Independent 8,785 / Dac

by

As expected, Dac’s latest puzzle was waiting for me this Wednesday morning.

At first, I thought that I was going to zip through this crossword, having solved a lot of clues in the NW and SE quadrant on first reading. For some reason, however, I faltered over the longer entries in the middle of the grid for a while, before they eventually revealed themselves to me. My last two entries in were the intersecting 21 and 18, where I was desperately trying to make Epsom fit.

When it comes to choosing one’s favourite clues, there are always numerous contenders in a Dac puzzle, since smooth surfaces and crisp, concise clues always abound. If pressed, however, I would plump for 7, for its surface and 12, for its cleverly disguised definition and its social comment on the career of crossword compiler!

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across  
   
01 HOPSCOTCH Jumps on bed – child’s play

HOPS (=jumps) + COT (=bed) + CH (=child)
   
06 PAPA Father needs two secretaries

2 x PA (=secretary, i.e. Personal Assistant)
   
08 FLORENCE Criminal protects my girl

LOR (=my, i.e. expression of surprise) in FENCE (=criminal)
   
09 MAGPIE Maybe weekly food for bird

MAG (=maybe weekly, i.e. magazine) + PIE (=food)
   
10 MULLET On Scottish island regularly eats fish

MULL (=Scottish island) + E<a>T<s> (“regularly” means alternate letters only)
   
11 TASMANIA Island one hidden by tip of distant continent

MAN (=one (island)) in [<distan>T (“tip of” means last letter only) + ASIA (=continent)]
   
12 HEADQUARTERS Base school leader’s without mercy

QUARTER (=mercy (granted to an antagonist)) in HEAD’S (=leader’s)
   
15 ACTION REPLAY Review of part of match edited in a later copy

*(IN A LATER COPY); “edited” is anagram indicator
   
17 PROSPECT Chance of harlot getting kissed when picked up?

Homophone (“when picked up”) of “PRO’S PECKED” (=harlot getting kissed)
   
19 TOMTOM Name of driving aid used in car test twice, when reversing

Reversal (“when reversing”) of 2 x MOT (=car test); a TomTom is an in-car SatNav device
   
21 SEARCH Examine A-level result primarily during school inspection

E<xamine> A<-level> R<esult> (“primarily” means first letters only) in SCH (=school)
   
22 OINTMENT Possibly mention time is a healer

*(MENTION) + T (=time); “possibly” is anagram indicator
   
23 STAY Remain in dinghy at sea, drifting back

Reversed (“drifting back”) and hidden (“in”) in “dinghY AT Sea”
   
24 MISSED OUT Excluded young female solicitor, we’re told

Homophone (“we’re told”) of “MISS (=young female) + TOUT (solicitor)”
   
Down  
   
01 HOLD-UP Obstruct // crime

Double definition, although the hyphen clearly identifies “crime” as the official definition
   
02 PERIL Risk as queen enters large building briefly

ER (=queen) in PIL<e> (=large building; “briefly” means last letter dropped)
   
03 CONSTRAIN Force prisoners to study

CONS (=prisoners) + TRAIN (=study)
   
04 TWENTY QUESTIONS Radio quiz score – son’s quite excited

TWENTY (=score, i.e. a set of twenty) + *(SON’S QUITE); “excited” is anagram indicator; Twenty Questions was a radio quiz in the UK from 1947 to 1976, briefly revived in the 1990s
   
05 HOMES Gardens surrounding minute houses

M (=minute) in HOES (=gardens, as verb)
   
06 PAGEANTRY Display herb with lid removed in food cupboard

<s>AGE (=herb; “with lid removed” means first letter dropped) in PANTRY (=food cupboard)
   
07 POITIERS French city with very good banks receiving zero investment?

O (=zero) in [PI (=very good) + TIERS (=banks, rows)]
   
12 HAIRSPRAY Setter talked of career with small remuneration? That’s about right

Homophone (“talked of”) of “hare” (=career, as verb) + S (=small) + [R (=right) in PAY (=remuneration)]; cryptically, hairspray is a “setter” in that it fixes, sets one’s hair in place
   
13 ALL AT ONCE Heavyweight captured by Scottish hero heading off suddenly

TON (=heavyweight) in <w>ALLACE (=Scottish hero, i.e. William Wallace, in Wars of Scottish Independence; “heading off” means that first letter is dropped)
   
14 SCARCEST Actress nervously accepting lead in comedy? Most unusual

C<omedy> (“lead in” means first letter only) in *(ACTRESS); “nervously” is anagram indicator
   
16 SONNET Boy has written up ten lines of poetry

SON (=boy) + NET (TEN; “written up” indicates vertical reversal)
   
18 EGHAM Place in Surrey for one actor

E.G. (=for one, for example, say) + HAM (=actor); Egham is a town in the Runnymede borough of Surrey
   
20 MAMBO Dance: mother accompanies old boy doing the twist

MAM (=mother) + BO (OB=old boy; “doing the twist” indicates reversal)
   
   

 

9 comments on “Independent 8,785 / Dac”

  1. Thanks, RR. Fine stuff as always from Dac. I too liked the tongue-in-cheek surface for HAIRSPRAY, and TOMTOM was my other favourite.

  2. I thought 12 down was an excellent clue with an excellent misleading definition. After Quixote’s comments last week, one wonders if it’s a deliberate dig at the Independent’s payment policies.

  6. Hello Jane – it’s an informal short form of “pious” (probably used by nobody any more except crossword setters!).

  7. I had a discussion with another compiler about man-hours (for we were at that time both men) required to set a crossword that we’d be proud of, and it became clear that we are earning 0.000000016325 of a penny per annum.

    At 0.000000016326, sweeping up in hospitals is an attractive alternative, but neither of us really has the skills.

  8. (for we were at that time both men)? …. mmm, interesting.

    Last week’s Dac I found somewhat ‘different’ but today I was on familiar territory again.
    That said, a setter still coming up with fantastic clues like 8ac (FLORENCE), 17ac, 21ac, 22ac and 1ac (HOPSCOTCH for once not clued as HOP+SCOTCH!) after having written 500+ crosswords, is … well, it is what makes him stand out from … well, some of the rest.

    Great stuff!

Comments are closed.