Independent 9861 / Crosophile

by

Crosophile provides the Tuesday challenge this week.

 

 

 

There’s a couple of references to BEES using different meanings of the word.   There is an engineering flavour – AGGREGATE, COFFERDAM and SHINGLE.  There are baby and birth references – HARELIP,

This was a crossword where I got off to a quick start, slowed down and then finished fast.  The word COFFERDAM was new to me but with all the crossing letters in place, it seemed to be the only possibility.

There were a few clues where I deduced the answer from the definition and then had to think about the wordplay.  BREASTFED was one, as was STRANGELY.

I didn’t find this a particularly difficult crossword, but it was one that would keep a solver engaged during the time it took to complete.  However, I know from experience that suggesting a crossword isn’t difficult can often bring down the wrath of commenters upon me, so I apologise if you thought this was tricky.  I think it was a good crossword to develop your solving skills.

Across
No. Clue Wordplay Entry
1 Workers’ meeting place‘s been hived off finally (7)

BEEN excluding the last letter {off finally] N + HIVED excluding the last letter [off finally also] D  The phrase ‘off finally’ qualifies both BEEN and HIVED.

BEE HIVE

 BEEHIVE (a place where worker BEEs meet)
5 Stimulating and softly whimsical after I became leader (7)

P (piano; softly) + QUAINT (whimsical) with the I moved to the front (became leader)

P I QUANT

 PIQUANT (stimulating)
9 Geordie ways to produce geeks? (5)

NE (North East, the area of England where Geordies are found) + RDS (roads; ways)

NE RDS

 NERDS (geeks; these two words are synonymous in relation to their enthusiasm and knowledge about computers and software)
10 King George say in marble – or ballast in cement (9)

(GR [Georgius Rex; King George] + E.G. [for example; say]) contained in (in) AGATE (marble used in games)

AG (GR EG) ATE

AGGREGATE (any material mixed with cement to form concrete)

 

11

 

Real breaks in joint, result of birth defect (7)

 

Anagram of (breaks) REAL contained in (in) HIP (joint)

H (AREL*) IP

HARELIP (a cleft upper LIP often apparent immediately after birth)

 
12 Bather swims across Dee, how far across? (7)

Anagram of (swims) BATHER containing (across) D (dee)

BREA (D) TH*

BREADTH (the width of a swimming pool, as opposed to a length)

 
13 Good person right set against another? Yes, oddly (9)

ST (saint; a good person) + R (right) + ANGEL (another example of a good person) + Y (yes)

ST R ANGEL Y

 STRANGELY (oddly)
15 Containers confining nuclear explosions (5)

BAGS (containers) containing (confining) N (nuclear)

BA (N) GS

 BANGS (explosions)

16

 

Beagle finally follows most of hunt trail – it’s all part of an act (5)

 

SCENT (the smell left by an animal, etc, by which it may be hunted) excluding the last letter (most of) T + E (last letter of [finally] BEAGLE)

SCEN E

SCENE (part of act in a play – e.g. Act 1, Scene 2)

 

17

 

Form faced with restructuring is a structure for bridge-building etc (9)

 

Anagram of (with restructuring) FORM FACED

COFFERDAM*

COFFERDAM (watertight structure that is pumped dry, allowing underwater foundations, etc to be built; structure for bridge-building etc)

 
20 Enormous blokes squatting in derelict semi (7)

MEN (blokes) contained in (squatting in) an anagram of (derelict) SEMI

IM (MEN) SE*

IMMENSE (enormous)

 

22

 

This month everything’s set up for use (7)

 

INST (this month) + ALL (everything)

INST ALL

INSTALL (set up and put in use)

 
24 A bee when their gang has gone off (9)

Anagram of (has gone off) THEIR GANG

GATHERING*

GATHERING (a BEE is a GATHERING of persons to unite their labour for the benefit of one individual or family, or for some joint amusement, exercise or competition)

25

 

Small flat layer from top of freezing tarn (5)

 

F (first letter of [top of] FREEZING )+ LAKE (tarn)

F LAKE

FLAKE (small flat layer)

 

26

 

Evacuate out of Greek island (7)

 

EX- (direct from; out of) + CRETE (Greek island)

EX CRETE

EXCRETE (discharge; evacuate)

 
27 On reflection finish with When The Saints or the blues? (7)

(END [finish with] + AS [when]) all reversed (on reflection) + (S [saint] + S [saint] to give saints)

(SA DNE)< S S

 SADNESS (unhappiness; the blues)

Down
1 Bouquets and midday meals initially bought for lecturer (7)

LUNCHES (midday meals) with the letter L (lecturer) replaced by (for)] B (first letter of [initially] BOUGHT)

BUNCHES

BUNCHES (bouquets when referring to flowers)

 
2 Shelling scary monsters is a mistake (5)

TERRORS (scary monsters) excluding the outer letters (shelling) T and S

ERROR

ERROR (mistake)

 

3

 

Tavern by church introduces fish sauce (9)

 

(INN [tavern] + CE [Church [of England]) containing (introduces) SOLE (fish)

IN (SOLE) N CE

INSOLENCE (rudeness; sauce)

 

4

 

SW rivers that’s short and wide for instance (7)

 

EXE (river EXE which flows in the South West of England) excluding the final letter (that’s short) E + AMPLE (wide)

EX AMPLE

EXAMPLE ([for] instance)

 

5

 

Upsetting request Oscar put in to fork out for young escort (7)

 

(BEG [request] reversed [upsetting] + O [Oscar is the international radio codeword for the letter O]) contained in (put in to) PAY (fork out)

PA (GEB< O) Y

PAGEBOY (young attendant or escort)

 
6 What in Calais we’ll see when touring European Union? (5)

QUE (French for ‘what’) containing (touring) EU (European Union)

QU (EU) E

QUEUE (something that may be seen waiting for a ferry in Calais)

 
7 E.g. Sex Pistols on ecstasy, dead dissolute (9)

(A + BAND [the Sex Pistols were a band]) + ON + E (ecstasy) + D (dead)

A BAND ON E D

 ABANDONED (dissolute)

8

 

In committee, these cuts? (7)

 

TEETHES (hidden word in [in] COMMITTEE THESE)

TEETHES

TEETHES (cuts)

 

14

 

Stiff and unsupple haircut Em’s restyled (9)

 

Anagram of (restyled) HAIRCUT EM

RHEUMATIC*

RHEUMATIC (stiff and unsupple)

 
15 Calf, say, runs inside field regularly drinking mother’s milk (9)

(R [runs] contained in [inside] BEAST [a calf is an example of a beast]) + FED (letters 1, 3 and 5 [regularly] of FIELD)

B (R) EAST FED

BREASTFED (drinking mother’s milk)

 

16

 

Coarse gravel found in English ground (7)

 

Anagram of (ground) ENGLISH

SHINGLE*

SHINGLE (coarse gravel)

 

17

 

Crack cocaine’s related to immorality (7)

 

C (cocaine) + RE (with reference to; related to) + VICE (immorality)

C RE VICE

CREVICE (narrow crack or split, especially in a rock)

 
18 Some digits run up to show perimeters (7)

FINGERS (digits) with the letter R moved up the this down entry from the sixth position

FRINGES

 FRINGES (borders; perimeters)

19

 

Fish from Scottish island set to be fried (7)

 

MULL (Scottish island) + an anagram of (to be fried) SET

MULL ETS*

MULLETS (fish)

 

21

 

A relative from French city on the mobile (5)

 

NIECE (sounds like [on the mobile] NICE [city in France])

NIECE

NIECE (relative)

 

23

 

A thousand held in fear and wonder, vigilant (5)

 

(A + K [one thousand]) contained in (held in) AWE (fear and wonder)

AW (A K) E

AWAKE (vigilant)

 

     

7 comments on “Independent 9861 / Crosophile”

  1. I don’t know, I was really stressed when I first looked at this. Nothing went in for a start and I felt completely stranded. Then finally everything started to gel and I eventually locked it all in.

    Thanks to Crosophile and Duncan.

  2. Thanks Crosophile and Duncan.

    As well as the references you mention, there are several hairstyles too: 1A, 15A, 1D, 5D, 18D, 19D.

  3. It took us a while to get started but then things flowed fairly smoothly.

    There may be another aspect to 6dn in that the clue refers to the future – after brexit?

    One quibble about 19dn in that for most fish the plural is the same as the singular – the only exceptions we can think of, apart from shellfish, are eels and anchovies.  A pity, because it’s a great surface to the clue – and, ironically, in the hairstyle meaning the plural is formed with an ‘s’.

    Favourites, though, were PIQUANT, COFFERDAM and RHEUMATIC.

    Thanks, Crosophile and Duncan.

  5. In addition to those mentioned by Simon S @2, the other two which I found were QUEUE at 6d and SHINGLE at 16d.

    The things you learn from cryptics…

  6. Sorry; arrived v late. Thanks for the blog, duncan, and thanks for the comments too.  Weel done Simon S and Wordplodder for finding all the airstyles between you.

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