Independent 10,840 by Tees (Sat 10th July)

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Our Prog Rock loving setter has gone a bit harder with this puzzle …

… music-wise that is, with an appearance by Led Zeppelin and their astonishingly accurate young look-alikes hard rock band Greta Van Fleet.   So I have got to thank Tees for this puzzle because I had never heard of Greta Van Fleet and now I suspect I will become a fan although they are nowhere near even half my age.  If you have never heard of them, and like me bought Led Zep II as soon as it came out, then get on youtube and search up “Highway Tune”, see what I mean.

I have no idea why Greta Van Fleet are called as they are, but it gave Tees a link to get Greta Thunberg’s surname in at 1D which gave me some trouble until I got 10/17.  Here she is recently Address to Austrian World Summit

The puzzle itself was not as tricky as I have known from Tees, although there were a few very misleading clues, e.g. 15D.

Across
9 HERBAL TEA Graduate attired in leather brewed drink (6,3)
BA (graduate) inside (LEATHER)* AInd: brewed. I presume the clue surface, and answer, gives us a portrait of Tees, at home. 
10/17 GRETA VAN FLEET Band destroying great many commercial vehicles? (5,3,5)
(GREAT)* AInd: destroying, VAN FLEET (many commercial vehicles).  I needed help from my 21 year old son to get this.
11 NACHO North American company importing hot snack (5)
N[orth] A[merican], H[ot] inside CO[mpany]
12 ON THE SPOT Under pressure to answer, perhaps immediately? (2,3,4)
Double Definition
13 EARTHED Connected to ground seen within near the dyke (7)
Hidden in:  nEAR THE Dyke
14 REPULSE Check on heartbeat (7)
RE (on) PULSE (heartbeat)
16 GAVEL Offered labourer’s first hammer (5)
GAVE (offered) L[abourer]
18/7 LED ZEPPELIN Watch display by pioneering German band (3,8)
LED (Watch display) ZEPPELIN (pioneering German).  Led Zep II – first LP I bought.
19 ANNEX Queen once given kiss as appropriate (5)
ANNE (Queen) X (kiss).  Definition is in the verbal sense, like Mr Hilter did to the Sudetenland
21 TANGELO Sharp cross from Metatron say in holy books returned (7)
ANGEL (Metatron) in OT<  (holy books, returned).  Such was the dire state of our RE classes I had never heard of Metatron till reading “His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman.  Then I thought it was a made-up name till I was put right.
22 WHITMAN Poet hired assassin to follow wife (7)
W[ife] HITMAN (hired assassin)
24 SPLENDOUR Plunder so arranged shows radiance (9)
(PLUNDER SO)* AInd: arranged.  Excellent anagram, surprisingly tricky
26 RIGEL Backed Irish setter producing big blue shiner (5)
IR<  (Irish, backed) GEL (setter).    Blue supergiant star in Orion
27 EVENT Hillage finally opening show (5)
[Hillag]E VENT (opening).  Nice to see Steve Hillside getting a mention
28 TRANSPORT Rolled second piano through wrong entrance (9)
RAN (rolled) S[econd] P[iano] inside TORT (wrong). Last one in.  Mainly because 15D Plagiarise was penultimate – with the S in place it was more obvious
Down
1 THUNBERG Green 10 husband shoved into cask by composer (8)
H[usband] in TUN (cask), BERG (composer).  This one had me guessing incorrectly spelled composers.  When 10/17 was solved all became clear
2 GROCER Fabulous bird with little German getting round shopkeeper (6)
ROC (fabulous bird) inside GER[man]
3 LA ROCHELLE Dashing local hero docked in vacated Levantine port (2,8)
(LOCAL HER[o])* AInd: dashing, then L[evantin]E
4 STROUD Gloucestershire town where Tudors settled (6)
(TUDORS)* AInd: settled.
5 BARTERED Show embarrassment about paintings being traded away? (8)
BE RED (show embarrassment) around ART (paintings)
6 AGUE Onset unnoticed in non-specific health problem (4)
[v]AGUE
8 MANTLE Claimant legally keeping sleeveless cloak (6)
Hidden in claiMANT LEgally
15 PLAGIARISE Up with mountain soldier on an ascent in lift (10)
ALP< (mountain, “up”) G.I. (soldier) ARISE (on an ascent).  This was the clue that most misled me – the definition was not obvious with all those down clue reverse indicators!
18 LOOKOUTS Watchers finding nothing acceptable among hooligans (8)
O OK in LOUTS
20 XENOLITH Times cryptic hotline offers ‘rock within rock‘ (8)
X (times) (HOTLINE)* AInd: cryptic
21 TASTER Flower attached to tail of giant guinea pig (6)
[gian]T ASTER (flower)
22 WARSAW City wasn’t prepared for revolution (6)
WAS RAW (wasn’t prepared)  all reversed
23 MAGGOT Grub shown in periodical taken (6)
MAG[azine] (periodical) GOT (taken)
25 NOTE Line suggesting Stead might become depressed? (4)
Answer as instruction: “No TE” take TE from STEAD to make SAD (depressed)

 

25 comments on “Independent 10,840 by Tees (Sat 10th July)”

  1. A quick solve but a few unknowns. Not heard of Greta Van Fleet but enjoyed listening to the suggested video. XENOLITH was also unknown but, guessing a “lith” ending and having the X made it an easy guess. Vaguely heard of LA ROCHELLE but it was the first anagram I tried. Loved the sneaky clue for NOTE.

    TANGELO has cropped up loads of times on Countdown, so fairly easy even with the cryptic definition. I only knew Metatron from the TV series Supernatural. Sounds like a transformers’ character.

  2. Another enjoyable crossword from Tees – I hadn’t heard of the band either – be interesting to see how many commenters knew them. My favourite was 25d

    Thanks to Tees and beermagnet

  3. I’m another who has never heard of 10/17 but having listened to some of their music I am now a fan! I enjoyed the puzzle with my favourite being 21a, the surface of which made me laugh out loud.

    Can someone please explain why “rolled” in 28a means “ran”?

    Many thanks to Tees and beermagnet.

  4. My younger son, knowing my penchant for classic Prog Rock, introduced me to Greta van Fleet a year or so ago so, crypticsue, I am one commenter who was equipped for this puzzle. In answer to beermagnet’s query from the preamble, I quote straight from Wikipedia: The band was formed in Frankenmuth, Michigan, in 2012 by twin brothers Josh and Jake Kiszka, their younger brother Sam, and Kyle Hauck. The band name was created when Kyle Hauck heard a relative mention Gretna Van Fleet, a resident of Frankenmuth; their use of the variation on her name was done with her (subsequent) blessing. Van Fleet also stated in a later interview that while the band’s music is not her type, she supports the band and thinks they are very talented.

    Very enjoyable from Tees and I needed some relief from another puzzle with which I am making no headway at all. Ticks for LA ROCHELLE, LOOKOUTS, PLAGIARISE, WARSAW, STROUD, SPLENDOUR and the two bands. XENOLITH was a dnk but, as Hovis says, workoutable!

    Thanks Tees and beermagnet

  6. Hadn’t heard of the band but having watched the suggested Youtube clip I just hope that they earned enough from it to buy the singer a new T shirt, poor lad!
    A real mixed bag from our setter today, think my favourite was the sneaky NOTE.

    Thanks to Tees and to beermagnet for the review.

  8. Thanks Tees and beermagnet

    It may be coincidence, but as well as GvF and LZ there are other band names in there too: La Rochelle, The Lookouts, Warsaw (early name for Joy Division), (T)Angel(o), Man(tle) and Taste(r).

  9. Family Holiday time so additional helper today who is still pleased with his LED ZEPPELIN answer 30 minutes later. Sadly neither of us knew GVF but got it from clue/crossers and then checked it was a real band! DNF but got pretty close so happy

    Agree with all the above favourites plus RIGEL

    I knew Metatron from Pratchett/Gaiman’s stellar work “Good Omens” – didn’t help me get the answer though!

    Thanks Tees and Beermagnet

  10. So far, we have seen that Metatron has appeared in His Dark Materials, Supernatural and Good Omens, so he’s well known outside the bible which, for some reason, I find quite funny.

  11. I got 1D quite soon so Greta at 10A was an easy guess, and van Fleet soon after with an online check, though I had never heard of them. However, I couldn’t see 25D at all, though I should have done, so a DNF for me. Top half easier than bottom half, I thought. Thanks Tees and Beermagnet.

  12. I’d never heard of the band either, and I agree that the top half was easier. I really liked some of these, particularly 28A, 15D and 21D. Thanks to Tees and beermagnet.

  13. The idea put forward by some people is that Greta Van Fleet plagiarises Led Zeppelin, hence the pairing. Not really a theme, more of a laugh really. I don’t think LZ has ever taken offence, though when you’re the greatest rock band ever to have existed (possible Tees opinion alert) I guess it’s easy to be magnanimous. I saw them in 1975 at Earls Court, don’t you know. Bonzo was supreme.

    Thanks beermagnet, thanks all.

  14. We’d not heard of GVF either, but having got 1dn from wordplay and crossers we then worked out that 10ac was GRETA, (although ‘Swede’ did cross our minds) we were on the way. Then GAVEL at 16ac gave us VAN and Google supplied the rest. Not heard of XENOLITH either, but it was clear enough and so obviously right that we didn’t even bother to confirm in Chambers.
    Most enjoyable. Favourite was the afresaid XENOLITH.
    Thanks, Tees and beermagnet.

  15. 1dn was one of my first ones in, and by the time I got round to trying to solve 10/17, I had totally forgotten the answer and got it from the word play and a check on google to prove they exist.

  16. Thanks, Tees. I enjoyed this despite missing THUNBERG and the FLEET of GRETA VAN FLEET, an unknown band to me. There was much to like including ANNEX, WHITMAN, LOOKOUTS, and especially NOTE. Thanks beermagnet for the blog.
    [PostMark @4: I gave up on the puzzle that I think is giving you trouble.]

  18. #17 I bet you were out boozing. I was. I promised myself I’d have at least one day off before the final, but the road to hell and all that.

  19. @18 – of course I was drunk, I always am as that is one of the rules of being a drunkard. However, I was being serious – some terrible surfaces here and you know it. For me, knowing you are one of the best setters in the biz and also in my wanting the Indy to outshine everything, I thought it might be worthwhile bringing it to your attention in the public. You are better than this. Miles better than this and, as I said before, you know it. 🙂

  21. I do, Master … but don’t you agree with me that the surfaces of 13a, 16a, 21a, 26a, 1d, 2d, 23d can be described as way below your talent level, approaching a talent level beneath yours, or are at the talent level of the first draft of your clues? 🙂

  22. Put it this way: if you’ve never seen an attractive girl, who can’t speak German very well, find a way somehow to convince a grocer, you need to get out more.

  23. Hehe … from one idiomatic to another I say just as long as you keep yer game up you’ll be alright, Mistress Tees. Like I said, you are quality – and proper quality when you are all properly proper as well as meaningful and all that . 🙂

  24. What started off in last Sunday’s blog of the Everyman crossword (or perhaps some time before that) was something that I took as a form of ‘banter’.
    But apparently, especially our friend Harry seems to be very serious about ‘surfaces’.
    However, don’t exaggerate.
    Very good setters like Paul (or, in the past, Araucaria) aren’t/weren’t always well-known for the brilliance of their surface readings.
    Sometimes I read comments on Fifteensquared telling me that a crossword had ‘lovely surfaces’ while I just thought ‘yes, the surfaces were proper English sentences that can make sense in certain circumstances, but is that it?
    All too often we see solvers gushing about ‘witty’ surfaces (especially in the Guardian corner) with me thinking ‘yes, good surfaces but mainly because they’re written in proper English, nothing special ’. Just a minimum requirement, in my opinion.
    Regularly I see surfaces that I think ‘I cannot write something like that’ – not because I am not a Brit but because it doesn’t make much sense to me.
    To be honest, I am very happy that, at last, I got some credit for my surfaces (which I think are mostly good) but I also know that when I write a crossword I have plenty of time to make things ‘even better’. Not all setters have.
    Tees writes so many crosswords that I can imagine that at some point he thinks ‘this is it’. And rightly so.
    Probably the same for Hoskins – by the way, I just had another look at the recent Sunday Times puzzle and I must say it has indeed really good surfaces.
    Still, what come first is the right view on what writing crosswords means, something that both Tees and Hoskins know very well.
    For example, when I see Boatman in today’s altogether very nice Guardian puzzle at 15dn using ‘these characters’ as the anagrind my heart almost stops beating (but not from excitement).
    Surfaces come later, no need for Hoskins to make Tees aware of that.
    Perhaps, altogether it was a bit of banter.

  25. I am always serious about the surface and trivial about the important, Sil.

    Of late I have seen Tees giving the Everyman some and have also been paying attention to his own work. This led me to some digs and fun and banter – but what I really shoulda done is shut up. Not up to me to comment on another setter (this was the first rule Anax taught me and I feel like more of an idiot than I am for ignoring it).

    From now on I will, as I once did, keep my comments on the sunny-side – seriously, if I don;t do this just tell me to shut up. After all, everyone can see what is what and it don’t take a fool like me to point it out.

    Apologies to all for rattling on when I shoulda been doing something else entirely. This was a low point for crossword and my participation in them in general.

    Onwards and upwards. 🙂

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