Independent 9,474 / Klingsor

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Klingsor is occupying the Thursday slot this week.

I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle, which is pitched at exactly the right level for a mid-week solve, i.e. not to straightforward, but at the same time not requiring too much head-scratching – and, of course, entertaining enough to offer relief from the intensity of the working week!

Nevertheless, there are a couple of points that I would appreciate input from fellow solvers on in terms of the parsing. Firstly, why does the word “younger” appear in 21? Thanks for the input on this, which is now clear and corrected below! And secondly, does the word “cast” in 11 serve any other purpose than to make the surface-reading smoother, since “ruined” alone provides the anagram indicator?

Furthermore, the vocabulary today was quite obscure in places for a mid-week puzzle, e.g. 10, 21, 24, assuming that I have correctly parsed the definition of 24.

As for my favourite clues today, 9 raised a smirk, as did 18 and 25, the latter for its smooth surface. I also very much appreciated 14 and 6, both for their well-hidden definitions.

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across  
   
01 PALISADE Royal assistant’s caught supplying fence

Homophone (“caught”) of “palace aide” (=royal assistant)
   
05 JIGSAW One has cutting edge acting in Dances with Wolves, principally

A (=acting) in [JIGS (=dances) + W<olves> (“principally” means first letter only)]
   
09 CASTRATE Players facing pace slice balls away

CAST (=players, i.e. actors) + RATE (=pace, speed); to castrate is to slice away someone’s balls, i.e. testicles!
   
10 SEROUS Watery grave doesn’t have one

SER<i>OUS (=watery); “doesn’t have one (=I)” means letter “i” is dropped
   
12 EVENT It happens eleven times? Less than that

Hidden (“less than”) in “elEVEN Times”
   
13 NEAR THING Electrician finally making circuit safer? It’s a close shave

<electricia>N (“finally” means last letter only) + EARTHING (=making circuit safer)
   
14 THEATRICALLY In a camp way from the city, all are missing English cooking

*(THE CITY ALL AR<e>); “missing English (=E)” means the letter “e” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “cooking”
   
18 PRESS RELEASE Official statement suggesting how to work ejector seat?

Cryptically, you activate the ejector seat if you “press (the) release (button)”!
   
21 GYRFALCON German’s against trapping younger river bird

[YR (=younger) + FAL (=river)] in [G (=German) + CON (=against)]
   
23 EQUAL Even I will abandon European shrink

E (=European) + QUA<i>L (=shrink, as verb; “I will abandon” means letter “i” is dropped)
   
24 AROUSE Alarm when case is lost from baggage belt

<c>AROUSE<l> (=baggage belt, e.g. at airport); rarely, as a noun, an arouse is an alarm
   
25 LOBOTOMY Fling with old tart ending in nudity – it could be full frontal!

LOB (=fling, toss) + O (=old) + TOM (=tart, prostitute) + <nudit>Y (“ending in” means last letter only)
   
26 SHEATH Mum hides firearm, covering for Kris?

HEAT (=firearm, in US slang) in SH (=mum, i.e. be quiet); a kris is a Malay dagger with a wavy blade
   
27 ADHERENT A depression overwhelms the woman’s supporter

HER (=the woman’s) in [A + DENT (=depression)]
   
Down  
   
01 PICKET One way to deal with scab or another, they say?

Homophone (“they say”) of “pick it” (=way to deal with scab on a spot); the scab of the definition is a strikebreaker
   
02 LISTEN Attend dressed in style? That’s not unknown

*(IN ST<y>LE); “that not unknown (=Y, in algebra)” means letter “y” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “dressed”
   
03 STRETCHES Housing strain puts up taxes

RETCH (=strain, as verb) in STES (SETS=puts; “up” indicates vertical reversal)
   
04 DATING AGENCY Introduction to guys and girls secured by it can end, possibly, with matrimony at last

[G<uys> A<nd> G<irls> in *(IT CAN END)] + <matrimon>Y; “introduction” means first letters only; “possibly” is anagram indicator; semi- & lit.
   
06 INERT He is this geek, mostly enthralled by computers

NER<d> (=geek; “mostly” means last letter dropped) in IT (=computers); He (=Helium) is an inert gas!
   
07 STOLIDLY Sons play outside supermarket impassively

LIDL (=supermarket) in [S (=sons) + TOY (=play, tinker)]
   
08 WISE GUYS Welsh tipster regularly ridicules smart alecks

W (=Welsh) + <t>I<p>S<t>E<r> (“regularly” means alternate letters only) + GUYS  (=ridicules, jeers)
   
11 DAS RHEINGOLD Director’s sad most of Lohengrin cast ruined Wagner work

*(D (=director) + SAD + LOHENGRI<n>); “most of” means last letter is dropped; “ruined” is anagram indicator; Das Rheingold is the first of the four dramas that together comprise Wagner’s Ring Cycle
   
15 CASSEROLE Pot Noodle eaten by Anglican character

ASS (=noodle, fool) in [CE (=Anglican, i.e. Church of England) + ROLE (=character)]
   
16 SPYGLASS Traveller shortly returned girl’s telescope

SPYG (GYPS<y>=traveller; “shortly” means last letter is dropped; “returned” indicates reversal) + LASS (=girl)
   
17 FEARSOME Formidable female lugs extremely massive boxes round

F (=female) + EARS (=lugs) + [O (=round, i.e. pictorially) in M<assiv>E (“extremely” means first and last letters only)]
   
19 FURORE Pelt with seaweed, creating outcry

FUR (=pelt, as noun) + ORE (=seaweed)
   
20 PLAY AT Make pretence of climbing River Mountain

TAY (=River) + ALP (=Mountain); “climbing” indicates vertical reversal
   
22 ASSET An advantage when on TV

AS (=when, as conjunction) + SET (=TV)
   
   

13 comments on “Independent 9,474 / Klingsor”

  2. The answer on the Indy site for 21 is the alternative spelling GYRFALCON so it would parse as G (Yr Fal) CON. Can’t help with 11 I’m afraid. Thanks S + B.

  3. Nice one from Klingsor. 9ac brought a chuckle; I wondered if it might have anything to do with a 13ac from a 5ac! 11dn held me up a little as I initially thought ‘Director’ was the definition and might lead to a Sam Somebody-or-other, with Wagner being a deliberate red herring from this setter.

    Solvers not in Europe (including the UK – we’re not out yet and hopefully not for a long time) may not know that Lidl is a german-based supermarket. It and its rival, Aldi, are sometimes referred to in the UK as ‘the German discounters’ as they are challenging the ‘big four’ for market share.

    My first thought on 21 ac was the GYR…… spelling so like cruciverbophile I had no trouble with ‘younger’ abbreviated to ‘yr’

    My CoD was the aforementioned 9ac but I also liked 7dn and the two homophones at 1ac and 1dn.

    Thanks, Klingsor and RatkojaRiku

  5. copmus @ 1 – by coincidence (?) yesterday’s Guardian (by Puck) had Lidl’s competitor ALDI. Two useful bits of fodder that I’m surprised not to have seen (I don’t think) until now. You wait for a bus…..

  6. Rog@5: A quick trawl of 15sq shows that both Lidl and Aldi have cropped up before. ALDI in Indy, Graun and FT (to clue GRIMALDI in all 3) and Lidl in the Graun as well as a Cyclops. The FT use of Aldi was as long ago as 2013.

  8. Good stuff all round, I thought. Didn’t quite finish having been misdirected all over the place by 1a and not knowing 21a (one for the memory banks) and not quite managing it from WP. Loads of quality stuff here and laughs, too. I think everyone knows me well enough to know which clue was my pick of the bunch so I’ll just say thanks to crafty Klingsor and cheers to RR for the blog.

  9. I found this quite tough. Only got a handful before going out for the evening. Got back about an hour ago and had another go and did finally finish it, and without aids.

    From memories of air-shows on TV when I was a kid, I always thought you operated an ejector seat by pulling a hood over your head to protect you as you went through the cockpit.

  11. Excellent stuff, tough, took a number of visits, missed the second letter “y” in 21A so also stumped by “younger”.

    16D first part is surely {y}psyg. The clue doesn’t say traveller(‘)s.

    Thinks as ever to Klingsor and to RatkojaRiku.

  12. Brilliant puzzle. Being a fellow Wagnerian, it was a delight to spot DAS RHEINGOLD: it’s usually the director that ruins the Wagner work!

    Neil

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