Today’s puzzle is set by Wire whose puzzles appear about once a month in the Independent daily cryptic series.
Thursday puzzles in the Independent often has a theme and today we have a number of food and drink items appearing as entries in their own right or as parts of entries.
As entries we have CROISSANT, GOOSANDER (an internet search indicates this can be eaten if prepared properly), ROLLMOP, CASSOULET, BRAWN, DROP SCONE, MOCHA and OFFAL.
As part entries we have RUM, SACK [dry white wine},ALES, EMU (another one that requires proper preparation), BRAIN (a delicacy in many cultures) and ROACH (the fish rather than the cockROACH, although I believe this too is edible).
We also have OUNCE, a measure in cookery and GARDEN where many people grow vegetables. I can’t find a reference to eating the meat of the cat OUNCE.
There are also quite a few food and drink related words in the clues.
I liked the cryptic definition ‘dreaded follower’ for RASTA and I also liked the construction of PHENOBARBITONE.
Overall an entertaining puzzle with good surfaces to the clues.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | Dull drink on rather wet island avoided (7)
HUMDRUM (dull) HUMID (rather wet) excluding (avoided) I (island) + RUM (drink) HUMD RUM |
| 5 | Instrument from retreating boat on fire (7)
SACKBUT (an early wind instrument with a slide like the trombone) SACK (dismiss; fire) + TUB (boat) reversed (retreating) SACK BUT< |
| 9 | Posts announced for Guys (5)
MALES (guys) MALES (sounds like [announced] MAILS [posts]) MALES |
| 10 | Irate six-footer fed with one pastry (9)
CROISSANT (a crescent-shaped bread-roll made with a large quantity of butter and having a flaky consistency; a pastry) CROSS (annoyed) containing (fed with) I (Roman numeral for one) + ANT (a six-footed insect) CRO (I) SS ANT |
| 11 | Big duck finally making eggs smoother (9)
GOOSANDER (a large duck of the merganser genus; big duck) G (last letter of [finally] MAKING) + OO (symbols representing eggs) + SANDER (a tool for smoothing; smoother) G OO SANDER |
| 12 | Big cat doorman skinned (5)
OUNCE (a big cat of Asia with markings similar to a leopard’s) BOUNCER (doorman) excluding the outer letters (skinned) B and R OUNCE |
| 13 | An aggrieved Len organised time at home (9,5)
GARDENING LEAVE (compulsory paid leave to be taken in the time preceding the formal termination date of employment; time at home) Anagram of (organised) AN AGGRIEVED LEN GARDENING LEAVE* |
| 18 | Drug ring encircles space over by pub before scrap (14)
PHENOBARBITONE (a sedative and hypnotic drug used to treat epilepsy) PHONE (ring) containing (encircles) (EN [a space in printing terminology] + O [over] + BAR [pub] + BIT [a scrap]) PH (EN O BAR BIT) ONE |
| 20 | Twin birds following river (5)
REMUS (one of the twins Romulus and REMUS whose lives, deaths and the founding of Rome are described in Roman mythology) R (river) + EMUS (flightless Australian birds) R EMUS |
| 22 | Face egos jostling to control university exchanges (9)
DIALOGUES (exchanges of views in the hope of ultimately reaching agreement) DIAL (face) + (an anagram of [jostling] EGOS containing [to control] U [university]) DIAL OG (U) ES* |
| 24 | He presents a Gallic person nursing child (9)
ANCHORMAN (television presenter, on news and current affairs discussions for example) A + (NORMAN [French {Gallic} person] containing [nursing] CH [child]) A N (CH) ORMAN |
| 25 | Companion eliminating king’s bad guy (5)
FIEND (devil; bad man) FRIEND (companion) excluding (eliminating) R (Rex; king) FIEND |
| 26 |
Sailor’s call that possibly follows 13 (5-2) HEAVE-HO (sailor’s call to exertion, as in HEAVing the anchor.) HEAVE-HO (dismissal; something that usually follows GARDENING LEAVE [entry at 13 across]) double definition HEAVE-HO |
| 27 | Herring recipe with cool clam soup periodically used (7)
ROLLMOP (fillet of herring rolled up, usually enclosing a slice of onion, and pickled in spiced vinegar) R (recipe) + OLLMOP (letters 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 [periodically] of COOL CLAM SOUP R OLLMOP |
| Down | |
| 1 | Title of monarch with time garners zero respect (6)
HOMAGE (respect) (HM [His/Her Majesty, title of monarch] + AGE [time]) containing (garners) O (letter symbolising zero) H (O) M AGE |
| 2 | Improve intros to main elements later in talk (9)
MELIORATE (improve) MELI (first letters of [intros to] each of MAIN, ELEMENTS, LATER and IN) + ORATE (a formal speech; a talk) MELI ORATE |
| 3 | Emperor once turned on a dreaded follower? (5)
RASTA (RASTAfarian; member of a West Indian, especially Jamaican, religious movement, which rejects western culture and ideas and regards Haile Selassie, the former Emperor of Ethiopia, as divine. RASTAfarians frequently have their hair styled in dreadlocks; dreaded follower) TSAR (Russian emperor in the past; emperor once) reversed (turned on) + A RAST< A |
| 4 | Weapon duke regularly found in an ancient region (9)
MACEDONIA (ancient kingdom on the periphery of archaic and classical Greece) MACE (metal or metal-headed war-club, often spiked; weapon) + D (duke) + ONIA (letters 2, 4, 6 and 8 [regularly] of FOUND IN AN) MACE D ONIA |
| 5 | Polish company in revolutionary Russia (5)
SCOUR (polish) CO (company) contained in (in) RUS (RUSsia) reversed (revolutionary) S (CO) UR< |
| 6 | Cryptic clues as to what’s cooking? (9)
CASSOULET (stew consisting of haricot beans, onions, herbs and various kinds of meat; something cooking) Anagram of (cryptic) CLUES AS TO CASSOULET* |
| 7 | Ascending green warbler channels strength (5)
BRAWN (strength) BRAWN (reversed [ascending; down entry] hidden word in [channels] GREEN WARBLER) BRAWN< |
| 8 | Bound covers of TIME article on centre of ledge (8)
TETHERED (bound with a chain or a rope) TE (outer letters of [covers of] TIME) + THE (definite article) + RE (concerning; about; on) + D (middle letter of [centre of] LEDGE) TE THE RE D |
| 14 | Copter carrying corrupt cop’s cake (4,5)
DROP SCONE (small thick pancake) DRONE (small helicopter piloted by remote control) containing (carrying) an anagram of (corrupts) COPS DR (OP SC*) ONE |
| 15 | Obvious choice playing Baron in US Casualty (2-7)
NO-BRAINER (decision which requires little or no thought; obvious choice) Anagram of (playing) BARON + IN + ER (Emergency Room; US hospital casualty treatment area) NO-BRA* IN ER |
| 16 | Sickeningly, bits of alum devalued natural gold layer (2,7)
AD NAUSEAM (to the point of producing disgust; sickeningly) ADN (first letters of [bits of] each of ALUM, DEVALUED and NATURAL) + AU (chemical symbol for gold) + SEAM (layer of mineral) AD N AU SEAM |
| 17 | Get closer to one extremely plump fish (8)
APPROACH (get closer to) A (one) + PP (outer letters of [extremely] PLUMP) + ROACH (a fish) A PP ROACH |
| 19 | Exhausted American fool ultimately promoted (4,2)
USED UP (exhausted) US (United States; American) + DUPE (fool) with the final letter (ultimately) E moved up this down entry to the front (promoted) to form EDUP US EDUP |
| 21 | Colour of instant beverage (5)
MOCHA (a deep brown colour) MO (moment; instant) + CHA (tea; beverage) – MOCHA is also a coffee beverage itself MO CHA |
| 22 | Doctor absorbed by couple’s animated film (5)
DUMBO (animated film first released in 1941) MB (Bachelor of Medicine; doctor) contained in (absorbed by) DUO (two person; couple) DU (MB) O |
| 23 | Rotten goalie essentially rubbish (5)
OFFAL (anything worthless or unfit for use; rubbish) OFF (rotten) + AL (central letters of [essentially] GOALIE) OFF AL |
An enjoyable puzzle! Thanks Wire.
A super blog (colourful as usual)! Thanks duncanshiell!
Loved PHENOBARBITONE, RASTA, USED UP and MOCHA a lot.
ROLLMOP: a delectable surface.
REMUS, ANCHORMAN and CROISSANT my favorites. Liked Norman for Gallic person and croissants are the pick of pastries. Thanks.
I liked the cross ant, though I have a feeling I have seen it before. REMUS and ANCHORMAN also make the podium for me. I got to PHENOBARBITONE via an erroneous PH for public house.
I agree with all the favourites mentioned above – pushed for time, so can’t add my others. A real treat today, with three of my favourite setters!
Many thanks to Wire and duncanshiell.
Very good, as usual. I didn’t quite get the (nho) PHENOBARBITONE – got nearly all but was thinking ‘peal’ rather the ‘phone’ for ‘ring’ – and had no idea quite what I was working towards. HUMDRUM, GOOSANDER, RASTA, CASSOULET, REMUS, MOCHA and OFFAL were my favourites today.
Thanks Wire and duncan
This sailed in, top left going in last.l to n a really enjoyable puzzle.
Thank you to Wire and Duncan.
Thanks Duncan for the usual excellent blog and thank you all for commenting today.
No theme was intended. Maybe I was just a bit peckish at the time. Goosander a l’orange for me next weekend, I think.
See you all next time.
Thanks both. Also never heard of PHENOBARBITONE and was further delayed solving it as I dismissed the notion of including bar because PH looked like it belonged there…..well 2 pubs are better than 1 I guess even if the clue is not constructed that way. I didn’t see the connection between GARDENING LEAVE and HEAVE-HO before coming here – is it still prefixed by ‘the old….’ I wonder?
I was able to get Phenobarbitone as I’m familiar with the epilepsy drug but couldn’t decipher the cryptic elements. So, thanks Duncan and Wire.
Thanks both, nicely at my level. Of course I chose BAMBI instead of DUMBO (BI and a MB almost works). What are the chances ?
I got phenobarbitone via a different also wrong route. I had phenol for ring giving phenobarbital (same drug) till I realised I was a letter short – switched to longer phenobarbitone then had to restart parsing.
Thanks Wire and Duncan
Late finish but none the worse for that..
Enjoyed it all.. PHENOBARBITONE was very fairly clued and even if not heard of was pretty clear, making it a Jorum if nothing else!? Just found out what that means, so seems reasonable to use it.. actually applied to GOOSANDER n SACKBUT for me so usual case of swings n roundabouts..
Thanks Wire n duncansheill
15d – The Indy doesn’t do italics. but (St.) Elsewhere(NBC 1982-88 137 episodes) – in The FT, say – “Casualty” might’ve been CASUAL+Y(BBC 1986– 1,308 episodes and counting – you wouldn’t want to binge watch it) …
… And the solution would be the US equivalent NO-BRA IN ER(NBC 1994-2009 331 episodes).
Written as a film script (ED – Department, not Room) by Michael (Jurassic Park) Crichton in 1974 – celebrating a 50th (Golden) anniversary – eventually filmed 20 years later by Steven (Jurassic Park) Spielberg as the pilot for the series.
[This may have been influenced by my spending two days going to the GP and being sent to A&E(ITV 1999-2002 40 episodes)]
Wonderful stuff, Wire. Thank you.