Tuesday Independent crosswords tend to be quite challenging and often have a theme
I think today’s puzzle from Radian fits the bill.
There are references to Daniel DEFOE and his novel ROBINSON CRUSOE both in the grid and in the clues. DEFOE was a bit of a dodgy character according to Wikipedia and he wasn’t averse to a bit of political spying (ESPIONAGE) as a mole. With a bit of artistic licence I reckon SHIPMASTER, ISLES, SEASICK and FRIDAY could also be associated with the theme. Possibly even DEATH MASK
There were quite a few French artistic references as well with LITTÉRATEUR involving AUTEUR in the wordplay. Also film NOIR and the use of ICI.
I enjoyed the wordplay in the clues with bits of construction in most of them.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Limp young animal repelled police (7)
|
CALF (young cow) reversed (repelled) + CID (Criminal Investigation Department; detectives; police) FLAC< CID |
FLACCID (limp)
|
|
5
|
Religious girl originally heading for Medjugorje? (7)
|
PI (religious) + an anagram of (originally) GIRL + M (first letter of [heading for] MEDJUGORJE) PI LGRI* M |
PILGRIM (the town of Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a place of Roman Catholic pilgrimage after six young girls claimed to have seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary there in 1981)
|
|
9
|
Primate died cracking inscription on cross (5)
|
D (died) contained in (cracking) INRI (abbreviation for Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum [Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews], an inscription found on many crosses) IN (D) RI |
INDRI (short-tailed lemur found in the forests of eastern and central Madagascar; primate)
|
|
10
|
Let down burglars’ leader in bank plot (6,3)
|
(LOWER [let down] + B [first letter of [leader] BURGLAR]) contained in (in) FED (Federal Reserve Board, Board of Governers of the central banking system in the United States) F (LOWER B) ED |
FLOWER BED (garden plot)
|
|
11
|
Around start of tunnel a mole will hit rock bottom (3-4,3) |
Anagram of (hit) A MOLE WILL containing (around) T (first letter of [start of] TUNNEL) ALL (T) IME LOW* |
ALL-TIME LOW (LOW level never reached before; rock bottom)
|
|
12
|
Old South American cornered by mountain cat (4)
|
INCA (hidden word in [cornered by] MOUNTAIN CAT) INCA |
INCA (member of a S American people of Peru before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, who had a complex civilization and empire; old South American)
|
|
14
|
Adjusted odds on a filly lacking length long ago (2,4,2,3) |
Anagram of (adjusted) ODDS ON A FILLY excluding (lacking) one of the Ls (length) IN DAYS OF OLD* |
IN DAYS OF OLD (long ago)
|
|
18
|
Refuse film director getting shot of posh author (11)
|
LITTER (refuse) + AUTEUR (film director) excluding (getting shot of) U (posh) LITTER ATEUR |
LITTÉRATEUR (literary person; author)
|
|
21
|
French director about to abandon crime film (4)
|
RENOIR (reference Jean RENOIR [1894 – 1979], French film director) excluding (to abandon) RE (about) NOIR |
NOIR (style of cinema film, popular in American cinema in the 1940s and 50s, in which the darker side of human nature is presented, in a bleak, often starkly urban setting; style of crime film)
|
|
22
|
Skipper needs two kinds of fruit in series (10)
|
(HIP [fruit of the dog rose] + MAST [fruit of the oak]) giving two kinds of fruit, contained in (in) SER (series) S (HIP MAST) ER |
SHIPMASTER (captain of a SHIP. skipper)
|
|
25
|
Page one is about Kim’s game (9)
|
Anagram of (about) PAGE ONE IS ESPIONAGE* |
ESPIONAGE (spying, the activity engaged in by KIM Philby [1912 – 1988], high-ranking member of British intelligence who worked as a double agent before defecting to the Soviet Union in 1963)
|
|
26
|
Iona, Skye. Lundy, Eriskay and Soay for starters (5)
|
ISLES (first letters of each of [for starters] IONA, SKYE, LUNDY, ERISKAY and SOAY) ISLANDS |
ISLES (all of the named places are examples of islands)
|
|
27
|
Heaving awkward cases over one kilometre (7)
|
(Anagram of [awkward] CASES containing [over] I [Roman numeral for 1]) + K (kilometre) SEAS (I) C* K |
SEASICK (vomiting; heaving)
|
|
28
|
Former servicemen carry tons furthest (7)
|
(EX [former] + REME [Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers; servicemen]) containing (carry) T (tons) EX (T) REME |
EXTREME (furthest)
|
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Engagement absorbs papers for 24 hours (6)
|
FRAY (brawl; engagement) containing (absorbs) ID (identity papers) FR (ID) AY |
FRIDAY (day; 24 hours)
|
|
2
|
Old magistrate raises the Spanish plan (6)
|
(EL [Spanish for ‘the’] + IDEA [plan]) all reversed [raises; down clue]) (AEDI LE)< |
AEDILE (magistrate in ancient Rome who had responsibility for public buildings, games, markets, police, etc.)
|
|
3
|
Directs plays over here in Paris, getting panned (10)
|
Anagram of (play) DIRECTS containing (over) ICI (French [Paris] for ‘here’) CRIT (ICI) SED* |
CRITICISED (slated; panned)
|
|
4
|
Author of Revolutionary Current Cases (5)
|
DEE (one of many rivers [current] in the United Kingdom) containing (cases) OF reversed (revolutionary) DE (FO<) E) |
DEFOE (reference Daniel DEFOE [1660 – 1731], English author). Interesting sign of the times in Google. If you type in DEFOE, the first result gives you Jermain DEFOE, footballer currently at Sunderland.
|
|
5
|
Expert has to use keyboard mock-up (9)
|
PRO (professional; expert) + TO + TYPE (use keyboard) PRO TO TYPE |
PROTOTYPE (first or original type or model from which anything is copied; mock-up)
|
|
6
|
Fiction from women these days being overlooked (4)
|
LADIES (women) excluding (overlooked) AD (Anno Domini; basis of current dates; these days) LIES |
LIES (fiction)
|
|
7
|
Cambridge college winger’s running (8)
|
ROBIN’S (bird’s; winger’s) + ON (working; running) ROBINS ON |
ROBINSON (reference ROBINSON College Cambridge, founded with a donation by the entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir David ROBINSON and formally opened in 1981)
|
|
8
|
Pick up stupid boys touring northern English centre (8)
|
DIM (stupid) reversed [pick up; down clue]) + (LADS (boys) containing (touring) N [northern]) MID< LA (N) DS |
MIDLANDS (central England; English centre)
|
|
13
|
Our northern starts support Jack the Hack (10)
|
J (Jack in cards) + OUR + N (northern) + A-LIST (celebrities; stars) J OUR N ALIST |
JOURNALIST (hack [literary or JOURNALISTic drudge]))
|
|
15
|
Cast face masthead, queasy, heading for Kent (5,4)
|
Anagram of (queasy) MASTHEAD + K (first letter of [heading for] KENT) DEATH MAS* K
|
DEATH MASK (plaster cast taken from the face after death; cast face)
|
|
16
|
France left with mostly Irish battleground (8)
|
F (International Vehicle Registration for France) + L (left) + AND (with) + ERSE (Irish Gaelic) excluding the final letter (mostly) E F L AND ERS |
FLANDERS (site of First World War battle)
|
|
17
|
European work in Haiti ruined country (8)
|
E (European) + (OP [opus; work] contained in (in) an anagram of [ruined] HAITA) E THI (OP) IA* |
ETHIOPIA (country in Africa)
|
|
19
|
Standing stones, each allowed special mounting (6)
|
(EA [each] + LET [allowed] + S [special]) all reversed (mounting; down clue) (S TEL AE)< |
STELAE (upright stones or tablets)
|
|
20
|
Ancient mariner, second in command in vessel (6)
|
O (second letter in [second in] COMMAND) contained in (in) CRUSE (earthenware pot; vessel) CRUS (O) E |
CRUSOE (mariner in novel published in 1719; old mariner)
|
|
23
|
Run away from drill bit (5)
|
PIERCE (drill) excluding (away) R (run in cricket scoring notation) PIECE |
PIECE (bit)
|
|
24
|
Desert Joe in charge of outside broadcast (4)
|
GI (American soldier; GI Joe) containing (in charge of) OB (outside broadcast) GOBI |
GOBI (desert in northern China and southern Mongolia)
|
A little bit tricky, possibly because CRUSOE was one of my last few in so I didn’t spot the theme. The SE corner was the trickiest. I tentatively had STALLS for 19dn – it just about parsed as ST[ones] + ALL (= each?) + S[pecial] with ‘mounting’ indicating that the rest was mounted on (above) the S for ‘special’, and that held me up on getting 28ac; but I wasn’t convinced and a bit more thought yielded STELAE.
Seeing ‘Medjugorje’ in the clues before I even started prompted me to google it so I was forewarned, but even so it was only on the second or third pass that I got PILGRIM. I thought 9ac had to be INDRI as soon as I read the clue, but needed to check in Chambers.
There is another layer to 25ac in that Kim’s Game (capital G) refers to a test of observation. There are a number of variants, but typically a participant is given a limited time to observe a number of things and then list them from memory.
And a pity Radian didn’t manage a reference to Alexander Selkirk, thought to be the PROTOTYPE for Crusoe. But a pretty impressive count of themed entries even so.
Thanks, Radian and Duncan
… and my original idea for the definition of 19dn was as in Chambers, where ‘a standing place’ is the first meaning of ‘stall’.
Interesting and enjoyable puzzle – is there more than one theme going on? Like Mr C I found it tricky in parts and reckoned it about medium level for me. I spotted the Crusoe theme about half way in which helped with the solve, though I was, never having had the Latin for the judging and not knowing the beast, ultimately beaten by 9a (both ‘indri’ and ‘inri’ hopefully now stored in the old noggin). No particular fave clue for me today, just lots of solid stuff and a helpful theme to boot so thanks to Radian for the nice puzzle and to DS for the enlightenment.
I had a hunt for more Defoe related themers, could only see (Moll)FLANDERS
Enjoyed this one, thanks to setter and blogger.
Espionage as Kim’s game may also refer to Kipling’s Kim, I think.
A few went in on the first pass and then it was a slow grind. Crusoe didn’t occur to me until near the end which connected with Friday and meant 4d and 7d fell into place. 18a was new and 19d from somewhere in the memory and 9a was familiar thanks to the incomparable David Attenborough.
With hindsight everything is well clued so thanks to Radian and Duncan.
I liked the theme, although only spotted it after completing the last few clues. Overall, I found this pretty hard, with 5 unknown words by my count, all gettable with the helpful wordplay. Still, good to get back to having a completed grid at the end after quite a few failures lately.
Thanks to Duncan and Radian