Independent 9784 / Tees

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Tees has been appearing one, two or three times a month recently, at weekends as well as midweek.

 

 

 

There was an appropriate balance in the top and bottom row of unchecked letters today with SKYLIGHT at the top and LOWLIGHT at the bottom.  I used the unfinished top row to complete my last one in – ITERATED at 5 down

I note that more than half of the across entries begin with an A but I can’t see anything linking the A entries.

My favourite clue today was the one for LEGION at 4 down with it’s double use of LEG and ON within the clue and the entry.

I thought the wordplay for A & E in 10 across was a bit bizarre.  Perhaps I have missed something.

An entertaining solve.

Across
No. Clue Wordplay Entry

9

 

Subsidence worried crew in Lambeth occasionally (9)

 

(ATE [worried] + MEN [crew]) contained in (in) ABT (letters 2, 4 and 6 [occasionally] of LAMBETH)

AB (ATE MEN) T

ABATEMENT (growing less, subsiding; subsidence)

 

10

 

Endure being tender in Accident !!unknown xml object: amp!! Emergency (5)

 

BID (tender) contained in (in) (A & E [I think the given xml error message will occur if an & is placed on its own in an xml string]

A (BID) E

ABIDE (endure)

 

11

 

An actor’s role becoming distinct (5)

 

A + PART (actor’s role)

A PART

APART (separate; distinct)

 

12

 

Knight in anger to deal with moving back from foe (2,7)

 

(N [knight in chess notation] contained in [in] IRE [anger]) + TREAT (deal with)

I (N) RE TREAT

IN RETREAT (moving back from the enemy)

 

13

 

Score after six balls exceed allotted time (7)

 

OVER (in cricket, there are six balls in an OVER) + RUN (a score in a number of different games)

OVER RUN

OVERRUN (exceed allotted time)

 

14

 

Disciplined 50s youth carrying bucket down? (7)

 

TED (TEDdy boy [an unruly adolescent, originally in the 1950s]) containing (carrying) RAIN (bucket down)

T (RAIN) ED

TRAINED (instructed and disciplined)

 

16

 

Flower missing on guide ultimately causing surprise (5)

 

AMAZON (river; something that flows; flower) excluding (missing) ON + E (last letter of [ultimately] GUIDE)

AMAZ E

AMAZE (surprise)

 

18

 

Parody secret language that eschews English (3)

 

CODE (secret language) excluding (that eschews) E (English)

COD

COD (poke fun at; parody)

 
19 Fear‘s weapon associated with Capone say (5)

AL (reference AL Capone [1899 – 1947], American gangster) + ARM (weapon)

AL ARM

 ALARM (fear)

21

 

Answer beginning with E for goddess (7)

 

A (answer) + START (beginning) + E

A START E

ASTARTE (Phoenician goddess of love)

 

22

 

Beastly fighter wild about cheers provided by men (7)

 

(MAD [wild] containing [about] TA [thankyou; cheers]) + OR (other ranks; men)

MA (TA) D OR

MATADOR (bullfighter; fighter of a beast)

 

24

 

Means to regulate passage of act is old hat (9)

 

TURN (act) + ‘S (is) + TILE (old hat)

TURN S TILE

TURNSTILE (revolving frame that allows one person to pass at a time; means to regulate passage)

 
26 Bring up boys initially wanting fish (5)

BROACH (start to speak about; bring up) excluding (wanting) B (first letter of [initially] BOYS)

ROACH

ROACH (silvery freshwater fish of the carp family)

 

27

 

Germanic invader offers perspective (5)

 

ANGLE (member or descendant of the German tribe from Schleswig that settled in Northumbria, Mercia and E Anglia during the 5th century)

ANGLE

 ANGLE (viewpoint; perspective) double definition

28

 

Departs from northeastern town for cemetery (9)

 

DARLINGTON (town in the north east of England) excluding (from) D (departs)

ARLINGTON

ARLINGTON (reference ARLINGTON National Cemetery, a military cemetery across the Potomac river from Washington DC in America)

 

Down

1

 

Battle traitor taking over in heroic narrative (8)

 

(RAT [traitor] + O [over]) contained in (in) SAGA (heroic narrative)

SA (RAT O) GA

SARATOGA (reference the 1777 Battle of SARATOGA when the Americans defeated the British.  The battle formed the turning point in the Revolutionary War)

 

2

 

Sort of chop artist fed to shrew (6)

 

RA (Royal Academician; artist) contained in (fed to) (KATE [the character defined as Shrew in Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew)

KA (RA) TE

KARATE (sharp downward blow with the side of the hand)

 

3

 

In past for sure betrayer mutilated after beheading (10)

 

YES (sure) + an anagram of (mutilated)  BETRAYER excluding the first letter (beheaded) B

YES TERYEAR*

YESTERYEAR (the past in general)

 

4

 

Great many on one leg (6)

 

LEG (‘on’ side in cricket) + I (Roman numeral for one) + ON (‘leg’ side in cricket)

LEG I ON

LEGION (great many)

 

5

 

Done over time – that is respected all round (8)

 

(I.E. [id est] + RATED [respected]) containing (all round) T (time)

I (T) E RATED

ITERATED (repeated; done again; done over)

 
6 Walk from wicket for instance on declaration (4)

GAIT (sounds like [on declaration] GATE [wicket])

GAIT

 GAIT (way of walking)
7 Split in corporation saving one billion for land once (8)

HERNIA (rupture [split], especially of the abdomen[belly; corporation]) containing [I [Roman numeral for one] + B [billion])

H (I B) ERNIA

HIBERNIA (an ancient and poetic name for Ireland; land once)

 

8

 

Pressman given wine living under canvas (6)

 

TENT (deep-red Spanish wine) + ED (editor; pressman)

TENT ED

TENTED (living under canvas)

 

15

 

Maths expert, in style of Newton, grand on city tour (4,6)

 

À LA (in the style of) + N (newton, a derived SI unit of force) + TURIN ([Italian] city) + G (grand [1000 dollars])

A LA N TURIN G

ALAN TURING (reference ALAN TURING [1912 – 1954], English mathematician, well known for his work on code-breaking at Bletchley during the second world war)

 

17

 

An officer before journey sees close friend (5,3)

 

A + LT (lieutenant; officer) + ERE (before) + GO (journey)

A LT ER E GO

ALTER EGO (close friend)

 

18

 

One may react with surprising malice after church (8)

 

CH (church) + an anagram of (surprising) MALICE

CH EMICAL*

CHEMICAL (something that may react with another substance to produce a change)

 
20 Trader from Maine with tirade about check (8)

ME (Maine, State of the USA) + (RANT [tirade] containing [about] CH [check])

ME R (CH) ANT

MERCHANT (trader)

 

21

 

Heavenly as river in short story (6)

 

AS + (R [river] contained in [in] TALE [story] excluding the final letter [short] E)

AS T (R) AL

ASTRAL (belonging to the stars; relating to the heavens; heavenly)

 

22

 

Use most of milk supply for cereal (6)

 

Anagram of (supply [ from the word supple]) USE and MILK excluding the final letter (most of) K

MUESLI*

MUESLI (dish of rolled oats, nuts, fruit, etc eaten especially as a breakfast cereal.)

 

23

 

Shortage of diamonds on ground (6)

 

D (diamonds) + EARTH (ground)

D EARTH

DEARTH (shortage)

 

25

 

Killed large number for Americans (4)

 

SLEW (killed)

SLEW

SLEW (in America, a word referring to a large number or amount)  double definition

 

 

16 comments on “Independent 9784 / Tees”

  1. Often fail to finish a Tees so this was a nice change. The Nina helped me get my LOI, which was GAIT. Noticed a couple of errors in blog. In 16a, the E comes from guidE and in 20d, the CH comes from ‘check’ not ‘cheque’. I believe it is used in chess. Thanks to Tees and Duncan.

  3. Copmus@2. When I first met ALTER EGO for close friend in a cryptic, I had only seen it in the sense of a second identity, e.g. superman/Clark Kent. But in my Collins the second definition given is ‘a very close and intimate friend’.

  4. Hovis @ 1

    Thanks – corrected now.  I must have been thinking about other things when typing the blog.

    Copmus @ 2

    Chambers too defines ALTER EGO as a trusted, intimate friend, a confidant.

    ALTER EGO was a clue in one of last week’s Times puzzles where it was also defined as ‘close friend’

     

     

  6. Neatly-clued as usual. My CoD LEGION, which is so obvious, yet I found myself chuckling at the LEG-I-ON/ ON-I-LEG synonymy. So obvious as not to have been done before?

    A&E was a nightmare, appropriately enough! I had the misfortune to end up there recently, and it was a real drag, for which I blame the Tories.

  7. Thanks, Duncan – usual thorough blog.

    Good daily cryptic, with the wide variety of subject matter that I always enjoy with a Tees puzzle.  I learnt a new goddess today.  I thought LEGION was really cleverly done: making you look at it a couple of times and then twigging that it’s perfectly clued with a twist of the usual definitions.

    I was okay with ALTER EGO: I wouldn’t use it that way, but if it’s in more than one dictionary then some folk must, so fair enough.

    The top and bottom line ninas seemed random – apart from the fact that they are the top and bottom LIGHTS in the crossword sense.

    Well done, Tees.

  8. The Nina helped with my final answers yet again, even though I’m not quite sure of its significance. I agree that LEGION with the mix of LEG and ON was the clue of the day and also liked SLEW though didn’t know it as an American term. No ‘raft’, which I was half-expecting, to complete the trifecta.

    Thanks to Tees and Duncan.

  9. Very enjoyable puzzle, accessed on the Mac this morning as I had the pleasure of ‘working from home’ for a while. More of that please boss. Assault on the papers followed.

    Great surfaces throughout, and a lot of fun, with ‘on one leg’ causing an outright guffaw. Plenty more to titillate here, so many thanks – especially for the Ninas to prompt us – Tees.

    Thanks to Duncan for a very informative blog.

  10. Fared much better on this than on the last puzzle I tackled by this setter.  I didn’t know SARATOGA and only faintly recalled ASTARTE but the wordplay took me there.

    I really liked the nina, not least because it was very helpful.

    Lots to appreciate, but my favourite, despite all the cricket, has to be LEGION.

    Thanks Tees and Duncan.

  11. Needed a lot of help to complete and didn’t get 25dn, which I also didn’t think of as being particularly American – I use it all the time.

    Amusing to see ASTARTE, another name for Ashtaroth, whom we met yesterday.

  12. Yes I think the ‘lights’ top and bottom must be some kind of crossword in-joke. It was obvious however, and so helped.

    Lot of good ones today, really liked use of ‘fed’ in the amusing ‘sort of chop’ clue. Nice one Tees and Duncan.

  13. I had the same experience as you, Dormouse, re Astarte. That said, it is the other Ashtaroth we had yesterday! Astarte is the goddess of love, the other Ashtaroth isn’t.

    Nice puzzle in which the the bottom row should have helped me to find SLEW (25d) but it didn’t ….. (even with three letters in place)

    I made heavy weather of LEGION (4d) and couldn’t fully explain. Doh! Great clue.

    Surprised to see Tees, the Ximenean, using ‘A on B’ in a Down clue as ‘B + A’ [15d] – it is acceptable, though.

    Thanks Duncan & Tees for the fun.

  14. We were struggling a bit with the left hand side when we realised we had – – – LIGHT in both top and bottom rows of unches.  After a bit of thought we figured out 1dn and 21dn which then gave the rest of the nina and we were able to finish.

    Some great clues, including TRAINED, TURNSTILE, KARATE and HIBERNIA but our CoD was LEGION.

    @13 Sil: We didn’t see 15dn as ‘A on B’; we parsed it as À LA + NG (Newton, grand) around TURIN, i.e. ‘on city tour’.  Otherwise ‘tour’ doesn’t make sense.

    Thanks, Tees and Duncan

     

     

  16. #13 ‘on’ is not meant in that way. A LA N G are going round TURIN (on city tour).

     

    The Ximenean is rescued?

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