Independent 10,575 / Dalibor

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Dalibor is occupying this week’s Thursday slot. Dalibor is a setter whose work I have rarely blogged.

I found this puzzle to be a challenging and entertaining medium-to-difficult solve. I think that I have parsed everything to my satisfaction, but I needed Chambers to confirm 17, 18 and 21; I would also appreciate confirmation of my parsing at 1.

There were a few fun references to politics in the clues – 6, 7 and 14. My clues-of-the-day were 14, for including so much political content, and 26, for smoothness of surface.

I hope it won’t be too long before it again falls to me to blog a Dalibor.

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

Across  
   
01 FIDDLESTICKS Nonsense documents containing double Dutch should receive criticism

STICK (=criticism) in {[D (=Dutch) + D (=Dutch)] in FILES (=documents)}
   
10 HUSBAND Man perhaps bananas to go round bus when cycling

USB (BUS; “when cycling” means first letter moves to end) in HAND (=perhaps bananas, i.e. part of a bunch)
   
11 ENAMOUR Charm offensive ultimately linked to war associated with us

<offensiv>E (“ultimately” means last letter only) + NAM (=war, i.e. the Vietnam War colloquially) + OUR (=associated with us)
   
12 SHARP Stylish marker pen that is missing

SHARP<ie> (=marker pen); “that is (=i.e.) missing” means letters “ie” are dropped
   
13 UNBELIEF Group of nations misrepresent France, showing lack of faith

UN (=group of nations) + BELIE (=misrepresent, disguise) + F (=France)
   
16 LITERALISM In art, realistic representation requires breaking real limits

*(REAL LIMITS); “breaking” is anagram indicator
   
16 ISIS A goddess lives twice

IS (=lives) + IS (=lives)
   
18 BELL Bubble bath initially about 45 inches in days of old

B<ath> (“initially” means first letter only) + ELL (=about 45 inches in days of old, i.e. old measure of cloth); a bell is a bubble that has formed in a liquid
   
20 LIMONCELLO I’m about to join group of activists in the centre of Toulouse for a drink

[I’M + ON (=about, concerning) + CELL (=group of activists)] in <tou>LO<se> (“the centre of” means middle letters only)
   
22 ORGANICS Health food items go in cars for distribution

*(GO IN CARS); “for distribution” is anagram indicator
   
24 EDGES Golf clubs lacking weight to give advantages

<w>EDGES (=golf clubs); “lacking weight (=W)” means letter “w” is dropped
   
26 EARDRUM It’s crucial to hear a murder suspect

*(A MURDER); “suspect” is anagram indicator
   
27 RAVIOLI Right to put tiny bit of vinegar in garlic mayonnaise for Italian dish

R (=right) + [V<inegar> (“tiny bit of” means first letter only) in AIOLI (=garlic mayonnaise)]
   
28 PRAGUE SPRING Head of government preparing us badly for period of reform

*(G<overnment> (“head of” means first letter only) + PREPARING US); the Prague Spring in 1968 was a period of reform in Czechoslovakia, suppressed by the Soviet Union)
   
Down  
   
02 INSTANT Version of Tin Soldier that features Steve’s peak moment

S<teve> (“peak” means first letter only) in [*(TIN) + ANT (=soldier)]; “version of” is anagram indicator
   
03 DIASPORA Arabic operation said to return Jews living outside Israel

AR (=Arabic) + OP (=operation) + SAID; “to return” indicates reversal
   
04 ENDS At last, first-rate Mason Greenwood scores goals

<first-rat>E + <maso>N + <greenwoo>D + <score>S; “at last” means last letters only
   
05 THE ONE SHOW TV programme’s new host stupidly invites man on oxygen

[HE (=man) + O (=oxygen, i.e. chemical formula] in *(NEW HOST); “stupidly” is anagram indicator
   
06 CRAVE Conservative Party long for …

C (=Conservative) + RAVE (=party)
   
07 STORIES … its members to support last of Boris’s lies

<bori>S (“last of” means last letter only) + TORIES (=its members, i.e. of Conservative Party)
   
08 WHISTLE-BLOWER One discloses having broken elbow in Canadian ski resort

*(ELBOW) in WHISTLER (=Canadian ski resort); “broken” is anagram indicator
   
09 PROFESSORSHIP Claim to replace women in deep admiration for position at Oxford?

PROFESS (=claim, admit) to replace W (=women) in WORSHIP (=deep admiration)
   
14 PLAID CYMRU Our diplomacy works without even contributions from BoJo’s party

*(<o>UR DIPL<o>MACY); “without even (=not odd) contributions from Bojo (=2nd and 4th letters only)” means letters “o + o” are dropped from anagram, indicated by “works”
   
17 SCREEVER Pavement artist to have sex nearly always

SCRE<w> (=to have sex; “nearly” means last letter dropped) + EVER (=always)
   
19 LEG TRAP Great LP made by group of cricketers

*(GREAT LP); “made by” is anagram indicators; a leg trap is an attacking fielding placement in cricket
   
21 LEGHORN Small chicken // hat made of straw

Double definition
   
23 NORMA Fancy man or woman?

*(MAN OR); “fancy” is anagram indicator
   
25 ARES God’s part within the welfare state

Hidden (“part within”) in “welfARE State”
   

 

23 comments on “Independent 10,575 / Dalibor”

  1. Despite a large number of unknown words for me, I did quite enjoy this. Wonder how our overseas friends got on with 5d and 14d.

    I guessed LEGHORN for 21d from “Foghorn Leghorn” who was hardly small but Chambers confirmed that it was the right answer.

    27a should help me in the future for spelling the setters’ favourite mayonnaise.

    Thanks Dalibor and RatkojaRiku.

  2. I really enjoyed this crossword which I found to be a bit easier/less difficult than Dalibor usually is…I put him at the tougher end of the Indy spectrum with Serpent and Tyrus. I consider myself quite a whizz with anagrams though, and there are quite a few partials scattered around today, no criticism intended. SCREEVER was new to me but fairly clued and I didn’t know the double def of LEGHORN so I confess to having looked up lidcorn before seeing the errors of my ways. Great variety in the puzzle, I thought.

    Thanks to Dalibor & RR

  3. For some reason I couldn’t see Bell at 18A and put Bulb in desperation to finish – how silly!  Otherwise much enjoyed and learned several new words or meanings, so thanks Dalibor and RatkojaRiku.

  4. Am I missing something with the instruction to replace or maybe re-place the W in 9? It hasn’t been replaced by anything, nor has it been re-placed. It’s just been removed hasn’t it?

    SCREEVER was new to me, and I only got it while musing on (Julian) Beever who happens to be a pretty amazing pavement artist. Like Hovis @1 I was also unaware of the LEGHORN hat, and had to check it with my preferred search engine.

    I thought LEG TRAP was a bit niche even as a cricket fan. But overall an enjoyable puzzle.

    Thanks to the setter and to the blogger.

  5. Rocket@4

    I took this as profess replaces W in 9. Unusual for so much to take the place of so little, but fair

    Great puzzle today

  6. TFO @4. Of course there’s a sensible explanation that was beyond my grasp. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction

  10. Really enjoyed this, though quite tricky I thought. Loved ‘a murder suspect’. Also enjoyed the 6/7 combination and when I found and parsed 17d, it made me laugh. Particularly liked 4d, very smooth and nice temporal misdirection of “at last”. 3d DIASPORA was nicely done as well. And of course I enjoyed double Dutch, and my favourite ski resort where I spent way too much time as a phd student.
    Many thanks Dalibor & RR

  12. Nice. Some words which rarely get clued and some clues which required some thinking. I confess I’m not one for parsing everything; once it’s solved it’s solved. But construction and reference at 2 was very pleasing.

    17 and 21, if not completely new, were welcome boosts to near-forgotten vocabulary.

  15. Finished in the end but spent far too long puzzling over the SE corner.  Being a bit too clever we thought we had to lift and separate ‘golf clubs’ in 24ac and ended up with G[olf] + [w]OODS (some clubs used to be known as woods, not that we have any interest in golf) to give ‘goods’ which we thought was a bit remote from ‘advantages’ but took ages to realise the simpler answer  – doh!  After that all we had to do was check SCREEVER and the ‘hat’ meaning of LEGHORN in Chambers.

    Interesting coincidence that the recycled Quixote in yesterday’s i had PLAID CYMRU as one answer (clued as an anagram).

    Didn’t spot the theme as we didn’t look for one although Thursdays often have a theme or nina.

    Thanks, Dalibor and RatkojaRiku

  16. Many thanks to those who took the time to comment.
    And, in particular, to RatkojaRiku for a blog that explained it all.
    Apart from spotting the musical instruments, of course ….

    rocket @9 mentioned all nine (more or less), no BAND though and VIOL is the one intended.
    And Simon S @14, yes, perhaps you should get your coat!  🙂

    Just after I submitted this crossword, Qaos appeared in The Guardian with a ghost theme of … musical instruments.
    And so, I wasn’t the happiest person in the world that day.
    However, the difference was that his instruments were full entries and mine were all part of the solutions (except for BELL – which for me is hardly a musical instrument anyway).
    Thanks again and hope to return to this place in a couple of months’ time.

  21. Thank to RatkojaRiku and Dalibor

    I always enjoy a Dalibor and this was no exception, but a few points of interest (to some):

    1a Could the clue do without “should receive”?

    10a I thought the def might be “man perhaps”

    11a I’ve encountered this before in crosswords, but I can only see “associated with us” as “ours”, not “our”.

    18a Is it?

    26a We must read “to” as “in order to”, or “hear” as “hearing”.

    27a I’m sorry but I can’t resist this: “Take against garlic mayonannaise dressing for Italian dish”.

    2d I hope people appreciated the Steve Marriott reference.

    19d Isn’t this clue sort of backwards?

  22. Dansar, thanks for your (always welcome) comments.
    1ac: DD and STICK are going into FILES separately, and so my answer to your question would be ‘no’.
    11ac: see definition no 1 in Collins.
    2d: at least Evann Dyas @12 picked it up.
    19d: I do agree about the use of ‘by’ but I couldn’t find a way around it.

  23. In 1a would a simple “and” do the trick? I know why setters use modal verbs but I instinctively think “I’m not interested in what it should/would/must/will do, only in what it is doing”

    I looked in Collins before commenting on 11a and have just looked again but I still can’t really see it.

    The police are trying to prove the drugs are ours

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