Independent 11,437 / Twin

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Twin, a compiler with whose work I am not yet that familiar, has set today’s crossword.

I thoroughly enjoyed solving this puzzle ,and I particularly appreciated its sound clues and lack of overly abstruse wordplay.

I think that I am happy with my parsing overall, but I would appreciate confirmation of my reading of 7, 10 and 15.

My favourite clues today were 1A, for splitting the wordplay from the definition at “drug // runners”; 9, for overall construction; and 4D, 6 and 27, all for smoothness of surface.

I am already looking forward to my next encounter with Twin.

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across    
     
01 BEANS Prohibitions covering drug runners, say

E (=drug, i.e. Ecstasy) in BANS (=prohibitions); runner beans are a type of vegetable
     
04 VILLETTE Charlotte’s writing some uncivil letters

Hidden (“some”) in “ciVIL LETTErs”; the reference is to the 1853 novel by Charlotte Brontë, inspired by her time in Brussels
     
09 LAMBRUSCO Cola’s mixed with rum and black wine

*(COLA’S + RUM + B (=black, as in HB); “mixed” is anagram indicator
     
10 LINGO Made-up language, avoided by outsiders?

<k>LINGO<n> (=made-up language, in Star Trek); “avoided by outsiders” means first and last letters are dropped; & lit., since “lingo” can refer to the jargon used by a particular group of professionals
     
11 WING NUT This secures card around North African animal

[N (=North) + GNU (=African animal)] in WIT (=card, humorous person)
     
12 IMPROVE One’s for and against European upgrade

I’M PRO (=one’s for, using the rather affected pronoun one for I) + V (=against, i.e. versus) + E (=European)
     
13 A PRIORI Kind of argument resulting from nearly 30 days without port

RIO (=port, in Brazil) in APRI<l> (=30 days; “nearly” means last letter is dropped)
     
15 EDGER Garden tool, and who might use one in EastEnders?

A <h>edger (with “h” dropped as spoken by someone from the East End of London) might use a lawn-edger!
     
18 OASIS Leaders of Oman and Syria immediately seek refuge

O<man> A<nd> S<yria> I<mmediately> S<eek>; “leaders of” means first letters only
     
20 FIG TREE Where to find fruit in fridge, targeted regularly

F<r>I<d>G<e> T<a>R<g>E<t>E<d>; “regularly” means alternate letters only are used
     
23 ISOTOPE Is love poet developing a variation on something from the table?

IS + O (=love, i.e. zero score) + *(POET); “developing” is anagram indicator; the “table” in the definition refers to the periodic table of the elements
     
25 TIARAED Ride at a gallop, wearing a crown

*(RIDE AT A); “gallop” appears to be the anagram indicator
     
26 MILLS Manuscript about harmful plants

ILL (=harmful, as in ill effects) in MS (=manuscript); mills are plants, factories
     
27 SIMPATICO Congenial leader is returning suspect to CIA

SIMP (PM=leader + IS; “returning” indicates reversal) + *(TO CIA); “suspect” is anagram indicator
     
28 SRI LANKA Reconstructed Silk Road’s heading across an American state

[AN in *(SILK + R<oad>)] + A (=American); “heading” means first letter only is used in anagram, indicated by “reconstructed”
     
29 TIE-IN Connecting material that is encased in metal

I.E. (that is, id est) in TIN; a tie-in is e.g. a book that ties in with, is connected with, e.g. a film or TV programme
     
Down    
     
01 BYLAWS Bishop with rising influence over liberal local regulation

B (=bishop, in chess) + [L (=liberal) in YAWS (SWAY=influence; “rising” indicates vertical reversal)]
     
02 ARMENIANS Possibly Asian men, right?

*(ASIAN MEN + R (=right)); “possibly” is anagram indicator; semi- & lit.
     
03 SERENER Quieter hybrid re-enters, ousting Tesla

*(RE–EN<t>ERS); “ousting Tesla (=T, i.e. SI unit)” means letter “t” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “hybrid”
     
04 VISIT Call on model after six

VI (=six, in Roman numerals) + SIT (=model, pose)
     
05 LIONISING Cat with one rat is celebrating

LION (=cat, feline) + I +SING (=rat (on), snitch)
     
06 ECLIPSE Sun’s hiding excerpts in European edition at first

CLIPS (=excerpts, passages) in [E (=European) + E<dition> (“at first” means first letter only)
     
07 TANGO Tailored hem of gown to a T

*(G<ow>N TO A); “hem” seems to imply edges, i.e. first and last letters only are used in anagram, indicated by “tailored”; Tango stands for the letter “t” in radio telecommunications
     
08 FOREARM Prepare // upper body part

Double definition: to forearm is to prepare for something in advance, as in forewarned is forearmed AND a forearm is an upper body part
     
14 OFF-SEASON When some get cheaper travel and switch positions, with oceans between them

SEAS (=oceans) in OFF ON (=(electrical) switch positions)
     
16 GRENADINE During troubled reign, Cnut perhaps spun mixed fabric

ENAD (DANE=Cnut perhaps; “spun” indicates reversal) in *(REIGN); “troubled” is anagram indicator
     
17 WOE IS ME Alas, Keir’s beginning to abandon progressive politics supported by base

WO<k>EISM (=progressive politics; “Keir’s beginning (=first letter) to abandon” means letter “k” is dropped) + E (=base, in mathematics)
     
19 SPOUSAL So, Paul’s somehow related to his wife?

*(SO PAUL’S); “somehow” is anagram indicator; spousal means nuptial, matrimonial
     
21 READAPT Study suitable film again?

READ (=study, at Uni) + APT (=suitable); to readapt e.g. a novel for the screen could be to “film (it) again”
     
22 ADJOIN Neighbour and I raving about Miss March

JO (=Miss March, character in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women) in *(AND I); “raving” is anagram indicator
     
24 OILER Mechanic maybe removing lid from heater

<b>OILER (=heater; “removing lid” means first letter is dropped)
     
25 TAMPA Short, boring old man in part of Florida

TAM<e> (=boring, unexciting, flat; “short” means last letter is dropped) + PA (=old man, i.e. father)

12 comments on “Independent 11,437 / Twin”

  1. Thanks, Twin and RR!
    Liked LINGO, EDGER, TANGO, OFF-SEASON, WOE IS ME and SPOUSAL.
    RR!
    7,10 and 15 (TANGO, LINGO and EDGER): I parsed them as you did.

    ARMENIANS:
    Can’t it be tagged as an &lit? ‘Right?’ as a word of emphasis could be part of the def (though not an essential part), I think.

    A PRIORI
    The def: ‘Kind of argument’ (not underlined).
    Can ‘A PRIORI’ be used as a noun?

  2. Super puzzle, thanks, Twin and RR. LINGO is very clever, also liked WOE IS ME, ADJOIN and BEANS among others.

    EDGER is the tool, [h]EDGER is the cockney who might use one – I think that’s what you meant, isn’t it?

  3. Nice puzzle and reasonably approachable. We all seem to be letting out our inner Trekkie and enjoying LINGO. BEANS, EDGER, SIMPATICO, BYLAWS, LIONISING, TANGO and SPOUSAL are my other big likes. Isn’t TIARAED a horrible word? I think I’d have preferred to see just the one use of European = E but that’s the minorest (if we can have SERENER, surely we can have minorest?) of quibbles.

    Thanks Twin and RR

  4. Very good. No idea about Klingon but LINGO seemed to fit. An idiosyncratic and enjoyable style perhaps illustrated by ‘gallop’ and ‘hybrid’ as anagrinds. A good addition to the setting team with a demure sobriquet that hides a good level of complexity. Toppies for me – although all the clues were very good – are WING NUT, EDGER (very ‘eavy, very ‘umble), ADJOIN for the clue and TANGO, last one in. Agree with you parsing RR. Thanks for the blog and thanks to TWIN.

  5. Thanks RR & Twin, who has posted on Twitter that there’s an Nina he doubts anyone will see, certainly I can’t.

  7. Had a few parsing issues along the way and had to investigate the previously unknown context of 16d but eventually crossed the finishing line.
    Top three here were BEANS, FOREARM & OFF-SEASON.

    Thanks to Twin and to RR for the review.

  9. Thanks both. In two minds about LINGO where i can see it is a clever invention, and perhaps i have always seen &lit as difficult or misdirecting, particularly in this case where ‘language’ sits in the middle of the clue. I did eventually solve and parse, but Klingon was not exactly my first thought

  10. Didn’t think of Klingon, despite just watching an episode of Star Trek: Picard, but I had been watching a baseball game involving the Tampa Bay Rays.

  12. As a Trekker, I idly wondered whether any setter had ever replaced the “HA” in KHAN (of The Wrath Of…) with LINGO to get KLINGON.
    The nearest I could find was Azed, who replaced the “E” in KEN. Close, but no cigar.

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