Independent 11,476 by Bluth

July 24, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this to be a very enjoyable and inventive puzzle which was on the more difficult side.

There were almost too many brilliant clues to mention but I was particularly impressed with 1 (for the way the surface hid was actually a fairly simple DD), 11, 5, 10 and 27. It was amusing that 5 used the even letters of the word "even" as part of the fodder.

The puzzle was also a pangram, although that didn't help much in the solution as I'd already used up the entire alphabet by the time I got to the trickier clues.

ACROSS
8	UNVEILS	Reveals what’s essentially sung over Lily Savage’s entrance (7)
		Middle letters of [s]un[g] [o]ve[r] [l]il[y] + first letter of S[avage]
9	EARWAX	Tax water supply after the Times withdraw obstruction for auditors? (6)
		([T]ax wa[t]er]* – both instances of t{ime} being removed
10	HUNG	Displayed antelope hearts on the counter (4)
		(Gnu H{earts})<. H would be an abbrev for hearts in playing cards and "on the counter" acts as a reversal indicator.
11	EYE-POPPING	Amazing, revolutionary animated character Pingu’s not for everyone (3-7)
		Popeye< + Ping[u]. The U being removed refers to the Universal (i.e.for everyone) film classification.
12	QUADRANT	Group of players missing header right before six-footer arrives for corner? (8)
		[S]quad + r{ight} + ant(=an insect, which have six feet)
15	ABRUPT	A bully briefly seizing power will be short (6)
		A brut[e] around p{ower}
16	DISORGANISATION	Doctor I ran to with diagnosis for disorder (15)
		(I ran to diagnosis)*
19	UPROAR	In court hearing unprepared for commotion (6)
		Up(=in court) + hom of raw(=unprepared)
22	LAID INTO	I ring back – not prepared to be attacked (4,4)
		(I dial)< + not*
23	VENEZUELAN	South American cinema maybe screening Hollywood’s Easy Street virtually (10)
		(Venue(of which a cinema would be an example) around EZ (Americanized form of easy which uses the US pronunciation of Z)) + lan[e]
25		See 26 Down

27	WEASEL	Withstand having been separated – it’s beastly (6)
		Separating withstand into two words gives w{ith} + easel(=stand for painting)
28	MUSICAL	Perhaps South Pacific island’s captured by surprisingly calm US (7)
		I{sland} in (calm US)*
DOWN
1	ZULU	Movie featuring Michael Caine’s depiction of terminal character (4)
		DD. Zulu depicts Z in the phonetic alphabet and Zulu was an early Caine film.
2	AVOGADRO	Italian chemist and American doctor in turn avoid putting out papers at the beginning (8)
		(A{merican} D{octo}r in go) after avo[id]. The ID removed refers to identity papers.
3	LIVE DANGEROUSLY	Loved travelling with Aer Lingus – ultimately they take risks (4,11)
		(Loved aer lingus)* + [the]y
4	ISLE	Man, say, is somewhat travel-sick heading north (4)
		Hidden, rev in travel sick. Def referring to the Isle of Man.
5	JEHOVAHS WITNESS	Occasionally even Joe Swash is excited with the doorknocker? (8,7)
		([E]v[e]n Joe Swash is + the)*
6	PROPER	Right for electoral system to cover vote conclusively (6)
		Pro(=for) + PR(=proportional representation) around [vot]e
7	CATNIP	Suspect I can’t – firstly, peeping Tom will probably like it (6)
		(I can't)* + p[eeping]
13	UNI	Educational establishment ruins it every now and then (3)
		Even letters of ruins it. Abbrev for university.
14	TONAL	Leaders from Leyton Orient and Northampton Town worried regarding pitch (5)
		(L[eyton] O[rient] a[nd] N[orthampton] T[own])*
17	TAILBACK	Queue behind rugby player (8)
		Tail(=queue) + back(=rugby player, one of 7 who together with the forwards make up the team)
18	OUT	Published books about defrocked nun (3)
		OT(=Old Testament) around [n]u[n]. Def used in the sense of "his latest novel is out".
20	PREFER	Top referee’s hiding favour (6)
		Hidden in top referee
21	OR ELSE	Failing that course regularly before university (2,4)
		Even letters of course + LSE(=London School of Economics)
24	LIMB	This writer’s breaking pound to get quarter (4)
		I'm(=this writer's) in lb(=abbrev for pound). Quarter can be used to mean limb in the sense of the dismembered limbs in executions like hanging, drawing and quartering.
26/25	FILM BUFF	Picture expert following glaze with polish (4,4)
		Film(=glaze) with buff(=polish) after it

26 comments on “Independent 11,476 by Bluth”

KVa

#1 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 08:08

Thanks, Bluth and NealH!
Liked VENEZUELAN, AVOGADRO, PROPER and FILM BUFF.
Hovis

#2 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 08:21

Should note that it is a very well-produced perimeter pangram.
KVa

#3 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 08:23

Great spot Hovis! Thanks.
Tatrasman

#4 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 08:27

This was an OMG for me after the first pass of across clues, as nothing made any sense, but then MUSICAL became clear and everything fell slowly into place thereafter, apart from the obscure (to me anyway) AVOGADRO, which needed some research. Thanks Bluth and Neal.
Eileen

#5 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 09:07

As NealH says, there are almost too many brilliant clues to mention.
My particular favourites were EYE-POPPING, MUSICAL, ZULU, JEHOVAH’S WITNESS and CATNIP.

As I did just a couple of weeks ago, in another puzzle, I’d like to give a shout-out for our local hero https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Back as possibly the rugby player in 17dn.

Many thanks to Bluth for a most enjoyable puzzle and NealH for a great blog.
Widdersbel

#6 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 09:11

Lovely stuff. Thanks, Bluth and NealH. Favourite is JEHOVAH’S WITNESS for the hilarious image conjured up by the surface.

Great spot on the perimiter thing, Hovis. I had an inkling it was a pangram but didn’t bother to look that closely.
PostMark

#7 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 09:17

Splendid puzzle which, for me, came hard on the heels of Philistine’s excellent Monday puzzle in the G, making for a cracking combo. Fizzing with imagination. I’m another in the ‘too many good clues to name a favourite’ camp – as I often find myself to be with Bluth. Nonetheless, I shall venture UNVEILED, EYE-POPPING, WEASEL, LIVE DANGEROUSLY, JEHOVAH’S WITNESS and FILM BUFF as a podium for each direction.

Thanks Bluth and NealH
Amoeba

#8 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 09:19

All steadily went in, with teasing out the parsing saving me from an embarrassing mis-spelling of VENEZUELAN. I impressed myself by having very vaguely heard of Avogadro’s constant, although I couldn’t tell you what it was.

Especially liked LIVE DANGEROUSLY, CATNIP, and ZULU.

Thanks Bluth & NealH.
PostMark

#9 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 09:41

I thought Avogadro’s constant was the certainty that they remain hard, green and unripe until suddenly, one morning, they’ve turned brown and too soft to eat …
Eileen

#10 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 09:44

PostMark @9 🙂
FrankieG

#11 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 10:41

PostMark@9
What Eileen said
🙂
WordPlodder

#12 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 10:49

I didn’t do this excellent puzzle justice as I bunged in a few answers eg VENEZUELAN without making the effort to parse them properly. I did eventually work out the lift-and-separate WEASEL and saw the pangram, though not the extra dimension spotted by Hovis @2.

My favourite was the surface for AER LINGUS, even though I’m sure it’s inaccurate!

BTW: PM @9, we happen to have had a very good run of AVOGADRO(s) here recently; cheap, just the right firmness and not a brown spot in sight.

Thanks to Bluth and NealH
FrankieG

#13 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 11:10

ZULU – “depiction of terminal character” – If the character depicted by Michael Caine had died – ie was terminal – at Rorke’s Drift, the clue would have been &littish.
Unfortunately Lt Gonville Bromhead VC survived, He died 12 years later in Allahabad, India, at the age of 45.
Saw the film as a child and remember being impressed by how well this posh actor could do a cockney accent in his later films.
FrankieG

#14 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 11:21

UPROAR – non-rhotics – cockneys, say – will omit the R, pronouncing the ROAR as RAW.
Conversely, when pronouncing RAW before a vowel, they will put in an R that isn’t there.
Just DRAWRING a comparison.
Rabbit Dave

#15 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 11:23

I thought this was excellent with typical Bluth parsing challenges scattered across the grid. Having twigged the answer quite quickly, I made life more difficult for myself by misspelling VENEZUELAN which rendered parsing it impossible until I realised the error of my ways.

Many thanks to Bluth and to Neal.
crypticsue

#16 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 11:30

Frankie G @13. The other way round – he was a Cockney who could do a posh accent if required
crypticsue

#17 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 11:33

A entertaining accompaniment to a bus ride to Canterbury. I did spot the perimeter pangram

Many thanks to Bluth and Neal
Ui Imair

#18 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 11:35

Great puzzle!
TFO

#19 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 13:14

Thanks both. I’d probably say I am best suited to Bluth puzzles based on the combination of challenge and cleverness, and today’s felt like it was on a higher level still. Like others, I will tire quickly if I list favourites – sure enough, I did not know AVOGADRO but I will reference him next time a JEHOVAHS WITNESS comes calling; last time, I was hungover and I do recall the conversation straying to why there were no wild zebras in our street
FrankieG

#20 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 13:30

crypticsue@16 – “Not many people know that” – I did know that. (Who doesn’t?) It was an attempt at humour. Maybe if I’d put in a smiley-face? 🙂
I was a child and it was the first film I’d seen him in, so I could be forgiven for assuming the posh accent was his own.
Absolutely everything he’s done since then soon disabused me of such a notion – Alfie, Harry Palmer, The Man Who Would Be King…
And the impressions – Here’s a compilation by Peter Sellers, Paul Whitehouse, Phil Cornwell, Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan – even the man himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qIy1DmGLWI
And who could forget (My Name Is) Michael Caine by Madness?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-5yn3v3N8A
Thanks B&NH
Stephen L.

#21 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 13:39

A very welcome distraction to my recent health travails, I thought EARWAX was absolutely brilliant. Lots of other smiles throughout the grid as per with this setter.
Many thanks Bluth and NH
Rabbit Dave

#22 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 13:58

One thing I meant to mention is that I don’t think JEHOVAHS WITNESSES exist in the singular. In my experience, there are always at least of two of them. 😉
William F P

#23 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 15:44

[FrankieG@29 – Don’t worry …. your ironic humour in final para @16 was not lost on me. I was going to explain to crypticsue but, fortunately, you’ve saved me the bother! It’s odd how each of us has a different sense of humour – if none at all]
Bluth

#24 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 18:21

Thanks Neal for such a flattering blog – and thanks all for the kind words.

Get well soon Stephen L!
Tony Santucci

#25 - Mon 24th Jul 23, 22:18

We are indeed fortunate to have Bluth in the Indy, Philistine in the G, and Bradman in the FT today. Monday’s don’t get better than that. I had many favourites including EARWAX, EYE-POPPING, QUADRANT, LAID INTO, WEASEL, and TONAL. I knew there was a pangram but I didn’t realize it was a perimeter one. (Thanks Hovis.) Knut had a perimeter pangram recently where the letters were in alphabetical order — amazing stuff. Thanks NealH for the blog.
skt

#26 - Wed 26th Jul 23, 07:16

I thought Avogadro was a physicist rather than a chemist.

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