Most Wednesdays in the Independent are marked by a Dac crossword, so no surprise to find one today.
As Dac crosswords go, I thought this was one of his less exciting offerings. There were a few less well known words or phrases, especially in the acrosses with MAREMMA (8 across), TANT PIS (10 across) and ALEATORY (13 across). All were fairly easy to solve once some crossing letters were in place, but I did wonder if these words had been included to aid some Nina in the grid. I can’t see one though and Dac rarely resorts to themes or messages in the grid anyway.
Dac’s key strength is the smoothness of the surfaces of his clues. The ones I enjoyed most today were those for OVERDRAMATISE (11 across) with it’s definition of ham completing a clue focused on food and drink; DENTAL HYGIENIST (6 down) for the canine misdirection and the anagram fodder, and JAMAICAN (15 down) with its road traffic allusions throughout.
To me, a number of clues tended towards the fairly easy with the clues for IMPOUND (23 across) and VERBOSE (2 down) being examples.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Diva adjusted fur as recommended (9)
|
Anagram of (adjusted) DIVA + SABLE (fur of an arctic and subarctic marten) ADVI* SABLE |
ADVISABLE (recommended)
|
|
6
|
Old-fashioned lawyer assigned to Irish priest? (5) |
DA (District Attorney; lawyer) + TED (reference Father TED, eponymous star of the sitcom of a few years ago which focused on the lives of fictional Irish priests)
|
DATED (old-fashioned)
|
|
9
|
Breed of sheepdog, note kept by mother (7)
|
RE (note of the tonic sol-fa) contained in (kept by) MAMMA (mother) MA (RE) MMA |
MAREMMA (Italian sheepdog)
|
|
10
|
Sort of bar worker is bringing in little money: tough for such as ‘garçon’! (4,3) |
(T [reference T-bar] + ANT [worker] + IS] containing (bringing in) P (pence; abbreviation [little] or maybe just the fact that a penny is not worth much [little] T ANT (P) IS |
TANT PIS (French [garçon] term meaning ‘so much the worse'[tough])
|
|
11
|
Finished small drink and tucked in, swallowing one’s ham (13)
|
OVER (finished) + DRAM (small drink of alcohol) + (ATE [tucked in] containing [swallowing] I’S [one’s]) OVER DRAM AT (IS) E |
OVERDRAMATISE (to ham is to overact)
|
|
13
|
Having beer with a politician is chancy (8)
|
ALE (beer) + A + TORY (member of the TORY party; politician)
|
ALEATORY (depending on contingencies; chancy)
|
|
14
|
Unpleasant task, replacing English with American singers (6)
|
CHORE (unpleasant) replacing E (English) with US (American) CHORUS |
CHORUS (singers)
|
|
16
|
In Italian city notice protective structure (6)
|
AD (advertisement; notice) contained in (in) ROME (Italian city) R (AD) OME |
RADOME (protective covering for microwave radar antennae)
|
|
18
|
Entered uninvited, making lots of noise on boat (6,2)
|
BARGE (boat) + DIN (lots of noise)
|
BARGED IN (entered uninvited)
|
|
21
|
Mischievous types, thieves maybe, pinching foreign currency (marks) (13)
|
TAKERS (thieves) containing (pinching) (ROUBLE [foreign currency] + M [marks]) T (ROUBLE M) AKERS |
TROUBLEMAKERS (people who disturb the peace and usually incite others to do the same; perhaps a bit more than mischievous types)
|
|
23
|
I’m given money to put away (7)
|
I’M + POUND (money)
|
IMPOUND (confine; put away)
|
|
24
|
Check villain about to enter US city (7)
|
CH (check, in chess) + (C [circa; about] contained in [to enter] IAGO [the main villain in Shakespeare’s play Othello) CH I (C) AGO |
CHICAGO (US city)
|
|
25
|
Heard news: oddly, it’s hell (5)
|
Letters 1, 3 5, 7 and 9 (oddly) of HEARD NEWS
|
HADES (hell)
|
|
26
|
After end of day, resist corrupt female guard (9)
|
MON (Monday; day) + an anagram of (corrupt) RESIST MON ITRESS* |
MONITRESS (female guard)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Top expert lassoes mare (4)
|
ACE (expert) contains (lassoes) M (mare; abbreviation in Collins) AC (M) E |
ACME (top)
|
|
2
|
Wordy piece of poetry boy briefly penned (7)
|
(BOY excluding the last letter [briefly] Y) contained in (penned) VERSE (piece of poetry) VER (BO) SE |
VERBOSE (wordy)
|
|
3
|
Number of Oxbridge cricketers? (10,5)
|
SUMMERTIME (cricket is a game played in the summer) + BLUES (reference the light BLUEs of Cambridge and the dark BLUEs of Oxford, but the term BLUE can apply to anyone recognised as an excellent sporting representative of any University)
|
SUMMERTIME BLUES (song [number] co-written and performed by Eddie Cochrane, originally in the late 1950s)
|
|
4
|
Some pupils given top grade, within limits (8)
|
A (top grade) contained in (within) BORDERS (limits) BO (A) RDERS |
BOARDERS (pupils who live in school)
|
|
5
|
Catch flipping spouse offering no resistance finally (6)
|
PARTNER (spouse) reversed (flipping) excluding the last letter (offering no … finally) R ENTRAP< |
ENTRAP (catch)
|
|
6
|
Canine expert working at length inside yard (6,9)
|
Anagram of (working) (AT LENGTH INSIDE and Y [yard]) DENTAL HYGIENIST* |
DENTAL HYGIENIST (an expert in teeth [canines])
|
|
7
|
More tight with gratuities? That is right (7)
|
TIPS (gratuities) + I.E. (id est; that is) + R (right)
|
TIPSIER (more drunk; more tight)
|
|
8
|
Making critical comments about writer working at the chemist’s? (10)
|
DISSING (treating with disrespect or contempt; making critical comments) containing (about) PEN (writer) DIS (PEN) SING |
DISPENSING (making up medicines; working at the chemist)
|
|
12
|
Swimmer, for his part, splashing about (10)
|
Anagram of (splashing about) FOR HIS PART PARROTFISH* |
PARROTFISH (a name applied to various fishes, especially of the wrasse family, from their colours or their powerful jaws)
|
|
15
|
Traffic problem on main road round north of island (8)
|
JAM (traffic problem) + AI (A1, road from London to Edinburgh) + CA (circa; around) + N (north)
|
JAMAICAN (relating to the island of JAMAICA; of island)
|
|
17
|
Democrat supported leader being ousted and ditched (7)
|
D (Democrat) + (PROPPED [supported] excluding [being ousted] the first letter [leader] P)
|
DROPPED (ditched)
|
|
19
|
Slim shortly, consuming large amounts of salt water: illness results (7)
|
DIET excluding the final letter (shortly) T containing (consuming) SEAS (large amounts of salt water) DI (SEAS) E |
DISEASE (illness)
|
|
20
|
Models redeployed once in a blue moon (6)
|
Anagram of (redeployed) MODELS SELDOM* |
SELDOM (rarely; once in a blue moon)
|
|
22
|
TV interviewer and judge turned up half-cut (4)
|
ASSESSOR (judge) reversed (turned up; down clue) with the first 4 of the 8 letters [half] excluded [cut] ROSS< |
ROSS (reference Jonathan ROSS, British chat show host)
|
The only one I didn’t know was the sheepdog but the wordplay was helpful once I had the checking letters.
Thanks to Dac and Duncan.
Everyone waiting for the online version working? 9ac was the only one I didn’t know, but I was able to work it out from the word play. Conversely, 22dn is obvious now that you’ve explained it, but I just couldn’t see what it could be. I kept looking for a word beginning with’j’.
Thanks Duncan Ross had me beat for the explanation, thanks and to Dac. 9 & 10 are oddities, has dac been taking lessons from Quixote? 🙂
If we hadn’t known that this was a Dac, we would never have guessed it. There were the smooth surfaces that one comes to expect but unusually there were a number we had to check once we had some crossing letters and were more confident with our answers.
Thanks Duncan for the blog – our thoughts were very similar as far as ninas are concerned.
Thanks for the workout Dac – an unexpected struggle for a Wednesday.
Count me as another for whom ‘Ross’ took far longer than it should have. ‘Aleatory’ was somewhere at the back of my mind (without a definition, though) but ‘Maremma’ was a new one to me.
I also found this a little trickier than the usual Dac because of the odd Donlike abstrusities to which B & J alluded. I thought SUMMERTIME BLUES was a cracker. Thanks as ever to this setter.
I have to say that Duncan’s blogs are really top drawer. Were I still learning my solving skills, I would find his efforts transformatory. I feel sure there are folk out there who owe their cruciverbophilia as much to his clarity as to the brilliance of our modern setters. With the growing interest in good crosswords, as I perceive it, Duncan (et al) is performing a wonderful service to our great pastime.
Thanks again both!
Another late solver thanks to the Indy’s new “improved” (???)system. But thanks, Duncan, for the usual excellent blog; I second all that William F P says.
MAREMMA was new to me and I never really knew what TANT PIS means (although I knew it wasn’t, as per the old schoolboy howler, ‘my aunt is drunk’).
And thanks to Dac, too.