Independent 9736 / Dac

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Dac takes us away from Christmas-themed crosswords and provides us with his usual smooth surfaces leading to everyday words as entries.

 

 

 

You know where you stand with Dac.  Rarely is there a message or a theme and today is no exception (I think).

This seemed a fairly gentle offering after some of the toughies that appeared in many papers and websites over the past few days.

The only entry I hadn’t come across before was KNOUT, but the clue could only lead to a homonym of NOWT.

In fact, there were a few homonyms today, well there were three, but  even at that level, more so than I normally associate with Dac.

My favourite clue today was the one for INTELLIGENTSIA (12 across)

As my next blog won’t be published until 2nd January, a  Happy New Year to you all.

Across
No. Clue Wordplay Entry

1

 

One has repulsed British man in authority (5)

 

(I [Roman numeral for 1] + HAS) all reversed (repulsed) + B (British)

(SAH I)< B

SAHIB (form of address used in India to people of rank and, during the period of British rule)

 

4

 

Drink milk one restaurant employee put out (3,5)

 

TAP (milk in the context of  ‘TAP a supply’) + WAITER (restaurant employee) excluding (put out) I (Roman numeral for one)

TAP WATER

TAP WATER (drink)

 

8

 

It may be on TV for good (4)

 

PRO (for) + G (good)

PRO G

PROG (programme, something that might be on the television)

 
9

Thieves worried as clients reserve rights, principally (10)

 

Anagram of (worried) AS CLIENTS containing (reserve) R (first letter of [principally] RIGHTS)

LA (R) CENISTS*

LARCENISTS (thieves)

 

10

 

Primate eats little from abroad …lacking this? (8)

 

APE (primate) containing (eats) PETIT (French for little; little from abroad)

AP (PETIT) E

APPETITE  (people eating little may lack an APPETITE)

 
11 Antique article, Eastern, coated in precious metal (3-3)

A (indefinite article) + (E [Eastern] contained in [coated in] GOLD [precious metal])

A G (E) OLD

 AGE-OLD (ancient; antique)

12

 

Popular fellows on TV broadcast, the reverse of top brain boxes (14)

 

IN (popular) + TELLI (sounds like [broadcast] TELLY [television]) + GENTS (fellow) + A1 (top) reversed (reverse of)         

IN TELLI GENTS IA<

INTELLIGENTSIA (intellectual or cultured classes; brain boxes)

 
15 Terrorist shot Bulgarian ruler (5,9)

Anagram of (shot) BULGARIAN RULER

URBAN GUERRILLA*

URBAN GUERRILLA (terrorist engaged in activities in towns and cities)

18

 

Key work by Descartes perhaps rejected (6)

 

OP (opus; work) + (RENÉ [first name of RENÉ Descartes, [1596 – 1650], French philosopher] reversed [rejected])

OP ENER<

OPENER (a key, for example)

 

20

 

No lager drunk by northern chap (8)

 

Anagram of (drunk) NO LAGER + N (northern)

ALGERNO* N

ALGERNON (man’s name; chap)

 

22

 

Agrees gala could turn out to be money raising event (6,4)

 

Anagram of (could turn out to be) AGREES GALA

GARAGE SALE*

GARAGE SALE (SALE of various items held on the seller’s premises, especially in the GARAGE; money raising event)

 

23

 

Composer introduced by these violinists doing a turn (4)

 

IVES (hidden word [introduced by] reversed [doing a turn] in THESE VIOLINISTS)

IVES<

IVES (reference Charles IVES [1874 – 1954], American composer)

 

24

 

Go after group of hags in Midlands city (8)

 

COVEN [group of witches [hags])  + TRY (go)

COVEN TRY

COVENTRY (Midlands city)

 

25

 

Form of punishment, nothing a Northerner would mention (5)

 

KNOUT (sounds like [would mention]) NOWT [North of England dialect word for nothing])

KNOUT

KNOUT (punishment inflicted by a whip in Russia)

 
Down

1

 

More awkward, erecting harbour’s jetty  (9)

PORT’S (harbour’s) reversed (erecting; down clue) + PIER (jetty)

STROP< PIER

STROPPIER (more awkward)

 

2

 

First sign of hay fever for former Tory leader (5)

 

H (first letter of [first sign of] HAY) + AGUE (fever)

H AGUE

HAGUE (reference William HAGUE [born 1961], leader of the Conservative party from 1997 to 2001)

 

3

 

College dance:  I love to meet lecturer (7)

 

BALL (dance) + I + O (zero; love score in tennis) + L (lecturer)

BALL I O L

BALLIOL (reference BALLIOL College, Oxford)

 

4

 

Lionel Richie song: it led Theresa May astray (5,5,1,4)

 

Anagram of (astray) IT LED THERESA MAY

THREE TIMES A LADY*

THREE TIMES A LADY (song recorded by The Commodores and as a sol by Lionel Richie.  Richie was also a member of The Commodores)

 

5

 

Brief reference in page one, first bit of book (7)

 

REF (abbreviation of [brief] REFerence) contained in (P [page] + ACE [one])

P (REF) ACE

PREFACE (explanatory statement placed at the beginning of a book)

 

6

 

Nourishing meat in all stews (9)

 

Anagram of (stews) MEAT IN ALL

ALIMENTAL*

ALIMENTAL (supplying food; nourishing)

 

7

 

Acclaim former tax cut (5)

 

EX (former) + TOLL (tax) excluding the last letter (cut) L

EX TOL

EXTOL (acclaim)

 

13

 

Work out two notes will suffice for cost of ticket (5,4)

 

TRAIN (exercise; work out) + (FA [note of the tonic sol-fa] + RE [note of the tonic sol-fa] to give two notes)

TRAIN FA RE

TRAIN FARE (cost of ticket)

 

14

 

Rising of Middle Eastern soldiers leading to end of conflict soon (2,1,6)

 

OMANI (a person of Middle Eastern origin) reversed (rising; down clue) + MEN (soldiers) + T (last letter of [end to] CONFLICT)

IN A MO< MEN T

IN A MOMENT (soon)

 

16

 

Man stashes weapon inside item of clothing (7)

 

GENT (man) containing (stashes … inside) ARM (weapon)

G (ARM) ENT

GARMENT (item of clothing)

 

17

 

Mock feeble-sounding event at uni (3,4)

 

RAG (tease; mock) + WEEK (sounds like [sounding] WEAK)

RAG WEEK

RAG WEEK  (in British universities, the particular week during which moneymaking activities, such as processions, etc for charity are organised)

 

19

 

Public relations hoo-ha in Madrid museum (5)

 

PR (public relations) + ADO (fuss; hoo-ha)

PR ADO

PRADO (museum in Madrid)

 

21

 

Sussex town reportedly has no money (5)

RHI (sounds like [reportedly] RYE [town in Sussex]) + NO

RHI NO

RHINO (archaic slang for money)

 

 

7 comments on “Independent 9736 / Dac”

  1. Very enjoyable, as usual for a Dac. I thought this crossword had several amazing anagrams, with those at 15a and 4d being particularly outstanding. How do setters keep coming up with these? Many thanks to Dac and to Duncan.

  2. What a railway enthusiast might call an LNER crossword (Lovely Nice Easy Running) before wincing at the cost of a 13dn!  We solved this pretty quickly; despite our not knowing 4dn it was obvious from crossing letters and led to our LOI, 4ac where the word order had confused us at first. URBAN GUERRILLA, STROPPIER and BALLIOL were our favourites.

    Thanks, Dac and Duncan

  3. It always feels a bit lazy to do this, but sometimes there’s simply no point in trying to say the same thing in a different way:

    What Hovis @1 said.

    My thanks too to Dac and to Duncan.

  4. Very nice, my favourite was URBAN GUERRILLA, great anagram I hadn’t seen before – and of course I also liked the excellent 4d anagram.

     

    Many thanks Dac and thanks Duncan

  6. What everyone else said.  I didn’t know 4dn either, but as others had said, it couldn’t be anything else.

    What was embarrassing was that 23ac was my LOI.  Ives is one of my all-time favourite composers.  I came across his music when I was at university in the early seventies and drove away all my friends by listening to it all the time.

  7. Another what everyone else has said. There’s no ambiguity with a Dac and even unusual words are clearly clued – KNOUT for example.

    Great to see Dac bac …….

    Happy New Year to Duncan and Dac.

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