Punk appears in the Independent series a little bit less than once a month but it’s always a pleasure to see a Punk puzzle
There was one clearly defined theme with clues referencing characters in Richard ADAMS‘ novel Watership Down. However if you look a bit more there are characters from Douglas ADAMS‘ Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy as well with FORD PREFECT (1a 19d) and ARTHUR DENT (23a 28a). Also if you put 16 and 18 across together to get ZAPHOD you have half of a third character ZAPHOD Beeblebrox.
We also had a couple of US Presidents
Virtually all the entries were words I had come across with the exception of LYDIA the Asian kingdom. However the clue was clearly indicating a hidden word and LYDIA was the only possibility.
I liked the clues for APHORISM [well hidden definition] and BIRDCAGE with it’s singer referencing a different type of musician.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
US president, cross (4)
|
FORD (reference Gerald FORD [1913 – 2006], US President [1974 – 1977])
|
FORD (cross [a watercourse]) double definition
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4
|
23 down character‘s phone now dead? (10) |
BLACKBERRY (character in Richard ADAMS [23 down] novel Watership Down)
|
BLACKBERRY (reference BLACKBERRY phones which were dominant in the market a few years ago before IoS and Android devices took over. BLACKBERRY still markets smartphones but no longer designs them itself so it is effectively dead as phone design company) double definition
|
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9
|
23 down character, note (5)
|
FIVER (character in Richard ADAMS [23 down] novel Watership Down)
|
FIVER (reference a £5 note) double definition
|
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10
|
Giant barked ‘stop driver!’ (7)
|
RED (RED traffic light signifying ‘stop’) + WOOD (a golf club driver is known as a WOOD even if it more likely to be made of metal these days) RED WOOD |
REDWOOD (giant tree [something with bark]; giant barked)
|
|
11
|
Something human in retiring for a drink (6)
|
ERR (reference the phrase ‘to ERR is human, to forgive is divine’) contained in (in) SHY (retiring) SH (ERR) Y |
SHERRY (drink)
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12
|
Saying nothing, a shrimp bullied about it (8)
|
Anagram of (bullied) (A and SHRIMP) containing (about … it) O (zero; nothing) A PH (O)R ISM* |
APHORISM (brief, pithy saying)
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14
|
Supporter is following report about race leader (7)
|
(TELL [report] containing [about] R [first letter of {leader} RACE]) + IS T (R) ELL IS |
TRELLIS (supporting structure of crossbarred or lattice work)
|
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16
|
Attack extreme characters about propaganda at first (3)
|
AZ (the first and last [extreme] characters of the alphabet A and Z) reversed (about) + P (first letter of [at first] PROPAGANDA) ZA< P |
ZAP (strike; attack)
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18
|
Builder’s helper not satisfied with procedure? (3)
|
METHOD (procedure) excluding (not) MET (satisfied) HOD |
HOD (V-shaped stemmed trough for carrying bricks or mortar on the shoulder; builder’s helper)
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19
|
Fall over, not far from dropping a beer (7)
|
SLIP (fall) reversed (over) + NEAR (not far from) excluding (dropping) A PILS< NER |
PILSNER (variety of lager; beer)
|
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22
|
Where singer may be held by Charlie Parker, US musician (8)
|
BIRD (reference Charles "Charlie" Parker, Jr [1920 – 1955], also known as Yardbird and BIRD, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer) + CAGE (reference John CAGE [1912 – 1992], American composer and musician, best known for the [silent piece] 4m 33s) BIRD CAGE |
BIRDCAGE (where a budgerigar or other song bird may be held)
|
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23
|
Ruler of myth, a day behind king (6)
|
A + R (Rex; king) + THUR (Thursday, day of the week) A R THUR |
ARTHUR (reference the myth of King ARTHUR and the Knights of the Round Table)
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24
|
Ungodly teacher an irrelevance, ultimately (7)
|
PROF (professor; teacher) + AN + E (last letter of [ultimately] IRRELEVANCE) PROF AN E |
PROFANE (not sacred; ungodly)
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26
|
Mayo perfect, oil imperfect (5)
|
AI (A one; perfect) + an anagram of (imperfect) OIL AI OLI* |
AIOLI (garlic-flavoured mayonnaise)
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27
|
Mythical trio admitting relief initially, after rot stops (10)
|
FATES (reference the mythological Morai or FATES, three sister deities, incarnations of destiny and life) containing (admitting) (RUST [rot] + R [first letter of {initially} RELIEF]) F (RUST R) ATES |
FRUSTRATES (makes stops) useless or of no effect;
|
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28
|
Office temp’s initial depression (4)
|
DEN (office) + T (first letter of [initial] TEMP) DEN T |
DENT (depression)
|
| Down | |||
|
2
|
Provide endless bottles with whipped cream (3-5)
|
(OFFER [provide] excluding the last letter [endless] R) contains (bottles) (W [with] + HIT [whipped]) OFF (W HIT) E |
OFF-WHITE (cream)
|
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3
|
Various papers written up on poetry (7)
|
ID (identity papers) reversed (written up; down clue) + VERSE (poetry) DI< VERSE |
DIVERSE (various)
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4
|
Big cover wrapping little head (5)
|
BURY (cover) containing (wrapping) L (first letter of [head] LITTLE) BUR (L) Y |
BURLY (big and sturdy)
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5
|
Debt rises after a recession, primarily (7)
|
A + R (first letter of [primarily] RECESSION) + REARS (rises) A R REARS |
ARREARS (money owing; debt)
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6
|
Joke, little one (3)
|
KID (pretend, as a joke)
|
KID (young animal; little one) double definition
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7
|
End of nose acquired tear, head swelling? (3,4)
|
E (last letter of [end of] NOSE) + GOT (acquired) + RIP (tear) E GO T RIP |
EGO TRIP (action or experience which inflates one’s good opinion of oneself; head swelling)
|
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8
|
Root is hard to get out (6)
|
RAD (Latin for radix [root]) + IS + H (hard, as in description of pencil lead) RAD IS H |
RADISH (a root vegetable – maybe it’s hard to get it out of the ground)
|
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13
|
Vapour trail’s ending for 23 down character (5)
|
HAZE (vapour) + L (last letter of [ending] TRAIL] HAZE L |
HAZEL (character in Richard ADAMS [23 down] novel Watership Down)
|
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15
|
Old kingdom encapsulated by scholarly diarist (5)
|
LYDIA (hidden word in [encapsulated by] SCHOLARLY DIARIST) LYDIA |
LYDIA (LYDIA was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor)
|
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17
|
Psychoanalytical interpretation of nude fair? ((8)
|
Anagram of (interpretation of) NUDE FAIR FREUDIAN* |
FREUDIAN (relating to Sigmund FREUD [1856 – 1939], his theory of the libido, or his method of psychoanalysis.
|
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18
|
Time to vacate shelters, grim (7)
|
HIDEOUTS (shelters) excluding (to vacate) T (time) HIDEOUS |
HIDEOUS (ghastly; grim)
|
| 19 | Senior student in court supporting judge within confines of procedure (7) |
(REF [REFeree; judge] contained in [within] PE [first and last letters of {confines of} PROCEDURE]) + CT As this is a down entry, the letters CT are supporting the letter PREFE P (REF) E CT |
PREFECT (school pupil with some measure of authority over others, especially in the form of minor disciplinary powers; senior student) |
|
20
|
Item on court doctrine one ignored, foolishly (3,4)
|
Anagram of (foolishly) DOCTRINE excluding (ignored) I [Roman numeral for one) NET CORD* |
NET CORD (item to be found on a tennis court)
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21
|
Fish on the sea bed? (6)
|
KIPPER (some who sleeps – on a bed. A fish would no doubt sleep on a the ‘sea bed’)
|
KIPPER (male salmon during the spawning season after spawning. Also a herring split open and cured)
|
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23
|
US President Hoover possibly splitting Americans’ sides (5)
|
DAM (reference Hoover DAM [once known as Boulder DAM, the Hoover DAM is a concrete arch-gravity DAM in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona) contained in (splitting) AS [first and last letters of [sides] AMERICAN’S) A (DAM) S |
ADAMS (reference John ADAMS who was a Founding Father, the first vice president of the United States and the second president [1797 – 1801]. His son, John Quincy ADAMS, was the nation’s sixth president [1825 – 1829])
|
|
25
|
Vital thing, song (3)
|
AIR (the gaseous mixture (chiefly nitrogen and oxygen) of which the earth’s atmosphere is composed to support life; vital thing)
|
AIR (song) double definition
|
Hi duncanshiell
I didn’t do this puzzle – though having read your blog I rather wish that I had attempted it – but I thought that you might be interested that “Lydia” gave its name to the “Lydian mode”, one of the traditional “church modes” or scales. There is also a “mixolydian mode”, but I’ve not found the origin of this name.
Thanks Punk and Duncan
I think 8D is simply an anagram (‘got out’) of IS HARD.
Simon S @ 4
Thanks – it’s usually the fairly obvious ones I fail to spot!
Mixo in Mixolydian is from the Greek for mix of mingle, interpreted generally to mean half-Lydian. Ultimately it’s the same route for the English word mix, though it’s gone through Anglo-Saxon miscan and Latin miscere before morphing back to its original.
This was even tougher than his Braun puzzle
Made heavier going of this in the SW than I should’ve. Spotted the Richard Adams theme, but totally missed the better-known to me Douglas theme! Nice stuff with my fave clue being 17d for the picture it conjured and honours also to the multi-theming. Many thanks to DS for the blog and to Punk for the puzz.
Didn’t get any across clues until ZAP then HOD. Aha! But sadly forgot the rabbit saga was also by an Adams.
No matter, a nice solve with familiar Punkery. Thanks to S&B
Interesting to have two themes springing from the same gateway clue. Having got FORD and then ADAMS my first thought was HHGTTG but I couldn’t see any further themed answers and then 4ac and 9ac turned up from the rabbit book so I thought the other was a red herring till I got ARTHUR and DENT. Failed on 20dn, though: all I could think of was NOT GOOD which very vaguely might mean ‘foolish(ly)’ but meant the rest of the clue didn’t make sense.
Super puzzle, though, with lots of great clues. Favourite has to be BIRDCAGE for its juxtaposition of musicians from different genres.
Thanks, Punk and Duncan.
Enjoyable solve, though I didn’t find it easy. I liked 11a and 19a – hm, what’s that telling me?
I thought the mixing of Adams themes, though clever, detracted a bit – but I’m sure others were more than happy with it.
Many thanks punk and thanks duncanshiell