Tees is probably the most prolific setter in the Independent weekday series at the moment and here he is again today.
I thought there some excellent clues in this puzzle with the construction of the clue for GAIA THEORY being the top one for me.
I knew enough about JAMES LOVELOCK to make the connection to GAIA THEORY.
I also liked a number of the surfaces, e.g. the ones for CHINOOK, ANTAGONISE and SISYPHEAN.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 |
See 14 [JAMES] LOVELOCK |
| 5 |
See 21 Down [GAIA] THEORY |
| 9 |
Mum reversing car always in Venezuelan city (7) MARACAY (city in north-central Venezuela) MA (mother; mum) + CAR reversed (reversing) + AY (always) MA RAC< AY |
| 10 |
Chicken brought round in cargo helicopter (7) CHINOOK (a type of heavy-lift or cargo helicopter) CHOOK (chicken [Chambers describes the word as informal term used most frequently by Australians, New Zealanders and Scots]) containing (brought round) IN CH (IN) OOK |
| 11 |
Mysterious gain with climate fluctuating (11) ENIGMATICAL (puzzling; mysterious) Anagram of (fluctuating) GAIN with CLIMATE ENIGMATICAL* |
| 14/1 |
Scientist fixes housing shortage at last, with partner secure (5,8) JAMES [LOVELOCK] (reference JAMES LOVELOCK (1919-2022, died on his 103rd birthday), an English independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist who developed the GAIA THEORY [see entry at 21 / 5]) (JAMS [problems; fixes] containing [housing] E [final letter of {at last} SHORTAGE]) + LOVE (object of affection; partner) + LOCK (secure) JAM (E) S LOVE LOCK |
| 16 |
Laird fell into country road close to boozer (9) LANDOWNER (Laird is a Scottish word for an estate LANDOWNER) (DOWN [fell, as in she’s DOWN {she fell}] contained in [into] LANE [country road]) + R (last letter of [close to] BOOZER) LAN (DOWN) E R |
| 17 |
Dodgy dealer perhaps supplies instrument to comedians (4,5) CARD SHARP (person who cheats at CARDs, possibly by dealing the CARDS in an irregular and/or illegal fashion) CARDS (comedians) + HARP ([musical ] instrument) CARD S HARP |
| 18 |
Digger wants flat in Seascale vacated (5) SPADE (tool used for digging; digger) PAD (bed, room, or home, esp one’s own, such as a flat) contained in (in) SE (letters remaining in SEASCALE when the central letters EASCAL are removed [vacated]) S (PAD) E |
| 19 |
Porridge is put out to trap adult rodents (7,4) PRAIRIE DOGS (gregarious burrowing and barking North American ground squirrels [rodents]. A squirrel is a rodent) Anagram of (is put out) PORRIDGE IS containing (to trap) A (adult) PR (A) IRIE DOGS* |
| 23 |
Answer arrived about French from universities (7) ACADEME (the world of scholars; academic life; universities for example) A (answer) + (CAME [arrived] containing [about] DE [French for ‘from’ ]) A CA (DE) ME |
| 24 |
Empress keeps lethal gas in at back (7) TSARINA (Russian empress) AT (reversed) containing (keeps) SARIN (lethal nerve gas) T (SARIN) A< |
| 25 |
Knight in virtue gives agreement (6) ASSENT (compliance; agreement) N (knight in chess notation) contained in (in) ASSET (virtue) ASSE (N) T |
| 26 |
Connected when covering northern town (8) BRIDGEND (town in Wales) BRIDGED (connected) containing (covering) N (northern) BRIDGE (N) D |
| Down | |
| 1 |
Feller putting saddle on ass (10) LUMBERJACK (person who fells trees; feller) LUMBER (burden; saddle) + JACK (JACKass; male ass) LUMBER JACK |
| 2 |
Irish booze Mike put in to change nonalcoholic cocktail (6,4) VIRGIN MARY (non-alcoholic cocktail made from tomato juice, pickle juice, lemon juice, horseradish, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, celery seeds and cayenne) (IR [Irish] + GIN [example of an alcoholic drink; booze] + M [Mike is the international radio communication codeword for the letter M]) contained (put in) VARY (to change) V (IR GIN M) ARY |
| 3 |
Sub rolling pass? I’m not sure (5) LOCUM (LOCUM tenens; deputy or substitute, especially for a doctor or member of the clergy) COL (mountain pass) reversed (rolling) + UM (expression indicating doubt; I’m not sure) LOC< UM |
| 4 |
Clear site to accommodate a building for display (7,6) CRYSTAL PALACE (a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851; building for display) CRYSTAL (anything bright and clear) + (PLACE [site] containing [to accommodate] A) CRYSTAL P (A) LACE |
| 6 |
Character’s spoken with weavers offering family treasures (9) HEIRLOOMS (objects that are passed down through a family from generation to generation; family treasures] HEIR (sounds like [spoken] AIR [character]) + LOOMS (apparatuses used for weaving yarn; I suppose they could be called weavers, but the dictionaries tend to restrict the definition of weaver to the person who waves rather than the LOOM) HEIR LOOMS |
| 7 |
Order parts for old wind instrument (4) OBOE (musical wind instrument) OBE (Order of the British Empire) containing (parts so that it can contain) O (old) OB (O) E |
| 8 |
Couple in slavery (4) YOKE (join together; couple) YOKE (slavery) double definition YOKE |
| 10 |
Cabal member Charlie succeeded in corrupt corporation (2-11) CO-CONSPIRATOR (one who works with others in a cabal [group working towards a secret purpose] to plot something devious) C (Charlie [cocaine]) + (S [succeeded]) contained in [in] an anagram of [corrupt] CORPORATION) C O-CON (S) PIRATOR* |
| 12 |
American name tag is held by a single needle (10) ANTAGONISE (arouse opposition in; annoy; needle) A (American) + N (name) + TAG + (IS contained in [held by] ONE [single]) A N TAG ON (IS) E |
| 13 |
Gardeners working outside with verdant area (10) GREENSWARD (land covered with grass; verdant area) Anagram of (working) GARDENERS containing (outside) W (with) GREENS (W) ARD* |
| 15 |
Like an endless rock and roll performance? (9) SISYPHEAN (relating to Sisyphus, king of Corinth, condemned in Tartarus to roll ceaselessly up a hill a huge stone which would roll back to the foot of the hill again each time he neared the top; hence, endless, laborious and futile) SISYPHEAN (cryptic definition describing the toils of Sisyphus using the term ‘rock and roll’) SISYPHEAN |
| 20 |
Butter, no good, sent out from Blighty (5) ELAND (South African antelope, an animal closely related to goats so presumably has a tendency to BUTT things) ENGLAND (Blighty is an informal term used by British soldiers to refer to UK / ENGLAND) excluding (sent out) NG (no good) ELAND |
| 21/5 |
Powers should retain two articles in satellite? 1 Across’s idea! (4,6) GAIA [THEORY] (THEORY developed by [JAMES] LOVELOCK entry at 1 across that posits that the Earth and its biological systems behave as a huge single entity. This entity has closely controlled self-regulatory negative feedback loops that keep the conditions on the planet within boundaries that are favorable to life) GARY (reference GARY Powers [born 1929], American pilot whose Central Intelligence Agency Lockheed U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission in Soviet Union airspace, causing the 1960 U-2 incident) containing (should retain) ([A {indefinite article} + THE {definite article} giving two articles] contained in [in] IO [satellite of Jupiter]) GA (I (A THE) O) RY |
| 22 |
Decline to answer question but get through (4) PASS (a word used when declining to answer a question) PASS (get through a country border for instance or get through an exam) double definition PASS |
That was a workout! Couldn’t parse GAIA THEORY, so thank you duncanshiell. Couldn’t remember who James Lovelock was and had to resort to Google.
All (except the above) fell into place once wrangled but it took some effort. Feeling a bit dim as only yesterday I had to re-remind myself that a ‘pass’ can be a COL and yet I missed it again. I was away up wrong dreel with goats and stags trying to get ELAND (d’oh!) – and spent too long looking for something ‘oats’ or ‘rats’ for PRAIRIE DOGS.
Thanks to both. Loved this
A very similar experience to Salad’s, though I did remember COL. I thought DOWN in LANDOWNER was as in North Downs so a Fell in the geographical sense. Thanks, both.
FELL and DOWN are verbs in that one D.
You got in there before me Petert, and you’re also right: a down or fell is a hill (according to Collins).
I liked this
thanks Tees and duncan
Excellent puzzle from Tees. Good to see CHOOK make an appearance at 10a. GARY for ‘Powers’ at 21/5 took some working out, especially as I’d never heard of GAIA THEORY. Definite highlight though was my last in SISYPHEAN – ‘endless rock and roll performance?’ indeed!
Thanks to Duncan and Tees
GK sadly missing when it came to Mr Lovelock and his theory, not too hot on Venezuelan cities either! Thank goodness for Mr Google who came to the rescue.
Always good to learn something new but how long it will remain in the brain is a different matter……
Thanks to Tees for the education and to Duncan for the review.
Yes, the Venezuelan city was ab’t ‘could there be a city called…?’ and of course there could. You learn some new every crossword.
Endless rock and roll performance, ha! Great clue.
Thanks both. No doubt Gary Powers’ mother loved him, but his appearance here I suspect will have defeated most, though I do acknowledge Io as the satellite beats me every time
….correction to the above – I have just read that Mr Powers’ mother christened him Francis!
We knew GAIA THEORY but we weren’t sure of the author’s name and thought it might be ‘Lovelace’ (it fits and one might lace one’s shoes to secure them) – and we weren’t sure either how many solvers would remember or even know of a spy affair of over 60 years ago.
A great puzzle, though. SISYPHEAN was our favourite – a great clue, as Alliacol says.
Thanks, Tees and Duncan.
Like allan_c @ 12 I thought of Lovelace too but that’s either Ada or Linda and entirely different theories! Great fun, so thanks Tees and Duncan.