Tees fills the Tuesday slot this week.
Tuesday is theme day in the Indy and Tees gives us an obvious theme based around the latest ‘crisis’ in the royal family – the apparent rift between 22ac / 24d and 21d / 1ac, following their interview with 7d / 14ac.
We have to admit that we really didn’t enjoy this puzzle – partly because the theme was too obvious (and, to us, largely irrelevant).
We liked the surfaces in 28ac and 23d, but felt that some of the other clues did not make any sense when you read through them – for example 17ac and 22/24.
Sorry – not our cup of ‘Tees’ today.
Double definition – we had to check the second definition – as in a ‘GLOSS to the text’ – we think that ‘demands’ is superfluous
S (south) after or ‘chasing’ UBER (taxi provider) reversed or ‘westbound’
M (married) PADRE (cleric) in COSt (expense) without the last letter or ‘reduced’
An anagram (‘incorrectly’) of AGAINST ONE
HIP (happening, as in ‘trendy’) after or ‘passing’ C (100)
An anagram (‘terribly’) of SECRET round or ‘seizing’ P (power) – a reference to the ‘baddies’ in the James Bond books
Double definition – the first a reference to John Ireland, an English composer we had never heard of before.
PA (father – ‘old man’) STERN (very strict) – we had to check this term – it’s a part of a horse’s foot
Another double definition, the first a reference to an Oread in Greek mythology
WILD (untamed) KATE (shrew, as in ‘The Taming of the Shrew’) round or ‘entertaining’ an anagram (‘dancing’) of ANIMAL
AERIAL (antenna) 1ST (first)
CO (company – ‘firm’) BRA (female support)
Y (year) in HOLE (crater)
YES (right, as in ‘okay’) in an anagram (‘damaged’) of RETINA
A OR T (‘choice’ of the first or last letters or ‘stem and stern’ of ArgonauT) + A
TUBE (underground) reversed or ‘sent up’ in or ‘visiting’ DANTE (poet)
EAGER (keen) round or ‘crossing’ ST (street) + MAN (island – Isle of Man)
Yet another double definition – we had to check the second
NE (north-east) MESS (confused state) round or ‘probed by’ I (independent)
GO (attempt) AD (publicity)
An anagram (‘revised’) of PAY FOR HER round or ‘claimed by’ WIN (victory)
An anagram (‘novel’) of HE’S IN A SPY
PER (for each) SIAN (Welshwoman) CAT (catamaran – ‘boat’)
Another double definition
THE (article) + MAG (magazine) reversed or ‘about’ + BA (graduate) round or ‘touring’ I (one)
DECIDE (choose) round or ‘keeping’ I (current)
LET (allowed) with PATE (spread) outside or ‘around’
An anagram (‘rippling’) of HE-MAN HARDY RANG
D (diameter) + RAIN (showers)
Not my favourite Tees crossword and definitely far from my favourite theme, although I do always enjoy the struggle to remember the spelling of 8d
Thanks to Tees and B&J
Well, I enjoyed it! The second sense of GLOSS is connected to ‘glossary’. I suppose ‘demands’ was included for a better surface reading. Like many others, I suspect, the Harry and Meghan story is a complete turn-off for me, but fair game for a theme. At 1D is was misled by the way the font used in the clues treats the letters ‘r’ and ‘n’, which together can look like ‘m’, and I was initially thrown by misreading ‘stem and stem’ – not for long though! Thanks Tees and B&J.
Shouldn’t 11ac have a Z?
FD @ 3 Either is acceptable
Well I didn’t mind it either.
Small sub-theme that didn’t really develop, unless I’ve missed something – Cobra and Spectre are both fictional evil organisations.
Probably just coincidence, unless we’re suggesting Harpo Productions is one as well. Hang on, very possible now I give it more thought.
Theme not my ‘cup of Tees’ either but there are plenty more entries that one could deem relevant.
That said 8 is probably the most appropriate..
Thanks to Tees and B&J
Not a theme that was likely to win Tees many friends but I still enjoyed the puzzle itself – I rather like this setter’s style.
Like crypticsue, I invariably have to think hard about the spelling of 8d so was grateful for the checkers.
No particular favourite but the strict old man made me smile.
Thanks to Tees and to B&J for the review – sorry that you didn’t derive much pleasure from this one.
Bloody themes. I was Sheena the other day, and in that one a similar wave of nausea came among the contestants.
SPECTRE was my first one in, and when I got COBRA I thought we had a spy theme, which of course threw me for a while, wondering if he man Hardy was another agent. The surface of 8 down reinforced this, so even after getting 21/1 I was still thinking spies rather than royals.
But the big plus point for me was I managed to do most of it without help, so in that sense it was one I enjoyed.
A solid enough puzzle, and not too difficult once we got into it, although we can’t say we were over the moon about it. But we liked REBUS, SISYPHEAN and PERSIAN CAT.
Thanks, Tees and B&J
I don’t really think you need to be interested in a theme to appreciate the cleverness of the setting. In this case, all the main names were in and several of the other answers could be applied to the situation if you were cruel and cynical enough. Which I was, in passing. So thanks to Tees, Teesna and Sheena and thanks to Bertandjoyce! Enjoyed it.
Hmmm. Tees, Teesna, Sheena… Not sure what’s going on here? We welcomed a new setter on Monday or so I thought. I wonder if they are, by chance, related? And, having glanced back at the Sheena comments, only two appeared disenchanted with the theme compared with three thus far today: neither constitutes a ‘wave’ of nausea as far as I’m concerned. The three theme entries were fairly easy to spot and solve but there was little impact on the remainder of the puzzle.
Theme aside, I didn’t find this as tricky as some past offerings by Tees. Either I was in the goldilocks zone or the clueing wasn’t quite as demanding. I liked SISYPHEAN and the anagram for ANTAGONISE. And a real ‘thing’ learned today: how I have managed to go all these years without realising that Hibernian applied to Ireland, I will not know. I’ve only consciously encountered the word in the name of the Scottish football team – which I only now learn was originally based on the Irish community in Scotland. So I didn’t solve IRELAND – and, just to make life extra tricky, Hibs play at Easter Road which had me wondering if there was a seasonal relevance to the clue that I wasn’t getting!
Thanks Tees and B&J
Is 6 across self-referential? Sheen demanding explanation?? At times this felt like a puzzlers’s lament, EYESTRAIN, SISYPHEAN, HACKNEY, DRAIN.
REBUS of course is a Hibernian fan, linking 9 across and 17 across
I liked the dispatch for Mars. 🙂
It was only when I came here I realised that I’d not got round to solving 1dn. Ironic, seeing how I’d had an operation on mine a few months ago.
Today I left the puzzle half done in the kitchen and my 16 year old son had a look and said “how do you do these again?” and I found by explaining (to the limit of my knowledge) how clues work it slowed me down and allowed me to think more carefully about then (eg novel being an anagram indicator and C being 100) I also found he is annoying good at suggesting synonyms (stern, go, rain) but equally poor as me at anagrams ! Will be using him for future success!
I didn’t understand DEICIDE until I read this and then I ‘aha’d’ so thanks BertandJoyce for the pointers (as ever) I agree with TheVoidTLMB @14 it was excellent
I rarely get themes but I will admit that H&M tipped me off to W&K
My view on nausea-gate is that you are the published compiler Teesna @8 and if you want themes (no matter how antagonistic) knock yourself out – I welcome the day where you suggest “Scone” is a homophone of “Gone” and sit back and await the comments!
Thanks for the entertainment!