Independent 10880 / Serpent

11 comments on “Independent 10880 / Serpent”

1. 

   Hovis

   #1 - Thu 26th Aug 21, 06:56

   
   

   Serpent has his nina as initial letters of across solutions. Has done this a lot of late. Really enjoyed this. Was determined not to cheat and spent some time getting my last two, SKEWER & CLARINET. For the latter, it was the only word I could see that fit and saw C + LATRINE with T dropped but didn’t know “office” for loo. Looked it up in Chambers to check. I guess it’s a place to do your business.

2. 

   WordPlodder

   #2 - Thu 26th Aug 21, 07:19

   
   

   Despite the nina of the initial letters of the across answers, which did help me with a few of the answers when I became stuck with about 7 or 8 to go, I was defeated by CLARINET at the end. Like Hovis @1, I didn’t think of LATRINE for ‘office’, the def was non-specific and I lost patience doing the A-Z run-through. One I was destined never to get.

   Favourite was the surface and ‘Comparatively unbalanced’ sense for SKEWER.

   Thanks to Duncan and Serpent – look forward to seeing what little present you have in store for your next offering.

3. 

   PostMark

   #3 - Thu 26th Aug 21, 07:40

   
   

   Not the kind of nina I tend to spot so yet another passes me by, even though I thought “It’s Serpent – look for a nina!”

   SKEWER is top notch. I had plenty of other ticks including the surface/anagram combo for TAILORED, ‘man pledged’ in DEFIANCE, NUNCIO for the cycling device, the surface for TEENAGER, the homophone for NEEDED. Several uses of the ‘remove letters from the fodder and anagram what remains’ device but, on this occasion, all spotted in time. CLARINET and EAST defeated me. Didn’t see ‘latrine’ at all and, having wondered if the player was Best, got stuck with the idea of a surname rather than our old friend, the bridge player.

   Thanks Serpent and Duncan

4. 

   copmus

   #4 - Thu 26th Aug 21, 08:16

   
   

   Thanks Hovis!

5. 

   Quizzy_Bob

   #5 - Thu 26th Aug 21, 11:44

   
   

   A typical Serpent offering, fairly clued and falling just the right side of the dividing line between ‘tough but enjoyable challenge’ and ‘too much like hard work’.
   [It’s a shame the nina couldn’t have continued with the initials of the 14 down answers spelling WEBSITE IS AWFUL. Actually it wasn’t too bad today; it crashed only once.]

6. 

   Petert

   #6 - Thu 26th Aug 21, 11:51

   
   

   I found this hard but enjoyable, with the same favourites as others. I am still not quite sure where the “a” comes from in INDICATION? Thanks Serpent, Duncan and Hovis.

7. 

   Hovis

   #7 - Thu 26th Aug 21, 12:00

   
   

   Petert. It’s the “a” in the clue before “manner”.

8. 

   Petert

   #8 - Thu 26th Aug 21, 12:27

   
   

   Hovis, thanks.

9. 

   Loren ipsum

   #9 - Thu 26th Aug 21, 16:51

   
   

   Thanks Duncan for the blog, Serpent for the puzzle, and Hovis for the nina!
   I thought the surfaces were really great. Hard to pick favorites and I agree with others here; FROLIC, DEFIANCE, and BUREAUCRAT stood out to me as surfaces one could nearly mistake for normal English sentences 🙂

10. 

    allan_c

    #10 - Thu 26th Aug 21, 21:28

    
    

    We got most of it before lunch but it was only after pause for refreshment (mental as well as bodily) that we got SKEWER and CLARINET; the latter being an aha moment when we remembered hearing mention of “the usual offices” – we had thought ‘office’ might refer to a church service. PostMark@3 has commented on there being a fair few partial anagrams – they always tend to hold us up till we realise them as such.
    But it was all fair. Thanks, Serpent and Duncan.

11. 

    Dormouse

    #11 - Thu 26th Aug 21, 21:32

    
    

    Another of those days where I hit a brick wall fairly quickly and got only a handful of answers.

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