My last Indy blog before the paper goes for good.
I know the regular crossword continues on line, but it’s not the same somehow. Can’t see any themes or Ninas unusually for Crosophile, except the 1a being yesterday.
Many thanks Crosophile, glad the regular crossword will continue, shame there was no Beelzebub yesterday.
Across
1 Short horse jump in reverse – bullock and the ram starts now? (6,7)
SPRING EQUINOX
A short EQUIN(e) & SPRING (jump) swapped – reversed & OX. Refering to Aries the Ram begins today. Q and X in the clue? Pangram time?
10 Trace changes and put up opposition (5)
REACT
TRACE* changed
11 Pull up – I’m risking going back to provide food right away (9)
ERADICATE
Def as in weeding. I DARE reversed & R from CATE(r)
12 Don’t put on too much lingerie (9)
UNDERWEAR
Cryptic def bit & definition
13 This plonker’s oddly vacant mild riposte (5)
IDIOT
Odd letters missing from mIlD rIpOsTe
14 Made-up new trainees without any enthusiasm initially – these perhaps? (7)
INTERNS
[N(ew) TR(a)INeES]* made up less A(ny) E(nthusiasm) extended def into whole clue
16 I make metal ornament in bed with current nearly off (7)
INLAYER
I (current) & NEARLY* off
17 Denied working aged ten (7)
NEGATED
[AGED TEN]* worked
19 Work out a new name to echo this one? (7)
SUSANNE
SUS (work out) & A & N(ew) & N(ame) & E(cho)
21 Meadow pipit’s outside and flew up (5)
LEAPT
LEA (meadow) & outside of P(ipi)T
22 Reduction of load after discharge of energy in a flash (9)
LIGHTNING
E(nergy) removed from LIGHT(e)NING
24 Maybe his church is to issue an edict (9)
PRONOUNCE
PRONOUN (his for example) & C.E.
25 This indicates what should be strenuous from beginning to end (5)
OUGHT
TOUGH with the T moved to the end
26 Got up as a dame discerns gross misbehaving (5-8)
CROSS-DRESSING
[DISCERNS GROSS]* misbehaving
Down
2 Place reckoning to get approval (7)
PLAUDIT
PL(ace) & AUDIT (reckoning, check)
3 Takes rest – or in-patient needs a resort (15)
INTERPRETATIONS
[REST OR IN PATIENT]* resorted
4 For instance observe in the middle, looking up, some birds (5)
GEESE
SEE in E.G. all reversed- looking up
5 Verses in the role of elevated culture in society (9)
QUATRAINS
QUA (in the role of) & ART (reversed, elevated) & IN & S(ociety)
6 First letter about Oscar isn’t as I sent to Boots (15)
INITIALISATIONS
Definition as in restarting computers, INITIAL (first letter) & O(scar) in [ISNT AS I]* sent
7 Dullness of work by an urban area (7)
OPACITY
OP(us) & A & CITY
8 Revealing 12? (8,5)
FREUDIAN SLIPS
Cryptic def of a sort – re slips = underwear
9 Boxers heartlessly wrestle in a melée with carol singers say (13)
WELTERWEIGHTS
Hmm. WRE(s)TLE* hearltessly, in a melee & sounds like WAITS who are carol singers apparently. No I didn’t know that one.
15 Nothing in act is revolting and degraded (9)
SIDELINED
NIL in DEED (act) & IS reversed – revolting
18 Was this good to see with Hope and Crosby’s co-star? (7)
GLAMOUR
G(ood) & (dorothy) LAMOUR
20 Granny eats fruit up – this should fix things quickly (4,3)
NAIL GUN
UGLI (fruit) reversed in NAN
23 Diver involved in discovering Rebecca (5)
GREBE
Hidden answer
Any errors or omissions are entirely due to the pubs in Macclesfield. 🙂
This blog is my number 15^2 ….
Yo, Flashling. Good to see you in Macclesfield. I too thought ‘pangram’ after 1a & interestingly INITIALISATIONS and SUSANNE could have been made to cross with ‘Z’ instead of ‘S’ had Crosophile been so inclined, which he clearly wasn’t.
Thanks to you & him, esp for the variety of definitions, some v. short (‘Boots’ for the 15-letter 6d) and others almost interminable (‘I make metal ornament in bed’…).
Will there still be blogging in the new regime?
Hi Grant, indeed ’twas good to see you over a slight alcoholic haze. The blogs will continue and evolve I’m sure.
I really enjoyed 18d! Thanks to both. Plus, I thought the paper version crossword would be continuing in the ‘i’ along with the other puzzles. Is that not the case?
@3
The Indy is on record that the crosswords will continue to appear in the digital edition, so it’s doubtful they would jeopardise sales of the new format by permitting the puzzles to also appear in printed form in the ‘i’.
I didn’t quite get to the end today (not unusual!) but it was a fun ride. Also thanks for the very clear blog.
Thanks, Crosophile and flashling. Yes, it was a good do at Macclesfield, one of the best I’ve been to, I thought.
Nadjau @4: The i has said that it will continue to have some input from the Indy, so this may well include recycling old Indy crosswords (currently from about 5 years ago). If not, the new owners also own The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post, both of which had cryptic crosswords the last time I saw a copy of either, so we should be able to get a fix of sorts.
Thanks to Crosophile for a very enjoyable puzzle. I usually give the G a miss on Mondays; the Indy my only fix so a good’un like this particularly welcome.
Congratulations, flashling, on your milestone. Many happy returns here.
WAITS also new to me – now have nine months to think up a suitable pun with which to greet wassailers!
Thanks, all, esp. Flashling. I forgot this till a couple of days after. Oops!