Independent 10,388 / Morph

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Morph has provided our Wednesday workout this week.

It hasn’t fallen to me to blog a puzzle by Morph, who never disappoints a solver, for quite some time, so I was relishing this challenge.

It took me quite some time to see what was happening in this puzzle, i.e. to spot the weather-related terms and their use in certain expressions. I am not totally convinced of all my attempts at parsing – for example, have I missed something at 1A/11/1D, 6, 14/16 or at 25? Please let me know if you suspect that I have.

My favourite clues today were 10 and 31, for smoothness of surface; and the linked clues at 28 and 29, for sheer originality. I didn’t know that 3 could be written as just two words, and the word for “fox” in 20 was new to me.

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

Across    
     
01/11/1D FAIR-WEATHER FRIENDS When results turn bad, they’ll run company on short-term basis?

Extended cryptic definition
     
03 I DARESAY Presumably Express being to the right of this setter’s challenging

I DARE (=this setter’s challenging) + SAY (=express)
     
10 INCLUDE Where these words are, framing dictionary’s front cover

D<ictionary> (“front” means first letter only) in IN CLUE (=where these words are)
     
12 NIGHTFALL Wild thing takes a drop when 30 goes

*(THING) + FALL (=a drop); the sunshine (=entry at 30) goes at nightfall
     
13 MIDGE Biter bit after losing protection of son

<s>MIDGE<n> (=bit, small amount); “losing protection (=first and last letters) of son” means letters “s” and “n” are dropped from around the outside of “midge”
     
14/16 STORMY DANIELS Trump’s nemesis who’ll produce denials, getting no support from 1,11,1D?

*(DENIALS); “that’ll produce” is anagram indicator; additionally, “fair weather friends” are unlikely to support someone called “stormy”!
     
19 RETREAT Quiet place to buy another drink?

Cryptically, to re-treat someone could be to buy him another drink
     
20 AT  ODDS Commercial holding in Fox News ending in dispute

[TOD (=fox, sly person) in AD (=commercial)] + <new>S (“ending” means last letter only)
     
23 TOAST Celebrated person, perfectly special on the inside

S (=special) in TO A T (=perfectly); the toast of Hollywood would be a celebrated person in Hollywood
     
25 TIME LIMIT Prison term for what whistle-blower’s announced?

TIME (=prison, as in to do/serve time) + LIMIT (=term); cryptically, a whistle-blower, i.e. referee, would blow a whistle to signal the end of a football match
     
28 RAINIER Old prince pouring some more

RAINIER (=pouring some more, i.e. more rainy); the reference is to Prince Rainier of Monaco (1949-2005)
     
29 CLAUDIA Italian woman picked up as 28’s frequent companion

Homophone (“picked up”) of “cloudier (=rainier (=entry at 28)’s frequent companion, i.e. in weather forecasts)”
     
30 SUNSHINE Pal who’s liked by 1,11,1D?

SUNSHINE (=pal, mate, often used ironically); cryptically, “sunshine” is liked by “fair weather friends”, i.e. those who are keen on good weather
     
31 HAIL Acclaim Rolling Stones once they hit the floor?

Cryptically, the Rolling Stones referred to here are hailstones!
     
Down    
     
02 INCOG Unknown member of ruling party, one making minor contribution

IN (=member of ruling party, as opposed to an out) + COG (=one making minor contribution, e.g. to a large organisation)
     
04 DOWNLOAD Drink fill then get something to drive?

DOWN (=drink, as to down a pint) + LOAD (=fill, as verb); the “drive” of the definition is a computer drive
     
05 REARM Back head of military to do this, perhaps

REAR (=back, as in rear entry) + M<ilitary> (“head of” means first letter only is used); semi- & lit.
     
06 SCHEDULED Status of tax // due

Double definition: some tax can be scheduled (for payment) AND something that is timetabled, due is scheduled
     
07 YORKER Duke and Queen featuring in ball

YORK (=Duke, i.e. Prince Andrew) + ER (=Queen, i.e. Elizabeth Regina)
     
08 CUSTOMER Copper ransacked store concealing money for buyer

CU (=copper, i.e. chemical formula) + [M (=money) in *(STORE)]; “ransacked” is anagram indicator
     
09 FETA Newspaper article covering eastern Greek export

[E (=Eastern) in FT (=newspaper, i.e. Financial Times)] + A (=article)
     
15 OPERATION Running to open-air theatre event

*(TO OPEN-AIR); “running” is anagram indicator; the “theatre” of the definition is an operating theatre for surgery
     
17 INTELSAT Restructuring is talent of global network provider

*(IS TALENT); “restructuring” is anagram indicator
     
18 CAST-IRON Players press – it’s hard to beat

CAST (=players, actors) + IRON (=press e.g. clothes)
     
21 SET SAIL Leave social networks, anticipating trouble

SETS (=social networks, e.g. the jet set) + AIL (=trouble)
     
22 STARES Plough etc, maintaining earth for peers

E (=earth) in STARS (=Plough, etc, i.e. constellations); to peer at is to stare at someone
     
24 THIGH Time’s up – that’s below the belt

T (=time) + HIGH (=up)
     
26 MACE Club // that’ll bring tears to your eyes

Double definition: a mace is a kind of club used in combat AND Chemical Mace is a type of tear gas
     
27 MEDIA More than one channel editor captivated by vaulting ambition

ED (=editor) in MIA (AIM=ambition; “vaulted” indicates vertical reversal)
     

 

17 comments on “Independent 10,388 / Morph”

  1. I made heavy weather of this. I was held up by 1a/11/1d which I parsed as a sort of double def – ‘When results turn bad they’ll run’ / ‘company on short-term basis’. Others unparsed included TIME LIMIT, CLAUDIA and SCHEDULED for which your parsings seem to make sense.

    I hadn’t come across the INCOG abbreviation before. TOAST and YORKER were my picks.

    Thanks to Morph and RR

  2. A bit of a curate’s egg for me. Morph is a hard, but excellent, setter but I personally didn’t care for some of the clues. I rarely like cryptic definitions and 1/11/1d didn’t float my boat. The clue for “scheduled” seems weak. Duke = York? Not to me. Duke of York isn’t Duke York. Like RatkojaRiku, I‘ve never seen DARESAY as one word – live and learn.

    Despite my misgivings above, the rest was top quality. I wouldn’t be surprised if others defend the above “weaker clues” and I get to eat my words.

    Thanks to Morph and RatkojaRiku.

  3. This was my toughest solve of the day but when i cottoned on to the weather theme I had to finish. I liked YORKER.

    Well worth the effort-thanks all,

  4. I can’t add anything to Hovis’s comments @2.   Curate’s egg was exactly what I had in mind.    Thanks to Morph and RR.

  5. Pleased to see that others found this quite difficult – took me a considerable length of time to solve and was perhaps not as much fun as this setter’s puzzles can often be.

    I didn’t know the global network provider and had to refresh the memory where Trump’s nemesis and the younger prince were concerned.

    Favourite was probably the rolling stones.

     

    Thanks to Morph and to RR for the review.

     

     

  6. We too made heavy weather (pun intentional?) of this and had to resort to electronic help.  We were held up too long thinking 1/11/1 was something to do with administrators taking over a failing company.  And we took ages to get NIGHTFALL and RETREAT – even though we’re sure we’ve seen the latter clued that way before.

    We think 14/16 is a bit &lit-ish in referring to Ms Daniels.

    We liked YORKER, TOAST and THIGH.

    Thanks, Morph and RatkojaRiku.

  7. Smidgeon is a variant spelling, though I did not parse it (or many others) fully at the time.  Thanks to RR and Morph.

  8. This took a bit longer to solve than some of this setter’s puzzles but I did enjoy the solve.  I did spot the theme quite early on which did help.  Smidgeon being one of my favourite words, I was surprised how long it took me to see the obvious in 13a.

    Thanks to Morph and RR

  9. That was hard – took me more than one sitting.
    But the longer it took me, the more I enjoyed it.

    Despite seeing the theme early on (without, actually, understanding 1/11/1D) I ended up with quite a few question marks.
    Thank you, RR, for making it all clear to me, although I am still not convinced about TIME LIMIT (25ac).
    Inspiring puzzle in which I particularly liked CLAUDIA (I mean, the clue) and SET SAIL – and more.
    Like for others, MIDGE (13ac) was last-one-in (which I took as ‘smidgeon’ minus the whole of ‘son’).

    Many thanks to Morph and RatkojaRiku.

  10. Found this very hard . But unusually I think i can update a parsing. In the recesses of my brain i think there may be something called a Schedule D in the tax world (for 6 down).

  12. Thanks Morph and RR

    I’m another one who found this tough.

    I’m with allan_c @ 6 re 13. I think it’s one of those ‘hard to categorise’ clues, with the definition as indicated and “who’ll produce” pointing to ‘stormy’ as an anagrind in the solution.

    And ref 7D, didn’t Shakespeare refer to Dukes as eg York or Gloucester in his stage directions?

  13. Thanks to Morph as usual for a great workout and to RR for the blog.

    I had to cheat on HAIL so a DNF for me.

    I took FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS to be a double CD – I broke the clue down into two separate parts ie “when results turn bad they’ll run” and “company on short-term basis”

  16. Late to the party: I did solve the puzzle this morning but I’ve been in and out since then.

    Like crypticsue, I love smidgeon [sic] which I learned long ago from my husband, so always assumed it was Scottish but Chambers gives its etymology as ‘unknown’. I’m with Sil’s parsing of it – MIDGE ‘losing protection of son’ …

    … and with baerchen’s parsing of FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS – brilliant surface!

    Many thanks, Morph, for another great puzzle – well  worth the effort – and RR for a fine blog.

     

  17. Even later to the party, indicating time taken to finish, which I was delighted to do after almost giving it up.

    Agree with all commendations above, brilliant puzzle.

    Thanks to Morph and to RatkojaRiku

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