Independent 9,380 by Nimrod

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Oh cripes, it’s Nimrod again.

This time I managed two and a half answers before reaching for internet-based help, and perhaps a couple more before dissecting the Crossword Compiler data file for pointers.

I’d like to tactfully posit that I might have enjoyed this a little more if I hadn’t been on blogging duties, but in all honesty I fear I wouldn’t have persisted at all. As it stands it felt like a procession of question marks and unsatisfyingly tentative entries leaving me with the distinct sense that I’m missing something significant. The correct set of clues, say.

That said, there were several pleasing moments in there, and if pushed to name a COD it might be 16/17, which looked scary at first, but turned out to be a rather nice observation concerning the name of a fortuitously-monickered American politics lady.

Do feel free to fill in the many gaps in my understanding.

Across
9 IN TOUCH Communicating 3, but at Kingsmeadow, not SW19 (2,5)
Two definitions? It reads that way, except that Kingsmeadow (I looked it up) is where two minor association football teams play, and surely “in touch” is a rugby term?
10 HOOSIER American sock and stocking-stocker stocking Doc’s stock (7)
No idea. It’s what some Americans call a native of Indiana, though that barely seems relevant. If you’ve the energy to untangle the clue then you’re made of sturdier stuff than I am.
11 LEGROOM In Franglais Union, the important chap’s given personal space (7)
LE GROOM.
12 MERCURY Messenger rising with the sun … (7)
Another two definitions. Mercury was a messenger, and the mercury is said to be rising in the summer because of, y’know, thermometers.
13 BICYCLE RACE … frozen in BC50, many years before the Church event (that was) … (7,4)
(ICY in (BC + L)) + ERA + CE. But why “that was”? Bicycle racing appears still to be a fairly (and inexplicably) popular sport.
16/17 BOO-HOO Tearful outpouring from followers of Betty Sutton? (3-3)
Betty BOO + Sutton HOO. Thankfully we didn’t actually need to know that Betty Sutton served as a U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 13th congressional district from 2007 to 2013, so I thought this clue was really quite nice.
18 DOUBLE A-SIDE … playing a Delibes duo, and (then flipping) … (6 1-4)
Well, it’s an anagram of (A DELIBES DUO)*, but where’s the definition? The punctuation of the clue is curious, too.
19/20 DRYADS Forest population giving air displays? (6)
DRY + ADS.
21/1 FAT-BOTTOMED GIRLS … saw subversive in big bed with Joe Stevenson (in which) … (3-8,5)
It’s a Queen song, though not with a hyphen it isn’t. Joe Stevenson is best known to the internet as a martial artist, so what he’s doing here is beyond me. Either way, I can see neither wordplay nor definition. I guess the next clue plays a role…
23 PLUMBUM … the best buttocks lead! (7)
PLUM BUM.
25 EXTREMA Next R.E.M. album? They couldn’t be further away from it (7)
Hidden in [n]EXT REM A[lbum]. I think the “from it” is the indicator that we’re looking for a hidden thing, leaving us with a rare not-at-one-end definition, which may raise a few eyebrows if so, but I thought it rather fun. The surface is nice too, since REM called it a day a few years ago.
27 REDPOLL Flyer, output of Gallup, has Republican in front (7)
RED + POLL. It took me a moment to spot where the ED came from, but of course in the US the right wing uses red as it’s colour, while the left uses blue. The confusing so-and-sos.
28 INSPECT Cricket perhaps divided by Pakistan’s opening review (7)
P[akistan] in INSECT.
Down
2/22 STAG PARTY Do planned prenup for a few bucks (4,5)
Cryptic definition.
3 OUT-OF-COURT Shot put so long not troubling judge? (3-2-5)
Two definitions.
4 CHEMICAL FORMULA Undergoing molecular changes with HF, silicate so described? (8,7)
No idea. There’s a bit of an anagram going on in there somewhere though.
5 CHAMPED AT THE BIT Power among the powers that be, unexpectedly in check, demonstrated impatience (7,2,3,3)
No idea. There’s a bit of an anagram going on in there somewhere though.
6/26 FOUR-EYES Windows I have on reported parts of Mississippi (4-4)
Sounds like “four Is”, which the word Mississippi does indeed have. And “windows” are here as slang for “spectacles”. A nice “four candles” moment on spotting that one.
7 FIGUREHEAD “Fellow institute should look up to”, he argued with passion? (10)
F + I + (HE ARGUED)* and I guess &lit, though it seems a little stretched to me.
8 ARTY Broadcast tips to reach the cultivated (4)
Sounds like R[each] and T[he] said out loud.
13 BODY FLUIDS These FBI oddly exchanged with us? (4,6)
Anagram of (FBI ODDLY US)*. Another somewhat stretched &lit, in that there really doesn’t seem to be a great deal in the clue that cound define the entry.
14 AXIOMATISE Guitar Man doing his topless stuff? Say, that’s quite clear! (10)
Deep breath. It took a bit of untangling but it’s (IOM + AT (“doing”) + [h]IS) in AXE.
16/24 BODY BLOW Throw wobbly: ingesting drug excess is a big setback (4,4)
OD in WOBBLY*.
23/15 PERIDOTS Semi-precious jewellery … A1, found in lead (8)
I don’t know. I need a lie down.

 

* = anagram; < = reversed; [] = removed; underlined = definition; Hover to expand abbreviations

 

17 comments on “Independent 9,380 by Nimrod”

  1. Re 4d, MICA is a silicate and it is ‘described’ i.e. contained by an anagram of MOLECULAR + HF.

    Otherwise equally mystified.

  2. Thanks for the blog Simon.

    10: sock and stocking stocker = hosier + the middle letter of Doc.

    21/1 Fat bed around a reversal of motto + GI + RLS(tevenson).

    Per = a i = one + … (dots)

    CHAMPED AT THE BIT = P inside am and ed (am(y) and ed Powers) + *(that be) all inside chit (check) ?

    CHEMICAL FORMULA is mica inside *(molecular HF)

    I actually found this easier to solve than many by Nimrod, but still very enjoyable.

    There May be a theme.

  3. Thanks Simon, and the always ever-so-difficult Nimrod.
    There is a theme, as Muffyword has hinted, in which May could also have been included.
    I had CHAMP(champion;power among the powers) + anagram of(unexpectedly) THAT BE in EDIT(to check).

  4. well, this was a bit easier to finish than to parse fully, but that’s par for the course with me and Nimrod (if I finish at all, that is). I struggled to work out AXIOMATISE, not least because I was convinced it had something to do with Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath.
    The clue for HOOSIER is brilliant.
    Thanks to Nimrod and Simon(bad luck)

  5. I just listened to BICYCLE RACE for old times’ sake and the lyric FAT BOTTOMED GIRLS is featured therein, which I hadn’t clocked back in the day. Slightly, er, racy video too

  6. Thanks Simon, if only for making me feel better that I found several clues stretched, incomprehensible or so obscure as to be unfair. Not enjoyable at all.

  7. Thanks Nimrod and Simon

    I thought this was very difficult but a tremendous puzzle, and with perseverance managed to compete the parsing too (I think).

    Bicycle Rac and Fat-Bottomed Girls was a Double A-Side (hence ‘flipping’) single by Queen, whose lead singer was Freddie MERCURY.

    I’m not a football fan, but I believe ‘out of touch’ applies there too, so it’s the equivalent of ‘out of court’ in SW19, ie Wimbledon.

    In 8 there is also the pun that RT is an abbreviation of Radio Telephony or Transmission, ie broadcast.

    I really do enjoy the challenges that Nimrod in his various guises sets us.

  9. I really enjoyed this even though it was an absolute stinker! STAG PARTY was brilliant and HOOSIER too (I had to search to discover that it’s an Indiana sock, whatever that is. My parsing of 5 down was the same as scchua’s. I didn’t get the Queen reference and even now I’m better informed I’m none the wiser – I still can’t really see how “in which” and especially “that was” indicate the song titles.

  11. Very tough for me, so a great feeling of satisfaction to finish it. I couldn’t parse several fully, so thanks to everyone here for clearing those up for me.

    Funnily enough I twigged HOOSIER quite quickly; Indiana licence plates have The Hoosier State as the motto (or used to …). I also got the Queen references quickly which wasn’t helpful because it just set me looking for others that weren’t there.

    One small addition: Kingsmeadow is indeed home to 2 minor football clubs, but one of them is AFC Wimbledon, so a neat tie up with the SW19 part of the clue.

    Excellent fun for a lazy Saturday. Thanks to Nimrod and to Simon for the unenviable blogging task :-).

  12. Well, I wasn’t actually overjoyed to see Nimrod’s name this morning, but I was well over half way through solving the puzzle before seeking electronic help. Not much to add to other comments except that there was one slight blemish in the occurrence of BODY twice (13dn and 16dn). Otherwise a cracking puzzle if somewhat cheeky(!) in places (see the artwork for the said DOUBLE A-SIDE).

    Thanks, Nimrod and Simon.

  13. Must take issue with Simon and Geebs over their description of AFC Wimbledon as a minor football club.
    League 1, fellows, for heaven’s sake!

    On other matters, tough but a great puzzle.

  15. The expected Nimrod struggle which I managed to complete after a couple of hours, though with some parsed unsatisfactorily (some defs especially not clear) and I missed the theme. I like clues with punctuation as part of the wordplay, so I enjoyed PERIDOTS and as one of those clues which on first reading makes you think “What on earth…?”, the surface for HOOSIER was a real highlight.

    Thanks to Simon (hope you don’t get the short straw next time!) and to Nimrod.

  16. I loved the the theme despite not owning a single Queen record.They were so impressive on Live Aid.
    I liked the DOUBLE A SIDE/FAT BOTTOMED GIRLS/BICYCLE RACE/MERCURY.

    But maybe Brian may wrote one of them.

    I couldnt parse PERIDOTS either and I had FOUR ESES for 6/26-DOH!

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