Independent 9,580 / Hob

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Hob has provided a puzzle to challenge and delight this Tuesday.

I am late posting owing to work commitments, but that has not stopped me from thoroughly enjoying this multi-layered puzzle, with all its cross-references and punning. This is the kind of solving experience that I most like to have when tackling a daily puzzle: taxing but not unreasonably so, quirky in its treatment of its theme(s) and above all thoroughly entertaining.

I have to say that Hob has the last laugh today, since I cannot parse the definition at 11 (now amended) and suspect that I have missed something very obvious at 15/23 (now amended). I look forward to being enlightened by other solvers – thanks for the help!

It is hard to single out any particular clues here, as this is a puzzle whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts, in my humble opinion. I like the near the knuckle references to contraception and the way that this sub-theme has been tied in with the bigger theme of ATMs and banking. The mind boggles at what Hob might have come up with if he’d squeezed hole-in-the-wall into the grid too 😉 On a more serious note, I appreciated the “stripping” devices used in 24 and 27; and the & lit. at 27.

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

Across  
   
01 ETHIOPIAN African playing the piano around lunchtime?

I (=lunchtime?, i.e. one o’clock) in *(THE PIANO); “playing” is anagram indicator
   
10 MATES Johnny’s so-called // friends?

Double definition: Mates is a brand of condoms (“johnny”) in the UK
   
11 FIRST Trees planted at edge of forest by Geoff or Damien?

FIRS (=trees) + <fores>T (“edge of” means – here – last letter only); a (Geoff) Hurst or a (Damien) Hirst is Cockney rhyming slang for a first class honours degree!!
   
13 ENFIELD Gun takes aim, without life being lost

*(LIFE) in END (=aim); an e.g. Lee-Enfield is a bolt-action, repeating rifle
   
14 ROWDIES Noisy lot dispute “offside”

ROW (=dispute) + *(SIDE); “off” is anagram indicator
   
17 TUBED Returning from French bar, used the Underground

DE (=of French, i.e. the French word for of) + BUT (=bar, except); “returning” indicates reversal
   
19 ATM 15 23 used by 24D 10

In full, with words substituted for the clue references, this clue reads: Withdrawal method used by flatmates

Hidden (“used by”) in “flATMates”; an ATM (=automated teller machine) is a way of withdrawing cash (“withdrawal method”)
   
20 TIGHT Mean // to get drunk

Double definition; “mean” is to be read as an adjective
   
21 PARADED Made a show of old man, er … dad dancing

PA (=old man, i.e. father) + *(ER DAD); “dancing” is anagram indicator
   
22 MADE MAN Appearing in film, a demanding person sure of success

Hidden (“appearing in”) in “filM A DEMANding”
   
24 FULL-CREAM Sort of milk drunk by European after credit, 19A having been emptied

FULL (=drunk) + CR (=credit) + E (=European) + A<t>M (=19A; “having been emptied” means middle letter is dropped)
   
26/22D AT THE MOMENT 19A usage having been expanded now

In e.g. texting, ATM (=19A) stands for “at the moment” when expanded
   
28 ABYSS Bottomless depths of 9, once no longer popular with Scotsman

ABYSS<inian> (=Ethiopian (=entry at 9) once); “no longer popular (=in) with Scotsman (=Ian)” means letters “in + Ian” are dropped
   
29 CANTALOUP Silly plan to cut the end off a melon

*(PLAN TO CU<t> + A); “end off” means the last letter is dropped from the anagram, indicated by “silly”
   
Down  
   
01 DEAF Somewhat senseless idea fool holds

Hidden (“holds”) in “iDEA Fool”; a deaf person lacks the sense of hearing so could be cryptically described as being “somewhat senseless”
   
02 SHARIF Former actor cooking a fish, with a little rice

*(A FISH + R<ice>); “a little” means first letter only; “cooking” is anagram indicator; the reference is to Egyptian actor Omar Sharif (1932-2015)
   
03 SOFT-HEADED Stupid, like Patsy

The word “Patsy” begins with a p = piano, i.e. soft in music and could thus cryptically be described as being soft-headed
   
04 MINDED Was bothered if 30 seconds late, we hear

MIN<ute> (=30 seconds, i.e. half a minute!) + homophone (“we hear”) of “dead” (=late, deceased)
   
05 ANGSTROM Strong man cut out to be a physicist

*(STRONG MA<n>); “cut” means last letter dropped from anagram, indicated by “out”; the reference is to Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Ã…ngström (1814-74)
   
06 SMEE Duck out of kinky sex and drugs

SM (=kinky sex, i.e. sadomasochism) + E E (=drugs, i.e. two ecstasy tablets!)
   
07 STASHING Hiding away, as night’s unravelling

*(AS NIGHT’S); “unravelling” is anagram indicator
   
08 USER Drug addict’s trick cycling

RUSE (=trick); “cycling” here means first letter moves to the end of the word, etc
   
13 EAT UP Use large amounts of RAM following each brief

EA (=each; “brief” indicates abbreviation) + TUP (=ram, i.e. male sheep)
   
15/23 WITHDRAWAL METHOD Finding another 19A worthwhile? Dad is Johnny’s alternative

*(ATM (=19A) + WORTHWHILE DAD); “another” is anagram indicator; the withdrawal method is an alternative (but unreliable) form of contraception to the condom (=Johnny)!
   
16 SIT-IN Protest is about money

SI (IS; “about” indicates reversal) + TIN (=money, colloquially)
   
18 BARCLAYS Bank of material found in watering holes

CLAY (=material) in BARS (=watering holes)
   
19 AUDIENCE House dance moves in use, regularly added to the mix

*(DANCE + I<n>U<s>E); “regularly” means alternate letters only are used in anagram, indicated by “moves” and “the mix”
   
24 FLAT Residence recently out of bounds

<o>F LAT<e> (=recently); “out of bounds” means first and last letters are dropped
   
25/12 CASH DISPENSER 19A ready for use next to Boot’s?

CASH (=ready) + DISPENSER (=Boot’s, i.e. the Chemist); & lit.
   
27 EXPO Show what hot young thing shows, after removing the covers

<s>EXPO<t> (=hot young thing); “after removing the covers” means that first and last letters are dropped
   
   

 

21 comments on “Independent 9,580 / Hob”

  1. Loved this. Got on the right wavelength and finished reasonably quickly but had to think a bit. For 15d, you missed the anagram of ATM+worthwhile dad. Thanks to all.

  2. I’ll just add that I think it’s a bit of a shame that the printed version makes such a mess of cross-referenced clues. No fault of the setter, I should add. I admit that I am also one of those that think that 19a is 1,1,1. No doubt some will agree and some won’t.

  3. Well – I didn’t have a clue who Johnny’s friends were so I had absolutely no hope of making much headway with this one. Also, unlike RR, I’m not a fan of cross-referenced clues beyond the odd one and I also think the way in which the Indy chooses to set these clues out is somewhat dire. In this one, for example, the 25/12 clue was written three times, only one of which was in the correct place!

    Sorry, Hob, well out of my range but thanks to RR for the decryption.

  4. Thanks for the blog, RR.

    Brilliant puzzle! I totally agree with the preamble: several laugh-out loud moments as each of the layers revealed itself – and, certainly, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

    11ac [and therefore the simple 1dn] defeated me. I was fixated on HURST [a wood = ‘trees’] but while Geoff is spelt that way, Damien is Hirst, so I still can’t see it, I’m afraid.

    But – super fun all round: I shall chuckle every time I approach an ATM now!

    Huge thanks to Hob.

  5. Thanks to Hob for another great puzzle and to RR for the blog.
    I solved this using the free app which has been behaving itself for the last few months but didn’t really cope all that well with the cross-ref clues today either, Hovis.
    Ordinarily, this would have resulted in me shutting it down with a swear word but the fact that I didn’t tells you how much I enjoyed unravelling the layers of the central gag.
    Nice one.

  7. Thanks, Hovis. I have amended 15/23 following your posts. Quite a well disguised anagram, though.

    As for the ATM, I hadn’t thought about (3) versus (1,1,1), but I suppose that I should have done.

    Thanks, Eileen, for confirming my thoughts around HURST v HIRST – I don’t see it either.

  8. RE 11ac – I suspect the “Geoff and Damien” are intended to point to Hirst (Damien) and Hurst (Geoff), but the clue doesn’t really work

  9. Thanks RatkojaRiku

    Regarding the definition in 11ac, Geoff (Hurst) and Damien (Hirst) are rhyming slang nicknames for a first class honours degree. Other nicknames have appeared recently in another puzzle otherwise I wouldn’t have known this. In case they appear again here is the complete(?) list:

    1st – Geoff (Hurst) or Damien (Hirst)
    2.1 – Attila (the Hun) or Don (Juan)
    2.2 – Desmond (Tutu)
    3rd – Douglas (Hurd) or Thora (Hird)

  10. Didn’t finish this one, rather due to lack of time than to inclination. There were some tough bits, though.

    I did see the FIRST clue. My favourite is DESMOND for the 2:2 though.

    Oh, and today is the 50th anniversary of the ATM.

  11. Thanks, Gaufrid – totally missed that, despite the recent ‘Damien, Desmond or Douglas’. Grrr…

    And, K’s D – I’ve heard that on the news several times today but still didn’t twig!

  12. Good puzzle and very engaging as well as entertaining. For me it was getting on mediumish in level, but it pulled me in and so complete it I did. Honours today go to the aforementioned entertainment and absorption so thanks to The Ferret for a nice puzzle and to RR for the blog.

    Gaufrid @9 – Richard (the third) for a third class degree is also used. Funnily enough, I had a variant of ‘richard’ in a clue in an upcoming Indy puzzle, but nixed it before sub as I got cold feet over whether the boss would go for it. Will look forward to trying it in another puzzle now I know its got the green stamp. 🙂

  14. since it’s not every day I can get one over on Gaufrid, a “Tutu” isn’t rhyming slang; it’s just slang 🙂

  15. baerchen @14
    The nicknames of the various degrees are usually the forenames of famous people who have a rhyming surname (which is why I didn’t include Richard), so a 2.2 becomes a Desmond and I am sure you would agree that, when pronounced, 2.2 rhymes with Tutu.

  16. Gaufrid,
    I’m regretting this already, but 2.2 = Tutu is not rhyming slang.
    Hurst/Hirst= first, stairs= pears, strife= wife etc. are rhyming slang.
    You’d need to use the playboy cokehead erstwhile Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu to give you the material for a 2.2

  17. As with Baerchen@5, was hugely thwarted by the free app, and using an iPhone where cross-referencing is nigh on impossible. Enjoyed it though, as I was doing it in the pub with winnings from the nearby ATM, or Ale Token Machine as we call it.
    Thanks as ever to S&B.

  18. Hmmm! As I’m in the process of initiating my “other half” into the mysteries of cryptics we solved this together, with several laughs along the way. In fact she spotted the answer to 10ac before I did!

    Super crossword – thanks, Hob and RatkojaRiku

  19. Many thanks to Gaufrid for clarifying the point about the rhyming slang for degree classification. I have to say that I have never come across any of these terms, and it would be interesting to know if they are carried by any of the dictionaries generally used by compilers.

  20. RR @19 – Collins (12th) has both Douglas Hurd (listed as rhyming slang) and Desmond Tutu (listed as a pun), Chambers (13th) just has Desmond (listed as a pun). Why they eschew the others I know not, but perhaps the dictionary word inclusion board just didn’t study very hard when they were at uni …

  21. We’re rather late to the party on this fab puzzle – we just didn’t have time to tackle it until today, and we’re so glad we didn’t miss it!
    Great combination of themes – we won’t be able to visit an ATM now without thinking about how to withdraw safely! And we’ll try not to think of sabotaging Mates when protecting our PIN!
    We hadn’t heard of the Hurst / Hirst / First rhyming slang either, so thanks to all for the elucidation.
    Thanks Hob for the fun and RR for the blog

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