Independent 11,454 by Monk

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Monk provides our mental workout today.

I thought some of this was pretty hard: there are a couple of obscure words, and some rare meanings of familiar words. But there were enough straightforward clues to get started, and others yielded to the technique of “think of a word that fits the crossers and then try to work out why it might be the answer”. I liked the anagrams in 2d, 4d and especially 14d, and the sneaky definition in 3d.

I understand Monk is a maths professor when he’s not setting crosswords; there seem to be a few maths-related entries such as circumference, divided and [inter]radius, but I’m not sure they really constitute a theme. Unless the pie in 23a is a pie chart?

Thanks Monk for the challenge.

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

ACROSS
1 CIRCUMFERENCE
Compass of ecumenic furore regularly disrupted church (13)
Anagram (disrupted) of ECUMENIC + alternate letters (regularly) from F[u]R[o]R[e], then CE (abbreviation for Church of England).

Compass = full range; I wouldn’t have thought of “circumference” with this meaning, but I think it works.
10 DIVIDED
Finished wrapping up film, not quite distributed (7)
DID (finished), containing VIDE[o] (film) without the last letter (not quite).
11 BY HEART
Extremely bulky electrical connection that’s back-to-front in memory (2,5)
End letters (extremes) of B[ulk]Y, then EARTH (electrical connection) with the back letter (H) moved to the front.

As in knowing something by heart = having it stored in one’s memory.
12 OAR
Row with prostitute picked up in Whitechapel? (3)
Monk is asking us to imagine hearing (picking up) the word WHORE (prostitute) spoken in a Cockney accent (as in Whitechapel, east London), with the initial H sound dropped.

Oar, as a verb = row (to rhyme with so) = propel a boat using oars.
13 INTERRADIUS
Part of, say, sea urchin I found in Asian river full of earth (11)
I inserted into INDUS (river in Asia), with TERRA (earth) also inserted.

Sea urchins have a five-fold symmetrical shape: there are five obvious lines from the centre to the edge (each one is a radius, plural radii), and less obvious lines between these called interradii. Or something like that; a marine biologist could probably explain it better.
15 SNAPSHOTS
Data at certain times drops off in spells (9)
NAPS (as a verb = falls asleep = drops off), in SHOTS. Chambers tells me that “shots” is an informal synonym for “spells” – but I have no idea which of the various meanings of “spell” this might refer to, and I can’t find any other dictionary backing this up. Any ideas?

Snapshot = data recorded at a specific time, rather than averaged over a longer period.
16 MAKES
Does edge back, checking buck’s rear (5)
SEAM (edge?) reversed (back), containing (checking) the last letter (rear) of [buc]K. As a dressmaker I’d think of “seam” as the join between two pieces rather than the edge of one, but it can mean the same as “seam allowance” = the distance between the stitching line and the edge of the fabric.

Make = do, as in “Can you do me a sandwich?”.
18 IN TWO
Wife stops digging asunder (2,3)
W (abbreviation for wife) inserted into (stopping) INTO (digging = enthusiastic about, as in “I’m really digging this music”).
20 DRIVE HOME
Make clear return to base? (5,4)
Double definition. To stress an argument and ensure it’s understood; or to go back to where you started.
23 PERIGORD PIE
Gripe about exotic period dish from France (8,3)
Anagram (about) of GRIPE, then another anagram (exotic) of PERIOD.

A meat pie with truffles.
25 IKE
General Strike half-cancelled (3)
[str]IKE with the first half deleted (cancelled).

Nickname of former US Army general and president, Dwight D Eisenhower.
26 TYRANNY
Your girl caught in case of treachery and power? (7)
YR (abbreviation for “your”) + ANN (girl’s name), in the outer letters (case) of T[reacher]Y.
28 AGITATE
Associate scoffed about fool in trouble (7)
A (abbreviation for associate) + ATE (scoffed), around GIT (fool).

Trouble, as a verb = agitate = disturb.
29 OLD AS THE HILLS
Long-established bank up in Aldershot disheartened, shifting head of staff (3,2,3,5)
HILL (as a verb = bank up = form into a mound; or so the dictionaries say, but I’ve never heard of it), in an anagram (shifting) of ALDE[r]SHOT without its middle letter (heart), then the first letter (head) of S[taff].
DOWN
2 INVARIANT
Iranian TV broadcast showing no sign of change (9)
Anagram (broadcast = scattered) of IRANIAN TV.
3 CADDIES
They may help with putting sum in 50% of policies (7)
ADD (sum, as a verb) in the second half (50%) of [poli]CIES.

Caddie = assistant to someone playing golf (includng putting).
4 MADE-TO-ORDER
Bespoke doormat manufactured with reed (4-2-5)
Anagram (manufactured) of DOORMAT + REED.
5 EBB
Bastard born following English decline (3)
B (abbreviation for bastard? I can’t find any reference for this) + B (abbreviation for born), after E (abbreviation for English).
6 EPHRAIM
Tribe of Israel record Noah’s last animal crossing island (7)
EP (abbreviation for extended-play record) + last letter of [noa]H, then RAM (an animal) containing (crossing) I (abbreviation for island).
7 COATI
Mammal covering India (5)
COAT (covering, as in a coat of paint) + I (India in the radio alphabet).

Mammal from South and Central America, related to the raccoon.
8 ODIOUS
Horrid slip suppressed by silly sod (6)
IOU (slip = a paper record of a debt) contained in (suppressed by) an anagram (silly) of SOD.
9 STASIS
Inactivity in street, things being what they are (6)
ST (abbreviation for street) + AS IS (without change = things being what they are).
14 REST IN PEACE
Possible final pronouncement on one being terribly neat and precise (4,2,5)
Anagram (terribly) of NEAT + PRECISE.

An expression used in relation to someone recently dead = a final pronouncement on someone.
17 KNOW-IT-ALL
Wise guy immediately into gear, leading endless car race (4-2-3)
NOW (immediately) inserted into KIT (gear), before (leading) [r]ALL[y] with the end letters removed.

Wise guy = know-it-all = someone who thinks he knows everything (but probably doesn’t).
18 IMPUTE
Monk’s linked to lay figure’s ultimate attribute (6)
I’M (Monk is, as said by the setter of this crossword) + PUT (lay = place, as a verb) + last letter (ultimate) of [figur]E.

Attribute, as a verb = impute = to associate something with someone.
19 ORGANZA
Body part essentially vajazzled — adult material (7)
ORGAN (body part) + middle letter (essentially) of [vaja]Z[zled] + A (abbreviation for adult). And if you’re not sure what vajazzled means: we’re talking adult material.

A sheer fabric originally made from silk, now often from synthetic fibres.
21 EMERITI
Dons once hoisted flag held by naked Brit in America? (7)
TIRE (flag, as a verb = become weary) reversed (hoisted = upwards in a down clue), held in [l]IME[y] (American slang for a British person, originally a sailor, from the lime or lemon juice they used to avoid scurvy) without the outer letters (naked).

Plural of emeritus = title for a retired professor = don once.
22 ELEVEN
French student’s new number (6)
ELEVE (French for a student) + N (abbreviation for new).
24 RURAL
Pastoral sport advanced when embraced by both sides (5)
RU (abbreviation for Rugby Union = sport), then A (abbreviation for advanced) between (embraced by) R + L (right and left = both sides).
27 YET
Still hate you — just a little bit head over heels (3)
Hidden answer (just a little bit), reversed (head over heels = upwards in a down clue), in [ha]TE Y[ou].

13 comments on “Independent 11,454 by Monk”

  1. I thought maybe ‘have a shot/have a spell’ might be intended for 15a. Excellent crossword. Seemed impenetrable at first glance but I got there with some e-help although no reveals. Stumped by LIMEY in the parsing of 21d and found ‘hill’ as a verb for ‘bank up’ but I’d never heard of it. Grist to the mill. Hard to pick a favourite with all the clues and parsing being very interesting and expert. YET was fun, and ORGANZA was risque, but I’ll plump for TYRANNY and BY HEART as my toppies. Thanks Quirister and Monk.-

  2. For SHOT I thought of sport – “Coach, let me have a shot/turn/spell at bat”
    Wiktionary: Verb HILL
    1 To form into a heap or mound. – 1849, Herman Melville, Mardi: And a Voyage Thither:
    “Spread, heaped up, stacked with good things; and redolent of citrons and grapes, HILLing round tall vases of wine”
    2 To heap or draw earth around plants. – 1977, Gene Weltfish, The Lost Universe: Pawnee Life and Culture:
    “After the seeds were inserted, the earth was HILLed up all around into a smooth little mound.”

  4. COATI – the other 5-letter animals ending in “I” are INDRI, OKAPI and ORIBI.
    I liked EMERITI especially..
    CIRCUMFERENCE DIVIDED BY HEART IN TWO INTERRADIUS MAKES PERIGORD PIE

  7. @FrankieG not quite! The phrase you’re after is “Circumference divided by radius makes two Pi” — it reads in the across clues (semi-)naturally down the grid then. I was a tiny bit disappointed it didn’t reach the bottom of the grid though.

  8. The first of two from Monk today and very enjoyable it was too. Who knew that such a thing as an INTERRADIUS existed? Certainly not me, but it was a good example of an unlikely word which could be constructed from wordplay and yes, with a bit of help from crossers; thanks for the explanation. Never heard of PERIGORD PIE either but the anagram made the answer clear. I confess to being lazy in my parsing of a few others, notably the points made in the blog about SHOTS for ‘spells’ at 15a and HILL as a verb for ‘bank up’ at 29a. Yes, the wordplay for ORGANZA – “adult material” indeed!

    FrankieG @4, there’s also our great friend the AG(O)UTI.

    Thanks to Monk and Quirister

  9. postmortes@7
    I had all the right words, but not necessarily in the right order – © Eric Morecambe – MCMLXXI
    It was mathematically correct, though.
    WordPlodder@8
    Thanks for AG(O)UTI, but how could we forget CORGI? – The late Queen had one called Dookie (the duke, duke, dukie)
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dookie_(dog)
    That means different things in Scotland (a swimming costume), and in the US (faeces), and in 1889 (a “penny gaff”)
    https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dookie
    For the US meaning, Google the Green Day album.
    Thanks M&Q

  10. The more difficult of today’s Monk puzzles – well I thought so anyway

    Thanks to him for the brain exercise and to Quirister for the blog

  13. Thank you Quirister, for blog, and to all solvers for comments.

    It behoves me to pop in to advise that today is “Two-Pi Day” as a result of the (Americanised) date of 6.28 😀

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