Independent 11,334 by Filbert

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Filbert provides our challenge today.

I found some of this a bit tricky, with a couple of unfamiliar words, and a rather dubious definition in 12a. Lots to enjoy though: the long entries at 9a and 26a are neat anagrams, 21a and 15d made me laugh when I finally saw what was going on, and 17d has an answer that’s a remarkable distance from its surface. Thanks Filbert as always.

Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.

ACROSS
1 JACOBS
Section of pitches Boca Juniors turned over for sheep (6)
Hidden answer (section of . . .) in [pitche]S BOCA J[uniors].

Jacobs = Jacob sheep = a breed with patches of light and dark wool.
4 CLEANSER
Half of ingenious solution to lose weight, removing cream? (8)
Half of CLE[ver] (ingenious) + ANS[w]ER (solution) without the W (abbreviation for weight).

Cleanser = cream for removing make-up.
9 SPRINGER SPANIEL
Dog that’s well trained asleep in back of car (8,7)
SPRING (well = natural water source) + anagram (trained) of ASLEEP IN with the last letter (back) of [ca]R.
11 FOURSQUARE
Resolute as engineers on rowing boats (10)
QUA (“as” in the sense of “in the capacity of”) + RE (Royal Engineers army corps) added to FOURS (racing boats with four rowers).
12 LIMP
Like half-sized member? (4)
Half of LI[ke] + MP (as in “the Honourable Member” = member of parliament).

I think this is intended as a clue-as-definition, but it’s a rather contrived one. The polite version might be an image of someone who limps because one leg (member = limb) is shorter than the other, but the grammar isn’t right. For the less polite definition, Filbert might need to be reminded that size isn’t everything.
14 LIBYA
Cycling through ‘The Greatest Country on the Med‘ (5)
BY (through, as in “learn by experience”) + ALI (boxer Muhammad Ali, known as “The Greatest”), with the letters moving round in a cycle until the L is at the beginning.

On the southern edge of the Mediterranean Sea.
16 AUTOROUTE
Couple in Audi sped around abroad giving way for French drivers (9)
First two letters (a couple) in AU[di] + TORE (sped = travelled fast) around OUT (abroad, as in “a rumour is abroad”).

French version of a motorway.
18 CHAMELEON
Very adaptable fellow demands honey in tea, period (9)
MEL (pharmacists’ term for honey, from the Latin) in CHA (Asian-derived word for tea) + EON (or aeon = a long period of time).

A reptile that can adapt its skin colour in response to its surroundings.
19 MELEE
Broil some leeks after discarding outer layers (5)
[so]ME LEE[ks] after discarding the outer two pairs of letters (layers).

An old form of brawl = disturbance = melee.
21 INKY
Where bluegrass is black? (4)
Bluegrass music originates in the Appalachian region of the US, including the state of Kentucky (abbreviated KY) – so IN KY.
22 UNDERTAKER
You won’t be quick, travelling in his car (10)
Cryptic definition, but with two senses of the word “quick” (alive / fast): an undertaker’s car (a hearse) carries a dead body and travels slowly.
26 WEATHERBOARDING
Wood outside the house had big rowan tree spreading (15)
Anagram (spreading) of HAD BIG ROWAN TREE.

Also called clapboard: horizontal wooden boards used to cover the outside of a building.
27 GALLOPER
Filly, one that’s running (8)
GAL (filly = rather outdated slang for a girl) + LOPER (one that’s running).

Clue-as-definition: filly = young female racehorse.
28 METHOD
Routine amphetamine overdose (6)
METH (abbreviation for amphetamine / methamphetamine, as in “crystal meth”) + OD (abbreviation for overdose).
DOWN
1 JESTFUL
Joky judge left us squirming (7)
J (abbreviation for judge) + anagram (squirming) of LEFT US.
2 CORFU
My hair cut for holiday destination? (5)
COR (cor! = my! = expressions of surprise) + FU[r] (animal hair) without the last letter (cut).
3 BONESHAKER
Clattery machine fillets fish before fishmonger’s closing (10)
BONES (as a verb = removes bones from = fillets) + HAKE (fish) + last letter (closing) of [fishmonge]R.

An early bicycle, which gave the user a rather uncomfortable ride.
5 LASER
Ray technically produced beer that’s special rather than good (5)
LA[g]ER (beer), with S (abbreviation for special) replacing the G (good).

An artificial light source.
6 ADAM
Ace mother’s half of perfect couple (4)
A (abbreviation for ace, in playing cards) + DAM (a mother animal, especially a mare).

Half of the original “perfect couple” Adam and Eve. Perfect until the third chapter of the Bible, when it all went horribly wrong . . .
7 SPIRITUAL
Irrational ceremony starts with second song (9)
PI (an irrational number in mathematics) + RITUAL (ceremony), with S (second) at the start.

A form of song originating from African-Americans in slavery.
8 RELAPSE
Electronic lifts connected to circuits go wrong again (7)
RE (connected to) + LAPS (circuits of a track), with E (prefix indicating electronic) at the end (at the bottom, in a down clue = “lifting” the rest of the wordplay).
10 EMULATE
English character in Athens behind mirror (7)
E (abbreviation for English) + MU (the Greek letter M = “character in Athens”) + LATE (behind, as in “I’m getting behind with the payments”).

Mirror = emulate = imitate.
13 DRAMATURGE
Playwright acts oddly cutting a little Scotch egg (10)
Odd-numbered letters of A[c]T[s], inserted into (cutting) DRAM (as in “a wee dram” = a small drink of Scotch whisky, for example) + URGE (egg as in “egg on” = encourage).

Have you ever used this word except as a crossword solution? I don’t think I have.
15 BLACKMAIL
British have no armour, so bleed cruelly (9)
B (abbreviation for British) + LACK MAIL (do not have chain-mail = armour).

Bleed = extort money from.
17 TANGELO
Saviour cleaves to cross (7)
ANGEL (saviour) inserted into (cleaving) TO.

Cross = hybrid: a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit, or variations on that general theme.
18 CHINWAG
Punch comedian’s jaw (7)
CHIN (as a verb = slang for hit someone on the chin) + WAG (comedian, especially in the sense of someone “trying to be funny” rather than actually doing it for a living).

Chinwag = jaw = slang for conversation.
20 ENRAGED
Wrathful senior tails Henry out of bounds (7)
AGED (senior), after (tailing = following) [h]ENR[y] without the outer letters (bounds).
23 NURSE
Set up tablets and drip? (5)
E’S (plural of E = slang for a tablet containing the drug ecstasy) + RUN (as in a running nose = drip).

Clue-as-definition: nurse, as a verb = provide medical treatment.
24 KNISH
Dumpling dip that’s flipping hot (5)
SINK (dip, as a verb = reduce suddenly, as in “the temperature will dip tomorrow”) reversed (flipping = upwards in a down clue), then H (abbreviation for hot).

No, I didn’t know this one either, but it was guessable. More of a dough-ball with filling (eaten as a snack), rather than the sort of dumpling you’d find floating in a stew.
25 SHOO
Mum rings off! (4)
SH (sh! = mum! = an instruction to keep silent) + O O (two rings).

Shoo! = off! = an instruction to go away, perhaps to the 9a that knows it’s not supposed to climb on your favourite chair . . .

12 comments on “Independent 11,334 by Filbert”

  1. Liked this. Consumate clueing and nothing esoteric in the vocabulary. DRAMATURGE and SPIRITUAL the top two with special mentions for INKY and NURSE. Filbert in jestful mode. Thanks and thanks for the blog. QUA nho.

  2. Liked LIBYA, BONESHAKER, INKY and NURSE.
    LIMP: Unable to come up with anything better. Not a great clue if it is what we think it is.
    Thanks, Flibert and Quirister.

  3. I thoroughly enjoyed this, apart from the app insisting I had one solution wrong. I came here to check. Nothing was wrong.
    For 12a only the “less polite” version works, and only if one is a “grower”, rather than a “shower”. Great clue. COTD.

  4. The expected good challenge from Filbert. I thought LIMP was quite clever and liked the other clue-as-definition NURSE. I couldn’t parse SPRINGER SPANIEL, being misled that ‘well’ belonged with ‘trained’, despite the lack of a hyphen.

    I’m no expert, but I think the title of Kentucky as the ‘bluegrass’ state comes from the name of the grass in part of the state, after which the music was later named. I found this site on a quick web search if you’re interested.

    Thanks to Filbert and Quirister

  5. Other great PDMs: INKY, TANGELO, CHINWAG. Every clue a challenge. Brilliant surfaces. Took a long time but I enjoyed every minute.
    Thanks F&Q

  6. For once I remembered that PI is irrational, but not that cross in crosswords is so often a hybrid. BLACKMAIL, BONESHAKER and INKY are all brilliant, though I failed to parse INKY thinking it needed a homophone indicator.

  9. Thanks, Filbert & Quirister. Agree with everyone that this was a well crafted and nicely challenging puzzle, though I’m still in the dark as to what LIMP could possibly be referring to. Obviously far too pure of mind (despite being a regular Cyclops solver).

  10. Way outside my comfort zone I’m afraid. Needed a wordlist for several including BLACKMAIL, GALLOPER, DRAMATURGE, and had to check KNISH was a rel word as it was one I hadn’t heard or at least remembered.

    I think LIMP was the only one I didn’t parse in the end.

    Thanks to setter & blogger as always.

  11. I spent too long staring at the grid without getting anywhere for this to be enjoyable. Got maybe a handful of answers.

  12. Thanks both. I suspect the small number of contributors here is proportionate to the difficulty, which we associate with the setter. I don’t regret persisting, but am glad this is not the typical level of struggle, given i try my hand daily

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