Another Sunday morning Peter ‘n’ Pierre show. A tractable puzzle just right for the IoS slot, I thought. Of particular note (for me at least) were a namecheck and a bird. Life is good.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Surprisingly mobile blood clots
EMBOLI
(MOBILE)*
4 Statement about rule applied to eggs
AVOWAL
A reversal of LAW and OVA.
9 Cover old swimming pool
LIDO
A charade of LID and O.
10 Pad in which Frenchman entertains partner for the evening
PIED-À-TERRE
My clue of the day, natch. An insertion of DATE in PIERRE. I am normally a distant second to RENÉ when it comes to cruciverbal Frenchmen, but I have breasted the tape in front of him this morning. A cad.
11 Swimming race interrupted by American with recording equipment
CAMERA
An insertion of AM in (RACE)* The anagrind is ‘swimming’ and the insertion indicator is ‘interrupted by’.
12 Damage ring at a Spanish resort
MARBELLA
A charade of MAR, BELL and A.
13 Teacher’s favourites covering clear iodine with hot piece of lab equipment
PETRI DISH
An insertion of RID and I for the chemical symbol in PETS, followed by H. Used widely, including for in vitro fertilisation; but for some reason we refer to test tube babies, and not petri dish babies. Alliteration won the day, perhaps.
15 Fictional bear‘s an adherent of Hindu philosophical system
YOGI
A dd. The bear is the ‘smarter than your average’ version created by Hanna-Barbera.
16 Soldiers returned with new evidence
SIGN
A charade of GIS reversed and N.
17 Unionist line adopted by Arab nation
ORANGEMAN
An insertion of RANGE in OMAN. The insertion indicator is ‘adopted by’.
21 A short stick found during search of burial site
CATACOMB
An insertion of A and TAC[K] in COMB. The insertion indicator is ‘found during’.
22 Animal coming back with tailless bird
GODWIT
Excellent. A bird, and one I don’t think has previously featured in an obligatory Pierre bird link, which shows the bar-tailed godwit, a winter visitor to UK shores whose prominent features are its long bill and legs. A charade of DOG reversed and WIT[H], and a lovely surface.
24 Temporary transfer for Next employees close to retirement
SECONDMENT
A charade of SECOND, MEN and T for the last letter of ‘retirement’. ‘Next’ for SECOND just about works, I suppose.
25 Spend money to secure Lessing’s first dramatic work
PLAY
An insertion of L for the first letter of ‘Lessing’ in PAY. Referencing Doris Lessing (1919-2013), the Nobel Prize winning author.
26 Doctor given advantage in search for oysters?
DREDGE
A charade of DR and EDGE.
27 Police officers let suspect get spirit
METTLE
A charade of MET and (LET)* The abbreviation is for the Metropolitan Police.
Down
1 Remove hair from pie cooked near the end of the night
EPILATE
A charade of (PIE)* and LATE. The anagrind is ‘cooked’.
2 Pound returned by fair English fellow
BLOKE
A charade of LB reversed, OK and E.
3 Boy clutching map of North European region
LAPLAND
An insertion of PLAN in LAD.
5 Good artist following through with drug
VIAGRA
A charade of VIA, G and RA.
6 Octopus originally caught in net close to home left with a sad expression
WOEBEGONE
A charade of O for the first letter of ‘octopus’ in WEB, E for the last letter of ‘home’ and GONE. A delightfully old-fashioned word of thoroughly Germanic origin.
7 Germanic siren featuring in folklore leitmotif
LORELEI
Hidden in folkLORE LEItmotif.
8 Dancing bears seem ill prepared at beginning of scene in musical
LES MISERABLES
A charade of (BEARS SEEM ILL)* and S for the initial letter of ‘scene’. There’s an anagrind at either end of the anagrist, so I guess you can take your pick.
14 Doctor and old lady taking part in tiresome process
RIGMAROLE
A charade of RIG, MA and ROLE.
16 Notice allegedly found next to small opening in dense vegetation
SEAWEED
A charade of a homophone of SEE, WEE and D for the first letter of ‘dense’.
18 Sleepwear‘s close to neckwear
NIGHTIE
A charade of NIGH and TIE.
19 It’s set in stone to cause trouble
AGITATE
An insertion of IT in AGATE. The insertion indicator is ‘set in’.
20 Greedy type welcoming time to prepare snack
HOT DOG
An insertion of T and DO in HOG. The ‘prepare’/DO equivalence comes from a phrase like ‘I’m going to do fish for supper tonight’, and the insertion indicator is ‘welcoming’.
23 Extremely destructive drug found in storage facility
DEPOT
A charade of DE for the outside letters of ‘destructive’ and POT.
Many thanks to Peter for the Sunday morning entertainment.
One of my quickest ever solves. SEAWEED was the only one that took a bit of thinking. Not a complaint – I quite like an easy puzzle every now and then, as long as it is well written.
I always found it strange that EPILATE and DEPILATE have the same meaning. A bit like FLAMMABLE/INFLAMMABLE I guess.
During lockdown, the Independent has been taken up by quite a few new solvers. You may be unaware that (as a counterpoint to Imogen in the Guardian) Peter is a female setter (and Loglady is a male setter).
Thanks to Peter and Pierre.
One of the days when I think I’m getting there! (Am one of the new solvers mentioned by @1 Hovis) . I enjoyed Agitate and Yogi the best
Can someone point out to me how Doctor=Rig please? I’ve had a good think and I can’t see it!
Thanks to Peter and Pierre
This was light but fun, with lovely smooth surfaces as the icing on the cake.
My first thought for 1d was DEPILATE until I realised it had too many letters. I hadn’t appreciated the subtlety of the difference between depilation and epilation until I looked it up.
Too many good clues to pick a favourite.
Many thanks to P & P.
Tombsy @2. That nice Mr Trump thought the Democrats doctored/rigged the election results.
Going by RD’s comments on both yesterday’s and today’s Indy, we share a love of smooth surfaces and they were in abundance today with plenty of both misdirection and sly reference to the solution. A combination I adore which made this enjoyable if not, as Hovis points out, the most tricky of the week.
Hard to pick favourites, I had so many ticks. LORELEI is probably the pick of the bunch for both surface and neat insertion, although ORANGEMAN is brilliantly succinct and misleading. WOEBEGONE (Pierre – I agree – lovely word) assembled nicely, VIAGRA made me smile (a standout clue?), EPILATE made my stomach churn with its surface, SECONDMENT is very clever, I admired CATACOMB and it was nice to spot our blogger in PIED A TERRE. (Pierre – I misread your ‘clue as definition’ abbreviation at the end of the sentence and thought “Cad? That’s a bit harsh on Rene who seems fairly guiltless…)
Thanks to Les Peters both
Perfect! Thanks Peter and Pierre.
Ah! Thanks RabbitDave @3
Chuckled over your Viagra comment, PostMark. Some people out there may be interested to know Viagra can help stop cut flowers from drooping. Not a joke.
I started going at this like a train but slowed considerably by the end and needed guiding by the nose for 4a, 6d and 17a – but have no complaints with those.
I have a micro-grizzle with prepare = DO (20d), but in no way did it taint a really enjoyable solve.
Thanks P & P
EggCustard @8: I have to prepare/do my accounts once a year? I’m going to prepare/do lunch?
A most enjoyable solve for a snowy Sunday, once we remembered that Pooh isn’t the only fictional bear with four letters in his name. And more enjoyable for the inclusion of a bird when Pierre is on blogging duty.
Thanks, Peter and Pierre.
Pied-a-terre is a great clue. The whole thing a delight. Has “Arab nation” ever not been Oman, incidentally (not that I’m complaining, just curious)?
I’m sure some of the other Gulf or Arab states have made appearances, Alliacol, but OMAN is certainly the most common. A bit like ERATO is the only muse to normally get a look in in crosswordland.
I wasn’t keen on the idea that next = second but I did rather like both PIED-A-TERRE and GODWIT, both of which I knew would also appeal to our blogger.
Thanks to Peter for the puzzle and to Pierre for the review.