Independent 9837 / Serpent

21 comments on “Independent 9837 / Serpent”

1. I think 3d’s definition is less refined than you suggest – “let off” and “trump” are both slang for “fart”.

   Also the definition of 22d needs to include the word “being”.

2. Had a cryptic blub at missing PSEUDOBULB, didn’t know the alternative spelling of the ‘Self-immolation’ which I guessed as ‘suti’ and couldn’t parse the ‘Issuing Trump’s sanction’ clue – refined or not. Otherwise I did well (well, not really).

   Thank goodness for the usual Tuesday theme +/- nina which have helped me in the past as they did today. My favourite clue (thanks to the nina) was the ‘strange shiny objects on stars’ for RUMBLING.

   Thanks to Serpent and Duncan

3. PSEUDOBULB was my LOI, I had to look up SATI to confirm I’d parsed the clue correctly, and the PDM for the definition of LETTING OFF came very belatedly. I did spot the theme though, albeit 6 colours in. The nina came a few letters later. All up, a good fun workout.

4. Very few answers on the first time through for me as well, until I got Indigo to go with Violet, so was on the lookout for the rest, but still didn’t spot the Nina until I remembered at the end to look again at those unches at the top and bottom. Deity baffled me until the blog appeared, so thanks Duncan and to Serpent for a bit of colour on a day when my phone app shows rain for the foreseeable future – all 10 days of it.

5. Would it be a theme or a nina? I wondered as I saw the grid (and remembered the day of the week for a change).  What a treat (and a great help with solving) to find both.

   SATI was new to me as was my last in, PSEUDOBULB.  I saw the (coloured) light eventually.

   This crossword did not make me see RED but I particularly liked all the clues linked to that 11.  Over the rainbow I liked SEPTIMAL, ON TRUST, SIMULATE and FLAGELLA.

   Thanks to Serpent for the very good and pretty tricky puzzle, and to Duncan for the blog.

6. As soon as I saw Kind of Blue, I was in the mood-with the Duke’s tune in my head I really enjoyed this, the two halves of the nina helping confirm a couple of clues (like COPING and SATI)

   Can you print the grid with colours in the top and bottom rows.

    

   Thanks to duncansheil and Serpent.

7. Life would have been so much easier if I’d spotted the Nina during the solve but I didn’t, despite having registered that all the colours were in the grid!

   Didn’t know the alternative spelling of 28a (put me more in mind of peanut sauce!) and the orchid was a very dim memory that had to be checked.

   Thanks to Serpent for the rainbow and to Duncan for the blog.

   PS   I haven’t seen single word answers split into two in this way before – I presume it’s only acceptable when both parts are also stand-alone words?

8. copmus@6

   I’ve put in a coloured grid with approximate shades for indigo and violet.  Anything darker would have hidden the letters.

9. I’ll be delighted if I solve a better clue this year than 9a. Brilliant.

   Thanks to S&B

10. I saw the Nina and the theme (must be having a very good day for me to do that) and enjoyed this very much

    I’d agree with Baerchen @9 about 9a being a great clue, but I do have a few others already on my list of contenders for Clue of the Year

    Thanks to Serpent and Duncan

11. Baerchen @9 – I somehow missed 9a when selecting highlights.  I must be …

12. I’m sure the Hari Krishna gang will have a saffron pen somewhere…..

13. Jane@7. Your PS is correct.

    Wonderfully colourful crossword and blog. In answering 8a, I recalled only recently finding out that ‘fortnight’ comes from ‘fourteen nights’. Obvious really, but never thought about it.

    Thanks to Serpent and Duncan.

14. Just in case anybody is interested, there also used to be a word ‘sennight’ meaning ‘week’.

15. duncansheill@8 Wow-you went to town, Thanks.

    (made me think someone had slipped something in my beer!)

16. I saw the theme but missed the Nina as usual. Neat! Wondered about the immolation, but it was clearly a hidden. Never did work out the parsing for DEITY, so thanks to Duncan for that. Otherwise an enjoyable puzzle which needed some concentration. I have to say I’m not too keen on words being split over the grid. Liked SEPTIMAL. Took for ever to think of BLUE which gave me my LOI, SIMULATE. Thanks Duncan and Serpent.

17. Hovis@13 – thank you, one for the memory banks.

18. We spotted both the theme and the nina for once, which helped as we had to find somewhere to put BLUE. But we were held up for ages with 15ac; we realised it was an anagram but thought we were looking for a description of half a figure of eight that might begin ‘semi….’ and only when crossing letters made SEPTIMAL the obvious answer did we twig that it referred to 8ac which we then realised was FOURTEEN – doh!

    PSEUDOBULB was new to us – but we looked up ‘orchids’ on Google rather than resort to direct cheating.

    In 23ac we think the definition is simply ‘fuel’ with ‘product made from palm leaves’ for ‘raffia’.

    Thanks, Serpent and Duncan.

19. Thanks Serpent,

    My solve was not at all helped by having to find the relevant clues in the on-line print-out, but it was considerably helped by the theme and nina which for once i spotted early on. I could comfortably complete rows 1 and 15, as well as search for missing colours. Much fun.

    I thought FOURTEEN, STUPID, BODILY and FLAGELLA were all brilliant, as were many more.

    It took me a while to see the right definition for UNICORN, upon which it became a favourite clue.

    hadn’t heard of the seals or the orchid bits, but managed to get there.

    Thanks Duncan for some bits of parsing I missed, DEITY and PARAFFIN.

    Great stuff1

20. Another one here who actually spotted a theme and a nina in time for it to help getting the last few.  That rarely happens for me.

21. Many thanks to Duncan for the blog, excellent as ever, and to everyone who has taken the time to solve and comment on the puzzle.  I’m delighted everyone seems to have enjoyed it.

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