Independent 8,995 / Klingsor

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Klingsor’s graces the crossword page of today’s Independent, as he often seems to do on a Thursday.

I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle, which I found easier than some of this compiler’s earlier crosswords that I have solved and blogged. Harder puzzles, let’s face it, don’t always offer the solver more enjoyment. Although I struggled to complete the SW corner, the other solutions fell into place at a fairly even pace, affording a great deal of pleasure in the process. I think that I have managed to parse everything, although I needed Chambers to confirm “veep” at 24; the name of the dirk at 27; and “rear” for “can” in 28.

Some people in this world are suckers for sob stories. Perhaps the cruciverbal equivalent is to be a sucker for a smooth surface, and if that’s the case, I certainly fit that description. This puzzle offers many such surfaces, mainly in shorter entries – at 2, 16, 19, 23 – but also in some longer entries – at 10 and 20. I very much appreciated all seven of these clues, but if pushed to nominate some clues-of-the-day, I would plump for 10 and 16.

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

Across  
   
01 SWOOSH Noise of movement in court’s breaking silence

WOO’S (=court’s) in SH (=silence, as imperative)
   
04 STRANDED Uncovered needle and thread, previously abandoned

STRAND (=thread) + <ne>ED<le> (“uncovered” means first and last pairs of letters are dropped, leaving only the central pair)
   
09 EYEBROW Feature intellectual from EastEnders in discussion

Homophone (“from discussion”) of <h>IGHBROW (=intellectual); “from EastEnders” suggests the initial “h” is dropped
   
11 LOGICAL Joe’s in the pub, having good reason

GI (=Joe, i.e. US serviceman) in LOCAL (=pub)
   
12 DRAPE Criminal charge in Delaware leads to hanging

RAP (=criminal charge, as in to take the rap) in DE (=Delaware)
   
13 NUMBER ONE Wee // lassie // at the top

Triple definition: to have a wee is to have a number one + one’s lass(ie) is one’s number one, sweetheart + e.g. (the) number one (single) is at the top of the charts
   
14 RHYTHMICAL Liberal charity works keeping monarch regularly stressed

HM (=monarch, i.e. Her Majesty) in [L (=liberal) + *(CHARITY)]; “works” is anagram indicator
   
16 SWIM Small women’s group needs money for float

S (=small) + WI (=women’s group, i.e. Women’s Institute) + M (=money)
   
19 PARE Time to retire after group’s close shave

<grou>P (“close” means last letter only) + ARE (ERA=age; “to retire” indicates reversal)
   
20 STRONGHOLD Keep long dissertation’s opening short somehow

*(LONG + D<issertation> + SHORT); “opening” means first letter only; “somehow” is anagram indicator
   
22 MISDIRECT Give poor travel advice: “Motorway goes straight there”

M (=motorway) + IS DIRECT (=goes straight there)
   
23 SEPIA One that returned mimic’s pens and ink

I (=one) in SEPA (APE’S=mimic’s; “returned” indicates reversal)
   
25 ATISHOO Sound of cold-sufferer, or of what one needs?

Homophone (“sound of”) of “ a tissue” (what one – cold-sufferer – needs)
   
26 TRITEST Goes round time and time again, getting most worn-out

[T (=time) in TRIES (=goes, attempts)] + T (=time)
   
27 SKEAN-DHU Dirk, unasked, ordered sandwiches hot

H (=hot) in *(UNASKED); “ordered” is anagram indicator; a skean-dhu is a dirk placed in a stocking in full Highland dress
   
28 REHEAR The man entering can try again

HE (=the man) in REAR (=can, i.e. public or school lavatory)
   
Down  
   
01 SPEED TRAP Greatly involved in region’s backing for road safety measure

DEEP (=greatly) in PART’S (=region’s); “backing” indicates (here full) reversal
   
02 OPERA Improper arrests diminished the Met?

Hidden (“diminished”) in “imprOPER Arrests”; the reference is to the New York Met(ropolitan) opera
   
03 SCREECHY Brave surgeon’s imprisoned in Seychelles – that’s harsh

[CREE (=brave, i.e. Native American) + CH (=surgeon, from chirurgeon)] in SY (=Seychelles, in IVR)
   
05 TELL ME ABOUT IT I’d like to be informed about computers – I know that all too well!

TELL ME ABOUT I.T. (=information technology) = I’d like to be informed about computers
   
06 ANGLER Sportsman, one who settled by river

ANGLE (=one who settled, i.e. from North German tribe) + R (=river); & lit.
   
07 DOCTOR WHO Programme broadcast to crowd in front of house

*(TO CROWD) + HO (=house); “broadcast” is anagram indicator; the reference is to the long-running BBC sci-fi programme Doctor Who
   
08 DELVE Departs with young swimmer right away to search

D (=departs, on timetable) + ELVE<r> (=young swimmer, i.e. young eel; “right (=R)” away” means letter “r” is dropped)
   
10 WINNIE THE POOH Bear with one in hope for improvement

*(WITH ONE IN HOPE); “for improvement” is anagram indicator; the reference is to the bear in the children’s stories by A A Milne
   
15 YORKSHIRE Yen to rent house proves practicable, after abandoning Welsh county

<w>ORKS (=proves practicable; “abandoning Welsh (=W)” means letter “w” is dropped) in [Y (=yen, i.e. Japanese currency) + HIRE (=rent)]
   
17 MAD HATTER One at party making cryptic threat?

Mad Hatter is a cryptic clue to “threat”, i.e. an anagram of “hatter” indicated by “mad”; the reference is to the Mad Hatter’s tea party in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
   
18 EGG SLICE Urges lecturer to kill, offering kitchen implement

EGGS (=urges(on)) + L (=lecturer) + ICE (=to kill)
   
21 LICHEN Plant is right outside church

CH (=church) in LIEN (=right, in law)
   
22 MEANS Money is tight, to a point

MEAN (=tight) + S (=a point, i.e. of the compass)
   
24 PEEVE English vice-president rearing grouse

E (=English) + VEEP (=vice-president, in US slang); “rearing” indicates (here full) reversal
   
   

11 comments on “Independent 8,995 / Klingsor”

  1. Thanks, Klingsor and RR. Is there a boycott of the Independent blog?
    We enjoyed this one. Veep presented no problem, as we are aficionados of the excellent series on Sky Atlantic, a worthy successor to The Thick of It.

  2. No boycott of the blog just most solve on line clearly. Another great k puzzle although the &lit count was lower than I’d expect from him. Mad hatter* very good chuckle moment. Rear=can had me head scratching for a good while. Thanks RR grand blog

  3. Not boycotting, but I spent the day on a transatlantic flight and have just got somewhere with wi-fi – the gate for my connection in Detroit.

    Didn’t have too many problems, apart from being unable to spell ATISHOO and thinking 1dn must be SPEED BUMP. 14ac was my LOI just after 3dn.

  5. Great crossword as you’d expect from Klingsor. Just two points: my interpretation of 15dn is that it is (y hire) round {w}orks and that the inclusion is indicated by “house”. Otherwise the order seems to be wrong. Is this correct? And (28ac) cans = buttocks according to Chambers so is Klingsor deducing from this that can = buttock?

  6. We’ve got a black square again for the online version. PLEASE Indy go back to the original or provide pdfs or something until the new software is fit for purpose. Luckily I got hold of the dead tree version.

    Wil, I agree on point 1. On point 2 my Chambers (CD ROM) gives can singular as buttocks. (It’s cans for headphones). Is it different in other editions?

    Thanks setter and blogger.

  7. For ‘can’ one dictionary gives the meaning [AMERICAN IMPOLITE] ‘your bottom’. Wonder what word I must use to refer to someone else’s bottom. Help!

  8. I began to wonder if this really was by Klingsor, I found it quite easy – and only one musical reference. Even the idea there might be a theme of storybook characters (WINNIE THE POOH, MAD HATTER) was a non-starter.

    But thanks, Klingsor and RatkojaRiku.

  9. cruciverbophile@6 you’re right about can/s — I remembered incorrectly what the Chambers app on my phone said — cans was headphones

  10. I parsed NUMBER ONE a little differently. I felt it was a DD not a Triple; “lassie” is there as it goes well with “wee” to produce a nice surface while misdirecting us in a non-sexist Arachnean way. “lassie at the top” is the second definition – this explains the QM (and I’ve never come across the meaning of “lassie” as RR opines). Perhaps I’m wrong – I’d be interested to know what K intended.
    Also, should not “house” be “houses” in 15dn for construction to work correctly?
    Otherwise, I agree this was a straightforward Klingsor – unexpectedly, for a Thursday!
    Thanks to both.

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