It’s only been a fortnight since I last blogged the Serpent, so it was a pleasant surprise to get him again.
Well this is one ‘ELL of a puzzle, very fine but tough as old boots to spot bits of this one.
After last time when all the down answers had an H in them and H’s made of black squares appered in the grid, I quickly wondered about whether the same might be happening and indeed in the grid are four L shapes of black squares rotated around the grid and all the down [Thanks, Gaufrid] answers contain an L.
Thanks Serpent, again.
Across
6 Swill out hovel briefly with non-running water (6)
SLUICE
Most of SLU(m) – hovel & ICE which is water that certainly doesn’t run
7 Laughing about King’s Head having cling film (8)
CACKLING
C(irc)A – about & the head of K(ing) inside CLING – filming it
9 Broadcast 13 3’s writing with this (4)
LEAD
This took a while to sort out the parsing let alone the correct answer which only became clear on getting 4d.
Broadcast indicates homophone of 13 – CONTROLLED meaning LED. 3d – PENCIL writes using LEAD.
10 Agree about departure’s intricacy (10)
COMPLEXITY
EXIT – departure inside COMPLY – agree
11 Firm liable to lose 50% in undesirable forms of growth (7)
GANGLIA
GANG – “the firm” of 50’s/60’s gangland & half of LIA(ble)
12 Nurse having bad luck filling empty syringe (6)
SUCKLE
A bad LUCK* inside an empty S(yring)E
14 Randomised algorithm’s beginning optimal count involving calculation (13)
COMPUTATIONAL
Knowing that ALGORITHM* = LOGARITHM really hindered here. It’s a randomised [A(lgorithm) OPTIMAL COUNT]*. I get the feeling that Serpent knows a thing or two about Maths and computing.
17 Local manager dismisses article that’s freely available (6)
PUBLIC
Article AN removed from PUBLICAN, the local‘s manager
19 Unethical author’s spoken about the ultimate in plagiarism (7)
IMMORAL
I’M – the author is & ultimate in (plagiaris)M & ORAL – spoken
21 Outstanding style of tall story described by Whistler? (4,6)
HIGH RELIEF
HIGH – tall & LIE – story inside REF – a whistler
23 Retreat from ordeal that’s over only after it’s begun (4)
LAIR
TRIAL is the ordeal so losing the start becomes RIAL reversed
24 Mum starts to talk rubbish, just like some older women (8)
MATRONLY
MA – mum & the starts of T(alk) R(ubbish) & ONLY – just
25 Go into hiding because of heartless defamation that hurt me (3,3)
LIE LOW
A heartless LI(b)EL & OW – that hurts.
Down
1 Reacting badly with dreadful ill grace (8)
ALLERGIC
A dreadful [ILL GRACE]*
2 What might make you mail an elephant? (4,6)
WILD ANIMAL
Def by example, a wild ANIMAL* could give MAIL AN
3 Source of line perhaps from opening of Patsy Cline hit (6)
PENCIL
Opening of P(atsy) & CLINE* hit. This looks so obvious a formation but I don’t remember seeing it before, very nice.
4 9 ran away, almost 10 to follow (4)
FLEX
9 is LEAD, most of FLE(d) – ran away with X following
5 One way dons love to introduce ideas gradually (6)
INSTIL
I for one & ST(reet) inside – donned by NIL for love
7 Resemblance to claim by pair is suspect (13)
COMPARABILITY
A suspect [TO CLAIM BY PAIR]*
8 Very influential people almost create housing deficit (7)
COLOSSI
Most of COI(n) – create as in “coin a saying” housing LOSS – deficit
13 Ran about in court with press journalist (10)
CONTROLLED
ON – about inside C(our)T & ROLL for press & the ED(itor)
15 Filthy carbuncle annoys nurses (7)
UNCLEAN
Nurses means hidden answer here – carbUNCLE ANnoys
16 Sticky sweet? (8)
LOLLIPOP
Cryptic cum whimsical def – lollipops are on a stick. Held myself up in the bottom corner here good and proper by entering LOLLYPOP into my grid, silly boy.
18 What might contribute to odour in a lavatory? (6)
URINAL
The precise bit that’s the definition is a bit dubious but is a contribution to odoUR IN A Lavatory
20 Drugs courier’s arrested following silence involving cover-up (6)
MUFFLE
FF = following inside the drug MULE
22 Method of identifying resources underpins hospital project (4)
HURL
H(ospital) & URL – web links basically
Thanks to Serpent for another belter. I only saw the L theme after I’d finished the grid, which was a shame because I’d had to chat on HURL (never knew what URL meant although I should’ve got it).
Cheers flashling
Thanks flashling
“…and all the down answers contain an L.”
All the across ones do as well. 😉
If I’d have spotted the L theme I may have got LEAD instead of BEND! Great puzzle (and blog)
Lovely crossword and excellent blog thank you.
Particularly liked URINAL since it eluded me for so long, a clever hide I thought. With LOO, B.O. & LAV all floating round in my mind I was desperately trying to both parse and shoehorn in LAVABO until crossers rendered that impossible.
Brilliant. (Brief and to the point.)
To me, Fun and Finesse are the two main ingredients of a good crossword.
Actually, my kind of fun is often provided by the finesse of clueing.
Rather than ninas, themes or LOL moments.
When the Fun takes over from the Finesse, when a handful of brilliant clues or an inventive idea mask some ‘weakness’ (like in last Tuesday’s Guardian crossword which was even hailed as of the best ever by some), then for me the Fun becomes less.
Serpent does it all right for me.
Watertight constructions, consistently right where grammar is concerned.
And the skill to implement these in meaningful surfaces.
I knew there had to be something going on today but I didn’t see it.
It didn’t distract from nor help with solving the puzzle.
As it ideally should be.
The Independent has a bunch of very competent setters and Serpent is one of the best.
Another crossword that didn’t disappoint, finished in two sittings.
Yes, Fun & Finesse.
Many thanks, flashing, for your colourful blog and to Serpent for a formidable puzzle.
Tough and well put together stuff. As is me Thursday wont I got just over half before retiring beaten. My honours today go to the mailed elephant, wot gave me a chortle. I wonder if we’re in for every letter of the alphabet from Serpent? Be interesting to see how he does Q, eh! Cheers to The Snake for the puzzle and The Flash for the blog.
Brilliant puzzle even without the L theme, which I only saw once I came here – very clever.
Lots of great clues. Stupidly I couldn’t think of WILD although I had parsed the clue, and I missed HURL, very nice.
I could start listing clues I like but it would be a long list
Many thanks Serpent and thanks flashling for an excellent blog.
Top puzzle. Thanks Serpent, flashling
I missed the L thing despite having noticed the funny grid pattern, but glad to have done so because I really enjoyed puzzling out all the toughies without help.
Thanks flashling – we missed the parsing of 23 and struggled with 22d. You could say we had one ‘ell of a time at the end. If we’d spotted the theme we may have got there sooner.
All good fun – thanks Serpent. Next time, we’ll try harder!
Thanks to flashling for the excellent blog. And thanks to everyone who took the time to solve and comment on my puzzle. I’m particularly appreciative of the generous comments by baerchen (Knut), Sil (Dalibor), Hoskins and Dutch, setters whose work I admire a great deal.
4 down even with explanation is still eluding (and frustrating) me. Could anyone help?
Apparently, a ‘flex’ can be an ‘electrical power cord’ (I didn’t know that).
As such it might perhaps be an equivalent for ‘lead’.