Independent on Sunday 1,703 by Hypnos

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Hypnos provides us with the Sunday fun, in 13 years this only the third time I’ve blogged his work.

Hypnos rarely seems to do Ninas or themes and this appears to be just a good standard IOS puzzle, thanks Hypnos.

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1. State of indecision with director gone produces division (4)
RIFT

D(irector) leaves (d)RIFT

3. Stop playing more octets (4,2,4)
COME TO REST

[MORE OCTETS]* being played with

10. I’m taken aback by Greek worker, one moving to find job (7)
MIGRANT

I’M reversed & GR(eek) & ANT the crossword staple worker

11. Carry out two directions in support of crew at odd points (7)
ENFORCE

E & N – two compass points & FOR – in support of & alternate letters of CrEw

12. Extremist on hand beginning to energise throng (5)
HORDE

H OR D – extremes of H(an)D & start of E(nergise)

13. Fanciful newspaper with nothing to replace article (8)
NOTIONAL

NATIONAL for newspaper with the first A replaced by O

16. Small container caught by set of similar things initially overlooked (6)
CASKET

C(aught) & initially overlooked (b)ASKET of things

17. Handyman has something to do out working within boundaries of farm (8)
FACTOTUM

ACT – somthting to do & a working OUT* all inside the edges of F(ar)M

19. Take action with intoxicated person that’s first by entrance (8)
LITIGATE

LIT- intoxicated & I – the first person & GATE – entrance

21. Service in bottom of ship or central part (6)
KERNEL

R(oyal) N(avy) – a service in the KEEL of a ship

24. Pair with female in a barely believable embarrassing mistake (8)
PRATFALL

PR – pair & F(emale) in A & TALL – barely believable tale say

25. Jargon adopted by polling organisation (5)
LINGO

Hidden in polLING Organisation

27. Man in ground nears English singer (7)
SHEERAN

HE – man inside a ground NEARS* – Ed the somewhat successful singer/composer

29. Basil, maybe, heading off in good time to get flower (7)
GERBERA

An actual flower rather than flow-er. A headless h(ERB) – bsail maybe in G(ood) & ERA for time

30. None right sadly about origin of wealth could be this? (2,3,5)
IN THE WRONG

W(ealth) inside [NONE RIGHT]* sadly

31. One blowing top overturned stake (4)
ANTE

A reversed mount ETNA

DOWN
1. Art venue attended by male couple is in a state of disrepair (10)
RAMSHACKLE

R(oyal) A(cademy) – art venue & M(ale) & SHACKLE – to couple

2. Types that impress? That’s to be expected (7)
FIGURES

Double definition

4. Sailor is given watch over port (6)
OSTEND

OS – sailor & TEND – watch over

5. Part of a meet for all to see followed by a learner after a time (8)
EVENTUAL

EVENT – part of a meet & U – for all & A & L(earner)

6. Idiot gets nothing twice in turn (3)
OAF

(sweet) F.A. & O two nothings reversed

7. Try hard at the end with skill to be accomplished pilot (7)
EARHART

HEAR with the H(ard) moved to the end & ART- skill

8. Support over month gets to proliferate (4)
TEEM

Golfing TEE & M(onth)

9. Force delay in hearing for a token addition (10)
MAKEWEIGHT

MAKE – force & sounds like WAIT

14. Talent hero developed to be very attentive (2,3,5)
ON THE ALERT

[TALENT HERO]* developed

15. A friend keeping varied role around island is better (10)
AMELIORATE

I(sland) in a varied ROLE* all in A MATE

18. One who draws tight item with holes? (8)
STRAINER

Double def time

20. Suffering soldiers repeatedly in middle of battle (7)
TORMENT

O.R. & MEN – two lots of soldiers in the middle of baTTle

22. Cloth in northern Turkish city 50% reduced still in traditional fashion (7)
NANKEEN

N(orthern) & half of ANKara & E’EN even in a poetic/trad manner

23. Catchphrase from southern Irish singer (6)
SLOGAN

S(outhern) & (johnny) LOGAN – Irish singer

26. Being essentially selective, taste and sip Italian drink (4)
ASTI

Take the middles of tASTe & sIp

28. Michelin-starred chef articulated regret (3)
RUE

Sounds like ROUX – a family of star chefs

 

10 comments on “Independent on Sunday 1,703 by Hypnos”

  1. Thanks flashling and Hypnos.
    Phew, it was tough…with 9d/24a both unknowns, last two in. Didn’t know the singer or the flower, both gettable.
    31a is the flavor of the day, also seen elsewhere.
    12a device is flavor of the month.
    Likes
    KERNEL, OAF, EARHART

  2. Going along nicely until I ran up against NOTIONAL, PRATFALL (can’t remember ever having heard this before) and MAKEWEIGHT. Last in was CASKET which held me up as I only could only think of the “coffin” sense which didn’t really fit with the ‘Small container’ def. I also needed to convince myself about (D)RIFT for ‘State of indecision’. As noted by ilippu @1, the device for HORDE has had a few airings lately.

    Despite knowing her name well, I thought Amelia EARHART was spelt as AE rather than EA. Well, now I know.

    Thanks to flashling and Hypnos

  3. What a delightful puzzle for a Sunday morning: not too tough and a joy to solve.

    Many thanks to Hypnos and to flashling.

  4. I liked MAKEWEIGHT and KERNEL. I arrived at RAMSHACKLE by the wrong route, with RAM for male and SHACK for various art shacks around the country, but couldn’t parse the le at the end. Thanks, both.

  6. Thanks both. I also kept a question mark over RIFT as my commonly inadequate dictionary did not list the indecision angle for drift. For no good reason I couldn’t see FIGURES with most of the crossers, and remain a little unsure of the first of the two definitions, and struggled to parse RAMSHACKLE having regarded the ram as the male

  7. I was another who couldn’t parse RAMSHACKLE, although it couldn’t have been anything else.

    Thanks flashling and Hypnos.

  8. For RAMSHACKLE I initially tried to find a word ending in TATE as that always seems to be the ‘art venue’ in question. It was refreshing to find that that was not the case. I liked MAKEWEIGHT when the penny dropped, and remember first hearing the word when I was young and a couple of random nuggets of chocolate turned up in a box of Milk Tray. Our mum enlightened us as to what they were called but as its spoke for itself she didn’t need to say what they were for.

    Thanks to Hypnos and flashing – I enjoy the mix of clueing here.

  9. Really too late to leave a comment but wanted to say how much I liked MAKEWEIGHT.
    Thanks to Hypnos for the puzzle and to flashling for the review.

  10. Very late in the day but I can’t help offering congratulations to Johnny Logan (a friend I hope) for making it to crosophilia.

    Thanks both – I haven’t finished the puzzle yet.

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