Independent 10,876 by Tees

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The puzzle is available here.

 

Hello everyone.  Today Tees takes us on a visit to Wiltshire, with plenty of other crossword scenery to enjoy along the way.  I think my favourite clue is probably the SOAP OPERA at 14a for the seamless way all the bits fit together to form a very natural sentence.  Thanks Tees!

 

Definitions are underlined in the clues below.  In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, explicit [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER.  For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.

 

Across

9a    Study as hard after year given 100 pounds to spend? (5,4)
READY CASH
READ (study), then AS and H (hard) after Y (year) and C (hundred)

10a   Excuse in court excellent defending one bishop on line (5)
ALIBI
AI (excellent) around (defending): I (one) and B (bishop) after (on, in an across entry) L (line)

11a   & 8. Bluish ground shields railway next to evil 23 mound (7,4)
SILBURY HILL
An anagram of (… ground) BLUISH goes around (shields) RY (railway); this is next to ILL (evil).  23 = 23a = AVEBURY

12a   Accident close to fatal in church area (7)
CHANCEL
CHANCE (accident) + the last letter of (close to) fataL

13a   Comes up against objection when giving coverage (5)
ABUTS
BUT (objection) with AS (when) around it (giving coverage)

14a   Very old man needing time to follow a TV show (4,5)
SOAP OPERA
SO (very), then POP (old man) and ERA (time) after (to follow) A.  An example of the genre: Cat Hospital

16a   Military event ought to tire band in formation (9,6)
EDINBURGH TATTOO
An anagram of (… in formation) OUGHT TO TIRE BAND

19a   Back injury — ending for female’s mum? (9)
NOISELESS
Reverse (back) LESION (injury) then add the suffix –ESS (ending for female)

21a   Mike entering unconscious state — this gives pause (5)
COMMA
M (Mike) inserted into (entering) COMA (unconscious state)

22a   Forecaster to make gain according to report (7)
PROPHET
PROFIT (to make gain), homophone (according to report)

23a   & 24/7. Buy liver and consecrate for cooking in henge (7,5,6)
AVEBURY STONE CIRCLE
An anagram of (… for cooking) BUY LIVER and CONSECRATE

24a   See 23a

25a   Rudely treat us as soaks (9)
SATURATES
An anagram of (rudely) TREAT US AS

 

Down

1d    Lobster perhaps reddish-brown: serve in tin (10)
CRUSTACEAN
RUST (reddish-brown) and ACE (serve) in CAN (tin)

2d    One theologian upset eating old Cypriot cheese (8)
HALLOUMI
I (one) and MULLAH (theologian) reversed (upset) containing (eating) O (old)

3d    Such sweet solutions could make us spry (6)
SYRUPS
When anagrammed, syrups could make US SPRY

4d    Change made by video assistant referee? Yes, initially (4)
VARY
An acrostic of (… initially) Video Assistant Referee? Yes.  Or, equally, VAR (video assistant referee) + Yes initially

5d    Dances in series repeated never popular with Charles (3-3-4)
CHA-CHA-CHAS
CHA[in] CHA[in] (series repeated) with IN (popular) removed both times (never popular) + CHAS (Charles)

6d    Section Semite coming into old Italian province (8)
PARABOLA
Specifically a conic section.  ARAB (Semite) inserted in (coming into) POLA (old Italian province).  I didn’t know the province and had to stare for some time at this before the right word suggested itself to me with an “oh, that kind of section!”

7d    See 23 Across

8d    See 11 Across

14d   Broadcast international, shooting unknown player? (6,4)
SCREEN TEST
SCREEN (broadcast) + TEST (international)

15d   Revelation in ballad shortly penned by a writer (10)
APOCALYPSE
CALYPSo (ballad) without the last letter (shortly) inside (penned by) A and POE (writer)

17d   Leader that was Zulu embraced by elevated Archdeacon Basil? (8)
BREZHNEV
Z (Zulu) inside (embraced by) the reversal of (elevated, in a down entry) VEN (Archdeacon) and HERB (basil?)

18d   Tiny pop star needing dollar also heard in Mali city (8)
TIMBUKTU
TIM (tiny pop star: Tiny Tim) + homophones of (heard) BUCK TOO

20d   Poseidon banishing east and north winds to find 1 (6)
ISOPOD
POS[e]IDO[n] without (banishing) E (east) and N (north) is anagrammed (winds). 1 = 1d = CRUSTACEAN

21d   Red blubber that woman slices (6)
CHERRY
CRY (blubber), into which HER (that woman) is inserted (slices)

22d   Contribute online column (4)
POST
A double definition.  The former you are invited to do below, and as for the latter:

23d   Composer William has no tips for singer (4)
ALTO
Composer William wALTOn has outer letter removed (has no tips)

 

15 comments on “Independent 10,876 by Tees”

  1. This was fun. SOAP OPERA was probably my favourite with NOISELESS running it close. “Archbishop Basil” made me smile.

    Like Kitty, I didn’t know the old Italian province in 6d and it was a case of work out the answer then look up the bit didn’t apparently make sense.

    Many thanks to Tees and to Kitty.

  2. Wonder how many remember Tiny Tim. Tiptoe through the tulips perhaps being his most well-known track. I guess the mathematician in me jumped to a conic section for 6d but had no idea what POLA was. Didn’t know AVEBURY STONE CIRCLE or SILBURY HILL but managed to get them both.

  3. I was defeated by PARABOLA unfortunately but it made the puzzle no less enjoyable. I think Tees was kind to us with his definition of AVEBURY STONE CIRCLE. A nice anagram, as was the clue for EDINBURGH TATTOO. BREZHNEV was clever and NOISELESS just tips SOAP OPERA for me when it comes to favourite. My only slight criticism: Tees clued APOCALYPSE almost identically back in January: Short ballad penned by a writer in ‘World’s End’.

    Thanks Tees and Kitty

  4. Didn’t know either the Italian province or TILBURY HILL so those were both ‘work it out and look it up’ and I needed help from our blogger to justify the ‘chain’ element of CHA-CHA-CHAS. Quite a tough solve in places but satisfying to complete.
    My vote goes to EDINBURGH TATTOO – I’d like to bet the bands are definitely tired by the time that comes to a close!

    Thanks to Tees and to Miss K for the review.

  6. Tilbury Hill is a very short road in the hamlet of Tilbury Juxta Clare situated between Braintree, Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge! That might have been what you had in mind jane…..

  7. PARABOLA was my downfall as well, not knowing the ‘old Italian province’ and forgetting the broader sense of ‘Semite’. I had no idea of the parsing of NOISELESS either, so beaten fair and square.

    I’ll go for HALLOUMI as my pick of the day. I spent a while trying to fit in the usual crossword ‘theologian’ = DD to come up with an unknown ‘Cypriot cheese’ before the crossers helped out.

    Thanks to Tees and Kitty

  9. A really interesting and enjoyable puzzle, as usual from Tees.

    Like Kitty, I enjoyed SOAP OPERA, for the reason she gives and – I didn’t know the Italian province, either.

    I admired the clever anagrams in EDINBURGH TATTOO and AVEBURY STONE CIRCLE and the link of the latter with SILBURY HILL.

    I enjoyed working out the construction of BREZHNEV and TIMBUKTU and also liked ISOPOD, ALTO and, like others, NOISELESS and HALLOUMI. (I like the cheese, too!). Great surfaces throughout.

    Many thanks to Tees and to Kitty.

  10. Usually my courage Wilts when confronted with this kind of theme, but I battled on till the final revelation, with enjoyment along the way. My parsing of SOAP OPERA was hindered by trying to construct something around OAP. Thanks Tees’ and Kitty

  12. Most enjoyable.

    Didn’t parse soap opera, was another stuck with OAP and couldn’t see past it, even though I said to myself no reason an OAP is necessarily a man.

    Thanks Tees and Kitty

  14. Thanks Tees for an intelligent puzzle — very British but very approachable for this American. I missed SOAP OPERA, everyone’s favourite it seems, and needed outside help to get HALLOUMI. I loved the anagram in 23/24/7 and TIMBUKTU was my overall favourite. Thanks Kitty for the great blog and wonderful picture for POST.

  15. What a super puzzle. The eyelids were drooping with 3 to go & I yielded to temptation & revealed a letter in APOCALYPSE, BREZHNEV & PARABOLA. Rather wish I hadn’t & left them till the morning as a bit more patience & I reckon I’d have twigged the first 2. Must say I’m a big fan of this setter.
    Thanks all.

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