Independent 9298 / Radian

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We were more than pleased to see Radian’s name today.

 

We solved 13d fairly quickly and 9a came soon after. Despite never having read any of the Sherlock Holmes novels or short stories, Bert recognised that Carfax featured in them although he couldn’t remember where. He also knew that Hudson at 22ac was his housekeeper, and remembered the case at 26/24 – but that was a bit of a give-away. However, the fact that we had uncovered the theme did not really help us, although we were on the look-out for Watson, who turned up at 3/7.

We knew that Holmes was also renowned as a violin player, but we did not know that he owned a Stradivarius – so perhaps 8ac should also be considered thematic?

We’ve highlighted the thematic links that we have managed to unearth (apart from Blake in 24d) but there may be others.  Just before finishing the blog, Joyce tried a random search on google as she often does when there seems to be a possibility of a hidden theme and found that one of the novels is titled ‘Scandal in Bohemia’ and one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories was called ‘A Solitary Cyclist’. On checking the blog, Joyce discovered that some of the ‘novels’ were actually short stories or a collection of short stories as in ‘The Last Bow’. It turns out that one of the short stories is called ‘The Adventure of the Norwood Builder’! Another thematic reference that then needed highlighting.

Thanks Radian – all good fun!

ACROSS
8   Six tours sadly come to nothing for top player (8)
VIRTUOSO VI (six) plus an anagram of TOURS (anagrind is ‘sadly’) O (nothing)
9   Fiat oddly parked behind vehicle by junction (6)
CARFAX Odd letters of FiAt behind CAR (vehicle) X (by)
10   Cabinet backs section of Companies Act (4)
CASE Hidden and reversed or ‘backed’ in the clue – ‘companiES ACt’
11   Doctor inserts wad in poor condition (10)
TAWDRINESS An anagram of INSERTS WAD (anagrind is ‘doctor’)
12   It nips William, say, right on the rear (6)
PINCER PRINCE (William for example) moving R (right) to the end or ‘rear’
14   Malleable ring twisted around cube (8)
OBEDIENT O (ring) BENT (twisted) around DIE (cube)
15   Two metals generate dirt (7)
SCANDAL SC AND AL (scandium and aluminium – two metals)
17   It’s read to divine crook in Bow (3,4)
TEA LEAF Tea leaves are sometimes ‘read’ by ‘fortune tellers’ and TEA LEAF is Cockney rhyming slang for thief. I do think it would be hard for to work out your future though with one tea leaf – or maybe they can!
20   I refuse to accept bird’s name (8)
IDENTITY I DENY (refuse) around or ‘accepting’ TIT (bird). A Case of Identity was one of 13d’s short stories.
22   Fox hounds bay (6)
HUDSON An anagram of HOUNDS (anagrind is ‘fox’)
23   Developer forged payroll log (10)
PYROGALLOL An anagram of PAYROLL LOG (anagrind is ‘forged’). We have to admit to using a word search for this – we’d not heard of the developer used by photographers.
24   See 26
25   To which 22 Down applied “His Last Bow“? (6)
VIOLIN A play on the fact that Holmes was an accomplished violinist. He owned a Stradivari – perhaps we should highlight 8ac as another thematic link!  The last Bow was one of 13’s short story collections.
26/24   Spotted group, a 10 for 22 Down (8,4)
SPECKLED BAND SPECKLED (spotted) BAND (group) was one of Holmes’ cases.
DOWN
1   Without it, sailor may be a victim, sick with navy (7,1)
VITAMIN C Cryptic definition – a play on the fact that on long voyages sailors developed scurvy without it. It’s also an anagram of A VICTIM and N (navy) – anagrind is ‘sick’.
2   Something troubling your eyelid primarily (4)
STYE Another cryptic definition – first or ‘primary’ letters of Something Troubling Your Eyelid
3   Fiddle with cross erected over court (6)
DOCTOR ROOD (cross) reversed or ‘erected’ as it’s a down clue around CT (court)
4   Part of Croydon or court in centre of Dundee (7)
NORWOOD OR WOO (court) in ND N OR D (middle letters of Dundee). Thanks Eileen@1
5   Director, not quite 20, sees cast (8)
SCORSESE SCORe (twenty) without last letter or ‘almost’ and an anagram of SEES (anagrind is ‘cast’)
6   Assassin was at the front, honest! (10)
PRINCIPLED This was our LOI which we guessed from the definition and the fact that it ended with LED (was at the front) but we did not remember PRINCIP who assassinated Archduke Franz Fedinand.
7   Events guide hard going for 22 Down’s amanuensis (6)
WATSON WhAT’S ON (events guide) with ‘h’ (hard) omitted or ‘going’
13   Firm line adopted by annoyed comic author (5,5)
CONAN DOYLE CO (firm) + L inside or ‘adopted by’ an anagram of ANNOYED (anagrind is ‘comic’).
16   Flyers provided with a uniform in a clapped-out van (8)
AVIFAUNA Not a word we knew but clear from the wordplay when we had a few crossing letters  – IF (provided) A U (uniform) in A and an anagram of  VAN (anagrind is ‘clapped out’). Thanks to gwep for noticing the missing ‘A’ 
18   Chose article on famous houses at home (8)
ANOINTED A (article) on NOTED (famous) around or ‘housing’ IN (at home)
19   Fancy C-listers ringing Hoy for one! (7)
CYCLIST Hidden within the clue – ‘fanCY C-LISTers’. The cyclist is Sir Chris Hoy.
21   Disgustingly dirty bottled whiskey that’s typical of Wilde (3,3)
DRY WIT An anagram of DIRTY around or ‘bottling’ W (whiskey in the phonetic alphabet)
22   Sleuth mainly begins probing parts of course (6)
HOLMES M (first letter or ‘beginning’ of ‘mainly’) inside or ‘probing’ HOLES (parts of course)
24   Sexton left out roast (4)
BAKE BlAKE (as in Sexton Blake) leaving out ‘l’ (left). The wiki article states that he has been called the ‘poor man’s Sherlock Holmes’ – another thematic clue.

 

8 comments on “Independent 9298 / Radian”

  1. Thanks, B and J, especially for the added value of your extra research.

    I don’t think I have ever read a Sherlock Holmes story, either, but I’ve heard /seen enough dramatisations to recognise the theme fairly readily and I enjoyed the solve very much.

    It took me ages to enter PRINCIPLED, although it had to be that. I don’t think I ever knew the unlikely-sounding name of the Archduke’s assassin, let alone remember it.

    I thought the clue for HUDSON was an absolute gem and I liked the construction of SCANDAL [but I didn’t spot your similar interpretation of 4dn: I read it simply as OR WOO in ND].

    Lovely surfaces throughout, as always. I particularly enjoyed 8, 12, 22ac and 1, 7, 13 21dn.

    Many thanks to Radian for a lovely puzzle.

  2. Your parsing of NORWOOD is much better Eileen. We’ll alter the blog when we return from swimming and Pilates!

  3. I have read the Holmes stories but many years ago and I couldn’t identify most of the themed references. Thanks for going to all the trouble of finding them. Didn’t know the assassin – I wondered if it might be one of those Russian princes who murdered Rasputin – and PYROGALLOL was a new word, though a reminder of an old and disappearing practice (“true” photographers would probably disagree). Yes, I thought the anagram for HUDSON was an excellent clue.

    Thanks to Radian for a fun puzzle and to B&J.

  4. Didn’t like anointed as chose _ past participle of choose. Appointed fits better grammatically for me but not physically. Otherwise great puzzle. Btw, just finished Valley of Fear. Now for Tramp. Thanks everyone.

  5. Well, I know most of the short stories and The Hound of the Baskervilles, if not the other novels, and this was a delight to solve as the various references emerged. Incidentally there is a particular link between 9ac and 10ac, which I won’t reveal here so as not to spoil it for anyone who’s not read the story referred to.

    And although I needed a wordfinder for 6dn I saw the parsing straight away – I knew the assassin’s name from having visited the museum in Sarajevo 50 years ago (when Yugoslavia was still Yugoslavia!)

    Thanks, Radian and B&J.

  6. I suppose “hounds” in the clue for 10A could also be thematic. Good fun, last one PRINCIPLED, after cheating, then annoyingly remembered I had heard of Princip.

    There are people who have not read any of the Holmes stories?? This must be remedied. Infinitely more entertaining than any screen versions, particularly the ghastly Cumberbatch efforts.

    Initial “A” missed from parsing of 16D.

    Thanks to Radian and Bertandjoyce.

  8. Nice turn-up for a Monday – although I eventually did it on Tuesday.

    Never having read any my entire knowledge of Holmes, his assistant, his houskeeper etc comes from crosswords themed on that subject. even so – in Radian’s hands there’s always something fresh. 20a I t hought particualrly neat – amongst many minor gems.

    LOI was 17a – I invented a piece of Welsh scripture – the LEI LLAN – before OneLook put me right.

    Thanks all round.

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