For some time this week I have been struggling to produce anything like a half-decent clue in a certain clue-setting competition. Yet Quixote, who sets several crosswords weekly, produces smooth and efficient clues that certainly look as if they are written easily. There is seldom any strain or ‘well, I’m not sure I’d have done that …’ at any point.
Definitions underlined and in maroon.
And as we know because he has said so himself, Quixote doesn’t do Ninas so there’s no point in our trying to find one.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SIDEPATH | Way death is dealt with, quietly concealed (8) |
| p in (death is)* | ||
| 5 | SHOVEL | Tool given push, then left (6) |
| shove L | ||
| 10 | DIORAMA | Designer, a graduate producing exhibition of pictures (7) |
| Dior a MA | ||
| 11 | A BAD LOT | An unscrupulous person, one with an even worse wife? (1,3,3) |
| This refers to Lot’s wife in the Bible, but the precise way in which she was even worse is outside my religious knowledge and I shall leave the exact parsing to people who are more knowledgeably holy than I am | ||
| 12 | ELECTRESS | Terrible secrets about the French wife of an important German (9) |
| le in (secrets)* | ||
| 13 | DRAPE | Animal doctor first supplying surgical cloth (5) |
| ape with dr at the start | ||
| 14 | TRANQUILLISE | After dreadful rant writer is given drug to calm down (12) |
| (rant)* quill is E | ||
| 18 | THIRDBOROUGH | Old officer in town given the bronze medal? (12) |
| If the borough gets the bronze medal, it’s the third borough — this, which I had to look up, is a historical word for an under-constable — I knew we wouldn’t get all the way through a Quixote crossword without an unusual word | ||
| 21 | RILED | End of newspaper? I was first to get annoyed (5) |
| {newspape}r I led | ||
| 23 | INTERLOPE | Meddle in what could be seen as inept role (9) |
| (inept role)* — I wasn’t sure about meddle = interlope, but it’s straightforward: I just don’t really know the word, interloper being more common | ||
| 24 | LAMBENT | Brilliant strike by criminal (7) |
| lam bent — criminal an adjective | ||
| 25 | RIOT ACT | Stern warning in Olympic city provided with sensitivity (4,3) |
| Rio tact | ||
| 26 | DOT COM | Sort of business caught losing heart totally in disposition that’s backward-looking (3,3) |
| (mo(c{augh}t)od)rev. — I don’t quite see why Quixote bothers to say ‘losing heart totally’, since ct is a standard abbreviation for caught, and the surface isn’t made any better; so far as I can see, anyway: neither version means a lot to me | ||
| 27 | TESTATOR | Hemmed in by protest, a Tory is one prepared to leave things behind (8) |
| Hidden in proTEST A TORy | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SODDEN | Thus drain leaking water gets lair very wet (6) |
| so d{rain} den | ||
| 2 | DOOMED | Ill-fated party mounting protest (6) |
| do (demo)rev. | ||
| 3 | PLASTERED | Son wearing coat looking embarrassed, tired and emotional (9) |
| pla(s)te red — I’m not quite sure where this euphemism for drunk came from: it might have been Private Eye, and I associate it with George Brown in the 1960s — and I’m also not sure about plate = coat; no doubt there is some sentence in which they are interchangeable | ||
| 4 | TRADE UNIONISTS | Industries not bothered about a group of workers demanding fairness? (5,9) |
| (Industries not)* round a | ||
| 6 | HEARD | Detected, as a group of animals will be here (5) |
| “herd” — the homophone indicator is the answer word | ||
| 7 | VOLCANIC | Terribly vocal, not entirely pleasant, and liable to explode (8) |
| (vocal)* nic{e} | ||
| 8 | LETTERED | Highly educated character, one whose word is final? (8) |
| letter ed. — ‘the editor’s word is final’ | ||
| 9 | SANSCULOTTERIE | Revolutionaries breaking up resistance, superior lot invading (14) |
| (U lot) in (resistance)* — the word comes originally from the French Revolution | ||
| 15 | LAGER LOUT | Tall rogue pummelled offensive drunk (5,4) |
| (Tall rogue)* | ||
| 16 | STARTLED | Learner being trapped began to be alarmed (8) |
| start(L)ed | ||
| 17 | DIPLOMAT | Negotiator obtained when mad pilot goes berserk (8) |
| (mad pilot)* | ||
| 19 | POP ART | Role outside work in modern movement (3,3) |
| p(op.)art | ||
| 20 | BEATER | Striker volunteers to turn up when there’s booze around (6) |
| be(at)er, the at being (TA)rev. | ||
| 22 | DIEGO | Name of Spaniard, maker of impression on game (5) |
| die go — the game ‘go’ | ||
*anagram
Plate = coat is from their verbal usage in the treatment of metals.
My last daily Independent puzzle. Thank you to all bloggers and solvers over the past 29 years. Don
Thanks John and Don- I managed to get the trademark answers but sort of wrote in drake instead of drape. No excuse.
I do hope the Quixote label survives.
As excellent as ever.
Many thanks to Don for all the fun today and in the past. As the most recent newbie, I’m curious to know, is there a record of how many Indy puzzles you’ve given us over the years?
Quality stuff as always. Many thanks for the hours of enjoyment Quixote.
Thanks for everything Quixote. We’ll miss you!
Thanks everyone. This was Indy 226 but in between two stints I produced 1103 consecutive puzzles for the Sindy, starting with No 1. I have also done a few Magazine puzzles and am hoping to make a guest appearance again from time to time, as Quixote. In the meantime the old puzzles will carry on the the i for quite a while. Thanks again. Don
Indeed thank yoy Don for many, many hours of fun over the years.
fantastic achievement, dear sir, many thanks indeed for all the head-scratching down the years
Nothing to add, really, except that I shall look forward to the repeats in the i. Thanks, Quixote (and John).
I’d like to add my thanks from 2020 as I understand this was your last puzzle in The I today – had a lot of fun solving your puzzles in various outlets and also working my way through your excellent Crossword Manual. Your Pasquale Genius this month shows you are still producing the goodies. Many thanks.