bit confused by your plea for the weekend puzzles.. Last Saturday and Sunday the solutions for each of the previous weekend’s Independent Saturday and Sunday puzles were published on Fifteensquared. So too were the solutions and parsing for the Guardian Saturday prize puzzle, together with those for Azed and Everyman from the Observer. There are also blogs on Fifteensquared for the EV series in the Telegraph and the the Inquisitor series in the Independent on the website the day after entries close. All can be accessed through the Categories menu at the top left of the screen if they have disappeared from the main body of the screen.
Thanks Duncan, for the blog.
What a lovely puzzle! I set great store by surfaces and these were superb throughout – not one that doesn’t make perfect sense and they’re so apt and witty.
I started ticking clues then realised I probably had more clues ticked than not – and I don’t give them lightly. But I must give a special mention to the misleading appearance of my home town in 25 and perhaps double ticks to 9, 12, 14, 17, ac and 1, 3, 5, 7, 11dn, though I’m sure others will have different favourites – there are plenty to choose from!
[Duncan, I originally parsed 11dn as you did but I thought BACC for ‘reduced tobacco’ was rather imprecise and came to the same conclusion as Writinghawk did.]
Huge thanks, Klingsor – I loved it!
I parsed 11D as @1writinghawk. Contraction of the slang word “baccy”, now perhaps sliding into desuetude, rather than a bunch of four letters (3-6) of the seven-letter word “tobacco”.
OK – I’ll admit defeat on the parsing of the BACC element of 11 down!
Come here wor little Jacky, now I’ve had me baccy, have a bit of cracky till the boat comes in … as the traditional song from the North-East goes. Talking of which, am still bouncing of the walls after last night’s events at Old Trafford, which is probably one of the reasons that I found this tricky.
Good puzzle, though. For me at least, one of those where you thought intially that you were never going to get anywhere with it, but then with a bit of endeavour it eventually yielded. A bit like the way Man Utd yielded around 2220 yesterday evening.
Thank you to Klingsor and Duncan.
Well……. 25 was our last one in and we only got it by reading through your preamble Duncan before we scrolled down the page! DOH!
A very ingenious puzzle although we didn’t particularly like 7d – we’re not into popes.
Thanks Duncan and Klingsor.
Excellent crossword from Klingsor. Why did it say ‘A Pope’ rather than ‘a Pope’ in 7dn?
Will Ransome @ 10
I think that’s misdirection to make you think of the poet Alexander Pope
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction re the weekend puzzles. Silly me!