Independent on Sunday 1,610 by Tees

by

The puzzle can be found here.

 

Hello and a very Happy New Year to you all. Tees is back doing what he does best – unless, of course, he does other things even better! In any case, I enjoyed this very much and am reminded of how nice it is to be here blogging on 225. Thanks Tees!

 

Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, explicit [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. Link words are generally omitted for clarity.

 

Across

8a    Cow in government primarily engaged in this? (8)
BULLYING
BULLY (cow, as a verb) + IN + the first letter of (… primarily) Government.
The surface refers to someone else featured here, but I avoid bullies if I can help it so will say no more

9a    Everyone getting into wicked tune (6)
BALLAD
ALL (everyone) inserted in (getting into) BAD (wicked)

10a   Dramatic princess entertaining American president (6)
REAGAN
REGAN (dramatic princess, daughter of King Lear) containing (entertaining) A (American)

11a   Leaving booze wild duck swallows energy drink (8)
TEETOTAL
TEAL (wild duck) goes around (swallows) E (energy) & TOT (drink)

12a   Centre for the audience does attract one (4)
HART
HEART (centre), homophone (for the audience). Does are deer, female deer

13a   Peril at pit that’s collapsed — politician under scrutiny (5,5)
PRITI PATEL
PERIL AT PIT, anagram (that’s collapsed)

15a   Fate in Tyneside not completely appalling (7)
DESTINY
An anagram of (… appalling) TYNESIDe without the last letter (not completely)

16a   Green pipe going across road area (7)
VERDANT
VENT (pipe) around (going across) RD (road) & A (area)

19a   Supporter brings complaint about new player (10)
BENEFACTOR
BEEF (complaint) around (about) N (new) + ACTOR (player)

21a   Africans in university after simple accommodation (4)
HUTU
U (university) after HUT (simple accommodation)

22a   Circumnavigator on staff discovers magical plant (8)
MANDRAKE
DRAKE (circumnavigator) next to (on) MAN (staff)

24a   Declare invalid having to check blood type yearly (6)
ANNUAL
ANNUL (declare invalid) containing (having to check) A (blood type)

25a   An heir dancing around gets rupture (6)
HERNIA
AH HEIR anagrammed (dancing around)

26a   About time to stop vice-president making false claim (8)
PRETENCE
RE (about) & T (time) inside (to stop) PENCE (vice-president)

 

Down

1d    Delay interrupting student’s instruction (8)
TUTELAGE
LAG (delay) inside (interrupting) TUTEE (student)

2d    Hostess perhaps needs someone present below stairs (6,9)
FLIGHT ATTENDANT
ATTENDANT (someone present) after (below, in a down entry) FLIGHT (stairs)

3d    What’s involved adapting an endangered species? (5,5)
GIANT PANDA
Anagram of (involved) ADAPTING AN

4d    Selfish endeavour say to put up inscription on tomb (3,4)
EGO TRIP
EG (say) + TO reversed (put up) + RIP (inscription on tomb)

5d    Hooligan beheaded with Old English instrument (4)
OBOE
yOB (hooligan) without the first letter (beheaded) + OE (Old English; alternatively this works with the separate abbreviations: O=old + E=English)

6d    Sensational clanger — poor don had to go into it (5-3-7)
BLOOD-AND-THUNDER
BLUNDER (clanger) with the insertion of (… to go into it) an anagram of (poor) DON HAD TO

7d    Wine container church needed to hold a service (6)
CARAFE
CE (church) containing (to hold) A & RAF (service)

14d   Ship rocks — vessel going round river (10)
ICEBREAKER
ICE (rocks) + BEAKER (vessel) going round R (river)

17d   Songbird in roof — snug in the middle on top (8)
NUTHATCH
THATCH (roof), with the inner letters of (… in the middle) sNUg preceding (on top, in a down entry)

18d   Temperature doubled in a drain almost causes crack (7)
ATTEMPT
T T (temperature doubled) in A + EMPTy (drain) without its last letter (almost)

20d   One avoiding Luke, at last in contact with his father? (6)
EVADER
The last letter of (… at last) LukE + VADER (his father: Luke’s father in Star Wars)

23d   Topless brothel-keeper expelled gardener (4)
ADAM
mADAM (brothel-keeper) without the first letter (topless)

 

16 comments on “Independent on Sunday 1,610 by Tees”

  1. Thanks to Tees for a neat puzzle and to Kitty for a lucid blog. I particularly liked 14 d and 19a which I did not fully parse. For some reason, 3d eluded me for a long time, even with many of the crossers.

  2. Kitty – your opening preamble says it all. Tees continues with the high standards to which I became accustomed over the course of 2020. I was defeated by BLOOD AND THUNDER, a phrase I’ve certainly heard before but which isn’t part of my own lexicon so, even when I realised thunder would fit, the rest didn’t occur. So a DNF but I don’t mind losing to a setter as good as this.

    Particular pleasures included EGO TRIP with its beautifully relevant surface, ATTEMPT for the clever misdirection in the definition, EVADER which had me wondering for a moment who was the father of St Luke before the alternative popped into mind, DESTINY which just made me laugh and my favourite for today, FLIGHT ATTENDANT. I might have seen something similar before but it doesn’t matter if I did: the surface and the assembly were both clever and deceptive. The two linked political swipes, spotted by our blogger, made me smile though the subject, herself, does not.

    Thanks Tees and Kitty

  3. all straightforward once solved.. of course does are deer.. which took a lot longer due to not spotting the anagram indicators in 3d n 6d.. on the bright side I’ve seen several nuthatches.. the link between 8ac and 13ac probably should have simplified both… sadly not..
    thanks Tees n Kitty

  4. I couldn’t get past Grace (Kelly) being the dramatic princess once I’d got the G from 2d, need to brush up on my Shakespeare! Also thanks for “does are deer ” as I just couldn’t work it out. Thanks Kitty and Tees

  5. I struggled in the NW corner this time, and thought ‘bullying’ seemed a bit weak, below Tees’ normally high standard, but will let it pass. Otherwise all very clear and concise, so thanks Tees and Kitty.

  6. I was gobsmacked by 8a and didn’t bother with the rest of the puzzle. Cow is a crude term of abuse. Is it me that’s lost it? Perhaps someone can explain.

  7. Held up by two anagrams near the end, seeing ‘Tyneside’ at 15a and immediately going for ‘NE’ and failing to spot the ‘adapting an’ fodder for GIANT PANDA at 3d. I liked the ‘Dramatic princess’ and the ‘Songbird’, both of which I’ve learnt in the cryptic crossword classroom of life.

    Thanks to Tees for such an enjoyable puzzle and to Kitty for her usual high standard blog with the nice animal piccies.

  8. James @6. It’s cow as in cower, not as a term of abuse.
    I found this hard as my brain cell is tired. I couldn’t get past Tyneside meaning NE for ages.
    Goos stuff really.
    Thanks to setter and blogger.
    PS I knew does were deer!

  9. To echo WordPlodder: Thanks to Tees for such an enjoyable puzzle and to Kitty for her usual high standard blog with the nice animal piccies.

  10. Well as anyone can see, and as has been pointed out, COW here is a verb, not a noun, and the clue does not refer to anyone in particular: indeed, who can think of anyone that might fit the bill? And that’s why it was a total coincidence that PRITI PATEL cropped up elsewhere in the grid. In fact I was rather chuffed to be able to find anything to fit THOSE crossers! So lucky. I mean, if I’d set out to include the two items, BULLYING and PRITI PATEL, wilfully, and had in fact started with those two entries in the grid, then it would be different, I accept that. That would be editorialising (I think the word is). But really, what sort of a compiler would do such a thing? It doesn’t even bear thinking about, unless of course you think about bears ever, as Antigonus must have done, at least for a bit.

    Speaking of furry animals, thanks to Kitty for her f(el)ine blog, and thanks to all who have commented.

    Cheers
    Tees

  11. Double thanks to Tees for the crossword and the comment – both made me laugh. Thanks also to Kitty. I needed the blog – tutee would never have occurred to me and I was another one with the fixed idea that Tyneside implied NE and getting nowhere. Loved blood and thunder and benefactor. Also pretence. I wonder if VP Harris will feature as regularly in crossword land?

  12. 8a reminded me of the controversy over Steve Bell’s depiction of PP as a cow with a ring through her nose, which many Hindus took to be offensive in the light of her Hindu religion (as well as misogynistic).
    I’m delighted Tees @10 has confirmed there’s no connection. (You wouldn’t get away with it in The Times, Paul!)

  13. I initially put “steering” in for 1a. But that would be a bit much to ask of a government wouldn’t it.
    Thanks to Kitty and Tees for the entertainment.

  16. Very nice. For some reason I wasn’t able to complete it, the blog makes everything very clear. But I enjoyed the attempt.

    Thanks to Tees and Kitty.

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