I always find Tees’ puzzles a challenge, but an entertaining challenge.
The allusions in Tees’ clues tend to focus on topics that don’t play to any strengths I may have. I am fairly well up on sport, politics, modern day life, modern history, geography, science, IT and mathematics. Where I have huge gaps in my knowledge is in the fields of literature, mythology, ancient history, films, TV, musicals and classics. However I continue to learn a lot from doing crosswords with these topics. Whether I retain that knowledge these day is another matter.
Today we have a fake psuedo-medievalist poet, a King of the Vandals in North Africa in the 6th century, an American Indian chief, dwarves in Norse mythology, the plays of Sophocles and Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale. The composer I was OK with as I listen to a lot of classical music in the car going to the golf course. I’ll also admit to knowing which musical featured the von Trapps. The Anfield clue was a write in with it’s interesting use of de-LIVER-ed
Having said all that, I enjoyed the puzzle as the clues were precise and gradually led me the entries as I turned them over in my mind. This certainly wasn’t the quickest solve I have had with Independent puzzles this week.
I made quickest progress on the left hand side of the grid. For some reason FAIRY GODMOTHER held me up for longer than it should have.
Thanks to Tees for the challenge today. There were plenty of anagrams , additive clues and container & contents clues as well as other constructs. I didn’t spot any use of a reversal which is fairly unusual.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Right usurps Left in Black Death city (6)
|
PLAGUE (The Black Death was an epidemic of bubonic PLAGUE) with R (right) replacing (usurps) L (left) PRAGUE |
PRAGUE (city, capital of the Czech republic)
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9
|
Song from Frau von Trapp millions dismissed (4)
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MARIA (reference the musical and film The Sound of Music portraying the life of the Von Trapp family where MARIA moved out of the convent to become Frau von Trapp) excluding (dismissed) M (millions)
|
ARIA (song)
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10
|
Talk to knight and pseudo-medievalist poet (10)
|
CHATTER (talk) + TO + N (notation for Knight in chess)
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CHATTERTON (reference Thomas CHATTERTON [1752 – 1770], English poet and forger of pseudo-medieval poetry)
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11
|
Theologian in distance comes to centre (6)
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DD (Doctor of Divinity; theologian) contained in (in) MILE (a distance) MI (DD) LE |
MIDDLE (centre)
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12
|
Fled, escaping ranger wild as Hilderic? (8)
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RANGER excluding (escaping) RAN (fled) + MANIC (wild)
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GERMANIC (HILDERIC is a masculine GERMANIC given name. There was also a HILDERIC [460 – 533] who was King of the Vandals [a GERMANIC tribe] in North Africa)
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13
|
Appearance of Fish calling for Chips? (9)
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CARP (a fish) + ENTRY (appearance)
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CARPENTRY (CHIPS is a common nickname for a CARPENTer, so the need for CARPENTRY work could result in a call for CHIPS)
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15 / 4
|
Good-looker was female’s help in kitchen (10)
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DISH (good-looker) + WAS + HER (female’s)
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DISHWASHER (an aid in the kitchen)
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16
|
Game Anfield side delivered? (4)
|
LIVERPOOL (Anfield is the stadium where LIVERPOOL Football Club play their home games) excluding (de – ed) LIVER
|
POOL (any of various games of the same name)
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21
|
Big Chief Iron Cuckoo in Stonehenge? (8)
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Anagram of (cuckoo) IRON contained in (in) (GEM [stone] + O [a HENGE is a circular {or oval} area enclosed by a bank and internal ditch) GE (RONI*) M O |
GERONIMO (GERONIMO [1829 – 1909] prominent leader from the Bedonkohe band of the Chiricahua Apache tribe)
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22
|
Hreidmar’s son makes audible fuss close by (6)
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FAF (sounds like [audible] FAFF [fuss ineffectually] + NIR (sounds like [continuing with audible] NEAR [close by)
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FAFNIR (In Norse mythology, FAFNIR was son of the dwarf king HREIDMAR)
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24
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Reference work and super novel in 9 brings tragedy (7,3)
|
OED (Oxford English Dictionary; reference work) + (an anagram of [novel] SUPER contained in (in) IX (Roman numerals for 9]) OED I (PUS RE*) X |
OEDIPUS REX (reference the Tragedy of OEDIPUS the King [REX], the second of three Theban plays written by Sophocles and first performed around 429 BC)
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25
|
Daesh takes two lives (4)
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IS (lives) + IS (lives) gives two lives
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ISIS (DAESH, ISIS, ISIL, Islamic State … – there seem to be a variety of names for this group although the Daily Mirror tells us that they seem to particularly dislike being called DAESH)
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26
|
Daughter one to see in Rome or Split (6)
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D + I [one] + VIDE [Latin [Rome] for see]) D I VIDE |
DIVIDE (split)
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27
|
Restrained always in disease of love (6)
|
AYE (ever; always) contained in (in) STD (sexually transmitted disease; disease of love) ST (AYE) D |
STAYED (restrained)
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| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Lost daughter partied wildly (7)
|
Anagram of (wildly) PARTIED PERDITA* |
PERDITA (in Shakespeare’s play The Winters Tale, PERDITA is the daughter of Leontes, King of Sicilia, and his wife Hermione. PERDITA is the Latin for ‘lost one’)
|
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2
|
Bill receives armed conflict prize (5)
|
AD (advertisement; bill) containing (receives) WAR (armed conflict) A (WAR) D |
AWARD (prize)
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3
|
Jane edges away after relative becomes leprous (7)
|
UNCLE (relative) + AN (letters remaining in JANE when the outside letters [edges] J and E are excluded [away])
|
UNCLEAN (in a fairly extreme sense, foul; leprous)
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5
|
Say M1 means to supply blood (6)
|
The M1 motorway is a major road transport ARTERY in England running from London to north of Leeds)
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ARTERY (tube or vessel that conveys blood from the heart to the body) double definition
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6
|
Healer Earth’s Lib misrepresented (9)
|
Anagram of (misrepresented) EARTH’S LIB HERBALIST* |
HERBALIST (a person who uses (extracts of) roots, seeds, etc for medicinal purposes; healer)
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7
|
Like some bird, marsupial is trapped by King Henry (7)
|
ROO (kangaroo; marsupial) + (IS contained in [trapped by] [K [king] + H [henry]) ROO K (IS) H |
ROOKISH (like a rook [example of [like some] bird)
|
|
8
|
Just not sitting here, cougar took and ran off (8,5)
|
Anagram of (off) COUGAR TOOK and RAN KANGAROO COURT* |
KANGAROO COURT (a tribunal before which a fair trial is impossible; a sitting that is not just)
|
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14
|
Composer ordered pork, duck and five nuts (9)
|
Anagram of (ordered) PORK + O [zero; duck score in cricket) + an anagram of (nuts) FIVE PROK* O FIEV* |
PROKOFIEV (reference Sergei PROKOFIEV [1891 – 1953], Russian and Soviet composer)
|
| 16 | Parking on corner – it’s allowed to clergy (7) | P (parking) + RE (with reference to; about; on) + BEND (corner) |
PREBEND (the share of the revenues of a cathedral or collegiate church allowed to a clergyman who officiates in it at stated times) |
|
18
|
Problem solver runs with force inside to cause trouble (2,5) |
(R [runs in cricket scoring notation] + F [force]) contained in (inside) MIX IT (cause trouble) M (R F) IX IT |
MR FIXIT (problem solver)
|
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19
|
Two editors to retain provided one’s improved mind (7)
|
(ED [editor] + ED [editor] giving two editors) containing (to retain) (IF [provided] + I [one]) ED (IF I) ED |
EDIFIED (improved the mind)
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20
|
In the form of money: £51? (6)
|
LI (51 in Roman numerals) + QUID (pound sterling; £)
|
LIQUID (descriptive of cash or other assets readily convertible into cash; money)
|
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23 / 17
|
Hag with deformity, or disfigured benefactor? (5,9)
|
Anagram of (disfigured) HAG and DEFORMITY OR FAIRY GODMOTHER* |
FAIRY GODMOTHER (benefactor)
|
A good challenge without being too difficult for a Thursday, though I missed some of the parsing such as O for ‘henge’ and guessed ISIS without recognising the connection to ‘Daesh'(/ISIL). I liked CHATTERTON, CARPENTRY, ‘STD’ as a ‘disease of love’ in STAYED and the anagram fodder for FAIRY GODMOTHER. FAFNIR and Hreidmar should make good dinner party conversation next week.
Thank you to Tees and Duncan.
Thank you, Duncan. You can’t say that Tees didn’t give us a wide range of subjects here, reinforcing the idea that it helps with cryptic crosswords to have knowledge that’s five miles wide and one foot deep. I thoroughly enjoyed it (and needed e-help only for FAFNIR). Good surfaces and clear constructions throughout.
CARPENTRY was clever; and I liked the long anagrams as well.
Bravo, Tees.
Quite easy as Tees’ puzzles go, I thought, although some googling was required to identify Hilderic and Hreidmar. But I did know CHATTERTON was a poet, though not the pseudo-medieval bit.
I interpreted “calling” in 13ac as meaning career or, even, vocation – but your idea is just as good.
UNCLEAN meaning “leprous” is I think a well-established meaning. Supposedly in medieval times sufferers from leprosy (which was taken to include a host of skin diseases) had to carry a bell and shout “Unclean!” when anyone approached them.
I got GERONIMO from the definition and crossing letters but couldn’t parse it. the parsing looks obvious now, but I still think it’s a bit devious.
Thanks, though, Tees and Duncan.
Thank you Tees and Duncan.
I do like Tees’s cluing, but this was quite a hard solve even though PRAGUE got me quickly started. I knew CHATTERTON was a poet but, like alan_c, not the pseudo-medieval bit, and I had to google Anfield and Hreidmar.
CARPENTRY and STAYED were neat.
I also find that ‘calling for Chips?’ equals CARPENTRY. The STD reference in STAYED is typical Independent stuff I’d say, and little touches like this make the Indy puzzle a joy which I really hope we don’t lose! The GEM+O one I really liked too. Precise clues as blogger says, thanks Duncan and Tees.
Thanks Duncan & Tees, guessed hafnir. I thought the vocation for chips too. Mostly easy i thought for a Thursday.
Most excellent blog and comments. I thank you all.
I really want The Indy Crossword to continue, on line etc, just to keep the unusual but somehow perfect way of doing things Eimi has devised. I’m really proud right now, just as I was right at the start (6084, 17 April 2006), to be a member of the Indy’s panel, and I’m always challenged by the excellence of colleagues’ work, by the diversity, by all of it. It really makes me feel good, being a part of this.
Lotsa luv
Tees
Late post, but found this one of the most enjoyable I can remember. Thought OEDIPUS REX brilliant. Got FAFNIR as I knew of Fafner the Dragon from Wagner’s Ring cycle and assumed this was a variant spelling. Do the two derive from the same myth?
Thanks muchly to Tees and to duncanshiell.