It’s Wednesday, it’s D.. – no it’s not, it’s Serpent with what I thought was quite a tough puzzle
I found this one of the most difficult Independent puzzles that I have blogged in the last few months. It may be that I wasn’t on Serpent’s wavelength. There were quite a few cryptic definitions which I always tend to have trouble with if I don’t get them straightaway. With hindsight though, I’m not sure why I found it so difficult.
It wasn’t until I started writing the blog that I sussed out the wordplay everywhere. In fact there is still one I am not sure about. That’s the one at 25 down – EARNS
My last one ones in were the crossing pair at ATHEISTS (30 across) and UNLESS (23 down)
My favourite clue today, well it brought a smile to my face, was G-ROPE. at 16 across.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
People that routinely take drugs tests and steal the supply (8)
|
Anagram of (supply [supple]) STEAL THE ATHLETES* |
ATHLETES (people who are routinely subjected to drugs tests)
|
|
5
|
American society on school run … (6)
|
SCH (school) + US (United States; American) + S (society)
|
SCHUSS (in skiing, straight slope on which it is possible to make a fast run; such a run)
|
|
9
|
… in chaos as fun gets out of hand (5)
|
Anagram of (gets out of hand) AS FUN SNAFU* |
SNAFU (chaos)
|
|
10
|
Reveal suit with 40% cut in charges here (9)
|
OUT (reveal) + FIT (suit) + TERMS (charges) excluding (cut) MS (two of the five letters [40%])
|
OUTFITTER (a shop where you might get a 40% discount on a suit)
|
|
12
|
She aims to change one who’s expected to deliver (7)
|
Anagram of (to change) SHE AIMS MESSIAH* |
MESSIAH (the expected deliverer of the Jews; more generally, a hoped-for deliverer)
|
|
13
|
Agree with artist creating monstrous image using animal parts (7)
|
CHIME (agree) + RA (Royal Academician; artist)
|
CHIMERA (fabled fire-spouting monster, with a lion’s head, a serpent’s tail, and a goat’s body; monstrous image using animal parts)
|
|
14
|
This rather reflects on you (7)
|
ONESELF (reflexive form of one; this rather reflects)
|
ONESELF (you)
|
|
16
|
Struggle to find revealing yet sturdy underwear? (5)
|
G-ROPE (something that would be sturdier than a G-string [form of underwear])
|
GROPE (feel about, as if blind or in the dark; struggle to find)
|
|
19
|
Arms go inside openings of each sleeve (5)
|
PEE (urinate; go) contained in (in) ES (first letters [openings] of each of EACH and SLEEVE) E (PEE) S |
EPEES (swords; arms)
|
|
21
|
Artistic board‘s sense of taste discerned by audience (7)
|
PALETTE (sounds like [discerned by audience] PALATE [sense of taste])
|
PALETTE (little board, usually with a thumb hole, on which a painter mixes colours)
|
|
24
|
Cabinet position with responsibility for clothing company (7)
|
DRESSER (person who assists a company of actors to DRESS)
|
DRESSER (kitchen or dining room sideboard; cabinet) double definition
|
|
26
|
Counter intelligence describing support to enhance deal (7)
|
(NEWS [intelligence] containing [describing] TEE [support]) all reversed (counter) (SW (EET) EN)< |
SWEETEN (make agreeable, e.g. enhance a deal to win the job)
|
|
27
|
Period home had come to an end (9)
|
TERM (period of time) + IN (home) + ATE (had)
|
TERMINATE (come to an end)
|
|
28
|
Unit measuring weight put on neural nets (5)
|
TONNE (hidden word in [nets] PUT ON NEURAL)
|
TONNE (metric ton [1000 kilograms]; unit of weight)
|
|
29
|
Guarantee that’s equally reliable (6)
|
AS (to that extent; that’s equally) + SURE (reliable)
|
ASSURE (guarantee)
|
|
30
|
The first to split up when they’re unfaithful (8)
|
(THE + IST [first]) contained in (to split up) AS (when) A (THE IST) S |
ATHEISTS (people who disbelieve the existence of a god; they’re unfaithful)
|
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Bottom bird lifted up to use premises (6)
|
ASS (arse; bottom) + (EMU [bird] reversed [lifted up; down clue]) ASS UME< |
ASSUME (use premises)
|
|
2
|
Leader’s temper makes contribution to grave situation (9)
|
HEAD’S (leaders) + TONE (temper)
|
HEADSTONE (gravestone sited [not surprisingly] beside the site of a grave)
|
|
3
|
Learned on-line technology, like Yahoo, say, is taking over (7)
|
E (electronic, used as an abbreviation to indicate on-line services) + (RUDE [descriptive of {like} a yahoo or lout] containing [taking over] IT [information technology, e.g. services provided by the multinational Yahoo technology company). It looks like there is some degree of words doing double duty here and I may not have got the parsing exactly right, but I’m fairly sure I’m in the right ballpark E RUD (IT) E |
ERUDITE (learned)
|
|
4
|
Age when he’s beginning to deal with growing up (5)
|
(H [first letter of [beginning] HE] + COPE [deal with]) all reversed (growing up; down clue) (EPOC H)< |
EPOCH (age, especially geological) or historical)
|
|
6
|
Spooner’s renting property that cannot be surpassed (7)
|
CEILING (LEASING [renting property] as a Spoonerism)
|
CEILING (upper limit; that which cannot be surpassed])
|
|
7
|
Loose woman, relatively speaking, is relieved of her top (5)
|
AUNTIE (female relative) excluding [relieved of] the first letter [her top] A
|
UNTIE (loose)
|
|
8
|
Ran with no cover on inside bet (8)
|
RE (with reference to; about; on) contained in (inside) STAKED (net) ST (RE) AKED |
STREAKED (ran without any clothes; ran with no cover)
|
|
11
|
Suspect fault provides case for court using discretion (7)
|
Anagram of (suspect) FAULT containing (provides case for) CT (court) TA (CT) FUL* |
TACTFUL (using discretion)
|
|
15
|
Shops publicise work Serpent reviewed (7)
|
(AIR [publicise] + OP [opus; work] + ME [Serpent, the compiler]) all reversed (reviewed) (EM PO RIA)< |
EMPORIA (large shops)
|
|
17
|
Subtle meaning suggested by public figures? (9)
|
OVERT (public) + ONES (figures)
|
OVERTONES (subtle meaning)
|
|
18
|
Sell when one’s expected to maintain tense and bitter disagreement (8)
|
VEND (sell) + (ETA [estimated time of arrival] containing [to maintain] T) VEND (ET (T) A) |
VENDETTA (prolonged, violent, etc, feud or quarrel; bitter disagreement).
|
|
20
|
Fresher American soldiers rise up (7)
|
SAS (Special Air Service; soldiers) + an anagram of (up) RISE SAS SIER* |
SASSIER (American term for one being more cheeky [fresher])
|
|
22
|
Leading character in The Passion on stage (7)
|
T (first letter of [leading character in] THE) + HEAT (passion) + RE (with reference to; about; on)
|
THEATRE (stage)
|
|
23
|
Introduction to qualification comprises Derrida’s articles on what limits semiotics (6)
|
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher so for him, examples of the definite and indefinite articles are UN and LE UN (French for ‘a’) + LE (French for ‘the’) + SS (first and last letters of SEMIOTICS) |
UNLESS (a word used as an introduction to an exemption, condition or other qualification)
|
|
25
|
Makes accommodations for those who aren’t quick verbally (5)
|
EARNS (sounds like [verbally] URNS. QUICK has an archaic meaning of ‘alive’ so perhaps those who aren’t quick are dead and their ashes may be placed [accommodated] in URNS) I’m not entirely happy with this, but for the moment I can’t think of anything better. Feel free to point out something more obvious. |
EARNS (makes [money])
|
| 26 | Week early in month passed quickly (5) |
W contained in (in) SEPT (September; month) right after the first letter (early) S (W) EPT |
SWEPT (passed swiftly)
|
phew this was very hard; too hard for me. I failed to finish, and needed the very helpful 4x Nina to get me as far as I did. Great stuff from Serpent, and thanks to Duncan for the blog
baerchen @ 1
Guess who didn’t see the Nina until your comment sent me back to the grid and the unchecked letters. Solving the puzzle would have been a lot easier if I had seen that.
I thought I’d completed it but found I’d forgotten 23- probably wasnt mush else that fit the crossers.
But i would have been stumped without spotting the nina in the left which made me follow up on the right-that unlocked the rest of that side.
I’m not sure that TALUS in the middle has much to do with it but I’ll stay tuned.
What with Nutmeg and Julius I havent acheived much else today. Great stuff from Serpent.
Whoops-only just saw the other two ninas. Wow! talking about signing your name!
Impossibly difficult for a daily cryptic, imho, of course. Got about a third of it then gave up, since I have other stuff to do. Themes, ninas, hidden themes in the Indy these days, most days of the week. Can we just have some normal stuff that most average solvers can complete, which makes them feel good about themselves? This was just an ego trip, set for setters to appreciate rather than solvers to enjoy.
We’ll have an easy Thursday puzzle tomorrow, no doubt.
Thanks to S&B.
Cannot remember a more difficult Wednesday puzzle. As one who doesn’t have easy excess to the more difficult specialist puzzles, I am less enraged than K’sD and don’t think all weekday puzzles should be “normal”. Spotted Serpentx2 (but not x4) late in the piece, which almost enabled me to finish.
Thanks to Serpent and duncanshiell.
Thanks to duncan for the excellent blog and to everyone who commented.
I’m sorry the puzzle turned out to be on the hard side, that really wasn’t my intention. I do feel the suggestion that it was an ego trip is unfair, although putting four SERPENT ninas in the grid is probably asking for trouble! The puzzle, by design, contains very few obscure words, and the parsing of each answer is relatively straightforward (with the exception, perhaps, of ERUDITE) and requires very little general knowledge. In short, I try to set puzzles I would like to solve.
However, I do put a lot of effort into making it difficult to identify the joins between wordplay elements and definition. The hope is that there will be a satisfying penny-drop moment when the correct way to read the clue is found. So I view duncan’s comment “With hindsight though, I’m not sure why I found it so difficult” as the perfect reaction (and a compliment because that’s what I am likely to say on completing puzzles by my favourite setters).
Cheers
Jason
Thanks Serpent and Duncan.
Late to the party and, yes, it was tricky. My computer and I solved most of it but I got stuck on the NE corner, not helped by my not knowing (or forgetting) SCHUSS.
Of course, I completely missed the NINAs in my efforts to solve the clues.
I liked the ATHEISTS and the G-ROPE.
30a is brilliant
Thanks Jason and Duncan.
K’sD @5 Try the FT!
Struggled all day with this and had to cheat by coming here for 5ac – never heard of SCHUSS, and there were others I couldn’t parse. Misdirected (intentionally?) in 2dn looking for a word meaning ‘temper’ (‘rage’?) contained in another meaning ‘a grave situation’. EARNS took a while to see, but I too parsed it as a homophone of URNS, accommodation for those no longer ‘quick’. Missed the ninas completely – they might have helped. And am I the only one to dislike the use of ‘ass’ for ‘arse’?
As for normal stuff that most average solvers can complete, I found a discarded Torygraph in the pub this evening, obviously not left by a cruciverbalist as the cryptic hadn’t been attempted, and completed said cryptic in about 10 minutes.
Thanks, Serpent for the challenge and Duncan for making it look so simple.
K’s D @ 5
I wouldn’t bank on it!
Another defeat here. Got maybe a quarter of the answers. That’s the third day in a row I’ve got less than 50% in the Indie.
My views are similar to those of K’s D at 5 above. I finally made the connection between run and Schuss, having done a fair bit of my skiing in German-speaking places, but it is pretty tenuous and obscure. With wordplay that’s a concatenation of potentially ambiguous abbreviations, the clue seemed very unsatisfactory. And to my mind there is a different between unfaithful and faithless, which marred 30.
Lord love a duck. Just got round to doing this. Hard as they get. Wow serpent, I’d love to see you set what you think is a difficult one. Ok maybe not. Duncan, excellent blog.
Solved this today so comment is probably too late – even so, greatly enjoyed this challenging puzzle with its hidden snakes. The only clue I wasn’t sure about was 14 across. which is explained above. Too many excellent clue to mention individually. Thanks Serpent.