Independent 11,439 by Dutch

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We don’t often see a puzzle by Dutch and I must admit I forget the last time I saw one.  So I approached this with some trepidation thinking I might be in for a stiff challenge.

In the end it was about average for a Saturday.  A nice puzzle with solid, approachable clues – though there’s a few I cannot fully explain.
I didn’t find any theme running through it – always a possibility for a Saturday puzzle, especially in the Independent.  I now understand why: When I looked up the date I found nothing much has happened on any previous June 10th

Anyway, thanks to Dutch, but maybe don’t leave such a long time till the next one!

Help with wordplay requested for 20, 25, 3, and 23, and I might have the wrong end of the stick on some others.

Across
1 TRIFLING Little ménage à trois? (8)
A cryptic definition alluding to a “TRI-FLING”
Edit: definition underlined
5 UPKEEP Maintenance in this country initially poised to go backwards (6)
P[oised] inside UK (this country) , PEE< (to go, backwards)
10 TWANG Time partner acquires new accent (5)
T[ime] WAG (partner, from Wives And Girlfriends) around N[ew]
11 GREAT-AUNT Older woman undressing to go along with a tease (5-4)
[a]GRE[e] (go along with, undressing) A TAUNT (a tease)
12 AUGMENT Intensify conflict as unionist shifts left not right (7)
ARGUMENT (conflict) shift U (from Unionist) to the left, remove R (from Right)
13 TOWHEAD One with tousled blond mop sees openings for Tory’s ousted wannabe leader (7)
T[ory’s] O[usted] W[annabe] HEAD (leader).
New word for me.
14 EAR Feature of unlimited anxieties (3)
[f]EAR[s] (anxieties, unlimited)
15 SOLAR SYSTEM Most of mystery lass’s raving about love suggests masses involved in regular circulation (5,6)
(MYSTER[y] LASS)* AInd: raving, around O (love)
17 ALLOWING FOR Remembering gorilla won, fellow runs (8,3)
(GORILLA WON F[ellow])* AInd: runs.
20 SHE British Embassy to offer asylum for Shamima, perhaps (3)
Hidden in britSH Embassy
Is there more to the name Shamima in this clue, as a female name, then the obvious reference to Shamima Begum?
I thought it might be a reverse reference to “She” by H Rider Haggard, but she was named Ayesha.
22 REFRAIN Judge drops order for suspension? (7)
REF (judge) RAIN (drops)
24 REENACT Respond to cover letter and legislate another time (7)
REACT (respond to) around EN (letter)
25 PURCHASED Got back up, reeling at first, to go after Dutch (9)
UP< (up, back) R[eeling] CHASED (to go after)
This means the definition part is “Dutch” but I do not understand how Dutch (even as a reference to the setter/compiler) means purchased
Edit: Corrected definition underlining, and correct wordplay is:
UP< (up, back) R[eeling] CHASE (to go after), D[utch]
26 TWIST Fool around as last perversion (5)
TWIT (fool) around [a]S
Last one in, but because that bottom right hand corner was left till the end
27 SATURN One in 15 go with it (6)
SA (it, Sex Appeal) TURN (go)
28 STARLIKE Pointed laser kit in riot (8)
(LASER KIT)* AInd: in riot.
Down
1 TITRATE Idiot to assess how to measure strength (7)
TIT (idiot) RATE (to assess)
2 INAUGURAL First hot month move urinal outside (9)
AUG[ust] (hot month) inside (URINAL)* AInd: move.
3 LEGLESS Can you be under the table in this state? Yes and no (7)
Some sort of double definition maybe.  There’s certainly one definition in the clue (“yes”), but how does the “no” option work?
4 NIGHT BLINDNESS Murky things blend in with this, ultimately (5,9)
(THINGS BLEND IN [thi]S)* AInd: Murky. &Lit or semi-&Lit
6 PUT AWAY Lock up and down (3,4)
Double definition: incarcerate and eat/drink
7 ELUDE We’ll cuddle regularly, duck (5)
Alternate letters wElL cUdDlE
8 POTSDAM City set up incredible finish (7)
reverse (set up) of MAD STOP (incredible finish)
9 LETTER OF CREDIT Financial agreement landlord cited for damage (6,2,6)
LETTER (landlord) (CITED FOR)* AInd: damage.
16 TOSCANINI Drunk upset facilities in Italy – he made a lot of hand gestures (9)
SOT< (drunk, upset) CAN (facilities) IN I[taly]
Edit: Wordplay typo corrected
17 APROPOS Poor sap is flabbergasted to be accepted as suitable (7)
(POOR SAP)* AInd: is flabbergasted.
First one in.  After failing to cold solve 1a, 1d and 5, I found a nice anagram to get started and deliver a clutch of juicy first letters
18 WEATHER Elements of friction effect dissected by article (7)
WEAR (friction effect) around (dissected by) THE (article)
19 RE-ENTER Ripper takes another E to join in again (2-5)
E inside RENTER (ripper)
21 ENTITLE Patent it legally to protect label (7)
Hidden in patENT IT LEgally
23 FIRST This person will tell a story to begin with (5)
I’m unsure about this clue.  Is it referring to the way most stories are told in the first person?
Edit:  I now agree with commenters this clue is a Double Definition and have now underlined it to suit.
Also, hardly any stories are told in the first person – that’s what comes of being brought up on “Gulliver’s Travels” and “Robinson Crusoe”

 

26 comments on “Independent 11,439 by Dutch”

  1. Purchased is a reversal of Up, the initial letter of Reeling, chase (to go after) and D for Dutch I presume? Got is the definition

  2. I have to say I found this quite tough but I did manage to complete and enjoy it using a bit of E-help and the check facility. Having said that, on trying to nail the parsings I realise there’s a lot of extremely clever wordplay and misdirection in there.
    I’ve ticked TRIFLING, AUGMENT, INAUGURAL, PUT AWAY (super example of this clue type) TOSCANINI and WEATHER.
    Many thanks to Dutch for a super workout and to Beer Magnet for a top blog.
    Ps…let’s hope City don’t need an “incredible finish” this evening.

  3. Thanks, Dutch and beermagnet!
    Liked GREAT AUNT, PURCHASED, PUT AWAY and TOSCANINI.

    PURCHASED
    I took ‘got’ as the def.
    You have taken CHASED as ‘go after’ instead of ‘chase’.

    LEGLESS (my take-a bit laboured, I think)
    LEGLESS
    Under the table=LEGLESS=very drunk (YES).
    Under the table=secretly. When you are LEGLESS, you are unlikely to act secretly. (NO)

    Alternatively,
    If a table is in a LEGLESS state, you will not be under that table (NO).

    FIRST
    I considered FIRST-person as the style of story-telling (almost as you have considered except that most stories are not in first person).
    ‘To begin with’-the second def.

  4. TRIFLING
    In addition to the cryptic def, can we consider ‘little’ as TRIFLING?

    SHE
    I don’t see anything more.

    TOSCANINI
    A minor typo (SOY-SOT)

  6. My goodness there was a lot of tough stuff to work through here. However it did prove to be a very enjoyable challenge.

    Many thanks to Dutch and to BM.

  7. As BM and other commenters have said, tough but enjoyable and I thought satisfying to complete. I knew IT was sex. I didn’t know it was SA was ‘it’ but I do now. Otherwise parsed as above with LEGLESS being drunk but not under a table with no legs and the first person narrator being half of a DD. Liked TRIFLING for the wit as well as AUGMENT and WEATHER for the clues. I thought 4a was a bit yeah nah because there was no punchline. Nevertheless I’d be pleased to see more DUTCH more often. Thanks both.

  9. TRIFLING was clued in almost exactly the same way by Bobcat a month ago in the FT:
    https://www.fifteensquared.net/2023/05/11/financial-times-17412-by-bobcat/
    I’m sure it’s a case of great minds thinking alike – the setters write these puzzles months in advance.
    It was praised then as “excellent”. It’s still a great clue. I think as KVa@4 the def is “little”.
    I wonder how long it will be before we see a clue for THROUPLE – it’s only in wiktionary – so far…

  10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djsFh-6DySg
    From Fawlty Towers – Polly is trying cryptically to convey to Basil that the chef is drunk, without the guests knowing.
    P: It’s Kurt. B: Yes?
    P: He’s POTTED… the shimps. B: What?
    P: He’s POTTED… the shimps. B: Shrimps? We’re not having shrimps tonight, Polly. Now, if you would…
    P: He’s SOUSED… the herrings. B: What’re you on about?
    P: He’s PICKLED the onions and he’s SMASHED the eggs IN HIS CUPS, UNDER THE TABLE.
    If you’re “UNDER THE TABLE”, you’re “LEGLESS”, but if the TABLE is LEGLESS you can’t get UNDER it. (KVa@3, paragraph 4)

  11. Surely this was quickly inserted because of the extremely topical surface of 13, though it must have already been in the works.

  12. After yesterday’s subconscious pseudo-theme, the TOWHEADed toerag rears his ugly head, again at 13a. More adjectives for him:
    ‘Noun – TOW – 2. (specifically) The short, coarse, less desirable fibres…’

  13. Thanks Dutch, I rather enjoyed that but struggled in the top left. Thanks to beermagnet for explaining the holdouts. And I have found a puzzle site that is more annoying than the new Telegraph one! Trying to keep the puzzle in view on a mobile is frustrating

  14. I too would enjoy seeing more by Dutch and maybe I will get the hang of the Indy’s puzzle software a bit better

  15. Thanks both. Agree with KVa that FIRST is simply a double definition. In TWANG, WAG deriving from the plural I know is used, but seems illogical that anyone could be a wife and girlfriend. Being really pedantic, LETTER OF CREDIT works better for me if clued as ‘financial instrument’ as there is no ‘agreement’ required or requested from the recipient/beneficiary – I’ll stop there, in case anybody yawns so widely, they fall in

  16. A fairly stiff challenge today, but we got it all unaided. We struggled most with 4dn, trying to separate the anagram fodder from the definition, and not helped for a while thinking 1ac might be ‘triplets’ although we obviously couldn’t parse it.
    We liked the fortuitous reference to current events in 13ac.
    Thanks, Dutch and beermagnet

  17. Thank you Stephen @ #1 for 25A explanation, I certainly got the wrong end of the clue on that one.
    You gave me a jolt when I thought your parting words in comment #2 suggested there is a hidden Man City theme.
    (If there is let’s keep it quiet – we mustn’t jinx it)

    KVa You are right I will underline “little” in 1A, and fix 16D

    Sofamore @ #8: I’m not sure what you mean about “punchline” for 4D ?
    I’d do not want to miss a joke.

    Ian SW3 @ #11: I hate to disappoint but crosswords do not get published that quickly.
    This would have been selected for this day at least 2 weeks ago, and it is hardly surprising the “criminal” ((c) John Crace) is in the news again.

    TFO @ #15: Please keep up the pedantry on subjects you know about. It is always worth hearing an expert’s view of loose definitions. I sometimes get upset at scientific terms being banded about willy-nilly – of course if you point out the inconsistencies you might get told “Well, it’s in common usage like that” but there are people who like to know the truth and know the difference.

    Finally, the LEGLESS “No” issue: Thank you for all the suggestions.
    I suggest, if the person’s got no legs they can still be under it, but if the table’s got no legs it is very difficult to be under it.
    My only worry now is – if a table has no legs is it still a “table”?

  18. Thank you beermagnet for your wonderful review and comments. I always imagined legless would be a bit marmite, apologies for vague parsing. The intention was simply two readings.
    Can you be under the table “in this state”

    And

    Can you be under “a table in this state”

    The other ambiguities I believe have been resolved by comments. Of course I didn’t know Johnson would resign, but I like that for multiple reasons.

    I am grateful to commenters, and yes, I’ll keep writing crosswords.

  19. How nice to see another puzzle from Dutch after such a long absence.
    I did have a few holdups on the parsing front but was quite happy with the legless table.
    Favourite by a mile was TRIFLING.

    Many thanks to Dutch and to beermagnet for the review.

  20. Agree with the comments above, you, but enjoyable. One comment:

    It = Sex Appeal = SA. Really?? Incredibly tenuous if you ask me. ?

  23. In this weather, maybe start with a nice long cold spritzer Jim.
    That “It = Sex Appeal = SA” thing has been used in crosswords for a long time. It’s in Chambers big Dictionary so gets used.

  24. Thanks Dutch for so many excellent clues. Some solutions I got from from the definitions and crossers and then worked out the intricate parsing. My top picks were UPKEEP, GREAT-AUNT, AUGMENT, REFRAIN, PURCHASED, TWIST, LETTER OF CREDIT, and WEATHER. Thanks beermagnet for the blog.

  25. EarWorm time – Andy Fairweather Low – Wide Eyed And LEGLESS – From 1975, with karaoke lyrics, so we can all sing along.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh7vosXZi6g
    The Wikipedia page links to a different (live?) version on Supersonic – ITV’s competitor to TOTP. Anyone remember that?
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide_Eyed_and_Legless
    He was on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny on New Year’s Eve.
    I liked the LEGLESS clue a lot, Dutch – but then I also like Marmite.
    Thanks D&b

  26. Much belated as I’ve been on holiday, but just wanted to pop in to register my appreciation of this. It’s always good to see Dutch. No probs with LEGLESS – on the contrary, I really liked it. (I nearly said I really liked getting LEGLESS, but these days I am all sensible and boring and slurp in moderation.)

    I’ll have liked many others too, but as I solved it while hiding in the shade by the south coast I can’t remember specifics.

    Thanks to beermagnet as well as Dutch.

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