Independent 11,247 by Serpent (Saturday Puzzle 29 October 2022)

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It’s been nearly three years since I had a Saturday Serpent to blog…too long, but ‘them’s the breaks’ in the Indy Saturday blogging schedule…anyway, there is usually something devious going on with a Serpent puzzle…

…and doubly so here, although I thought the second ‘thing’ was a bit pants!

Several clues had references to ‘…one’s group…’, which made it clear solving 1A/1D would be key to getting a foothold here. And so it proved, with DROOPY DRAWERS dropping in quite early, and the hidden PICASSO at 6D suggesting the ‘drawers’ might be artists. (I was hoping to see Senor DALI, as he was literally a ‘droopy’ drawer at times, with his melting clocks, etc., but there were no 4s to be seen.)

Several more in the group followed – HOLBEIN, INGRES, DURER and CHAGALL, and also a couple who weren’t clued as being ‘in one’s group’ – MATISSE and POLLOCK. I guess Pollock was more of a dripper/splasher rather than a drawer, and Matisse is described as a sculptor as well as a painter…but then again I would think of Durer as more of an etcher than a drawer…but I think I am disappearing up my own quibble here…

At first I wondered whether the ‘group’ would be some sort of artistic movement, but they are an eclectic mix of different nationalities and date ranges, so I think the grouping is more generic than specific.

And at some point later, I realised that there was a separate set of ‘drawers’, with TANGA, Y-FRONTS, G-STRING and BRIEFS strewn around the puzzle!

 

Interestingly, in one of the two Serpents I blogged in a row in late 2019, I commented on the fact that he had used ‘Prime Minister’ for May, as a homophone for the MA of MATRIX, and she had recently been deposed by BoJo, so was a ‘former PM’ by the time the puzzle came out. I can imagine that setters’ and editors’ heads are spinning at the moment with references to current affairs at the top of the government!

Lastly, I am not quite certain how to classify 14A – any comments or assistance much appreciated.

Anyway, my thanks to Serpent for an enjoyable solve – certainly not the slipperiest or snakiest of his – and I hope all is clear below.

 

Across
Clue No Solution Clue (definition underlined)

Logic/parsing
1A DROOPY (DRAWERS) & 1D Weak artist’s a slovenly creature (6,7)

DROOPY (weak) + DRAWERS (artist, plus contracted ‘s)
4A DISPATCH Trench restricts spring expedition (8)

DI_TCH (trench) around (restricting) SPA (spring)
9A ABSOLVING Sailor working out in clearing (9)

AB (Able Bodied seaman) + SOLVING (working out)
11A CANAL Cut tin and aluminium (5)

CAN (tin) + AL (aluminium)
12A EPISODE Is lyrical piece on recording part of a series? (7)

EP (Extended Play record) + IS + ODE (lyrical piece)
13A ENSNARE Trap revolved around getting suspect seen outside (7)

ENS_E (anag, i.e. suspect, of SEEN) around (outside) NAR (ran, or revolved, around)
14A SNACK BAR Station one can visit for small fare (5,3)

CD/&lit-ish? You might visit a snack bar (a location, or station) to buy a snack bar, which could be described as ‘small fare’? With the surface reading suggesting a short railway journey, involving a small fare and a platform cafe, might be involved as well?!
15A GORGON Petrifying woman? (6)

CD – a GORGON could turn you into stone, i.e. literally petrify you!
18A CREAMS Thrashes Muttley at the beginning in Wacky Races (6)

CREA_S (anag, i.e. wacky, of RACES) around M (beginning letter of Muttley)
20A GINGERLY Red-headed lady losing heart without confidence (8)

GINGER (re-headed) + LY (LadY, losing heart)
24A AUDITOR One listens primarily to upmarket radio plays (7)

anag, i.e. plays, of TU (primary letters of To and Upmarket) + RADIO
26A INTEGER Number in football team, for example (7)

INT_ER (Inter Milan, football team) around EG (exempli gratia, for example)
27A ARRAS Artist recalled artist’s work hanging on wall (5)

AR (RA, Royal Academician, artist, recalled) + RAS (RA, artist, again, plus contracted ‘s)
28A ERUDITION Learning issue involves character associated with Reading University (9)

E_DITION (issue) around (involving) R (reading, one of the three educational Rs) + U (university)
29A LARGESSE Great letter mentioned distribution of gifts (8)

homophone, i.e. mentioned – a great letter could be a LARGE ‘S’!
30A EGRESS Return to former state only after leader’s exit (6)

(R)EGRESS – return to former state, losing leading letter
Down
Clue No Solution Clue (definition underlined)

Logic/parsing
1D DRAWERS See 1 Across (7)

see 1A
2D OBSTINATE Old Tibetans may be seen as reluctant to change (9)

O (old) + BSTINATE (anag, i.e. may be, of TIBETANS)
3D POLLOCK Swimmer’s hair getting cut back on top (7)

POL (lop, cut, back) on top of LOCK (hair)

[the definition refers to the fishy Pollock, but Jackson Pollock was an artist – maybe not a ‘drawer’, as he just splashed a bit of paint around randomly?]
5D INGRES 30’s partner almost part of one’s group (6)

the opposite, or partner, of 30A (EGRESS) could be INGRESS, almost all of which = INGRES

[Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, part of 1’s group – ‘drawers’]
6D PICASSO Olympic Association contains member of one’s group (7)

hidden word in, i.e. contained in, ‘olymPIC ASSOciation’

[Pablo, ditto]
7D TANGA Bikini Atoll’s first insect returns (5)

TANG (gnat, insect, returning) + A (first letter, of Atoll)

[a different type of ‘drawer’!]
8D HOLBEIN Problem keeping bishop in part of one’s group (7)

HOL_E (problem) around (keeping) B (bishop), plus IN

[Hans, another drawer]
10D ICECAP Police Captain possesses a very cool head (6)

hidden word in, i.e. possessed by, ‘polICE CAPtain’
16D GIRL GUIDE Female scout cast Gielgud in role originally (4,5)

anag, i.e. cast, of GIELGUD + IR (In Role, initially)
17D MILIEU Scene involving centre halves in familiar feud (6)

the central parts, and half of the letters, of faMILIar and fEUd
18D CHAGALL Old woman stops to phone man in one’s group (7)

C_ALL (phone) around (stopped by) HAG (old woman, derogatory)

[Marc, and another]
19D MATISSE Sea mist swirled around painter (7)

anag, i.e. swirled around, of SEA MIST

[Henri, not sure why he isn’t in 1’s group? Maybe because he was also a sculptor?]
21D G-STRING Part for violin one made using thin strips of material (1-6)

one component of a violin would be the G string!
22D Y-FRONTS Something found in youngster’s yellowing underwear? (1-6)

Youngsters and Yellowing both have a Y at the FRONT!
23D BRIEFS What could be made from synthetic fibres? (6)

anag, i.e. synthetic, of FIBRES
25D DURER Member of one’s group earned right to entertain king and queen (5)

DU_E (earned right) around (entertaining) R (king, Rex), plus R (queen, Regina)

[Albrecht, more of an etcher than a drawer?]

18 comments on “Independent 11,247 by Serpent (Saturday Puzzle 29 October 2022)”

  1. Thanks Serpent and mc_r

    I think the ‘droopy’ part of the drawers clue is even more apposite as all the solutions to both sets of themed solutions are entered vertically, ie they’re drooping.

  3. Intriguing. DROOPY DRAWERS was actually my last in so, whilst I’d spotted all the artists, including those not linked to ‘one’s group’. I hadn’t made the connection to the pencil insofar as most artists have produced drawn work at some point even if it’s not the basis of subsequent fame. I certainly didn’t notice the secondary theme which is very witty. It probably explains why i found myself able to solve the puzzle – perhaps the cluing was not quite as impenetrable (in a good way) as Serpent can be.

    ABSOLVING, ARRAS, OBSTINATE, PICASSO and BRIEFS were my favourites today.

    Thanks Serpent and MC

  6. I loved this double-themed crossword – although it did take a while to solve 1/10 where the now obvious droopiness as explained by Simon @1 makes it even better

    Thanks very much indeed to Serpent and mc_rapper

  7. The 1’s were my last in. This was fantastic even by Serpents standards.
    Durer reminded me of the Monty Python ep filmed in Germany
    Many thanks all round for great start to the day.

  8. Like others, 1A/1D were my last in, despite spotting the main theme earlier. There’s a living artist called Vivian Tanga, but presumably a coincidence. Didn’t spot the secondary theme. One of Serpent’s easier offerings but none the less enjoyable for that, so thanks to setter and blogger.

  12. Excellent (as usual from this setter). My solving experience was almost identical to that described by Postmark@3.
    Thanks all.

  13. Thanks Serpent — your crosswords are always works of art so it’s fitting that so many artists appear. I also spotted the underwear but wasn’t sure how they fit until my LOI, DROOPY DRAWERS. Thanks mc_rapper67 for the blog.

  14. Wasn’t quite my last in, but I certainly had many of the artists before I got 1ac/dn. Also didn’t spot the underwear.

  15. Like others 1a/1d was a late entry in more ways than one as we didn’t start the puzzle until after returning from the S&B in York. The NW corner took some chipping away at.

    We didn’t really allow ourselves long to check out the completed grid before visiting fifteensquared so missed the second set of ‘drawers’. We had noticed the underwear but as we hadn’t solved 1d at the time we missed the brilliant connection!

    Thanks to mc_rapper67 and Serpent – good to see you both today.

  16. Thank you Serpent, that was fun! Cunning double theme and too many gret clues to pick a favourite.
    Oh my, 22d is clever but made me cringe a bit!

  17. Thanks for the various comments – much appreciated as usual.

    Late from me as I have been at the S&B get-together in York – lovely to meet lots of bloggers and setters there, including Serpent himself, and BertandJoyce. I need to go for a lie-down now and let my liver regenerate!…

    Interesting that several commenters didn’t get DRAWERS until quite late, whereas it was my way in to the theme quite early on.

    The DROOPY explanation from Simon S at #1 makes sense.

    And thanks to Rudolf for the suggestion on 14A, and the gentle nudge on 23D…I am notoriously bad at calling &lits and usually get them wrong when I do – or don’t!

    Bobfos at #11 – I took the ‘revolved’ as referring to a wheel (or maybe a mechanical machine of some sort), which could also be said to run as it revolves? And, in fact, Chambers has ‘to revolve’ as one of the many definitions of ‘run’…

  18. Belated thanks to mc_rapper67 (great to meet you in York!) for the excellent blog and to everyone who took the time to comment.

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