Independent 10,836 by Knut

by

Fun from Knut today, with his usual dose of comment on recent politics.

I think it’s fair to say that Knut isn’t very fond of our current Prime Minister. Boris himself doesn’t appear in the solutions, though he and a couple of his Tory colleagues are in the clues, but his wife CARRIE and their SPROG are included. He’s often accused of acting like a DUNDERHEAD, or of using this appearance as a front to hide what’s really going on: various accusations of CRONYISM, SLEAZE, BRIBEs or BUNGs, UNTRUTH, and generally behaving like a THUG in a way that CORRUPTS. We also have a mention of a holiday in MUSTIQUE which has raised some questions about his financial declarations. Knut reminds us that there’s a CODE OF CONDUCT for people in goverment, but there doesn’t seem to be any sign that he’ll be OUSTED any time soon.

An enjoyable puzzle, though some readers may find the repeated Boris-bashing a bit annoying. I liked the surface of 1D and the sneaky definition in 7D. Thanks Knut for the challenge.

Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.

ACROSS
1 MACRON
President Biden finally pursuing the big picture? (6)
Last letter (finally) of [bide]N, after (pursuing) MACRO (as in macrophotography = larger-than-life photos of small objects = “big picture”).
4 SCIROCCO
Small Channel Islands firm – with my backing – imported heater from Africa (8)
S (small) + CI (Channel Islands) + CO (company = firm), containing (with . . . imported) COR (my! = exclamation of surprise) reversed (backing).

Also spelled sirocco; a hot dusty wind from northern Africa affecting southern Europe.
9 SPROG
One of Boris’s progeny? (5)
Hidden answer (of) in [boris]S PROG[eny].

Extended definition: sprog = small child. Knut seems to be reminding us that Boris’s son (with 7D) is one of several.
10 BODY PARTS
Candidates for transplant dopy coming round in London hospital (4,5)
Anagram (coming round) of DOPY, in BARTS (common name for St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London).
11 IOUS
Devout priest discharged debts (4)
[p]IOUS (devout), without the P (short for priest).
12 ERGO
Hence Rees-Mogg & co ring? (4)
ERG (European Research Group: organisation of Eurosceptic Conservative MPs, including Jacob Rees-Mogg) + O (ring).

Latin word for therefore (hence), used in mathematical proofs.
13 BRIBE
26 billion invested in 1A’s cheese? (5)
B (abbreviation for billion) inserted into BRIE (French cheese, referring to the French president at 1A).

Reference to 26D BUNG = slang for a bribe.
15 UNTRUTH
Hunt ruthlessly admits lie (7)
Hidden answer (. . . admits) in [h]UNT RUTH[lessly]. Surely not an accusation against the Tory MP Jeremy Hunt?
16 COIF
Firm provided partial cover (4)
CO (short for company = firm) + IF (provided).

Coif = a close-fitting cap for the head, especially one worn under a larger head covering.
19 IDEA
Thought India deal almost complete (4)
I (India in the radio alphabet) + DEA[l] (almost complete = last letter dropped).
20 NEANDER
German theologian never to accept a new Germany (7)
NE’ER (poetic / dialect form of “never”), containing (to accept) A + N (new) + D (abbreviation for Deutschland = Germany).

I think this is a reference to August Neander, or possibly Joachim Neander.
23 ABLER
More competent sailor holding end of rope in both hands (5)
AB (short for able-bodied seaman = sailor), then the end letter of [rop]E held in L + R (left + right = both hands).
24 THUG
Tough husband taken on by harbour vessel (4)
H (husband) inserted into (taken on by) TUG (a small boat used to help manoeuvre larger vessels in a harbour).

Tough (as a noun) = thug = aggressive person.
25 COIN
Anna possibly stealing Colin’s heart (4)
CO[l]IN with the middle letter removed (stealing its heart).

Anna = a pre-decimal coin in India, 1/16 of a rupee.
27 ABASEMENT
Lowering a cellar (9)
A + BASEMENT (cellar).

Abasement = an act of humbling oneself, or a reduction in status.
28 UMAMI
Taste a bit of satsuma Miss? (5)
Hidden answer (a bit of) in [sats]UMA MI[ss].

A savoury or “meaty” taste; one of the five basic tastes (along with sweet, salt, sour and bitter), but not officially recognised until the 1980s.
29 ANECDOTE
Funny story involving dance and broken toe (8)
Anagram (involving) of DANCE, then another anagram (broken) of TOE.
30 AGLEAM
Shining silver lamé creation (6)
AG (Ag = chemical symbol for silver, from Latin argentum) + anagram (creation) of LAME.
DOWN
1 MUSTIQUE
Tiny island stupidly quits EU following conclusion of referendum (8)
Anagram (stupidly) of QUITS EU, following the last letter (conclusion) of [referendu]M.

Island in the West Indies, basically consisting of holiday homes for the rich and famous. Boris and Carrie went there on holiday at the end of 2019, but there have been questions over who paid for the trip and its declared value.
2 CORRUPTS
Irish family group put off dividing spoils (8)
CORRS (Irish pop-rock-folk band consisting of 3 sisters and their brother), with an anagram (off) of PUT dividing it.
3 ORGY
Bess’s partner quietly leaving wild party (4)
[p]ORGY (one of the two title characters in Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess), without the P (p = piano = musical term for quietly).
5 CODE OF CONDUCT
Top officer over in DEFCON reportedly avoided rules (4,2,7)
CO (commanding officer), then O (over, in cricket scoring) inserted into DEFCON, then a homophone (reportedly) of DUCKED (avoided).
6 REPUBLICAN
Conservative/right English landlord (10)
R (right) + E (English) + PUBLICAN (one who runs a pub = landlord).

The name of many political parties across the world, not all of them “conservative” in a political sense, but the one in the US is.
7 CARRIE
Young mum with expensive taste stealing a grand from coach (6)
CARRI[ag]E (coach), without the second A + G (abbreviation for grand = £1000).

A reference to the PM’s wife Carrie Johnson, reportedly responsible for spending rather a lot on refurbishing their Downing Street home.
8 OUSTED
Got rid of old American Cruz? (6)
O (old) + US (United States = American) + TED (US politician Ted Cruz).
10 BIRTHDAY TREAT
Anniversary gift using a third battery (8,5)
Anagram (using = mistreating?) of A THIRD BATTERY.
14 DUNDERHEAD
Simpleton runs hotel in Scottish city commercial (10)
R (runs, in cricket scoring) + H (abbreviation for hotel) in DUNDEE (Scottish city), then AD (short for advertisement = commercial).
17 ADVOCATE
Recommend eggy drink when dropping a tablet (8)
ADVOCA[a]T (Dutch liqueur made with eggs and brandy = eggy drink), dropping the second A, then E (slang for an ecstasy tablet).
18 CRONYISM
Cons’ miry, dirty, dodgy practice? (8)
Anagram (dirty) of CONS’ MIRY.

The dodgy practice of giving one’s friends (cronies) favourable treatment for contracts, job opportunities etc.
21 BANANA
Like the sound of lamb stuffed with Indian bread fruit (6)
BAA (like the sound made by a lamb), containing (stuffed with) NAN (or naan = Indian bread). Though of course a keema nan is bread stuffed with lamb, not the other way round.
22 SLEAZE
Lazes around Spain fiddling? (6)
Anagram (around) of LAZES, then E (abbreviation for España = Spain).

Sleaze = fiddling = slang for political corruption.
26 BUNG
Seal upper part of single-storey residence (4)
The first half of BUNG[alow] (single-storey residence), which is the upper part reading downwards in a down clue.

Bung = stopper for the opening of a barrel = seal.

32 comments on “Independent 10,836 by Knut”

  1. Another enjoyable crossword from Knut although, as Quirister says, there was an awful lot of Boris-bashing. My particular favourite was 21d

    Thanks to Knut and Quirister

  2. Never have 3 Irish sisters been so aptly named. Never heard of Neander or Mustique (obviously, don’t see much of the news so the Johnson’s vacation location was missed by me) but both clued for easy guessing. Agree with others that the theme was OTT but a pleasant solve (is this meaning of “solve” in any dictionary? – I know it annoys some posters).

  3. I spotted the theme, though not necessarily relating all of it to Boris and Co. Macron gets accused of much of this too, doesn’t he? At 21A, for me the sound of a lamb is MAA, whereas an adult sheep goes BAA. The ‘Uncyclopedia’ http://mirror.uncyc.org does in fact have ‘manana’ as a fruit, but as everything there must be taken with a pinch of salt I’ll settle for banana. Much enjoyed anyway, so thanks Knut and Quirister.

  4. Tatrasman @3: I’m sure if you look at Uncyclopedia tomorrow, it will be the same. 😀

    Lovely puzzle, spotted most of the theme with one glaring error – I hadn’t taken a lot of notice of Mrs J so her first name was lost on me and I could only think of the horror movie! Which some might think describes the last few years to a T but that might be Boris bashing. MACRON, COIN, DUNDERHEAD and BRIBE were my favourites.

    Hovis @2: I must be showing my age. I think of Mustique in connection with Princess Margaret who was very fond of the place, I believe.

    Thanks Knut and Quirister

  5. Can’t help but think that if Americans can be described in print as BANANA REPUBLICANS then the UK can be as well…

  6. Where Margaret often observed, leaving Eden after vacation, ‘Do I have to, Elizabeth?’
    Important not to let up on the bashing. Familiarity breeds indifference too.
    Thanks Knut, Quirister

  8. PostMark @4. So that was Mustique. I seem to recall Mick Jagger having a place there and, reputedly, having an occasional fling with the princess. There was an Urban Myths programme on Sky Arts once about this but I forget the details.

  9. Hovis @8: occasionally on a Tuesday or a Phi-Day, I do experiment by putting a few of the more unusual solutions into Google as pairs to see if they throw up a hidden theme. MUSTIQUE + ORGY came up with a surprisingly large number of entries so it would appear the island has form.

  10. Good fun! Thank you, Knut. As far as I’m concerned, there can’t be too much “Boris bashing”, he deserves it.

  11. Thanks for the blog, dear Quirister, and thanks to those who have commented. I realise that Mr Johnson is a figure who arouses strong, polarising opinion. I happen to think he needs bashing for this alone, quite apart from the incompetence, pathological lying, dereliction of duty, inability to grasp any subject in detail and gross financial mismanagement with more than a whiff of abuse of fiscal duty with public money but there we are.
    Anyhow, best wishes to all from the Black Forest
    Rob/Knut

  12. I’m with veneza @10 and Knut @11 – wonderful summary!

    Super clues, as always. My favourites today were MACRON, SPROG (I love that word), ABLER, ANECDOTE, CORRUPTS, CARRIE and SLEAZE – and there could have been more.

    Thanks to Quirister for the blog and Knut for the fun.

  13. Re: occasionally on a Tuesday or a Phi-Day, I do experiment by putting a few of the more unusual solutions into Google as pairs to see if they throw up a hidden theme.

    I’m getting an incredible sense of deja vu.

    Could any blogger or setter help me out?

  14. Thank you Knut for a lovely crossword. Pity there was no room for SMIRK or LACK OF MORAL COMPASS but unfortunately there will be be plenty of time to rectify this. Thanks also to Quirister for the blog.

  16. Apols.

    Google Googlewhack, for further details.

    Our very own Bluth’s work, from way, way back.

    Thanks DG!

  17. mw7000 @16: Ah! With you now and vaguely remember Mr G’s excursions down that path. Nice take on my comment. (Though don’t knock the technique – it has led to unmasking a couple of Phi’s more obscure themes – though it didn’t help with discovering the name of his cat).

    And on the Googlewhack subject – or close to it – I am delighted to confirm that it’s still the case that entering into Google “medial majusculation” (which, apparently, is how one describes the capitalisation of the M in my moniker) leads to two Fifteensquared pages. One – coincidentally – for a Bluth.

  18. I have never commented before on this or any other cryptic crossword.
    Knut can express his opinions on Boris Johnson on social media, if he desires.
    An Independent cryptic crossword is not the correct forum. I thought that it was pathetic.

  19. Hovis @2 As one of those who dislikes the use of solve in this sense I have yet to be convinced that it is in the dictionary.
    When I raised it before the only noun put forward in its defence was the chemical solve (i.e the liquid part of a solution) which isn’t really the same thing.
    Using an enjoyable test, or challenge instead would make me, for one, much happier.!
    I have no problem with any setter expressing an opinion in a crossword whether or not I agree with it.
    Thanks to Knut and Quirister

  20. reddevil @19. Fair enough. In this forum, CAD means “clue as definition” not “computer aided design” so, maybe, we invent vocabulary to fit our needs. To use “solve” as a noun denoting the process by which we obtain the solution (or an approximation at times) seems to have caught on. I have no idea who started it but I caught it.

  21. I didn’t see the whole BJ bashing thing until coming here and I’m very happy with it – especially having just listened to Peter Oborne’s The Assault on Truth. In general I like crosswords with contemporary references – it seems to keep the genre up to date and relevant to me.
    My favourite clues SPROG and ORGY.
    Many thanks to Knut for the puzzle and post, and to Quirister for the blog.

  22. Great stuff as usual with all the political and current comment. There is no doubt that when Knut finally gets me pregnant our baby shall be named Cyclops! 🙂

  23. Hi reddevil @19 and @Hovis @20

    No, I don’t think you will find ‘solve’ as a noun in a dictionary – at the moment – but it can’t be long: it’s widely used here and we all know what we mean.

    Similarly, ‘clue’ as a verb. We seem to have made that our own, too: cf ‘cluing’ (sic) – the bee in my bonnet – would you real[y write ‘pursueing’? 😉 )

  24. Eileen @ 23: interesting comment about bonnet bees

    I think there’s a difference though.

    Clue > clu(e)ing is noun to (I think) gerund, though I will bow to your superior knowledge

    Pursue to pursu(e)ing is verb to gerund, so different ‘rules’ may apply.

  25. I’m not sure I’m with you: whether they’re gerunds or participles, I don’t see the difference.

    Either way, I’m too tired to pursue (!) this any further. I’m wishing I hadn’t raised it just now but it’s been on my mind for ages. Perhaps another day …

  26. Fabulous piece of work from Knut today. I do, I guess, appreciate others’ feeling that this might not be the place for Boris-bashing – but there is little if any actual bashing … opinions are in the eye of the beholder. Thank you Rob, and I look forward to the next.

  27. Most enjoyable, bashing included. Favourite, though, was SCIROCCO, our FOI, and we also liked the surface for 1dn.
    Thanks, Knit and Quirister.

  28. PostMark@13 : working in software development, I got very familiar with using camelCase which is reminiscent of though not quite the same as your “medial majusculation” (possibly PascalCase?)

    As for ‘solve’ as a noun: I’m quite comfortable with what seems to be an increasing tendency for nounification of verbs – which is odd, because I cringe when I hear false nouns like “learnings” 🙁 ! I suppose they are all just signs that language is a constantly developing creation.

  29. Years ago Tyrus had a crossword with the Nina “BoJo No No”, last year Alchemi asked Americans not to vote for Trump and, at another place, a Philistine crossword once featured “Bollocks to Brexit” – so Knut’s Boris-bashing is not a new phenomenon.
    Those who think there is no place for such a thing in Crosswordland may have been delighted to see Hamilton (in the FT) mentioning a (IMO, stuffy) comedy duo called “Eric and Ernie” – to each their own.
    I liked this – not just because of the ‘theme’ but mainly because of the quality of clueing.
    [with a nod to Simon S @24, with or without the e]

  30. Sigh – theme passed me by again! Enjoyed today as it was easy to get into and the crossers all played nicely

    Favourite was ADVOCATE , although flashbacks to dropping a box of Advocaat once in a supermarket (as an employer not a shopper) and cleaning up the eggy glassy mess was broadly impossible

  31. How rude of me,I forgot to thank Knut and Quirister – thanks a lot both

    Also fully agree with SvdH @29 on the each-to-their-own (although can’t agree Morcambe and Wise were ‘stuffy’!)

  32. Eileen @23 (and others). My issue with usage defining evolution (which I’m sure it will) is that it means logically that phrases like ‘should of’ and could of’ – which are in very common use online – might become accepted.
    And as for summit as a verb, i’m still recovering from trial! 🙂

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