Independent 8563 / Hypnos

by

After Crosophile appeared yesterday, I was wondering who the setter would be today. I’m very happy to see one from Hypnos

 

 

 

Crosophile presented a puzzle yesterday that incorporated a number of top-level internet domains although I’m not quite sure whether there was a specific anniversary being recognised. I wondered if there would be something special today in the clues or grid, but if there is, I’m afraid it has passed me by.

I don’t think there was anything too difficult in thie puzzle.  The entries were reasonably well known words or phrases.  To some the footballer may have been a little bit obscure, but I’m a Southampton fan so it was a bit of a write-in when I got to the clue and found I had L_L____ already.

There was quite a range of topics in the clues and entries including mythology, literature, geography, sports, current affairs, music, religion, ornithology, fish, films, vegetables and food/drink..

My first entry was PEGASUS and my last one in was MANGETOUT.

My favourite clues were those for SAND WEDGE, VIGILANTE and VEGAN

Across
No. Clue Wordplay

Entry

1

 

Wise chap immersed in drink recalled mythical creature (7)

 

(SAGE [wise chap] contained in {immersed in] SUP [drink]) all reversed (recalled)

(P (EGAS) US)<

PEGASUS (winged horse that sprang from Medusa’s blood; mythical creature)

 

5

 

Gracious unionist in short protest showing proper conduct (7)

 

(COR [expression of surprise; gracious!] + U [unionist]) contained in (in) (DEMO [demonstration; protest] excluding the final letter [short] O)

DE (COR U) M

DECORUM (proper conduct)

 

9

 

Some meat I arranged that’s kept back for Indian dish (5)

 

RAITA (hidden word [some] reversed [kept back] in MEAT I ARRANGED)

 

RAITA (an Indian dish of chopped vegetables, esp cucumber, in yoghurt)

 

10

 

Observe a wit deployed by North American novelist (4.5)

 

MARK (observe) + an anagram of (deployed) A WIT + N (north)

MARK TWAI* N

MARK TWAIN (American author)

 

11

 

Scottish place favoured by French writer on ship (9)

 

IN (favoured) + VERNE (reference Jules VERNE, French author) + SS (steamship)

 

INVERNESS (city in Scotland)

 

12

 

Publish critical point (5)

 

ISSUE (publish)

 

ISSUE (a point in dispute; critical point))  double definition

 

13

 

Leading pair from Switzerland getting advantage in club (4,5)

 

S AND W (the first two letters [leading pair] of SWITZERLAND) + EDGE (advantage)

 

SAND WEDGE (golf club)

 

15

 

Son engaged in instinctive bit of obstinacy showing exuberance (5)

 

(S [son] contained in [engaged in] GUT [instinctive]) + O (first letter of [bit of] OBSTINACY)

GU (S) T O

GUSTO (exuberance)

 

17

 

Black DJ once reflected inoffensive sound? (5)

 

B (black) + (PEEL [reference John PEEL {1939 – 2004}, disc jockey and journalist] reversed [reflected])

B LEEP<

BLEEP (a sound often used to prevent an offensive word being broadcast; inoffensive sound)

 

19

 

Harbour suspicion all meat’s contaminated around back of diner (5,1,3)

 

Anagram of (contaminated) ALL MEAT’S containing (around) R (last letter of [back of] DINER)

SMELL A (R) AT*

SMELL A RAT (harbour suspicion)

 

21

 

Tricky question when banning European police device (5)

 

TEASER (tricky question) excluding (when banning) E (European)

 

TASER (a small gunlike device, used by police forces, which fires electrified darts or barbs, used to immobilize or stun)

 

23

 

Huge figure holding line in struggle is unofficial lawman (9)

 

(GIANT [huge figure] containing [holding] L [line]) contained in (in) VIE (struggle)

VI (GI (L) ANT) E

VIGILANTE (a member of an organization formed to look after the interests, threatened in some way, of a group, esp a self-appointed and unofficial policeman)

 

25

 

Four points near end of broadcast in topical TV programme (9)

 

(N [north] + E [east] + W [west] + S [south] giving four points) + NIGH (near) + T (last letter of [end of] BROADCAST)

 

NEWSNIGHT (topical [BBC] television programme)

 

26

 

Ward off a retired campaigner?  About right (5)

 

A + (VET [veteran; retired {usually military} campaigner] containing (about) R [right])

A VE (R) T

AVERT (ward off)

 

27

 

Account for former lecturer in agony (7)

 

EX (former) + (L [lecturer] contained in [in] PAIN [agony])

EX P (L) AIN

EXPLAIN (account for)

 

28

 

Guitarist getting sign of warm reception with incomplete sound (7)

 

CLAP (applaud; sign of a warm reception) + (TONE [sound] excluding the final letter [incomplete] E)

 

CLAPTON  (reference Eric CLAPTON [born 1945], English rock guitarist)

 
Down

1

 

Religious follower in European capital finding sun earlier (5)

 

PARIS (European capital city) with S (sun) moving forward/up in the word (finding earlier) to form PARSI

 

PARSI (a descendant of the Zoroastrians who emigrated from Persia to India in the 8th century; religious follower)

 

2

 

Complaint shown by Welshman having tucked into good staple food (9)

 

EVAN (Welsh male christian name) contained in (having tucked into ) G [good] + RICE [staple food])

G RI (EVAN) CE

GRIEVANCE (complaint)

 

3

 

Get pole and use boat to find bird (7)

 

SPAR (pole) + ROW (use boat)

 

SPARROW (bird)

 

4

 

Pieces by director in a mess when reviewed?  Not this director! (3,6)

 

(MEN [pieces, eg chessMEN] + D [director]) contained in (in) an anagram of [when reviewed] A MESS

SAM (MEN D) ES*

SAM MENDES (English, stage and film director)

 

5

 

Game that’s upcoming most radio covers (5)

 

DARTS (hidden word [covers] reversed [upcoming; down clue] in MOST RADIO)

 

DARTS (game)

 

6

 

Hurtful excerpt from newspaper (7)

 

CUTTING (hurtful)

 

CUTTING (extract from newspaper) double definition

 

7

 

Courses from celebrity chef, we hear (5)

 

ROADS (sounds like [we hear] RHODES [reference Gary RHODES, sometime celebrity chef)

 

ROADS (courses)

 

8

 

Fellow with a way of avoiding green food (9)

 

MAN (fellow) + GET OUT (way of avoiding)

 

MANGETOUT (type of pea cooked and eaten together with its pod; green food)

 

13

 

Wealth shown by journalist with position (9)

 

SUB (sub-editor; journalist) + STANCE (position)

 

SUBSTANCE (wealth)

 

14

 

Bubbly, gin, beer, etc drunk with bachelor passing out (9)

 

Anagram of (drunk) GIN BEER ETC excluding (passing out) B (bachelor)

 

ENERGETIC (active; bubbly)

 

16

 

Rigorous part-time journalist shortened odd bits in note (9)

 

STRINGER (a journalist employed part-time by a newspaper or news agency to cover a particular [especially remote] town or area.) excluding the last letter (shortened) R + NT (letters 1 and 3 [odd bits] of NOTE)

 

STRINGENT (rigorous)

 

18

 

Swimmer in country entering outskirts of posh area (7)

 

(IRAN [country] contained in [entering] PH [first and last letters of {outskirts of} POSH]) + A

P (IRAN) H A

PIRANHA (a ferocious S American river fish; swimmer)

 

20

 

England footballer taking up a new type of meat in the East End? (7)

 

(A + N {new] + [HALLAL {meat from animals slaughtered according to Muslim law} excluding the first letter H to reflect speech by an Eastender) all reversed (taking up; down clue)

(LALLA N A)<

LALLANA (reference Adam LALLANA, Southampton and England footballer)

 

22

 

Satisfactorily complete broadcast on radio at university (3,2)

 

SEW (sounds like [on radio] SOW [broadcast]) + UP (at university)

 

SEW UP (satisfactorily complete)

 

23

 

One with restricted fare say boarding vehicle (5)

 

EG (for example; say) contained in (boarding) VAN (vehicle)

V (EG) AN

VEGAN (one using no animal produce at all; one with restricted fare)

 

24

 

Consume at home last of cake on a container (3,2)

 

E (final letter of [last of] CAKE) + A + TIN (container)

 

EAT IN (consume at home)

 

12 comments on “Independent 8563 / Hypnos”

  1. I found this a very straightforward but enjoyable puzzle, and I particularly liked the clues for MARK TWAIN, SAND WEDGE and VIGILANTE. TASER was my LOI after SUBSTANCE.

  2. Never heard of the footballer (of course) but the wordplay gave me enough confidence to put the answer in. But I had to come here to check it was correct.

  3. Thank you Duncan. More used to seeing Hypnos in the Independent on Sunday slot, where I invariably enjoy his puzzles. Enjoyed this one too, but failed on LALLANA. What’s the world coming to when Conrad gets a footie clue and a lover of the beautiful game like me is left one short? I really think that one is obscure, and it strikes me as a ‘bollocks, I’ve painted myself into a corner here’ clue. And he’s only played for England two-and-a-half times, for goodness’ sake.

    But a small niggle in a good puzzle. I liked VEGAN and CLAPTON in particular.

  4. Typical Independent crossword with a guitarist and a footballer, so John’s introductory remarks yesterday were quite prescient.
    At least I knew Eric Clapton and I managed to get the footballer from the wordplay but I was a bit unsure because halal is usually spelt with a single L.

  5. Very enjoyable – all solved in a reasonable time apart from the footballer – I usually rely on No2 son for assistance with football related clues and he wasn’t around.

    Thanks to Hypnos and Duncan too.

  6. Started off really well on this, getting most of the top left at the first sitting before realising I really did have to go shopping.

    Had to do do a search to get the footballer – kept thinking the meat was ‘am.

    All the guitarists going through my mind were people like Segovia, Williams and Bream. Had to get 14dn before getting that.

  7. A nice puzzle. I got Lallana from the word play but – even as someone who doesn’t mind football-themed entries – I also thought this was overly obscure.

    I don’t suppose we’d have the name of someone who had three caps in cricket or rugby (if that’s as many times as Mr Lallana has played for England). Rather odd

  8. I flew through this except the footballer, I’m not sport averse but he’s not on my radar.
    thanks to hypnos and Duncan.

  9. Same as Lenny for me. Got the footballer after a real struggle as I too thought halal was the correct spelling. And I’d also spent ages assuming the meat must be ‘am. For such an obscure footballer the clue really needed to be watertight.
    Apart from this a nice puzzle

  10. Count as another one (or two in our case) who had never heard of the footballer.

    Not much else to say except thanks to S and B.

  11. Catching up with my dead tree today…

    I ‘finished’ this one, but had a couple of problems with parsing the clues.
    I could see that 5A was obviously ‘decorum’, but could not make the wordplay concur with it, so came here. It’s OBVIOUS
    Worse yet was my ‘answer’ for 3d – I was trying to think of a bird that fit the crossing letters, and ONLY came up with ‘seacrow’. ‘Funnily enough’, I couldn’t make that fit the clue… 😀

    In my defence, your Honour, I live out in the countryside, where I almost never see that ‘rara avis’ the sparrow.
    And it’s the end of the week too! (A week in which my free time has been mostly taken up by end-of-Tax-year shenanigans.)

    But, if I’m being honest with myself, I expect that the main reason for my ‘oversight’ is probably the fact that I am no longer as young as I used to be.

    O tempora! O mores! O *bum*!

  12. Would hardly call Adam Lallana an obscure footballer. He is in the current England squad after all and anyone who has watched MotD in the last year or so would surely know him.
    Or is it just because he plays for Southampton that he’s off radar?

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