Independent 10220 / Radian

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Radian has given us what I thought was a fairly gentle crossword today

 

 

 

For a change, I have been able to parse all the entries before getting too deeply into the blog.  The only word that was new to me was ERGOTISM at 8 down, but the wordplay was fairly clear.

Crosswords are always a sense of learning, no matter how old you are.  Today’s nugget was discovering the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association while writing the blog for 26 across.  Collins Dictionary pointed the way

I think Radian has been a bit harsh at 22 across where he describes a radio HAM as a radio nerd, but I suppose some may disagree.

I can’t see any message or theme in today’s puzzle, but there may well be one that I have missed.

I liked the clue for SISYPHUS (16 down) with it’s use of pushy.

It makes a change to focus a clue on the American Vice President rather than the top banana who tends to feature quite often these days.

There were a few words in the grid and wordplay that I only come across in crosswords, but often enough for them to come to mind quite quickly – SHEBEEN, SADIRON, IRRUPT, and CONTE being examples.

It’s a long time since I blogged a puzzle with just two anagrams.  Indeed they only formed part of the wordplay in the two clues 28 across (SADIRON) and 16 down (SISYPHUS)  There were also few clues where the wordplay required letters to be removed or excluded from constituent parts.

Across
No Clue Wordplay Entry
1 At home, teams show guts (7)

IN (at home) + SIDES (teams)

IN SIDES

 INSIDES (entrails; guts)
5 Independent quartet carried by yak (7)

IV (Roman numeral for four; quartet) contained in (carried by) PRATE (to talk foolishly or sententiously; to yak)

PR (IV) ATE

 PRIVATE (independent)
9 Artist writing about etchings primarily is boring (5)

(RA [Royal Academician; artist] + MS [manuscript; writing]) containing (about) E (first letter of [primarily] ETCHINGS)

R (E) A MS

 REAMS (enlarges the bore of; boring)
10 Touching significant new version of story (9)

RE (concerning; touching) + TELLING (significant)

RE TELLING

 RETELLING (new version of a story)
11 Support playwright retaining current share (10)

PROP (support) + (ORTON [reference Joe ORTON {1933 – 1967}, English playwright] containing {retaining} I {electric current}])

PROP ORT (I) ON

 PROPORTION (share)
12 Fancy unspecified number occupying temple (4)

N (unspecified number) contained in (occupying) WAT (Thai Buddhist temple or monastery)

WA (N) T

 WANT (desire; fancy)
14 Hairy tutor,old American, impresses queen (11)

(TEACHER [tutor] + O [old] + US [United States of America]) containing (impresses) R (Regina; queen)

T (R) EACHER O US

 TREACHEROUS (dangerous; hairy)
18 Veep’s admission hiding eastern fool’s lack of shame (11)

(I’M [I am; indicating admission] + PENCE (reference Mike PENCE [born 1959], currently Vice President of the United States of America]) containing (E [Eastern] + NIT [fool])

IM P (E NIT) ENCE

 IMPENITENCE (failure to be sorry or admit shame)
21 House transported back in Ark Royal (4)

YORK (reversed [back] hidden word in [in] ARK ROYAL)

YORK<

YORK (The House of YORK was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century)
22 Question about a radio nerd by Henry’s driver (6,4)

GRILL (question) containing (about) (A + HAM [amateur radio operator; radio nerd] + H [derived SI unit of inductance])

GR (A HAM H) ILL

 GRAHAM HILL (reference GRAHAM HILL [1929 – 1975], English racing driver)
25 Bowler for one admits trouble getting a team to flag down a lift (4,1,4)

HAT (a bowler is an example [for one] a HAT) containing (admits) AIL (trouble) + A + XI (there are eleven players in many teams)

H (AIL) A T A XI

 HAIL A TAXI (flag down a lift)
26 Pioneer appears in old negative looking dapper (5)

TT (teetotal; Collins dictionary tells me that a PIONEER is a total abstainer from alcoholic drink, especially a member of the PIONEER Total Abstinence Association, a society devoted to abstention) contained in (appears in) NAY (old form of no or negative)

NA (TT) Y

 NATTY (dapper)
27 Ambassador (British) spotted casing speakeasy (7)

SEEN (spotted) containing (casing) (HE [His / Her Excellency; form of address for an ambassador] + B [British])

S (HE B) EEN

SHEBEEN (illicit liquor shop; during Prohibition in America, a speakeasy was the term for an illicit bar)
28 Poles keep radio broadcast smoother (7)

(S [South {pole}] + N North {pole}]) containing (keep) an anagram of (broadcast RADIO

S (ADIRO*) N

 SADIRON (a flatiron pointed at both ends; a device that smooths)
Down
1 Break in stirrup?  Try scratching flanks (6)

IRRUPT (letters remaining in STIRRUP TRY) when the four outer letters  ST and RY are removed (scratching flanks)

 IRRUPT (break in)
2 During display, notice dog (6)

AD (advertisement; notice) contained in (during) SHOW (display)

SH (AD) OW

 SHADOW (follow and watch; dog)
3 Unhappy daughter is not absorbing short story (10)

D (daughter) + (IS‘NT [is not] containing [absorbing] CONTE [short story, as a literary genre])

D IS (CONTE) NT

 DISCONTENT (unhappy)
4 Supporter of platform parade (5)

STRUT (supporter)

STRUT

STRUT (walk in an ostentatious, swaggering manner; parade)  double definition
5 Two changes in patrol car’s fuel container (6,3)

PETROL (change one letter, A to E, in PATROL to get PETROL) + CAN (make the second change R to N in CAR to get CAN)

PETROL CAN

 PETROL CAN (fuel container)
6 Frivolous segment of panel discussion given up (4)

IDLE (reversed [up; down clue]) hidden word in [segment of] PANEL DISCUSSION)

IDLE<

 IDLE (unimportant; frivolous)
7 Firebrand film comic got up in silver and gold (8)

TATI (reference Jacques TATI [1907 – 1982], French mime, filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter and comic) reversed (got up; down clue) contained in (in) (AG [chemical symbol for silver] and OR [the tincture gold])

AG (ITAT<) OR

 AGITATOR (person who stirs up trouble; firebrand)
8 Poisoning from rouge originally in vanity case? (8)

R (first letter of [originally] ROUGE) contained in (in … case]) EGOTISM (thinking or speaking too much of oneself; vanity)

E (R) GOTISM

ERGOTISM (poisoning caused by eating bread made of rye diseased with ergot [a disease of grasses, especially rye])
13 Resolved to discourage revolutionary material (10)

DETER (discourage) + DENIM (material) reversed (revolutionary)

DETER MINED<

 DETERMINED (resolved)
15 Divert brook (9)

ENTERTAIN (amuse; divert)

ENTERTAIN

 ENTERTAIN (hold in the mind; tolerate; brook)  double definition
16 Son is staggeringly pushy – he had to be! (8)

S (son) + IS + an anagram of (staggeringly) PUSHY

S IS YPHUS*

SISYPHUS (In Greek mythology Sisyphus or Sisyphos was the king of Ephyra. He was punished for his self-aggrandizing craftiness and deceitfulness by being forced to roll  [push] an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll down when it nears the top, repeating this action for eternity; he had to be pushy)
17 Joyous small tipple this setter’s laid on (8)

S (small) + PORT (alcoholic drink; tipple) + I’VE [this setter (I) says he has laid on)

S PORT IVE

 SPORTIVE (playful, merry, joyous)
19 A season with bury (6)

W (with) + INTER (bury)

W INTER

 WINTER (winter)
20 Quietly supply Orsino’s first request (4,2)

P (piano; quietly) + LAY ON (supply)

P LAY ON

 PLAY ON (reference the Duke of Orsino’s speech in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night which begins "If music be the food of love, PLAY ON…")
23 Man’s hugging Irish people who succeed (5)

HE’S (man’s) containing (hugging) IR (Irish)

HE (IR) S

 HEIRS (people who succeed to properties, titles etc on the death of the previous holder)
24 At opening, he can’t stand (4)

AT contained in (opening) HE

H (AT) E

 HATE (detest; can’t stand)

16 comments on “Independent 10220 / Radian”

  2. Very enjoyable – I liked the less usual definitions of many of the solutions – but I will admit to once again not noticing the theme.  My favourite clue was 16d

    Thanks to Radian and Duncan

  3. Thanks, Duncan.

    Well, I knew what to look out for [Radian on a ‘theme’ Tuesday] but I was running out of possibilities. After getting WINTER and YORK, I thought, ‘Surely not?’ but the rest gradually emerged – see 10148 from 23rd April: 11 more references and only one overlap [DISCONTENT] – incredible!

    Huge thanks, as ever to Radian – whatever next? 😉

  4. I presumed there would be something, most likely Shakespearean, going on which I would miss, as usual. Would have been nice to get the theme, but I enjoyed this anyway. I liked the ‘pushy’ SISYPHUS clue and the ‘driver’ at 22a, known to French commentators as ‘Graam Eel’.

    I look forward to hearing of the finer details the theme.

    Thanks to Radian and Duncan.

  5. Wordplodder @4 – it’s the opening speech from ‘Richard III’ – see here 

    The quoted words are WINTER, DISCONTENT, YORK, SPORTIVE, STRUT, PROPORTION, SHADOW, ENTERTAIN, DETERMINED, HATE and HEIRS.

  6. Eileen, you’ve missed a couple – there are WANT and IDLE as well!

    Very enjoyable, thanks, Radian and Duncan.

  7. Shakespeare references will always go over my head but I’m glad some of you get them. Fortunately, solving doesn’t need knowledge of his works (apart from 20d, which is pretty well known even though I didn’t know it was Orsino who said it).

    Didn’t know SADIRON but easy to guess then look up. Also didn’t know SAD used to mean “heavy” (and, apparently, still can in baking circles). CONTE for a short story appeared recently so I could still remember it.

    Clue for PETROL CAN was novel and gets a tick from me.

    Wasn’t sure about PRIVATE=INDEPENDENT (private income perhaps?).

    Thanks to Radian and Duncan.

  9. Hello Eileen @5,

    Thanks very much. WINTER and DISCONTENT should have rung some bells, but I still couldn’t place it. Maybe if ‘kingdom and ‘horse’ (I realise not in the opening speech though) had been included I might have got there.

    I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Richard III after reading ‘The Daughter of Time’ as a schoolboy and I was fascinated when his grave was discovered in Leicester.

    Thanks again.

  10. Thanks Radian and DS

    Shakespeare is not an area I know well, but WINTER and DISCONTENT prompted me to look up the speech. A very clever achievement by Radian.

    I think you can also, at a stretch, add (d)REAMS to the themers.

  11. Discussed with my programmer colleagues. Geek is cool, nerd is offensive. So it would be better to say Radio geek. 🙂 Turns out they are sensitive souls, who knew?

  12. Wordplodder @9

    I’m not familiar with your book but I’ve always had a soft spot since schooldays for Richard III and was so proud when he was finally buried in a most moving ceremony here in my home town.

    I’m also very familiar with Middleham in North Yorkshire, where he grew up, and was very touched when soil from there was buried in his coffin, along with soil from Fotheringhay Castle, where he was born – not far from here.

  13. OK, totally missed the theme despite knowing the play well.

    I thought erogotism was quite well known.  I remember reading a book called The Day of St. Anthony’s Fire when I was at school, so fifty years ago now, about a French village in which there was an outbreak in 1951.  People were throwing themselves of roofs convinced they could fly.  There was even an episode of Dr Finlay’s Casebook involving a case.  It’s thought it’s a bit like LSD.

  14. Hello again Eileen (and others who are interested) – sorry, a late reply,

    “The Daughter of Time”, by Josephine Tey, is a great read and, so Wikipedia tells me, was voted as the number 1 crime novel in the Crime Writer’s Association “The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time” list. Thank you for the titbit about Fotheringhay Castle – famous/infamous for at least 2 historical events then.

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