Independent 10,235 / Silvanus

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Silvanus is occupying the Friday slot this week, with Phi having appeared earlier in the week.

I found this to be an enjoyable, medium-difficulty puzzle, an appropriate prelude to the cruciverbal challenges of the weekend. That said, Silvanus had the last laugh, as I needed to cheat to get the answer at 8 – once again, I missed a more unusual homophone indicator.

I would appreciate fellow solvers’ input on my parsing of 4 and 10, where I think I have got it right but cannot be sure. As for my favourite clues today, I particularly like 6, for its topicality; 12 and 14, both for originality; and 16, for its surface reading.

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across  
   
01 GOSH Demand silence? Well, I never!

(to) GO (=say) SH! (=(to) demand silence)
   
03 IAN FLEMING Current article on Belgian author

I (=current, in physics) + AN (=article) + FLEMING (=Belgian, i.e. from Flanders); the reference is to English novelist and James Bond creator Ian Fleming (1908-64)
   
09 ARMY Host‘s crackers to appear topless

<b>ARMY (=crackers); “to appear topless” means first letter is dropped; a host is a large number, horde, hence “army”
   
10 SPIN DOCTOR Drops retired cook as public relation’s expert

SPIN (NIPS=drops, e.g. of whisky; “retired” indicates reversal) + DOCTOR (=cook, e.g. books, accounts)
   
12 HARMONY Consistency in sharing money, but not to burn

<s>HAR<ing> MON<e>Y; ‘”not to burn (=singe)” means letters “singe”, here split into three parts, are dropped
   
13 CUBICLE Solid, three-dimensional, large empty compartment

CUBIC (=solid, three-dimensional) + L<arg>E (“empty” means all but first and last letters are dropped)
   
14 TARAMASALATA Greek food obtained from Turk most loth to receive American replacements regularly

A (=American) replaces all alternate letters in T<u>R<k> M<o>S<t> L<o>T<h>
   
18 ANACHRONISMS Those who may seem old-fashioned if abusing chairman’s son

*(CHAIRMAN’S SON); “if abusing” is anagram indicator
   
21 REPLETE Full summer in France after hesitation over coming to Poland

RE (ER=hesitation; “over” indicates reversal) + PL (=Poland, in IVR) + ETE (=summer in France, i.e. the French word for summer)
   
22 POLLUTE Corrupt vote starts to unsettle troubled electorate

POLL (=vote) + U<nsettle> T<roubled> E<lectorate> (“starts to” means first letters only)
   
23 PORCELAINS Various ceramics on special offer finally gone

*(ON SPECIAL + <offe>R (“finally” means last letter only)); “gone” is anagram indicator
   
24 GARB Old actress removing old dress

GARB<o> (=old actress, i.e. Greta Garbo); “removing old (=O)” means letter “o” is dropped
   
25 COUNTRYMAN Reckon stationer must be a rural chap

COUNT (=reckon, tot) + RYMAN (=stationer, i.e. the UK high-street retailer)
   
26 DEFY Challenge Fury at last after having provided what’s necessary for comeback

DEF (FED=having provided what’s necessary; “for comeback” indicates reversal) + <fur>Y (“at last” means last letter only)
   
Down  
   
01 GRAPHITE Writing material Greek character stuffed inside jar

PHI (=Greek character, i.e. letter of Greek alphabet) in GRATE (=jar, irritate, as verb)
   
02 SOMBRERO Dark gold turned-up hat

SOMBRE (=dark) + RO (OR=gold, in heraldry; “turned-up” indicates vertical reversal)
   
04 APPLY Put on // suit

Double definition: to “apply” ointment is to “put it on” a wound AND to apply is to be relevant, hence suit (in Chambers), as in those conditions don’t apply to this case
   
05 FUNICULAR Dreadfully unfair about almost inordinate admiration relating to Cable

CUL<t> (=inordinate admiration; “almost” means last letter is dropped) in *(UNFAIR); “dreadfully” is anagram indicator; the “Cable” of the definition refers to cable cars and not to Vince Cable!
   
06 EXORBITANTLY Excessively upset? Only at Brexit!

*(ONLY AT BREXIT); “upset” is anagram indicator
   
07 INTACT Whole piece of meat cat nibbled around

Hidden (“piece of”) and reversed (“around”) in “meaT CAT NIbbled”
   
08 GARNER Store in foreign country delivered to some

Homophone (“delivered to some”) of “Ghana” (=foreign country); to garner is to gather up and store
   
11 COMMENCEMENT Opening remark that defends union taking time off

CEMEN<t> (=union, bond; “taking time (=T) off” means letter “t” is dropped) in COMMENT (=remark)
   
15 SECRETARY Government minister creates confusion over railway

*(CREATES) + RY (=railway); “confusion” is anagram indicator
   
16 OSCULATE Kiss model, so cute outside Californian location

LA (=Californian location, i.e. Los Angeles) in *(SO CUTE); “model”, i.e. form, shape, is anagram indicator
   
17 ASSEMBLY Putting together // part of school timetable

Double definition; “assembly” is the “putting together of e.g. furniture, cars
   
19 TROPIC Capricorn is one theme absorbing astrologer ultimately

<astrologe>R (“ultimately” means last letter only) in TOPIC (=theme)
   
20 APERÇU Outline content of newspaper cutbacks

Hidden (“content of”) in “newspAPER CUtbacks”
   
22 PANDA Animal‘s sire carrying recessive genetic footprint

AND (DNA=genetic footprint; “recessive” indicates reversal) in PA (=sire)
   

 

10 comments on “Independent 10,235 / Silvanus”

  1. I really enjoyed this crossword – too many ‘favourites’ to list although I’ll just mention 25a for the d’oh moment when I realised who the  ‘stationer’ had to be and 8d for the clever homophone that actually ‘works’

    RR I think you’ve parsed  4 and 10 as I would have done

    Thanks to Silvanus for the entertainment and RR for the blog

     

  2. I agree with CS @1.- this was a lovely puzzle with far too many excellent clues to list them all.  RR, I too parsed 10a & 4d as you have done.

    11d is particularly devious as, once you have decided on the answer and the two elements of the wordplay, there are 4 different possibilities for the insertion.  I think 17d is too “same-sidey” for a double definition, but that apart this was an absolute joy from start to finish with all of Silvanus’ usual trademarks in evidence.

    Three clues for me were the best of a very good bunch: 12a, 25a and, my runaway favourite, 14a.

    Many thanks to Silvanus and to RR.

     

  3. Very entertaining with lots of good clues.

    I particularly liked HARMONY, TARAMASALATA, GRAPHITE and OSCULATE. Good spot of the anagrams for ANACHRONISMS and EXORBITANTLY also.

    Unusual containment indicator in ‘defends’ but I guess in the sense of guards it works.

    Thanks Silvanus and RR.

  4. Another excellent puzzle from a setter who really knows how to construct a perfect surface read.

    Couldn’t help but wonder how long it took him to put 14a together and I did smile when I registered the stationer in 25a.

    So many to choose from but 1a made me laugh out loud so goes to the top of my list.

     

    Many thanks to Silvanus for the enjoyment and to RR for the review.

  6. Many thanks to RR for his review (spot on with the parsings of 10a and 4d by the way!) and to all who tackled the puzzle, especially those who took the trouble to leave comments. They are always read with interest and are much appreciated.

  7. Thanks to RatkojaRiku and Silvanus

    Some very nice stuff but too many redundant words for me to really enjoy this.

    Does anyone have a thesaurus that has UNION = CEMENT?

     

  9. Dansar@7 Chambers Revised 13th Edition also gives as one of the definitions for CEMENT: “a bond or union”. Sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy the puzzle.

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