Independent 10,720 by Tyrus (Sat 20-Feb 2021)

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I found this hard.  Really, really hard.  As such, it is an excellent tool to discover the limits of your own capabilities.

Which is what the theme was all about.  Not that I noticed as I was struggling to get a letter or two into the grid.

I see from my notes I must’ve read all the clues all the way down to 18d before finding one I could solve.  After that, things on the solving front didn’t seem to improve much.  So to get anywhere I made free used of dictionaries etc. – there is no way I would have finished this without aids.

I had noticed Tyrus sharing his opinion of our current woeful band of rulers at 11/7, Delusion of Adequacy, but it was only after finishing the puzzle I noticed the message in the Perimeter clockwise from bottom right:  The Dunning-Kruger Effect
Most apt.

 

Across
8 GEOFF Boycott Government opponent over a little bit of flak (5)
G[overnment], FOE< (opponent, over), F[lak]  The definition, Sir Geoffers Boycott, does not need any explanation
10 KETA Market always has salmon (4)
Hidden in marKET Always.  There seem to be hundreds of words for salmon.  I had to look this one up.  I don’t think I have ever heard of it before.  Wiki page
11/7 DELUSION OF ADEQUACY Fathead! Soon deduce a timeless quality, unfortunately, that’s shared by Johnson and his cohorts (8,2,8)
(F[at, head] SOON DEDUCE A QUALI[t]Y)* AInd: unfortunately.  Tyrus shares the opinion of the idiocracy that is currently ruling us
12 GOOSED Tired of being rudely assaulted (6)
Last one in.
This must be a Double Definition but I had trouble finding a reference that has goosed meaning tired but found it as a Mancunian term for broken – near enough.  Coincidentally appeared in yesterday’s Guardian Brummie also as a double-def. also referencing sexual assault.   [ Insert #Me2 joke here. ]
14 GEMINATE Double bed artist in attendance (8)
EMIN (bed artist) in GATE (attendance)
Certainly needed to look up this new-to-me word: noun: a doubled or long consonant (“The ‘n’ in ‘thinness’ is a geminate”)
15 SCANTY Look, talent and ability ultimately deficient (6)
SCAN (look) [talen]T [abilit]Y
17 AVOIDS Keen smallholder originally keeping old ducks (6)
O[ld] inside AVID (keen), then S[mallholder].
20 NAMELESS Undistinguished salesmen getting sacked (8)
(SALESMEN)* AInd: sacked
22 COGNAC Drink in clubs – may attempt to return (6)
C[lubs], then (CAN GO)< (may attempt, returning)
23 IN ANY EVENT Very discontented – a 9,10 spelt out regardless (2,3,5)
(V[er]Y A NINE TEN)* AInd: out  – with 9,10 “spelt”
24 PUTT Stroke ram turning on ewe’s neighbour, reportedly (4)
TUP< (ram, turning) then T (ewe’s neighbour, i.e. next to U “ewe”)
25 NOT ON 12 taking time off (3,2)
NOON (12) around (taking) T[ime]
26 HELLHOLE Confidence expressed before 24A in a nasty spot (8)
A sort of double definition, one cryptic: “He’ll hole” might be said before a putt (24A).
Down
1 RAVENOUS Wolfish? That’s a nervous reaction! (8)
(A NERVOUS)* AInd: reaction.   Wolves are famously permanently hungry
2 UEFA Fire in Notre-Dame upset American Football people (4)
FEU< (fire, in French, thus in Notre-Dame, reversed (upset)), then  A[merican]
3 GUIDED 19‘s good for Sunday Post journalist (6)
GUID (Scots for good, Sunday Post is a Scottish newspaper) and ED (journalist).  Definition is just 19 – i.e. the answer for 19, ushered.  Synonymous answer here
4 ECOLOGY Top in English, fifth in History, German unknown, with pass in Science (7)
COL (pass) inside E[nglish] [hist]O[ry] G[erman] Y [unknown]
5 RECOUNTING Telling Dracula maybe to stop slightly twisted rule? (10)
COUNT (Dracula) inside REING from (REIGN)*  AInd: “slightly twisted”
6 EFFORT Labour stronghold supports left wingers quitting (6)
FORT (stronghold) underneath (supports) [l]EF[t] (left, wingers quitting)
9 ASIMOV Writer like me alternatively picked up over 5 (6)
AS I’M  alternative for “As I am” (like me, as spoken – “picked up”) O[ver] V (5).  Very glad I had the V at the end to rationalise
13 SHAME ON YOU Pretend over a long period – solvers, it’s disgraceful (5,2,3)
SHAM (pretend) EON (long period) YOU (solvers)
16 THEBES Old city getting top people? Not quite (6)
THE BES[t]  (top people, shortened)
18 SMART SET Small matters worried fashionable types (5,3)
(S[mall] MATTERS)* AInd worried.
19 USHERED Led country to present day (7)
US (country) HERE (present) D[ay]
21 AMNION Embryonic protection in largely nominal form (6)
(NOMINA[l])* AInd: form.  Another one that needed looking up Wiki link Amnion although I will claim to have solved it before doing so
22 CATTLE Lowers expectations from the start having left PM – see above (6)
ATTLEE (PM) final E removed from E[xpectations],  after C “see”
24 POOH Housework mounted for children’s favourite (4)
HO[use] OP (work), all reversed (mounted)

 

19 comments on “Independent 10,720 by Tyrus (Sat 20-Feb 2021)”

  1. Lovely stuff. GOOSED was my loi, found using the nina but couldn’t find any reference for it meaning “tired”. Had a different parsing for ASIMOV. I had AS (like) + MI< (alternative spelling for note, me) + OV (over 5) with “picked up” denoting the reversal.

  2. Much to my amazement, I finished a Tyrus – possibly a first for me – and spotted the nina, but like Beermagnet I found it very hard. I parsed Asimov like Hovis. New words for me: geminate and amnion. Maybe the nina could refer to some of us solvers – it certainly applies to me on some days. Maybe, in the interests of balance, another setter would like to berate the opposition one day. Thanks Tyrus and Beermagnet.

  3. Thanks Tyrus and beermagnet

    I thought this was a superb puzzle, but didn’t find it over-hard, possibly as a result of there having been a Vlad in the graun a few days ago.

    I’m a transplanted north-westerner, not a Mancunian, but when I lived there 30-odd years ago “I’m (absolutely) goosed” was a regular expression for being knackered.

    I think 11/7 is an early candidate for clue of the year, brilliant!

  4. I found a couple of claims online that GOOSED=tired is rhyming slang – e.g. NSFW link from Urban Dictionary (see definition 5).

    Unlike beermagnet and Tatrasman I found this relatively easy for a Tyrus: I was helped by spotting the Nina about half-way though, which gave me some useful crossers. I had the same parsing for ASIMOV as Hovis.

  5. Meant to add: GEMINATE has the same origin as GEMINI (twins), and AMNION is related to the perhaps more familiar AMNIOTIC (as in amniotic sac, amniotic fluid).

  6. I saw beermagnet’s first line on Fifteensquared this morning and it acted as red flag to bull! Thought I had to have a go and managed to get to the end! It really did test, though, and I had to drag a lot of stuff from ancient memory banks – school day biology for amniotic fluid! Thank goodness for GOOSE in yesterday’s Brummie and, when I entered it plus ‘tired’ into Google, the urban dictionary entry was the first to appear. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard it used.

    I parsed ASIMOV as beermagnet; looks like one of those occasions when two perfectly valid alternatives lead to the same result. I rarely get the ‘as spoken in another country’ device but managed both ‘feu’ and ‘guid’ today. I guessed lowers might be a bovine allusion and I just loved both POOH and NOT ON which were delightful. Likewise PUTT, COGNAC, HELLHOLE and ECOLOGY. Beermagnet was bang on with the summary – a test that was enjoyable to participate in and satisfying to pass/parse. Only the nina defied me – but, as a phenomenon I’ve never heard of that begins in the SE corner, I am not surprised I missed it.

    Thanks Tyrus and beermagnet

  7. Like Mark @6 I was tempted here by beermagnet’s … tempter. Solving online instead of my usual paper Guardian, I must admit to having cheated quite a bit – not reveals, but sticking in odd letters to see if a vague idea was confirmed. It took me nearly an hour, but it would have been a lot longer on paper, having no illusions about my adequacy.

    GEMINATE and AMNION were new to me but easily gettable from the wordplay and associations respectively. I’m sure I’ve heard GOOSED used for tired, but KETA was a complete unknown. As was The Dunning-Kruger Effect, so I’m going to do some reading up on that now (although examples aplenty spring to mind). I’m sure that ‘me alternatively picked up’ is as Hovis proposed, but having seen ‘over 5’ at the end of the clue, and the crossing M having ruled out CHEKOV I just bunged in the answer and moved on!

    Thanks to setter, blogger and commenters.

  8. Great even by his standards. 7/11 was indeed a standout and the nina (a new one on me but a keeper) helped the last two in(wasnt familiar with GOOSED as a DD).I hadnt heard of GEMINATE but I just followed the instructions and a quick google confirmed
    Thanks Tyrus and beermagnet-great start to the day

  9. 7/11 was spoiled by having the clue listed at 7a with no indication it started at 11a (except at 11a which I didn’t spot until too late). So I thought the last word was L-S-O-O- and ended up randomly entering letters and checking. I thought Lusionof might have been an obscure political theorist. How silly. Rather lost heart after that. Never heard of Dunning Kruger but an interesting read on wiki.
    Thanks Tyrus, Beermagnet

  10. I never seem to find Tyrus (or Vlad) as tough as others do, and always really enjoy his puzzles. It can take a little time to get going as I think he tends not to have many “easy starters”, but everything usually ends up falling into place very nicely.
    The Nina helped me finish this one with the FF ending pointing to the solution for 8a.
    Many thanks to beermagnet and Tyrus.

  11. We didn’t find this too difficult, having sharpened our wits with Rodriguez and Io earlier in the week. The grid screamed ‘nina’ so we were on the lookout for one – but having got Dunning and effect we had to google to complete it, which then helped with our last few in the NW corner. Then 11/7 and the nina had us in fits of laughter for several minutes.
    GEMINATE was new to us, but the wordplay was clear enough and we were able to check it in Chambers.
    We thought THEBES was a bit of a chestnut, but we liked ASIMOV (parsed as Hovis@1); favourite, though, just has to be 11/7.
    Thanks, Tyrus and beermagnet

  12. Exactly same experience as James@9.. including the disheartening… the Nina effect did nothing to correct it.. which I didn’t spot anyway.. I was with beermagnet re ASIMOV …
    Thanks Tyrus n beermagnet

  14. This was one of those days when it was a relief to see the blog began “I found this hard. Really, really hard.”! I eventually managed about half the clues without resorting to the reveal button, and KETA popped up from my subconscious (I can only assume I’ve seen it in a previous crossword) but other than that a real struggle.

    One question (not a complaint) – does the REIGN => REING in 5 D class as indirect anagram? Is it considered OK because it’s only a switch of two letters?

  15. Sheepish @ 14

    I’d say that ‘REIGN’ is a common enough synonym for ‘rule’ and that, as you say, ‘slightly twisted’ refers to swapping two letters, so it’s not really an anagram.

    For me that’s fine, and as it’s Tyrus I’d give him a hell of a lot more leeway anyway.

  16. Obviously not my day for cryptics. About four hours after first looking at this, I got 13dn. About half an hour later, I got a couple more. I gave up and had a look at the New Scientist cryptic. Did slightly better on that but didn’t finish it.

  19. Fantastic puzzle which I’m very pleased to have finished. I generally allow myself x minutes to finish a puzzle, usually this is adequate time to complete 95% of blocked puzzles (the 5% usually being Mr Henderson) but this took 3x and was worth spending time on. Not sure I’d have got GOOSED without the Nina.
    Many thanks to both

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